Category: Gold

Gold, silver prices churning  Kitco NEWS

Top Stocks & ETFs In Gold & Silver For 2020  Forbes

Gold prices pull back on normal pausing amid price uptrend  Kitco NEWS

Gold prices end lower as coronavirus threatens China buying  MarketWatch

PRECIOUS-Gold falls 1% after hitting two-week high but stays above $1,550  Reuters

Source: Maurice Jackson for Streetwise Reports   01/20/2020

Drill results for this company’s prospect, flanked by notable mines, is the subject of this interview with Proven and Probable’s Maurice Jackson.

Maurice Jackson: Welcome to Proven and Probable. Joining us for a conversation is the president and CEO of Riverside Resources Inc. (RRI:TSX.V; RVSDF:OTCQB), John-Mark Staude. Riverside has some intriguing news now, starting 2020, regarding high-grade gold coming from the company’s Los Cuarentas gold project in Sonora, Mexico.

John-Mark, before we discuss today’s press release, for someone new to Riverside, please introduce the unique value proposition the company presents to the market.

John-Mark S.: Riverside is an integrated prospect generator company. We have major alliances with some of the biggest mining companies. We expose the shareholder to multiple opportunities and multiple commodities with a limited risk. We really like this model.

Maurice Jackson: Let’s visit Sonora State, Mexico, where, as I understand, [you’ve] just returned from the field. John-Mark, talk to us about the Los Cuarentas gold project and the recent rock-chip sample program results. How did Riverside come up with such a project and acquire this location?

John-Mark S.: We’re really excited. Riverside acquired the Los Cuarantes by optioning and then buying five projects from Millrock Resources Inc. (MRO:TSX.V; MLRKF:OTCQB). The location of Los Cuarentas is immediately to the east of the major gold mine of Mercedes that’s operated now by Premier Gold Mines Ltd. (PG:TSX). It’s immediately to the west of the Las Chispas project, which is very exciting for SilverCrest Metals Inc. (SIL:TSX.V), which has been making big discoveries, moving ahead quickly toward development, [which] shows that there’s mining right adjacent to us. Our location is fabulous for very fast potential transactions, and we can see immediately that the high-grade material from the Los Cuarentas could feed into either Las Chispas or into Premier Gold Mines’ Mercedes mining complexes.

Maurice Jackson: Now, for early 2020, Riverside just released some impressive rock chip sampling results from the current field program that is looking to set up drill targeting. Dr. Staude, can you briefly summarize the Los Cuarentas gold project and some of the key highlights from the recent sample program?

John-Mark S.: The location, with Las Chispas immediately to the east and Mercedes immediately to the west, makes Los Cuarentas an ideal [prospect]. In fact, we’re surrounded by various mines, really a good mining location. These results are excellent for us. Having 25 grams of gold, high-grade gold, from dump samples and having multiple samples of rock float, rock chip, all having high-grade mineralization, really makes it exciting for us at the project Los Cuarentas.

Maurice Jackson: Consistency is paramount to achieve success and accelerate exploration efforts. How do the first set of results conducted by Riverside correspond with historical results on the Los Cuarentas?

John-Mark S.: Looking at the map, it shows the historical work along with Riverside’s work. We have similar values along the structures here going multiple kilometers long—high-grade mineralization—and particularly the Santa Rosalia target, and the Santa Rosalia Sur target, are very good for high-grade mineralization right at the surface.

Maurice Jackson: John-Mark, you referenced two target areas. Can we take a more in-depth look at both of them please?

John-Mark S.: The first target is the Santa Rosalia. We can follow this target along strike here well over a kilometer with very little mining, hydrate mining in here, but no drilling. So we’re very excited about the drill potential at the Santa Rosalia.

If you go to the Santa Rosalia Sur immediately to the south, there’s an old drill hole that didn’t reach the actual target and the target zone has wide intercepts of 6–8.8 grams, [and] other gold mineralization right at the surface next to the vein structures. On the Santa Rosalia Sur, we have a long zone, again, a kilometer of mineralization. Our team’s been working hard. Very excited to have just got back from the field and now have this news—results out for the Santa Rosalia Sur target—[for] two of the top targets we have at the property.

Maurice Jackson: Dr. Staude, before we leave the Los Cuarentes gold project, what can you share with us regarding the genetic model?

John-Mark S.: The genetic model really fits for a dome complex. Here we see the dome breccia epithermal low sulfidation vein systems, the veins following structures and sheers, and particularly the sheers around different fault zones,. . .typical of the upper levels of an epithermal gold system. We really like that type of model and the potential for this type of epithermal rhyolite complex.

