Vir Biotechnology reported it has entered into an agreement with Samsung Biologics valued at $362 million for large-scale manufacture of SARS-COV-2 antibodies for potential COVID-19 treatment. Though U.S. markets are closed for the Good Friday holiday, Samsung Biologics shares traded nearly 17% higher today on the Korean Stock exchange.
Clinical-stage immunology company Vir Biotechnology Inc. (VIR:NASDAQ), which is focused on treating and preventing serious infectious diseases, and contract manufacturing and laboratory testing firm Samsung Biologics (207940:KS), yesterday evening announced “a manufacturing agreement under which Samsung Biologics will perform large scale manufacturing services for Vir’s SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) program.” The deal is valued at approximately US$362 million with production scheduled to commence by Samsung Biologics in October 2020.
Dr. Tae Han Kim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, commented, “We are proud to be working as a partner with Vir in their response to the global COVID-19 pandemic…With millions of people being impacted by this virus, accessibility to effective treatment is paramount. Vir’s candidate molecules supported by Samsung Biologics’ production scale have the potential to bring hope to countless lives across nations suffering from COVID-19.”
Vir reported that “its lead SARS-CoV-2 mAb development candidates, VIR-7831 and VIR-7832, have demonstrated high affinity for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and are highly potent in neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 in live-virus cellular assays and that the company plans to proceed directly into a phase 2 clinical trial within the next three to five months.”
Vir Biotechnology’s CEO George Scangos, Ph.D., remarked, “Given the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, our expectation is that there will be a significant need around the world for antibody therapies…Accordingly, we are taking proactive steps to reserve large scale manufacturing capacity to be ready to move quickly with any of our antibody candidates that prove to be clinically safe and effective. We are pleased to partner with Samsung Biologics who share our commitment to work with exceptional speed to address this pandemic.”
The agreement between the two companies is valued at approximately $362 million. Samsung Biologics is expected to commence manufacturing in as early as October with potential commercial batches to be manufactured beginning in 2021. The parties are still negotiating the complete details and hope to form and execute a definitive agreement prior to July 31, 2020.
Samsung Biologics is a fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) based in Songdo, South Korea. The company stated that it offers state-of-the-art contract development, manufacturing and laboratory testing services and that it has the largest capacity and fastest throughput which allows it to meet the needs of biopharmaceutical companies globally.
Vir Biotechnology is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., and is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on treating and preventing serious infectious diseases. The company noted that it has developed four technology platforms created to stimulate and enhance the immune system and identify and observe natural immune processes. The company’s stated that its product pipeline candidates are being developed to target hepatitis B, influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis.
Vir Biotechnology has a market capitalization of around $3.24 billion with approximately 109.8 million shares outstanding. VIR shares did not trade today as U.S. equity markets are closed for the Good Friday holiday. The company’s shares closed Thursday afternoon at $29.50 per share prior to the announcement.
Samsung Biologics has a market capitalization of around KRW 36.968 trillion (approximately US$30.5 billion at an exchange rate of KRW 1 = US$ 0.000825177). The firm’s shares, which trade under the numerical symbol 207940, opened 4.5% higher today at KRW 500,000 (+KRW 21,500, +4.49%) over yesterday’s KRW 478,500 closing price. The stock traded today between KRW 494,500 and KRW 603,000/share and closed the day at KRW 559,000 (+KRW 80,500, +16.82%).
Disclosure: 1) Stephen Hytha compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 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 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. 6) This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.
With the recent 22% rise in the price of uranium, Peter Epstein of Epstein Research considers the upside for Skyharbour’s holdings in the Athabasca Basin.
Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (SYH:TSX.V; SYHBF:OTCQB) is in a strong position to benefit from a rebound happening right now (finally!) in uranium prices. The management team, board and technical advisors are world class, especially for a company with a market cap of CA$9.8 million (CA$9.8M)/US$7.0M [see April presentation, pp. 46].
For years pundits have been saying that a recovery in the uranium price was 312 months away. They have been wrong. For the first time in two years there’s been a noteworthy bounce in the spot price.
Spot uranium price up 22% in past five weeks
The uranium market has relatively sticky demand, as producers are required to deliver material into long-term contracts. By contrast, supply is highly concentrated in a handful of mines and jurisdictions. In the past five weeks, the spot price is up 22%, to $29.10/lb from $23.85/lb [investing.com]. That’s a four-year high.
As can be seen in the chart below, the eight largest upward moves in spot prices range from 39% to 89%, with an average of 58%. These spikes took place over an average of 6.6 months. Two important things to consider: first, this data reflects historical spot prices, not long-term contract prices; and second, the current 22% bounce is only in month two of its ascent.
If history is a guide, there could be further upside well into the summer or even fall. Having said that, there’s no certainty that the price will continue rising.
If we are at the beginning of a significant move higher, the price could move north of $35/lb. An “average” breakout move of 58% would bring the spot price to ~$38/lb. Even more important is what might happen to the long-term contract price.
Over the past 51 months, the average premium paid above spot for long-term contracts has been ~36% [Cameco Corp. website]. That implies a contract price of $52/lb (36% above the $38/lb figure). Is this too aggressive? Not necessarily; a majority of uranium producers have no interest in locking in long-term deals under $45/lb
The current premium is 12%. Could we see a $45$50/lb contract awarded this year? A move to $45/lb would likely generate a lot of excitement. We haven’t seen that level since June 2015.
