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WGX, WEX, NTH, RSG
Westgold Resources aka WGX released the initial Resource Report for the Fletcher Zone of the Beta Hunt mine they acquired when they merged with KRR, and it's a whopper, almost doubling resources at Beta Hunt. The initial Fletcher Resource includes 3.7Mt @ 2.5 g/t => 295k oz Indicated and 27.3Mt @ 2.3 g/ => 2,03M oz Au Inferred. Note that these numbers already exceed the exploration targets for the whole of Fletcher released by WGX last September.
(Keep in mind that the Australian JORC rules, as opposed to Canadian 43-101 rules, allow the company to combine Inferred and Indicated Resources. Also, when WGX refers to FY26 they mean July 2025 to June 2026. I will translate these to calendar years in the rest of this write-up.)
Yes, that is an excellent development, but it is only the beginning, as it covers less than half of Fletcher's strike length, including only 1 km. Infill drilling has already begun on that 1 km to upgrade the just declared Resources, and in H2, they will also begin drilling the unexplored rest of Fletcher.This drilling is scheduled to be incorporated into an updated Resource Report within a year.
In addition, work has begun at a fault-offset extension of Fletcher called Mason, and as well as on scoping studies for exploiting this new Resources at Fletcher. I expect the approach will be to increase production rather than just extending the mine life.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35174729
Turning to news that apparently no one cares about, Western Exploration aka WEX released an updated Resource Report for the Gravel Creek deposits on its Aura property in Nevada that incorporates the recently discovered Jarbridge deposit.
The Indicated Resource didn't change much, but Inferred gold increased from 367k oz Au to 571k oz Au with a minor increase in grade, while Inferred silver increased from 5.3M oz Ag to 9.7k oz Ag with a 28% increase in the silver grade.
So although WEX was able to significantly increase the Resouces at Aura, there is still not a lot of gold and silver, IMO not enough to attract a buyout or a JV partner. The new geological model developed along with the Resource Report indicates there is considerable potential for further growth, particularly at Jarbridge, but it seems that WEX's main exploration focus this year will be on the other major deposit on Aira, Wood Gulch.
I will give WEX until this gold bull ends with the next year, then likely cut my small position loose for a small loss.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35174827
Nord Precious Metals aka NTH announced they have received a grant to help advance their Re-2Ox technology for process tailings and other metal sources, particularly those contaminated by arsenic.
The main reason to read this PR is how well it lays out what Re-2Ox should be capable of, chiefly dealing with arsenic which is a frequent problem with tailings. So far testing has shown that it can recover cobalt, nickel, and silver while moving the arsenic into a stable compound which can be safely recovered. (By no coincidence, this is exactly what NTH needs to safely process the tailings piles at their Castle Mine property near Cobalt, Ontario.)
This funding will help pay for a 1000 hour test of Re-2Ox at NTH's lab in Cobalt. This testing is seen as crucial for advancing Re-2Ox to commercial status.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35174895
The moment of truth is nigh for Rocky Shore Gold aka RSG, who have essentially bet everything on their recently acquired Newfoundland gold prospects. Mind you, the odds look pretty decent. Exploration since they acquired the properties has revealed a 6km-long target that lies along the Appleton fault that hosts NFG's Queensway deposit just to the north.
The assays will tell the tale.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35175904
Saville continues to expect that gold, silver, and the related stocks will trade much higher by the end of the year, but he also expects some short term weakness. He also sees the opening signs of a multi-year bull in commodities.
OK its Uranium not gold. Shoot me.
Baselode Energy and Forum Energy Metals Combine to Create a New Force in Canadian Uranium Exploration @newsfile/baselode-energy-and-forum-energy-metals-combine-to $FDCFF.US $FMC
Savvy Pick Contest #2 Deadline Friday
The deadline for the 2nd installment of the contest, will be this Friday (6/27) before the market close. Remember to get your picks in. Below is the link to the new board for the contest. Hope this helps.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/Savvy-Pick-10-Contest-2-49859
TUO, OGC, Blue Jay Gold
Now that Tudor Gold has taken out parasitic JB partner AMK, the remaining duo, TUD and Teuton Resources aka TUO can concentrate on improving the economics of the Treaty Creek Cu/Au/Ag project in BC's Golden Triangle. To that end, they have begun a drill programme concentrating on enlarging the gold-rich areas which are becoming the economic core of Treaty Creek. Phase 1 will try to fill the gap between the recently discovered SC gold-rich structures and high-grade gold intercepts from earlier drilling.
Contingent on results, there will be a Phase 2 drill campaign, and at the end of the programme drill holes to support the access tunnel and ramp for which they are awaiting permits to begin construction. Once the tunnel is done, assuming Treaty Creek hasn't been sold by then, drill access to the gold-rich areas will be much easier, plus the tunnel could be used for future mining by whoever finishing developing the deposit.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35170784
Don't get too excited if you wake up on Monday morning to find that your shares of OceanaGold aka OGC have tripled since today. They are doing a 3 for 1 share rollback to get the share price high enough to comfortably qualify for a listing on the NYSE. Mind you, that's not a given. According to the PR they are 'considering' a dual listing in the spring of 2016.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/oceanagold-announces-effective-date-share-213000312.html
Blue Jay Gold has been spun out by RRI to hold its Ontario gold properties (plus a recently acquired Yukon gold mine) but has not been listed yet. As my RRI shares are in a registered account, so are my Blue Jay Gold shares. This is a problem because BJG is currently a non-qualified investment, meaning I have 90 days to remove the shares or that account will lose its registered status.
TD tells me this leaves me with two choices of action -- sell the BJG shares or remove them from the registered account. But I am taking a third course of action for now, as I have a query in to RRI as to whether they expect BJG to achieve that registered status by the deadline. I will let you know any response I have received.
Another oddity for me, another good short term trade. I sold half my IAU.WT.U warrants for three times what I paid for them. I am keeping half because if things go really well for Nevada gold miner i-80 Gold aka IAU, there could be another triple on these warrants from here. (In that case I will do my best not to regret making this sale.)
The proceeds went into two buys, more Kodiak Copper aka KDK and more Luxor Metals aka LUXR. I am currently thinking of the KDK shares as traders, but this may change.
Yes, when we are in a bull, even I can be a successful trader...
LC
NRN, KDK, KTN, SNAG
I'd say this is likely a make or break year for Northern Shield Resources aka NRN's hopes for their Root & Cellar prospect in Newfoundland. So far they have established zones of Au/Ag/Te mineralization plus some copper porphyry prospects, but IMO the 5km of drilling that just got underway needs to markedly expand those zones to make further exploration worth the effort.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35169757
Kodiak Copper aka KDK announced the start of this year's exploration on its 344 sq km MPD property in south central BC, where they are looking for Cu/Au porphyries similar to those being mined in the area. This year they are planning 5km of drilling on three of the main targets, plus geophysics and mapping and sampling both in the area of existing targets plus checking out new targets.
We also got more clarity on the upcoming initial Resource Report, or rather Resource Reports, and I am not sure about the approach they have taken. Apparently we are going to shortly get a Resource Report covering the Gate, Ketchan, Man and Dillard zones, and then in the fall after drilling is complete, a separate Resource Report for those three targets
Personally I would have waited and released them as one Resource Report for more impact, but we will see how the staged approach works out.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35169740
When I wrote about Kootenay Resources aka KTN's release of an initial Resource Report for their Columba project in Chihuahua, Mexico, I expressed the hope that they could attract a JV partner to pay for the upcoming work. Judging by today's PR, such a development is not imminent. Instead, they have announced a $12M PP. The price of each unit is okay, around the current share price, but each unit of the PP also includes a half warrant, albeit the warrants have a strike price about 50% higher than KTN's current share price. (The PR gave no indication that any of the warrants will be listed.)
