LIKE Osama bin Laden and the September 11 attacks, word association with Poseidon goes no further than the nickel boom of the late 1960s, when Poseidon shares soared to well over $200 before the law of gravity reasserted itself. Poseidon Nickel (POS) 26c What's forgotten is that the old Poseidon's Mount Windarra ground went on to be a substantial producer under Western Mining's ownership, before rock-bottom $US1.30 a pound nickel prices forced closure in the mid-1980s. The "new" Poseidon, chaired by Andrew Forrest, ended up with the Windarra assets -- plus a little more -- and is serious about moving into production at 5000 tonnes a year by the end of next year. Its case is bolstered by a $US20 million ($18.3m) convertible note facility from Phil Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners, which Poseidon chief David Singleton says is the "best convertible note deal done for many many years". The upshot is that Poseidon is funded to production, including drilling the neighbouring Cerberus prospect and firming up Windarra's inferred and indicated 62,000 tonnes to reserve status. Falcone, whose family pet pig Wilbur reportedly can play the piano, got into the Fortescue trough at the right time and thus has a soft spot for Twiggy's entreaties. Separately, Posedion has struck a vendor finance deal with China Non Ferrous & Arccon (Australia) for the cost of a $US35m concentrator. Nickel has suffered poor press relative to copper, but at $US26,000 a tonne has gained 8 per cent this year, while the red metal has lost about 3 per cent. Middleton doesn't care how much more nickel rises, as long as the stainless steel agent retains reasonable value for the next decade. Criterion rates Poseidon as a speculative buy on the assurance that no further dilutive raisings will be required. The short-term driver is drilling results from Cerberus, which is higher grade than Windarra, within two weeks. But we won't wait for the stock to hit $200 before baling out. Meanwhile, we note with some bemusement the market's mid-afternoon rally on news of bin Laden's demise. Does anyone really believe the world has become a gentler place on the news of the demise of the terror lord, who has fostered thousands of disciples eager to maintain the rage? Carbon Polymers (CBP) 40c AS well as the piles of working analog TVs discarded at kerbside collections, the 52 million-plus tyres (motor car equivalent) we discard each year are an indictment of our wicked wasteful ways. About 13 per cent are salvaged, but the rest are buried, or shipped off for incineration (often to China, just to add to the carbon footprint). With rubber prices soaring, tyres should have an inherent value, but tell that to motorists who pay an average $2.50 apiece disposal fee when they change their treads. Enter Carbon Polymers, which has a hi-tech tyre-munching machine in Sydney's Smithfield, to produce finely granulated product for uses such as adhesives, brake linings and bitumen road spray sealant. Company chief Andrew Howard, who has a capital markets background, is clear about motives: "We are not doing this to be Friends of the Earth. We are doing this to make money and stand on our own two feet." Despite the plentiful raw product, Howard says the sector hasn't been able to deliver consistent supply and customers have turned to polymer substitutes. Another problem is that the tyres -- a mix of rubber, fibre and high-tensile steel -- kill the machines that rip them apart. "Tyre recycling in Australia is a very ad-hoc cottage industry, which has more to do with the collection of waste than processing,"he says. "There are lots of uses, but a lack of consistent supply." Others have managed 1-1.5 tonnes an hour but Carbon Polymers' machine can process 5-6 tonnes. Howard says the company is profitable, flagging a $663,000 current-year maiden profit, rising to $20m on revenue of $26.7m. Management is keen on acquiring and has been negotiating the purchase of Reclaim Industries, which is in voluntary administration. Reclaim makes that bouncy playground surface that saves Ronald McDonald from being tied up in years of personal injury litigation. Criterion is wary of green-tinged enviro stocks, which tend to recycle into empty promises. But we're lured by the prospect of short-term earnings and ascribe a speculative buy -- as long as there's no revival of that hideous 1970s footwear, Treads.

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