Do You Have Rare Earth In Your Holdings?

It’s time for the Cambridge House Conference in Toronto
this coming weekend hosted by Joe Martin, the perfect host
and as usual, there is a long list of exhibitors and speakers.

We don’t mean to be blunt or nasty, but some of those long
list of speakers have been suggesting over the last many
months that the market was going to crash and to stay out
of it and had you listened to them, you might not have
made any of the money in the bounce back in the markets
of late. But then a more polite person would have said
those two or three people should be listened to just to hear
the other view.

We suggest you listen to some of the people that have
made you a lot of money in the last while, had you been a
subscriber or a listener to some of their views. Those peo-
ple have names like Jim Letourneau of the Big Picture
Speculator; John Kaiser of the Bottom Fishing Report and
one of the few people that know what the heck rare earths
are about; David and Eric Coffin of the Hard Rock Analyst
who have come up with some big winners and are admit-
tedly bullish on the gold market, but whose East Asia Miner-
als is now a five and six-bagger.

Our checklist for companies you have to visit include:
⇒ Avalon Rare Metals: One of the big rare earth stories and
one of the big success stories over the last while and
the question to be asked at the booth is; “just how big
their resource might be and how long one thinks the
rare earth phenomena can extend?”

⇒ East Asia Minerals: Has been one of the huge success
stories over the last while and one has to ask, “how
come the Coffin’s like it so much?” Just what kind of
resource estimate is it that they are talking about as
potential in Sumatra.

⇒ Hathor Exploration: This is one of the exploration plays
those in the mining sector all talk about, but it’s also in
a sector—uranium—that has been in the tank over the
last several months. When things change as I think
they will, one wants to be asking these guys in the
booth, how big they think their resource is and how big
a program they plan for this winter which will be impor-
tant. If Tony Nunziata is manning the booth, just whis-
per in his ear, “how big do you think it is Tony?”

⇒ Riverstone Resources: Is one you would have to call a
“cheapie with a chance” and after delay after delay
after delay, they are finally starting drilling in the next
few weeks on their project in Karma that the Coffin’s
have hopes to see rather significant success.
Rodinia Minerals: I’m quite sure the average person
doesn’t know much about lithium, so if Don Mosher
is in the booth, ask this ex-hockey player “what the
heck lithium is all about and what is the big differ-
ence between brine and all those hard rock sources
of lithium?” This should be one of your “must-see”
booths.

⇒ San Gold Corp: This is one of the success stories
over the last while as gold has recovered nicely and
their project in Manitoba, many think is an extension
of the huge gold discoveries of Red Lake. The
question to ask someone in the booth is “Just how
big the resource is at this time?”

⇒ Ucore Uranium: Soon to be called Rare Earth One
might have Jim McKenzie in the booth or someone
close to him and the question of course to ask them
is an important one…“Just how big do they think
their rare earth resource is at this time and just how
does the USGS come up with those numbers given
the little drilling to date?” Having said that, if the
rare earth mania continues, they are one of only a
handful of obvious plays.
As far as asking some of the speakers some ques-
tions of those that have been winners over the last while
go to:

⇒ Jim Letourneau: Letourneau has had some huge
winners of late, one of the first to mention rare
earths and winners like Medicago Inc. (MDG) and a
long list of others. The story of the day as far as we
are concerned is Wavefront Technology (WEE) who
just may have an advancement in oil and gas recov-
ery that could revolutionize the oil and gas busi-
ness. The question is obvious…“Just how big
could this be and what possibly could go wrong?”
Jim Letourneau’s two favorite picks other than
Wavefront are Energold Drilling (EGD) as gold and
mineral explorers ramp up around the world, and
Matamec Explorations (MAT). You might ask Jim
about Matamec, a cheapie in the rare earth sector.

⇒ John Kaiser: Is one of the very few people out there
who understands rare earth and has been talking
about it for a long time. Just how serious John are
you about the mania you suggest over the next six
months and what is it that could keep things going
and what are your favorites? The other question...just
how high a target does he have for Brett Resources
(BBR)...

Really? Today on BNN, Kaiser moves Pere-
grine dramatically!

Gold, Diamonds And More Gold

No Energy Here...

At the open: No energy here


Thursday, September 24, 2009


North American stock market indexes rose slightly at the start of trading on Thursday, driven by a better-than-expected report on U.S. jobless claims that suggest the labour market there is stabilizing.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39 points or 0.4 per cent, to 9788. The broader S[amp]amp;P 500 rose 3 points or 0.3 per cent.

Financials moved higher, with JPMorgan Chase [amp]amp; Co. up 1.1 per cent and Bank of America Corp. up 0.7 per cent. As well, Microsoft Corp. rose 1 per cent after it said that it was not interested in acquiring video game maker Electronic Arts Inc.

Meanwhile, Chevron Corp. fell 0.5 per cent and Intel Corp. fell 0.6 per cent.

In Canada, the S[amp]amp;P/TSX composite index rose 5 points, to 11,522.

Financials were generally higher, with Royal Bank of Canada up 0.7 per cent and Sun Life Financial Inc. up 0.4 per cent. As well, Barrick Gold Corp. rose 2.3 per cent after the price of gold moved higher.

However, energy stocks were a drag on the index, after the price of crude oil fell below $68 (U.S.) a barrel, continuing a selloff that began on Wednesday after a report showed rising U.S. inventories. Suncor Energy Inc. fell 1.4 per cent and Talisman Energy Inc. fell 2 per cent.[amp]nbsp;


© Copyright The Globe and Mail

HudBay stock soars on copper, gold find

New discovery at Lalor site

Last Updated: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 | 12:17 PM ET CBC

HudBay Minerals Inc. has found evidence of a major new copper and gold deposit at its Lalor site in Manitoba, the mining firm said Tuesday.

Three-month stock chart for HudBay Minerals Inc. (CBC)

Beneath a previously announced zinc find near HudBay's Snow Lake concentrator in the Flin Flon Greenstone belt, initial tests found 13.35 grams per tonne of gold and 5.3 per cent copper.

"The copper and gold intersection ... is among the best I have seen in nearly 40 years in the mining business," HudBay president Peter R. Jones said in a statement.

Investors reacted with glee to the news, as HudBay shares were up more than 16 per cent to nearly $11 at midday on Tuesday.

Lalor is the focus of the company's stated aim of reaching three million contained ounces of gold.

The company also plans to release an update on zinc reserves at the Lalor site by October, it said Tuesday.

PDP and CLL Running Today On Insider Buys

CLL PUMP AND DUMP BY

Anonymous and Friends

No Material Change But I Caught The Wave and Cashed Out Of PDP and CLL

They Dumped Large Today after buying at .88 cents

Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (PDP - TSX) announced today that it will be presenting at the Raymond James "Investing in Colombia" Oil & Gas Conference in Toronto, Ontario on Monday, September 21, 2009. Gary Wine, President and Chief Operating Officer will be presenting at approximately 3:00 PM EDT.

To access the webcast of the presentation please go to the link provided below.

http://www.wsw.com/webcast/rj48/pdp.to/

The slide presentation for this event is being posted on Petrolifera's website at www.petrolifera.ca. Click on the Investor Information link and go to Presentations. A link to the webcast will also be posted on the website and will be available at the time of the presentations.

