Late 1994 I became involved with Relode after taking a passing...

Late 1994 I became involved with Relode after taking a passing interest in their gold potential. Once Chris Cairns was appointed it became a different story and I went on to accumulate between 20-25% of the company for my client base. This was done mainly on market, however there was a major placement at 6.5c, a management takeout at 7c with options and other opportunities along the way. When I handed it all over (passed the baton on) we are now closer to 5% but nevertheless still a meaningful holding. Dilution is all part of a company transforming and without donations, lamington drives, or telethons,companies are forced to go back to the market for capital.

If you are low on cash during a downturn there was always the risk of an excessive discount that can lead to even more shares on issue. Chris never had the luxury of cashflow through an acquisition and as much as some shareholders felt cheated it was necessary! Exploration companies should be out there exploring and not switching to cheap toilet paper or coffee to conserve cash. The prize for a discovery is more significant than the odd capital raising.

I remember the early days in 2005 trying to promote the story at PDAC in Canada, and to some UK investors all pretty much to a lukewarm response. IGR continued to explore with some success and the existing resources were upgraded, however it lacked that catalyst that would see them move into the producer ranks. Salt Creek was the game changer, and all credit should rightfully go to not only Chris Cairns but also the talented team behind the scenes that are not mentioned here or out there seeking to sign autographs.

Then came the rally to 70c as momentum built on some stunning drilling results (not quite RMS's 48m @ 152 g/t) but enough to see the stock go mainstream. Red Dale was starting to fire up and I sensed that there was some tension built into the share price, and when the smoke didn't translate to fire the stock rightfully came under some pressure. A 45c placement along the way was timely and allowed the company to fund some aggressive exploration which has seen them become a gold producer of substance.

If Ivanhoe Australia (IVA) which was a $2.00 IPO could fall to 15c during the GFC then IGR was always going sub 10c and this is what happened during some frightful days in late 2008. We were then provided with what proved to be the greatest buying opportunity in this company, where all the pricing that went with an impressive high-grade open pittable discovery was removed in a matter of months.

I cannot blame Chris for taking the conservative route when it came to banking the project. Some analysts didn't like it and again we were faced with sell recommendations and even more pressure on the share price. I think he was unfairly punished for showing a human side in his announcements with pearlers such as "planets aligning" and a quote he stole from me, "More hits than Elvis". I just couldn't fathom why the backlash simply because he has more personality and passion than a peanut.

Luckily now IGR changed venues for their Xmas parties and this year we had a relaxed affair at Jo Jo's. Funny thing was that the year we went to The Court winebar, followed by the Moonlight lady trip in 2006, the share price was 15c but the wine and beer flowed anyway. There was a run at the same venue and it became a struggle to work out which year was which although the magic guy will always be my highlight.

Since then IGR have released a barrage of stunning exploration results and we are now faced with multiple targets that have the potential to go straight to the bottom line. We even have VMS potential at KZ5, and some different geological models are starting to creep in with the "P" word getting some attention. Underground has added a new dimension, and now Majestic could be a handy addition to the base with some bigger picture potential at French Kiss. IGR are now aiming to become a 140,000oz pa producer and this has been rammed home in numerous presentations.

Chris I believe has de-risked the company now to the point that any issues are likely to be of the mechanical variety (hopefully under warranty), as they are quite bad at finding non-mineralised areas these days.

The mine opening event rated as one of the proudest moments in my career. I was honoured to have been invited and you could tell that during the event this was a special company. The facilities look great, the vibe amongst the staff was positive, and at the celebrations that night you could sense the excitement from what is a young and enthusiastic team of geologists and mine workers.

Who would have thought that on Hotcopper some may have started to question Chris Cairns ability simply because the share price didn't move? Price movements often mean nothing, there are no mysterious forces out there capping prices to buy back lower, this is all paranoia and why many speculators fail miserably. Luckily at the time I was unable to post anything here, because some of the comments were so far from reality, other investors could have been spooked out of a perfectly sound position.

If you want to look at a scary price history of what became a very successful producer go check out the corrections DOM went through from 28c all the way to roughly $6.79. The other company I put considerable faith in RMS has gone through similar corrections and I would suggest there are more to come regardless of how well Wattle Dam or Mt Magnet does in the future.

IGR is now mainstream and with this comes institutional investors who have the power to move stocks in both directions. If it triggers further stop losses, it doesn't mean there has been a catostrophic ball mill failure or Dettol Eucalyptus handwash has killed off 99.9% of the germs and taken the gold with it.

Buy low, sell high and accept that downside is all part of speculation. From almost 6 years in dealing with IGR I can assure you that Chris Cairns, the board and geologists are more capable of giving shareholders the best possible chance of success than any of us.

IAU,that this year sold Paulsens to NST were hedged at $628 AUD for many years, and shareholders are lucky that when the "H" word came around, IGR by virtue of the gold price were able to lock in something that would ensure outstanding margins. Hedging is often a requirement of a bank stumping up millions and probably has a bad name due to a few failures just like nuclear has from one tragedy.

The ASX makes continuous disclosure a major priority and IGR provide timely information where possible and more often than not it is good to great news. Chris works the conference circuit quite hard and rates as one of the most passionate and well spoken presenters in the industry.

I do not scale, clean or perform root canal on my own teeth and wouldn't know how to change a brake pad either, however I ensure that I find people I trust that can do this for me. Same goes for working up an RC target or getting good recoveries from a mill, to coming up with an outwide geological theory that results in a discovery.

My 2010 EOY price target range for IGR was 45-50c and this has now been breached and quite easily. Those that purchased around 6c or even up to 30c are well in the money and the beauty about speculation is that they can and will take part profits or perhaps even look to switch some capital elsewhere. It may be a great company but one day the risk of holding a 10 bagger+ may not justify the capital exposure.

The share price will ebb and flow, and on serious down days stocks such as IGR may come in for even tougher punishment as the weak hands capitulate. It should also be noted that the gold price has seen its fair share of $40 drops all the way from $251 US an ounce.

Hopefully Chris will generate some interest overseas and take a well deserved break as he is one of the hardest working MD's that I ever met. If management do the right thing, they shouldn't be wasting time dealing with traders who buy and sell at the wrong price. (A bit like the middle managers from Teldar paper and all the shuffling that went on).

Obviously I am biased, passionate about IGR and what they have achieved and despite letting go, I still want to see the company succeed over the longer-term rather than worrying about the day to day price fluctuations that no one can ever predict regardless of their software package.

Cheers

Budfox