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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Yogizuna who wrote (97832)	11/28/2002 11:24:32 AM
From: Knighty Tin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Yogi, I know I once made some money on SWC, but it seems like I've been digging out of their loss mine for a hundred years. <g>

To: Yogizuna who wrote (97832)	11/29/2002 8:47:37 AM
From: JHP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Norilsk Nickel Deal Arouses Scepticism Johannesburg, Nov 25, 2002 (Business Day/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- Russian industry sources and metal analysts expressed scepticism about the announcement last week by Norilsk Nickel that it has acquired a 51% controlling stake of Stillwater Mining Company of Colorado for $100m in cash, and delivery to Stillwater of 876000 oz of palladium. "Acquisition of Stillwater is a very important step in normalisation of the functioning of the palladium market," said Norilsk Nickel CE Mikhail Prokhorov. His deputy, Leonid Rozhetskin, told Business Day that "by buying Stillwater we establish a primary sales platform for sales of Norilsk's metal in northern America. "The terms of the deal are an efficient way of disposing of the palladium stocks that were accumulated by Norilsk Nickel in 2002." According to Rozhetskin, Norilsk Nickel started negotiating with Stillwater in August, and beat several other bidders to the deal. He did not say whether any were from SA. Moscow sources said that they believe the combination of the two palladium producers is intended to help fend off competition for palladium sales in North America from SA producers. Vasily Nikolayev of Troika Dialog in Moscow said buying Stillwater as a production asset did not make much sense for Norilsk Nickel. "I'm not sure that this acquisition creates any shareholder value for Norilsk Nickel. "The only thing this acquisition gives to Norilsk Nickel is access to the US market, given the fact that Stillwater has longterm contracts with US consumers of platinum group metals." It was a transfer of risks from the balance sheet of Norilsk Nickel to Stillwater, said Nikolayev. The deal was greeted by another Moscow analyst as a good one for Norilsk Nickel because it cleared the company's accumulating stockpile of palladium, and increased its ability to sell palladium in the stubborn North American market. The terms of the acquisition agreement also provided for Norilsk Nickel to buy an additional 10% of Stillwater shares, and to deliver for sale 1million ounces of palladium a year for an extended period. The announcement showed that Norilsk Nickel and Stillwater valued the palladium in the deal at $275/oz, which corresponds to the London fixing on Wednesday last week. The pricing confirmed an earlier report that Norilsk Nickel's contract with General Motors for a small shipment of palladium priced the metal below $300/oz at a time when the spot-market level was above that figure. The volume of the palladium to be transferred to Stillwater also confirmed a report that Norilsk Nickel had been accumulating an unsold stock of palladium significantly larger than company executives admitted. Rozhetskin said he was precluded from commenting by Russian secrecy laws. A report by the company in September revealed for the first time that it had transferred a substantial volume of palladium to the state stockpile. Moscow sources estimated the transfer at about 1,4-million ounces. The new partnership between Norilsk Nickel and Stillwater is interpreted in Moscow by industry sources as an acknowledgement that, in the present weak palladium market, the SA producers have had a sales advantage over the Russians. By transferring Russian metal to Stillwater, the sources believe it will be easier for Norilsk Nickel to compete in the North American market against its SA rivals. by John Helmer Copyright Business Day. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com) KEYWORD: South Africa