Trading day running commentary, page-1078

Urgh ... a shocker ...

It is clear to me that the company wants to get the pox scoping study into the market before the new drill results.

Whichever way you slice it it's been a rotten five weeks ...

First there was the got up chinese nickel scare started the rot and then the company's caution on the first scoping study grades gave the downrampers and short termers ample excuse to accelerate the sells.

Now I suspect the looming options expiry has others spooked who had banked on a few extra dollars coming in via ordinary sales to convert options bought a lot cheaper (I know that was part of my strategy, although I'm pretty sorted now) ...

Today's capitulation was a surprise, although the nickel price did retreat a bit today. Still, the buyers still seem happy to soak and soak.

So, that's the downside. The upside looks like this.

The POX scoping study may only be a matter of days away and will have even better economics attached and a very big story to tell about selling to environmentally minded battery builders and carmakers direct. Our ore and our product will attract a premium in the markets that matter in the next decade.

The drill results we are waiting on are mostly infill, but do include huge cores through the middle of the Jaguar sweet spots. They may even surprise with extensions that will go a long way to the mid year resource upgrade. I'd expect that once the drill result assays start arriving that they will not stop. We may get them dribbled out over the next three months, providing new impetus for the shareprice every few weeks.

Environmental permits are well advanced and appear on track. We are certainly set to go mining and I expect it will be the POX route.

The long termers keep banging on about the iron ore for a reason. Shovel-ready Jambi could see an off-take deal at any time that could immediately add $30m or so of value to the bottom line ... It's high grade and ready to go if they can find the right partner or buyer. They've been quiet on this while advancing the nickel project, but now the nickel project timelines are slipping the spidey senses tell me they might be otherwise engaged stiching up a grand plan ....

... could it be possible that that grand plan is also M&A action??? With Mr exSprott talking the company up on Twitter a few days ago, one wonders whether we are actually in play as carmakers and big battery renewable types look to secure their long term supply chains. Again, has management been quiet for a bigger reason that 'malingering' ?? (as some lazy brains on the threads continue to argue).

The options holders caught with too many will be done selling soon and I expect management to roll out the barrel throughout May ... Beyond the May 31 deadline the end result will be a further $5million to the company coffers. More drilling, more land security.

I've been as battered around as the next man watching profits slip, but if you lift your eyes to the new horizon there's a lot to like about the next 12 months.