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Gold/Mining/Energy : Golden Eagle Int. (MYNG) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michel Grenier who wrote (7934)	7/7/1998 9:11:00 AM
From: Victor Johnson	Respond to of 34075

Mine stock trading resumes By Roger Fillion Denver Post Business Writer July 7 - Shares of Golden Eagle International Inc. resume trading today with a multibillion question mark hanging over the Denver mining company's stock. Is tiny Golden Eagle's claim that it may have discovered a huge gold deposit in Bolivia that's worth as much as $46 billion for real? Or is the assertion groundless? Federal regulators had enough doubts to halt trading in Golden Eagle's stock on June 22. The Securities and Exchange Commission called into question the company's assertion that it may have found a gold strike totaling as much as 157 million ounces of gold on 4,810 acres it controls in Cangalli, north of Bolivia's capital, La Paz. The SEC's suspension - coming on the heels of a separate lawsuit against Golden Eagle - was scheduled to expire at midnight on Monday. Golden Eagle last traded at 32 cents a share in over-the-counter Bulletin Board trading. In what range the stock will now trade is anybody's guess. Golden Eagle Chairman Terry Turner says his company's findings will pan out. "We're still very optimistic," he said in a phone interview from Salt Lake City, where he works from his home. "We've always believed the site had a huge historical production." The property is 62 miles north of La Paz, as the crow flies. But it's more remote than that mileage suggests. By road, the site is 162 miles from the Bolivian capital. Gold has been mined in the area over a period dating back about 1,000 years, to pre-Inca times. The SEC's warning rekindled memories of when Bre-X Minerals Ltd. last year said it discovered a gold deposit in Indonesia totaling as much as 200 million ounces. The Canadian company's stock skyrocketed. It later plunged after the claims turned out to be false. Golden Eagle says the trading halt hasn't quashed investor interest. A spokeswoman said that during the suspension investors called in with questions. Typically, they wanted to know where they could buy the stock; where would it be trading; and what's the stock symbol. "A lot of them ask me about my opinion on where it will start trading," said Sabrina Martinez, who handles investor relations for the company from her Englewood shop, the Cricket Thicket, which deals in antiques and folk art. "I have no clue. I don't think anybody does." Investors bid up the company's stock price more than 200 percent after Golden Eagle said May 22 it may have uncovered a world-class find. The stock opened at 17 cents a share that day; it climbed as high as 44 cents before closing at 33 cents. The company, in its release, said proven reserves on its property totaled 6.4 million ounces. It added that "inferred" reserves totaled 157.4 million ounces. At current gold prices of about $294 an ounce that would give the find a potential value of about $46 billion. When it halted trading in Golden Eagle's stock, the SEC reported that questions had been raised about the "accuracy and adequacy" of the company's announcement. An agency official said the trading halt was intended to allow investors to get more information about the company, so they could make more informed investment decisions. "This is just another tool in the SEC's arsenal to get the word out to investors that it has concerns about a lack of current and accurate information about the securi ties of Golden Eagle," said Robert Intartaglio, assistant regional director for the SEC in Denver. Turner said he welcomed the halt. "We welcomed the SEC action. It slows things down," said Turner. "Small mining stocks are a risky business in any event." Golden Eagle's lack of a big corporate office in Denver has raised some eyebrows. While the company has a suite here, Turner said, there was no real need to have a big office. Instead, he added, Golden Eagle has about 87 employees in Bolivia. This isn't the company's first encounter with regulators. In May, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Golden Eagle accusing the company of stock fraud dating back two years ago. The agency accused the company of hyping its stock through bogus claims. The SEC charged that the scheme occurred from late 1994 through mid-1996. Golden Eagle's stock traded as high as $6.25 a share during that time. Turner said in a release soon after the lawsuit was filed that the company has new management and it has "diligently sought to issue accurate information." Meanwhile, Turner said last week Golden Eagle has hired an "internationally respected" engineering and geological firm to perform an independent audit of the results for its Bolivian property. The outside company - Turner declined to disclose the name - is reviewing the report filed by the mining engineer and geologist working for Golden Eagle. The outside company also will go to the site in Bolivia to verify the engineer's field results. Turner said the findings of the on-site audit would be ready in about three weeks. Return to Top Return to Business Return to Post Home