1) I guess some bottom feeders are cashing in their big profits today. Too bad they are not interested in $.35 - $.60, which is likely not too far away. I guess it provides a good entry point for other new investors. I look forward to Century closing off the remaining $250K FT financing (on or before April 3rd). It's not clear if any of those participants are still raising cash today (via sales of exising CMM shares), but it's possible also.
2) The Calgary investment conference is happening this upcoming weekend. Century's value proposition is becoming more compelling with each passing day. It's unclear if new folks will invest in Century via the conference, but at least Century can now paint a picture that most investors an relate to.
3) Based on a previous NR, it sounds like analysts were kicking Century's tires a little bit at the Toronto conference. I wouldn't be surprised if we finally get analyst coverage at some point down the road (after financing has been closed off and perhaps after some other improvements have been made).
4) Also, with financing and operational progress, both a TSX big board listing and a Lima listing may be possible. I think the TSX listing is way into the future, perhaps not until Lamaque is substantially ramped up and demonstrates solid performance results (including cash cost). I wouldn't be surprised if the Lima listing comes first. By the way, there are likely multiple ways of getting a Lima listing. I don't necessarily think it has to be by way of only the traditional method, as other ways may allow for 2 or 3 company goals to be achieved at the same time - I think our options are open.
5) I vaguely remember seeing a picture of an assay lab that is located at the Lamaque Complex, but I don't recall where I saw it (thus I don't know where to look to view it again). An active assay lab (if it exists and if they reopen it for this purpose) should help quite a bit with the exploration efforts. They will be able to get quicker results, thus be able to better pinpoint their targets. They would still need to send away for some independent confirmation (I assume), but an active in-house assay lab should still be of great assistance. They would also need to weigh the cost of reopening it versus the benefits gained.
6) Century had a couple of new drill rigs at Lamaque, but I will assume they had to send them back due to the 2008 credit situation (although I don't know). Nevertheless, it should be extremely easy to sign up a drill contractor these days, with what has happened to exploration companies over the past year. Also, Century should have absolutely no problems with hiring miners and purchasing/leasing mining equipment, once that time has arrived.
7) IQ was willing to reduce our LT Debt amount from $15M Cdn to $9M Cdn if the Fortis deal had gone through - if was their part to help us close off the Fortis deal, and thus create jobs in Quebec. It is not clear where they stand with this current (Union) deal. IQ's balance will be paid down at closing, but it's unclear what the amount will be. Let's hope we still get some sort of discount, as the extra money will provide more contingency down the road. (although I have said it many times before, I'll say it one more time) IQ has been a great partner, from what I can see. We have been fortunate to have them over the past year or two. IMO, they have contributed quite a bit to the success we are now beginning to realize. Perhaps they will continue to partner with us on new projects down the road.
3 comments:
With regard to #5, the efficiency of having on-site assay capability, this process is greatly enhanced by using ‘state of the art’ assaying equipment. Let’s hope Century goes with an AA Machine (Atomic Absorptive Spectral Photometry). It is orders of magnitude more accurate than Fire Assay and also orders of magnitude faster. Some old timers out there still want to rely on fire assaying but most of us investors choose to live in the Twenty-First Century. Additionally, with the modern lamps it is possible to assay for multiple elements. Who would not want to know ppm’s (parts per million) for the copper, silver, molybdenum, nickel, and sulfur content of a given sample. At roughly $20K new this should be a no brainer. I do know that if I were a big C$ deal maker and saw fire assay equipment as the primary assaying tool I would turn big C$ deal breaker in a hurry.
petercz
It sounds like you have good knowledge in this area. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Thanks for the complement production05. There are experts on AA Machines far more knowledgeable than me. My background in aerospace does however tell me that what is needed at this point is a trade study to determine what the best tool is. Keep in mind the same device will tell Century how much gold is being recovered and lost once production starts. This is very important when your primary recovery circuit is rumored to be is a number of Knudsen Bowl Concentrators and tables. The 20K number I put out there would more than cover any of the flame machines out there. Given my Cadillac taste, I would use this for an entry level machine and when I could justify the upgrade go with a plasma machine at around 70K using the flame unit for backup and in-process checks. Given the significance of the data I would be using frequently interchanged two person crews working on double blind samples. But that again is my Cadillac taste showing.
One thing Century can do now at Lamaque is start to plan and permit a heap leaching process to get the gold accumulating in the soon to be started tailing piles that they missed on the first attempt at recovery. Even if the commissioning of the heap is in 2012 the gold would then be going nowhere but to the investors with a small delay in time.
petercz
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