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Omagine Climbs 10.83% On Anticipation Of Oman Real Estate Deal

Posted by AGORACOM at 1:04 PM on Saturday, September 1st, 2012

On August 7th, Omagine (OMAG:OTCBB) filed a 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2012 outlining – amongst other things – the results of a recent meeting with the Minister of Tourism.

In the filing, the company stated:

Representatives of the shareholders of Omagine LLC (the Company, Royal Court Affairs, and Consolidated Contractors) met on July 1, 2012 for several hours with His Excellency Ahmed Al-Mahrizi and a lawyer for MOT …

… The meeting concluded with the Minister confirming that he is in agreement with and enthusiastic about the development of the Omagine Project. He also stated that he was entirely satisfied with our project presentation, that he agreed it will be a wonderful project for Oman, that he was completely satisfied with our response to his May 9th Minister’s Letter and that he is agreeable to sign the DA as soon as possible …

… The Holy Month of Ramadan extends from approximately July 20 to August 20 and is immediately followed by the EID holiday celebration (which in Oman is expected to extend through August 31). Her Excellency Maitha returns on July 26. It is management’s expectation that while we may sign the DA in August, given the occurrence of Ramadan and the EID holiday, the DA signing could be postponed into September or even October 2012. Management is optimistic that the Government will soon memorialize its agreement to the Final DA in a signed written document.

With Ramadan completed on August 18th, investors now appear to be anticipating signing of the Development Agreement as shares of the company closed at $1.74 on Friday with higher than usual volume. The shares closed 10.83% higher on the day and 40% higher from the August low of $1.25.

The Company’s updated financial model presently forecasts net positive cash flows for Omagine LLC of approximately $900 million dollars over the seven year period subsequent to the signing of the Development Agreement, with a net present value of the Omagine Project of approximately $450 million dollars.

With 14.3 Million shares outstanding, the current market capitalization of the company sits at $25 Million.

For those of you that are new to the Omagine story, please find enclosed the following profile.  Omagine is an AGORACOM client:

The Omagine Project

The Company has proposed to the Government of Oman (the “Government”) the development of a real-estate and tourism project (the “Omagine Project”) to be developed in Oman by Omagine LLC (the “Project Company”). Omagine LLC was formed in Oman as a limited liability company in 2009 for the purpose of designing, developing, owning and operating the entire Omagine Project.

The Omagine Project is planned to be developed on one million square meters (equal to approximately 245 acres) of beachfront land facing the Gulf of Oman (the “Omagine Site”) just west of the capital city of Muscat and approximately six miles from Muscat International Airport. It is presently planned to be an integration of cultural, heritage, educational, entertainment and residential components, including: a “high culture” theme park containing seven pearl shaped buildings, each approximately 60 feet in diameter, associated exhibition buildings, a boardwalk, an open air amphitheater and stage; open space green areas; a canal and an enclosed harbor and marina area; associated retail shops and restaurants, entertainment venues, boat slips, and docking facilities; a five-star resort hotel, a four-star resort hotel and possibly a three or four-star hotel; commercial office buildings; shopping and retail establishments integrated with the hotels, and approximately two thousand residences to be developed for sale.

The Company’s updated financial model presently forecasts net positive cash flows for Omagine LLC of approximately $900 million dollars over the seven year period subsequent to the signing of the Development Agreement with a net present value of the Omagine Project of approximately $450 million dollars. The Company intends to continually update this model at regular intervals as new facts and information become available, as the development program and design process unfolds and as market conditions require.

Development Agreement

The agreement between the Government and Omagine LLC which will govern the design, development, construction, management and ownership of the Omagine Project is the “Development Agreement” (“DA”). The DA will be the contract between the Government of Oman and Omagine LLC. The Development Agreement has now been approved by all the required Ministries of the Government of Oman.

