INSIDER TRADING Pezim sells ahead of price decline

Murray Pezim may have had his wings clipped to some extent by an investigation into trading activity involving some of his companies. But the Vancouver promoter obviously hasn’t lost his sense of timing. Back in August, according to the Ontario Securities Commission’s OSC Bulletin, Pezim unloaded a significant block of Corona (TSE) Class A shares when they were trading at a much higher price than they are now.

The OSC Bulletin shows that Pezim sold one million Class A shares for $7.50-8. Because of uncertainty in the market and confusion over what the shares are actually worth, Class A shares of Corona have since bottomed at $6 and are trading at around $6.25.

Directors Peter Brown and Lawrence Page also indicated a shrewd sense of timing by reducing their holdings ahead of the price drop. Brown sold 36,000 Class A shares for $7.63 to hold 5,000 directly, while Page sold 310,000 to hold 178,154.

Other mining insiders who were active in the stock market recently include:

Cambior (TSE) affiliate Soquemines Inc., which bought 50,000 shares for $14.83 to hold 300,000.

Falconbridge Ltd. President Alex Balogh bought 25,000 shares of Noranda (TSE) under a plan for $16.57 to hold 84,375.

Spirit Lake Explorations (ME) director William Chymyck bought 16,500 shares for 75-80 cents. He also sold 59,000 shares for 79-85 cents to hold 13,800.

Trimin Resources’ (TSE) corporate Secretary Catherine Divito bought 11,000 shares for $2.50- 2.75 before selling 5,600 for $2.65-2.75.