Email : info@otcjournal.com
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To
OTC Journal Members:
We expect to have a lot of fun with
this month's profile. This company embodies the famous Humphrey Bogart
line in the Maltese Falcon: "It's the stuff that dreams are made of".
Every investor reading this newsletter
should have a little of this stock in the speculative end of your portfolio.
This company has the potential to have a major upside surprise any day.
You never know when it will come.
The stock trades on a Canadian exchange.
For those United States members unfamiliar with buying and selling foreign
securities, a trade will simply require a phone call to your on-line or
full service brokerage firm. You probably won't be able to trade the stock
on-line, but some firms with Canadian branches may offer it.
Canadians have a well known history
for embracing small, speculative issues. The Vancouver Stock Exchange was
infamous in the 70's and 80's for the occasional huge winner in the natural
resources sector. About one in two thousand stocks went crazy, appreciating
literally from pennies to $20 on up. Many others went to zero.
Today's new hybrid version of the
Vancouver Exchange is the heavily regulated "CDNX". One of
our sister newsletters which was co-edited by our current team featured
Infowave
Software (TSE: IW) from this exchange in October of 1999 at $3.88.
The stock found its way to $69 within six months, and was the biggest winner
of all time for that newsletter.
Here is our November Profile which
could have easily been written by Robert Louis Stevenson:
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Visa
Gold Explorations, Inc. (CDNX: YVL) |
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Stock Listing: Canadian CDNX Exchange:
YVL
(Yahoo Quote Symbol: YVL.V; OTC Journal Quote Symbol: YVL.CA)
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Estimated Shares Issued and Outstanding:
22
million
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Estimated Public Float: 5 million
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Closing Price and Volume: $1.04 on
72,300 shares
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Market Capitalization: $22 Million
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52 High and Low: $1.4/$.3
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Click
Here for a current stock chart
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Web Site: http://www.visagoldexplorations.com
From the late 1500's into the late 1800's
Havana was the main destination port for ships traveling with cargo to
and from the New World. It is estimated that 13,000 ships found their way
to Havana during this time period. Of those 13,000 ships, approximately
40% never made their final destination. Most sunk in Caribbean waters.
At 5 o'clock on November 10, 1838,
the Spanish Brigantine ship “Palemón” left Havana
Harbor, captained by José Antonio de Ageo. Upon arrival in
London, everything convened is fulfilled. As the winter months ended,
the
“Palemón” closed its registry on the 6th of March
1839 to set journey to Havana, it contained in its hold products loaded
in London and France belonging to subjects of these countries for merchants
residing in Havana. The amount of the merchandise was 5737.2 cubic feet
in trunks, bundles and boxes of different sizes and weights which made
the 136.25 tons of cargo with a freightage of 3 535.80 pesos.
The ship was a Commercial Cargo Vessel
weighing 164 tons, and probably looked a lot like the ship pictured below.
At 3:30 AM on April 25, 1839, the
“Palemón”
ran up on the reefs of Cayo Verde just off the coast of Cuba. According
to reports made afterwards "The Ship's Bottom Was Penetrated and
Flooded Up to the Hold".
The “Palemón”
lay undisturbed for 161 years until discovered in August of this year by
Visa
Gold Explorations (CDNX: YVL) in partnership with Cuban Crown
Corporation Geomar S.A.
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Historical
BackGround |
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Sermar S.A. is the Cuban Crown Corporation
that controls exploration of all Cuban waters. Geomar S.A. is a subsidiary
of Sermar S.A. Under a comprehensive, international contract reached
with the Cuban government in February 1998, Visa Gold Explorations
has exclusive rights to search for shipwrecks in the depths
of Cuba's waters. Since May 2000, the company has located two sites, and
has recovered many valuable artifacts from the shipwreck site of the “Palemón”
.
Officials at Sermar S.A. have documented
on file over 2,100 shipwrecks in the Cuban waters. Many of these
are located in one of Visa’s territories known as Galleon Alley, which
is west of Havana. These waters remain largely unexplored due to the lack
of resources for exploration. It is estimated by the officials that 20%
of the 2,100 ships have significant economic value.