The Omagine Project and the Omagine DA have received multiple Government approvals over the past several years including at least three written approvals of the project from the Government. In July 2011, after many drafts and several years of negotiations, the Omagine Development Agreement was agreed by Omagine LLC and all required ministries of the Government (the “Final DA”). In September 2011, as requested by the Ministry of Tourism (“MOT”), Omagine LLC registered its new shareholders (see “Shareholder Agreement” below) with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and, to the best knowledge and belief of the Company and its attorneys, no further barrier to signing the Final DA now exists.

A new Minister of Tourism, His Excellency Ahmed Al-Mahrizi, was appointed on March 1, 2012. Representatives of the shareholders of Omagine LLC (the Company, Royal Court Affairs, and Consolidated Contractors) met on July 1, 2012 for several hours with His Excellency Ahmed Al-Mahrizi and a lawyer for MOT.

The meeting concluded with the Minister confirming that he is in agreement with and enthusiastic about the development of the Omagine Project. He also stated that he was entirely satisfied with our project presentation, that he agreed it will be a wonderful project for Oman, that he is agreeable to sign the DA as soon as possible.

The Shareholder Agreement

In May 2011, Omagine, Inc. and three (3) investors (the “New Shareholders”) signed a shareholders’ agreement dated as of April 20, 2011 with respect to Omagine LLC (the “Shareholder Agreement”).

The Office of Royal Court Affairs (“RCA”), is an Omani organization representing the personal interests of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman. Consolidated Contractors International Company, SAL, (“CCIC”) is a 60 year old Lebanese multi-national company headquartered in Athens, Greece. In 2010 CCIC had approximately five and one-half (5.5) billion dollars in annual revenue, one hundred twenty thousand (120,000) employees worldwide, and operating subsidiaries in among other places, every country in the MENA Region. Consolidated Contracting Company S.A. (“CCC-Panama”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCIC and is its investment arm. Consolidated Contractors (Oman) Company LLC, (“CCC-Oman”) is an Omani construction company with approximately 13,000 employees in Oman and is CCIC’s operating subsidiary in Oman.

The New Shareholders are (i) RCA, (ii) CCC-Panama and (iii) CCC-Oman.

The ownership percentages of Omagine LLC presently are:

Omagine, Inc.60%

RCA25%

CCC-Panama10%

CCC-Oman5%

Pursuant to the provisions of the Shareholder Agreement, the total amount of cash investment into Omagine LLC by Omagine, Inc. and the New Shareholders will be $70,169,125 and although Omagine, Inc. and the New Shareholders will invest an aggregate of $936,000 of that $70,169,125 before the Financing Agreement Date, 98.7% of such $70,169,125 equal to $69,233,125 (the “Cash Infusion”) will not be invested by the New Shareholders or received by Omagine LLC until the Financing Agreement Date.

The Shareholder Agreement also recognizes the PIK capital contribution to be made by RCA to Omagine LLC as a portion of the payment by RCA for its shares of Omagine LLC. The PIK represents the value to be ultimately assigned to the approximately 245 acres of beachfront land constituting the Omagine Site which His Majesty the Sultan owned and transferred to the Government for the specific purpose of developing it into the Omagine Project. After the DA is signed, the value of the PIK will be determined by a professional valuation expert in accordance with Omani law and with the concurrence of Omagine LLC’s independent auditor, Deloitte & Touche, (M.E.) & Co. LLC.

The Financing Agreement Date is presently projected by management to occur within twelve months after the signing of the DA. If however the financial resources are available to Omagine, Inc., management may choose to trigger the Financing Agreement Date earlier (and therefore the $69,233,125 Cash Infusion) by having Omagine, Inc. make a secured loan to Omagine LLC to finance the first phase of the development of the Omagine Project. The first phase of the development of the Omagine Project is expected to constitute primarily initial design work and its scope and budgeted cost will be decided upon by Omagine LLC shortly after the DA is signed. Pursuant to the provisions of the Shareholder Agreement such a loan from Omagine, Inc. to Omagine LLC would constitute a Financing Agreement Date. Management is presently examining several alternative methods of making such financial resources available to Omagine, Inc.

In order to move into the actual design and development stage of the Omagine Project, Omagine LLC and the Government must first sign the Development Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no assurance can be given at this time that the Development Agreement actually will be signed.

