Is the recent S&P AA+ credit rating on the U.S. the catalyst to send the POG to $2000 by year end? I think it may just do it. Will big purchasers of debt, choose gold over U.S. treasuries?

We have been watching the POG climbing higher and higher with new demand coming into the picture. Just the other day South Korea has announced it bought 25 t in the last couple months, the first it bought in 10 or more years, 13 years I beleive it was. Why would they be buying at $1500 and above , if they thought the POG would decline any time soon? We have been seeing evidence in the last 6 months or so of increased buying by other countries as well. We have seen gold atm,s set up with the public buying the physical thing directly from a machine. We have seen China telling its citizens to buy as much physical gold as they could. We have seen China increase their buying of resources in the ground. We have seen some astronomical $ paid for juniors that had only portions of their resource proven up, with some of that amount paid for SPECULATIVE OUNCES.We have seen banks buying gold from miners before it even comes out of the ground, by way of forward sales. We have seen physical gold trusts set up and the real stuff backing the paper thats issued, that can be taken possesion of ,if desired. Other new uses for gold being thought of, for example; they are considering using gold in place of some platinum in the catalytic converter thats on your vehicle. We have seen talk of a couple of companies exploring for gold under the ocean floor, at depths of a couple km BENEATH the ocean floor.

I probably missed some, there are so many new gold related articles, that seem to come out almost daily.

We now have most of the major mining companies sitting with a fair amount of cash on hand. Some have made considerable aqusitions, while others have not kept pace in replenishing their reserves. The ones that made the aquisitions, paying top dollar, were looked at with maybe paying a ridiculous amount, by some of their peers. If gold goes to $3000-$4000, by the time that stuff is mined, it will then look like an excellent deal when $800 an ounce was paid for it, in the ground. Will the rising POG make these other cashed up major,s think harder about buying resources at present, instead of risking paying 30% more in 6 months? Or, will they take the extra cash they are sitting on and buy back shares in their companies or distribute special dividends. I would guess, they will try to replenish their resources before the POG gets too high and they have a harder time justifying it to their shareholders.

There appears to me that there are a few small gold companies out there that have sizable proven/ probable resources, that are quite undervalued right now. The market has done this to their sp,s as of late, and may add more insult to injury in the next while, depending on sentiment. The majors may look at this time as a buying opportunity and scoop up some of these undervalued juniors. The more the supply gets dwindled, the more valuable the remaining become? If this feeding frenzy happens, its just possible we may get bit in the process. What I mean is, we may get a hasty offer thrown our way, amongst the turmoil. Its easier for companies to attempt hostile takeovers when there is fear in the markets. Investors will part with shares quicker and they can be scooped up by a major planning just an attempt. This is where our stregnth plays an important part.

In our situation, with a strong shareholder base, we should be able to maintain our sp. If we did slip a bit in sp, this does not decrease the potential value of our Tesoro, if the POG keeps going higher, so should the value of the Tesoro. If we get an offer, it will be based on the value of a potential resource, NOT the sp price.And, IMO, it doesn,t matter if the sp is at .05 or $10, the offer will be the same price based on the ounces/economics. So, if the markets get shakey over the next while, we are in pretty good shape.

1)There is lots of cash out there in the hands of suitors.

2) We should have ample cash to finish up the trenching and drill program for this year.

3) The work being done this year will prove up quite a bit of the property.

4) If the POG keeps rising, so should the value of our resource.

All of this is in my opinion only, and I can be 100% wrong. These are only my thoughts on some of the upcoming events, and anyone can opine, if they wish.