I don't post much anymore, usually happy to read, but the current euphoria in the Pilbara over gold nuggets has brought me out of my shell, with a few thoughts.....
Here are a few things you may have missed about the 'Nuggets in the Pilbara' story:
1. Canadian gold explorer Novo Resources (TSX-V: NVO) tried this 'Witwatersrand' model play on at Nullagine in 2014 without much success, so it's not the first time they've played this game:
http://www.321gold.com/editorials/moriarty/moriarty111014.html
2. Novo has been exploring a very small area, 400 x 200 m, which from the satellite imagery appears to be a 'river terrace' next to an ephemeral river system - so basically river sediments or gravels. If this is such a big target (tens of km long, why explore such a small area....sorry, tiny area!)
3. The photos that Novo has published appear to show what geologists call an 'unconformity' between the underlying rock as the nugget bearing horizon (just my opinion) and may point to the target area being a 'scour' (shallow depression in the riverbed that may fill with heavy sediment eg. gold nuggets and cobble-sized rocks, and look very like a conglomerate once cemented).
4. Novo has postulated that this is a 'Witwatersrand' look alike, which is the largest gold system in the world in South Africa and has produced over 1 billion ounces of gold. However Purdy's appears to lacks a few key characteristics, like the fact that the 'Wits' is full of uranium!!! Something Novo and other Pilbara players have politely ignored and do not discuss.
5. Hedley Widdup, of Lion Selection, recently said that to justify Novo's C$2.3 billion market cap it would need to find 23 million ounces of gold!!! Wow... good luck with that.
6. Novo recently completed 12 diamond drill holes across the Purdy's Conglomerate but no results or photos! Strange? Considering all the photos, video, etc we have seen from Purdy's if they had any nuggets, you'd think they'd be showing the world?? No? Instead, they're apparently going to large diameter drilling, because of the nugget effect at the prospect - incidentally the same excuse used in 2014 when the story fell apart at Nullagine.
7. Well, we all know the rest of the story....millions are being raised by 'ambulance chasing' junior explorers, many of whom are known for funding their director's lifestyles, with no thought as to their actual chance of success, if any, or any regard to their shareholder's funds.
8. As a by line, you may have noticed that Artemis (ASX:ARV) are taking a lot more interest in their Carlow Castle Cobalt-Copper Find, which may indicate that they're getting ready to do the 'smoke and mirrors act', but in the interim, they're backing it to the hilt!
But, to be fair, let's not get too critical, the nuggets they've been finding at Purdy's (an area known for decades by prospectors for nuggets) are great and worth a lot of money, so I'm sure the gold there is genuine and there's quite a few dollars worth, so great work. It's the 'Wits model' being touted and extent that I'm questioning? There's plenty of gold around the Pilbara, it's not uncommon to find nuggets in many areas, usually associated with epithermal quartz reefs, so while this find is exceptional, other smaller 'finds' should not be treated as such.
In closing, Aussie investors need to understand that under JORC and ASX listing rules you simply couldn't get away with some of the shenanigans that Novo has been carrying on with, but plenty of ASX companies have used them as a springboard.
Personally, I think the whole 'Pilbara Gold/Nuggets' play is drawing to a close and if Novo's drilling doesn't come up, the game may be up very soon. Question is, will it go out with a bang or a whimper?
For the sake of investors, I hope I'm wrong, but only time will tell?! Good luck to all.
