xstrata poised to strike a deal with nkp , page-24

Well if we thought they had some spare cash in the earlier story, how about this one fresh from Bloomberg.

Xstrata Halts Spending on A$6.6 Billion of Projects (Update2)

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Xstrata Plc shelved spending on projects worth A$6.6 billion ($5.6 billion) in Australia, the first global mining company to suspend major work because of Prime Minister Kevin Rudds planned tax on mine profits.

The A$586 million of work on the expansion of the Ernest Henry copper mine, approved in December, and the A$6 billion Wandoan coal project arent viable under the new tax, Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata said today in an e-mailed statement.

I feel bad for any Australian that is affected but it can only work in NKPs favour. Xstrata have over 10 billion to spend next year on organic growth, if you add another 6 billion to the mix I would find it had to believe that we wont fit in to the equation. I mean realistically Xstrata could buy the whole show for somewhere around $1 billion.