STOCKCHASE

Liked the stock and what they were doing in Cuba and then along came Madagascar. A question mark from a political standpoint. They could start producing and so he is looking at it again. It’s not the kind of stock he buys in this king of environment. 6 months from now we will see how the commissioning goes.

2012-01-20

PAST TOP PICK

6.360

(A Top Pick Jan 18/11. Up 8%.) 7.75% bond due 2015. Yielding about 6%. Sold this one and bought a bond maturing in 2018.

2012-01-18

BUY

6.150

Joey Mack

8% bond maturing Dec/18. Currently trading at a premium yielding 7%. Callable in Dec /17, a year early. This is attractive. If they weren't operating in Cuba and Madagascar are, this would be an investment-grade company. For risky investors only.

2012-01-09

Comment

5.970

Bill Carrigan

Most of the base metal companies are performing rather well. The downtrend line on the stock has finally been broken.

2012-01-06

Comment

5.870

(Market Call Minute.) Roughly a 3rd coal, 3rd oil and a 3rd nickel. He is hoping that the Madagascar project comes on stream and on budget in the next 3 to 6 months. If so, the stock is very cheap.

2012-01-03

DON'T BUY

5.250

John Zechner

Everything in the metals sector is cheap right now. Thermal coal has not been strong. On the metals side, he would be more focused on copper and zinc. There are others he would prefer.

2011-12-28

TOP PICK

5.290

Bonds 8% 2018: Capture an 8% return with as little risk as possible. Have ring fenced Madagascar and Cuba plus fixed volume contracts of 15 to 20 years in Canada. Sherrit just has to stay solvent.

2011-12-13

Comment

5.450

John O'Connell, CFA

Stock is trading where it is because of their big project in Madagascar. If they pull it off and it works and there is a resumption of decent economic growth, you are okay.

2011-12-08

Comment

5.620

Have a very large nickel project in Madagascar, which is to come on stream early in the new year. A laterite nickel project which is historically difficult. Market is not willing to believe they can handle it. If they are successful there will probably be a re-rating. Also trading at a discount because of their Cuban assets.

2011-12-07

TOP PICK

5.560

8% bonds due 2017. Biggest project is in Madagascar where they had cost over runs. Because of its Cuban assets is rated a non-investment grade bond but with their fundamentals it should trade as an A low bond. Great managers.

2011-12-05

BUY

5.150

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

90% of all thermal coal production in Canada. Working on a huge nickel project in Madagascar. Cuba accounts for about 20% of their overall revenue. At this price, it is probably a good entry-level.

2011-11-28

DON'T BUY

5.150

Hank Cunningham

8% bonds maturing in 2018? Market has always discounted this name because of the Cuban involvement. 5 of the 6 major underwriters in Canada won't touch them. Fairly solid balance sheet but is really not a fan of this credit and wouldn’t recommend them.

2011-11-28

Comment

4.980

Have a big bet in Madagascar. If it is successful, it will really make this company but there are political risks and mine development risks. There have been a lot of cost pressures in the whole mining area. Would prefer to be in a more diversified operation of mines.

2011-11-25

WAIT

5.100

James Hodgins

CEO is stepping down and often when a new CEO comes in, they want to reset the bar a little lower. Now may not be the best time to enter this one. Is somewhat negative on coal prices going forward, although they are more in the thermal coal.

2011-11-24

TOP PICK

5.260

8% bond maturing Nov 15/18. Really likes the Canadian-based coal assets, which more than backs up the value of the bond. Allows him to lock in the 8% without worrying about what happens in the market.

2011-11-22

TOP PICK

5.450

8% bonds. Rated a noninvestment grade bond but tremendous value. That leverages is small.

2011-11-16

Comment

5.540

Michael Decter

Opening a huge mine in Madagascar. Had a terrific quarter. He is taking another look at this one and may consider going back into it.

2011-11-10

BUY

5.780

Joey Mack

7.75% bond maturing Oct 15/15 and yielding 6.75%. Holds this one personally. This is an investment-grade company. Operates in Madagascar and Cuba, which offers a lot of political risk. Not for every investor.

2011-11-04

Comment

5.730

New nickel mine in Madagascar is pretty much nearing completion. This is a key for them as it is such a huge project. There are some questions about political stability. Looks inexpensive. Higher risk than his clients could tolerate.

