Topic: How To Invest

Pat, Would you have an opinion on Gippsland Resources, traded on the Australian stock exchange?

Article Excerpt

Gippsland Resources, $0.05, symbol GIP on the Australian exchange (Shares outstanding: 626.3 million; Market cap: $30.7 million Australian, www.gippslandltd.com), is focused on developing its 50%-owned Abu Dabbab-Nuweibi and Nuweibi tantalum/tin projects in Egypt. The Egyptian government owns the other 50%. Rust-resistant tantalum is used to make light-bulb filaments, electrolytic capacitors (which are used in electrical circuits), lightning arresters (which protect electrical equipment from high voltage caused by lightning), nuclear-reactor parts and some surgical instruments. Tantalum prices have moved up lately, from $38 U.S. a pound in December 2009 to a recent high of $80 U.S. Higher sales of electronic devices are part of the reason for the price rise. But most of the increase results from U.S. government pressure on manufacturers to identify their tantalum sources. That’s because 35% of the global tantalum supply is believed to come from illegal, or “conflict,” mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tantalum produced from those mines is commonly known as “blood tantalum” or “coltan.” Tantalum…