Please be advised that the foregoing assumptions and this discussion are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which involve uncertainties and other factors which could cause the outcomes described herein to differ from future Company achievements as expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

.

Posted in AGORACOM Clients (New), Omagine, Real Estate | Comments Off

AGORACOM Welcomes Sonomax Technologies As Our Newest Site Sponsor!

Posted by AGORACOM at 9:15 AM on Thursday, April 5th, 2012

AGORACOM WELCOMES SONOMAX TECHNOLOGIES !!

We Are Very Happy To Introduce Sonomax Technologies (SHH:TSXV)As Our Newest Site Sponsor and Supporter Of Clean Small-Cap Discussion.

Sonomax Is A Great, Award Winning Hearing Technology Company Worth A Few Minutes Of Your Time To Discover.  Don’t Just Take Our Word For It, Here Are A Few Of Their Biggest International Clients:

  • Coca-Cola
  • BHP Billiton
  • Hess
  • Rio Tinto
  • Kraft
  • Nestle
  • United Kingdom Ministry Of Defence

Why Sonomax?  Click Here For Your 90 Second Overview

HUB / Forum / Profile /

Posted in AGORACOM Clients (New), Small-Cap Technology, Sonomax Technologies | Comments Off

AGORACOM Welcomes Focus Metals As Newest Sponsor Of GraphiteStocksBlog.com

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:40 AM on Friday, March 23rd, 2012

FMS: TSX-V

GraphiteStocksBlog.com a website dedicated to the needs of investors and companies in the fast growing Graphite industry, is pleased to announce that Focus Metals (FMS:TSXV) has become a sponsor of our site.

Focus Metals is a Canadian junior explorer and owner of the 16% carbon grade Lac Knife crystalline flake graphite deposit located in the Côte Nord region of Quebec.  Focus is fast-tracking the exploration program at Lac Knife with the aim of developing one of the lowest cost producers of industrial and technology-grade graphite in the world. A NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study on the project was completed in December 2011.  As a junior explorer with significant cash holdings, the company states it is poised to assume a leading position for graphite supply on a global scale and plans an aggressive program of acquisition, mergers and joint-venturing.

Focus Metals is managed by a great team and led by President and CEO, Gary Economo.  Mr. Economo enjoys a long history of graphite marketing and sales for high-tech applications. Over the span of his business career, Mr. Economo provided strategic consulting and representation services to technology companies in North America and Asia.   Beyond sharing a growing friendship with him, I respect and admire Gary for his work ethic, expertise and deep knowledge of the world’s technology needs.

As always, assume I am horribly conflicted by the fact Focus Metals is a sponsor of our site and conduct your own thorough due diligence.  To this end, in addition to the helpful links above, here is some information provided by the company to help get you started.

Top 5 Reasons to Consider Focus Metals

1. The company has two properties each containing a strategically important mineral – graphite and neodymium – needed for green initiatives and U.S. national and industrial security.

2. The Lac Knife graphite property has a proven history. Nearly developed in the early 2000s in a joint venture between Graftech and Ballard Power Systems, previous studies are being recast to NI 43-101 standards, and discussions with funding and/or development partners are currently underway.

3. The Kwyjibo REE property has as a strategic partner in the government of Quebec. SOQUEM, the wholly owned subsidiary of SGF, an industrial and financial holding corporation of the government of Quebec, holds 50% of the Kwyjibo property. SOQUEM/SGF are known for their long-term vision and successful development within the Quebec economy.

4. Market applications favour the company. Incremental demand for graphite and neodymium will be driven by green initiatives. Li ion batteries, fuel cells and magnet demand in the next five to seven years have the potential to consume more graphite than all current uses combined. Neodymium is one of three REEs projected to be in deficit supply.

5. Supply conditions favour the company. China controls the current global market in graphite and in REEs. Over 80% of the world’s graphite is produced in China and over 95% of the world’s REE production is in China. China is restricting supply and controlling and manipulating the price.

