Radius Gold (RDU.v) provides a lesson for other junior mining IR departments

• What a stupid junior mining company with a stupid IR department does when a piece of news hits that makes it look bad: It ignores the issue, hopes it goes away, allows everyone else to comment on the issue first, makes sure its name is mud before being forced against its will into making a statement.

• What a smart junior mining company with a smart IR department does when a piece of news hits that makes it look bad: It tackles the subject early and proactively, states what has occurred in straightforward terms, then puts forward its position.

The era when junior mining companies operating in LatAm could successfully bury bad news, play mushroom politics with their shareholders and keep it away from the market has long passed, thanks largely to the interwebnetpipes. However, there are still many companies with dinosaurs running their IR departments who don't understand this obvious fact and try to obfuscate, deny and lie their way through anything they might consider potentially embarrassing. When (and these days it's always when) the case then comes to light, the company in question will always look bad. So what the smart junior mining company with smart people running the show and a smart IR department does is take control of the newsflow and make sure the facts and their opinion is known first and fast.

With all that in mind, here's the contents of the NR out from Radius Gold (RDU.v) today, an example of a company doing the right thing in the right way. Other juniors with idiots in the IR departments (which means most of them), take note and learn something for a freakin' change because this is how you should do your jobs, too:

Radius Gold Updates on Recent Events at the Tambor Joint Venture, Guatemala

VANCOUVER, June 20, 2012 /CNW/ - Radius Gold Inc. (TSX-V: RDU) would like to comment on recent events near the Tambor gold mine development project in the municipalities of San Jose del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc in southern Guatemala. Radius's joint venture partner, Kappes Cassiday and Associates, of Reno, is the project operator and is constructing a small gold mine at the site.

On June 13, a local activist, Yolanda Oqueli Veliz, was shot and wounded by -as yet- unidentified attackers. Local police are investigating the incident. Radius wishes Ms. Veliz a speedy and full recovery and categorically condemns the shooting. Further, Radius's management urges all stakeholders and community members around the Tambor project to refrain from the use of violence as a means to settle disputes.

Simon Ridgway, the Chairman of Radius, commented: "We're in disbelief over the shooting. We have no idea what the shooting is related to and the circumstances are under investigation by the police, but regardless of the cause, nothing can be achieved by violence and we utterly condemn it. We've been in touch with the local and national authorities to see what we can do to assist in the investigation of the incident, and we've also been speaking to the Canadian embassy in Guatemala City to keep them updated."

The Company has recently become aware of various inflammatory articles on the internet directly linking it to the shooting of Ms. Veliz. Any such assertions are ridiculous and completely untrue and can only add to the local tensions. Radius has always denounced the use of violence, and the Company and its employees have never engaged in, incited, or supported violence within the communities in which it works.

Radius has been working at Tambor since 2000 with the support of the local community, conducting exploration work without incident, and has engaged with the community and local authorities at every stage in the discovery and development process. The management team has been working in South and Central America for close to 20 years and has always had detailed discussions with the local communities near its projects.

Further updates will be provided as and when Radius is aware of any new developments.

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