asic goes after frost etc

ASIC takes Mining Projects men to court
Mark Hawthorne
January 24, 2007

From The Age Newspaper---



AS PART of a crackdown on small-cap mining explorers, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has pinged two directors of Mining Projects, formerly Yamarna Goldfields, for making false statements to the market and for insider trading.

ASIC alleges that chairman Bryan Frost and executive director Richard Revelins, also partners in Melbourne-based Peregrine Corporate, made "misleading or deceptive statements to the market" relating to isolated Niue, 1500 kilometres north of New Zealand.

In announcements to the stock exchange on August 15, 2005, it was claimed that documents showed the island to be prospective for gold, silver, copper, zinc and uranium. Claims that the island — population about 1750 — was potentially home to a uranium deposit equal to the size of the Olympic Dam got day traders excited. It was also a timely announcement — Yamarna had just $193,000 in the bank at the end of June 2005. At the time, Full Disclosure reported Yamarna's share price soared after the announcement, with trading volumes well into the millions. Some brokers reported overseas buying. The shares hit a year-high 1.9¢ on August 24 before closing at 1.6¢. It was trading at 0.5¢ just weeks before the announcement.

After its own investigation, ASIC has issued legal proceedings, "seeking declarations that the company engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and that Frost and Revelins breached their duties as directors in relation to announcements the company made to the ASX".

ASIC also alleges that Frost and Revelins "traded in the shares of the company immediately following the release of the announcement on August 15, 2005. ASIC is seeking declarations that Frost and Revelins engaged in insider trading and misused information available to them."

Revelins has told the West Australian he "strongly denied" ASIC's allegations and said the pair would "strenuously defend" them in court.

The matter is listed for hearing at the Federal Court in Melbourne on February 20.

A look at ASIC records shows the pair have crossed swords with the corporate watchdog before. In June 2004, Frost and Revelins, then directors of the Gaming and Entertainment Group (GEG), pleaded guilty to five charges of failing to notify trades in their holdings. They were each fined $1500 and ordered to pay costs. Frost and Revelins bought 66,627 shares in GEG in the name of AMN Nominees in May 2003.