Insiders: If you can't beat 'em, don't join 'em

A few minutes ago I got a mail concerning the previous post on Plexmar Resources (PLE.v) which asked (paraphrasing), "So how can we play these junior miners like PLE.v?".

Two possible answers:

1) Spot the trend and get on before the pump happens
2) Just don't go there.

Regarding point 1), I actually pointed out a stock in this week's first edition of The IKN Weekly that is showing all the hallmarks of a pump'n'dump, with an insider buying very large quantities of stock at the same time as a brand new resource calculation and drilling program is taking place. That stock is LAT.v and I've mentioned the situation on site before in this post (since the post was published on March 31 Sheldon has bought more stock, by the way).

However, as I mentioned in The IKN Weekly this kind of second-guessing activities are über-high risk and shouldn't concern more than a tiny fraction of your portfolio. So really and truly, the best thing to do with the Plexmars of this world is 2) Just don't go there.

Check out this chart below. It shows how insiders Bedard and Contreras sold into a large, high volume movement in January this year, but what it doesn't mention is that the movement was caused by this BS press release on Jan 16th that turned out, yet again, to be a flash in the pan.


We covered this scam back in these two posts at the time, by the way. The point is, how the hell can you anticipate these guys? When are they going to release another PR like today's lump of hot air? They know...they know EXACTLY, but you don't. And whil we're at it, how can they sell themselves 5c stock in February with 10c warrants attached when the lowest closing price all that month was 7c?

So why worry your head about it, why go there? You can't beat 'em, so don't join 'em. Why try and second guess BS pumps and scammy, self-serving management, especially at a time when there are so many decent junior explorers and miners with largely honest people in charge that are selling for great discounts? For sure the 40% pop that PLE.v has put in today looks sexy, but it won't look very sexy if you buy at the top and wait indefinitely for the PPS to return after holding a heavy bag all summer.

As Nancy Reagan put it "Just say no to drugs, suckaz*". Get yourself a few decent prospects in your portfolio and forget about the crap like PLE.v once and for all.

*ok, she didn't say 'suckaz'

Plexmar (PLE.v): Another miner to avoid like the plague

How this for an example of self-serving management that will screw shareholders at the first possible opportunity? Plexmar (PLE.v) is a junior miner in Ecuador and Peru with a very poor track record of promising much and delivering little. So when it recently announced its deal with local Peru miner Ucucha to go JV on its 'Bolsa del Diablo' project in northern Peru I had to wonder where the catch would be.

It didn't take long. On January 16th, the very day that PLE.v issued a PR to say that the contract was signed, company insider Juan Contreras (a local landowner brought in to help with communications) sold 279,000 shares into a market that peaked that day at $0.12 on very heavy volume. Here we are six trading days later at $0.075. You can't help but wonder how many more insiders are left to file their trades, eh M. Bedard? As for Contreras, what kind of message do you think he's "communicating" with his actions?

Companies like PLE.v (and there are many others) will screw you into the ground and skim money off your back for years on end if you give them the chance. So don't give them the chance. just avoid these scam ridden management teams and keep your eyes peeled for the people that care about all that come on board their companies, not just themselves.

PS: I've had an e-mail conversation with somebody I repect greatly about another company with directors caught screwing its shareholders recently. The only reason I'm not mentioning its name here is that it doens't operate in Latin America, but that company is just another example of how a decent and trustworthy management team is more important than a good project. Self-serving management teams will continue to be called out on this blog, and they can go f themselves...I'm sick to death of the scammers. Conversely the good ones will be named as good.