Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Guitarman - I read you are in Canada - are you going to the AGM on June 4? I may not be able to make it, but I will try to get there. I am just wondering if you will be there so I can hope that someone puts up details here.
We usually get a Q and A session where Art answers questions - what RELEVANT questions might people want to see? He will either answer or claim he cannot answer because of confidentiality obligations, but we can try.
Art does read this board, last year he accused a guy at the AGM that was asking him questions of just trying to get stuff to put on a London chat board. I hope he reads this and answers questions at the AGM for someone.
I expect the story will be - holds up are because of the election, and changes in staffing in government, and the Agamore lawsuit - all beyond control, but all looks great and drilling coming soon. He was telling us last year that the rig was picked and was being inspected and was on its way to be set up to start producing as of last AGM.
I am hoping we get a better update on Mozambique, which seems to have been ignored, when last year it was being touted as a proven gas play with infastructure nearby to refine it and use it. I might have the terminology wrong there, as I am not an oil and gas person.
I invested years ago and hold this stock hoping he can do something so I can recover before selling. Past AGM's, Art clearly overpromised things and under-delivered. He also said things would happen in podcasts that haven't. And last AGM he was very defensive about questions during the Q and A period. So again, it will be interesting to see how this AGM goes. We seem to be well placed here in Nigeria, but the Liberia play with Exxon as our partner also looked great and that didn't pan out. So all we can do here is wait for news releases and issued financials to understand what is going on. Clearly this company feels there is no need to be accountable to shareholders.
Last AGM, Art was talking about the Jack Rig. He was making the point that the rig was coming from Asia, and because it was being serviced, it had to be inspected/approved so it would already be cleared to be able to be used immediately. I am not an oil and gas expert, but the point seemed to be that financing wants inspections and things to prove the Rig can do the job before they put up the money to operate it. The point was - this Rig was all approved, so faster to get it on site and ready to go. That was a year ago. Multiple times, Art has said all of the news related to getting OPL 226 operating - it would all come out at once, not in bits. We will see what comes out of June 4.
I used to enjoy reading this board, as we are several hours behind you here in Canada. Lately it seems like 40% of the posts are from Harry Mann. Lots of fortune tellers here predicting what will happen and when, looking to have someone respond. Don't give them any power and ignore them. This is a risky play, but at least we are close to ongoing current development, where it makes sense that Schlumberger would want to deal with our block given economies and efficiencies of doing so. Hopefully Art can finally put something together. The share price - as we are all pretending to be fortune tellers here - I don't think the short term price matters unless you are trying to day trade this.
Set for June 4 here in Calgary. Nothing in Circular other than they have a boat load of options to insiders at 1.5 cents Canadian. Art usually gives us a story in a Q and A session at the AGM. Last year, the story was our Jack Rig was being inspected and that would reduce time to qualify it for financing to get it operating as it was coming from Asia. So we were led to believe last year that operations were imminent. Not sure what story we will get this year. I would hope we have a public news release prior to the AGM if we are truly that close.
I don't understand why people post here that "surely he won't do a placing at this level because ...". When history has demonstrated Art does placings at whatever price. Like Jiving said below - Art seems to do a placing after promising us the next big thing is in the works. But he cannot talk about it as there are confidentiality concerns. He only does "updates" to the market just before he tries to raise money. I think the only question here is - how much is he going to try to raise?
Rift, it makes complete sense that a condition to any service deal is that COPL will have to do some awful placing to prove it has money to cover operating costs. Art can't sugar coat that, so he is ignoring it.
Art told us at the AGM, he doesn't care about the share price - he said the only concern is if there is liquidity. Art's argument was this exchange proves there is liquidity so he argued everything was fine. Just think about how bizarre that sounds, as a shareholder.
This guy feels no obligation to justify himself to shareholders. At the AGM it is clear he resents us and any questions we ask about the delays and high overhead. His argument is he can always raise more money so there is no need to justify expenses or delays. To listen to this guy at an AGM, you would think he was the president of a company the size of Exxon. I am not going to the next AGM, they are a complete waste of time. He just has insiders help him speed through a formal meeting, closes it within about 5 minutes, and then does a vague question and answer period where he keeps promising the next big thing is huge, but he can't give us details about it because of confidentiality concerns.
GLTA
I know Art watches this board, he said so at the last AGM in Calgary. We all have money here and all stand to lose if this fails. So we all don't want Art to fail, but he ciearly feels entitled to run this company for the last several years like a mid-tier producing company when he didn't have anything on the go. I had always hoped that it was the groups around him that would make this go - Exxon for Liberia and Shoreline in Nigeria. Art somewhat implied that Mozambique had some Exxon ties to it at the last AGM. I stuck around for that. But when you step back, the fact is, project after project fails and he keeps ramping up the new and next best thing when the last one dies. Going back to New Zealand for me. And he uses the promise of the next great project, that has "short timelines", to raise money to continue to pay bloated overhead. I asked a buddy of mine in Europe and international finance about what the opinion was on Art in his community and the response was pretty dim. Not seeing it getting better here. GLTA.
