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Frankly - thanks for rowing in. RW is the President of Barrick but also the Chairman of ACA his role in the negotiation is as JT’s Envoy - apparently these sort of titles matter to people in Tanzania. Whilst I am sure they are capable guys the interim staff at ACA do not have the level of experience and negotiation skill that RW brings to the table. Barrick have been handling negotiations from the beginning between RW and JT I think we have all bases covered and could not be better represented. I agree that this has been a painful journey and rife with manipulation- those days have gone. Most of the trades you see on a daily basis are the shorters buying and selling trying to get an edge - they are the ones that are struggling now and this will only get worse for them. I agree that the timeline that has been suggested seems unreasonably long and I feel that this is only so the GoT and Chinese deal can be negotiated in tandem and announced at the same time. I think your other half is right and things will work out well for those that can stay the journey. All IMHO.

No, I stand corrected that is the most desperate post. Bored now - let’s see what the future brings.

Well Stockabc that must be the most desperate post yet. Let me give you something else to think about. Barrick issue an RNS stating the info they are aware of so that they cannot be accused of insider trading and follow this up with a bid of £4 for the ACA shares they do not own - their 64% share value is underpinned and they are free to negotiate a 50/50 deal with the Chinese without having to deal with the complication of minority shareholders. They have the cash and the motivation - they have done a good deal for their shareholders and at this stage in the game no one within ACA is going to complain. I would not rule it out.

As it is the weekend then let’s pontificate. Personally I cannot fail but to be impressed with the insight and foreknowledge that some shorters have shown on some companies putting the Directors and auditors of some companies to shame - normally I am very reluctant to bet against them but not this time. If shorting companies are properly registered and the people from whom they borrowed shares also had to declare and in an ideal world get permission from the actual ultimate owners of the shares I don’t think I could argue with it. As it is I can live with it. Spouting false info to try and get the shareholders to panic and sell is definitely wrong and probably illegal. Also for myself I agree that the stock market is a speculative risk or gamble but you can improve your odds by knowing about the company and business you are buying into and your view or confidence can change over time. You cannot plan for the unknowns. With regard to ACA we know that a deal with GoT has been agreed in principle and that there are Chinese companies who at the very least want to buy in so the prosects for this company have totally improved. Capital assets aside the future earnings value ACA at over £3 so should give a sale price of much higher than that. If I just accept your 0.5% shorted figure then that is still over 2m shares. If you think a PII who has held to this point and with the current news flow will sell you shares to cover your short then you are dreaming that leaves the 11.5m shares in private hands. I would dare to suggest that these shareholders would have sold by now if they are not confident so, in my humble opionion, you will have to pay them a lot more than the current price to get the shares from them - I will not be selling any - others can make there own minds up. That leads to a short squeeze - 2m shares have to be acquired - it’s all about timing - I do not even suggest the shorters were wrong to give it a go - they have probably made money all the way down from £5 - but I do think the news flow has changed and the shorters still in the market have on this occasion got their timing wrong. If you disagree then increase your short - I dare you - I am certainly willing to at least double my existing exposure if you give me the opportunity others may even feel the same. All IMHO.

Well Supercharger we are at least following his advice. The shorters have done the first half of their job well - they have got the price down but to make money they have to buy the shares back - just where will they get the shares from, a PII - very unlikely or the market which means from the 11.5m shares in the hands of PI’s? Their only glimmer of hope is that Barrick have indicated H2 which gives them some time. We have been told that a framework agreement has been signed and that RW is now working on this full time so it might just happen sooner and could easily be an announcement that deal signed by GoT and full offer from Chinese. The tide has turned on this one. Have a good weekend. All IMHO.

Indeed- I am sure that the shares will have been borrowed from a PII but where will the companies shorting buy the shares to replace them? Someone has to sell and normally that would be the private holders which I perhaps incorrectly refer to as free float. Although I do not do it myself I have a great deal of respect for the main shorting companies - they have great skill but they do not always get it right.

Read through some background notes today and you might find this interesting. There are 410m shares in issue but of these only 2.8% or 11.5m are in private hands (I don’t know if this includes the shares owned by current and previous directors). Let’s say the overall short position sits as low as 0.8% - that is 3.25m shares. Which means that they are actually shorted 28.5% of the free float. It was, therefore, easy for them to get the price down from £2 to £1.35 but if you hold tight to your shares and with news around the corner it will be very hard indeed for them to buy them back which by itself should send the price up quite a lot - let’s see.

