Tim answered a couple of questions for meI asked Tim a couple of questions as I was concerned with the recent drop in share price. He indicated that I could share his answers on the chat board.
I asked if Erin will update shareholders regarding Investco2 if they walk away from the deal. He responded, "Yes, we will inform shareholders as to the outcome of the negotiations with “InvestCo2”, no matter the result. A formal update will be forthcoming once there is something material to say."
I asked him about the news release on the work plan. I indicated that it looked like the deal with Investco2 was dead as why would Erin plan for and pay for a work plan if Investco2 was going to come and complete all of the work and foot the bill for it? His response was, "I see nothing strange about announcing the planned exploration work. The purpose of the news was several fold:
- To explain that we have a work obligation which must be met in order to keep our license in good standing with the Serb government (irrespective of our discussions with any potential investor).
- To explain what our work obligation entails, when it must be completed by, and how long we estimate the work to take once underway.
- As several shareholders expressed concern that the negotiation delays might put our license in jeopardy, the news showed that we in fact have a comfortable window in which to complete the requisite work, allowing us to continue with investor discussions in the meanwhile.
- To show that management is aware of our license obligations (one eye on the clock), and while we hope and expect our discussions with the investor to conclude successfully, we must always design viable alternative plans that allow Erin to continue down the path towards being a going concern mining operation, in the event that one particular set of negotiations is not successful (i.e. make sure that all of our eggs are not in one basket).
What the news was NOT designed to do: hint that there is no partnership on the horizon (as this simply has not been determined). In relation to our announced work plans, if we successfully conclude negotiations with the investor, it is our intention to immediately scale up the plan to include all works required to take the project through to feasibility and a mine license application (we already have that entire work plan fleshed out)."
I voiced my concern and frustration with the current share price and he responded with, "Market trading activity (upward or downward) only reflects an individual investor’s speculation as to what they might believe is going to happen, not advance knowledge of any news (as there is no conclusion at this point – good or bad)."
So Erin is still negotiating with Investco2 and as per the interview with Tim on Small Cap, the negotiations are at an advanced stage. The current share price does not reflect the value of Erin nor does it reflect that the deal with Investco2 has ended unsuccessfully as many here have speculated.
I thanked Tim very much for taking the time to answer my questions and concerns.