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

To: Joe Boster who wrote (976)	4/23/1998 5:27:00 PM
From: VAUGHN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7235

Hello Joe Just a thought, but its possible that aside from SUF having followed the letter of the law in the eyes of the government and Minister of Mines, the RSA is making a statement that it wants its resources developed and its citizens employed doing it. Not too terribly different from Newfoundland or the NWT. DeBeers and apparently these heirs would seem to represent a system of entrenched and inherited control over mineral rights. A system that would appear to be an anathema to the RSA and is to the Government of Canada as well considering the changes currently being considered to the Mining Act, etc. here in Canada. The word would appear to be out. If you have mineral rights, you had better develop the ore body or risk losing it. The minerals belong to the people and the government's first and foremost priority it would seem is to see its population put to work and its economy prosper. DeBeers has a reputation it would seem for withholding properties from development to insure a steady price for diamonds. This policy helps DeBeers, and any mineral rights holders, from whom it buys an ore body, but that policy does not employ workers, pay them good wages or grow the economy. This is the cusp of the 21st century and landbarrons, robberbarrons and feudal systems are being retired, forceably where necessary, and by law where possible. The RSA wants investment and full employment and it would seem that Canadian companies have demonstrated goals consistent with their policies. Regards

To: Joe Boster who wrote (976)	4/23/1998 5:46:00 PM
From: Goalie	Respond to of 7235

Hello Joe: I don't think SA is becoming a banana republic, at all! I think the govt is prudent in its Green Paper on Minerals Policy (Dec'97) in which a number of principles are outlined, among them the need for a stable and consistent framework so that investors, like you and me, and companies like SUF, can be confident in their investment and financing decisions, especially in the minerals area. Two-thirds of SA's exports are minerals-related. The country desperately needs job creation, taxes and new investment coming into the country to eradicate the poverty, etc. Investors need security that they will be allowed to explore and mine; govt ownership of mineral rights ensures the security of mining rights. I believe there are only two countries left in the world that have dual - govt and private -- ownership of mineral rights -- S.A. and the U.S. Then there's the racial inequities which the govt needs to address by assisting those previously excluded from the mining industry to gain access to mineral rights. There are dozens of other reasons the Green Paper sites as critical for the future development and economic well-being of South Africa. This is why this case is vitally important. This is why the SA govt issued the statement, for the first time in an international forum, to send a message that the country welcomes new entrants and new investment dollars that create jobs etc. As more and more new companies move in, they are discovering that the new breed of lawyers and govt employees they deal with, are fair, and decent people, and they have nothing to worry about in areas such as repatriation of profits from SA, or the like. In the case of SUF, this is only piece of a heck of a larger scope that has had a hickup... All the other properties and issues have gone smoothly, and SUF will employ an awful lot of people on Klipspringer for the next 50-60 years, and pay its share of taxes, etc. If more companies like SUF are confident in moving into SA, the country is that much better off for the future. Its new money, its new ideas, its new initiatives that are needed in SA, and the govt certainly recognizes that. And therefore wants to make absolutely sure than irritants like this do not happen; and if they do happen, that they are resolved fairly and equitably. This new govt attitude, of course, doesn't sit well with the old guard, some of whom are still holding a major grudge. But lets face reality - apartheid is over, and if SA is to recover economically, it NEEDS companies like SUF, regardless of what the old guard thinks! And, the govt will make sure that as long as the SUF-s of this world abide by the laws, they can be assured that they will be able to operate in SA smoothly, and profitably, for the benefit of you, me and SA! Regards. Goalie.

To: Joe Boster who wrote (976)	4/23/1998 8:13:00 PM
From: Chas.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7235

Joe......... Your post is right on the mark.....Another Banana Republic is in the making as we speak...only a matter of time...Goalie and Vaughn are giving the idealistic "oh wouldn't it be wonderful" version of what they think is going on in SA......too much pot or hash or something......pick up a copy of "BBC" Focus on Africa or "New Africa" or even "Soldier of Fortune" if you want to see the real everyday Africa, from the Sudan, Sierra Leone, to Angola and SA, the story is the same. I just had to get my two cents worth in................chuck