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JIM ROGERS | Write It Down — Commodities Are Going To Do Better Than Stocks

Jim Rogers: Write It Down — Commodities Are Going To Do Better Than Stocks

Nov 20, 2018 12:49 pm
By Albert Lu

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Author and investor Jim Rogers believes the time is right to invest in commodities.

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“So much is going wrong all at once,” was the assessment by TrendMacro’s Chief Investment Officer Donald Luskin in a recent research note.
Mike Wilson of Morgan Stanley struck an equally pessimistic tone in his note to clients: “We are in a bear market.”
“While 2018 is clearly not a year of recession, the market is speaking loudly that bad news is coming.”
Some of it has already arrived.
U.S. stocks, led by technology companies, slipped again on Monday in a move that wiped out November index gains. FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (Alphabet)) were hit hardest. In recent months, the quintet of technology companies has lost a combined total of roughly $927 billion relative to the individual 52-week highs — a market cap evaporation approximately equal to Apple’s current value.
Although the sharpest pain was felt in technology, most other sectors joined in the pullback with only real estate and utilities barely avoiding losses.
“[We] think the US/China trade war is at the existential center,” wrote Luskin. Yet despite cautious and at times conflicting language from the White House, Luskin remains optimistic that the prospects for a trade deal are improving. In his view, the recent developments indicate the policy process is “reaching its most productive state.”
Nevertheless, investors hoping for an end-of-year rally are quickly running out of time. To make matters worse, the outlook for 2019 is far from promising.
Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs expects economic growth to “slow significantly next year.” He’s not alone.
MARKET RISKS
Of all the market risks, author and investor Jim Rogers is most concerned about Washington, DC: “That’s where the greatest risks are.”
“First of all, we have a central bank that has no clue what it’s been doing and, probably, what it will do in the future. We certainly have an executive, and legislative, branch that has no clue about what they’re doing,” he explained to Remy Blaire in a recent Sprott Media interview.
“When things go wrong, they’re going to make more mistakes. Be careful.”
Chris Gaffney of TIAA Bank World Markets is most concerned about risks to growth.
“The main risk is growth … a slowing global economy. As the Fed continues to raise interest rates, if we start to see a slowdown, that could certainly accelerate. China is of particular interest now.”
THE SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVES
The challenge facing investors is the absence of clear alternatives. The stock pullback, which began quietly below the surface, has now engulfed the market’s biggest names. Roughly 40% of S&P 500 stocks have fallen into bear market territory, and now, with mega cap technology names participating in the pain, the major indexes have begun to suffer.
But where can investors seek refuge?
With interest rates still expected to rise, many investors lack confidence in the bond market. At the same time the absolute level of rates, though higher than before, discourages an outright move to cash.
Real estate, a popular alternative, has fared well in recent years. Yet as interest rates rise, particularly on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage, demand suffers — a trend reflected by the recent drop in homebuilder confidence.
Emerging markets provide yet another possibility, albeit a volatile one. The group, which has struggled this year, has outperformed U.S. stocks in recent weeks. The MSCI index of emerging market shares gained 0.5% on the session led by Chinese stocks.
Even Bitcoin, which began its historic run following last Thanksgiving, has offered no relief. The world’s largest and most well-known cryptocurrency shot above $19,000 before returning the entire gain plus an additional 30%. It now sits below $5,000, its lowest level in more than a year. The sharp reversal has been damaging to both crypto-speculators and the technology companies, particularly the semiconductor companies, that helped fuel the adoption.
OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD
For speculative opportunities, Rogers suggests looking abroad.
“Just like your parents taught you, buy low and sell high. China’s down 60% from its all-time high. Japan’s down 50% — I’m not buying Japan. I don’t own Japan. Russia is hated — I own Russian shares; I own Russian bonds; I own the currency.”
“There are places that are down, and down a lot. And if your mother was right, these are the places you should be looking.”
In particular, Rogers has been looking to Zimbabwe for opportunity.
“Zimbabwe’s a disaster. A man, in 1980, took over and became a dictator pretty quickly thereafter and proceeded to ruin the country for the next 37 years.”
Now, things are set to change.
“They threw him out last year and I know things are going to change. They may get worse, but I would suspect Zimbabwe is now an interesting place to look.”
Nevertheless, Rogers recommends caution.
“If you can’t find Zimbabwe on a map, if you don’t know where Ghana is, please do not invest in either of those countries. Only invest in what you, yourself, know a lot about. If you don’t know that Ghana has a lot of cocoa and a lot of gold, please don’t pay attention.”
It’s true. These opportunities aren’t for everyone.
Steve Todoruk, an investment executive at Sprott, would rather pass. Nonetheless, he agrees there are some interesting opportunities in West Africa, particularly in the Republic of Mali.
“For very special gold deposits in Mali, I’m prepared to take a certain amount of political risk, but the deposit has to be extra special.”
TIME FOR COMMODITIES
The general underperformance of commodities relative to stocks may signal a speculative opportunity.
“Sugar, believe it or not, is down something like 80% from its all-time high. [T]here’s not much in the world, in life, that’s down 80% over the past 40 years,” said Rogers.
Regarding oil and the possibility of OPEC action, Rogers added,
“I have learned not to pay too much attention to [OPEC] … if you’re going to figure out the price of oil.”
“Oil is making a complicated bottom. We’re going to look back one day and say, ‘2015, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18, ‘19 oil made its bottom and it went up again.’ … So be careful, don’t sell your oil.”
Gold, the historical alternative, has been surprisingly quiet given the stock market volatility. Gaffney believes dollar strength and rate hiking cycle are primarily responsible.
“Investors really haven’t moved back in to the precious metals as a safe haven. We did expect to see some of that buying occur as this volatility has hit the markets. But there are a number of factors that continue to weigh on the price of gold, mainly a stronger U.S. dollar and interest rate expectations … we do expect the Fed to continue raising rates.”
So, is it time to buy commodities? Rogers believes it is.
“It is the time to buy commodities again. I would say to you, write it down — commodities are going to do better than stocks.”
Roger that.
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Base Metals Precious Metals Project Generators

PROJECT GENERATOR | Mirasol Announces Aggressive 2019 Exploration Program with Over C$7 Million Spending by Joint Venture Partners

VANCOUVER , Nov. 20, 2018 /CNW/ – Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSXV: MRZ), (OTCPK: MRZLF) (the “Company” or “Mirasol“) is pleased to update the Company’s shareholders on exploration activities in progress and scheduled at the company’s projects in Chile and Argentina for the coming exploration season.

Mirasol’s President and CEO, Stephen Nano , stated, “The company looks forward to reporting to shareholders the exploration results from what is anticipated to be one of the most active exploration season in the Company’s history, and that will include drill programs on a number of its Au+Ag projects in Chile and Argentina.”

  • Joint Venture partners’ budgets total in-excess of C$7 million confirmed for this financial year (to June 30 th, 2019) for our Au+Ag projects in Chile and Argentina (Figure 1):
  • Nico: The Company has budgeted C$1.51 million to explore this high-grade Au+Ag project where exploration teams are currently advancing target definition, in parallel with permitting for Phase I drilling planned for the first quarter of 2019.

