Without a doubt this must be one of the best plays on the ASX as we speak.
A market cap of $24M for a company that is about to start gold production at the Bullant gold mine with proven reserves - this is daylight robbery. To call USN undervalued is the understatement of the century. How it has remained this long under the radar is beyond me.
Soon to commence gold production at the newly acquired Bullant gold mine, the company recently completed a capital raising of approximately $10M at 15.5cents per share. It wasn't a typical raising of script issued to mates and brokers at heavily discounted prices. But rather, all the directors of this company personally stumped up their own cash, among other participants. One of the directors, Chris Daws, personally contributed over $1.2M towards the placement with his own money. The issue price of 15.5c is well above the current trading price of this company.
The share price has been under recent selling pressure as a result of the Bullant Gold mine purchase from Argent Minerals (ARD). ARD shareholders were issued shares in USN as a result of the gold mine purchase. Many of these shareholders have chosen to sell their USN shares since receiving their allocation. This has been met by many significant on-market purchases by the directors (Chris Daws and Alex Hewlett). One can only guess the message being sent here.
Providing support to a falling share price? Possibly.
Showing the market that they know this company is a winner, but just can't legally tell us in those words? Definitely.
Chris Daws has now made many on-market purchases of this stock collectively worth several million dollars. It is interesting to note that both Chris Daws and his father Doug Daws (a well-known Kalgoorlie mining identity) were previously directors of ARD, which owned the Bullant goldmine before selling it to USN. Chris was serving as a director on the ARD and USN boards simultaneously, while Doug served only on the ARD board. Just prior to the Bullant mine transaction taking place, Chris resigned from the ARD board but Doug stayed on during the transaction.
Joining the dots, I would say that Chris and Doug knew very well what was in the ground out there at Bullant long before it was acquired by USN. Chris Daws was (and still is) the single largest shareholder of USN. Now I would only be guessing, but I'd suggest that Chris and father Doug have possibly had the odd conversation around the dinner table over the years about how to make a good dollar or two. Or maybe not, and they just chat about the weather while playing backgammon? Call me crazy but I don't think the Bullant gold mine transaction between these two companies was a total coincidence.
I wonder how many people who sold their USN shares during the last month didn't work this one out? It's actually quite surprising that they didn't see the big picture unfolding. Or I could be completely wrong.
When will the selling pressure stop? I'm not exactly sure. A combination of many ARD holders indiscriminately selling their allocation of USN with perhaps a few stop losses being hit along the way has surely contributed to a severely undervalued USN. Perhaps someone else might like to comment on this.
Little chatter on Hotcopper on this one = getting in at basement prices while it is unloved. Buyers at this price stand to make a fortune. Maybe the fact that the directors and major shareholders keep buying more and more of the free float is an indication of things to come.
Look at the board, look at the management, look at the Top 20 holders list, do some research. I can't see this company staying off the radar for too much longer. I hate when people use the term 'no-brainer' - but this is certainly one of those classic investments that only comes around a few times in one's life when you stand to make an absolute killing. I can't wait for their first gold pour.
I'd appreciate others thoughts and comments on any of the above.
USN Price at posting:
11.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
