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If you look at the annual reports it will be confirmed that Mather was being paid up to $600k per year, steadily increasing from the initial $300k a decade or so ago. Mather definitely was allotted $3milion (so my timing was correct but I did say "4 years of so"). Mather followers, no doubt day traders, forget the 55 million options he allotted himself. Again, look at the above 'SOLG Director's Deal' page on this LSE Discussion Board and you will see a pattern where Mather sells high and is rewarded low. Unfortunately, it doesn't go back when company first formed at 50p levels and the massive decrease in price to 2p when Mather, under his management control, soaked up huge numbers to current 200million levels...... a lot were free. Mather was on the selection panel to choose who came on board and he certainly was involved in the knife in the back and blaming game when they were removed, sacked or resigned. He is self serving and conned through lies and manipulation. I gave examples of the other companies he is still CEO and Chairperson of......but you are not interested in seeing the truth. His leadership is still causing utter mayhem.
Needlife, well said. If you want to review the antics of this guy with the other companies, all on the ASX, you will see how much of a con he portrays for any investors not in his list of friends. At this very moment he is raising $55million with a oil and gas company called AJQ that had a value of $9million on ASX. Only a year or so ago the same company's shares were as high as 6cper share and then out of the blue they plummeted to just over 2 cents. He and his personally selected directors then did a series of capital raisings at 2.1cents which was hugely over prescribed and Mather etc who were underwriters scored their 5% plus, buying a huge extra chunk for themselves. Then the shizzer hit the fan a month later with a blotched up fracking gel operation which basically drastically reduced production for now years. The $11 - 15 million raised which was supposed to used for a de-merger to occur was never spent on demerger and at a time when world gas prices are at their highest, the same company if having to buy gas from other producing companies and selling it to the companies that they have contracts with at significantly reduced prices. Many millions of dollars lost per year. Now $55 million capital raising at 0.004cps occurring when the total value of entire company was worth $9million(Aus). Guess who is picking up the majority of these shares at rock bottom prices. Hundreds of millions being assigned to Mather, directors and their mates. Over $11 million given to AJQ in the last 12 months. approved by DGR, Mather and directors. Over four times the number of new shares being sold while original shareholders sitting on investments that are now worth a fifth. Again, guess who is picking up their 5% underwriting costs of this new CR ($2.75 million). Have a look at DGR, which now holds around 8.5% of SOLG (was originally around 50% at time of listing) which Mather is the CEO of including DGR's daughter companies....most of which are trading at 0.001cps. All the directors have been close associates of Mather with guys like the CFO and company secretary being in that role in all of them. Literally charging all the companies massive amounts per company for their services. Over 4 years or so ago Mather was paid $3.6 million (US) for being CEO of SOLG and nearly a million dollars from the other companies. Even now Mather's power over SOLG is huge......he is SOLG's representative and signatory for the European Bank where our company's money is held. Get rid of this fellow and we just might get some value back for the rest of us.
With so many resignations and vacancies in recent months I wonder who within SOLG management/Directors is/are actually formulating the 'Strategic Review Process' and any and all the other reviews we have been led to believe were due months ago and perhaps are coming. Most of remaining senior people are performing their roles on a part time basis. Mather is a prime example with about at least 8 senior director roles in other companies. Our current CEO has also a number of positions else where and our CFO likewise Being paid very handsomely on many fronts. Then quite a few of the long term managers are now only ADVISORS to the company. So who is/ are doing these reviews? What expertise do they have? With so many things overdue and simply not done who prioritizes which ones will be completed first. No wonder our share value is being plundered.
Bozi has said no one will care what price BHP and other major shareholder initially purchased their shares at as they do have a majority of shares. Isn't dilution a *****! But one has to also consider Mather, DGR and his consortium of other large shareholders will certainly tip the combined balance well over 50% levels. These shareholders (under Mather's control ) have in the main gotten their holdings at a lot cheaper price than BHP etc. Remember that DGR once held 50% of SOLG at time of listing on London Exchange when price was 50ps i.e., 200+million shares meant around 100 million pounds. Now valued at around 35 million. Mather's own current holding value, though purchased when he managed to buy at prices of around 2p per share (whilst the managing CEO) together with all of his free bonus shares (still making 10s of millions in profit), has also dropped off equally. So I don't think all these current significant shareholders will be accepting a 40 to 50p takeover offer. It going to have to be a little bit more in MHO. The problem is no one trust Mather within the company nor entities who may make a takeover offer. Mather has been paid well in excess of $US10 million while he was the SOLG CEO over the last decade (plus bonus shares)and upon his resignation only received an additional $750,000. All the while he was acting in a part time role and being paid handsomely being in control of other companies linked to SOLG and DGR. Get rid of this self serving wolf and SOLG's other shareholders might actually get something of their investments back.
