REAL PICKS FROM JAY TAYLORGold Producers in the Catbird Seat: Jay Taylor
TGR: In mid-March, you exited 75% of your equity positions to build a cash position. How did you decide which companies to keep, and what did they have in common?
I like Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (SSL:TSX.V) a lot.
My favorite company in the A-3 or A-4 category would be Eurasian Minerals Inc. (EMX:TSX.V)
JT:Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (PTQ:TSX; PTQMF:OTCBB; P7Z:FSE) is my top pick right now
JT: I would call Sandstorm my No. 1 pick among producers because of its streaming model.
I also like OceanaGold Corp. (OGC:TSX; OGC:ASX), a New Zealand producer.
Dynacor Gold Mines Inc. (DNG:TSX) is another favorite.
Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (PZG:NYSE.A; PZG:TSX) has deep pockets and lots of money in the bank. It has AMAX Gold Inc.'s old Sleeper mine in Nevada and some very promising gold and silver projects in Mexico.
Aurvista Gold Corp. (AVA:TSX.V) in Québec has on the order of 2 Moz in an open pit. I like the management and some deep pockets are behind the company.
Esperanza Resources (EPZ:TSX.V) also looks really good. It is a gold-silver company in Mexico, with strong management behind it.
In Brazil, Magellan Minerals Ltd. (MNM:TSX.V) looks good. Sandstorm recently came in and is providing some capital to move it forward.
I like Rye Patch Gold Corp. (RPM:TSX.V; RPMGF:OTCQX) a lot, although it is in dispute with Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp (CDM:TSX; CDE:NYSE) over claims that Coeur d'Alene failed to keep up and Rye Patch grabbed.
Pretium Resources Inc. (PVG:TSX; PVG:NYSE) has strong management and a super-big, world-class gold deposit in northwestern British Columbia. This is an extremely good story.
Victoria Gold Corp. (VIT:TSX.V) has about 2 Moz in the Yukon. Pelangio Exploration Inc. (PX:TSX.V) is an A-4 company in Ghana. It is outlining an open-pit deposit and a promising underground target that is more elusive and difficult to prove up the ounces on.
I like NioGold Mining Corp. (NOX:TSX.V; NOXGF:OTCPK) because Aurizon Mines Ltd. (ARZ:TSX; AZK:NYSE.A), one of my A-1 companies, is spending a lot of money to develop an underground deposit nearby in Québec.
I wish I could be more bullish on the A-3s and A-4s. They are doing good work and have a lot of good prospects. But this environment of illiquidity and insolvency issues is hard on them