I was just looking at some note and here is what I found: Very Interesting.
I believe your interpretation of EV's value is flawed. Here are two write-ups of EV, the numbers are still valid even though the story is dated. Brokers have visited the Piskanja Borate property in Yugoslavia. This is the reason EV was nearly $5.00 in 1997 and why it will be much higher assuming the project proceeds. I have also included a press release issued by EV.
INTRODUCTION
The Insider Report has been covering Erin Ventures on it's Daily Bulletins
since it was at $1.25 on July 28th. The stock is tightly held and is prone
to movement on light volume as was the case on Friday (up $0.26 on 54,800
shares).
Movement in the stock in the past (first quarter '97, $4.50/sh) was due to
early acquisitional speculation. We believe there is now more to this story
to warrant coverage. In addition to that, the company is also just now
beginning to gear up its investor relations activities; an important criteria
in our coverage.
THE STORY
Erin Ventures is an emerging international producer of industrial minerals.
In October 1996 the corporation entered into a Letter of Intent with
Electroprivreda, the national power company of Yugoslavia to jointly
develop a 7.5 million metric tonne Boron property. The Letter of Intent
gives Erin Ventures access to vast reserves of Boron. Extensive exploration
has already been carried out. The reserve estimates based upon the drill
hole data suggests that the deposit has the potential of hosting reserves
in excess of 10-12 million tons.
Boron has a value of $350 US per ton for raw material and $750 US per ton
of boric acid. Assuming the "Pobrdski Potok" and "Piskanja" borate
deposits do hold 10 million tons of 37% boron, this would give the deposit
a value of $1.3 billion USD. As Erin is joint ventured 50-50 with
Electroprivreda Sjerbje, this would give EV control of more than $600
million USD ($850 million CDN) worth of raw deposit.
Erin Ventures has not released any news since February (more than 6 months
ago) and this, along with the poor junior market has seen it fade from
highs of $4.90 in February to its recent low, two weeks ago, of $1.15 (when
the Insider Report began coverage).
THE MARKET
The stock is generally lightly traded and tightly held. It has had only two
days of trading over 100,000 shares in the last year. This fact, along
with the potential of their Boron deposit and upcoming promotional efforts,
should ensure good market movement over the course of the next two months.
Interestingly, many of the groups involved in the marketing and exposure of
Net Nanny will be positioning in EV in August. Net Nanny saw an explosion
from $0.60 to a high of $3.70 (currently trading near $2.50) based on this
exposure.
As well, we may also see an area play (or country play) from Yorkton who
has recently sent a number of brokers into Yugoslavia.
CONCLUSION
The Insider Report will be covering this story throughout August and
perhaps longer. We feel that EV offers minimal downside. With the potential
upside now beyond the 52-week high of $4.90/sh we should have a very
interesting month ahead of us.
Insider Group
Erin Ventures Inc
EV
Shares issued 10713333
1997-08-08 close $1.89
Monday Aug 11 1997
Mr Tim Daniels reports
The company has initiated bids from several major international
drilling companies to conduct a 15,000m drilling program on its
Piskanja Borate property in Yugoslavia.
Management is currently reviewing all tender documents received
from the drill contractors, and anticipates a final decision within
10 days, with work commencing immediately thereafter.
The primary purpose of the 15,000m, 50 drill program is to define
both structural and geotechnical parameters required prior to
underground development, as well as to expand the existing
reserves of the Piskanja Borate property.
Erin Ventures has secured a 50% working interest in known
borate deposits in Yugoslavia. This is in keeping with the
company's objectives of increasing its mineral reserves through
the development of current properties and through the acquisition
of additional mining projects.
> The Metals Strategist Quarterly
> Vol 9, Issue 4
>
> Fourth Quarter 1997 Metals Review
> Chilean Copper Blues
> Boron in Yugoslavia
> Chinese Zinc Problem
> ===============================================================
>
> World-Class Boron Deposits in Yugoslavia?
>
> A tiny, unknown junior Canadian exploration outfit, trading on the
> Alberta stock exchange, may have found the equivalent of gold with a 50/50
> joint venture, established to quantify and delineate mineable borate reserves,
> during 1997-8. Whilst the Canadian gold exploration sector has all but
> vanished from the world's stage, and should continue to break gold-bug
> hearts over the next 12-24 months, eccentric speculative opportunities may
> prove profitable to the sophisticated, risk-oriented trader. Our research
> staff has run across Erin Ventures (EV:Alberta) as our Fourth Quarter
> Flavor. Borates are extremely valuable industrial minerals that command
> prices from US$350 per ton for raw material to US$95 per kg for boric nitric
> powder. Boric acid has the highest demand and is valued at US$750 per ton.
> The rock value of the Piskanja deposit is approximately US$175 per ton.
