a couple of concerns

Hi guys,

I went through some of the UMC threads last night to catch up on events on UMC, and I offer the following observations:

Management of UMC

There appears to be some disenchantment with Matt Hogan as CEO. I have read posts that say he was a stockbroker and that UMC need to get someone with industry experience.

I think this is a little unfair. My understanding is that he was the one reason the iron ore tenements landed in UMC. I also understand that he is good at doing deals. These skills are going to be crutial if UMC wants to get the ore to market, ie: maybe a deal at the rail head with BHP, maybe bringing in a JV partner etc... Twiggy was also a stockbroker!

Good CEO's don't necessarily need to be technical guys, but they must be smart enough to employ good technical guys. My understanding is that Matt has a very good team of technical guys. Good CEO's must be able to smell a deal and be able to recognise win/wins. I have no doubt given Matt's background and the fact he got hold of the iron ore leases that he probably has these skills. We will know in time.

We have to remember he is new in the position and, to my understanding, this is his first CEO role. If Matt is any good he will learn quickly. I think current shareholders should give him the opportunity to show his worth. He does seem to have the skills needed if UMC are going to be successful.

Hogan and Partners

I have read a lot of posts about selling of shares by Hogan and Partners and how some are unhappy with this. The facts are, from my understanding, that Hogan and Partners are a brokerage firm and thus are given instructions by clients to buy and sell shares. There is no way that any of us can make a valid assessment on whether this means that the CEO and Chairman don't believe in UMC, are making a fast buck, saying one thing but doing another etc... The fact is they are acting under instructions from their clients and we will never know their clients reasons for buying or selling. As an example it may be possible that UMC did a deal by issuing shares rather than cash and the vendor wanted to cash up. This is just an example, the reasons could be many and varied.

I do note though that a few of the posts are bordering on libel and defamation. Everyone has a right to express their opinions, however the law is pretty clear on this issue. If you make a statement that you can't justify, and that statement leads to loss of reputation, loss of value etc... then you can be sued.

I only point this out because I was led to understand from a few posts that UMC directors sometimes read HC. If that is true, and Hogan and Partners, or a director in his own right, takes objection to any unvalidated comments that are incorrect they could take legal recourse.

I have no reason to believe this has happened, I just wanted to point out that it is very easy to make statements when one becomes emotional (and losing money on a stock can make one emotional!) and that could lead to trouble.

Anyway, please take this post for what it is worth, just friendly advice, and please note my comments on Matt Hogan. I, for one, will be very happy to see him grow into the role and make some astute business decisions that will create value for all of us.

As for the projects.... I give them a big tick and I await the results of the December drilling campaign.

Regards, Tony.