Lac Knife – Graphite Project

The Lac Knife graphite deposit is located on the Labrador border, south of Fermont, Quebec. It contains a NI 43-101 compliant resource of some 8 million tons grading 16% graphite, making it the highest grade graphite resource in the world. The deposit absorbed 7,600 metres of historic exploration drilling that defined mineralization over 600 metres of strike, that averaged 20 metres in width, and remains open in all directions and at depth.

An expanded drilling program is planned for 2012 to further define and expand the graphite resource.The area hosts excellent infrastructure, with cheap Quebec electric grid power, and nearby access to road, rail and port facilities. Lac Knife is also close to Fermont, Wabush, and Labrador City which serve as bases for three iron ore mines in the area, one being the largest open pit mine in North America. Lac Knife is currently at the pre-development stage but Focus plans to fast track development and commence annualized production of 20,000 tonnes of 95%graphite in 2013, and commission a secondary enrichment and refining facility capable of producing an additional 3,000 tonnes per year of 99.9% graphite in 2014.

Kwyjibo – REE (Rare Earth Elements) & Copper Project

Focus Metals’ Kwyjibo, Quebec, rare earth elements (REE) and copper property being developed in partnership with Soquem, the Quebec Government’s commercial mining corporation, is on a fast-track for development.

The property, located some 10 kilometers north of Lac Manitou, was designated by the Quebec government in 2010 as a priority economic development target. It sits in one of the province’s historically-rich iron ore, copper and gold (IOCG) mineralized zones.

Discovered during the early 1990s, Focus Metals 2010 summer drilling program produced significant initial results for rare earths, primarily neodymium – a critical alloy in super-strength magnets used in hybrid and electric vehicle motors, representing about 20% of total rare earth oxides.

Romer & Labrador Trough Project

Focus Metals’ longer-term development project in the Ungava-Labrador Trough region of Northern Quebec holds potential economic prospects for the discovery of gold, platinum, palladium, copper, zinc and nickel.

Focus Metals owns 100% of these 13 properties covering some 668 square kilometres running north-south from our Lemming property in southwestern Ungava Bay to Fox, some 75 kilometers east of Schefferville, Quebec.

Our Romer property, however, showed potential interest from 2009 geologic surface samplings and we decided in late 2010 to formally assay those findings.

Positive assay results for gold, silver and copper from earlier work conducted in 2009 confirmed historical showings and identified several new mineralized zones on the Romer Property.

Significant gold values included 8.54 g/t Au on the Lac Plissé Showing and 2.03 g/t Au from a pyritic boulder which represents a new discovery and a new type of gold mineralization on the property.

Tags:
Posted in AGORACOM Clients (New), Graphite | Comments Off

Welcome To Our Newest Sponsor: Golden Hope Mines

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:48 AM on Thursday, February 16th, 2012

GNH: TSX-V

We want to thank Golden Hope Mines for becoming an AGORACOM Ad Sponsor and welcome them to the family.  Golden Hope Mines supports clean and intelligent small-cap stock discussion and is led by Frank Candido, as passionate a CEO as I’ve seen in a decade.  When you have a moment, show your appreciation by visiting the company through their logo above after you’ve had a chance to review their profile below.

The company’s current focus  is in southeastern Quebec, Canada.  The Bellechasse-Timmins gold deposit lies 5 kilometres southeast of St-Magloire within the Bellechasse Belt an approximately 18 kilometre long mineralized area.

Investment Highlights

  • New discovery resulting in 20km mineralized gold belt
  • 10,000+meter drill program currently in progress
  • Recent Drilling Intersects 6140 g/t Au (197.4 oz/t Au) of Gold Over 1 Metre
  • Target Potential for multiple multi-million ounce deposits
  • Positive Preliminary Metallurgical Testing – recovery ranged from 97% to more than 99%
  • Dominant land position in the most recent North American stalking rush

The Bellechasse Gold Belt

Location

  • Site of the first gold rush in North-America in 1828
  • Strategic land position comprising 80% of mineralized belt
  • 554 mining claims spanning 24,436 hectares
  • Excellent infrastructure nearby

Geology

Gold mineralization in the Bellechasse area occurs in quartz/carbonate veins in albite diorite and related intrusive rocks, and also in minor amount in the veins within the volcanoclastic rocks that host the diorite.

