update 8/10/08
in response to
by
posted on
Oct 11, 2008 08:23AM
Diverse resource exploration in the Philippines.
Dear Shareholder,
We would like to set out Mindoro's actions and responses in regard to the current financial situation and our ongoing strategy to continue building your Company. At the outset we can say Mindoro is not only well-positioned to weather the storm, but to advance its projects and emerge a stronger company from this uncertain period.
METALS OUTLOOK
There is a certain irony to the current situation. In 1997, soon after we started work in SE Asia, the "Asian Economic Crisis" hit. This actually proved to be a time of low operating costs and competitive advantages for us. The vibrant Asian economies, led by powerhouses China (consistently in the 10 to 12% growth range) and India (growing at 7%), have been doing extremely well for almost a decade now, but will now experience some set-back due to this "Western Economic Crisis".
It remains to be seen what this fallout will be; most likely a dampening down on the rate of spectacular Asian growth we have been witnessing. While China will not escape some impact, we believe it will be much less than is thought in the West, since China's economy is becoming increasingly self-contained. The rapid growth of China, India, and other emerging nations in the region will continue with but a temporary pause. The progress of hundreds of millions of industrious Asians to middle class consumerism in these rapidly developing nations will not be stopped by western economic excesses, nor will the creation of entire new regional infrastructures.
We believe that metals demand and prices will soon recover, albeit to more sensible and sustainable levels. Those companies such as ours, with metal resources in the ground in the Asian region, and with tremendous upside potential, have a bright future.
MINDORO'S STRATEGY
Mindoro is well-financed with over two million dollars working capital, raised in the fall of 2007, as we recognized the signs of a looming long-term financial crises. In early 2008, Mindoro was already putting in place a re-vamped strategy of cutting exploration expenditures and advancing its large copper-gold holdings via joint venturing; culminating in the announcement of initial joint venture arrangements with gold-producer Avocet on the Kay Tanda gold-silver resource, and Gold Fields on the balance of the Batangas Projects.
On the Surigao Projects, drill resource delineation has been terminated on Agata North with about 80% of the resource delineated and an updated resource estimate due in November. We will seek to use this as leverage to form a partnership with a nickel consumer / end-user (eg. Asian stainless steel processor) to advance Agata North to production as an integrated mining / processing nickel laterite operation. Other nickel laterite prospects will go on hold, or be advanced by joint venture.
We will seek joint venture partners on our extensive Surigao copper-gold holdings.With the announcement of the go-ahead by Philex Mining of the Philippines on the Boyongan copper gold deposit, the Surigao District will become a copper-gold camp which will attract joint venture interest. Mindoro will retain and advance its highly promising Agata copper-gold and gold prospects on the Agata Project. These include the American Tunnels prospect, where artisanal miners have exposed the top of a skarn-porphyry copper-gold system.
In summary, Mindoro will;
I encourage you to contact Mindoro's President, Penny Gould, at our Edmonton office at 1-877-413-8187 for a further discussion of the company's objectives and strategies.
Regards,
J.A. (Tony) Climie, CEO