RE: RE: RE: RE: Compensation Table makes one sick. Unfortunately it is not just Leahy.
NTC does not appear to be run with consideration for shareholders.... period.
The relationship with their two principle directors, CEO and Secretary is troubling.
Leahy making almost 3 x as much as PM Harper for running a junior mining company that is struggling to eke out a profit is unjustifiable. The company Secretary make over $200K for having the qualification of being familiar with regulatory filings. The Wessons husband and wife team at WOF make less than half the combined income of these two and I expect face considerable more hurdles and complexity in what they are trying to accomplish.
The TDI fiasco points out the problem with the relationship with the directors. $10M dollars down the drain on this partnership with privately held TDI controlled by one director with patents and fees being collected by the other. Both these directors stand to gain from off the books transactions on tungsten activities, but I see no transparency that this has not or is not occuring.... selling W product to their companies or paying fees or others considerations. What tangible benefit did NTC and the minority shareholder derive from the TDI expenditures. Any other CEO at any other publicly traded company might have to worry about their jobs but at NTC there appears not to be even enough concern to bother explaining to minority shareholders where the $10M went and why it was written off.
The Directors then come to the aid of NTC by providing a letter of credit for which they are paid (i believe by my calculation ) almost 12% interest without even having to advance any funds, moreover the security is further linked to the resource assets of Mactung. This left me with the uncomfortable feeling that this company may be driven into the ground, either intentionally or through incompetence and self interest and that the principles would be left to scoop up the remains for a pitance while the minority shareholders (me at the time ) could be wiped out. Leahy and Secretary keep their highpaying jobs under a reorganized company, the "tungsten team" would get to keep their jobs with a new corporate employer and the directors would be able to sell their interest in the Mactung assets to whoever picks up what's left of NTC. Kevin Douglas' involvement seemed to be an offset to this scenerio, but I have no idea how or why he is invested in NTC and what background considerations might be play with only one major independent shareholder to offset my concerns about the insiders. It seems to me that NTC and it's asset base would be an attractive takeover by Chinese interests, particularly as there is a Chinese firm just down the road developing the Yukon Zinc holdings.
I've been a strong booster of NTC in the past but unless I could receive some assurance that my interests as a minor casual investor are being protected by the Management and Board of this company I could not risk my retirement savings any further. I'll try to follow this company because I grew quite fond of the story of this little miner struggling to keep it's head above water in the frozen north and competing against the mighty Chinese industrial miners keep this last bastion of Tungsten production available for Western needs.... but I can't shake the feeling I may be being had, I'll sit on the sidelines for a while till see some signs my fears are misguided.