Member Info for Andrew1987

TB, You can't expect us to discount the e-mails just because a report has been sent to the police. This could have been for a number of reasons. Are you directly telling us the information contained within the e-mails was entirely inaccurate? Hard to believe considering the same RNS you are referring to also said, the company may struggle to continue as a viable concern. Which was the general consensus of the e-mail leak.

From my recollection there was more than 2 pages. I wouldn't be willing to repost any pics i've saved due to the potential for criminality in doing so, but thats from my memory.

Blakeney, i've scrutinised the emails in great depth and I believe them to be genuine. I've dealt with many solicitors and as they are busy, they don't talk like people expect them too. They often use industry slang or abreviations. Things that were mentioned like "s75" which alludes to a section 75 public/private partnership agreement between the local authority and the company would only really be known by those in the know. If someone was trying to defraud and write a fake email, I believe they would have elaborated beyond abbreviations to extenuate their points, so as not to be misunderstood. I do think the e-mails tally. Even the extent of the questions and the nature in which they were posed. If someone was going to do damage, they would have said immediate liquidation or similar, not how to protect directors from a potential bad outcome.

To be honest samson, i'm 35, and I have enough about me to have more of a corporate understanding than that e-mail alluded to them having. For them to ask such questions like that in an email to solicitors just portrays a lack of any experience in business. A lack of understanding and professionalism. The company as a legal entity is guided by the directors, accountable to the shareholders who appoint them and whether management reported the issues or directors dug the mine themselves, it's the legal entity that has the issue and not the person who first sees it. They should have management reporting systems in place to monitor operational performance from day 1. This would cover the directors fiduciary duty for control systems. Reporting or seeing by the eye is inconsequential. It was an **** covering exercise e-mail. Nothing about improving the company for shareholders, all about how to spin it to avoid litigation.

TB. Put it this way, if you said the mountain had imploded and the local mole hills were now higher, it still wouldn't be as bad as it has been this week. Does the company have a future? No spin this time. The days for embellishments have been and gone. Time to build on the facts, if at all.

TB, If I was, it would still be brighter than the future of this company. No updates then?

TB, did the wife ask you to avoid bridges on the way home? Shocking results. Any updates?

Bare in mind, in the leak, i'm sure it said something like "potential for administration". Not, "danger of entering administration" or similar. But the "potential". Usually the phrase potential is used for a gain, not a loss. This was an e-mail not expected to be made public.

Samson, If your theory is correct - and i'm not saying it is - then the only outcome I can see is... force administration, bridgebarn owned by NLR would do this as the major creditor, then buy the entire rights back from administrators for pennies in the pound and get rid of other debtors/shareholders to take the company private at a cheap price.
This would allow NLR to mine at their leisure with minimal costs now everything has been paid by us.

The trouble is, NLR or anyone else can own 99% of the company, but if the cost to extract is proving more expensive than what is gained, ownership means exactly zero. That is why we are where we are. The problems and costs have exceeded the gain or otherwise we would have gold and profit, which we don't. After 13 years, if the money being made can't even cover costs, why would anyone chuck more money at the same old story. Buy in at 5p for all it means. Because if the gold isn't economical to get out (as we have just seen) then, guess what, it aint coming out. If it's even there, which is in doubt now. They might fling the last 500k borrowed money and might bring out some more ore, but can they do this consistently for the next 24-36 months. Considering what we have seen when we had more money previously, I doubt it.

Very sad day.
In response to your question, I will ask another…. Even if they had a great 1-3 month spell and extracted exactly what they wanted, would this continue for the next two years or so. Which is what would be needed or have any hope of clearing debts, paying running costs and returning a penny to shareholders. Unlikely imho.
It’s been a good message board full of laughs. I like tyndrum boy but the best laugh was one of our posters saying “tb reveal yourself” after a particularly bad run of events. It still makes me smile thinking back. Alas, one of the few smiles this company has delivered. Scotgolds biggest mistake was selling the dream over and over again to raise more money instead of being honest with the punters about what was happening on the shop floor. If they had done this since day one, the share price, and the price people bought in at, would have been a lot more robust to bad news. It would also have led to a lot more scrutiny over the years from shareholders which is a mechanism to drive improvements. This board has acted with impunity and only giving the shareholders a taste of good news when it suits them, while trying to hide the bad as we have seen in the most recent leak. Disrespectful to those who backed them and this is the outcome. Scotland will flourish despite them.

