You will be reading a lot about the mid-term elections in the coming days. No matter how it plays out, half the people in the U.S. will not be happy. Maybe the best result would be for the Democrats to take either the House or the Senate. That way, government will grind to a halt. The less government does, the better. Sure, under President Trump the stock market soared, and more jobs were created, but our deficits are totally out of control and we are isolating ourselves from our friends and allies. We are backing Russia and China into a corner and a new conflict in the Middle East with Iran
seems very likely.
(Doug Case interview on Kitco. Who Will Take The Mid-Term Election?)
A neighbor of mine does a lot of traveling throughout Europe and Asia. He tells me that the people he talks to over there all ask him, “What is going on in America?” They think we are crazy. I’m not sure about the “we” but I can certainly understand that they think Trump is out of his mind. In 24 hours we will know how this will play out. Either Trump will have a mandate to continue to pursue his policies – or he will be a lame duck president for the next two years.
I hope that this doesn’t confuse you. Gold is getting ready for one of the greatest bull markets of all time. Hum! Haven’t I been telling you to trade in your gold for silver all of this year? If we are getting ready to see the highest gold prices of our lifetime, why would I tell you that gold is “overpriced”? The thing is, I am not telling you that gold is overpriced. I am saying that gold is “overpriced” relative to silver. The upcoming gains in gold, and it will be something to see, will not match the gains in silver.
Recently, Dr. Stephen Leeb told King World News
“Gold Is Set For One Of The Greatest Bull Markets Of All Time. The last 40 to 50 years have been outliers for gold. Gold has played a monetary role for several thousand years. But until the 1970s, its well-deserved reputation as a store of value was earned almost exclusively during periods of deflation, not inflation. I am comfortable in saying that while gold could have one more downdraft, it almost surely will be the last one. Buying now and buying with both hands on any weakness is buying a stake in what will be one of the greatest bull markets of all time…
David’s Commentary:
Contrary to what most people think, Dr. Leeb states that gold does better in deflation than during inflation. He is correct. He sites The Golden Constant, a book written in 1977 by Roy Jastram and data on the stock market culled from Roger Ibbotson. I have written articles on both of these in the past.
Dr. Leeb has created a chart that compares the performance of gold to stocks going back to 1824
David’s Commentary:
Most of our readers probably think that inflation and the dollar have the greatest affect the price of gold. They would be wrong. In fact, it is not the dollar that is relevant to gold bull markets, but the stock market. Dr. Leeb says,
“A bear market for stocks for nearly two centuries has been a bull market for gold.”
Ah, but here is where things get interesting. Since 1972 things have changed. And what could have possibly caused that? We can thank Richard Nixon, who in August 1971 removed gold as the backing for the U.S. Dollar. Nixon let the price of gold “float” instead of fixing it to the dollar at a set price.
Dr. Leeb writes,
“What’s particularly relevant for investors today is that the three most recent periods of poor market performance/positive gold performance occurred during commodity bull markets, years in which commodity scarcities led to rising commodity prices and higher overall inflation. In all three periods, the first of which started in 1972, gold was the leading performer among assets considered commodities (gold should be viewed as both a commodity and a currency).
In other words, since 1972, gold has been behaving in a very different manner from all the years before. The change occurred in the context of gold prices that, starting in the early 1970s, were no longer fixed and with gold no longer playing a direct role in the global monetary system. (Jastram likely thought the gains in gold in the 1972-77 period were not durable when he made the conclusions we noted above.)
Gold Will Rise During Bear Market In Stocks This is more than a history lesson. Rather, it offers a clear message to investors today: If there is a bear market in stocks in 2019 that leaves the three-year total return in equities in negative territory, gold is nearly sure to rise.
Here is where the rubber hits the road. Dr. Leeb says,
If there is a bear market in stocks in 2019 that leaves the three-year total return in equities in negative territory, gold is nearly sure to rise. So we need to look at how likely it is we might get such a bear market in stocks, one that could wipe out the gains we have seen since 2016 and will leading to the blistering bull market in gold that will underlie a new monetary system in the East and possibly the entire world.
This is another theme I have been pounding on. Gold will not start its bull market move until the stock market implodes.
Dr. Leeb says, “It all revolves around China.”
The U.S. won the Cold War by outspending the Soviet Union on defense, with the Soviet Union running itself into the ground by trying to keep up. That led to a decade or more of dire consequences for most of the FSU, including Russia.
This time around it’s the U.S. vs. China, a much more formidable foe. And this time around, it’s the U.S. that appears to be in the far more vulnerable position.
A startling recent data point has been the poor performance of defense stocks despite blockbuster earnings. Whenever stocks sell off in the face of much better than expected earnings, it signals that investors have some general unease about the sector. In this case, I see it as a sign that investors believe we won’t be able to raise defense spending. Even Trump in a cabinet briefing on October 31st said defense expenditures will fall in 2020. The current allocation of $716 billion has become a ceiling not a floor.
In other words, when it comes to defense we have shot our bolt. We are spending as much as we can afford given all our other obligations, which now translate into trillion-dollar deficits.
A strong military defense is one of the critical ingredients for any country that has or wants to maintain its currency as a global reserve currency. And when it comes to defense, China has some major advantages over the U.S. First and most important, it isn’t looking to dominate throughout the world. Rather, the sphere where it wants to be dominant is the East and in most emerging economies. This more limited objective means it doesn’t risk bankrupting itself by seeking to be everywhere at once.
After a brief discussion of China’s military spending and relationships with Japan and India, Dr. Leeb concluded,
China has the edge in defense, in the size of its economy, and in trade. Those are the three key factors that make a currency credible and desirable as a reserve currency. It’s why it seems so evident that the yuan – which, as China has made plain, will be linked in some fashion to gold – will become the new reserve currency at the very least throughout the East.
Perhaps this is why China has been accumulating massive amounts of gold for the past decade or two. Gold has been moving closely in sync with the yuan. Is this the precursor to a yuan-gold backed new “reserve currency?” Leeb thinks so.
The dollar’s global reserve currency status at this point is essentially a legacy based on oil and the petrodollar. This brings us back to the Eastern oil benchmark that China has launched and that I’ve written about a lot previously. I had expected that by now we would have seen more progress in gold as well as a strengthening of the yuan in response to the benchmark. But the tariffs threw a curve ball – one that, for all the reasons cited above, I expect will prove temporary. In addition, China is deleveraging, and to mitigate any near-term damage from the tariffs it has let the yuan fall. That, in turn, has kept gold – which as we’ve pointed out has been moving closely in sync with the yuan – in check for now.
