First of all, why is the price I paid for the shares relevant?

Second of all, I advocated the use of options for exposure to Pretium as per my previous posts:

"I'm expecting the bulk sample results will have a big impact on their share price (for better or worse). One risky way to play this is using options."

Options work both ways. Call options provide leverage to the upside and put options provide leverage to the downside. This volatility is actually working out just fine.