HAQUIRA CAMP, Peru – Copper is becoming the poor man’s rich investment. In this article, we look at this week’s visit to see Antares Minerals’ Haquira copper project in Peru
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But first, for our Stockhouse audience, we tick off two or three prospects that are likely to boost wealth.
We have written extensively about Clifton Star Resources (TSX: V.CFO, Stock Forum) and its proximity to Osisko Mining’s (TSX: T.OSK, Stock Forum) Malartic gold project in Quebec. We expect to see Harry Miller’s Clifton Star regain the price momentum that made it a Canadian stock market darling earlier this year and for much of 2009. Widely expected: an initial round of drill results engineered by the Osisko-Clifton Star joint venture. The latter, a $150 million prospector easily could see its shares triple this year. (Please see our continuing Clifton Star coverage.)
Next: Focus Ventures (TSX: V.FCV, Stock Forum) shares have been hammered this week. I saw the Nueva California gold prospect in autumn 2009 here in Peru and thought its potential as an open-pit gold operation would make Focus a star. Yet Simon Ridgway’s Focus appears to have disappointed investors who reviewed fresh data on 10 holes. I see Focus as an aggressive and speculative purchase here at 69 cents or so a share Canadian. I do not own it. The stock is down about 28 percent this week. Simon Ridgway, chairman, tells me the front office is “waiting on some important holes.”
And: Bellhaven Copper & Gold (TSX: V.BHV, Stock Forum) is now officially the cheapest gold prospector in Colombia. That is, the cheapest in the world of projects I have seen with my own eyes. I own a token amount of shares. Mr. Paul Zweng, noted in our trip to see Haquira this week in Peru, is a large investor and is helping to guide the Panama and Colombia prospector toward new ventures in Colombia.
All about that scrum
The 13 billion copper-equivalent pounds contained in Antares Minerals’ (TSX: V.ANM, Stock Forum) Haquira porphyry could push valuations higher for large projects and reassert the importance of big projects for buyers.
A worldwide manufacturers’ scrum for copper assets is taking place. John Black and his team’s Haquira almost certainly will join about 20 copper project purchases or partial purchases that have taken place since 2007. This is why major shareholders Farallon Capital and the IFC arm of the World Bank combined own more than 40 percent of Antares.
The list of copper projects grabbed or about to be grabbed by Canadian, Polish, Chinese, Mexican and other copper producers is starting to run deep, Antares’ president and CEO John Black says as we are about to survey the company’s vast Haquira ore deposits some 4,200 meters above sea level in what is known as the Las Bambas mineral belt (copper, molybdenum, some gold).
Jiangxi Copper Co. this week revealed that even with its status as China's biggest copper producer, it is seeking overseas copper projects.
Antares, which got its start from an Internet stock shell called Planet Ventures about six years ago, just might demonstrate a fresh and potent price level for copper purchases, one that sits in a 4-cent to 6-cent in-situ range. The plush premium for Antares might occur within 12 months’ time, largely because of the size and grades of its Haquira holding and its 10-kilometer distance from the massive Xstrata Ferrobamba copper project (please see photo from air – at start of this report).
Were that project to go ahead, Antares’ market worth would more than triple from its current level. Ferrobamba -- Latitude: 14° 7' 60 S, Longitude: 72° 1' 0 W – has completed 400,000 meters of drilling, most of it 25-meter spacings between skarns. Strange that I would herald Xstrata’s copper intentions in a report on nearby Haquira, but as John Black says, “We are in the same belt. We have the same mineralogy. And we have a lot more drilling ahead of us. Plus, as you can see,” he says from a chopper that has us above Haquira and Ferrobamba, “the infrastructure is all here.”
Please see photo here of John Black at Haquira, taken this week in our tour of the property. Accompanying me was a co-founder of Antares, fund manager (and Stanford University-trained geologist) Paul Zweng, who took the photo of me amidst a pile of high-grade oxidized copper at the Cristo de los Andes section of Haquira. (Also in this report.)
Mr. Zweng, Mr. Black and another founder, Dave Anderson, all share links in their educations (geology – Queen’s University, Ontario; Stanford U. in California) and/or their work experience – largely in Mongolia from 2002 to 2004 or so. In addition, Antares CFO Mark Wayne was a founding shareholder of Mr. Zweng’s Mongolia-centric QGX Ltd. Kevin Heather, on site with us this week, is Antares VP of geology and also studied with Mr. Zweng and Mr. Black at Queen’s University
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We’ll have more on Antares’ copper project in coming issues of Ticker Trax.
Visits: Just saw Antares Minerals’ (TSX: V.ANM, Stock Forum) Haquira copper prospect in Peru. I learned why we almost surely will see a wave of copper transactions in coming months and years. Also on tap this week is a visit to Candente Gold (TSX: T.CDG, Stock Forum) in southern Peru – CEO Joanne Freeze’s Tres Marias prospect. Candente Copper (TSX: T.DNT, Stock Forum) is a Planetary Prospect of this service and also has Peru properties, primarily the Cañariaco copper project.
Colombia is next … for a visit to two Colombian Mines (TSX: V.CMJ, Stock Forum) properties and one week of holiday. In late April: off to Jimmy Longshore’s Kibi Gold Belt in Ghana yet again – Xtra-Gold Resources (OTC:BB: XTGR, Stock Forum). We also have queries into Burkina Faso projects, including Riverstone Resources (TSX: V.RVS, Stock Forum).
InvestFest 2010
InvestFest in Las Vegas – Join Stockhouse for a drink on the house June 4 at InvestFest. The gathering will feature investment masters who are making headway in today's marketplace. I’ll be there. So will Stockhouse’s Marcus New. It’s called InvestFest 2010. Lots of wealth creators. Lots of Ticker Trax folks. A splendid resort.
Please visit: www.stockhouse.com/products/investfest2010.
WHEN: June 3 to June 6.
WHERE: Green Valley Ranch Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada. That’s a four-diamond place minutes from the Vegas strip.
Special Offer to Ticker Trax subscribers: $197. Please book your resort rate as well by calling 1-866-782-9487. Quote: InvestFest and mention Ticker Trax.
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HOLDINGS: Thom’s holdings are listed for all Stockhouse members at 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 and shares of a number of public and two private companies: Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum in Africa and an Internet company called Mobyling. Thom owns each of the 12 Planetary Prospects in Ticker Trax.
THOM CALANDRA of Ticker Traxhelps his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Thom started CBS MarketWatch andMarketWatch.com. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom pegged sub-$300-ounce gold as a long-term hold in year 1999.
Ticker Trax™ is published by Stockhouse Publishing Ltd. 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 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 2010 all rights reserved.