As we go forward, we expect to see the tariffs wind down and to be less of an issue. Among other things, the U.S. can’t afford to shoulder the effective tax that tariffs impose. And that will leave the path free and clear for the yuan. In the end, the current quiet period for gold should turn out to be just a brief hiatus before a new monetary system, backed by gold, falls into place.
A New Monetary System As I have said before this new monetary system will likely be defined in terms of baskets of currencies and commodities that are exchanged using sophisticated blockchains. Gold will be the floating backstop. And given the amount of world trade I continue to expect most of us to see five digit gold prices in our lifetimes.
Adam Tumerkan, @ Palisade-Research.com points out that central banks are buying their most cold in years as they look to reduce risk. He says,
‘Gold is key for risk reduction’
Having a certain amount of gold in a portfolio works well to protect against sudden market drops – as I’ve shown previously (read here).
As I wrote then – “Just look at the average price of gold during times when the S&P 500 fell more than 15% over the last 20 years. . . You can see that during times when markets collapse more than 15%, gold positions would do very well. The gold mining equities and warrants do even better. . .”
Here is his data on central bank gold purchases…
This highlights the trend we’ve seen by central banks charging in to gold since after the 2008 crisis.
I wrote two weeks ago (click here if you missed it) that post-2008, central banks – especially the Emerging Markets – have insatiable gold appetite. And I believe this is helping to put a floor under the price of gold.
Just look for yourself. . .
After two decades of selling – throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s – central banks worldwide are now diversifying their dollar reserves with gold.
The latest report by the World Gold Council (WGC) showed that central bank gold reserves grew 150 tons in the third-quarter 2018.
That’s up 22% from 2017 – one year ago.
This marks the 8th straight year of central bank gold buying – and the highest level of net purchases since 2015 – both quarterly and year-to-date.
To name just a few: India – Turkey – Kazakhstan – China – Russia – Poland – Hungary – Iraq – and Mongolia. . .
What did all this buying from various central banks have in common? It was the lower price of gold triggered a buying opportunity. Meaning central bankers wanted to take advantage of the stronger dollar and buy cheaper gold.
Remember – when the dollar’s stronger, gold costs less (i.e. it takes fewer dollars to buy that same gold ounce – vice versa.)
And this trend of heavy central bank buying doesn’t seem like it will be slowing down anytime soon.
Therefore – we see that during large market drops – the price of gold increases enough to offset any losses.
So – here’s the bigger question. . .
Is all this central bank gold buying signaling trouble in the global economy?
I think so.
“Gold is key for risk reduction’
Having a certain amount of gold in a portfolio works well to protect against sudden market drops – as I’ve shown previously (read here).
As I wrote then – “Just look at the average price of gold during times when the S&P 500 fell more than 15% over the last 20 years. . . You can see that during times when markets collapse more than 15%, gold positions would do very well. The gold mining equities and warrants do even better. . .”
Therefore – we see that during large market drops – the price of gold increases enough to offset any losses.
But that’s not all. . .
Having gold also improves a portfolio’s Sharpe Ratio.
For those of you that don’t know – the Sharpe Ratio is a popular metric that helps investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risks. Meaning it measures a portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns relative to peers based on a ‘standard deviation’ (a black swan event).
Thus the higher the ratio – the better the risk adjusted returns. . .
And as New Frontier Advisors and U.S. Global Investors discovered – an institutional portfolio with at least a 6% weighting in gold has a significantly higher Sharpe Ratio compared to portfolio’s that didn’t have any gold at all.
What this means is – gold in a portfolio greatly reduces volatility without hurting overall returns. . .
Now that we know this – It’s not hard to see why Hungary’s Central Bank Governor increased gold holdings tenfold.
This also helps explain why other central bankers worldwide are opting for gold as well.
That’s because of Balance Sheet Theory – coined by Michael Pettis (one of my favorite economists).
Balance Sheet Theory basically means that investors – during a crunch period – look at governments and central banks as if they are looking at a corporate balance sheet.
The better the assets are against the liabilities – the more robust things are. . .
But the worst the assets are against growing liabilities – the more fragile things are. . .
And as we watch the Emerging Markets get slaughtered this year in 2018 – it’s not hard to see why. They have horrid balance sheets with mounting liabilities against diminishing assets.
So keep all this in mind when you ask yourself, ‘why are central banks buying so much gold since 2008?’
They are doing it to protect themselves. .
David’s Commentary:
Remember, just because I am discussing gold does not mean that I have forgotten about silver. You can sum it all up in one sentence: Silver is gold on steroids. Silver will move up, along with gold, but it will outperform it. In this century, gold moved from a low of $252 to a high of $1890 in 2011, a gain of 750%. Meanwhile silver went from $6 in 2001 to a high of $54.53 in 2011, a gain of more than 900%.
I still own a lot of gold, but I own much more silver. I have been adding silver to my portfolio using proceeds from the gold I have sold.
If you are wealthy, gold is insurance to protect your dollar-based wealth.
If you are not, then gold is a sure fire way to end up wealthy. As Richard Russell used to say, “There is no bull market like a gold bull market.” Markets are moved by fear and greed. But when it comes to gold, both fear AND greed are the motivation. When the stock market finally craters, fear and greed will abound. Gold will set new all-time records and silver will do better yet. More people will be able to afford it. The average person may have difficulty spending thousands of dollars for a single ounce of gold, but $100 or $150 for an ounce of silver is doable.
One last piece of advice. What I have done in the past is to invest 10% of the dollars I have in physical gold and silver into mining shares. They will outperform the physical metals. After they have made a significant up move, I sell them and use the proceeds to increase my ounces in physical gold. I get more gold and silver for free!
Here are a few worthwhile comments from our friend and colleague Bill Holter
As I alluded to a couple of days ago, “look around, what do you see?” People who own precious metals are quaking in their boots at EXACTLY THE PRECISE TIME they should be comfortable. We have gotten many “scared” e-mails recently, some from people I would have never guessed. Even a $10 move down in gold has sparked fearful e-mails…but why?
It should be clear to you now, the “unwind” has begun. Jim and I tried to tell you this a couple of months back, now there is absolute evidence. Look at real estate in many parts of the world. Australia, China, London, Vancouver, New York and now even San Francisco. The most important thing to look at is “volume”, as price always follows. Pricing, as it did back in 2006 has gotten to unaffordable levels…and banks have begun to pull back on lending. Ask yourself this simple question, where would pricing be if everyone had to pay cash for new purchases? I am not sure the answer but it would surely be less than 50% of current pricing. “Credit” is the reason real estate attained the values they did, lack of credit is now reducing sales volume…and thus pricing.