JV partners Newcrest Mining, OceanaGold Corporation and Hochschild Mining have notified Mirasol they have budgeted a combined total in excess of C$7 million for drill programs and extensive surface exploration at Mirasol’s Joint Venture projects in Chile and Argentine this financial year (to June 30 th, 2019).  In Chile, this spend will be directed to testing compelling high sulfidation epithermal drill targets at the Altazor Au project and Intermediate Au+Ag targets adjacent mine infrastructure at the Indra project.  In Argentina our JV partner OceanaGold Corporation has committed C$1.56 million ( US$1.2 million ) through to December 2018 for exploration for the Claudia project and a 3,000 m drill program currently underway at the Curva Au project.

Over the same period, Mirasol will invest approximately C$4.5 million advancing exploration of the Company’s prospective Mio-Pliocene and Paleocene Au+Ag+Cu pipeline projects in Chile and the Nico high-grade Au+Ag project in Argentina.  Mirasol is well advanced with a program of geophysics, geological mapping and detailed geochemical sampling at the Nico project’s Aurora and Vittoria prospects, in preparation for drill testing. In parallel, Mirasol is progressing drill permitting for the Nico project, where the company is targeting a January 2019 start-up for a phase I drill test of the Resolution, Aurora and Vittoria prospects.

Mirasol strong commitment to business development is timely. There is a surge in interest in the Company’s Au+Ag+Cu project portfolio in Chile and in Argentina from companies interested in new JVs.  Expressions of interest are broad based, coming from mid-tier to major producers, as well as private and publicly traded junior resource companies.  The Company’s business development team is focused on completing new joint ventures that will secure further partner funding to advance exploration of the project portfolio. Notably, expressions of interest for potential new joint ventures for the Argentine projects are being received from in-country precious metal producers as well as from companies interested in making new or first-time investments in the country.

Argentina is again experiencing high inflation and has implemented a new temporary export tax to increase government revenues.  Neither event has had a measurable impact on Mirasol’s day-to-day operations as a project generator and exploration company in Argentina . The Company is continually monitoring the investment and operational environment in Argentina and will adjust its activities if conditions adversely change.

Mirasol’s exposure to Argentina is balanced with its activities in Chile where the Company has three active joint ventures and a strong commitment to business development and early stage project exploration, designed to deliver new quality Au and Cu projects to the development pipeline.

Mirasol remains in a strong financial position with approximately C$24 million in treasury as of Q1, financial year 2019 and anticipates receiving in excess of C$1.5 million in option payments and joint venture management fees this financial year, including the recently announced C$650,000 (US$500,000) option payment received from Newcrest Mining when it exercised its Farm-in option at the large Altazor Au project in Chile .

Mirasol invites its shareholders to follow the progress of this season’s exploration via our website (mirasolresources.com).

About Mirasol Resources Ltd

Mirasol is a premier project generation company that is focused on the discovery and development of profitable precious metal and copper deposits. Mirasol employs an integrated generative and on-ground exploration approach, combining leading-edge technologies and experienced exploration geoscientists to maximize the potential for discovery. Mirasol is in a strong financial position and has a significant portfolio of exploration projects located within the Tertiary Age Mineral belts of Chile and the Jurassic age gold – silver district of Santa Cruz Province Argentina .

Stephen Nano , President and CEO of Mirasol, has approved the technical content of this news release. Mr Nano is a Chartered Professional geologist and Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CP and FAusIMM) and is a Qualified Person under NI 43 -101.

Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Mirasol disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Mirasol Resources Ltd.

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Precious Metals

BOB MORIARTY | Is Novo about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?


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Is Novo about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

Bob Moriarty
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Nov 19, 2018

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.” Teddy Roosevelt

Novo Resource shares hit a high of $8.83 in October of 2017, up from $.75 a share on April 1, 2017 and have since declined to a recent low of $1.89. Disappointed shareholders who managed to buy at high prices are now screaming in anger looking to burn someone at the stake. Anyone would do.
After all, when share prices go up, it is always because of the brilliance of the investor and when share prices go down, it must be because of incompetence of management.
I’m writing this piece for the attention of existing Novo shareholders so I will skip a lot of the background information I usually insert to fill in the blanks. I am assuming present stockowners are familiar with the Karratha gold rush and the general Pilbara gold story that Novo has been part of for nine years.
I want to cover all of the major problems that have come to light and to try to explain why they happened and how they have been addressed.
The first giant problem literally goes back to the two high-grade gold samples announced on August 8th, 2017 that lit the fuse for the explosion in the price of Novo that took the value for shares to a record level in less than two months.
As discussed in Novo’s news release dated July 12, 2017, this sample originates from the uppermost horizon of an 11-meter thick sequence of mineralized conglomerate beds.
Results from this testwork are encouraging at several levels.

  • The Steinert XSS T sorting machine proved highly efficient at sorting out coarse gold-bearing rock particles. Although the Sorted Concentrate represents only 2% of the overall sample weight, it contains about 82.6% of gold.  Because this machine proved practical and efficient, Novo sees it as a means of assisting determination of grade of this very unusual mineralization.  Given this machine can operate at about 48 tonnes per hour, Novo also considers it potentially viable for future processing applications.
  • Although the vast majority of gold resides in the coarse fraction, a significant fine-grained gold component is evident.  Although more work is needed to further quantify this fine-grained gold component and its distribution, it may prove meaningful when it comes time to demonstrate continuity and grade of this very unusual deposit.
  • Novo considers the calculated head grade of subsamples #1 and #2, 87.76 and 46.14 gpt Au respectively, very encouraging.  The weighted average grade of these two subsamples, 67.08 gpt Au, which equates to 2.16 oz per tonne.