Although there’s been a modest rebound in uranium stocks, I strongly believe that an increase in the contract price from the current $32.5/lb to $45/lb (or more) would spark another, possibly larger, move for the sector. It’s worth noting that historically the spot price traded above $70/lb from December 2006 to March 2008, and hit a monthly high of $136/lb in June 2007.
I find it interesting that industry leaders Cameco, Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX; DNN:NYSE.MKT), NexGen Energy Ltd., Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU:TSX; FCUUF:OTCQX; 2FU:FSE) and Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC:NYSE.MKT) are up more from their lows (+86%) than Skyharbour. Higher-risk, smaller market cap juniors are poised to have outsized gains if the uranium price continues to climb.
Goodthings are happening for Skyharbour
CEO Jordan Trimble and his team have prudently assembled a basket of six properties in the eastern half of the world-famous Athabasca uranium basin. The portfolio covers >250,000 hectares and contains wholly owned assets as well as farmed-out properties. Three projects are being actively explored, but management is only funding exploration at its 100%-owned Moore uranium project.
On March 9, option partner Orano Canada Inc. commenced its exploration programs at the Preston uranium project, located near NexGen’s high-grade Arrow deposit and Fission Uranium’s Triple Rproject. Orano can earn up to 70% of a 49,635-hectare central portion of the Preston uranium project for CA$8M over six years. Skyharbour owns 50% of the Preston project. Orano is currently about half way through the CA$8 million earn in.
On Feb. 13, Skyharbour announced the start of, and is now wrapping up, a 2020 winter diamond drill program at its flagship, 100%-owned, 35,705-hectare Moore uranium project. This project is ~15 kilometers east of Denison Mines’ Wheeler River. Management announced plans for 2,500 meters of drilling in six to nine holes to follow up on last year’s exploration successes.
An option to acquire the Moore project was obtained from Denison in June 2016. Twelve contiguous claims total a sizable 35,705 hectares (~88,230 acres) located just east of the midpoint between the Key Lake mine and mill complex and Cameco’s McArthur River mine. The project has seen extensive historical exploration, including roughly $50 million of inflation-adjusted exploration expenditures. More than 140,000 meters have been drilled in >380 holes.
100%-owned Moore project has seen a lot of drilling
Unconformity-style uranium mineralization was discovered on the Moore property at the Maverick Zone in April 2001. Historical drill results include 4.0% eU3O8 over 10 meters (10m), including 20% eU3O8 over 1.4m. In 2017, Skyharbour announced select assays of 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9m, including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5m at a vertical depth of ~265m.
Another highlight can be found at Maverick East, with an intercept of 1.8% U3O8 over 11.5m, including 4.2% U3O8 over 4.5m and 9.1% U3O8 over 1.4m. Refinement of the company’s geological and structural model has greatly improved drill targeting in the basement rocks of Maverick East, along strike and down dip of current mineralization.
This fully funded and permitted drill program is testing both unconformity and basement-hosted targets along the company’s high-grade Maverick structural corridor. Of particular interest is the active search for underlying basement feeder zones to the unconformity-hosted, high-grade uranium that’s already been identified.
Importantly, these targets have seen only minimal historical drilling. Management hopes to expand the high-grade mineralization discovered at the Maverick East Zone and to test the Goose and Viper target areas along strike, with a focus, again, on basement-hosted mineralization. It’s worth noting that most of the recent high-grade discoveries in the basin, like those made by NexGen and Fission, have been made in the basement rocks.
Most of the historical drilling at Moore has not tested basement targets and it has only been recently, with modern geophysical techniques and new geological modeling, that Skyharbour has properly refined its top basement-hosted targets, which are being tested in this drill program.
At Maverick East, drilling by Skyharbour intersected significant high-grade uranium mineralization extending from the unconformity into the basement rocks. Last year’s hole ML19-06 intersected 0.62% U3O8 over 12.0m, including a high-grade basement-hosted intercept of 2.31% U3O8over 2.5m.
Drilling to the northeast of Maverick and Maverick East will be done this year on the underexplored remaining two kilometers of the Maverick corridor. The promising Goose and Viper target areas, step-outs of ~500m and 1,500m along strike, will be drill tested.
Drill results and final assays are expected in the next month or two, so this is a key near-term catalyst for investors to look out for.
Why uranium? Why now?
Perhaps no single attribute of uranium as fuel is as compelling as this; a 20-gram pellet of uranium, just half the size of a AA battery, packs the same punch as 400 kilograms of coal, an amount that would fill a container measuring ~9.3 cubic feet! This is a big reason why nuclear power plants are popping up all over China and India. The need for uranium to fuel nuclear power plants that will replace coal-fired plants is growing by the day.
Over the past few decades the global outlook for the maintenance/growth of coal-fired power plants has fallen, with no end in sight. Although China and India will build coal plants for the foreseeable future, growth rates are slowing. In most parts of the world, it’s increasingly difficult to fund new coal plants. This is bullish for the long-term prospects of nuclear power.
Cameco’s bullish earnings commentary and the U.S. government’s 10-year proposal (starting in 2021) to spend US$150 million per year acquiring U.S.-produced uranium, barely moved the needle of investor sentiment. Depending on negotiated contract pricing, perhaps three or four million pounds (per year) will exit the market into U.S. storage. That’s fairly important for U.S. producers. However, by far the bigger news is Cameco’s bullish commentary.