Petrolifera Petroleum Limited is a Calgary-based crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company engaged in exploration and productions activities in Argentina, Colombia and Peru. Its common shares and warrants are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols PDP and PDP.WT, respectively.

SOURCE: Petrolifera Petroleum Limited

Petrolifera Petroleum Limited, R. A. Gusella, Executive Chairman, (403) 538-6201; Or Gary D. Wine, President and Chief Operating Officer, (403) 539-8450; Or Kristen J. Bibby, Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer, (403) 539-8450; Fax: (403) 538-6225, inquiries@petrolifera.ca, www.petrolifera.ca

D. Pescod AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN KAISER EDITOR, BOTTOM FISHING REPORT

AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN KAISER EDITOR, BOTTOM FISHING REPORT

(As of September 13, 2009)

We are with John Kaiser of the Bottom Fishing Report and

John is always looking for cheap stocks that are dear to

many out there, but John’s had an amazing role in the last

few years because he was one of the first to recognize the

potential for rare earths which he feels is going to become

a mania.

First we need some comments from John on what

he sees for the world economies and particularly commod-

ity stocks because he is essentially a follower of resource

David Pescod: So John, how do you see the economies of

the world and the principal metals?

John Kaiser: The economic boom we had after the dot

com bust was driven largely by a boom in credit made pos-

sible through mortgage securitization which fueled a real

estate price boom that reinforced the lending process. The

rising equity in people’s homes became the means for fuel-

ing a consumption binge which also enabled China to build

up enormous production capacity and to export deflation

through very, very cheap goods.

Ultimately, this spun out

of control and we had the financial crash of 2008 where this

party is over. So we now have the biggest economy of the

world (United States), no longer able to manufacture paper

that it can ship overseas as payment for the goods that are

imported and this has created a problem for China too,

which had an enormous export dependency. China's reac-

tion has been to use its $2 trillion foreign reserve to go on

a global asset-buying binge and to use it as collateral for

its internal infrastructure development by extending trans-

portation and energy infrastructure inland where more than

half of the population exists and is comparatively poor,

relative to the people on the coast where the export indus-

try evolved. So, they are solving several problems with

this approach.

One is that they are defusing the social

tension that has been building up between the coastal and

inland populations. Secondly, they are enabling a domestic

consumer economy to grow, and thirdly, and this is really

interesting with regard to my belief that rare earth mania is

going to kick in – China, despite its reluctance to partici-

pate in any sort of Kyoto protocol climate change agree-

ments and so on, is seriously embracing clean energy and

emissions control strategies because China sees its des-

tiny as becoming the greatest nation ever.

But what is the point of celebrating that achievement

when it happens decades from now in a cesspool? So

they are now embracing green technologies and they are

starting to think about the commodities that are critical to

new stuff like wind turbines, electric cars and so on.

To get back to your earlier question about the global

economy, this infrastructure build up by China is enabling

demand for raw materials to bounce back from the shriek-

ing halt it hit in 2008 when the global economy ground to

a halt. In the United States, following the election of

Obama, we are seeing infrastructure build-up as a form of

fiscal stimulus – old fashioned Keynesian stimulus by

running big deficits. If we are going to indebt the younger

generation, we might as well do it by rebuilding the energy

infrastructure in a new way that’s going to enable the

United States to survive for many decades.

Because the United States’ edge has always been techno-

logical innovation, again the rare earths are becoming

very topical because they have these unusual properties

which can push materials to do things that have never

been imagined before.

D.P: If you are seeing a bit of this economic recovery,

particularly in Asia, a person should feel comfortable with

current commodity prices for copper, nickel and so forth

and that they might stay at these levels? I guess we

should get you to make a comment on the one metal that

everyone is talking about these days with gold at $1000?

J.K: I agree that the pessimism about raw material de-

mand is completely overdone. We had a situation where

demand momentarily screeched to a halt, we had metal in

the supply pipeline that kept coming so the prices came

down. But then all kinds of new production plans were

shelved, marginal mines were shut back, so this imbal-

ance was corrected very quickly. Both the Chinese and

the European/American infrastructure strategies are long-

term pulling up the demand for raw materials. As part of

my vision of the United States losing its role as the domi-

nant economy, I see net investment demand for gold ris-

ing, rising, rising. For 25 years, gold has been one of the

worst investments out there but that was because we saw

gold rise ten to 20 times from $35 in 1972 to a peak of

$800 – back to $400 and then the market spent 25 years

digesting Central Bank selling and all this new gold that

came on stream from mines that were suddenly in the

money big time. Because it takes four to eight years to

put a mine into production, we had a massive rush to take

all these gold systems and put them into production dur-

ing the eighties.

Similar to what we saw in the commodity sector during

the last five years with nickel and copper, we are now go-

ing to see that happen with gold again because after 25

years of supply digestion, the marginal costs for gold

mines have gone way up and for more new supply to

come on stream, we need a dramatic real increase in the

price of gold. So we have a classic imbalance developing

where net demand is rising while supply declines or stays

flat.

D.P: Which gets us to the next point of course…just

where do you see gold going in the coming years?

J.K: I’m not of the view that the U.S. dollar is going to

collapse and the mighty Euro is going to dominate. I see

gold rising against all currencies and possibly in the long-

run we will see a global, but I do see a real rise in gold

prices. I see gold going to $1200 to $1500 in the next six

to 12 months without a corresponding decline in the U.S.

dollar which has an offsetting inflationary impact on the

cost structure of gold mines. Such a move, which would

be 20% to 50% from the current $1000 level, is huge for

companies which have ounces in the ground because that

type of real move is going to put the net present value

calculations into the money big time. I see rising invest-

ment demand as a long-term process where more and

more people simply put small portions of their wealth into

gold as way to deal with the uncertainty that will charac-

terize the next 20 to 30 years. There will be plenty of geo-

political crises, extreme currency fluctuations, and you

cannot count on paper assets such as debt and even eq-

uity in real companies holding their value. But whenever

one of these crisis happens, if you own gold wait for the

dust to settle, you still will own gold. So globally, I see the

demand now reaching the tipping point where it is going

to go and gobble up much more than is available and that

will result in a dramatic upwards re-pricing of gold. It will

not be as extravagant as the 1970’s where gold emerged

after 100 years of a controlled price. While a 50-100%

move from current levels over the next five years in real

terms is considerably tamer, the leveraged impact such a

move would have on the value of undeveloped gold de-

posits will be substantial.

D.P: When you are talking about the gold price, we notice

that sales of gold coins are down. Sales of jewelry in In-

dia are down and ETF’s seem to be making a big differ-

ence. Where is the demand for gold going to come from?

J.K: The demand for gold comes from all sorts of places.

In the United States – the ETF buying comes mainly from

people aged 55- 65 buying it in their retirement accounts

as a long term investment.

It is estimated that $2 trillion is sitting in various money

market funds around the world earning next to nothing.

