take note, page-8

Hi Simrose,

Sorry if I gave the impression of over-eagerness as I am prepared for the to-and-fro of negotiations and all the theatrics involved.

I also agree with you that one approach will trigger other approaches as they realise that their wait-and-see time has run out.

I actually think that whilst a full takeover will reap us all great benefits the major benefit of that is the relative quickness of receiving the money. The final amount, once locked in, is all you are going to get.

However, a JV with RIO would provide an instant share price jump (perhaps not as much as a full take-over) with subsequent rises over time as the cash-flow and profits become a reality. In the end I think a JV would leave EXT shareholders better off as we would have a high share price coupled with continued ownership of IDA and the Uis regions.

Your friends' discussions regarding Extract Bannerman and the others is very, very, encouraging as that on-the-ground stuff is worth 1,000 times the theories of people sitting here in Australia. People who are there are aware of so much more than people who read stuff from the comfort of their computers.

I'd say that people working on each of the sites would share a drink and a meal every now and then and who knows what is discussed. My information is that the RIO guys at Rossing are friendly with the guys working on the Extract exploration.

I also look forward to a get together and meeting many people in person after having communicated with them over many years through hotcopper. Some good wine, some good food and good conversation will all go down very well.