>
> As you may know, boron is relatively rare, directly deposited in arid
> regions from the evaporation of water. Most importantly, where and when
> there are occurrences, the runoff is rich in the element of boron and is
> highly concentrated by the evaporation in the arid climate. It is found,
> like silicon, combined with oxygen in borates. The most important source of
> it is borax (sodium tetraborate), mostly found in the desert regions of
> California (Death Valley, Mojave). Notable other occurrences in the Andes
> mountains, Turkey and Tibet. Another compound, boric acid, is found in the
> volcanic regions of Italy. The Yugoslavian exploration program to define the
> borate reserves was interrupted by civil war in 1991.
>
> Erin Ventures proposes to finance an exploration program in the
> Jarandol Basin of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (southern Serbia), and
> through a $2.6 million (CN$) drilling program, to raise the borate reserve
> category to drill proven, to further define the mineralogical boundaries for
> grade control and to complete geotechnical studies to ensure that the deposit
> can be practically and economically mined. The company holds the distinction
> of being the first foreign company to sign a joint venture agreement in
> Yugoslavia since the lifting of the 1991 UN Sanctions. Preliminary
> exploration suggests that borate reserves for the Piskanja, Pobrdjski Potok
> and Jarandol deposits may exceed 12 million tonnes. Initial drilling by
> Electroprivreda Sjerbje, the national power corporation of Serbia, indicated
> a reserve block of 7 million tonnes, grading 35 to 39 percent boric oxide.
> This reserve block estimate was calculated by the Geological and Mining
> Institute of Belgrade. Subsequent mechanical studies, undertaken by
> Electroprivreda, indicated the borate beds and overlying strata have
> sufficient strength to support underground workings.
>
> Ras-Borati Ltd was formed by Electroprivreda and Erin Ventures, as
> the joint venture company to oversee the completion of a more detailed
> exploration of the Piskanja deposit and to develop the property to the
> feasibility stage. The key exploration phase, to be completed within the
> next year, consists of a 15,000 meter drilling program, utilizing both
> reverse circulation and HQ diamond drilling.
>
> The asset value, if grades remain a constant, of the Jarandol Basin
> borate deposits could be estimated between US$1.5 billion and US$3 billion. A
> small price to pay for a Canadian exploration company whose market
> capitalization, during its 1997 high, was less than US$30 million.
>
> BORON: The Non-Metal Mineral with a Wide Range of Industrial Applications
>
> Most investors relate to Boron with regard to borax and the famous
> 20-mule team wagons which hauled borax between mines in Death Valley and the
> railroad in Mojave. Because borates hydrolyze to form mildly alkaline
> solutions, borax can be a good cleansing agent, as found in industrial
> strength hand-wash powders. But, boron is widely used in numerous industrial
> applications, as boric acid or boron nitride or borazon. A high melting
> point (2300 degrees Celsius) and boiling point (2550 degrees Celsius) make
> boron a useful reinforcement for plastics, used in construction and
> automobile parts. Boron's excellent refractory properties and resistance to
> thermal shock demand it be used by the glass industry, in microwave windows
> and the space shuttles.
>
> Boric oxide is a critical component in fiberglass insulation and in
> textile fiberglass. You will find boron compounds used with electrical
> insulations, high temperature bearings, molten metal nozzles, welding tips,
> heat sinks, heating elements for nuclear applications, in jet and turbine
> shrouds, as an anti-squeal and heat conducting additive for brake pad
> material, as an additive for conventional oils and greases, as a pigment in
> both resin and ceramic-bonded solid lubricants, as a die lubricant or die
> coating with titantium, as a barrier to molten metal, an additive to
> cosmetic products, as an eyewash, in agricultural fertilizers and fungicides,
> and for doping silicon wafers in the most advanced semiconductor devices.
>
> Boron is one of the most valuable industrial minerals, used in
> everything from cookware to nuclear waste storage, in space exploration, in
> glass production, in detergent preparations, in agricultural applications, in
> pharmaceutical applications, in the semi-conductor industry and in the
> tooling industry. In compounds, boron can perform a remarkably wide number
> of tasks because its properties include high electrical resistivity, high
> thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion, non-toxicity, lubricity over a
> wide temperature range, low dissipation factor, low loss factor, chemical
> inertness, good resistance to acids, and a high chemical purity.
>
> U.S. and Turkish boron deposits fulfill 74 percent of global boron
> demand (1996 figures). High-cost, low-grade South American production,
> chiefly from Peru, complete the pie chart. Using current reserve estimates,
> the Jarandol Basin borate deposits would rank as the world's 5th largest
> reserve. Worldwide boron production stood at 1.8 million tonnes, at a value
> of US$1.3 billion. At a annual production level of 200,000 tonnes, the present
> Yugoslavian deposits would have a mine life of 12.25 years. Potential
> revenues from that proposed production would reach US$150 million annually.
>
> President, Mr. Tim Daniels
> Erin Ventures Incorporated
> Ticker Symbol: EV
> Primary Exchange: Alberta
> Fully Diluted: 11 million shares
> Trading range: $1.35 - 1.80 (CN$)
> 1997 High: $4.90 (CN$)
> 1997 Low: $1.15 (CN$)
>
> J. Schultz, Editor
> Nassau, The Bahamas
> 10 August 1997 |