Maurice Jackson: Switching gears, John-Mark, what is the next unanswered question for Riverside? When can we expect an answer, and what will determine success?

John-Mark S.: The next unanswered question at the Los Cuarentes project is how big, how deep, and how far this can go? We will now focus our efforts on mapping, and more sampling, and getting a drill permit. We’re very excited about the value proposition before us. Riverside could drill Los Cuarentas ourselves. We do have interest from other parties. We really like the results here, it’s a super good project.

What would determine success is more high-grade gram thicknesses. We have to the east of us Las Chispas, and to the west we have the Mercedes mine. Riverside believes we have the potential for a mine at the Los Cuarentas. That would really help us determine success.

Maurice Jackson: Before we close, John-Mark, please provide us with an update on the capital structure.

John-Mark S.: Riverside continues to have a tight share structure, with 63 million shares out, no debt, and over $3 million cash. We’re in a great financial situation and [have] a very focused share structure.

Maurice Jackson: Dr. Staude, for someone listening that wants to get more information on Riverside Resources, please share the contact details.

John-Mark S.: Please visit our website at www.rivres.com or phone us at (778) 327-6671.

Maurice Jackson: Before you make your next precious metals purchase, make sure you visit us at www.provenandprobable.com or call (855) 505.1900. We are licensed representatives for Miles Franklin Precious Metals Investments. Riverside Resources is a sponsor of Proven and Probable, and we are proud shareholders for the virtues conveyed in today’s message.

Dr. John-Mark Staude of Riverside Resources, 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.

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Disclosure:
1) Maurice Jackson: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Riverside Resources and Millrock Resources. 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: Riverside Resources and Millrock Resources are sponsors of Proven and Probable. Proven and Probable disclosures are listed below.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
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. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 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 interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own shares of Riverside Resources and Millrock Resources, companies mentioned in this article.

Proven and Probable LLC receives financial compensation from its sponsors. The compensation is used is to fund both sponsor-specific activities and general report activities, website, and general and administrative costs. Sponsor-specific activities may include aggregating content and publishing that content on the Proven and Probable website, creating and maintaining company landing pages, interviewing key management, posting a banner/billboard, and/or issuing press releases. The fees also cover the costs for Proven and Probable to publish sector-specific information on our site, and also to create content by interviewing experts in the sector. Monthly sponsorship fees range from $1,000 to $4,000 per month. Proven and Probable LLC does accept stock for payment of sponsorship fees. Sponsor pages may be considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.

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( Companies Mentioned: RRI:TSX.V; RVSDF:OTCQB,
)

Source: Ron Struthers for Streetwise Reports   01/20/2020

Given current market conditions, the location and potential of its flagship project, and the strength of its management team, Ron Struthers of Struthers’ Resource Stock Report believes this firm represents a solid investment.

I have been looking for a very good junior palladium stock, and I believe this is the best one out there for potential enormous gains. But before I get to that, it is important to have a look at the palladium market, because this bull market is much different than the last one.

The one from 1997 to 2000 was about three years’ long, and then palladium dropped, giving up most of the gains in less than a year. There was a nice bump up from the 2008 crisis and then the price traded sideways for several years. The price bottomed at the end of 2015 with the severe bear market in precious metals.

Since then the price has been going steadily higher, with a major break out in 2016. This bull market is not going to end anytime soon for the reasons I will show you in the next couple pages.

Palladium is mostly used in the auto industry for pollution control with catalytic converters. Electric vehicles will be a long time coming to replace any significant amount of gasoline/diesel-driven vehicles. Meanwhile, pollution standards are being tightened that will keep demand high. China has been gobbling up palladium since their China 5 pollution standards took effect in 2013. China 6 will now be coming into effect, which will increase loads per vehicle of palladium. Many analysts have been commenting that China has been secretly stockpiling the metal and is driving prices.

There is no doubt the demand will remain strong, but the real story is on the supply side and I have more detail.

This next graphic illustrates the supply deficit since 2016.

It is obvious to see the increase demand from China as pollution regulations are tightened. They are now moving to China 6.

This next graphic of global mine production is very important because palladium supply is in very unstable regions.

The Russia supply from Norilsk Nickel has always been quite stable and is of no concern, but as investors we cannot really participate there. South Africa is the other big producer and that country is becoming very unstable. More worrisome is that is where all the future reserves are.

The world’s largest platinum group metals (PGM) reserves are in South Africa, precisely in the Bushveld Complex (in the central-northern part of the country), which alone accounts for about 50% of the world’s palladium resources. But overall South Africa has reserves of 63 million kilograms, which represent over 91% of the worldwide availability.