Within a few hours the PP was upsized to $17.4M, i.e. more cash to work with but also more dilution.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35169995
For the first time we get details about Silver North Resources aka SNAG's Veronica property, an Ag/Pb/Zn prospect in Yukon Territory located next to its Tom property, JVed out to Coeur Mining, who run the Silvertip mine 16 km away.
Previous exploration has outlined a 450m by 450m Ag/Pb/Zn anomaly on Veronica. This summer SNAG will be carrying out further exploration on this anomaly, where they hope to find the same type of mineralization found at Silvertip and Tim. In the ideal case it would lead to Coeur entering into a JV on Veronica, and perhaps eventual the buyout of SNAG by Coeur.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35169825
Equinox EQX and Calibre CXB.to just finalized their merger. I get the feeling that many Calibre stockholders are not excited about the prospect of Equinox taking over. Equinox has underperformed compared to Calibre and they might sell when they get their shares converted to EQX in a couple of weeks. I am holding EQX stock and options so I think I will wait and see if there might be some bargains available when Calibre stockholders get the chance to exit.
There are two big reasons for them to hold. Greenstone is a big Canadian mine that EQX is slowly bringing into full production. The slow rampup hurt EQX Q1 financials but it's going to be the standard bearer for EQX for many years to come. I expect gradual improvement over 2025 and beyond. The other reason for Calibre stockholders to grit their teeth and hold is Valentine. Their new mine in Newfoundland is about to start production. First gold is expected in Q3. This is a delay from expected Q2 but the project is fully funded and another long life big mine in a safe jurisdiction.
So will Calibre stockholders stick around to be part of the next million ounce producer? Will I get some cheap shares in a couple of weeks or will I suffer more Equinox pain if the two mines continue startup problems? Stay tuned.
If you don't have much experience with silver miners, I would stick with bigger, profitable miners. They will move up first if gold/silver keep climbing. You will get most of the pop without much risk. The juniors will really start to run as the metals soar but it's a hit/miss situation. Stick with the bigger miners. They make sense due to the value of their reserves and rising profits as metal prices climb. The juniors have no revs, and could be drilling cow pastures and still rocket up for no reason. Hard to rationally pick and choose amongst them without a lot of study and luck.
I would recommend CDE and EXK. Both are valued at over 1 billion in market cap and are profitable. Both have been around for over a decade. CDE is bigger and has just bought a very low cost silver mine. Q1 only had 1/2 the qtr in the combined financials. Q2 should improve that. But overall there is somewhat limited upside unless silver really takes off. Then the known names like CDE will take off.
In terms of risk/reward EXK has more upside. They are just starting a new mine that will dramatically increase production. They will move from 8 million oz/yr to 20million in 2026. But a new mine brings risk of execution. Startup problems can hurt even a bigger miner. Market is expecting success but I don't think current price fully reflects that. Should be a multi year winner.
Good luck. Tell your wife miners only shine a few years out of the decade so this is a good time to dip your toes in the water. If Silver spikes hard, don't be afraid to take profits. Last two times silver spiked, it only lasted a very short time. Weeks, not months. Good luck.
West Red Lake, WRLGF, WRLG.v selling off past couple of days. Unfortunate death of a miner has caused the company to shut down operations while they investigate the cause of the accident.
KTN, KTRI, ORS, NTH, SURG
Clearly the market was not impressed with the initial Resource Report for the Columba Ag project in Chihuahua, Mexico delivered by Kootenay Silver aka KTN. The shares were trading down over 7% a few hours after the open.
The grade looks good, at 284 g/t Ag, so presumably the 54M oz of Ag was not enough to impress. The full Inferred resource is 5.92Mt @ 284 g/t Ag, 0.19% Pb, and 0.50% Zn containing 54.1M oz Ag, 25.2M lb Pb, and 65.6M lb of Zn.
One positive is the excellent vein continuity with an average width of 5-6m, but the most important positive is that mineralization remains open in all directions representing excellent opportunities to grow the resource.
Now the question is whether the Resource Report is enough to attract a JV partner to fund further exploration and development. In any case, extensive infill and step-out drilling is already planned.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35168657
In their latest PR, Kootenay Resources aka KTRI 'Announces' the Sleeper-Magnificent-Knapp (SMK) Au/Ag prospect in Central BC. I have not seen mention of this property before in either KTRI's or parent company KTN's communications, but to be fair, between them they own a lot of properties, so I guess they either carved it out of another project or just had it in inventory without ever mentioning it.
So far exploration has identified two vein systems, one of them 5 km by 2.2 km, that have yielded samples measuring up to 25.59 g/t Au and 465 g/t Ag. KTRI also believes there is, as is typical of deposits in this area, an underlying Cu/Au porphyry.
In addition KTRI announced another PP in the wake of having just closed one. The pricing is not the greatest, but they are both small, together raising under $300k, so there will not be substantial dilution.
I look forward to hearing about future exploration plans for SMK.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35165326
Some bad news for BC/Argentina explorer Orestone Mining aka ORS -- they have closed a PP which makes predatory Crescat Capital, now a holder of more than 10% of ORS's shares. I'll be keeping a close eye on ORS -- as long as Crescat is involved they are on probation.
At least there is no convertible debt in the transaction, but Crescat has other means to manipulate share prices to its advantage.
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/255629
Nord Precious Metals aka NTH has announced that crews are on the ground in preparation for their tailings reprocessing programme at the Castle Mine near Cobalt, Ontario. Road upgrades are underway preparatory to install a gravity circuit to extract Ag, Au, Co, and Ni from old tailings piles on surface and then use the reprocessed tailings to reinforce the underground mine.
Current plans are for wet commissioning of the mill in July, followed at some point by 'seasonal production'.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35167651
I'm not much of a trader (as opposed to an investor) but I completed a successful trade today when I booked a 50% profit when the shares of Surge Copper aka SURG reached my target on the basis of a PR about metallurgical testing on their Berg copper deposit in BC. If the share price falls back to 10 cents again I may attempt another go-round depending on market conditions at the time.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35168650
Read back through Bobwin's posts. He has made the case for several of them of late.
Any favorite silver miners here that are profitable? My wife doesn’t let me hold physical gold or silver and I only have a little miners exposure since I’ve never felt confident knowing the minutia of each company and have a spotty track record on the small positions I’ve picked in the past.
ARK, KDK, CAPT, GQC
Kazakhstan explorer Arras Minerals aka ARK released a bit of a mixed bag of a news release.
First off, the bad news, that they have terminated their option agreement to acquire the Beskauga property. Reading between the lines, they did not have the money to pay the $15M that would been due shortly, nor could they find a partner to help or modify the agreement with the optioner. Fortunately they still have many promising properties to explore.
On the Teck Alliance properties they have completed a geophysics programme to refine targets and begin a 5km drilling campaign.
Turning to their 100%-owned properties, at Elmes they have completed more geophysics on the Berezski target that generated much excitement and significant share price gains of late, and a drill will be arriving shortly to begin a Phase 2 drill campaign. They have also completed more geophysics on the Aimandai target and will begin drilling in the coming months.
So now we wait to see if the assays from the current drilling can match what was found earlier.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35161536
Kodiak Copper aka KDK released results from metallurgical testing of samples from their MPD property in SE BC. The recoveries for Cu, Au, and Ag were all good using conventional flotation, and the testing produced a salable concentrate with high gold values and few contaminants. Farther testing will check whether more gold can be recovered from pyrities.
Meanwhile, we wait for the initial Resource Estimate on MPD to be completed.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35161554
Capitan Silver aka CAPT continues to get their ducks in a row on their Cruz de Plata Ag prospect in Mexico. Over the last while they have substantially increased the size of the property and this now control a longer strike length of the veins they are following. Now we get news that they have eliminated a 2% NSR that would have covered (I think) the entire property package in return for $1M in cash and shares.
