<worth $200 million or more>
If I had that kind of money I certainly would, but I don't think it would need even a fourth of that. Even a small investor in the grand scheme of things can hold a major stake in some of these names. I was able to buy about a 4% stake in NGT for only about US$72K.
My model would be to form a mid tier "portfolio" exploration company with about $35- $50 million in starting capital, and take controlling activist equity positions of 10-20% in each junior stake, and really try to influence things, get on boards, do key financings, participate as JVs, and drive the exit strategy. Personally I can see a few names that need to be raided right now, even on an unfriendly basis it's gotten so bad (how about GEO or even TVX). Classic venture capital oversight model: find or create a pool of geological talent, give them some seed money and independence, but drive the effort towards doing deals with the operators. In fact, give a little to the buyer deal wise, to make them think of the portfolio company as the honest "wholesaler" (of the highest integrity) that they wish to do business with. Completely different model than the prevailing one, but capital is so scarce, one could be set up fairly quickly with the current crop of juniors. Anybody have that kind of money ($10 million could do a lot), give me a jingle. |