By accident that press release made a whole series of assumptions many of which proved dead wrong over time. There was one sample taken from Purdy’s Reward that was split and sent to the lab for assay. One half of the split was 87.76 g/t gold, the other 46.14 g/t gold. Call them 3 ounce and 1.5-ounce gold for simplicity.
The release says the samples came from the uppermost horizon of an eleven-meter sequence of mineralized conglomerate and that there was a significant fine grain component of the gold.
When the local small-scale miners were using metal detectors to find gold, they would scrape off an area of conglomerate until they started getting results. Then they would pry out each nugget by use of hand tools.
Whoever took the samples probably did the same thing and used a metal detector to find a sweet spot to take the samples. While the press release says “mineralized conglomerate was collected from a 2×2 meter exposure of bedrock at the bottom of a half-meter deep trench.” That does not mean the sample was 2x2x.5. The samples were only about 270 kilos each so the original sample had to be more like .7 meters by .7 meters by 40 cm.
Because those samples were almost certainly by accident cherry picked they do demonstrate something vital. Many investors believed they were representative of the entire conglomerate sequence and obviously high grade. Even I believed the grade was representative and now we know it clearly was not. And while everyone wanted to believe the gold was at the top or throughout the conglomerate sequence, we now understand that it is at the very bottom of the gravel reef.
On October 3, 2017, I said, “Where is the richest gold? Right! It’s at the very bottom of the gravel right on and in the bedrock.”
While the release was wrong, dead wrong, about where the gold was, the sample did show that if you could locate the 40-50 cm pay zone near the bottom of the conglomerate, you would find the richest gold. Keep that in mind because while Quinton Hennigh managed to solve a puzzle that no one else had in 130 years of small-scale mining not all the issues have been sorted just yet.
Another assumption that was made that proved to be a giant problem had to do with the issue of the small gold component. While it does exist in the samples taken from Purdy’s and Comet Well, it all seems to be associated with the nuggets. What it means is that when you have small gold, you can drill and get representative samples. The gold in the Carlin Trend is microscopic but easy to measure. As I have maintained all along, you cannot measure the nuggety gold, you can only mine it. And since the small gold all seems related to the nuggets, you can’t test this system by drilling.
The Steinert sorting machine seemed to work at first. Novo took the two samples and ran them through the machine. The sorted concentrate took the volume of the material down by 98% and captured 82.6% of the gold. That was a giant success and created a basis for profitably mining the deposit. If the machine was used correctly.
Someone made the decision to crush subsequent samples to 2 mm size and fed the material through the machine. The rock size was far too small and the fine rocks literally blanked out the ability of the machine to X-Ray. So instead of reducing the material by 98% it didn’t reduce it by much at all. The first machine belonged to another company and the tests after that were run through another machine. Everyone assumed the machine wasn’t calibrated correctly and that’s why it didn’t work but in fact months later someone realized the machine isn’t designed to work with small material.
It wasn’t the machine settings that were wrong; it was the crush size of the rock. Naturally by then all of the samples taken had been crushed to 2 mm making the samples worthless. It was 100% human error, it was corrected and Novo now knows better. It also happens anytime you start thinking outside the box.
But Novo had to determine not only the grade of the gold but where it was located in the sequence so they brought in the water well drill. It was a disaster because they needed to know exactly where in the conglomerate layers the gold was and the machine chewed everything up. They tried it, it didn’t work and they went to bulk samples.
SGS proved to be another problem area. There was miscommunication on both sides with lots of blame to assign if that is what rings your bell. It has been sorted and SGS now has the ability to process the bulk samples the way Novo needs them done. I would say the relationship was at times flawed but it has been repaired.
I just got back from a weeklong trip to Karratha and Egina. While I am a shareholder and no more happy than any other shareholder at the decline in share price, what I saw and what I learned totally changed my outlook.
Exploration is not mining. It is expense, not profit. Mining is mining. With a now massive 12,400 square kilometers land position Novo is poised to have one of the world’s largest gold deposits. I won’t even come up with a number, anything you say would be absurd but they have a giant land position containing a lot of gold. They added over 1,000 square km around Egina and that was really interesting.
In 130 years since the discovery of gold in the Pilbara, it never occurred to anyone that the whole place is mineralized. While Quinton focused on picking up as much of the conglomerate formations as possible, believing that the basal cover had preserved what had been nothing more that a giant placer deposit now morphed into hard rock, much of the conglomerate has eroded away. So where did that gold go?


Eroded conglomerate sequence

Around Egina has a lot of it. And we panned tailings left over from the miner who has been working one of the two mining leases granted and permitted. We found a lot of small gold. Since it came from somewhere it infers that the surrounding conglomerate rocks could be drilled with conventional drilling. You wouldn’t be able to measure the nuggets but you could measure the small gold component.


Aerial of existing mining


Egina Mining


Bob panning Egina gold


Panned gold from Egina


Small gold component from Egina

And in a giant leap forward for the company, Novo tested a sorting machine from Tomralate last week. Initial tests show a reduction of mass of 99%. It appears to work with both the hard rock from Karratha and the alluvial material similar to around Egina. The machines have a high capacity potential of up to 1000 tons per hour.
Let me explain why that is so important, in fact, game changing for the entire mining business not just for Novo.
The best information we have so far is that there is a 40 cm reef of nuggety gold located near or on the contact with the lower unit and the grade of that reef is about 25 g/t.
40 cm would be similar in nature to a high-grade narrow vein system. Those aren’t popular with mining companies. Mining companies want bulk processing. But if you could take 4 meters of material now averaging 2.5 g/t gold you would have a simple solution to mining. But every ton of rock processed through a plant costs the same no matter what the grade. So plant engineers prefer 25 g/t gold to 2.5 g/t gold, all else being equal.
If Novo can reduce the bulk of the material by 99% they turn 4 meters of 2.5-g/t material into 250 g/t gold material with only 1% of the volume. That’s direct shipping ore and reduces the very real risk of gold flying away into the pockets of those who spot it.
To crack the code of the Karratha and Egina gold mystery requires two things. 1. You have to think far enough outside the box to come up with a viable concept and 2. You have to think outside the box far enough to come up with a way to mine and mill the gold at a profit while maintaining security.
In 130 years since the discovery of gold in the Pilbara conglomerates and also in alluvial material only one person has managed to do that. That would be Quinton Hennigh. He will go down in history as the John Mackay of the Comstock Lode and the Cecil Rhodes who managed to consolidate the Kimberly diamond pipe small claims into one and formed De Beers to control both the supply and the price of diamonds.
As someone has repeated again and again, this is not a conventional deposit and cannot be approached in a conventional manner. If it were conventional it would have been mined as one of the two biggest gold discoveries in history similar in both grade and tonnage to the Witwatersrand in South Africa. However it has taken 130 years for someone to put it together.
George Mehri of Kairos took Quinton and I to see their ground just south of Egina where he is heading the exploration program last week. We saw a 40×50 meter patch of ground that he went over with a metal detector and found over 10 ounces of gold right at surface. No one has any idea of what that means or where the gold came from or why it’s there. We are all just scratching our heads.


