Posted on 11/26/2005 5:32:18 PM PST by SBD1
Global News Wire Africa Analysis
February 5, 1999
LENGTH: 294 words
HEADLINE: AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...: FRANCEVILLE, GABON.
BODY: Cogema's closure of the Mounana uranium mine near here leaves sub--Saharan Africa with only three producers of radioactive material -- Niger, Namibia and South Africa (where it is a by--product of gold mining; Africa Analysis, no.307).
With uranium prices depressed, and unlikely to pick up in the immediate future, Cogema (Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires de France) has abandoned plans for a short--life open--pit operation at the nearby Mikouloungou deposit, which contains an estimated 1,100 tonnes of uranium. Mounana's 150--strong workforce, already shrunk from almost 300 five years ago, now faces redundancy.
Cogema has now put up for sale all the mining and processing equipment of Compagnie des Mines d'Uranium de Franceville (Comuf), in which it holds 68% stake. (The government has 25%, via French equipment contractor AEC.) This includes an entire 2,000 tonnes/day processing plant. AEC says all items are less than ten years old and have been maintained to French industry standards.
Gabon remains a major producer of manganese and has large unexploited iron ore and phosphate deposits. But the main prospect for a new operation lies with the UK's Reunion Mining; it hopes to develop niobium reserves at Mabounie, 200km from Libreville but already served by the TransGabonais Railway.
A feasibility study for production of 4,000 tonnes a year of contained niobium is almost complete. This should confirm that the ore will need only light crushing before separation of a pyrochlore concentrate for production of ferro-- niobium. Demand for the metal is holding up well, with the London Metal Exchange quotation for columbite (with a minimum of 65% combined niobium--tantalum) remaining in the $2.80--3.20 range since 1997.
Jacqueline Giorgi - Retaitée Chisa Fium´Orbu
Marie-Lucie Giorgi-Filippi - S.P Borgu
Do you speak French? Are the last four words an address? title? what?
On Post #21:
Retaitée Chisa Fium´Orbu:
Retaitée = Retired
Chisa Fium´Orbu = the village of Chisa in the mountainous Fiumorbu region of Corsica
Thats the same thing they said about 2003 trip!
Thanks for the translation. Must be a different one. Something about a man in prison....Signers to get him released.
Yes, that African group was in Baltimore for that meeting. Wonder if Jacqueline met with Valerie and Joe?
In the Senate Intelligence report it mentions Wilson went to Africa on 21 Feb. arrived Niger on the 25th. Returned US 4th. of March. Wonder where he spent the first two or three day's before going to Niger?
I know some French and I think that that is her title, not an address.
Just look at how many puzzle pieces we at FR have come up with ! We're much better than Fitzy and his team and the MSM. :-)
Obviously, my high school French wasn't up to the translation, so just ignore it.
If you can the CIA to pay for your business trip...why not? lol
Because it's dishonest and probably criminal? :-)
I read one account of a visit to Africa by President Bush where it sounded like it took Air Force One the better part of a day to return from Africa to the US. A commercial flight would probably take a little longer, especially if there was a layover or two. If you add a day for time-zone difference, you could conceivably have Wilson leaving the US on the 21st US time=22nd Niger time and reaching Africa sometime on the 23rd or maybe the 24th. That still leaves a day-plus to account for, though. He does mention in his book that all of his conversations in Niger did not involve his uranium investigation: "Not all of the conversations focused on the uranium industry; some of my callers were interested in discussing the business climate. . ." (Page 23)
LOL. Not a reflection of fluency as much as Googling :-)
It takes 18 hours ( flying commerical ) , IIRC, to get to South Africa, from America and that's not counting the time difference. But I don't know how long it takes to get to Niger; somewhat the same amount of time, I should imagine.
Oh, I see. LOL
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