Biopack Revenue Up 304%

The writing is on the wall.  Biopack is transitioning from a development company into an emerging growth entity.  Over the last 12 months or so, the Company has been focusing on its operations at its new Jiangmen, China factory.  With testing complete and manufacturing lines running smoothly, the Company felt comfortable once again accepting orders.  We look forward to continued revenue growth for the remainder of 2009 and into 2010 and beyond.

HONG KONG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc. (OTCBB: BPAC – News), a leading designer, manufacturer, and supplier of 100% biodegradable and compostable packaging products, is pleased to announce second quarter and year-to-date revenue results.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2009, Biopack reported gross revenue of $403,101 compared to gross revenue of $123,192 in the second quarter of 2009, an increase of $279,909 or 227%. For the six months ended June 30, 2009, Biopack reported gross revenue of $663,498 compared to $164,430 during the same period in 2008. This represents an increase of $499,068 or 304%. This increase in sales is primarily the result of Biopack’s renewed sales and marketing efforts, particularly with respect to packaging orders secured in the European market, Biopack’s traditional stronghold.

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Ghost of Depressions Past

Italian Banks May Take Ham and Wine as Collateral

Italian bank vaults may soon resemble well stocked delicatessens if a plan goes ahead to accept expensive wines and dry-cured hams as collateral on bank loans from crisis-hit producers.

The idea, which was launched this week by an influential Italian bank chairman and wine producer, was backed by an Italian minister and follows the tradition of Italian banks storing massive wheels of parmesan cheese as loan collateral.

“We’ve done it with cheese, why not with prosciutto and good wines like Brunello di Montalcino and chianti classico?” said Gianni Zonin, chairman of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza and head of wine producer Zonin.

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ECU Silver Extends Maturity on Debt

Good news today on ECU Silver, the Company renegotiated a one-year extension to the maturity date on its current debt.  This is good news for the Company for the following reasons: (i) revenue generated during the next twelve months will not be encumbered by principal payments; (ii) the Company will not utilize the equity markets to complete a financing in order to retire the debt; and (iii) an extension to the maturity date indicates confidence by the lender in the Company’s ongoing operations.  In total, this should further facilitate the Company’s continued growth for the balance of 2009 and into 2010.

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Aug. 24, 2009) – ECU Silver Mining Inc. (“ECU Silver”) (TSX:ECU – News) is pleased to report that it has entered into an agreement with its lender to restructure its current debt. The restructuring of the debt will provide ECU Silver with greater financial flexibility as we move forward with additional development plans for future operational growth and for the planning of our exploration program.

The Company has reached an agreement to restructure its current debt whereupon it has extended the maturity date of the loan by one year. Principal repayments will now commence in November 2010 and will be payable in 12 equal monthly payments.

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Symmetrical Triangle Continues to Develop in Gold – An Eventual Breakout Becomes more Imminent

The following is a definition of the symmetrical triangle from Investopedia:

A chart pattern used in technical analysis that is easily recognized by the distinct shape created by two converging trendlines. The pattern is identified by drawing two trendlines that connect a series of sequentially lower peaks and a series of sequentially higher troughs. Both trendlines act as barriers that prevent the price from heading higher or lower, but once the price breaches one of these levels, a sharp movement often follows.

This pattern is also frequently referred to as a coil. The market builds up energy — like a spring being compressed — as it coils in an increasingly narrow range. Breakouts can often-times be dramatic.

The last time there was such a nicely formed triangle in the gold market was during the 2006/2007 consolidative period. When the breakout eventually came, it resulted in a 50% gain (more than $300) to new all-time highs at $1032.20.

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Cobalt: Another Metal-of-the-Day or a Metal to Stay

The following write-up on Geovic Mining Corp. (OTC BB: GVCM; TSX: GMC) appeared in this morning’s release of Canaccord Capital’s “Morning Coffee,” a daily publication containing general market commentary.

