St. Genevieve Res. seeks full control of Louvem Mines

A bid by St. Genevieve Resources of Montreal to buy up the outstanding balance of shares of Louvem Mines it does not already own has been announced.

St. Genevieve holds an approximate 56% interest in Louvem, which operates the Chimo gold mine, east of Val d’Or, Que. St. Genevieve acquired its sharehold ing in Louvem in two deals during the latter half of 1987.

The company says its offer will be conditional upon at least 90% of the common shares and 90% of the series A preferred shares of Louvem being tendered.

St. Genevieve has also an nounced it has reached agreement- in-principle with a syndicate of Swiss banks to raise in Europe up to 50 million Swiss francs, or about $45 million(C), through an issue of convertible debentures.

The debentures will bear a 5.625% rate of interest, have a 5- year lifespan and be convertible into common shares of St. Genevieve. The company reserves the right to redeem all or any part of the issue under certain conditions.

In August, 1987, St. Genevieve completed the sale of about $22.3 million worth of convertible bonds with Banque Indosuez, which was acting on behalf of a consortium of European institutions.

The company says a portion of the proceeds of the new issue of debentures will be used to purchase the outstanding Louvem shares. R:SURVEY dw Metals Page Feb 9 Investment attitudes

A survey undertaken by Johnson Matthey about the attitudes and purchase habits of Americans as they apply to precious metals has revealed some interesting statistics.

According to the survey, one in every 12 adult Americans has purchased precious metals at one time or another. And, among those who have invested in precious metals, 89% preferred buying physical metal (coins and bullion) to “paper” investments such as futures, options and mutual funds.

Among those surveyed, 55% perceive precious metals to be a long- term investment; 40% feel precious metals are a hedge against inflation, while 38% view them as a high- risk investment.