NTMC
BCSC halts rare earth promotion Neotech Metals
2023-12-21 20:08 ET - Street Wire
Also Street Wire (C-NTMC) Neotech Metals Corp
by Mike Caswell
The B.C. Securities Commission has issued an order halting Neotech Metals Corp., a Canadian Securities Exchange listing with a rare earth property, citing "unexplained and unusual fluctuations" in the company's price. The stock, which was under $1 until Nov. 30, 2023, recently touched a $4.15 high. The BCSC says the trading came amidst potentially misleading statements by the company.
The halt is contained in a brief order that the BCSC issued on Thursday, Nov. 21. In halting the stock, the BCSC describes the company's recent trading activity as unusual, noting that in the day prior to the halt Neotech triggered a single-stock circuit breaker three times. It did so as its volume and price saw considerable gains, despite the company issuing the standard "no material change" news release in which it said that it had no idea what would account for the activity.
While Neotech professed to have no knowledge of the sudden interest in its stock, the BCSC says that the company released potentially misleading statements on its website. Those statements were about Neotech's Treo property, a rare earths prospect in B.C. According to the BCSC, the company drew comparisons between Treo and a more advanced neighbouring property. Neotech made the comparisons despite having done "limited work" at Treo, the BCSC says.
For those reasons, the BCSC has deemed Neotech to be in a situation that "could result in other than orderly trading" in the stock. The BCSC's halt will last until the end of the day on Jan. 8, 2024. The stock will continue to trade in the U.S. on the OTC Markets.
The BCSC had little else to say about the matter on Thursday, but a glance at Neotech's website has a lengthy section about Treo. Included in that section are many references to a proposed open pit mine at an adjacent property called Wicheeda. The company says that the nearest parts of Treo are within 350 metres of the proposed open pit at Wicheeda, and that a technical report on the mine shows a net present value of $517-million. Work at Treo appears to have been far more limited, with Neotech listing 20 drill holes from 2010 and 2011. The website also describes some geophysical work, also from 2010.
(Wicheeda is owned by Defence Metals Corp., a TSX Venture Exchange company that has also been a busy trader lately. It closed at 27.5 cents Thursday, up 5.5 cents on 5.08 million shares, with that increase following a 4.5-cent gain on Wednesday. Defense Metals has not issued any news to account for the trading, although the stock was briefly halted Wednesday morning "pending company contact.")
Neotech acquired most of the claims underlying Treo on Sept. 25, 2023, for $50,000 and 100,000 shares. It later added two more claims by paying $5,000 and issuing 20,000 shares. The company also recently acquired the Thor property in Nevada, agreeing to pay $200,000 (U.S.) in cash and to issue $400,000 (U.S.) in shares. Prior to Thursday's halt, Neotech was last at $3.10, giving the company a $130.7-million market capitalization.
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