2011-10-31

PAST TOP PICK

5.650

Prakash Hariharan

Oct, 2014 Bond (Top Pick Mar 9/11, Up 5.45%) He moved into a new issue.

2011-10-28

DON'T BUY

4.700

When they got into the Madagascar play, he felt the timing was not conducive. Made a lot of sense from a geological standpoint. That part of the world is less than stable politically. He’ll wait to see how they do on this before stepping back in.

2011-10-21

BUY

4.540

A core holding. With commodities when the price of the commodity goes down you just run the thing flat out. In the nickel business, it is very high cost, and they shut down as soon as it goes down. So 7% of world production disappears as soon as it goes below $10. He writes Madagascar off as zero. Other business is very profitable. They have western Canada coal. Can easily make a dollar share and is yielding 3.5%. It won’t o to the moon. He can own it in this band.

2011-10-19

DON'T BUY

4.800

Jeff Black

Cyclical commodity based business. This one in particular has some political geographical risks. Madagascar project has non-recourse financing but not sure how important this project will be. Good assets for the next cycle but there is no rush to buy.

2011-10-14

PAST TOP PICK

4.840

(Top Pick Sep 1/10, Up 4%) 7.75% bonds maturing October 2015. He will do equity like return in a bond.

2011-10-11

BUY

4.420

Veronika Hirsch

Have coalmines in Canada. Nickel mine in Madagascar. Supposed to come on in early 2012. Question is whether it will work when you turn the switch on. They know the technology and put it in for other mines.

2011-09-23

Comment

4.930

Diversified base metals and coal. Have pulled back quite a bit with investors fleeing to safer havens. Very large project under development in Madagascar. Stock has been punished probably because of the perceived political risk. This mine could be extremely profitable for the company.

2011-09-20

PAST TOP PICK

4.910

(A Top Pick July 6/10. Down 16.11%.) In a year or so it should be able to earn $1 so at $5 it will be at 5X earnings. 3% dividend yield. It can be very profitable at $9-$10 nickel.

2011-09-19

DON'T BUY

4.890

David Burrows

Well run company, diversified. The problem is that it is the wrong kinds of business for the current economic environment. These types of companies can really get clobbered. If you think this is a mid-cycle slowdown, then it could do well in a mid-cycle slowdown. It will have a difficult time if the economy is slowing.

2011-09-13

Comment

5.040

Gavin Graham

Play on Cuban nickel as well as a play on coal and oil. Have a big mine in Madagascar which may or may not get completed. A play on global growth. If you are concerned about global growth, this is not one you want to be in. Not much dividend support.

2011-09-09

PAST TOP PICK

5.170

(A Top Pick Sept 1/10. Up 7%.) 7.75% bonds maturing October 2015.

2011-09-08

Comment

5.030

Benj Gallander

Used to follow a lot more closely. He has not looked at financials recently. It is low enough that he should sit down a look at it.

2011-08-25

TOP PICK

5.640

(A Top Pick July 6/10. Down 9.51%.) If nickel falls below $10, 6% to 7% of global supply will stop so this company just needs to stay above $5 for them to make a significant amount of money. Expect the stock will get back to $8-$10. 2.8% yield.

2011-08-17

WATCH

5.510

One third oil (in Canada), one third coal and cobalt (in Cuba) and one third nickel with a big project in Madagascar. Market is skeptical about Madagascar until they prove otherwise. Had some operating cost overruns. It will be 1st quarter of 2012 before we really see. If they can do it, the stock could double.

2011-08-15

PAST TOP PICK

4.920

(A Top Pick Sept 1/10. Up 9%.) 7.75% bonds maturing October 2015. Pristine balance sheet. Sold out recently because a yield was getting close to 5.5% but put some of the cash into the stock.

2011-08-10

BUY

5.810

Lyle Stein

Warrant on their huge nickel mine n Madagascar. Announced last month they would not meet production until mid next year. It’s a good buy.

2011-08-03

WEAK BUY

6.270

Exposure to coal, not just nickel. They made a big bet with a mine in Madagascar, which is not the most politically stable place.

