To be blunt, I am not surprised that the majority of NML holders are ignoring the ramifications of the latest RNS. But it also appears to have instilled a universal short-term memory loss in some of them as well.
It is quite obvious now, that the moment the share price shot up, someone swamped it with number of significant sells and overestimated the demand and caused the price to steeply fall. This completely vindicates my stated analysis that the share price would fall on any price spike.
What concerns me though is that the vast majority of shareholders that were clamouring for the good news (to prove me wrong), have now been told they are going to have to wait a good while longer before they have anything.
Doesn't it strike you as strange, that the company never published the data on the pitting and sampling in January and February, then a day after they said they would announce the production figures and forecasts, they then fail to deliver this data too.
Could it be that the pitting and sampling revealed such poor resource values, that the company was too embarassed to publish the data for fear of the company collapsing?
Could it also be that even though they have excavated approximately 180,000 cubic metres of material (which is the Garimpo, not the kimberlite as some have suggested, because it would take 5 months to move that much material), they have still not extracted enough diamonds from the Garimpo to justify the expenditure on the project?
Could it be that they have announced the switch to kimberlite exploration because their nearest neighbour HAS been exploring the C9 kimberlites? Because the news from Angola, is that Alrosa have been (which shows that Wendy obviously was not aware of this when she contradicted me).
Could it be that NML have sent the teams out to look for another alluvial area to exploit, because they've so far found very little in the Garimpo? It seems completely daft to be off looking at other alluvial areas and 'moth-balling' the 'proven' resource, when the project forecasts suggested there was at least 14 months worth of extraction of diamonds in the area?
Did the Garimperos mine the lot of them between 1997 and 2004?! If they did, who can blame them?
Seriously, the company has suddenly up-sticks and changed its focus of operations. Whilst I can understand that they may feel that if they don't, another company will get the license. They did say that a Major was interested in a JV, but then in order for them to be able to make the deal, NML is going to have to expend serious money to do the drilling IMO.
And where does that money come from? More placees? More shares to be dumped into the market at a premium to spoil any price rise?
Considering the share price reaction on Friday, I doubt any placee would agree to purchase at 4p. Indeed I have serious doubts about them buying at 3p either. They would want some form of protection to prevent them becoming victims of the 'Mystery' seller(s) like the rest of you. If that's the case, then the issue price could be below 3p and the quantity a significant percentage of the current issue.
Hudson raised 1.7 million dollars to do the drilling in Greenland. Considering the number of targets for NML, they'd probably have to raise million or more for their drilling programme. Given the time constraints, the fact that Alrosa probably have the data and the money to fully explore and exploit the kimberlites, NML would need to do it right away. In my opinion, the present shareholders could be looking at a dilution of 30% in the near future.
The only thing that could prevent this, would be for the company to announce good news from their alluvial operation. But they didn't. The 'Mystery' seller(s) remains and they will keep dumping (as evidenced on Friday) on any opportunity. Indeed, you can see why now. If the company had to dilute, then better for the 'Mystery' seller(s) to sell at 3p now, rather than 2p in the future. They'd be holding the shares for a considerable time awaiting the news of the JV agreement. Even then, the moment the news arrives, in all liklihood, the rest of the 'trapped' shareholders will sell to get out and swamp the price rise again - just like Friday.
The company diverting the resources,, the DMS pans, the trommel etc. is so that they can process the samples as soon as practical. They need data immediately. But in diverting these resources, it appears that they are jeopardising the cashflow. With no revenue, you know who is going to be asked to provide the working capital?
The big question right now is how big a dilution is coming and how soon? But the more pertinent question is:
Why are the shareholders ignoring the fact that they have not received the data that they were told the company would provide?
Everyone was pretty bullish about the company proving me wrong and talking about the large diamonds they would soon be seeing. But the company has proven the shareholders wrong, by denying them anything to justify their arguments.
It's pretty obvious that another of the companies promises has now been broken. The one about them being cashflow positive in year ending June 2005. I would say that IMO they are going to be very heavily cashflow negative from operational revenue in 2005. They might show the funds raised from the shareholders, but this is not profit from operations, merely that they've squeezed the juice from the shareholders again.
So instead of being embarassed by this lack of data, the shareholders have selective short-term memory loss and are concentrating on the potential from the kimberlites. Someone described this move by the company as BOLD, to switch from a proven resource, to a completely unknown and money-eating exploration project. I don't call this bold, I call it FOOLISH IN THE EXTREME.
According to the Company, they have a proven resource that can generate the revenue (or do they?). Yet they are prepared to stop operations (Just like Namco did!) to go chasing rainbows - all because a major is interested in a JV over the kimberlites. If the company is so certain of the revenue from the C9 alluvials, then why are they not pushing ahead at full speed to generate the profits and using these to pay someone else to do the drilling and analysis?
According to the data that Wendy produced, the company should be able to generate up to million per month BEFORE the split. The kimberlites are supposedly going to benefit all the partners in the operation. So it is in the interests of Mombo and Endiama that they forego their share of the profits to hype up the exploration.
Then there's the fact that in theory NML should be operating the mine at the projected 10,000 carat per month speed by now. If that is the case, then they have the revenue, to justify approaching a bank to cover any shortfall on the operation. But instead, the company have chosen to curtail all production (temporarily) to devote all their attention to the kimberlites. Is this not a waste of the companies resources? Shouldn't they be focusing on retrieving the diamonds in the Garimpo as they said they would?
They said that there were diamonds there, but so far they've failed to deliver any data, apart from Dr Smith's report, to show that there are diamonds and that they have extracted enough.
What's the matter with all of you? Why aren't you jumping up and down in disgust at the fact that the company has let you down again? All you are doing is proving that you ignore the facts, even when the company fails to deliver them as they said they would. The Three Blind Mice are alive and well and all NML shareholders.

The NML Shareholders