I have both, but the lion's share in BAR - I've only CNJ when comparatively very cheap.
Three reasons I prefer Barra:
1: Barra is hedged.
Mt Thirsty is boom or bust. It could be huge - tens of bags from here. It could also fail for all number of reasons. And there are large macro risks - global crisis/technology changes etc. I think Mt Thirsty has a good chance of getting to mine, especially now that we have such a solid SS, and with recent off-take happenings in the cobalt market. However, it's still a huge risk.
If Thirsty fails, Conico will go to zero in the blink of an eye, and I'm not interested in having a lot of money in that situation. Barra's SP will of course plunge too, but gold will provide a base. If Thirsty proved a no-goer at PFS, I think Barra's SP would stabilise (after a larger fall initially) at 2-3 cents - based upon what the market currently values it's gold at. But, I also think there's a lot of gold upside...
2: Barra's gold is I think very undervalued + gold is looking good.
See link below for my thinking from a few weeks back on Barra's gold worth. Even if Thirsty failed and BAR dropped to say 2c in the short term, in the medium term I think its gold projects would eventually give us a Mcap much higher than what we have today.
3: Excellent directors/gut feel: Barra directors are impressive, They are also easy to get hold of, and really nice guys. I know that they are actually doing work, and they are always happy to answer questions and explain as much as they can. Conico is a shell company within a shell company within a shell company. I'm sure the directors are probably nice guys, and we are assured they are working hand-in-glove with BAR on the JV, BUT I've never been able to get hold of them, and really get no idea for what they are like as people, or what they do for their directors salaries. Doesn't make me feel comfortable.
Interesting note: In 2007, when Mt Thirsty's previous ($800 Mil CAPEX, HPAL approach) was on the cards, and gold was looking good - our SP got to 67c!
