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Steve Weiss mentioned Friday, and because his name is on the PR, I think he has a good idea about when we will see some news. But you may be right, tommer. Either way, I am fully loaded, fired up and ready to go.
Even Krong's iron is worth billions. As time passes, and while Dovgan is working on JV arrangements, the value of iron and rare earth metals keeps increasing. Also, advances in the mining and separation process are being made. This story has taken many twists and turns, but the proven assets are intact
and still owned by Aurus. If you are an investor in a mining operation, to reap the ultimate reward, we need a time frame of years, not days.
Biggest trading day for AQUI today since April 11 in anticipation of news.
They must be doing business using cell phones, not land lines.
If you do, Anvil, I'll be right there to pick up your shares.
I do have a sense of something causing a delay, but nothing worthy of alarm, so I will be here until the roll out is complete, the product launch is successful, the $118M Bank of China LOC is officially confirmed, and all of the above being reflected in our pps.
Steve Weiss told me he would stay on as the IR man until November which tells me we will all be handsomely rewarded by then. Of course, I'm an optimist by nature, but having met all of the principals face to face (except Mr. Tang), I can't help but support our team.
Can't confirm it, but I heard the Mohawk Tribe owns Iroquois Water.
Thanks for the explanation, K9. It's a very intelligent process of decision making that you have laid out in this post. I agree that we have to hold onto a little skepticism to avoid becoming blind followers. The more blanks we have to fill in, the more room for skepticism. Information is power, and that applies especially to investment decisions. I think we will all profit nicely after it is announced that the product launch is underway and Aquagold spring water is selling in China.
No, this isn't all about you making money. You posted the number of a receptionist and her misinformation that Iroquois was out of business. When I called the Akwesasne Office of Economic Development, they would not make such a definitive statement because they had heard different stories about Iroquois. I have spoken with many people who work in that neighborhood, some of them former employees of Iroquois, and they all confirmed what I have posted. And no, I will not give you their phone numbers so you can bother them at home just to find out what I have already learned.
I'm sorry to see you don't have faith in the email I received from D. Sauve, but I can tell you he is one honest guy. Please let us know what you learn if you decide to drive down to Akwesasne.
BTW, I expect to hear some big news soon and am buying AQUI at these levels. I met the team in NY and believe they are doing their best to make this work. A problem with the bottler is just another problem to be solved by management. Since they have other options besides working with Iroquois, I see nothing to be alarmed about.
"Yes they are still in business and in case there would
be a problem with them ,we have another solution
,thank you ,Daniel."
That was a reply to my email to Daniel Sauve. I was very happy to get any kind of response from the CEO.
And I'm glad you're making money here. From all I can find out, Iroquois is idling. They may have closed for a short time, but they are still in business and are filling orders they are obliged to ship by contractual agreement.
The point is that if Iroquois cannot produce, AQUI has other options. The only question I have concerns the delay in getting the end product to market.
BTW, I appreciate everybody's input.
I agree, and that's why I suggest finding someone in Moscow who can do this digging for us.
Try calling that number again, and instead of talking to a receptionist, ask to speak with Sharmane Caldwell in the Office of Economic Development. She will tell you she has heard that Iroquois was out of business, is still in business,
and that they are idling, i.e., in transition. Nothing is definite, as far as her office is concerned.
A word of advice: Never take the word of a receptionist as final in doing your DD. I expect to hear later today from Iroquois's accountant.
What we need is a point man in Moscow who can communicate with and report on the Company. In the meantime, maybe there is someone on this board who can get through to John Helmer of Mineweb. He may have dug up more information (positive or negative) since his articles were published that would be helpful to us shareholders. It shouldn't be hard to track him down, and probably a lot easier to extract information from him than it is getting Slava to reply to email.
Anybody have the time to put in a call to Russia? And we know John Helmer speaks both English and Russian.
I'd call that good management, to not put all your eggs in one basket (or in one bottling company) and to always have a contingency plan. My hat is off to Daniel Sauve.
When asked if Iroquois was still operational, Daniel wrote:
"Yes they are still in business and in case there would
be a problem with them ,we have another solution
,thank you ,Daniel."
Concerning Iroquois Water, this statement was made today in an email written by Daniel Sauve:
Yes they are still in business and in case there would
be a problem with them ,we have another solution
,thank you ,Daniel.
I agree 100%. The more we know, the better off they are.
That's exactly right. I think what we really want to know is what kind of delay to expect if Iroquois is not going to be the bottler. Daniel Sauve may not want to discuss this problem until everything is sorted out and a contract is signed with some other bottling company. Still, shareholders are going to feel uneasy knowing that such an important role is not currently accounted for, if Iroquois is in fact not going to be in the picture.
I expect to hear something more definite in this regard from Aquagold next week.
What I've been told so far is that Iroquois is idling, that is, there is a skeleton crew, and they are still operational.