Cameco’s CEO said, “. . .we have more prospective for long-term business in the contract pipeline than we have seen since 2011. . . .the underlying fact is that uranium demand is going up while supply is going down. Current weak prices are putting future supply at risk; this is not sustainable.”
Cameco offers bullish commentary
Importantly, Cameco’s CEO reported that his team has been rejecting proposals by utilities on contracts in the “$40s/lb.” There appears to be a widening gap between bids and offers. This suggests prices could move fairly rapidly as buyers finally move off the sidelines.
The spot market is relatively tight now; it typically sees between 3060 million pounds transacted annually. However, last month Cameco announced a one-month shutdown of its Cigar Lake operations. This is yet another bullish signal for uranium prices, as Cigar Lake accounts for ~13% of primary mine supply. Prior to the pandemic, Cameco had plans to buy 2022 million pounds of uranium in the spot market this year.
An extended shutdown would force Cameco to buy even more in the spot market. Other recent announcements include Namibia cutting ~10% of global supply, and the world’s largest producer, Kazatomprom, cutting up to 10.4 million pounds in 2020.
Might borehole mining be a game changer?
An industry development I’m watching is borehole mining (BHM) testing in the Athabasca Basin. Like in-situ recovery (ISR), BHM is amenable under select conditions, most notably in permeable rock at depths below ~300 meters. In BHM, a narrow hole is drilled. At bottom, high-pressure water jets break apart the ore. The resulting uranium slurry is then pumped to surface.
If any of Skyharbour’s six properties prove amenable to BHM, it could truly be a game changer. Denison and Orano have been working on this for years. As these companies continue to optimize BHM, this technology could soon be ready for primetime.
An interesting peer uranium explorer in the eastern part of the basin is IsoEnergy (ISO:TSX.V). Its market cap of approximately CA$40 million is four times the size of Skyharbour’s, a valuation discrepancy that’s due to blockbuster drill results on the company’s flagship 8,371-hectare property. Like Skyharbour, IsoEnergy is pre-maiden resource.
Could Skyharbour’s valuation approach that of IsoEnergy? If the Moore project were to hit higher grade mineralization across wider areas, then the potential for the larger (35,705-hectare) property would be immense. No one knows what the drill bit will deliver, but it’s worth reiterating that in addition to Moore, Skyharbour has multiple exploration programs underway with partners Orano and Azincourt Uranium Inc. (AAZ:TSX.V).
Six properties, three actively explored = increased discovery potential
Skyharbour stands to benefit from discoveries on its 50%-owned Preston project, being drilled by Orano, and the East Preston project, being drilled by Azincourt. [Note: Both Orano and Azincourt can earn up to 70% interests in Preston and East Preston]. Orano is currently doing geophysical work and a field program to generate drill targets. Azincourt is conducting a $1.2M drill program consisting of 2,0002,500 meters in 1015 holes.
By farming out assets, Skyharbour has three bites at the uranium apple. These prospects in the world-famous Athabasca Basin could become considerably more valuable if/when uranium prices move higher. Exploration success, plus a continued uptick in prices, could drive juniors higher, especially the share prices of companies that operate in safe, ultra-high-grade jurisdictions.
During the last major uranium bull market, there were hundreds of juniors to choose from. Today there are, at most, a few dozen worth consideration, and far fewer in the Athabasca Basin, with a world-class team, minimal cash burn, low valuation and multiple projects being actively explored. Companies like Skyharbour Resources (TSX-V: SYH / OTCQB: SYHBF) have ample room for upside.
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.
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 Skyharbour 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 Skyharbour 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 interview was posted, Peter Epstein owned no shares in Skyharbour Resources, and Skyharbour was an advertiser on [ER].
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 & financial calculations, or for the completeness of this article or future content. [ER] is not expected or required to subsequently follow or cover events & 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: Skyharbour Resources. 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 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 interview, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Skyharbour Resources, a company mentioned in this article.
Shares of MediciNova traded higher after the company reported that it plans to initiate a clinical study of MN-166 (ibudilast) for COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Biopharmaceutical company MediciNova, Inc. yesterday announced that “it will initiate a clinical trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019).”
MediciNova reported that “the study will be conducted by Yale’s Advanced Therapies Group, which is co-directed by Richard Bucala, M.D., Ph.D., chief of rheumatology, allergy & immunology at Yale School of Medicine and rheumatologist-in-chief at Yale New Haven Health.”
Dr. Bucala commented, “We are very excited to partner with MediciNova to pursue this novel approach for the treatment of lethal inflammation in COVID-19 patients…We believe MN-166 has the potential to reduce the mortality of COVID-19 by limiting the hyperinflammation and ARDS associated with severe cases.”
The firm additionally identified Dr. Geoffrey Chupp, professor of medicine (pulmonology), director of the Yale Center for Asthma and Airway Disease and director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory at Yale-New Haven Hospital, as the lead principal investigator for the trial.
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to study MN-166 in COVID-19-induced ARDS patients and look forward to initiating treatment. We currently have approximately 200 COVID-19 patients at Yale with 34 on ventilators. We are hopeful that MN-166 will help patients with the most severe cases of COVID-19.” Dr. Chupp remarked.
The company’s President and CEO Yuichi Iwaki, M.D. Ph.D., added, “We are very pleased to announce initiation of a clinical trial of MN-166 in ARDS caused by COVID-19. This study also will allow investigators to determine the optimal dose and route of administration in these very critical patients.”
