Queries There’s hope for O’Brien Energy

I have been a shareholder of O’Brien Energy and Resources for a good many years. I have followed its progress through news stories with interest and optimisim. Your reviews have generally been supportive. Also, one of your latest reports indicated that the company had taken an interest in three properties in the hot Pickle Lake area of Ontario. I think the properties belonged to Dome Mines. It was also reported that Wasabi Mines had purchased all of Durham Resources holdings in O’Brien for $1 per share.

Until a year ago, I have heard nothing from the company, except that its stock had been delisted. It seems sad that such a promising prospect could deteriorate so quickly. C.L., Dartmouth, N.S.

As a long-time subscriber to The Northern Miner, (over 30 years), I would like to be brought up to date on the status of Wasabi and O’Brien, both of which have ceased trading. I bought these shares because of the track record of V. Noble Harbinson. However, since he has retired everything possible has happened to these companies. Is there any hope here, or should I use the certificates for wallpaper? D.P., Philadelphia, Pa.

The story behind the demise of O’Brien Energy and Resources is indeed one of woefully poor management. For O’Brien shareholders who have endured witnessing a once promising junior resource company crash into the nether world of cease trade orders, the experience has been undoubtedly painful.

However, the saga of O’Brien is about to take a turn for the better. To answer the second query, yes there is hope and don’t use your certificates to wallpaper the family room.

On May 26, control of O’Brien passed back into the hands of the original seller, Durham Resources now known as Landmark Corp. All the trouble at O’Brien came about when Durham decided to sell its control block of O’Brien stock to Wasabi Resources on Jan 7, 1986. Wasabi made a partial payment but failed to complete the purchase. As a result, Landmark has ordered that the control block of 1,007,000 O’Brien shares, representing 14% of the company’s issued shares, be registered in its own name.

Under the control of Wasabi and its directors, who also became directors of O’Brien, the company quickly deteriorated, resulting in a cease trade order being slapped on its shares by the Toronto Stock Exchange for failure to file an annual report and failure to hold annual meetings. The first cease trade or der was issued on Dec 16, 1986. In Quebec, that province’s securities commission has also taken action for the same reasons.

The new board of O’Brien will come as good news to all the company’s long-suffering shareholders. It’s essentially the same board which sold the company in the first place. These include F. D. Corman, J. A. Francis of Landmark, R. N. Granger of Landmark and W. S. Vaughan, also of Landmark. Hugh Harbinson, a mining executive and the son of Noble Harbinson, will be bringing the Harbinson touch back to O’Brien’s board.

The directors say that their first order of business will be to complete an audit with the objective of getting O’Brien listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange as soon as possible.

With such a dismal year behind it, the future for O’Brien certainly won’t be any worse.