and I want to play the devils advocate so bear with me.
If I'm Chairman of the BOD of Cliffs I'm watching my company's share value drop over 30% in the past few months , it's now a buck off its 52 week low. The price of coal is in the toilet and we've divested a major coal mine to solidify whatever value we can get. The light at the end of the tunnel may be a piece of swamp land in Northern Ontario that is inaccessible and is going to take billions of investment, from government and the private sector to get it on line. The government at all levels know that this swamp land could be the economic engine of not only Ontario but Canada for the next 100 years. The problem I'm faced with is a group of natives who want to hold my company to ransom.
So now I'm in a quandary, we're in extremely difficult financial times so do we bend over and give the FN what they want and invest billions we don't have and hope the governments step up to the plate for the infrastructure. Or do we consolidate our holdings and re-capitalise our existing operations to maximise profit. Also at these share prices we are vulnerable for a hostile takeover.
Perhaps the way out is to shelf the Chromite properties and step back, maybe wait a few yeas and see if it's a more hospitable climate. This would allow both levels of Government to work out the FN and infrastructure issues and then wait for them to come back to me with some reasonable compromise.
So now as a Nornot shareholder what has this got to do with me, simple without Cliffs or another major the James Bay projects aren't sustainable and don't warrant the investment of billions in infrastructure.
So back to the FN issues, at what point do McGuinty and Harper sit down with them and lay out the facts. Be honest with them and advise them that without the mining company majors there will be no mines, and no mines means no infrastructure and no jobs. That in order to get the miners on board there has to be give and take on both sides and that threats will not be tolerated.
These are just my thoughts , you can take issue , argue or agree
GLTA longs
Joe