George’s nugget patch

What people need to think about is that there is a lot of gold in Karratha and Egina and within the Pilbara. Much of it we have no clue as to how it got there or even why it’s there. This project is a work in progress and many questions may never be answered. But there is a lot of gold there and Quinton is figuring out how to extract it at a profit.
The chorus of observers screeching for the blood of the combatants has gotten shrill. But while picking nits they are ignoring what is right in front of them. Let’s look at the minimum value of just Beaton’s Creek. Novo has defined about 700,000 economic ounces of oxide gold near surface. It wouldn’t take much of a leap to figure out there is an easy million ounces there. But let’s stay with the 700,000 ounces we can measure. At a market cap of $283 million USD today, that would be a value of $400 an ounce. Deals are done all the time for more than that.
In other words, Beaton’s Creek all by itself is a floor under the value of Novo shares.
But let’s look at potential upside. Pretend this is a conventional deposit with easy to drill and measure gold.
Novo has drilled 210 core holes at Purdy’s and Comet Well. They were short holes. All of the 210 holes intersected conglomerate. What would be the value of Novo shares if every one of those 210 holes assayed 2.5 g/t gold over four meters? It would be recognized as one of the great gold finds of history and the value would be in the billions because the market would recognize there are another ten thousand square km with exactly the same potential.
But it’s the same grade and quantity of gold no matter if you can easily measure it or not.
Mackay and Rhodes thought outside the box. You may safely assume a lot of people were green with jealousy and sought to undermine them at every turn. Not because of their failures which were legion but because of their successes.
Novo shareholders are being called on to vote in the AGM scheduled for the 5th of December. It’s the standard stuff with nothing exciting except the possible reelection of the six directors.
There are six directors at present, Quinton Hennigh, Chairman, Rob Humphryson, CEO, Michael Barrett, Akiko Levinson, Greg Gibson and Eric Sprott. The first four are friendly to Quinton Hennigh and Greg Gibson works for Eric Sprott.
At present Eric Sprott controls about 28% of the vote directly and through Kirkland Lake.
I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Eric Sprott is a businessman who makes money or loses money by investing his money in companies. He is totally a good guy and I have never heard anything bad about him. I have zero conflict with him on any basis, other than me trying to figure out just how gold was suppressed from $252 to $1923.
What I’m about to write is not based on inside information or anything I’ve heard or even anything I suspect. It is only what I fear.
Eric Sprott has to belong to the herd of shareholders who are pissed. On the chat boards it’s clear that Rob and Quinton are blithering idiots. Drawing and quartering are too good for them because they made the shares go down all by themselves.
Give me a break. We are in a bear phase of the gold market and everything is down.
If you like to use the Sprott PSLV as a contrary indicator for the market, recently it hit an all time low with a discount over 5%. I used the same indicator to say we were at a top in April of 2011 where I correctly called the top in silver to the day. Now it’s saying we are very near or just past a bottom.
I managed to pick up a little silver at $14.02 and I really wish someone would suppress it down just a little more so I can load up the boat.
This is an unconventional deposit. It has to be approached in an unconventional way. Quinton is trying to herd cats, juggle eggs and tap dance all at the same time. I’m not convinced that throwing rocks at him is really going to help things.
Eric Sprott has all the right in the world to vote his 28% of shares in Novo any way he wishes. But what I fear is that he might want to treat this as a conventional deposit and all he needs to do is tinker a little bit in his best interest and make things right.
This is not a conventional deposit. For all the screw-ups and miscommunication, Quinton and his brilliant crew have made amazing progress. Egina is a game changer beyond belief. I won’t even suggest what I think the grades are going to be but he has two of the smartest and most experienced alluvial experts in the world testing the resource today and designing a processing plant that could be actually mining in the Australian fall, our spring. We will be seeing grades before the end of the year and once I have numbers I can take to the bank, I will comment on what they mean.
Nobody knows this but Quinton and me but when we went to Perth and then into the field in June of 2009 before Novo was even born, Quinton had three kids in college and didn’t have a pot to piss in. He paid his airfare but I contributed to the expenses in both New Zealand and the Pilbara basin work. I know this project, the problems and the potential better than anyone outside the company.
By reasonable terms Quinton is rich today from his investments in both Novo and Irving Resources. Normally when Eric Sprott wants changes in a company everyone is quaking in their boots in fear of losing that paycheck.
Quinton doesn’t need the paycheck and at some point he will conclude he doesn’t need the aggravation. If he leaves, Rob Humphryson leaves. And if for any reason Rob Humphryson leaves, Quinton leaves. And if they both leave, Eric Sprott will learn the meaning of Jingle mail because when the last person leaves the office after shutting off the lights, they will mail him the keys to the door so he can run Novo any way he wants. People work for Novo because they love working with Quinton and know the challenge of developing another Witwatersrand deposit.
I’d just hate to see that happen. There are lots of people in the industry and on the chat boards that all believe they are smarter than Quinton Hennigh but I can assure you it just isn’t so.
What I fear is that Eric Sprott will crap in his own lunch bucket by voting his shares to WITHOLD the three Quinton friendly. Then there are two people voting the way Eric wants and one voting the way Quinton wants.
While Eric Sprott owns and controls 28% of the shares, he does not own and control 72% of the shares. If he takes total control of the board he is going to do what is in what he sees as his best interests. Quinton on the other hand is responsible for acting in what he sees as the best interests of 100% of the Novo shareholders. And as bright as Eric Sprott and his people are, Quinton unlocked a mystery that was 130 years old that no one else figured out.
For the next year or so he alone can run the ship. When I was in the service, we had a saying, “no matter how big or how small a ship is, there is only room for one captain.” Before taking action I suggest Eric ponder the ramifications of whatever he does.
So when I get my proxy form, I am going to vote for all of the current members of the Board except for Greg Gibson. I have nothing against Greg but I think that Eric Sprott needs to understand that there are a lot of shareholders who don’t think they are smarter than Rob Humphryson and Quinton Hennigh and they would like them to stick around as the fat lady warms up in the wings.
I don’t think for a minute my vote will change anything but if a lot of other shareholders vote as I do, it will send a clear message to Eric about what people think of the value of Quinton and his team.
For all the people who believe Quinton and team have fucked up, you haven’t seen anything yet. Bring in a bunch of conventional mining guys. Once they figure out where the light switch is in the office it will take them 18 months just to determine where the projects stand today. It will be the biggest Chinese fire drill you have ever seen with conventional thinking on an unconventional deposit. I’ll be quite content to dump my shares at a nice profit and sit on the sidelines throwing rocks at every error they make.
It might be a good idea for Eric to think about the difference between being involved and being committed. It’s a lot like the difference between ham and eggs. The chicken, she’s involved but the pig, he’s committed.
If Eric takes control of the board, he will set the 2nd Pilbara gold rush back five years. All the good will Quinton has built within the Australian mining community and with the native corporations will evaporate before the light has left the room after the switch is turned off.
I like Eric a lot and I’d hate to see him tinker with something actually working quite well. Anyone not making mistakes is not making enough decisions. It’s only a sin when you keep making the same mistake again and again. Quinton doesn’t do that.
Novo Resources
NVO-V $2.28 (Nov 16, 2018)
NSRPF $1.73 OTCQX 162.3 million shares
Novo Resources website
###
Bob Moriarty
President: 321gold
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321gold Ltd

Copyright ©2001-2018 321gold Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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JUNIOR MINING | Novo Receives Positive Initial Results From Mechanical Sorting Trials

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novo Resources Corp. (“Novo” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NVO; OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to discuss positive initial results from mechanical rock sorting tests being undertaken by TOMRA Sorting Pty. Ltd., Castle Hill, New South Wales (“TOMRA”). TOMRA is the foremost mechanical rock sorting company in the mining industry.

TOMRA Mechanical Sorting Test Highlights:

Four, +5 tonne bulk samples from Comet Well, three from the Upper Cannonball Conglomerate and one from the Lower Cannonball Conglomerate, have undergone successful sorting (Figure 1https://youtu.be/ljMtA1cKNts)

  • Each sample was crushed and screened yielding sub-fractions of 63-100 mm, 25-63 mm, 10-25 mm and less than 10 mm. Testing was undertaken on each size fraction except for the sub-10 mm size fraction. Mechanical sorting employed a combination of X-Ray transmission (“XRT”) and electromagnetic induction (“EM”). XRT identifies rocks containing particles of high atomic mass such as gold and EM identifies rocks that become electrically charged due to the presence of metallic particles in a manner similar to the operation of a metal detector.
  • Sorting of material between 10-63 mm resulted in a remarkably low mass pull of approximately 0.3% (Figure 2). Visual and X-Ray examination of concentrate indicates gold nuggets are present (Figure 3). This data, although preliminary, suggests there is good potential for employment of mechanical sorting to upgrade gold content for analytical purposes and possibly commercial applications. Novo thinks mechanical sorting could become an important component of future advancement of the Karratha and Egina gold projects.
  • With this tranche of mechanical sorting tests now complete, assays will be performed on all fractions of concentrates and rejects to ascertain overall efficiency of sorting. Full results of this study are expected early next year.
  • Rocks larger that 63 mm were found to be too thick for X-Rays to adequately penetrate making particulate gold obscured from detection. Therefore, crushing of large rock pieces to less than 63 mm is required for effective mechanical sorting. The sub-10 mm fraction comprises approximately 35% of the overall mass of each sample. TOMRA believes there is opportunity to further screen material down to approximately 6 mm before employing mechanical sorting, thus maximizing the overall percentage of material that can be sorted.

