Rick and All, Some thoughts on the Fantasma and other questions that occurred to me, and a big thank you to Rick, Bob, David, and all the great people of SI. This is a beginning point for some discussion on the future of PFG as well. What do we think, know, hope and dream? Let's pool our knowledge and try to come up with all we know to date that is relevant given changes over time, and then we can condense them into a succinct summary for everyone to copy. Here's the beginning or should I say the latest:
Fantasma and Other Questions:
On January 30, 1998, PFG announced the signing of a letter of intent for the option on the Fantasma claims and the Nunez Cateo adjoining the Oculto deposit from Corriente. Geologically and strategically this was an important and, I might add, timely move. Because of the curving north-south fault on the Diablillos and the local mineralization in the northern part of the deposit there is possibility of this running on to the Fantasma claims. The intersection of the NE-SW Oculto faults and the curved north-south fault within the newly acquired claims is an especially attractive target according to Mr. Shrake.
Although the property is fairly small, it can serve two purposes. The first is the potential to add value to the price of PFG, if a mineable deposit were found. The second which may serve us even more, financially, is the property would be 100% owned by PFG, and if Barrick decides to build a mine on the Diablillos, then I'm sure they would want the Fantasma for the same reasons that Tom Shrake pointed out, and I quote, "Strategically, the Fantasma acquisition could be vital to an operation. As currently defined, a pit would narrowly fit within the Diablillos property. However, should the mineralization continue to the SW, these lands would be needed to access the Oculto ores. Additionally, these lands could save haul distances for the materials that would have to be moved along the south side of the east-west ridge that overlies the Oculto deposit."
If Barrick wanted to buy our 30% interest in the Diablillos, then I am sure they would want to deal on the Fantasma property as well. Hence, we have an additional bargaining tool, which would almost certainly add $$$$ to the share price.
Questions:
1.The sand cover on the Fantasma, makes me wonder why Tom Shrake and the PFG geologists would resist using CSMAT and the other new, sophisticated tools of the trade. They must have value or Barrick would not use it to the extent that they do. If you go to the Barrick website you will note their high praise of these new tools. Is this a resistance to a new geological tool by PFG geologists, or is there a more plausible explanation? It seems to me, because of the sand cover, that the property would have very few, if any, surface expressions. I have seen videos of the whole area and apart from a few surface expressions on the Diablillos and Cerro Blanco, it looks like a desert, more than properties in the high Andes. I would have thought that the new tools of the trade would be highly advantageous in this type of geology.
2. I am very curious about Corriente optioning this strategic property to PFG. Most companies salivate over a property contiguous to a discovery. Even if they only used it to go for a "closeology" play, or to inflate the price of the property for a future buyout by the principals of the Oculto discovery property. I can't help but wonder how the Corriente shareholders feel about this. They have not had an easy ride with the stock, and to date, no property that has proven value to this date, that I am aware of. So the question is Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm not grumbling on behalf of PFG, it's Kudos for us, but just curious.
3. When do they intend to get started on actual ground work on the Fantasma property, ie: geophysics and geological testing?
4. What ever happened to the high hopes we had on Cerro Blanco and the small amount of drilling that was done there? Will there be additional work on this property, or are we just giving up on it? Seems to me there was a lot of built in geological reasons for this property to have warranted more work than has been done to date. It shares some of the same features as the Fantasma, but with the advantage of surface expression. It was supposedly on the same fault and having great potential. What happened?
5. While it is all fine for the company to be looking for premium properties, it seems to me that it would also serve us well to have more work done on some of the many properties that we already have, some of which they have said in the past, warrants more work. There is only so much money in the kitty and the clock is running and expenses are depleting that kitty every month. When are we going to see some concrete action on La Colorada, as well?
Questions, questions, questions. These are but some of them that I can think of. Maybe some of you can think of others, and maybe someone out there has some answers to some of them. If so, then let's hear them.
Cheers
Shirley
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