Canadian Government stops gold mine sale to China’s Shandong Gold Mining Kitco NEWS
Month: December 2020
A 57,000-year-old wolf pup discovered while gold-mining still has fur SlashGear
Trial Possible In Fraud Case Involving Purported Gold Mining Operation Utah Public Radio
Gold prices notch steepest daily slide in 2 weeks MarketWatch
‘Silver may take the gold’: Bloomberg Intelligence is looking at $50 silver price Kitco NEWS
Gold price remains below $1900 as U.S. Q3 GPD rises 33.4% Kitco NEWS
Gold price struggles even as U.S. Consumer Confidence drops ahead of Christmas holiday Kitco NEWS
Precious Metals Dealer, Sound Money Group Rank all 50 States’ Gold and Silver Policies
Charlotte, NC (December 22, 2020) – Wyoming, Texas, and Utah are the three most pro-sound money states in the United States, according to the 2020 Sound Money Index.
Released today, the Sound Money Index is the first index of its kind and uses 12 different criteria to determine which states maintain the most pro- and anti-sound money policies in the nation.
The Sound Money Index evaluates each state’s sales and income tax policies involving precious metals, whether a state recognizes the monetary role of gold and silver under the U.S. Constitution, whether a state holds pension, reserves, or bonds in gold or silver, whether a state has imposed precious metal dealer/investor harassment laws, and other criteria.
Money Metals Exchange, a national precious metals dealer recently ranked “Best in the USA,” and the Sound Money Defense League, a national, non-partisan sound money advocacy group joined together to produce the authoritative ranking.
Because a handful of Washington State politicians failed again this year in their attempts to impose sales taxes on purchase of the monetary metals, the Evergreen State joins South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire in the fourth to seventh place range on the Sound Money Index.
Ohio fell to the bottom of the rankings last year after slapping sales taxes on gold and silver, but the Buckeye State made a minor comeback in 2020 when its government pension trustees decided to allocate five percent of retirement funds to physical gold.
Ohio joins Texas as the only two states in the U.S. known to allocate a percentage of state-held pension funds to physical gold, even though other pension trustees’ failure to own gold as financial insurance arguably violates their fiduciary duties as well as the “prudent man rule.”
According to the 2020 Sound Money Index, the very worst environments for sound money can be found in Vermont, Arkansas, New Jersey, Maine, and Tennessee. However, Arkansas, Maine, and Tennessee are expected to consider bills that would improve their rankings in their upcoming 2021 legislative sessions.
2020 Sound Money Index
“As politicians and central bankers continue to print trillions of unbacked pieces of paper in response to COVID, sound money has never been more important. Citizens in states that foster pro-sound money environments enjoy the benefit of being able to protect their wealth without onerous taxes and regulation,” said Jp Cortez, Policy Director of the Sound Money Defense League.
“Federal policy and the Federal Reserve System are the root causes of inflation, instability, and currency devaluation,” said Stefan Gleason, President of Money Metals Exchange.
“However, many states are taking steps to protect their citizens from the damaging effects of America’s fiat paper money system,” Gleason noted.
The complete 2020 Sound Money Index is available here.
About the Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals Exchange:
The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan national public policy group working on the state and federal level to bring back gold and silver as America’s constitutional money.
Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves over 200,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. For more information, please visit https://www.moneymetals.com/.
Source: The Critical Investor for Streetwise Reports 12/21/2020
The Critical Investor provides an update on Alianza Minerals, which has suffered a joint venture setback but continues work on its flagship Canadian prospect.
Mount Haldane; Haldane project location
• All pictures are company material, unless stated otherwise.
• All currencies are in U.S. dollars, unless stated otherwise.
During a year full of COVID-19 surprises and distractions, Alianza Minerals Ltd. (ANZ:TSX.V) was able to continue with their drill programs, funded by either partners like Hochschild Mining Plc (HOC:LSE) or themselves. As the results at the Horsethief project disappointed (best result was 76 meters at 0.185g/t gold), Hochschild elected to terminate the option agreement, so the project was returned to Alianza again. They didn’t chose to evaluate remaining targets, and this is something management aims to do anyway, in the first quarter of next year.