There are still two royalties which CAPT says 'are under contract to be retired and eliminated'. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean, unless they are merely referring to the terms under which they can be bought out. I guess we will find out whether they are already gone or whether they are being eliminated in due course. I have a query in to CAPT to clarify this.
I used to think royalties like these were no big deal, but experience has taught me that eliminating even royalties of this size can make all the difference for the economics of a project.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/capitan-silver-completes-purchase-altiplano-110000494.html
Goldquest Mining aka GQC is up big today on news that the Dominican Republic bureaucracy has released the terms of reference for its EIA application for the development of its Romero Cu/Au/Ag mine in the DR. Next up is carrying out the environmental monitoring necessary to complete the EIA. The company believes, and I am hoping. that all the heavy lifting is done.
The PFBS for Romero, completed in 2016, delivered an IRR of 28% using a gold price of $1300/oz and a Cu price of $2.50/lb, so the forthcoming FBS using more current metal prices should deliver much better numbers. But do keep in mind that it will be years before any mining gets underway.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35163930
CAPT, TUO, IPT
I noticed the shares pf Mexican explorer Capitan Silver aka CAPT were up a lot with volume starting Thursday, and now we get the news that caused it. CAPT is buying a number of concessions from Fresnillo that will increase the size of their Cruz de Plata Ag/Au prospect by about 85%, which matches the increase in the share price since the open on Thursday.
Most importantly, the are adding 1.2 km to the 2.5 km of the Ag/Au trend they are exploring. This makes the price, $2M on closing and another $2M in two years, seem pretty reasonable to me. CAPT expects it to take about 90 days to close the transaction, and when it does I expect we will hear about modified exploration plans to take into account the new properties.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35160601
In news that affects Teuton Resources aka TUO, one of their JV partners in the Treaty Creek project in BC's Golden Triangle, TUD, is buying the other JV partner AMK. This transaction will leave TUD with 80% of Treaty Creek and TUO with the other 20%. Along with other recent maneuvers by TUO and TUD, this is clearly a preparatory move for the sale of Treaty Creek, if not the entirety of TUO and TUD. And who knows, maybe neighbour SEA will also be involved in eventual transactions.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35160710
Impact Silver aka IPT's operations at Zacualpan in Mexico are generally 'find it and mine it. The property, which has been in active operation for hundreds of years, contains so many old mines and new prospects that it would be hard for a company the size of IPT to operate otherwise at Zacualpan.
So it is important when they do find a new vein complex, like the recently discovered Kena South vein in their producing Guadelupe mine. The results of recent drilling, which features assays like 534.8 g/t Ag over 8.50m Including 2,320 g/t Ag over 1.07m, have extended Kena South to a length of over 300m, as well as discovering a number of parallel and splay veins. And this vein is so close to existing workings they have already begun extracting ore.
The drilling reported today is from the northward extension of Kena South, and leaves the mineralization still open in all directions. I look forward to them starting to test the southerly direction once a new underground drill station is constructed.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35160724
Sabiile suggests that PGMs have likely begun a 1-3 year long uptrend measured against the price of gold. He also notes that palladium has not yet joined the other PGMs in an uptrend. He also expects correctios in PMs and PM stocks to begin shortly.
EXK +.55 to US$5.04 Endeavour Silver must be getting close to producing silver from Terronera. Big 12% move. EXK is close to becoming a senior silver producer. Very rare beast.
GPPRF/cdpr.v +.02 to US$.32 new52wkhi Cerro de Pasco keeps moving up. Market cap of US$174million seems high for a junior explorer but the ore is already sitting above ground waiting for a mill to process. Lots of silver at 1.5oz/tonne in 75million tonnes of tailings. Plus zinc, lead, gallium. Decades of ore waiting to be sent thru a modern mill. What is the value of $500+million/yr in cashflow? Has to be many billions.
If you want to learn more about the Skukum gold project acquired by Blue Jay Gold, the seller still has a good review of the project up which, for now, can be viewed here
https://tincorp.com/projects/skukum-gold-project/overview/
As I mention recently:
I for one do appreciate what you post about concerning TDRRF and ACKRF
Like to add EXK. to the above. Over the years I have found that I am usually 2-3 years early before they start to pay off in both my mining and oil stocks. For cash I have had to take some losses before they start to pay off..
Might want to look at PCOGF Pancontinental Oil & Gas ( www.marketindex.com.au/asx/pcl/announcements/pel-87-project-update-6A1256102).holds a operator permit in the heart of the West Nambia offshore Orange Basin
.
Just as a side note, it's nice to read that people have been reading these boards for years. I retired early in 2000 and needed to make money in stocks to survive. I struggled to find my way until I met Hweb on Raging Bull. His amazing ability to follow so many microcap stocks and focus on companies that made money really changed my focus. Finding this community of stock investors was a game changer. I have always struggled to find like minded investors in my local area. The internet allowed me to exchange ideas with many investors that were interested in my little corner of stockland. When I meet people socially, if I start talking about stocks, their eyes roll over and they drift away. This is the only place where I have found like minded people. The early days were amazing. We even met up in Vegas in 2006? Those were the days. The GFC in 2008 humbled me. Some of my high flying microcaps became submarines.
My mining stocks have struggled for many years. Government deficits and wild fiscal and monetary policies don't make sense to me but I am stubborn. So we'll see if silver and gold come out on top. Just like with microcaps, I am trying to focus on profitable producing miners. In some cases, I am using Leap Options to get an extra boost. So a combo of being more conservative(profitable producers) while looking for upside with in the money long term options.
I hope we can continue to exchange ideas for many more years. I am getting up there in years but inherited long lived genes so could be around for many more. Still love finding those hidden gems. Bobwins
Silver breaks out over US$36! Is this the long awaited, seldom seen, SILVER SQUEEZE? Doesn't matter, it's all good.
Big moves in silver stocks. When silver rallies, the market goes to the old favorites first. Hecla, HL Coeur CDE and First Majestic AG get a pop because they are on the big boards in the US. 11%, 7% and 16% respectively this morning.
As usual, I hold the laggard! LOL! I bought some options on CDE because Q1 showed their purchase of Las Chispas mine was going to really boost the profits. 1/2 qtr since the merger and profits showed up. Q2 should show how important this purchase will be. This is a low cost silver mine that should pop CDE results going forward.
I also recently bought options on EXK. Endeavour Silver has been a long term producer but their two legacy mines are high cost. The new Terronera mine will boost production and cut costs. I am not as excited about the purchase of a mine in Peru but both additions should boost EXK into the senior producer category. Today EXK is up 11% and my LEAP options are up 19%.
My second biggest holding is GPPRF/CEPR. Market must have figured out that the big silver component of Cerra de Pasco is going to be very profitable. Stock is up 8% today. Eric Sprott loves Cerro and has become the largest shareholder in the last year. He thinks this stock will be worth multiple dollars when in production. He is advocating building a new 25,000tpd mill to max profits. This will lengthen time frames but really add to the bottom line. This is a multi year hold for me.
Even Blackrock Silver, BKRRF, which has been a yawner, is up 7% today.
Nice rally. Let's see if it has legs.
MAI, AUX, KTRI, Blue Jay Gold
Minera Alamos aka MAI updated its plans for restarting the Copperstone gold mine in Arizona. On the permitting front, an amended Mine Plan of Operations has been submitted and is expected to be approved by year end, by which time other minor permit amendments will also have been granted. In the meantime, development activities authorized by the permits already granted can begin.
At the same time MAI will be concentrating on further refining the engineering and completing the financing, for which they are currently considering several offers.
An important part of the value of the Copperstone land package is the exploration upside which is realized can extend mine life and/or increase production. To that end, four areas close to the existing Resource have been identified and will be explored during construction.