“Mechanical rock sorting tests with TOMRA have yielded very encouraging results,” commented Rob Humphryson, CEO and director of Novo Resources Corp. “Although full assays are needed from all respective concentrate and reject fractions, the very low mass pull achieved by the TOMRA mechanical sorter bodes well for efficient concentration of gold. The highly nuggety mineralization at Karratha has proven to be a challenge with respect to assaying, but it may prove to be a benefit with respect to metallurgical recovery of gold. We see additional value being created by the use of mechanical sorting at Karratha, Egina and perhaps other Novo gold projects in the Pilbara.”

Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P. Geo., the Company’s President and Chairman and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has approved the geological content of this news release.

About Novo Resources Corp.

Novo’s focus is to explore and develop gold projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and Novo has built up a significant land package covering approximately 12,000 sq km with varying ownership interests. For more information, please contact Leo Karabelas at (416) 543-3120 or e-mail leo@novoresources.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Novo Resources Corp.

“Quinton Hennigh”
Quinton Hennigh
President and Chairman

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-looking information 
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including, without limitation, statements as to planned exploration activities and the expected timing of the receipt of results. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the mineral resource industry as well as the performance of services by third parties.

(Figure 1 – TOMRA mechanical ore sorter at TOMRA Sorting Pty. Ltd.’s Castle Hill, New South Wales testing laboratory. This sorter employs XRT to identify rocks containing particles of high atomic mass such as gold and electromagnetic induction EM to identify rocks with a propensity to become electrically charged due, occasionally, to the presence of metallic particles.)

(Figure 2 – Left, looking down on the conveyor discharge from the TOMRA ore sorter. The conveyor on the left is reject material and that on the right carries a very small fraction of concentrate. Right, discharge bins, concentrate in the foreground and reject in the background.)

(Figure 3 – Left, pieces of concentrate with exposed gold nuggets. Right, X-Ray image of concentrate with red arrows pointing to dense particles of matter, black, embedded in rock.)

https://youtu.be/ljMtA1cKNts

(Video 1 – Video of the sorting chamber within the TOMRA mechanical sorter. Comet Well material is being sorted. XRT and EM scanners examine rock before it enters the chamber on the right. A computer tracks each rock particle, and those deemed to be of interest are jetted by air into the shoot on the left hand side.)

PDFs accompanying this announcement are available at:

http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/95350226-871d-467f-9d4a-61c4462b9463

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PRECIOUS METALS | It Can Be Unsettling If You Are Heavily Invested In Gold And Silver

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JUNIOR MINING | Aben Extends Mineralized Envelope around High-Grade Gold Discoveries at North Boundary on the Forrest Kerr Project in BC’s Golden Triangle

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ABN) (OTCQB: ABNAF) (Frankfurt: E2L2) (the “Company”) reports further results from the recently completed drill program at the Forrest Kerr Project. Drilling has extended the mineralized envelope surrounding the 2017 and 2018 high-grade gold discoveries at North Boundary. This round of focused drilling tested for the depth and lateral extension of known mineralized shear and vein sets located in the North Boundary Zone. Broad horizons of low to moderate grade gold mineralization were encountered in several of the 15 drill holes (FK18-22 à36) reported herein, while all drill holes encountered discrete polymetallic vein hosted mineralization with gold values ranging from trace amounts to 13 grams per tonne (g/t) over 1 meter.

Forrest Kerr Drill Hole Plan View Map:
https://abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4855/abn_fk_north_boundary_inset_drilling.jpg

President and CEO, Jim Pettit states: “The 2018 season has been a geologic and technical success in terms of what we have accomplished this year.  We started out with a 5000 meter drill program and expanded it to 10,000 meters after success with the drill. We raised $5.2 million and an additional $1.7 million from the exercise of warrants.  Logistically, we adapted quickly and efficiently on the fly and actually substantially reduced our overall cost of drilling per meter. We have identified the Boundary Zone as a very large, robust environment for gold mineralization and discovery.  We have 9 more holes to report on from this season and we look forward to compiling all the data available to us generated from this 2018 drilling program as well as new geochemical and geophysical analysis. It is also important to note we have the funds in the treasury for the 2019 exploration and drill program.”

Analytical results indicate that a coherent zone of vein-hosted mineralization extends up to 30 meters outward from the high-grade Au reported in holes FK18-4,5,6 & 10 (see News Releases Nov. 6, 2017 and Aug. 9, 2018). Results from this area  include 0.8 g/t Au over 11 meters (m) in hole FK18-32, 0.7 g/t Au over 14 m in FK18-33, 1.2 g/t Au over 21 m in FK18-34, 0.8 g/t Au over 15 m in FK18-35 and 0.46 g/t Au over 17 m in FK18-36 (chart below). The mineralization defined by these holes extends for over 30 meters along strike and remains open in multiple directions.

View Forrest Kerr Drill Hole Cross Sections:
https://www.abenresources.com/projects/photo-gallery/

Drilling to date has shown that mineralization extends several meters outboard of the high-grade area within subordinate shear structures and vein arrays. Oriented core tooling was utilized for this phase of drilling in order to collect structural data that will help determine the orientation of both the main and subsidiary mineralized structures. The oriented core data, combined with the surface mapping data and a growing subsurface database at the Boundary Zone will assist greatly in planning future targeted drill programs.

Aben Resources completed 9900 meters of NQ drilling in 2018 on a low cost per meter basis. The number of available drill locations was constrained due to a delay in receiving an updated MX Permit from the British Columbia Provincial Government in response to extreme forest fire activity in the area. As a result the last phase of targeted drilling was completed from only 3 pad locations with fan arrays from each set-up. Subsequent to completion of the summer drill program Aben received the much anticipated 5 year Multi-Year Area Based (MYAB) permit, which will allow for more extensive drill programs going forward.

Mineralization at Boundary North is structurally controlled and hosted in a package of volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks from the Jurassic Hazelton Group. Several generations of quartz and quartz-carbonate veining are important hosts to mineralization, as are subordinate breccia zones with strong chlorite, hematite and carbonate alteration. The Boundary Zone lies between the Forrest Kerr Fault to the west, a major deep-seated crustal feature, and the unconformable contact between the Jurassic Hazelton Group and the Triassic Stuhini Group to the East. The rock reflects a prolonged history of strong hydrothermal activity combined with brittle deformation. The host package Hazelton is known to be a prolific host to several deposits throughout the region.

Golden Triangle, B.C., claims map:
https://www.abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4287/fk-003.jpg

Hole ID   From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (ppm)
FK 18-32 43.0 54.0 11.0 0.8 3.4 1923
 
FK 18-33 48.0 62.0 14.0 0.7 1.1 615
 
FK 18-34 46.0 67.0 21.0 1.2 0.9 704
  incl 46.0 57.0 11.0 2.2 1.4 717
 
FK 18-35 38.0 53.0 15.0 0.8 0.6 375
 
FK 18-36 47.0 64.0 17.0 0.5 0.6 858

Analytical and QA/QC Description:

All 1 or 2 meter drill core samples were delivered to ALS Global prep facility in Terrace, British Columbia where they were crushed until 70% passed a 2mm sieve, then a 250g split was pulverized until better than 85% passed a 75 micron screen. Gold was tested via fire assay method Au-ICP21 with all ore-grade samples (>10 g/t) undergoing fire assay with gravimetric finish. ALS performed multi-element ICP-AES package ME-ICP41 in their Vancouver facility to test for 35 other elements. In addition to the quality assurance and quality control program performed by ALS, Aben personnel insert lab certified standards, field blanks and duplicates into the sample stream at the rate of one QA/QC sample in every 10 samples.