The firm mentioned that there are no effective therapies beyond supportive care for ARDS, which is caused by excessive inflammation, and that ARDS is frequently a lethal lung condition. The company explained that in normal circumstances the lungs exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide in small airway sacs called alveoli, however, “in ARDS, there is extensive inflammation and tissue injury in the alveoli of the lungs, and loss of the surfactant, a substance necessary for keeping alveoli open. These changes prevent the lungs from filling properly with air and providing the body with enough oxygen, causing life-threatening difficulty breathing.”
The company described MN-166 (ibudilast) as “a first-in-class, orally bioavailable, small molecule macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitor and phosphodiesterase (PDE) -4 and -10 inhibitor that suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines and promotes neurotrophic factors and that its earlier human studies demonstrated significant reductions of serum MIF level after treatment with MN-166 (ibudilast).”
MediciNova is biopharma company based in La Jolla, Calif., that was established for the purpose of developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs. The company stated that its efforts are now concentrated primarily on MN-166 (ibudilast) for neurological disorders and MN-001 (tipelukast) for fibrotic diseases including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
MediciNova started the day with a market capitalization of around $193.8 million with approximately 43.96 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 6.7%. MNOV shares opened 23% higher today at $5.44 (+$1.03, +23.36%) over yesterday’s $4.41 closing price. The stock has traded today between $5.11 and 6.84 per share and closed the day at $6.09 (+$1.68, +43.10%).
Disclosure: 1) Stephen Hytha compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 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 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. 6) This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.
An operational update on Victoria Gold is provided in a BMO Capital Markets report.
In an April 7 research note, BMO Capital Markets analyst Andrew Mikitchook reported that Victoria Gold Corp. (VGCX:TSX; VITFF:OTCMKTS) is expected to increase gold production significantly at its Eagle mine in the Yukon, with commercial production starting in late Q2/20 or early Q3/20.
The latter “remains a key deliverable for Victoria’s valuation, and we are monitoring progress closely,” he added. Until commercial production commences, the Canadian gold company will likely remain in a break even status or close to one, according to BMO’s modeling.
While operations continue at Eagle, Victoria Gold is adhering to a COVID-19 action plan to minimize risks to its employees.
Mikitchook reviewed the production from Eagle to date, which totaled 27,822 ounces (27,822 oz). In 2019, the mine produced 17,214 oz and in Q1/20, produced 10,608 oz, both lower than BMO’s estimates of $20,000 oz and 23,000 oz, respectively.
Stacking was restarted earlier this year and amounted to 888,000 tons in March, exceeding BMO’s forecast. Of the total stacking, though, only a small part was “likely under leach for any significant portion of Q1/20,” noted Mikitchook. “This is a timing adjustment, and we expect this production to roll over into Q2/20 and beyond.”
BMO has an Outperformer rating and a CA$14 per share target price on Victoria Gold, which is currently trading at around CA$7.60 per share.
Disclosure: 1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 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 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.
Disclosures from BMO Capital Markets, Victoria Gold, April 7, 2020
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Analyst’s Certification I, Andrew Mikitchook, hereby certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject securities or issuers. I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.
Analysts who prepared this report are compensated based upon (among other factors) the overall profitability of BMO Capital Markets and their affiliates, which includes the overall profitability of investment banking services. Compensation for research is based on effectiveness in generating new ideas and in communication of ideas to clients, performance of recommendations, accuracy of earnings estimates, and service to clients.
Company Specific Disclosures
Disclosure 16: A research analyst has extensively viewed the material operations of Victoria Gold.
Disclosure 17: Victoria Gold has paid or reimbursed some or all of the research analyst’s travel expenses.
For Important Disclosures on the stocks discussed in this report, please click here.
Bob Moriarty of 321gold shares his thoughts on the coronavirus.
If there was ever a time for real leaders to step forward and lead, the last four months would have been the time to do so. If there was an issue that demanded cooperation from all the nations of the world, we have seen it. Instead we have been fed a steady diet of disinformation and outright lies from almost every government at most levels. If these are the leaders, we ought to fire the whole lot and start anew. Instead of “women and children first,” we are seeing “every man for himself.”
I’ve been fairly quiet for the last ten days or so and a lot of people have been bugging me to write more. Certainly this is an important issue so I’ll give you my thoughts.
It seems pretty obvious to me that the Chinese government was lying about the number of deaths right from the first. And it continues. They are understating the size of the issue and have been all along.
On the other hand, the US government is also lying through their teeth but appear to be overstating the deaths from the coronavirus. All of a sudden every victim in the U.S. qualifies as a coronavirus death. In San Antonio the officials called a preemie born at 22 weeks a coronavirus victim.
Guys, don’t be stupid. Normal gestation in humans is 40 weeks. A 22-week preemie stands virtually no chance of survival. But it didn’t die of the virus.
Much is made of the number of Italians who have died. The Italians have the oldest average age in Europe. Of course they are dying. Old people die all the time. Yes, the old age homes in Washington had high rates of mortality.
But think about that for a moment. No one goes into an old folks home for a vacation. They all know they are going to die there or in a hospital. That’s why they went in the first place. Signing up for an old age home is eventually a bit of a death sentence, not necessarily from the coronavirus. Many people in old age homes in the US die every year just from the flu. But today they are all being written off as the coronavirus, not heart attacks or flu or just old age.