2011-07-26

PAST TOP PICK

6.220

Prakash Hariharan

(A Top Pick March 9/11. Up 5.15%.) Bond 8.25% Oct. 24/14.

2011-06-29

DON'T BUY

6.250

Alice Tsang

Costs in their Madagascar project have become inflated and has pushed production out to Q1 of 2012 but she feels it remains to be seen if they can come in on time. Doesn't see a lot of growth in their current project. A “show me” story. Also doesn't see them benefiting on the international market for their coal.

2011-06-24

Comment

6.260

Gavin Graham

Recently announced cost increases in their giant nickel project in Madagascar. This is a mining project in a developing economy where it always takes longer and costs more. It will add 4%-5% to the global nickel production on a low-cost basis. Even it becomes nationalized or it doesn't work out, Sherritt is not on the hook.

2011-06-23

PAST TOP PICK

7.190

(Top Pick Jul 6/10, Up 20.77%) Thinks it will become a major nickel producer

2011-06-09

BUY

7.220

Likes it for Madagascar mine, which is just coming on stream. Market is slightly skeptical. Cuba is not only 40%. Asset value is $11-$12.

2011-06-07

WATCH

7.080

Concerned about their large operation in Madagascar and possible political problems. (Not in production yet. Also have significant coal operations. Probably won’t buy until he has a better fix on Madagascar, politically and production wise.

2011-05-27

BUY

6.800

Hit like a lot of material stocks. People are counting so much on the Madagascar mine, which is a very big bet for them, which will be in production over the next couple of quarters. If you are a longer term shareholder, it could work out quite well. Multiples are fairly reasonable. There is talk of them possible spinning out some of their other assets.

2011-05-17

BUY

6.800

Sherritt Intl. a mid cap company that he likes a lot. They own the bond and the equity. Thinks it trades very cheap and feels over the next year or two they will see creative measures to add to their earnings and their evaluation. Recommends buying more.

2011-05-17

DON'T BUY

7.750

John Zechner

Doesn’t expect a lot of US$ to be rushing back in to this stock, even if anything changes because of the political change. You have to look at their core businesses, thermal coal, nickel and gas. Not the best positioned company out there. Doesn’t have as much growth as some of their competitors. Lagged this year and recent earnings were disappointing. Also prefer metallurgical coal as opposed to thermal coal.

2011-05-02

DON'T BUY

7.830

Andrew McCreath

Results just came out and were kind of weak. Madagascar project is going to start to pour through some metals this summer and will ramp up to full production in about 2 full years. Geopolitical risks seem to have been somewhat tempered lately. This is only about 10% of the NAV. 40% is nickel in Cuba and he is not a fan of nickel.

2011-04-28

DON'T BUY

8.000

John O'Connell, CFA

Have a big bet going on in a project in Madagascar, which either works or doesn’t. Too early to tell. Nickel prices are reasonably attractive. There are other similar plays with far less risk.

2011-04-11

TOP PICK

8.150

Prakash Hariharan

Bond 8.25% Oct. 24/14. It’s a play on credit quality. They’ve been having trouble managing their balance sheet. They over-spent on building the Madagascar nickel mine. If that comes on line later this year as management says it will, they are going to take pretty strong measures to increase their credit quality.

2011-03-09

TOP PICK

8.360

Any time nickel goes over $10 their Ambatovy mine in Madagascar will start kicking in and if nickel remains tight, this company should be worth $15. Also if they ever want to start taking the company apart they could uncover value over the next couple of years.

2011-03-08

PAST TOP PICK

8.360

(A Top Pick March 3/10. Up 12.5%.) Sherritt Conv. Bonds 7.75% 2015:

2011-03-08

WATCH

9.070

Chinese have found a way of producing stainless steel cheaper, which has taken the shine off nickel. Getting into the big Madagascar nickel mine and with some of the politics makes him a little nervous. Would wait to see how the situation all works out.

2011-02-25

DON'T BUY

9.000

Charles Lannon

Would prefer BHP Billiton (BHP-N), which is better diversified and has a stronger balance sheet. After the run in commodities and base metals since March 2009, you should looks at a higher quality name. You might want to consider their bonds instead.

2011-02-23

HOLD

9.490

Derek Webb, CFA

Nickel, oil/gas and some other businesses. Beautiful trend line. Chart indicates it has a lot of room to run.