Update on the Justin Gold Project, Yukon Territory, Canada

Aben Resources is currently finalizing analytical results from field work completed in September 2018 on its 100% owned Justin Gold Property in the Yukon Territory. The geologic team reports visible gold in trenches and channel samples from quartz stockwork veining in bedrock at the Lost Ace Zone, a gold-bearing zone discovered in 2017. Channel sampling in 2017 at Lost Ace returned 1.44 g/t Au over 5m including 4.77 g/t Au over 1.0 m in addition to a bulk soil sample that contained 1135 visible gold grains, the majority of which were termed ‘pristine’ indicating a proximal bedrock source for the gold. Lost Ace is an exciting new prospect on the Justin Property as it is located within 2km of the main mineralized POW Zone and bears striking similarities to Golden Predators adjacent 3 Ace Property.

Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., V.P. of Exploration of Aben Resources, has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Aben Resources:

Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing projects in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, the Yukon, and Saskatchewan.

For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (ABN.V), visit our Company’s web site at www.abenresources.com.

ABEN RESOURCES LTD.

“Jim Pettit”
____________________________
JAMES G. PETTIT
President & CEO

For further information contact myself or:
Don Myers
Aben Resources Ltd.
Director, Corporate Communications
Telephone: 604-687-3376
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: info@abenresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.

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JUNIOR MINING | Orezone Announces Updated Feasibility Study to Incorporate a Phase II High-Grade Sulphide Expansion

OTTAWA, Nov. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE.V(“Orezone” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the following key updates on its 90%-owned Bomboré Gold Project:

  • Work has commenced to update the 2018 Feasibility Study (“2018 FS”) to include a staged higher-grade sulphide expansion (“Phase II Sulphide Expansion”) to complement the oxide mine plan in the 2018 FS.  The Phase II Sulphide Expansion is envisioned as a 3,000 to 3,500 tonne per day (“tpd”) sulphide circuit to process zones of higher-grade sulphide and lower transition oxide resources starting in Year 3 of commercial production.  Capital for this expansion is expected to be funded by future operating cash flows.
  • Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (“RPA”) will update the current January 5, 2017 mineral resource (“2017 Resource”) estimate to include the oxide material within the previously termed Restricted Zones and the free milling sulphide material at P17S in support of this Phase II Sulphide Expansion study.

This update to the 2018 FS will not impact the ongoing development and schedule of the Bomboré project as presented in the 2018 FS.  As stated in the Company’s press release of November 8th, 2018, the current project is being designed as a 5.2 Million tonne per annum (“Mtpa”) operation and is currently advancing through detailed engineering with first gold production scheduled to commence by October 2020.

Patrick Downey, President and CEO, stated that “We are very excited to commence an updated feasibility study to evaluate the potential upside of a sulphide circuit to meaningfully contribute to the project’s future gold production as part of a phased expansion to the 2018 FS oxide mine plan. Previously, the sulphides at Bomboré were viewed as a large low-grade deposit. However, a recent detailed review of the Measured and Indicated (“M&I”) sulphide resources by the Company and our consultants has identified continuous zones of significantly higher grade, near surface mineralization which warrants a more in-depth analysis.  In addition to the higher grade sulphides at P17S, we have successfully identified four additional areas of thick and continuous higher-grade M&I sulphide resources located directly beneath current oxide reserves.  Historical metallurgical test work together with pit geotechnical evaluations have been previously completed on these sulphides which will allow for rapid advancement of this update to the 2018 FS, which we are targeting for completion by the end of Q2 2019.”

Feasibility Update for Phase II Sulphide Expansion

Test work and previously released studies indicate that the sulphide process plant extension will consist of a crushing and grinding circuit that feeds into a leaching circuit that will be designed to provide the first the 24 hours of leaching. This partially-leached material will then be fed to the main oxide carbon in-leach circuit where overall leaching of the blended material will be completed, and the gold recovered to the oxide plant carbon elution circuit. Test work to date on sulphide material indicates recoveries ranging from 73% in the north (Maga and P8/P9) to over 90% in the south (Siga and P17S).  The gold recovery, tailings and reagent systems of the oxide plant design in the 2018 FS will remain unchanged as will the main project infrastructure. The overall plant throughput is currently contemplated to remain at 5.2Mtpa with these higher-grade sulphides replacing lower-grade oxides.  Over the past quarter, the Company, in conjunction with its consultants, has been reviewing the sulphide mineralization beneath the current oxide reserve pits in the 2018 FS. The 2017 Resource statement estimated that the sulphide zones contained 96M tonnes of M&I resources at a gold grade of 0.83 g/t (above a lower cut-off grade of 0.38 g/t), including 71M tonnes of M&I resources at a gold grade of 0.97 g/t over a higher cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t (refer to Appendix B for the pit design parameters used by RPA for the resource estimation).

From this review, the Company has outlined several higher-grade sulphide zones located within the Main M&I sulphide. Subsets of the 2017 RPA M&I resource estimates for these zones are included in table 1 below. For the initial review, these zones of higher-grade sulphides have been constrained to a maximum depth of 100 m but the mineralization remains open at depth.

Table 1: Subsets of RPA 2017 M&I Resource Estimate

Table 1 is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/26e493cd-38b0-43ad-bf59-cd6299d920d8

Notes:

  1. CIM (2014) definitions were followed for Mineral Resources.
  2. Mineral Resources are estimated at variable cut-off grades depending on weathering layer and location.  Elevated cut-off grades have been used to identify higher-grade mineralization within the Mineral Resources.
  3. Mineral Resources are estimated using a long-term gold price of US$1,400/oz.
  4. A minimum mining width of approximately 3 m was used.
  5. Estimates for contained gold have been rounded to the nearest 100 oz.
  6. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability and have not had the considerations applied to them that allow conversion to Mineral Reserves. This work will be carried out during the Phase II Sulphide Expansion study.

A review of these zones by the Company’s consultants has indicated sufficient thickness and continuity to advance to detailed feasibility to evaluate the potential to convert these resources into reserves (see location of areas of interest, Appendix A).  These zones will be included in the updated FS in combination with the lower transition oxides and P17S.

The Company has retained its previous consultants from the 2018 FS for this FS update.   Lycopodium Minerals Canada Ltd. will act as lead study manager together with AMC Consultants, Knight Piésold Consulting and RPA. The FS update will be based on the construction of the sulphide circuit in Year 2 of commercial production to allow the Company to access up to two years of operating cash flow to self-fund the expansion.

Significant historical metallurgical, environmental and geotechnical test work has already been completed on the sulphide material from these zones and been included in previously filed NI 43-101 reports. Work includes:

  • Grind versus recovery test work;
  • Leach kinetics including optimal leach residence time;
  • Reagent consumptions;
  • Crushing and grinding Work Indices;
  • Abrasion Indices;
  • Waste rock acid rock drainage(ARD) characterization; and
  • Pit wall geotechnical drilling and analysis.

The Company will benefit from the extensive database of existing test work in reducing both the costs and schedule of this FS update.