Then we can look at autos all over the world. Asia, Europe and North America, all markets are soft and the build up in “sub prime” auto loans has exploded. Any discussion of credit and sub prime in the same sentence should certainly not leave out “student loans”. This sector is now well over $1 trillion. Yes, for a good cause I suppose you could say, but we now have an entire generation in hock before they even leave the starting gate? Not to mention, college grads today are not exactly what their parents expected when they first wrote their checks, rather they tend to melt under pressure. Is this a “solid credit”?
Vancouver, British Columbia, November 7, 2018 (Globe Newswire) – Irving Resources Inc. (CSE:IRV) (“Irving” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has voluntarily filed a technical report prepared pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) for its Omu gold-silver project in Hokkaido, Japan.The independent technical report, entitled “Independent Technical Report on the Omu Property, Hokkaido, Japan” (the “Omu Technical Report”), with an effective date of November 6, 2018, was prepared for Irving by Christopher Mark Barrett, (MSc., CGeol) of London, UK, and others.Mr. Barrett is a “qualified person” as defined under NI 43-101.The Omu Technical Report will be available under the Company’s profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”) website at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at https://irvresources.com/projects/japan/technical-reports. About Irving Resources Inc.:
Irving is a junior exploration company with a focus on gold in Japan. Irving also holds, through a subsidiary, Project Venture Agreements with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) for joint regional exploration programs in the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Malawi and the Republic of Madagascar.JOGMEC is a government organization established under the law of Japan, administrated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and is responsible for stable supply of various resources to Japan through the discovery of sizable economic deposits of base, precious and rare metals.
Additional information can be found on the Company’s website: www.IRVresources.com. Akiko Levinson,
President & Director
For further information, please contact:
Tel: (604) 682-3234 Toll free: 1 (888) 242-3234 Fax: (604) 641-1214 info@IRVresources.com THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Vancouver, British Columbia: Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX-V: CXB) (the “Company” or “Calibre”) is pleased to announce the appointment of two seasoned mining professionals to the Calibre Board of Directors. Effectively immediately, Russell Ball has been appointed Executive Chair and Raymond Threlkeld joins the Board as a Director. Concurrent with these appointments, John Reynolds has stepped down from the Calibre Board and will be continuing with the Company as a member of the new Strategic Advisory Board. Mr. Darren Hall has also joined the Company as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board.
Douglas Forster, Director of Calibre stated: “We are very pleased to welcome Russell Ball and Raymond Threlkeld to the Board. Both have long and successful track records in value creation in the mining sector and extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, mine permitting, mine building and operations.”
“The Board of Directors would like to thank John Reynolds for his significant contributions to the growth of Calibre and we look forward to working with him as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board. Having worked with Darren Hall when he was Chief Operating Officer at Newmarket Gold, I am very pleased to welcome Darren to the Calibre team as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board. As Chief Operating Officer of Newmarket, Darren was instrumental in optimizing our gold operations which ultimately led to the $1.0 billion merger with Kirkland Lake Gold in 2016.”
Russell Ball, Executive Chair of Calibre stated: “I am excited to join the Calibre team and look forward to helping grow the business. With over two million ounces of defined gold equivalent resources, two mid-tier gold partners in IAMGOLD and Centerra Gold, and an experienced management team and Board, Calibre has an excellent foundation upon which to grow the business through strategic and value-accretive acquisitions.” Russell Ball, Executive Chair
Mr. Ball joined Goldcorp in May 2013, as Executive Vice-President of Projects and Capital Management, and in December 2014 was appointed Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development and Capital Projects. He served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development from March 2016 to October 2017. Prior to joining Goldcorp, Mr. Ball served as Executive Vice-president and Chief Financial Officer of Newmont. Over his 19 years with Newmont, Mr. Ball worked in internal audit, finance, treasury, operations/project and investor relations before joining the executive team as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Newmont, Mr. Ball was a manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Durban, South Africa. He qualified as a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of South Africa and as a certified public accountant in Colorado. Raymond Threlkeld, Director
Mr. Threlkeld has over 32 years’ experience in the mineral exploration, mine operations and construction and executive management. Most recently, Mr. Threlkeld was President and CEO of New Gold Inc., a NYSE listed mid-tier gold producer, and was a member of the New Gold Board of Directors from 2009 to 2018. Prior to his leadership at New Gold, Mr. Threlkeld was President and CEO of Rainy River Resources until 2013 when Rainy River was acquired by New Gold. Raymond was also a director of Northern Empire Resources Corp. from March 2017 until Northern Empire was acquired by Coeur Mining Inc. in October 2018. Mr. Threlkeld was Executive Chairman of Newmarket Gold Inc. from July 2015 to November 2016 when the company was merged with Kirkland Lake Gold in a $1.0 billion transaction. From 1996 to 2005 Mr. Threlkeld held a variety of senior executive positions with Barrick Gold Corporation rising to the position of Vice President, Project Development. During his tenure at Barrick he was responsible for placing more than 30 million ounces of gold resources into production including the development of the Pierina and Lagunas Norte Mines in Peru, the Bulyanhulu Mine in Tanzania, the Veladero Mine in Argentina and the Cowell Mine in Australia. Mr. Threlkeld holds a B.Sc. Degree in Geology from the University of Nevada. Darren Hall, Member – Strategic Advisory Board
Darren Hall has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry and has a proven to be a successful and trusted leader through his operational accomplishments. He has a proven track record of increasing production, reducing operating costs, improving capital effectiveness and promoting health, safety and business excellence. Darren joined Newmarket Gold in 2015 and was responsible for maintaining a strong foundation of quality gold production, yielding record operational results. Newmarket Gold was merged with Kirkland Lake Gold in a $1.0 billion transaction in 2016. Prior to joining Newmarket Gold, Darren worked for Newmont Mining Corporation where he held roles of increasing responsibility throughout the organization for almost 30 years. Under his leadership as Group Executive Operations for Newmont Asia Pacific, Darren managed a team of 14,000 employees producing 1.8 million ounces of gold annually from six operating mines across three countries. He also worked with Newmont in Peru, Indonesia and the United States and in Australia as General Manager of the Boddington Gold Mine where he led a team of 1,800 employees producing 750,000 ounces of gold annually. Darren graduated with a Bachelor of Mining Engineering (Hons) from the Western Australia School of Mines in Kalgoorlie. Mr. Hall currently serves as Principal of Hall Mining Services.
