Value hunters mine calls in Gold Fields

Gold Fields is sitting at long-term support, and yesterday the bulls stepped in.

Our Heat Seeker tracking system showed heavy buying in the October 12 calls, which traded more than 21,000 times against open interest of just 858 contracts. Most of the large blocks changed hands for $0.80 to $0.87.

Those calls lock in the price investors must pay to buy shares in the South African miner. They can generate some nice leverage in the event of a rally but also could lose most of their value if the stock doesn't move. (See our Education section)

GFI rose 0.83 percent to $12.15 yesterday, bucking the selloff in the broader market. Other mining names, including Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold, have also drawn buyers in recent sessions as investors hunt for values in an industry that's been weak for most of the year.

Overall option volume in the name was 27 times greater than average. Calls outnumbered puts by a bullish 5-to-1 ratio.

(A version of this post appeared on InsideOptions Pro yesterday.)

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