Yes, the small investors voted for board at last AGM and we are getting more of the same for all of our loyalty. Nothing! Nothing and more nothing! How long to go before we actually get some value back from these bastards. Cornerstone shareholders are getting true value while small investors in SOLG are being diluted into nothingness. Mather has done so well at managing this company......starting off with 85% ownership at 50p a share and now 5 times the share numbers and share value at under 17p. Went down to 2 p and didn't Mather and his inside friends mope huge percentages for their own holdings. He was one of three decisions makers who appointed a new CEO, new Secretary, new CFO, other credible professions in their own fields and look how they have gone.....all out the back door......pushed by Mather Imho. Complete change in strategy and the market doesn't believe anything they say......cannot be trusted. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of pounds spent on drilling etc with delayed reports never ending while tens of millions of pounds going to Mather and lesser extent his fellow directors. Another year has passed and years more to go before production from anything SOLG has discovered. Sell outright, joint venture, go to production or go broke......no one seems to know. Day traders delight and stuff the long term investors.
This par for the course with SOLG's Board and Executive Officers. We have/had a PR Officer being paid a substantial salary and previously was going to be issued a million bonus shares. I thought she had an office in London but who knows with this mob. Message from the board to all shareholders with please vote for us and when actual shareholders wanted to link into the Dec AGM they were locked out.....again typical of this mob. Have a look at HotCopper discussion forum in Australia and you will get the gist of how DGR, AJQ, etc shareholders feel about Mather. These shareholders have lost 80-90-95% of there investments all while following the Mather strategy of his own self fulfillment. And he does it all so well and remains the "holier than thou" for his faithful believers. With all the recent resignations one has to ask how many were pushed by .............. All of whom he personally selected so it says a lot for his management style.
Mather has been up to his tried and successful self interest tricks once again. In one of his companies DGR daughter companies, AJQ, listed on the ASX he is proposing to issue around 223,000,000 shares to be issued as an employee incentive. Individuals get issued many tens up to a hundred million shares as well. (Refer to AJQ's last announcement of a few days ago.) We know from history of this fellow when he says 'employee incentive' he means the bulk will be given to himself and in far lesser quantities to other members of the Board and senior admin personnel. Remember the 180 million 40 and 60 p options to be allocated as employee incentives, about 50 million of the 55 million actually allocated were given to he, himself...selfish little devil. Don't forget the $5 million he also allocated to himself as a company loan. AJQ is controlled by a partner of DGR's recently appointed Chairperson and Mather, CEO, and both companies' board and senior management are largely the same. No conflict of interest here. DGR recently gave AJQ an additional $8.5 million (Aus) and in the last agenda for the coming AJQ's AGM came up with the proposal to allocate this additional 223 million shares to 'Empoyees'. In the last 12-18 months the same Board members have raised an additional $12 million to pay off debt and to finance a de-merger of AJQ but that has not happened and little information as to what is happening. AJQ's share value went from 6.8cps to just over 2 cps and an over prescribed share raising occurred ...guess which two board members under rite and received their 5% from all money raised. Within months a surprise mishap was acknowledged when the company contracted to provide fracking gel failed. Gas produced dropped off dramatically and still has not been resolved. AJQ's share value hovers around the 0.005-0.007 cent mark and these same Board of Directors believe they deserve 223,000,000 fully paid shares for what they have done and likely to achieve in the future. All the investors who raised the last $12 million dollars are down to about 30% value and the 6.8 cent holders of 18 months ago are down 90%, with a whole lot of dilution to boot. Reminds me of what happened when DGR de-merged their interests into SOLG at 50 pence and then the roller coaster to 2 pence ride when Mather bought and was given the bulk of his current SOLG shares. Surely it is now time to dismiss this fellow from SOLG