Hey I nearly forgot! How are things going over at The Cardero Group of companies this year, Henk?

Oh....not so well.

Never mind, there's always a new crop, isn't there?

What could Cardero Resources (CDY) (CDU.to) possibly know about Trevali Resources (TV.to)?

I mean, it's hardly likely that Cardero (CDY) (CDU.to) has any inside track on Trevali (TV.to) and knows more than we retail grunts do, is it? I mean, it's not like they share any of the same management or belong to the same group of companies, is it? And what's that about Mr van Alphen having a long track record of  luck with his timing of buys and sells? Surely not!

Trevali Resources Corp. (TV)						As of January 24th, 2011
Filing Date	Transaction Date	Insider Name	Ownership Type	Securities	Nature of transaction	# or value acquired or disposed of	Unit Price
Jan 24/11	Jan 19/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-170,000	$2.347
Jan 24/11	Jan 19/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-5,000	$2.280
Jan 24/11	Jan 19/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-30,000	$2.230
Jan 24/11	Jan 19/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-20,000	$2.260
Jan 24/11	Jan 18/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-20,000	$2.150
Jan 24/11	Jan 18/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-15,000	$2.180
Jan 24/11	Jan 18/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-180,000	$1.882
Jan 24/11	Jan 17/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-70,000	$1.950
Jan 24/11	Jan 17/11	Cardero Resource Corp.	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-200,000	$1.980

After all, they've only sold 710,000 shares of TV.to at all prices between $1.88 and $2.34.....so far. What's $1.5m between friends these days anyhow?

Make hay while the sun shines, Henk. The rest of you, DYODD.

A quick word on Cardero (CDY) (CDU.to)

As per the news release this morning, the iron ore deal with China's Nanjinzhao Group is going through as planned, with $58m paid and $30m to come on December 31st.

So if we check the last quarterly we note that CDY holds net assets of $44m. To that we can add maybe $14m due to the continued upwards valuation of ITH.to. Then let's add the $88m being banked with the Chinese this month.

So, via the ballpark math we have $146m in assets (a lot of that liquid assets) and 58m shares out. That's around $2.50 per share. This would mean that the current U$1.37 per share pre -market price is a total bargain except for one small detail; the company is run by self-serving crooks and will find a way of ripping off the retail holders somehow. As such, it's still totally avoidable no matter how cheap it looks on paper. DYODD.

Pisco sours served. The end.

What you need to know about Dorato Resources

• 1) It's getting pumped by the brassnecks at the can of corn. Twice this week the dog known as DRI.v has appeared in breathless notes in the 'Morning Coffee' publication, today's pearl using that wonderful "the next Aurelian?" line. Laughable.

• 2) It was the subject of this series of posts last year on how a gold mining stock with serious red flags is pumped to sheep. There's plenty on the subject of the Cenepa region in the series, including how Anglo picked over the concessions and handed them back. And the tens of thousands of landmines, too. But don't worry about your geologists getting blown up in the middle of the Peruvian jungle...doesn't happen often.

• 3) Right now, according to the Peru ombudsman "Defensor del Pueblo", Dorato is in social conflict with the locals around the project. And we're not talking about that lil village just down the road, either, we're talking about 55 separate communities of the Awajun-Wampum people that live there. Also, there is no dialogue currently going on between the two sides. You think they're going to get drill permits? Try thinking again.

The latest pump job might have something to do with the recent appointment of Gordon Neal to the board of DRI. Neal is also the VP Corp Development at MAG Silver, a company that has managed to screw up one of the better silver asset discoveries of this decade with inept corporate politics. He must have 'the Zeds'' phone numbers on his rolodex....

Dorato Resources: the real insider bails more

Jorge Bedoya (nice tie)

Yesterday a dude named Jorge Bedoya sold 261,100 shares of Dorato Resources (DRI.v) into the market (here's the filing).

