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By : Editor, the |
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We took an
immediate liking to Ray, smoking cigarettes on the front porch of his tiny
office in downtown Coeur d'Alene, shortly after he, as president of Sterling
Mining Co. (which has been around since 1903) had negotiated with American
Reclamation's Robert Mori to spare the Sunshine Mine from the scrap heap. Bob
Mori, who had earlier scrapped the late Sunshine Mining Co. mill in Silver
Peak, Nevada (now in Silver Standard's possession, in Texas), must have been
sorely tempted to do the same with the Sunshine Mine, with its miles and
miles of copper wire, steel track, stull-yards of exotic shaft timber, its
transformers and electric motors. But Mori held off, and gave DeMotte (in
exchange for some SRLM stock) a chance to resurrect the place. DeMotte's
next challenge was to persuade Shoshone County's commissioners not to foreclose
on the Sunshine Mine for back taxes owed by defunct Sunshine Mining Co. This
is how bad things had got there. Not only had Sunshine Mining Co. let the
mine go to hell while it threw good money after bad into a difficult property
in Not an easy
thing for a European-educated MBA descended from a coal-mining family in Sterling
Mining's on-the-ground crew at the Sunshine Mine now totals 77 folks. The
Sterling Tunnel has been completed and the contractors paid. The Jewell Shaft
has been fully rehabilitated, as has the secondary hoist at the
Consolidated-Silver property, which is the Sunshine's “back door”
exploration platform and secondary escape-way. On the way
to all this a tiny but vicious and noisy contingent of Sterling shareholders
(they totaled about 3 percent when it came to nut-cutting time three months
later) started slandering DeMotte for his plodding, bull-headed progress at
Sterling. They wanted instant glory-holing, not new transformers and pumps
and batteries and wiring and motors which are the backbone of a hard-rock
silver mine. And they were ticked off that they hadn't sold their Sterling
stock during its brief and uncalled-for run-up to $13 and thought they could
steal the mine away from And now to the news: Sterling
finished what likely will be its last financing, in Toronto, of
US$24,734,755.50, that will fund the Sunshine Mine through start-up of production
in December of this year and well into 2008, at which point cash flow should
be well enough positive to maintain on-going reserve development. Heavy Secondly,
SRLM shares, which toiled since 1903 for 100 years on the much-maligned Pinks
and its predecessor exchanges in Spokane and elsewhere, will go directly to
the Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSE having granted preliminary approval for
same, also just last week. There will be no “Dot-V” appendage to
their shares. Do not pass We don't
talk much about stock prices in this rant, because it's not our field of
expertise. But even one of So we kick
back and, yes, We told ya so. So this is
not solely about, “I told you so.” It's about a gentleman, a
group of gents actually, who steadfastly refused to give up, onslaughts from
a nose-picking newsletter writer and failed Wallace bank branch manager, and
the slanders of a lame shareholder, and the vagaries of the silver market
notwithstanding. Who believed not only in the future of the Sunshine Mine but
in themselves. Tom Hanks' character, Jim Lovell, in the movie Apollo 13, had
a great line, as he gazed up at the moon the night Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldren descended the steps of Apollo 11 to walk on the moon's surface for the
first time: “It wasn't a miracle. We just decided to go there.”
Or words to that effect. A few
naysayers didn't get that it was possible. But there you have it: the
Sunshine Mine is back in business. Ray DeMotte, take a bow. By : Editor : The Information contained herein is obtained from sources
believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. It is not
intended to constitute individual investment advice and is not designed to
meet your personal financial situation. The opinions expressed herein are
those of the author and are subject to change without notice. The information
herein may become outdated and there is no obligation to update any such
information. The author, 24hGold, entities in which they have an interest,
family and associates may from time to time have positions in the securities
or commodities discussed. No part of this publication can be reproduced
without the written consent of the author.
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