Following the Board changes, the Board of Directors now consists of eight members:
Russell Ball
Executive Chair
Greg Smith
President & CEO, Director
Douglas Forster
Director
Blayne Johnson
Director
Douglas Hurst
Director
Raymond Threlkeld
Director
George Salamis
Director
Edward Farrauto
Director
The Strategic Advisory Board consists of two members:
John Reynolds
Darren Hall
Calibre has granted 1,400,000 stock options to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company at a price of $0.45 for a period of five years. These options are subject to regulatory approval and are granted under the company’s stock option plan. Following the completion of the Company’s recent financing Calibre has approximately $4.7 million in working capital, no debt and 42.8 million shares issued and outstanding. About Calibre Mining Corp.
Calibre owns a 100% interest in over 413 km2 of mineral concessions in the Mining Triangle of Northeast Nicaragua, including the Primavera Gold-Copper Project and Santa Maria Gold Project. Additionally, the Company has optioned to IAMGOLD (176 km2) and Centerra Gold (253 km2) concessions covering an aggregate area of 429 km2 and is party to a joint venture on the 33.6 km2 Rosita D gold-copper-silver project with Rosita Mining Corporation and Century Mining. Major shareholders of Calibre include gold producer B2Gold Corp, Lukas Lundin and management. Calibre Mining Corp. Greg Smith, P.Geo. President and CEO
For further information contact:
Ryan King
604 628-1012 www.calibremining.com 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate” “plans”, “estimates” or “intends” or stating that certain actions, events or results “ may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available. Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes “forward-looking statements”. Such forward-looking statements including but not limited to those with respect to the price of gold, potential mineralization, reserve and resource determination, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Calibre to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
rnest Hemingway once supposedly wrote, “How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
Hemingway’s observation looks increasingly spot on when it comes to the U.S. national debt, which now stands at well over $21 trillion. A trillion dollars written out is $1,000,000,000,000. That’s 12 zeroes. How did we get here? Our visualization offers a unique perspective, breaking down the debt into the deficits each U.S. President has added throughout American history.
The U.S. Treasury tracks the historical data for U.S. government debt. Overall figures from before 1950 can be found here, and more specific numbers after 1950 can be found here. We should also give proper credit for pulling these disparate sources together to The Balance. We created a 3-D visualization showing the cumulative deficits each U.S. President has added to the national debt in history, where each block represents $3 billion in today’s dollars. All the Presidents from 1789 – 1913 are lumped together at the bottom, but as you move from the bottom up, you can see the color-coded contribution from each administration. The numbers for future increases to the debt under President Trump came come directly from the White House.
There are a few caveats to keep in mind when thinking about this visualization. First off, the numbers represent inflation-adjusted dollars to make a fair comparison over several years. Presidents also don’t have total control over the deficit. For example, the deficit during their first year in office is predetermined by their predecessor’s budget. Fiscal policies are also ultimately set by Congress even if the President submits a budget blueprint for consideration. And finally, deficits tend to grow during economic downturns and times of war and shrink during more prosperous and peaceful times. That’s why some economists prefer to look at deficits as a percentage of national GDP as opposed to overall terms. After all, a “large” deficit might not actually be very big if it’s tiny compared to the size of the economy.
With all that being said, there’s a lot that we can learn from our visualization. Let’s start by looking at the overall picture, namely, deficits only started growing substantially in the last 40 years of American history. Prior to the Reagan administration, the combined cumulative U.S. debt stood at only about $750 billion, which Reagan almost tripled over 8 years. None of his successors then slowed down, with George H.W. Bush adding $1.55 trillion in a single term, followed by Clinton at $1.4 trillion, Bush at $5.85 trillion, and Obama $8.59 trillion, all over 2 terms. Trump is meanwhile projected to add a total $4.78 trillion during his first term.
So the overall trajectory of the deficit is to keep getting bigger year after year. Reagan inherited a national debt of $750 billion, and Trump added almost $779 billion in fiscal 2018 alone. Yes, there are some periods of stabilization or even contraction, but in general, Presidents from both parties keep adding more and more to the national debt.
What does all this really mean? Is the country ever going dramatically change course? It’s hard to say, but the good news is that the U.S. government can still issue debt at historically favorable rates, with the 30-year treasury bill yielding only 3.24% right now. And measured against the size of the entire economy, the annual deficit is still less than5% of GDP even if the total debt is now larger than 100% of GDP. Eventually something is going to have to change, but in the near term it looks like deficits really don’t matter. Remember what Hemingway said, “Gradually, then suddenly.”
Data: Table 1.1
ancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – November 6, 2018) – Rise Gold Corp. (CSE: RISE) (OTCQB: RYES) (the “Company“) announces that it has closed the second and final tranche of the non-brokered private placement announced in its October 16, 2018 news release (the “Private Placement“).
In the final tranche closing, the Company raised a total of $750,000 through the sale of 7,500,000 units (each a “Unit“) at $0.10 per Unit where each Unit consists of one share of common stock (a “Share“) and one half of one share purchase warrant (a “Warrant“). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Share at an exercise price of $0.13 until November 5, 2020. All 7,500,000 Units issued in the final tranche were acquired by Southern Arc Minerals Inc. (“Southern Arc“). All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to statutory hold periods in accordance with applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. The Company will use the proceeds from the Private Placement for the advancement of its Idaho-Maryland Gold Project and for general working capital.
Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX: YRI) (NYSE: AUY) (“Yamana“) recently completed a strategic initial investment of C$1.75 million in the Company through the purchase of 17,500,000 Units through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Meridian Jerritt Canyon Corp., in the closing of the first tranche of the financing. Yamana is a Canadian-based gold producer with significant gold production, gold development stage properties, exploration properties, and land positions throughout the Americas including Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
Southern Arc is an insider of the Company by virtue of its shareholdings, and as a result, its participation in the Private Placement constitutes a “related party transaction” under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”). The related party transaction is exempt from the formal valuation requirements of Section 5.4 of MI 61-101 pursuant to subsection 5.5(a) of MI 61-101, and exempt from the minority approval requirements of Section 5.6 of MI 61-101 pursuant to subsection 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The Company will file a material change report. A material change report was not filed more than 21 days prior to closing as contemplated by the related party transaction requirements under MI 61-101 as the insider participation was only recently confirmed.
The securities offered have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act“), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold absent registration or compliance with an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.
About Rise Gold Corp.
