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Our Founding Fathers knew of the evils paper money and warned against its issuance.
On August 1, 1787, George Washington wrote to Thomas Jefferson that “paper currency [can] ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.”
Not surprisingly, Jefferson agreed and warned that “banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.”
James Madison called paper money “unjust,” recognizing that it allowed the government to confiscate and redistribute property through inflation: “It affects the rights of property as much as taking away equal value in land.”
Consequently, Article I Section 10 of our Constitution states: “No State shall . . . make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts. . .”
The Founders understood the evils of paper money, and so have modern-day economists, but their names most people do not recognize: Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Henry Hazlett, Murray Rothbard, to mention only a few.
However, the name John Maynard Keynes, the father of debt and printing press money, is well known to all. “There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose….”
It is hard to believe that the Founders conceived that some day in the great country that they established that a person could sit at a computer keyboard (obviously, not even imagined in their day) and create money, with which they bought bonds and flooded the monetary system with money.
In the years shortly after the founding of the United States of America, Congress passed laws that delineated the amount of gold and silver that would be in our money: specie—money in the form of coins—not notes, not paper money.
Today, thanks to the efforts of the late Senator Jesse Helms (Rep-NC) former Rep. Ron Paul (Rep-TX), the United States Mint currently turns out the world’s most popular 1-oz. gold coins: the American Gold Eagles.
Although the Establishment’s position is that paper money is good, Americans can protect themselves from the evils of paper money by buying Gold Eagles and/or other forms of gold.
Source: Peter Epstein for Streetwise Reports 09/09/2020
Peter Epstein of Epstein Research discusses an explorer that he believes offers high-grade precious/base metal discovery potential.
Sassy Resources Corp. (SASY:CSE) is a largely unknown spinout from Crystal Lake Mining (now called Enduro Metals). Sassy controls 100% of a promising gold-silver play in the Eskay Camp, at the heart of B.C.’s Golden Triangle (GT). The Foremore project covers 14,585 contiguous hectares (ha) containing high-grade precious metal targets plus showings of zinc, lead and copper.
Sassy has an Enterprise Value (EV) {market cap + (0) debt – (~$2 million) cash} of ~$20 million. The capital structure is tight with only 29.1 million shares outstanding. {Please see my prior article here for further details about Sassy’s free float}. Sassy is the 16th largest pre-production junior in the GT.
Sassy’s high-grade Foremore compares in size to well-known GT projects
Compare Sassy’s 14,585 ha footprint to other high-profile GT projects like Skeena Resources’ Eskay Creek @ 6,151 ha, and Ascot’s Premier (8,133 ha) + Red Mountain (17,125 ha). Tudor Gold owns 60% of the (17,913 ha) Treaty Creek project, and Benchmark Minerals has the (14,000 ha) Lawyers project.
Readers, consider that early next year Skeena (on its 6,151 ha Eskay Creek alone) expects to report an upsized resource of >5 million ounces of gold equivalent, at >5 g/t gold equivalent. Sassy’s footprint is both sizable and centrally located.
Exploration on and around the Foremore property dates back >30 years. It includes prospecting, mapping, sampling, airborne and ground geophysical surveys, and 71 drill holes (+11 new holes last month, and a 2,000 meter program starting soon). Nearly $15 million has been invested, $20 million+ in today’s dollars.
Nearby projects include Newmont’s/Teck Resources’ Galore Creek to the northwest, Teck’s/Copper Fox’s Schaft Creek to the north, Enduro Metals’ Newmont Lake to the southwest, and Skeena and Eskay Mining projects to the south.
Australian major Newcrest Mining is in the GT through its 70% ownership of the Red Chris Mine. Billion dollar companies Pretium Resources, Seabridge Gold and Hochschild Mining are active there as well.
Newmont and Teck are building the Galore Creek road passing directly through Sassy’s property, allowing for easier, less-expensive, year-round access to the Foremore site.
Teck is also a partner in nearby Schaft Creek. This bodes well for further investments by both companies into regional infrastructure and mining services, for the benefit of all parties, including Sassy Resources.