With the collapse of Russia over
the past decade, Cuba was forces to find replacement trading partners to
support the needs of its people. US companies continue to be forbidden
from doing business in Cuba, but a strong trading relationship with Canadian
companies has developed. In fact, at the recent funeral of Canada's former
leader Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Fidel Castro was seated in the front row.
This developing partnership has opened
the door for many new relationships and the long awaited exploration of
the largely unexplored Cuban reefs.
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Visa
Gold's Business Model |
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Under the terms of the agreement,
the Cuban Department of Patrimony has a right to 50% of the artifacts reclaimed,
either in pure form or in cash.
Visa Gold can apply its reimbursable
expenses against the remaining proceeds, after which it receives 60% while
its Cuban Joint Venture partner, Geomar S.A., receives the remaining 40%.
Therefore, Visa Gold will receive the revenue flow from approximately
30% of the artifacts recovered.
The only comparable situation is
the well known discovery of the Spanish Galleon Atocha in
1985 by the infamous Mel Fisher. It took 16 years to locate the ship, but
estimates place the value of recoveries to date over $400 million.
No one anticipates the “Palemón”
to yield the treasures of the fabled Atocha, but this finding
is yielding spectacular treasures, and there are many other undiscovered
ships in Cuban waters. The company has unlimited potential for growth as
its relationship with its Cuban partner matures.
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Discoveries
From the “Palemón” |
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Just since August over 6,504
artifacts have been discovered and restored, with many more to
come. Artifacts are being recovered on a daily basis which could prove
to be extremely valuable. The company constantly updates it web site with
pictures of the most exciting new discoveries.
An example of the type of jewelry being
recovered is the Gold Broach with Diamond, Emerald, and Ruby inlays and
other beautiful pieces.
Intact bottles of both wine and perfume
have been recovered.
Weapons including Flint Lock Pistols
have been uncovered.
The search and recovery boats go out
daily to the site, where efforts are ongoing. Above is pictured is one
of the boats involved in the projects and divers in action on the site.
Artifacts are restored at a Cuban
based lab by professionals using the latest technology, and handled with
extreme caution.
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Valuation |
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The market is currently valuing Visa
Gold at $20 million Canadian ($12 Million US). The company has
not announced any associated value with the artifacts which have been recovered
to date. One could surmise that each of the 6500 artifacts recovered to
date would have a minimum value of $1,000 US. This would mean that a minimum
of $6.5 million worth of artifacts have been acquired. Nearly
$2 million will flow directly to Visa Gold after deducting expenses.
This is our estimate only based on a simple guess, and does not come from
management at the company.
This is a worst case scenario. On
any particular day one artifact could be recovered which might be worth
$1 million alone. $12 million in market value seems very reasonable for
a company which has already generated a very significant result, which
leaves plenty of upside for investors as new discoveries are unveiled.
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Conclusion |
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By our very nature as speculators
in micro cap stocks we are treasure hunters from the comfort of our computer
screens. We are constantly turning over rocks in the proverbial stream
of small companies looking for the hidden treasures the microcap market
holds.
Every investor with the treasure
hunting spirit should own some stock in this company. With a proven track
record of cooperation from the Cuban Government, a lucrative find already
under their belts and yielding positive results daily, and 2100 other potential
sites to go, Visa Gold has enormous potential and an exciting future.
Regardless of market conditions or
sector rotation, this company could come up with a discovery tomorrow which
would impact its value considerably. The only way you will benefit is to
own the stock.
We strongly recommend you spend some
time at the company's web site reviewing the pictures and history of this
exciting story. Hopefully, you will find it as compelling as we have.
Because the stock is listed on a
Canadian exchange, you may have to learn how to get a quote from your favorite
source. On Yahoo! you will find the stock quoted under YVL.V. On
the Ticker tour on the OTC Journal you will find it under YVL.CA.
A fifteen minute delayed quote will come up on our scrolling ticker on
the newsletter, so you need not look further than here.
US investors should be aware that
a purchase of shares at the current $1 level translates into about $.60
in US money.
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