Interesting perspectives sg.......

i don't believe Cliffs would free up 400 mil for a purchase. It doesn't make any sense when you have a sp on a tear, to waste cash on aquisitions. Your stock is the best ammunition you have to go shopping with. Cash is used to build infastructure and in turn increase output.

Mature companies don't buy on "what if's". They buy on known quantities and facts.

That's why the juniors play such an important role!

If one of them hit's nickel that would be great! If we wanted to get into the nickel biz then it is worth paying higher for the knowledge the resource exists. If we don't want to get into nickel then that asset could be JV'd with a producer and we can comtinue with the Chromite play. However, that is the part that I don't understand. We bought a great chromite resource (FWR) for a reason......to mine it. There is a hundred years worth there.......why do we need more? I don't buy some of the arguments that Big Daddy is a better resource. If it were then management would have bought it instead. They didn't! We bought FWR for a reason and that reason isn't to mine it 50 years from now after BD is depleted. That would be a waste of capital! SPQ and KWG were just as "for sale" before the FWR aquisiton...... so why would we have not bought them then....cheap!....instead of FWR?

I could sooner see a Noront trying to buy one of these juniors........imo..... let them! We control the majority of the JV's and we will control the transportation and will probably control the smelter if one is built. We have a major stake in KWG which holds the NSR. KWG can be bought out at anytime with no preasure to do so now, although this is the better aquisition ...imo.

Even if Noront decides to be a player they can alwys be taken out when time dictates. Again, I don't see the rush or the business case to chase this? As far as SPQ, FNC, UC, BMK and PRB ,we as Cliffs owners can only hope that they hit something so we can share the infastructure costs with another major.

However, I'm just a shareholder. I trust our management to be prudent and to act in our best interest. They've done pretty good so far. This is a great company and I'm proud to be an owner. I'm just speculating and trying to figure out why these juniors are on the move when there is nothing happening and no urgency to make anything happen.

A year ago we were considered a takeover tarket. Who know's? We just removed our poison pill provision. Do you have any thoughts on why that is being done?

Take care and best of luck

Carry