Rise Gold is an exploration-stage mining company. The Company’s principal asset is the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine located in Nevada County, California, USA. The Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine is a past producing gold mine with total past production of 2,414,000 oz of gold at an average mill head grade of 17 gpt gold from 1866-1955. Historic production at the Idaho-Maryland Mine is disclosed in the Technical Report on the Idaho-Maryland Project dated June 1st, 2017 and available on www.sedar.com. Rise Gold is incorporated in Nevada, USA and maintains its head office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
On behalf of the Board of Directors:
Benjamin Mossman
President, CEO and Director
Rise Gold Corp.
The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including, without limitation, obtaining all necessary approvals, meeting expenditure and financing requirements, compliance with environmental regulations, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information contained in this release. Rise undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or information except as required by law.
VANCOUVER , Nov. 6, 2018 /CNW/ – Pacton Gold Inc. (TSXV: PAC, OTC: PACXF, FSE: 2NKN) (the “Company” or “Pacton“) is pleased to announce closing of the Golden Palms property (E 47/3810) acquisition agreement. (Pacton News: Oct 19, 2018 ).
The Golden Palms project is strategically significant in that it extends Pacton’s adjacent Friendly Creek and Hong Kong tenements northward and westward to join Novo Resources Corp.’s Egina project. (Pacton News: Sept 21, 2018 ). (Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Location map of Pacton tenements in the Egina Area. (CNW Group/Pacton Gold Inc.)
Under the terms of the Golden Palms agreement, Pacton will purchase 100% of the property by paying a total of $100,000 and issuing 400,000 common shares on completion of the transaction.
The Company also announces that it has entered into an option agreement to purchase 12 mineral claims located in the Red Lake Mining Division, Ontario (the “Red Lake Property“), for aggregate consideration of $110,000 and 250,000 common shares to be paid and issued over two years. The claims are subject to net smelter returns royalties ranging from 0.25% to 2.25%, half of which can be purchased by the Company for $250,000 . The 12 newly acquired mineral claims are strategically located between Pure Gold’s Madsen and Wedge zone ground and Great Bear Resource’s Dixie discovery. In late September 2018 , Great Bear Resources reported a drill intersection of 18.23 g/t Au over a drill width of 10.35 meters in what was described as “crack-seal” style veining typical of the Red Lake district (see Great Bear Resources press release dated September 27 , 2018). Pacton has now consolidated this strategic land position with the acquisition of these claims within a fertile gold bearing district (Figure 2).
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Figure 2. Location map of Pacton claims in Red Lake area (CNW Group/Pacton Gold Inc.)
Both the Golden Palms agreement and Red Lake Property agreement are subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company will be seeking such acceptance forthwith.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Peter Caldbick , P.Geo., a director of the Company and a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43‑101.
About Pacton Gold
Pacton Gold is a well-financed Canadian junior with key strategic partners focused on the exploration and development of conglomerate-hosted gold properties located in the district-scale Pilbara gold rush in Western Australia.
On Behalf of the Board of Pacton Gold Inc.
Alec Pismiris
Interim President & CEO
This news release contains or refers to forward-looking information based on current expectations, including, but not limited to the Company completion of the proposed transaction described herein, the prospect of the Company achieving success in exploring its properties and the impact on the Company of these events, including the effect on its share price. Forward-looking information is subject to significant risks and uncertainties, as actual results may differ materially from forecasted results. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their 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.
TORONTO, Nov. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sprott Inc. (SII.TO) will host a conference call on Monday, November 12, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss its 2018 third quarter results. Peter Grosskopf, CEO of Sprott will host the call with Kevin Hibbert, CFO of Sprott. The Company plans to release its financial results at 7:00 a.m. ET the same day.
Conference Call Details
To participate in the call, please dial (855) 458-4215 ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call and provide conference ID1985987. A taped replay of the conference call will be available until Monday, November 19, 2018 by calling (855) 859-2056, reference number 1985987. The conference call will be webcast live at www.sprott.com and https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/35ysaejp
About Sprott Inc. Sprott is an alternative asset manager and a global leader in precious metal and real asset investments. Through its subsidiaries in Canada, the US and Asia, the Corporation is dedicated to providing investors with best-in-class investment strategies that include Exchange Listed Products, Alternative Asset Management and Private Resource Investments. The Corporation also operates Merchant Banking and Brokerage businesses in both Canada and the US. Sprott is based in Toronto with offices in New York, Carlsbad and Vancouver and its common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol (SII.TO). For more information, please visit www.sprott.com
Investor contact information: (416) 943-4394 or ir@sprott.com.
Click here for the complete press release. Stefan Axell
Director, Corporate Affairs
416-306-6328 info@franco-nevada.com Sandip Rana
Chief Financial Officer
416-306-6303
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – November 5, 2018) – Contact Gold Corp. (TSXV: C) (the “Company” or “Contact Gold“) is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to sell its Golden Cloud and Santa Renia properties to a subsidiary of Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP for cash proceeds to Contact Gold of $635,000 (US $485,975) (the “Transaction”).
The Transaction is consistent with the Company’s stated objective to derive value from its non-core exploration assets. The Company is focused on advancing its flagship Pony Creek project on the southern Carlin Trend, neighboring Gold Standard Ventures’ Railroad project.
After the Company completed strategic and technical reviews, it concluded that more value would be derived in the immediate and intermediate terms through a monetization than through continued exploration of the Golden Cloud and Santa Renia properties.
Closing to the Transaction is subject to a regulatory approval, applicable Canadian securities laws and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSVX”).
About Contact Gold Corp.
Contact Gold is an exploration company focused on producing district scale gold discoveries in Nevada. Contact Gold’s extensive land holdings are on the prolific Carlin, Independence and Northern Nevada Rift gold trends which host numerous gold deposits and mines. Upon closing, Contact Gold’s land position will comprise approximately 212 km2 of target rich mineral tenure hosting numerous known gold occurrences, ranging from early- to advanced-exploration and resource definition stage.
Additional information about the Company is available at www.contactgold.com.
For more information, please contact: +1 (604) 416-0576
John Glanville – Director Investor Relations
Chris Pennimpede – Corporate Development
E-mail: info@ContactGold.com
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to the anticipated closing of the Transaction, and exploration activities of theCompany on the Pony Creek property.
These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release.
The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Michael Rowley, president and CEO of Group Ten Metals sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss his companies exploration for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper and cobalt in the Stillwater area of Montana. This is part 2 of a 3 part series introduction into the value proposition of the Metallic Group of Companies. Important Note: Enclosed is a Financing Opportunity of Accredited Investors.
