Bigdude:
I have a great deal of respect for your postings.
My concern about this whole thing is that people need to act on the basis of FACTS, not rumors. Apart from copyright, I did not feel good about posting the artcle from Bridge last night because it lends currency to rumors. But I also felt people have a right to know.
Right now, all we have is a rumor that someone from Freeport said they found some "discrepancies." Even the "confirmation" from Askitando is merely a confirmation that they, too, had heard the rumor about the "discrepancies," not that they know from first hand knowledge that the rumors are true.
Either the gold is there or it isn't. If it is, then this is all so much noise. If it isn't, then Bre-X, after having recklessly told the world they made the find of the century, is going to be faced with the lawsuit of the century. Co-defendant no. 1 will likely be Kilborn Engineering.
Bre-X management's reputation would be dirt. They could kiss off any future credibility for Bresea or Bro-X, assuming, of course, that those entities could survive any judgment from the big lawsuits Chorny and who knows who else would surely file if the deposit turned out not to be what Bre-X says it is. Felderhoff would not be able to get a job as dog-catcher in Timbuctu. Kilborn would be even worse off. You say their role was limited, that they did no independent drilling. Where's the disclaimer in their press-releases or the report itself? In any event, IMHO, it does not matter if their role was limited in this thing. Having been burned once, people simply will not believe them in the future.
Also, Kilborn's role may be limited, but doesn't Felderhoff have a reputation as a straight-arrow conservative to protect? What would he think he has to gain by overstating the size of the deposit?
I don't think Bre-X management is dirt, and I don't think Felderhoff or Kilborn would throw away their reputation. On something as high visibility as this, I would expect everyone to take extra care with resdpect to the geology to make sure their claims about the size of the deposit are grounded in fact. We shall see.
In any event, I will decide what to do when I see definitive statements from some or all of Bre-X, Kilborn and Freeport. As I said last night, Freeport should either put up and cancel the deal or shut up by putting an end to these rumors from sources inside their company, if, in fact, that's where the rumors are coming from. Freeport, as Bre-X's partner, is now Bre-X's fiduciary. Freeport therefore has a fiduciary obligation not to hose Bre-X.
The last time something like this happened was in December when rumors circulated that Bre-X's COW got cancelled. Bre-X halted trading, IMHO in order to save small investors from selling prematurly on the basis of unfounded rumors. Things turned out OK after that. Let's hope the same is true now. |
