23 August 2013
Companhia
Mineira de Naburi (“CMdN”)
Pathfinder
Minerals’ Interim Results for 2013
The owners of CMdN, General Veloso and Diogo Cavaco, note the
announcement of Pathfinder Minerals’ interim results for 2013.
Pathfinder Minerals’
financial position
According to Pathfinder Minerals’ announcement it had cash of £2.1m at
the end of June 2013 (compared to the
£11m raised in June 2011 and £3.8m at the end of 2012). This implies a cash burn of approximately £280,000
per month
Given that its published legal expenses were £3.1m, what has happened
to the other £5.8m?
Why has the totally discredited Board of Pathfinder Minerals chosen to
spend over £250,000 on salaries for themselves and other “expenses” since July
2011 – when it has no assets and no business to operate?
At the current rate of cash burn,
Pathfinder Minerals will be bankrupt within 6 months.
The Legal Action
1) Pathfinder Minerals has to date obtained an UNCONTESTED judgement in the UK. This
judgement was obtained in criminal breach of an existing and continuing
Mozambique Injunction.
2) The UK court explicitly recognized that
Pathfinder Minerals has never exercised its option to acquire shares of CMdN
and HAS NEVER PAID FOR THE SHARES.
3) The Board of Pathfinder Minerals has admitted
under oath in Court in Mozambique that it has never paid for the shares of
CMdN. On what basis did it issue an IPO
prospectus claiming to own the shares of CMdN when it knew all it had was an
option to acquire those shares - an option it has never exercised or paid?
4) Was this because the Directors of Pathfinder
Minerals had illegally expropriated the bearer shares of CMdN owned by General
Veloso and Diogo Cavaco, on the grounds that they needed them for “due diligence” - but then refused to return them?
5) The main case relating to the ownership of
the shares of CMdN will have to be heard in the Mozambique courts. The owners believe that once the full picture
of the actions of the Directors of Pathfinder Minerals is put before the Court
the ownership of CMdN by General Veloso and Diogo Cavaco will be
confirmed.
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Notes for Editors:
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.
To this day, the promoters
of Pathfinder Minerals, Nick Trew, Gordon Dickie, John McKeon and Tim Baldwin
have only ever paid $100,000 in respect of the Option Agreement entered into in
good faith by General Veloso and Diogo Cavaco in 2006.
The
owners remain highly confident however 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.