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TRANSCRIPT
Original Source: https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2018/11/02/on-the-search-for-platinum-group-metals-in-montana.html Maurice Jackson: Welcome to Proven & Probable. I’m your host, Maurice Jackson. Joining us today is Michael Rowley, president and CEO of Group Ten Metals Inc. (PGE:TSX.V; PGEZF:OTCQB), which is known for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper and cobalt in the Stillwater district in Montana.
This interview is the second of a three-part series introducing the value proposition for the Metallic Group of Companies comprising Metallic Minerals, Group Ten Metals and Granite Creek Copper. These are three separate leading exploration companies, each with a different metal of focus, but with a common approach to business under the proven management of the Metallic Group.
Earlier we interviewed Greg Johnson to talk about Metallic Minerals and its exciting high-grade silver projects in the Yukon. Today we turn our focus to a second company in the Metallic Group, Group Ten Metals, a leading explorer for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper and cobalt in the world-famous Stillwater district in Montana.
Mr. Rowley, for someone new to the story who is Group Ten Metals, what is your flagship project, and what is the thesis you are attempting to prove? Michael Rowley: Group Ten is a leading explorer for platinum group metals—these include platinum, palladium and rhodium, along with nickel, copper and cobalt.
Our flagship project is the Stillwater West project where we have consolidated a very large land position alongside Sibanye-Stillwater’s three producing mines in the heart of the Stillwater Igneous Complex in Montana. It’s one of the world’s premier platinum and palladium producers and is one of the only platinum group metal producing mines outside of South Africa or Russia.
Geologically, Stillwater is a large, layered, mineral-rich magmatic system, very similar to the Bushveld complex in South Africa, which hosts over 75% of the world’s platinum, as well as enormous quantities of copper, nickel, gold and other metals.
We see the potential for large-scale disseminated and high-sulphide PGE-nickel-copper type deposits similar to the multi-100-million-ounce deposits in the Platreef district of the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex, and we are the first to apply the new geological models from the Platreef district to the Stillwater district, despite these well-known similarities.
In addition to bringing the land position together with a wealth of data, we have also assembled a truly world-class team, to which we recently added one of the most celebrated Platreef geologists, Dr. David Broughton of Ivanhoe. Maurice Jackson: Please share where in Montana the Stillwater West Project is located, and provide us some historical context. Michael Rowley: The project is located in south-central Montana where we adjoin the three producing Stillwater mines, which were bought by Sibanye, a South African gold producer, in 2017 for $2.2 billion. The district is famous for the size and grade of its palladium-platinum mines, which are the highest grade in the world, and the largest outside of Africa and Russia with over 14 million ounces of past production, and over 80 million ounces of resources still in the ground. The PGMs occur along with nickel and copper sulphide, so these are also nickel and copper mines.
Historically, the district, including our block of claims, was also mined for high-grade nickel, copper, chrome and other metals such as cobalt.
The history at Stillwater parallels the developments at the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, so they share more than geology in that regard. Both districts were recognized over 100 years ago for their mineral riches, and both supported a number of mines for varying commodities. And, in both districts, the discovery of high-grade “reef-type” platinum group metal deposits in the 1970s produced large-scale operations that were the sole focus of exploration efforts until the 1990s when regulatory changes forced a release of mineral rights to other operators. In Montana, these changes were in the form of amended U.S. claim fees, while in South Africa it was the end of apartheid. In South Africa, the resulting exploration efforts lead to the development of Anglo American’s Mogalakwena Mines, a giant at over 265 Moz PGMs and a very profitable operation that is the largest open-pit platinum mine in the world. Adjacent to that, Ivanhoe is now building the Platreef mine on the same system with over 112 Moz platinum plus substantial nickel and copper values.
We are the first operators to consolidate the lower Stillwater Complex under one owner, to recognize the similarities of the two systems, and to bring a focused exploration program for Platreef-type deposits to the Stillwater complex in Montana. Maurice Jackson: Group Ten is exploring for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper and cobalt in a world-class district; compare and contrast how your deposits compare to similar districts like South Africa’s Bushveld, and also your neighbors in Montana at Sibanye-Stillwater. Michael Rowley: The Bushveld and Stillwater complexes are both layered magmatic systems, which means that they were both created when enormous amounts of metal-rich magma cooled, forming these massive districts nearly 3 billion years ago. As a result, both districts have high-grade PGM-Ni-Cu deposits in the upper layers and they also have lower zones where magmas where allowed to mix, creating thick intervals of sulphide mineralization enriched in PGMs.
At Bushveld, two basic types of mines have been developed for these two deposit types: narrow high-grade PGM mines on two reef-type deposits, and more recently bulk mining operations in the Platreef district such as Anglo’s Mogalakwena mines and Ivanhoe’s underground mechanized operation.
At Stillwater the operating mines have focused on narrow, high-grade reef-style deposits. These are the highest grade in the industry, but no systematic effort has been undertaken to explore for and develop Platreef-style mineralization. Group Ten Metals is now exploring in the lower part of the complex for potential large-scale Platreef deposits in the Stillwater district, following the parallels of the same type of settings in South Africa that have produced the Platreef deposits. Maurice Jackson: Mr. Rowley, we’ve covered some good background on the Stillwater West Project, walk us through the project. Michael Rowley: Let’s begin with some of our claim holdings in the Stillwater district and some of the existing resources and operations there. As you can see on the Regional Claims Map, Group Ten’s Stillwater West land position, shown in yellow and orange, is a large 25-km-long claim block located directly adjacent to Sibanye’s three operating Stillwater mines (shown in grey). Proximity to the existing mines provides access to infrastructure such as roads from the west and from the northeast. Maurice Jackson: What can you share with us regarding the geology and the potential that we have at the Stillwater West project? Michael Rowley: This is a layered magmatic system, and layering is visible in the geologic map of the Stillwater Complex, as it shows the J-M reef deposit—this is the world’s highest-grade major PGE deposit at 16 g/t, and, at 80 Moz, the largest outside of South Africa and Russia.
Looking at the cross-section of the Stillwater Complex shown on the District Geology figure, this layering is clearly visible. Layers of metal-rich magma were laid down at formation, and then the whole system was later tipped up 60 degrees, which is more amenable to both mining and exploration as mineralization starts right at surface.
