Value Microcaps Junior Miners

[dr_airtime]

Two new buys - 60%/25% production growth through 2019...

...with that 60% growth coming from new mines that are almost operational.

Nothing to bet the farm on here. But both of these gold producers have CAD 400M market caps and are guiding for 60% production growth for 2019 (relative to 2017 production). The small producer space is dwindling and I think these should be good holds through gold's typically strong fall.

AR.TO Argonaut Gold

- 60% production growth coming from producing El Castillo/San Agustin complex. All the growth is coming from the new San Agustin pit close to producing El castillo mine. They have already announced the first gold pour. San Agustin does not have a feasibility I believe so commerical production cannot be announced with 43-101 regulation.

http://www.argonautgold.com/news_events/news/news_release/index.php?&content_id=353

- Argonaut has 2M M&I heap leachable pit-constrained resources (not reserves) between El Castilo, San Agustin and La Colorada mines. See page 25 of presentation which reflects the updated M&I ounces they announced in latest press release from Sept 21st.

http://www.argonautgold.com/_resources/presentations/corporate-presentation-Sept-2017.pdf

GSC.TO/GSS Golden Star

- Will technically have 60% growth from 2016 to 2019, about 25% growth from 2017 to 2019.

- Management has turned around operations and refocused on high grade underground. Is closing the Prestea surface open pits and refocusing on Prestea Underground which has a P&P resource of 1.1MT @ 14 g/t for 500k Au. 5.5 year mine life.

- Recent drilling success shows Prestea's mine life will be longer than 5.5 years.

- Prestea has a 100 year mining history so there will be a longer life. See page 14:

http://s1.q4cdn.com/789791377/files/doc_presentations/2017/08/Jefferies-presentation-Aug-2017-FINAL.PDF

- slides 10 & 11 from Denver shows the Prestea mine plan. I would guess the mined-out areas around the 200m shaft represent the "100 years of prior production".

http://s1.q4cdn.com/789791377/files/doc_presentations/2017/09/Denver-presentation-Sept-2017-FINAL.pdf

- Golden star has recently announced they have started mining the first stop at Prestea underground.

- The open pits will continue to produce through the end of 2017, after which point all of GSC's production will come from Wassa and Prestea Underground.