Ballarat Gold Share Discussion Threads

[12vic] 02/8/2005 08:55

Morning All ,

Slight rise in Oz last night 27 cents bid 27.5 offer last I looked .

Some interesting points raised by Mikkydhu and Andy , all of which I have spent time thinking about myself .

Where does the confidence in this share come from ?
I think you outlined most of the confidence base Mikkydhu

"I guess the market cap reflects both the confidence in resources, the safe location, the healthy financial position and the increasingly robust mine economics. Not far off £100m now, quite demanding for a non-producer."

There is one other point that I feel also needs a mention , the lead being set by the institutional buyers at the moment who continue to buy this share in the 25+ price range . I have no more information about BGF than anybody else on this board , but I should think institutional buyers are in a different position - If they're still buying within these prices its a good sign .

Is BGF Overvalued as it does not yet produce ?
Here is where the obvious risk lies , a value of nearly 100 million yet not producing . There is no overlooking this point and it must factor in any investment decision - the value is based on potential and faith in the company model for the deposit . You either believe it or you don't .

Short Term Price Movement ?

Andy identified slippage , which is common among mining companies at this stage of development , I agree this could be a problem and could hold , stall or in extreme cases even finish a project , this is a factor .

To date though BGF has shown itself to be sticking to its schedule and this for me could be one of the main driving forces behind the current shareprice . Promises have been made and kept , as long as this can continue then I feel there is still room for the shareprice to rise . This might be further influenced by additional drilling results - we know now that BGF have deployed rigs for in mine drilling .

[tonystringy] 02/8/2005 00:45

Apologies.......no offence intended.

[andy] 02/8/2005 00:25

tony,

And so I would expect the first revenue next year.

I did read the company website yesterday, and mining companies have a habit of "slippage", so IMHO, it 'may' be 2006 before the first revenue is generated.

[tonystringy] 02/8/2005 00:15

As I remember mining is scheduled to commence in Sept, and first production by December this year.

[andy] 01/8/2005 23:56

mikkydhu,

Exactly what I was thinking, market cap is too high for now, maybe fair value when they commence production next year.

I'm still considering an initial investment, but I cannot see BGF rising much more in the near future.

[mikkydhu] 01/8/2005 22:55

Dipped a toe in the water today, 12vic, sounds good. But can you help me on a key point?
How is it that there is such confidence both in annual production and mine life when reserves have not been established?
I guess the market cap reflects both the confidence in resources, the safe location, the healthy financial position and the increasingly robust mine economics. Not far off £100m now, quite demanding for a non-producer.
May buy more on weakness if I feel more confident.

[12vic] 01/8/2005 17:30

Interesting day for BGF Trades - 328,500 all buys , including a delayed T trade of 175,000 which must have been a buy from right at the start of the day when offer price was at 12 p . Not really much on its own , but when you consider that from 11th - 31st July only 85,000 BGF shares were traded on Aim in total - then 328,000 in one day is almost worth noticing . I'd like to read this as a sign that BGF is building a following , but that would just be guessing . Any recent buyers care to post ?

[12vic] 01/8/2005 08:20

Hi Tony ,
Have answered on FYB - but not really an expert on options etc .

I see we're up again today 11.62 bid 12.38 offer with my broker . It really suprises me that so few people in the UK appear to have an interest in this share . You could count the trades in this share over the last week in the UK on one hand , yet millions of shares trading hands in Oz everyday . Although the UK trading figures appear to make the UK market look a bit flat , I actually think this might be a good thing short term for steady growth . Long term though if people do start showing more interest over here and we start trading in the same volumes both in UK and OZ the growth possibility is HUGE .

[12vic] 01/8/2005 08:20

Hi Tony ,

Forgot to say cheers for the Thankyou , I don't claim to be a great share tipper but when I first looked at this it really grabbed me as a relatively safe bet - anyway its performed well for me so far and looks like it will continue to !

[tonystringy] 31/7/2005 23:42

12vic,

Just been looking into options/covered warrents/cfd's etc.............can you suggest a company for trading in such things on the AIM market? The ones I've seen don't seem to cover AIM listed stocks.

-Very interested in 'getting in' to this type of trading as I've made some pretty good predictions lately with both rising and falling sp's. I expected RTM and OHM to drop over a month ago and my have they fallen lately!!!

