Adam Davidson, CEO of Trident Royalties, discusses offtake milestones and catalysts to boost FY24. Watch the video here.
Why no RNS? Nothing to report, that's why!
4 years ago (1/6/16) Lahtojoki "mining permit"
3 years ago (27/10/17) Exploration "permit"
2 years ago (18/10/18) "Orangeite" discovered
1 year ago (18/10/19) EGM result
No progress on any of these matters since.
Correction: Professor Conroy in his Circular of 26th June
4) The Mineral Legislation in Lesotho is particularly strict. It is incumbent upon a Prospecting Licence holder to advance a project to the application for a Mining Licence within a maximum of THREE YEARS, (two years plus a one-off discretionary extension of a year) which by necessity requires making a discovery and taking it to a resource-level. Operations under a Mining Licence MUST commence within two years. Held to the same standard, KDR would have had to have commenced mining Seitapera by 2010 and be financing a DFS-completed mine at Lahtojoki right now, and Conroy Gold & Diamonds would have had to have commenced mining at Clontibret in 2005, or all three licences would be revoked.
signed:
Dr Stephen Grimmer
1) Such criticism ignores our track records in our respective careers in the industry, pre-2011. I for one have been responsible for the successful technical management on several diamond mines, including my first position in 1988 on the Cuango Mine, which produced over 1Mct valued at in excess of US$250M per year. I will not speak for my proposed co-directors, but their resumes, and mine, are easily accessible online. As such it seems churlish to criticize us on track record or (inappropriate) area of expertise. This was a strategy initiated by the Group Companies in Circulars in 2017 (regarding Mr. Patrick O'Sullivan) and again in 2019 (regarding Mr Alan Osbourne, Mr Kevin Taylor, Mr Martin Doyle and myself), comments readily picked up on and inflated by Management Supporters in a public forum. I trust that any Shareholder intending to vote will review the background of both the existing and proposed Management Teams in a balanced manner to arrive at an appropriate decision on how to vote.
2) I challenge any party to allege that the failure at Paragon was due to either failure in fiduciary duty, fraud or incompetence on the part of the Management. Specifically one major shareholder sold his interest to an incoming investor (both holding the role of Executive Chairman), who believed (mistakenly as it turned out) that they were in a position to raise the necessary finance to comply with the terms of the recently awarded mining licence, i.e. ultimately to raise in excess of US$130M for development. If professional and technical teams ceased to work on new projects every time a company they were involved in failed to deliver a viable project there would be no mining industry. I draw analaogy to Letseng Diamonds, which was originally held by Johannesburg Consolidated Investments, but subsequently taken over by GEM Diamonds. Change of control and the disenfranchisement of previous owners does not diminish the value of the project or the technical ability of the management involved, past or present.
3) Paragon probably expended less (<£10M) in its entire history of substantial geological and technical progress, than the cumulative salaries and fees of Conroy Diamonds & Gold, and subsequently of Conroy Gold/CGNR and KDR over a twenty year period, shareholder funds which are also lost to posterity. Shareholders in Paragon were at any time entitled to challenge management's ability and vote for an alternative, if they felt they or their representatives could do a better or cheaper job, as indeed happened at CGNR in 2017 and again now at KDR in 2019.
/...
Professor Conroy in his Circular of 27th July describes me as "a former employee of, and consultant to the Company" implying that I have a current consultancy role, and that I "had signed a confidentiality agreement". This relationship Maureen Jones tried to claim was still in place despite my written statement to the contrary, in an email to me in February 2019. The implication can only be that somehow I am, or am in danger of, breaching said confidentiality.
He also claims that "the Lahtojoki diamond deposit is now being imperilled by proposed impetuous technical... actions" and "technical plans of the requisitionists are... deficient". Given that any technical proposals the Requisitionists have made originate from me, who also made the technical proposals to the Company, this strikes me as somewhat disengenuous.
Professor Conroy claims that "as a consultant to the Company Stephen Grimmer became very familiar with... information... and with the potential value of [the] Lahtojoki". Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact if anything the reverse is true. I first visited Lahtojoki in 2008 as a field trip leader and official guide co-author with the 9th International Kimberlite Conference, in the company of a peer group of internationally recognized kimberlite experts. In 2008 I also privately met Mr. Mike Brennan, Operations Director of Mantle Diamonds, at his home, to discuss my joining that company. In 2011 I had opportunity to discuss the project further with Mr. Roy Spencer (former CEO of European Diamonds) and Mr. Buddy Doyle (a consultant on that project) who respectively served as a Consultant to and as a Director of Paragon. Both are now principals of Arctic Star.
In 2015 I was exclusively invited by the GTK to take over the project, and met with their management and the representatives of A&G Mining in Helsinki in April of that year. I have also discussed the topic with Dr. Johann Ferreira, author of the (pre-KDR) micro-diamond report, and Dr. Owen Garvie, author of the (pre-KDR) technical review, both of whom consulted for me on a number of projects for Paragon. Finally, in late 2015, I had dinner in Maseru with Mr. Stuart Brown (former CEO DeBeers, then CEO Firestone, current CEO Mountain Province Diamonds) to discuss options to acquire Lahtojoki, to which Firestone then held the rights. KDR only entered into discussions and acquired the rights to the project in 2016. If anything KDR has benefitted from my knowledge and experience of the project rather than the converse.
Any criticism of my and my former colleagues tenure at Paragon ignores several pertinent facts:
/...