2011-02-17

Comment

8.750

Don Vialoux

Coal, oil and nickel. Seasonal strength is from around the end of January through to May of each year.

2011-01-27

HOLD

8.700

Main way to play thermal coal in Canada. Growth project in Madagascar doesn’t kick in unless nickel is above $10-$11. Both nickel and coal are very strong and this is a sweet spot for this company.

2011-01-24

SELL

8.520

Essentially nickel. Their big Madagascar project is really running the show. Political scene in Madagascar is still somewhat clouded. Sold his holdings.

2011-01-21

TOP PICK

9.010

7.75% bond due 2015. Yielding about 6%. Low leverage with about 30% debt to capital. Making a lot of cash to add to their bottom line.

2011-01-18

BUY

22.970

Has Cuba and large Nickel mine in Madagascar to come on line soon. Undervalued. It is a cheap stock. Problem is that some Americans wont come up and buy it because of Cuba. Double digits by end of year.

2011-01-06

BUY

23.350

Paul Harris, CFA

If nickel can stay above $10, this worth between $13-$15. Also have some nickel in Madagascar.

2010-12-23

BUY

8.300

Rick Stuchberry

If you look at where the growth in the world is and what they are using, there is great demand for materials and for quite a period of time. S-T is a name and is doing some interesting stuff. Nothing wrong with it.

2010-12-16

DON'T BUY

8.250

David Burrows

Likes their coal and power but doesn’t care for the nickel. Would prefer Teck (TCK.B-T) or a pure play on coal.

2010-12-13

STRONG BUY

7.890

Paul Harris, CFA

Likes it as a nickel play as he expects nickel prices to go up in the next little while. In a strong robust nickel environment, this should reach $15. Have a large play in Madagascar.

2010-11-25

BUY

8.590

James Hodgins

Have a nickel project in Madagascar along with coal and some Cuban assets. Has been positive change as they entered production. Good operators. Looking to Buy on any pullbacks.

2010-11-15

PAST TOP PICK

8.470

(A Top Pick Dec 7/09. Up 42%.) Mixture of nickel oil and coal and seemed like it was lagging. Trades at a 35% discount to its net asset value.

2010-11-12

WAIT

8.000

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

Showing some signs of life recently. But no new highs. Wait until it goes above $8.50. Stop loss $7.50 if you own it.

2010-10-08

Comment

7.330

Peter Brieger

First class management and first-class projects. Ambatovy is coming on stream in December. 2 interesting partners including a South Korean and a Japanese. Looks interesting and it may be one he will be buying your

2010-09-21

HOLD

7.300

Ron Meisels

Has been finding support roughly near the $6 level and as long as that holds, it is a positive stock. Has also broken through the down trend line, which is positive. Use a stoploss near the $6 level.

2010-09-08

TOP PICK

7.250

(A Top Pick Aug 12/09. Up 43%.) 7.75% bonds maturing October 2015. The big price movement has already occurred but it still trades as a high yield bond. Cheap relative to investment grade credit.

2010-09-01

PAST TOP PICK

7.130

(A Top Pick Aug 12/09. Up 7.75%.) 7.75% bonds maturing October 2015. Still likes.

2010-07-26

DON'T BUY

6.500

Veronika Hirsch

Major play on nickel with facilities in Cuba and Madagascar. Madagascar mine is going to be a very expensive project, which is kind of clouding the stock. Wait until they come into production before buying.

2010-07-15

TOP PICK

6.020

Did extremely well with the bonds. (See Past Top Picks.) Have a couple of key pieces in the business that he expects they will move around and extract value from them.

2010-07-06

PAST TOP PICK

6.020

(A Top Pick May 19/09. Up 37.6%.) 7.75% bond due Oct 15/15 and yielding 12%.

2010-07-06

DON'T BUY

6.020

David Baskin

Always been a pretty edgy company because of its assets and geography. Thought there might be loosing of policy under Obama regarding Cuba. Not sure when coal prices will harden up.

2010-07-06

BUY

5.850

Jason Donville

Coal mining with international operations. Now is an attractive time to go into coal but he prefers WTN-T.

