RE:RE:kamoa kakula updateRob,
Normally DRC would be a no go. It wasn’t that great even before the new mining law was announced. In my opinion the joint venture with Chinese state miners offers insurance from nationalization. The government does not have the funding required to capitalize any major projects. Without China, production grinds to a halt. The DRC government is already on record saying they’re prepared to consider each project on a case by case basis. There might be a lot more flexibility in the application of the new mining law than people realize.
This is a place where connections are more important than law. As a public Company listed on a Canadian exchange, IVN may not be able to take direct advantage of this reality, but JV partners can. In this respect, I sympathize with Trudeau. I would rather get Gaddafi’s son a hooker, than lose a huge contract that throws everyone out of work. We’ve created a situation where Western companies can no longer operate in many developing countries, because of recent anti-corruption legislation.Those rules didn’t dent global corruption in the slightest. They did serve to remove Western companies from the action, creating a windfall opportunity for trade competitors like China. The law of unintended consequences. It’s very difficult to impose our values on other cultures. When in Rome...
I notice South Africa is not listed in the top ten risky jurisdictions. It’s described as medium risk. Although base metal prices in general continue to slip sideways, PGMs continue to gather strength. Platreef, and it’s 55 M oz resource (3 gm/t cutoff) are looking better day by day. Rhodium is up another $90 today. For every $100 rise in this minor accessory metal, LOM cash flow goes up by another $43.6 million.