Sasco Partners Sends Open Letter to Shareholders of Samex Mining
2011年12月15日 - 6:01PM
PR Newswire (Canada)
Criticizes Management for Failed Execution, Slow Pace of Drilling
and Empty Promises to Shareholders Offers a Constructive Plan That
it Believes is in the Best Interests of Fellow Shareholders
HOUSTON, Dec. 15, 2011 /CNW/ - Sasco Partners, LP (together
with its affiliates, "Sasco"), the largest shareholder of Samex
Mining Corp. ("Samex" or the "Company") (OTC.BB: SMXMF.OB), today
announced that it delivered an open letter to Samex
shareholders. In the letter, Sasco expressed its deep
disappointment with the executive team's mismanagement, slow pace
of drilling, and empty promises to shareholders. Sasco
further shared its concern over the lack of shareholder
representation on the Samex board of directors. Sasco stated
that the status quo is unacceptable and outlined a plan to seek (i)
the designation of the current President and CEO, Jeff Dahl, as a
Vice President, (ii) the appointment of a seasoned mining
executive as President and CEO, to be based out of Santiago or
Copiapo, in close proximity to Samex' geological team and (iii) the
replacement of three of the current Samex directors. Sasco is
optimistic that these changes will be in the best interests of
shareholders and further speed the Company's exploration progress
going forward. The full text of the letter follows: December 15,
2011 Dear Fellow Samex Shareholders, Like you, I was excited to
invest in Samex Mining Corp. ("Samex" or the "Company") because of
its impressive Los Zorros property in Chile and brilliant
geological team. I still am. However, I have come to
realize since my substantial private placement last year that
management has not had the best interests of shareholders at
heart. Their actions have sent the message that they care
more about utilizing shareholder capital for the sake of salary
longevity rather than exploration drilling. As the single
largest controlling shareholder of Samex, with ownership of
29,484,368 shares, or approximately 23.26% of the outstanding
shares, I believe it is in the best interests of investors to seek
changes in the way the Company does business. I will do my
best here to summarize the main issues thus far and what should be
done going forward. -Despite having well over $9 million in funding
for more than a year now, the Company has averaged just 0.5 rigs of
drilling annually. Management only days ago brought out a
second rig after numerous months of constant pleading from me to
finally start spending adequate capital on drilling. In a
similar vein, no serious effort was put into the recruitment of
additional geologists for our exploration team in Chile until the
past few months. It was only after my numerous phone calls,
emails, and in-person visits, demanding more progress in acquiring
geologists, that the management team got focused on
recruiting. It is no surprise that within a few months we
managed to recruit quite a few bright geologists once the right
strategies were implemented. -Management's execution pace leaves a
lot to be desired in a world where time is money. In a
December 17, 2010 press release, Samex affirmed it would start
drilling on the Nora project "early in the first quarter of
2011." Yet drilling did not commence until November 2011,
roughly 10 months past due. Then following completion of the
Titan 24 testing in February of this year, drilling did not resume
again until July - approximately 5 months later. That equates
to almost half the year where no drilling took place, all the while
our Company still had to dole out substantial salary and overhead
expenses. -The Company's transparency and communication with
investors is in dire need of improvement. Furthermore, our
corporate website is quite simply an abomination. It is not
only harsh on the eyes, but does an incredibly poor job of
articulating the Company's prospects. Visitors should be able
to clearly see maps of our projects, drill results, etc. within 30
seconds - as is the case with websites of almost every other mining
company. -Management has also forgotten its promises to
shareholders. For example, after my substantial private
placement finalized in November 2010, Jeff Dahl vowed the funding
would "allow us to not only expand, but accelerate our exploration
efforts." Then, again in a May 3, 2011 letter to
shareholders, Jeff Dahl asserted that the Company was "in a very
strong position to advance our large exploration agenda on a more
vigorous and continuous basis." Clearly, reality has not
matched the rhetoric. -Aside from Rob Kell, who spends most
of his year in Chile, the rest of our executives choose to perform
their duties largely from the comforts of their hometown in
Abbotsford, Canada. There is no reason why both our CEO and
VP of Operations cannot work in Chile on a full-time basis.
Quite frankly, who can effectively manage a business from another
continent? We need executives with strong dedication in order
to ensure Samex maximizes the efficiency of its exploration agenda
in Chile. -The composition of the Company's board
of directors is severely lacking by both Canadian and international
standards. Investor interests are not adequately represented
by even one seat on our six-person board. It is my belief
that investor interests should comprise at least half of the board
going forward. After all, we are the owners of the
business. Perhaps if this had been the case all along, more
than 90% of our stock option allowance would not have been
generously awarded over the years largely to individuals who reside
full-time in Canada. Options are a tool to recruit talent to
our Company. They should not be handed out like party favors
amongst friends year after year. In response to
all of this, management may tell you that patience and
understanding are required in exploration. They may provide a
laundry list of excuses as to why certain things have not been done
on time, or even at all. Unfortunately, this is not a matter
of patience and understanding but rather of performance and
accountability. The good news is that these are all fixable
problems. I am interested in solutions for our Company, not
excuses. That is precisely why I have recently offered
management a very effective three-point plan aimed at solving the
above-listed issues: A) The resignation of Jeff Dahl from his
position as President and CEO. Mr. Dahl would continue
to serve the Company as a Vice President in Canada. It is my
belief that he has been a thoughtful visionary, yet ineffective
executor. A management team cannot successfully lead from
afar. B) The appointment of a seasoned mining executive
as President and CEO of Samex. This executive would work
full-time out of an office in Santiago or Copiapo. Their
experience and proximity would greatly assist the geological team
in achieving its goals. C) The appointment of three new
directors to replace half of our current board of directors.
These directors would be chosen by Sasco Partners to represent the
best interests of investors. As a result of such action, we
believe that the actual owners of the business would have an
important voice in critical decisions moving forward. We
believe the status quo will only result in more delays, dilution,
and continued disappointment. We need a team that is fully
dedicated to the mission of drilling our prized projects in
Chile. Now that I have fully explained my viewpoint on Samex,
I hope you will do the same. As the largest shareholder of
Samex, I have already heard strong, supportive feedback from
numerous investors as of late. I will always welcome calls
and emails from fellow investors who are serious about unlocking
the full potential of our Company. Warmest Regards,
Sasan Sadeghpour Chief Investment Officer Sasco Investments,
Manager of Sasco Partners Contact:Sasco Partners, LP Sasan
Sadeghpour, (713) 956-5200 (ext. 102) SOURCE Sasco Partners, LP
Sasco Partners, LP
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