The below article was just posted on the AEX thread.Bodes well...

The below article was just posted on the AEX thread.

Bodes well for CCI.

CCI will be selling most of their product mix in RSA....a strong economy means strong demand for foundry sands etc.

A strong rand against the A$ would be positive as well since profits are coming back to Aust.

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BHP Billiton Says Strong Currency Benefits South African Miners


May 11 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, said a stronger rand is good for South African miners in the long-term, as it is a sign of a successful economy.


South Africa's rand has almost doubled against the dollar since the end of 2001, crimping profits for miners who pay costs in rand and sell products in dollars. Miners including Harmony Gold Mining Co., the biggest producer of South African gold, have cut jobs as profits declined.


``Of course, it has eroded quite a lot of value,'' Vincent Maphai, chairman of BHP Billiton's South African unit, told businesspeople in Johannesburg today. In the long term, it is important for miners such as Billiton to operate in a successful economy and ``a strong currency is a strong demonstration of economic success,'' Maphai said.


South Africa's economy expanded 4.9 percent last year, the fastest pace in 21 years, as the lowest interest rates in a quarter of a century and tax cuts fuelled consumer and business spending. The government is targeting growth of 6 percent by 2010 to help reduce the jobless rate of 26.7 percent, the highest of 61 countries tracked by Bloomberg.