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Hi Monte yes he has been talking about defence strategies for a while now... I think he wants to avoid another Orbis gold where, I can't remember where I read it, I believe he didn't feel full value possible was realised. Posted the below earlier today in terms of the obvious things that the board have done to date, there will probably be others...

1. Newcrest's dilution rights are back down to 10% so, not that we would necessarily want it, Solgold could issue more shares to raise and dilute Newcrest down from their 14.54% to closer to 10%...
2. Newcrest must follow Board recommendation and 60% of non-Newcrest shares in a change of control transaction
3. The board brought in James Clare from Bennet Jones LLP to the Board - "James Clare has a corporate commercial and securities law practice, with an emphasis on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, focused on assisting clients in the mining and oil and gas sectors. His transactional experience includes domestic and cross-border public and private corporate finance transactions representing issuers and underwriters as well as merger and acquisitions transactions."

DYOR of course and GLA

Maybach they certainly could accumulate more but would need to alert the market for any 1% threshold passed above the initial 3% threshold required for disclosure. Therefore they could do another 0.9% without alerting the market. GLA

Interesting thoughts Hesiod. I've been reading into hostile takeover defence strategies and one thing possible would be for Solgold to buyout in exchange for shares... This would dilute BHP and Newcrest (and the rest of us) but also bring in the other 15% of ENSA. I reckon Irwin and Sangha would push for seats on the Board (as they did when they swapped Solg shares for CGP shares last year) as part of the deal but that wouldn't be a bad thing. Just a matter of whether NM and Irwin could get along... Warren has stated publically (see twitter) than they didn't agree on a few things.

It's a bit messy with us owning some of CGP (5.3% I think) and CGP owning 10% of us but would bring it all together and protect against one of the two major miners already on the register pushing to gain more than a foothold... Other's thoughts?

all my own musings of course...

Don't forget we don't know where all of the bought deal from last year have gone... We've not had holding RNS other than BlackRock... They could go to Tenstar who have 7% (but I believe they are allied with NM as they are also in most of the other DVR subsidiaries).. I've calculated I know where roughly 55% of shares are from the major shareholding document on the Solgold website... Where are the rest...?

Totally agree Pinot, they believed in the project before most others did! Glad it paid off for them.

Hi Mistermeister I've done some research in Guyana and it looks like they missed production guidance for the previous quarter and are in the process of cost cutting by laying off individuals e.g.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4187695-guyana-goldfields-q2-miss-tests-investors-patience
https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/guyana/08/27/guyana-goldfields-to-lay-off-80-workers/

I think it was a simple matter of them needing cash and BHP potentially waiting until they could see that was the case before approaching them... The Guyana Goldfields CEO was quick to point out an initial investment of $10m has brought in $35m which isn't bad going...

Just my own thoughts, DYOR of course GLA

Hi Shippy, I would be too....Solgold have been plugging this all over the place and bringing in Blackrock and JP Morgan etc and then, out of nowhere, boom BHP on board without NM knowing!

I certainly like the idea of increased competition, just wary of hostile T/O below a decent price. I see this move by BHP as a way of getting their foot in the door before potential re-valuation of the Company due to updated MRE and PEA which should significantly increase the tonnage and grade from what the previous RNS have been saying... GLA

where did you hear that lostagain? Solgold subdiaries have tenements that are next to each other, i.e. share borders, e.g. Blanca Nieves, La Hueca etc... The presentations on the Solgold website show a lot of them next to each other...?

Hi Gino, I think both Armour Energy (a DGR subsidiary) and Gina Rinehart were involved in Lakes Oil...not sure it was a friendly experience though from previous articles I've read about it....

Hi Quady - see the post I just posted on the AFR article that @pob flagged - talks about defence.. I don't think NM would want this to go cheaply as he stands to make a load of money through both his personal holdings and DGR holdings... He is hugely invested and will want to make as much from this as possible, hence one of the reasons I originally invested back in 2013...

Thanks again to @pob on CEO.CA - he/she is on fire!

"[@pob] Further excellent $SOLG $CGP update from the always excellent AFR (behind paywall). #ecuador

Highlights of new material

BHP positions itself in looming battle for Solgold
"...suggesting there is serious intent behind BHP's $49 million investment in the explorer's scrip."

"...BHP is understood to have secured strategically located tenements in relation to Cascabel in Ecuador's Imbabura Province."

Solgold chief executive Nick Mather said BHP was not the only Australian company that had sought to get close to Solgold. "Hancock Prospecting are on our southern border," he told The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday.

Newcrest confirmed on Wednesday that it had Ecuadorian tenements in its own right, but none of them shared a border with Cascabel. "Newcrest is happy with its investment re SolGold. We can't comment on BHP's intentions," said a spokesman for Newcrest.

"We now we have effectively two majors on the company's register, and I don't think it is in the nature of either of them to want to sit still as minorities," said Mr Mather on Wednesday, adding that his company had defence advisors at the ready should a full takeover offer emerge.

