MINER DETAILS (June 29, 1992)

Some people call J. Patrick Sheridan a genius. Others refer to him in more colorful terms. However you describe him, there’s no disputing he has done well for himself.

The latest major deal for the “mining financier” involved selling his interest in Madeleine Mines to Texas oilman George Kaiser. Eventually he may transform his interests in Boston Bay Mines and Belleterre Quebec Mines into a 20% stake in the very asset that had been Madeleine’s biggest selling point — the Lac des Isles palladium property in northwestern Ontario. The story so far has been a typical Sheridan piece of work — not likely to be described as straightforward.

The next step is for Madeleine to spin off the Lac des Isles property into a separate company. A vote by Madeleine shareholders on that point, including issuing shares of the new company to existing Madeleine shareholders on a 1-for-1 basis, was to have taken place June 25. The vote had to be postponed, however, because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the deal amounted to a distribution of shares in the U.S. and therefore more information was required.

The SEC, which has battled against insider trading since the days of Texasgulf, is supposed to be the world’s greatest protector of shareholders. So it seems mighty curious that shares of Madeleine, Boston Bay and Belleterre all dropped dramatically during the week prior to the SEC’s announcement that the Madeleine vote would have to wait until the SEC was satisfied.

Could it be that the SEC itself suffers from some insiders who find it difficult to keep a secret?

— Toronto’s mining community enjoyed a great evening cruise recently on Lake Ontario aboard the Captain Matthew Flinders. About 350 turned out for the informal evening of dinner and dancing and were fortunate to have ideal weather for the event.

As well, the cruise turned a profit of about $700. The money will be divided between the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s Toronto branch, the CIM’s Mineral Economics Society and the Women’s Association of the Mining Industry of Canada (WAMIC). The other sponsors were the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) and The Northern Miner. Particularly deserving of credit for the fundraiser is Bruce Jamieson of the Toronto branch. He handled a lot of the legwork just at the time he was taking on new duties as vice-president at BT Bank of Canada. Lynn McGregor and Margaret Ferguson at WAMIC, Bruce Campbell at the OMA, Stephanie Anderson at Inco Ltd., David Harquail at Beutel Goodman & Co. and Phil Martin at Gordon Capital all pitched in as well.

Next year’s cruise is already in the works.