Bears are swamping Thompson Creek

Thompson Creek is retreating after a rally, and the bears want to drive it back into the dirt.

optionMONSTER's Depth Charge monitoring program detected the purchase of about 4,500 March 3 puts for $0.50. Volume was more than 20 times open interest at the strike, clearly indicating new activity.

The investor now has the right to sell shares in the small-cap miner for $3 in the next six months. That position will appreciate in value if the shares fall but will expire worthless if they don't.

TC fell 5.61 percent to $3.03 yesterday. It steadily declined from the start of 2011 through August, falling from above $14 to below $2.50. Shares then found support and rallied more than 50 percent, but they stalled around the middle of the month and have been falling since.

Overall option volume was 8 times greater than average in the name, with puts outnumbering calls by 8 to 1.

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