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Gold/Mining/Energy : SOUTHERNERA (t.SUF) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Confluence who wrote (5165)	12/7/1999 12:10:00 PM
From: russet	Respond to of 7235

Morning Confluence, Two paragraphs of that article you mentioned were quite interesting. Perhaps the same is true for Platinum and diamond miners, when they finally announce good news. Just squished hamster thoughts. Tuesday, December 07, 1999 South African gold giant heads for Canada JCI consolidation: TSE listing seen giving better access to capital markets Sandra Rubin Financial Post, with files from Bloomberg and Reuters JCI, the storied Johannesburg-based gold mining company, once considered a model of black entrepreneurship in the new South Africa, is consolidating its assets in a sweeping restructuring and moving its base to Canada. Frank McKenna, the former premier of New Brunswick; Royden Richardson, former vice-chairman of Richardson Greenshields of Canada; and John Hick, a former business director of Placer Dome Inc., will be on the board of the restructured JCI Ltd. The company said yesterday it expects the Toronto Stock Exchange to become the primary market for its shares by next September. Brett Kebble, chief executive designate, whose family owns stakes in all the companies involved, said JCI would have better access to capital from Toronto than it does from Johannesburg. "A number of South African companies have been relocating to North America because of the higher valuations," confirmed one Canadian gold analyst. "The North American golds have always traded higher, the valuations are much higher." JCI became the shining light of black economic empowerment in South Africa in late 1996 when a consortium of black business groups took control of the mining house from Anglo American Corp. Anglo American, a symbol of white economic domination, had pledged to sell JCI to the consortium to mark the country's remarkable political transformation. But the initiative quickly floundered on public suspicion that the confusing share structure that grew out of the deal was a deliberate attempt to hid the fact that real control remained in white hands. There were also problems raising financing, and selling the new share issue. The company collapsed in January 1998 after months of turmoil over reports of unauthorized acquisitions and a two-thirds drop in its share price. The $850-million (US) firm was broken up and sold, only to be reborn and relisted as JCI Gold Ltd. The consolidation announced yesterday involves eight companies listed in Johannesburg and in London, and will turn JCI into the world's ninth-largest gold producer with reserves of 67-million ounces and an annual output of more than 1.3-million oz. Analysts estimated it will have a value of $650-million (US). "The end company is clearly going to be a significant player," said James Leahy, an analyst at T. Hoare Canaccord in London. Anglo American will hold a 16% stake in the new firm following the reorganization, which still needs South African Reserve Bank approval. Hank Slack, an executive director of Anglo American, and Rupert Pennant Rea, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, will be on the new board of directors, the company said. The consolidation, which is expected to be completed by February, is just the first step, while moving its offices to Toronto will be part of the second phase. "This first phase of the restructuring is, in fact, taking us a long way towards our grand design," Mr. Kebble said in a statement. "It consolidates the gold assets in a single company. It creates a substantial gold business with a balanced portfolio of operating assets, development projects and exploration prospects. "It gives the group a simple, investor-friendly structure." The new JCI will have interests in South Africa, Mali and West Africa, among other parts of the world. One of the main operating assets will be its 50-50 joint venture with Placer Dome in South Africa's Western Areas mine.

To: Confluence who wrote (5165)	12/7/1999 2:32:00 PM
From: crudestope	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7235

Dear Confluence, The JCI and Randgold mining group has been denied permission by the South African Government to move its primary listing and domicile to Toronto. The group will continue to restructure which will involve Western Areas (a very big, very long life gold mine in which Placer Dome acquired a majority interest), Randgold & Exploration, Randgold Resources, Randfontein Estates (a big, low grade gold mine), Barnato Exploration, Free State Development and Investment Corp., JCI Gold and Consolidated African Mines. The new JCI will have a gold output of about 1.3 million ounces per annum and will rank as the world's ninth largest gold producer and sixth in terms of gold reserves. Its main assets are in South Africa and Mali, West Africa. Brett Kebble, CEO designate of the new company, has close connections with Placer Dome. Tokyo Sexwale, former premier of South Africa's Gauteng province, will be a director in addition to the people mentioned in Russett's posting. The problem JCI encountered in South Africa was the black empowerment group whose chairman treated JCI as his personal fiefdom and made deals, without consulting his fellow directors, which on closer examination were more to his benefit than JCI's. He was forced to resign and the deals nullified but it left a bitter taste in the mouths of South African and London based investors. North American and Australian gold companies have always enjoyed a higher rating than South African gold mining companies. This was due to the South African custom of listing each gold mine individually with resultant higher dividend yield expectations from investors as the company would go into liquidation once the gold reserves were depleted. A six to eight per cent dividend yield was not unusual and very high compared to Placer Dome for instance. This situation has now changed but even so it is noteworthy that Anglogold, the world's largest gold producer, yields 5.4% and Goldfields of S.A. 4.9%. London listed and domiciled Anglo American Corporation, the parent company of Anglogold and Amplats (the world's largest PGM producer) with a finger in every metal and mineral pie imaginable yields 2.1% at its present, highest ever share price of œ38 (C$93). As for Canadian companies migrating to London is concerned we are dealing with five juniors who cannot raise a cent in Canada. They need capital to continue exploration on very promising properties but the Canadian junior resource capital market is dead. What is desperately needed is another big, good discovery and then the market will turnaround until that time the juniors will just convert into .com companies to survive. So can you hardly compare the JCI group with these juniors. Regards, Crudestope.