$0.12… $0.12… $0.10… $0.24… $0.47… $0.38… $0.28… $0.38…
If you look at the recent stock chart for Tasca Resources (TAC.V) and wondered what in the ever loving christ on a pancake was going on with the thing, you’re not alone. It’s not exactly a household name, has a market cap around about the value of a downtown Vancouver real estate teardown, and would require an understanding of what Germanium is to make head or tail of their website.
And prior to the last day of October, it had pretty much sat in a puddle of its own making for some time.
But if you grind down the edges of that daily stock volatility of the past two weeks, and average things out, you’re looking at a stock that’s gone from $0.05 to $0.38 in 14 days, which is notable, even in these blockchain/tulip mania times.
The website calls Tasca a “Lead, Zinc and Germanium Opportunity in Austria,” which it may well have been, but the activity recently isn’t about lead, nor zinc, nor rare minerals used in semiconductors.
So I called up the Tasca geo and asked what’s up.
Here’s what’s up.
The meat is in BC.
Tasca Resources Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement with an arm’s-length vendor to acquire 1,580 hectares of prospective mining claims located in north-central British Columbia, approximately 40 kilometres south of Houston.
“Recent developments in this area of British Columbia have really caught our attention,” stated Clive Massey, Tasca’s president and chief executive officer. “Tasca made the decision to strategically position itself in this geographic location and seize the opportunity to be a first mover in what we see as a potential emerging area play.”
The Tasca property lies 2,500 metres to the south of the [company-owned] New Nadina [silver] claim block and contiguous to the east to the Lions Gate Metals Inc. claim block […] Tasca plans to review the assessment record for historical work on the new claim block to assist in the planning of an exploration program to assess and evaluate them.
This news is not mind blowing. It’s not game changing. It’s meat and potatoes “we’re actually doing something” stuff, the likes of which you normally only see when you look back into the archives of a company where you missed the $0.05 to $0.40 run and are hoping you can catch the next one.
But for a company that had been stagnant for some time, this is a ringing church bell. Activity is a good thing, and activity at a low market cap (even after the aforementioned run), is something to investigate.
First, the deal is dirt cheap.
I mean, Wal-Mart pays its greeters more than Tasca paid for his property.
The terms of the agreement call for a cash payment of $10,000 and a share payment of 1.5 million common shares of the company, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
The 1.5 million shares of the company were worth $75,000 when the deal was done. They’re now worth $570,000. I’m guessing the former owners are okay with that.
R. Tim Henneberry, PGeo, Tasca’s geologist and a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.
Henneberry has been at this game for a long time, and he likes what he sees at the new Tasca property. In fact, he likes it so much that he’s sunk his hard earned into the private placement financing the company has run to get started on it.
“I’ve been involved in a few of these in my time,” Henneberry told me on the phone earlier this week. “I’ve done pretty well on them, because I have a good idea of what we’re looking at. I don’t jump on any old financing, but I like what we have here,” he added.
He appears to be a man of his word, because a week after the initial land pickup, Tasca was at it again with more:
Tasca Resources Ltd. has signed a mineral property option agreement with an arm’s-length vendor to acquire 3,710 hectares of prospective mining claims in the Omineca mining division located in north-central British Columbia, approximately 40 kilometres south of Houston.
Tasca president and chief executive officer Clive Massey stated, “The addition of these claims to our existing land package in the Houston area puts us in a very strong position, both geographically and strategically in this emerging area play, while at the same time solidifying our position as a first mover in the area.”
The Nadina property consists of two blocks of claims. The first lies 1,000 metres to the west of the new Nadina claim block and contiguous to the north to the Lions Gate Metals Inc. claim block… The second block lies 3,500 metres to the north of the new Nadina claim block. This block has prior exploration history, hosting a 1,600-metre-wide charegeability anomaly.
Tasca plans to review the assessment record for historical work on these claim blocks to assist in the planning of an exploration program to assess and evaluate them.
Now, if Tasca thinks there’s something there, something they really like, this is how you go about it. You don’t make a splash and drive up the price of the land around you, you quietly go in with a geo, find land holders who are doing nothing with their claims, and offer them some beer money to go away.
As you collect more, the prices goes up, but you have a grace period where folks have no idea who you are or what you’re planning, and during which you can gather quite the portfolio of projects.
The terms of the property option agreement require Tasca to make cash payments totaling $100,000 and issue 1.5 million common shares of the company to the vendor over three years.
Eventually, though, word begins to filter out and your ridicu-cheap shares get less cheap.
AT THE REQUEST OF IIROC, TASCA KNOWS OF NO MATERIAL CHANGE IN ITS AFFAIRS
In view of the unusual rise in the share price of the common stock of its shares, Tasca Resources Ltd. is not aware of any material corporate development or material change which could account for the price changes.
Okay, now the word is out. Tasca is in play, though how it’s in play remains to be seen.
There isn’t a lot of stock out right now, so that volatility you’re seeing isn’t the sort of “OH MY GOD EVERYONE IS BUYING IT” move that it may initially feel like. Basically, if you took your kid’s monthly lunch money and bought TAC.V tomorrow, you’re likely bumping the stock up a few cents.
Playing it chasing big gains is not the smartest move just yet, with so little info out, and the ink on the deal documents still likely to smudge.
That said, it was up 21% today..
At the very least, watchlist this thing. Keep an eye out for news and watch the swings. No whammies.
— Chris Parry