In 2012, McClelland performed a feasibility-level test work program.  The testwork included ore variability composite testing, comminution testing, CIL/CIP leaching, residue characterization, and waste rock testing.  The sulphide composites were tested at two grind sizes (-75 and -53μm). The results, which are taken directly from Table 13.13 in the August 23rd, 2018 NI 43-101 technical report are summarized in Appendix C.

A 2009 AMMTEC metallurgical program included in the August 23rd, 2018 NI 43-101technical report in Tables 13.5 and 13.6 provide additional recovery data for the sulphide resources. The samples provided to AMMTEC were PQ and HQ drill cores taken from the fresh rock, transition, and oxide ore zones.  Summary results from the AMMTEC program are presented in Appendix D.

Bomboré Resource Update by RPA

The resource estimate update will be performed by RPA who completed the 2017 Resource estimate. The new resource estimate will include oxide material from the previously excluded Restricted Zones based on all prior drilling up to February 2016. This material is located within the flood zones of seasonal river crossings (see Appendix A).  Any material within the Restricted Zones that falls within an updated mine plan will be mined and subsequently backfilled with waste from the same area during each year’s dry season of November to April.  Permitting of the Restricted Zones is advanced with submission of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report as the next steps.

The RPA resource update will also include the near surface P17S sulphide deposit. This deposit does not have significant oxide mineralization and therefore, is currently outside of the existing mining permit.  A resource estimate for P17S was included in the 2017 Resource based on limited drilling to February 2016 which identified a M&I resource of 335,000 tonnes at a gold grade of 2.52 grams per tonne (“g/t”). This resource was to a depth of ~100 m and down dip extension of ~190 m from surface. Over the past two years, the Company has conducted successful follow-up drilling at   P17S (see Company’s Press Release of July 16, 2018) which has materially increased the size of the deposit.  The drilling continued to define the extensions of the deposit, which is hosted in a series of shallowly-plunging granodiorite thickened fold hinges, with the most recent drilling having intersected new fold hinges and defined the down-plunge extension of the original deposit over a distance of at least 500 m, to a vertical depth of about 200 m. All new drilling data available as of October 2018 will be incorporated within the new resource estimate by RPA.

Qualified Persons

Tim Miller, SME and COO, Pascal Marquis, Geo and SVP and Patrick Downey, P.Eng and CEO of Orezone, are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the information in this news release. Orezone has also prepared and filed a current technical report on the Bomboré Project titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report Feasibility Study of the Bomboré Gold Project Burkina Faso” with a date of 23 August 2018, and which is available at www.sedar.com and at www.orezone.com. The technical report includes relevant information regarding the effective dates and the assumptions, parameters and methods of the mineral resource and reserve estimates at the Bomboré Project, as well as information regarding data verification, and other matters relevant to the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release.  Readers should also refer to the annual information form of Orezone for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other continuous disclosure documents filed by Orezone since January 1, 2018 available at www.sedar.com, for this detailed information, which is subject to the qualifications and notes set forth therein.

About Orezone Gold Corporation

Orezone is a Canadian company with a successful gold discovery track record and recent mine development experience in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The Company owns a 90% interest in Bomboré, a fully permitted, low cost, development stage gold project in Burkina Faso, situated 85 km east of the capital city of Ouagadougou, adjacent to an international highway.

For further information please contact Orezone at +1 (613) 241-3699 or visit the Company’s website at www.orezone.com.

Orezone Gold Corporation

Patrick Downey
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel:  1 778 945 8977 / Toll Free: 1 888 673 0663

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “potential”, “possible” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may”, “will”, “could”, or “should” occur.

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements. These include statements regarding, among others, construction  enhancement opportunities including expansion of plant processing capacity to 5.2Mtpa, successful permitting of the Restricted Zone oxides and P17S for inclusion into a new mine plan, the potential of processing higher grade sulphide material on a 3,000 to 3,500 tpd basis as supplemental plant feed into the 2018 FS oxide mine plan and the associated plant improvements required, the construction start-up of the sulphide plant extension in Year 2 of commercial production with commencement of gold production from the sulphide circuit starting in Year 3, the funding of the sulphide expansion from internal operating cash flow, and the completion of a feasibility update to the 2018 FS by the end of Q2 2019.

All such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by management and qualified persons in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management and the qualified persons believe are appropriate in the circumstances. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from those presented.

In addition, all forward-looking information and statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, use of assumptions that may not prove to be correct, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, accidents and equipment breakdowns, political risk, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic, market or business conditions, the failure of exploration programs, including drilling programs, to deliver anticipated results and the failure of ongoing and uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, and other factors described in the Company’s most recent annual information form and management discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR on www.sedar.com.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.

This news release also contains references to estimates of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The estimation of Mineral Resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation, which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Mineral Resource estimates may have to be re-estimated based on, among other things: (i) fluctuations in the price of gold; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) results of metallurgical testing, process and other studies; (iv) changes to proposed mine plans; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates; and (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licenses.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Appendix A: Map of Sulphide Areas Considered

Appendix A is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8e8e6b95-cc74-4f84-bddd-50245ba8b99d

Appendix B: Whittle Parameters for 2017 Resource Pit Shells

Appendix A is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/68006ada-2b26-451b-a36b-f6948315999c

Appendix C:  McClelland Grind and Cyanide Concentration Optimization Tests

Appendix C is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/31a4aa17-137a-4edd-8037-96fbe1457686

Appendix D: AMMTEC Leach Extraction Results

Appendix D is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ba398b1c-0a9a-4f2a-b3a0-39f15023f052

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Energy Exclusive Interviews Precious Metals

MICKEY FULP | Translating the Mindset of Peak Oil to Peak Gold

The Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp discusses with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable how peak oil could inform investment in gold miners.

