I'm not qualified to comment of David Johnson's skills as a...

I'm not qualified to comment of David Johnson's skills as a geologist. Further, the exploration strategy adopted by the company appears ok to me but I don't have sufficient information to argue otherwise.

What I do know, however, is that when operating a publicly listed company, communication is critical to achieving success in building value for shareholders. A share price that does not reflect a company's current value or potential leaves the company vulnerable.

It's no surprise that the company's share price drifts lower when management fails to consistently and effectively communicate the potential value of the company's assets. MEL's management needs to spend some time looking at Arrow's announcements from 2005 onwards. The point is, there is no point being coy about your prospects unless there is some strategic reason to understate the value of the company's assets.

David Johnson (DJ) is a poor communicator. His presentations published on brr.com.au have been ok, however, his interview on the Fox Business Channel recently was terrible. He was trying to be circumspect about the great prospects of Kingfisher etc. but totally lost anybody watching and listening amongst a multitude of "ah's" and pauses.

Add to this the company's nebulous announcements that need to be deciphered by the geo-technically knowledgeable contributors to Hot Copper. I don't think its a stretch to assume these announcements are penned by DJ.

The MD or CEO of a public company must be a good communicator. In the event they are a poor communicator, the role should be delegated to an effective communicator. Further, any MD with any idea would ensure the company has a communications strategy beyond ASX announcements and conference presentations.

While very few shareholders would have a problem if MEL's management spent some money to improve the market communications, it is a significant weakness in the management team when the MD cannot communicate the unrecognised value and potential of this company.