Augen Gold management goes on the offensive

After controversially postponing its annual shareholders at the last hour Augen Gold (GLD-V) is looking to do some damage control.

The junior explorer with a project in northern Ontario is in the midst of a messy dissident proxy and delayed a shareholders meeting scheduled for July 13.

The dissidents interpreted the move as an attempt to stave off a vote that would reject management’s recommendations to the board.

It was reported in the Financial Post that two of the company’s five directors voted in favour of keeping the meeting. The implication being that in doing so, the two men are aligned with the dissidents.

The Post identified the men as chairman James Sbrolla and Peter Chodos and said that dissident’s held a 39% stake in the company while the pro-management side holds just 36%.

But Augen’s management team says if the two men were in favour of keeping the meeting they didn’t say a word about it. Augen says the two men in question weren’t even at the gathering where the decision to postpone the shareholders meeting was made.

Instead, Augen claims, they were at an “invitation-only” meeting being held at Augen Capital’s offices. It also called on Augen Capital to clarify its involvement in that meeting. Chodos is serving as interim president and chief executive of Augen Capital.

In a nutshell, Augen Gold, accuses the dissidents of being secretive in their intentions.

“The Company believes that if someone wants to take control of Augen Gold by installing their own nominees, they should tell you who those nominees are and what their plans for the Company are,” Augen Gold said in a statement to its shareholders.

The company went on to argue if the dissident group wants to take control they should offer a premium.

The annual shareholders meeting has been rescheduled to July 23 at the Toronto Board of Trade.

Augen God has mining claims in the Southern Swayze Greenstone Belt in northern Ontario. Part of its land package includes the historic Jerome Gold Mine.

The company claims it is the first company to assemble a coherent ground position in the area which it believes is the western extension of the Kirkland Lake and Larder Lake Break.

So far the company has done an airborne geophysical survey and a sampling program at the site.

In Toronto on July 16 the company’s shares were trading fro 12¢.