Junior mining investors should have known that when Shawn Ryan was on the cover of the NYT, it was time to sell. -TH

Junior mining investors should have known the top was in when Yukon prospector Shawn Ryan made the cover of the NYT (May, 2011).

Ryan Gold Corp. (RYG) added three cents to 14 cents on 925,000 shares. Interim president David Schmidt has moved to vice-president of corporate development so executive chairman Murray John can take over as president. Mr. John is also the president of Corona Gold Corp. (CRG: $0.41) and a director of Dundee Precious Metals Inc. (DPM: $3.14). At Ryan, he plans to suspend exploration in the Yukon and look for more advanced properties elsewhere. The company spent $25-million exploring in the Yukon over the past two years. In 2011, it optioned 50 gold properties from prospector Shawn Ryan, bringing on the well-known prospector as president. At the time, Underworld Resources, which optioned its White Gold property from Mr. Ryan, had just been taken over by Kinross Gold Corp.

Ryan Gold was hoping Mr. Ryan could bestow on it a similar send-off. Results from Ryan Gold's exploration programs, however, were disappointing. Fortunately, the company still has $20-million in working capital from a $52-million financing (at $2 and $2.25) in 2011. Dundee bought 4.9 million of the $2.25 shares, bringing its holdings to 10 million shares. They have since lost $20-million in value. According to SEDI, Dundee made another large purchase last month, buying 9.4 million shares privately at 14 cents. This was just about the same number of shares Mr. Ryan held when he resigned as president last December. Now he is promoting a private company called GroundTruth Exploration, which uses remote-controlled drones to conduct aerial surveys over gold properties. He says the drones can help lower exploration costs by one-fifth.

RYG 3 year

Source: Stockwatch Gold Summary (Subscribe)