National Post article
CIBC and Canaccord have 12 month targets of $5 and $5.25 respectively, which are more reasonable that the out-of-a-hat values posted on this forum before. Note the comments on Tan Range which is preferred by CIBC.
nationalpost.com
Canadian firms catch Tanzania's gold fever
$70M in exploration: Pangea Goldfields, Tan Range among juniors to benefit
Keith Damsell
Financial Post
Gold mania is sweeping Tanzania and two Canadian juniors are poised to profit.
The East African country is "a great area for gold," said Glenn Brown, analyst at Toronto's Haywood Securities Inc. Mr.
Brown and a handful of mining watchers expect Pangea Goldfields Inc. and Tan Range Exploration Corp. to benefit as majors
vie for bragging rights in the developing gold play.
Promising ore bodies, new mining legislation and a stable political climate led the industry to spend an estimated $70-million
(US) on exploration in Tanzania this year.
The country has been the centre of attention in recent weeks. Gold's October surge left Ghana-based Ashanti Goldfields Co.
Ltd. fighting to cover $270-million (US) in creditors' claims resulting from the company's failed hedging strategy.
The crisis led industry rivals to kick the tires of Ashanti's prized $165-million (US) Geita project in Tanzania. Among the list of
potential bidders was Barrick Gold Corp. On Oct. 19, the Toronto gold giant announced plans to spend $280-million (US)
developing its nearby Bulyanhulu gold mine.
Ashanti solved its financial crunch on Nov. 1 but Barrick remains fixed on growth. The company has a 50% interest in
Pangea's Golden Ridge, a 174-square-kilometre property that lies southeast of Bulyanhulu.
But Pangea is not resting its hopes on Barrick. The junior has locked up majority ownership of the Tulawaka property, a
70-30 partnership with Montreal's Minieres du Nord Ltee. Ashanti is Pangeas' last key partner with agreements to explore the
Bulyanhulu South and Kakindu properties.
The trio of deals win top marks from analysts. Partners must pay the bulk of costs; of the $14-million spent exploring Pangea's
properties this year, only $3-million will be drawn from company coffers.
Positive drilling results from several projects released this fall sent Pangea shares (PGD/TSE) climbing to a 52-week high of
$4.15 on Oct. 13. In June, the stock traded as low as $1.70. Shares have sold off in recent weeks, down 10¢ to $3.85 in
Toronto trading Friday.
"Pangea's been on a tear over the last month and a half," said Graeme Currie of Vancouver's Canaccord Capital Corp., who
describes the company as one of a "select few juniors" with great promise. The analyst has a 12-month target of $5.25 on the
stock.
The company also wins strong reviews from Barry Cooper of Toronto's CIBC World Markets Inc. "Investors may want to
look at it again because I can see this as a $5 stock," he said.
There's less enthusiasm for Tan Range, a Vancouver junior widely viewed as playing catchup on the exploration front with
Pangea.
The opinion is reflected in the market capitalizations of the two companies. While Pangea has a stock market value of about
$70-million, Tan Range (TNX/ASE) is worth a paltry $12-million. The stock has traded in the 20¢ to 60¢ range for much of
the past year, closing up 1¢ to 35¢ Friday.
Nevertheless, Tan Range is racking up a long list of big name partnerships.
In June, the junior signed a complex $3-million stock deal with Barrick to explore Itetemia, a 190-square kilometre finger of
land that stretches north and east of Bulyanhulu. Tan Range also has exploration deals with Denver's Newmont Mining Corp.
and Ghana's Ashanti.
Strong geology has made Mr. Brown a Tan Range supporter.
"I think there's more upside [on Tan Range stock] than Pangea," the analyst said.
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