news, page-34

Profess,

You are right: the thread has become very tedious of late.

We've got a poster who visits Greenland annually, who has the added advantage of having a mate on the ground who can provide him with on-the-spot views - which, I would speculate, is a damn sight more than the rest of us! The mate assures him that all bets are off because the government won't change its stance on the mining of U3O8. Yet, he's still on HC wondering whether GGG is a buy, which tells us all we need to know about how the mate's opinion is valued. Furthermore he advises that tents have been withdrawn, although this could be for any number of reasons, although, oh - and as an afterthought - we are told that some of the equipment got damaged last year when left out in the open. No xxxx, Sherlock! If daytime temperatures in Greenland average 7-8C in June, can anybody really imagine how bitter the swirling winds around Kvane mountain must be later in the year? On the scale of helpful posts? mmmm

We've got another poster crowing about the lack of experience of the MD/board, and speciously throws this up as a material investment consideration. Yet the ASX is littered with many cases where mining companies have experienced geologists on board and they are literally "the pits". Mining experience 10, business nous 0. Look across at AXT, for example, where the head honcho, a distinguished geologist (who, granted, could be onto something, although the credibility is stretched), prefers to place the funds on deposit than engage in a serious business turnaround plan; look at the former guys in WME who lacked the foresight to really extract the value in the company in a timely manner, but conventiently clipped coupon along the way. One could go on; most posters know of worse cases. If age and experience were the only factors to being successful in life, then somebody should tell that to Lionel Messi in Barcelona. To be successful, MDs need a whole diversified range of skills and that element of luck. To the poster concerned, apart from your thoughts on the share price going down to the 30s, and possibly representing a buying opportunity at that juncture (all views make a market!), the rest has not really added value.

There are posters whose questions are aimed at the integrity of the management. I respect these questions, even if they may not be answered right now, given the legal circumstances. There are other posters whose insinuations about the GGG investment being something of a con, with management out to make a "fast buck", but I question the intellectual rigour behind these claims. As a little bit of evidence, directors have been buyers at low points (fair enough!), and the MD at least is in possession of a healthy slug of options which will expire worthless if the heads are trading below 20c at expiry and the board opts not to extend their maturity, or the project does not get the go ahead and the share price collapses, totally. Some fast buck that will amount to!

For those of us who are longer-term holders, we simply don't care about short-term price volatility. That is for the chartists and short-term traders, and each to their own style for making money; good luck! For those of us who don't have mates on the ground in Greenland to tell us about tents or otherwise, yet who have always acknowledged that this investment decision is digital (U3O8 to be mined as a by-product or not) - although with an option-like payout if the investment is ultimately successful, we can still take comfort from the geopolitical developments in the REE space that underpin our faith to begin with.

Denmark still contributes over 50% of Greenland's annual financing needs. This is the same Denmark that is prepared to argue with mighty Russia over parts of the Arctic. Denmark's neigbour, Sweden, per capita, is one of the largest users of nuclear power in the world. Taken a stage further, if technology could be enhanced, Thorium, may ultimately be a cleaner and safer power source than even U3O8 and - never being slow off the mark - the Chinese are already investigating the use of Thorium as a nuclear alternative. This is the same world where China controls 90% plus of REE-space, with serious implications for certain technologies in the future if the taps are switched off for non-Chinese manufacturers. Kvane mountain is hugely rich in REE and Thorium.

Put all this together. It could be that the current minister for mines in Greenland is resolutely anti-U3O8; it could be that the people decide that living on hunting seals for skin, fishing (oh, and the Danish handouts) is their only salvation. In the darkest imaginings it could even be possible that Greenland may do a Chavez one day (Claws, was this the unstated interpretation of the translated article earlier?) and start to nationalise all its mineral wealth, making itself a pariah in the process. I think the serious investors in GGG have always respected this: The Greenland people have the right to say no. But given the underlying geopolitical trends, economic and political benefits which would accrue to Greenland from "servicing a growing need" (REE space), many behind-the-scenes voices from far and wide will be listened to before the debate has been concluded. If it's still a non-starter at that stage, fair enough.

For those posters who are looking at GGG from scratch, make no mistake about it - this is digital, and the probability of a successful go ahead looks finely-balanced. It is a high risk play. Only put money into this stock that you can afford to lose as part of the overall portfolio strategy. The company is at a juncture where it needs to conclude an environmental study, as this will be crucial to the forthcoming debate in Greenland. It has promised to announce a pre-feasibility study sometime later this year as well, which should give us a preliminary idea about the economics of the project. In the meantime, there will be periods where the information-flow will be slack, and this will give rise to huge volatility in the share price. In market-speak, it is a share where you can be topped and tailed quite easily unless you are very skilled as a short-term trader.

I am long. I could well be wrong, but I sure as hell won't be whingeing over it if things don't go my way. On the basis of publicly-available information, I have been willing to take the risk. I could well be moderated or sin-binned, but as I only comment sporadically, no big loss. I have valued your input, and that of others such as Claws, TheBarry, Blueballs, Milesg and others whose names do not spring to mind immediately, whether I have agreed or disagreed. As Brett69 said, enjoy the break! It often helps to get away from the day-to-day nonsense.

Good luck to holders.