RVS will be starting another large drill program near
month end so there will be no let up in drill results. The
existing resource has been expanded and if recent drilling
unlocks the best way to drill Nami there should be a lot of
expansion potential there. Burkina Faso is starting to get
its own “buzz” and we think RVS still has plenty of upside
with another fully funded drill program about to kick off.
DP: Currently you think some of the industrial metals
have had a decent run, but you are still looking for more
traveling in gold and silver. Have we got this somewhat
correct?
EC: The world seems to have changed for gold and silver.
They have both had strong runs lately so there is potential
for short term consolidation but we don’t expect pullbacks,
if they occur, to be large. The world remains an
uncertain place and precious metals have proven themselves
to be the most certain of investments over the past
decade. We don’t see everyone abandoning them after a
period like that. With central bank sales largely off the
table, continued slow mine production growth and early
evidence that growth in scrap sales may be easing the
environment is very supportive for precious metals.
Base metals are trickier and need to be treated individually
but we’re pleased with the trend of declining warehouse
inventories over the past few months for most of
them. We’ve said for years that the developing countries
will determine the pricing, and they do. There could be
pull backs on sentiment alone if there is another negative
event in the G8 economies but we do not expect a double
dip. We focus on copper most of all and it looks comfortable
in the $3-3.50/pound range. If the developed economies
can generate even tepid growth it should be able to
maintain that range. If things accelerate it could do better
since there is not a lot of large scale production growth on
the horizon. Gold and silver have been stealing the show
but we are seeing good moves in development level copper
stocks as traders anticipate M&A activity which we
also expect to see.
DP: Our favorite question is always, if you could only buy
one stock today, what would it be?
EC: Well, you gave me a six month time horizon which
means the end of March. I’m personally hoping for a few
bargains on Yukon stocks about then so I’ll