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High-flying investment group and aggressive junior resources sector backer RAB Capital and its chief executive Philip Richards may be the toast of many company chiefs, grateful for RAB’s past support – even on the tough terms frequently imposed by born-again Christian Richards. This fan club does not include Marc Flory, experienced Australian businessman and managing director of AIM Resources, Sydney-based prospector for African deposits of zinc, gold, copper and platinum.

‘Philip Richards came here to tell me how to run my company,’ recalled Flory the other day, after reporting encouraging drilling results from Aim Resources’ Perkoa zinc project in Burkina Faso. ‘I said “I don’t tell you how to run your company (though I used to run a much bigger fund management group than his), so please don’t tell me how to run mine.’”

Flory adds ‘RAB is a financier of last resort to small juniors, which is fine. But I don’t like the special terms, warrants and so on which sometimes go with its deals.’

Investors in RAB Special Situations fund, whose value rose more than 2,000 per cent since January 2003, presumably disagree.