These short positions are so small that they are utterly inisignificant. The largest short position (Jan 15th) of 378,400, was recorded 5 days after the first bad drill results hit the newswires. Bad results combined with unrealistic expectations built into the shareprice was the perfect recipe for shorting, yet few attempted it.
Contrary to popular opinion, these short numbers do not show attacks on the shareprice. They show a company that very few people dare to short.
The latest short position of St. Elias's could be covered for less than 22 thousand dollars. By comparison, Yamana Gold has a short position of 17 million shares. At today's closing price, people have bet 278 million dollars against Yamana. With a short position of 32 million shares, 357 million dollars is currenlty bet against RIM. Bombardier has a short position of 79 million shares. 420 million dollars is bet against Cameco.