On 17 April 2019 7,692,308 shares were escrowed as part of the drillers deal (their payment shares kept in escrow so they couldn't flood the market)
Here's the first release announcement on 28 May
https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-release-of-shares-from-voluntary-escrow.4783897/ when the first 972k shares were released.
And subsequent to that shares were released regularly until the last notice on 28 April 2020 when the last 1,274k were released
https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-release-of-shares-from-voluntary-escrow.4783897/I don't know tax rules for escrowed shares but I'd bet they need to be held 12 months after escrow to avoid 50% CGT ... if so the drillers are likely behind the shorting to reduce their tax, by selling short when they need the money and covering when the shares are 12 months beyond release from escrow. They probably have a broker who also fiddles with the sale a little to utilize the TA opportunity as well (covered through the Covid V) ... so there may well be some shorting until April 2021 if this theory is the case, but they're 5 months past 12 months past the start of escrow releases.
Now that all makes more sense!
Yesterday's rise was probably just confidence returning, so now the next issue will be the weak held CR shares at 60c forming a barrier for further progress ... but this will be worked through IMO.
Looks like there are likely to be 42m shares issued at 60c ... or thereabouts so it'll take a while to work through these ... 58.5c probably retested.
