arafura presentation and chinese interest

ARAFURA RESOURCES NL in prime position, refer to Alistair Stephens CEO, and position at conference, timed to speak at conference next to Martin Ferguson. { of all people, now Beazley is swinging against labor 3 mines policy } The following story is compliments of HC post 1163906 { many thanks } will boost Arafura’s climb to a prominent place in the resource world of URANIUM and RARE EARTHS. See Arafura website for full details as well as the Conference PRESENTATION 26/07/2006

REMEMBER the ARAFURA DEMERGER to a pure URANIUM COMPANY to be announced shortly, ie Very Soon.

Story Date: July 25, 2006

China Sends Major Delegation To Uranium Conference In Fremantle This Week.

By Our Man In Oz

Mr Wei, Mr Shangxiong, Mr Shouson , Mr Haidong – and their 19 fellow Chinese nationals are not visiting Australia this week for the fresh air and a game of cricket. All 23 of them are part of a uranium buying mission which will attend a conference, and have talks with Australia exploration companies. The size of the trade mission, and that fact that they represent a cross section of the Chinese nuclear power industry, should be sending a very clear signal to the political and business worlds in Australia, and elsewhere. Not that everyone is receiving that signal loud and clear. There are still people who believe that Australia’s complex system of State, Federal and Local government, coupled with remnant policies which inhibit uranium mining will also stymie further development of the industry, and investment opportunities.

None of the Chinese delegates to the 2006 Australian Uranium Conference believe that, or they wouldn’t be making the 8,000 kms trip south to Perth’s port city of Fremantle. Nor would the Chinese Government which is swamping the conference by allowing a mission which will represent close to 10 per cent of the expected 250 delegates. The truth about Australia’s uranium industry is that it is passing through a process of re-birth. The old rules, drawn up 30 years ago when no-one had heard of global warming or greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuel, are being re-written. While it is a slow process in an excessively democratic country like Australia, the re-writing is underway and the result is almost certainly a change which will see a dramatic expansion of uranium mining.

It is the Chinese buyers from organisations like the China Atomic Energy Authority (Mr Wei), the China National Nuclear Corporation (Mr Shangxiong) and Exploration Team No. 261 (Mr Shouson) who best illustrate the pressure being placed on Australian politicians by customers to dramatically alter the old Three Mines uranium policy. The Chinese are confident that Australia will become a major supplier of uranium to help fuel the expansion underway in their nuclear industry. That confidence flows from a series of meetings earlier this year between Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, and Australia’s Prime Minister, John Howard. It was not long after those two men met that Howard, Australia’s second longest serving PM, launched one of his cunning plans which will divide, and eventually conquer opposition to expansion of uranium mining – and create opportunities for new players in the game, which is partly why there has been a burst of takeover activity among small uranium stocks.

Howard’s plan started with the creation of a “Prime Ministerial Taskforce” to investigate the potential for a nuclear power industry in Australia – as well as reviewing the uranium mining and export industry. Headed by Ziggy Switkowski, a nuclear physicist and former chief executive of the national telecommunications company, Telstra, the first job of the task force is a political stunt because there is no way Australia needs its own nuclear power industry, yet. A rich endowment of cheap gas and coal would render any nuclear power producer uncompetitive. The real reason for including the nuclear power option is to give the weakening opponents of uranium mining a bargaining chip. Howard has effectively said: here’s an opportunity for you to have a win by rejecting local nuclear power, while recognising that the world has changed and expansion of uranium mining is not only good business, but good for the world’s environment – and the environment of our good friends in Beijing.

There are already signs that the bait has been swallowed. Left-wing politicians have been lining up to say that nuclear power is not an option, but expanded uranium mining might not be a bad thing. Some of the younger brigade are going further with Young Labor in the state of Victoria issuing a statement that backs nuclear energy in Australia because of its environmental benefits. State Premiers are mixed, some in favor, some against, as are Federal Labor politicians. The most outspoken supporter on the left side of politics is the Federal Resources Spokesman, Martin Ferguson, who will speak at the Fremantle uranium conference next week, but who has also issued a statement saying there will be “no nuclear power in Australia”.

For investors the political process looks to be moving at glacial speed. Most have no time for the antics of politicians, and fail to see the subtlety of the game being played. But, those who can are starting to take up speculative positions ahead of a series of trigger events. The burst of uranium explorer takeover action involving companies such as Valhalla, Redport and Marathon, is a sign of early-movers at work. The Fremantle conference with its heavyweight Chinese delegation is another sign of the external pressures being placed on Australian politicians to join the rest of the world. Howard’s curious inquiry with a term of reference on nuclear power which is doomed to fail is a third pointer – all leading to the national Labor Party conference early next year when even the left wing of politics will debate a formal lifting of the antiquated Three Mines policy.

Not everyone will be convinced that the uranium game really is changing in Australia. And, perhaps there will be a further delay as the left struggles to cope with a fundamental shift in its policy. A call of the card, however, shows that the forces in favor of change are profound. Howard has created a process which permits domestic politicians on the left to save some face while courting investment from China in the Australian uranium industry, either as customers or as direct investors – or why else is Mr Shouson from Exploration Team No.261 visiting Fremantle, with Mr Pekun from Exploration Team No.264, Mr Pingnan from Exploration Team No. 266 and Mr Gang from Exploration Team No. 267. Perhaps they just part of the Chinese National Cricket Team in town for a warm up before the Ashes tour?