I think it will be very interesting to see how this stock responds post the placement as it will start to be in the interest of some of the institutions and Hedgies to see a higher price. See the thing is, Hedge Funds have seen serious diminishing returns in most of their strategies and are now beginning to focus on the few that have worked during the downturn, particularly Managed Futures (which won't bother with a stock like ours). Loads of the funds that were responsible for the majority of shorting are failing... what's to short when stock prices are so low and very few people are buying? You can short but there isn't much in the way of returns is there? The risk is much higher these days as well due to volatile stocks which will often jump. I know for a fact that many hedge funds are avoiding junior minors for this very reason... fear. Think about it... they must produce absolute returns in order to charge their massive fees; can they really risk a 20% increase in price on a stock they need to re-purchase? Hedgies have been going back to their investors to reassure them that they are de-leveraging during such a period of turmoil and changing their tactics to get that absolute return. Current focus is on financial discrepancies between lending rates and exchanges between currencies... oh and a bit of pure metal going long.

So... I can hear the question being asked... if it's not the hedgies... why is the price under such pressure? Simple. Lack of buyers. I know it lack credibility due to the fact that it has no sinister ring to it, but really the mining industry has suffered as folks are flocking into cash (thus the USD rise) and out of anything that smells risky or entrepreneurial... we on this board know that long term this thing is anything but a risk... it's a cash cow. We know it, we'd bank our financial future on it (and in most cases probably have)... this is our support group, our knowledgeable friends who gather to share their perspective and shore up the faith. I read your posts as it gives me faith also that we are really on the right side of this despite the short term down. May of you know a lot more than me about mining, hopefully I can share with a bit of knowledge about the Hedgers.

As I said in my previous post, the future of this stock is very, very bright. The move by management was pure brilliance as it is giving us a solid base and some new investors. Those new investors tempted in by the placement may join us on these boards and give this company the forward thrust it had during it's days on the venture exchange. It won't be immediate, but profits trickling in give faith that the dilution of stock will halt, that the sometimes slow but methodical process of assessing their properties will continue and that the stockholder should be prepared for a 10 bagger at the minimum. None of us should expect miracles in terms of turn around time... we will continue to rely on this board for a while to keep each others chins up... but it will happen. Once we have a turn around and the stock begins it's climb... there is really nothing I can see to stop it... we have a cash inflow, rising metal prices, bruised and battered hedgies avoiding risky shorts and a new generation of investors who will learn from this board. Patience and faith. Faith and patience my friends. In the meantime, we keep each other going and spend a bit more time with our kids... see not so bad :)