Hello Peter
Wind from the south today so not too much smoke. My throat and hose appreciate the shift.
Will die with my boots on and at the keyboard.
Have not heard a thing other than HB will be up in a week or two.
Phil sent me an interesting exerpt from the book he was reading about DeBeers by Stefan Kanfer. Apparently this is an edited version.
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I do urge you to read this book, especially the last few chapters.
> Here's an edited excerpt from chapter 20, page 343:
> In the 1980's three maverick firms in London and Antwerp agreed to
>purchase Zaire's entire diamond output for the next five years, paying more
>than the cartel's going rate. A cutting factory was to be set up within
the
>country, and President Mobutu planned to modernize a big 50-year-old
diamond
>mine at Miba.
> The Oppenheimers had spent too many years and too many millions to
allow
>desertions from the ranks. An example would have to be made of Mobuto.
One
>of the country's best customers noticed a new attitude from the cartel.
"We
>were approched by a dealer we know is associated with De Beers and offered
a
>huge quantity of the kind of diamonds Zaire produces."
> Having flooded the market, De Beers opened a second front. Zaire had
>always been plagued with I.D.B. But the smugglers had never been able to
>get good prices for their stones. Now dealers were convieniently place
>across the border. For illict goods they paid a premuim of 50% above the
>going price, no questions asked. Demand for Zaire's legitimate diamonds
>fell away to almost nothing. Two years after Mobutu mad his bold
>announcement, he surrendered. Zaire would again market through De Beers.
> Harry said, "...that the Zaire experiment should be looked upon as a
>warning rather than as an example."
> Australia, however, was not Africa. Harry's advisors predicted that
the
>Argyle min would yield millions upon millions or carats. Granted, the
>stones were not first quality. Still Argyle could not be allowed to
operate
>outside the Oppenheimer network.
> Argyle was controlled by three companies, Ashton Mining, 38%; Rio Tinto
>Zinc, 57%; Northern MIning, 5 %. Years before, Anglo had managed to
acquire
>a 4% stake in RTZ, and recently it had shoehorned one of its directors onto
>the board. The parent of Ashton Mining was Malaysian Mining. Anglo owned
a
>substantial interest in that company as well. Only Northern flourished
>outside the empire since its share of the mine was so small.
> De Beers lobbied the press. Influential Australians journalists were
>invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa, and presently their
>readers were treated to feature stories about the glamour and lore of
famous
>jewels. Australia's Deputy Prime Minister reappraised the setup; it was,
he
>said, the only organization fit for selling Argyle's great cache. And the
>Labour Party's treasurer, who used to warn that Australia's diamonds were
>going to be "raped by South Africans", changed his mind. He decided that
>there was "no real commercial alternative" to De Beers's CSO.
>
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Thanks to you and Phil.
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Nice $1.10 jump in price this A.M. but volume still very low.
Hope you are happier David!
Regards
P.S. Phil, still can't get through to you on the internet.
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