Last post for today.
Inmet will have to come to 'terms' with Petaquilla and either purchase some land and access rights for a good sum or enter into some sort of JV deal with Petaquilla. Those who hold sway at Petaquilla will not sell the company to Inmet for anything close to what they are able and/or willing to pay. The fact is that they would have to pay something like 1.5 billion dollars! That they neither have nor would be willing to pay. All you have to do is take a discounted cash flow of what Petaquilla would be worth in five years based on what the company now knows and you get that number. So basically the For Sale sign is just not out.
Now with all of the other side issues to resolve,(i.e. mine service, contracts, aggregate, housing, roads, processing agreements, and on, and on). This is going to take some time to work out. Obviously, it is to the advantage of both parties that that be done without bringing anyone else into the equation. Inmet has a time constraint. Petaquilla does not. Inmet needs access. Petaquilla does not. Inmet is now at odds with several powerful government entities. Petaquilla is not. Until this problem is resolved for Inmet they cannot even apply for all the dozens of permits that they require and that takes time.
Somebody at Inmet did not listen to their Panamanian law firm or their management in Panama. They fired the managing director in the middle of the litigation as a scape goat. They have some crazy idea that Panamanians are not aware of what they are saying in public. The hole just gets deeper and deeper. They should just stop digging and resolve the issues. Petaquilla knows that it is in the driver's seat and therefore can be very magnanimous in their public statements. If Inmet is to maintain their position and concession, they must come to the reality that they need to put this behind them. The danger for them is that things spiral out of control in Panama and the people demand their removal. If that happens they will be gone faster than Law No. 8!!!
Hope that this helps you understand just what seems to be happening.
Good Luck.
AI
