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Shocks and pleasant surprises have marked mining markets of late. Aquarius Platinum, mentioned last week as likely to be volatile in the short term, has fallen on a dispute about its Kroondal venture in South Africa.

Fellow Aim stock Brancote has plunged on the ending of bid talks. Cluff Mining and Murchison United have been hit by profit taking.

More agreeably, Lonmin has risen to another high of £10.62 and, with the same caveat about realising some of your profits, is still worth holding. Bulgarian gold prospects have continued to push Navan Mining ahead by another 5.5p to 122.5p.

Belated recognition of Aim-listed Conroy Diamonds' potentially significant gold strike in Armagh has sent the shares up another 5.5p to 24p. They remain a long-term punt.

Gem giant De Beers has moved £4.5 higher since our last mention to £25.5 on the unveiling of the Oppenheimer family's plan to buy in the shares as part of a restructuring of the Anglo American empire. The shares have more than doubled since last year's low and their remaining upside is defined by this scheme.

At the other end of the diamond business, European Diamonds slipped again on Aim to 137p, down from its recent high of 190p - though these short-term movements should not be taken as unduly significant for the longer term. Finnish prospects still look interesting for those with patience.

Impala platinum has gained 350p to £36.75 since the potential of its Zimbabwean assets was mentioned here last week. Not every platinum counter, however, has fared as well. Aim-listed Aquarius Platinum has shed 20p to 289p as its row with Anglo American Platinum over South Africa's Kroondal platinum project intensified.

Aquarius has been trying to buy out the minorities in the project and has thwarted an attempt by Northam, where Anglo has a key stake, to gain control. But Aquarius has said it is not proceeding with a joint venture with Rustenberg (part of Anglo) to develop projects on the edge of Kroondal, which could have extended its total potential production to 300,000 oz of platinum.

The upshot could be that Aquarius loses some production towards the end of the life of the mine. If Anglo American Platinum and Aquarius cannot agree, there is the added complication that the mineral rights could revert to the government and be put up for grabs again.

This all emphasises the speculative nature of prospective mining projects. In the short-term, it might pay to cut your losses, but, looking further ahead, a rebound is likely.

Aim-listed Brancote's announcement that talks with potential bidders, including Barrick, Goldfields and other majors, had been called off have sent the shares down nearly 25 per cent to 170.5p, before rebounding to 187p.

Brancote has commented that the indicative bid from the majors was not enough and that it has enough money to take drilling at its El Desquite gold project near Esquel in Argentina through to the fourth phase of drilling without outside help. The company has 60 per cent of the project, claimed to contain at least a potential 2.7 million ounces, and its partners, Aussie tycoon Kerry Packer and local groups, are said to support its rejection.

Investors, including several institutions, had been holding Brancote essentially because of its bid prospects. They feel badly let down by the latest turn of events, though they still have faith in the potential of the gold project.

To make the project worth more than the big miners have been prepared to offer will be a challenging task. Brancote is worth holding or buying at this level, if you believe that chairman Richard Prickett and his team or anyone else at the helm can prove the bidders wrong, or attract other bidders. That leaves it decidedly speculative, but by no means devoid of potential.

Bristolian entrepreneur David Bramhill reports that the £500,000 placing at 5p by Hereward Ventures, his Ofex-quoted company moving up to Aim on the Bulgarian gold trail (like Navan), has been twice oversubscribed. This has been combined with an amending of previous warrant restrictions and the issue of new warrants at 3p to attract investors.

Bramhill's other mining company Cambridge Mineral Resources has fared well since our last mention and now stands at 30p on Aim - up from last year's 12p low. Sources close to the company continue to speak of a potential deal with Newmont, the US mining giant and, unless it goes the way of Brancote's suitors, should continue to underpin the shares.

Shares in Ofex-traded Latin American Copper (LAC), floated last August at 2p, have slumped already this year from a 7p high to 3.75p, but the company is still planning to issue more shares. That is because LAC, already involved in the Caballo Blanco project in Chile, is particularly enthusiastic about the latest assay results from its more recently acquired Tocoguaico project.

The assays reveal what LAC chairman Glenn Ward and his co-directors describe as 'commercial grades of copper from surface outcrop in a style of mineralisation which is currently being explored by major mining companies'. LAC intends to spend $531,000 (£354,000) over five years (starting with $8,450 on day one) to build a 100 per cent stake, and a potential major mining partner is rumoured to be hovering in the wings.

Another project, Corona de Cobre, is estimated by Noranda, its previous explorer, to contain at least 22 million ounces of ore with 0.5 per cent copper. LAC reckons it is worth going ahead with half of this project, if possible.

The company is to seek shareholders' permission to issue more shares to fund these developments. It could pay off handsomely, though it looks like a gamble for sector specialists only.

This informaton was available to Growth Investor Club Members on 6 February. Club Members can enjoy this weekly column immediately upon publication.

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