i am curious yellow

I am curious, yellow

Micheal West
10 sept


IN the good old days, it was de rigueur to career back from lunch at 5.30pm, if at all, happy in the knowledge that your trusty 2IC had been kowtowing to your clients all afternoon. Stockbroker John Duckanweave of Thrust Parry Runaway & Hyde, reminisced fondly.

Ah, those were the days. No compliance officers, no discretionary trading forms, no three-day settlement period. What about the time we'd spread the word that Pacific Islands Gold (code PIG) was bunkered in merger negotiations with Australian Resources (code ARS). He chuckled to himself.

In those days Duckanweave was a "momentum trader". Whether it was dotcom in 2000, gold in 2001, nickel in 2002, biotech in 2003 or iron ore in 2004, as long as it was new, he jumped aboard and rode it till the first MOU was firmly rumoured.

Uranium was now in vogue. Some 40 uranium plays flooded the market, more than 100 new players in the US.

And so it was that Duckanweave put his hot uranium tip to Frank Sources.

"Got to have some of these Yamarna, Frank. Going to the moon. Look." He unsheathed an ASX release. "Niue Island Minerals Project ... such as is being proposed for Niue Island have in recent years led to successful very large discoveries such as the Olympic Dam copper/gold/uranium deposit, which is the world's single largest known reservoir of uranium. The conceptual geological model being explored at Niue Island has the potential to host uranium mineralisation of equal or greater quantity."

"Olympic Dam ... but of course," purred Sources, seemingly more interested in washing down his mille feuille of salt cod brandade with a drop of Chateau de Cougin Rolle Blanc.

Duckanweave went on. The very day Yamarna had declared that Olympic Dam Mark II was on the cards on the idyllic atoll near Samoa, Yamarna chairman Bryan Frost and executive director Richard Reveling, showed the utmost confidence in their company by snapping up 11 million shares at 1c to 1.1c.

The next day the stock shot up 60 per cent to 1.6c. Bryan took some profits a couple of days later, exiting his short-term investment in Yamarna at 1.6c to 1.8c.

Yamarna also had a placement, as one does when one has just come upon a prospective $10 billion project. It dispatched a team to Niue to conduct sampling -- no, not sampling of daiquiris around the pool at the clifftop Matavai Resort, no, not the crayfish, nor the blue swimmer crab -- but soil sampling for uranium and gold.

Sources inquired as to the geological data which underpinned Yamarna's vision. They've got a report from a consultant from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Duckanweave. Look here. Indeed the report, from May 1979, confirmed the "highly radioactive nature of the soils on Nuie Island". Sources suspected that even the boot sand on Niue was radioactive and drew Duckanweave's attention to the bit down the bottom that said, "the possibility of locating an exploitable and economically attractive uranium deposit on the island is light".

"New exploration techniques, Sources."

"And how will they get the rig there? Air Pacific perhaps ... excuse me sir, would you mind if I popped that drill rig in your overhead luggage compartment?"

Sources suggested Duckanweave enlighten his clients on the other offerings which Bryan and Richard, and their advisory shop, Peregrine, had been involved in.

Apart from Laugh.com in 2000 (fair dinkum), there was Gaming & Entertainment Group (born Ferrovanadium Corp, then Great Australian Resources, Trans-Global Interactive and now suspended awaiting its next incarnation), Pinnacle Mining, Pinnacle VRB (of vanadium redox battery fame), Big Kev's, Online Trading Systems (now Transol Corp), Prima Resources, Prima Biomed, and others.

Yeah, but what about Atlas Gold (iron ore), Select Vaccines, Premier Bionics, De Grey Mining, IM Medical and Prana Technology, protested Duckanweave. They're achieving milestones.

I'll take cash flow, you take milestones, John.