To: Stephen Bedingfield who wrote (82 ) 12/5/1997 4:38:00 AM From: Ian McCartney Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 147
Steven, The release you posted suggests a tight time frame to drilling on Phil. Properties, as per the following comment in company press release: "It is now at the drill-ready stage and drilling is planned once all government approvals are in place, which are expected in the first quarter of 1998." This posting is directed to any company IR's or geos/engineers that may follow the thread. To give shareholders like myself better levels of confidence in this time projection, given the difficult Philippine realities, I feel we should we should be given more details by the company such as: -status of the various applications for title in the specific drill proposal areas(MPSA, EP, FTAA?) and what is the realistic time frame for granting of title given the delays being encountered by other companies? (Drilling is no longer permitted on Applications!) -are there any areas under conflict or arbitration in the areas of applications, ie/ have all the internal clearances been done to perfect the title applications? -how is the new indigenous peoples rights act, now passed into law, likely to effect the applied for areas. Other companies are predicting delays of one to five years for areas where indigenous Ancestral Domain claim(s) could be lodged over the next 3-6 months. Such claims can be lodged by indigenous cultural communities even if they are removed from the area, and will be prioritized ahead of all pending mining applications. There is a freeze in processing mining applications in many areas untill this is cleared up. Is this a concern for the company? -what is the situation with NGO and Church opposition in your specific drilling proposal areas? Are your drill time frames realistic given the current country issues? Investors have the right to ask these tough questions now.