good read from smh

Take the example of two stocks, one from the big end of town and one so small that no one has heard of it. BHP Billiton is selling for about $47, more than double its low of $20 in November 2008.

Now look at Chesser Resources, a junior exploration company drilling for gold in Turkey. It was trading at 6? in December 2008, reached a high of $1.28 last November and currently trades about 78? a share.

Depending when you bought and sold, Chesser could have been a 20-bagger or a bitter disappointment.

Chesser is just one of the many tiddlers riding the crest of the commodity price wave and a fine example of how winners can become losers in the blink of an eye.

??The boom stops faster than it begins,?? warns Grant Craighead, of independent resources newsletter Stock Resource. ??You need to understand why you are investing, particularly if it is a mining exploration project with potentially high risks and rewards. You need to constantly assess the results and learn to cut and run if they are going against you.??