South African (SA) mines have always been plagued with labor issues, strikes and high costs. To make matters worse the country is now facing an energy crisis, with rolling blackouts shutting down mines. The country will probably become much more unstable, with unemployment hitting 10-year highs. Half the youth are unemployed, and the company that provides 95% of the electricity (when it can) is reporting record financial losses. This is a country teetering on the brink of chaos, which will likely be very disruptive to PGM mine supply.

With all the issues in SA, Sibanye Gold Ltd. (SBGL:NYSE) began diversifying out of the country and acquired the Stillwater PGM mine in the U.S. That used to be my favorite stock to play palladium bull markets. However, they jumped right back into the fray, acquiring Lonmin in late 2019, a struggling SA PGM producer. They promptly cut 5,000 jobs at the mine and it now appears Sibanye is moving more into PGMs from gold. The stock has done well with the rising palladium price, but at these stock prices and a move back to SA, it has become too risky.

Canada is the third largest producing country, so is an obvious place to look. A lot of the palladium production comes from major miners in the Sudbury nickel/copper complex as a byproduct. Obviously this is a good area to look, and there was an excellent investor proxy play there for investors called North American Palladium, which was operating the Lac des Iles palladium mine. Unfortunately for us investors, it was bought out last year by SA producer Implats.

The area had a number of discoveries back in the last bull market, around the year 2000, and I visited a number of those projects back then. I believe the best one is a junior company that just changed its name to Canadian Palladium Resources Inc. (BULL:CSE; DCNNF:OTCQB) (from 21C Metals), and they acquired the East Bull project last year.

East Bull was drilled by Freewest Resources Canada Inc. (FWR:TSX.V) and Mustang Minerals (now Grid Metals Corp. (GRDM: TSX.V) back in the 2000 era and now has a NI43-101-compliant, 523,000-ounce palladium resource. A private company, Pavey Ark Minerals, had the property, and in 2017 they twinned old drill holes and completed the work to bring the project to 43-101 standards. Canadian Palladium acquired a 100% option on the project last February. What makes it very appealing now is that the stock got whacked down in price in the poor junior market of late 2019.

Canadian Palladium
Recent Price: $0.14
52-week trading range: $0.06 to $0.265
Shares outstanding: 64.5 million approx.
All warrants and options are at $0.30 cents and higher

What I consider one of the most important highlights is the company is run by Wayne Tisdale. In the last 10 years he has advanced three juniors and sold them for large profits for his shareholders. He helped finance and advance the Rainy River project and sold it to NewGold in 2013 for $310 million. He developed US Cobalt and in 2018 sold it to First Cobalt Corp. (FCC:TSX.V; FTSSF:OTCQX; FCC:ASX) in a transaction worth about $150 million, to his shareholders’ delight. Going back further, he helped finance oil and gas company Ryland Oil, which was bought out by Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG:TSX) in 2010 for a $121.8 million valuation.

Mr. Tisdale has a keen eye for finding projects that can quickly be advanced further to make them prime acquisition targets. Canadian Palladium only has a market value now of less than $10 million, and I have no doubt that Mr. Tisdale is going to do it again, and advance East Bull and sell it for hundreds of millions.

Highlights:

• Company run by Wayne Tisdale
• Low market valuation—CA$18 per ounce
• East Bull with NI43-101-compliant, 523,000-ounce palladium resource
• East Bull can easily be expanded to depth and along strike
• Widely spaced drilling only needs infill drilling to upgrade resource
• Over 2 million ounce potential
• Close to Sudbury complex where ore can be processed

Management Highlights (from the company website)

Wayne Tisdale, CEO, has 40 years of experience in investing, financing and consulting to private and public companies in the areas of mining, oil and gas, and agriculture. He runs his own merchant bank and sits on the board of a number of private and public companies. Over his career, Mr. Tisdale has raised over $2 billion of both equity and debt financing, and has been instrumental in founding several highly successful companies, including Rainy River Resources (purchased by Newgold) and Ryland Oil Corp. (purchased by Crescent Point). Most recently, Mr. Tisdale was integral to the successful sale of US Cobalt to First Cobalt Corp., creating a post-transaction cobalt company valued at almost $400 million.

Michelle Gahagan, chair and director, has been a director of Canadian Palladium since January, 2011. Ms. Gahagan is currently a director of Moovly Media Inc, (MVY:TSX.V) and Versus Systems Inc. (VS:CSE). Prior to her involvement in merchant banking, Ms. Gahagan graduated from Queens University Law School and practiced corporate law for 20 years. Ms. Gahagan has extensive experience advising companies with respect to international tax-driven structures, mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Gahagan has successfully completed the Investment Management Certificate course offered by the Financial Conduct Authority (UK). Most recently, Ms. Gahagan was integral to the successful sale of US Cobalt to First Cobalt Corp.

