Hi P,
IDO has been assembling a very impressive package of properties around the Stillwater Mine and complex for several years.
Let's take a walk around the Stillwater property. Here's a nice schematic,..scroll down a bit,
http://www.montanaplatinum.com/platinum.htm
The red line represents the JM reef which is the big PGM asset on the existing Stillwater claims. This deposit is very similar to the Merensky reef (rich layered PGM deposit) in South Africa. Notice that it looks like a broken up snake running for about 30 miles from the Northwest to the Southeast. Notice there are gaps in the Southeast, and IDO has claims to the North, South and East of those gaps.
http://www.montanaplatinum.com/black.htm
IDO sampling indicates that some of those gaps are not absent, but due to earth movements are on IDO or IDO JV land. IDO now has staked or JV'd nearly all the land butting up against the Stillwater claims along that JM reef line. See the Fishtail creek in the lower South east corner. Notice how the red line representing the JM reef runs onto IDO land. Geophysics shows the JM reef plunges down at this point, but is open on strike and depth. Geophysics cannot see beyond that point, but it's likely the reef could continue at depth for many more miles. Just this portion of the JM reef under IDO control could give 1500m x 500m x 2.5m x 3SG = 5.63 MT or 6.2 M tons x .7 oz/t = 4.34 million ounces PGM (calculation by Pacific International Securities Inc using data from Stillwater JM reef)
The Merensky reef in South Africa has been found to have other reefs or layered horizons rich in PGM's associated with it. These reefs tend to be just as rich in PGM's as the Merensky, but are chromitite rich and called UG1 and UG2. Only in the last few years have the South Africans figured out that they could combine ore from the UG reefs with the Merensky reef to allow their smelters to refine this chromitite rich ore. Now comes the kicker. IDO has found through sampling outcrops on either side of the JM reef that similar chromitite reefs exist to the South of the JM reef(Chrome Mountain and Blakely Creek and the JV with Chrome Corp and Black Butte area). There is also a low sulphide, PGM rich zone to the Northwest called Picket Pin that runs for 20 km+, similar in charater to the JM reef.
montanaplatinum.com
montanaplatinum.com
The exciting news that happened just recently, is the JV with Chrome Corp. If you go back to the first map above, you can see a large gap in IDO claims in the middle of the Stillwater complex to the South. Well most of that belongs to Chrome Corp, and a large amount of drilling was done on that property in the late 1960's by Anaconda who was looking for copper and nickle. Layered above the copper and nickle is a series of chromitite layers. IDO now have the core, and are assaying those chromitite zones for PGM's. This was not done before.
http://www.montanaplatinum.com/pr012000.htm
When you are reading through the URL's, notice the PGM assays of outcrop material many times is quoted in ounces PGM per tonne. A lot of this chromitite stuff is very rich in PGM's and gold.
The legal issues with the claims are slowly being worked out. So far half the claims have been verified independently. Stillwater is constructing an adit through the Picket Pins claims of IDO, to access the East Boulder mine area of the JM reef. This is where Stillwater is disputing the claims. IDO will ask for compensation if it's claims hold. Management of IDO says the claims are iron clad. This is a rather small part of IDO's package concerning only a small portion of the Picket Pin area.
http://www.montanaplatinum.com/pr011200.htm
So the story is high grade chromitite PGM outcrops to the south of Stillwaters JM reef. Lower grade (8 gpt) but poorly explored 12 mile long Picket Pine low sulphide horizon to the North. And the eastern extension of the JM reef which has been followed for about 2 miles on IDO land, and could go a lot further on strike under overburden. This eastern extension is part of the claim blocks the Stillwater accountants let slip. I wonder if they still hold their jobs (gggggggggg).
