Member Info for Looed

Pt.2

Zaza - The difference is that of course there was always criticism, there was always an active relationship. There has been an attempt to rectify the situation with this criticism and then respond to different authorities for a strategic partner, but one thing is different now. One is that the support of the United States has never been as strong towards Georgia as it is now ...

J1 - Sorry. This is exactly what the government and its supporters point out, that "the support of Georgia from the United States is great and why do you exaggerate the fact that the critical mark there is high." How do we separate all this?

Zaza - The United States has been, is and will continue to be a great supporter of Georgia and the Georgian people, and this strategic relationship, although sometimes very high and as it is now, is quite low, but the United States' attitude towards Georgia and the Georgian people will not change. But what is at a record low today and at an undesirable level is the attitude towards the current government of Georgia. This is the government of the Georgian Dream, which has buried relations with the United States in the field of foreign relations. Numerous examples of this can be cited in the last 7-8 years of what has happened.

J1 - Let us give examples.

Zaza - Here, for example, will tell you one interesting fact. Prime Minister Ivanishvili and Prime Minister Gakharia have never been to the United States in their capacity as Prime Minister. Such a thing ...

J1 - Ivanishvili has been prime minister for a very short time. Once he was in Davos I think.

Zaza - Yes, Ivanishvili was in Europe, but if we are talking about a strategic partnership and the biggest donor country that has always helped Georgia, the Prime Minister is obliged to deepen relations, see more opportunities in this country and gain more support for the country, which neither Prime Minister Ivanishvili nor Prime Minister Gakharia did.

J1 - Was there a desire on the part of your partner? Were steps taken to invite him on a visit and Prime Minister Gakharia did not arrive?

Zaza - Of course it was. In Gakharia's case, this was done with less enthusiasm since he was in the United States during his previous tenure, but this visit was not a great success and he still cannot boast of highly effective communication with the United States government.

Pt.1

J1 - International context before the election. The government of Georgia has practically got a stopwatch from the West. Bidzina Ivanishvili is already called the Russian oligarch who is trying to destabilize Georgia. He is accused of undermining democracy. There are certain conditions. What is it like to go to the polls for the government when there is too much observation, attention and criticism from the West. We will talk about it with our first guest, this is the president of "Frontera Resources" Zaza Mamulaishvili. Thank you very much, Mr. Zaza, for participating in the show. Let's talk about the reality where we are and where the Georgian government is. The topic of "Frontera" is one of the main and important ones, due to which the Georgian government has received a lot of reprimands in the last 9 months. "Frontera" has always been an example in the letters sent from the United States that the Georgian government treats American business at least harshly and not only American business. Let’s talk about the last story. Finally, as it was in the summer, it was a congressional appeal to Pompeo saying that progress in the Georgian government has been reversed since the arrival of the Russian oligarch. It was the Defense Authorization Act, which already states that the Secretary of State must submit a report to Congress on the situation in Georgia in terms of human rights and other components of democracy, and only then can any kind of decision be made. What does all this mean before the elections? And, it is probably related to the elections, right? What does such a strong attention from the American side mean for the government 2 months before the elections?

Zaza - Thank you very much. I will be happy to share my opinion on this. Unfortunately, this is the context we have today. There are only a few months left before the elections and the country have not had such a bad relationship with the United States, Georgia's strategic partner, since gaining the freedom from which started the Georgian-American relationship.

J1 - What is meant by a bad relationship? We are not talking about Georgia here, we are probably talking more about the government, right? What does a bad relationship mean? Criticism of democracy has been around at various times. Shevardnadze's time was also criticised for corruption, human rights, and harsh statements towards Saakashvili, sometimes on November 7, about various cases. Now, what is different today under Ivanishvili's government?

The logistics of managing / keeping on-board 30 Opposition parties must be monumental.

30 opposition parties to sign declaration today -
https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/108867-30-opposition-parties-to-sign-declaration-today

Sergi Kapanadze: Today we will reaffirm that the propaganda of the government that the opposition parties are unable to cooperate with each other is wrong -
https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/108871-sergi-kapanadze-today-we-will-reaffirm-that-the-propaganda-of-the-government-that-the-opposition-parties-are-unable-to-cooperate-with-each-other-is-wrong

We have already had a very clear sign that the company sees no threat in SH actions - the treatment of FSHG. Mole & co went to an incredible amount of time, effort and energy on our behalf. Despite multiple attempts to communicate with the company, the group was completely ignored. Not even a "we note your email of xxx. On legal advice we are unable to enter into communications at this time, though will communicate once able to do so" type of thing. So a handful of us sniffing around now to see what else we can dig up is hardly a threat to the company.

