raadamiir Posted March 6, 2006 By Jamie Freed The Sydney Morning Herald March 5, 2006 RANGE Resources has attempted to quell investor concerns about its latest exploration play, claiming Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland contains a wealth of minerals and few security problems. The Australian-listed explorer took issue with a story in the Herald last week that referred to a border skirmish between Puntland and the neighbouring state of Somaliland. "There is not, from a company perspective, a 'violent' border dispute between Puntland and Somaliland," Range told the stock exchange. The company also denied sending teams into the disputed area, contradicting statements company secretary Peter Landau made to the Herald last week. Neither Mr Landau nor executive directors Jim Marinis and Mike Povey could be reached for comment on Friday. In its statement to the stock exchange, Range said its exploration teams had confirmed that Puntland contained gold, coal, lead and silver prospects based on visits to former mines. Range has the right to 50.1 per cent of all mineral and petroleum exploration and development in Puntland, and is looking for joint venture partners to help develop its projects. Range signed the deal with Puntland's government last year and insists the state and neighbouring Somaliland have been "secure and stable for some years with democratic elections being utilised to elect parliamentary representatives". But a report from the BBC last week suggested Puntland was not immune to violence or the threat of a coup. The BBC website said gunmen loyal to Puntland's planning minister entered the parliament building before being forced out by security forces. Two militiamen and a civilian were killed. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has warned against all travel to Somalia and does not maintain an embassy in the country. Asked whether the same warning applied to the state of Puntland, a DFAT spokeswoman said: "The travel advice for Somalia reflects our best knowledge over the safety and security of the country overall. "If we had advice the threat differed in specific regions, that would be reflected in the travel advisory." Regions are not differentiated in DFAT's travel advisory for Somalia. DFAT could not comment on whether an agreement with the Puntland government would be considered binding, because the state has not declared independence from Somalia's central government. Range rose 0.1c to 4.2c on Friday. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Mar 05, 2006 Contact:webmaster@hiiraan.com Copyright © 2006 Hiiraan Online Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ElPunto Posted March 6, 2006 ^^^^BUY, BUY, BUY, Range - it's a screaming buy! Good article - thanks. Too bad so little is known quantitatively about the country's mineral resources. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoiBoi Posted March 7, 2006 Isn't Range a Private company? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ElPunto Posted March 7, 2006 ^^It's a quoted company - since the poster included its stock price. Thus you can buy. But then, I am not familiar with the Austrialian stock market - I am much more familiar with the North American ones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raadamiir Posted March 7, 2006 Range is a Private company from what I know. If half of what Range says is true then Puntland is going to make some money. So will the rest of the country if we become one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoiBoi Posted March 8, 2006 ThePoint, You are correct it is a listed company. It very interesting what they have to say about Puntland. I found a website "Range Resources" they have a very interesting presentation. "Are they really talking about my beloved homeland?" [http://www.rangeresources.com.au/asx/ASX%20Announcement%20-%20PDAC%20Presentation%20(7-3-06).pdf] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
