Voisey's Bay nickel discovery timeline Although not analagous to Valeura the timeline related to the discovery in 1993 to the eventual buy out by Inco in 1996 is interesting. By posting this I am not suggesting VLE will follow a similar pattern.
Voisey Bay – timelines and stock prices
posted on Feb 0 taken during reading "The Big Score".
Taken from the book 'The Big Score'
Nov 17 1994 – stock price jumps from $4.65 to $8.00 overnight. Assays from discovery drill hole #2 were announced at 2.23% nickel, 1.47% copper and .123% cobalt over 33 meters.
- one month later stock price went from $9.50 to $13.50 no newfindings since hole #2.
Jan 16 1995 - hole # 6 still no signs of massive sulfides. The “Freidland factor” pushes the stock back to $11.00.
Jan 18 1995 - historic hole #7 was presented to Diamond Fields ……104m of nearly 4% nickel.
Feb 6 1995 - press release on holes #7 + 8 (#8 was 111m) the average for both #7+8 was 3.7% nickel. The stock price went to $20.
Further drilling tests were showing the ore body to be shaped like and egg shaped deep bowl, and ovoid.
March 1995 - Continued drilling of the ovoid brought in more nickel increasing the estimated size with each passing week. Stock price was $24.00 by the end of March.
April 14 1995 - Tech bought 10% of DF at $36.00 a share or $108 million sight unseen. Not one person at Tech had seen the cores at Voisey Bay. More assays are released. The stock prices rises past $40.00.
May 1 1995 - The stock price is $50.00 a share.
May 9 1995 - INCO’s geologist estimates the ovoid’s ore reserve at 25 million tons, with a 10% chance its bigger. Takeover speculation moves stock price up to $56.00
June 8 1995 - stock price continues to $80.00 a share
Aug 3 1995 - Hole # 166 pulls up 1 meter of massive sulfides, the first showing in months of drilling outside the ovoid.
Sept 21 1995 - Stock is almost at $100 and DF did a 4-1 forward split with the new shares valued at $24.00 each.
Nov 17 1995 - Hole # 202 tapped into 40m of massive sulfides, the largest section of sulfides found outside the ovoid. Early December assays for Hole # 202 showed 3.36% nickel.
Dec 12 1995 - Stock price is at $26.00 and remains range bound for months.
Feb 1996 - Drill tests indicate the ovoid has reserves of 30 million tons and there was potentially twice as much in the second ore body.
April 3 1996 - The final 4.3 billion-dollar buy out draft is signed.
Note
Based on the information in the book I estimated that Diamond Fields had approximately 100 million shares and the buy-out realized a share price of $43.00 per share or $172.00 pre-split.