players move to monopolize GOLD
Barrick Gold Corp. sweetened its bid for rival Placer Dome Inc. to $10.4 billion on Thursday, producing a friendly deal that will create the world's largest gold producer.It may be 'friendly' to them, but if our government returns to a gold standard, for the rest of us this merger remains very hostile.
Placer [rejected] the initial $9.2 billion hostile bid . . . as inadequate and opportunistic.
Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, the Reserve Bank and the government struggle to maintain a strangle-hold on what is reputed to be "the largest underdeveloped near surface platinum reserves in the world."
According to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development "small and medium mining firms . . . have smuggled minerals worth more than US$100 million since the beginning of this year . . . which have prejudiced the country of billions of dollars in potential revenue."Really? Or, is this merely a power struggle among thugs?
Zimbabwe's mining sector has largely emerged unscathed from the various economic challenges that have plagued other sectors of the economy. [imagine my surprise]
According to mining experts, mining had the potential to contribute much more to economic growth were it is not for smuggling and other illicit deals by some operators.
A number of new and expansion projects are earmarked for the sector next year, with foreign investors -- particularly from China and India -- showing interest in the lucrative sector.If it's not true already, all the GOLD in the world will be controlled by a handful of individuals.
And you still think GOLD is the answer to our monetary woes? Think again.
posted by qrswave @ Thursday, December 22, 2005
2 Comments:
Y'know qsr, I gotta wonder WHAT IS the answer to the looming problems? I mean, I am old enough to remember great huge hippie "earthquake parties" out in the mountains, just waiting for "the big one" to follow, for instance, the tests at Amchitka back so many years. I already gave up on my back to the land 60 acres out beyond out in the sticks...
We have government monopolies to thank for the constant struggle working Americans have faced over the centuries.
From money to technology, government granted monopolies have succeeded in maintaining constant inflation despite the deflationary forces that accompany high technology and industrialization.
In other words, through government granted monopolies a privileged few have been the principal benefactors of human progress and economy.
The solution is to recognize the problem and dismantle the monopolies.
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