Kelsee...
My wife told me I had to vacuum the house... this dragged me away from Agoracom and the TSX. I'm back watching a rather flacid market... so maybe I should be doing the washing. This is my ROI on 30 years of marriage. :))
Your discovery re: Novak and UC was a new revelation for me also. Curiouser and curiouser is this tangled web.
So I've had to ponder it, and wonder what it might mean for 2008. Here are my thoughts which I've put in three possible scenarios.
1) UC buys Spider. Two small junior forge a stronger relationship.
2) Spider does a reverse take-over of UC. Ditto on the relationship but with a twist.
3) Voisin and Novak prepare both UC and Spider for a take-over by a larger player like Noront.
Something in the way of a consolidation MUST happen at some point - in my mind later 2008. The present JVs spread the risks of exploration, however, when the drill bit finds the "good stuff", there will be a marriage of junior minors. The Noront AGM gave us a hint that this will happen.
So what's the twist? The reverse take-over idea may seem odd, but McFauld's Ring of Fire will be the key to this scenario, not Mexico where UC also plays. The optics of The Ring of Fire will be global. With both Voisin and Novak working the two board rooms, anything is possible if investors like IBK, Sprott, and Pinetree like the long-term investment story and the drill bit hits paydirt.
The final point with regards to these scenarios is the relationship between Voisin/Novak and Mr. Nemis of Noront. This relationship is absolutely key. Nemis has a very good track record. I can't remember what his age is, but I would bet that he would like to see a high grade gold/nickel/copper deposit with a mine in The Ring of Fire to be his claim to mining fame.
Just some positive thoughts for the upcoming weekend.
Snug