"It is not in my nature to sell things under value and clearly the strengthening register suggests the world's major mining companies are coming to the same view as us in respect of its value."

https://www.afr.com/business/mining/bhp-positions-itself-in-looming-battle-for-solgold-20180905-h14ypv"

Hi Quady, there are protections that Solgold's board have already put in place just in case Newcrest and BHP or another party wanted to join up their shareholding for a hostile T/O:

1. Newcrest's dilution rights are back down to 10% so, not that we would necessarily want it, Solgold could issue more shares to raise and dilute Newcrest down from their 14.54% to closer to 10%...
2. Newcrest must follow Board recommendation and 60% of non-Newcrest shares in a change of control transaction
3. The board brought in James Clare from Bennet Jones LLP to the Board - "James Clare has a corporate commercial and securities law practice, with an emphasis on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, focused on assisting clients in the mining and oil and gas sectors. His transactional experience includes domestic and cross-border public and private corporate finance transactions representing issuers and underwriters as well as merger and acquisitions transactions."

Don't forget that NM and DGR still together hold the largest shareholding (as they would be deemed to be related parties under Company Law).

GLA and DYOR - these are just my own observations...

Totally agree TheItalian, my perspective is that the goal was to push through to feasibility and show funding was possible to strengthen a negotiation platform with potential suitors. The latest interview which confirms that the BHP move wasn't part of NM's controlled plan and the mention of the members of the Board who are versed in resisting hostile takeovers suggests to me that they are going to keep pressing on to Feasibility and look at options to resist this being taken over cheaply. The main variable for me in play at the moment is CGP and what happens to that.... That will be the key to whether this reaches production or not.... Warren Irwin tweeted about CGP and Solgold yesterday which some may find an interesting read given all the shenanigans last year... https://twitter.com/bigdude6669/status/1037196612878127105?s=19 GLA and DYOR

Don't forget Solgold is subject to UK takeover code... https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/7-107-6806?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true&comp=pluk&bhcp=1 "Mandatory bid A bid required to be made under Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, broadly where: the bidder and any persons acting in concert acquire shares carrying 30% or more of the voting rights of a target; or if a bidder, together with any concert parties, holding not less than 30% but not more than 50% of the voting rights increases its holding. Rule 9 requires a mandatory offer to be made in cash (or be accompanied by a cash alternative) and at the highest price paid by the bidder or any concert party for any interest in shares of the relevant class during the 12 months prior to the announcement of the offer." DYOR and GLA

Note out (thanks to @pob on CEO.ca) http://www.redcloudks.com/rcks/solg-the-sharks-are-circling-is-a-bidding-war-about-to-begin?. Don't you just love the title of the article :) Excerpt: "The Sharks are Circling, is a Bidding War About to Begin? Impact: Very Positive BHP Billiton (LON:BLT, ASX:BHP), the world’s biggest miner, has entered into a $35M deal for a 6.1% stake in SolGold Plc (TSX:SOLG) that it has acquired from Guyana Goldfields Inc (TSX:GUY), which adds a second major miner (Newcrest currently owns 14.54%) to the race to acquire the Cascabel Cu-Au project in Ecuador. • Share purchase by BHP reminds the market that the Alpala deposits and wider Cascabel project are among the world’s largest undeveloped copper projects and are likely to be multi-generation mines. This is the type that is highly coveted by major miners, like BHP and Newcrest, who have been actively searching for large scale copper projects. • In our view, significant upside exists if a bidding war breaks out. Historically, copper projects sell for ~US$0.07/lb CuEq, this implies a share price of C$0.83 for SolGold. • Since the maiden mineral resource estimate of 16.18Blb CuEq (1.08Bt grading 0.68% CuEq) at Cascabel, a total of 80,538m of additional drilling has been completed by the company, which continues to outline a higher-grade core at Alpala and point to significant resource growth expected in a revised resource estimate. In our view, the SolGold's current valuation (C$0.041/lb vs. peers at C$0.026/lb CuEq) does not reflect the exceptional nature of the existing Cascabel project, its the meaningful exploration upside or the fact the multiple majors have now demonstrated interest in acquiring the company" Glad and DYOR

Mystique, Solgold has first refusal rights over any DISPOSAL of the ENSA shares by CGP not on a takeover offer of CGP as a whole. So CGP can't sell their stake in ENSA without offering to Solgold first however a lock stock takeover of CGP can take place without any first refusal for Solgold. Hope that makes sense. GLA

Hi Montecristo yes Carnegie Ridge resources (a Solgold subsidiary) holds Blanca Nieves (epithermal gold discovery) and Rio Amarillo (I believe) which is another Copper Gold Porphyr discovery (I believe), both close proximity to Cascabel tenement. Please correct me anyone (Lotto, pad etc I think you're better on the tenements than I)

From the AFR article just read this: "BHP sits at the front of that new crowd having acquired four exploration licences that sit in relatively close proximity to the Cascabel. BHP secured those rights by pitching an $US80 million exploration work program to the government. It is said that BHP has acquired some highly regarded exploration ground and it has not been shy about paying to get it." So sounds like they've also been trying to also get land around Cascabel... I know Newcrest and Hancock do as well as ENAMI... Plenty of big players around the ENSA tenement if Cascabel... Hmmm love the suspense! Great day all LTH, another milestone on the journey, GLA

26.592p DG1, so we've got the raising at 25p and this at 26.592p to provide a decent base :)

Hi richyrich1 the disclosure was of approximately 6.1% due to acquiring the shares from Guyana privately. If they already had a stake below the reporting threshold (3%) they would have to disclosed their full position, i.e. over 6.1%. Great news today, further derisks the project and endorsed what we've got here