Brian:
I have been an HCR shareholder since their original JCP. I was on the President's list (at 10 cents). I've known of the many management team members and their excellent reputation, so when the opportunity came along, I put down my money... But that was in 1993, and it has been UP then DOWN, until the current board members joined the board in May 1996. Since then, the share price went straight from 7 cents to 2.00 in less than 8 months! That's when HCR got into the ARKOMA gas project. Soon afterwards, the GOLD play fell onto their lap (and Bob McPhearson -- the new president -- being a Ph.D Geo. in placer gold as well as in Engineering helped very much.) The rest, as we will say one day... "is History!"
Let me just say that I have full confidence in their ability as well as their integrity not only as professionals in their field, but also as human beings. So really, I've been a 'blind' believer so far. And now, some excellent results have been published, and based on the consultant's report, I was able to put some numbers on this deal.
(By the way, I am also an engineer by education.) If you had a chance to read my comments on the Stockhouse Forum (www.stockhouse.com) you will see that I came up with a $25 per share value for HCR -- based on the 2 sq. km zone where HCR reported many assay results. I've heard numbers from other experts that when everything is said and done, this gold play could be worth over a $100!!!! (NO HYPE - I'm serious.)
As to the GAS play in Arkoma, I have personally very high hopes for it. The initial estimates for gas reserves were 2 tcf of gas -- which is worth around $1 billion for HCR's 25% share. Now they will have to prove that, and that in itself is a 2 to 3 year project.
They have drilled over 5,000 ft on that deep well so far, and so far the prospects are excellent for success. However, this one well in itself would not determine the success or failure of the entire project (although, I think that if they do hit a major strike, the success of the project would almost be guaranteed, because the cash flow from this gas well alone would be enough to fund the entire project.) The advantage of the ARKOMA area is that the infrastructure is already there, they are close to the market, pipelines, etc., but also the gas prices there are higher (and being in US$, it could provide an excellent hedge against our declining Canadian dollar.)
Brian, you're right. This company has not been promoted, but I think the HCR team is gearing up for some major road shows to many powerhouses in North America, and Europe. Specifically, what helped HCR so far has been the quality of its shareholders. HCR has a great team AND a great following. Most of these shareholders have been past winners as a result of the superb track record of the current management. So I can just imagine what could happen, when major institutions start getting involved in the near future!
I have encouraged many friends to invest in HCR, and many have. I can only hope that you have a decent size holding... yourself.
Best of luck. |