With the Santana mine in Mexico now making money in spite of permit problems and the Cerro de Oro build in Mexico also awaiting permits, MAI's focus will clearly be on Copperstone for the next 18 months or so.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35155525
Golden Cross Resources aka AUX is up big today merely on the announcement that they have started drilling at their Ready Creek gold prospect in Victoria, Australia, located 10kn away from SGXC's ballyhooed Sunday Creek discovery. Imagine what might happen if the drill finds what they are looking for.
The initial 2km of drilling will be shallow holes on the Prince of Wales & Wieneroider Ridge targets, the results of which will be used to guide a further 4 km of drilling in deeper holes. If the assays are good, AUX says they will bring in more rigs later this year.
I expect the robust trading today is the result of Australian punters, perhaps prompted by a NLW. It is not unusual for Australian traders to to enter (or leave) en masse from speculative stock operating down under.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35155542
Kootenay Resources aka KTRI released an update of their Moyie prospect. This is a large property in SE BC on which four separate styles of minerlization containing Au, Pb, Zn, Cu and more have been found. Previous exploration has identified more than a dozen targets. Next up is more geophysics along with mapping and permitting, followed by first pass drilling.
This property, in the vicinity of a number of past and present mines, has the potential to host very large deposits of the type KTRI is looking for. Only the drill will tell...
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35155562
Blue Jay Gold, recently spun out by RRI to hold their Ontario gold prospects and not even listed yet, has already signalled that they are ambitious by announced the purchase of the Skukum Au/Ag prospect in Yukon Territory.
Skukum is large, over than 170 sw kn, and already has a resource of over 1M oz AuEq as well existing infrastructure like a camp and access road. It will cost them $600k plus extra payment if Blue Jay can increase the Resource to over 2M oz AuEq, which would be a win-win for both parties.
I look forward to Blue Jay being listed and revealing their plans for exploration. not to mention giving me a chance to buy more shares
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35155687
I am a lurker in Value MicroCap land
I'm been reading Value MicrCap (VM) boards on a daily basis for 20 years. But I only post ~2 times per year. I'm not a sophisticated investor. I only like to post about things where I think I can make a positive contribution that wouldn't be made by a more regular member of the VM universe. So, if you remember my InvestorsHub UserID, then you have a very good memory, as at most I have posted ~25-30 times in the last 20 years. But I have received an immense amount of benefit from the kind people in this universe. As I'm getting closer to retirement, and have more time to post, I hope to up my contributions (maybe 3 posts per year :) ).
JWB
ERO Copper getting some love today
Brazilian copper producer ERO Copper (symbol ERO, and website https://erocopper.com/) is up about 8% as I type this. I think ERO now fits in the Value Microcap universe. Their last report was solid--they made a respectable profit after a few quarters of losses (https://erocopper.com/site/assets/files/6628/2025-05-05-ero-nr.pdf). It's always dangerous to annualize recent quarter results. But their recent quarter suggests a forward P/E of 15 or less. Moreover, they expect good production growth over the next year or two (latest presentation: https://erocopper.com/investors/presentations/). If copper prices don't fall, then I expect a moderate, and relatively low risk, return from ERO stock over the next two years.
JWB
DISCLOSURE: ERO is my second largest copper producer position in my portfolio (after TGB), and makes up about 1.5% of my portfolio.
I for one do appreciate what you post about concerning TDRRF and ACKRF
WRLG, TECT, WM, RSG, NTH, RIO, MAI, IAU
West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG released a PR discussing further 'learnings' from the extraction and processing of a bulk sample excavated before their Madsen gold mine in Ontario was recently officially declared in production.
What dogged the previous unsuccessful operator was primarily grade inconsistency, so it was a good result that the grades found in the bulk sample closely matched those expected. As well, what they found on switching to a mine model using a gold price of $2350/oz -- the 'consensus long term price' -- is that this opens up new areas for mining and also drives down costs by allowing larger stopes.
So the 'learnings' were positive. Let's hope the earnings are also positive.
I increased the ask price for the WRLG A warrants I have on sale to double my purchase price, and am open to moving it higher depending on how the common shares trade in the coming months.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35154604
Alaskan gold explorer Tectonic Resources aka TECT has announced the start of this year's drilling on their Flat prospect, concentrating on the Alpha Bowl. Two rigs are currently on site with another to arrive shortly.
Normally I would average down on a stock like this at this point, but with the involvement of the Toxic Twins, Quinton Hennigh and Crescat Capital, whose presence normally means a the stock price is managed carefully to benefit insiders, I am just hoping they find enough to allow me to get out for break even later in the summer.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35154448
Wallbridge Mining aka WM released assays from the first 11 holes on its Martiniere gold project in Quebec, near its flagship Fenelon deposits in the Detour Lake Corridor in Quebec. The focus was on stepout drilling along the Bug Lake corridor. Based on intercepts like 40.99 g/t Au over 2.3m including 59.60 g/t Au over 1.5m, 6.71 g/t Au over 14.4m including 9.81 g/t Au over 3.0m and 11.41 g/t Au over 5.0m, and 16.79 g/t Au over 10.1m including 17.62 g/t Au over 3.0m and 32.87 g/t Au over 3.0m;, it is fair to say that so far has been a success.
The Bug Lake corridor has now been delineated over an approximate 2,000m by 800m area and to an average vertical depth of 350-400m below surface. With more assays pending and another set of drilling scheduled to begin next month, I expect a substantial increase in Resources at Matiniere.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35154556
I have held at least a few shares in this company, now Rocky Soaore Gold aka RSG, through three changes of name and focus. The latest refocus, to a large gold prospect in Newfoundland adjoining NFG's Queensway deposit, proceeds apace. First RSG relinquished its iron ore prospect in the Arctic (acquired three symbols ago), and now they have sold their Hemlo area gold and PGM prospects in Ontario to ABX for $975k and an NSR.
Clearly, they are all in on their Gold Anchor prospect in Newfoundland, which is where the proceeds from the sale will be used. They are currently carrying out geophysics and mapping and sampling preparatory to an initial drilling campaign in a few months.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35153369
Nord Precious Metals aka NTH announced they have been enrolled in Ontario's new fast track permitting programme and expect to receive permits for their Castle Mine project in Ontario shortly. The permits will allow them to reprocess existing tailing stockpiles looking for silver and other metals, to retrieve remnant broken ore left in the mine, and then use the reprocessed tailings to backfill the mine.
If this works out, NTH might actually become cash flow positive before long, much to my surprise.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35153443
Permit me to talk up Rio2 aka RIO without any news, just on the basis of the way it has been trading, making ATH after ATH. (Some sites mask this by wrongly grouping the original RIO in with the current one even though there was a multi-year hiatus between the sale of the former and listing of the latter.)
If Saville is right about what the PoG and gold stocks are going to do through the rest the year (see Below), RIO starting production at its Fenix gold mine in Chile next January could be perfectly times.
I have had $2 as my target for RIO for some time, but didn't expect that target to be reached for a few years after which they will have increased production at Fenix out of cash flow, or perhaps a bit sooner if they are bought out. Now I am thinking it might happen this year. I can't yet make the call on what I will do if $2 is breached, but I will likely sell enough shares to get down to riding the remainder as freebies.
Turning to Minera Alamos aka MAI, the IKN newsletter did a major update on the gold miner this last weekend. MAI has been a Top Pick at IKN for some time, but was on probation depending on how it dealt with the permit problems for expanding the heap leach at the Santana gold mine in Mexico. IKN was satisfied that 'Plan B' has been able to get Santana to break even/small profit without the permits, allowing MAI to move forward with other projects like the Copperstone mine in Arizona and Cerro de Oro in Mexico.
With the Cerro de Oro permits also hung up, Copperstone is now the focus. With low capex and a quick 14-month build, all that's left now is to raise the modest capex, I hope primarily via debt.
IKN has kept MAI as a Top Pick.