How can it possibly be that four months after it became obvious that the world has a big problem that so little real information has come out? Did you know that the number of deaths in Beijing and Shanghai
is tiny? How come the country managed to export the virus to the entire world but skipped the two most important cities in China?
and realized that a lot more people showed positive to the virus antibodies than they realized, some 15% of the total. According to the German numbers the death rate was more like 0.37 or four times as dangerous as the ordinary flu. That’s tiny compared to what has been quoted elsewhere.
Iceland tested 36,000 of their citizens, about 10% of the total for the tiny country. They found half the people tested showed positive for the virus, however there had only been seven deaths out of 1,600 cases of the virus. As a matter of interest, Iceland tested twenty times as many of their citizens as the UK on a percentage basis. The death rate shown by the UK is stated as 30 times higher than that of Iceland.
and just how dangerous it is but because of this chronic “every man for himself” attitude, we pretty much have to guess. I’m not a doctor or any sort of expert but I have to go through dozens of articles a day about everything so I have a tiny bit of a feel for the issue.
Almost all people dying of the virus have other issues but here are the most important. The virus is most deadly when it invades the lungs and often causes double pneumonia. It’s an ugly death. The patient literally drowns.
The virus is most dangerous to those with asthma, hypertension or simply old age. Weight seems to be a factor and obesity could put you in the high-risk category. Blacks and minorities seem to have a higher chance of dying than whites. Few children develop serious cases but do on occasion.
Watching the daily briefing on the virus is like a free ticket to a circus run by the clowns. The official head of the federal government’s Corona Task Force is supposed to be Vice President Mike Pence but he stands near Trump looking like a cross between a wooden store clothing dummy and an organ grinder’s monkey holding a tin can out for donations.
President Trump immediately goes into his opera scales routine that he is so good at. In bass, “ME, ME, ME” and switching over to soprano, “ME, ME, ME” and down to tenor to finish, “ME, ME, ME.” His latest brilliance was to credit lovely Ivanka with the creation of the last fifteen million jobs created out of the six point seven million new jobs since he took office.
Not to be outdone, we have the media, all in makeup, eager to feast on every stupid comment out of the mouth of the president. If Trump came out in favor of peace in the universe, Santa Claus and free kittens for little girls, the media would immediately find fault with all three.
But where we begin to bring light to the real issues of the coronavirus is by looking at the positions taken by Dr. Anthony Fauci. At first he claimed two million Americans would die. That number dropped to two hundred and forty thousand and now it seems to be about sixty thousand. That’s lower than the deaths from ordinary flu in a typical winter. Is it possible that he has an agenda that is just now being exposed?
Dr. Fauci is presented as the Federal Government’s leading expert on immunology and infectious diseases. But is he really or should he be?
When President Trump learned of a small French trial by a doctor of an anti-malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine (Let’s call it HCQ) Dr. Fauci was the first but hardly the last to point out that the HCQ while in common use, hadn’t been through a vigorous double blind study for use with the coronavirus.
That is both true and utterly meaningless at the same time. What if the drug that some doctor believed would save lives of patients with the virus was simple aspirin? Certainly aspirin hasn’t been through any sort of professional and vigorous test against the virus. But who cares?
If it works, it works. If it doesn’t work, you don’t use it. We have a good idea of what dosage of aspirin is safe and when it becomes dangerous.
How long would it take to test? Well, not being a doctor but having some ability to think for myself, you have a bunch of doctors hand out a handful of aspirin and in a couple of days
have a pretty good feel for success or failure. If everybody dies given aspirin, it might be a good idea to stop. If everyone lives that you gave aspirin to, go buy some stock in Bayer and do a professional write up of how great aspirin is to cure the virus.
from a government organization talking about testing HCQ, “NIH scientists said urgent clinical evidence is needed. Even so, the study is not estimated to be completed until July 2021.”
OK, Dr. Fauci and the NIH, we will do it the most professional way. Fifteen months from now we will know if it should be used or not. What a brilliant idea. Why didn’t I think of that? </p’
By the way Dr. Fauci, just how many people in the world will die of the Corona Virus between now and July 2021 because you wouldn’t recommend HCQ because it hadn’t been tested in the most professional way?
But it gets even worse. Now this really is anecdotal and we know how Dr. Fauci hates that. He seems to love the idea of a vaccine and some sort of social credit system
and we can ease into total control of everyone by the government as time passes.
I’m going to point out something here that I learned from Quinton Hennigh. This coronavirus does not contain DNA. It contains RNA, which is different. It is entirely possible that you can catch the virus multiple times.
So put everyone on some sort of government database but it doesn’t matter to his or her health because it’s possible they can catch it again and again. We don’t know yet. The most important thing is to get them on that list so we can have total control of them the way China does over their people.
and Dr. Fauci agree on one thing. They want the national database. When someone comes up with a vaccine hopefully from Bill Gates, at that point we add credit to their entry in the database for having been vaccinated. They can then travel or buy food or work in certain industries. The idea of a massive government database is just wonderful. You can control every aspect of a person’s life once on the list.
I’m going to shock my readers now by telling you something no one has ever told you before. Sit down, make yourself comfortable and don’t collapse at the news.
There is no Santa Claus.
Take a deep breath and relax. I know it’s a shock.
