This is my first post re ARH although I have watch the ARH...

This is my first post re ARH although I have watch the ARH threads with some interest.

Over thew months there has been quite a few comparisons between FMG and ARH. I have been ARH since the SHN days and while not an expert on mining or the jargon I have a bit more of a feel for what this company is/has achieved so far.

I went back to have a look at a point just before FMG SP started to take off around Oct04. At that stage FMG had 141m total shares -ve 7m quarterly cash flow and 5m in the bank whereas ARH in a similar situation now has 500m total shares -6m cashflow and 43m in the bank. FMG total shares has doubled since and their forecast EPS for 2010 is 6% based on the current share price of $50.00

So from my perspective the difference here will be in the reserves ARH has and their overheads. ARH has already stated that their overheads will be lower and they use FMG for comparison. I think if I'm not mistaken they also stated that the value adding to the final product will be also greater.

So what is the difference in reserves between the two companies and their capcity to earn money?

Furthermore, I know ARH has twice as many shares placed but what I would like to know or rather seek opinion on is what is the effect of Prof Palmer's holding, ie about 75% if I'm not mistaken, on the effective amount of shares available to trade. I guess that's why only 130m shares are quoted. Moreover, does his holding act as a sort of circuit breaker for now to prevent any takeovers of ARH. I'm sure if the price was right he would sell in a heartbeat but that's another topic. I believe that if these shares become an in demand proposition then the effective amount of shares on offer will make them hard to buy.

My feeling is that ARH are in a strong position with more reserves to be announced and extra cash coming from the spinning off of Sherlock Bay and alike. I'm sure that they would retain a holding in these projects to benefit from them down track.

So I guess the next 6-12 months should prove fruitful if everything goes to plan. While there is still some risk in this stock I am happy to hold.

If anyone can fill in the gaps or add to this it would be much appreciated.

Cheers

BW