At what point did shareholders attempting to find out information about the company they are invested in become an automatically negative thing?

Cobra is an exploration and mining company focussed on the evaluation of the Wudinna Gold Project. With 6 tenements covering 1,928sqkm, Wudinna is located in the prime Central Gawler Craton Province ("CGC") of South Australia.

The Gawler Craton has been home to some of the largest IOCG discoveries in Australia including Olympic Dam, as well as Prominent Hill and Carrapateena. Cobra's Wudinna tenements contain extensive orogenic gold mineralisation and are characterised by potentially open-pitable, high grade gold intersections, with ready access to nearby infrastructure, as well as 3 potential IOCG targets.

Cobra currently has over 22 orogenic gold prospects, with grades of between 16g/t up to 37.4g/t outside of the current JORC resource, as well as 1 copper-gold prospect, and 4 IOCG targets. Leading edge multi-element geochemical analysis is being systematically applied to define the orientation and continuity of the mineralisation ahead of drilling, significantly reducing risk.

A version of this announcement including figures is available at www.cobraplc.com

Key Highlights

• The Company is planning to complete 3 exploration programs in the second half of 2020, which will include up to 45 RC holes and up to 6,750m of drilling.

• Prospects to be explored include Baggy Green, Baggy Green North, Clarke, Laker and Larwood.

• While individual programs will focus on specific objectives such as defining the orientation and extensions of mineralisation, the strategic aim is to build towards the Boards initial target of a 1m oz gold resource.

• The Company expects to achieve its Stage 1 50% earn-in shortly after the completion of Program 1.

In Detail:

The Company currently has three exploration programs totalling up to 6750m of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling and 150 auger soil samples, planned for the remainder of 2020:

• Program 1 - up to 25 holes - 3750m RC Drilling at Baggy Green, Baggy Green North, Laker and Clarke.

• Program 2 - approximately 150 auger Geochem samples at Larwood.

• Program 3 - up to 20 holes - 3000m RC Drilling at Barns and Larwood.

The strategic aim of these programs is to progress resource development of the Wudinna Project towards the Boards initial target of a 1m oz resource, with specific objectives including:

• Confirm orientation and extend the mineralisation at Baggy Green and Barns

• Define orientation and continuity of mineralisation at Clarke / Laker

• Make new gold discoveries at Larwood and Baggy Green North

Significantly, the Company also expects to achieve its Stage 1 earn-in commitment with its JV partner Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX:ADN) of A$2.1m shortly after the completion of the first program. This will see the Company secure it's initial 50% stake in the Wudinna Gold project.

(more technicals / key dates in the actual RNS)

wow - talk about desperate.

As I posted earlier - "It does seem there are a couple of posters whose only aim is to stifle debate and throw anything into the mix to deflect and detract from the conversation. If only they would devote their time to finding credible info to help us understand our situation. So I do question their motives."

twist it all you want MP - What I am saying - which you know full well - is that if the company had any concern that any actions taken by SH might negatively impact the company, they could release a simple statement. As they choose not to, they cannot consider SH to be a threat to events on the ground, and so the 'best keep quiet' argument doesn't hold water.

Pt.2

Moles comments contd -

"Tsbs as I posted yesterday I' m very wary of the latest developments. Alot depends on who you believe but I tend to place greater weight on verifable information and over the past two years that has been from documents that form part of the litigation. The area that gives me he greatest concern at the moment (and I have many) is the status of transfer. I have just been on the registry site and the process remains terminated. Depending on whether you believe the leaked arbitration documents or not it seems pretty clear that the transfer formed part of the arbitration. The dates tend to tie in with the registry entries. As of today he transfer was not completed on the Georgian side you seem to have an odd legal position in that the asset has been transferred internally in Frontera to FR US but the actual asset remains on the Georgian side assigned to a subsidiary of an entity now controlled by the Liquidators.
The comments by the minister yesterday don't fill me with a great deal of confidence that what could now be happening is that the GG are going to leave the dismantling of Frontera to the liquidation process initiated by Outrider.
The liquidator could now have an asset close at hand to work with a sale beyond the control of Steve and Zaza."

