RE:Golden GiftI'm on US west coast time and woke up reading this board and it seemed everything was a Debbie Downer. The big headache for me in regards to the future of this Company was how in the hell they were going to come up with $300 million if they got the environmental permit at Soto Notre. Today's announced deal is a stroke of genious and on par with the $12 million = 100,000 more ounces/year news of late last year.
Aris has a project partner flush with cash, now exposed to the entire Company's operations upside. The partner also has reduced risk if Soto Notre permit doesn't go through. Hence, they would end up with a big $0 with no permit. I like the fact that when it comes time to do mine construction, they have a reliable and self-motivated partner to fund the project and/or create favorable financing terms.
Aris has now flipped the script on local opposition. Yes they are targeting a lower production rate for now, but once they prove they can keep the enviromental footprint small, they can expand.
Gold is down $47 today, with nearly all of the gold mining stocks I track are in the red, yet Aris is up. The HUI is down 20 points since Monday and Aris is unchanged. If we get a good string of strong Gold metal price days, Aris might be looking at visiting the mid-C$6.00 range. I believe Institutions will view this news and latest development as big positive. That $300 million over-hang now gone is simply fabulous. Go Neil, Go!