If he doesn’t get a few wins soon, he may have to put some of his remaining cash into growing parsley on his window sill.

Ingestible iron may be better for one’s health than Pilbara iron ore the Chinese might decide to stop buying.

Things are not quite that desperate yet, however.

The Punter has put the parsley on hold for the time being and instead has bought shares in a company that made an operating profit in the September quarter of just under $20 million.

The price of its product is rising, it has stock on hand worth about $90m at current prices, it has more than $20m in the bank and it is busy stepping up production and finding new sources of supply.

It is, of course, a gold miner. A real one, not a wannabe.

Integra Mining (ASX code IGR) dug nearly 22,500 ounces of the precious metal out of the West Australian dirt in the September quarter, and hopes to lift that figure to 25,000 ounces in the three months to the end of December.

It is one of the country’s lowest-cost producers, with a gross profit of around $1000 an ounce.

The Punter does not normally buy investments as sensible as shares in companies that actually earn significant profits.

Integra qualifies as “speculative”, however, because like last week’s Millenium Minerals (MOY) flutter, IGR shares will suffer if the world sorts out its financial mess.

The “real” demand for gold for jewellery and industrial use is not sufficient to support the current price of close to $2000 an ounce.

It is also a bit speccy in that it is about to start underground mining, which is more expensive.

And it pays no dividends, because it is ploughing its money into upgrading its treatment plant, rapidly paying off debt and continuing exploration.

That exploration continues to be highly successful.

The latest “very exciting” first pass results from its latest target were announced last week, highlighting a best result of a 19 metre drill core sample averaging 4.39 grams a tonne.

The Punter has outlayed a hefty $2670 for 5000 IGR at 53.5c each.

The Punter has no financial qualifications and no links to the financial services industry. He owns shares in a number of companies featured in this column.