These comments where made before the latest 'olive branch' but if the title of translation #29 (hopefully due today) is anything to go by it seems little or no talks have taken place. We know the offical GOGC position on the asset move - its on their website, but don't know if that position has recently changed.

Flakely said "No body is saying turn the screw....the company has shown a great disrespect to us PI's, from the last shareholders meeting if not before and to this day."

Thats it in a nutshell. Don't be fooled by those who try to equate asking questions with somehow being anti-FRR in bed with the enemy. It wasn't long ago a poster did a Trump by "just putting it out there" the ridiculous 'idea' that the translator was GD plant (just think for a moment. How did they find our translator ? How did they coerce him ? Cue rolling eye emoji).

And if us taking action did jeopardise the company - what a perfect opportunity for a simple statement, light on detail, to say "company is aware that SH await a communication from the company and this will be dealt with when possible" or words to that effect.

Trying to assert our rights and get some form of comment from the company be it directly, via Mole etc is completely reasonable. Zaza is talking to anyone he can, it makes no sense that he can make official statements to all the groups I reeled off yesterday but nothing to the majority of shareholders.

Pt.1

The BB has been relatively quiet for a while so its great to see we had a good debate and some great posts yesterday.

It does seem there are a couple of posters whose only aim is to stifle debate and throw anything into the mix to deflect and detract from the conversation. If only they would devote their time to finding credible info to help us understand our situation. So I do question their motives. It's possible to support the company and be critical of aspects of it.

One thing about this topic that stands out to me is that the exact same argument in favour of keeping quiet. CF73 wrote - not unreasonably - that "If I was in ZM/FRRs shoes right now, with battle being what it is, I would not have time nor inclination to be dealing with LTHs." but you can turn that around and say well thats just proof at how despicably we have been treated, so why shouldn't our voices be heard.

Ziggy picked up on my comment regarding Zaza talking to Mole. BTW my point was in no way to critique Mole, but to point out that Zaza having comms with Mole blows a hole in the "no comms to SH's on legal advice" theory. Ziggy I had a quick look through Mole's recent posts and in a reply to Gipps on 7th Aug he posted - "I'm fortunate in having been able to communicate for longer but my frustration with the company now simply grows." I recall another post where he said he had comms until Q4 '19 but I couldn't see it in the quick search I did. Hopefully Mole can clarify exactly.

For the posters who asked if we would still be part of the company going forward. This is what Mole posted in reply to Ziggy and tsbs1 on 24/07 -

"Ziggy - the ownership is fundamental. Control of that legal entity holds the purse strings of the only real asset and the standing to manage/dispose of it. Outrider based on the 2017 bankruptcy case commentary tried to broker a deal to sell the asset to a company who happen to have also done work for SAOG in Georgia. FTI should be independent but Outrider had been funding their costs. I do wonder if it is FTI who have been chucking spanners in the works (freezing accounts etc) along with other creditors In Georgia as much as the GG - we know there are charges on some assets from the company registry documents most likely mortgages. But FRR have >$20m of debtors apart from Outrider loan notes - so FTI will be under pressure from all creditors and its possible the GG are one as well depending on how you interpret the arbitration costs - they could now be a liability of the entity FIT may be liquidating if its not FR US."

(Mole comments contd in Pt.2)

After catching up with the overnight ebb and flow of comments it strikes me that we are, for the most part, reasonable people placed in a very unreasonable position - and trying to apply reasonableness to justify our treatment. I really think we have talked ourselves into thinking it's 'reasonable' to be treated like we are second class.

We see lots of arguments to justify the silent treatment. But Zaza has been anything but silent. Talking to the GG, Georgian Opposition, US politicians, press, TV, internet channels, think tanks, fellow CEO's, lawyers, claiming bailouts, at least 12 staff in the USA, had a meeting (last Nov?) with the protesting workers in Georgia, (presumably) communicating with the non-protesting local staff that have been trying to transport oil, we are producing gas, and he even took time out to flog some wine. We don't deserve a place in this list? Reasonable or unreasonable?

