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Gold/Mining/Energy : KERM'S KORNER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (7703)	12/3/1997 8:44:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

MEDIA / Solv-Ex Lease Details Still To Be Worked Out Koch Exploration of Calgary won the battle last week to take over two Solv-Ex Corp. oilsands leases, but there's another matter to resolve looming on the horizon. One of Solv-Ex's two oilsand leases -- a 2,300-hectare plot called Lease 5 where Solv-Ex's experimental bitumen extraction facility and mine is located -- expires on Dec. 15. Obtaining an extension is one of Koch's conditions for purchase of Solv-Ex. Koch must satisfy the Alberta government it will develop the leases it has recently acquired. If Alberta Energy decides the company's development plans are inadequate, the lease could be taken away. "We are working on lease extensions. That's our most immediate priority," said Koch spokesperson Tammy Sauer. Beyond that, Sauer said it's difficult to speculate what the specific time lines and what the next steps will be. "It's a negotiating process and part of it is working on a development plan. There's a lot of factors involved." Energy Minister Steve West has the authority to extend the lease up to five years or award a continuation for up to 15 years with the exact time determined by "circumstances," a ministry spokesperson said. Dave Smith, assistant deputy minister of mineral operations, said so far no application has been filed by Koch or Solv-Ex to allow that to happen. "We don't see a problem extending an extension to a suitable applicant. We expect Koch to meet that requirement," said Smith. "Right now, because of their financial situation, Solv-Ex would not be qualified to get an extension." He said an application would need to be filed before the current lease expires Dec. 15. Solv-Ex's second oilsands lease, Lease 52, a 14,000-h plot, comes up for renewal in five years. Solv-Ex has paid the 1997 rental of $3.50 per hectare for Lease 5 and 52, but it will soon have to pay next year's rent of about $58,050. If the Koch doesn't pay, the lease would be in default and the province would likely step in. Price Waterhouse, the monitor appointed by the court to act on behalf of Solv-Ex's Canadian creditors, will be observing and reporting on the lease extension efforts, said spokesperson Julie Murray. She said the accounting firm is still trying to "quantify" creditors claims. Solv-Ex's protection from Canadian creditors was extended last week from Nov. 30 to Feb. 28. Details of the repayment deal for creditors are expected by early 1998. Canadian creditors are owed an estimated $15 million while American creditors are owed about $48 million US.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (7703)	12/3/1997 8:55:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

MEDIA / Christmas Goodwill Electronics bonus Christmas came early for two Sahtu schools Northern News Services Chief Albert Wright school in Tulita and Chief T'Selihye school in Fort Good Hope got a small mountain of new televisions, VCRs, boom boxes and other electronic gear. Playing the role of Santa were three companies conducting oil and gas exploration in the region. In the case of Chief Albert Wright school, the donations bought a small pile of electronics sitting in the school foyer last week. It was a delivery that couldn't help pleasing principal Angus Lennie. "We haven't spent the money foolishly," he said last week. "These are things that will really help the kids learn." For example, using the new boom boxes and hand-held microphones, students taking Slavey language classes can tape themselves speaking the language and play it back to check their pronunciation. The school, which has 140 students between kindergarten and Grade 12, received a one-time donation of $30,000, two-thirds of it from Esso Resources and the rest split between Ranger and Unocal Oil. The school had asked the companies to consider making a donation to the education system because they were active in the region, and the companies responded. "As more and more companies come into the district to do exploration, we are hoping that they will also contribute to education," he said. The school's next priority is increasing the number of computers to which its 140 students have access. While the school has a well-equipped computer lab, Lennie would like to see computers put into classrooms where the children take other subjects, making it possible for them to integrate the machines into their other studies. Sahtu students aren't the only ones in the North to be taking advantage of what has become a corporate trend. N.J. Macpherson students in Yellowknife, for example, recently received $1,500 in sporting goods from industry giant Nike, after they won a fundraising contest.