life in pictures, page-18

Joel

one only has to look at the size of IOH's deposit to see that size doesnt really matter but quality does. the only thing about MGS agreements is that i am pretty sure the terms of such agreements have never been made public, hence what is the price you get for your product?

one must also consider is that if they sign a MGS with a major then will that scare away any potential bidders such as FMG as it is likely to be a binding agreement on the basis UMC starts production, something FMG would not want to commit to.

i cant remember who mentioned it, but if UMC were to sign a non binding agreement with FMG to build a rail spur and use their rail and port facilities or FMG showed up on UMC's share register then this may force BHP or RIO to get involved a lot quicker i.e. doing a deal before FMG makes a bid would probably prevent a takeover going ahead. This may also result in much more favourable terms under a MGS agreement for UMC.