The Company is undergoing some sort of transition. Trucks are coming and going to supply what is required by their contractual obligations, but I haven't been told whether any of those trucks have been commissioned by Aquagold International.
If anyone knows more than that, please share.
I've spoken to a few people in Akwesasne who say Iroquois has
recently had some financial problems but that they are getting back on track. Hopefully, I'll have more details soon.
I am investigating this and will let you know next week
what I find out about Iroquois.
Posting positive information derived from your persistent inquiry will get rid of the negativity on this board and help rebuild the AURC share price.
Keep diggin', Buddy! You're on the right track.
divtrader9 -- What do you make of the email Buddyrich received from Kagan and Associates?
Great news, my man. Makes those who say Aurus is a scam look rather foolish, wouldn't you say? Let's see if Kagan and Associates can supply us with more intel to further establish
the Company's credentials as a real gold mining enterprise.
Woooohoooo!
Your welcome. Steve said Chinese government officials had objected to letting out any news without their say. Steve said he understood our frustration and, as a word of reassurance, he added that the Company is moving forward with its business plan.
One final note: Steve wrote that he will remain with AQUI as its IR man during the product launch and right through to November.
I received an email from Steve Weiss this morning, and he confirmed that the blackout was imposed from the Chinese side. They were especially dissatisfied with all of the information that was being released by previous management before the launch was even scheduled to take place. Steve was encouraging but did not have any further information to share.
Then they should give Slava a shovel and tell him to get to work.
It sounds like those who have D. Sauve's private phone number don't know more than any one else about how the Company is doing thses days. Even Steve Weiss doesn't seem to have an inside track.
I think the Chinese were rattled to hear about all of the stockholder negativity that began after the April 23rd meeting and decided on a blackout to avoid being jinxed by bashers, whiners and crackpots.
DOS and friends
Global Industry Analysts told me today that the information
included in their publication about Aurus and its purchase of equipment from a Japanese manufacturer does not provide any more detail than what the Company (Aurus) has posted on its website.
GIA offered to send me that page from their industry handbook which deals with Aurus if I would be willing to pay $100.00.
So they weren't very helpful, but I'm sure they would not have included anything about Aurus in their global industry handbook if Aurus were not a real company doing business in the real world.
So I called Nicolas, whose name appears at the top of that web page. Since he had a 718 area code, I figured he lived in Brooklyn or Queens, New York, but he is actually in Europe.
He referred me to the website of an industrial association
that I spoke with today and expect a reply from tomorrow concerning the report about Aurus purchasing equipment from a Japanese manufacturer. It's possible that they took the information from the press release issued in 2006 and posted here earlier today, but I'm hoping for some updated information.
I will post whatever reply I receive. I was told that the turnaround time for email inquiries is 24 hours. I have a feeling they may just want to sell me the report, and if that is the case, I will call them again to get at least some additional information about the manufacturer.
Right, and I heard from someone here that they are having that document certified. I have a hunch they are doing that in order to obtain additional financing, not simply to clear away the doubts of us shareholders. I also think the slide show we saw at the meeting was a rehearsal for some more important presentation, also to attract additional funding, but that's just another hunch.
Thanks for your reply, aymon. Good luck with your investment.
Aymon -- They restated (reconfirmed) the information included in the April 11, 2008 PR. Are you doubting the existence of the LOC?
That's right, ranger, so you can imagine how disappointed the
Aquagold execs were when the pps began to tank right after the meeting we attended in NYC.
At the meeting, they explained their business plan and confirmed the Letter of Credit from the Bank of China for $118M. They showed us slides depicting all of the official ceremonies surrounding the launch of the product, while assuring us of their determination not to dilute shareholder value, only to see the price of their stock sink over the next six weeks. That drop in price has apparently made it more difficult for the Company to move forward in obtaining financing with the most favorable terms. But, of course, that was the risk they chose to take when they entered the pinksheet market.
The lack of support shown by shareholders does not encourage Daniel, Marco and Paul to want to reward them with regular news and reassurance that everything is on course. They feel little obligation to shareholders who are in this for a quick flip while they are working hard to build a company that will be their lifetime achievement.
It is very revealing to see the wild criticism and attacks launched on this message board against these three honest guys. Don't posters have any business experience, even enough to know that a start-up enterprise will encounter many early obstacles in getting its product to market? Everyone should know this. It is common sense. I don't remember the Company predicting any specific date for the completion of any particular phase of its product launch. Everything will happen in due time, and the negativity on this board is not helping, except to assist those who want to buy in at a highly discounted price.
Imagine all of the steps in the business plan where they could encounter complications, especially with the first commercial shipment -- getting the new molds right, getting the labels and caps done, transporting the water, scheduling the bottling of the water, arranging to finance production, arranging for shipping, arranging to clear customs, translating documents, meeting contract deadlines -- all of these things require undivided attention, and if they lose their focus, mistakes will be made and more time will be lost. It's no surprise
that Daniel is not returning calls from I-Hub posters. He would much rather focus on the task at hand to see that everything runs smoothly in fulfilling his contractual obligations with China.