Thank you for the update - I could not listen myself. From what you report this seems very positive indeed - an outline agreement signed and final talks going very well - a couple of months ago this would have sent the share price to well over £2. A signed deal with GoT would certainly make a sale, if they go that route, much easier. I notice that Numeric dropped their short to .49% and Marshall Wace showing at .48% so neither will be tracked further unless they once again go over .5% - they may even be closing their positions entirely which could result in a squeeze. Although not oblivious to the risks my confidence increases that this will come good quite soon. Good luck. All IMHO.

I agree the whole thing is quite ludicrous but in some ways the fact that it is quite so extreme gives me comfort that ACA have actually done nothing wrong. However, if it were to become an international dispute then I would want a multi billion company with the strongest possible Chinese connections, like Barrick, in my corner. The GoT may not give a jot about us but they do about the Chinese. Share price will probably be hit again tomorrow so you may get another chance or indeed you may well be safer to stear clear until we get more news who knows? All IMHO.

Thank you for your concern and I agree that the stock market is all about assessing risk. Although the GoT may seem to sometimes act in their own interests and against international law I do not believe that Barrick would try to do a side deal that resulted in ACA minority shareholders being shafted. If you do you should sell.

Actually I hold more Shares than you suggest and will buy more if the share keeps being manipulated. I may be stupid as I brought in too soon but my average is just under £2 - I wish I had waited because I would invest the same amount now at this lower price. The fundamentals are strong, there is a buyer in the wings and the GoT who would be very happy to be dealing with the Chinese, will do a deal eventually. I believe in the company and it’s parent and I believe I will make money on this opportunity. I am not sure if offshore or Chinese companies can be forced to declare their position or if there is any realistic way of stopping them selling and buying their own shares every day on the market. The short position only shows the % over 0.5 % and others may have a position below that. By itself 0.5% is over 2 million shares and with a tightly held low volume share that gives you quite a lot of power to move the market. Personally I am happy for you guys to drive the price down as much as you like, I will buy more, eventually this will come good. All IMHO.

One last push Opium? I don’t believe GoT have seized the mines as you put it - they have certainly made things very difficult and possibly presented us with what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Time will tell.

Personally I think they should suspend the share as this is blatant manipulation. At the very least they should issue a RNS outlining the current position and perhaps even indicating what value they place on the assets although I doubt they will do that. I have increased my own position by 10% today and I am lucky in so much as I do not need to sell in the foreseeable future others may not be in such a strong position and I feel the company should consider of the small shareholders and act.

Sorry but the deal will be negotiated by Barrick Gold - the largest gold mining company in the world. Barrick chairman John Thornton ex Golman Sachs Harvard/Oxford/Yale was awarded the Friendship Award of the People’s Republic of China, the highest honor accorded to a non-Chinese citizen.The Chinese government also named him as one of fifteen ‘foreign experts’ who have made the most significant contribution to China’s development over the past three decades. I am happy and confident that he knows what he is doing. He will do a fair deal with the Chinese and importantly they will do a fair deal with him.

Maybe I am an idiot but the underlying value of the asset is significantly higher than the share price. The co reports that it has invested $4 billion in the mines and has estimated reserves of 27.4 Moz of gold. What value would a prospective purchaser put on that? The share price for the moment is irrelevant - the low volume of trades making it easy to manipulate. Just a thought but perhaps if I were a potential buyer of the asset I might be prepared to spend several million to drive the share price down by selling shares and reducing expectations. No one is better placed to deal with the Chinese than Barrick Chairman and I have faith that although on paper this is painful it will turn out very well for those that do not panic. All IMHO

Come on guys - this is brilliant news. If we sell the assets for £1.5 billion this will give us a share price of over £3.50. They want to buy the assets and not the company as this leaves the current issues with Tanz government behind - we know the dispute was made up - without the assets as a bargaining tool the Tanz gov would have nothing to negotiate with and if it comes to it independent arbitration would find for us - so we are left with the cash to invest elsewhere. The Chinese will then sort things out quickly and quietly with the TG - all good. I have well ove 100,000 shares here so I have a strong vested interest in this deal working out and this solution is probably even better than reaching a deal with the government ourselves. This should fly - well done to all involved. All IMHO.