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

To: Gord Bolton who wrote (2427)	2/6/1999 1:06:00 PM
From: buylowsellhigh	Respond to of 7235

Too bad for the AmbASSador! He'll probably bill the Canadian taxpayer for the medical treatment!

To: Gord Bolton who wrote (2427)	2/6/1999 2:16:00 PM
From: DavidA	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7235

National Post - South Africa's rich mineral resources have attracted investment from Canadian companies like Placer Dome. South African violence fails to deter investors. Every problem is an opportunity, and Martin Nicol, Senior trade Commissioner for South Africa in Toronto, says the recent crime wave sweeping his homeland is no exception. “There are some really embarrassing things that happen says Mr. Nicol”. In one area of Johannesburg the phone service was down for a week because the copper cables had been dug up and stolen. That, he notes presents an opportunity for providers of cellular phone service such as Nothern Telecom Ltd of Brampton Ont, which has recently opened an office in Johannesburg and signed deals in Southern Africa. “At least”, says Mr Nicol, laughing, “there's no wire to steal”. And Canadian business leaders said yesterday that crime will not deter them from investing in South Africa, with its rich mineral deposits and opportunity for bringing much needed infrastructure to poorly served regions that are home to South Africa's black majority. Still it has been a bad week for foreigners in South Africa. On Wednesday, a gunman in Johannesburg shot and killed the regional head of South Korean industrial giant Daewoo. Then on Thursday in Cape Town an intruder posting as a repair man got into the hotel room James Bartleman, Canada's high commissioner to South Africa. The man broke Mr. Bartlemans nose and tied him to a chair before cleaning the valuables out of his room. Because of the assault, Mr.Bartleman missed the valedictory speech of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's outgoing president, who admitted to parliament that the level of attacks is rather to high. “Turning the tide against crime cannot be achieved over night”, Mr Mandela said, but pointing to training for detectives and tough new laws , he said. We can and shall break out of this bog. There is hope. He spoke as investors and miners around the world, including many from Canada, gathered in Cape Town for an annual conference on mining in Africa. Last year Placer Dome Inc. , the Vancouver based gold giant, expressed its confidence in South Africa when it spent $235-million US on a 50% stake in a mine known as South Deep, which has reserves of 52 million ounces of gold.It's a developing country and its a good place to be for investment, says Hugh Leggatt, Placer Domes spokesman”. And as companies like ours succeed, we hope the situation will improve. Bringing blacks into the top ranks of companies is a way to spread wealth and reduce violence Mr. Nicol argues and Placer Domes agrees. In its deal its joint venture partner, Western Areas Ltd., is a 45% owned by JCI Gold, whose chairman Wiseman Nkuhlu, is a leader of South Africa's black empowerment movement. “We've started of on a good footing there”, says Mr. Leggatt. ”We're being made to feel welcome”. Still security is paramount. In two weeks Alan Bell, the president of the security firm Globe Risk Holdings Inc., heads to Johannesburg to look over a building in Soweto where a Canadian mining firm has plans to set up its offices. There's a lot of things wrong with South Africa, says Mr. Bell. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. Still some ventures are prospering. Yesterday on a remote cattle ranch in the Northern Province , SOUTHERNERA RESOURCES LTD., the Toronto based wunderkind in diamond mind prospecting and mining, inked a deal with De Beers Consolidated mines Ltd, that finally put to rest a long dispute over a very lucrative cache. The deal grants De Beers the marketing rights for diamonds for SouthernEra's Klipspringer project , including it's Marsfontein joint venture with De Beers. “De Beers and SuthernEra are confident that the signing of these agreements today will lead to a partnership beneficial to both parties and possible collaboration in future exploitation ventures” the firms said in a joint release.