3/28/18-- AUMN Trading 3/27-28 and Business Condition update from IR Karen Winkler
posted on
Mar 29, 2018 06:58AM
Golden Minerals is a junior silver producer with a strong growth profile, listed on both the NYSE Amex and TSX.
(Conversation following massive dumping of AUMN from .46 down to .41 on 550K shares, ironically following this recommendation by Zacks on 3/27/18:
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(Read email Q&A from bottom up- chronologically)
No legal issues. In fact, nothing at all since 2013 when a settlement mill law firm claimed we’d paid our former CEO more in the number of shares of stock awarded than was allowed under the terms of our plan. I just double-checked with my CFO and he confirmed this.
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2018 11:51 AM
To: Karen Winkler <karen.winkler@goldenminerals.com>
Subject: Re: AUMN Trading 3/27
Thanks for the feedback, Karen. I follow all of your points.
Lastly, is the company still battling any civil legal issues, and is the SG&A having to finance those costs?
If so, how much is it costing the company every quarter?
Silverbull50
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On Wed, Mar 28, 2018 at 12:35 PM, Karen Winkler <karen.winkler@goldenminerals.com> wrote:
We see trading visibility through our DMM on the floor of the exchange. In today’s widely dispersed and opaque markets, that means we don’t see much detail. Given roughly 45% of our stock is held by The Sentient Group, our float is relatively low and I think thus easily moved by the algo-dominated trading we in general see proliferate in today’s markets.
We have entertained various inquiries over the years about El Quevar, but to date have not signed any agreement. It is possible that recent improvements in Argentina’s political and economic climates may precipitate renewed interest from potential partners, and if that happened, we would announce any completed transaction as it would be considered material for the company. In the meantime, per recent news releases, we have in Feb. announced a new resource estimate focused on a core section within the Yaxtché deposit that included an Indicated sulfide resource of 2.6M tonnes at 487 gpt Ag (assumes cutoff of 250 gpt Ag) – one of the highest-grade resources out there for a silver project of this size. We have budgeted $1M this year for El Quevar that should cover the PEA we intend to complete later this year (as well as the project’s care & maintenance costs). We intend to advance El Quevar as much as possible within the limits of our exploration budget this year, and to hopefully unlock some of its value as well: we get no value for it right now in the markets.
We in general remain open to strategic opportunities. I believe we are better positioned than many exploration juniors out there, as we have various sources of income that have supported the company and its exploration activities during a period in which we ourselves have not been producing. 2017 cash inflows: $9.7M (of which ATM sales were $0.7M). The lease with Hecla has brought in over $9.3M since mid-2015. Last month, we received $1M from Electrum as part of an amendment to the earn-in agreement for our Celaya property. So we are presently funded and remain focused in our mission to move toward profitable production.
Thanks,
Karen Winkler
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Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2018 5:55 AM
To: Karen Winkler <karen.winkler@goldenminerals.com>
Subject: Re: AUMN Trading 3/27
Karen,
Are you guessing that the recent buyer that took AUMN higher on similar volume is possibly the same seller who quickly rode it down 5 cents yesterday, and that there's probably nothing more indicative to the transactions? (Unfortunately, judging by the offer size near the close, I suspect that there's more dumping to occur this morning of 3/28 (and 280K pushed the stock to .39+ on 3/28 by the end of trading. Hard to tell how much remains in the hands of the seller).
A few more questions if you don't mind:
A. Is the stock in limbo until (1) the metals break significantly higher, or (2) mgmt. finds a financial partner for El Quevar?
--- Are you making progress in generating any interest in potential partners for El Quevar?
B. Watching the trading activity during and after the two recently attended conferences-- Vancouver and the PDAC, there wasn't much buying generated. Is management still finding it difficult to generate higher interest in the stock until the two influences mentioned above in A occur? Are there any other potential factors that would create interest in AUMN?
Recently, there were three Junior Miner acquisitions in a single day. Is there much likelihood that Golden Minerals could be acquired by another miner?
Silverbull50
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On Tue, Mar 27, 2018 at 4:30 PM, Karen Winkler <karen.winkler@goldenminerals.com> wrote:
No, I do not. I did note its reversal of 3/20 when similarly large volumes gave the stock a 5-cent boost on the day. The company has not sold stock under its ATM program in over six months.
Regards,
Karen Winkler
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2018 3:18 PM
To: Karen Winkler <karen.winkler@goldenminerals.com>
Subject: AUMN Trading 3/27
Karen,
Do you know the source of the selling today?
Did the company sell any stock?
Silverbull50