Best historical intercepts from a total of 71 holes:
Phase I was recently completed, followed by borehole electromagnetic surveys at each drilling location (BRT and Toe Showings) within each zone along the 5-km-long historic More Creek Corridor. Drilling intersected additional mineralization at shallow depths, extending the base/precious metals-rich BRT zone (gold, silver and base metals) by 115 meters along strike. A new style of mineralization was also discovered.
The company’s technical team is pleased to have confirmed the conductivity of BRT-style mineralization through the use of Borehole EM (BHEM) surveys. The More Creek Corridor mineralization was previously thought to be non-conductive, but early success with BHEM at BRT bodes well for its use in ground and airborne EM surveys for future exploration initiatives across the entire project.
Preliminary assays were received for the first three holes of Phase I. The reason the results are not out is that a number of extra steps are being taken to confirm the accuracy of the preliminary assays before announcing the final assays on the three holes.
Broad high-grade gold/silver Westmore target rises to top of must-drill list
While exciting, Phase I was just the first of two high-grade project areas Sassy is laser-focused on. The bigger prize could very well be 3 km southwest—the Westmore “WM” target—to be drilled for the first time (ever), testing the continuity of the quartz vein-hosted high-grade, gold-silver mineralization to depth.
Until recently, much of WM (distinct from the More Creek Corridor), was covered by ice and snow year-round. As a result, there’s been a dearth of exploration. However, the maiden surface program last year, (done when Sassy was a private company), returned 15.3 to 125.5 g/t gold, plus 203 g/t to 1,900 g/t silver in the best six chip and grab samples. At spot prices, the 125.5 g/t gold + 1,900 g/t silver sample = ~152 g/t gold equivalent.
New surface discovery, including visible gold, at Westmore….
In recent weeks, further work at WM demonstrated that vein density increases significantly in a south/south-easterly direction up to 400 meters from the initial surface discovery. Mineralization remains open to the north, south and east, and visible gold has increasingly been observed (assays pending on nearly 400 surface samples).
The primary area of interest covers a minimum of 2 x 2 km. To say that management, the board, advisors and technical team are anxious to start drilling at WM would be a gross understatement! In fact, the Phase II campaign of 2,000 meters is now 100% directed at WM…. Just 1 of 12 known groups of precious and base metal showings within the Foremore project area.
Mr. Mark Scott, Sassy Resources president and CEO, commented,
“We are very pleased with how quickly this new surface discovery is building out and ticking all the boxes at this early stage. We look forward to drill-testing the Westmore target later this month.”
Mr. Ian Fraser, VP Exploration added,
“The distribution of veins, up to two meters wide, is impressive, along with the extent of galena. The system has an order and coherency to it at surface which will allow for an effective drill strategy right off the bat. We’re a year into this, and Westmore keeps looking better. This has the earmarks of a potential new Eskay Camp gold-silver drilling discovery.”
Conclusion
Sassy Resources (CSE: SASY) is poised to move forward on a new high-grade, gold-silver target in the heart of the Eskay Camp, in the middle of B.C.’s GT. Management had planned to drill several of 12 high-grade showings. However, recent surface work convinced management to focus entirely on a promising 2 x 2 km area at Westmore.
This is a company with high-grade precious/base metal discovery potential, near-term Phase I drill results, in a world-class jurisdiction, in the midst of a bull market. And, readers are reminded that Sassy has a very tight capital structure, just 29.1 million shares outstanding.
I’m tracking 529 gold-heavy Canadian and U.S.-listed juniors with market caps between $3 million and $999 million. Including Sassy, 36 have substantially all, or at least their most important assets, in the GT. The average gain of the top 20 GT juniors is +516% (from 52-week lows). The top 5 are up an average of +950%, the top 10, +785%. Wow.
Compare that to Sassy at $0.75/share, up +150% from its last capital raise done at $0.30. Subject to some good luck with the drill bit (based on strong data and expert drill targeting) this story has legs.
Readers understand and agree that they must conduct their own due diligence above and beyond reading this article. While the author believes he’s diligent in screening out companies that, for any reasons whatsoever, are unattractive investment opportunities, he cannot guarantee that his efforts will (or have been) successful. [ER] is not responsible for any perceived, or actual, errors including, but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts and financial calculations, or for the completeness of this article or future content. [ER] is not expected or required to subsequently follow or cover events and news, or write about any particular company or topic. [ER] is not an expert in any company, industry sector or investment topic.
Peter Epstein is the founder of Epstein Research. His background is in company and financial analysis. He holds an MBA degree in financial analysis from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
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Disclosures: The content of this article is for information only. Readers fully understand and agree that nothing contained herein, written by Peter Epstein of Epstein Research [ER], (together, [ER]) about Sassy Resources, including but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts, calculations, etc. is not to be considered implicit or explicit investment advice. Nothing contained herein is a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. [ER] is not responsible under any circumstances for investment actions taken by the reader. [ER] has never been, and is not currently, a registered or licensed financial advisor or broker/dealer, investment advisor, stockbroker, trader, money manager, compliance or legal officer, and does not perform market making activities. [ER] is not directly employed by any company, group, organization, party or person. The shares of Sassy Resources are highly speculative, not suitable for all investors. Readers understand and agree that investments in small cap stocks can result in a 100% loss of invested funds. It is assumed and agreed upon by readers that they will consult with their own licensed or registered financial advisors before making any investment decisions.
At the time this article was posted, Sassy Resources was an advertiser on [ER] and Peter Epstein owned zero shares, options and warrants in the Company.
Readers understand and agree that they must conduct their own due diligence above and beyond reading this article. While the author believes he’s diligent in screening out companies that, for any reasons whatsoever, are unattractive investment opportunities, he cannot guarantee that his efforts will (or have been) successful. [ER] is not responsible for any perceived, or actual, errors including, but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts and financial calculations, or for the completeness of this article or future content. [ER] is not expected or required to subsequently follow or cover events and news, or write about any particular company or topic. [ER] is not an expert in any company, industry sector or investment topic.
Streetwise Reports Disclosure:
1) Peter Epstein’s disclosures are listed above.
2) The following companies mentioned in the article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Pretium Resources and Seabridge Gold. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. Please click here for more information. 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 Sassy Resources, a company mentioned in this article.
Source: Peter Krauth for Streetwise Reports 09/09/2020
Peter Krauth profiles three junior mining companies that he believes hold the potential to produce stellar results.
So far this year, the S&P 500 is up 6%. Considering the massive challenges we’ve faced, that’s not bad.
By comparison, gold has clocked stellar returns. It’s up 26% year-to-date.
But a small subsector of the gold space has far outpaced even gold’s returns.
Imagine making 19 times your investment in just 5 months. Sound impossible? That’s what some junior explorers’ shares have done already this year.
To be fair, these can be some of the most volatile equities on the planet. Of course, the rising tide of a secular gold bull market can go a long way to moderate some of that risk.
Also, allocating capital wisely and across several explorers can help mitigate the hazards these companies might present.
The fact is just one outstanding success, even alongside a few other mediocre performers, can still lead to life-changing returns for investors.
With gold continuing to consolidate, as I’ve been saying to expect in my recent articles, now is a great time to consider where to invest for the next leg up.
Let’s dig in…
Gold Juniors Outperform
The following chart compares the performances of gold, large gold producers, and junior gold miners.
Since March 13, 2020, gold is up 25%, gold producers are up a whopping 89%, and gold juniors are up 111%.
Now if that doesn’t grab your attention, I’m not sure what will.
The fact is, the leverage offered by junior gold companies is downright explosive. Some individual junior gold explorers are up over 1,900% or more in that time frame. That’s testament to the kind of wild upside they can offer.
Needless to say, such high potential reward is commensurate with high risk. Explorers can burn through lots of cash securing land rights, permits and drilling all to turn up nothing.
Other times, big success is followed up with big duds. As well, the commodity cycle can work with or against. That’s why rising gold prices are so important for gold explorers.
Some discoveries that lead to deposits could be uneconomic at $1,400 gold, but highly profitable at $1,800.
Gold’s 4-year bear market from 2012 to 2016 forced miners to dramatically cut costs, sell assets, and put some mines on care and maintenance while expansions were put on ice.
Exploration was one of the first victims, which has led to a dearth of discoveries. But with gold back to marching higher on strongly sustained fundamentals, miners are realizing they need to replace depleting reserves.
As a result, successful explorers become takeover targets as they expand known deposits and discover new ones.
Here are three companies that have the right people and are looking in the right places to potentially produce stellar results.
Nevada Nano Cap
Nevada was ranked as the world’s third most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment by the Fraser Institute this past February. Nevada is exceedingly attractive with its second largest gold reserves in the world and 23 major gold mines, all while producing 5 million ounces of gold annually.
If it were a country of its own, it would be ranked as the 4th largest gold producing nation globally. Considering its stable tax regime, robust legal basis, qualified labor, streamlined permitting and developed infrastructure, there are many reasons to look for gold in Nevada.
Peloton Minerals Corp. (PMC:CSE; PMCCF:OTCQB), at CAD $10M, is a true nano cap junior. Despite no resource so far, its quality properties and outsized potential make up for the higher risk profile.
In 2011 Newmont acquired Fronteer Gold through a $2.3 billion takeover for its Long Canyon project. Also on the Long Canyon Trend is Peloton’s Golden Trail Project, located just 50 km north of Newmont’s Long Canyon mine. Golden Trail is 100% owned by Peloton with no royalties and comprises an 880 acre claim package.
The initial drill program in 2019 delivered 82% of footage mineralized above the detection rate for gold and silver, with a range of 0.005ppm to 0.095ppm Au and 0.5 to 72.0 Ag, and all holes bottomed in mineralization. Golden Trail should see 2,000–3,000 feet of further drilling this fall, going deeper than last year’s efforts, and testing 3,000 feet to the south for Carlin-Style hydrothermal anomalies.
7 kilometers due west is the Texas Canyon project. Armed with good historical data from the previous operator, management is advancing is drilling permits to be able to drill this project by next spring. An NI 43-101 technical report is being compiled to publish data and set out recommendations for further steps. A project summary-abstract was published in the 2020 Geologic Society of Nevada’s virtual symposium. That could help attract a JV partner to participate and advance Texas Canyon.
Source: September 2020 company presentation
Independence Valley is Peloton’s third Nevada project, this one located on the southern extension of the world-renowned Carlin Gold Trend. It’s the largest concentration of gold deposits in North America, with over 40 deposits discovered along the 64 km-long trend.
Located in Elko County, Independence Valley is composed of 1,160 acres and within the historical Spruce Mountain mining district which hosted many historical base and precious metals mines since the 1840s. This project hosts the largest untested Rhyolite Dome int the Spruce Mountain district.
The 2020 drill program will comprise 2,000–3,000 feet, and geophysical modelling of magnetic and CSAMT data have identified three structures within the dome complex that are recommended for testing.
The company’s fourth project is Silver Bell & St. Lawrence (SBSL). It’s a 390-acre claim package with two historical gold mines (Silver Bell & St. Lawrence). Located in Montana, SBSL is under option by Frederick Private Equity to earn a 75% interest through annual option payments and spending $2M within six years of March 2018. Last year’s initial drill program intersected up to 34.4 g/tonne gold. Historical smelter records show gold grades from 0.15 to 0.52 ounces per ton and silver grades from 2.7 to 15.6 ounces per ton.
Catalysts this year and early next will be follow up exploration results on Golden Trail and Independence Valley, plus the technical report on Texas Canyon. As well, potential activity on SBSL could all generate plenty of news flow over the next 6–12 months with exciting potential.
Nevada Elephant Hunter
Also operating in Nevada is NuLegacy Gold Corporation (NUG:TSX.V; NULGF:OTCQB), whose market cap has soared to CAD $103M in recent months. The company holds a 100% interest in the Red Hill project, located on the prolific Cortez Trend, which hosts three of Barrick Gold’s largest and highest-grade Tier 1 Gold deposits: Pipeline with 21 million ounces (Moz) at 2.5 grams/tonne (g/t), Cortez Hills with 15 Moz at 4.1 grams/t, and Goldrush with 10 Moz at 10 g/t.
Red Hill is a highly prospective 108 square kilometer property on the southern end of the Cortez Trend, in close proximity to the cluster of Pipeline, Cortez Hills and Goldrush. Nulegacy boasts a strong technical team and institutional ownership. Oceana Gold owns 10.3%, Barrick owns 6.6%, and Sprott Gold Equity Fund holds 6.4%.
Source: May 2020 company presentation
Its nine-member technical team, most of whom worked at Barrick, have all made significant direct contributions of some kind towards the discovery of over 50 million ounces in Nevada’s Carlin and Cortez trends.
Red Hill could turn out to be an elephant. This summer the company performed a CSAMT survey to help measure the Rift Anticline. Drill intercepts over the last couple of years have produced 9.6 g/t gold over 5.1m, within 20.8m of 2.7 g/t gold at Western Slope, and 16.9 g/t gold over 8.7m within 22.1m of 6.6 g/t gold. That’s high-grade rock which looks a lot like Barrick’s Goldrush deposit of 10M ounces at 10.2 g/t gold.
An initial 16 hole, 11,500-meter drill program on the Rift Anticline this fall, followed by 4–5 holes in the winter and more in the spring should produce some steady news flow.
Nulegacy is aiming to prove up a Tier 1 asset, then look to a merger or JV to develop toward production.
This is elephant country, and that’s what Nulegacy is hunting for.
Canadian Consolidator Explorer
O3 Mining Inc. (OIII:TSX.V) is a larger junior gold explorer with a market cap of CAD $142 million. Their portfolio of assets in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada, two of the better mining jurisdictions anywhere, span more than 460,000 hectares.
As part of the Osisko Group of companies, O3 is consolidating exploration properties, aiming to become a multi-million ounce high-growth company. In Quebec, the 4th most attractive mining jurisdiction on the planet, O3 controls 61,000 hectares in historically productive Val d’Or and over 50 kilometers of strike length on the Cadillac-Larder Lake fault.
Val d’Or, a district responsible for producing over 30 Moz of gold, holds O3’s flagship Marban project on the Malartic Property, representing 75% of the company’s total resources at 2.5 million gold ounces. That’s up by 40% since the 2016 resource estimate. More than 600,000 meters have already been drilled, with over $60 million invested in the ground. A large 40,000-meter drill program is ongoing to extend the deposit. There is a lot of brownfield upside potential.
Source: September 2020 company presentation
A positive Preliminary Economic Assessment was just delivered on Marban, boasting an after-tax NPV of $423 million, after-tax IRR of 25.2%, a 4-year payback and 15 year mine life. The average cost to produce the gold will be a respectable $822 per ounce, offering nice margins.
With a huge overall 150,000 meter drill program on its Cadillac Break properties, O3 continues to advance this highly prospective district by using AI technology to help identify drill targets.
In Ontario, the Golden Bear Group of properties includes the Garrison project which hosts 2 Moz gold in three main zones. It’s a potential consolidation play as bigger neighbors include Kirkland Lake, Pan American and Moneta Porcupine, some with established deposits of multiple millions of ounces.
As a consolidator/developer/explorer, O3 doesn’t hesitate to joint venture or sell off properties it deems non-core. This allows it to unlock value, while retaining participation in the case of JVs.
Junior gold explorers come in all sizes and varieties. Given their nature of high risk, it makes sense to build a portfolio of at least 5 names. It’s also wise to allocate small amounts and to add to positions over time.
But the moon-shot potential is undeniable, especially in a secular gold bull market that’s starting to heat up.
Peter Krauth
Peter Krauth is a former portfolio adviser and a 20-year veteran of the resource market, with special expertise in energy, metals and mining stocks. He has been editor of a widely circulated resource newsletter, and contributed numerous articles to Kitco.com, BNN Bloomberg and the Financial Post. Krauth holds a Master of Business Administration from McGill University and is headquartered in resource-rich Canada.
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Disclosure:
1) Peter Krauth: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 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. 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.
