As promised ... the Roving Reporter has returned :-) Part I
I'll try to give a reasonably comprehensive report and my analysis of what transpired in AZ.
The meeting was a two day meeting: Day 1 we met with Managment at a conference table for several hours, then went to a separate location where their "lab" and analysis work is performed, and had a little pizza party that night. The following day, we were transported to the desert site ... a very large basin area surrounded on 3 sides by low mountains. I took a lot of pictures and after they are developed, IPM thought they might post some on their website.
So much for the travelogue.
The first issue, obviously ... is the presence of gold and other precious metals. It is important to note, that while IPM has their own laboratory ... they are still very much using outside vendors for their technical expertise and assay techniques and test equipment capabilities. Arizona has an extensive mining industry so there is a wealth of experience within short distances. They also use subcontractors to do the drilling (under their supervision) as they are very much in an exploration phase and the drilling equipment is only required sporadically.
There have been 3 assay techniques that are appropriate for the BRX ore and they each produce approx. the same results. Forgive me here for not being more specific as to exactly the values of the assays ... but suffice it to say IMO the figures released thus far are very conservative and will become more conservative as the assay techniques are further tweaked.
Tweaking is the essence of what's going on right now at IPM ... guys, this is an exploration company ... they have a huge amount of DIRT ... not nuggets ... not veins ... but DIRT .. you hold it in your hand and it falls through your fingers. Further, the very fine nature of the gold present in the DIRT is complicated by being mixed with other metals including Rhodium which seems to complicate the mineralization by masking the true quantities of gold and other PGE's. They have performed over 10,000 different assays both within their lab and in outside labs. Each of the assays has been cataloged and where necessary samples have been stored for future reference. Buckets, jars w/reagents and sediments, bags, etc. are everywhere (but orderly) as testimony to the huge amount of lab work that has been performed by IPM personnel.
A telling note here is how Le Furlong casually mentioned that he was a scientist first ... and I presume ... a miner secondly. This careful scientific approach is very obvious as IPM has very carefully worked through a process of exclusion to determine the nature of the metallics and how best to extract them at reasonable cost with high efficiency.
Likewise, IPM is researching numerous recovery techniques. Various gravity concentration, flotation and leaching process are being tried singularly and in combination. Virtually all of the recovery processes will return some gold, as approx. 20% of the gold is in a free state and very easy to recover. The remainder constitutes the "complex mineralization" and obviously no one wants 80% thrown out in the tailings.
There is currently a 200 ton test being performed outside of BXM ... we saw the hole where it was dug. Now 200 tons may sound like a lot ... but it really was just half a teaspoon (or much less) in that expanse of desert. That dirt was hauled to a 3rd party for them to play with using their processes.
IPM seems extremely open to anyone who has a reasonable hypothesis of how to extract the metals. The mining industry in AZ is NOT competitive to one another ... rather they feed on one another's successes to a degree.
While I certainly have a non-technical untrained eye ... it appeared to me a very deliberate and conscientious effort is being made to explore all the possible avenues for the recovery process.
IPM is NO SCAM!! What they have is very real and very demonstratable under the right assay conditions and using the proper cookbook.
There are several milestones in the near future which will, IMO, increase share value. 1.) A "certified" assay at Ledoux Labs in NJ using assay techniques developed by IPM's subcontractor. This successful result will open the eyes of the investment community. 2.) Following the successful assay, Behre Dolbear will be issuing a report signifying their satisfaction with the assay technique and a preliminary sign off on the drill results that have thus far been obtained. 3.) Later, assays will be performed in Canada ... not for relisting on any Canadian exchange as IPM could care less about that. The real issue is certification of extensive drilling of the first sq. kilometer for valuation purposes. With that valuation, the financial community will extrapolate the numbers to the entire project. At that time the project becomes "bankable". It will no longer be necessary to issue stock to raise funds ... they can borrow the money instead which doesn't dillute the market cap. 4.) There are approx. 1.4 mil warrants out which have a strike date in Jan/Feb. These are excerisable at $2.83 ... IPM is working dilligently to get the price well over that strike so the warrants will be purchased ... thus producing approx. $4 mil to IPM. The warrants have already been included in the Fully Dilluted calculations.
Regarding ownership of the property ... as usual .. it's a "earn in" process based upon IPM's ability to identify and ultimately mine gold. One critical date is coming up the first of the year ... and there is currently a negotiation in progress with the "vendor" (owner of the property) to extend the performance date. We were told there are extremely cordial relationships between IPM and the vendor and no problems are anticipated whatsoever in continuation of the existing contract. We were also told extensive research had been done on the ownership of the mineral rights and no problem existed.
Continued on Part II ....
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