Report: "Insider's Exploration Update" - Oct 5/08
posted on
Oct 05, 2008 03:07PM
Creating shareholder wealth by advancing gold projects through the exploration and mine development cycle.
Fellow investors...
Just returned home from the Cambridge House conference and KXL's insider exploration update presented by Brian Maher at 3pm.
I would like to share some of the highlights of this presentation and the commentary given by Brian that you would not get from simply reading the newest presentation avilable on the KXL website. My comments and notes are my interpretations of what was said at this presentation and I welcome anyone also in attendance to clarify or revise my report should their be any inaccuracies or inadvertant false statements. With that being said ... as always please do your own due dillegence before deciding to invest in this company. There is PLENTY of information on the KXL website, and my report today is just one small piece of the this information available.
I am currently a shareholder in the company.
Investor Sentiment at the Conference
Walking the aisles at the convetion centre was eerily quiet compared to PDAC last year. This was mentioned prior to Brian's presentation - that the financial turmoil IS having an effect on investment dollars toward investment junior miners. Someone in the room remarked "You could roll some pennies down one of the aisles and start a stamped"!! With that being said the room at the Intercontinental was pretty full as Brian began his talk, and there was steady flow of individuals entering the room as he got going.
Confidentiality Agreements with Mid/Majors
The question was asked to Brian, what does a CA with these companies allow them to do. Brian's response was that the CA's essentially create an open door policy with these companies to come in and view ALL of the Geologic Data from the field. Brian also remarked that there are strict clauses within the CA that prevent the companies from:
a) Staking land close to any of KXL properties, and
b) Acquiring stock in KXL
IMO it is good to see that the company is protecting shareholder's interest in the project.
Ownership/Mangement
Brian stressed that the management/family/insiders of this company continue to own 50% of the company and that institutional support (by way of fund managers holding KXL) is very strong and increasing (as evidenced by some posts on this board).
Money Management
With the global financial crisis ensuing at the moment, I think we should all be thankful to have the management team we do. They are spending our $$ wisely and this was evident in what Brian talked about today. Before they decide to spend anything it must be approved at the board level and always ensure that the dollars spent are building shareholder value.
Examples
a. At the end of 2008, Brian estimates that the company will have spent between $15-20 million.
b. They recently met with their drillers and have negotiated a 38% reduction in cost/meter of drilling. I believe Brian said that drilling costs are now in the neighborhood of $100/meter.
c. Budgeting is the name of the game for junior explorers and KXL is sensitive to this issue. Brian said the budget for 2009 is have at least $20 Million in the bank by the end of next year (FY2009. If necessary he said they could repeat the same budget in the next year. Therefore he told everyone in the room that the company has enough money to continue on their journey for another 2 years.
Drilling
KXL's drilling is not haphazard and before they go punching holes in the ground they ALWAYS make sure the cost is justified. This mantra carries over to the N3-401 debate we've had on this board numerous times and which was raised by an individual in the room today. Simply put, Brian feels that the exploration dollars are better spent in regional exploration to find multiple targets with huge potential than punching hundreds/thousands of holes into the Golden Mile to establish a compliant resource. He said any mid/major looking to acquire will essentially take this N3-401 and throw it in the garbage and have their own geological team re-run the study. Hearing that... I am glad the remaining $40 Million of cash the company has will go to drilling programs on other excellent looking targets.
As of now Brian said that the company has completed about 55,000 meters of drilling and by the end of the year the total will be closer to 75,000 meters (includes all regional expl. targets)
Golden Mile
There has been a ton of discussion here over the last week about the potential strike length of the Golden Mile. Brian said that the number is anywhere between 8-9 km given the new development in the NW extension that trends toward Sages new discovery. That is 8-9 km on KXL's property and has NOTHING to do with Sage. The new 1000 meter extension bringing us up to 3 km at the present time in on the other side of the lake which is now referred to as "Golden Pond" The NW extension of the GM is exciting the team as Bryan said they are encountering very think veins with intensifying mineralization. They have been drilling the NW extension of the GM and assays are pending. Once the lake has frozen over, they will be drilling under the lake to see if the “periodicity” between shoots along the golden mile continues to the north west. Brian talked about the pattern between shoots emerging on the GM as “periodicity”, a technical term to describe distance between shoots along strike. The GM has been drilled down to a depth of 600 meters Brian told us (with assays pending)
Advanced Exploration Permits
Have been issued and will allow for stripping of the tree cover between the GM and the stacked veins to the south.
Maki Midas
As Cedar and Rory and others who have been the KXL camp lately have said, this is a very exciting target to KXL and becoming a priority. The inability to access this structure in the past made it virtually impossible to explore. That has all changed now as KXL hired a backhoe operator working on an adjacent piece of land to essentially build a 14 km long road into the area.
By the end of October, KXL will be drilling this area and the operation will be helicopter supported. Approximately 600 meters have been stripped to date with every encouraging surface structures revealed.
West Geraldton (Boomerang and Gold Strike)
Brian said that these structures have very large widths and their proximity to one another is encouraging. They are close to infrastructure as well which is a bonus. KXL is planning 6 km of drilling in this area.
Final Thoughts
Our money and investments are in good hands with Brian and his team. They are methodical in their approach and they do CARE about building shareholder value. I couldn’t stay for the entire Q/A, so I look forward to hearing what I missed if anyone was there in the room.
Every time I leave one of Brian’s presentations (this is my 2nd) I remember why I am invested in this company. Over the coming months, as Brian stated – It will be his job and that of management to get the word out there as much as possible about the potential of this land package. This starts with Brian’s trip to Dubai this month. With so many assays and results pending, I feel there will be no shortage of news over the coming months (not to mention drilling). We need to have patience here ladies and gentleman, this company IMO is destined for great things and to get there Brian echoed Sen. John McCain’s sentiment we need to “Drill Baby Drill!” And that is exactly what the company is going to be doing.
I hope my report was accurate and helpful to those that could not make it today. If I have mispoke or missed anything, I welcome clarifications.
Good night everyone!
P.S. For Portee and WoozleCat
As I left the MTCC to get to our car I noticed a statue outside the convention centre. It seems as though, Portee's woodpecker was in Toronto this afternoon taking in Brian's presentation as well!! Looking forward to the Woodpecker's take on the conference ;)