It is never a good sign when a company’s quote carries a warning to investors that “No Information” is provided by the business and that “buying or selling this security may constitute trading “on the basis of” material nonpublic information prohibited under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 10b5-1 thereunder.” Such is the case for Alaska Pacific Energy Corp (PINKSHEETS: ASKE) as the small gold exploration company continues to push what they plan to do to create shareholder value rather than inform investors about what they have done to create shareholder value.
Despite the lack of information provided by ASKE there has been considerable trading activity surrounding the company as they saw volume top 22 million twice last week and carry a five-day trading volume average of 11.7 million. While the volume is certainly impressive the share price indicates something else entirely. Currently moving around the 0.0065 level, shares of ASKE are well off their 52-week high of 0.21 set back on December 20, 2010 and are considerably lower than their recent high of 0.026 set earlier this month.
Of course the problems of ASKE should come as no surprise to investors due in large part to the information that the company does provide. Looking at their press releases the company has shown a propensity to concentrate on the historic production levels of gold claims in the area in which they now hold rights to 4 BCT claims, of which they hold an 80% interest, called the “Pilot Gold Property” which is some 500+ acres. Historic production levels are unquestionably valuable as they can give investors an idea as to what they might be able to expect but ASKE provides information about the Bralorne mining camp which operated from 1932 to 1971.
The Bralorne Mine was reopened in 2003 yet ASKE doesn’t give investors any information regarding production levels now. That’s not to say that it is ASKE’s obligation to provide that information but it would lead investors to believe that if the figures were positive then the company would at least mention the value of the gold production. It should also be known to investors that ASKE’s claims are not at Bralorne but in fact “a few miles north” on Gun Lake in the Lillooet Mining Division in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
In their December 12, 2011 press release ASKE stated that, “The area has not been fully explored and with improving gold prices interest in the area has increased significantly.” How an investor is supposed to read that is unknown. ASKE has been around since 2005 and has yet to produce anything close to meaningful revenue from mining operations so there is no reason to really believe they will start now.
The idea is that they will begin exploration programs on their four BCT gold claims, headed by Alan Beaton, VP Exploration and Board Member, and Stanley Roger McClay, Operations Manager. Information provided by the company in a December 5, 2011 press releases stated “Gold and Silver values are continuous along this structure for 300 metres northwest. A chip sample taken over 0.9 metres assayed 11.1 grams per tonne gold and 56.9 grams per tonne silver.”
By all accounts it would appear as if ASKE is simply trying to capitalize on the elevated price of gold, relying on unexplored gold claims to attract investors while providing no information about how they plan to actually monetize those claims. With no source of revenue the company is exclusively reliant on the sale of securities to continue operations and that should be enough of an indicator to investors that the gold rush on Gun Lake is over before it starts.
