Australian stockbroker and mining analyst Paul Loudon, director and head of equity finance at ambitious small company investment group Loeb Aron, is keeping himself busy during the present Aim resources boom.

Apart from his main duties at Loeb, he is chairman of Toronto-based BDI Mining, an Indonesian diamond play whose shares have doubled to 27.5p since broker Hichens Harrison floated the company the other day.

Loudon and colleagues hope Indonesia's Cempaka alluvial gem project could produce 60,000 carats a year and generate annual cashflow of between £1.7 million and £2.25 million. As well as seeking a hard rock source for Cempaka's alluvial deposits, BDI wants to develop a gold prospect at Woodlark Island in Papua New Guinea, where it hopes to boost estimated resources from 400,000 oz to as much as two million oz.

Meanwhile, 42 year-old Loudon helped put together another new AIM float, London-based Mercator Gold, to buy into gold prospects at Meekatharra in Western Australia, relinquished by AIM mining flop St Barbara. Loudon has teamed up with seasoned Aussie entrepreneur Patrick Harford, who originally spotted the potential of the Meekatharra properties.

Loudon and Harford have collaborated once before, building up and selling resources group Zapatan for £139 million. With Mercator up 9.5 per cent so far at 8.5p, speculators are hoping for a repeat