ATN - Ashburton Minerals

[mr. jeff]

i think its probably going to be quicker to put the drill intercepts through the artisanal miners processes to pour the gold than get it to a lab!

Well lets all hope that they don't have to get another drill to replace the one they have in there now for any reason. Perhaps it is worth getting another one in there to drill anyway, the ground is proven to be prospective, they are talking about a long strike so might as well get serious about it and chase the length of it since ATN has the EL.

Re the cores, lets hope they have a plan for getting them to the testers without using mules or ducks etc. - would hate to see an overburdened mule in the next report, with that high tech processing plant already sapping enough man power.
Still, a lot of those artisanal miners would be keen to get a good paying gig on a loader, drill or crusher, so there goes part of the development problem once ATN has confirmed the extents and grades.

Very excited about this drilling, it is not long before we will hear, and as there are historic grades already in ATN's hands, there is much less downside here than there would be in a "new" geological model. Look forward to hearing more from ATN as the info comes to hand.

 

[mr. jeff]

Beatle I'm starting to think that you were selling me your ATN shares! Now I'm the updater on the thread.

Well nevertheless, good news - drilling has commenced at Obi:

"3 June 2011
Company Announcements Office
Australian Securities Exchange Limited
20 Bridge Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
by electronic lodgement
Ashburton Minerals Ltd
(“Ashburton” or “the Company”)
Dear Sir/Madam
OBI UPDATE – DRILLING COMMENCES
Ashburton is pleased to announce that as of this morning diamond drilling has commenced at the Obi Gold Project in Indonesia.
The Company is intending to initially drill 12 – 14 drill holes, comprising between 3,000 m and 4,000 m of diamond core drilling, dominantly NQ size, into the Ambon artisanal gold workings located in the northern part of the project area. This initial programme will test a 200 m wide zone along approximately 700 m of strike of the most intensely worked area..."

FINALLY! good luck holders.

 

[beatle]

Beatle I'm starting to think that you were selling me your ATN shares! Now I'm the updater on the thread.

Well nevertheless, good news - drilling has commenced at Obi:

.

Haha Mr Jeff, believe me I'm so glad to have you be the chief poster on ATN, but I do confirm that I continue to hold ATN (my last purchase was at 5.3 cents, ughhh), so I haven't given you any of mine.
ATN is one of just two gold stocks I'm holding at present as I have been freeing up my cash in readiness to buy more of my most favoured stock (no guessing what that is, lol!).
I believe that ATN is one of the most exciting gold specs currently but its hard to post on something that has limited information available beyond my earlier posts, and I must admit the delay of the rig getting going peed me off, although its now up and running.

 

[mr. jeff]

Great to hear!
Easy to feel put-off in these markets, but I like gold and ATN is going to have a very exciting month of drilling. I have increased holdings and am also behind (about -15%) but I am not concerned as this stock is reasonably well known and the drilling has begun. When you read the presentation the prospectivity is quite clear, so I do anticipate a run up for this month assuming no major US / Europe issues, even in the face of a choppy market.

Actually I would add that the price action for Thurs and Friday was favourable, a positive sign so far (albeit on skinny volume).

Not much more to say but good luck.

 

[beatle]

The price of ATN is looking very sick, although its obviously not the only one being affected by end of the financial year blues plus general negativity in the market. And yet ATN is currently drilling on a boomer of a project, with the likelihood of significant gold intersections being announced in due course being quite high! If you are wanting exposure to a gold speccy I believe this would have to be the perfect candidate and the timing now is absolutely right on. Its speculative, but the probability of successful gold intersections is very high, and the rewards could be enormous.

 

[Halifax]

Sorry beatle, that's my fault.

I bought in early may, and whatever I have bought over the last 2-3 months seems to turn to ash

So maybe if I sell out, you guys can have a nice rally. On a positive note, this year has taught me an awful lot about the importance of timing the market, not just picking the right stock

 

[beatle]

I know the feeling Halifax, in fact we have something in common, lol.

But can I suggest you look at another way before you decide to get out on ATN (this rationale keeps me sane from time to time, but its not 100% guaranteed of course!). When I buy a stock at the wrong time (ie just as its ready to go down), I ask myself what would I do IF I weren't in the stock would I want to buy at this lower level - my usual answer is that I would want to buy at this lower level! So therefore I just sit there and wait for the market to realise how smart I am, lol! (As I say, it doesn't always work and sometimes I am holding a stock for a long time too). BUT in the case of my 2 remaining gold stocks, ATN and RED I will hold until the results are out - I'm confident that ATN, even though its a spec, will be far higher once the drilling results come out and we have confirmation of significant mineralisation!

