I find Vwig is being honest in this post on the other SA board. I feel that the Mountaineer gang are frustrated and rightly so. SA is tired and most likely they want to move on. Perhaps buying another company might spark a new story line. SA is having trouble getting new investors. I think everyone is. Indonesia is putting up to many road blocks and Investors in SA want to get their money back and get out. I don't blame them at all. John Proust always means well, but sometimes when you think everything is working out you get delayed or the forecast changes. We feel your pain. Cheers.
Covie,
I think people still care because they are mostly all under water with any one or more of the JP companies that they have invested in. I have invested in many of them, and have yet to see any reward, after 6 years of support. That said, one can easily find reasons for everything., The sector is in the dumps, Indonesia is a hard place to deal with, etc, etc. Ultimately, like anything else, one has to ask oneself, where does the buck stop?
In the end, I think that people are just tired of waiting and hearing the same thing over and over again. Hang in there, it is just around the corner, things will get better, we are making great strides in advancing the company, we are well financed, drilling, and it will happen..etc..etc... There comes a time when you just kind of get tired of hearing the same thing over and over again, and just want them to S--- or get off the pot. Now they are talking about diversification. Many might be inclined to say " why don't you just finished what you started first?" Others might say let's use the money to buy other companies that are with resource, but without cash. Who knows what the right move is. Maybe a combination of both?
6 Years into this and we still do not have a 43-101, but we know there is a chance of seeing one in June, as projected, nor do we have any clear idea of how this can or will be monetized. I have been told that JP is tired, Mike Andrews is tired, and that this has been a difficult process. I think all of us are tired and just want to see it come to an end, but one that we can all live with. Like Morris said before, most of us are past our dreams of sugarplums and little fairies.........and just want to get out without losing a fortune. I think JP might try to monetize this as soon as he can and move on. His other companies are not faring any better right now and you can look those up and see that it is not as easy as one may think to actually create shareholder value in this sector. We can put people up on pedestals as much as we want, but in the end, results are what count, nothing else. Dime a dozen for those who try, very few succeed in doing so.
Ultimately, and after all this time, for me, SA was not a good investment/decision, considering the amount of money and time spent supporting it, and I still question where management will be able to offer shareholders any substantial value when I look around and see other companies with greater resources and advanced projects that are trading at "cash in bank" levels. Management knows that it now has to do something to come to a conclusion that is acceptable to everyone, including themselves. Look.........if they were so excited about it, they would have bought more of their own stock after getting the permit and starting the drilling............it is that simple for me. We got the permit and absolutely nothing changed in the share price. That should be a clear indication that much much more is needed to garner any attention. Maybe years of delays created a "boy who cried wolf" effect for SA?
Unless they are blacked out and there is already a deal in the works, then insider buying is what you need to look at. There is none, and not because they do not have the money to do so. I think they also realize that they have poured enough time, money and effort into this one and now are looking for a deal so that they can move on, and thereby allow us to move on with at least something to show for our years of supporting them. Mike Andrews has a lot of his own money in this one, and I cannot see him just walking away, nor can I see JP walking away, as he seems longing to continue in this business, so it is imperative that at least one of his companies shows something of value for him to run on going forward. I am hoping that SA will be the one, and have been doing so for the last 6 years. Longest time ever for me in any resource stock, as I know that these high risks stocks are not to be held so long, but I got caught up in this one, and too much so, like many others.
The sector is down and hopefully after the summer, this will change. I am also hoping that JP is working on some kind of deal to monetize Lombok, as I cannot see them putting another 6 years of effort into this before seeing any value. Look, 6 to 7 years is a long time for shareholders to wait. I remember JP telling me personally, face to face, that he needed 5 years to "get this done". Well, that was 6 years ago. The unknowns, the political risks, always changing, always unpredictable, take a toll on anyone in this sector.
In the last year or so, there has also been a lot less communication with shareholders and of course, after a second bout of no drilling for long periods, we are now just getting back to the drilling and I am sure they are doing their best to expose what they feel is a potential resource to get the 43-101 done and finally be able to maybe find a partner to move it forward. At this point, I personally do not think they will be moving anywhere but towards a JV or an outright sale of the properties. They have to create some manner of revenue stream, because at some point, if you do not deliver in this business, you will lose support. There is a definite pressure on them after this long to find some value for shareholders, including themselves.
The recent results were good........and add to the potential resource. The fact that they will be drilling for porphyries may tell us that maybe someone is asking them to do so, because I did not expect them to drill for those at this stage. Maybe they are doing so to feed a need for more info from a suitor, who knows? The fact that there is an election next year may also be a reason for the pressure that they are feeling right now. Who knows whether the next gov't will be better or worse for the mining industry there? Hard to imagine worse...........but I learned a long time ago never to say "SURELY, IT CANNOT GET WORSE", as you usually lose.
Right now, I just believe that people have been beaten down, like the sector, and need some form of really good news to find some excitement about this company going forward. Do I personally hope it will be in alternative projects? No..........not after seeing what the last deals brought us. I just want them to get this one done with , and find us some value, and then they can move on.
Are they doing everything in the best interests of the shareholders? Well, I certainly hope so, if they want to continue to have shareholders. Do I believe they were under the impression that this was going to be a lot easier? Yes, definitely.
One thing still pulls at me and I have not yet gotten a really satisfactory answer to it, and that is why Hamish moved on to other things. Was he tired of the running around and not being in the field, or have they already found someone to monetize this, so his input was not needed anymore? Guess I'll not find out anytime soon, and in the end, it doesn't matter much. Right now, all I want to know, in truth, is whether the management of this company will finally show us some value in the near future.
We can speculate back and forth all we want, but in the end.............only thing that will count is whether the management team in place is able to actually show us some reward for our long years of waiting and supporting them. If anyone believes that they do not know this and feel a strong responsibility towards shareholders and the need to bring this to a good conclusion, then maybe they should not have gotten involved in this one from the get-go. There is still some confidence in management here, and we have to assume that they are doing what is possible to move forward and create value, all the time knowing that the clock ticks and people are watching, not as closely as before, but watching nonetheless. Remember that we also know that if this moves up, at some point, there will be an exodus of longs wanting to get out. One can only guess what will happen then. If the forward movement is continued, back by solid fundamentals, and momentum is on their side, then it may not create the vacuum many of us believe it might.
Indeed, you can get downright sick and tired of a lack of progress after many years, and even when that progress comes back, we still linger in the down cycle for a while before getting excited. We need a slew of good news to light any kind of fire under this one right now. Hoping for that in the next months.
cheers,
VWIG
(as usual, all thoughts above are just my very humble opinion.)