RENO, Nevada -- I am fresh off
Paramount Gold & Silver's Corp. (
TSX: T.PZG,
Stock Forum) Sleeper tour, near Winnemucca. The rock there is intensely altered, at the epithermal deposit, and yes, women geologists are alive and well in the Silver State.
While I was there, Roger Steininger and Albert Matter called to ask me to clarify that the Direxion NUGT fund I refer to has no relation to their company and one of our
TCR 8, Nevada explorer
NuLegacy Gold Corp. (
TSX: V.NUG,
Stock Forum).
Speaking of NUGT, the fund, it has taken a big hit along with gold and other metals junior shares. I was lucky to sell a bunch close to 94, 98 and a bit higher.
Michael Ballanger at Richardson GMP in Toronto says he expects more (short-term) weakness for gold and gold shares.
Mr. Ballanger has been successfully beating the drum for
Tinka Resources Ltd. (
TSX: V.TK,
Stock Forum) -- silver and zinc in Peru.
Travel: Please bear with me,
TCR family, when I am in Africa next week. I hope to provide full reports on (newly renamed)
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (
TSX: T.IVP,
Stock Forum) and its operations in RSA and DRC.
Rango Energy Inc. (
OTCQB: RAGO,
Stock Forum): In Nevada, I ran into several oil and gas workers, former workers and aficionados who believe Rango has an outside shot of salvaging its floated casing at Kettleman Middle Dome.
We'll see. Principals Vincent Ramirez and Harp Sangha were in Dallas this week, trying to generate financing support for a planned merger of Hangtown Energy and Rango.
I want to say that three or four of you have contacted me to express concern about Rango and the intentions of the company in building a new explorer in California. One or two have used the phrase "pump and dump." Thus far, I see no massive selling of the bulletin board stock (volume) that warrants that language. If any of you see evidence, send me the info.
The principals -- including Craig Alford, Harp Sangha, Vincent Ramirez and investor Don Danks -- are on record with me stating they are selling zero shares at any price right now. I went out and bought 19,000 shares at 21.5 cents the other day, and now the stock is 16 cents.
The company has a lot to prove in California's San Joaquin Basin; thus far, shares of a neighbour,
Zodiac Exploration Inc. (
TSX: V.ZEX,
Stock Forum), are faring far better. (So is the stock of another oil explorer, this one in Germany of all places: PRD Energy, said to be the subject of some speculative publishing in recent weeks. I do not own shares of PRD, and I sold my Zodiac at 8 cents, three cents shy of its current 11 cents.)
Your friendly,
Thom Calandra
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