at the next AGM in December when he has to be re-elected to the board. He has proven poisonous to long term SOLG investors and nothing has occurred to ensure private investors, other than day traders, will ever make any returns he and his cohorts have sprouted for well over a decade. Mis-information and mismanagement have been his/their strategic course and guess what he is now reversing his opinion concerning the sale so to monetorise and get true value for all shareholders. Yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rednight, your comments as usual indicate you have special access to information that the rest of us do not. Certainly you have continued through the viewing of your rose coloured glasses concerning Mather's ability to fairly and properly lead SOLG over the last decade or so when long term holders have seen their investments plummet to current levels. Remind you to do some additional research on how his other directorships/chairmanships and CEO positions through DGR are fairing. Most are selling at 90 odd percentage points down......a few down to 0.001 cents (Aus) levels to further example his abilities. Refer to above column "SOLG Directors Deals" if you want verification of my assertions. Suppose your reliable source within SOLG organization.....possibly Mather himself, helps with your supposition that Mather is the only possible king/ringmaster and savior of all the private investors. Your assertion that SOLG's share price would need to go up by 150% for Mather to recoup his losses. Maybe, but that assumes Mather has paid an average of what 17p X 1.5 = 25.5p for his shares. But in reality, Mather collected most of his 4+% of SOLG's current shares by giving himself options, bonus shares and shares bought on the market when he strategically allowed share value to collapse from 50p inception price to 2p and the highest he has paid is around the 25p was a small bundle a year or so ago. He was forced to resign from his US$600k CEO position of which he was owed @ $400k and then arranged for another $475k (total of US$875,000). He certainly lost big time when his allocated 50 odd million 40p and 60p options which they expired last year but believe he has a bucket full of the 36p (?) options which are still valid. Don't forget the $5 million loan allocated to him by the company to use to buy SOLG shares and/or options when the time suits him. After encouraging BHP to buy in, together with Newcrest, and then fighting with everyone it is no wonder that they all hate him and wanted him removed from his autocratic leadership positions. I acknowledge Cornerstone has recently accepted a merger deal.....but what were their options otherwise. And now we are in the position we now find ourselves in.....huge dilution, poor share price, none or little communication, late in everything promised and when something is released it mostly turns out to be inaccurate, incorrect, very costly to repair or repeat process and again more delays. What a brilliant leader he has turned out to be! Come the AGM he must be removed permanently from any directorship or leadership/management role. The timing for an actual takeover will never be poorer than now, other than for a very low offer.
Can anyone explain how BHP and Newcrest Mining have power to influence decision making of Board when they have no representatives on the SOLG Board of directors! Cornerstone has one while Newcrest withdrew their's a year or so back. So all this conjecture that BHP and NCM has adversely caused such and such to happen resulting in our current situation seems a little confusing. Whereas Mather and his fellow cronies, all chosen while he had great influence and still has including selecting Cuzzubbo, is/are the real culprit/s which sees SOLG in this unbelievable situation we find ourselves in. Yes, BHP and NCM, and for that matter Cornerstone, have voiced their concerns about how SOLG has been run by Mather and his cohorts. As we enter what will be probably a significant long term world recession, if not depression, this is the path that our current Board, and especially Mather, has lead us into. All the while he has looked after himself in huge pays, bonuses, allocations of options, million dollars company loans and entitlements. And all while he has been working in a part time capacity........reaping off additional money from the other part time board roles he is supreme controller of, e.g., DGR and it'd other daughter subsidiary companies. Apart from day traders there will not be many long term holders making anything from their investments. Remember at the time SOLG was first formed it's shares were listed at 50p. Mather saw that value drop down to 2p and guess who bought big then.
