On the face of it I think its fair to assume that EXT will be...

On the face of it I think its fair to assume that EXT will be the first and only cab of the takeover/equity buy-in rank. If the stated intentions of the Chinese alone are to be taken seriously then unless they make some approach to EXT, they are simply joining the ranks of explorers, and thats the long, risky way to reach this target. Its interesting that 400mlbs is the figure being bandied about, lets face it, the only other contender in the medium term at least is PDN, who have recently enjoyed rather clumsily masked increase in Russian ownership. BMN et al simply do not even come close to these numbers. Namibia might glow in the dark but its not a big country. RS sits on clearly characteristic geology that would have been pounced on by now (thankyou PM), were it to exist similarly in other parts of the country. RS is likely to be the only area in Namibia where such a concentration exists.
Given current EXT registry composition, they (the Chinese) do not need RIO's acquiescence on anything assuming RIO adopted the role of the party sulk. As I've said before, 75% of EXT is on the block right now all day/every day and 75% is more than effective control. As for the rest of the EXT register, we are all first generation investors and first generation profits in the resource caper come from take overs and BFS's. Once its a producer its a bottom line/commodity price story like all the rest. I'd wager very few of us will still be here then.