Look before jumping into the mining sector

MINING stocks on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are having their day in the sun.

Lifted by brighter prospects in the global economy, many have been on the rise in the past half a year. Two, in particular, have registered runaway gains so far this year - Alliance Mineral Assets and BlackGold Natural Resources.

Alliance Mineral Assets, which hopes to start producing lithium in its Australian mine by the end of this year, has generated a total return of 318 per cent year to-date, doubling in value in March alone; its gain has been so rapid that two stockbrokers - Lim & Tan Securities and UOB Kay Hian - restricted trading in the stock.

BlackGold, which mines coal in Indonesia, has generated 257 per cent in returns so…