There is no Santa Claus. Your mommy and daddy should have briefed you but the cookies and milk, it was all a waste of time. There isn’t a Santa.
So why are so many people convinced we are going to have a vaccine for the coronavirus? HIV has been a problem for forty plus years and we have no vaccine.
You can make a bundle with a good vaccine. Or even a poor vaccine that really doesn’t do much of anything.
Why would you want a simple off the shelf drug to cure the virus when you can cash in big time by forcing people to be vaccinated? And by the way vaccines kill a lot of people and often don’t prevent the diseases they claim to.
In my opinion the coronavirus scare is more a function of government control than a real threat. That is not to say that it’s not dangerous. It is dangerous and it will kill tens of thousands of people in the US alone.
But you want to worry about people dying before their time and lives destroyed, you might want to consider the effects of the Greatest Depression that I have been warning about for years. In January I said it was here. In February I said it was here. Do you get it yet?
It is here.
The damage done from the coronavirus is tiny compared to the damage done by the economic depression, all brought to you thanks to Washington and Wall Street. The coronavirus did not cause the depression. Wall Street and Washington caused the depression and I was one of many predicting it well in advance.
The overreaction to the virus based on lies and little information out of China and an utterly dysfunctional group of clowns running the US have shattered supply chains around the world leaving tens of millions of Americans with no jobs, no money and no future.
In the movie “The Big Short,” one of the characters predicted that for every 1% increase in unemployment, some 40,000 people would die and early death. It could be suicide, drugs, alcohol, spousal abuse, heart attacks, but being out of work and poor kills a lot of people. So if we go to 32% unemployment as the Federal Reserve predicts, how many people must die?
The over reaction to the virus broke the supply chains but the depression will destroy demand. It wasn’t due to the virus but the disease put the negative effects of the depression into hyper drive.
Governments always want more and more control over their citizens. Never let a crisis go to waste. But at some point the divide between the 1% and the 99% gets so great that the great unwashed become the great armed and pissed. Am I the only person to hear the sound of pitchforks being sharpened?
Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates may need to be reminded of the old saying, “Be careful of what you wish for.”
Bob Moriarty founded 321gold.com, with his late wife, Barbara Moriarty, more than 16 years ago. They later added 321energy.com to cover oil, natural gas, gasoline, coal, solar, wind and nuclear energy. Both sites feature articles, editorial opinions, pricing figures and updates on current events affecting both sectors. Previously, Moriarty was a Marine F-4B and O-1 pilot with more than 832 missions in Vietnam. He holds 14 international aviation records.
Disclosure: 1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Bob Moriarty and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Bob Moriarty is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Bob Moriarty 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.
This week – April 12 through April 18 – central banks from 4 countries or jurisdictions are scheduled to decide on monetary policy: Indonesia, Canada, Namibia and Peru.
Following table includes the name of the country, the date of the next policy decision, the current policy rate, the result of the last policy decision, the change in the policy rate year to date, and the rate one year ago.
The table is updated when the latest decisions are announced and can always accessed by clicking on This Week.
Ron Struthers of Struthers’ Research Report takes a look at the investment thesis for Ridgestone Mining.
The correction in gold ended with the drop to the $1,460/ounce area. We see these spikes up of higher highs. It is like the gold market is a pressure cooker, trying to explode upward, and soon it will.
New, well-structured deal with strong shareholder base;
Strong management team with recent success in Mexico;
Rebeico project is in prolific Sierra Madre belt (80 million [80M] ounces Au and 4.5 billion [4.5B] ounces Ag);
Four targets with numerous historical workings (veins, IP [induced polarization] anomaly and breccia zone);
Initial high-grade drill results from the Alaska vein, up to 36.1 g/t gold over 1.5 meters;
Attracted the likes of Dr. Steven I. Weiss, PhD, CPG, as adviser; Glamis Gold Inc. (GLG:NYSE) and Newmont Goldcorp Corp. (NEM:NYSE) Mexico
Project has very little modern exploration; was acquired based on vendor’s expertise and past success;
March 23: commenced a 10-hole, 1,500-meter phase 1 diamond drilling program on breccia target;
You will be familiar with some of the management team because they discovered the mines now run by Argonaut Gold Inc. (AR:TSX) in Mexico;
Recent price: $0.21/share;
Shares outstanding: 42.2 million;
Fully diluted: 58.1 million;
9.3 million warrants, all exercisable at $0.25m expire June and October 2023
Management
Ridgestone is headed up by Jonathan George, CEO and director. George is a geologist and mining entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in mineral exploration, development and financing of projects globally. From the Ridgestone website: “Mr. George cofounded Creston Moly and served as president and CEO, where he spearheaded over $40 million in equity financing to acquire and advance the El Creston project in Mexico. Under his leadership, the El Creston project advanced to become Mexico’s largest molybdenum deposit, advancing through to prefeasibility in under two years, and was subsequently acquired by Mercator Minerals for $195 million.
“Mr. George also previously served as president and CEO of ESO Uranium, which subsequently became Alpha Minerals, and was instrumental in both assembling and exploring one of the largest land packages in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. This land package was where Alpha Minerals and its partner, Fission Energy, made one of the basin’s most significant uranium discoveriesthe Patterson Lake South project.
“Mr. George also founded Dynasty Gold Corp., serving as president and CEO, where he and his team secured the largest land package of exploration rights held by a foreign company in China, conducting gold and base metals exploration in Xinjiang, Gansu and Qinghai provinces.”