-Posted same question on FYB.

[tonystringy] 31/7/2005 22:30

Sorry 12vic.....been 'entertaining' the GF this weekend as most, so not had time to post. (We live 100 miles apart so make the most of the weekends).

Agree entirely!!!

Also I'd like to take the oppertunity to say a big THANKS for bringing BGF to my attention over on FYB! Along with GFM I believe this to be my safest investment at the mo and it's not easy finding those in the resource exploration sector is it?

I'm considering buying options in the two companies........never done that before but think I'll end up kicking myself if I miss the oppertunity.

[12vic] 31/7/2005 18:48

So any comment on the Quarterly Report from others ?

I can't be the only person who noticed the line " THE LONG TERM OPERATING COST IS EXPECTED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THE PRE-FEASABILITY ESTIMATE "

Remember the Pre-feasablity study published 2004 was based on cash costs of Au$ 274 per Oz and a gold price of Au$ 525 . Now the cash costs are likely to be even lower and additionaly the gold price is currently Au$ 566 ( that's approximately +8% on the value used to sell this project to the companys major backers ! ). The implication of both these factors on the bottom line is fairly obvious . IMHO

[12vic] 28/7/2005 07:54

Trades in Oz

ASX : BGF | Ballarat Goldfields NL FPO
Information is delayed 20 minutes

Total Trades Total Volume Last Trade V.W.A.P.
175 9,818,750 0.26 0.256


Course of Trades

Trade
Number(s) Last Traded Price Volume Change Value Number
of Trades
149 - 175 4:05pm 0.26 1,137,552 -0.005 $295,764 27
129 - 148 3:18pm 0.265 891,815 +0.005 $236,331 20
126 - 128 2:30pm 0.26 24,200 -0.005 $6,292 3
119 - 125 2:09pm 0.265 64,523 +0.005 $17,099 7
116 - 118 1:48pm 0.26 80,490 -0.005 $20,927 3
110 - 115 12:51pm 0.265 277,691 +0.005 $73,588 6
78 - 109 12:19pm 0.26 1,897,660 +0.005 $493,392 32
56 - 77 11:51am 0.255 2,148,963 +0.005 $547,986 22
55 11:13am 0.25 3,000 -0.005 $750 1
46 - 54 11:12am 0.255 167,390 +0.005 $42,684 9
1 - 45 10:39am 0.25 3,125,466 $781,367 45

[12vic] 28/7/2005 07:39

Quarterly Report released this morning and looks excellent , everything progressing as expected , drilling continues to identify gold bearing zones that support the companies geological model , plant on its way , proposed September ore mining , plant should be operational Dec 2005 , suggestion that running costs may eventually be cheaper than those estimated in the feasability study . BGF are + 1.5 cents in Oz when I last looked !

[12vic] 27/7/2005 20:28

Nice Tick Up today ...

A few stories from the local Ballarat Newspapers - a bit dated but still worth a read if only to get an idea of the local interest in BGF .

Another deposit for Ballarat's bank balance
Wednesday, 6 April 2005

THE gold deposits which made Ballarat famous around the world more than 150 years ago may yet bring the city great wealth once again.
Ballarat Goldfields NL has announced it will build a $15 million ore processing plant at Woolshed Gully Drive in Mt Clear to service its Ballarat East mine.

Initially, the plant will produce up to 100,000 ounces of gold a year, but will eventually have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 ounces annually.

Optimists could argue that Ballarat is on the verge of a new gold rush, and certainly Ballarat Goldfields is confident it can access lucrative deposits way below the surface at Ballarat East.

"... The Ballarat goldfield has enormous potential that is yet to be uncovered," the company says on its website.

It goes without saying that manufacturing in Ballarat - be it chocolates, frozen chips or brake pads - has a long history of success.

To add a burgeoning ore processing business to our bow would further consolidate that reputation.

Gold, after all, has played a significant role in our history.

In the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the grounds around Ballarat yielded some 12 million ounces - a veritable fortune by today's standards.

It has never been a secret that vast amounts of gold still lie hundreds of metres below our city, unable to be retrieved by technology of past eras.

In 1984, Ballarat Goldfields began serious exploration of the old mining areas around Ballarat East and, apparently, liked what it found.

It has since taken on licences for mines at Ballarat West, Ballarat South and Berringa, south west of Ballarat.

