It is indeed GB.. From another poster (Many Thanks Sir) the weekly update from FEC shows Antilles green and Go.
This piece below was written by Warwick Grigor, who some may have heard of, and who has known Brian personally since the 80's. So he writes from a position of personal observation.
Antilles Gold in Cuba being is overlooked in the market
Antilles Gold chasing gold riches in CubaIn the quest to find stocks that haven’t yet had their day in the sun we recently came across Antilles Gold (AAU), a company that was previously known as Panterra Gold.
Experienced, successful managementThe driving force behind Antilles is Brian Johnson, a civil engineer with a lengthy history of success in the mining sector. I first met Brian in the 1980s when he was chairman of Golconda, a gold tailings re-treatment company in WA. His company was also a key shareholder in Zapopan Ltd, the company that discovered and developed the 8 Moz Mt Todd heap leach operation. He subsequently entered the iron ore business initially as a partner with Lang Hancock in the development of McCamey’s Monster in the Pilbara, before building Portman Mining, and then Mt Gibson Iron into successful iron ore producers. He also partnered Hancock in the development of the successful Woodie Woodie manganese project in WA. More recently he pioneered the Albion Oxidation Process to recover gold from refractory ore, developed by MIM and taken over by Glencore. We say “pioneered” because while it was a known process, no-one had implemented the technology on a commercial scale for precious metals until Panterra used it to recover gold from the Pueblo Viejo tailings in the Dominican Republic.It was a steep learning curve but eventually the project achieved production rates of 40-45,000 oz p.a. with recovery rates of 63% from low grade concentrates (11gpt). Recovery rates of > 85% were expected from fresh ore as opposed to historical tailings deposits.A continuing issue for Antilles stems from there being a shortfall in the Las Lagunas tailings resource.
The Government represented that there were 6.8 Mt of tailings when in fact it proved to be only 4.9 Mt. The Company is seeking US$23.8m in claims against the Government but the matter is subject to an arbitration process that
could take a few years to settle. Having developed the process expertise, Antilles began to look for mining projects that could produce high-grade arsenopyrite concentrates, to treat through the Los Lagunas plant or in a stand-alone development.
The Albion Process explainedA refractory ore containing gold is one in which the gold is usually present as finely disseminated particles in sulphide minerals such as pyrite. Conventional cyanide leaching relies on the cyanide lixivant making contact with the gold particle, dissolving the gold into a gold cyanide complex in order that recovery can then be achieved. In refractory ores, the cyanide is unable to penetrate the sulphide particle and make contact with the gold, resulting in poor metal recovery and significantly impacting on the ability to economically treat the ore. The Albion Process™ is a combination of ultra-fine grinding and oxidative leaching at atmospheric pressure, which results in the sulphide particles being oxidised. A concentrate containing precious metals is fed to the Albion circuit where sulphides are oxidised and liberated, allowing gold to be recovered by conventional means.
What is so good about Cuba?Cuba has been known as a mineral-rich country for a long time, but politics have made it difficult for foreign companies to establish a foothold. As an untapped frontier destination it is believed to offer considerable promise. First movers such as Antilles will be in a good position to expand their holdings.Fiscal terms in Cuba are attractive. The corporate tax rate is only 15%, and there is an eight year tax holiday. There is no duty on imported capital equipment and no withholding tax on foreign services or dividends. The government royalty on gold is 3% and a 50% reduction on the 10% GST rate is available. Expatriate income tax is limited to 15%.While it is a 49:51% equity split, all decisions require unanimous board approval.
Supplementary to the above the latest t20 has shown up two new additions whilst the remainder all held firm through the placement and options uptake.
Can't illuminate much about the UBS nom's account but can say that Syndicate is headed by two mining entrepreneurs Adib & Anees Sabet..
Both co-founded Syndicate Minerals which on the 11th of May took an option over the Golden Arrow Copper Gold Project in Argentina. Anees is also Peregrine Gold non exec director which may not have any bearing on proceedings but does have some heavyweight backing in WA at least.
But regardless of the reason, it's clear that sentiment may well have shifted and so the notification by Far East Capital only further enforces the change.. So lets roll on the assays.. GLTAH H8tey
(20min delay)