Dorato Resources Inc. (DRI)						As of June 16th, 2009
Filing Date	Transaction Date	Insider Name	Ownership Type	Securities	Nature of transaction	# or value acquired or disposed of	Unit Price
Jun 16/09	Jun 15/09	Bedoya, Jorge Arturo	Direct Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-261,100	$0.600 USD

The thing is, Bedoya ain't no common or garden insider in this company. He's the man who knows the area Dorato is exploring more than anyone else in the DRI.v team, as his "Afrodita" company is the one that Dorato bought into/bought out (there's still some confusion whether Afrodita is officially owned by Dorato or if it's still in the optioning stage) to get its hands on those concessions way up in North Peru.

Afrodita has been working the area for well over a decade,and Bedoya has spent plenty of time up there. He knows the area and he knows the people. In fact, he knows them so well that he was witness at a government enquiry into problems there a few years ago. So it's more telling than most insider sales that a guy so intimate with Dorato's property affairs is now bailing in the company, taking the money and running.

Of Mice and Men and Cardero Resources (CDY)

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
gang aft a-gley
'To a mouse" (Robert Burns)

Cardero (CDY) (CDU.to) today announced that their deal to sell their Pampa de Pongo iron ore project in Peru with Chinese steelpeople Nanjinzhao has hit a large bump in the road. The $10m deposit that was supposed to have been wired to CDY didn't appear by the alloted 17th May deadline and the company reports that negotiations are ongoing about the final price, as Nanjinzhao don't want to pay the previously mentioned $200m total ticket price for the project due to world market conditions.

Two things to say (that may seem contradictory at first) and then a conclusion

1. I can't say I'm that surprised. Cardero is run by a bunch of promo artists and the Chinese are the only buyers out there. I thought that the Chinese would pay the $10m deposit and then stall on the final $188m settling price and not baulk at this intermediate stage, but that's my bad call.

2. I, dumbass dude with a blog, actually believed them! After the posts written earlier in the year I was sucked in by the story, I did background checking, invested DD time liked what I saw/heard and read and even called it a buy in the newsletter (that now has to suffer a hole in its "closed positions" section of the stocks to follow table). And I'm long CDY today. Not a massive, life-changing position and knowing that the risk was always there, but it doesn't take away the fact that I got it plain vanilla wrong.

Moral of the story: No more heeding siren songs, no more investing on the word of untrustworthy companies, no more bullshit management teams deserving of my $$. The beauty of capital markets is that you get your penance delivered in quick and undeniable form. There's never any way round a 30% or 40% loss, no excuses or "yes, but...." will ever make it disappear. You take the loss, realize you have failed, admit it, remember the dangers of ego in this game and try to reconcile the fact that a monetary loss can turn into a longer-term profit if the lesson of the loss can be learned and incorporated.

So having started with one Scottish poet I'll finish with another that I've already quoted on this blog at a time of philosophical loss-taking. Hugh MacDiarmid, take it away;

We must be humble. We are so easily baffled by appearances
And do not realise that these stones are at one with the stars.
It makes no difference to them whether they are high or low,
Mountain peak or ocean floor, palace, or pigsty.

There are plenty of ruined buildings in the world but no ruined stones

Hugh MacDiarmid, 'On a Raised Beach'

Cardero (CDY) (CDU.to) and Elmer Fudd

Be vewy vewy qwiet.


'Am huntin' wabbit.

May 17th is the limit date folks, remember? Faites vos jeux..

What's the rush, Michael?

When insiders sell stock in their company it's always worth noting. Sometimes those sales have decent explanations, sometimes they get your nose a-twitching. Sometimes they're small, sometimes they're big. But when one single insider sells stock not just in one company but in five companies all related to each other, it's one worth commenting out loud. Especially if that person happens to be the Chief Financial Officer in two of the five companies.

