SAN FRANCISCO – This is what a miner friend says about this week’s 10% and 20% equity gains with thick volumes.
“Got to respect moves like that.”
These miners are juniors, after all: juniors that until this week got little respect from large-share investors. Even with significant news of drilling results or reworked smelter contracts or expanded properties, junior gold and silver miners were in the micro-minor leagues.
So? Juniors entering the majors? I think yes. Michael Hawkins’ East Asia Minerals (TSX: V.EAS, Stock Forum), developing what could be a 10-million-ounce gold resource in Indonesia, gains 20% in a single day. And tacks on another 5% to 10% today (Thursday). All of a sudden, Indonesia sounds g-o-o-d to investors.
Evolving Gold (TSX: V.EVG, Stock Forum) shares rip after revealing several astonishing grades (67.1 meters at 10.8 gpt Au, [220 ft at 0.315 oz/ton] including 36.6 meters at 16.8 gpt Au [120 ft at 0.492 oz/ton]) at its Rattlesnake Hill project in Wyoming, one of the most friendly mining jurisdictions in North America, if not the world. (Disclosure: We here at home have family in Wyoming, specifically Dubois. No gold, though, just a little cattle, some wild horses.)
Bradford Cooke’s Endeavour Silver (AMEX: EXK, Stock Forum) and ( TSX: T.EDR, Stock Forum), a Ticker TraxPlanetary Prospect and personal holding of ours here at home, details a way to reduce Mexico processing costs significantly – yet not offend the massively influential Penoles refinery upon which the silver miner depends. Endeavour Silver’s shares in turn outpace nearly all silver miners this week, once again, amid thick trading.
Part of the respect comes from how the new developments with these small and mid-sized miners and explorers get described in print and relayed to shareholders. Evolving Gold’s statement to shareholders the other day was quite straight forward and to the point.
Ditto for Endeavour Silver – and once again, yes we own the shares, as we do all eight Planetary Prospects at subscriber service Ticker Trax.
It can get tricky. Sometimes, describing how a switch in processing routines can benefit a miner’s bottom line can get pretty esoteric.
Paul Zweng, a former mining CEO (Mongolia’s now sold QGX Ltd.) who now follows several companies as a Stanford University-trained natural resources consultant and investor, tells me from his Honolulu office, “You can have the best 43-101 possible yet still get it horribly wrong in the telling.”
Endeavour Silver’s change in how it handles silver concentrates from its Guanajuato mine is a good example. The press release could have been esoteric. It was not, thank goodness.
The company was facing ever increasing costs from Penoles, which was jacking up its smelter fees as demand for processing services increased in the spring and summer of 2008. Now, Endeavour Silver will truck its silver concentrates from the Guanajuato mine at the southern end of Mexico’s Sierra Madre to its Guanacevi mine some eight or 10 hours away -- for processing into dore bars.
The company then will truck these bars to a Torreon refinery for refining and sale. “Even though we lose a bit of the silver in the leach process at Guanacevi, it reduces our cash cost per ounce for Guanajuato by $1.50 per ounce,” CEO Cooke tells me.
Entonces, as the say in Mexico. So? Juniors entering the majors? Yes in some cases – as long as the news is real, the results are verifiable and the miner/executives have integrity, foresight and a flowchart with target times and events.
New Orleans: When this October rolls around,my flowchart puts me inNew Orleans at one of North America’s most diversified investment conferences. The New Orleans Investment Conference has in the past given me great satisfaction in terms of time spent meeting colleagues, subscribers and real miners, scientists and alternative economists. And making money.
I’ll be presenting a down-and-dirty workshop at this year’s gathering; I hope some of you can join me. Brien Lundin of The Gold Newsletter produces the conference, whichruns Oct. 8-11. Many of my trusted colleagues and investment sources attend the show. This year will bring an excellent crop of counter-clockwise and contrary thinkers in the areas of mining, emerging markets, commodities and life sciences.
Doug Casey, who has a hot hand right now, will be there. Folks who make few appearances tend to show for this show – radical blueblood Adam Fleming from London and chartist Ian McAvity from Canada, for instance. In part, that is because the tradition of the New Orleans conference goes back to the mid-1970s, when gold was just catching some wind at its back from ordinary investors like you and me.
Just as good are the select companies that decide to stake out Brien Lundin’s show with their executives. At this go-round, NovaGold (TSX: T.NG, Stock Forum) is in the New Orleans bin, as is Mr. Fleming’s highly leveraged South African Wits Gold (OTO: WIWTY, Stock Forum).
Several dozen companies in all, nearly all natural resources and about half worth reviewing. If you are interested, please visit this link for registration. (And please email me with your plans to attend so that we can meet up.) The last New Orleans show I went to, and spoke at, was a corker … and gave me at least two leads that changed my portfolio life.
By the way, for those who have neither the time nor the money to attend the New Orleans 2009 Investment Conference, I will present all actionable information I gather to Ticker Trax subscribers and one to two weeks later -- to the Stockhouse audience at large.
- Stockhouse and Ticker Trax soon will be offering an Instant Value service at a quarterly charge. The service is intended to identify fast-moving events and other factors that will add instant value to selected investments. It is intended for those who want fast action in their investments. It is not the way I invest, but I know where the buttons are. Please see www.tickertrax.com for more.
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THOM CALANDRA of Ticker Traxhelps his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Thom co-founded 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.
HOLDINGS: Thom’s 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 and his family own recently minted gold and silver coins. He and his family own Endeavour Silver, one of eight Planetary Prospects for the Ticker Trax subscription service. He owns all eight Prospects.
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.