-- Posted Tuesday, 27 September 2005 | Digg This Article
In our era, there are two basic yardsticks of International value: Oil and Gold.
Oromin Explorations is in on the chase for both of them.
Introduction
Oromin Explorations LTD (OLE-V) is a junior mining company under the Mine-Tech umbrella that has three excellent projects in its portfolio:
1. The Sabodala Project in Senegal, West Africa
2. The Santa Rosa Dome Prospect in Mendoza Province, Argentina -- an oil and gas prospect
3. The Carneirinho Gold Project in North-Central Brazil.
I’m not going to reinvent the wheel on this report because as far as I’m concerned, it has already been invented in the form of an excellent six page, full color brochure that can be found at their web site www.oromin.com .
Oromin Explorations Ltd.—A diversified resource company dedicated to Growth through Discovery is a piece that is well written and worth reading. In fact, I believe it would be a benefit for you to call the company at 1.877.529.8475 and request they send you a physical (hard) copy of this comprehensive article. Speak to Sandra when you call and she’ll be happy to send you one.
A copy of it is on the website which is certainly adequate but it just doesn’t have the “punch” or pizzazz that the hard copy does. The print version shows off the beautiful color photos and reads like a magazine article which is the way the layout was constructed. Yes, it can be opened in the latest versions of Acrobat, but in reality, due to its exceptionally large file size and its scope, it has much more impact if you allow the company to send you a professional print copy. Is it that important? In a word, yes!
This is one of the most well put together summaries I’ve ever seen released by a junior mining company. Truly, it could be placed in any of your favorite journals and not miss a beat. Most importantly, the substance, the information, and the direction the company is taking pertaining to these projects are all there. I think the quality represented in all aspects of this report demonstrates how Mine-Tech feels about the prospects for Oromin.
I recently wrote an article for CEO’s of Junior Mining Companies, titled “The 8 C’s of News Dissemination” which can be found in my column on www.Goldseek.com. The people who wrote this brochure followed those 8 C’s to a T!
If you don’t wish to receive any other material from the Mine-Tech Group, just put a “post it” note stating as much. I think we’re all concerned about our privacy and this group is good about protecting their database and not distributing or selling it. However, if you do choose to become involved in Oromin, then by all means, remain in their database and you’ll be among the first to receive pertinent information via Email about the company’s activities.
Incidentally, Oromin will also be trading in the US under the symbol of OLEPF. The paperwork is in, approved, and the company should be trading on the OTC in the very near future. Of course this is a benefit to US investors.
I could reiterate everything in the report…..
But in essence that would be counterproductive because most of the information is in the aforementioned report and the subsequent press release dated September 01, 2005.
2005
As usual there is a story behind the story and this one is a hum-dinger. And while the stock has appreciated nicely and is currently around the $.50 US level as of mid-September 2005, I can only imagine that the best is yet to come.
I know this group well by now and that includes the personnel, the projects, the momentum, and the energy of the company. They are all very much oriented to moving Oromin forward and that is where most of the focus lies at this point. It is understandable because this company holds enormous promise.
The Sabodala Exploration Concession
The main focus of OLE is currently on the Sabodala Exploration Property which is located in eastern Senegal, West Africa. It is a 230 square kilometer asset and lies within the same type of environment that hosts most gold deposits in that part of the African continent. Senegal is a stable country favorable to mining and desirous of using some of that tax revenue to expand their infrastructure.
Oromin has undertaken a multiphase $8,000,000 US program to explore the Sabadola Concession within a time frame of approximately 22 months. The initial sampling program includes trench, rock, and geochemical work and to date there has been continued confirmation of the historical results undertaken by past operators.
The initial sampling at Sabodala returned high grade gold including some trenching at Golouma, a specific area of the project, returning 30.22 g/t over 5.5 meters. This is addressed more comprehensively in a PR dated September 1, 2005.
A Bit of Background
This is a little known fact outside the professional mining circles, but in the time frame of late 2003, early 2004 time, Senegal opened the Sabodala Concession to the international mining community in a competitive, open-tender bidding process. Large mining companies and high profile exploration companies became involved in the bidding. In a scenario akin to David and Goliath, Oromin was awarded the project in the fall of 2004.
I believe it goes without saying that for Oromin to have acquired this concession was a vote of confidence in the Mine-Tech / Oromin group by the Senegalese government, even in that type of bidding scenario. After the initial bidding process is completed, there are still negotiations to be consummated. There are always I’s to be dotted and T’s to be crossed. It also behooves us to recognize the fact that this was a very highly sought after property and Oromin was indeed fortunate to have acquired it.
In the sometimes subdued and somewhat clandestine world of international and multi-national mining companies, graciousness plays a very important role; at least from the perspective of the “smaller companies towards the bigger companies.” When winning an international bidding process, especially when mining giants are on the other side of the aisle, it pays for smaller companies to be low key. Could this be one of the reasons not many people are aware of this particular story and its true significance?
The Other Properties
While the focus is currently on Sabodala, Oromin has two other properties of significance. The oil and gas play in Argentina, the Santa Rosa Dome Prospect, is particularly interesting in these times of extraordinarily high oil and gas prices. The projections are for even higher prices in the future. No one needs to tell you what an economical discovery would make in our current environment of seemingly ever increasing energy costs.
The Santa Rosa Dome Prospect lies in the eastern half of the Cuyana Basis, where exploration for oil and gas began over a century ago. Part of what makes this an interesting story is that Dr. Norman E. Haimila is Vice President of Oromin. In South America, he is a very well known geologist and one who has worked for a regional consortium led by the World Bank. His expertise has been instrumental in concluding that this Sub-Andean region has considerable potential for new discoveries. The fact that he is working with Oromin speaks volumes as to the worthiness of this project in Argentina.