Is it mineable economically? We are about to find out. The neat thing is that while other wannabee PGM companies in North America and South Africa trumpet that their claims have 3 or 4 or even 10 grams per tonne PGM, IDO talks about ounces per tonne PGM :-))))))))
Now to the share structure. Fully diluted, 32.1 million shares as of Dec31/99, but only 15.2 million shares outstanding. The Tomasovich Family Trust together with Theodore Tomasovich, who is acting jointly or in concert with the Trust, now beneficially own, or exercise control or direction over, a total of 2,064,765 common shares, being 20.69% of the present issued capital of ICMC. In the event of the exercise of all convertible securities owned by the Trust and Theodore Tomasovich, the Trust and Theodore Tomasovich, acting jointly, would own 18,389,671 common shares, being 69.91% of the then issued capital of ICMC assuming no other common shares of ICMC are issued. So 70% of this companies fully diluted shares are controlled by one family as of mid 1999.
http://www.gold-icmc.com/NR9904.htm
A trip to Sedar is in order.
http://www.sedar.com/dynamic_pages/issuerprofiles_e/i00005295.htm
2. FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 1999
a) Securities issued:
Date
Type of
Security Type of Issue Number Price
Total
Proceeds
Type of
Consideration Commission
16 August 1999 Common
Conversion of
debt 2,227,941 $ 0.127 $ 283,419 Debt None
19 August 1999 Common
Exercise
Warrants 2,227,941 $ 0.128 $ 286,045 Cash None
2 September
1999 Common
Conversion of
debt 2,466,681 $ 0.149 $ 366,400 Debt None
14 September
1999 Common
Conversion of
debt 1,172,847 $ 0.116 $ 136,111 Debt None
17 September
1999 Common
Exercise
Warrants 1,172,847 $ 0.119 $ 140,311 Cash None
9,268,257 $ 1,212,286
b) Options granted:
NONE
3. AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 1999
a) Authorized and issued share capital:
Issued
Class Par Value
Authorized
Number Number
U.S. Funds
Amount
Common N.P.V. 100,000,000 24,499,361 $ 9,653,485
SCHEDULE B - Continued
3. AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 1999 - Continued
b) Summary of options, warrants and convertible securities outstanding:
Security Number Type Name
Price
(CDN Funds) Expiry Date
Options: 60,000 Director D. Steiner $0.26 30 October 1999
50,000 Employee W. Struck $0.26 30 October 1999
50,000 Employee K. Scott $0.26 17 May 2000
5,000 Employee T. Weed $0.26 17 May 2000
150,000 Director D. Steiner $0.26 13 February 2001
50,000 Employee W. Struck $0.26 13 February 2001
100,000 Employee R. Young $0.26 13 February 2001
50,000 Director T. Tomasovich $0.26 27 August 2001
50,000 Director R. Young $0.26 27 August 2001
50,000 Director J. Vyas $0.26 27 August 2001
15,000 Employee T. Weed $0.26 1 April 2002
15,000 Employee V. Bachman $0.26 1 April 2002
50,000 Director D. Steiner $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
50,000 Director T. Tomasovich $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
50,000 Director R. Young $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
50,000 Director J. Vyas $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
50,000 Employee W. Struck $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
50,000 Employee T. Weed $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
50,000 Employee K. Scott $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
15,000 Employee V. Bachman $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
100,000 Employee A. Glover $0.36 (i) 7 April 2004
1,110,000
Warrants: 1,763,233 N/A N/A $0.70 18 March 2000
1,430,000 N/A N/A $0.15 29 March 2000
or $0.18 29 March 2001
932,608 N/A N/A $0.28 15 May 2000
2,466,681 N/A N/A $0.25 1 October 2000
6,592,522
(i) Repriced from $0.49 to $0.37 on 28 October 1999.
c) Shares in escrow or subject to pooling:
375,000 escrow shares
d) List of directors:
D.W. Steiner
R. Young
T. Tomasovich
J. Vyas
In summary, there is lots of options out there with low strike prices, but the property could be worth a lot too. This one is worth investigating further.
Just another squished hamster.
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