The reason why HIO haven't taken it into production years ago is due to the longstanding battle with the Chinese JV partner over control of the board, having already signing a binding offtake agreement with Mitsui. Mitsui then terminated the offtake agreement until such time when "stability" was returned at board level. This prevented the company from moving forward with obtaining funding to complete the BFS. Eventually when the dust settled a new board was appointed with Bryan Granzian emerging as the new CEO. He immediately announced plans to buy out the disgruntled jv partner (which he did) and restart negotiations with Mitsui (which he did). He then completed a fully underwritten capital raise of some $33.5 million to fund a BFS for 10TPA using existing infrastructure as confired as "robust economically" in the PFS, and this is the project that myself and most investors invested in. Then after raising the cash, which was more than sufficient to see the company through to BFS stage, he then made a u-turn and announced that the board had "unanimously" decided to abandon the 10MTA plan and focus only on a newly conceived 20TPA (with a proposed slurry pipeline). Now just weeks away from the due date of the BFS he is announcing that "due to the global economic situation" the board has "unanimously" decided that the plan is not feasible, this is why they need to resign. They have pissed the $33.5M up against the wall investigating it, never delivered it, now the company is running short on cash, and he has the audacity to announce that needs to time to consider his options...??? The options are actually the exact same option he inherited from the outset, 10MTA using existing infrastructure, it was viable then, and it's even more viable now, in spite of the "global economic situation..." all we need is a competent board to stop making excuses and get it done....
HIO Price at posting:
11.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
