very good questions doydie...and they are reasons I continue to hold.
I think the simple reason that Norsk want to team up with UMC is that it will be cheaper for them to own 75% of large bauxite tenements and mine it, than pay Rio for bauxite. I guess it de-risks their operation too (why have a multi-billion $ business that relies heavily on someone else). Also remember that world reserves of Bauxite are finite.. this deal they have Rio can't last forever.
Who says that Rio will mine their Kimberley bauxite anytime soon? Just because UMC/Norsk want to mine does not mean that Rio has to. Maybe Rio want to sit on their tenements a while longer.
My opinion is that BHP would probably offer cash for Iron Ore. The recent announcement gave a few possibilities relating to Camp Hill. If that doesn't signal a future long-term possibilities for the company, I'm not sure what does.
Also.. bungy234 wrote some very interesting points in his post. Don't underestimate their importance.
I will buy on dips, and am eagerly awaiting the new style of announcements that may emerge from UMC.
Joel
UMC Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
