Rule: Immediate DisclosureA listed company is required to disclose material information concerning its business and affairs forthwith upon the information becoming known to management, or in the case of information previously known, forthwith upon it becoming apparent that the information is material. Immediate release of information is necessary to ensure that it is promptly available to all investors and to reduce the risk of persons with access to the information acting upon undisclosed information. Unusual trading marked by significant changes in the price or trading volumes of any of a company’s securities prior to the announcement of material information is embarrassing to company management and damaging to the reputation of the securities market, since the investing public may assume that certain persons benefited from access to material information which was not generally disclosed. Policy Statement on Timely Disclosure 3 In restricted circumstances, disclosure of material information may be delayed for reasons of corporate confidentiality. In this regard, please see confidentiality on page six.
The confidentiality rule is if the company is pursuing M&A activity or would give confidential information to competitors. But they are not allowed to hold news even if they think they it will hurt the share price. I hope that they aren't playing the "let's tell friends and family first" game. Chris or $GBR leaked news about the discovery hole before they halted the company, I hope they aren't playing the same game here.