Finally we have the Carneirinho Gold Project in North Central Brazil. This is a 5000-hectare project located in the active Tapajos region where indigenous populations have produced an estimated 10,000,000 ounces of gold during the last 60 to 100 years. Those are substantial numbers in anyone’s book. I’ll cover this project in more detail at a later date.
Again, the best thing to do is to acquire a copy of this stunningly beautiful report, resplendent with maps, facts, figures, the names of the principals and other pertinent information, and go through it. My personal belief is that just one of these projects could be a “company-maker”. Put all three together and you have the potential for a company to develop into one of real significance. When put in the hands of a group that is experienced and knows the ropes, those chances of success increase exponentially.
Putting on my Psychoanalyst-Professors Hat
Human nature being what it is, most of us want everything now. We want a guru to tell us what to do, what stocks to buy, and when to sell. Most of us really don’t want to do our homework, or due diligence as it is called in the business, because it entails a good deal of work and time. In all fairness, many of us simply don’t have that kind of time and expertise. But then when things don’t evolve to our liking we are only to happy to hold someone else accountable. Maybe that’s why we like gurus so much—they absolve us of personal responsibility?
There is no alternative to doing one’s own homework; some would call it grunt work. If possible, make the time to do yours. In investing as in life, he who does the work has a better chance of earning success. I won’t say that he who does the work reaps the rewards because that isn’t always the case. We all know instances of others doing the work, and someone else receiving the rewards. The point is that you improve your odds of success if you go out and make the effort. Someone once said that half the job was just showing up for work. Half the job in this business is just asking for the information. So telephone the companies in which you are interested, ask questions, read the journals, discover the quality web sites, and most of all, keep at it on a continuous basis.
Junior Mining Companies are akin to a group of professionals looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Your job is to understand how and why they are trying to find that needle in that particular location. Ascertain what the numbers indicate that are posted in their press releases along the way. Look, it’s not easy because most of us aren’t geologists and this is difficult information to comprehend. But we are intelligent human beings and we can learn the basics. Take the first step and don’t be afraid to ask questions of the company, their geologists, their CEO’s and anyone else that might help you learn about a particular project.
It is a very high risk-high reward business. We need to learn the rules, the definition of terms, the players, and the financial goals we are personally seeking to accomplish. Show me a man who doesn’t know where he is going, and I’ll show you someone who is lost! Show me a company lacking a viable, dynamic business plan and I’ll show you a company that is also lost
This brings us full circle. Requesting a copy of this Oromin Brochure and then understanding the implications of what these projects are all about might be a good move for you. I’d like for you to think about the possibilities of a company that not only has the potential of a large gold deposit, maybe two, but one that also has the potential of a successful oil and gas play. Are they long shots? Well, that is what you have to decide based upon the performance of your own due diligence. Regardless, this is a company that knows where it is going and why it is going there. They are showing up for work.
There is another thought that I want you to fully comprehend. Because the junior mining business is an enterprise of odds and statistics, experience really does come into play. A company can have many “misses” and then discovers the “big one.” This is because someone observes the geology of a project and has a gut instinct based upon all of their previously encountered experiences. Making a discovery is half science and half art.
Finally, I think we have to continue to believe that we are in the inchoate stages of this long gold bull market. This is the time when quality juniors will rise to the top.
Conclusion
At this very moment there is a literally a “boat load” of Oromin’s drilling equipment on its way to Senegal, West Africa with its final destination being the Sabadola Concession. Management does not want to risk the possibility of any misrepresentations so all they will say is that the equipment should arrive shortly and with any luck they should be drilling their initial targets sometime before the Holiday Season. That’s fair enough. I take that to mean that in this business, it is better to allow for all unforeseen circumstances. If events unfold in a more timely fashion, then the better for everyone involved.
Oromin appears to have three excellent properties in their portfolio, the star currently being the one in Senegal. I would suggest visiting their website mentioned above, receiving a copy of the six page brochure, and then following the progress of the company in their various ventures.
Even though the company share price has appreciated nicely, there is no telling what could happen should a discovery be made in an area where other discoveries have already been documented. Right “next door”, a company out of Australia called Mineral Deposits Ltd, appears to be making significant headway with some very interesting results from their multiphase drilling program on their property. Their Hole SBRC072 reported near continuous mineralization from 13m to 101m down-hole including 10m grading 8.25 grams per ton. This is very interesting indeed. Mine-Tech’s Sabadola concession hosts a very similar geology and they are literally right next door.
Finally, I would be remiss in not mentioning that Mine-Tech currently holds the rights to the Mt. Kare Project in Papua New Guinea which I wrote about several weeks ago. I believe I would not be out of step to state that I’ve spoken with the Mine-Tech management and it appears that negotiations are moving along in a positive fashion with Longview Investments. That’s all that can be said at this point. However October 11, 2005 is drawing closer and that is the date when Longview’s due diligence is to be completed. See—everyone needs to do their due diligence! We shall see.
If the gold bull market continues on as I believe it will, and if there is a continued and corresponding positive movement in commodity prices, then Mine-Tech holds a very prominent position in this arena. With several exciting properties “on the move” (Oromin Explorations-OLE.V; Madison Minerals –MMRSF.OTC; and Lund Gold-LGD.V) there might very well be a synergistic effect between them, making the future look quite bright for investors following these programs.
After all, many companies only wish they could acquire one or two projects of substance; and at my last conservative count, Mine-Tech is working on six!
I am mandated to relay to you that these are my opinions and in no way should be construed as investment advice. I also hold positions in many of the projects that I write about.
Until Next Time,
D. Stewart Armstrong
Consultant to the Junior Mining Sector
consuting@seacoastpub.com
-- Posted Tuesday, 27 September 2005 | Digg This Article