I was lucky enough to get a fill on a stink bid for the new warrants released by i-80 Gold aka IAU last week under the symbol IAU.WT.U. (Tthe U means that they are denominated in $US.) They are already almost at a double and could become a multi-bagger if IAU's plans work out and the PoG cooperates. It's been a few years since I hit a 10-bagger, but since I got my warrants for 8 cents apiece, if the IAU common shares can make it to $2, IAU.WT.U cou;ld easily make it to 80 cents depending on timing. (These warrants have a strike price of 70 cents US and expire on Nov. 11, 2027.)
Saville reiterates that although gold is correcting at present, he expects it to break out to new highs within months. He also see silver as primed for a big move, and gold and silver stocks as in a very favourable position, e.g. he expects HUI to breach 500 later this year.
If you are interested in learning about trading warrants, which is quite different from trading regukar shares, a good place to start is here -- https://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=27370
Cool. I met Bobwins at Raging Bull too, so maybe we interacted back in the day.
I am glad to focus some of the torrent of information I come across daily into my writings. If nothing else, I have always found that writing something down is the best way to learn. I used to scold my students if I saw them using highlight markers on the course readings rather than taking written notes.
As I was about to post this I took a closer look at your monicker and sure enough, it seems familiar.
LC
Thank you for the info Bobwins. Been following your stuff for a long time 15 to 20 years. Its was a long long metals bear but seems we may have a few years bull on our hands.
CDPR/GPPRF This is kind of a hidden silver play. Cerro de Pasco is in Peru. This mine has operated since the 1500's. Humongous pit that can be seen from space. The mine has over 100million tonnes of tailings. GPPRF owns the rights to most of the tailings. This tailings would be considered high grade today. The miners only left the ore in the floatation circuits for 24 hours because they had so much ore coming out of the mine and could recover about 60% after 24hrs instead of 80%+ after 72 hrs. So this is a huge resource that's already mined and sitting 40 feet deep waiting to be reprocessed. Govt of Peru is incented to get this done because they nationalized the mine in the 90's and are on the hook for the acid water that the tailings are producing, endangering the nearby city. GPPRF has drilled 40 holes and verified that the ore is pretty uniformly mineralized. Averaged 1.5 oz/tonne of silver plus lead, zinc, copper and gold. AND they discovered that the ore has high grade gallium that is worth as much as the silver. Over 100 million oz of silver in the tailings.
This is a huge multibagger but it will take a few years to play out. If you want the biggest bang for a delayed buck, GPPRF is a good bet. They plan to float a barge in the tailings and suck up the ore and transport it to a mill. There are two old mills waiting to be used but they will only get about 60% of the metal out. If they build a new mill, the efficiency will jump to 80+. Company estimates $140million/yr cashflow from using old mills. $600million/yr if they build a new one. I am expecting this stock will be worth several dollars by 2028 but that's a long wait. If you are looking for the biggest bang, I think this is it.
Dolly Varden is an advanced explorer. The stock has done great and is a market favorite. Recently I have been sticking to actual producers. I like EXK to outperform as their Terronera silver mine comes online this year. Their two existing producers are nearing the end of their mine lives and are high cost so the market isn't too excited by EXK. But Terronera is going to cut their costs in half. And behind Terronera is a giant resource of 600+million oz of silver equivalent at Pitarrilla. Company is hoping to move staff that built Terronera over to Pitarrilla in the next year.
They have to prove that Terronera will perform up to expectations but the low costs and good production levels should excite the market.
On the explorer side, I picked Blackrock Silver over Dolly Varden but that has been a dud. They have plenty of silver at 100 million ounces in Nevada but market doesn't seem to care. High grade and great jurisdiction but market has yawned. I don't think Blackrock mgmt is well respected.
What is a better silver play than Dolly Varden?
CDPR/GPPRF New 52wkhi US$.3079 Cerro de Pasco has been climbing for the past few sessions. This should end up being a massive multibagger. Tailings from early 1900's thru 1990's are sitting there waiting to be reprocessed. 40 hole drill program proved that tailings are consistently mineralized from ground to 40' deep. The ore is valuable because the original miners didn't want to wait for floatation to maximize yield. They pulled the ore after 24 hrs instead of waiting for max recovery in 72 hours. Company is projecting $140 million cashflow per year if they use the two existing mills. If they build a new 20,000tpd mill, they are estimating cashflow of $600million per year. Next catalyst is metallurgical reports on best methods to max yield. Gallium is currently just as valuable as the silver but company is researching how they can extract the gallium from this ore. Currently most gallium is processed and produced in China.
All PM proxies are breaking out, following the lead of USERX last week.
Bought time eh Bobwins!!
Cheers!
Big day for miners. Gold and silver popped this morning and most miners are having a green day. Some stocks are getting a little ahead of themselves but it's been a long time since miners were hot. ASM continues it torrid streak and that's one that might be getting a little too heated. Production from La Preciosa is minimal and company says it won't hit the financials till Q4. Silver equivalent production is basically going to be flat for 2025. 2026 is when the fireworks should start. But investors keep bidding it up. I'm not complaining but getting a little worried about the overheating.
I still think EQX is a value. Greenstone is still ramping up and will be solid for the next decade. We should see much improved financials as the year progresses.
EXK is another miner that has been in the penalty box. Mediocre results for many years but again that should change as Terronera begins their ramp up this year. The production will increase AND costs could drop by 1/2. Big change.
I started following Bobwins on Raging Bull
and that led me to the value microcap universe here on InvestorsHub. I'm always amazed how you (LoneClone) can keep up with the torrent of news in the commodities space, and how you have insight into hundreds of small companies. ALL of my education on the micro/small cap miners space comes from reading your work. Thanks for not only the hard work that you do, but also your over-the-top generosity in sharing this information with us.
JWB
LUXR, WRLG
Luxor Metals aka LUXR started trading today on the TSXV. It was spun out of TUO to hold over 20k hectares of claims in BC's Golden Triangle. The various claims have now been collectively named the Luxor Project, prospective for Au, Ag, Cu, and more.
I look forward to hearing their exploration plans.
I applied the 'first day of trading' approach -- based on the idea that when the uninformed see warrants and spinout shares appear in their accounts they tend to dump them at any price -- I picked up a bunch more shares of LUXR this morning for 15 cents apiece, which I think will turn out to be a good price.
I was also glad to see that TD finally got off their ass so now I have the shares of Blue Jay Gold that were spun out by RRI. These will be listed in due course at which time I will likely buy more.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35150887
If you want to see another episode of Earthlink's 'documentary'/promo for West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG, you can access it from the link below. Interesting but not essential IMO...
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/earthlabs-expeditions-revisit-west-red-153000416.html
I hope people appreciate the years of experience and wealth of knowledge that Bob and I put into our posts here.
LC
WRLG, IPT, KTRI
The South Austin zone is becoming more and more important to the restart of the Madsen Mine in Ontario by West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG, based on the ongoing discovery of areas of very high mineralization missed by previous operators that are located close to existing workings.
The latest set of released assays from South Austin, for instance, includes intercepts like 61.51 g/t Au over 12.1m, 43.54 g/t Au over 8.35m and 24.61 g/t Au over 11.2m which indicate areas that will be very profitable to mine and very low cost to access. The intercepts are 50m up-dip from the last set of assays, and WRLG expects to extend these high grades in ongoing drilling.
I have raised the ask price on my WRLG warrants, now looking for a double from my purchase price.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35147635
My thesis for investing in Mexican miner Impact Silver aka IPT has been its leverage to the price of silver, which is expected to increase markedly from current levels over the coming year. So far that thesis has not worked out for me like it has several times in the past, but with the release of IPT's Q1 results we can see the groundwork being set.
