Bacon and (Golden Goose) Eggs
“You mentioned your company does geological appraisals. I have a client from West Africa that would like to determine if his mining license is prospective for gold.” That was the short email I received from a UK-based lawyer following our meeting at Mines and Money in London the previous week. My reply was even shorter. “Send the license document over, and I’ll have a look”.
The license was from Nigeria (hmmm), and was issued to a recently retired army general (double hmmm). I quickly flipped the pages to get the coordinates and plotting them on a satellite map. I identified the presence of abundant artisanal gold workings in streams on and surrounding the property. The geology looked really good (mafic volcanic rocks cut by major faults), and the presence of the workings was the clincher for that maybe the Golden Goose had laid one of her eggs in the area!
Before getting too excited, I decided to read the details of the exploration license awarded to the general. No doubt it was a very sweet parting gift to a very loyal and trusted servant of a grateful state. Things began to unravel rather quickly. The exploration license was actually the deeds to a farm. As a bonus the farm also included the rights for the owner to have a piggery! I left it to the lawyer to report back to his client and try put some lipstick on this pig.
Alway do your DueDiligence or you could have Golden Goose egg on your face.
April 27, 2026,
