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When the copper price is a main TV news item and people are tempted to melt pennies for their metal content, prudent investors should take pause.

Indeed, as some metal prices start to wobble and lately-booming markets become nervous, advisers have reported that new issues have become harder to sell, which should in theory, be good news for quality-minded punters.

Nevertheless, those who have followed Growth Company Investor’s repeated advice to take some profits on stronger performers may be relieved they did so. The music has not stopped yet, though a 70 per cent profits drop at steelmaker Corus shows the impact of the raw materials squeeze.

When Imperial Energy, recommended last summer at 415p, trumpeted a major new find in western Siberia, we suggested partial profit-taking at 883p. Now 865p, the shares may still have longer-term appeal, while AIM-quoted Rock Oil & Gas at a mere 1.25p could tempt the bold with near-term production looming in Colombia, interesting North Sea prospects and talk of dividends before too long.

We suggested partial profit-taking at 240p when Russia-focused star Victoria Oil & Gas upped resource estimates last month. The shares are now 188p on a well testing delay — though future prospects remain potentially exciting.

Aussie-listed and AIM-quoted nickel prospector Albidon has found encouraging uranium mineralisation at Njame North on Zambia’s Kariba Valley. It offers speculative spice at 340p.

Veteran entrepreneur Masoud Alikhani has raised £16 million at 250p for Cape Diamonds, with claimed indicated and inferred resources of 1.25 million carats in two kimberlite pipes at Elandslaagte in the Kimberley region, plus a third, Balmoral, to come. Pre-float profit-taking knocked the price to 218p, where it might appeal to gamblers.

Tianshan pulls it off

Whatever nerves have recently been afflicting the market have not prevented Aussie-listed Tianshan Goldfields from raising £6.5 million at 2p to develop its Gold Mountain project in north-west China. Macquarie Bank has 15 per cent and antipodean entrepreneur Keith Liddell’s Mineral Securities ten per cent of Tianshan, which has already identified a potential low-grade resource of 1.7 million oz of gold at the project, where it has a 90 per cent stake.

Managing director David Evans, a former leading light at Aquarius Platinum, and general manager Grant Thomas say the overall project could be much bigger than this. They argue the company’s active drilling programme, covering at least 20 projects, could substantially increase the prospective resource and even hint at possible similarities to Peru’s massively rich Yanacocha gold mine.

With some £1.6 million in the bank already, raised at significantly higher prices, Tianshan has used Heywood Securities as broker to its AIM float, with WH Ireland as nominated adviser. The shares offer speculative scope while sector nerves hold.

Prospect grows at Zambezi

Exploration and development minnow Zambezi Nickel says it has discovered a 'significant extension' to its Mitaba West prospect in Zambia.

A spin-off from fellow AIM counter Zambezi Resources, Zambezi Nickel reveals that 'several exposures' of dunite, an indicator for disseminated nickel sulphide, have been discovered over a three-kilometre strike length. Chief executive officer Paul Rankine claims 'the discovery of the Mitaba West extension highlights the prospectivity of the region'.

He adds 'we are currently undertaking an extensive exploration programme in Zambia. We believe there is the potential to generate a JORC-compliant [industry-standard] nickel resource by the fourth quarter of 2006.’

Zambezi Nickel joined AIM last October with a £1.6 million placing at 10p. The shares are 0.25p up at 17.25p and could go further if confidence returns to the sector.

Latitude’s scope

Chile-focused Latitude Resources claims inferred copper resources at Filipina Grande of 545 million lbs, worth a gross £1.9 billion, and ‘encouraging’ iron ore and copper grades at Santa Dominga. Backed by wheeler-dealer David Rowlands and run by financier Martyn Konig, at 6.63p, AIM-quoted Latitude might repay a strong-nerved punt in a confident market.