The best way to understand just how bad Serafino’s spiel is? Look at what he promises compared to what he delivers. … Every single important outlook goal offered by Gran Colombia Gold (GCM.to) last year [2012] wasn’t just missed, it was missed by a mile. The man that promised higher production and lower costs in 2012 delivered lower production and higher costs. A company that in his mind is Colombia’s premier gold miner finished the year with a working cap deficit of $35.8m, almost exactly matching the $35.9m it lost in the period.

The company has cash flow from legacy operations, a world-class deposit at Marmato, lots of silver, a solid deposit at Segovia, with tremendous exploration upside … the management team has already accomplished what no other mining company would even attempt. Both Frontino (now Segovia) and Marmato had some significant legacy issues that had previously caused miners to shun them like the plague … All of these issues have been completely resolved … [what] was considered impossible.

Atypically, the management team hails from the region and is well connected. Executive Co-Chairmen Serafino Iacono and Miguel de la Campa are from Venezuela and were responsible for finding and defining one of the larger deposits in South America. Their success with Bolivar Gold and later Pacific Rubiales established a tremendous reputation for them both and so they are able to open doors that few others can. In addition, the President and Chief Executive Maria Consuela Araujo is the former Minister of Foreign Relations and former Minister of Culture in Colombia. That gives you some idea of the pedigree of management.