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Gold/Mining/Energy : Winspear Resources -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: George J. Tromp who wrote (9661)	11/23/1998 10:05:00 PM
From: Gord Bolton	Respond to of 26850

Excellent article. I agree with you that Winspear will not have a detrimental effect on the high grade chunker diamond market. While I predict and hope that Winspear will have a very valuable and profitable resource, in the great scheme of things it is unlikely to flood that market. On the issue of the length of time to develop, I think that it might move very quickly. I think that it was Einstein who theorized that time is relative to speed in the great world of physics. My observations are that in the business, mining, and political world--time is relative to profits, jobs, tax revenue and social development. A rich deposit seems to accelerate time schedules and a marginal deposit will develop at a snails pace. A rich deposit is very close to being proven and the size of the deposit will be roughly determined by next spring. The blueprint for a northern mine development, complete with town, sewage disposal, tailings disposal, etc. already exists apparently to the satisfaction of all concerned parties. There will be some new wrinkles as there always are but I believe that Winspear will be fast tracked by all concerned. The first diamond mine took a long time because it was the first and there were many disbelievers and foot draggers. But the paychecks are being printed, taxes collected, and the money is flowing. No one can argue with that--well you can, but at your own peril--just watch the steam roller coming and get the heck out of the way. If you have watched things develop in the oil patch when things are happening you might see a small town set up over a weekend. The problem often is to slow things down to make sure it is done right. There is one mantra which works everytime for Canadian politicians and that is "jobs, jobs, jobs". And when you get the politicians pushing for development, the shareholders pushing for development and the local population chanting for jobs, many things are possible. Winspear can start with an easily accessible open pit to get the ball rolling which is a very big plus. The plant and the town can be built very quickly. I see no reason for a multi year gestation period. This mine should not take much longer to develop than M1 pipe of SUF's in South Africa. The climate is a little tougher and the road is a little rougher but these are not problems which we do not know how to either solve or live with. Cheers.

To: George J. Tromp who wrote (9661)	11/23/1998 10:26:00 PM
From: donkeyman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26850

George: Every time you write a post, one can learn a lot. With the way world markets have forged ahead during the last two months and what appears to be a turn around in the Far East and the huge potential in China with their 1.2 billion inhabitants, I don't think the market for diamonds is going to be a problem. Hopefully with all the red tape and delays that Dia Met went through to establish a mine in the NWT, it will result in chopping off a year or two of Winspear's development time in the diamond game.

To: George J. Tromp who wrote (9661)	11/23/1998 10:51:00 PM
From: teevee	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 26850

Hi George, I will review a little history for you. 1. Mir is shut down and the stock pile of large gem is now gone. 2. Udychnia will soon close. 3. During the 1950's to mid 1980's, De Beers threatened anyone who bought from the Russians with being banned from CSO sites. Large retail jewellers like Birks for example, exclusively bought Russian diamond as the CSO had internally downgraded and corrupted their own evaluation system and standards because they could not match the Russian quality coming from Mir(you read it here first). Of course, and in order to attempt to maintain buyer discipline, Birks was banned from CSO sites. Who wants SA capes (off white yellow and green tinted garbage, regardless of size, from the CSO?)? I guess everyone if that is all that is offered. 4. DeBeers has all but abandoned the low end of the market. The low end is where price erosion has occured-the high end pricing has remained intact. I suppose that Diavik could make a deal with Wallmart-I see they are now selling diamond bracelets for$29.95 5. A long life deposit of large, high quality gem which can match Mir production in quality IS a very real and big headache for De Beers, if they don't controll production from it. I don't think DeBeers can afford to establish a reputation for second rate goods. Its the quality, not the quantity, that is of upmost importance here, as any good retail marketer will tell you, perception is reality. 6. The bulk of Nambed production cuts to stones from 8-25 points. George, I could go on all night here. I believe I have made my point for now. Thanks for the critical comments. They are truly appreciated. regards, teevee PS. WSP is the only diamond stock I own at this time, and it is the only one I care to own.

To: George J. Tromp who wrote (9661)	11/24/1998 12:52:00 AM
From: Digger	Respond to of 26850

We all know that any project involving the environmental concern will run into red tape that will extend any timeline. However, the type of operation being considered seems to fall within present environmental guidelines and since much of the labour needs can be met by NWT personnel there could be Native support. Hopefully these are some of the things that would be addressed by an announcement in the future. The subject is premature at this time. Winspear seems to have been holding their cards VERY close to their collective chests, I wonder if they have been using Dr. Bob more than we think for unofficial announcements>