the new ceo worked at kinross, at least through 2006. last year kinross brought three (3) mines into production, one of which is in siberia, and all of them more or less on schedule and on budget, which is quite an achievement. it is hard enough to commission one mine without having all kinds of start-up problems. of course he was just one member of the team, but he contributed to their efforts, and he has broad experience.

however...the new ceo worked at kinross. kinross is the same company that patrick anderson and joe hamilton sold aurelian to, so i'm certain they are well acquainted with each other. i am familiar with kinross because it is my largest holding, ever since my aurelian shares were forcibly taken from me, and kinross paper (shares and warrants) showed up in my account one day, but that's another story. all recriminations aside, kinross has a reputation for disciplined growth, and delivering on the guidance they have provided, which is a rarity these days.

however...back in the days when aurelian was exploring ecuador, they hired an operations manager named george bee to supervise the development of their huge gold deposit. he built roads, bridges, and mine infrastructure, but it was all just for show. a ruse to try to entice a major to buy the company, not a sincere effort to build a mine. the aurelian gang never had any intention of building the mine themselves; their intent all along was to sell the company. so george bee was nothing more than window dressing, and the plan all along was to take the money and run when a suitor (kinross) came along.

so those are both sides of the issue. i suggest giving the new ceo the benefit of the doubt, and not to pre-judge him because of the company he has kept. this is his chance to run a company, and he has the skill sets necessary to build a mine and take it into production, assuming that is his intention.