now that is what i call a discussion forum!

Ladies and gentlemen - We would appear to have got a proper discussion rolling!

SuperHard - Thanks for the HIG link - it all looks very interesting. I suppose what is even more interesting than anything is that the companies both trade at pretty much the same discount to their fully ramped up annualised EPS as each other - do the maths it is worth the exercise. I suppose that the next question is whether they should be comparible to each other or not. The devil on this one is where they both are on their studies - this is where HIG slip up. A Pre Feas study is substantially different to a feas study having been completed which is substantially different from an extended pre feas study which in turn is not as advanced as a final feas study - which is the point at which Tampakan is now working toward (within 6 months)!!!!!

Would I buy HIG over IRN given how far behind HIG is on it's studies? Yes - but I would want a greater disc to IRN current valuation to reflect how much more work HIG needs to do to get to where IRN is today. If IRN were taken over within 6 months I think that you could guarantee that a good sized portion of the newly released funds would find their way into HIG. Some of mine will on the basis of what I have read to date so thank you for pointing me in this direction. By way of pay back why don't you take a look at SPH - the caveat on this is that I am long the stock but feel that a small ammount of research on your behalf might yield you a few dollars - iron ore play in Mauritania, data room open, huge deposit, deeply discounted to true value, etc, etc, etc!

Robbo