It’s going to be another challenging year for investors who aim to profit in the mineral exploration sector, a mining investment conference was told Sunday.
Experts said the junior resource sector is caught up in “an ugly bear market’’ that shows no signs of ending and will cause hundreds of cash-strapped companies to disappear as they get swept up in mergers and acquisitions or simply run out of cash.
But there was also some good news for thousands of attendees who showed up that the Cambridge International mining conference in Vancouver.
“If you invest intelligently in this market, you are going to make money,’’ said Rick Rule, the California-based Chairman of Sprott Global Resources Investments Ltd.
That’s because companies with good assets, strong balance sheets, and savvy managers are available at fire sale prices to investors with the ability to understand the value of assets and the variables that can impact mineral exploration projects, Rule said.
Those sentiments were echoed by a handful of other conference speakers, who said share valuations have been decimated by factors that include sluggish gold prices and concerns about the impact on commodity prices of slowing growth in China.
Among them was Annapolis, MD., money manager Adrian Day, who said investors should focus on project generators with lots of cash in the bank.
Companies on his list include Virginia Mines Inc. (TSX: V.VGQ, Stock Forum), which has a $15 million budget for drilling on projects in the James Bay region of Quebec.
On Friday, the stock was trading at $10.01, leaving Virginia with a market cap of $324 million, based on 32.4 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $11.25 and $8.32.
Virginia’s key asset is a 2.2% sliding production royalty on the Eleonore gold project in northern Quebec, which is being developed by Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: T.G, Stock Forum) (NYSE: GG, Stock Forum) and is expected to produce up to 600,000 ounces of gold annually.
“I think Virginia will continue to go up in the absence of any discovery, as they get closer to production,’’ said Day.
Other companies on Day’s list included Altius Minerals Corp. (TSX: T.ALS, Stock Forum), Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSX: V.LRA, Stock Forum), Midland Exploration Inc. (TSX: V.MD, Stock Forum), and Eurasian Minerals Inc. (TSX: V.EMX, Stock Forum).
Day said he likes the fact that Altius has $160 million in cash and shares in Alderon Iron Ore Corp. (TSX: T.ADV, Stock Forum) that are worth $120 million.
Altius traded Friday at $12.43, leaving the company with a market cap of $351.2 million, based on 28.2 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $12.83 and $9.30.
But if investors remain challenged to make money in the exploration sector, that will also be true of the mining companies themselves, particularly those who need to secure financing for their project.
Day said investors only need look as far as Miranda Gold Corp. (TSX: V.MAD, Stock Forum), which recently raised $5 million from the sale of units priced at 25 cent each, even though the stock had been trading at 34 cents just weeks before plans for a private placement were announced in mid-November.
Under the terms of the placement, each unit is comprised of one common share and one non-transferrable share purchase warrant, entitling the holder to buy an additional common share of Miranda at 37.5 cents for two years, and 50 cents thereafter until December 19, 2017.
Proceeds of the private placement will be primarily used to advance work in Colombia as well for work on projects in the United States.
In another sign of challenging times, Golden Predator Corp. (TSX: T.GPD, Stock Forum) said Friday it will change its name to Gold Bullion Royalty Corp. to reflect a new focus on its precious metals royalty assets in Nevada.
The plan is part of a move to separate the royalty assets from other company projects including its flagship Brewery Creek gold project in the Canadian Yukon. They are destined to be spun off.
On Friday, Golden Predator traded at 33 cents, leaving the company with a market cap of $50.5 million, based on 153 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is 86 cents and 27 cents.