The area in which mineralization is known measures approximately 875 metres along 045° and approximately 650 metres across the regional strike. Gold-bearing zones consist in quartz-filled structures which locally exhibit stockwerk pattern and may be brecciated. They are known to develop in plug-like protrusions of diorite emplaced in the country rock (T1 Zone) and in larger diorite masses (T2 Zone).

Click to enlarge

Significant intersections include:

Hole
From(m)
To(m)
Length (m)
Au g/t
BD2011-157
1.2
382
380
0.61
Including
333
382
49
2.53
BD2011-158
101
116
15
1.22
BD2011-158
349
373
24
1.14
BD2011-158
385
393
8
1.64
BD2011-159
3
10
7
0.42
BD2011-159
30
33
3
3.32
BD2011-159
281
290
9
3.13
BD2011-160
3
18
15
0.71
BD2011-160
108
158
50
0.70
BD2011-164
13
38
25
0.92
BD2011-164
114
147
33
0.61
BD2011-164
193
215
22
0.85
BD2011-164
377
383
6
1.47
BD2011-164
431
446
15
7.64

Proposed Work

  Bellechasse-Timmins
Proposed Drilling
Click to view		 Bellechasse-Timmins
Plan View
Click to download

Posted in AGORACOM Client Feature, AGORACOM Clients (New), Golden Hope Mines, TSX Venture | Comments Off

AGORACOM Wire – What Small Cap Members Are Reading This Weekend

Posted by AGORACOM at 5:32 PM on Friday, March 11th, 2011

AGORACOM WIRE – WEEKEND EDITION

WEEKEND VIDEO FEATURE: George Tells Members Why XZERES Wind Corporation (OTCBB: XWND) Success In Signing Real Deals Over The Past 10 Months Makes It A Must For Your Renewable Energy Watch List. Watch George’s 4-Minute Video *Client But Numbers Speak*

George Tsiolis interviews Donner Metals (DON:TSXV) Chairman David Patterson from the floor of the 2011 PDAC. With Production Only 21 Months Away, Watch The 5-Minute Video To Discover Great Donner Information *Client But Production Speaks*

AGORACOM Traffic Keeps Climbing – See The Chart And See New HUBS Opened On AGORACOM This Week! If You Want A Cleaner, Smarter HUB on AGORACOM For A Stock That You Follow, Request A HUB Here.

LOVE AGORACOM? DSCOVER SPONSORS THAT SUPPORT US

Largehublogo

AGORACOM Is Supported By Great Small-Cap Companies That Want To Reach You. Please Take A Minute To Discover Them And Potentially Find Your Next Great Small-Cap Investment.

TODAY’S SPONSOR: Rouchon Industries

Industrial customers include Fortune 500 Companies – Rouchon has increased revenues and profits for the last 10 years and just announced the launch of Air Cooling Systems for Intel and AMD Processors this week!

Posted in AGORACOM Clients (New), AGORACOM Wire, All Recent Posts, Rouchon Industries, XZERES Wind | Comments Off

Rouchon Industries (RCHN) Joins AGORACOM With 7 Years of Revenue & Income Growth

Posted by AGORACOM at 1:01 PM on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Good afternoon to you all.  I am proud to welcome Rouchon Industries to AGORACOM. As always, assume I am horribly conflicted by the fact Rouchon is a client and do your own diligence. In the meantime,  I can tell you that Rouchon is one of the best non-resource companies we have discovered in 10 years.  World-class customers and a long track record of success speak for themselves. AGORACOM members are privileged to be the first to be invited to this coming out party, so I invite you to take a closer look at the information below and draw your own conclusions.

