NML is due its interrim results now, last year it was the 28th of this month.

They are setting up a new site to explore/research/analyse and all the equipment to do this should be on site now, and drilling should start soon, all this extra news should be covered in the interims.

does anyone have any further positive views on this company ??

As I've mentioned before, brings a new meaning to the expression "carat and stick"

When are we gonna lift off the bottom? Should I buy more at under 5p? I have a few qualms that these gems might just never quite make it to market. How confident are folks out there?

SD

An article in Shares mag today;

'Retail Investors should be careful not to sell holdings of resource stocks purely because of a lack of newsflow. Mining companies usually require at least two years to take a project from starting exploration to production. But the absence of news can lead punters to panic.

Take NML Earlier this month the company hit a 52 week low due to the absence of recent production news. But an update announcing the start of production at its Rio Lapi mine in Angola the following week saw losses wiped out. The shares began advancing again. Institutions, which tend to be kept more fully informed, can mop up shares when the small punter's hopes start to waiver.'

So be warned..Shares recommend hold at the mo and I agree DYOR of course

Dynamite,

Where do Shares recommend a "hold" for NML please?

I have a copy, and cannot find itonly a mention on page 46, which has no recemmendation.

In the Index Andy where they give a orange oval by NML, meaning neither sell nor buy so that must mean hold.

Dynamite,

No that means NUETRAL, ie No opinion either way!

Well Neutral means hold then in my book :-)

Especially as their article says don't be spooked into selling.

Dynamite,

No it means they don't have an opinion either way, not quite the same thing IMO!

At the bottom of the paragraph, they refer in general terms rather than to NML (IMHO) to "institutions can mop up shares when the small puters hopes waver", which, IMO, is not in evidence on NML, where any move up in the SP is followed by selling into strangth by a large holder(s), quite the opposite in fact.

If you read on, the article refers to Alexander Mining, and says "the current price represents a great buying opportunity", and Beowulf Mining (I hold) "the shares have a lot further to go".

Sorry to split hairs, and I'm all for enthusiasm for a share, but Shares IMHO have not recommended a "hold" on NML today.


Ps

Have you seen the RNS?

I would question whether to hold these shares after todays announcement.It needs urgent clarification as it looks like the sellers are the directors.

asmith2,

Yes I agree with you, this does need some urgent clarification.

Guys,

I will put it to you like this... if this is the 'diamond king' of the future and is going to do what it intends and produce cash generative diamonds, then wouldn't you expect the fd to have more than 7k of shares.

This seems more and more like a scam. Things aren't adding up. All of course IMHO but hope i am wrong.

I held these for a short while last year and i got sick of the excuses made.

Good luck all

legend,

Quite frankly, yes I would!

And the CEO.

They have of course awarded themselves options, but that's not the same thing at all, as there is no financial commitment of their own.

The RNS today refers to salaries due to directors being converted into shares - this is a strong statement of belief in the company by those concerned. How can they buy more shares when they are foregoing their salaries? You can't have it both ways.

Also the conversion of loan stock into equity is a supportive action.

Both these actions were clearly set out in Note 6. of the recent interim results.

Whatever today's dip in price is about, don't go chasing hares that won't run (something us dogs know about!).

We have been trading in the 3.75 - 6.25p range for a year now in quite well defined regular cycles. Why today do you not see this as another temporary dip and a buying opportunity as the others before it have proved to be? What is it that has shaken your confidence? If it is the misinterpretation of the RNS today, then I think you misread it and came up with the opposite conclusion from the correct one. If for some other reason, let's hear it.

Since the price was marked down at 2.00pm today, there has only been buying - why don't you also try that to make the most of this opportunity? I am certainly contemplating the idea, but will wait to see if there is any announcement tomorrow which set the price off early today.

Anyone know any of the directors to ask why the 8% drop after lunch?

IMHO DYR

SD

stockdog,

I think they had no option but to convert their saleries, as there wasn't enough money to pay them! That is not the statement of commitment I was looking for.

It was the same for the Badenhosts RNS , where they "showed their belief in the project" by taking shares rather then the cash due.

