Hello Folks,
December 28, 1997
As the year progresses to a conclusion, I look at the positive that has evolved.
Naxos started the year in a quandary. Is there gold in them there Franklin Lake lake bed sediments in anomalous amounts or is there some bogus or even sinister assayer at work in the house of Naxos. At the beginning of the year, Murray White and others were trying to go through due diligence with chain of custody Naxos samples. Spare no cost. An independent lab must confirm the truth even if the effort breaks the bank. After all, a writer for a famous northern neighbor's mining tabloid had said, the whole Naxos thing was a scam. Well, they went to the world recognized lab, Ledoux and brought with them a nay sayer bozo from Canada as a witness. There were two assayers and two methods. The first assayer failed and the Nay Sayers rejoiced at proving the scam. But the second assayer, this White guy, a flipper of crucibles and beakers for more than a half century performed and reported values. Later, the Ledoux assayers also performed the assay in the absence of assayer number 2. Yep, he told his wife as well as those present, the process works. And the year started off well. But the Nay Sayers were not finished. It was contamination from the largest umpire lab in the world. Their lab works with so much gold ore and bullion the samples must surely be contaminated. But the due diligence was done in a nickel lab, not the bullion lab. I never heard that the samples were contaminated with nickel. Still, the fight went on. The money from many faithful investors was to continue going into the toilet to prove, that which was already known. Why, was it because of the bozos from the North? Well certainly that was a factor as was the management decision to teach assay methodology to assayers that already should know how to assay. But in the end, even the evil tabloid from the North had to succumb to the unprecedented pile of evidence. Did they apologize? The answer I believe is no. Did they say that they were duped by the bozo from the North? The answer is no again. Did they face the fact that there are millions of chemical combinations that compose natural resources and maybe only a few methods to analyze each precious metals occurrence? The answer is again no.
And then there was IPM. They didn't use Ledoux. They were smarter than that. They used the well known metallurgical labs. Were these consulting firms the ones that with success would be used to promote stock sales? Or did they use these consultants to prove the value of their gold and PGM resources. In the end they settled for a conservative number that was a mere trifle of what they believe they really have. That is my opinion. I also believe, they believe that they have more values in their deposit than that reported, as I do. And I have not assayed their samples, at least that I know of. And even if I have, without a lot of work on a difficult resource, even my numbers would likely be low. They spent a ton of money merely to prove the presence of precious metals in their prospect. And they did not find out what was really there or more important, what was commercially recoverable. And they discounted their recent better results and more spectacular as not being from a chain of custody. Does that mean they do not trust their own people to sample honestly and not salt the samples. It seems to me if a person was going to salt his own prospect, he should do it with a prospect that does not have such serious assay repetition problems. Be at least intelligent enough to use an easy to assay rock, like pure quartz. Why try to salt a sample that probably will not assay by standard methods even when you put the gold in it? I think they learned a lot about their company, it's natural resources, the research business and most of all about themselves. That should make for a much better year in 1998 for IPM.
Global (GPGI) in 1997 accomplished a lot, even if maybe they might not think so. A good manager is never satisfied with progress, as it is never enough. But they did produce precious metals from their natural resources in the pounds. Maybe produced them in the tens of pounds. (Not all of their metal is refined and will not likely be refined for quite some time). No due diligence needed here. The company was too poor to salt that many precious metals into the copper anode metal. Wow, Mr. Jensen. Stand up and take a much-deserved bow. And I suggest you have Wayne and Russell stand up with you. I have not worked directly with anything but the Oro Grande deposit. But to produce it into metal as you guys have done is to be commended. It is Stan Wardle that has reported to you folks and to me. He is a man that as far as I have known him, tells the truth, even if the truth is horribly painful to the recipient. He is a competent lab man. When he says you can hang out your stocking, you can count on the fact it is Christmas. And if he says you have hit the home run. Believe it. You may do better yet, he might do better for you as time progresses, but you are well on the way. And no chain of custody was involved here. Global's samples are measured in tons. Too heavy to pack around or send by mail. And beside, if you send the sample to bozo, he will likely mess it up anyway.
