I like your thinking Herbert. Regarding the Voisys buy out by Inco, don't forget that it sold at a hugh premium because Falconbridge jumped in with what was considered an unrealistic offer. I believe Bill James was the Pres at Falco at the time and Inco & Falco were in competition. James was saying OK Inco if you want Voisys you are going to have to pay a premium. Everyone was shocked when Falco made their offer. My point is that we may not be able to use the Voisys deal as indicative of how the bidding will go at NOT/FWR/SPQ/KWG.

Lets first see if Cliffs goes ahead with their option on KWG in this economy.

We see what Xstrata has done today. They are desperate to raise $$$ to ensure their viability in 2009 and have offered a 2 for 1 deal. This is not a good sign for all mining cos. On the other hand VAle is announcing they are spending lots of Capital in 2009 to expand facilities so they can be in a good position when commodity prices improve. Go figure.