All you need is a portion of that to shift into gold to cre-

ate that price tipping point. One of the important things

about gold is that gold is no longer owned to make a

profit. It’s owned as a long-term investment and all the 5

billion ounces in the world right now are worth only $5

trillion. So it’s the incremental increase in investment

demand coming from all these accounts around the

world which in my view is going to drive it higher.

D.P: Let’s get into something that is so hot, with a cou-

ple of questions and we should point out that John Kai-

ser in his Bottom Fishing Report has been following rare

earths for some time and after decades where no one

even talked about it, all of a sudden it’s the big rage. So

what should we know about rare earths and name a cou-

ple of companies that you are following.

J.K: Rare earths are on the bottom part of the periodic

table. There are 16 of them with complicated names with

way too many syllables. I’ve actually finally memorized

them and I even think I can spell them correctly! They

are not very rare, but their availability in concentrated

form is very, very rare. So there are a few major deposits

in the world that have historically supplied the world's

needs. California’s Mountain Pass deposit supplied eve-

rything for about 30/40 years, until the late 1980’s when

China started to come on stream with its own rare earth

production. We have had a bit of a holiday in terms of

prices for them because of the surplus Chinese supply

which was more than what has been needed for super

magnets, display panels and so on. But now new techno-

logical applications have evolved and there are plans to

build electric cars and hybrids on very large scales and

even China itself is very big on pushing these types of

technologies. For the next four years or so there will be

no shortage of rare earth but when you start looking five

years and beyond, there are going to be problems be-

cause Chinese rare earth production has been so cheap

no mine outside of China could be developed. China

thinks in decade multiples – not two, three, four years -

and has realized that it might run out of rare earths if it is

the primary supplier to the world. So they are starting to

make noises about consolidating the mining industry to

make it more efficient and restricting the export of rare

earths. If anybody needs these raw materials for their

products, they will have to base their manufacturing fa-

cilities in China, which would offset the drop in Chinese

export of consumer goods that this global recession has

created. China, in a way, is doing the West a favor by

raising all these red flags because Western capital is now

on alert to the problem and the solution is very simple.

Put those non-Chinese deposits that have rare earth ele-

I think the rare earth mania can go completely insane over

ments into production. It will take at least four years (4-8

the next while because you cannot quantify the limit of

years) to push most of them through the development

how big this could get, especially when you start control-

cycle, even those which already have the pounds in the

ling the downstream applications – the alloys and all the

ground because this is a very complicated business.

other special metals you can create by adding rare earths.

Processing the ore to extract these metals is not as sim-

You can’t add uranium to very much except nuclear

ple as it is with base or precious metals. There are

bombs and that’s not a viable business, but with rare

lengthy R&D periods to create the right process. So the

earths you can. So I expect the mania to produce extraor-

timing is now. Get these things financed, get them going

dinary valuations for those companies which control

and then the big companies can start making decisions

these deposits, not because you can do the math and get

about where will we build millions of electric cars, be-

a net present value calculation that’s worth $1 billion or $2

cause if they don’t have these magic ingredients, there is

billion, but because the strategic value of long-term con-

no point doing any of that. Rare earth mania has global

trol of these raw materials is going to lie in the imagina-

appeal because in a sense it is linked to the future of the

tion of the visionaries behind the big, large corporations

planet as a viable planet.

that are controlling the economic future of the world.

D.P: Now you are mentioning this rare earth mania, a lot

D.P: That’s good preliminary, but now we get to the meat

of rare earth stocks have just flown in the last six months.

of the matter and that’s getting some names to watch. So

It kind of reminds me of uranium two or three years ago

with the gold sector, which would be some of your favor-

when uranium went through the roof and then all of a sud-

ite picks at this time and also in the rare earth metals? Of

den just died. We saw six companies become 600 and

interest, seeing as we’ve just spent some time in Ketchi-

many of those 600 have since disappeared. Are you now

kan, Alaska, what would be your thoughts at this time for

suggesting that rare earth could fly for some time?

one junior explorer – Ucore Uranium?

J.K: I will say there are similarities and differences be-

J.K: Let’s start with gold. A lot of gold companies have

tween uranium and the rare earth elements. The similarity

already started to move in anticipation of higher gold

is that uranium itself is less than 5% of the cost of running

prices. One that I would be watching that’s only moved

a nuclear power plant. So it is quite insensitive to price.

modestly and has a valuation that’s still fairly cheap is

You are going to need your nuclear fuels no matter what

Brett Resources (BBR). They have a 4.8 million ounce gold

the price is. The rare earth elements are like that too. So

deposit in Ontario that can be developed as a low cost

they can see their prices go up substantially if suddenly

open pit mine. It’s not so great at $900 gold, but it is in the

there is a shortage. But unlike uranium, there are not a lot

kind of scenario where I am envisioning $1200 - $1500

of rare earth deposits in the world. There are lots of rare

gold in real terms without oil having soared to $200 a bar-

earth showings, little veins here and there, but the major

rel. They have fewer than 100 million shares outstanding

systems are few and far between, especially enriched with

and control 5 million ounces of gold. I can see this stock

rare earth elements.

becoming a $5.00 to $10.00 stock if people realize that

gold has finally breached $1000 and is going to stay

above that level and gradually move higher over the next

There are lots of uranium deposits all over the world, so it

two years.

was predictable that when the uranium prices shot up be-

cause of a shortage of supply, there were going to be hun-

For rare earths, one of the earliest ones I recommended

dreds of companies all boasting pounds of uranium in the

was Avalon Rare Metals (AVL) and I originally picked it as a

ground. There is another important difference between

“bottom fish” in 2005 at $0.15. I recommended it again in

uranium and rare earth. With uranium – you can predict

2007 at about $1.75 after I visited the project. I had to en-

future demand. The predictions are correct that there is

dure it going to $0.30 in the crash of 2008, but I stuck to

an imbalance and a lot more uranium deposits have to go

my guns in recommending it and it’s now in the $3.50 -

into production to meet the demand as these 40 to 70

$4.00 range, properly financed and one of the more ad-

power plants on the drawing board eventually come on

vanced companies.

stream. Rare earths are different as their special proper-

ties open up material science research opportunities. If

Another one which is a much more recent recommenda-

these raw materials are actually available, the work will go

tion is Quest Uranium (QUC) and this is a refugee from the

into finding out what these things can do, developing

uranium sector which had managed to stake an area cov-

commercial applications and setting plans to commercial-

ering part of the Strange Lake deposit. They have rein-

ize them. You could see the market for these rare earth

vented themselves as a rare earth company.

elements blossom in ways that are unimaginable.

This one has shot from the ten cent level where I recommended it in late April, to as high as $2.94 recently and

there are some major developments taking shape which we now feel have the potential to be one of the rare earth

stocks that goes to $10 to $20. As a large $15 to $20 billion gross value for rare earth pounds in the ground starts

to take shape as it already has for Avalon, I expect big money to come in and say, yes, we need to throw $50 or

$100 million at this project to push it through the feasibility cycle, for we see a footprint capable of delivering a 30 –

50 year supply from this deposit. At current prices the market is valuing Quest's Strange Lake project at about $120

million, which is cheap compared to evaluations we saw during the uranium boom.

