Plurion - from An Under-Cover Reporter

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An Angle on the Plurion Story
from
An Under-Cover Reporter!!

Dear Tony,

Haven't tuned in to your Wood Pellet Blog of late, until today, where I see some very recent material. I'd like to offer two comments, for you to use as you think fit, but - as before - asking that my identity be not revealed, even though some people have a pretty shrewd idea of it.

Firstly, YES - I plead guilty - I DO have an agenda, and this is what it is. A group of entrepreneurs (I won't name them, but their names are right there on the web) have for over 20 years been setting up technology-based companies, raising money from investors and other sources, and taking their money and burning through it, with no return.

Companies involved included xxxxx Engineering Ltd, Electro xxx (California) xxxxx Technologies Inc (California) - folded, private investors lost pretty much everything, Xxxxxxx Inc (took grant money from US EPA and other sources) - seems to have folded. Define "Rip-Off" merchants as you wish - these guys come pretty close to most people's definition.

(Removed the company names - just in case someone causes trouble) Ed.

Secondly, I'd put it to you that it is quite wrong to describe the recent sale of 70% of Plurion as a mere "Shuffling of Paper" Oh No! This was a Venture Capital Company (ITI Scotland), after 2 years and 4 months, delivering its considered verdict on the likely success of Plurion. And that verdict, as you see, is that "they wanted out". ITI Scotland were the only people outside of AIC to have a pretty good idea of the facts, the problems, the rate of progress - and their decision speaks volumes.

So what happens now ? Highly significant was the fact that the news of Plurion being sold back didn't cause so much as a twitch to the AIC share price which has been pretty much dead flat at 245-250p for 6 months. The AIC share price is underpinned by hopes for their big project, recovery of metals using "new technology" at Tsumeb mine in Namibia (check the Weatherly Mining website). This is a potentially $billion project (if you believe in it). AIC couldn't afford to jeopardise the big project, and so decided best to buy back Plurion, thereby stopping any bad news getting out. . My guess is it will be quietly, quietly wound down. I cannot see them delivering a unit to E.ON by the end of 2008 as Dr Vallance wrote to you.

Professional electrochemists are watching AIC with fascination (www.apicap.com). Few believe their BLAB project will succeed, because Atraverda (www.atraverda.com) are already in production with this technology and believe they have cast-iron patent protection.

The latest spin-off RedOx Biofuels Ltd is looking more and more like a dead duck. An annoucement on the AIC website on 15th Nov 2007 trumpeted an investment (reversing into an AIM-listed cash shell). Nearly 4 months on, no more news and those who have studied the AIC patent which presumably underpins this, find it a joke, full of mistakes and fallacies. The EverClear project at Berkeley Pit, Montana, has closed - it was only a demonstrator - and demonstrated that 30 year old technology, available to anyone, worked! Big deal!

So all eyes now on Namibia. Have these guys really developed a technology that solves a problem which has defeated the world's mining giants for 100 years ?

We aren't 100% sure what this technology might be, though we've been led to believe it might be a form of leaching. What we know, or think we know, suggests it's another will-o-the-wisp.

AIC is a £100 million company - and I would bet my bottom dollar, investors will lose every penny of it.

And as for me - I'd ask you to judge me on the accuracy of my predictions so far. I said Plurion was a can of worms - and that seems to have been the painful conclusion reached by ITI Scotland, the only people with the hard facts before them.

Kind regards



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