I did not say I ruled it out...I just said I "don't think so".
Anyway, its not really material...there are hundreds of licenses in Saudi Arabia. Who cares if 2 of them are the ones Syrah applied for or not. Bottom line is 2 of them are not available to SYR, and the other 9 are. If CGG has those other 2 then they have them, if they don't then someone else has them...
9 out of 11 is a pretty good strike rate based on how I understand things work over there...basically there is no public database available that can tell interested companies about whether a piece of dirt has an application on it or not...therefore companies are flying blind when they make applications. Not like Australia where a database exists which clearly tells you whether a certain area is available or not.
The fact that SYR was advised that 9 of 11 applications are valid shows how virgin Saudi Arabia is from a mining point of view...ie that the industry is still in its infancy. I expect many more companies to follow in CGG's footsteps. I am not aware of any other listed ASX companies that are in Saudi, though there is an unlisted one (Keffi or something) and a couple Aussie companies that are listed on AIM that are poking around Saudi.
As for the 'limit' being reached for CGG applications...as I said, it was 'What I was told'. Not going to tell you WHO told me obviously other than to say it wasn't anyone at CGG so if you want to check they would be the best to ask. As for me, as per my previous post, not really that fussed, as I think CGG have enough on their plate with Jabal and the very promising Bari prospect. However, if you find I am incorrect (or have misunderstood what I was told), feel free to let me know.
By the way there is an EXCELLENT article on Saudi Arabia and being opened up to mining, published in February 2009 (I unfortuantely only spotted it recently). If you haven't seen it, it is well worth a read:
