That's an interesting viewpoint. Genuinely, thank you. I never followed Rialto so I am not in a position to offer an opinion whether his executive decisions there were intrinsically bad decisions, or if they were perhaps reasonable decisions that ended in poor results. There's a big difference, but the end point for investors can be the same. What I do know is that even allowing for "Director protocol" there is a world of difference between the "thank you" offered by Bruce Burrows to Jeff Schrull and, for example, that offered by Trevor Benson to Steve Noske.
Putting all of that aside, however, I think the speculation of a potential link - or at least a lot of co-incidences - might still be valid. We have asked Schrull to join our board for his knowledge and experience. He's there to advise, not to execute. Irrespective of what happened at Rialto, I think it's reasonable to say that he has a strong knowledge of what is now Azonto (along with other African assets). The other points I made are unarguable:
- Azonto has African assets. We know WHL wants more African assets. - Azonto has Australian assets. We know WHL has Australian assets, and whilst not a strategic priority, may be comfortable picking up more. - Azonto has a dual ASX/AIM listing. We know an AIM listing is something that has been suggested as being helpful to WHL. - We know Rob Shepherd (Azonto MD) and Nick Cooper (Ophir CEO) are close. Shepherd sold a company to Ophir, Ophir is operator on one of Azonto's assets, and the two are co founders of the Bedlam Brewery (I quite like the sound of their Bedlam Best). - We have just inked a pretty decent deal with Ophir. - Rob Shepherd was just last month in the press talking about the need for consolidation in small African explorers.
As I said yesterday, this is all speculation on my part, but that seems to be a lot of linkage between not many players. I've seen corporate gets to-gethers with far less apparent fit than this.
For us the main game currently is obviously:
- getting $4m in back costs in the bank - getting Seychelles 3D underway - getting the drill go head from AWE etc. etc.
but we should also now be thinking a little more about the long term future now that our short-to-medium term seems to have a floor once again.
GLTA, DYOR, Frogster
Oh, and have a great Easter to you all.
QFY Price at posting:
1.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
