AUSTRALIAN URANIUM COMPANY PRETENDS TO BE A SANTA CLAUS
23/12/2014 17:53
(a reaction to Forte Energy's "Kuriskova Joint Venture Resource Update" 23 Dec 2014 news release)
co.uk/companies/news/75726/forte-energy-expects-significant-increase-in-kuriskovas-uranium-resources-75726.html ). This way the managers of Forte Energy apparently want to give to their investors, many of whom have been disappointed by the long term decline in the company's share price, a Christmas present and to motivate them to further spending of their money on the company's uranium activities (it seems the managers have been partly successful so far - after the announcement, the FTE share price moved upwards from 0.13 to circa 0.18 -https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/75737/forte-energy-shares-surge-ahead-of-uranium-upgrade-75737.html ).
However, the FTE investors should be aware that several things simply don't match here... for example:
1. Based on what data and/or what samples does Forte Energy want to increase the amount of uranium contained in the Kurišková deposit? At least since summer 2013, possibly even earlier, there has been no exploratory drilling done in the area (to the general joy of the people of Košice and its surroundings). Conversely, if the resource upgrade is based on older drilling results, why have they kept the results hidden in a drawer so far and didn't announce the "happy news" to their shareholders already earlier?
2. At the beginning of December, the CEO of Ludovika Energy (the Slovak subsidiary of the EUU-FTE joint venture) B. Bartalský told the local media that they want to extend the exploration licence for the area for another 10 years (which the Slovak geological law doesn't normally allow, by the way) as they want to move their attention away from uranium to REE (the rare-earth elements). How is it possible that the Slovak subsidiary (which is a holder of the exploration rights for the Kurišková deposit) is talking about "turning away from uranium to REE" while, at the same time, the parent company is saying that "a significant increase in contained uranium is expected"?
It seems that the practice, which has been used by these companies so far keeps continuing - they claim one thing in Slovakia to the citizens of Košice (e.g. that their proposed uranium mine would meet "the highest safety and ecology standards") and a completely different thing to their foreign shareholders and donors (e.g. "the Kuriskova project would be among the lowest cost uranium producers in the world"). Obviously one or the other of them (or both) are lying...
Forte Energy (FTE), the Australia-based uranium company, which together with Canada-based European Uranium Resources (EUU) owns a 50% share in Slovak Ludovika Energy (that has a licence for exploration of uranium ores in the Jahodná-Kurišková area, located in the closest neighbourhoods of the city of Košice, Slovakia) has announced today, i.e. only 1 day before Christmas, in a news release to its shareholders that "it has commenced the review of the Kuriskova uranium resources", that "a significant increase in contained uranium is expected" and that "it will be in a position to announce the final upgrade in early January 2015" (see also https://www.proactiveinvestors.
However, the FTE investors should be aware that several things simply don't match here... for example:
1. Based on what data and/or what samples does Forte Energy want to increase the amount of uranium contained in the Kurišková deposit? At least since summer 2013, possibly even earlier, there has been no exploratory drilling done in the area (to the general joy of the people of Košice and its surroundings). Conversely, if the resource upgrade is based on older drilling results, why have they kept the results hidden in a drawer so far and didn't announce the "happy news" to their shareholders already earlier?
2. At the beginning of December, the CEO of Ludovika Energy (the Slovak subsidiary of the EUU-FTE joint venture) B. Bartalský told the local media that they want to extend the exploration licence for the area for another 10 years (which the Slovak geological law doesn't normally allow, by the way) as they want to move their attention away from uranium to REE (the rare-earth elements). How is it possible that the Slovak subsidiary (which is a holder of the exploration rights for the Kurišková deposit) is talking about "turning away from uranium to REE" while, at the same time, the parent company is saying that "a significant increase in contained uranium is expected"?
It seems that the practice, which has been used by these companies so far keeps continuing - they claim one thing in Slovakia to the citizens of Košice (e.g. that their proposed uranium mine would meet "the highest safety and ecology standards") and a completely different thing to their foreign shareholders and donors (e.g. "the Kuriskova project would be among the lowest cost uranium producers in the world"). Obviously one or the other of them (or both) are lying...