Right now we just finished a tour of the Bokan Mountain property which Ucore Uranium (UCU) controls and is an-

other company which started as a uranium project which happened to include rare earth deposits that had been

outlined by government geologists 25 years ago. These have the unusual quality of having very elevated grades of

heavy rare earth elements which are the more obscure ones that are now coming into vogue. The Bokan Project is

extremely interesting because it has never been formally explored, but it has all these back-of–the-napkin calcula-

tions done by smart geologists. This was done as part of a scoping study for the U.S. Military, which wanted to

know where it could get these heavy rare earths if a problem emerged where they could not get them from normal

sources such as China. Now it is owned by the private sector (Ucore Uranium) and they are at the stage where they

need to raise in my view, another $5 to $10 million right away to get the machinery in place to delineate the main

dyke system and start exploring the system's potential for much more than the ten to 20 year supply metal the gov-

ernment geologists saw in the dykes. It is upside in the form of a 20 to 50 year supply which deep-pocketed inves-

tors are seeking. So far, what I am seeing is very encouraging. Bokan has good grades and an excellent distribution

of the valuable rare earths. What I am looking for now is to see the results of the drilling program so that I can de-

termine if this system also has the capacity to host $10 to $20 billion worth of rare earth elements in the ground.

The key to being a participant in rare earth mania lies in demonstrating this big potential, because that is the key to

attracting the big bucks needed to crack the minerals that harbor these very special metals that are going to drive

part of the future economy of the world. A rare earth project may fail the test of economic logic, but it becomes a

development contender if it meets the requirements of long term strategic logic.

D.P: Okay John, most mining analysts seem to only cover 10 or 20 stocks, you seem to cover two of three hundred,

so let’s ask the most obvious question…if you could only buy one stock today, what would it be?

J.K: Right now I would buy Quest Uranium.

Underwriter is biggest seller at 1.43 Dee-T

2009-09-09 17:33 ET - News Release

Mr. David Reid reports

DELPHI ENERGY ANNOUNCES FINANCING

Delphi Energy Corp. has entered into a financing agreement with a syndicate of underwriters, led by National Bank Financial, to issue and sell, on a bought-deal basis, 12 million common shares of Delphi at an issue price of $1.25 each, resulting in gross proceeds of $15-million. The underwriters will have the option to acquire up to an additional 1.2 million common shares at an issue price of $1.25 per common share for additional gross proceeds of up to $1.5-million for total gross proceeds of up to $16.5-million. Proceeds of the offering will be used to finance Delphi's continuing light oil development program in Hythe and additional potential acquisition opportunities. The offering is subject to normal regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Closing is expected to occur on or before Sept. 30, 2009.

We seek Safe Harbor.

Squeezing the last bit of oil from Mother Earth

Squeezing the last bit of oil from Mother Earth TheStar.com - Business - Squeezing the last bit of oil from Mother Earth

TORONTO STAR GRAPHIC

Years to exhaust proven reserves at current production rates (lighter is fewer years, darker is more; black is no data; cross-hatch is average for remaining countries).

As the debate rages over how much longer the flow will last, valuable time is wasted

September 20, 2009

David Olive

It follows as night the day that the unquestionably finite nature of fossil fuels inevitably will cause significant changes in the global economy and our way of life.

But the continued lack of absolute certainty – which will continue for many years – about the timing and severity of the crisis offers room for diehard "denialists" to continue with their arguments that a world without oil that can be extracted viably is a myth.

With the final week of August marking the 150th anniversary of commercial oil development, peak-oil deniers have become even more forceful in their arguments.

They have launched spirited attacks on the "alarmists" in recent weeks, stoutly maintaining that there remains a frontier of undiscovered mammoth oil discoveries, and that extraction technology is advancing at such a rapid pace of increased sophistication that even the most challenging deep-sea deposits and complex geological formations can be tapped.

Michael Lynch is at the forefront of the peak-oil deniers. He is former director for Asian energy and security at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In a late August op-ed in The New York Times, Lynch wrote that "Oil remains abundant, and the price will likely come down closer to the historical level of $30 (U.S.) a barrel as new supplies come forward. But that may not keep the Chicken Littles from convincing policy-makers in Washington and elsewhere that oil, being finite, must increase in price."

Lynch's core message is that scarce social resources are being misallocated in too-determined a quest for alternatives to fossil fuels.

"This is not to say," Lynch continued, "that we shouldn't keep looking for other cost-effective, low-pollution energy sources – why not broaden our options? But we can't let the false threat of disappearing oil lead the government to throw money away on hare-brained renewable energy schemes or impose unnecessary and expensive conservation measures on a public already struggling through tough economic times."

By coincidence for such denialists, major oil discoveries subsequently were announced off the Brazilian coast, in the Gulf of Mexico and, earlier this week, offshore Sierra Leone. But a closer look at each dims the initial euphoria.

Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil producer, is notoriously laggard at making the necessary heavy investments in bringing oil supplies to market promptly. The Gulf of Mexico petroleum "structure" is so geologically complex that the extraction costs will be exorbitant. Sierra Leone, like Nigeria, Sudan and other African production regions, is conflict-ridden.

Just the same, the surge of "denialist" noise, which has undeniable influence on certain lawmakers in the United States and Canada, seemed to merit a corrective from the peak-oil theorists. Their premise, roughly speaking, is that we have depleted half or more of the world's oil supply and run out of easily accessible reserves.

Matthew Simmons, long the most prominent peak-oil theorist, offered a reminder in Foreign Policy this month that data from agencies as varied as the IEA and the U.S. Department of Energy continue to show alarming oil-depletion rates worldwide.

"The world will never `run out of oil'," Simmons writes, "but its flow is in decline. There may still be ample oil reserves for half of today's use. But these remaining reserves are all very low-quality heavy oil, which is difficult to produce and hard to refine into usable petroleum products."

That's a shot across the bow of the Athabasca tarsands, of course, the world's only major heavy-oil production centre. (Venezuela is a potential rival in size for heavy oil production, but its quixotic political regime has yet to allow oilsands development.)

Which gets us to where the so-called "alarmists" tip the balance in their favour. The world's remaining oil reserves overwhelmingly are in politically hostile regimes or in remote locations where extraction is either enormously costly or technologically impossible.

Touted "rapid advances in oilfield technology," writes Simmons, are "the greatest myth of all."

Technology allowing us to tap oil several kilometres below sea level or in previously inaccessible pools on land by means of horizontal drilling are "now quite mature," says Simmons, who earlier in his career helped raise funds to develop those technologies. "Sadly, there are few new ideas in the oilfield pipeline."

An unhappy coincidence for "denialists" is a report this week by the top oil analyst for Australia's Macquarie Bank, a long-respected merchant bank with investments worldwide. Iain Reid, head of that firm's European oil and gas research unit, endorsed the peak-oil view, asserting that oil supply will peak this year.

The recent economic crisis that deniers point to as a helpful development in easing demand has in fact been a disaster, Reid says.

It caused major oil firms to postpone needed investment in new supply sources.

We saw that in our own oilpatch, where a planned $100-billion plus in heavy oil investments came to an abrupt halt.

Those developments will, of course, resume post-recession. Some Alberta megaprojects already are gradually coming back to life. The problem is that the delay will cause a severe "supply gap."

