Sorry, I didn't say it clearly in previous post: I meant the volatility inherent in a closed economic system can't be made to go away so if you fix the exchange rate to get rid of exchange rate volatility through adopting a currency peg, you end up transferring that volatility to the interest rate instead. I suspect the same is true with risk (you only reduce it by paying someone to take it off you?) so reducing risk for the lenders to the Sandpiper project by taking over MAK and making savings on the cost of the equity finance must cancelled out by something else (the loss of the potential gain on Mehdiabad?). I don't know if I've got this right, Seals, but I am a bit sceptical about savings being trumpeted in one area are for real: new costs pop up elsewhere? You don't get something for nothing in corporate finance? I don't think we are getting the whole truth from Mr Jordinson: we are getting what suits our Board and what suits Mawarid Mining?
I think your suggestion about pooling the MAK and UCL stakes in Sandpiper into a separate listed Australian company, and having an in specie distribution, would be a great way forward. I agree our Mehdiabad stake probably could not be listed on its own and so would probably have to be retained in an unlisted (maybe dormant) company (to save costs), but I'd be very happy with that if it avoids unnecessary dilution.
Agree too about it taking longer than 12 months to recover Mehdiabad value, but the signs we will recover value should be apparent within about 12 months at most, I hope. Mitt Romney's latest utterances on Iran make very clear the Iranian regime is not going to get the know-how to make a nuclear bomb, and even if Obama does not share Romney's views, it must put pressure on Obama to act decisively even if you have to discount US politicians' pronouncements on Iran when they are speaking from Israel territory (they ham it up a bit for Israeli audiences and tone it down a bit when at risk of being booed/attacked by US anti war protesters?)
Can't think of anything else. All the best. Romney's words below on Iran in the 1 min 41 sec video clip.
