I’m traveling around Nevada this week, scouting gold miners.
Nevada is one of the best places on Earth to be mining right now. And as a geologist reminded me yesterday, all the biggest mines in the world started out small, just like the up-and-comers I’m visiting.
Some of them could be among tomorrow’s giants. I’ll be reporting on the companies I discover in my new advisory service, which will launch later this year. In the meantime, I’ll post video interviews I conduct with mining executives on InvestmentU.com.
To see the interviews I’ve done so far with officials from Klondex Mines Ltd. (TSX: T.KDX, Stock Forum), Midway Gold Corp. (TSX: T.MDW, Stock Forum), Corvus Gold Inc. (TSX: T.KOR, Stock Forum), click here.
In fact, as I write this, I’m about to go into an underground mine that’s so high grade, I’m told there are big visible flakes of gold in the ore.
Once you get out of Las Vegas, Nevada seems vast and empty… above the surface. But buried within the huge upthrusts of rock that are visible all over the countryside are some of the richest treasure troves imaginable.
Millions of years ago, as the Pacific tectonic plate ground against the North American plate, gold and other minerals bubbled near the surface. Along with nearly ripping away California, it twisted, bent and thrust the continent enough to push metallic deposits to just below the Earth’s crust.
The grinding of those two plates along the fault lines dividing them also aggravated the “hot spots” of volcanic activity, which is why there are volcanic cones and caldera all over Nevada, like this one:
Do you know what volcanoes can bring bubbling up to the surface? Gold, silver, copper and other minerals.
Early explorers in Nevada found rich outcroppings of all sorts of metals. Now we’re on to the next round of discovery – rich deposits that weren’t visible on the surface to 19th-century gold miners.
A Golden Bull
Why do I love gold so much? A couple of reasons…
First, I see gold as insurance against a corrupt financial system. The biggest crooks on Wall Street never get punished, which means they’ll pull off more shenanigans. If a major meltdown ever happens, that 5% or so of your portfolio that’s in precious metals will be a lifesaver.
Second, with the short-term trends for gold bearish, many miners look dirt-cheap right now. In fact, if current short-term trends hold, they may get cheaper. That’s fine by me. I’ll buy ‘em cheap as long as the long-term trends hold, because over the long run I think demand for gold can only go up.
There are big, fundamental trends in the world economy that are very supportive of gold’s long-term move higher.
What do I mean by that? Let me show you a map of global population density.
More people live inside that circle than live outside of it. You know what the people inside that circle generally have in common? A cultural affinity for gold. And now millions upon millions of them are joining the middle class.
Is that bullish for gold in the long term? Heck, yeah!
Since a trend like that exists, I want to be on the right side of it.
That’s why I’m in Nevada, seeking the best up-and-coming miners I can find.
I’ll write up the companies I visit, and I’m shooting plenty of video interviews. So keep an eye on the page linked above, because I’ll be adding more videos down the road.
Klondex Mines Ltd. (TSX: T.KDX, Stock Forum) eased 6.3% to $1.49 on Thursday, leaving a market cap of $96 million, based on 64.4 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $1.68 and 91 cents.
Midway Gold Corp. (TSX: T.MDW, Stock Forum) was up 6.8% to $1.10, leaving a market cap of $142.6 million, based on 129.6 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $1.79 and 88 cents.
Corvus Gold Inc. (
TSX: T.KOR,
Stock Forum) was down 3.1% to $1.23, leaving a market cap of $80.1 million, based on 65.1 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $1.83 and 51 cents.