Dave, Your comment: "Have some faith (or cynicism) that North America has no monopoly on honesty and integrity....read the paper."
I don't think North America always has honesty and integrity either. That's just a myth that is perpetrated. Look what happened to Alcan, at Kitimat for a long time. Fed's said yes you can, then, B.C. said no you can't, long court battles, huge money spent, finally an agreement after years of expensive delays. Then there was Windy Craggy, B.C. said yes to the permit to explore, let them spend huge amounts to prove up a huge copper deposit, and only then, the environmentalists start shouting and the good old NDP government bows to pressure and said, No you can't mine it. Stock plummets and good ol' Peggy Witte buys up cheap shares of Geddes to cash in on the inevitable compensation for the site, paid for by the long-suffering taxpayers. So instead of jobs and a profitable company paying taxes, we have the taxpayers being hit over the head once again, and a recreational site so remote that only the wealthiest could ever afford to visit. This is honesty and integrity???
I'm sure you could come up with your own stories of how "helpful" our government is, when it comes to mining, and why so many companies pull out of B.C. at the first sign of an N.D.P. government.
I think we sometimes get a fairer shake from some of the so-called questionable countries. No doubt, there have been problems, and Indonesia left a bad taste in investor's mouths, but there are many instances where there has been very good legislation put into place to protect foreign investment as well. Let's hope that is the case in Mongolia. This should be a good test for the Mongolian Government, should there not be a settlement forthcoming from the partners. I guess until then, the jury is out.
Cheers
Shirley
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