News

May 28, 2009

Gunson Finds China Is A Tricky Place To Do Business, And Turns Instead To The UAE For A Partner In The Zircon Business

By Our Man in Oz

Australian mining companies have been so keen to jump into bed with Chinese investors that no-one noticed the wallflower. Gunson Resources, until a few months ago, was a leading member of the “we love China” fan club. Today, it’s a different matter, with chief executive, David Harley, fuming about the way a deal with a possible Chinese partner in Gunson’s Coburn zircon project went sour. “The problem with the Chinese is that don’t consider they’ve done a good deal unless they’ve screwed the other party,” he told Minesite’s Man in Oz. “The world doesn’t work like that.”

The result of the split between Gunson and its one-time friends in China is that the Middle East has become the favoured destination for investors and offtake partners in Coburn. Shortly after Harley gave his graphic description of a failed Chinese deal (with some of the language a bit strong for a family-focused website) he was on a plane for meetings in the United Arab Emirates. “Not everyone is aware of the fact that the UAE has a very big ceramics business,” he said. “In fact, RAK Ceramics...