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

To: teevee who wrote (17405)	4/2/1999 11:38:00 AM
From: Gord Bolton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26850

With regard to the grades you might want to be careful there teevee. 3.71 carats per tonne at US$157 per carat is going to be hard for anyone to beat. $10.00 U.S. cost for mining and processing. That is US$582 per tonne less $10 per tonne cost for mining. Unfortunately SUF has to share with DEBEERS from Marsfontein. THey will soon be processing 50 tonnes per hour from Klipspringer.(100% SUF) Let us all hope that WSP will be putting out some equivalent numbers in a year or two! 1.5 carats per tonne at US$350 per Carat less $25 per tonne mining costs would make me smile. Marsfontein M1 Mining Results ----------------------------- Mining commenced on 31 August, 1998 and as at 20th March, 1999, 195,135 tonnes had been treated to produce 723,631 carats yielding a recovered grade of 371 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht). The value of the 528,754 carats produced to the end December, 1998 was U.S. $83.34 million. Ten diamonds greater than 35.5 carats each have been recovered to date with the 5 largest being +400, 99.6 and 88.1, 42.7 and 42.2 carats respectively. According to De Beers, the +400 carat stone comprises 5 broken pieces with another +70 carat piece still missing. The breakage was likely to have been caused naturally as very few fresh breakage areas are evident.

To: teevee who wrote (17405)	4/6/1999 7:13:00 AM
From: Confluence	Respond to of 26850

Hello teevee, Thanks for the response; sorry for the delay in responding. As to the valuation differential between WSP and SUF (closing dramatically after today!), you say: "1. The initial valuations at Snap Lake are 3 times SUF's grades" Yes, but WSP's grades/valuations must be borne out thru larger sampling (being done), with the distinction that larger stones be found. This is a very large step. Also SUF's fissure (strike length over 30km) has been confirmed with rigourous drilling and testing along 2km to a depth of 500m, proving up over 2 million tonnes, with production to start in May/June. This is additive, or secondary to main mining operation at Marsfontein. "2. The tonnage potential at Snap Lake is over 100 million tonnes" This is wonderful; SUF has potential well over this, by linking the Leopard fissure to the rich M1 pipe, with the additional, large benefit of very cheap, quick mining, in an environment crying out for development. And SUF can expand production modularly, simply by adding production capacity in cost increments of $3-6million dollars. "3. Africa is in the grip of an AIDES epidemic and deepening violent..." Yes the situation in Africa is not wonderful. Witness SUF's ownership of the world's largest diamondiferous kimberlite pipe, Camafuca in Angola. Formerly owned (and drill-tested extensively) by de Beers in the 80s, it now sits as potential 3-4 million carat pa producer, waiting for hostilities to subside. Fortunately, the market has never counted this asset as much in terms of market value. While RSA in particular is going thru the pre-post Mandela phase, the real reason for Anglo relocating is that many of the larger gold assets (many of which have been shifted around recently) have declined in value, leaving Anglo (and other mining houses) struggling for shareholder value. This again points to short term earnings as important. Note also that corporate tax rates in RSA were just reduced 5% for 1999. Not a sign of a government unfriendly to business. "I do believe that SUF has good exploration potential in the NWT, given their land position in the southern pipe field. Given the price differential, I think the leverage is clearly with WSP" While Wsp certainly has excellent exploration potential, surely the drills turning at Munn, Margaret and Yamba lakes, along with the drilling at lac de Gras offer more one company potential than any other in the NWT. I will agree that finding a pipe at Hilltop will do wonders for WSP shareholders, won't the same be applied to SUF, especially given the relatively low market cap? Then again, yesterday's volumes may pooint to an answer. Thanks for your thoughts! Confluence