Oops, before you think about shorting Solvex, maybe you better read the following
too, this is a re-print from someone that has degrees in Chemistry, Environmental
Sciences, Mineral Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy. I believe this person knows
what he's talking about:
The charts can't predict when Solvex will produce oil, get additional financing, get a
buyout offer, get a permit, etc.
Like Warren Buffet preaches, if the fundamentals of a company are sound, buy
and hold for the long-term.
Here are some addittional thoughts which might help clarify some of the ongoing
side shows.
1) I doubt that there is any public company in North America that has been in
existence for over sixteen years without being involved in lawsuits. This is
why many companies have their own General Counsel, legal depatments, and/or have
outside legal counsel on retainer. Disputes and matters of law are a normal
part of doing business.
2) I strongly doubt if IBM, Intel, Exxon, US Steel, or Coca Cola met every project
deadline or budget. Forecasting is an art practiced in every major corporation,
and everyone knows that forecasts are moving targets. Slippage is quite common,
expected and accepted. Situations change, timelines move, but it certainly
doesn't mean that a project is a hoax. To even imply such thinking is pure
nonsense, and the mark of a business novice.
3) Executive compensation packages typically include incentives in the form of
restricted stock, stock options and cash awards. There is nothing unusual about
executives periodically exercising those incentives to free up cash for some
personal needs. It happens all the time. In the case of Solvex, a very small
percentage of the total incentive compensation has actually been exercised.
4) What is so "scary" about applying for environmental approvals to operate
a plant? Every single operating plant in North America must file applications
and receive a permit of some kind (air, storm water, NPDES, EIA, RCRA, etc.).
The permit application processes are standard, well established, and done
literally thousands of times a day. Suncor and Syncrude have permits. Their
operations are substantially larger and more complex than Solvex. Additionally,
their processes generate environmentally toxic byproducts from the caustic leach
step. These toxics are knowingly put in tailings ponds, yet Suncor and Syncrude
still obtained permits to operate, and obviously still get permit renewals. To
imply that Solvex will have trouble obtaining a permit simply illustrates a lack
of understanging of a routine business practice, namely permitting.
5) Finally, contrary to what Paul Richards has indicated, I see no evidence that
major investors in Solvex (i.e., DB) have become disenchanted with the company or
its progress. In fact I believe the opposite is true. The only selling in Solvex
stock appears to be from small, ill-informed investors who listen to the scare
tactics of an individual who has probably never run a business, never taken a
technical course more advanced than high school biology, never applied for any kind
of environmental permit, never saw a log washer and doesn't understand its
principle of operation, has never seen Solvex pilot plant or visited its corporate
offices, has never seen the progress made at the Athabasca plant, and obviously
struggles greatly in vocabularly and spelling. Solvex has overcome many technical and
business barriers. They are on the verge of
verifying a technology in a production environment that has already been proven on
a pilot scale; the culmination of nearly 17 years of research and development on
extracting oil from tar sands. The potential rewards are enormous, which is why
people with short positions will do or say anything to distract investors from the
real meat of this company; its technology, its unwavering focus to produce oil and
mineral byproducts, and its strong, diverse management team (most of whom have had
stellar careers in related businesses). The shorts stand to lose a fortune. Beware! |
