MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS – QUERY — Four Applegath companies all inactive

Whatever became of the merger between Tundra Gold Mines, Oneida Resources and Golden Pond Resources?

Also, what happened to Catear Resources and Villeneuve Resources? Lucian Roberts,

Grand Bend, Ont.

Tundra, Oneida and Golden Pond announced plans to merge in December 1992, but the merger never went through. The three companies were all part of a stable controlled by promoter Albert Applegath, in association with Vance White and Richard Nemis.

At the time, the three companies were all suspended from trading on the Vancouver Stock Exchange for failure to file required financial statements; the merger was an attempt to consolidate and clear up the books so that the merged company, to be called TGO Resources, could return to trading status. Instead, all three were de-listed by the VSE in May 1994.

Tundra and Golden Pond each held 25% interests in a part of the Lamaque property in northwestern Quebec. Teck (TEK-T), which had operated the Lamaque mine (on an adjacent property) until 1985, owned the rest.

Oneida held the Mexican Hat property in Arizona, which had a published resource of 7 million tonnes grading 1.2 grams gold per tonne. Placer Dome (PDG-T) had held 80% but dropped out of the project, first offering its interest to Oneida for US$3 million. Oneida could not raise the money and took over operation of the project, though the necessary work remained unfinished. It got full ownership again through a later deal.

In December 1995, Oneida dealt an option on the Mexican Hat property to another Applegath company, Kalahari Resources (KLA-V). Kalahari’s option entitles it to 60% in exchange for completing a feasibility study on the project by December 1999. Oneida must then give notice of its intention to finance 40% of the cost of bringing the deposit into production. If Oneida declines, its interest will be converted to a 20% carried interest in net profits (not net smelter return).

Kalahari’s latest Annual Information Form says that the company spent $600,000 on an 18-hole reverse-circulation drilling program, plus a single diamond drill hole, and that “results were not encouraging.”

All three of the de-listed companies still have corporate charters and could conceivably be revived, but they would likely only return to trading through a reverse-takeover, one that would entail a drastic consolidation of capital, or else a great dilution of the original shareholders’ interests. They had all been suspended from trading when their shares were at 1 cents.

Catear Resources was dissolved in April 1994, and its charter was cancelled.

Villeneuve Resources, also an Applegath venture, was de-listed in March 1992. Like the others, it had been trading at 1 cents. Its charter has not yet been cancelled, and, again, it could be revived, but only with substantial dilution of the current shareholders’ interests.