New oil sources will fail to come on-stream soon enough to satisfy skyrocketing demand in China, India and elsewhere in the developing world, to say nothing of a return to normal demand levels in industrial nations.

That, finally, might bring an end to our addiction to oil. Reid believes we soon will turn this debate on its head. We will stop talking about peak oil or peak supply, instead concerning ourselves with "peak demand."

Reid, who spent 16 years with Royal Dutch Shell and Amerada Hess sees demand eclipsing supply very soon, with a huge gap opening by 2015. That's a good thing, he argues. It will drive up pump prices to unsustainable levels.

Oil currently trades at about $72 a barrel.

"Oil near $150 a barrel would very soon create another set of global economic drivers which would spell much lower demand in the future," says Reid. "In the very long term, we can see demand for oil falling quite substantially."

Reid's presumption, of course, is that much more determined energy conservation will kick in as we approach that price level.

We did see it on a small scale during the recession, as motorists switched to public transit and smaller cars – and, Reid presumes, the acceleration of alternative-energy development.

For prominent peak-oil believers like Chris Nelder, the deniers would set us up for long lines at filling stations and cold houses in winter.

"If we let outlier critics like Lynch lull us into a false sense of security about future oil supply," Nelder wrote in The Business Insider this month, "we won't begin soon enough on the decades-long effort to leave oil before it leaves us. And we will pay for it dearly."

Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday telephone rebates to customers $300M

Consumers get $300M phone rebate TheStar.com - Canada - Consumers get $300M phone rebate

MANU FERNANDEZ/AP PHOTO

Adds up to about $10 per phone customer

September 18, 2009

Julian Beltrame
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Most telephone customers in Canada will be getting rebates estimated between $5 and $20 after the country's top court ruled carriers must refund subscribers $300 million from an unspent broadband expansion account.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that Canada's telecommunications regulator did have the right to tell Bell (TSX: BCE), Telus Corp. (TSX: T) and MTS Allstream (TSX: MBT) how they must spend money collected above their directed fee schedule.

According to a previous estimate from Telus, the rebate would amount to about $5 per customer in urban areas. Consumer advocates believe the rebate from Bell could be as high as $20.

The court unanimously rejected appeals by both the carriers – who wanted to keep what remains of about $650 million to finance technological changes – and from consumer and anti-poverty advocacy groups who wanted all the money refunded.

"The CRTC did exactly what it was mandated to do," the court said.

"It had the statutory authority to set just and reasonable rates, to establish the deferral accounts, and to direct the disposition of the funds in these accounts."

The case dates back to 2006 when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved about $350 million in projects for expansion of broadband services to remote areas and about $32 million for accessibility improvements.

The remainder, about $300 million, must be returned to customers, the CRTC had ordered.

An appeal by the Consumers Association of Canada and the National Anti-Poverty Organization held back projects, however. They argued that the CRTC order in effect charged one set of customers – phone users – for benefits to be received by another set of customers – broadband Internet users.

According to a previous estimate from Telus, the rebate would amount to about $5 per customer in urban areas. Consumer advocates believe the rebate from Bell could be as high as $20.

Bell's chief of regulatory affairs Mirko Bibic would not estimate the rebate value to individual customers, but said about $150 million of the money collected by Bell would be returned.

He said Bell would work out with the CRTC how the money would be rebated.

"We had preferred to use all the money in the deferral account for broadband so we can offer Internet services in small communities who don't have Internet," he said.

Michael Janigan of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre disagreed with the decision, saying he believes the telecom act should be amended.

"We accept the court's decision but that just highlights the need for reform, because it was never intended that the commission would have government-like powers to tax and spend," he said.

My Take On Markets

Stochastics Rants... Buy High And Sell Low is NOT the formula for success

Here is my rant on gas and oil markets that have been in rally mode for the last 2 weeks.

This is just the Canadian And USA Brokerages creating A sucker rally in which the brilliant among us cashed out. Did you see the bull crap rallies created in these? All bullshitt,

OPC, ITX, CMT, not based on any material change as stated by the companies.

Pure manipulation and guess what they got the money again and retail got the paper and now these stocks will slowly slide back because the brokers who pumped them have cashed out, but I bet you didn't.

All these stocks will just slowly slide back tick by tick, as retail wonders do I sit or or do I sell, and the stocks are ALL ticking down, did you notice?

The hot money has left the stocks, and they will decide when its time to run them again and they accumulate shares that retail will unload at much lower prices.

Sheeple get sheared again,

Don't believe me?

well then it's time to read this article that I posted years ago, which holds true for the last 100 years. http://wave2.netfirms.com/deadly.htm

Most are holding lousy paper in sectors like Nat Gas which they say is at a bottom, the facts are that they will not use up the storage for 10 years. Nat Gas is in the can because of oversupply and lack of industrial use.

And with this new shale Gas coming online I'd be surprised if nat gas gets to 6.00 in the next 24 mths. But that didn't stop them from running up during public financing, no the salesman just hustled there clients to get the money REGARDLESS of the glut in oil and nat gas.

ONLY moved because of pure momo created during financing and promotion.

Did you notice how many companies suddenly in September were raising money?

Did you also notice how many had wonderful discoveries and increases to their reserves.

It was like a parade of great news.

Its all a bullshitt electronic casino designed to fleece the little guy.

And guess what...thats just what they did.

After playing this game since 1996 I have seen this so many times and there is nothing we can do about it Bears make money and bulls make money ,

Pigs get slaughtered.

So If you were like me you made sure that you cashed out as close to the top as you could.

And now we wait to accumulate again. What a casino the house always wins.

So the party is over for now and you probably have the pain of the hangover, I know I have some pain but my gains out way my losses so far.

So take a wait to see, hold your losers, or cut your losses, because the next dip down is just around the corner. September is the worst month in the last 100 years.

And yet...it was the best rallies of 2009 Its hot money brokers creating a bull run! Go Figure!

Me I'm starting to accumulate DEE again for the next run.

Delphi Energy Announces Financing 17:16 EDT Wednesday, September 09, 2009

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Sept. 9, 2009) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Delphi Energy Corp. ("Delphi") (TSX:DEE) announces that it has entered into a financing agreement with a syndicate of underwriters, led by National Bank Financial, (the "Underwriters") to issue and sell on a "bought deal" basis, 12,000,000 common shares of Delphi (the "Common Shares") at an issue price of $1.25 each, resulting in gross proceeds of $15,000,000. The Underwriters will have the option to acquire up to an additional 1,200,000 Common Shares at an issue price of $1.25 per Common Share for additional gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000 for total gross proceeds of up to $16,500.000. Proceeds of the offering will be used to fund Delphi's ongoing light oil development program in Hythe and additional potential acquisition opportunities. The offering is subject to normal regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Closing is expected to occur on or before September 30, 2009.

Triple Witching Friday

Stock markets look to open little changed at end of positive week
8:51 September 18, 2009, EDT.
(Canadian Press)


TORONTO - The Toronto stock market looked set for another flat start to the trading day Friday amid a dearth of market-moving corporate news and economic data.