IPT generally runs around break even depending of the PoS and costs, but has been running at a loss the last year due primarily to the costs of restarting and upgrading the Plomosas zinc mine. But as of Q1, they were back around break even with greatly increased production of silver, zinc and gold across their mines even as costs have stopped increasing. With Plomosas scheduled to increase another 25% in 2025 and increased production of silver and gold from Zacualpan IPT should be able to start generating significant profits in the coming quarters, I hope enough to rerate the stock.
IPT remains in good financial shape, with $6.6M in cash and no debt at the end of March.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35147650
Kootenay Resources aka KTRI continues to present results of their reanalysis of past work on their Copley prospect on the Nechako Plateau in BC by KTR and CG. They have found a number of targets for epithermal Au/AG mineralization as well as indications of an underlying Cu/Au porphyry like that found in the various mines operating in the region. The PR lists a number of promising locations which need to be followed up by drilling. I expect they will be using this and earlier PRs on Copley to either attract another partner of to generate a PP to fund the exploration themselves.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35147662
EXK US$3.6450 Bought some Leap Options on Endeavour today. $3 strike due in 1/27. Endeavour has struggled for awhile with two aging high cost mines. Terronera will change the company's cost structure, maybe dropping costs by 1/2. Delays have hurt the stock but it should be commercial by early 2026 and take off from there. AND Endeavour's next mine hosts 600 million oz of silver and could be online by the end of the decade. I think Endeavour is headed for double digits by then.
SNAG, WGX, TUO
We finally got the assays from the 2024 drill campaign conducted by Coeur Mining on Silver North Resources aka SNAG's Tim prospect in Yukon Territory. Coeur is earning an initial 51% in Tim which can be increased to 80% by reaching certain milestones in terms of cash payments and exploration expenditures.
Tim is located on the road to Coeur's producing Silvertip mine, so it is no surprise that exploration is looking for similar geology to that which hosts Silvertip's CRD deposits, and in that respect the six holes drilled in 2024 were successful. They did find CRD mineralization, with the best assay being 3.39 m of 52.8 g/t Ag, 0.28 g/t Au, 0.11% Pb, and 0.27% Zn, but the most important information collected was about the geology along the Wolf Fault, which is promising enough to get Coeur to commit to more exploration in 2025.
According to SNAG, Coeur thinks they can vector in on exactly what they are looking for this year. Full details on this year's exploration plans will be released in due course.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35146763
One thing I have learned since West Australian gold miner Westgold Resources aka WGX since they merged with KRR and I became a shareholder is that WGX is always the focus of intense speculation and rumout=mongering in Australia. We see this with WGX's latest PR which says that in response to media speculation, they are reiterating that the company is in compliance with continuous disclosure requirements.
That is not to say there might not be some fire under all thatsmoke...
https://www.westgold.com.au/showdownloaddoc.aspx?AnnounceGuid=db829535-079e-42b7-8d35-413463d13645
In the wake of completing the spinout of Luxor Metals, created to hold a number of their properties in BC's Golden Triangle, Teuton Resources aka TUO released a PR telling us that as the result of a spinout of Luxor shares to TUO shareholders Eric Sprott now owns 22.7% of Luxor.
This reminds us that Sprott still owns a major stake in TUO. I don't mind this as he is generally a strong holder, not prone to dump his shares without careful consideration.
No, the Luxor shares, which will be listed on 'a Canadian stock exchange' in due course, have not shown up in my brokerage account yet.
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/253329
Saville opines that silver appears to be primed for an upside breakout. According to him, if break $35 it would likely lead to prices in the $40s within six months and above $50 within a year, and although a pullback to $31 remains possible but is now less likely. He also sees gold stocks as showing signs of resuming an uptrend. He also points out that both palladium and platinum are inexpensive relative to gold and primed to play catch-up.
WRLG, RRI, KTN, TECT
The headline for West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG's latest PR, ' West Red Lake Gold Announces Official Restart of the Madsen Mine', sounds portentous, but it doesn't mean a lot. It simply refers to their BoD authorizing an immediate restart, which means the employees will continue to do what they are already doing. If the BOD had said no, they would have had to stop.
Now we wait for actual production numbers.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35143210
Prospect generator Riverside Resources aka RRI released an update on the La Union prospect in Mexico, which they are selling to QQQ.CN over a number of years in return for money and shares. QQQ has completed the first step to earn 50% of La Union in return for RRI receiving a 9.9% share in QQQ.CN plus $250k cash. RRI continues to operate the exploration, which will consist of mapping and sampling and geophysics prior to drilling later this year.
RRI also announced they have completed the spinout of Blue Jay Gold which holds its Ontario gold prospects, so watch for that to show up in your account if you are an RRI shareholder. Blue Jay Gold will apply to be listed on the TSXV.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35143236
Kootenay Silver aka KTN released a nothingburger of a PR saying that they have almost finished the initial Resource Report on its Columba silver prospect in Mexico.
My response? Let me know when it's done and you release it.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35143261
Tectonic Resources aka TECT released a PR trumpeting that their proposed $8M financing ending up raising $12.7M, which will be used to fund an upcoming drill programme on their Flat gold prospect in Alaska. TECT management says this is a measure of investors' confidence. Another interpretation, particularly given that the notorious Crescal Capital is a major participant, is that the offering was priced too low and favours insiders, something you normally see when Crescal is involved.
I note also a red flag I did not give enough weight to when making my purchase, the presence of Quenton Hennigh, another signal that the company is promotional in nature and will likely be run for the benefit of insiders rather than us punters.
I hope the drill campaign generates some promotable results that increase the share price so I can exit my position without taking too big a loss.
And no, TECT shares didn't pull a 10-bagger today. They did a 10 for 1 reverse split.
Avoid Crescal and Hennigh!
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35141245
Saville lays out two possible scenarios, that the POG will bottom this month and then kick off another leg of the bull, or that it will chop around through the summer and then take off in September or October. In either case he expects much higher prices by year end. He also thinks the the correction in gold miners has probably ended, meaning any pullback is a buying opportunity.
NRN, TUO, MTA
Northern Shield Resources aka NRN has managed to raise enough money for a drill programme starting in a month on their Root & Cellar Au/Ag/Te prospect in Newfoundland.
They have a new visual which shows how they think the Conquest Zone they have been exploring is the top of an epithermal low sulfidation porphyry. If they are right, this could be their first meaningful discovery in more than a decade exploring a number of different properties.
We'll see what the drill bit has to say.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35137911
Teuton Resources aka TUO announced they have completed the spinout of the share of Luxor Metals, so if you owned TUO shares as of Feb. 14, watch for the Luxir shares to appear in your account in the coming days.
Luxor has been given the rights to over 20k hectares of TUO's properties in BC's Golden Triangle plus $1.9M In return TUO was given almost 20M Luxor shares which will be distributed to TUO shareholders at a deemed price of 22 cents a share.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35138047
Metalla Royalty & Streaming aka MTA released its Q1 results, and I would describe them as mixed. They came in with a slight loss, as expected, while sales of 628 GEO was below expectations, with costs higher than last quarter at $11/GEO.
MTA is still in good financial shape, with a cash stash at the end of Q1 of $9M vs. debt of $16.1M, with more than $30M of available credit undrawn.
sThe saving grace is that MTA maintained annual guidance on the expectation of increased Sales in H2. I continue to hold my shares on the expectation of future M&A, and the possibility of a share price increase as sales increase.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35137920
FWIW, BMO released a new analyst report on MTA Calling the results below expectations, they still maintained MTA at Market Perform with a target of $7.
FWIW, Scotia issued a new analyst report on MTA. Calling the Q1 results neutral, they maintained MTA at Sector Perform with a target of $US4.50.
Two of my largest positions are following that model.
Minera Alamoss aka MAI is an experienced crew that has followed this strategy with their former company, and now has a pipeline of gold projects in Arizona and Mexico which they are developing with very little issuance of shares. Mind you, the permitting mess in Mexico has been an issue.
