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Gold/Mining/Energy : Canadian-under $3.00 Stock-Picking Challenge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Al Collard who wrote (7583)	4/4/2002 11:07:23 AM
From: KC Jones	Respond to of 11802

SMF...in the news Semafo - Opening of the Jean Gobele Gold Mine, Guinea MONTREAL, April 4 /CNW/ - SEMAFO is pleased to announce the official opening of the Jean Gobele Gold Mine in Guinea, West Africa. The mine is now fully operational and is expected to produce 60,000 ounces in its first year of operation at a cash cost of US$168 per ounce. The mine was officially opened on April 3rd, 2002. His Excellency Ibrahima Soumah, Minister of Mines, Geology and Environment presided the opening ceremony and was joined by seven ministers and many high-ranked government officials. On the eve of the opening, the Guinean government and Semafo signed a 25-year Mining Convention. Benoit La Salle, the President/CEO of Semafo stated that: "This first gold pour expected in two weeks, marks a milestone for Semafo as we have finally fulfilled our promise to shareholders; that Semafo will become a mining company. The company has now demonstrated its ability to turn a deposit into a mine. I would like to thank ONA/Managem for their backing and expertise and all our staff for their dedication and support during the construction period." The Jean Gobele Gold Mine will produce an annual 60,000 ounces from an open pit mine and CIP plant. Further exploration has discovered additional veins in the mine area (Gobele D) and these are being defined. An underground mine is also being studied. The mine was built on schedule and under the budget of US$12.4 million. Officially announced during the opening ceremony, as a sign of sincere appreciation for the support and dedication of the nearby villagers, the name of the mine was changed from Jean Gobele gold mine to Kiniero gold mine. Semafo inc. is a mining company whose mission is to explore and develop gold and base metal deposits in West Africa NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENT OF THIS RELEASE For further information MONTREAL: Benoit La Salle, President, (514) 744-4408, Fax: (514) 744-2291, info@semafo.com CASABLANCA: Mostafa Hammoud, (212) 22-95-65-71, Fax: (212) 22-95-64-71 hammoud@managem-ona.com RENMARK: Henri Perron, (514) 939-3989, Fax: (514) 939-3717, hperron@renmarkfinancial.com Media: Renmark, Dominic Sicotte, (514) 939-3989, Fax: (514) 939-3717, dsicotte@renmarkfinancial.com

To: Al Collard who wrote (7583)	4/4/2002 1:01:47 PM
From: CIMA	Respond to of 11802

Small investors finally getting the respect they deserve Rob Carrick 00:00 GMT-05:00 Thursday, April 04, 2002 Small investors have always rated small consideration from securities regulators. We could reflect on this sad state of affairs, but let's not. Fact is, 2002 is shaping up as the year that small investors finally start receiving the protections they so desperately need. This is optimistic talk, but it's warranted. For the first time in the 3½ years I have written this column, regulators seem genuinely interested in doing right by small investors. The latest evidence of this is a speech given earlier this week by David Brown, chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, to mark the opening of Investor Education Month. Usually, Investor Education Month is an excuse for regulators to venture out among the common folk to offer platitudes on how to be a smarter investor. If you've ever seen an adult feign interest in a small child for a few passing moments, then you know the drill. This year, Mr. Brown got serious by outlining some changes the commission is considering to reform the way investment advisers and their clients do business. The OSC's newfound enthusiasm for protecting small investors follows the announcement early in the year that a financial services complaints office will open this July. This office, to be called the National Financial Services OmbudService (NFSO), will funnel complaints to ombudsmen in a number of financial spheres, including the brokerage industry. If this new system works as it should, then it will provide a huge benefit for investors who lack the money to recover losses that result from a broker's improper behaviour. The OSC's approach looks promising as well because it will focus not just on what happens after a client is abused, but also on ways of preventing such problems from happening in the first place. The "fair dealing model" proposes to do this by paying a lot more attention to how brokers dispense advice. In practical terms, brokers could be asked to clearly disclose all fees and commissions they receive through the buying and selling of securities. This would be a welcome change, because full-service brokerages are way too secretive on this subject. Advisers could also be required to scrap the current "know-your-client" form in favour of a more detailed document that would spell out client investing objectives. The point here would be to forestall those situations where clients are sold inappropriate investments that turn out badly. The know-your-client form is supposed to prevent such situations, but it's too often filled out in a perfunctory way that leaves the door wide open for disputes later on. You can sometimes get the impression that brokerage firms don't really care what the advisers they employ are doing, as long as they're good revenue producers. Mr. Brown seems to suggest that this attitude is no longer acceptable. For one thing, he said, investment dealers may be investigated if they don't look into suspicious activities by their employees. Included here would be advisers who generate huge fees and commissions. He also talked about the possibility of introducing rules forcing investment dealers to assume liability for client losses that resulted from repeated bad advice. There could be some duplication here with the work of the brokerage industry's ombudsman, but there's no doubt that an emphasis on liability would work to the advantage of investors. As it stands now, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to recover losses through the courts. A much cheaper arbitration plan is available through the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, but it won't handle complaints involving more than $100,000. The OSC expects to issue a paper later this spring describing its proposals in greater detail. Working alongside regulators are brokerage types, as well as representatives for retail and institutional investors, money managers and financial planners. Cynics would say a group of this makeup is the perfect bureaucratic tool for burying serious proposals about reforming brokerage practices, but let's reserve judgment. For once, we have regulators talking about what Bay Street has to do to make itself more accountable to investors. That's a hugely encouraging sign. Too often in the past, regulators have espoused an investor-protect-thyself attitude that made it sound as if being wronged by a broker meant you simply weren't paying enough attention to your account, or didn't understand how the industry really works. One last point is that the OSC has shown an intriguing aggressive streak lately in going after rule breakers. Here's hoping the commission tries the same thing in making the brokerage business more friendly to investors. rcarrick@globeandmail.ca © Copyright The Globe and Mail