Like the Bushveld complex in South Africa, narrow reef deposits occur in the middle and upper layered portions of the igneous system, while the lower portion of the complex, shown here in orange, purple and light blue, are the basal layers where magma mixed with pre-existing rock, created large, disseminated and massive sulphide deposits such as those in the Platreef district in South Africa. Though it was previously recognized these areas had significant nickel and copper mineralization, this is the first time the potential for large PGM deposits with nickel and copper have been recognized, and the similarities to the large deposits in South Africa make this a very exciting exploration target for Group Ten. Maurice Jackson: What can you share with us regarding geophysics? Michael Rowley: A geophysical survey measuring the electrical conductivity of the rocks was conducted over the entire property. High metal contents in the rocks would make them highly conductive so this survey gives a very good indication of metal sulphide content of the mineralization that hosts the PGMs, copper and nickel. This type of geophysics is one of the main targeting tools used by companies exploring for metal sulphide deposits and maps the PGE-Ni-Cu targets, as shown in the top half of slide 8. The survey results indicate seven very large highly conductive targets across the lower part of the complex (highlighted by large blue ellipses as Platreef-type deposits), and five high-grade reef type targets (highlighted by red ellipses), above the lower part of the complex, where they would be expected.
Surface and drill results confirm that these conductors are mineralized with PGMs, nickel and copper, and that a good relationship exists between conductivity and metal content. However, Group Ten will be the first company to systematically drill test these targets in the basal zone for these types of deposits. The strongest conductive targets have yet to be tested, so these are very exciting priority targets for us.
Note that the main part of the property is over 20 km long, and that these individual targets are 3 to 6 kilometers in length each, large enough individually to contain a deposit the size of Ivanhoe’s or Anglo American’s Platreef deposits! Maurice Jackson: What do we know about the soil geochemistry? Michael Rowley: In addition to the geophysics, we have identified very high levels of metals in soils covering an 18-kilometer-long area with high levels of platinum, palladium, nickel and copper. These elevated metals in soils correlate well with the geophysical targets and the shape of the underlying geology. Group Ten’s work in 2018 was the first property-wide effort to target large-scale Platreef-type systems in the lower Stillwater Complex and to see this combination of large scale geochemical and geophysical targets is very rare. Maurice Jackson: Tell us a bit more about these geologic targets that you have identified. Michael Rowley: Below is a picture of some of the core from our property showing strong sulphide mineralization with PGE-Ni-Cu-Co values in the lower part of the Stillwater Complex.
We have identified two primary target types: the high-grade “reef-type” type deposits that are being currently mined by Sibanye-Stillwater and the Platreef-type that Group Ten is targeting based on evidence in the data, and geologic parallels with the Bushveld in South Africa. Maurice Jackson: What do we know about the styles of mineralization in this kind of geologic environment? Michael Rowley: In terms of mineralization and mineralization type, slide 11 presents and compares reef type and Platreef-type targets. The Reef type deposits are presented in the brown color box and photos, and we’ve taken the Merensky and the J-M Reef as examples, one from Bushveld and one from Stillwater. Very high grade, very narrow thickness. On the right hand side of the slide are some good pictures showing what it’s like to operate in these mines. Merensky happens to be flat lying, and the mines are deep and expensive to operate. It is expected that many of these marginal Merensky mines will close due to their high costs, which should drive platinum prices in the coming years, with continued reduction of supply even as demand for platinum and palladium continue to grow.
The lower picture on the right shows mining of the J-M Reef deposits at Stillwater, at a 60 degree angle that’s more amenable to mining.
The key take-away from this slide is the scale of the Platreef-style deposits shown in the grey box in the lower left of the slide with the picture of Mogalakwena mine. The thicknesses that we see in the mineralization, and the contained metal in these deposits—these are very large and economically attractive bulk mining operations. It’s worth noting that Anglo American’s Platreef Mogalakwena Mines are the largest and most profitable platinum mines in the world. Ivanhoe’s adjoining Platreef Mine is going to be a very high-tech underground bulk mining operation that looks similarly very economically attractive, and that’s potential that we see at Stillwater West. Maurice Jackson: The Stillwater West is considered a large brownfields exploration property; how is this important in terms of the potential for exploration discovery and development? Michael Rowley: Brownfields is a term for a property that is in an area that has had past discoveries and/or production. So this in contrast to a greenfields property, which is outside of proven mining areas.
Many people don’t realize that the majority of exploration dollars spent in the mining industry go to exploration around existing mines because it is one of the best places to make new discoveries and to rapidly be developed and produced using existing infrastructure. The adage is “the best place to find a mine is right next to an existing one.”
In this case, at Stillwater, we have consolidated the district alongside three operating mines owned by Stillwater-Sibanye and are exploring in this same highly productive geologic environment, significantly increasing the probability of making new discoveries and potentially allowing for rapid development of low capital deposits because they are near surface and have the benefit of existing roads, power and other infrastructure already in the district. Maurice Jackson: Group Ten has other assets in its portfolio. Where are these located, and please provide us with some historical background. Michael Rowley: Following the Metallic Group model of acquiring quality assets in districts during the low parts of the metals price cycle, Group Ten has another PGE nickel copper project in the Kluane belt of the Yukon. This adjoins Nickel Creek Platinum’s Wellgreen project. World-class geology, and excellent potential for scale and grade there. We are seeing good interest in this asset as well but it’s at an earlier stage than the Stillwater asset.
We also have the Black Lake/Drayton gold project, which adjoins First Mining’s Goldlund project and Treasury Metals Goliath project in the Rainy River belt of Ontario. We have several groups looking at this project as it is a 30-kilometer-long belt of productive geology that sits between two multi-million-ounce gold deposits. We’ve consolidated an impressive land position and database during the bear market and this is a very active exploration district. Maurice Jackson: What work have you done this year, and how do you prioritize them alongside your flagship Stillwater West project? Michael Rowley: Work programs at Kluane were focused on target refinement with an eye to adding value and assisting some of the parties from whom we have had expressions of interest. Similarly, in Ontario our work has consisted of refining targets and presenting the potential of the project to the groups we have under CA looking at a possible acquisition or partnership. Maurice Jackson: You are just wrapping up exploration for this season at Stillwater West so when should we expect to see the next results from this year’s work? Michael Rowley: This was only our first year on the ground at Stillwater and yet, because of the amount of information we have including surface sampling, mapping, drilling and geophysics we have already identified 12 major targets on the property.