Garry Clark, director, is a geologist (P Geo) with over 30 years of mineral exploration experience and has held various geological positions with a number of public mining companies. Mr. Clark has extensive experience in managing large-scale exploration and development programs internationally, including in Asia and North America, and has worked extensively in the Hemlo and Wawa districts. He is the executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) and currently serves on the Minister of Mines Mining Act Advisory Committee. Most recently, Mr. Clark was integral to the successful sale of US Cobalt to First Cobalt Corp.

Paul McGuigan, consultant, is a professional geoscientist with 42 years of international experience in economic geology and mineral exploration management, spanning grassroots exploration through to mine feasibility studies and mining operations. Early in his career, he was employed by IBM Canada Ltd., Geological Survey of Canada, Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann, Imperial Oil, and Esso Minerals Canada. For the last thirty years, Mr. McGuigan has led several consulting and junior mining companies, operating in West Africa, the Middle East, the Southwest Pacific and all of North and South America. His geological expertise includes iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG), volcanogenic massive sulphides, epithermal gold, porphyry Cu-Au, and residual & alluvial gold, platinum and diamond deposits.

Projects—East Bull

In the 1999–2000 period, Freewest drilled 27 holes for a total of 2,902 meters (2,902m) and carried out extensive surface trenching on present claim 4272475. Work by Mustang on the eastern part of the property (claim 1227910) included 11 drill holes for a total of 1,766m. The work by Freewest and Mustang forms the majority of the data for the current resource estimate. The company has copies of Freewest and Mustang logs, sample records and assay certificates for trenches and drill holes.

Additionally, Pavey Ark has reviewed and resampled drill core from the 27 BQ and NQ holes from the Freewest drilling program. Pavey Ark’s exploration results in 2017 included:

• hole EB17-01 that intersected 12.0 m at 2.87 g/t PGM+Au, 0.23% Cu and 0.13% Ni, and
• hole EB17-03 that intersected 7.0 m of 3.21 g/t PGM+Au, 0.16% Cu and 0.07% Ni.

(Note: Au = gold, Cu = copper, and Ni = nickel)

In 2019, BULL completed their initial exploration program at East Bull and reported results Sept. 17, 2019. The following is from the company press release:

“These are highlights from the first sampling program on the East Bull palladium project and field program on the Agnew Lake project: The East Bull property hosts an Inferred resource of 11.1 million tons at 1.46 grams per tonne palladium equivalent (Pd eq) for a total estimate of 523,000 ounces of Pd eq.

“The grab sampling and mapping of the East Bay palladium mineralization has allowed BULL to determine locations to channel sample. The sampling focused on selecting sample locations that were not previously documented. The sampling and mapping were successful in defining areas of the mineralization that when channel sampled will provide economic mineralized intercepts that will increase confidence of the mineral resource. The channel samples will also allow definition of areas of higher-grade palladium that could to direct BULL to potential starter pit locations. The channel sample is a continuous sample cut using a diamond bladed rock saw:

• “Seventy-three grab samples were selected to help identify the palladium-bearing rock types of the mineralized trend. Grab samples are used to determine the presence mineralization and may not be indicative of the overall grade of the zone.
• Sampling successfully defined locations for channel sampling and the higher grades could indicate potential zones within the mineralized zone for higher-grade starter pits.
• Range of palladium assay sample results (1,000 ppb is equivalent to 1.0 grams per tonne).

“Number of samples Range palladium (ppb)
8 Below detection limit
29 less than 100
17 101 to 500
5 501 to 1,000
5 1,001 to 2,000
6 2,001 to 4,000
3 4,001 to 6,569

“This is the same as g/t, so 6 samples ran 2 to 4 g/t palladium. Geological mapping and review of the Freewest diamond drilling in 2000 indicates the northeast-trending faults are composed of multi-intrusions of mafic to diabase dikes. Left lateral movement on the dikes is measured to be up to 100 metres. This graphic gives a good snap shot of the current resource and expansion potential, Mineralization starts at surface and the system appears to be about 30 meters wide. This would be an open pit operation.”

Agnew Lake property (also from company resources)

“The Agnew Lake property was acquired in July 2017 after discussions with the company’s advisers and review of the Ontario government geological database. It is located 80 kilometers west of Sudbury, Ontario, home of Glencore and Vale’s Canadian nickel-copper-platinum-group-elements mining and smelting operations.

“The Agnew Lake property comprises over 260 claims (about 6,000 hectares) and is part of the larger East Bull Lake-Agnew Lake mafic-ultramafic complex. The company believes this acquisition will position it to be one of the larger non-producing palladium explorers in North America.

