Coal’s Resurgence and Challenger Deep (by Chris Berry, MBA)

A NOTE ON THE RESURGENCE OF COAL AND CHALLENGER DEEP’S (CDE: TSX-V) PLAN TO CAPITALIZE ON INDONESIAN COAL

The implications of the damage from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in March to the global nuclear energy industry are becoming clearer. Rightly or wrongly, more newspaper headlines are focusing on other sources of energy. Here is an example of an article from Platts.com:

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]

Golden Predator Drilling Pays Off

Yesterday, Golden Predator CEO Bill Sheriff held a conference call (details on playback can be found here) to discuss the results of the winter drill program at the company’s Brewery Creek project. The project is currently joint-ventured with Alexco Resources. GPD has a 75% earn-in option with Alexco on the property with plans on achieving this milestone later in 2011. The purpose of the call was to discuss the significance of the drill program and set the stage for the company’s plans in the Yukon for the remainder of 2011. The pyramid below shows the priority that the company is placing on each of its several projects this year.

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]

It hasn’t been easy operating a small business for last few years. In particular, companies with less than 100 employees have struggled against a tide of obstacles from tight credit to rising costs -- all in the midst a difficult economic environment.

In the world of finance, small firms have also faced an uphill battle as alternatives to raise equity capital, practically the only avenue for funding tech-driven micros, have narrowed significantly since the technology bubble burst in early 2000.

Still, the barrier to entry for small companies becoming publicly-traded isn't very high, thanks to the broad acceptance of the reverse merger. The big difference during the past decade, however, is that sponsorship from venture capital firms and investment banks nearly vanished at the $200-million market cap threshold and below.

What You Learn on the Elevator

Last week was quite a long but a profitable for me. Monday I presented to the Federal Reserve in Washington D.C. Tuesday I visited Congress for consultations on natural resources, Wednesday I attended the Rare earth seminar at Dahlman Rose in NYC and Thursday through Saturday I presented 6 times in Saskatoon. That’s just a little too busy.

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]