Ann: Mineral Resources Shareholding in Essential Metals, page-39

I doubt TLEA will get up given recent prices and the fact that MIN are now sitting on quite a few shares - having taken a profit last Friday on about 2/3 of my holding I will vote no and see what eventuates.

MIN it would appear have bought up into the 58s which may have been necessary to establish their "seat at the table" but that does not mean they are going to come in at an offer of 65c / 75c as some have suggested if/when they do launch a bid. If as it appears they are interested in acquiring ESS as you would assume they are now with their recent purchases they will want to get it as cheaply as possible - they will clearly vote no to TLEA

Question is will TLEA make a revised offer - if they do not then MIN is the only player and I think this would dictate how much they need to offer to get a deal done. A possible scenario - TLEA's offer falls over they may or may not offer more if they do not the SP will likely drop and MIN can come in at say 55/60c and probably get their offer accepted in the absence of any alternatives. Another scenario - TLEA does not progress - MIN sits on their present shareholding and does nothing for the moment say 6 months - the SP drops and they come back in later with a 50c offer.

Much depends now on what TLEA do - if they raise the stakes and lob in with say 60/65c it could spark a bidding war depending on how badly MIN want the ground and how much they are prepared to pay for it.

It will be an interesting couple of weeks