MEDELLIN – Colombia’s president has a 98 percent approval rating, and so, it is clear to me, do this lush nation’s outcropping of gold and energy companies.
Here is how Frank Holmes of U.S. Global Funds put it to me in our recent tour of Pacific Rubiales (TSX: T.PRE, Stock Forum), the booming new oil producer. “El dinero nunca duerme y va a donde se respeta, ” Mr. Holmes, CEO of the natural resources asset manager, said. Loosely translated, it means, “Money never sleeps; it goes where it is respected.”
As we reported in a Ticker Trax Planetary Prospect blast today (Wednesday), Colombia’s gold, oil, coal and copper properties are so H-O-T, the nation of 44 million needs a bunch of fresh new ventanas.
If you take the meaning.
Total gold production for Colombia, a nation that led South America in the category until violence spilled blood on technically brilliant mines (that is: until the late 1930s), likely will not surpass 400,000 ounces this year.
If the promise of Ventana Gold’s (TSX: T.VEN, Stock Forum) freshly scrubbed and potentially vast resource in the California-Las Vetas District of the country overcomes title disputes and skeptics, “What we have here is something the country has not seen since Placer (Dome) was claiming concessions in the 20s and 30s,” says 16-year Colombia veteran Robert Carrington of Colombian Mines Corp. (TSX: V.CMJ, Stock Forum).
In our Ticker Trax travels across the country this week, I saw a capitalization pattern that likely will be repeated several times in coming months in a nation that many North Americans regard as dangerous, poor and rife with cocaine processing plants. Total disbelief becomes transformed almost instantaneously. Thus, Ventana Gold and Pacific Rubiales reach as high as $4 billion off of miniscule market capitalizations – all because they reached internal targets.
As for common perceptions of Colombia, here’s the truth. Makeshift and wildcat gold mills? Yes. I lived here briefly many years ago, and I can tell you the nation of Colombia is lush and alive, the people as honest and as comely beautiful as ever, and its cities and jungle interiors sparkling and rich. The middle class is probably the most vibrant in South America. The democracy of the nation is steady. The narco-terrorists are even inspiring TV series whose titles are taken in vain. More about that in Ticker Trax.)
Yet, as with many emerging gold nations, there are some companies with a market worth best described as cheaper than the chicle (gum) you buy in the street.
Bob and Gloria Carrington and Nate Tewalt's tiny Colombian Mines, even after having risen from the ashes earlier this fall, and climbing to 81 cents Canadian Wednesday, is still less than a $20 million company, fully diluted.
We shall report more later this week on CMJ, on Ari Sussman and Bob Allen’s Continental Gold (trading halted under Crosus Resources), about Medoro Resources (TSX: V.MRS, Stock Forum) and its thickly rich yet troubled Marmato, whose travails I have been following and reporting on since April 2008, as well as several others.
Continental's biggie project is Buritica in the Antioquia Department, a two-hour drive from Medellin. Medoro’s gold-dusted wonderland, Marmato, crawling with illegal miners and politics, is three hours in the other direction from the city of 4 million.
As with Mongolia in 2002 and 2003, I can say I was there. I saw. And (at several properties, such as those owned by CMJ, Pacific Rubiales, Medoro) I believe.
I do not own any shares of CMJ. But Bob and his tight-knit group, including his Medellin-born wife, Gloria, own about 35 percent of the company. The shares, like most Colombia gold mines these days, is trading about 1,000 times more shares daily during this past week than its one-year daily average.
Coming:
Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, Jan. 17-18.
Phoenix Investment Conference – Gold & Silver Showcase, Feb.4-5.
TC on TT™
Ticker Trax™ and Thom Calandra is in 
Colombia and leaves soon for Peru. I’ll be kicking rocks at seven companies in the two nations. A 2009 success story in northern Colombia, Ventana Gold (TSX: T.VEN, Stock Forum), declined requests to open its property for a visit next week. Almost certainly, this is because the mine is swamped with analysts, one who told me: Great property. Great market cap. No mistakes or it is curtains.
In Peru, I will be seeing Fortuna Silver Mines (TSX: V.FVI, Stock Forum) and Focus Ventures (TSX: V.FCV, Stock Forum), both of them part of the Goldgroup network of mines. Joining me will be several writers and analysts, at least one fund manager, Stanford U.-trained geologist Paul Zweng of Honolulu, assorted financiers and minerals mavens.
(Please see:Thom Calandra’s Stockhouse articles. Thom Calandra owns no shares of Ventana. Nor does he own Fortuna, Focus or CMJ. Thom does own each of the 11 Planetary Prospects in subscriber-supported Ticker Trax™. Thom also has informed Ticker Trax subscribers that he intends – but has yet to – purchase shares of Mexico-focused Animas Resources. He does own shares of Medoro and has since May 2008 via a stake in Colombian Gold Fields.)
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HOLDINGS:Thom’s stock holdings are listed for all Stockhouse members on www.Stockhouse.com under the “portfolio setting” for user TCALANDRA. It is public and free to view. He also owns recently minted gold and silver coins and shares of two private companies. Thom does not do private placements or accept payment in return for coverage. But you can buy him a cold beer in Cabo or a double Grey Goose in Toronto. Thom participates in select company-sponsored and company-paid tours of mining sites.
THOM CALANDRA of Ticker Traxhelps his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Thom co-founded and was executive VP of news for CBS MarketWatch andMarketWatch.com. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom pegged $300-ounce gold as a long-term hold and dyed his hair blonde multiple times as gold surpassed $400, $500 and $600.
Ticker Trax™ is published by Stockgroup Media Inc. Ticker Trax is an information service for subscribers and neither Stockhouse nor Thom Calandra is a broker or an investment advisor. None of the information contained therein constitutes a recommendation by Mr. Calandra or Stockhouse/Stockgroup Media that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Ticker Trax does not purport to tell or suggest the investment securities subscribers or readers should buy or sell for themselves. Subscribers and readers of Ticker Trax should conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decisions. Ticker Trax will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader’s reliance on information obtained in the reports. Subscribers and readers are solely responsible for their own investment decisions. Opinions expressed in Ticker Trax are based on sources believed to be reliable and are written in good faith, but no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to their accuracy or completeness. All information contained in Ticker Trax should be independently verified. The editor and publisher are not responsible for errors or omissions or responsible for keeping information up to date or for correcting any past information. Ticker Trax does not receive compensation of any kind from any companies that may be mentioned in the report. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. Owners, employees and writers may hold positions in the securities that are discussed in Ticker Trax. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THOM SEEKING PERSONALIZED INVESTMENT ADVICE, WHICH HE CANNOT PROVIDE. Copyright 2009 all rights reserved.