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To: Efthymios H. Zacharias who wrote (87847)	3/30/2001 9:08:32 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 436258

Sure, in most of history little or no gold has been expended. This changes the future of gold for all time. Never again can an ANALyst be anywhere near accurate when they say "All the gold mined in history is still available on the market". Now, "How Fast?", that is the real question, I have no idea if it will be soon enough to save the most strapped of the miners.

To: Efthymios H. Zacharias who wrote (87847)	4/2/2001 4:35:22 PM
From: re3	Respond to of 436258

Message 15600524

To: Efthymios H. Zacharias who wrote (87847)	4/4/2001 2:41:05 PM
From: re3	Respond to of 436258

Message 15610288

To: Efthymios H. Zacharias who wrote (87847)	4/6/2001 12:28:58 PM
From: re3	Respond to of 436258

Franco-Nevada Poised to Strike More Deals 18:48 GMT-04:00 Thursday, April 05, 2001 By Scott Anderson TORONTO (Reuters) - With the ink still fresh on its latest deal with Australia's Normandy Mining Ltd., Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. Ltd. said on Thursday it was poised to pull the trigger on a number of other purchases this year, including at least one more big transaction by year-end. David Harquail, Franco's senior vice-president, said the Toronto-based royalty gold company was set to complete a number of small deals involving gold royalties in the next few weeks. And with close to C$950 million ($605 million) in cash on hand, Harquail said the company is well positioned to do so. "In the next few weeks we hope to do some smaller deals," Harquail told Reuters. "We still say we're staying in the royalty business. There's royalty deals that we'll use a small a small fraction of our cash going forward," he said following a mining conference in Toronto. Earlier this week, Franco-Nevada struck a deal with Normandy to swap its Ken Snyder gold mine in Nevada for a share in the Australian gold miner. The agreement will double Franco-Nevada's annual gold production and make it the largest shareholder in Normandy. The deal signifies Franco's return to its roots as a gold royalty company as it retreats from the role of mine operator. Under the terms of the agreement, Normandy will issue 446.1 million shares -- which represent a 19.9-percent stake -- to Franco for 100 percent of the Snyder mine and the surrounding Midas Exploration properties, as well as Franco's Australian interests. The deal marks the first time that cash-rich Franco-Nevada walked down the consolidation trail since its failed attempt to merge with South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. last year. Last September, the South African government blocked Franco-Nevada's proposed $3.7-billion merger with Gold Fields saying it would not benefit the country's economy. Harquail hinted strongly on Thursday that the company could complete at least one major deal -- in the magnitude of the Normandy agreement -- by the end of the year. "We're looking forward to doing a couple of things in our core business," he said. "In terms of larger transactions, we've got C$950 million in cash." With gold prices down around a level of $258.10 an ounce and many gold mining companies being squeezed by reduced earnings and increased costs, Franco-Nevada can take advantage of the depressed times. "We're just beginning to unleash our potential. We're the only guys that are being proactive in the gold industry. Everybody else seems to be somewhat frustrated in waiting for the gold price to come back. "We're looking at our big bank account and we think it's a wonderful time to buy." ($1=$1.57 Canadian)