Historic drill results from the eighties returned intercepts like 39.6 meters (39.5m) at 0.79g/t Au (gold) and 13.7m at 1.22g/t Au, and so far Alianza and Hochschild weren’t able to replicate these results. Notwithstanding this, Alianza is still looking to find another Long Canyon, as it has similar geological characteristics. Both projects have a contact between Ordovician quartzite and Cambrian limestone/dolomite, the so-called O/C contact. In line with this, the low-grade intercepts were also found at Long Canyon in breccia layers, just like with Horsethief so far, and the size and distribution of altered carbonate rocks, along with widespread anomalous gold concentrations, remains encouraging. Because of this CEO Jason Weber is motivated to do further evaluation of Horsethief, and aims at finding another joint venture (JV) partner for the project.
Alianza also acquired the lease of the Twin Canyon Gold prospect in southwestern Colorado, and is looking at finding a JV partner for this project as well. Historic sampling has indicated potential for gold mineralization, reinforced by historic rotary drilling, which confirmed the presence of a gold grade over 0.5 g/t over a 50-by-500-meter area, indicating disseminated gold mineralization with low- and high-grade areas. The company completed a first soil sampling program, and based on this it has commenced a second exploration program, consisting of detailed prospecting and geological mapping within areas of gold soil anomalies, expansion of the first soil sampling campaign, and detailed structural mapping to determine the primary controls focusing on gold mineralization. According to Weber, they are awaiting results from the lab, but they are encouraged by what they are seeing at Twin Canyon, and are contemplating an application for a drilling permit at the project in advance of securing a partner.
Despite Alianza Minerals not showing solid results at Horsethief, the share price is holding up quite nicely, as can be seen here in the one-year chart:
Share price Alianza Minerals, one-year period; source tmxmoney.com
There is no doubt in my mind that the elevated gold and silver prices are multiplying the value for investors of the odds of finding something that could lead toward economic deposits. Horsethief wasn’t their flagship project (which is Haldane), of course, and investors know that Alianza Minerals is a prospect generator, whose primary aim in my view is to fairly quickly find, drill and kill prospects, so exploration failure isn’t a dealbreaker here.
And they are aware that Alianza also has another project going on, which is the Tim Silver project in the Yukon, part of a JV with Coeur Mining Inc. (CDE:NYSE). According to Weber, Coeur is planning a reconnaissance exploration program in early 2021 and, after defining targets, possibly setting up a drill program, most likely scheduled for H2/2021. He has high hopes for the experience and knowledge of Coeur, which accumulated this in spades at exploration work at their nearby and analog Silvertip mine.
In the meantime, Alianza has been drilling at their 100%-owned flagship Haldane project in the Yukon. This is another analog play, as management is looking to find economic concentrations of vein-type mineralization, resembling already mined mineralization in the Keno Hill District, produced by the numerous historic mines that can be found in this area.
The Phase One drilling program was completed recently; a Phase Two program is planned for the spring of 2021, which will also target the recently discovered Bighorn Zone (2.35m at 125g/t Ag [silver], 4.39% Pb [lead]). The first set of assays of the Phase One program are expected to come in around mid-January.
Sunrise at the core shack, Mt. Haldane Project
As Keno Hill is located in the Yukon, which is pretty Nordic, the weather conditions were already becoming harsh. Despite this, the Haldane drill program was completed, and according to the news release, the program achieved the following: “Two holes successfully tested the West Fault target on strike and down dip. At the Middlecoff Zone, two holes were collared [for clarity’s sake, collaring means the formation of the front end of a drill hole, or the collar, which is the preliminary step in drilling to cause the drill bit to engage in the rock] to test the extension of high-grade silver-lead+/-gold mineralization identified in drilling and historic underground development. One hole was terminated before reaching the target due to excessive deviation, while the second successfully intersected the Middlecoff Zone. A total of 798.6 meters of drilling was completed in this program.”
As the originally planned amount of drilling for Haldane was a total of 10 holes (approximately 2,500 meters), with Phase One consisting of six holes, I wondered how six holes could total 798.6m, with the remaining four holes for Phase 2 having to be 1,700m, meaning much deeper holes. According to Weber, Phase 2 would be less meters drilled, coming in at around 1,400 m, and the amount of holes would range between 4 and 6.
On the financial side of things, after raising CA$3.2 million in October, the current cash position stands at a healthy CA$2.6 million, which is enough to carry Alianza through 2021, as costs for upcoming Haldane drilling and G&A (general and administrative expenses) are covered this way. According to Weber, they have not planned to go to the markets for another raise in 2021.