“The Agnew Lake magmas have major element compositions that are very similar to the model parent liquids proposed for the mafic portions of the Stillwater and Bushveld complexes. The Agnew intrusion and the East Bull Lake intrusion are also considered to host significant PGE-Cu-Ni mineralization in marginal rock units (Peck & James, 1990; Peck et al., 1993a, 1993b, 1995; Vogel et al., 1997).”

In late 2017, BULL completed some initial work on this project. Review of historical data indicated that various palladium-platinum showings were acquired within the staked area. A two-week prospecting and grab sampling program was completed to assess the locations and grade of the various showings. A total of 58 samples have been submitted to the lab.”

Tisova Copper/Cobalt project, Czech Republic & Germany

BULL has a third advanced project, the 15,928-hectare Tisova project. It is not the focus now, but just might end up being Mr. Tisdale’s fifth sale down the road some day. Here is a graphic of the historical work; more info can be found on the company presentation.

Financial

Last financial statements show just over $400,000 cash. The last financing was $2.8 million done at $0.18 per unit in a May 2018 placement, and included a 24-month $0.30 warrant. The company will have to raise more funding and I do not see any problem with that. When the stock gets over $0.30 they could have substantial financing with warrant exercise.

Summary

A recent update on palladium by TD Securities highlights tightening emission controls, and South Africa as I have explained, is risky, but most interesting is lack of speculative trading positions. TD comments positions held by traders are below average. This rally has room to move and if excessive speculation builds the stock could go way higher.

Regardless whether palladium is $1,200 or $2,000 per ounce, palladium discoveries and deposits will be worth premium valuations, especially in stable jurisdictions. The potential for discoveries in South Africa is very good, but the political risks are rising.

BULL has a lot more going for it besides the bull market in palladium (nice pun). Wayne Tisdale has been successful financing and increasing value of properties and dealing them off for large profits. I believe he will do it again, and he also has a loyal following of shareholders from his past success. BULL just acquired the property last year and there has been little exploration and no drilling, so it has been under the radar. The discovery is on surface, so will be cheap to mine, and is close to the Sudbury complex where refiners can recover PGMs. There are a couple other palladium exploration plays in Canada, but they are mostly old, stale stories, and I believe none have the short-term potential that the East Bull project has.

Currently the 523,000-ounce palladium resource is valued at a mere CA$18 per ounce, which is very low. Part of the reason is that the resource is only Inferred. If drilling success starts to prove larger potential and the resource gets move up to the measured and indicated category it could easily be valued at $300 to $500 per ounce.

The only exploration news from last year was sample results that came out last September, just when the junior market started heading south. The stock made a decent move higher, then just drifted lower until a typical year-end bottom. Last week the stock broke above the downtrend line when it hit $0.12 on good volume. I expect this move will take the stock to at least the $0.20 resistance area. The project has year-round access and the winter is a good time to drill. If we get that news, the stock could more easily break above the $0.20 resistance level.

Ron Struthers founded Struthers’ Resource Stock Report 23 years ago. The report covers senior and junior companies with ample trading liquidity. He started his Millennium Index of dividend stocks in 2003 – $1,000 invested then was worth over $4,000 end of 2014 and the index returned 26.8% in 2016. He retired from IBM after 30 years in customer service, systems and business analyst, also developing his own charting software. He has expertise in junior start-ups and was a co-founder of Paramount Gold and Silver.

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Disclosure:
1) Ron Struthers: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Canadian Palladium. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company currently has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: Canadian Palladium is an advertiser at playstocks.net. Additional disclosures below. 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 sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
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. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 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 interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Charts and images provided by the author.

Author’s Disclosures: Copyright 2020, Struthers’ Resource Stock Report. All forecasts and recommendations are based on opinion. Markets change direction with consensus beliefs, which may change at any time and without notice. The author/publisher of this publication has taken every precaution to provide the most accurate information possible. The information & data were obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but because the information & data source are beyond the author’s control, no representation or guarantee is made that it is complete or accurate. The reader accepts information on the condition that errors or omissions shall not be made the basis for any claim, demand or cause for action. Because of the ever-changing nature of information & statistics the author/publisher strongly encourages the reader to communicate directly with the company and/or with their personal investment adviser to obtain up to date information. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. Any statements non-factual in nature constitute only current opinions, which are subject to change. The author/publisher may or may not have a position in the securities and/or options relating thereto, & may make purchases and/or sales of these securities relating thereto from time to time in the open market or otherwise. Neither the information, nor opinions expressed, shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any stock, futures or options contract mentioned herein. The author/publisher of this letter is not a qualified financial adviser & is not acting as such in this publication.

