Thom Calandras post This the worst or close to the worst investment I ever have made. After I went to see Magambazi at Handeni last year, I believed the company had a shot at a producing open pit. Canaco's execs at the same time played up Tigray Resources in Ethiopia (TIG). I saw that one, too. The Harvest project is run by the same Chinese engineers at SinoTech. But big investors (some of them having made a killing on Canaco's run UP through March 2011) likely saw the Tigray spinoff as a waste of their time. I know a few hedge funds in NYC and Toronto and other large investors threw in the towel at that point; I should have, too. I still own it. I had company: I recall Nick Campbell at Canaccord making it a speculative buy at $3.15 in summer 2011. Still, there were concerns: 1. Tanzania title, as I understand it. CEO Andy Smith told me they solved the title issue somehow, but the entire affair seemed to me behind closed doors. I still fail to get it; the relative of a mining minister was ..
involved. 2. The China stake from SinoTech might be giving investors cold feet. Canaco might suffer from 'the Chinese will own Handeni for a pittance' syndrome. 3. At least two other Tanzania gambits, both bulletin board stock companies, were staking ground or controlled ground at Handeni or near it, making matters even more confusing to Canaco shareholders. 4. At this point, the much-promised resource estimate will be a non-event when it comes out. 5. I bought as high as $3.15 or so a share and all the way down to $1.30 or something; now it's a buck. So much for seeing a potential 200,000-ounce/yr AU project with my own eyes, right? Something else seems to be happening here. See: https://www.stockhouse.com/financialtools/sn_shnews.aspx?qm_symbol=V.CAN -- thom calandr
CONT) ... I wondered this past autumn (2011) whether part of the Canaco challenge was the nation itself: mining officials who waffle on decisions, talk of a super-tax on miners and other cos; but then I hit the road and got distracted. Still, look at Tembo (TEM) -- a rocket ship on decent Tanzania gold grades. Tembo shares are new, and new is often captivating; still, what a debut. I declined taking part in a Tembo placement, as I do most equity placements. Mistake. For the record, I own 50,800 shares of Canaco, all purchased open market. I likely will hold most of them to see the resource estimate and PEA. Andy Smith told me this week, "It's been a stunning fall from grace." That's obvious. I'd like to know more. -- Thom Calandra