Value Microcaps Junior Miners

[Lone Clone]

IAU x 2, WM, QRC, KTN, TECT, OGC

Today we got two PRs from Nevada gold miner i-80 Gold aka IAU. One of good news, the other not so much.

The good news: more high grade drilling results from the South Pacific Zone on their Granite Creek property, which is expected to become the chief source of ore once the decline is completed. Drill results like 28.1 g/t Au over 4.4m, 10.6 g/t Au over 9.4m, & 13.6 g/t Au over 5.2m indicate the SPZ should become a major money-spinner Note the the SPZ remains open at depth and to the north.

IAU plans to begin production from the SPZ in the coming months, first with test mining, then more definition drilling, then an updated Feasability Study, during which time a Mining Plan will also be developed.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34563957

The not so good news is that IAU also announced yet another PP, again priced below market at $1.80. Clearly many moneyed folks want to chuck money at them, but with mining income already starting to ramp up, do they really need to add more dilution?

https://www.i80gold.com/i-80-gold-announces-non-brokered-private-placement-of-up-to-c18-million/

In response to the Granite Creek PR -- they don't mention the latest PP, which was announced later in the day -- Scotia issued a new analyst report on IAU calling the Granite Creek PR Positive, while maintaining IAU at Sector Outperform with a target of $4.

Wallbridge Resources aka WM released the results of its fall drilling programme in and around its flagship Fenelon gold project in Quebec. 14 step-out holes in the Area 51 zone outside the current MRE found significant intercepts like 17.05 g/t Au over 2.75m and 4.36 g/t Au over 7.50m, including17.55 g/t Au over 1.50m, will serve to increase the numbers at the next updated Resource Estimate for Fenelon.

In addition, exploration drilling at F1 (1km north of the MRE) and F5 (2.5 km East) yielded assays like 8.71 g/t Au over 0.60m and 0.52 g/t Au over 18.45m indicate potential for further expanding resources.

Drilling has resumed at Fenelon, aimed at further defining and upgrading near-surface Au which can improve Fenelon's economics over the recent PEA.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34563873

There has been an interesting development regarding Queens Road Capital aka QRC. It was originally set up by Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest and a few of his rich friends as a vehicle to generate interest from mining ventures via the placement of convertible debentures. Now we hear that Wyloo Metals, a private mining company own by Forrest, has reached an agreement to sell all the almost 108M shares of WRC it owns to a group of non-Canadian private investors.

Fortunately in terms of maintaining orderly trading, the sale will be carried out off-market. It is expected to close within two weeks QRC is pitching this transaction as removing a significant overhang on the shares. We shall see, given we know nothing about the new owners of the shares or their intentions.

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/queens-road-capital-announces-sale-120000883.html

Last year we got news that Kootenday Silver aka KTN was going to sell one of its non-core Mexican properties to company called Fabled Silver Gold. Well, the 'fable' part is accurate; today FCO announced they were unable to raise the necessary funds are are terminating the transaction.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34563849

Bloddy drill plays....

When they hit, you can do really well holding their shares, but you can lose it all if they miss. And sometimes even when they hit, if what they find doesn't meet hyped-up expectations, you get a cratered share price, and that's what happened today to Tectonic Metals aka TECT.

If you didn't know about the inflated expectations, you would be pretty happy that all 19 holes on TECT's initial drill campaign on the Chicken Mountain target on their Flat prospect in Alaska hit gold, and that 12 of them ended in minerlaization. And you'd be glad that Chicken Mountain has been delineated to a strike length of 1.8KM and to a depth of 300m while remaining open in all direction. And you'd be happy that Chicken Mountain is looking more and more like a viable open pit mine analogous to the nearby Fort Knox mine. And you'd be glad that the oxidized ore runs deep enough that all 19 holes had low sulphur values.

Some of the intervals are over 400m long averaging around 0.4 g/t Au, and there were many high grade intervals like 36.40m of 1.22 g/t Au and 37.32m at 1.02 g/t Au, but this again clearly wasn't enough to meet inflated expectations. A knowledgeable friend who has followed the company closely expects them to do rollback and a PP before they resume exploration this summer. That would not surprise me, but I sure hope the share price recovers before any PP. In the meantime, they will continue metallurgical testing and re-assaying of historical drill core.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34564823

FWIW, in the wake of Friday's announcement by Oceanagold aka OGC of an IPO on the Philippine Stick Exchange for part of a subsidiary that holds the Didipio Au/Cu mine, Scotia issued a new analyst report calling the move Positive, citing the new Resource Report and Mine Plan for Didpio, which aims to lead to an increase in production which will be paid for by the proceeds of the IPO. Scotia kept OGC at Sector Outperform with a target of $4.50.

FWIW, TD put out a new analyst report regarding their outlook on PMs. Citing continued ncear-record central bank buying, that over the last 40 years the PoG has gained an average of 34% during cycles of US interest rate easing, and that margins are expected to grow as the increase in the Pog exceeds the growth in costs of mining, they are maintaining an Overweight recommendation on the sector.

The IKN newsletter points out that e GLD Inventory/price ratio hit a brand new all-time low. Given that GLD is the preferred instrument for Wall Street to invest in gold, their disdain for the shiny metal at this point becomes ever more evident. Given the amount of money they control compared to the tiny size of the entire PM sector, a positive change in their attitude backed up by buying GLD could move the PoG north in a hurry.

Saville also commented on this unusual divergence between the rise in the PoG vs. the continued decrease in the amount of gold held by ETFs like GLD. He believes that this divergence will eventually move the PoG to the upside. He also comments on another unusual development, gold stocks underperforming the PoG over an extended period, and again expects this to resolve with a rebound in PM stocks.