It has been brought to my attention that certain criticisms and allegations, posted anonymously, are circulating on this forum, in part by recently registered users. As a directorial candidate, and In the interests of clarity and to address uninformed opinion, I am prepared to make a statement on these comments, and those in the recent Company Circular, which primarily relate to my employment with the Company (KDR), my former employment at Paragon Diamonds, and the existence of a Non Disclosure Agreement with the former.
I caution that anonymous comments such as I am "blacklisted now as a geologist" and "he is unemployable now" if found to have be made by parties acting in concert with the Management, could be construed as threats or intimidation against a former employee. Notwithstanding, I consider my reputation within the industry and my relationships with fellow professionals, developed over a 30 year successful career to be largely immune to the opinions of the anonymous supporters , or the management of a parochial and minor industry player with little international recognition.
In the circa ten months that I worked for KDR, by my own agreement, I was paid just over€22,500, of which a significant part I expended on frequent travel to, and overnight accommodation costs in Dublin. During this period, I also spent more time in Finland (20+ days) than the combined management has probably spent there in the last three years.
I offered to assist KDR in the development of its Lahtojoki Project, given my prior familiarity, and extensive experience in such matters, an offer they willingly accepted. I then shared and developed a strategy on their behalf, elements of which are now their proprietary information, covered under an NDA.
I made it clear that my involvement was contingent on their engaging to deliver adequate progress on the project, and I left, after ten months, when these criteria were not met to my satisfaction. In this respect I do not believe my decision was radically different from that of other mining professionals who have previously been involved in this and other projects within the Group.
I will refrain from sharing any other opinion about, or making any criticism of the management performance of my former employer. Suffice it to say that there are a number of current shareholders who feel sufficiently aggrieved and are surely entitled to be so, including the three Requisitionists of the proposed EGM. I do note, however, that Professor Conroy feels unrestrained in this regard, publicly naming me as a participant in the Requisition. I am neither a shareholder nor a signatory, I have merely agreed to provide the Requisitionists with technical advice and to act as a Director on their behalf if called upon to do so.
/...
Dear Fraser
I note your comment regarding your losses at PRG. Whilst I do not wish to enter into debate on the subject, for the record, the exploration program (for which I was responsible) was conducted efficiently and under budget, sampling 18,000 tonnes at Lemphane, drilling over 2,000m and converting a green-field play into 20 year fully permitted 3Mty mining lease all in under 4 years, in addition to a 1Mct resource at Motete, and an exclusive option on the Mothae Kimberlite.
These value-added projects/assets are still there, albeit sadly under new ownership. The ultimate failure of the company was due to its inability to raise significant ($20M+) funds under the leadership, initially of Frank Scolaro and latterly of Philip Manduca. Having worked for the former on a reduced salary (50%) for two years, and unpaid for two years for the latter, as well as having made substantial (never repaid) personal loans to the company to complete the bulk sampling, and as an investor-shareholder myself, I can sympathise with your loss, but I suggest you direct your ire at the aforementioned gentlemen.
Without Prejudice
Re: Karelian Diamond Resources (KDR, "the Company) EGM Requisition of 31st May 2019
It has come to my attention that my name and online details, as well as my "position" on the above matter (e.g. SirGBoycott), are circulating in this forum. I therefore take the rather unprecedented step of publicly addressing this in my own name.
For the record, I am a diamond exploration and development professional with 30+ years continuous employment in the industry, qualified to PhD level and with a Diploma from the Royal School of Mines.
Following 20 years of successful diamond exploration and mining in Africa, Canada, Russia & South America, I joined the Company from 2007-2010, and left of my own volition to manage a diamond development project in Lesotho. In 2017 I again met with the management of KDR and the Lahtojoki Kimberlite was discussed.
I suggested the project could benefit from my expertise, and I was engaged in November 2017 as a part-time employee (40%) for an initial 6 month period, pending positive developments. These did not occur to my satisfaction, and I ceased working for the Company on a scheduled basis in May 2017. The company chose to keep me on payroll subject to me fulfilling my time commitment of 9 days per month, which I did via tele-working and fieldwork in Finland from June to August. In September, following the Company undertaking a fund raising and drilling campaign in which my involvement was not sought, I advised that my continued engagement served no purpose, and I ceased working for the Company that month.
I bear no malice or "spite" towards the Company, and I hope it can develop its projects of merit to the benefit of all shareholders. As a professional, having held directorships of several Canadian and UK mining companies, I take my obligations to all shareholders seriously, whether part of the management structure or not. I also am not prepared to compromise on industry best practice regarding decisions and strategies being applied.
My background knowledge and understanding of the Lahtojoki Project pre-dates KDR's involvement. I was in extensive discussions with the GTK and Firestone Diamonds, the then licencee, regarding this project from early 2015, nearly a year before KDR acquired the rights.
I was approached by Mr. Alan Osborne, a Notifiable Shareholder and the Requisitioner of the EGM, and in July 2018 we had a brief general discussion regarding diamonds in Finland. KDR and it's business were not a topic of discussion. In December 2018 Mr Osborne, representing a group of Notifiable Shareholders, re-established contact and sought my technical advice, freely given, as to how KDR might more beneficially develop its assets.
I wish ALL the Shareholders of KDR well, and am happy to assist, as a Director or in any appropriate management or technical capacity, subject to the Company pursuing a strategy that conforms to my professional and ethical standards.