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

To: Paul Bilecki who wrote (3485)	5/26/1999 7:07:00 AM
From: DennyKrane	Respond to of 7235

Tuesday May 25, 6:19 pm Eastern Time Canada miners committed to post-Mandela South Africa By Paul Simao TORONTO, May 25 (Reuters) - Canadian mining companies operating in South Africa are shrugging off jitters about the country's future as it prepares to elect a successor to retiring president Nelson Mandela. Despite concerns that foreign investors might be spooked by the 80-year-old Mandela's departure from active politics, major foreign mining firms have embraced the transition in South Africa with surprising gusto. Polls suggest that Deputy President Thabo Mbeki will lead the African National Congress to a resounding victory on June 2, when South Africans cast their ballots in the second all-race elections of the post-apartheid era. A Mbeki administration would be the second ANC-dominated government elected since South Africa abandoned white-minority rule in 1994. ''We believe that the ANC is going to stay the course and the country will remain friendly to foreign investment. We have had an extremely warm reception in South Africa and don't believe that will change,'' Placer Dome Inc. (Toronto:PDG.TO - news) spokesman Hugh Leggatt said. Vancouver-based Placer Dome, one of North America's senior gold producers, became the fourth-largest foreign investor in South Africa late last year when it paid $235 million for a 50-percent stake in Western Areas Ltd. and the prized South Deep gold mine. Placer plans to spend another $30 million to modernize the mine, considered to be South Africa's best undeveloped gold deposit, through to 2002, when a new mine shaft is expected to be commissioned. The company employs about 7,000 people in South Africa. The Canadian gold producer dismissed fears that a large ANC majority in next week's election could stir ambitions to rewrite South Africa's post-apartheid constitution or nationalize key sectors of the economy. Leggatt, a South African by birth, said maintaining the country's growing reputation as a pro-business environment was one of the keys to tackling widespread economic and social problems. Foreign investors, who initially feared the economic agenda of the ANC, have been pleasantly surprised by the government's determination to fight inflation and adopt a conservative approach to spending. Mbeki, who was groomed by Mandela as his successor, has gone out of his way during the election campaign to reassure business leaders that the ANC would stick to its sober economic policies. Mbeki has also won support from foreign miners who expect his administration to oversee passage of a new mining policy that would free up access to prized mineral rights. Foreign companies have complained that South Africa's minerals policy is antiquated and discourages investment because it allows parties to hold rights with no immediate intention of using them. ''The ANC realizes they have to be pro-business for the country to survive. If they do rewrite any business laws, they will not be Marxist-oriented. They will be pro-business,'' SouthernEra Resources Ltd. (Toronto:SUF.TO - news) Chief Executive Chris Jennings said. ''I think Mbeki is very business-oriented.'' Toronto-based SouthernEra, which owns stakes in South Africa's Marsfontein and Klipspringer diamond mines, recently acquired a $10.5-million controlling interest in Johannesburg-listed Messina Ltd. The deal gives SouthernEra a stake in two platinum-bearing properties in South Africa's Northern Province. The company said it plans to invest $41 million in the project during the next three years. SouthernEra employs about 300 people in South Africa. Ironically, the inflow of foreign mining dollars arrives at a time when the giants of South Africa's mining sector are loosening their ties to traditional playgrounds. Anglo American Corp. of South Africa , the country's largest and most prestigious mining company, recently decided to move its headquarters and its primary stock listing to London. The stock debuted on the London bourse on Monday. Anglo American was following a similar move by base metals heavyweight Billiton Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BLT.L). ($1=$1.46 Canadian)

To: Paul Bilecki who wrote (3485)	5/26/1999 7:20:00 AM
From: Confluence	Respond to of 7235

Hello Paul, All material developments need to be released by SUF. Since they have not released more information on Munn Lake, the inference is that nothing material has developed. Refer to previous years when a few dykes were encountered on the Back and MacKay Lake properties. If the people at SUF, miners of a dyke/fissure system in South Africa, possessors of an undervalued share price, yearners for a mine in the NWT, have nothing to say, then, thus far, nothing economic has developed. Note that the only dyke/fissure in the whole NWT that claims to be economic is that of WSP at Snap Lake, with grade and valuation still to be statistically validated. If you feel that SUF is "holding back", then please cite examples and your sources. If you know something, be specific. Or, better yet, call SUF. You may be surprised to find that Howard Bird, the man running the NWT exploration, has spent a lot of time in Brazil recently. Does this sound like the type of activity of a man who has searched for an economic pipe in the NWT for years, and finally has one? You can be sure that SUF will keep all technical data, like short intersections, detailed maps, etc. private. Why would a company, sought out by many others for their technical abilities, offer their proprietary info for free? In fact, other than with companies seeking validation from skeptical observers, why would shareholders want/benefit from the release of intricate details? We may be frustrated with SUF's recent price, although hope has bloomed in the past couple days, but be very sure that the technical abilities are top-notch. If there is any economic deposit on any of SUF's properties, their people will find it. Especially Howard Bird, the fellow responsible for finding the Sugarbird blow, economically mined last year to support the company through the dark days in the Marsfontein debacle. Watch for more discoveries and updates from SUF's other holdings, especially development and production improvements at the Klipspringer and Marsfontein properties. Processing of the M3 gravels, other M*? anomalies, preparation of fissure material for regular mining, new exploration etc., have all been underway for quite some time. This is where the tangible value of SUF lies. Don't give up hope for the NWT, but be realistic, realize the huge value and potential in RSA, expect positive developments from Brazil and Camafuca, and move your best hope in the NWT just a little north to the Yamba properties, as Vaughn and others would indicate. And thank the sellers for abating over the past couple days! Regards, Confluence

To: Paul Bilecki who wrote (3485)	5/27/1999 12:11:00 PM
From: VAUGHN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7235

Hello Paul This exerpt from WSP's Scoping Study might help give you an idea of probable DRY NWT dike deposit mine costs. A wet dike (under water) presumably would move that $87/tonne recovery cost, which is already high, well into the stratosphere. Dike material within the limits of the NW Peninsula that could be amenable to open pit mining was estimated to be about 720,000 tonnes, assuming an average dike thickness of 2.5 metres and typical open pit design parameters. An extension of the dike down dip from the NW Peninsula was selected as the basis for preliminary underground mining plans. The north-south strike extent of the area was similar to that of the subcrop on the Peninsula i.e. about 1,000 metres, and a down dip dimension of about 800 metres was selected to provide about 2,800,000 tonnes of dike material potentially available for underground mining. The study assumed extraction using typical open pit methods on the Peninsula, and an inclined room and pillar underground method beneath Snap Lake. Included in the study were preliminary estimates of capital and operating costs encompassing mining, processing, and site and infrastructure requirements to produce diamonds at Snap Lake. The study concluded that over a 10-year mine life, at an extraction rate of 1,000 tonnes of kimberlite per day, and an assumed kimberlite value of $400 per tonne, the project would generate a DCFROR in the mid-50% range, with a NPV at a 10% discount rate of about $235,000,000, capital costs of about $104,000,000 and average operating costs over the mine life of about $87 per tonne of kimberlite processed. Regards