RE: Over 120M diluted sharesI'm not sure how you arrive at the conclusion that SST has "too much paper." While SST had 26mm shares outstanding as of a year ago, they also had 13.3mm shares in $1.80 warrants out there, so even at the lowest count SST had around 40mm FD shares outstanding.
No one's a fan of unnecessary dilution, but if SST was to only have 26mm shares outstanding, that mean they'd have done nothing and not hit the $1.80 price at which the spin-off warrants had value. So, they'd have expired, worthless. How was SST to then advance their exploration properties with no money? They'd have had to do what every exploration company does--a PP. There was no getting around a PP, unless you want the company bought out for a song, or to have had them borrow the money? (And what bank would have done that?)
I think a better guide as to whether management is watching out for excessive dilution will be the structure of future deals. Look at the most recent one: they increased both their annual silver production and ownership of silver in ground by about 200%, while increasing the FD share amount by just 20%. Pretty accretive, if you ask me! {:- )
SST now has ownership of around 300mm ozs. Ag; no debt (fully diluted, that is); production of 3mm ozs a year by 2009; is aggresively advancing their promising exploration properties; and, working on new silver stream deals.
I'd rather have the current present and bright future, than a moribund silver explorer with 26mm shares outstanding at $0.50 per share that's unable to do anything because they're broke.
IMNSVHO, managmenet is industrious, creative, and smart. I'm amazed at what they've done one year. I've invested in plenty of silver stock companies that eked out a bare existence while trying to explore their properties, without much of ANYTHING changing in a year.
Look at Metaline Mining a couple years ago. Management was so wary of dilution, it waited too long--until it was virtually entirely out of money. Then, because things got desperate, the stock got killed and management had to virtually triple FD shares to simply keep the company moving forward. Good intentions, by themselves, are insufficient.
It's a free country and you are free to disagree. But I invite you to reconsider whether SST has "too much paper." The company's been transformed in just one year. What'll things be like in two more? Now, THAT is fun to think about!
Good luck to all!