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To: John Hunt who wrote (34172)	5/19/1999 12:00:00 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116815

How's that song go? Another ones down, another one down,Another one bites the dust: (more silver but) Hecla Agrees to Acquire the Assets of Monarch Resources Limited Business Wire - May 18, 1999 05:31 COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 1999-Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)(NYSE:HL-PrB) of Coeur d'Alene and Monarch Resources Limited (TSE:MRE) of Bermuda today announced that Hecla has agreed to purchase substantially all the assets of Monarch, subject to financing arrangements and regulatory and Monarch shareholder approval. The definitive purchase agreement, signed yesterday, provides for Hecla to purchase the assets from Monarch for $25 million, comprised of $9 million in cash and $16 million in Hecla common shares. In addition, Monarch will retain a sliding scale net smelter royalty on future production from the purchased assets in excess of current resources at the La Camorra gold mine and any future production in Mexico. Hecla and Monarch will also share equally in a tax refund from the Venezuelan government which could, if collected in full, net an additional $1.7 million. The primary asset included in the purchase is the La Camorra gold mine and surrounding exploration concessions in Venezuela. La Camorra is a high-grade, underground gold mine that produced 51,000 ounces of gold in 1998 at a grade of 0.44 ounce per ton. Production is scheduled to ramp up to 80,000 ounces annually by the year 2001. By then, Hecla expects to produce gold at a total cash cost below $200 per ounce through operating and mine plan improvements. The property is located 300 kilometers southeast of Puerto Ordaz in the El Dorado District in Bolivar State. The La Camorra operation exploits two shear zone-hosted quartz veins that currently contain more than 600,000 ounces of high-grade resource, including Heclas estimate of 310,000 ounces of proven and probable reserves. At planned production rates, mining is expected to continue for at least the next six years. Based on deep drilling intercepts, management believes that mine life can be extended. The geologic structure of the mine appears similar to other high-grade, low-cost underground mines operated by Hecla. go2net.newsalert.com

To: John Hunt who wrote (34172)	5/20/1999 12:14:00 AM
From: Greg Ford	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116815

Basically, Barrick would enter into a transaction with a bullion bank in the over the counter market. They would contact the bank and execute a sell order for gold. The bank would borrow gold from a central bank and sell the gold through the futures market. They would then take the proceeds and invest it as instructed by Barrick. Barrick would be obligated to pay a lease fee for each roll period that it sets. Barrick with its credit lines could continue to roll the gold forward for up to 15 years. When they settle the contract they would enter into a paper transaction to purchase gold and offset the purchase price against the forward price. They would not delivery physical gold. They would however sell physical gold on a regular basis through the spot market. The interesting thing about Barrick's program is that they are now investing the proceeds in credit derivatives and other higher bearing interest products. This would imply that they are taking more risk to earn a higher return. Also it appears that they have a large number of call options outstanding. They may use the call premium to start forward sales. Hope this helps. Greg