Yukon’s resource-rich stomping grounds are one region I yet have to see with my own eyes.
For a span, this past spring and summer, Yukon prospectors were a cut above the rest. They were holding more of their heady equity gains in the dumbass resources market than, say, those in Colombia or Ghana or Quebec.
No more. ATAC Resources is off the bloom after distributing a summary of its first resource report on the Tiger Gold Deposit. Graham Downs’ ATAC (TSX: V.ATC, Stock Forum) just press-released the report; it shows 800,000 ounces of Tiger Deposit gold in both categories at a cutoff grade of 0.3 grams per tonne.
(On sulfides, ATAC uses a 1.0 grams/tonne gold cutoff.)
“The Yukon is still suffering from major disappointment in terms of lofty expectations for new discoveries in 2011 which have been unrealized to date,” says William Sheriff of another Yukon explorer, Golden Predator (TSX: T.GPD, Stock Forum).
Bill Sheriff told me this one day before the ATAC resource came public (earlier this week). In the case of ATAC, well, ATC stock has been off the bloom for a spell now. ATAC’s equity worth earlier in the year was three times what it is now. Bill Sheriff is still a believer in ATC and several other Yukon icons.
Mr. Sheriff, a Colorado resident and longtime uranium hand from Energy Metals Corp., said the equity crush these days is sapping most prospectors, and especially those with large institutional ownership and shares that went to the Yukon moon in January, February, March and April.
“I think this sets us up of for major upside surprises in the remainder of the year into January as I am very very V-E-R-Y optimistic that at least three new (Yukon) discoveries will be announced along with a plethora of continuing good results from KAM, GPD and ATC . KAM is Kaminak Gold (TSX: V.KAM, Stock Forum).
The Sheriff (I figure, folks call Colombia and Arkansas metals staker Bob Allen “Bullet,” ergo, I can call Bill ‘The Sheriff.’) continues, “The labs are still so backed up and when they do release results they are not necessarily in the order drilled or even complete holes. This means that in my estimate we have yet to see 80% of the drill results, maybe 90% from the Yukon this summer.”
Golden Predator’s equity worth in the Canadian stock market is about a third of ATAC’s measure. The prospector has more than 300 holes in the ground at Brewery Creek and five rigs, three of them running year round. Bill Sheriff and his GPD team just showed in a report 23.30 m of 5.67 g/t gold at Brewery Creek. (That is The Sheriff in photo at Brewery Creek. – Janet Lee photo; she’s The Sheriff’s Deputy)
“This (equity crunch) will prove to be a major surprise (and colossal mistake) to the majority that exited prematurely after the frustration of no apparent results,” says Mr. Sheriff, who seems to me a straight shooter. I do not own the shares, but if I do sprinkle some Yukon onto my briefcase of resource holdings, GPD almost surely would be first in the leather.
Just don’t shoot The Sheriff if a resource rebound – in compliant reports and in the stock market – takes a spell way up there; it’ll happen.
SUNWARD RESOURCES: The developer of a Titiribi, Colombia, gold and copper property (TSX: V.SWD, Stock Forum) is “parting ways” with its VP of Exploration, Dr. Amit Tripathi. Amit tells me he is leaving Colombia today and hopes to return to exploration geology for another company in the near future. I hope he stays in Colombia; he has the metals mix down pat. I know; I have seen him in operation. (See previous coverage.)
IRON ORE: I now own shares of West Africa Mining Ore (TSX: V.WAI, Stock Forum).I have no intention at this time of covering the Guinea operator. Iron ore is one of the building blocks of developing nations along with copper, coal, chorizos and coffee beans. For me, a highly-speculative iron ore prospector acts as a diversifying addition to my gold, silver, copper, molybdenum and platinum-weighted holdings.
GUANAJUATO: Off to Mexico this weekend to refresh my research on two longstanding silver stakes: Great Panther Silver (GPL and TSX: T.GPR, Stock Forum) and Endeavour Silver (EXK and TSX: T.EDR, Stock Forum). The two since my last visit to the Guanajuato operations in central Mexico have generated gi-normous profits for their shareholders, including me. I am this week back in the market buying shares of Bob Archer’s Great Panther, which I believe has an osteopathic ability to heal itself; i.e., show shareholders it is well on track to one day being a five-million-ounce yearly silver producer. Great Panther, it shares roughed up in recent months, just extended its strike zone by 50 percent on the San Ignacio portion of its Guanajuato holdings. For its part, Bradford Cooke’s Endeavour Silver is spreading its silver wings in Chile via property options and purchases.
EUROPE ON LE BUS: In 13 days, I will be accompanying a group of miners, prospectors, professors and promoters across several European cities. The Zimturoad show on a bus will make its way to the Munich Gold Show and visit Zurich, Geneva, Hamburg and Vienna. If you’d like to know more, get a free lunch, cocktails and an overview of the metals marketplace, please visit: https://roadtrip.zimtu.com/. The sponsor is Zimtu Capital (TSX: V.ZC, Stock Forum) and seven of its portfolio companies. To register: click here – it is free.
NEW ORLEANS: I will be speaking at Brien Lundin’s New Orleans Investment Conference. Click on this link for details. The topic: “10x Return Candidates in Ghana, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Quebec and Ethiopia.” I go on at 7:35 p.m. Thursday Oct. 27, followed by a revealing workshop. That is next week. Hey, on the Friday afternoon break of the show I will be touring the New Orleans exhibit hall looking at these companies and shepherding anyone who wants to tag along: Golden Valley Mines (TSX: V.GZZ, Stock Forum), Lexaria Corp. & Enertopia Corp., Revett Minerals Inc. (TSX: T.RVM, Stock Forum), Edgewater Exploration, Hunt Mining Corp., Evolving Gold Corp. (TSX: T.EVG, Stock Forum), International Tower Hill Mines & Corvus Gold, Coeur d’Alene Mines, Tintina Resources and Bayou City Exploration.
… I am a partner of Torrey Hills Capital, which is in Del Mar, near San Diego, California. Great Panther Silver, Revett Minerals and Golden Valley Mines are Torrey Hills clients.
Stockhouse members – the service is free – can see my entire portfolio online. It is under the portfolio function and my user name, which is TCALANDRA. There is nothing in my portfolio suitable for risk-averse investors. I am not a financial adviser.
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