Agau Resources, Inc has emerged as a new company on the scene. I have known at least one of the principals for quite some time now. I have been giving him advice. He has been giving me advice. One time recently he told me that he very much believes in the DDs, but the track record is so negative and even he feels negative about the whole future for the DDs. I told him that when you know a business well enough that you can speak for hours about how bad and unpredictable the business is, you are qualified to be in it. And you are not qualified before that time. Agau excites me. They have not had the opportunity to make all of the mistakes of their predecessors. They should have learned from those mistakes. They will now have the opportunity to make their own mistakes. But remember Global. Having precious metal resources are not that important. Getting them to feasibility and then mining them is where he can separate his company from most of the others. Kenneth, it is rock in the box, product to market. You do not need to educate Ledoux unless it is to umpire a shipment of precious metals. Then it is good to have them in your corner. Make 1998 a good year and not one with excuses. I will be watching you.
I could talk about other companies and from time to time I will. But, I know so little about most of the DDs that I am best off leaving the others alone.
But one more thing. Mr. Bruce Beckman, KCP&L combustion Engineer, electrical engineer and one heck of a micro-cluster physicist and chemist. You have spent all of these years in a senior level engineering position, but the folks that really need you are in the DDs. And frankly, Mr. Beckman, I think that engineers of your quality are about a dime a dozen. So why is it that people like you earn 6 figures? Now in the DDs, you can earn less but enjoy your work much more. And your asthma will be much better off in a dry climate. I think. This year, I want to see you working at what you are much more suited to. And it will likely come with less of a tax problem. Got that?
And massive sulfide Bob. I suggest that in 1998, when you return to work, that you start immediately to warm up to Agau. They have shown and interest. You can get something out of this while you are still able to walk and chew gum with your own teeth at the same time. After all, you have a big massive sulfide deposit with only a very small portion tested. You have no ore because the current metallurgy is not commercial and you have not delineated a true ore reserve. Most of all, right now, all you have is a prospect, a very nebulous prospect and a lot of sulfur. The work ahead is just beginning. It has to be done right. It will take money, but more important than that it will take common sense. You may not have a DD deposit in the classical breed, but it is a difficult deposit to approach anyway. Be careful and don't get greedy. It is too early for that.
And now a word for all you loyal desert dirters. It is 1998 we are going into the desert dirt islands of opportunity; they are beckoning for your support. In 1997 I have presented my views as to what I find most upsetting with the DDs. I believe you are now ready to graduate. Please remember this, don't chase the prospects where fools are trying to convince you that they are the next Diamond Fields. And don't try and wish value into a security. Look at these securities with severe skepticism. Be brutal. The ones that are managed well will keep you informed. They might not have much to say for long periods of time. But that doesn't mean that they cannot still stay in touch with their financial supporters. And beware of those that say too much. If they are not sure about the facts, let them keep their projections to themselves. They may just be wishing values into the rocks. And showing production of any kind is the first step. It is not important by just acquiring the prospect. And a wise old miner will seek help from another wise old miner. After all that is where the problem is best understood. Do not support those that try to seek help where the DD can do the best name dropping for the money. Name-dropping in lieu of making wise investment decisions is mind fraud. I know that funding is an important criterion, but in 1998, lets try to gain the confidence of the investors by showing some positive performance. A little positive performance followed by a little more, followed by producing something followed by a feasibility study and presto, all the money will follow. I believe that. The 1998 investor is going to be a prudent and knowledgeable. I will see to it. And the investors will be asked to use this forum to voice displeasure. Sometimes the investor is unreasonable, but more often than not, a number of disgruntled investors are a signal. Hear it now rather than after the selling begins. Lets make 1998 the year the DDs get respectable. We can make it happen in this century. Happy New Year, mike
|
