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Gold/Mining/Energy : Solv Ex (SOLVD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mama Bear who wrote (5881)	8/1/1998 2:53:00 PM
From: Larry Ricker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6735

Rather negative article in Barron's today (Up & Down Wall Street column). Some excerpts: "... it's worth noting that although Solv-Ex raised -- and blew through -- some $110 million while it was flying high, its plan of reorganization concedes that none of its technologies has been demonstrated on a commercial basis. More to the point, alleges the SEC, its claims about their potential should be taken with a considerable grain of salt. A March 29, '97, press release, for instance, reported that "oil (bitumen) production commenced" and that testing of plant components was "proceeding normally." In fact, the agency says, that was merely the first date any bitumen had been run through the plant in "a crude test," one that was halted after 12 hours because "bitumen quality degraded rapidly due to inadequate filtration, water clarification and instrumentation components." A January 23, '96, missive claiming successful completion of initial testing of an aluminum-making cell operating at 750 degrees Centigrade using "nonconsumable electrodes" and a "unique grade" of Solv-Ex-produced alumina was a "gross misrepresentation," according to the SEC. The agency claims that the cell test involved temperatures up to 900 degrees, destroyed the "nonconsumable" electrodes, used mostly "ordinary" alumina purchased from third parties-and "could not conclusively" demonstrate the production of any metallic aluminum." The full version is available to subscribers.