George with all due respect, that is a load of rubbish. You don't just keep mining when the grade drops to zero. If you forecast good grade material and it isn't coming out as such, you wouldn't plow on, wasting more time and money when there isn't any money to waste.
I think you are missing the point. It's like samson said, it's not just a case of they went in the wrong direction. It's that the entire projected deposits could be wrong and the company doesn't have the money to find out. If they spent 3M in less than 3 months, how long do you think 500k will last. Time to wake up and smell the coffee. I'm sorry to say the only thing you say thats accurate is the share price won't hang around these levels for long.... because it will be suspended when administration kicks in. It's legally wrong to trade insolvently.

To withhold information that grades, which are fundamental to the ongoing viability of the business, are none existent, for almost a month, is negligent at best. This business critical information should have been released at the earliest opportunity. Certainly not after exploring how to cover their back with solicitors.

Why buy at 15p when half year results are due which will be down. 120 odd oz mined last month. Hardly enough to pay the lecky. The future will be poor results next week, more requests for more cash to continue, more poor results, administration. Then and only then, once a lot of people have lost money, will the company continue in a much smaller capacity with reduced overheads and reduced income post restructuring, which may take a year to complete. IMHO, DYOR

"However, as the 430 West ore drive progressed in late February and into early March 2023, gold grades began to decline significantly, and the 430 West ore drive turned to waste, contradicting the grade control model."

Why did it take to 27th march to reveal the shortfall.

I'm out. To leave us in the dark over the state of the company and then have it revealed over the weekend in such a manner. To then put out an RNS off the back of someone leaking information. It wouldn't have been possible if the directors had been transparent. Best of luck to all, you'll need it once it hits administration.

I think it stands to reason that the mine/plant is working or how else have they been paying the bills? Notwithstanding, raising funds whilst contemplating liquidation is nonsensical.
Considering debt is with companies owned by the directors, there would be no benefit to administration as it would simply leave the companies assets open to purchase via another entity and who in there right mind would give up assets worth hundreds of millions for less than 12M. Other debts that could be wrote down and peripheral. The process would cost as much as any benefit.
In addition, all of the directors just bought into the most recent raise.
If the e-mail is indeed true, it may be the directors were ensuring they were not trading insolvently whilst the company had cashflow issues. Lawyers being lawyers will raise fees and explore every eventuality but this doesn't mean it's happening. This would be a prudent measure PRIOR to the raise, should the raise fail. If it were true, it would be an outdated email as the cash to secure the business was just raised at the latest offering.

The Reducer. It very much does matter what the route cause of the problem if it's a different cause then it'll be a different fix. The banks are not carrying the same junk they did before. You say the outcome is the same with 2008.... well it's not. 2008 was an entirely different kettle altogether. Banks like barclays are hoarding cash instead of junk AAA american mortgages. Completely different gravy to the market being low on confidence due to inflation.

Fair comments LWHL but I don’t believe any of the issues you mentioned are route causes of bank rot, more causes of low confidence. The difference between 2008 and now is that in 2008, the problem actually was with the institutions. This time, the problem is elseware which is leading to low confidence rather than long term failings. Inflation is projected to be sub 3% by the end of the year, putin grows weaker every month as you will see by no big spring offensive and interest rates will surely follow inflation and temper which will help to grow the economy in due course. All returning confidence. Maybe it will take longer to return to roses but low confidence and the panic will quickly subside imho. Usual caveats, dyor apply. Best wishes to you.

I genuinely don't see a crash coming. In 2008 there was underlying deep rooted rot. This blip is just in confidence. War in europe, inflation, post covid etc, it's normal for markets to be low in confidence and banks take the brunt but once it doesn't crash over the next few months and confidence returns, so will the prices and the ones who bought when others are fearful, will benefit.