LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — Directorships for Mulroney draw

Having followed the incredible successes of American Barrick Resources and Horsham Corp. over the years, I have concluded that Chairman Peter Munk was the moving force. At the same time, I was amused to read that former prime minister Brian Mulroney has been appointed to the boards of these two companies.

Readers will know that Mulroney, despite his stint with the Iron Ore Co. of Canada, is no friend of the mining industry and is especially hostile toward gold. It is well known that Mulroney encouraged the selling off of Canada’s gold reserves, among other things, if only to keep his annual deficits from topping $40 billion. Canadian gold producers were not amused that the Mulroney administration was actively selling gold reserves to help maintain the US$330-per-oz. price range.

Mulroney was naively obsessed with helping keep South African uranium, iron ore and coal out of the marketplace. However, uranium miners in Elliot Lake, Ont., iron ore quarry workers in Ontario and coal miners in British Columbia and Alberta know only too well what happened to world prices (and their jobs) for these commodities when South Africa slashed prices to maintain market shares in response to these sanctions.

We lesser lights were never able to comprehend that the purchase of South African uranium, iron ore and coal was apparently “repugnant” while the purchase of South African platinum group metals, industrial diamonds, manganese and chromium was apparently all right.

My guess would be that under Munk’s sound leadership, Barrick and Horsham will remain successful companies in spite of Mulroney. It would be inconceivable that Mulroney could do to Barrick and Horsham what his ghost did to the Progressive Conservative party in the last federal election. R.H. Posma

Oshawa, Ont.