D-1.1 6-6 2 INTER-OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE Date: September 14, 1971 To: FILES From: Weston Bourret Sub: MEXICO - INVESTMENT CONFERENCES AND CONTACTS Ref: Following is a list of business executives, engineers, financial and mining people contacted by Wes Bourret and Hugh Douglas during the week of September 7 while in Mexico City and Xoxtla, Puebla. Phil Dettmer, Consulting Metallurgical Engineer to the Mexican steel group, Hojalata y Lamina, S.A., (Hylsa), presently operating four (4) HyL direct reduction mini-steel mills in Mexico. Mr. Dettmer arranged the visit to Pueblo and accompanied us on the inspection tour. Fred M. G. Sullivan, Administrative Manager, Placer Mexicana, S.A., Niza 12-312, Mexico 6, D. F. Mr. Sullivan spent most a day briefing us on Placers two-year experience in setting up a permanent Mexican exploration organization with a budget of approximately $1,000,000 per year. The Placer people made the decision to enter Mexico following long deliberations and study. Following instructions from Placer's Vancouver office, Mr. Sullivan pulled together a set of reports and documents on Mexicanization laws, taxes, regulations and other subjects pertinent to the subject of organizing an exploration company in Mexico. Stephen G. Kent, Jr., Director of Credit, First National City Bank of New York. Introduced by Drew Leonard. Mr. Kent set up a conference with Ing. Javier Ramiriz Figuera, mining advisor to the Bank. We were very courtesly met and supplied with mining books, bulletins and reports on Mexico. Mineral statistics, deposits and mineral commodity studies by Comision de Fomento Minero. Hylso de Mexico, S.A. We spent Thursday, September 9 at the Pueblo Plant, a new steel mill based on the use of reformed natural gas to make sponge iron from Alzada pellets (Colima) followed by electric smelting. Memo to FILES 9/14/71 page two MEXICO - INVESTMENT CONFERENCES AND CONTACTS We were provided with literature on the economics of the HyL process, or specifi-cations and general cost data. Reserves of Mexican iron ore are limited and coking coal is absent. Long-range problems relating to reserves for steel indus-try growth were discussed. Phil Dettmer had been retained as Hylsa consultant on plant control problems for the past two years. It appeared during the meetings that officers of the Hylsa plant hold Dettmer in high regard. Georges Ordonez, Consulting Geologist I spent most of Friday afternoon with Sr. Ordonez who is probably Mexico's leading mining geologist and currently maintains a staff of six to eight field men, a library and consulting offices in Mexico City; he also lectures on mining at the University. Sr. Ordonez was formerly chief geologist at Kennecott Copper. I know Ordonez well and worked with him on porphry copper investigations in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Weston Bourret WB/nam