Rambler's Strategy

Rambler's strategy is to identify opportunities for acquisition, exploration and development of base metal deposits in countries with perceived low political risk. The Directors have experience in the complete cycle of base metal mining exploration, mine development, fund raising, metals and concentrate trading and commercial negotiations with the shipping and smelting industries.

There are two core components of the Board's outlook for the base metals and mining industry:

• The dominant, global demographic trends of economic and population growth in India, China and the other Asian countries should create stronger demand for natural resources including energy and metals. According to the UN's latest World Population Prospects released in February 2005, the world's population will increase from 6.5 billion people today to 9.1 billion people in 2050 with almost all the growth in the developing world. This same report forecasts that there will be 1.395 billion people in India in the year 2025 and 1.441 billion people in China in 2025. By the end of this decade China, which accounted for only 10 per cent of metals production in 1990, is estimated to consume 30 per cent of global metals production.
• As a result of the relatively low prices for base metals during the late 1990's and early years of the current decade, exploration and development budgets of base metal companies were reduced, with the result that the number of significant new projects able to be brought on stream is not likely to meet the rising demand, in particular from Asia. By way of an example, the copper market was in a deficit of 700,000 tons during 2004 and some market forecasters have the copper market in deficit well beyond 2011. Rambler's business development strategy will be guided by these views and will seek to identify emerging projects or former producing projects that meet Rambler's criteria.