Federal Cabinet investments?

Here we go again. Why do these people continue to wonder why so few people bother to vote?

Two weeks before the Cabinet announced to the public that they had decided to not allow the Prosperity mine owned byTaseko Mines Limited to go ahead for environmental reasons, they were in a secret huddle, and it was at this meeting, apparently, that they decided not to allow this CAD 3 billion (NPV) mine to go ahead.

However, the very next day after their secret meeting, and therefore two weeks before the announcement to the public, over 13 million shares were traded in one day, well over 10 times the normal number for this stock to be traded in one day on the TSX, and at one point, 2.7 million shares were sold in less than a minute. Yet when the opposition asked questions of the Government as to whether or not they thought there had been a leak, all they got back was the cabinet individuals saying that they had done the right thing by the Canadian public and that was to stop the mine for environmental reasons. What was really interesting about this part of the saga was that the opposition never insisted on the Government answering the question: Was there, or was there not a leak?

Maybe some members of the opposition were also in on the racket of shorting a falling stock and making a fortune; after all, as I understand it, they all drink in the same pub after work, if you can call yelling at each other in the name of discussion, work. Remember that this was all done before the average shareholder even had time to instruct their broker to sell and so they lost large sums of money as a direct result of somebody leaking (secret, at the time) information.

Interestingly we now have a Class Action Suit going ahead on behalf of those who lost money on this nose diving stock. Taseko lost some 40% of its value in that one day of trading.

I can hardly wait for all the denials and cover-ups that will come our way in the, hopefully, near future. I am afraid that I will still be looking for the 'None of the Above' box on my voting paper next time round.

The Potash Mine Takeover

Let's get one thing straight right from the start, this is not a Canadian mine. It is an American mine situated in Canada.

I do not think that the political reasons for the refusal to allow the takeover which are being touted by 'the experts' on the CBC, are the real ones. Of course people wil say that the decision was made based on the fact that there is a minority government that does not want to get into trouble with the opposition for selling Canadian resources down the road; but I am sure the real reason has more to do with the vast investments made by the Americans in the Oil Sands than anything else.

Think about it. With the price of Potash at around $340 a ton, and the American owners making a tidy profit at the moment, why would they want to see their profitable asset taken over before the mine becomes un profitable again in a few years. Why unprofitable? Because the Chinese have an equally large mine coming on stream in 2015 and the Argentinians have another one coming on stream even sooner, and when these two are up and working, the rarity value of the product is bound to come down and hence the price.

As we do nothing but bow to the American's every whim as we live under the Harper (US) dictatorship, this seems to make a lot more sense than most of the arguments I have heard or read so far.

What should have been done is to allow the takeover on the condition that the shares are traded on the TSE, and that way we can all enjoy the profitable ride for the moment and let's see if the Americans try and block it, instead of instructing the Canadians to do it.

In closing, let me say that I was involved with both the Oil Sands and the Potash mine when I was a Management Consultant, a few years ago.