Beyond the data, prospective investors should also know that Company Chairman, Gabriel Rouchon, is by far the most thorough client I have ever dealt with.  His personal due diligence into potential IR firms culminated in a spreadsheet of different firms and traffic ranks that no other client has ever produced.  As such, if he’s willing to go to such great lengths to make the best IR decision possible, then I feel extremely confident in his abilities to make the best business decisions possible for Rouchon Industries.

The business highlights below serve to support my opinion – but do your own DD to make sure Rouchon is right for you.

Regards,
George

Rouchon Industries Inc. RCHN:PINK

Doing business as…

“Swiftech is considered by many to be the founding father of the liquid cooling industry for personal computers.”

Why Invest In Swiftech? Real Products, Real Revenues, Real Performance

  • The Company has pioneered several groundbreaking technologies never used before in cooling personal computers.
  • Includes air, liquid and thermoelectric cooling devices
  • Industrial customers include many of the world’s largest IT chip makers
  • A major chip manufacturer has been Swiftech’s largest account since 2004
  • Retail customers include gamers and overclockers running their PC’s at high speeds
  • Operates a wholly-owned Chinese manufacturing subsidiary in China
  • Swiftech is successful and profitable
  • Only 22.5 million shares outstanding
  • Market Cap of < $1,000,000 gives investors opportunity to grow with Rouchon
  • Swiftech has increased revenues and profits for the last 10 years

Key Financial Highlights 9 Months Ending Sept 30, 2010 (unaudited).

  • Sales of $2,185,272
  • Gross Profit $730,936
  • Net income $99,951

The Market at a glance

According to a report published by Bcc research, the global market for thermal management hardware in the computer industry was approximately $3.8 billion in 2010 and will reach $5 billion by 2013, at a compound annual growth rate of 10.3%.

The Company at a glance

Rouchon Industries Inc., dba Swiftech® (OTC Pink symbol RCHN) is in the business of engineering, manufacturing, and distributing high performance thermal management devices for microprocessors and electronic components for the computer industry; this includes air, liquid, and thermoelectric cooling devices such as heatsinks, waterblocks, radiators, pumps, liquid cooling kits, and thermal tools. View the entire product lineup here.

Business Profile

Consumer oriented products account for approximately 70% of the company’s revenues, and industrial applications account for the balance. Swiftech’s consumer market space is primarily composed of do-it-yourself computer enthusiasts, gamers and overclockers, whereas its industrial market space is composed of leading IT industry chip makers. In the consumer products sector, retail and wholesale channels account for approximately 80% of Swiftech’s revenues and OEM channels account for the balance.

IR Hub / Discussion Forum / Corporate Profile

Posted in AGORACOM Client Feature, AGORACOM Clients (New), All Recent Posts | Comments Off

Star Navigation (SNA:TSXV) Featured In Financial Post For Real-Time Airplane Monitoring. Black-Box Obsolete?

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:15 PM on Monday, November 1st, 2010

Congratulations to AGORACOM Client – Star Navigation Systems (SNA:TSXV) – On Today’s Financial Post Feature!  Yes, they are a client so assume I am horribly conflicted.  However, the fact of the matter is Star Navigation has developed the first system in the world to feature in-flight data monitoring and diagnostics with a “real-time” secure connection between aircraft and ground.

More than just lip service, the system has been tested and certified for airworthiness by world transport authorities including the FAA and Transport Canada.  Moreover, Star Navigation has made some major announcements with big players in the industry including Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of industry giant EADS.  As you can see from the headlines below, the partnership made significant strides in just 5 months:

  • Nov. 16, 2009 — Star Navigation Systems and Astrium Limited - a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS - announced the signing of a formal Collaboration Agreement
  • April 6, 2010 – Star Navigation Systems announced the signing of a Technical Partnership Agreement with Astrium, to enhance and implement the patented In-flight Safety Monitoring System (ISMS™)

On the commercial side, Star Navigation recently announced an agreement with Shaheen Air International to install the In-Flight Safety Monitoring system on one of Shaheen’s Boeing 737-200/300 aircraft, on a performance evaluation and configuration basis. The evaluation period will last for 90 days and upon successful completion of the performance evaluation, Shaheen will purchase a further eleven (11) systems for the balance of its fleet. Based on list prices, if completed, the value of the order over the 60 month contract is expected to be approximately USD $2,400,000, including ongoing airtime charges.