In addition, we have re-logged over 11,000 meters of core that is in our possession, some of which was assayed incompletely, or never assayed at all, and certainly never looked at with the bulk tonnage model we are using. Those results, and the new 3D models they will drive, are expected to give us a lot of news flow over the next several months as we detail the information in each of our target zones with the objective to develop and refine the targets for drilling and to focus on those areas that we may be able to rapidly advance towards new resources. Maurice Jackson: What is management’s philosophy, are you looking to build mines or are you focused on exploration? Michael Rowley: We are very much focused on the opportunity to make discoveries and to rapidly advance those to resource definition, as shown on slide 13. This stage can be one of the greatest periods for value creation in mining for investors. It’s not uncommon that the value that’s created in that initial discovery and resource development phase may not be exceeded again until these projects actually go into production, often times many years later. Maurice Jackson: Switching gears, I’ve learned from some of the most respected names in the natural resource space—Rick Rule, Doug Casey, Jayant Bhandari, Mickey Fulp, Bob Moriarty—that the people running the business are equally, if not more important, than the latent material in the ground. Mr. Rowley, please introduce us to your board of directors and management team, and what unique skill sets do they bring to Group Ten Metals? Michael Rowley: The quality of the Stillwater asset in particular has enabled us to attract a remarkable team. Dr. Craig Bow, who was part of the original discovery at Stillwater, is back leading the team now. Dr. Dave Broughton, of course of Ivanhoe, awarded for the discovery of the Platreef deposit and other world-class mines for Ivanhoe, just recently joined as senior technical advisor. They both are very excited about the potential here, and are experts in this type of deposit. In addition, we have a number of experienced team members who have worked in this region for decades. It‘s a great group of people to work with. And of course the Metallic Group management team, Greg Johnson, Gregor Hamilton, Bill Harris, myself, all of us veterans are of the industry. The team brings great depth of experience with specialized expertise in PGM and nickel systems. Maurice Jackson: Tell us about your share structure, options and warrants. Michael Rowley: It’s early days, we have a market cap of about $8 million, and about 44 million shares outstanding. Key point is we have $3 million of both in the money warrants that are callable and that’s after bringing in about $800,000 worth of those to date. Maurice Jackson: What is your burn rate? Michael Rowley: Presently it is about $50,000 per month. That includes our technical team and we do a good job of keeping costs down by sharing office and other back office expenses with the Metallic Group companies. Maurice Jackson: Do you have institutional investors at this point? Michael Rowley: We have a couple of mining-focused institutional funds with one out of Europe and one out of Toronto and a great set of high net worth investors. Maurice Jackson: What is the float? Michael Rowley: It’s pretty tightly held so probably about 20 million shares, and we turn over about one or two million shares per month. Maurice Jackson: Mr. Rowley, multilayered question, what is the unanswered question for Group Ten Metals, when should we expect results, and what will determine success? Michael Rowley: We have a lot to report through coming months as we continue the work to refine the highest priority drill targets for 2019. We have over 11,000 meters of core that has been re-logged and in places re-sampled, we have completed a comprehensive program of surface mapping and sampling and are integrating the drill information along with the surface work and geophysics.
We will be reporting a large number of assay results over coming months from our 2018 programs and are excited to be able to begin 3D modelling of the geophysics and drilling towards developing a predictive 3D geologic model of the lower Stillwater Complex targets. Maurice Jackson: Mr. Rowley, in the introduction we alluded to the Metallic Group of Companies, please tell more about this. Michael Rowley: Group Ten Metals is part of a collaboration of leading exploration companies with some common directors between the companies and a similar approach to business. The Metallic Group of Companies includes Metallic Minerals TSX-V: MMG, which is focused on high-grade silver in the Yukon Territory; Group Ten Metals focused on platinum and palladium along with nickel and copper, in the Stillwater District, of Montana; and the newest company to join the group, Granite Creek Copper, as a newly launched copper focused exploration company with an exciting project right next door to a high-grade copper producer in the Carmacks District of the Yukon.
These three companies have each focused on acquiring large blocks of brownfield holdings during the low part of the metal price cycle, adjacent to operating mines with infrastructure and facilities already in place in the districts. All three companies have multiple targets that have potential for major new discoveries, and are focused on large-scale targets that would be of interest to the major mining companies.
We are applying new technologies to the extensive historical data on these projects that allow us to fast-track target development and refinement and drive rapid advancement to the resource delineation stage.
In each of these situations with these operating mines next door, there is an opportunity to be able to fast track development on these targets by utilizing the existing infrastructure in their respective districts. There is also the potential for partnering with those operators or, if we’re successful in discovering very large scale deposits, to see interest by other larger companies.
The Metallic Group of Companies are reducing costs by having a common admin group and CFO, as well as allowing us to have a deeper technical team with some specialists that can be shared across the group.
It’s an exciting group of companies with a common philosophy. Our objective is to build real value for the Metallic Group investors going forward. Maurice Jackson: Finally, what did I forget to ask? Michael Rowley: I think that was a very comprehensive overview of Group Ten, and thank you for it. Perhaps in closing, I’d like to touch on a couple of catalysts ahead. On the industry side, we mentioned South Africa and the costs of mining there and the expected closure of a lot of those high-cost platinum mines. It has been a well-established pattern of falling PGM production out of South Africa year-on-year and the CPM Group’s work out of New York indicates that a lot of mine closures are expected soon, in 2019 and 2020. This is going to have a huge effect on platinum prices, because 75% of the world’s PGMs comes out of those reef deposits in South Africa. It’s also worth noting that we have significant nickel, copper and cobalt, which are such important metals for the rapidly growing battery and technology metals space.
We are very bullish on these metals after a seven-year bear market. With most commodity price cycles running four to six years, we believe that the upside opportunity in these metals moving into the next cycle ahead could be very significant.
Lastly, the fact that the Stillwater West project is a U.S.-based project adjoining these world-class, enormous PGM mines in Montana, with all the existing infrastructure in place can allow us to fast track our progress there. Maurice Jackson: In our first interview, we shared that there was a financing opportunity for accredited investors. Please share the details with us. Michael Rowley: We recently announced that we are in the process of completing the initial offering for our newly created copper company, Granite Creek Copper. Maurice Jackson: For someone listening that wants to get more information on Group Ten Metals, the website address is www.grouptenmetals.com. And as a reminder Group Ten Metals trades on the TSX-V:PGE and on the OTCQB:PGEZF. For direct inquiries please contact Chris Ackerman at 604-357-4790 ext. 1 and he may also be reached at info@grouptenmetals.com
And last but not least please visit our website provenandprobable.com, where we interview the most respected names in the natural resources space. You may reach us at contact@provenandprobable.com.
Michael Rowley of Group Ten Metals, thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable. 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.
Disclosure:
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