Maclod ,I think sometimes you look far too deeply into things .
The things that we worry about, being share traders ,quite frankly Xstrata doesnt give a rats about .
Xstratas/ Nkwes announcement will be delivered when it is complete , and will not be dictated by a few bad days on the stockmarket or even day to day PGM prices .The resource rent tax will be worrying Xstrata ,and not the stability in Thailand, which is an internal domestic issue .
The resource rent tax will be very positive for resource projects outside of Australia including Nkwe's .
Xstrata has alreaady delayed large exploration expenditure in Australia ,and their project portfolio will see some reallocation of priorities .
Some offshore projects may move up the line in importance,but I have no doubt that Xstrata ,in their own minds ,will have made their decision on Garatau already at this late stage .
PGMs are forecast to be in balance for 2010 ,after which I believe it is suppose to be in deficit for some years .
I believe we will see the BFS ,as soon as it is complete ,and all parties are satisfied with the final draft .
It is a shame for us that it wasnt completed while markets were more positive ,but the fundamentals will still be the same ,and I expect that the market will look favourably on NKP once Xstrata take up the option ,no matter what is happening in the general market .
I will just ignore the noise for now ,and wait for the announcement .
NKP Price at posting:
61.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held