For all of the whiners and naysayers out there, an extra week or an extra month at this point in time may be required for Aquagold to get its production on track. And, reading between the lines of his brief message, I think Paul is saying that if you want to bash the Company, don't expect any favors in return.
07up -- You're absolutely right. We're always impressed to see that the officers have invested their own funds in the Company.
The notes to the 2007 financials point out that the statements are for Aquagold Canada alone and do not include the merger that formed Aquagold International. The financials showing the results of the merger should be available soon and will include goodwill as a line item on the balance sheet.
Goodwill means that a Company was acquired for more than the value of its net assets. The difference between the cost of acquisition and the value of the acquired company's net assets is goodwill.
The 2007 Balance Sheet of Aquagold Canada shows 3,000 under Other Non-current Assets. Without knowing the history of the Company, I cannot say if that amount is Goodwill or Incorporation Costs. That will be cleared up when the Balance Sheet of Aquagold International is published.
There are a few corrections that need to be made on these 2007 financials:
1) Because revenues for 2007 were zero and expenses were
574,128.59, the Net Income should be -574,128.59. (They forgot the minus sign.)
2) On the Balance Sheet, it looks like Goodwill should be 3,000 and Incorporation Costs zero. The Total Other Non-current Assets should be 3,000. (They left out that line.)
Lochan
Hi Skeena -- If I had Daniel's bat phone number, I would ask him why they removed E&Y from the pinksheet information, but without speaking to him personally, I can only guess at what the reason was.
I can't remember if they PR'ed that they had chosen E&Y or if they had actually retained them. It is possible Aquagold decided they didn't need their services yet and have postponed their attempt to uplist because of the demands of initiating commercial production. It is possible their previous accounting firm made them a better offer to do the same work. There is a lot of effort that goes into switching accountants, and it is rather costly. I suspect there were many factors involved in making that decision.
Ranger -- Those who attended the last meeting seem to have a lot of faith in the Company. I think the slide presentation was very impressive. It showed how much preparation has gone into making contacts to enable the product launch.
Daniel, Marco and Paul are working hard to get things off the ground. At the meeting they said that is the message they would like to get out to the shareholders. I take it as good sign that they have not been hyping the stock at this critical juncture when they are seriously entering the production phase, because building the Company requires their full attention. They have to arrange for the financing of operations and work out many details to fulfill their contractual obligations. Their last priority at this point is to satisfy I-Hub bashers.
Everyone on this board should show a little patience instead of going postal because there has been no PR. When the time is right, they will release a progress report. That's what real companies do. The Company is not listening to this message board rant, and neither should we.
Doog -- I just wrote to Daniel (in French) asking for news. I can hardly imagine how busy he must have been this past month getting ready for the product launch, and I doubt he had time to spare to put together a press release which was probably has not been his top priority in recent weeks.
He gave me his business card at the meeting last month, and I will try to reach him tomorrow by phone to see if he will give us some kind of update. At the meeting, I asked him to not only give us regular progress reports but also to let us know if there were any major setbacks that had thrown the timeline off course. He agreed to do so.
Personally, I'm looking forward to some good news, hopefully within a week or so. I would expect to hear that the new molds were successfully installed by Iroquois and that a huge order was shipped to China. The pps should recover nicely with the next positive PR from Aquagold.
Nice of Daniel to speak with you. They must be very excited and busy getting those containers ready for shipping. This is a huge hurdle, but once the cash starts rolling in, thanks to the Bank of China's Letter of Credit and guarantee of payment, growth will continue by the Company's churning the profits from sales back into expanded production.
We know that in the initial roll out of a product, there are always going to be some minor setbacks and unforeseen problems. With this initial commercial shipment, those kinks will be worked out. I would expect Daniel to make a major announcement when the Aquagold spring water hits the shelves
in China. When he does, the real message will be that we are going to have smooth sailing throughout the initial growth phase. That's when I expect this to really take off.
More conservative investors want to see that Aquagold can deliver its product onto the shelves. The next test will be whether people are willing to pay the price for bottled spring water. And, finally, if there are repeat orders and a growing demand. That will take several months to determine, but if all goes well, by year's end we should see some spectacular price appreciation. IMO
That's right, cfpjbs. DOS and I are just waiting for the green light to fly over to Russia to substantiate all of the claims made by Aurus.
We have already seen a letter from a prestigious law firm confirming that Krong is the owner of the Roshal pilings. We also know that Krong is a 100% subsidiary of Aurus, but we want to see further proof. We also want to see the new equipment and production numbers for 2007. We will also encourage management to issue a cash dividend to reward the longs who have kept their faith alive in the face of tremendous opposition, what to speak of the devastating pps slide over the past year.
We should hear something before long from Mr. Dovgan. After all, it was he who extended the invitation to us shareholders
to visit the Aurus mining facilities back in December by press release.