The main TSX index drifted 27 points lower Thursday, breaking a solid five-day advance that netted more than 500 points as investors grow more confident about an economic recovery.

New York futures also pointed to a weak open as the Dow Jones industrial futures moved up 13 points to 9,750, the Nasdaq futures were up 2.2 points to 1,722.2 and the S&P 500 futures inched up a point to 1,063.8.

A pickup in U.S. dollar strength send the Canadian dollar down 0.33 of a cent to 93.41 cents US

Oil prices could be a source of weakness in Toronto as the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 31 cents to U$72.17 a barrel. However, crude is still up more than US$3 on the week, on hopes that the United States, the biggest oil consumer, is on the road to recovery.

Still, the recession has sapped American fuel consumption, and U.S. oil stockpiles are 14 per cent larger than last year.

Economic confidence has risen this week after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession is for intents and purposes over, industrial production rose sharply in August and housing starts are heading higher.

A wild card in Friday's trading is the fact that it is a "quadruple witching day."

This happens four times a year on the third Friday of the last month of the quarter when contracts on stock futures, stock index futures, stock options and stock index options all expire the same day, and this can make for a volatile session.

Metal prices were mixed as the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.70 to US$1,015.20 an ounce while December copper was off three cents to US$2.87 a pound.

European markets traded in a narrow range as Germany's DAX and the Paris CAC were flat while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 per cent.

Asian markets closed mostly lower, as Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 0.7 per cent while

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.7 per cent and China's Shanghai index lost 3.2 per cent.

CRO Completes Financing

Canadian Arrow Completes First Tranche of Private Placement with Investors including MineralFields Group

cnw

TORONTO, Sept. 18 /CNW/ - Canadian Arrow Mines Limited (CRO: TSX-V) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement pursuant to which it issued 5,700,000 units at a price of $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of $285,000 and 30,900,00 flow-through shares at a price of $0.05 per share for gross proceeds of $1,545,000 (together, the "Offering").


Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole such warrant being referred to herein as a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of 18 months following the closing at an exercise price of $0.10.


The investors acquiring securities in the Offering included the MineralFields Group. "We are very pleased to have completed this phase of the offering and to have the involvement of the MineralFields Group", said Kim Tyler, the Company's President. "This is an important milestone in the growth of the Company and we look forward to working with MineralFields Group and our other investors as we develop our properties."


In connection with the Offering the Company paid a commission to certain registered dealers in the amount of 5% of the gross proceeds. It is anticipated that the closing of the remainder of the private placement will take place on or before September 30th, 2009.


The proceeds from the private placement will be used to advance exploration on its Kenbridge nickel project, its other regional projects and to provide the Company with additional working capital.

The Company has 116,938,950 shares outstanding following the completion of the Offering.

The securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a four month hold period.

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company does not intend, and does not assume, any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Oil Patch High-frequency trades cited for share surge

High-frequency trades cited for share surge
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE


CALGARY -- The massive bump in share price for OPTI Canada Inc. has some of the hallmarks of a high-frequency trading blitz, say traders and analysts who cover the oil sands stock, which has swung wildly over the past two days.


On Wednesday, OPTI closed up 34 per cent, despite a far more modest increase in both oil prices and the country's energy index. Shares in the small oil sands company, whose primary asset is a 35-per-cent share in the Long Lake project with Nexen Inc., gained another 15 per cent yesterday before falling back to close even with Wednesday's price.


The rapid movement was approximately mirrored by another small oil sands player, Oilsands Quest Inc. , which shot up 11 per cent yesterday after posting a similarly large gain on Wednesday. Volatility also affected UTS Energy Corp. and Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd. , and raised eyebrows across the oil patch, not least among those affected.


"It's interesting that the markets swing this far this fast. It puzzles all of us, I think," said Oilsands Quest executive chairman Murray Wilson.


Mr. Wilson believes the jumps came from a combination of technical trading - where heavy buying can be triggered by a stock price crossing a certain threshold - and more normal activity among long-term investors and hedge funds.


Oilsands Quest is not seeking a merger or acquisition, although it is often approached, Mr. Wilson said.


"We have absolutely no specific knowledge about matters which could cause the shares in ourselves, or the rest of our peer group, to move in the manner that they have," he said.


OPTI also released a statement telling markets that it "is not aware of any specific circumstances that may be contributing" to the recent activity.


But the trading pattern - in which CIBC and TD each bought and sold nearly equal numbers of shares in trades that accounted for more than half of the activity - suggests to others a repeat of the sort of play that some believe also sent OPTI shares inexplicably skyrocketing earlier this year.


In what's called high-frequency trading, firms can make money by using computerized systems to execute huge rounds of lightning-fast small trades, and capitalize on passive rebates offered by exchanges.


According to market traders, exchanges pay about 25 cents per 100 shares to the passive - or offering - party in a transaction, as a way to boost liquidity. In other words, if a broker has 100 shares to sell, and someone else meets the asking price, that broker will make 25 cents. The same rebate is given to a broker offering to buy shares at a certain price.


(Exchanges make their money by charging about 35 cents per 100 shares to the person buying from or selling to the passive party. The exchange pockets the 10-cent difference.)


Such high-frequency trading, which some say should be illegal, allows companies to cash in on trades where a stock is bought and sold at the same price - and can be profitable when the shares traded number in the millions, as they have with OPTI in recent days. But the massive trading the practice generates can serve as a signal to others that something is happening.


"People that don't know maybe say, 'Where there's smoke, there's fire.' And it feeds on itself," said Duncan Anderson, assistant vice-president and portfolio manager of Canadian equities at MFC Global Investment Management.


For OPTI, as with some of the other junior oil sands players, market interest has already been stoked in part by PetroChina Co. Ltd., whose $1.9-billion deal with Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. on Aug. 31 signalled the return of international interest in Fort McMurray's huge bitumen deposits.


"The speculation is that ... more oil sands investments [are] going to be coming from some of these sovereign wealth funds," Mr. Anderson said.

DEE Technically ready to run up thru 1.8157

The stock is sitting on the bottom bollinger band.

If you think this rally continues on the USA and Canadian Markets

Its time to buy Dee

Pure Hot Money Run 1 Ticker Up After Another=Sucker Rally

Opti says stumped by share activity, gains pared

Thomson Reuters


* Gains pared after Opti says it has nothing to report

* Up 2.7 percent at C$2.31
(Recasts with Opti saying it doesn't know why shares rose)

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Opti Canada Inc
shares surged early on Thursday but pared gains after
the company, known for its minority stake in Nexen Inc's
Long Lake oil sands project, said it knew of no reason
for recent activity.

Opti jumped as much as 12 percent on the Toronto Stock
Exchange Thursday morning, but by midday was up 6 Canadian
cents, or 2.7 percent, at C$2.31 on volume of 13 million
shares.

Nexen shares were off 12 Canadian cents at C$25.48

The rise for Opti followed a surge of 33 percent in heavy
volume on Wednesday, a move that puzzled analysts.

In response to a query from regulators, Opti issued a
statment saying it was not aware of anything that would
contribute to the sharp rise or heavy trading activity.

