Ed's Thread

[sno43wolf]

CML.TO, have you seen this Ed?
BNN will be covering the takeover bid on commodities @ 11:30 Volume and support continues to show solid accumulation and support. You could see a higher bid coming in any day. Check this out! Click on summary to see the value of Crowflight, In the $Billions. http://shareknow.net/companies/1327

Could Xstrata top the bid? Things are heating up!

From Kristine Owram, The Canadian Press, April 7, 2010 - 2:51 p.m.
Resource-hungry China eyeing another Canadian miner: Jinchuan bids for Crowflight
By Kristine Owram, The Canadian Press


TORONTO - A bid by the fourth-largest nickel producer in China for Toronto-based Crowflight Minerals Inc. could open the door to even more Chinese investment in Canadian resources, says Crowflight's CEO.

"This is (Jinchuan Group's) first major nickel purchase inside of Canada, and who knows what opportunities it might bring for not only Crowflight but Canada, in terms of expanding other sites and exploring other properties," Mark Trevisiol said in an interview Wednesday.

The $150-million bid by Jinchuan - the largest producer of nickel, cobalt and platinum in China and the largest producer of copper in northern China - is the latest of several recent expansions by Chinese companies to get access to Canadian mining assets and gain future supplies of base metals such as copper, nickel and zinc.

Trevisiol said surging demand in the rapidly growing Chinese economy, combined with limited resources within China, means Chinese companies are becoming increasingly interested in Canada and its abundant natural resources.

"The demand in China is going gangbusters in terms of steel production, and we fit right into the stainless steel production equation," he said, adding that 70 per cent of the world's nickel is used to produce stainless steel.

"Last I saw, China was producing almost 40 per cent of the world's stainless steel, which is pretty significant," he added.

Growing demand for nickel has caused the price to rise from around US$5 per pound a year ago to above $11 per pound today.

The bid from Jinchuan Group tops a rival $102-million offer from Pala Investments Holdings Ltd. of Switzerland to buy Crowflight's Bucko Lake nickel mine and surrounding exploration properties in Manitoba. However, Trevisiol said there are hurdles that need to be overcome if the company's board is to recommend that shareholders approve the Jinchuan bid.

Jinchuan wants to buy 100 per cent of the company and 100 per cent of the metal produced from Bucko Lake and any other producing resources Crowflight may have in the future. However, Crowflight (TSX:CML) currently has a contract with Xstrata Nickel to process its nickel at its operations in Sudbury, Ont.

"There's different mechanisms that are possible, but we have to start discussions with Xstrata and with Jinchuan on what could potentially fit, if anything," Trevisiol said.

Crowflight said Tuesday the bid by Jinchuan and a partner controlled by Crowflight chairman Stan Bharti is valued at 26 cents a share. That represents a 47 per cent premium to the company's closing share price last week.

Crowflight owns the Bucko Lake Nickel Mine near Wabowden, Man., that recently resumed production. The company also holds nickel, copper and platinum group projects in the Thompson nickel belt in Manitoba and the Sudbury basin of northern Ontario.