RE: RE: Check out Alexis Minerals I bought GGG BIG when all BB pundits were certain the company was going bankrupt over the Bella Vista Mine sliding down the hill; predicting mass environmental death & destruction. Amazing what one can find out contacting the company, having an open mind, rather than shooting from the hip or mouthing off with an ill-informed opinions. I suggested a buy, but was quickly shouted down, by those "in the know!" 15-cents buys if memory serves.
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But Bella Vista was the least of my concerns - I could see the great potential from the Jabali veins from some old Geo Report I found on SEDAR, posted by a previous owner many years earlier. I posted tables on the GGG & CSM boards (1) showing the potential for the La Libertad Mine (renamed Orosi for a while) to be a 200,000 opy mine from organic growth. But alas, no foresight on BBs in many cases.
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That was all in Stan Bharti's lap, but alas, Mr. Bharti & Company waited until July 2008 to try to do his last bit of financing. I never figured out why they procrastinated when they started construction many months prior! But hey, I'm not with the "Great & Powerful Oz!" Really, imho a bad toe-stub when Bharti had a guy like Tagliamonte fast tracking things and doing a great job of it! So CSM got caught by the crash, didn't have enough cash to survive or to finish the build and had to sell out.
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I am just glad that Wade Dawe and his Nova Scotia outfit got out bid by Clive Johnson and B2Gold. Clive & Tom know what they are doing. Wade is still bogged down trying to make a go of the Black Fox Mine. [I recently looked at BRD again, and saw the same things I saw a few years ago: 'we NOW have a better understanding of the Geology so we can NOW mine better and reduce dilution- and things will get better...'] I can only imagine what a quagmire La Libertad would be in under "other" hands.
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So if an 8-bagger qualifies as a good trade then I guess GGG-->CSM--->BTO has been an OK trade.
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But alas, the crack in the "Bharti is God" scenario came early for me. That is why I was glad to see Luxor "take control" of this outfit. After seeing what they did with Palladon, one would like to see a repeat scenario. Oh and another lesson from CRK is when the market offers you "free money" you take it - and by that I mean when one can buy shares at 55-60 cents and have a guaranteed buyer at 62-cents, it is a no brainer. That was much better returns than "buy & hold" or "buy & fold" on most all junior mine plays by the end of 1Q!
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Now I'd just like to see CRK stand on its own two feet: in other words how long until CRK qualifies for its own separate offices, out of the 8th floor of 65 Queen Street, and gets away from paying some Bharti company for "services"? One has to wonder what is the effective lease rate for the 8th Floor.... seeing how I suspect 16 companies are paying for the square footage - Are they all paying for the same square footage many times over?
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But alas, with Chantal getting appointed to the AMC BOD, it is pretty clear that he's attached to the F&B teats and that is of concern. Tagliamonte was doing great things with CSM on his own - but when he moved [or was forced to move] the company to the 8th Floor, that is when things started to fall apart!
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So let's see what Luxor and its money does with this outfit going forward. This merger wasn't done without a Luxor blessing so, let's see what pro money can do here. But at times I suspect we all will have our private frustrations with this one too.
1. https://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/December33/OrosiMine-ProductionPotential.jpg