VIDEO

AUDIO

TRANSCRIPT

Original Source: https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2018/11/18/translating-the-mindset-of-peak-oil-to-peak-gold.html
Maurice Jackson: Joining us for a conversation is the Mercenary Geologist, Mickey Fulp. Pleasure to speak with you.
Mickey Fulp: Thank you, sir.
Maurice Jackson: Mickey, one of the concerns that I think speculators are having in the natural resource space is this concept of peak gold. What can you share with us?
Mickey Fulp: Well, there’s this idea now of peak gold. And it’s really morphed out of the concept of peak oil, which was promulgated by a famous geologist/geophysicist in the late 1950s on the idea that U.S. oil production would peak in 1970 and never reach that level again. His premise was based on the natural depletion of giant oil fields discovered in the United States, and he was right. But people have sort of bastardized that concept now into gold.
They took the tack that the world was running out of oil when we had reached peak production, and we would never achieve this sort of oil production in the U.S., for example, ever again. Well, lo and behold, it took 47 years for us to recover. But now we’re producing more oil than we ever have. So this idea that the world is going to run out of a natural resource or reach peak production is fraught with difficulty.
We produce more oil in the world right now than we ever have. And next year, we’ll produce even more because demand continues to rise, at about 1.5% a year. So in the oil business, we’re now using 100 million barrels of oil a day. Five years ago, we were using about 92–93 million barrels a day. And where’s that production come? Well, it’s come from peak, or from shale oil, and technology catches up. If the demand is there, my opinion is that the supply will be found—70% of the oil in the world is still left in the ground. I’ve taken that concept and applied it to the gold business.
Maurice Jackson: And what do we see as far as peak gold?
Mickey Fulp: Well, starting in 1900, the world produced 393 tons of gold. That would be something on the order of 10 to 12 million ounces a year, more or less. Now we produce 3,150 tons per gold in 2017, an all-time high. That’s 98 million ounces per year. So more than an eight times increase. And that’s been driven in cycles of exploration, so things like economics, world economics, wars, prices of gold, all effect that production.
But the real key to increases in production, at least since gold was floated by Nixon in 1971, is the exploration cycle. Generally, what we’ve seen over the years is gold increasing, but kind of in a two steps forward, one step back way. It’s a somewhat jagged line, but with these long runs of increased production. And then we’ll have a war, we’ll have a depression, and gold protection with the war will go down; with the depression, it goes up.
And so we keep going and going and going. Since 2008, we’ve been on a steep curve of increasing gold production. The CEO of Goldcorp Inc. (G:TSX; GG:NYSE) came out in the early part of the year and said all the good gold deposits have been found. There’s no giant deposits that are going to be found anymore. And the world’s going to never produces much gold. Well, I think he’s talking his own book and if you look at Goldcorp, of course production over the last three years, it’s going down.
It’s gone down 25% from 2015 to 2017. You look at the other major miners, such as Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; ABX:NYSE), which is down 40% off its peak around 2005. Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM:NYSE) is about the same amount off its peak production in 2006. So I would take the tack, that the major gold miners have reached peak production, peak gold. But that’s been filled.
Where’s all this additional production coming from? It’s coming from the new companies, the new mid-tiers that have been built since the year 2005. As a whole, you know, there’s about nine mid-tiers now. And then it’s also been filed by a number of small miners in all parts of the world. The majors are down something like, all told, 50% of their gold production since mid-2000s. Meanwhile, production is up about the same amount, it’s up 37% since 2008. It’s filled by new companies.
Maurice Jackson: So would you say then that the majors have a flawed business plan?
Mickey Fulp: Absolutely.
Maurice Jackson: And in what regard?
Mickey Fulp: The biggest flaw in the industry amongst the majors—and it applies to other companies too—is they’re focused on growth. And mining is not a growth industry. Mining is the value industry. So when prices were high, they lost a view of what they should be doing, which was producing high margin ounces. It’s about the margin, the cost of production, versus the amount you sell, and that’s your profitability. So they’ve had this grow, grow, grow mentality—what I would call a New York style of capitalism. It does not work in the mining industry. And it certainly has not worked for the major gold mining companies.
Maurice Jackson: So what do you share with your subscribers? Are you more focused on juniors or mid-tiers?
Mickey Fulp: Always juniors. I don’t want to own miners, to tell you the truth. I’ve focused on exploration companies. I wrote a piece a couple of months ago called Why I Don’t Want to Own Any Miners. Now I do own a few miners, but they’ve become miners from exploration companies that I own or they’ve been taken out by miners exploration. But the real value in these businesses is in the juniors. And my particular sweet spot would be the advanced explorers because I think that’s where you have the lowest risks for the potential highest rates
Maurice Jackson: Mickey, if someone wants to get more information regarding your work, please share the contact details.
Mickey Fulp: MercenaryGeologist.com. I run a free subscription service as you well know, Maurice. And to get my stock picks you need to be a free email subscriber. We have a very active Twitter feed, @mercenarygeo, 55,546 Twitter followers as of today, and we’re quite active in that venue.
Maurice Jackson: And also, please visit our website which is ProvenandProbable.com. Mickey Fulp, the Mercenary Geologist, thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable.
Mickey Fulp: Thank you, Maurice.
Maurice Jackson: Thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable. Remember to like and subscribe for more conversations with the most respected names in the natural resource space. Check out our website at www.provenandprobable.com.
Maurice Jackson is the founder of Proven and Probable, a site that aims to enrich its subscribers through education in precious metals and junior mining companies that will enrich the world.

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Disclosure:
1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Mickey Fulp and Maurice Jackson and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. They are wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Mickey Fulp and Maurice Jackson were not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article.
2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.
Proven and Probable LLC receives financial compensation from its sponsors. The compensation is used is to fund both sponsor-specific activities and general report activities, website, and general and administrative costs. Sponsor-specific activities may include aggregating content and publishing that content on the Proven and Probable website, creating and maintaining company landing pages, interviewing key management, posting a banner/billboard, and/or issuing press releases. The fees also cover the costs for Proven and Probable to publish sector-specific information on our site, and also to create content by interviewing experts in the sector. Monthly sponsorship fees range from $1,000 to $4,000 per month. Proven and Probable LLC does accept stock for payment of sponsorship fees. Sponsor pages may be considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.
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TOM WHEELWRIGHT | This is What Happens When You Have the Right Tax Preparer

I’m often asked what questions someone should ask their tax preparer to make sure they’ve got the right tax preparer.

I think the questions a tax preparer asks are far more important.

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Here are 3 questions you definitely want your tax preparer to ask you.

#1: Can You Provide Additional Information to Support Your Numbers?

Your tax preparer should absolutely be questioning your numbers.

The term “GIGO” (Garbage-In-Garbage-Out) is (unfortunately) commonly used in the tax preparation industry. It refers to the following situation:

  • Numbers are provided to the tax preparer that are wrong, either knowingly or unknowingly
  • The tax preparer uses this information “as is” and does nothing to verify the numbers are correct
  • The end product – the tax return – is not accurate

It is not safe to assume that your tax preparer is verifying your numbers. This is why this question is so important.

Some numbers are provided via legal forms, such as W-2s, 1099s and 1098s. These forms provide a certain level of reliability that the amounts are accurate.

However, most business and investing activity is based on the accuracy of the recordkeeping so verifying the numbers is extremely important.

In order to verify your business numbers, your tax preparer needs additional information. This additional information is used to verify that the amounts reported in the recordkeeping match up and make sense.

This additional information may include settlement statements, bank statements, credit card statements, loan statements, purchase or sale documents, organizational documents, prior year tax returns and ownership documents.

While this process may not uncover all errors, it does provide a certain level of reliability and provides the tax preparer with a sense of how accurate the recordkeeping is.

If your tax preparer is not asking for this information, then odds are, your tax preparer is not verifying your numbers.

#2 Can You Provide Personal Books (Financials)?

Your tax preparer should be looking for deductions you may be missing.

An effective way to do that is to look at your books – both your business and personal books. While it is common practice for businesses to keep books, it isn’t common for individuals to keep personal books. Personal books report where your cash goes and that is key to identifying possible deductions.

If your tax preparer is not asking for your personal books or not recommending that you keep personal books, then odds are they are only using what you give them and there’s a good chance deductions are being missed on your tax return.

#3 What is Your Role in Your Business or Investing Activity?

While the first 2 questions gather the numbers to report, this question determines the best way to report them.

Taxpayers, particularly business owners and investors, usually have options when it comes to how income or deductions are reported. Understanding the taxpayer’s role in their business and investing is the key to determining where it can be reported most favorably.

Your role in your business or investing is a significant factor in determining the options available to you. When your tax preparer understands your role, then your options for reducing your taxes are much greater.

If you already have a trusted tax advisor…

..be sure to tell them about my FREE, 3 Day event just for CPAs, the CPA-Revolution Masterclass. Just forward this email, and click here to learn more about the event.

Tom Wheelwright’s upcoming CPA class Dec 6-8, 2018.

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Tom Wheelwright, CPA

To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any US federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. If you are not the original addressee of this communication, you should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent advisor.

 
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