Well, almost a week after springhill brought the deal to our...

Well, almost a week after springhill brought the deal to our attention, NCO have seen fit to release their much more extensive report on the Hambok acquisition.

What can be said about the deal?
1. It’s big.
2. It’s at an advanced stage.
3. There definitely seems to be a mine there.
4. There is plenty of further exploration upside.
5. IMHO, the deal was done at or near the bottom of a cyclical bear market in both stocks and commodities.
6. From the NGEX report, it is apparent the negotiations for this asset have been going on since June 2011, if not earlier.
7. At NCO’s last closing price of 22.5c, the deal is worth approximately AUD20m, with the $7.5m cash component only payable upon production – a very shrewd piece of business for almost USD3.7bn of metal in the ground with plenty of exploration upside.

Where to now for NCO?

Once the stock resumes trade, I expect the stale bulls to get out. I also expect a floor price – what it will be, I have no idea – where there will be large buyers willing to accumulate their stock. Once the overhang is in strong hands, then up, up & away.

There should be a steady information flow from both projects that should see NCO quickly re-rated.

The only other wild card is a placement – how much and to who.

If the stock comes on anywhere near where it went off, I know what I’ll be doing.