Good points ebear

1. $US is the currency of Ecuador. .....AGREED (for now)
2. $US is trending lower against gold. ....AGREED
3. State expenditures are running ahead of income. ..... AGREED, so is most of the western world.
4. Oil production is declining (6% drop in 2007, according to Acosta) .... Maybe oil co's are just fiddling 6% of their profits, look at my previous post re tax evasion in Equador.
5. Reserves exhausted in 30 years at current rates. ... WHO SAYS?
6. 3/4 of Ecuador's oil is exported. ..... AGREED
7. Ecuador has major copper potential .... key word is POTENTIAL.
8. Corriente is the poster child, invited to dog & pony show in China. ....How can you say that when we don't know what went on in China?
9. The Chinese have plans to build a port. ...... I have plans to buy a condo in Florida but it'll probably never happen.
10. 70% WFT* on oil and mining now in place. .... AGREED but it's negotiable and baseline has yet to be established, could be as high as $1500 in which case no one will be worried. Meanwhile we are all worried and speculating.

The below is from Safeharbour's post re The Perfect Storm.

Gold is holding over $825 and headed higher, 17-20 million ounces of gold in FDN/Bonza/Papaya alone. $74+ million in the bank, 30 some gold targets still to test, many copper targets to test, huge land position, locals on board, community centres, a church, helping local farmers get deeds to their farms, Aurelian´s community activities include local purchasing programs for vegetables, chickens, and frogs; local construction of wood products such as core boxes; use of local transport services for sample and people transport; and close dialogue with local and provincial governments in order to ensure that mining is part of regional development plans. Aurelian also has taken important direct actions such as local road construction and maintenance, bridge construction, provision of computers to local schools, support of teachers, and rehabilitation of local sports facilities. Aurelian has a growing nursery for use in reforestation programs and is committed to advancing ecological knowledge and understanding of the Condor region.excellent management- they're straight shooters, Papaya being drilled and two new target sites being prepped, 6 drills on site, airborne tests for western fault and NEW TARGETS planned this fall, still finding eastern gold, still open at depth, still open to south, Buckshot's 17 m oz and infilling from surface, 43-101 inferred 14 mm oz/eq add Bonza 500K oz= 14.5 million ounces gold and that's just our first shot at it ...moving another 100m further south with every NR, many holes in process/assay, Phase two will add many more bulk ounces to total, Ecuador wanting to be mining friendly-large-scale, following Chile/Peru, news out very pro mining, my royalty estimate is <5%, Sillitoe's report, Pacific International report, analysts' site visits. Patrick says enough to keep anyone busy exploring for 15-20 years,...largest find in 15+ years by a junior, recovery grades of 85-95%, 13-15 confidentiality agreements signed, interested parties on site, share price manipulation galore. George Bee is on his Bobcat skid steer right now building the ramp in to the sweet spot...Big boys testing the water ...trial balloons...Insitu prices skyrocketing...do you hear $300 an oz? No one is giving this baby away...it will be SOLD...best find...best prices...20 m oz $300 an oz insitu..$6 billion ...smell it...taste it...FDN will be sold leaving balance of property spun off for future exploration...

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At the end of the day we are all at the mercy of the Tax Man, all our worries right now are regarding WFT... put this out of the way temporarily and our worries are almost ZERO

"NO FEAR"

mercian9