Finally, if you are looking for a dedicated small-cap CEO, then look no further than Viraf Kapadia who has invested millions of his own money to get the company to this point.  Now that is PYMWYMI – Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Great job Viraf et al.  I know your work isn’t done but I love watching Star Navigation progress towards greatness!

Regards,
George

FINANCIAL POST ARTICLE

Viraf Kapadia, chief executive of Star Navigation Systems Group, hopes his Black Box technology will finally take off now that all the licensing from aviation regulators are in place.

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/Real+Time+Monitor+Radar/3756933/story.html#ixzz142vWKTGR

Part of the tragedy of Air France flight 447 is the plane’s Black Box flight recorders, along with the definitive cause of the crash contained therein, might be lost forever miles beneath the surface of the mid-Atlantic.

Viraf Kapadia, founder and chief executive of Star Navigation Systems Group Inc., is hoping his company’s technology will ensure that is never again happens.

Billed as “the new Black Box,” the Toronto-based firm’s Terrastar onboard monitoring system records flight data in much the same way the traditional Black Box does. But instead of storing the data in a physical box on the aircraft where it could be damaged, lost or destroyed, Terrastar encrypts the information and transmits it via satellite to a ground-based monitoring station, where it is decrypted and stored in real time.

If a problem is detected, the device triggers an automated message to alert personnel on the ground.

“Say you’re the vice-president of engineering for Air Canada and you’re at an aviation show or conference. Something goes wrong with one of your aircraft of high priority then you will receive an email on your computer with WiFi or your BlackBerry telling you exactly what is wrong in plain English,” Mr. Kapadia said.

The purpose is to catch minor issues before they become major malfunctions. “It is proactive versus reactive,” Mr. Kapadia said. “The Black Box is very important when a plane goes down or a plane has had a problem and they want to do a postflight analysis, but that is always going to be after the fact,” he said.

“Our box is there watching in real time all the time so if there is an issue that needs to be addressed it can be immediately as opposed to t-minus one second which is then boom and crash.”

The potential to save human lives is of value immeasurable. Although Mr. Kapadia, an accountant by training, prefers to focus on the Terrastar’s ability to stave off the death of companies as well.

“One air accident can cost anywhere from $800-million to $1-billion or $2-billion and sometimes the life of the company, companies have seized because of one or two crashes,” Mr. Kapadia said.

Considering the technology required to accomplish real-time flight systems monitoring has been around for some time, one might wonder why it has taken until 2010 for a functional, marketable product such as the Terrastar system to come to market. Mr. Kapadia said it is just an airline thing. “Unfortunately in aviation everything takes longer and costs more,” he said.

“The Black Box has been in place for over 60 years and no one wants to change it.”

The fact his company has held patents on real-time flight systems monitoring since 2001 in Canada, the United States, the U.K., Australia and Hong Kong is probably also a factor.

“The Black Box is obsolete,” declared Pierre Jeanniot, former chief executive of Air Canada in a press release more than a year ago. As the founding director of the airline’s operational research group in the 1960s, he was partially responsible for the original Black Box design.

“New technology is now available that would make the recovery and analysis of critical aircraft performance factors a much surer and faster task than it is today,” he said. Considering Mr. Jeanniot is also the chair of Star Navigation’s strategic advisory committee, he was probably talking about Terrastar.

Although Mr. Kapadia was right about the process taking longer and costing more. It has taken 10 years and $26-million in funding for Star to get where it is today.

Aside from running the company from its inception, Mr. Kapadia is also principal shareholder, with $4.5-million invested in the business at various stages.

“I fully believe in this company, I have no choice,” he said. Mr. Kapadia said the remaining 2,000-odd Star shareholders are mostly “family and friends,” and he describes about 100 of those as “large investors.”

The company also raised about $2-million in August 2002 by listing itself on the TSX venture exchange, where it can still be found today under the symbol SNA.

