|
Sometimes a little detail turns out to be critical.
I know of gold deposits discovered because someone asked what an old native name on an out-of-the-way part of the map meant. The translator looked and replied, "Mountain of gold." Survey crews were dispatched, and found the area to be just that. No one had ever asked about the name before.
Here's another little detail that caught my eye this week. One that just might have some significant implications for mining.
Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold is in my hometown Vancouver this week. Tonight a dinner is being hosted in his honor.
The interesting thing is, who is hosting him. The dinner is being sponsored by consolidated mining major Teck Resources.
This is odd. Teck has no operations in Mongolia. Not even exploration (as far as I know). In fact, the company has almost no operations outside of the Americas. Mongolia is a long way from home.
And yet they're covering dinner for the Mongolians. Could this be a sign of something in the works? Years back, Teck was rumored as a potential buyer/partner in Ivanhoe Mines' giant Oyu Tolgoi deposit, but that never materialized. Might there be something else piquing Teck's interest today?
Of course it's possible that Teck is simply being altruistic in supporting the Mongolian delegation. The company also sponsored the Vancouver Olympic games this past winter, without any apparent mining-related angle.
But the association does seem odd. You heard it here first. (Although to be fair, I heard it first from my friend
Dave Forest
|