Collectively, the sites have a potential yield of around 9.2 million ounces of gold, an impressive amount given the yields of a century ago. The Ballarat East site alone has a potential yield of 1.1 million ounces.

It is exciting to think that subterranean Ballarat could, once again, offer up millions of dollars in precious metal.

Ballarat is a city built on the strength of a gold rush which began more than 150 years ago.

If the confidence shown by Ballarat Goldfields NL is proved, then gold will play a shining part in our future as well.




$15M processing plant on the way
Tuesday, 5 April 2005

CONSTRUCTION of a $15 million ore processing plant will begin later this year to service a Ballarat East gold mining project.
The Ballarat Goldfields NL plant will be the company's largest and will produce up to 100,000 ounces of gold per annum.

The plant will also be ramped up over the next three years to produce up to 200,000 ounces of gold.

Final design plans will be completed in the next few months with construction of the major project expected to begin later this year. Production is likely to start early next year.

The news came as the company announced it had uncovered significant mineralisation in the 1.1 million ounce project.

The discovered ore shoot is located about 350 metres below the current decline position at the southern end of Ballarat East and will be accessed within the first two years of production.

BGF managing director Richard Laufmann said the results were spectacular.

"The most pleasing and important outcome is that our ongoing drilling success continues to demonstrate the robustness of BGF's geological model, which has already delivered over one million ounces of inferred resource at

a very low discovery cost," he said.

"From the drilling to date, it also appears that the grades of the ore intersections, at depth, are significantly higher than the historical average grades achieved from the shallower old mines, which rarely went deeper than 300m

on the East field."

Corporate and markets manager Joel Forwood said the company would work with Ballarat pioneering company Gekko Systems to construct the processing plant.

Mr Forwood also said the mineralisation of the mine was better than first thought.

"It's a very positive indication and it really means that we remain firmly on track and we are remaining very confident."

The company recently informed the Australian Stock Exchange that it had increased its total exploration potential, up from six million ounces, for its fields at Ballarat East, West and South and at Berringa.

The bumper forecast includes an increase in the Ballarat East's field potential by 700,000 ounces, up from 400,000 ounces.

Ballarat West has the potential of 4.5 million ounces, Ballarat South has the potential for 2.7 million ounces and Berringa, 25 kilometres south-west of Ballarat, has been estimated at 900,000 ounces.

[12vic] 22/7/2005 08:31

RNS Number:1902P
Ballarat Goldfields N.L.
22 July 2005

BALLARAT GOLDFIELDS NL
A.C.N. 006 245 441
ASX and Media release: 22 July 2005

Appointment of New Director

Ballarat Goldfields NL (BGF) is pleased to announce that Mr Alister Maitland has
accepted an invitation to join the Board of BGF as a non-executive director
effective from 22 July 2005.

Mr Maitland, aged 64, is a former executive of the ANZ Banking Group Ltd. In a
career spanning 35 years, in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, he
held many key roles within the organisation, including Chief Economist and
Managing Director of ANZ New Zealand. During his last 6 years he was on the main
board of the bank as Executive Director International, directly responsible for
the Group's operations in 42 countries.

He is currently chairman of ASX listed Folkestone Ltd, the Eastern Health
Network, Victoria, and a director of Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad in
Malaysia.

Mr Maitland is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the
Australian Institute of Management and the Australian Institute of Banking. He
is an honorary trustee for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia
and Adjunct Professor & Council Member, Global Sustainability, RMIT.

Following the establishment of an audit committee of the Board of BGF, it is
expected that Mr Maitland will be appointed to the position of chairman of that
committee.

The BGF Board is confident that shareholders will benefit from the banking and
finance skills that Mr Maitland will bring to BGF during this important phase in
the Company's growth.


For further information, please visit our website www.ballarat-goldfields.com.au
or contact Joel Forwood, Manager Corporate and Markets, on 03 5327 1111.

Rule 3.19A.1

Appendix 3X


Initial Director's Interest Notice

Information or documents not available now must be given to ASX as soon as
available. Information and documents given to ASX become ASX's property and may
be made public.
Introduced 30/9/2001.

Name of entity BALLARAT GOLDFIELDS NL
ABN 50 006 245 441

We (the entity) give ASX the following information under listing rule 3.19A.1
and as agent for the director for the purposes of section 205G of the
Corporations Act.

