Letters to the Editor Pickens after coal, not gold?

Reference is made in your article in the Sept 28 issue, “Newmont pushed to wall by gold-hungry Pickens.”

The reader questions that Pickens is really interested in gold. He is smart enough to know that he would be out of his depth in operating a gold empire and that gold shares at 40 times earnings are not necessarily bargains.

What energy-conscious T. Boone Pickens is really interested in is Newmont’s control of Peabody Coal. One of the greatest coal properties in the western hemisphere, Peabody is controlled by Newmont and would beautifully complement Pickens’ natural gas and oil.

It is the writer’s belief that if Pickens is successful in obtaining control of Newmont, he would spin off the gold and other interests so fast it would make your head swim. Peabody could cost him almost nothing.

We must admit that this idea is not entirely original. It caught our eye as an obscure remark in one of the recent symposiums on the mining industry printed by The Wall Street Transcript. We think the commentator was astute in his observation. Time will tell. Gordon D. Stott Somers, N.Y.