Hi Global10, thanks for your frank post. Very interesting...

Hi Global10, thanks for your frank post.
Very interesting observations about your broker, except that claims he controls 80% are, IMHO, exaggerated. He likely counts you in that 80% (& by your actions he clearly doesn't control your stock), and there are others who likely initially invested through the same channel who are almost certainly not puppets, who have a mind of their own & don't subscribe to any insistence that they must deal their stock or vote their stock in the manner that he dictates. The problem with some stockbrokers is that they feel that, in order to hold the interest of the clients they've put into a stock - and in the absence of company announcements - they have to fill in the information gaps. For this broker's sake, let's hope he wasn't making things up, claiming the company was feeding him information as the allegedly preferred broker when they may not have been.
Interesting to hear you weren't offered stock - may be a reflection of the company shifting to another broker and a breakdown of your broker's relationship with EXG?? Also, with all due respect to yourself, if I were management, I wouldn't feel inclined to reward an investor who sold the stock down in anticipation of picking up cheaper stock in a cap raise, especially if it seems like it's going into weak hands (i.e. short term holder). Rather, I would be keen to seek out new investors who see the exercise as buying/owning a company rather than trading a stock, therefore more likely to be in sticky hands (long term holder) & tighten up the register in the process.
I believe EXG's register will start changing, and this "80%" of HNW interest will transfer largely into institutional hands over time, as different investment hurdles are met (e.g. positive cash flow, profitability etc); i.e. as the company continues to de-risk. Institutions tend to have a much lower investment return target, and this is directly correlated to their demand for lower risk. The share price could be much higher than here, and they will be still be comfortable to buy, providing they believe the company is as bullet-proof as it can be.
Therefore, whilst I respect your right to hold the view that EXG is a "dud gold miner", I personally don't hold that view. Norton may well take the company out, but that would be opportunistic, and a shame that the company isn't finally able to prove & reflect it's true capability. I bought into RRL sub-10c at a time when it was very unloved, and whilst I'm not claiming EXG will achieve what RRL has done, and certainly hasn't gone about the path to production at the break-neck speed RRL did, nonetheless I think the company is poised for a re-rating. The company has been undercapitalised all the way through, so a decent-sized debt facility to be used at the company's discretion might well allow management to get on with what they do best - finding gold at a cheap discovery price. Add marketing to institutions to the mix, coupled with smooth, predictable operational performance, and provided the POG doesn't collapse, the share price should re-rate IMHO.