Name of Director ALISTER MAITLAND

Date of appointment 22 JULY 2005

Part 1 - Director's relevant interests in securities of which the director is
the registered holder
In the case of a trust, this includes interests in the trust made available by
the responsible entity of the trust

Note: In the case of a company, interests which come within paragraph (i) of the
definition of "notifiable interest of a director" should be disclosed in this
part.

Number & class of securities
NIL


Part 2 - Director's relevant interests in securities of which the director is
not the registered holder
In the case of a trust, this includes interests in the trust made available by
the responsible entity of the trust

Name of holder & nature of interest Number & class of
Securities
Note: Provide details of the circumstances giving rise to NIL
the relevant interest.

Part 3 - Director's interests in contracts

Note: In the case of a company, interests which come within paragraph (ii) of
the definition of "notifiable interest of a director" should be disclosed in
this part.

Detail of contract NIL
Nature of interest
Name of registered holder
(if issued securities)
No. and class of securities to which interest relates




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

[12vic] 22/7/2005 08:14

Found this article today - covers Ballarat goldfields and Bendigo Mining !

Victoria prepares for a new gold rush
Source: MELBOURNE, July 22 AAP
Published: July 22 2005, 09:43AM

In the 1850s thousands flocked to Victoria's goldfields, fortunes were made overnight and ramshackle settlements were transformed into proud cities.

Now, 150 years later, a new generation of miners are returning to the state's historic goldfields to dig deep for the treasures the old-timers left behind.

The CSIRO estimates there are 5,000 tonnes of gold still in the ground in Victoria, twice what has been extracted to date.

At the famous gold rush towns of Ballarat and Bendigo and at sites across the goldfields, mining companies are identifying resources and moving towards production.

Perseverance Corporation recently opened its Fosterville mine, located on a site 20 kilometres east of Bendigo which was mined between 1894 and 1903.

The mine is expected to produce up to 120,000 ounces of gold per year, twice the gold previously mined each year in Victoria, for eight years or more.

And the other two biggest players in the second coming, Ballarat Goldfields NL and Bendigo Mining Ltd, are both moving closer to bringing their historic tenements back into production, digging deep beneath the old mine sites.

Bendigo Mining managing director Doug Buerger says historical data from the intense prospecting carried out during the gold rush has been an invaluable resource for the company in developing its geological model.

"Most of it actually comes from the archives of the (Bendigo) Advertiser, because the paper was started in 1853 and that's when reef mining started," he says.

"Mine managers used to put fairly detailed reports out and investors in the share market used them to make decisions about where they were going to invest their money."

Bendigo Mining and Ballarat Goldfield's geological models show there are potentially gold-bearing quartz reefs repeating at regular intervals below the reefs that have already been mined.

Few mines in the past went deeper than 700 metres, with water flooding in from interconnected shafts one of the main constraints.

But modern pumping techniques can deal with the water and at Bendigo the plan is now to dig down to 1,500 metres.

Paterson Securities resources analyst Hayden Bairstow has been underground at both Bendigo and Ballarat and says their geological models appear sound.

He says there has been a lot of interest in the mines from overseas but a lot more scepticism from Australian investors.

Still, more and more miners are exploring on the old goldfields and Mr Bairstow says if either Ballarat or Bendigo prove it can be done, it will set off a new wave of exploration and development.

"If they can get into production and produce some profit then the unbelievers will probably slowly turn around and that would spark a whole lot of new investment because there is a lot of gold there," he said.

"The potential for it to become a major producing area is, I think, pretty high if they get them all off the ground."

If the next gold rush does materialise it could be a fillip for regional Victorian centres.

Ballarat Goldfields plans to begin producing gold by the end of the year and says it will employ about 200 people when in full production.

Bendigo Mining employs 140 at its mine site and says it expects that to increase to 200 next year and to 550 when it is in full production.

At present 65 per cent of Bendigo's current employees are local.

Local historian James Lurk says people in Bendigo have welcomed the project.

Mr Lurk says the city is very aware of its mining heritage and many people can still trace their lineage back to old miners.

And although the last mine in Bendigo closed in 1954, there are still a few ageing miners around who have formed the Old Miners' Club.

Mr Lurk said they had toured the mine site and were impressed with the advances in technology that had been made since their day.