But then there is the argument that the above is OK as he got 'legal advice' not to talk to shareholders, or variations on that argument. But Mole has confirmed that we was in comms with Zaza until fairly recently. So Zaza has been communicating with shareholders, he just chooses not to communicate with us. We come up this the "legal advice" argument as an excuse to validate our second-class treatment.

No wonder Zaza doesn't engage, we are too busy convincing ourselves why he doesn't need to.

Thanks Aurora1 - I was hoping the title would be along the lines of "Deal done!" but judging by the headline quote from Zaza I think this translation will be a repeat of many of the talking points we have seen before. Hopefully we wont have to wait too long to see the actual transcription.

Due - 25/08

TVKavkasia is extremely 'Zaza-friendly' and he has been on this show a few times.

The title of the program is "America has always been tired of us, tired and tired" - Zaza Mamulaishvili.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb4J3zADSCk&feature=youtu.be

With thanks to the translator for finding.

Should have added it's an interview with Zaza

Uploaded 1 hour ago. Back later with dates etc

https://youtu.be/eb4J3zADSCk

Found by translator. Think about 34 mins long

Thanks Ivy. Your find is a lot more detailed and I didnt connect PPP with payroll. Combining the info I could with yours this initial loan is for 8 weeks. Providing they keep the staff I assume they continue to receive the bailout. Not sure if the US has put any end date to this type of package.

Does anyone know who the 12 are or what they might be doing?

The loan approval was approved in April. The form says that FRR where able to retain 12 jobs as a result of this loan. It also shows the name of the bank providing the bailout.

"Companies and nonprofit organizations that receive PPP loans may have the loans forgiven if they meet certain criteria, including not laying off employees during an 8-week period covered by the loan. Applicants must attest in their application that the loans are necessary for their continuing operation. Note: This data includes loan applications approved by banks and submitted to the SBA. It may not reflect money distributed to, or credit used by, a given company."

It would seem this money hasn't been used to pay the staff in Georgia?

I wonder if this is how FRR are able to pay US$160,000 so far in lobby fees? Not sure thats how such a loan should be used.

https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/frontera-resources-corporation-f1e0248725b005d33267b59b4df0cb7c

The possibility of a Free Trade deal gets another mention -

"CEO of US International Development Finance Corporation: 'We continue building our strategic, economic relationship with Georgia'"

While talking with Boehler last week Gakharia noted the importance of possibly signing a free trade agreement between Georgia and the United States that would further deepen the economic relationship between the strategic partners.

https://agenda.ge/en/news/2020/2597

"US company Cerberus Frontier will construct a small hydropower plant, to be named Bakhvi 1, in the Guria region of Georgia, announced Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava today.

The activities of Cerberus Frontier in Georgia are very important for us, as it develops several small hydropower plants and has a very interesting portfolio..this is a new investment in green energy at a time when the whole world, including Georgia, is fighting against Covid-19...this is another successful example of our economic cooperation with an American company”, Turnava said.

The project details of Bakhvi 1 published by the Ministry of Energy of Georgia read that the installed capacity of Bakhvi 1 will be 12 MW, while the average annual generation should be 78.2 GW/h. The construction cost is $27 million and the construction period is three years.

Turnava said that the new project will create 50 jobs in Georgia."

And

"Ambassador Kelly Degnan: I am very happy to be here for the signing of the feasibility study about the Bakhvi One Hydropower Plant. It’s a sign not only of Georgia’s leadership in this area of green energy, but also another step in the cooperation between Georgia and the United States and Cerberus Frontier in a very important sector for Georgia’s energy security and independence. So, we are delighted to see this moving forward. There is a great deal of effort to coordinate with local communities and to meet very high regulatory standards, and we are very pleased that hydropower continues to be important source of jobs, as well as energy, in Georgia."

