Management deserves zero respect
What really bothers me about this company is the complete lack of integrity.
I can forgive the mistakes like Canada Nickel. Even competent people take risks which prove to be ill-advised in hindsight. Of course, that cash would be so lovely in SA's coffers right about now.
I can forgive the years of waiting for COWs, and then more painful time waiting, and waiting for the Pinjam permit. That stuff is beyond their control, and from I can see they greased the wheels as well as they could, building seemingly important relationships along the way, without reaping any real benefits.
I can forgive the share price getting absolutely creamed from where most of us took positions, largely due to general market malaise for small companies, overall hatred for this sector, and the Indonesian factor... all of which, again, beyond their control.
What I cannot forgive is pilfering this company's cash for personal gain for years, via management fees and other untimely expenses, while other shareholders are sitting with a big fat (soon to be realized) loss.
This company has never made a dime, and they've been essentially shut down in Indonesia for nearly 2 years now, all the while allowing their cash burn to continue unabated. This sector downturn for junior gold plays didn't exactly happen overnight. Management was not only absurdly slow to withdraw from Indonesia (a political risk that many shareholders pointed out repeatedly 5, 6, and 7 years ago) but they also neglected to trim down their cash burn until it became painfully obvious - "hey, we're going to run out of cash in 12 months."
Zero integrity. And so they deserve zero respect.
The only points JP gets from me, over 8 years of being a shareholder (off and on, I wasn't holding right through) is that he managed to secure funds at 1.60 and 1.70.
Good for him.
But as they say, a broken clock is correct twice a day too.