(CNN)Chilean voters resoundingly rejected a newly proposed constitution in a referendum on Sunday.

With 98% of the ballots counted, 62% of voters rejected the proposal with 38% voting in favor, according to the Chile Electoral Service.
The new constitution would have provided full gender parity, added designated seats for indigenous representatives, and increased environmental regulations.
The constitution currently in place was written under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who ruled the country from 1973 to 1990.
On Saturday night ahead of the opening of polls Sunday morning, Chilean President Gabriel Boric tweeted, “In Chile, we resolve our differences with more democracy, never with less. I am deeply proud that we have come this far.”
The proposed change was initiated in 2020 when then-president Sebastien Piñera called a referendum on creating a new constitution amid social turmoil and popular discontent sparked by a metro fare increase in October 2019.
In October 2020, more than 78% of Chilean voters approved a plebiscite that proposed constitutional change, and in June 2021, they cast their ballots again to pick the members for a constituent assembly.
The Constitutional Assembly was the first in the world to have full gender parity and the first in the country´s history to include designated seats for indigenous representatives.
Supporters were hopeful its progressive stance would be reflected in a new, updated constitution.
Some waved flags as they celebrated the rejection of the proposed constitution.
Some waved flags as they celebrated the rejection of the proposed constitution.
And the constitutional process itself was praised internationally for giving the country an institutional way out of a social crisis, and for responding to modern Chileans’ demands for more equality and a more inclusive and participatory democracy.
After much deliberation, the final draft of the revised constitution was submitted to Piñera’s successor, leftist Gabriel Boric, in July this year.
But although most Chilean voters supported the idea of constitutional change back in October 2020, divisions appeared over the proposed draft.
Soon after the draft was made public, different polls began showing an increasing trend toward the rejection of the charter, with the government publicly recognizing that scenario.
The defeated constitution would have one of the most progressive in the world, giving the state a front-line role in the provision of social rights.
The draft put a strong emphasis on indigenous self-determination and on the protection of the environment, and would have dismantled the highly privatized water rights system. It had required gender equality in all public institutions and companies, and enshrined the respect for sexual diversity. It also envisaged a new national healthcare system.
But the project became bitterly divisive.
The right argued the draft would shift the country too far left, or that it was too ambitious and difficult to turn into efficient laws. In the lead-up to the vote, even some of its supporters on the left wanted adjustments made, with their slogan “approve to reform.”
Images from the country’s capital Santiago on Sunday show a sombre mood among supporters of the constitution, while others celebrated the news it had been voted down.
CNN’s Michelle Velez, Daniela Mohor W. and Jorge Engels contributed to this report.

Sept 2 (Reuters) – Mountain Province Diamonds Inc said on Friday that an employee from a contractor died due to injuries sustained in an incident at Gahcho Kue mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

The cause of the incident, which happened on Thursday, was unclear and all non-essential work at the mine has been stopped.

The mine is a joint venture between Canada’s Mountain Province Diamonds and De Beers Group, which owns 51%.

“The circumstances around what happened are under investigation by the appropriate authorities,” the companies said. (Reporting by Ankit Kumar; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Maritime Resources

Over the last couple of years, public companies have been arm-twisted into promoting certain people to meet diversity criteria. Of course, this has come at the cost of meritocracy and has become a rationality trap. Forced diversity does tremendous social harm, although when accepted as a necessity, individual companies lose out if they don’t have a diversity program. Fund Managers are hesitant to invest in companies that do not have at least a woman on the board of Directors. Big companies and even junior mining companies have been forced into implementing diversity. Here are my thoughts:

On Investments

I have written about Maritime Resources (MAE; $0.045) several times. I pay close attention, for I am likely the largest non-institutional shareholder. MAE recently released a news release about the completion of a feasibility report. The report is yet to be filed, but it meets most of my expectations.

MAE is trading for its lowest ever. It had a working capital of $0.5 million on 30^th June 2022. The quarterly corporate expenses are more than $0.6 million. This means that MAE likely has a working capital deficit today and must be desperate to raise money.

If they raise one-third of the capital requirement in equity, MAE will get diluted by >100%, even if they issue no warrants, destroying any upside. Investors knowing fully well that the company needs cash, have no reason to buy at $0.05, which is also the lowest price at which the stock exchange allows companies to raise money. So, I cannot see why investors would give a bid higher than $0.045 and not sell at $0.05.

MAE share price is stuck in a $0.04 and $0.05 range. And there is no significant news awaited to lift the share price. I don’t envy the management, and I certainly don’t envy my position as a shareholder.

A few years back, Signal Gold made a hostile bid for MAE for half of their share. If the same offer came again, it would be worth $0.20. I don’t see such an offer coming. Still, a merger with Signal would remove the corporate expenses related to MAE, a saving of $2.5 million per year, a significant value for a small company. Operationally, it would be a massive win-win. MAE has $25 per tonne ore as trucking costs. This should fall significantly if the mill of Signal is used. With lower operating costs, they can perhaps even reduce the grade delivered to the mill and increase the total resources. Signal would benefit from a higher-grade ore for their hungry mill.

What would Signal pay for MAE? I see enough value in MAE to get an offer between $0.075 and $0.14. Moreover, a three-way merger of MAE, Signal Resources, and Rambler Metals & Mining would significantly reduce the corporate expenses of these three small companies and provide several other operational synergies than what I have explained above.

What would I do now? I would buy MAE at $0.04, hoping that a corporate transaction would happen. And I do hope that they do not raise money at the current share price.

Jayant Bhandari

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