Art doesn’t really care about the individual investors or share price. He told me years ago he would stop running this when it was no longer fun. He is still having fun. While oilexco may have gone bust it seems like art was still left with a taste for the high life. Placing before news here people. God knows at what price
I am a serious LTH here and I am also encouraged with the information being shared on this board. We know the money runs out for salaries in April. So we all know that a new placing is coming. That isn't going to be avoided, no matter how fast things go here. Art isn't going to wait until the coffers are bone dry before he tops up. He is going to raise enough for another year. Then I expect we start getting the news. I am still in the red, so I don't want that to happen, but I think we all have to accept that is how it is going to happen. Placing, then news. I also agree that things start happening in Nigeria in 2019. I am not trying to ramp or deramp, but just be objective here.
At the last AGM, Art said that Mozambique was going to get signed off near term. So what is going on there? That development isn't messed up with Nigerian approvals and an election. Does anybody have information about it? Art said Exxon contract would set the precedent and everyone else would work from that contract. Exxon's contract was completed months ago. So what about ours?
Sorry, I understand that Art did a podcast update on Mozambique but I have not heard that one. I just wanted to understand what the change is from what we were told at the last AGM to what is actually happening there. Reason being, I have been in this company for years and I am way under water. I was hoping Mozambique would move our stock price before the next financing. I am not a basher here - I will lose a boatload of money if this stock doesn't come good. The way Art put it at the last AGM, Exxon was setting the precedent agreement and it was close to being done and everyone else would quickly follow. Then our asset would be recognized to have more value, thus impacting the stock price. So what is the current Mozambique timeline based on the podcast?
Yes but ART claimed Exxon license to set precedent was basically done by last AGM and rest would follow quickly. It was supposed to be online by now.
It was supposed to go ahead in 2018.
It strikes me that with this court case, it keeps getting put over, so it doesn't ever get addressed. If it truly has no merit, COPL/ShoreCan/NPCC should be having legal counsel make it proceed on a preemptory basis. I have seen some general references to the fact that this is a material item that was not disclosed by Art. That is going to be a problem if it is not positively sorted out in favour of COPL very soon.
Don’t worry about art. He gets his huge salary and all the perks of travel first class. Until people get tired of tossing their cash away
Look, we all appreciate a placing was coming. I told this board multiple times that at the AGM, Art acknowledged the burn rate and that a raise was going to be coming. I am sure Art hoped he could have something crystalize with Nigeria or Mozambique before he did this, but he knew he was going to do it at this time, a long time ago. It was just a question of price. When questioned about the pricing of a financing, at the AGM Art said he was less worried about the price and more about liquidity. I said this before. He doesn't care what prices he does this at - he is so sure of himself that this will play out and I expect he figures all will be forgiven if it does.
I agree with the Essar disclosure requirement being rushed so they could do the financing. Given insiders picked it all up, clearly this was done to enable them to take a bigger bite of the upside for themselves. Art takes care of Art. The only reason I am still here is I am hugely into the red in this, but I believe in the asset and risk. So I am looking at this as a way the insiders are taking care of themselves. Hopefully it means we are about to get the good news flow. If good news wasn't imminent, this would have been made more publicly available. As always, GLTA
the fact that Essar is prepared to sue - now backed and owned by major money - they wouldn't do something if it was frivilous and risked their reputation. Sure looks like Shorecan took them for granted and Essar has been waiting in the weeds to spring their suprise on Shorecan, at the last moment, in order to create settlement pressure. When Art has nothing to offer but a bigger piece of the pie. No matter what happens, shareholders are getting ripped new ones here. This will definitely, at best, delay us. Which means the next financing will be very dillutive. While we wait with the same burn rate. GLTA
I don’t want a placing before news if we can wait. Less dilutive the better.
Agree with your burn rate analysis NoEAsy. Last AGM, Art told us all about NPCC wanting a modified and accelerated plan for Nigeria, that was months ago, so he has to be waiting for a meeting date to get that approved because he was already putting that together before the last AGM. You don't ask for a modified production plan if you don't plan to grant an extension. All with NPCC now. Hope that meeting happens before September 30. Then the next financing will be less dillutive. What is coming out in news now is stuff that was referred to in more general terms, and off the record, after the AGM.
Good summary NoEasy. We have upside, but it will come with dilution. Art did promote that he was starting to drill Nigeria and instead used that hype to do a financing. So we are all a bit leery. At the last AGM, Art was saying that he expected Mozambique and Nigeria were going to be announced by August. Since that time, his podcast has now pushed start in Nigeria back to early 2019 and I agree he is hoping to have the final NPCC meeting and approval "soon". I think they have things lined up, waiting on that approval. So once we get it, that is when we will rocket. This is just some early entry positioning. The real money comes in when news leaks that he finally has the NPCC meeting, and approval. But a financing is coming soon. I am not trying to ramp or deramp - I have said this repeatedly on this board - Art will do a placing whenever it needs to be done and at whatever price it needs to be done at. While he claimed in the last podcast he doesn't want to dillute because he is a shareholder, that is bullsh*t because he has not bought any more shares since the last time he pumped up the stock and did the last financing. His real money will be made with his options, if and when he can put this together. I think this will be done eventually. The question now is - how much more dilution until we get it?