 

[Halifax]

Not likely that I'll exit at my current loss

I would have exited (and bought in lower) if I had more money in, but I only put 1.5k in because I lost a lot of confidence in speccies this year, so any loss on ATN isn't really going to break the bank, and commission would eat me alive.

And right you are, I think if I wasn't already in I'd see it as a nice discount at $0.043. Alas, I'm staying mostly cash until the market begins to recover a little.

 

[Halifax]

Also, forgot to add, ATN has seemed to lag a day or two behind the market since I've been in, so if that pattern holds, there should be some relief tomorrow... I think. Either that, or I will reveal my lack of predictive powers.

 

[beatle]

I was close to buying more when it looked like ATN was going to hit 4.2 cents, but someone put a bid in at 4.3 cents and that was the end of the drop!

I don't think its a bad idea to have cash Halifax, especially at times when the market is very negative. Its interesting that the negativity has coincided with the end of the financial year, when there is a lot of dumping of shares by certain investors who want to clear out financial positions from a tax point of view. I do understand that strategy, I have made similar decisions in past years, and it also provides an opportunity for those seeking to bottom fish for bargains. In this case there is no certainty that the drilling will come up trumps, but i remain very confident of it working out for ATN and us patient shareholders.

 

[beatle]

As with most goldies at the moment ATN seems to have suffered immensely in the past month or so. Now that it has commenced drilling on Obi Island I still believe it to be the best spec explorer around at the moment, with the likelihood of some big numbers coming out of the drilling results. I just find it hard to fathom how people just dump stocks indiscriminantly like this, hopefully us holders will reap the rewards in due course!

Mind you, an update from the company wouldn't go astray - (is that a subtle enough HINT?)

 

[mr. jeff]

As with most goldies at the moment ATN seems to have suffered immensely in the past month or so. Now that it has commenced drilling on Obi Island I still believe it to be the best spec explorer around at the moment, with the likelihood of some big numbers coming out of the drilling results. I just find it hard to fathom how people just dump stocks indiscriminantly like this, hopefully us holders will reap the rewards in due course!

Mind you, an update from the company wouldn't go astray - (is that a subtle enough HINT?)

Yeah I have been thinking about stepping aside and copping a loss on this one. I really dislike any company that does not provide information although I can understand that they are probably so busy they don't have chance, but with no information to guide decisions, you tend to have to draw your own conclusions, and usually when there is a drilling program underway with no announcements or updates it means they are not getting any decent results.
Although in this drilling operation I would be very surprised if that is the case what with the history of the ground there....
perhaps a drill problem, maybe weather, maybe difficult terrain. Maybe some more information would help!
Hold steady and watch the intersections come to you.

 

[mr. jeff]

great news in the past 2 announcements with clear indication that drilling is going ahead. One hole completed and on to the second. No problems and looking good for results as they come to hand.

"Samples from regional exploration and the diamond drilling will be dispatched on a batch basis by airfreight to Perth for analysis through ALS Laboratories. Initial results are not expected for at least 6 weeks." may be why SP being hammered at the moment, with all the short term hopefuls stepping aside. Also an indication that they may source a second rig and step up the drilling.

It seems ATN heard some calls for information and heeded it! Thank you to management. Awaiting drill results as they come to hand.

Good luck to holders. And good luck to the people on the ground.

 

[Logique]

Been hurting on this one, but decided to hang in, not that I'm making a recommendation either way for other holders, it gets down to individual risk tolerance.

With a bounce in the US market last week, all boats lifted on the tide. ATN, along with everything else was technically oversold, but significantly has risen above it's daily 200 EMA, and the best offer as I type this morning is at .045, so for now it feels a bit better being an Ashburton Minerals holder. We need a confirmed break of the downtrend before getting too confident.

 

[Logique]

Thought I'd check it by candlestick theory. Some hope that it's put in a short term base at around 3.5c. We have seen some solidity. The recent run in the gold price, breaking through $1600/oz, has helped, but realistically we need drilling announcements.

 

[mr. jeff]

Waiting for drilling announcements with ATN and thought I'd remind any holders that we only have 1 - 2 weeks until some results.

FINALLY!!

Was looking at the market depth and although Etrade Pro is giving no market data AT ALL, I see that there is a very skinny seller who has lots of about $200 each placed, so anyone feeling the pressure, just be aware of that.

Good luck holders, exciting times.

 

[mr. jeff]

After a worrying announcement a week or so ago regarding results delayed,
ATN in a trading halt pending release of drilling results.
They have also announced that their second rig has arrived on site, I will take this as a sign that the drilling is worthwhile enough to justify this cost.

Lets see what the news brings...

 

[mgm1a]

late ann. folks - DOWNGRADED -disappointment, should have topped up on RED, so much for di-worse-ification.