What we have learned this year about Rene Marion, President and CEO of Gammon Gold (GRS) (GAM.to)

1) He's an amazingly lucky seller, managing to get rid of nearly half his personal holding of Gammon Gold (GAM.to) (GRS) shares just before a really bad YE report that saw the share price dump badly.

2) He's a crap buyer. Those 50,000 shares he's recently bought back cost him $312,377. With the PPS right now at U$5.10 (and dropping fast), that puts the dude over $42,000 in the hole (forex adjusted, of course).

(click to enlarge)

Y'see, that's what happens when mediocrity doesn't have the unfair advantage of rock solid inside information on its side.

So here's the scorecard on Rene Marion:

• Couldn't organize a piss-up in a brewery, let alone run a mine at a profit
• Has no idea how to count mineral reserves properly
• Has the labour relations skills of Josef Stalin
• Gets rich on front-running inside information
• Can't trade the market for toffee

Jeesh, they'll employ anyone these days....

More Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to)

Richard Fifer (white stubble, invisible hair) posing with Mel Gibson...or is it
Noriega? Or Don Winner? Uff, I get confused....

Y'know, after fanfaring to the world that your gold mine was about to open and your gold mine was going to produce 100,000 ounces of gold in 2009 and your gold mine was wonderful and cheap and everything (and even getting local Reuters lapdog to regurgitate your BS for the wider world), you would have thought that it might drum up a bit of interest among the investment community.

Not at Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to). It may have something to do with the fact that the management are liars and the statement aboout PTQ.to having the necessary environmental permits is 100% false, misleading and fraudulent. It might have something to do with CEO Richard Fifer's dubious past as a local politican now under embezzlement charges. It might have something to do with the total and utter rejection among locals of his mining project that is screwing up the quality of life in the area. Hell, it might be due to this humble blog getting the word out about these shady characters and their, "Pssst! Wanna buy a gold mine in Central America?" marketing techniques. But for one reason or another, the dreams that PTQ.to might have had of buyers queuing up to get a slice of their action has not materialized.

So what to do? Well, you can always prop up your own stock price by buying every single bid on any given day. For example, note that of the eight trades completed in PTQ.to on Monday 8th December, eight (i.e. all) of them had a certain Richard Fifer as the buyer (and note the cute little 500 share tape-painter at the end of the day....you go girl).

Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	500	$0.500
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	9,500	$0.490
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	1,500	$0.490
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	11,000	$0.470
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	500	$0.470
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	5,000	$0.450
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	5,500	$0.450
Dec 09/08	Dec 08/08	Fifer, Richard Glenn Fifer Carles	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Acquisition in the public market	20,000	$0.450

At least Fifer has the morals of a ship's captain and has decided to go down with this sinker. Must be looking out (from the concessions picked up in 1986 and never developed in the last 21 years) to the Panama Canal that does it.

Related Post
Petaquilla Minerals: "Oops, we forgot to tell you that we're a bunch of lying shits."
Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) update: Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire