Bob Moriarty
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Mar 5, 2021
If you ever want to know how good a book is, don’t bother asking the author. After all, it’s their baby. No parent ever admitted his child fell out of an ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Ask other readers. Now and again they will tell you the truth.
These are the actual reviews of What Became of the Crow? taken from Lulu and Amazon. While the book has only been on sale for a couple of weeks so it lacks hundreds of reviews, each review so far has been for five stars.
Feb 17, 2021
This book is a delight! A brilliantly funny story combining the good, the bad and the ugly nature of man in the pursuit of wealth. The true account of the biggest gold discovery ever, Moriarty takes the reader on an adventure to the western Australian Pilbarra region. As sharp as a tack, his style of writing takes no prisoners, and what he doesn’t know about the mining industry could be written on the back of a postage stamp. Thoroughly recommended.
Sharon Price
Mar 2, 2021
This is another great book from Robert Moriarty. He is a very creative and intelligent thinker that translates into a very educational and witty writing style. “What Became of the Crow?“ is a story of one man’s vision to run the biggest and most profitable gold company in the world. You may think this came straight out of a film, and maybe it should be one day, because this is a compelling true story that everyone will enjoy. You are taken on a journey starting from the very beginning to present day. The story is packed with details of the trials and tribulations of a company going from exploration to production. It is a gripping read with fascinating insight of the extreme challenges faced by one determined man, the people he meets along the way, some of which have their own agendas. I can highly recommend.
Samara Parton
Feb 11, 2021
This book details how the most unique gold exploration story in history came to be and how many times it looked like hope was lost. It covers a whole maze of twists, turns, wheelings, dealings, “corporate espionage”, clash of egos, back-stabbing and of course geology. After reading it I find myself pondering just how many things had to happen in exactly the right order, and way, for this to have even happened… It almost sounds like an impossible story but yet here we are… It’s really a tale of genius and perseverance at the end of the day… An underdog story that will probably be looked back on as the greatest mining venture ever thought of and executed. Lastly I would say that I think this book will be read by more and more for decades to come.
Erik Wetterling
mac balkam
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic about the quest of Dr Quinton Henning to develop the gold fields of Western Australia
Reviewed in Canada on February 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
Amazing story about the multi-year effort of Dr. Hennigh to develop a theory on how to recover gold from the goldfields of Western Australia that have been known about since the late 1800s but never seriously developed. Now after difficult negotiations with a multitude of “characters”, his company Novo has poured its first gold bar. Quite a tale with added intrigue and humor by Bob Moriarity. How the inside dealing of many in the mining industry is exposed for all to see. A great story both on Novo and how the junior mining industry sometimes overcomes massive odds to create wealth for shareholders.
Magnum PI
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Synopsis of the Success and Ongoing Success of Novo Resources
Reviewed in Canada on February 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
I ordered the Hard Copy but couldn’t wait for Delivery so i bought on Kindle. A very intriguing read, couldn’t put it down. What a great look into the characters behind the biggest Gold Discovery of the 21 st Century. Thanks Bob for the great read.
Waytoolong
5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Gold!
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2021
When I heard about Robert Moriarty’s new book called, ‘What Became of the Crow,’ my first thought should have been about the gold in Western Australia’s Pilbara region because I read an article Moriarty wrote about Novo Resources back in 2017 with the same title. But I’ve learned a lot since that article about investing (thanks to Robert) and about crows.
My first thought was that crows come in a murder. Seagulls come in flocks, owls in parliaments, lions in prides, but, yes, crows come in a murder. Since 2017, I learned that these all black, oh so portentous-seeming survival masters–long associated with a bad death–are full of intrigue. Incredibly discerning, resourceful, collaborative and sly, they can exchange intelligence, wait, plot, sabotage, pilfer and claim all victory. And yet, if you’re nice enough to support them, they will bring you shiny little gifts.
Toklat
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Read
Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2021
A great tale of out-of-the-box geological thinking, corporate wrangling and a touch of skullduggery-all the makings of a classic, world-class discovery. Bob does a fantastic job of outlining the geological framework of the incredible gold endowment of the Pilbara Basin and weaves in the intriguing corporate machinations that ultimately led to its development. Despite the recent initial gold pour and current ongoing production of a small area of this vast deposit, it’s still early days-I’m hooked!
brad walmsley
5,0 sur 5 étoiles a great entertaining way to learn about a promising investment
Commenté en France le 22 février 2021
Achat vérifié
Read this book on the weekend… Bob Moriarty is one of the frankest writers I have read… he doesn’t hold back any punches…. as someone who personally knows several characters in this book, and as a former financial journalist and stockbroker from the very Western Australia Bob writes about, I can confirm he has captured the zeigeist of the frontier and provided a very entertaining and incredibly inexpensive education in mining investment and in particular in what may one day be, as he writes, the greatest gold discovery ever… it might be early days but the promise of the future for Novo can be found in Bob’s insightful masterpiece
Mark H
5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking, humorous, entertaining and educational!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a somewhat irreverent look at life in the gold mining industry, told by one of the most colourful characters in the gold space. It focuses on junior miner Novo Resources, the flagship company of respected geologist Quinton Hennigh, and their attempts to identify and commercialise a major new gold discovery in Western Australia.
The book is an easy read (about 4 hours) and at times will leave you laughing out loud or with jaw fully dropped regarding the shenanigans in the world of gold mining. Whilst the focus is primarily Novo & Hennigh’s story, and sometimes goes into some project-specific technical detail, it is also compelling as a people story and very entertaining! It would be a great read for anyone who likes a good yarn, but should be compulsory for anyone investing in junior precious metal miners or contemplating a career in the industry! Eye opening and entertaining, this is a cracking example of truth being far more interesting than fiction!
James Liu
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
Bob Moriarty is a wonderful storyteller and this book is very fun and easy to read. I managed to devour all of it within two days of receiving it from Amazon. The best
thing about this volume is that I think Bob is a straight shooter and he tells it like it is. This volume helped fill in some of the important gaps in my limited knowledge of what went on behind the scene which drove this story (e.g. the early negotiations with Mark Creasy, the Toronto Mafia episode, etc.). I came away with an even deeper appreciation for Quinton Hennigh, the most important player in this story. Quinton is Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty all rolled into one. I have little doubt that Bob’s book is just the first of many books which will be written in the years to come about what is likely indeed the greatest gold discovery in history. Except no one will have told it with the humor and grace that he has done here.
Unknown
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those who want the inside scoop on the early days of Novo Resources!
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
There are few books written about junior mining companies, and even fewer written about modern ones. This book may be the only one in its genre. It is certainly the only one I have ever read. The author is Bob Moriarty, who is a character in every since of the word. It is written in his trademark angry old man style, which makes it riveting and slightly suspect at times. I read the book in two sittings: a testament to Bob’s wit and skill with the keyboard. While it would be easy to dismiss this book as being too esoteric for most readers, I think that history will exonerate Bob for making such a big deal about a single junior gold miner. As the subtitle claims, Novo has the potential to be the largest gold company in the world, and that is certainly something worth writing a book about!
Marc G.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Inside Story of the Greatest Gold Discovery in History
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Bob Moriarty has followed the Novo Resources story from the very beginning. He’s written many articles about Novo Resources on his 321gold site. His best friend, Quinton Hennigh , is the President and founder of Novo Resources. This is a story about one man’s vision of a major gold discovery in the Pilbara in Western Australia coming to fruition.
This book is very readable due to Bob’s writing style. He writes clearly and with a wry sense of humor. You don’t have to have a geology interest to enjoy this book. There’s good guys and bad guys . They are all named. He pulls no punches in skewering the bad guys. It’s a great story. I highly recommend this book.
10 Ring
5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to make money in resource stocks, Bob is a good man to get to know
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
Bob as usual hits it out of the park without breaking a sweat. Humorous, informative and provides critical informations every investor needs to know. $9.99 for the Kindle edition will return you many many multiples of that once you have become enlightened. I also recommend you read all of Bob’s Kindle edition books. Heck, buy the hardcopies and put them in your permanent collection. They are that good.
paladin
5.0 out of 5 stars Today’s currency, and tomorrow’s….is knowledge and information IT IS HERE!
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
As I mentioned to my grandson recently, the true currency today and tomorrow is knowledge and information; good information. Bob Moriarty provides it in spades, along with some outrageously funny comments that add to the color and beauty of his writing. WBOTC is a great investment primer all by itself, and worth every dollar invested in this wonderful, and educational book. If your ultimate objective is to learn how to prosper, and if you want to avoid some of the pitfalls that any investor would want to recognize and avoid, buy this book or buy two! I have learned more about successful investing from Bob and his books than I could have learned anywhere else. Bob’s writing and his books are true treasures!
Paladin…
Robert
5.0 out of 5 stars Don’t step on the dick
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
Do not read this book! You would hate to find a interesting read and a investment at the same time. Well done Bob as usual.
J. Trigg Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars Lotta gold down under
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2021
When I first met fellow former Marine pilot Bob Moriarty about forty years ago, he was busy flying single engine airplanes across the Atlantic and Pacific, and did that over 200 times. Not surprising, since he had done over 800 missions in Vietnam as the youngest Naval Aviator, earned more medals than any Marine alive, and had a wall full of civilian aviation records. He was a computer expert, but didn’t know diddly about gold mining.
During our friendship over the ensuing years I observed his penchant for self-education, his pioneering web-based computer upgrade marketing, and growing interest in precious metals investment. The latter resulted in his website, drawing information pro and con regarding precious metals, the economy, and contrarian investing. Between that and the books he had me read, (he takes 1-2 hours to do so, while I take 1-5 days), within six years I was able to build up a respectable retirement nest egg, which had disappeared with my captain’s job as Eastern was torn apart and dumped into bankruptcy.
Bob, meanwhile, had been flying to gold mines all over the world, writing them up for his website, and gaining encyclopedic knowledge about every aspect of the industry. I was not surprised to find out that he had earned a world class reputation for that knowledge, and when he asked me to get a long range Bonanza to travel to the Central and North American mines with him, I jumped at the chance. During some of those flights with Quinton Hennigh, as we flew all over the West and Mexico I got a college level education in geology, and heard the first speculation about the comparison of the Pilbara with the Witwatersrand gold fields. Bob made me read the history of the first hundred years of the Wits, and that, along with conversations with Quinton, helped me to understand his theory that they both were formed under the same conditions. Roughly the same size, they promise to yield similar amounts of the yellow metal….which is a LOT! And it’s early days down in Oz.
Bob’s usual acerbic, take-no-prisoners writing style is highly entertaining, and you can take all his facts to the bank. Confession: I stayed up all night reading it. I think you will, too.
Trigg Adams
MaxG
5.0 out of 5 stars Review from Tx
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2021
What Became of The Crow?
Yesterday afternoon, I returned from a business trip and was pleased to discover that a hardcover copy of What Became of The Crow had managed to land into my mail box.
My first impression upon the opening up the wrappings was the book itself. It rather caught me off guard. When I was a kid, the first book I ever read was discovered on a deteriorated pine board shelf in an abandoned log cabin in the woods outside of Chapleau, Ontario, Canada. The book was a worn-out hardcover of Treasure Island by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson.
It had remained in that old cabin propped up for years between an unopened box of Kellogg’s Froot Loops, some Carnation evaporated milk cans, and a large magnifying glass (which is a survival tool in the absence of dry matches). It’s amazing that the rodents and insects hadn’t touched the Froot Loops. There must be a message in there somewhere.
I stole the book from that cabin, and left the box of Froot Loops for the next century (it’s probably still there intact). One of my life’s most rewarding decisions.
I have read Bob Moriarty’s blogs over the years. I was never too
captivated by his junior resource write-ups because it’s not really where I spend most of my investment time and dollars. However, his opinionated view on world matters, financial analysis, and overall state of the Empire did capture my interest. In my opinion, he represented a hard-nosed free thinker, which is a species moving towards extinction these days. And that’s unfortunate.
Today, I completed reading “The Crow”. And the answer to the enigmatic question on the cover becomes increasingly obvious as one reads through the pages of the book. Which I will reveal further down.
Based on 321Gold.com blogs over the years regarding Novo Resources and Quinton Hennigh, I was skeptical that Moriarty could write an unbiased account of the Novo story. And I was correct. But a deeper realization hit me with regards to “The Crow”, that was completely unexpected as I absorbed each brief chapter. I should have realized it from the cover of the book itself: “Inside the Greatest Gold Discovery in History”
It’s very easy to wave off the “Greatest Gold Discovery in History” as just another Moriarty exaggeration. It’s most certainly an eye-catching bait phrase. And it remained that way to me until I reached page 82 of the book. Where Moriarty chimes in on a 2009 conversation taking place between Mark Creasy, his accountant Steve Lowe, Quinton Hennigh, and Craig Roberts:
I hadn’t contributed much to the discussion prior to this, so I spoke up.
“Well, you have most of what you need to make a giant gold discovery. You are only missing one key element……
You can’t have a giant gold discovery without someone to tell the story. If you don’t tell the story, there is no story.”
This is a key turning point in the book, and the Novo story in my opinion. This is where the reader comes to the realization that the “Greatest Gold Discovery in History” is NOT pre-ordained. It will require another front to be opened up to keep The Crow at bay. This is where the author “suits up”, checks to ensure the tanks are full of JP-4, and nails it hard. The book really takes off from here.
What unfolds going forward is a tale of individuals that share a common vision, a collaborative defense against hostile forces, and a relentless pursuit of their vision of the “Greatest Gold Discovery in History”. A vision that Quinton Hennigh, his Novo team, and Moriarty will fight and defend to fruition. This book is not only a pre-planned recording of actual events, it is also a war novel laced with the “esprit de corps” that holds the reader in place. And one where the good guys actually prevail to win.
I have followed Novo Resources for years. I can tell you that Moriarty must have struggled to keep his work down below 300 pages. There are many more details in this story which he omits. Probably because detailing them would only dilute the message within each succinct and high impact chapter.
The characters in “The Crow” are colorful. Moriarty bloody well knows that an epic gold story cannot be told in the absence of pirates, scoundrels, and con men. He does not have go far to find them. They’re real. And within that mix, there are the brilliant visionaries and pragmatists that dominate, and bring the dream to fruition.
This is an important book in my opinion. It is much more than work of non-fiction and insighful opinion. This is story which the author has chosen to bond with the Novo vision, to actually participate in shaping the outcome, and driving the story along a path which has remained obscured to so many others in the past.
So …. What Became of The Crow? That’s no brainer. Nothing!
The Crow sits patiently on the fence waiting for you to drop your guard. So that it can swoop down and eat your lunch.
“Novo has made their first gold pour Nullagine as I release this book for sale.
To be continued….”
Of course, Mr. Moriarty. The Mission is on track, time to refuel. Join us at HQ for cocktails at 18:00.
Tx
csk250
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant story told in a brilliant way
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2021
What Became of the Crow is the story of Quinton Hennigh and one of the biggest gold discoveries made in recent years. Quinton, a PhD geologist, perfectly encapsulates all of the qualities that we’d like to see in the story’s hero – he is witty, takes big risks, and is never afraid to go against the grain. This is a great setup for a big gold find and lots of controversy along the way!
While most gold stories are written in the past tense, this discovery is very much so still ongoing and that offers a different perspective. The author, Bob Moriarty, is close friends with Quinton and intimately knows many of the key characters in the story. Bob is also a colorful writer and never afraid to share his opinions on the matter.
Once you get into the book, it is hard to put it down. The gold exploration business is filled with all different kinds – that becomes readily apparent after reading Bob’s book.