Ridgestone is partnered with YQ Gold de Mexico S.A. de C.V. for their exploration expertise. YQ Gold was founded by three accomplished geologists to acquire and explore promising projects in northern Mexico [also from the website]:
“Alfonso Daco, BSc. Geology, President, has had a long and illustrious career in mineral exploration since graduating from the University of Philippines in 1967. After working for Nippon Mining and Metals exploring for copper and gold in the Philippines, Alfonso immigrated to Canada and was hired by Ned Goodman’s Campbell Resources and sent to Chibougamou, Quebec. While with the Goodman Group of companies, Alfonso was instrumental in the discovery of the El Castillo Gold Mine (more than 1 million ounces gold), the La Colorado gold Mine (more than 2 million ounces gold and 18 million ounces silver) and the Lluvia de Oro/Jojoba Gold mine (more than 500,000 ounces of gold).
“Francisco Navarro, BSc. Geology, Country Manager, received his BSc in Geology from the University of Sonora in 1986 and has been actively involved in mineral exploration and project management since then. Born and raised in Hermosillo, Sonora, Francisco has held senior management positions with numerous subsidiaries of Canadian junior resource companies, including Creston Moly Corp., Morgain Minerals Inc, Valdez Gold and Columbia Metals. Francisco’s extensive network within the Mexican mining community, particularly Sonora, is invaluable to all aspects of the Company’s endeavors in Mexico.”
In early March Ridgestone appointed Dr. Steven I. Weiss, PhD, CPG, is chief independent technical adviser for its Rebeico gold and copper project. From the website: “Mr. Weiss has worked as an exploration geologist since 1979, in roles from generative through to senior project management. Mr. Weiss began work in Mexico in 2003 when he joined Glamis Gold to lead their exploration team at the El Sauzal gold mine (total of 1.7M oz gold produced) and in the surrounding Sierra Madre Occidental. He continued working in Mexico for Goldcorp, following their acquisition of Glamis Gold in 2006, where he built and led the team at its Camino Rojo gold-silver deposit, which proved up an initial 1.6M oz gold in reserves and more than doubled its gold resource from 3.4M oz to 7.5M oz gold. Steve held the position of Mexico Exploration Manager when he departed Goldcorp in 2013. Since 2014, Mr. Weiss has been a senior associate geologist with Mine Development Associates, headquartered in Reno, Nevada.”
Projects
Ridgestone has a lot of experience, success and connections in Mexico, and that is where they are focused with an exceptional property. I have little doubt that this will be another significant discovery.
Rebeico Copper-Gold Project [from the company website]
The project is located in Mexico’s famed Sierra Madre Gold belt, one of the world’s largest and most prolific mineral districts, credited with production of over 80 million ounces of gold and over 4.5 billion ounces of silver. It is located 115 kilometers east of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and is easily accessed by paved and all-weather roads.
Rebeico is the site of numerous, historical, small underground mines that were developed along a one-kilometer, steeply dipping vein referred to as the “Alaska” vein. Old workings along the Alaska vein were developed to depths of approximately 70 meters over widths of 1.5 meters and occur intermittently along strike. The mines were developed to extract gold, copper and silver ores during the early 1940s, and were sent for refining to El Paso, Texas
Since that time, little activity took place on the properties until they were consolidated in the mid-2000s by a local Mexican geologist, Ing. Francisco Navarro, who founded YQ Gold de Mexico S.A. de C.V. with two other accomplished geologists, to further explore and develop the promising prospect. YQ Gold undertook a compilation of all available historical data and determined that the property had exceptional potential for the discovery of multiple styles of gold, copper and silver mineralization.
In June last year the company acquired a significant land package adjacent to the original property to enhance the project. The new acquisition area is 3,292 hectares to the west of the original claims and in green on the next graphic. Initial reconnaissance encountered numerous artisanal workings and mineralized outcrops which were sampled and tested for copper and gold. Based on a review of government records, little to no modern exploration has been undertaken in recent years.
I am going to use the graphics from their presentation to highlight the three main targets before the land acquisition. [Here is] the Alaska vein, breccia zone and the IP anomaly.
Financial
The company is well structured and has strong shareholder support. They just raised funds ahead of the recent market turmoil, which did not seem to affect the share price much at all. In late February, Ridgestone closed a $1.05 million private placement at $0.15 per share with a half warrant exercisable at $0.30, good for one year.
Summary
YQ Gold de Mexico originally acquired the claims containing the known Alaska vein, a high-grade gold and copper vein bearing similar characteristics to their past discoveries.
Surface sampling and prospecting has demonstrated continuity of the Alaska vein over one kilometer. An initial eight-hole drilling program in 2018 returned several good intersects on the Alaska vein, including 8.31 g/t Au, 17.7 g/t Au and 36.1 g/t Au, and up to 2.41% copper.
The project is in the prolific Sierra Madre gold belt, which has produced over 80 million ounces of gold from dozens of mines. There is excellent infrastructure including paved highway access, power and water.
Alfonso and Francisco (YQ Gold) are confident about reproducing past successes with this project. They have determined that there are likely parallel veins associated with the Alaska vein, and possibly a large, deep-seated mineralized source. Their recent success at La Colorada began with two veins, but in between was a large area of disseminated gold that enabled a successful low-cost heap leach mining operation.
