Hi all,

I spent the day away from the computer and was only able to see the price on open and then looked at the closing price a just a few hours ago.

10% down.  Seems like a lot more when I look at the portfolio value but I always bring myself back to my trading strategy - "trade with percentages in mind"

It is funny - it is easier to take a 10% loss when the stock is trading at .20 cents and it drops to .18, than when it is $4.00 and closes at $3.60.  In reality, it is the same percentage.  The same $$$ decrease.

The same is true for increases.  When we went from $4.00 to $4.99 (almost a 25% increase), it was tons more exciting than when a .16 cents stock goes to .20.  If in the case of Noront many times this year, it went from .60 to .75.  Not that earth shattering.  But it was the same percentage.

When I look back since last November, I can honestly say I have seen it all in terms of how this stock trades.  The return to normal (relatively speaking) volume today was a nice sign.  After Noront traded its entire float (55 million shares) last December in under a week, I remember thinking that a whirlwind had swept in and then out just as fast.  Hingsight shows the volume was the manipulators attempt to get the share price down as they knew Noront was going to offer a PP and they wanted the price as low as possible.

I also remember thinking back then that a company that finds 52.3 oz/t gold over 4.8 metres is worth staying long in.  And long many of us stayed.

One thing that has concerned me over the past week is the price manipulation.  Not from a judgemental perspective, as that has been covered by many posters today, but its impact on investors psyche.

They are making investors think twice about buying.  The thinking of a typical investor right now is this:

"Why should I buy today when the price might drop another 10% tomorrow."

"Or, if the price did not rocket after the hole 5 results were out, maybe I should wait until more information is gathered as the price seems too unstable at the moment".

"What if I was to sell my shares today and buy back in a week.  Maybe I could buy back cheaper".

Not only does the share price manipulator try to shake out shares buy creating fear in the hearts of the shareholders through bashing, false rumours, and adding large swings to the mix by cross selling, phantom bids and asks, ... BUT, they are also successful in causing those on the sidelines or those who are considering averaging down to pause.  To wait for a better moment.

I remember when the stock was trading at .36 cents and you could get shares at .38.  You could probably have also bought all you wanted to .40 cents.  Why?  The longs were out of money to buy more.  We were maxed out.  And everybody else was on the sideline.  I remember posting that those who wait on the sidelines might never get in again for under .75 cents.  I was right.

So many will sit back and observe.  Too gun shy because of the recent volatility to make an investment now.  I can understand the emotions behind this.  But at some point everyone must jump in if they want to play.  I do not need to buy shares today as I have all I can afford.  But if I was to buy today between $3.60 and $4.00, I would have the same apprehension that I did when the price was .20, .78, .96, .58, and .39 (all of the prices I bought at in the last year).

We are not placing bets in a casino here.  We are investing in a company where people work hard all day to try to bring value out of the ground.  In doing so, if they are successful, they get rich, we get rich, a major has a new property to mine, and the Chinese get more nickel and copper to build those hybrid cars that they want.  And don't forget the platinum.  I got married earlier this year and can tell you what a platinum settling is worth.  There are no deals when it comes to platinum.

Back to my concerns with the current investor psyche, 

It is like being at an auction where a priceless piece of art of being auctioned off.  The art dealer wants to by it as cheap as possible so he will say to a passerby "I can't believe that somebody would auction off such a terrible painting".  "Look at these colors, it is obviously fake".  And most people would believe the "expert" with an opinion and stand back and be thankful they did not buy it.  The art dealers worst fear at the auction is having somebody else at the auction who knows the value of the item.  Whether another dealer or a regular collector appears, they know they have competition and are going to have to pay close to market price".

The same can also be said in reverse.  An art dealer in collusion with an auctioneer could hype a fake painting and bid up an inexperienced buyer with no knowledge of value who gets caught up in the excitement of the auction.  "If that "Dealer" is bidding that much, it must be valuable" they think.  If the dealer bids too high, they have an agreement with the auctioneer to forget the transaction.  Sounds illegal.  It is.  Kinds of like naked shorting whereby one broker calls the other's short sale a "failed to execute".

When I go into an auction, I go with three things:  1) Research done beforehand on whether an item is legitimate and what it is worth.  2) A set price that I will not go above to pay for the item. and 3) I leave my emotions at the door.

If I end up buying the item for 20% of my set price, then I have really scored.  If I pay up to my high price, then I own something at the price I consider its being a good price.  If the price is manipulated higher, then I walk away, awaiting another day.

I believe my experiences at auctions is what has helped me most with stock investing.  Many of the same disciplines are needed.

Controlling emotions, patience (try waiting for 100 items to be auctioned off before the one you want to bid on appears), and research.

I rarely get taken at an auction.  And like many who did not know what NOT was worth when it was trading at .39 cents in August, I have though missed out at times.  I remember an estate auction where attendance was low due to a storm.  This is similar to low bids for a stock between NRs.  One item that caught my eye was a full length grand piano.  Not being a piano player, I did not know its value.  I could have guessed, but it went against my principles - "do research".  As I did not preview the auction the night before, I did not have a chance to do my DD on this item.

The auctioner starting the bidding at $25K and dropped all the way down to an open of $1K.  One couple made a bid.  Nobody else bid.  The auctioner stopped the auction and pulled the item, saying that it was from the estate of a close friend of his family and would be heartbroken to see it go for that price.  A minimum of $2K was required.  The couple did not take him up on the offer.  I did not either as I had no idea what these pianos were worth.

The next day I called a friend who worked at a piano store and mentioned this to him.  I described the piano and the brand, and he said I was looking at about $35K - $50K new, and depending on condition, $20 - 25K used.  A 20 bagger lost because of a lack of knowledge!!  The item was never offered again when I called back the next day.

I tell this story as I believe that the control of emotions, expecially when it comes to money, it the key to successful investing.  Like Bravekind, I have found that it is very hard to make money as a swing trader.  Like he said, better to find a good company and stick with it.

Noront is that company.

The prices we are seeing today are a result of knowledge taking the place of speculation.  At .$40 we had a very good hole at Windfall and lots of potential.  At $3.60 we have a permit and enough money to start building roads, a 50 crew mining camp, and a 1000 ft hole into the earth to bulk sample around the bonanza grade hole.

We also have the knowledge of one of the best nickel and platinum finds in Canada in a long time.  Though it is not currently reflected in the share price IMO, it is the lengths of the cores, and not only the grades that are making this one of the most exciting plays in Canada.  When you drill a 143 m hole and have visible mineralization for 117 m that starts just after 7 metres into the ground (about 25 feet), and at amazing grades, you know you are onto a great thing.

When you see significant lengths in two other holes when only five have been drilled, the dots start to connect that this could be a big thing.

Those who know mining know it, Noront management knows it, and those who know what a grand piano is worth know it.

It is up to every decent investor on this board to manage their own investment accounts based on their needs.  Just don't drop out of the bidding because the dealer is sitting across the room.  The picasso you are bidding on is real and it is rare. 

5.9% nickel, 3.1% copper, 2.87 g/t platinum, 9.78 g/t palladium, 0.61 g/t gold and 8.5 g/t silver is about as likely a find as a picasso at a local school art auction.  But it does happen, and we read the stories in the paper from time to time.

This time we are holding the picasso in our portfoilios.  Do not let a dealer manipulate you into selling until you are sure what it's true value is.  They are desperate for it and will do anything, say anything, and at some point offer anything they can to have it as they know its value.

Excellent posts today everyone.  Here's to riding out this storm and riding higher on a new SP wave as more is revealved in the upcoming weeks.

M1.