According to one newsletter writer, cobalt’s largest market is in the rechargeable batteries that are used in billions of electronic devices from cell phones to laptops to hybrid automobiles. Cobalt is also used in super alloys, catalysts, metallurgical (hard metals), pigments, soaps, adhesives, and magnets. Roughly 95% of world cobalt production is a byproduct of nickel and copper mines, with the Democratic Republic of Congo containing half the world’s cobalt supply and representing the lion’s share of anticipated future cobalt supply. Geovic Mining aims to be the world’s largest cobalt mining company through its 60% ownership of Geovic Cameroon PLC (GeoCam). GeoCam’s Mine Permit covers 1,250 square kilometres in Cameroon, Africa, and provides exclusive production rights to seven large cobalt-nickel-manganese deposits. The first of the seven deposits, Nkamouna, is currently under development. Nkamouna’s proven and probable ore reserves are 54.7 million tonnes at average grades of 0.25% cobalt, 0.69% nickel, and 1.33% manganese. This reserve yields 11.7 million tonnes of concentrates grading 0.74% cobalt, 0.99% nickel, and 3.78% manganese suitable as a feedstock for the company’s unique processing facility. An additional 145 million tonnes of inferred resources at the Mada deposit, the second of the seven properties planned for development, is adjacent to the Nkamouna processing plant. The huge scale of Geovic’s asset provides a great deal of leverage to the cobalt price. Of interest, soon there will be a globally transparent market for cobalt and molybdenum, when the London Metals Exchange (LME) begins trading contracts for the two metals in February 2010.

Dejour Enterprises Releases New Corporate Presentation

Dejour Enterprises (NYSE AMEX:DEJ) and (TSX:DEJ) released a new corporate presentation this week which outlines their current business condition and includes a detailed quantification of their PV-10 (present value discounted at a 10% annual rate) potential for six of their core prospects in the Piceance Basin of Colorado and the Peace River Arch Basin in British Columbia Canada. Dejour estimates their PV-10 value potential at $670 million (risk weighted) with 900 BCF (billion cubic feet) of natural gas and 25 MMBO (million barrels of oil).  It’s important to note that these six prospect areas represent only about 25% of Dejour’s land holdings.

The new presentation is very detailed and has some excellent graphics of Dejour’s Piceance Basin prospect areas, including  where these prospects are in relation to some of the major operators in the area such as OXY, Orion and Barrett. Dejour is presently trading at roughly 44% of their Net Asset Value and the PV-10 estimate is roughly 20X their current market cap.

As Dejour starts to get active in the field again to prove up additional land holdings and grow current production numbers, we expect this big gap to start narrowing rapidly. The new presentation is a must read for anyone holding Dejour shares and anyone looking to position themselves in a well managed, emerging energy player with over 140,000 net acres in some of the most highly prospective acreage on the planet.

The full presentation is available here

Additional information on Dejour Enterprises is available at www.dejour.com

Warren Buffet on Inflation – The Greenback Effect

IN nature, every action has consequences, a phenomenon called the butterfly effect. These consequences, moreover, are not necessarily proportional. For example, doubling the carbon dioxide we belch into the atmosphere may far more than double the subsequent problems for society. Realizing this, the world properly worries about greenhouse emissions.

The butterfly effect reaches into the financial world as well. Here, the United States is spewing a potentially damaging substance into our economy — greenback emissions.

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ECU Silver Achieves Excellent Progress on Mineral Resource Recoveries

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Aug. 18, 2009) – ECU Silver Mining Inc. (“ECU Silver”) (TSX:ECU – News) provides an update on recoveries attained on its mineral resource.

ECU Silver’s mineral resource is primarily contained in sulphide mineralization plus additional oxide mineralization. The Company has been testing various methods to improve metallurgical recoveries within both these environments and has attained excellent results.

Metallurgical recoveries are very important to the success of any mining operation and we have undertaken several months of extensive testing to attain the best method for optimal recoveries on a cost efficient basis. Several months of tests were done in the Company’s own laboratories in Mexico as well as in various laboratories in Canada, the USA and Australia. These tests were done on the various types of mineralized material at the Company’s mines using a range of methods, including traditional methods to others that are still at the experimental stage.

