Lithium stocks

The flavour of the last quarter is lithium...  The world needs energy storage that is cheap, high capacity for size, reusable, reliable, light weight,  and recharges quickly.

Lithium is currently the number one choice.  Hence the small companies are looking for suckers.  A mere mention of lithium (intention to explore or suggestion of potential) would be enough to make the share price jump.  However, ONLY if the discovery is big or potentially huge (with high probability), then the market would be of interest but that is still risky.

The only ones to invest in are those which are producing in sizeable amount with decent mine life.  However, you are too late if you are considering it now.  The likes of GXY and ORE have already jumped a few months ago.  NMT is starting delivery too but it too has moved higher.

Alpha

On a day when the market went down by 44 points to 5813, it is nice to stay in the black relative to yesterday's close.

There are 2 stocks I have to give credit to.  One is GGG, once a lame duck with a huge REE deposit in Greenland and the other is EDE.  When EDE does well, TAS gets pulled up too so it is 3 stocks altogether.

When a big Chinese producer of REE bought into this Greenland deposit, I topped up 3 times (2015 and 2016).  Those top-ups lowered my average buy price significantly.  Today with a jump in share price, I am truly into the black with this stock.  REE price is unlike gold where there is a market price.  It depends on what your customer wants to pay... and you have to deal directly AFTER you have found a customer.

I have no idea why EDE went up today... but I am not questioning!

I am in the positive in spite of significant fall in the price of oil and the ASX All Ords....

EDE and TAS

These two stocks have given me a lot of alpha.  And today, with another good announcement, it is surprising that they haven't jumped up more.  All the tests have been good.  Perhaps it is because the sale of EdenCrete have not jumped.  But you can sense the prospect.

It is also incredibly hard to believe that TAS should be worth 37c based on EDE valuation by the market at 24.5c.  There is no debt, yet TAS is only worth 18.5c and rose slightly to 19c.

A3D

Do I know anything about 3D printing?  Nope...

Warren Buffett said that he never invest in anything he does not understand.  So he stayed away from dot.com companies during that boom.  Consequently he looked like he was passe when it comes to 'smart investing'.  However, when the dot.com era went bust, he came out looking extremely smart.

So am I being dumb buying into a 3D printing company that makes metal 3D printers cheaper than others?  And it is Australian so that makes it even more incredible.  The head is an Iranian refugee!  My faith is based on my adage that if he is an Iranian and he was a refugee, then he must be brilliant.

Lithium

Because Li ions are small (lightest halogen) in weight relatively, it packs a punch with its electrical effect.  But when investing in lithium mining stocks, there are many CEOs who know Li is the flavour of the season.  Hence, they will shift to highlighting the stock's lithium credentials.

The problem is it is very expensive to produce lithium ore and both expensive and longer if it is in the from of brine.  And you have to have your customers.

We got into GXY by default, mostly via GMM which was taken over by GXY.  If the rise in GXY was spectacular, it is even more so with GMM because a premium had to be paid for taking it over.

One stock that has risen but not as dramatic is NMT.  The good news about NMT is that it is IN the process of shipping its ore, with a Chinese customer.  I have topped up but because I bought the bulk a long time ago,  I am still in the red.

Banks

Not that long ago, some brokers were recommending that bank shares are overpriced... and because of this and that, investors should offload some.  My father said invest in anything with long term reliable dividend paid out of profit especially when people are dumping those shares as the dividend is far better than interest paid on bank deposits.

My question is not who is right or who is wrong.  My wish is for those brokers to account for their miserable 'expert' opinion.  Well, they may still be right but it will have to be due to other factors.

I didn't dump any financial stock... and in fact, I picked up more ASX shares when it was dumped.