Keno Hill, Yukon, with Mt. Haldane in the distance
Conclusion
It was unfortunate to see drill results at Horsethief disappoint to a degree that Hochschild called it a day and returned the project, but this is the life of a prospect generator. The main focus of management (and investors) targets the fully-owned Haldane project, with assays pending for mid-January, and which will see a lot more drilling in 2021.
Coeur has all sorts of plans for Tim Silver, and hopefully Weber will be able to land another JV partner for one or two of their other projects, so next year will be shaping up to be a busy one for Alianza Minerals. Hopefully it will be less impacted by worldwide pandemics like this year, and it could return positive results, as the current positive market has been in a rewarding mood in such cases.
I hope you will find this article interesting and useful, and will have further interest in my upcoming articles on mining. To never miss a thing, please subscribe to my free newsletter, in order to get an email notice of my new articles soon after they are published.
The Critical Investor is a newsletter and comprehensive junior mining platform, providing analysis, blog and newsfeed and all sorts of information about junior mining. The editor is an avid and critical junior mining stock investor from The Netherlands, with an MSc background in construction/project management. Number cruncher at project economics, looking for high quality companies, mostly growth/turnaround/catalyst-driven to avoid too much dependence/influence of long-term commodity pricing/market sentiments, and often looking for long-term deep value. Getting burned in the past himself at junior mining investments by following overly positive sources that more often than not avoided to mention (hidden) risks or critical flaws, The Critical Investor learned his lesson well, and goes a few steps further ever since, providing a fresh, more in-depth, and critical vision on things, hence the name.
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Critical Investor Disclaimer: The author is not a registered investment advisor, and currently has a long position in this stock. Alianza Minerals is a sponsoring company. All facts are to be checked by the reader. For more information go to www.alianzaminerals.com and read the company’s profile and official documents on www.sedar.com, also for important risk disclosures. This article is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended to be investment advice of any kind, and all readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence, and talk to their own licensed investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions.
Streetwise Reports Disclosure:
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2) The following companies mentioned in the article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
4) The 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.
5) 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 decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Avrupa Minerals, a company mentioned in this article.
Charts and graphics provided by the author.
( Companies Mentioned: ANZ:TSX.V,
)
Source: Adrian Day for Streetwise Reports 12/21/2020
Money manager Adrian Day provides updates on two of the large royalty companies in his portfolio, both rated as buys.
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (OR:TSX; OR:NYSE) (11.69) completed the spinoff of its development assets in a new company Osisko Development (ODV:TSE). The links between the companies remain strong, with Sean Roosen chairman of both companies and OR holding 88% of the shares of ODV. However, it is clear that Mr. Roosen will be focused on ODV, building assets and getting mines into production.
In addition, OR intends to reduce its interest in ODV. It will not take part in future financings and will look to sell blocks to institutions who want significant holdings in ODV that could not reasonably be acquired in the market. That sounds like along slog, but CEO Sandeep Singh said the reduction in ownership “will probably happen faster than most people think,” adding he would like to get the holding down to 20% and eventually to zero. OR will continue to benefit from ODV’s assets through royalty interests.
Hybrid model to continue, pared down
It will also continue to pursue the “incubator model” in what he called “its pure form,” meaning OR would finance companies, obtain royalties and then look to sell down equity, but it will not be directly involved in the development of assets. This model, he admits, was a lot easier in a down market, so there may be only one or two deals a year going forward. In reality, notwithstanding the market perceptions and concern, this has been a very profitable exercise over the years.
Properties progress, with new milestones ahead
In the meantime, OR will benefit from the development of ODC’s properties. A new resource study on the Cariboo is expected in the first quarter, with a small satellite deposit starting production in the first quarter, and full operations by mid-2022. It is also expecting a first-quarter resource update on the Malartic underground, which the company expects to extend the life of the mine by another one to two decades. Osisko holds a very valuable net smelter royalty on the underground of between 3% and 5%, with 5% on the high-grade portion of the deposit.
Largely because of the relatively small reduction in Osisko’s position in ODV, the market is a little skeptical and the stock has not reacted in a strong way, though it has held up better than other large royalty companies since the late July peak in the market. It also has a better valuation. The price-to-NAV (net asset value), at 1.5x, is the lowest by far of the companies, and Osisko has just launched another share buyback program, of up to about 9% of the shares outstanding.
As Osisko executes on its goal to reduce its exposure to ODV, and as we receive resource reports on various projects, the market will begin to appreciate what the company is doing. There is some skepticism, but that is why the stock price is low and gives us our opportunity to buy.
Royal Remains Undervalued
Royal Gold Inc. (RGLD:NASDAQ; RGL:TSX) (108.80) is essentially at its low point since late April. Given improvements in revenues, the valuations declined to below-average levels, and favorable on a comparison basis with other large royalties. In addition, it has arguably the most leverage of the big three; asset, not financial, leverage. It has been disciplined with its share count, issuing no equity since 2012.
The biggest negative to Royal is the revenue concentration, with the top three sources contributing 60% of total revenue, and particularly Mt. Milligan, which accounts for about
27% of the total. The company acknowledges this, and CEO William Heissenbuttel says “this is always a concern,” though in truth the concentration is less than Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.’s (WPM:TSX; WPM:NYSE), while the onset of new projects in the next couple of years will see it decline naturally. At the current level, Royal Gold is a buy.
Vista Gold Corp. (VGZ:NYSE.MKT; VGZ:TSX) (1.03) reported that recent drilling confirms the existence of higher-grade mineralization adjacent to the planned Batman pit at its Mt. Todd project in Australia, not only increasing overall resources but potentially changing the planned pit design. Buy.
Almaden Minerals Ltd. (AMM:TSX; AAU:NYSE) (0.69) reported a strange court ruling in a complex case against the Mexican government to which it has been attached, essentially preventing Almaden from giving up ground it no longer wants. The market reacted negatively, not because of the substance of the ruling as much as a sense that the company’s final permits may be delayed even further. Hold.
Top buys now,in addition to above, include Midland Exploration Inc. (MD:TSX.V) (0.81); Lara Exploration Ltd. (LRA:TSX.V) (0.65); Orogen Royalties Inc. (OGN:TSX.V) (0.305); and Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE) (22.87).
Originally posted on December 16, 2020.
Adrian Day, London-born and a graduate of the London School of Economics, heads the money management firm Adrian Day Asset Management, where he manages discretionary accounts in both global and resource areas. Day is also sub-adviser to the EuroPacific Gold Fund (EPGFX). His latest book is “Investing in Resources: How to Profit from the Outsized Potential and Avoid the Risks.”
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Disclosure:
1) Adrian Day: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own securities of the following companies mentioned in this article: Osisko Royalties, Royal Gold, Vista Gold, Almaden Minerals, Midland Exploration, Lara Exploration, Orogen Royalties, Barrick. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. Funds controlled by Adrian Day Asset Management hold shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: All. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
4) 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.
5) 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 decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Osisko Royalties, Royal Gold, Vista Gold, Almaden Minerals, Midland Exploration, Lara Exploration and Orogen Royalties, companies mentioned in this article.
Adrian Day’s Disclosures: Adrian Day’s Global Analyst is distributed for $990 per year by Investment Consultants International, Ltd., P.O. Box6644, Annapolis, MD 21401. (410) 224-8885. Publisher: Adrian Day. Owner: Investment Consultants International Ltd. Staff may have positions in securities discussed herein. Adrian Day is also President of Global Strategic Management (GSM), a registered investment advisor, and a separate company from this service. In his capacity as GSM president, Adrian Day may be buying or selling for clients securities recommended herein concurrently, before or after recommendations herein, and may be acting for clients in a manner contrary to recommendations herein. This is not a solicitation for GSM. Views herein are the editor’s opinion and not fact. All information is believed to be correct, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The owner and editor are not responsible for errors and omissions. ©2020. Adrian Day’s Global Analyst. Information and advice herein are intended purely for the subscriber’s own account. Under no circumstances may any part of a Global Analyst e-mail be copied or distributed without prior written permission of the editor. Given the nature of this service, we will pursue any violations aggressively.
( Companies Mentioned: AMM:TSX; AAU:NYSE,
ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE,
LRA:TSX.V,
MD:TSX.V,
OGN:TSX.V,
OR:TSX; OR:NYSE,
RGLD:NASDAQ; RGL:TSX,
VGZ:NYSE.MKT; VGZ:TSX,
)