(Minster says it's being built, Ambassador says it a feasibility study)

https://commersant.ge/ge/post/natia-turnava-baxvi-hesis-proeqti-amerikul-kompaniastan-ekonomikuri-tanamshromlobis-kidev-erti-warmatebuli-magalitia

https://ge.usembassy.gov/ambassador-kelly-degnans-remarks-at-signing-ceremony-for-bakhvi-1-hydropower-facility/

Pt.2

In 2017, the ruling Georgian government accused Frontera of significantly breaching their contract and filed a lawsuit against the company. Legal wrangling continued until April of this year when the Georgian government claimed victory in the court case and announced its plan to end its lucrative contract with Frontera. As a result, Frontera is now only allowed to continue to operate within a fraction of the area that it had previously operated in.

The development of Western-style tourism and business in cities like the coastal port of Batumi (above) has stalled as both Europeans and Americans have largely left Georgia in recent years and have been replaced by Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and Iranian investors. EPA-EFE//ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE
Frontera drew strong support from the United States, where a group of congressmen and senators wrote in May to the Secretaries of State and Treasury to protest Georgia’s actions and drawing the American lawmakers’ attention to the “lack of good governance” in Georgia.

These cases cannot be viewed as isolated incidents, as the actions of the current government seemingly have a strong effect on the amount of foreign direct investments that are coming into Georgia. This has fundamentally changed the very nature of the government’s relationship with the country’s once-promising investment culture, which came largely from the West, for the worse.

Over the last two years, the amount of foreign direct investment, or FDI, into Georgia has significantly plummeted. According to the government’s own figures, Georgia attracted approximately $1.978 billion in 2017, while last year it attracted $1.310 billion, a massive decline of over $669 million. This year, Georgia is on course to perform far worse with only $171.8 million in FDI in the first quarter.

The apparent torpedoing of foreign investment projects and the pushing through of laws that could potentially curtail freedom is seemingly at odds with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani’s comments last year wherein he said that “both EU and NATO integration are top priorities for the government and are reflected in our constitution” and that “with Georgia, Europe will clearly be richer.”

The simple fact now, however, is that Georgia has a potentially impossible uphill battle in its attempt to prove to Brussels that the statements of the foreign minister are actually true and that the EU should bother to lay out a path for further integration.

https://www.neweurope.eu/article/georgias-hostility-to-foreign-investment-is-not-fitting-into-its-eu-membership-goal/

Pt.1 - FRR is discussed

There is a growing concern in Brussels that Georgia is fast becoming an unwelcoming place for investors after the latest in a long list of foreign direct investment projects have been put in grave danger of being derailed by the Georgian government’s constant undermining.

The latest case, however, could have wide-ranging knock-on effects for nearly 2 billion people and a wider region that goes far beyond the South Caucasus.

During a series of late-night meetings in mid-July, the Georgian government passed amendments to their electronic communication legislation that gave the telecoms regulatory authority (GNCC) almost complete control over telecommunications companies and gave them the ability to appoint “special managers” with absolute authority.

Some other Georgian telecoms firms wrote a letter of protest, claiming that the changes contradict other laws and are potentially unconstitutional. Their main concerns were based on the real fear that the new law could be used to curtail freedom over the internet.

However, sources say that this law seems to be aimed at one firm, in particular – Caucasus Online, whose owners, Neqsol, hail from neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Neqsol is building a digital silk way project of fibre optic cables through several countries, a move that will improve internet access for 1.8 billion people across the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Central and South Asia regions.

When the decision was made to buy Caucuses Online in 2018, all parties met with relevant senior figures to the Georgian government, including the head of the GNCC, and throughout the series of meetings no objections were raised by the regulator or the government.

In August of 2019, after Neqsol had paid €51 million for Caucasus Online, the GNCC unexpectedly announced that it wanted to scrap the sale, supposedly because Neqsol had not, according to the GNCC, informed them of the sale in the proper fashion despite countless meetings between the two parties.

This hasn’t been the first example of Georgia undermining foreign direct investment.

One of the most notable recent cases involved Anaklia, a planned deep-water port project in western Georgia, which would have been the country’s largest infrastructure project to date. The investors behind the project filed arbitration claims against the Georgian government in July having accused them of undermining the €2 billion project. The Georgian government claimed that the investors had failed to raise sufficient funds, while the investors put the blame on the government for creating conditions that made impossible to attract any direct investments.

More recently, there was the case of Frontera Resources, an American oil company that was granted the right to develop an area of over 5,000 square kilometres in Georgia. The company had drilled countless wells and invested approximately ?€485 million into the country since it won the contract 23 years ago.