John,
Please read this March 20th news release again. It will answer all your questions about AKSEF and drill procedures.
CALGARY, March 20 (Reuter) - It is too early for Vancouver-based
Delgratia Mining Corp <DELGF.O> to make claims about the potential size
of a Nevada gold deposit it is exploring based on results from four
drill holes, a state mining official said on Thursday.
"There's a long way to go before anyone can say with certainty that
that's going to become a reality," Russ Fields, adminstrator for the
Nevada Division of Minerals, told Reuters in a phone interview from
Carson City.
Delgratia shares shed over half their value in Thursday Nasdaq trade as
questions arose over the project's value.
The company's stock price fell to 16, down 17-5/8, after more than
quadrupling since the beginning of the year. The price drop cut the
company's market capitalization by over US$273 million.
Delgratia -- which is associated with ex-Arakis Energy Corp <AKSEF.O>
chief executive Terry Alexander -- released results from four
widely-spaced drill holes on Wednesday and a company investor relations
employee reportedly said they showed what could be a deposit of five
million ounces of gold.
"These are widely spaced drill holes -- four drill holes -- it's not
enough," Fields said. "Our world-class gold mines in the northern part
of the state drill their properties on 200-foot centers. These holes are
as far apart as 3,700 feet."
Delgratia chief financial officer Eric Lavarack told Reuters earlier
that the employee's claims would be clarified in a news release later on
Thursday.
Alexander first made headlines in 1995 when, as head of Arakis, he told
investors a financing deal for a 950-mile oil pipeline in Sudan --
arranged with a Saudi prince -- was near.
Arakis shares on Nasdaq soared to about US$26 on mounting investor
excitement over the company's chances of bringing a major oil concession
on stream.
However, the stock turned volatile as questions arose over the validity
of the US$750-million financing. It plummetted to just over US$4 when
the deal finally collapsed in the autumn of 1995, an event that sparked
several shareholder lawsuits and, eventually, Alexander's departure.
20:33 03-20-97 |
