No Feasibility Study neededYes, end of 2017 news has truly been bad for CSPG shareholders other than insiders. One positive thing I haven’t seen here regarding the sale of CSPG, essentially an asset sale of Coosa, is that it will no longer be under the thumb of NI43-101. Despite labeling itself as a technology company, CSPG falls under the mining rules of the Exchange, which are quite strict as to what management can say about company projects without third-party signoff, only loosening with a feasibility study.
The US exchanges are less regulated, and under Westwater the project can be promoted with a different tone. No longer will there be a regulatory need to perform a feasibility study. And there will no longer be a need for long, technical NR’s aimed mainly at potential customers rather than speculative investors.
Also, Westwater can properly claim (for what it’s worth) Coosa as a US asset owned and controlled by a US company. That was a stretch for CSPG. As noted here before, the big downside is the NASDAQ listiing requirement to maintain a US$1 share price. Westwater has achieved this in the past via rollbacks, and it is reasonable to assume that it will do so again if it must.
While Coosa will be a significant asset for Westwater, its other assets are old and tired (uranium) or speculative (the lithium properties are pure grassroots). The future will depend on Westwater finding a receptive US audience for its stories. CSPG’s last story was built around Don Baxter’s knowledge and experience. With $2MM coming in from Westwater, no doubt Don Baxter exited quite comfortable. Ann Marie and Tyler remain; they both know the story well and are genuine believers and dliigent promoters. Others have reported that they too have done well with this deal. However it was always expected that insiders would, the hope was they would not be alone!
For those who prefer that the transaction not proceed and that a better deal be done, again as others here have noted, the grade at Coosa is very low compared to other graphite development projects. Marginal mining prospects tend to lie in wait, often not attracting significant investment for years, even under value-added rainbows. My own expectation is that Coosa will be “fast tracked” straight into a coma.
If you hang on for the share exchange, hope that Westwater strikes lithium and that it promotes the story well, hopefully without censuring your voice and those of other shareholders on US focused forums. Better luck to everyone in 2018.