RE: no buyers , just shorts i think management's/b.o.d.'s apathy is the bigger problem. for example, the ceo of kirkland gold says "gold companies should pay a high dividend to ward off short sellers... something in the range of 5-6%", yet the ceo doesn't decide how much dividend to pay. the board of directors does. and kirkland gold has no dividend nor does it ever intend to pay one. so the ceo can talk about paying massive dividends all he wants, but he has no intention of ever doing so. this can be extrapolated across the entire industry where dividends are a pittance.
my second example: eldorado gold, who enacted a normal course issuer bid to buy back a whole 4M shares out of the float of 700M+. it's a complete joke as management takes home $Millions in compensation each year regardless of their performance.
the poor command of their companies by ceo's is what allows short sellers to sell shares with impunity. ceos and b.o.d.s need to step up.