boardroom radio interview, page-7

If you think that the latest Boardroom Radio interview with Tony Howland-Rose is a boring rehash of the recent announcement of Jinchuans director appointment to the AGM board (yawn) think again.

Apparently there is much more to the relationship between Jinchuan and AGM than first meets the eye.

You are probably all aware that after the 2006 National Peoples Congress Jinchuan were told to increase their nickel production well beyond what they had planned. They planned to double production to 200000 tpa by 2010- but were told to come up with around double that.

As a result there was a hasty and agressive program of investment to tie up any nickel prospect throughout the world before the other major nickel producers realised the implications of the new program announced at the congress.

Jinchuan did achieve a big jump on the other major nickel producers, who have had to settle for mergers and aquisitions and bringing forward projects. But it left Jinchuan investing in nickel projects held by some pretty inexperienced and/or poorly managed companies. In this category is a very large Laterite nickel project located in a remote location in WA.

Where AGM fits into this picture is yet to be announced. But it seems a significant role is being discussed and that announcements will be forthcoming early next year.

Astute observers would have realised that "significant discussions" had taken place at the time of the APEC conferance when Li Yongjun was in Australia.

Tony Howland-Roses interview marks the start of a new era for AGM, and will be remembered as a landmark speech.

Meanwhile Ill let the lightweights get on with their meaningfull discussions as to whether the startup of Avebury will be delayed for a fornight becuse someone plumbed in a pump backwards, or that the SP dropped 3.5c today because investors in the USA panicked and sold some shares in unrelated companies.