( Companies Mentioned: BULL:CSE; DCNNF:OTCQB,
)

Source: Michael Ballanger for Streetwise Reports   01/20/2020

Sector expert Michael Ballanger considers the last week in the stock and precious metals markets.

Ever since Sept. 19, 2008, when Hammerin’ Hank Paulson appeared in front of the U.S. Congress on bended knee and begged those clueless politicians for a bailout—which he did successfully—the spread of moral hazard throughout the world has been a contagion that makes the Bubonic plague appear as harmless as the common cold.

That was, in fact, the day that shall go down in fiscal infamy as a most dangerous precedent was etched into the fabric and soul of the U.S. financial system. Not only did it set the behavioral course for the banker-politico alliance, it laid out as an insidious blueprint the operation manual for treasury departments and central banks around the world, the result being where we are today, a global economy teetering on an Mount Everest of debt with no solution on any horizon.

This week the investor class has seen the continuation of an advance in that began with the first whispering of the phrase “repo operations” in September, the realization of which did not manifest itself until late October, when I penned the missive “Q4 Guesstimates.”

As I wrote in September, “I have the feeling that the PPT, with DJT at the helm, is going to go all-out in making damn sure that we have a booming stock market going into 2020, so that his re-election chances don’t suffer from the ‘It’s the economy, stupid’ misfortune suffered by George Bush in his re-election run against Bill Clinton.”

That was written on Oct. 20, 2019, with the S&P 500 at 2,986, and with investor sentiment completely undeterred by the Fed liquidity binge. Fast forward a paltry ninety days and $400 billion in repo injections, and here we sit now, at 3,316. Upon reflection, the only words that come to mind are “mission accomplished”, a phrase used all too lightly by our leaders these days.

I was sitting in the big bay window overlooking the frozen expanse that is now Lake Scugog last night and was immediately reminded of just how much difference a year can make. This time last year, there were dozens of fishing huts standing all over the lake as temperatures were well below freezing for three solid weeks. This year, the lake is vacant of all fishing, snowmobiling and walking, but quite amenable to swimming should you be brave enough to venture out.

January 2019 (left); January 2020 (right)

This time last year, stock investors were stunned, like deer caught in the headlights, with bullish consensus around 20-something, and the CNN Fear-Greed index at a highly traumatized 26.

With the greed “needle” now at 97, it is truly amazing just what a difference an “accommodative Fed” means to investor psychology, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples and bubbles. It is also important to remember that the bears have been pummeled like rented mules since March 2009, and only during one brief period in late 2019 have they enjoyed the warm glow of being “right.” They have sold a great many books and newsletters crying “Wolf!” as we all too well know.

The chart you see above is a classic illustration of how these charlatans sell the unsuspecting investor using fear over greed as their hook. Do you ever wonder why Harry Dent is constantly writing about the “upcoming deflationary collapse?” It is because “doom and gloom” sells way more books than “good times are here again.”

My beloved precious metals are doing their utmost to stave off the villainous attacks by the banker-politico alliance, but I am forced to respect history, despite the protests of dozens upon dozens are quasi-expert bloggers who point fingers and snigger maniacally at my seemingly unfounded caution. What the trolls fail to “get” is that I am actually 70% invested in physical gold and silver and a bunch of juniors—as in, I’m not exactly “short” or “out,” just cautious.

Gold remains in an uncontested bull market and its price action is even more impressive given the “risk-on” status of the equities crowd. If you had told me in November that the S&P would be above 3,300 and the Dow 700 points from 30,000, I would have pegged gold in the mid $1,300s. But its resiliency is a testimonial to the reflationary actions of the Fed. The Fed needs velocity to kick in, and is prepared to let the economy run “hot” to secure it.

Silver remains locked in a consolidation pattern, with US$18.50 as a near-term cap and the 50-day moving average (dma) as the near-term support. As a trader I am comfortable being long physical and selected silver equities but uncomfortable with leveraged positions until we break out of the pattern. Stated another way, there is no reason to sell that which I own, but no reason to either add more or own futures, options, or leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

That said, the longer we consolidate within this elongated pennant formation, the bigger the advance once it is resolved. I must confess that silver’s performance since I resumed my bullish stance in November has been a mild disappointment. The gold-to-silver ratio is mired in the mid-80s (86.33), unable to give the entire metals complex that much-needed adrenaline boost to clear the logjam in the HUI and in the Junior and Senior Gold Miners ETFs, which still reside well below my exit points from the Jan. 8 key reversal day.

COT Report (Jan. 14)

This week’s COT was largely a non-event, with Commercials covering a modest 6,262 contracts in gold but adding 1,183 contracts in silver. Both aggregate positions held by Commercials remain bearish, which is yet another reason for caution in my trade setups.

