Vertical Pulse

Uranium Exploration

There was a huge glut of uranium from about 1978 to 2004. Many of the uranium geologists left the industry. Then in about 2002, many geologists came back to uranium as uranium prices started to soar due to the shortage. Most of the founders of the current crop of uranium exploration companies are older people. Uranium is destined to stay hot due to the nuclear reactors being built in China. About 20% of the nuclear fuel used in the US comes from Russian nuclear warheads. In 2004, in the state of Wyoming (which is where most of the Uranium is in the US) there were about 10 permits granted for uranium exploration. In 2006, there were about 17,000 permits granted for uranium exploration. However, almost all uranium activity in the US is exploration. There is currently very little production of uranium from these exploration activities in Wyoming.

These are some of the issues that will be discussed at IncreMental Advantage's Metals and Mining Conferences. For more information about these conferences, please visit www.incrementaladvantage.com or send an email to neomi@incrementaladvantage.com.

Wisdom of Compensating with Stock Options

During IncreMental Advantage's Structuring Private Equity Transactions Conference there was some debate about the merits of companies compensating their employees with stock options.

One the one hand, the advantages of compensating employees with stock include - cash is tight at small companies and lots of money can be made through exercising stock options at successful companies.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of compensating employees with stock options include:

• Rank and file employees are skeptical of the value of stocks that fluctuate significantly;
• Private equity investors believe that they are giving away too much value;
• Employees spend too much time monitoring the price of the stock; and,
• When the stock price falls, employees become discouraged.

These are some of the issues that are discussed at IncreMental Advantage's Mergers and Acquisitions Due Diligence and Private Equity Conferences.

Demand for Gold in China and India

Mainland China purchased 31% more gold in the first quarter of 2007--almost 90 metric tons--compared to the first quarter of 2006. Demand in India soared even more dramatically--up 50%, or 211 metric tons, in the first quarter of 2007 versus the first quarter of 2006.

These are some of the issues that are discussed at IncreMental Advantage's Metals and Mining Conferences. More information is available at www.incrementaladvantage.com.

Searching for Copper

There was an interesting article in a recent issue of The Wall Street Journal about mining companies exploring for metals such as gold, silver and copper in increasingly remote and dangerous parts of the world. Partly because of China's insatiable demand for copper, mining companies are exploring for copper in places as inhospitable to business as Afghanistan and the Congo. (China's copper imports surged nearly 50% over the past year.) While these regions have almost no infrastructure (and expect that western mining companies build a great deal of infrastructure as a condition of doing business in these countries) and plenty of strife, they often offer rich veins of metals. For instance, in some areas, the Congolese copper is so close to the surface that it spills out onto the ground and is visible from satellite imagery.

These are some of the issues that will be discussed at IncreMental Advantage's Metals and Mining Investment Conferences. Further information is available by contacting Neomi Brazen at Neomi@incrementaladvantage.com or at www.incrementaladvantage.com.