Chairman's Blog 02 Jan 2013
I would like to wish all CMR shareholders (and also others interested in CMR) a very happy new year for 2013.

This coming year is going to be very important for the company, as the investment, planning and preparation that the Board has undertaken during 2012 starts to bear fruit. I must emphasise that there are as yet no certainties, but I believe that the company now has a very high probability of achieving the initial target, which is to gain undisputed title to at least one significant mineral prospect in Andalucia. The work to achieve this has been led by CMR’s newly appointed Spanish director Jose Navalon, and his local knowledge and expertise has been crucial in reaching the position we are now in. CMR hope to announce positive news during the first half of 2013.

If successful, CMR will be in a position to start to build a valuable mining business in Spain, and in the medium term, shareholders may reasonably be optimistic concerning the value of their long-dormant investment. Establishing and growing this business will take time, further investment, and a lot more effort from the board, but I take great encouragement from the fact that the two executive directors have worked hard on an expenses-only basis all through 2012 to reach this point. As the CMR non-executive chairman and a near-10% shareholder, I shall be continuing my endeavours on your behalf.

CM'’s planned operations have in the past been focused mainly on gold production, and the current plans will additionally involve other minerals. Most metals prices are somewhat below the highest levels seen in the past few years, but there is still substantial profit to be made at current prices. The gold price fix is still well above $1600/oz; other metal prices are also resilient in the face of the downturn among many western economies, experiencing continued demand in other fast-growing countries.

02 Jan 2013

Chairman's Blog 28 Nov 2012
I have to say that, having attended last year’s AGM as, like you all, an ordinary shareholder, I am slightly surprised to find myself here in the Chairman’s chair one year later. I would like to welcome you all here, and I look forward to bringing you up to date with developments within CMR a little later on. I propose to proceed with the formal business of the meeting, and to take questions as we proceed.

Election of directors.

In order to progress CMR’s activities in Andalucía we have invited Sr Jose Navalon to join the board of CMR, and I am very pleased to say that Jose has accepted. He was asked to take the role of local representative of the interests of Recursos Metalicos, our original Spanish operating company, and has been managing the progress of the company’s interests and plans locally. If we are successful in achieving our goals Jose will deserve much of the credit. Jose’s appointment arose after the AGM documents were printed and he will therefore seek election at the next AGM.

Michael Burton, who is the Managing Director of CMR, represents continuity and his historic knowledge and his mining experience are indispensable to CMR if the company is to progress. Michael was re-elected at the previous AGM.

Mark Slater had previously been a director of the company, and stood down at the last AGM as a result of the voting at that meeting. Mark acted, and to his great credit, continued to act as Chief Executive of the company, and at my suggestion was invited to re-join the board in July 2012. As with Michael, Mark’s contribution to the development of CMR has been immense, and the position in relation to our many creditors is due to his efforts in managing the very thin financial resources available to the company.

Tim Greatrex accepted an invitation to join the board in a non-executive capacity at the same time as myself, and has been particularly instrumental in improving the focus of the board on maintaining high standards of corporate governance, and in providing a clear focus and strategy for our plans for the company.

Before the vote on the financial reports is taken, I want to bring you up to date with the current position, insofar as I am able. You will all be aware that the mining concession at Lomero Poyatos, once held by Recursos Metalicos, is now lost, and has in fact been awarded to another company. Since the Annual Report was issued it has transpired that there is currently no realistic prospect of recovering it, and our efforts are focused on pursuing other prospects, on behalf of CMR in Andalucía, where we believe there are considerable new opportunities, and also that CMR’s historic presence and technical knowledge means that we may have some good chances of successfully acquiring other concessions.

We now recognise that the way forward for us is to proceed in co-operation with other interested parties. The board remains active and optimistic, and will continue with their best endeavours to achieve progress with only minimal financial resources available. There are, as I said, additional possible projects that might be achievable in Andalucía, but shareholders will appreciate that in the early stages of our endeavours, confidentiality is paramount. Two of your directors have been in Andalucía this week engaging in meetings with key counterparties; there is high optimism that meaningful progress will be announced in the first quarter of next year. I can give you no detail at this time, and I ask your forbearance in this matter. I shall keep shareholders fully informed on progress, and will do so as promptly as I can. The company website will be the most immediate form of such communication, and I encourage you to visit the site regularly. I have started to post what I hope are informative statements on the Chairman’s Blog section of the company website, my comments today will be posted there as soon as possible after this meeting, and I shall continue to do use the site for up to date communications.

CMR’s other remaining asset is therefore its joint venture interest in Bulgaria, where exploration is continuing.

Once again thank you for your attendance.

28 Nov 2012

Chairman's Blog 03 Oct 2012
The new board of directors of CMR have been working hard to progress the business of the company.

The sale of the Peruvian operation, completed in July, has provided CMR with value in the form of Laconia shares, and a modest cash payment over the ensuing six months. Both the shares and the cash payments have been used to pay down some of the debts owed by CMR to various creditors. Complete repayments have not been possible, but creditors are being dealt with in what I regard as a fair and even-handed way. CMR cannot conjure money out of nothing and I would ask for your patience in this regard.

The board has taken a decision to reconsider further cash payments to the Bulgarian business. The board is endeavouring to establish whether there is any clear prospect of realising value from this operation in the medium term, and whether further payments would be a good use of CMR’s limited resources. Attempts are being made to reach some kind of understanding with our joint venture partner.

Shareholders will know of the situation in Andalucía from the Chairman’s statement included in the recently circulated 2011 report and accounts. (It should here be noted that CMR is now in full control of Recursos Metallicos SL (“RM”) and Iberian Gold Plc.) Subsequent to the legal action taken against the Spanish authorities over the loss of RM’s mining permit at Lomero Potayos, the board has met with the Director of Mining in Andalucía to request that the compensation that we are claiming be satisfied by the issue of further, unqualified mining permits elsewhere in Andalucía. This discussion process is continuing, and the board is currently optimistic that such permits should be forthcoming. CMR is using expert advisors in Andalucía to progress the necessary applications. I should point out to shareholders at this stage that CMR has no cash resources available to meet the expenses of this work, and all costs are being met by the directors personally.

Updated information for investors and potential investors will continue to be posted on this website.

03 Oct 2012

Rather a lot!
If you took all the gold ever mined it would make a 67 foot cube. If you were to value this cube at $1,500/ounce you would be able to buy all the farm land in USA plus ten companies the size of Exxon Mobil and you would have a trillion dollars left over. People obviously like gold.

15 May 2011