Some analysts have said investors may believe Opti could be
the next takeover target for a Chinese oil company after
PetroChina's C$1.9 billion ($1.8 billion) deal in
August to buy a 60 percent stake in two planned oil sands
projects from privately held Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.

Opti has a 35 percent stake in the C$6.1 billion Long Lake,
Alberta, project, which is in start-up mode. Nexen has said it
could be another year before all the bugs are ironed out and
the 70,000 barrel a day project is reliably operating at
capacity.

Opti shares had been under pressure for the past year as
credit markets sputtered and investors became concerned that it
could run out of cash.

Last month, Opti negotiated eased restrictions on a key
C$350 million credit facility.

($1=$1.06 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones and Scott Haggett; editing by
Peter Galloway)

Uranium next to rally...Yes Buy EFR-TSX

Energy Fuels Announces Additional DOE Lease Acquisitions, Positive Drilling Results, and Grant of Options 10:05 EDT Thursday, July 30, 2009 ( 60 days = sept 30 2009)

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 30, 2009) - Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), has been informed by the Department of Energy (DOE) that the Company has been awarded two additional DOE lease tracts (C-AM-19-A and C-AM-20) released for bid in the May 2008 DOE lease sale. These tracts are in western Montrose County, Colorado, (within the Uravan Mineral Belt) about 30 highway miles from the Company's Pinon Ridge Mill site currently being permitted.

Based on pre-bid public information provided by DOE in February of 2008, these two tracts combined contain about 2.3 million lbs. of historical resource (not NI 43-101 compliant) in a region of well developed historical mining by Union Carbide Corporation. The DOE data was from an estimate originally prepared by the Atomic Energy Commission (or AEC, predecessor of the DOE), based on US Geological Survey and AEC drilling conducted during 1951 - 1953. AEC/DOE do not apply resource categories or qualifiers. After 1974, private lease holders on these two tracts drilled another 367 holes. The Company has yet to acquire data from the private drilling.

Energy Fuels has also initiated its 2009 drilling program on other Uravan Mineral Belt properties held by the Company in western Colorado. Much of this drilling budget will be applied to exploring DOE leased tracts obtained as announced in May 2008 following the same DOE lease sale referenced above.

Early drilling on the Henry Claim Group in the Club Mesa area encountered a highly mineralized intercept of 4.5 feet with a grade of 0.33% U3O8. Historical data from this area indicates the potential for a V2O5 / U3O8 grade ratio of about 5:1. Drilling is continuing on this claim group and will progress onto the adjacent DOE lease block, (C-CM-24).

Drilling should begin in about 60 days on the HC Claim Block and the contiguous C-G-26 DOE lease, both of which are located on Calamity Mesa. This drilling has been planned utilizing the data on the DOE lease obtained by Energy Fuels as announced February 23, 2009, and is planned to develop additional resources with infill drilling.

Additionally, Energy Fuels has granted 850,000 options for a term of five years to employees, officers, and consultants to the Company.

Stephen P. Antony, P.E., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the content of this press release.

Energy Fuels Inc. is a Toronto-based uranium and vanadium mineral development company actively rehabilitating and developing formerly producing mines. With more than 55,000 acres of highly prospective uranium and vanadium property located in the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, and New Mexico, and exploration properties in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin totaling almost 50,000 additional acres, the Company has a full pipeline of additional development prospects. Energy Fuels, through its wholly-owned Colorado subsidiary, Energy Fuels Resources Corporation and its recently acquired Magnum Uranium subsidiary, has assembled this property portfolio along with a first class management team, including highly skilled technical mining and milling professionals based in Lakewood and Nucla, Colorado and Kanab, Utah.

This news release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and "Forward Looking Information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements and forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario Securities Commissions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Energy Fuels Inc. Gary Steele Investor Relations (303) 974-2147 or Toll free:  1-888-864-2125  investorinfo@energyfuels.com www.energyfuels.com 

Stock markets move higher amid positive industrial reports

Stock markets move higher amid positive industrial reports TheStar.com - Business - Stock markets move higher amid positive industrial reports

September 16, 2009

Malcolm Morrison
THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Toronto stock market closed higher for a fifth session today amid positive industrial data from Canada and the U.S.

The Toronto energy and gold sectors led the way to a gain of 59.77 points to 11,555.6 on the main S&P/TSX composite index, its highest close since the end of September, 2008.

The solid showing followed a report showing that U.S. industrial companies boosted production more than expected in August.

The Federal Reserve says output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose 0.8 per cent in August. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.6 per cent increase.

"No doubt about it, the U.S. economy is recovering faster than expected, though questions remain about the sustained strength of the expansion," said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Sal Guatieri.

And Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales rose 5.5 per cent in July to $41.4 billion, adding to the 2.2 per cent increase reported in June, thanks to improved performances in the motor vehicle and primary metals industries.

Excluding the motor vehicle assembly and motor vehicle parts industries, manufacturing sales increased 2.1 per cent.

"July's strong manufacturing report provides additional force to the case for renewed growth in the third quarter," said TD Bank (TSX: TD) economist Grant Bishop.

"However, with indicators of future shipments easing, we do not anticipate that manufacturing will see rapid gains in the months ahead."

The gold sector was up 0.77 per cent on Wednesday as inflation worries and a weaker U.S. dollar helped push the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up $13.90 to US$1,020.20 an ounce. It earlier reached an intraday high of US$1,023.30, its highest level since March 2008.

On the TSX, Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: ABX) climbed 39 cents to C$41.09.

The energy sector rose 0.88 per cent as the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.58 to US$72.51 a barrel after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a decrease of 4.7 million barrels of oil in the U.S. last week, a bigger decline than the three million barrel drop expected by analysts. Suncor Inc. (TSX: SU) gained 79 cents to C$39.44.

Opti Canada Inc. (TSX: OPC) stock soared 57 cents or 33.93 per cent to $2.25 on heavy trading of 21 million shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Opti's sole business is a minority stake in Nexen Inc.'s (TSX: NXY) Long Lake oil sands project.

The reason for the spike wasn't immediately clear, although the company had made a bullish presentation on Tuesday morning at a major oil and gas conference in Calgary. Opti is also frequently the subject of takeover rumours that tend to make its shares volatile.

The Canadian dollar moved up 0.57 of a cent to 93.91 cents US, after rising more than a cent Tuesday amid yet another warning from the Bank of Canada that the strong loonie could derail an economic recovery.

The TSX has racked up a strong series of gains on hopes for a strong recovery and a positive third-quarter earnings season, leaving the market up 52 per cent since the lows of early March and up 28 per cent year to date.

However, analysts think the markets face some stiff headwinds in the near term that could erode those gains, pointing out that the runup has been almost straight up "and the fact that this rally has advanced further than previous rallies coming out of a bear market in the past 50 years," said Phillip Petursson, director of institutional equities at MFC Global Investment Management.

He added that the third and fourth quarters of 2009 could surprise to the upside but if consumers continue to pay down debt and cut spending, "that's going to keep growth somewhat subdued into 2010."

The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 15.19 points to 1,284.54.

New York markets were up sharply as the Dow Jones industrial average rose 108.3 points to 9,791.71.