Why are you referring to BHP who might be exercising control. Surely, it is clear that the real culprits are Mather and his list of cohorts who have been exercising unlimited control over SOLG for the last decade or so. Mather has accumulated a vast fortune in shares over that period all the while he has been paid huge salaries.....starting at $350k, then $400k, then $600k and then arranged a $3million bonus in shares for a couple of years. Yes he has been forced to resign as CEO and only took a year to arrange a replacement....being one of three directors who selected the current one. Again, yes that this new fellow, who seems well credentialed, has a past history with BHP. Moller, Karl (past secretary of SOLG and all the other companies that Mather is master of until recently), together with the majority of other directors were all hand picked by Mather. It is not BHP or Newcrest or Cornerstone etc., or any of the other significant shareholders, it is Mather and cohorts who have recklessly and maliciously caused the demise of SOLG as it currently stands. Disgraceful behaviour and all while he was raking in the money each and every year. December's AGM must eliminate this festering sore from SOLG and only then will our company have an ability to rise from this hell we have been subject to decades.
Obviously no one knows how many rigs are being used by SOLG at this moment. It could be presumed that other companies will be contracted to use them as it would not be expected that they, the owners, would twiddle their thumbs while waiting for work from our company. As this valuable equipment and it's trained operators would not be readily available in a country such as Ecuador, even if money becomes available through dilution/capital raising etc., there may be a considerable delays in drilling activities for the other areas of interest. Around and around we go!!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps, out resident posters who seem to have access to persons of influence with SOLG might like to enlighten us all with the number of drills now immediately being used and or available.
At one stage, a couple of years ago, SOLG alluded to it having up to a dozen or so drilling rigs available and to be employed drilling throughout their highly prospective permit areas. Now we are have no drilling occurring in outer areas, as we are conserving/running out of money. Tens of extra millions spent on preparing another PFS which didn't change all that much from the original known resources and of course didn't include newly confirmed prospective gold and copper resources from nearby areas. How much has been spent preparing that (x2)report...something like 70 million or so. Mather now declares that company or cascabel is now up for sale......what a f........g incompetent liar he is! Have a look at DGR and it's daughter companies that he, Moller and the rest of his cohorts, are senior directors of .....most have lost investors 90+ percent. So with no drilling for last year (to preserve money) how many drilling rigs does SOLG currently have left to use should they sell more shares etc to raise more money to drill holes?
Thanks for that clarification LunchMoney. Not sure what 'non executive director' or 'independent director' or 'non-independent director' actually means and I suggest, am not the only one. I thought I had explained that none of the 60p options allocated to Mather were exercised.....my poor writing ability. Anyway, will do some research as to what the above mentioned terms actually mean. Would appreciate if someone much more knowledgeable that me might give their insights as well.
lets put this $100,000 for Chairman in 2021 to bed. Mather was in that position for 8-9 months and was paid $827K, as per annual report. The Chairman who was acting in that position for perhaps 3-4 months got paid the $100.000. He would only have received this pay when he was appointed to the position and not backdated to when Mather actually resigned. The SOLG chairman position for a whole year would have been paid roughly 4 times plus X $100k.....Mather was being paid substantially higher than his other directors year after year. Remember in one year alone it was well over $3millionUS. This was not his only job/position where he was paid collectively an additional $6-800,000 so at best his chairmanship was only for part time work he performed. That's not bad payment on what he achieved for SOLG shareholders over the last decade or two.
Addicknt and LunchMoney: Have reviewed Notes 5, 23 and 26 from 2021 Annual Report and will confirm that Mather/Samuals Investment PL received $400,162 in 2020. In 2021 he received a total $827, 380 which included an additional $427k severance payout when he resigned and became an independent director. Substantially well over chairman's $100k pay in 2021...taking that we only had an acting chairman after Mather's resignation. Mather was awarded some 31,250,00 60 p options due to expire in 2020 and 2021 which have not been exercised (5,000,000 from a loan from company). Nothing has been released from company or Board as to who will receive the additional 25-35 options which expire in 2023/24. Believe a large portion will be allotted to BHP .... but not sure. Remember that only a few years earlier Mather was granted $3,000,000 worth of shares for at least one year but that could have carried over to a second year......not sure. His pay increased from $350k to $400k and then to $600k per year (paid as CEO/Chairman for 8-9 months before resignation plus severance pay making total $827k). Average pays for other Directors of Board were Moller ($72k), Claire ($62k) Twigger ($93k). Newly appointed directors during financial year were more or less similar.
