Appendix
An FYI on ECU Silver for you:
Hi Bill:
As I am not able to properly decipher the assay results, I decided to crunch some numbers that I can understand.
Since September, inclusive, when ECU began its last (we hope and they have stated) rounds of financings, they have issued (all these numbers need to be checked for errors):
42,991,151 common shares (average issue price just under 30 cents Cando)
26,899,193 warrants (average issue price 34,6936 cents Cando)
Since ECU started trading again in August 2003, we have had:
4 months with volume over 20 million shares (max=~28mm)
4 months with volume between 10 and 20 million shares
Over 70% of the above issues have become free to trade following their 4 month holding period. Adding the stock and the warrants (42+26=68) we have roughly a 68 million share overhang on the market which is worth about C$ 23.8mm at 35 cents. While not all of the offerings will be sold into the market in the 30-40 cent level, a substantial portion is likely to be. If we assume that 50% will be sold into the market in order to make the rest free to the Private Placement placees, we have an overhang of 34 million shares, a more manageable size but still large given ECU´s recent trading volumes. February, ´05 saw a reasonable increase in volume to the 6-7 million share level (from about only 2.5mm in Jan, ´05) and March, ´05 is so far showing reasonable volume as well.
The above analysis will help me to be patient with ECU over the next few months. On the other hand, if just a couple of funds latch on to ECU, the overhang could evaporate rapidly and the stock soar. This is their chance, IMHO. Once this overhang is gone, it will be hard to find stock. The faster the official reserves are issued, the faster this will happen, assuming they are as fantastic as seems to be indicated by the sample assays.
There has been no, zero, zip shorting in ECU recently.
Just some thoughts FYI.
All the best,
David
Dear Mr Bagnell,
I have recently sent you two communications that relate to the above topic and I have to date not received any acknowledgement; however, I will not let that deter me from endeavouring to bring this crucial matter to your attention so that you may study the issue for yourself. I hope that by copying to here, a letter which was sent out on Sunday, 13th March to a number of gold and silver mining companies, this may facilitate a quick overview for you of the market manipulation – and the forthcoming plans of private organisations to address this. As my Member for Parliament I ask that you investigate and raise the issue in the House.
It will become apparent with study that the gold and silver companies, being beholden to the banks, are, for the most part, afraid to expose the truth of their market.
Is the Canadian Government part of this manipulation – for the Canadian gold reserve has gone? Are you going to work for a healthy mining sector in the Yukon by way of insisting on a free market for the price of gold and silver? It would be nice to hear that Yukon’s Member of Parliament has gone on the record as supporting a transparent and free, gold and silver market – and that he was actively participating in this effort.
I would appreciate that you give some of your time to studying the issue of market manipulation, especially as it relates to the pricing of gold and silver.
(When the CRB index was last above the 300 level, gold was priced at $600 an ounce – the disconnect is profound given world demand.)
Thank you,
Chris Larkin.