The Nasdaq composite index moved up 30.51 points to 2,133.15 while the S&P 500 index gained 16.13 points to 1,068.76.

Investors were little swayed Wednesday by the latest report on U.S. consumer prices. The Commerce Department said its consumer price index, a measure of inflation at the retail level, rose 0.4 per cent in August, just above the 0.3 per cent rise economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected.

Excluding volatile energy and food prices, the index rose 0.1 per cent, in line with expectations.

Elsewhere on the TSX, the base metals sector rose 0.34 per cent as the December copper contract jumped 9.15 cents to US$2.9365 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX: TCK.B) gained 75 cents to $30.

In corporate news, the Globe and Mail reported that Magna International Inc.'s (TSX: MG.A) has been told by BMW, the auto parts giant's second-largest customer, that the close relationship between the two companies could be in jeopardy. It said that the German automaker fears Magna will go from parts supplier to competitor if the Canadian company fulfills its goal of leaping into the ranks of mass producers through an ownership stake in Adam Opel GmbH. Magna shares lost $1.92 to $45.09.

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (TSX: HW) says a winter shutdown at the Diavik mine in Canada's North won't be necessary after all. The shutdown had been scheduled in response to the global economic recession that began about a year ago. Its shares rose 36 cents to $9.52.

Opti surges in heavy volume, stumping analysts

Opti surges in heavy volume, stumping analysts

Thomson Reuters


* Analysts puzzled by gain of 33 percent

* Nearly 9 times typical volume

* PetroChina bid fuels talks of next oil sands target

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Shares in Opti Canada
Inc , known for its minority stake in Nexen Inc's
Long Lake oil sands project, surged by a third on
Wednesday, puzzling analysts, who said they knew of no reason
for the big gain.

Opti jumped 57 Canadian cents to C$2.25, its highest level
in almost three months, on more than 21 million shares, nearly
nine times its average volume in the last three months.

There was no clear reason for the move and a company
official was not immediately available.

Opti has been mentioned as a potential takeover target
since late August when PetroChina said it would pay
C$1.9 billion ($1.8 billion) to buy a 60 percent stake in two
planned oil sands projects from privately held Athabasca Oil
Sands Corp.

Some analysts have said that deal could be just the start
of a new wave of interest in Canada's vast oil sands resources
among Chinese companies that are scouring the globe for new oil
supplies.

"The Chinese have made a move; it's not unreasonable to
think they would make another move. But is Opti the choice? Who
knows?" Genuity Capital Market analyst Philip Skolnick said.

Opti has a 35 percent stake in the C$6.1 billion Long Lake,
Alberta, project, which is in startup mode. Nexen has said it
could be another year before all the bugs are ironed out and
the 70,000 barrel a day project is reliably operating at
capacity.

Last month, Opti negotiated eased restrictions on a key
C$350 million credit facility. Its shares had lost most of
their value in the past year as investors worried it would run
out of cash, while the startup of Long Lake, which employs new
upgrading technology, moved slowly.

At its Wednesday closing price, Opti's market value was
C$635 million.

($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; editing by Rob Wilson)

Pescod writes...WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO…

WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO…

We are here in Alaska with a group of brokers, analysts,

newsletter writers and investors, so it is not long before we

get to the popular subject of...stocks.

Brian Butterworth, geologist and former analyst is now

in investment banking with Research Capital and he tells us

that one of his favorite stories is Underworld Resources (V-

UW) and as you’ve noted, that stock has come up as a fa-

vorite pick of several folks over the last while.

Many people are aware of the usual resource market

cycles—particularly lately for gold of “buy in September/

October and sell in April/May (then go away). But there is

also another cycle that those with gray hairs can remem-

ber.

That cycle goes back a couple of decades when about

the only exploration being done anywhere in the world was

in the Canadian North and Alaska and it was considered the

Northern Canadian Cycle in plays that had big hopes that

would start in the spring, work would get going in the late

spring and summer, create some interest and have some

stocks pop. But in the fall, when things would shut down

and go quiet, you knew that interest in those stocks would

wane as their exploration programs wound down.

Underworld is a decidedly Northern story and the heart

of the Klondike (maybe the source of some of the gold for

that rush?) and does that mean when work stops shortly,

interest will wane?

Sure more drilling results will be out for the next two

months or so and a resource base is expected by Christ-

mas, but then it will be decidedly quiet. How to keep up

interest?

Well, Michael Williams, chairman of the company is a

well-respected mining guy, but will the northern cycle per-

sist, or more drilling just echo what we have seen in the

last while...ever more excellent drilling results. What to do,

what to do?

No such problems with another Butterworth pick of

Keegan Resources (T-KGN) which happens to be one of our

favorites. Ghana is thousands of miles south from the

nearest snow, so there is no Northern Canadian cycle there

at all.

Mind you, Keegan also suffers from seasonal prob-

lems...the rainy season in Ghana can shut down things eas-

ily for two to three months when mining equipment simply

can’t operate in the muck.

UCORE URANIUM

(V-UCU)

$0.80 -0.04

We are in Ketchikan, Alaska—one of the prettiest little

towns you will ever see—so no wonder there are so

many tourists that take the Alaska cruises.

The economy

here has seen the logging industry totally devastated and

now even the cruise business is down because of the

economy. Still, one looks at the harbour and you see

how important tourism is. On this day, four cruise ships

are in port with 8200 tourists aboard that all hit a town of

a mere 7700 people.

There are duck boat tours, charter

flights to see the ocean, fiords and rivers, charter fishing

for the day and a walk-up fresh fish creek to see the in-

credible salmon run and a shoppers delight built up for

the tourists along this creek. There are also “Married

Man’s Walk” but we won’t get into that at this time.

Alaska does have quite the mining history, built on the

Gold Rush days to the Yukon and mining is still impor-

tant in the State and mining-friendly.

Several analysts, brokers, newsletter writers and your

humble servant are up here to see Ucore Uranium’s (soon

to be called Rare Earth One) Bokan Mountain. A former

uranium producer of a few decades ago with lots of rare

earths beside the uranium. The rare earths were known

about for some time—but those rare earths were then of

little value. Now rare earths are one of the stories of the

day and the question is, just how much Ucore has be-

cause there have been previous estimates made of as

much as 350 pounds of material. But based on very pre-

liminary work and the resource could be a lot smaller...or

larger. Also work needs to be done to see just how eco-

nomical the ore is.

John Kaiser is here—the editor of the Bottom Fishing

Report and is one of the few geologists anywhere who

knows something about rare earths. With names like

lanthanum, which is used in batteries. Neodymium, used

in super-magnets; europium, used in monitors and pan-

els and dysprosium, an extra ingredient being used in

super-magnets to help control temperatures. There is a

whole long list on names in the rare earths, but how

about this one...ytterbium...as some of these names

could surely be used in a “Scrabble” game sometime!

We hope to publish an interview with Kaiser this Fri-

day or Monday that was taped up in Ketchikan as Kaiser

believes we’ve gone into a six-month period of “rare

earth mania.” Now that we know that the Chinese are

cutting back sales and the Chinese supply 93% - 97% of

all rare earths around the world, there could be a short-

age developing down the road.

QEC and DEE still running higher