I do suspect that BNL got wiped because of the 600 point drop in...

I do suspect that BNL got wiped because of the 600 point drop in the DOW a couple of days ago and the subsequent 150 point drop (or thereabouts) in the ASX the following day. The drilling moratorium may not have been the main reason and probably an overstated one.

There was a general sell off and that continued today. My portfolio shed across the board and not just BNL - which admittedly accounted for a large part of the overall loss. As I have a fairly large holding, the loss got multiplied.

Spec shares such as BNL are often the first to be sold off when panic selling gets underway. As there is also no evidence that BNL will come forward with something in the near future that the market will jump at, then it becomes a share that is likely to be liquidated before others. The now serious delay in the permit application approval probably has spooked a lot of people and made the sell decision easier.

Issue of course is that it takes a short time for the SP to drop in those circumstances - but much longer or the SP to recover. Monday was a fantastic day - the rest of the week was dreadful. The share market can be an evil mistress at times.

We just have to hope that the positive sentiment returns next week and investors start using the funds from share sales to return to the market. It does appear that the jitters are still around though. BNL really does need something to bring it back into the limelight. Permit announcement should do that so we can hope that it comes very soon.