Member Info for workingstiff

As you say CEY's M. Cap is around £2b and POG's around £800m. But POG is carrying $625m high priced bond debt, and don't forget the contingent liability for IRC's $240m debt. The last time I looked CEY were sitting on over $300m of cash and "liquid assets". We don't know POG's cash position but proposing a share issue to cover the $50m license purchase suggests they are not rolling in it. And let's not forget the slimy Pete and slippery Pav effect. I think the market caps of the two companies, in comparative terms, are about where they should be.

I don't see why they need to do it at all. They are 75% owners, they could mine the fields and pay a royalty. The deal smacks of cronyism.

I think the issue that some of us have, those of us who have been in this share for a number of years, is that these guys don't deal from the top of the deck - so to speak. Or more precisely they have got into the habit - since the rights issue - of allocating the cost for any development to Shareholders. Replacing the old convertible bonds with new convertible bonds last year is one example. It seemed unnecessary when the previous management team had replaced bank loans with Non convertible bonds earlier. The proposed sale of the stake in IRC has a funny smell to it. Going further back, the proposed purchase of another miner (can't remember the name) for around $150m which didn't really seem to deliver very much.

You are right when you point out the recent increase in the share price, and it is true that the proposed dilution is small, and in these uncertain times it is probably prudent to hold on to cash, but it would be nice if just once they proposed a corporate action where the burden did not fall on shareholders.

..... from the two P's.

The futures Market is way ahead of the spot price at the moment. Spot price in the $1590's, futures in the $1630's.

At some point I can see the main stock markets being suspended. Social distancing rules may require it, and the panic selling we are seeing - again today - is draining pension funds and sovereign wealth funds and adding to the collateral damage. Commodity trading will need to continue. We all need to eat. Seeing what is happening to the pound I would like to see currency trading suspended but think that is unlikely. I imagine gold will be bracketed with currencies and continue to trade.

A tough week for Gold. It looks as though it might struggle until something puts the skids under the dollar, which is strong now. I hope POG hedged some future output when the price was near $1700.

Gold is taking a beating on the Comex. It seems cash is king at the moment

Gold has risen pretty far pretty fast this year. Now might be a good time to lock this price into some (not all) of the forward product.

Lol. Go for it.

Everything is down today. Even the gold market is shy after a couple of big slap downs in recent days. The only positive is that volumes aren't unusually high so we aren't at capitulation yet.

There a worse things than a bid for a company with good prospects.

1670. This is going to $1700 soon

Never a dull moment indeed. I wonder if I missed a trick when it touched 19p.

Earlier this week I had dinner with someone who worked on Britain's response to the SARS epidemic and she seemed fairly unperturbed about it.

Another good day for POG. Looking at some of the competition - CEY and HGM, if this gets to 20p it wont be too far off fair value. There could be some short term game changers - a reduction of the IRC risk, or vice versa; the conversion of the convertibles, which now seems inevitable but which I think is probably priced in, at least to some extent.

If these factors remain unchanged and it gets to 20p, then short term I think it will be a leveraged play on the price of gold

"By holding the short they keep earning the interest (less some small funding cost on the shorts) and know that they have already 'sold' their stock for a guaranteed profit."

Whoever lent them the shares to short sell may want them back before then. I suppose they can cover this by converting the bonds they hold.

High level of fixed costs - I presume some of that will be the effect on the books of depreciating the asset.

I didn't say Putin rigged the referendum. Since the collapse of communism Russia and the West (in particular the EU and Nato) have developed an uneasy, adversarial relationship. I think a historic opportunity for rapprochement was missed in the 1990's, but we are where we are.

We have a populist president in the US busily undermining Nato, Britain breaking away from the EU, and Scotland - which houses the UK's nuclear deterrent and makes a more than substantial contribution to the manpower of the armed services - potentially breaking away from the UK.

If you are Putin, what's not to like.

Wessex? If we are fantasising my preference would be for London to become an independent city state. Let the Shires and the North have their independence.

Since we are off topic here is my tuppence worth. This is a great result for Putin. Brexit weakens the EU, Scottish secession - assuming it happens - weakens the UK.

This is a great little company. It always paid dividends even when the gold price was on the floor. I reckon I've had my investment back in dividends over the years.