Note the chart below that depicts the history of Commercial/Large Spec positioning versus price behavior dating back until 2017. It is so obvious to even an amateur technician how the aggressive Commercial shorting has capped price.

However, note the yellow arrows depicting the most recent price decline but virtually no change in the aggregate shorts held by the bullion banks. Is this because we are simply in a new bull market, or is it because the banks are desperate to keep a lid on price due to central bank repo activity? Whatever the explanation you choose, it is strange behavior and an aberration, certainly since 2011.

The S&P weekly chart goes back to 2017, and clearly shows a pattern of how corrections are born from elevated relative strength index (RSI) readings. I said that the gold chart looked “a tad overbought,” but the S&P chart is more overbought than last summer, just before it took a Q4 20% haircut. . .until, of course, Smilin’ Stevie Mnuchin mobilized the Plunge Protection Team (PPT) and saved Wall Street bonuses for 2019.

I have initiated a small put position on the S&P by way of the SPY March $300s. I started with a small position and am attempting to scale in to a larger one. The dilemma I have is that I hate adding to a losing position, which I lectured you all about in Email Alert 2020-09. (It is just so tempting to try to time this pending correction. . .)

Final Notes

To repeat for clarity purposes, I am trying to buy physical gold and silver below the market to secure a better entry point for all subscribers. (Voice from the back of the room: “Yeah, you and 20,000,000 other guys too!”) Having said that, rest very unassured that there is no guarantee I’ll be successful. But at the same time, missing a trade is better than doing a trade that winds up losing.

Next week will be important in that there are several items of interest on the news blotter, and if there are changes that need to be made, you will receive my instructions through the Email Alerts. As I sign off, an often-used quote that gets thrown around a great deal is, “May we live in interesting times,” and it is usually a segue to one’s opinion on geopolitics, religion or controversy. Lately, financial pundits have been using it as a way of obfuscating their current outlook for the global financial markets, so when I hear it uttered with brazen disregard for history, I am forced to laugh.

Why, pray tell? It is actually a Chinese curse. . .

Originally trained during the inflationary 1970s, Michael Ballanger is a graduate of Saint Louis University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in finance and a Bachelor of Art in marketing before completing post-graduate work at the Wharton School of Finance. With more than 30 years of experience as a junior mining and exploration specialist, as well as a solid background in corporate finance, Ballanger’s adherence to the concept of “Hard Assets” allows him to focus the practice on selecting opportunities in the global resource sector with emphasis on the precious metals exploration and development sector. Ballanger takes great pleasure in visiting mineral properties around the globe in the never-ending hunt for early-stage opportunities.

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Disclosure:
1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Michael Ballanger and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Michael Ballanger is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in any aspect of the article preparation. Michael Ballanger was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article.
2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Charts provided by the author.

Michael Ballanger Disclaimer:
This letter makes no guarantee or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the data provided. Nothing contained herein is intended or shall be deemed to be investment advice, implied or otherwise. This letter represents my views and replicates trades that I am making but nothing more than that. Always consult your registered advisor to assist you with your investments. I accept no liability for any loss arising from the use of the data contained on this letter. Options and junior mining stocks contain a high level of risk that may result in the loss of part or all invested capital and therefore are suitable for experienced and professional investors and traders only. One should be familiar with the risks involved in junior mining and options trading and we recommend consulting a financial adviser if you feel you do not understand the risks involved.

Source: Clive Maund for Streetwise Reports   01/20/2020

Technical analyst Clive Maund looks at the charts and finds that gold may react back before continuing to climb.

At first glance gold looks like it may be about to advance out of a bull Flag, but there are a number of factors in play that we will examine that suggest that any near-term advance won’t get far before it turns and drops again, and that a longer period of consolidation and perhaps reaction is necessary before it makes significant further progress.

On the 6-month chart we can see how gold stabbed into a zone of strong resistance on the Iran crisis around the time Iran’s general was murdered, but after a couple of bearish looking candles with high upper shadows formed, it backed off into what many are taking to be a bull Flag.

The 10-year chart makes it plain why gold is vulnerable here to reacting back over the short to medium term, because it has advanced deep into “enemy territory”: the broad band of heavy resistance approaching the 2011 highs, with a zone of particularly strong resistance right where it is now. It would be healthier and increase gold’s chances of breaking out to new highs if it now backed off into a trading range for a while to moderate what now looks like excessive bullishness.

Thus it remains a cause for concern (or it should be for gold bulls) to see gold’s latest COTs continuing to show high Commercial short and Large Spec long positions. Is it going to be different this time? The latest Hedgers’ charts that we are now going to look at suggest not.

Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version.