But as one old miner pointed out, one thing at least will be the same about the new Victorian gold rush.

"No matter what you do underground," he said, "it's still bloody dark down there."

By Alex Wilson

[12vic] 15/7/2005 15:22

I have heard comment passed that UBS have bought some 29 million BGF shares over the last six weeks . Have been unable to confirm this , however it would explain some of last months volume and trading patterns . I believe reporting threshhold in Oz is when 5% of a company is owned so this would come below that level .

[rambutan2] 15/7/2005 13:46

good. just the options being exercised. bgf get the money.

[latifs100] 15/7/2005 12:55

more shares being issued 4mill odd.. is that good or bad

[12vic] 10/7/2005 22:01

Hello Scarab ,

I've been away most of last week - hence the lack of posts . Do you have access to the Numis website ? The brokers report is listed there but I think you have to be a private client to read it in full . It's a long time since we had any exploration news so I'm hopeful of an update soon - would be nice if this came prior to the quarterly rns . Nonetheless I've been quite pleased with the slow but steady progress I've had from this share - most unusual for a mining junior !

[fat scarab] 05/7/2005 10:50

Ballarat's Broker Repeats Buy Rating

Tuesday, July 05, 2005 9:35:05 PM ET

1124 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: London-based brokerage Numis repeats Buy recommendation for Ballarat Goldfields (BGF.AU) after company locks in A$32.55 million from options due Sept. 30. Says underwriting agreement ensures full funding of plan to restart production December at historical mine site after securing A$17 million bridge loan April from Investec. Glowing report, including repeat of high-grade intersections, not altogether surprising considering Numis acts as Ballarat's broker. BGF flat at 25 cents against background of softer underlying gold prices. (JAD)

[12vic] 30/6/2005 07:54

There we are price in UK just ticked up to 10.75 new high , graph looks very good now !

Full list of Oz trades below - high was at 2.03 pm their time .

Total Trades Total Volume Last Trade V.W.A.P.
96 8,591,120 0.255 0.253


Course of Trades

Trade
Number(s) Last Traded Price Volume Change Value Number
of Trades
90 - 96 4:10pm 0.255 553,408 +0.005 $141,119 7
89 3:56pm 0.25 100,000 -0.005 $25,000 1
83 - 88 3:52pm 0.255 634,000 +0.005 $161,670 6
82 3:23pm 0.25 100,000 -0.005 $25,000 1
72 - 81 3:07pm 0.255 860,992 -0.005 $219,553 10
70 - 71 2:03pm 0.26 265,000 +0.005 $68,900 2
46 - 69 2:02pm 0.255 2,007,608 +0.005 $511,940 24
45 11:59am 0.25 10,000 -0.005 $2,500 1
30 - 44 11:36am 0.255 990,000 +0.005 $252,450 15
29 10:43am 0.25 10,000 -0.005 $2,500 1
27 - 28 10:41am 0.255 37,000 +0.005 $9,435 2
26 10:22am 0.25 50,000 -0.005 $12,500 1
22 - 25 10:06am 0.255 63,000 +0.005 $16,065 4
1 - 21 10:05am 0.25 2,910,112 $727,528 21

[12vic] 30/6/2005 07:48

Nice lot of trading last night with some big buys , some buying at 26 cents again - should see a rise in price over here today back to years high maybe . Todays announcement relates to options being taken at 15 cents ( 5 millon shares ). 8 million + share volume on ASX last night .


Buy 26.6T
0.255 Last

0.255
1 4.1%
4:20 pm High
0.26 Open
0.25 Volume
8,591,120
0.26
Sell 455.5T Low
0.25 Prev. Close
0.245 Turnover
$2,176,160



Today's News

Time Headline
11:35am Appendix 3B - Exercise of options


Today's Trading

Trade No. Time Price Volume Value Conditions
96 4:10pm 0.255 70,000 $17,850
95 4:10pm 0.255 213,408 $54,419
94 4:10pm 0.255 20,000 $5,100
93 4:10pm 0.255 150,000 $38,250
92 4:10pm 0.255 20,000 $5,100
91 4:10pm 0.255 70,000 $17,850
90 4:10pm 0.255 10,000 $2,550
89 3:56pm 0.25 100,000 $25,000
88 3:52pm 0.255 30,000 $7,650
87 3:52pm 0.255 256,592 $65,431