Hello Laura: After reviewing the following article from June this year they probably won't do rollback untill share price increases.
The Northern Miner Volume 83 Number
15 June 9, 1997
Princeton postpones rollback, suffers loss
VANCOUVER
Poor market conditions have forced Princeton Mining (PMC-T)
to postpone a planned 5-for-1 share rollback.
The transaction had been approved previously, but, because of the
battering many mining stocks have been facing in the aftermath of the
Bre-X Minerals scandal, Princeton decided to put off the rollback until it
has an acquisition or merger to announce.
"If we implement the rollback without any good news, the share price
could suffer," President William Myckatyn told reporters after
Princeton's recent annual meeting.
Managers of mutual funds have told Princeton it has too many shares in
the market. Currently, the company has 152.9 million shares
outstanding. The 60%-owned Huckleberry project, near Smithers in
northern British Columbia, is its main asset.
For 1996, Princeton recorded a loss of $16.4 million, which, according
to Myckatyn, is attributable to two main factors: the mid-year drop in
copper prices and the $10.7-Million writedown in the carrying value of
the Similco mine. Before it closed in November 1996, the Similco had
produced close to 41 million lb. copper, 29,000 oz. gold and 86,000
oz. silver. Also, the company posted a $2.2-Million loss for the first
quarter of 1997.
"The loss is a direct reflection of the fact that we are in the position of
not having any revenue until cash starts to flow from the Huckleberry
mine," Myckatyn told shareholders.
An open-pit operation, Huckleberry is being built at a capital cost of
$137 million and is scheduled for startup in September. It will produce
more than 70 million lb. copper in each of its first two years of
production, and, on an annual basis thereafter, 65 million lb. copper,
6,000 oz. gold, 270,000 oz. silver and 1 million lb. molybdenum over a
16-year mine life.
"The Huckleberry project has good economics and will be a long-Term
cash generator," Myckatyn said. "However, in the short to medium term
there will not be a large amount of free cash flowing back to Princeton."
Minable reserves at Huckleberry are estimated at 90.4 million tonnes
grading 0.51% copper (based on a 0.3% copper cutoff), 0.06 gram
gold and 2.18 grams silver. The operator, Huckleberry Mines, is
60%-owned by Princeton and 40% by a consortium of Japanese
companies, including Mitsubishi Materials, Dowa Mining, Furukawa and
Marubeni.
Meanwhile, market conditions may force Princeton to postpone an initial
public offering on Aquest Minerals, the Chilean subsidiary that holds the
company's properties in Chile. Projects there include the Elenita manto
copper deposit, the Tierra de Oro gold-copper prospect, the Rio Lluta
porphyry copper prospect, and the Nancagua and Milagro gold
prospects. |