2010-06-29

Comment

6.280

Joey Mack

8.25% maturing Oct 24/14 and 7.75% maturing Oct15/15. This company has one rating only, which is BB High. This is not investment-grade. Not an appropriate investment for any conservative investor.

2010-06-25

SELL ON STRENGTH

6.680

Don Vialoux

Hit very badly. Seasonal from End of November until end of April. Nickel price have come down and brought the stock down. It’s also sensitive to oil and that came down.

2010-05-31

SELL

6.770

Ron Meisels

It has been doing well. The 200-day started to curl up and that is exactly where the correction took it. When it crossed the 200-day moving average, it was the sell signal.

2010-05-18

BUY

6.750

Everybody positive on their large Madagascar nickel play. Stock is currently down because of risk aversion, not the company per se. If the Europe situation spreads this could go down but otherwise it's a good holding.

2010-05-17

WAIT

7.080

Rick Stuchberry

When emerging markets get going again, this will be a participant. The Cuban element holds some US buyers back from it. Buy it at the recent lows but don't be in a big rush is there is no dividend on it.

2010-05-14

DON'T BUY

6.980

(Market Call Minute.) Sold his holdings. Madagascar project is sort of limping along. Technicals on the stock looked terrible.

2010-05-07

BUY

7.320

Derek Webb, CFA

Likes it. Big correction because of correction in commodity stocks. It’s a good place to buy right now.

2010-05-04

DON'T BUY

21.320

Don Vialoux

This company and copper stocks have a bit of a problem right now. Most of the base metals stocks are having problems. The Shanghai index is down about 10% over the last 2 weeks. Biggest user of copper is the Chinese who are starting to slow their economy down.

2010-04-30

BUY

21.750

Andrew Cook

Likes it. Just had a nice consolidation. Thinks there is more upside. No downside to the Cuba connection. If Cuba starts to open up they are well positioned.

2010-04-26

BUY on WEAKNESS

21.800

Peter Brieger

Have a major new nickel development that they had trouble financing for time but it looks like that's in place now. Bringing the nickel into production is still a year or two away. On the positive side they have the coal business along with their business in Cuba. Likes it long-term.

2010-04-15

PAST TOP PICK

21.230

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Convertible 7.75% 2015 bonds (Top Pick Apr 6/09, Up 59%) Could still go up another 10%.

2010-04-13

BUY

21.120

Robert Lyon

Well leveraged to zinc and nickel prices as well as coal prices. Still good upside.

2010-04-09

BUY on WEAKNESS

21.330

Stan Wong

Showing up nicely on his screen. Recently beat estimates. Has some earnings momentum. Moving along the 50 and 200 day moving averages. Expect there will be a pullback and would consider at $8.

2010-04-08

DON'T BUY

21.380

Benj Gallander

(Market Call Minute) He wouldn’t buy it. But insiders have been buying like crazy.

2010-04-05

BUY

20.180

Christine Poole

In the process of ramping up a nickel play in Madagascar. Have diversified beyond their Cuban holdings now. Well run company. Long-term this is a good investment.

2010-03-30

Comment

19.100

Last peak in the chart at around $8.50, would probably be some sort of support. If it doesn't hold, it could drop to $7.50.

2010-03-22

BUY

19.150

Michael Smedley

Will probably continue through $10. Doing better with its Madagascar laterite/nickel situation.

2010-03-18

Comment

8.850

Essentially a third coal, a third nickel and a third oil with fairly heavy Cuban exposure on the nickel and oil side. Largest leaseholder in Alberta of coal. Very cheap stock on a net asset value. The real catalyst will be if Cuba eventually opens up.

2010-03-15

DON'T BUY

7.430

Michael Decter

Very dependent on what happens in Cuba, which has some uncertainty. Not really keen on this company at this time.

2010-03-08

TOP PICK

7.430

Sherritt Conv. Bonds 7.75% 2015: Cuba does not affect this bond. Being paid to wait means more than just T-Bill interest rates. Same duration Transalta Bond has a 4.2% yield, but they are the same bond.

2010-03-03

PAST TOP PICK

7.430

(Top Pick Apr 6/09, Up 64.6%)

2010-03-03

Comment

7.430

Christine Poole

Nickel play. Lots of assets in Cuba.

2010-02-26

DON'T BUY

7.430