In reality, what other choice did they have? Pack up their gear, transport it acroos Angola in 20 lorries, paying "local taxes" as they went, ship the lot back to Cape Town, and then transport back to Kimberley? No, they had no choice, yet Ihe RNS puts a different spin on it, IMHO.

What has "shaken my confidence" is that Lim Fung Chee, a director, SEEMS to have 14 million shares LESS than we thought, without an RNS to inform the LSE, as per the AIM regulations.

It Is possible there is an explanation for this, he may have moved them to a trust for example, but he should have informed the market about that too.

It's also possible there may be confusion with their names, as sometimes they use more, or less of their full names.

With regard to today's trades, even if they were all buys, which they weren't, the whole lot was under 19,000 in value.

Some fair comment Andy. I did not know about Lim Fung Chee and his 14m shares. But the way I read the RNS is that only the salary equivalent conversion is being reported here, not the total and maybe they were at fault for not restating the new total for each director.

By the way, they all did have a choice to cut their losses, just as we have a choice to cut ours by selling out at this stage - a painful exit, but nontheless available equally to a creditor or a shareholder.

I still do not think director's shareholding is the issue here, although there may well be something behind today's drop other than cyclical sentiment. I sahlkl be scanning the RNS avidly tomorrow morning.

Dynamite - any views, still hoping for my dsc (diamond studded collar, before you start looking up a new epic!)

SD

SD..I think that this is all another red herring to push prices down before good news comes along. Lim Fung Chee and the other guy with a similar name maybe two separate people. Plus look what I posted today from the shares mag...don't panic the price has dropped before only to go back up.

Nothing is certain from this RNS...everyone is jumping to conclusions. I am just going to sit tight and wait. The diamonds are there and SD may get his diamond collar yet.
Di

Stockdog,

As an example, take a look at the RNS issued 08/03/2004,

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200403081009332435W.html

and compare the total holdings then, and in the RNS issued today, which I have pasted below!

They would appear to be somewhat different IMHO, and I can't find an RNS confirming any director sells, although there may be one, but Moneyam can't seem to find it.

There would appear to be a new director, Michael Yang, where did he come from?

I believe the LSE are checking with NML.

----------------------------------------------------------

Further to the announcement on 30 December 2004, the conversion of amounts owed
Directors into ordinary shares resulted in the following holdings:

Director Holding % of Issued Share Capital

David Johnston 1,333,080 0.81
Lim Fung Chee 500,000 0.3
Azizi Yom Ahmad 3,919,630 2.37
Chong Kiat Lim 2,932,630 1.77
John Cross 169,520 0.1
Shane Healy 169,520 0.1
Michael Yang 2,100,890 1.27

Further to the trading statement of 20 January 2005 the conversion of US$1.25
million loan notes into 16,666,667 ordinary shares at US$0.075 (4p) resulted in
Al-Wakalah Nominees holding 13,333,333 million ordinary shares representing 8.06
per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.

Dynamite,

IN the list pasted above, from the NML RNS issued today, the grand total of shares does not come to 14 million, for everyone!

Andy
I still think the recent RNS may refer only to holdings created purely by conversion of salaries owed, not to the total of these new holdings and the ones referred to in your weblink RNS, although I admit the syntax is pretty basic. So I see no clear conflict.

Be whatever it may, are you holding or selling?

Dynamite - Datuk Fung Chee Lim and Lim Fung Chee are to me the same person. Datuk I take to be a title or form of address and it is usual for Chinese surnames to come first followed by "first names" although this often leads to confusion by typists who do not know this, so either order would mean the same person. Interestingly Azizi Yom Ahmad has the title Dato - is one female and one male, or just differnt? Any sinolinguists among us?

SD

Stockdog,

Yes I see what you mean, and you may well be right.

"resulted in the following holdings" I read as AFTER the coversion, ie including their existing holdings, but what you are saying is that it could simply be the extra shares they were awarded, ie EXCLUDING existing holdings.

But they need to reveal/clarify the CURRENT director holdings in that case, otherwise someone will take a look at the share register for them!

This still looks messy, and I think they need to clarify the current position ASAP.