Hi Troisi,
I have solid evidence that the supply of stock currently hitting the market is originating from Regal Funds Management. There is nothing sinister behind it, they are simply recycling capital to participate in the myriad of IPO's and other trading opportunities hitting the market. A close broking contact mentioned that their firm alone has 16 IPO's in the pipeline. Regal invested in Tombador in the IPO @ 2.5c and has sold all the way up. This position is chicken feed for them and just a number, their cost base is zero, and they may as well be trading apples and oranges at the local market. Word is that they have sold approx. 50m shares since relisting after the recent placement. As a reward for being such a loyal shareholder Regal took $2m @ 7.9c = 28.5m shares - go figure that one - Canaccord simply fed the mouth that feeds them with no regard for structuring a proper loyal share register! All that aside, rough calculations suggest Regal are down to their last 15-20m shares. We have just got to sit through the volatility at this point as approvals and contracts can't be far away now!
Regards
Pihrana
Miners surge as iron ore price juices profits AFR Mar 30, 2021 – 4.25 pm
Bumper demand for iron ore hassent shares in Australia’s biggest miners to trade at record levels this yearand led analysts to ponder whether another commodities supercycle has emerged.
In January, Fortescue Metalsshares closed at a record high, a feat promptly repeated by BHP Group inFebruary and then by Rio Tinto this month, as Australia’s global mining giantseclipsed the heights reached during the boom days of Chinese growth a decadeago.
The trio is set to prosperfurther as demand for iron ore is sustained, analysts predict, after shakingoff concerns that a pollution crackdown in China would dampen orders from thecountry’s steel producers.
The steel mills in Tangshan,two hours south-east of Beijing, where Pilbara ore is smelted into beams tosupport apartment buildings and factories across the world’s most populouscountry, were forced this month to cut production to meet new emissionsstandards.
The concerns quickly dissipated,sending the price of iron ore up more than 4 per cent to above $US167 a tonneon Monday. The price is down slightly from a month ago, but the latest uptickmarks a fourfold increase in five years and just over 10 per cent from the highachieved during the resources boom that peaked in 2011.
The jump in the iron ore price“is monstrously powerful for earnings for the miners,” said John Lockton, headof Australian equity strategy for Wilsons.
The materials sector has onlylagged energy in profit growth for the year so far, pushing the S&P/ASX 300metals and mining index, which tracks 47 listed companies, to a record highlast month.
Macquarie analysts predictearnings for BHP and Fortescue will grow by nearly a fifth for the year to Juneand a tub-thumping 30 per cent for Rio Tinto in the year to December. This willpush up the share price of each company by at least 35 per cent, according tothe broker.
“Iron ore price buoyancycontinues to underpin strong earnings upgrade momentum,” the analysts wrote.
The rise in the iron ore pricehas led analysts at Commonwealth Bank to wonder whether the global economy isentering a decades-long period of growth underpinned by strong demand forcommodities.
“The surge in commodity pricesover the last year has led markets to consider whether we are at the start ofanother commodity supercycle,” said Vivek Dhar, director of mining and energycommodities research for Commonwealth Bank.
Price growth for iron ore,copper and nickel could feed into a global stretch of demand that mirrorsprevious supercycles, such as the Chinese boom from the late 1990s or Americanindustrialisation at the start of the 20th century.
This outlook may be too rosy,cautions Mr Dhar. A more likely scenario is a near-term uptick in demand as theglobal economy recovers from the pandemic.
“We think the rise in commodityprices over the last year is indicative of a cyclical recovery [rather] than along-dated supercycle,” he said.
The three major Australian ironore miners are among the four biggest producers in the world, and theirfortunes have been helped along by trouble facing the fourth: Brazil’s Vale hasfaced a lull in production after the deadly mudslide two years ago at itsCórrego do Feijao mine, limiting supply, and squeezing the global iron oreprice higher.
The company has moved to bringnew regions of iron ore online, but has faced regulatory challenges for themines, which are remote, adding operational strain to export the commodity.
“There is some expectation thatVale will come back online this year, but it’s more difficult to get to portthere, so access is an issue,” said Mr Lockton.
“I still think there is areasonable chance we don’t get the supply coming on to the same degreeconsensus believes will happen,” he said.
After most economies reportedrecord falls in GDP in June last year, we’ve seen a sharp reversal.
BlueScope Steel, which was spunout of BHP nearly two decades ago, typically faces extra pain when the price ofiron ore rises, but has jumped in market value and closed on Monday at itshighest level since 2008.
“A high iron ore pricetypically is a negative for BlueScope,” said Mr Lockton. “But steel millsglobally have struggled to keep up with demand.”
(20min delay)