Over the last couple of weeks, Michael Kinley, CFO of Cardero Resources and International Tower Hill (ITH.v) has sold stock in CDY

Cardero Resource Corp. (CDU)

Apr 09/09	Mar 23/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	10 - Disposition in the public market	-2,700	$3.170
Apr 09/09	Mar 31/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	11 - Disposition carried out privately	-5,000	$1.670
Apr 09/09	Mar 23/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	11 - Disposition carried out privately	-4,500	$3.020

He's sold stock in ITH

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (ITH)

Apr 09/09	Mar 31/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	11 - Disposition carried out privately	-212,500	$0.210
Apr 01/09	Mar 23/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	11 - Disposition carried out privately	-8,000	$1.420

But he's also sold chunks of three other "Cardero Group" companies, namely Wealth Minerals (WML.v):

Wealth Minerals Ltd. (WML)

Apr 01/09

Mar 23/09

Kinley, Michael Winslow

Indirect Ownership

Common Shares

11 - Disposition carried out privately

-144,456

$0.400

Dorato Resources (DRI.v)

Dorato Resources Inc. (DRI)

Apr 09/09

Mar 31/09

Kinley, Michael Winslow

Indirect Ownership

Common Shares

11 - Disposition carried out privately

-58,000

$0.630

And Trevali Resources (TV:cnq)

Trevali Resources Corp. (TV)

Apr 09/09	Mar 31/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	11 - Disposition carried out privately	-150,000	$0.100
Apr 01/09	Mar 23/09	Kinley, Michael Winslow	Indirect Ownership	Common Shares	11 - Disposition carried out privately	-5,000	$0.660

Now all this selling must have a decent reason, surely no? But all the same if the CFO, the dude who does the money chez Cardero, starts bailing heavily from the interrelated companies he holds (and after collecting $150,000 in fees for his services last year from ITH.v and CDY) don't you think the market deserves a word or two of reassurance, especially considering the delicate state of negotiations between CDY and the Chinese over their delayed iron ore deal? Inquiring minds and all that.........

Wake up, Kingsford Capital!

The Cardero boys are playing your tune, Mike Wilkins & Co.

All on the back of this recent update that tries to suggest that El Tambo is the new FDN and how 2008 was a great success. Pity about those helicopters and the drilling that never happened and the locals taking your guys hostage and the ongoing bad blood up there, isn't it?

But wait! Oh wow! What a surprise! Is that the second vesting period coming to an end soon? What an amazing coincidence! Hooda thunkit, eh?

Expect more hype in a few days. Then expect a peak of volume action. Brent Cook might even chime in at some point (depends on how barefaced his cheek is right now). Then expect misery for those foolish enough to buy. Just another day Chez Van Alphen, folks. Move along...nothing to see here......

DYODD. I've done mine, I don't own and never, ever, ever will.

Related Post
Anatomy of a Canadian Stock Promotion (part 7)

Cardero (CDY): You could have knocked me down with a feather....

....they actually sold something.

OK, it's not "sold" as yet (and I'd sure like to see the full terms of agreement) but according to the PR just released CDY has sold its Pampa de Pongo iron ore deposit for a cool $200m. They get $10m within the first three months and then the other $190m is supposedly due within nine months. During this time the buyers, Nanjinzhao Group of China, have to get the necessary paperwork from their government.

Nanjinzhao is a bit of a surprise name to play with here; Pampa de Pongo has an approximate U$3.3Bn (with a "B") construction cost attached to it, so the numbers quoted in the CDY press release this morning suggest that this is a big project for Nanjinzhao to take on relative to its present size. On the other hand, most of the Chinese metals buyouts in the last two years are headed up by this-or-that company but really it's China the Nation buying into and developing the mines.

Back to Cardero; with 57m shares out, this $200m deal would add a large, large chunk of cash to company assets. Shares are trading up 35%+ at C$1.97 this morning (Canandian stock CDU.to), and if the company receives the full $200m on schedule it's worth $3.50 a share in cash.....one to think about. I have to say here that I've never been comfortable with the arch-promo techniques used at CDY and the other companies in the "Cardero Group" (just check out the "anatomy of a canadian stock promotion" series to see where I'm coming from and remember DRI.v is the same stable).

But a signed deal is a signed deal, no arguing with that one. I'll certainly feel more convinced that CDY is going to close the deal when the first U$10m is handed over and if/when Nanjinzhao makes noises about getting its hands on the necessary Chinese paperwork. So for the moment you can slate me for being leery but I'm remaining sceptical on this deal, bird-in-the-hand and boy-who-cried-wolf and all that. However I'll be very happy to be eventually proved wrong on this; those who have read the story of the boy who cried wolf will recall that at the end of the story, the wolf actually turned up.