Hello SE Baker
Welcome to the thread.
No, I don't believe you should be alarmed, as it was my understanding from management that the heirs lawyer made a legal maneuver as lawyers will, (pardon the pun). Now SUF's lawyers will explore a different legal tactic. This maneuvering may go on for awhile, I don't know, but I was left with a strong sense of management's confidence in their rights and that they have not exhausted their options by any means. It may even be an option with SUF's current cash flow, to simply sit back and fiscally exhaust the heirs. In effect, to turn the table on them! As I said, keep your eye on the news wire.
I am not a lawyer nor do I have the slightest insight into SA law, but I have enough experience with Canadian, British and US law to know that a creative lawyer, can make an argument, by means of attempting to apply laws to a case that may not have been originally drafted or intended to be applied to such circumstances. It is certainly not unusual for lawyers to simply attempt to explore existing legal avenues that may not have any eventual hope of success, but by their very nature, are punitive in that the time and resources they consume, impede or indefinitely idle the advancement a defendant's plans.
That legal reality is not the hallmark of a corrupt or backward legal system or society, unless by extension, you would include the aforementioned nations legal systems in such a categorization. Rather I would suggest and argue that while it is unproductive and abusive, it is the hallmark of a mature, and perhaps even advanced legal system, and certainly reflects the underlying principals of a free society.
There are ample examples here in North America of frivolous claims made against the title of bonanza mineral finds. You don't need to go to Africa to see games played. Witness the legal maneuverings between International Corona and Lac Minerals ten years ago, or more recently the games that were played holding up and threatening Inco's purchase of the Voisey Bay from Diamond Fields. Lac fought and lost and DFR chose to pay off the authors of the nuisance suite, rather than spend ten years in US court defending the virtue of their rights.
While the M1 is certainly a plum, however my interest in the Marsfortien (sp) property was always focused on its unexplored potential. There were several references in past NR's to other circular anomalies. Should they ultimately turn out to be economic pipes possibly as rich as the M1 and hopefully larger, then this issue would have far more significance. However, that is shear speculation at this point, as nothing has been proven beyond the M1 and its satellite.
As Goalie observed, SUF traded higher long before the M1 was a proven asset, principally because of their early Munn Lake exploration success, potential, and the apparent exploration momentum reflected in all of their news releases last fall. If you look back at SUF's summer price, it was well below the spring high.
The M1 is advantageous to mine early because its an open pitiable high grade pipe and easily exploited to pay for other plans and expenditures. However, it is small and would be exhausted fairly quickly. In the long run, I don't consider this matter anything other than a short term annoyance. The Sugarbird and Leopard fissures at full production will provide far more carats and $$ than the M1 would, and their life span is far greater. For the time being, look to Klipspringer's dyke deposits, Angola and hopefully Munn/Back Lake and Lac de Gras for SUF's real long term value and future.
Regards |