Having received all the necessary licensing and approvals from Transport Canada and the Federal Aviation Authority [FAA] in the United States, Star is in the process of finalizing its first big order with a major subsidiary of the pan-European aerospace corporation EADS, or European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. Mr. Kapadia is confident Star will achieve its first profitable quarter by the middle of the 2011 fiscal year.

“Our biggest challenge has already been overcome,” he said. “Industries

are off on [Terrastar] and we’re working with government bodies who are now absolutely concerned about the current technology and are looking at our technology as the saviour or possibly the death knell of the Black Box,” he said.

Mr. Kapadia said his next goal is to expand Star’s product line beyond the Terrastar system to bring about a “huge return on investment to my loyal shareholders, which includes me.” There are other monitoring systems for aircraft environments and medical systems being developed, as well as another potentially life-saving device in mind for the future.

“We are also looking at real-time [transmission] of audio and video from the cockpit and cabin,” he said. “Remember 9/11?”

jberkow@nationalpost.com

Read more:http://www.financialpost.com/Real+Time+Monitor+Radar/3756933/story.html#ixzz142OrxPk6

Posted in AGORACOM Client Feature, AGORACOM Clients (New), All Recent Posts, Star Navigation Systems (SNA:TSXV) | Comments Off

Fire River Gold Announces High Grade Gold Results – 498 g/t Gold over 3m

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:40 AM on Monday, June 21st, 2010

Fire River Gold Corp. continues to announce high grade assay results from the ongoing re-evaluation program on its Nixon Fork Gold Mine Project in Alaska.

  • 498 g/t (14.52 opt) gold over 3.0 m (9.8 ft) in hole N07U061
  • Results pending for 25 additional underground holes and 7 additional surface holes
  • 2010 drill campaign scheduled to begin late June
  • Resource update Fall 2010

During 2007 and 2008, the previous operator completed 9400 metres from mostly underground drill stations in 110 holes. The results for these holes were not reported by that operator and have never been include in a resource assessment of the mine. The geologic evaluation (re-logging) of the 9400 metres is complete.

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Fire River Gold Announces Update on Tailings Preliminary Economic Assessment, Nixon Fork Gold Mine, Alaska

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:25 AM on Monday, June 14th, 2010

Fire River Gold Announces Update on Tailings Preliminary Economic Assessment, Nixon Fork Gold Mine, Alaska

The company provided an update regarding the progress of work on the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the tailings re-processing option at the Nixon Fork Mine.

The previous operator of the mine designed and partially installed a 250 tpd CIL circuit for the purpose of recovering gold from the impounded tails and increasing gold recovery from ongoing mining operations
The Company’s original plan was to complete construction according to the last operator’s design with only minor modifications and enhancements as required. This Base Case has no provision for recycling cyanide in the circuit – all leaching solution is passed to a cyanide destruct circuit at the end of the process. It has become obvious through the course of work on the PEA that economics of the Base Case will be significantly enhanced by recycling the cyanide solution, reducing reagent consumption and the associated purchase and transportation costs.

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Fire River Gold Announces 0.68 opt (23.2 g/t) Gold Over 40.3 ft (12.3 m) at Nixon Fork Gold Mine, Alaska

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:08 AM on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Fire River Gold Announces 0.68 opt (23.2 g/t) Gold Over 40.3 ft (12.3 m) Including 2.21 opt (75.8 g/t) Gold Over 9.51 ft (2.9 m) Nixon Fork Gold Mine, Alaska

Fire River Gold Corp. continues to announce high grade assay results from the ongoing re-evaluation program from its 100% owned Nixon Fork Gold Mine Project in Alaska.

  • 0.68 opt (23.2 g/t) gold over 40.3 ft (12.3 m) in hole N07U046
  • Including 2.21 opt (75.8 g/t) gold over 9.51 ft (2.9 m)
  • Results pending for 40 additional underground holes and 7 additional surface holes
  • Geological re-assessment work complete for 2007 and 2008 drill holes

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