A variation on this is being followed by Rio2 aka RIO. What they have done in the past and are doing with their Fenix Mine under construction in CHile is a staged development over time where each stage is paid for by cash flow from the previous stages.
I would add that the key, as always with junior kines, is management. Both RIO and MAI are run by seasoned groups who have been successful before.
BTW, a few years ago I looked at Heliostar closely but never pulled the trigger, alas.
LC
Pick 4 Contest #22 Deadline Slightly More Than 6 hour Away
Remember to get your picks in before Today's close. Below is the link to the board.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/Pick-4-Contest-No-22-46704
new strategy Buy juniors with an operating mine that produces cashflow and allows them to develop 2nd and 3rd mine.
First example was Heliostar, HSTXF. They bought out Argonaut Gold's Mexican assets for $15million. Three mines that looked at the end of their life. Argonaut needed cash for their new mine. La Colorada is producing gold profitably and looks to have a lot more ore than Argonaut thought. In addition Heliostar has Ana Paula in the wings. Need to make an investment decision but looks like a slam dunk. Stock has been terrific, tripling in the past year.
Cerrado Gold is producing 55,000 oz from a mine in Argentina. Expects consistent production over the next four years and sees exploration upside with a big land package. The mine is low cost and Cerrado plans to use it to fund construction of a mine they recently acquired from Ascendant Resources in Spain. It's a polymetallic project with about 42% precious metals.
Denarius Metals is a spinoff from Aris Gold. They have a gold mine in Colombia that is about to start production called Vancudo. I've seen estimates that it could produce about 75K oz of gold/yr. Probably won't do that until the mine has been running for at least a year but definitely should provide good cashflow. Denarius is run by the founder of Gran Colombia Gold/Aris. Serafino Iacono. He is obviously very familiar with Colombia and Zancudo is similar to the Segovia operation of Aris. High grade narrow vein system with an underground operation. Reserves are around 850K oz and should allow Denarius to develop their two projects in Spain. Aguablanca is a polymetallic project with nickel, cobalt and comes with a fully permitted 5,000 tpd mill. Denarius plans to use the mill to quickly restart Aguablanca and also handle the ore from a second project called Lomero.
These three stocks started out at less than $50 million market cap but Heliostar has more than tripled. Cerrado and Denarius are both hovering around $50 million but should be worth a lot more when their second projects come online. Cerrado has an additional kicker. They have a huge iron ore project in Canada that is high grade. I doubt they actually build this mine but they are working on a PEA to establish a value for the project. It is a relatively high capex project but should be very attractive for an existing iron ore producer due to the rare high grade ore. Could be worth over a billion if in operation.
So it's not new but it's new for me. Modest gold production at today's all time high prices will fund future growth for much bigger projects. We'll see if the market agrees with the approach and if these three small producers can move forward with their bigger projects in the next few years. They certainly have a head start over many junior explorers.
RRI, TUO, WGX, AUX, WRLG
News out today from Riverside Resources aka RRI that the spinoot of Blue Jay Gold, created to hold their Ontario gold properties, will occur of May 22, so to get any shares you have to be an RRI shareholder as of the close of markets on May 21. Blue Jay will be applying to list on the TSXV.
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/251659/Riverside-Resources-Sets-Date-to-Receive-Spinout-Shares-of-Blue-Jay-Gold-Corp
Teuton Resources aka TUO released an update on a number of its properties in the Golden Triangle area of BC.
The update covers a total of 8 properties, a number of them owned 50-50 with Silver Grail Resources. It sounds like this summer's exploration will consist mostly of mapping and sampling and geophysics, though if things go well we might see some drilling this year. Notably, two of the properties, Fiji and Tonga, lie between DV's Homestake property and GOT's Surebet proper in what has become a very hot area.
As well, Luxor Metals, which holds some of TUO's properties in the area, has received approval to be spun out to TUO shareholders, after which it is anticipated Luxor will be listed on the CSE.
The unmentioned elephant in the room is TUO's share of the Treaty Creek project and its large Cu/Au/Ag depostis. Both Tudor Gold and TUO have been maneuvreing to prepare Treaty Creek for what I assume will be an eventual sale. Depending on how that process goes, within a few years current TUO shareholders might have received shares in Luxor, shares in 'New Teuton' minus Treaty Creek and the Luxor properties, and perhaps even a cash dividend using receipts of a Treaty Creek transaction.
Along these lines, TUD announced today that Ken Konkin, who has been President and CEO of TUD, is stepping back to his old role as head of exploration, with two new heavy hitters coming on board to take over what had been his roles. They are clearly getting ready for a change in the company, which again I suggest will be the sale of Treaty Creek.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35133534
West Australian gold miner Westgold Resources aka WGX released their Q! (Jan-Mar) results a few weeks ago, and now you can access their TSX-mandated MD&A and Financial Results at the link below. I took a quick look and couldn't find anything new, but maybe you can...
https://www.westgold.com.au/investor-centre/asx-announcements
Golden Cross Resources aka AUX released an update on exploration at their recently acquired gold prospects in Victoria, Australia, very close to SCGX's Sunday Creek discovery which is generating a lot of buzz of late.
Drilling will start next month on their Ready Creek property, directly north of Sunday Creek, targeting the Prince of Wales and Wieneroider prospects. Target selection will be assisted by VRIFY's Ai-assisted DORA technology, which has been useful on a number of other properties.
AUX is already starting to run, but I am thinking of adding to my holdings anyway.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35134368
West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG continues to release drill results from its Madsen gold mine in Ontario, which it will be bringing into production later this year.
This time the drilling was in the South Austin zone, located under the area where part of the recent bulk sample was extracted. These drill holes were located about 300m down plunge from the ones released in February, with the feature intercepts including 8.97 g/t Au over 18.7m, 52.86 g/t Au over 4.5m and 25.49 g/t Au over 7.5m. With this mine, given past failures, the key is to build up an inventory of high-confidence results, and the drilling at South Austin has certainly met that goal. Drilling continues.
I am playing WRLG through the A warrants which still have almost four years of life with a strike price of 95 cents. WRLG's share price is rapidly approaching that strike price. Accordingly, I increased my ask on the warrants, which I have up for sale.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35134397
Saville reminds us that most broad commodity bull markets begin as a gold bull market that spreads to a several years long rally across most raw materials. He expects this to begin once it becomes widely accepted, that we are in recession, likely before the end of the year.
Sorry, my error, though you were into MAG. BTW, there was another merger announced today in the silver field, AGA and SSLV. More to come, I am sure.
I've been thinking about why mining companies tend to do M&A at the peak of the cycle of the underlying metal, meaning they usually end up overpaying. One reason, perhaps the main one, is that they can. They have no problem raising money or getting the money men on board at the peak of the cycle, so they just buy and hope they get the reward at the next cyclical peak for metal prices.
LC
don't have any MAG. I think the price of silver/gold has finally started the M&A cycle in earnest. I think we are going to see more acquisitions of especially producers. Typically, during a bull market acquirers overpay for assets. This time around, I think the acquirers are going to be more cautious and buy producers first at reasonable prices.
I had some spare change and got lucky last week. I bought some CDE options just before earnings and the Las Chispas mine acquisition really improved their results. Low cost, mostly silver production changed CDE. Only a couple thousand bucks but it doubled. More mid to large producers will look to acquire smaller single asset producers in hopes of doing what CDE did.
Bob, if I remember right, you are big into MAG. Are you happy with PAAS's offer price for the takeover?
LC
Pick 4 Contest #22 Deadline This Friday (5/16/25)
Remember to get your picks in before Friday's close. Below is the link to the board.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/Pick-4-Contest-No-22-46704
OGC, WEX, AUX
It wasn't that long ago that OceanaGold aka OGC looked to be in trouble. Permit issues shut down their Didipio Ag/Cu mine in the Philippines, the new Haile Au mine in the US was having teething problem, and their balance sheet was looking iffy.
