Marcos/Steve
Marcos: Like most others on this thread, I am familiar with much of the publicly available information regarding KGFC, CGZ, and WWS. My own assessment of who bears responsibility for what has transpired with these companies is different than your own and that of many others. Having acknowledged that fact, I also acknowledge that there is a basis for these differences. That being said, I withdraw the adjective 'inane' with apologies.
As for your convictions regarding Kazaks, I find your claim to be excessive, to say the least. Inasmuch as you have indicated that the post was intended for the 'frank and open discussion' of another thread and that it was written in haste, I withdraw the adjective from it out of courtesy.
I am not sure we have a parade happening here. I am sure that whether you might be goaded into exhibiting your plumbing at such an event is no concern of mine provided I am sufficiently removed from ground-zero. Take care not to get caught in the spray.
Steve: Your comments regarding International Panorama are apropos. The due diligence may take longer than we expected, though I doubt that there will be any down-sizing of Steppe's project. Wheelbarrows and shovels do not a mine make.
When the management of a junior advises 'patience', I usually get an apprehensive tingle down my spine. So far, that hasn't been the case with Steppe. (I'm referring to my apprehensive tingle, not the use of the word 'patience'.) John may indeed be constrained from discussing the status of the due diligence and may not even know what progress has been made.
I have seen reference to a two month due diligence period made several times on this thread. I am not sure where this originated, though under optimal circumstances it may be a reasonable length of time in which to complete the legal and technical due diligence. I think my own concerns regarding the time it is taking to finalize this commitment (concerns which are minor with respect to the processing, at this point), stem more from John Menzies' own comments regarding the relative ease with which Steppe has managed to process documentation within the Kazakhstan bureaucracy rather than any sense that the time allowed for the due diligence is in danger of being exceeded. However, time may be a very significant factor with regard to any commitments Steppe may have made with respect to production.
I agree that there is much to like about this company. Hopefully there will be even more in the very near future.
By the way, here's an interesting piece of trivia. Yesterday there were only ten fewer posts on this thread than on the Crystallex thread. As for substance, both quantitative and qualitative, I think Steppe was the hands-down winner.
Regards.
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