Companhia
Mineira de Naburi (“CMdN”)
Pathfinder
Minerals Cash Burn – Daily Telegraph 14 March 2013
The owners of CMdN, General Veloso and Diogo Cavaco have noted the
recent article in the Daily Telegraph in UK that Pathfinder Minerals has been
spending cash at a rate of £463,000 per month and had only £5.1m left at June
2012 of the £11m raised by them in June 2011.
At that level of monthly spending, Pathfinder Minerals would be out of cash by the end of May 2013.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Pathfinder Minerals claims “significant
funds” went on “the feasibility study for the disputed Mozambique projects”. In fact this is not the case as Pathfinder
Minerals has no mining licence and no assets in Mozambique.
In an email from James Normand, the Finance Director of Pathfinder
Minerals, to General Veloso dated 11 November 2011, Mr Normand said:
“Suffice
it to say that the figure of £4 million in Nick Trew’s e-mail came from me, so
I can confirm that it has indeed been spent.”
However, in a spreadsheet attached to the same email Mr Normand
identified that only £489,298 was categorized as “Payments made to date” to potential
contractors.
If it is the case that Pathfinder Minerals has spent the majority of the
£11m raised in June 2011, where has the money gone and why has the Stock Market
not been informed?
*************************
NB. In the High Court judgement
obtained by Pathfinder Minerals in October 2012, the judge correctly found that
the Share Option Agreement by which Pathfinder Minerals claimed to own shares
of CMdN was indeed an option agreement, under which the option could only be
exercised upon payment of the purchase price of $9.9m, which has not been paid.
Accordingly, under Mozambique law ownership of CMdN shares never passed to Pathfinder
Minerals.
The owners remain highly
confident that while it is likely to take several years for this case to be
finally resolved, they will be successful in defending their rights of
ownership under Mozambique law.