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GeoPetro Focuses on Madisonville in 2009, So Far So Good

We were first introduced to GeoPetro Resources Company (NYSE-Amex: GPR) more than a year and a half ago at an IPAA Oil & Gas Investment Symposium in Hollywood, Florida.  Our interest in GeoPetro at the time was based in part on the Company’s producing assets in Madisonville, but also on the Company’s projects in Alaska, Indonesia, Alberta, and California. 

Two years ago, oil prices soared to more than $140 per barrel and natural gas at the time was trading above $13.00 per mcf.  At these prices, GeoPetro’s assets in Madisonville were profitable and cash flow positive and each of its other projects around the world were destined to become “Company Makers.”

Late last summer, GeoPetro was preparing to raise capital when the global recession hit.  The prices of oil and natural gas dropped significantly, although have shown mild support recently.  At the time and as a result of falling commodity prices, the Company sought to initiate a new strategic plan, to focus on Madisonville in 2009. 

GeoPetro’s Madisonville project, which is located in Madison County, Texas approximately 100 miles north of Houston, is made up of four wells, Fannin #1, Magness #1, Mitchell #1, and Wilson #1.  At the beginning of 2009, Fannin #1 and Magness #1 were producing 6 mmcf/day, which rate increased to 11 mmcf/day beginning in June 2009 due to the lowering of inlet pressure at these two wells.  2009 plans for the Mitchell well include the installation of a submersible pump, which is expected to result in production of an additional 10 mmcf/day beginning in November 2009.  Frac plans for the Wilson well in the fourth quarter of 2009 are expected to result in production of an additional 9 mmcf/day beginning in Q1 2010.  Based on the Company’s completed and planned improvements at Madisonville in 2009, total production from all four wells is expected to increase from 6 mmcf/day in Q1 2009 to an estimated 30 mmcf/day in Q1 2010.  This would result in an increase in production of 24 mmcf/day or 400% over a one-year period. 

To accommodate the Company’s planned increase in production, GeoPetro acquired a gas treatment plant in December 2008 in exchange for shares of GeoPetro’s common stock, assumption of certain debt, and a cash payment which valued the transaction at approximately $10 million.  The Company was familiar with the plant because it was the same plant which was already treating the Company’s gas.  The plant was acquired from Madisonville Gas Processing LP, which invested more than $25 million on the original 18 mmcf/day capacity and another estimated $50 million during 2006 and 2007 to increase capacity to roughly 68 mmcf/day.  GeoPetro expects to complete this capacity expansion by the end of 2009. 

The effect of the recession has slowed development for many junior energy companies, but not for GeoPetro, whose Madisonville project has expanded nicely.  In addition to Madisonville, the Company plans to (i) in Q4 2009, drill an 18,000 foot exploratory well at Madisonville to test 6 prospective formations below where other operators are producing today; (ii) in Q2 2010, operational activity in Alaska on 11,500 acres to a depth of 8,000 feet; (iii) in 2010 or 2011, drill a 15,000 foot test well in California, not too far from a recent Occidental Petroleum discovery; (iv) in 2009, 2010, and 2011, continue operations in Indonesia where the Company’s joint venture partner has committed up to $41.3 million for development purposes; and (v) in Q1 2010, begin drilling at the Swan Hills Project in Alberta, Canada.

The operational enhancements made by GeoPetro this year have not gone unnoticed as the Company’s share price rebounded from a low of $0.21 in March to a high of $0.74 in June.  As a result of what we believe was some profit taking, the stock has pulled back from those highs and established a new floor price in the mid 40 cent range.  With 36.75 million shares outstanding, 25% of which is held by beneficial owners and management, the Company has effectively managed its capital structure.

As we begin the second half of 2009, news stories to watch for include the impact on revenue, cash flow, and profitability resulting from increased production and the expansion of the gas treatment plant.  In 2010, we look for continued development of GeoPetro’s other “Company Maker” opportunities throughout the world.

With everything that GeoPetro has accomplished over the last 12 months, including the acquisition of the gas treatment plant and the increase in production, the Company is better positioned today than it was when we first started following it.  A little more than a year ago, the stock traded as high as $4.29, a return to which would provide investors with a return of nearly 800%.  800% may be too much to ask for in today’s market, but for patient investors, GeoPetro is a stock which could provide a solid return.