David H. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Inside the Greatest Gold Discovery in History: seeing, then acting upon what others did not.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
Inside the Greatest Gold Discovery in History: What Became of the Crow?
Bob Moriarty’s newest book is likely to be his Magnum Opus – and if it isn’t it should be! Like a great symphony that starts out slow, builds up subtly but relentlessly and finally “bursts forth” with an energy that leaves the reader wondering, “My god, to think that I almost didn’t get a chance to read about this!” The next thought is, OMG, it’s a publicly-traded company and I don’t even have any shares!” Or if he/she does, “Is my position ‘of size”?
The short form on this is that Quinton Hennigh, arguably one of the most insightful, geologists of the day has put together and test-driven a theory – at first mocked by “professionals” and average folks alike – that Western Australia (WA) having in the dim past been physically connected to South Africa, and therefore having certain geologic similarities in time and formation to an area known as “the Wits” – very likely held similar kinds of gold deposits. It was no ordinary deposit either. After its discovery in 1886, Witwatersrand proceeded to give up around 40% of all the gold ever mined anywhere in recorded history! Can you spell hundreds of millions of ounces?
Gold in the Wits tends to be found in layered reefs in conglomerate deposits. In WA it’s also found in loose particles, from micro-sized, invisible to the naked eye (like much of what’s in Nevada, the world’s fourth largest producer), to hold-in-your hand flakes and nuggets.
Not only did Quinton persevere against the beliefs of others in how that gold got there – stated oversimplified, as having been precipitated toward the surface by a geothermal process, then through the eons, distributed into conglomerate reef deposits. But there’s more. Some of it indeed is in hard rock deposits, but it’s also found in weathered and alluvial sections, or pretty much lying on the ground in nugget form, often coved by shallow rocky soil overburden.
Bob’s writes narrative-style, salty, and iconoclastic – just like the conglomerate-hosted gold nuggets in Western Australia’s Pilbara where Novo Resources is getting ready to go into production, perhaps bringing a new and compelling chapter to the ongoing story, proven time and time again throughout history, that “There’s no rush like a gold rush”!
I’ve been with Bob Moriarty on a few of his many mining tour sorties, and I can tell you that whether he’s speaking with management to tease the truth out of them about their “highly prospective” property – (Never forget the maxim that “The definition of a gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar standing next to it.”) – or chipping away with his prospector’s pick (ore hammer), then looking at the retrieved specimen up close and pe
rsonal with a loupe (jeweler’s magnifier), he quickly “becomes one with the ore body.” Heck, he’s so tough that when he’s crawling around on the ground in a mine shaft, or on a reef in bone-dry Western Australia, he doesn’t even use knee pads! But what would you expect from a guy who once flew a single engine plan through the Eiffel Tower!
Anyway, I’ve just finished reading this book and by the time I got to the end of it, I was more than a bit amped up about what – and how – he’s been able to bring this story to the public in a way that is at once entertaining, informative, and reality-shifting, especially for anyone willing to question what they think they know about how gold has to be deposited, where it can be found – and retrieved.
Yes, gold can be, and is commonly found in hard rock veins, plus anywhere from stony outcroppings, down through layers in the earth’s crust known as epithermal and mesothermal. It can be deposited in a variety of ways – and places – during and after intrusions toward the surface in hot fluids like molten ore – or water via “smokers” – hydrothermal vents that eject jets of particle-laden fluids and later form mineral-rich chimneys. And even today, there’s quite a bit of gold to be found in seawater – though no one has yet figured out how to process it.
Bob is an autodidact, a generalist, and a darned-good observer of both the human condition as well as that of how the earth’s crust has formed geologically – not to mention what’s actually in it, and where the good stuff (i.e. the gold) is located. He’s THE man qualified to write about this story and the rogue’s gallery of personalities that have walked across the stage to build it out over the last decade or two. He and Dr. Keith Barron (who himself discovered one of the largest gold deposits of the last 25 years in Ecuador), elevated in no small way, the back and forth discussion, on-site research and planning that helped build a world view which fit what was actually going on in The Pilbara. For well over a century, until now, everyone else has missed its true significance. Not to mention the legions of prospectors, business men, iron ore producers, criminals and other assorted social flotsam that always washes up on the beach in these narratives, none of whom who could put together, then successfully act upon what in many cases they dimly understood.
