australasian resources back with a bang

THE AUSTRALIAN http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21565617-5005200,00.html
Australasian Resources back with a bang

April 16, 2007

AS WAS probably expected, Australasian Resources came back with a bang when it rejoined Australian Stock Exchange boards today.
The Clive Palmer-controlled company was trading at nearly 100 per cent above where it was before it went into a trading halt on December 14.

That means its market capitalisation had almost doubled during the four months it was off the boards as Australasian went about securing $US2.1 billion of financing for its Balmoral magnetite project in the West Australian Pilbara.

Palmer, who once had a vision of building a steel mill at Newcastle and was also part of the failed push to get Joh Bjelke-Petersen to the Lodge, owns more than 293.6 million Australasian shares so the buoyant re-birth of the company makes him a very wealthy man.

Not that he wasn't already.

Palmer locked up a lot of magnetite ground in 1985, picking the ground up for a song according to industry watchers. He vended the Balmoral ground into Australasian last year for a controlling stake in the company.

It has been tipped that some of his other land holdings up around Balmoral could also find their way onto the Australasian asset register.

Which would be a bonus for the shareholders, of which includes one Robert Anthony Healy.

I have never met Mr Healy, or talked to him. But the word on the streets is that Mr Healy is one of the more astute investors when it comes to junior resource companies.

It might be speculation, but it would be a safe bet that Mr Healy is no Sydney-based investment banker or Melbourne stockbroker. His home address is listed as being in the NSW regional town of Orange.

But let's not get personal here, other than to say a quick look at what else he has invested in proves the spies were right. He is very astute.