Today the situation is very different, evident in their newly released Q! results Didipio is back running on rails, Haile is performing much better, the New Zealand gold mines are running well, and they are debt free and were able to increase their cash stash from $159M to $221M in the quarter in spite of spending $20M on share repurchases and paying another round of recently reinstated dividends. Remarkably, their net profit in Q1 was $101M, with FCF of $69M.
The strong results were underpinned not just by high metal prices but also by a major increase in both Au and Cu production, to 117k oz and 3400t respectively. Cash costs rose to $975/oz Au, but that was not enough to dampen the party.
One surprise is that OGC is planning a share rollback in order to list 'on a major U.S. exchange'.
Given these results, it is no surprise that OGC is up big today to a new ATH. I do regret that I was unsuccessful in reloading the shares I sold in the low $4 range even though I made a big profit at the time.
It ll be interesting to see what the analysts think. Their targets for OGC are generally between $5.50 and $6, right around or below the current share price.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35129236
Western Exploration aka WEX released a PEA for the Doby George Ag deposit on its Aura property in Nevada. Unfortunately it landed with a thud. I think the numbers are reasonable, so the market must have been expecting more
The base case of $2150 gold generates an IRR of only 25.4%, but that does rise to 62.2% using a $3000 gold price. The capex is very reasonable at $118M, as is the estimated AISC of under $1200.
Clearly they need to increase both the economic returns and the size of the Resource at Doby George, currently estimated at 395k oz Au Indicated and 71k oz Inferred. Fortunately some recent discoveries around Dolby George make that a certainty, so I expect resource growth when they continue on to a PFBS.
WEX has been a disappointment, but I am going to continue to hold my small stake. I may even average down if it looks to me like the stock price has bottomed.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35129291
One of the most ballyhooed recent gold discoveries in Australia has been SXGC's finds at Sunday Creek in the Victoria Goldfields. Hence it is no surprise that Golden Cross Resources aka AUX is talking up the similarities to its recently acquired Reedy Creek tenement, located just 10km away.
But the comparison is a fair one. AUX has been able to establish a 3 km long gold in soil anomaly, a strong in indicator in the area, and which overlies similar folding to that observed at Sunday Creek.
AUX has also been able to locate more than 1350 artisanal workings that follow the same geology, and while examining historical drilling datasets came up with intercepts like 2.0m at 174.4 g/t Au and 11.0m at 31.4 g/t gold.
AUX plans to emulate SXGC by following the 'testing the ladder' approach, which focuses on identifying 'stacked, steeply dipping high-grade gold bearing quartz veins' like those normally found in the area.
They expect to begin drilling in June, and will release more detailed plans before that.
https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=35129330
This board is for discussing junior miners in both base and precious metals. The commodities boom appears to be a longer term issue so these stocks should become more important as investors try to find small companies that are discovering new deposits.
The typical scenario is that the big companies have such high overhead that they can only look for huge deposits. However as commodities rise in price and all producers max out production, the larger players struggle to replace reserves. The junior miners typically fill that role by finding deposits and then selling out to the cash rich bigger players.
My normal investing strategy is to look for profitable stocks with low p/e's. That strategy is difficult with mining stocks because most are not in production or are losing money.
My alternative strategy is to look for miners with near term potential to begin production. Those are the stocks that I will attempt to focus on along with any stocks that are actually profitable.
Bobwins
FAVORITE JUNIOR NICKEL MINERS:
FAVORITE JUNIOR ZINC MINERS:
Zinc prices have underperformed relative to other base metal prices during the commodity boom of 2010-11. There is supposed to be a surplus in supply in the near term but significant shortages could develop over the next few years. Several large zinc mines are slated to run out of reserves during this time period and demand is expected to continue to increase.
FAVORITE JUNIOR COPPER MINERS:
China remains the most important barometer of base metal fortunes. If their economy continues to grow, copper usage and prices will continue to be supported at the current high levels.
Capstone Mining Corp CS.to/CSFFF.pk
F.D. 82.1M, The company is buying back 10% its shares from mid 07-mid 08. Holding ~20m shares of SST.v plus warrants.
Cash cost about 40c copper net byproduct credit, going lower as smelter charges drop in 08 and lead price jumps.
Recently increased its mill output by 120% under budget. Guiding 26 M lb of copper, 11.3M lb of zinc and 4.1M lb of Lead in 08.
New resource update by sep 07.
http://www.capstonemining.com/
QUADRA MINING QUA.to/QADMF.pk
S.O. 38.1M + 3.9M (InterMoly) + 12M (PP, fully allocated)=54M
F.D. 42.6M + 3.9M (InterMoly) + 24M (PP, fully allocated)=70.8M
2007 guidance: 125 M lb copper and 60 K oz gold
Q1 2007 production: 36.6 M lb copper and 31 K oz gold. Cost: ~$1.5/lb
http://www.quadramining.com
Taseko Mines Ltd. (TGB)
S.O. 113.6 M
F.D. 126.4 M
2007 guidance: 60-70M lb copper and 1 M lb of moly. Cost: ~$1.5/lb
Production set to increase to 120 M lb copper and 1.4 M lb of moly in late 2008 and cost will go down to close to US$1.1/lb area.
http://www.tasekomines.com
FAVORITE JUNIOR GOLD MINERS:
FAVORITE JUNIOR SILVER MINERS:
AURCANA AUN.v AUNFF.pk
S.O. 90.4M
F.D. 105.5M
http://www.aurcana.com/
FORTUNA FVI.to FVITF.pk
Profitable mine in Peru has financed much of the development of their new mine in Mexico. Producing over 2million oz of silver now, targeting 5million+ oz in 2013 when new San Jose mine should be at full production capacity.
http://www.fortunasilver.com
SCORPIO MINING SPM.to SMNPF.PK
http://www.scorpiomining.com/
SILVER WHEATON SLW
http://www.silverwheaton.com
Silver Wheaton is the biggest silver streamer. They finance many junior miners by buying future production of silver at fixed prices. The typical price they pay is 3.90/oz. The miner gets needed financing to bring mines into production and SLW gets all or a percentage of their future silver production. Silver Wheaton has financing power that many juniors lack. Now that they have been in business for several years, their initial investment projects are coming into production and raising SLW's production levels. Lower risk way to play silver because of diversification and lack of mining risk. SLW is relatively low overhead. They have a small office staff of finance experts who continue to add deals to the portfolio and production without significantly adding to overhead now and in the future.
FAVORITE JUNIOR URANIUM MINERS:
Worldwide, there are hundreds of nuclear powerplants on the drawing board. The current mining supply is well below current usage. The deficit is being supplied by Russia from deactivated nuclear warheads. That program is going to end in 2013 and Russia has indicated they will retain whatever is remaining of their inventory for their own nuclear powerplant use. As that deadline approaches, there is more and more likelihood that uranium will increase in price.
Strathmore Minerals STM.v STHJF.pk
http://www.strathmoreminerals.com
Near term producer, with two projects being advanced towards production. Strathmore has a JV with Sumitomo to develop Roca Honda in New Mexico and is pursuing licensing for the Gas Hills Project in Wyoming. Strathmore has a large acreage position in the US of prospects that it intends to JV or sell to concentrate on it's core products. These properties were acquired many years ago at very low prices.
Uranerz Energy URZ
http://www.uranerz.com
FAVORITE JUNIOR MOLYBDENUM MINERS:
FAVORITE JUNIOR TUNGSTEN MINERS:
DYNACOR MINES DYN.to MSDRF.PK
http://www.dynacor.com/
FAVORITE JUNIOR LEAD MINERS:
MontyHigh's blog, quite informative: http://montyhigh.typepad.com/world_of_wallstreet/
A Good web site for juniors: http://miningpedia.com/
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