Bob knows how to look at rocks and he knows how to evaluate people. Here are a few quotes from WBOTC:
• The rail crew need only to notice that the pit they had opened up for fifty truckloads of gravel contained gold, in order to transfer 300 ounces of it into their pockets over two days. That information told Quinton that he needed to get busy staking, before the whole world realized the potential of the conglomerates. If one pit about two meters deep and perhaps a hundred meters across can generate $500,000 worth of gold in a weekend, how much more gold is still around there? (They) had seen gold nuggets in the gravel, quickly spent $10,000 on a metal detector and returned to the gravel pit on the weekend. Bob concludes, “That weekend was worth a quick 300 ounces of gold. I’m certain it was reported to the government and all taxes were paid on it.”
• Bob talks about the large numbers of geologists he’s met and spoken with over the years, contrasting those “who cast no shadow” with “the greats” who “are interested in everything, have a wide range of knowledge about just about anything, and are constantly trying to piece things together.
• “It is safe to say that over the years, 100,000 miners of one sort or another have trodden on the Pilbara in search of minerals (But) It took that rail crew from Rio Tinto, Johathon Campbell, and Quinton to put it all together.”
• “In mining I have found that some management types mine rocks, and some that mine shareholders.”
• Quinton was convinced that the key to the gold jewelry box was in the conglomerates. (Others had targeted gold in hard rock veins.). The validity of such a “conglomerate focus” had already been borne out in the Eastern Pilbara and Beaton’s Creek – lending credence to the probability that the Western Pilbara was this way too.
When mining explorers look for gold, silver or other precious metals’ deposits they sometimes collect “grab samples” they run across as they walk the surface and look for places to prospect. These samples can be informative or wildly off the mark when it comes to what’s actually underfoot. So maybe that’s what my review of this book is like. I’ll tell you a few things for sure though. There’s a lot more to this story than I’ve mentioned. More twists and turns, lost opportunities and seized ones than there are kinds of venomous snakes, spiders, lizards, salt water crocodiles and snails in all of Australia.
Through it all, Quinton missed some opportunities that could have moved him up even faster to where he got to on February 3, 2021 when Novo Resources put out this header on a news release, to wit: “Novo Receives Final Regulatory Approvals and Provides an Operational Update from Beatons Creek”. Nevertheless, he looks to be within shouting distance of “First Pour” – the initial yield from a $100 million mill that another company built to process the wrong kind of ore, and lost to Novo because they couldn’t turn a profit.
If the coup of buying that mill didn’t save them at least two years of getting into production and one heck of a lot of share dilution raising the money to build one, then I’ll take a bite out of my prospector’s hat.
Before you finish this outstanding book, I’ll bet you a one-ounce Australian four-nines purity gold coin with a Kangaroo on it, that you’ll have become shot through with gold fever just like so many others have. I recommend reading it at least twice, and while you’re at it you might want to buy a second copy just to mark up all the important details.
Whether you’re an arm-chair prospector, an honest to goodness rock-kicker or a person who just wants to read a TRUE story so compelling that you’re shaking your head long after you’ve finished, you owe it to yourself to find a place for this title on your shelf. Amaze your friends by asking them if they’ve read, “What Became of the Crow?” Or “Hey, I just finished reading WBOTC!”
Then relax and maybe have a “Barbie” with a “stubbie” or two (Aussie-speak respectively for a barbeque and a bottle of beer…Because you couldn’t put the book down until you’d finished reading it – and now maybe feel like you’ve spent too much time in the boiling sun of the Outback?
See if you don’t agree with Bob Moriarty, and Jay Taylor, one of the first analysts to write about this epic geological detective thriller – that you’ve now been informed big time as to what really took place “Inside The Greatest Gold Discovery in History.”
