Golden Eagle Projects Future Progress in Conference Call Company's Story Told in Detail
Friday January 17, 9:01 am ET
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Golden Eagle International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MYNG - News) announced today that its President & CEO, Terry C. Turner, hosted a conference call on Wednesday, January 15, to update investors on the status of its gold mining project in Bolivia.
"Our fundamentals continue to improve rapidly," said Company President and CEO, Terry C. Turner. "Now that we are producing gold every day, and have projected major expansions of our production, we should begin to attract the attention of those investors looking to participate in the phenomenal potential for our sector."
The hour-long conference call had participants from Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America. Shareholders, interested investors, brokers, analysts and fund managers listened to a detailed presentation on Golden Eagle's successful 2002, in which the Company reached or surpassed all of the milestones that it had set out to achieve. Among the accomplishments were the funding and building of Golden Eagle's first-phase 1,000 ton per day production plant and gold mine in Cangalli, Bolivia. In the fourth quarter, the Company also doubled its production capacity to 2,000 tons per day; processed 92,700 tons of ore; recovered a gold grade 89% higher than projected grades; and produced 1,410 troy ounces of gold with a value of $468,000.
These developments contributed to the approximately 500% appreciation in Golden Eagle's share price over the course of last year, compared to a 25% increase for the broader gold market.
Another interesting fact noted during the call was that the Fraser Institute of Vancouver, British Columbia, a well-known Canadian think-tank on mining issues, released the results of its annual survey of mining company executives from around the world last week. That survey placed Bolivia at number 10 on its "Investment Attractiveness Index" for mining venues, ahead of South Africa, Russia, Alaska, Argentina, Manitoba, the Yukon, British Columbia, California, Colorado and three dozen other countries, U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
Golden Eagle's President also used the call to clarify certain issues raised by participants regarding stock sales by insiders. Turner explained that the "Insider Trading List" often lists the sale of any shareholder who is freeing-up restricted shares pursuant to Rule 144, not just transactions by traditional "insiders," such as officers and directors of the Company. Those sellers do not have access to non-public information.
The Company also provided details on the exercise of options by Golden Eagle's President who exercised on December 30, 2002 to acquire 13,586,957 shares of the Company's restricted common stock. However, Golden Eagle clarified today that Turner only actually acquired 10,000,000 of those shares because he surrendered 3,586,957 shares back to the Company's treasury in a cashless, like-kind, share-for-share exchange for the shares acquired. This is the first time Turner has owned a direct interest in any shares in Golden Eagle after serving as President and CEO for six years.
"I am very happy to have become a shareholder in Golden Eagle," Turner stated. "I am also pleased to clarify the misconception that I sold any of the Company's stock."
Golden Eagle clarified also that the same share-for-share exchange with 2,869,566 shares was performed by Mary A. Erickson, former President and CEO of the Company, in her exercise of options on December 30, 2002, and that no sale for cash took place.
The following goals and projections regarding Golden Eagle's future progress for the year 2003 were made during the conference call:
* By the end of January, Mr. Turner estimated that production of
2,000 tons per day will be coming from the interior mine block caving
operations in the Cangalli gold mine, using highly efficient, high
volume conveyors. The Company believes that over time its production
costs will be reduced substantially over its current open-pit
operational costs.
* After analysis of the results coming from the block caving operations,
Golden Eagle intends to initiate plant and mine expansion to 3,500 tons
per day, all from its interior mine. The Company projects that this
expansion will be completed by March 2003. Turner noted in his
presentation that the $600,000 cost of the projected expansion had
already been committed by accredited investors for restricted common
shares of the Company. Mr. Turner emphasized that Golden Eagle expects
that this production level would allow the Company to reach the
break-even point and begin profitable operations. Turner indicated that
he believes that, once operating at a profit, Golden Eagle may be able
to raise needed funding for its final-phase expansion to 11,000 tons per
day through debt rather than equity, thereby avoiding further
shareholder dilution.
* The Company estimated that the decision on whether to go forward with
final-phase expansion to 11,000 tons per day will be made in the second
quarter of 2003. If the decision is positive, and if the required
funding can be raised by debt, equity or production, then actual
expansion construction will require at least four months from the
decision date. Golden Eagle projects that the final-phase 11,000 ton
per day plant could be in operation by the end of the third quarter or
beginning of the fourth quarter of 2003. Once in operation at this
level, the Company estimates that its cost to produce a troy ounce of
gold will be $75 or less. The Company also noted that once operating at
this level, it would not anticipate requiring any further external
funding through debt or equity, although additional debt may be used to
accelerate the construction of additional plants, if justified, to more
quickly enhance shareholder value. Golden Eagle has identified an
additional twenty sites on its original 5,000-acre claim in the Tipuani
Gold District, which the Company has had under study for the past six
years, on which plants similar to the final-phase plant could be
located. The construction plans for these additional plants will be
finalized if the final-phase plant demonstrates its economic feasibility
as projected.
The streaming audio recording of the conference call is available on Golden Eagle's web site, geii.com , or on the web site of CEOcast, "Where Wall Street Listens," in New York City, at ceocast.com . A written transcript of the conference call will also be posted on Golden Eagle's web site, and copies will be made available upon request to the Company.
Eagle E-mail Alerts: Over 1,700 investors have signed up to receive Eagle E-mail Alerts in the past three months. If you are interested in receiving these alerts, please e-mail the Company at: eaglealert@earthlink.net.
Golden Eagle International, Inc. is a gold exploration and mining company located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and La Paz, Bolivia. The Company is currently focusing its efforts on developing its mining rights on 74,000 acres in the Tipuani Gold Mining District in Western Bolivia, an area that has produced 32 million ounces of gold in its known history, and continuing exploration on 125,000 acres in Eastern Bolivia's Precambrian Shield. Golden Eagle is a mining company with a social conscience, having supported many humanitarian programs at its mine site. For the past six years, the Company has provided the only hospital, doctor and nurse in Cangalli, Bolivia. Golden Eagle has also provided for the educational needs of the students in the area. The Company highly recommends that you review its disclosures, risk statements, previous press releases, annual reports, quarterly reports and current reports, found at its website: geii.com .
For more information about the Company, call Sabrina Martinez in Investor Relations at (801) 619-9320.
Forward-Looking Statements and Disclosure of Risk
The future conduct of Golden Eagle's business and its response to issues raised by third parties are dependent upon a number of factors, and there can be no assurance that Golden Eagle will be able to conduct its operations as contemplated. Certain statements contained in this release, or that were used in the Conference Call with Terry C. Turner, Golden Eagle's President and CEO, using the terms "may", "expects to", "projects", "estimates", "plans", and other terms denoting future possibilities, are forward-looking statements in accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The accuracy of these statements cannot be guaranteed as they are subject to a variety of risks that are beyond Golden Eagle's ability to predict or control and which may cause actual results to differ materially from the projections or estimates contained herein. These risks include, but are not limited to, the risks described in the above press release; those that were discussed in the Conference Call; those risks set out in Golden Eagle's disclosure documents and its annual, quarterly and current reports; and the other risks associated with start-up mineral exploration operations with insufficient liquidity, negative working capital, and no historical profitability. Golden Eagle disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement made herein.
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Source: Golden Eagle International, Inc. |
