RE:Marcus
When there is a transaction in your near market both in terms of resources and geography, it is a matter of interest.
What motivated Pretium to give up on Snowfields and grab $100 million and some potentially deferred compensation? They wanted to clean up their balance sheet, and I beleive they took a substantial write-down as well which will give them some tax relief. They have some credit facility borrowings coming due at the end of next year. Obviously they avoid further dilution and protect their revenue per share.
But the low price paid is eye-opening regardless of the circumstances of the principal parties. It indicates a big discount to NPV regardless of whether you count the whole resource of just the most valuable shallow, higher grades that model an open pit shell (sound familiar?)
Pretium seems to have eyes on some expanded underground exploration program - Highper has his knickers in a happy knot they are heading up to the TC mutual property line and it might be promising. Obviously snowfields was not in the production pipeline. If anything, it proves that unless you have a viable production plan and timetable for specific ounces, they just aren't worth that much. New exploration pushes valuation when it displaces best grades and pushes its way into the early timetable?
cg