Tuesday, July 12, 2011

 

Of course "they" needed BC Rail ... but "we" needed BC Rail most of all

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It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world:

Clearlease.com: Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) completed the biggest deal ever in its history, namely the $8.8 billion buyout of Bucyrus International Inc.



... Caterpillar is riding the wave of heightened construction and mining activity in the developing markets, triggered by the demand for coal, copper and iron ore. The company expects demand to continue expanding over the next decade.

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies ....


Read all about it HERE:

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-clearleasecom-caterpillar-nysecat-completed-biggest-deal-ever-its-/2011/07/12/5631265.htm

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Fortune announces Posco JV, mulls second partner for BC coal project

By: Liezel Hill
Mining Weekly - July 13, 2011

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Fortune Minerals has agreed to sell 20% of its Mount Klappan anthracite coal project in north-west British Columbia to a subsidiary of Korean steelmaker Posco, the world's third-biggest steel producer by market value.

The company still plans to take on a second partner for the project, which could start production in 2014, depending on how long permitting takes, CEO Robin Goad told Mining Weekly Online on Wednesday.

The agreement with Posco Canada (Poscan) involves an initial $30-million upfront payment, as well as Poscan funding its 20% share (about $154-million) of the project development costs. The group will also pay Fortune another $17.2-million based on future milestones.

The funds from Poscan should cover the costs of detailed engineering and design studies, Goad said.

From there, based on the capital estimates from a 2010 feasibility study, London, Ontario-based Fortune's share of project construction costs will be around $614-million.

“And we fully expect to bring in an additional partner that might buy a 20% to 30% tranche, presumably at a much higher price, and be responsible for a large part of Fortune's obligations to finance the mine,” Goad said in an interview.

Once production begins, Poscan will fund 20% of the operating costs and receive 20% of the coal produced at Mount Klappan.

The project has measured and indicated resources of 230.9-million tons and inferred resources of 359.5-million tons, and is expected to start up at an initial three-million tons a year of pulverised coal injection product from an openpit mine and wash plant.

Shares in Fortune Minerals rose 10.96% on Wednesday, to C$1.62 apiece by 14:56 in Toronto. The stock traded as high as C$1.72 earlier in the day.

RAILWAY

Fortune had initially studied and begun permitting processes for a project that involved building a new road to truck production from the mine to port Stewart, but received attractive quotes last year from CN Railway on a plan to extend and upgrade a rail link to the site instead.

“That provided a much simpler and scaleable transportation option, and it is also what our customers would prefer,” Goad said.

The company will be able to access the port of Prince Rupert, use Capesize vessels for ocean transport and share cargoes with other Western Canadian coal producers by shipping from the existing coal-loading terminal at Ridley Terminals.

However, although much of the environmental work for the mine and associated facilities is already completed, Fortune needs to go back and conduct baseline environmental studies on the new railway plan.

{Snip} ...

Fortune Minerals also has a cobalt/gold/bismuth project near Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter  

Read the full article HERE.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/posco-to-buy-20-of-fortune-minerals-met-coal-project-2011-07-13

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Comments:
Sorry to go off-topic, but...

I have been having an interesting discussion with what appears to be a very knowledgable commenter over at my place. The commenter is arguing vehemently that neither Mr. Plant nor Mr. Seckel could possibly have had anything whatsoever to do with the original appointment of Mr. Berardino as Special Prosecutor in the RailGate trial.

Feel free to stop by and have a look and/or contribute to the conversation if you like.

It is part of the comment thread attached to this post.

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FACT: Govt cant run a wheel barrow; too many moving parts

FACT: BC RAIL has more moving parts than a wheel barrow

FACT: It makes logical sense that a govt, any govt, should not be competing with private sector companies. Its bad policy on so many levels I just dont know where to begin to explain to those of you who just dont get it.

FACT: The BC RAIL Trial wasnt about the theft of BC RAIL from BC; it was about bribes and money laundering that certain low lifes in the provincial employ were up to

FACT: Campbell said BC RAIL would not be sold

FACT: A 990 yr lease is considered a sale by the INsitute of Chartered Accountants

FACT: A lease of more than 40 yrs is considered a sale by most banks; they will lend and mortgage the property

FACT: BVB were allowed a dream team of lawyers becuase the inner santum of the BC LIberals didnt trust each other enough
 
FACT: Young and Duncan are not BROWN MEN, yet they were charged and convicted, as they should be.
 
Jose,

FACT? No, you've set out an exceptionally good description of people who are called "FART-CATCHERS".

Oh yes indeed, BCSC Case #23299 was about BC Rail.

So you're in favour of private enterprise running everything: schools, prisons, libraries, the armed forces, everything, eh?

Silly goose.
 
The question Jose has about private sector vs. public sector is an old one and the arguments must be available somewhere.

But that pales when it is also about monopoly.

The privatization trend has been going on since I don't know when, I guess whenever the idea of the commons came up, or just general understanding about our shared lands and resources and then some genius suggests that since no one controls it they can just be exploited/sold/logged off/controlled.
 
"inner santum" - perhaps you mean "inner santorum"??
 
Bravo, BC Mary!

Jose:

How about that Bankrupt Private Enterpriseland to the south of us?....

With all those privatized wheelbarrows now missing their wheels.
 
Yeah lynx, no doubt - and note to Stephen Harper: don't forget to deregulate the banks before you're done.
 
Jose, do yourself a favor - read a book titled "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins.
 
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