My question is the same. What can we expect Mather will receive now...suggest well less than $100k p/a but with this fellow I don't for a moment he will. I agree with Redknight1 that he is certainly not an independent director and like Buddy5 I think Mather should be scrutinized and ,imho removed all together. From memory no vote was taken concerning Mather's directorship at last year's AGM. He didn't have the guts to do so. 2022 will be different! Suggest all posters/shareholders at least on this forum have a look at the way DGR (8.9% interest held in SOLG) and it's daughter companies (refer hotcopper forum) which Mather has total control of and again paid substantially per year, are fairing. Most have a share value of under 1 cps (Aus$) and some are down to 0.001cps. Unbelievable that Mather is allowed to be a director/CEO or Chairman of any company. One that long term shareholders of SOLG have paid dearly while day traders have been able to feast.
We know when he became an independent director of SOLG, after resigning as CEO, his pay was around the $460,000 mark and then he was given another $475,000 because ........some have said by way of contractual arrangement. Nothing has been released on how much he is being paid for being an independent director. Does anyone know or have a thought as to what he will be paid? Will it be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars/pounds on an annual basis? Yes I understand that since his resignation as CEO and then appointment as an independent director, he was on at least two significant committees.......one of three selecting his replacement and the second..... to give direction for the future (?????)....or whatever it was. So no doubt he will, with the support of his fellow board members, demand (sorry meant will be fairly compensated) with many hundreds of thousands more than that expected by a simple independent director might expect. I am sure he will have made suitable arrangements!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RK, Go back a few years in the annual reports and you will see for yourself that Mather and a few others received their entitlement for loans so that they could buy options. No interest and no repayment times from memory. All to be paid back when T.O. presumably occurred. The auditor made comments regarding these loans. From memory Mathers was granted access to $5million (or could have been money for 5 million 60p options). The PR lady (now resigned) was granted loan for over a million options. Other senior officers of SOLG were on the list. This list was published in the various reports. Illegal it may have been but was still done. Perhaps that why the Canadian authorities called for proper statutory procedures and regulations to be followed. Mather called the tune and followed his own strategic plan for self.
Mather and I think a couple of the directors and senior executives have been granted loans from the company for 60p options. Don't know whether he/they took them up, remembering that these were loans with no date set for repay. Mather had 50 million+ of of the options allocated to himself out of 55 millions being aloted at the time. Have no doubt that he will be scheming to get more entitlements, because he absolutely deserves it!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, right.
BP, isn't this what our Board of Directors are doing at the moment. Nothing discussed or advised as to how SOLG is progressing to benefit shareholders. No statements, no announcements, no results from drilling.....no, no nothing! Mather resigns as CEO and gets the same Board to give him an extra $475 thousand and then is appointed to premium committees within SOLG and again takes ages and ages before those committees do what they were set up to do. Our new CEO says he wants to increase the value for shareholders but keeps doing exactly what Mather did.....repeat the same ole same ole. Nothing new here. Each of the Board of Directors gets paid every week/month/year (except Mather who gets more) and yet not one of them is achieving what they have been handsomely to do.....all delays and more delays. How much are we paying our public relations officer and we don't hear a peep. We don't know when the PFS will come out....nor do they, because they have a constant record of not doing what they say they are going to do. Delay the PFS not once, not twice, not even three times (though it should be before end of Q2...yeah right) and now they have changed the reason and what the PFS is supposed to do...initially to include the Tam deposit and now not. All the time we are heading down the path to a major economic recession/depression and lets not forget the emergence of aggressive states threatening wold peace.
Suggest posters here keep an eye on results from DGRs annual AGM occurring Monday, 31st. A number of Mather's board stooges are up for vote. Private investors on HotCopper forum have indicated their displeasure in the manner Mather and his band of cohorts have been feathering their own nests while destroying the value of small investors' shareholdings. Hopefully, enough will vote no accordingly to send a clear message about the displeasure small non-aligned investors feel. Mather has 20% and other directors have picked up significant levels as well, so there is little likelihood of forcing a change in board.....but, we have got to send a strong message neither the less. A recently announced capital raising, at hugely discounted price, has been gobbled up by one company closely aligned with Mather's recently appointed CEO. Market only advised when the deal was done....normal stuff for Mather. Reduce Mather's influence in SOLG and we all might actually see some profit from our investments before the end of this decade.