I hate to say it, as I know many bought in at those levels, but the stock was riding a wave of hype and excitement as it climbed up through $4.00 and to near $5.00. We weren't really sure how much nickel we had, but we were excited... and the price of nickel was trading at an insane price. If the price had held for a year or so at $20+, we would've been making profits even at 300-400 t/d. I've seen the same happen with many other mining juniors... there is almost always an excitement-induced spike before production starts. The second-best time to buy (the best is at the start) is when production is ramping up and the share price settles back down and waits (right now).

If we knew nickel would stay at $12+, I am sure LBE's share price would be trading much higher, more in the $1.50-$2.00 range. But there is a lot of uncertainty in the markets right now and our stock, like other juniors, is taking it exceptionally hard on the chin. If nickel prices should drop below $10/lb, we may not be able to make much profit from our operations, maybe just enough to cover the cost of developing the mine to acquire it. This fear is certainly weighing itself disproportionally upon our share price.

It will likely be close to a year before we reach our production targets and I doubt our share price will climb much beyond $1.20-$1.50 until we're at that point. Once we're ramped up to full production, all eyes will be on nickel prices and how we are progressing with Hart to determine what our share price will be in 2009. If Hart looks like it might not kick in before Redstone and McWatters wind down production, our share price will suffer. Likewise, if nickel prices drop down below $12 and edge toward, or south of, $10 per pound, our share price will suffer as well. On the flip side, if our other properties look promising during early drilling, it'll help share price.

If we can get Hart online by 2010 and nickel prices stay at $13+, we should enjoy a fairly strong share price in the latter part of 2009, in the $2-$3 range. But to return to the lofty $4+ days, a lot of things still need to happen.

We're situated in a great area with a lot of potential; we have a mill which is a huge plus. But these things always take time. So we sit and wait for 6-12 months.