The COT chart only goes back a year. The Hedgers’ charts shown below, which are a form of COT chart, go back many years, and frankly, they look pretty scary.

We’ll start by looking at the Hedgers’ chart that goes back to before the 2011 sector peak. On it we see that current Hedgers positions are at extremes that way exceed even those at the peak of the 2012 sucker rally, which was followed by the bulk of the decline in the bear market that followed. Does this mean that we are going to see another bear market like that? No, it doesn’t, but it does mean that these positions will probably need to moderate before we see significant further gains.

Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version.

Chart courtesy of sentimentrader.com

Looking at the Hedgers’ chart going way back to before the year 2000, we see that the current readings are record readings by a significant margin and obviously increase the risks of a sizeable reaction. We can speculate about what the reasons for a decline might be, one possibility being the sector getting dragged down by a stock market crash after its blowoff top, which may be imminent, as happened in 2008, since it remains to be seen whether investors will rush into the sector as a safe haven in the event of a market crash.

Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version.

Chart courtesy of sentimentrader.com

Turning now to precious metals stocks, we see on its latest 10-year chart that GDX still looks like it is completing a giant Head-and-Shoulders bottom pattern. However, it is currently dithering just beneath resistance at the top of this base pattern, which means that it is vulnerable to backing off.

So, how then does gold stock sentiment look right now? As we can see on the 5-year chart for the Gold Miners’ Bullish Percent Index, bullishness towards the sector is now at a very high level, 84.6%, which makes it more likely that stocks will drop soon rather than rally, and what they could do, of course, is rally some to increase this level of bullishness still further, and then drop.

Does all this mean that investors in the sector should suddenly rush for the exits? No, it doesn’t, especially as the charts for many individual stocks across the sector look very bullish, and it may be that all that is needed is a cooling period of consolidation. However it does make sense to use hedges at extremes, such as leveraged inverse ETFs, and better still options as insurance, which have the advantage of providing protection for a very small capital outlay, a fine example being GLD puts, which are liquid with narrow spreads. We did this just ahead of the recent peak when Iran lobbed a volley of missiles at Iraq. We will not be selling our strongest gold and silver stocks, but instead look to buy more on dips.

Article originally published on CliveMaund.com on Sunday, January 19, 2020.

Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years’ experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts.

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Disclosure:
1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Clive Maund and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Clive Maund is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Clive Maund was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article.
2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Charts and graphics provided by the author.

CliveMaund.com Disclosure:
The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund’s opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund’s opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction.

Source: Clive Maund for Streetwise Reports   01/20/2020

Technical analyst Clive Maund charts silver and predicts a small drop in the price of the metal.

If gold is looking set to react back over the short to medium term, which it does, then it implies that silver, which is weaker at this stage in the cycle, is set to react back too.

On silver’s latest 6-month chart we can see that the fairly tight pattern that has developed over the past several weeks, which is widely interpreted to be a bull Flag, is now looking more like a small Head-and-Shoulders top, and being small, it has correspondingly small downside implications. It projects a drop soon at least to the upper boundary of the channel that silver broke out of in December. Factors making it more likely that the pattern is an H&S top are the way the advance reversed at resistance at the late September highs, with a dramatic high volume reversal candle appearing after a string of bearish looking candlesticks with long upper shadows, and, of course, the extreme positions evident on the COT and Hedgers’ charts that we will come to shortly.

Should silver drop back now or soon it shouldn’t have much effect on its long-term chart or outlook, for as we can see on its 10-year chart, it is still within a large base pattern and could drop to support in the $16 area, without doing any significant technical damage.

Silver’s latest COT chart shows that there are still heavy Commercial short and Large Spec long positions that are pretty extreme, which normally leads to a retreat, unless of course “this time it’s different.”

Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version.

Although not at wild record levels like gold, silver’s latest Hedgers’ chart shows that the reading is still quite extreme and at levels that have only been exceeded on two previous occasions since prior to the 2011 bull market peak. It can be seen that readings at these sort of levels generally lead to a silver price decline.

Click on chart to pop-up a larger, clearer version.

Chart courtesy of sentimentrader.com

The conclusion is clear: longs should either take evasive action or deploy appropriate hedges. Note that with our strongest silver stocks we will tend not to sell, but look to buy more on sector dips, such as the one that looks like it is imminent.

This article was originally published on CliveMaund.com on Sunday, January 19, 2020.

Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years’ experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts.

Sign up for our FREE newsletter at: www.streetwisereports.com/get-news

Disclosure:
1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Clive Maund and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Clive Maund is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Clive Maund was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article.
2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Charts and graphics provided by the author.

CliveMaund.com Disclosure:
The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund’s opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund’s opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction.