Looks like the Relief Canyon project continues to rack up new notches in its belt, with its well earned reputation as a company killer...
Was never much of a fan of PGLC and its too obvious promotion... although I know the property well from my interest in it under prior ownerships... a couple of owners back. The effort that has been made to expand the resource there was my idea, once upon a time... and I called that exactly right... although I can't say that the years have been well used by expanding the resource to only that same half a million ounces P&P that was apparent prior to drilling the holes. The numbers here still put it well below the radar of most serious investors who are looking for quality management, bankability, and a more obvious potential for growing a much larger resource. A big land package is a potential benefit, and some of the land is prospective... but it seems they've done zero work on generating any value from that exploration potential in the last years under PGLC... leaving this still stuck only half way to being worth mining, making it mostly a speculative exploration potential that needs both a bigger find and help from much deeper pockets to make it worthwhile.
Before PGLC, however, I was once a shareholder of U.S. Silver. I abandoned it after Tom left, right along with the change in management and the too obvious scam tied to the acquisition of RX Gold and its wholly fictional valuation... greatly misrepresented in the effort pitching the transaction to a stupid board, who took payoffs to let a new management destroy the value of the company, and its performance. The only Rx effect that I've ever seen happening at USAS since then... has been the medicinal effect of U.S. Silver's former profitability, and its then debt free $20 million cash horde, on the new management's personal wealth. Now, the cash and profitability are gone... as reported...Yahoo says now there is $3 million in cash, and $14 million in debt... so, thus far, $31 million pissed away for zero return to shareholders. But, revenues are over $60 million, while they're losing $10 million or $.25 per share ? Where's all that money going ? Not to shareholders.
If the merger is allowed to proceed, maybe PGLC's reported $2 million in cash will be the point of it...keeping them afloat and the gravy train going for a while longer... but it's looking like USAS has continued digging holes to pour shareholders money into... faster than they've proven able to dig profitable holes that more money comes out of than goes into.
The USAS management has ruined what was once a quality company, under Tom Parker, and, thus far, their supposed expertise in acquisitions seems that all it has done to "add value" is burden itself with a pile of debt, and a range of distractions, along with a growing list of crap properties... that they can't manage any better than they can't manage Galena. But, the acquisitions done seem to generate paydays for insiders borne out of improperly valuing the properties in the deals.
Every new acquisition further reduces the value of a share to an existing shareholder.
The entire enterprise looks to be one act of God away from a forced BK.
Both PGLC and USAS are victims of self interested management who are guilty of boiling off prior investors money with reverse splits. Both were "trading over $20" back in 2011... when in fact that number was never real, but prior value has been expanded in hindsight by the reverse splits they've imposed. It's still true that investors in both companies have had their wealth reduced by a factor of 20 or more... keeping less than $.05 on the dollar... if they were foolish enough to hold shares, rather than moving on to find quality management teams with a better track record in speaking truth and delivering value for shareholders rather than enriching themselves at shareholders expense.
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