Now, Ridgestone Mining has the opportunity to reap the benefits of Alfonso and Francisco’s expertise by earning 100% in the Rebeico Copper/Gold Project.
In addition to the well-defined Alaska vein, a newly discovered mineralized zone to the south presents a significant new form of mineralization. This new style of mineralization, identified as an oxidized breccia zone, has been identified on surface over an area of 150×150 meters, and with surface sampling ranging from 1.0 to 26.0 g/t gold and 0.2 to 0.7% copper. A recently completed geophysical survey has indicated this structure could be part of a significantly larger mineralized structure at depth.
On March 23, Ridgestone commenced a 10-hole, 1,500-meter, phase 1 diamond drilling program at the newly discovered gold-bearing and copper-bearing New Year zone at its Rebeico gold-copper project. From the press release:
First-ever drilling at the New Year Zone will be focused on the potential continuation at depth and sub-surface geometry of high-grade gold-copper mineralization discovered with 2019 surface sampling that returned up to 12.95 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) and 0.65 per cent copper (Cu);
Drilling will also test the southern portion of the nearby Alaska vein, south of hole 18REB10, which in 2018 returned 36.10 g/t Au over 1.5 meters at 103.64 to 105.14 meters;
Specifically, the potential subsurface junction of the New Year Zone with the southern part of Alaska vein will be targeted.
On April 7, RMI put out a news release about progress on the first the holes and all of them showed mineralization in the core. We will have to wait for assays, but there could be a discovery hole in the making. The first three diamond-core holes in the New Year Zone completed for a total of 435.7 meters with visible sulfide mineralization observed in all three holes. From the release:
Drill hole 20REB014D was drilled vertically and initially planned for a depth of 100 meters but was extended to 170 meters due to the continued presence of visible sulfide mineralization.
Drill hole 20REB015D was collared at the same site as 20REB014D and drilled due west at an inclination of 55 degrees. The hole was initially planned for a depth of 150 meters but was extended to 167 meters due to the continued presence of visible sulfide mineralization.
Drill hole 20REB013D was drilled vertically and reached a total depth of 98 meters with sulfide mineralization observed in the core.
I believe the odds are very high that this drilling, and future drill rounds can prove up a significant discovery. The stock is tightly held and not much volume until the past month. It has been mostly in a trading range between $0.20 and $0.26, and I would be accumulating up to $0.30. A move above $0.30 would mark a clear breakout, and the stock could then make a significant move higher, which means more aggressive buying at that point could be a good strategy.
And one last key point, someone like Steven Weiss does not just join any project or company.
I participated in the last financing and currently own 82,000 shares. I may also aid the company in future finance rounds.
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.
Disclosure: 1) Ron Struthers: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Ridgestone Mining. 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: I helped Ridgestone Mining raise funds in last financing and may do so in future ones. 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.
Sound Money Defense League Policy Director Jp Cortez joins Phil Kennedy of Kennedy Financial to discuss sound money on the state and federal level, and the harms of inflation.
The Money Metals News Service provides market news and crisp commentary for investors following the precious metals markets.
I’m Mike Gleason and thanks for tuning in to this week’s Market Wrap Podcast.
Well we’re still seeing unprecedented demand here at Money Metals Exchange and given that sourcing product, fulfilling orders, and handling customer service needs continues to be an all-consuming activity for our able staff. We hope to be able to return to having outside guest interviews on the Money Metals podcastS in the coming weeks, but for this week, we’re keeping it to the market update segment.
Wild price action and unprecedented interventions once again characterized this holiday-shortened trading week.
Oil prices whipsawed lower Thursday on concerns about expected oil production cuts from Russia and Saudi Arabia. But the general trend for most other assets, including metals and equities, was up – way up.
Stocks finished out the week with the major averages posting their biggest weekly gains in decades in the space of just four trading days. Investors went on a buying spree based on hopes that we will soon see a definitive peak in coronavirus cases and begin the process of restarting the economy.
The stock market also got another boost from the Federal Reserve. Yesterday, the Fed rolled out a $2.3 trillion loan package for local governments and businesses struggling with the current economic freeze. Since they have a money printing press, Jerome Powell and company have an unlimited budget to loan out and spend – and they’re now adding junk bonds, of all things, to their shopping list.
More on that later. But let’s first get to the tremendous price moves this week in precious metals markets.
Gold rallied Thursday to close at a fresh new 7-year high of $1,704 per ounce. Yes, the gold bull market is officially back on track on the heels of a 3.9% gain this week.
Despite suffering a setback during last month’s panic selling of all assets, the money metal has now recouped ALL of those losses. In so doing, gold has proven the doubters and naysayers wrong yet again – particularly those in the deflation camp who tout U.S. dollar cash as the ultimate safe haven.
During mass liquidation episodes like we experienced a few weeks ago, cash is king. But such status is temporary and fleeting – lasting only as long as it takes the Fed to implement novel and previously unimaginable schemes to print and depreciate the currency. In the long run under our monetary system, cash is something to avoid like the plague.
That’s what the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund believes. In January, billionaire hedge fund king Ray Dalio made a strong declaration about paper money in a CNBC interview.
Ray Dalio: What do you jump into when you jump off the train? And the issue is you can’t jump into cash. Cash is trash, because they’re going to print money. What do you do? You get out.
CNBC Interviewer #1: So what do you do?
Ray Dalio: So what you have to do is you have to have a well-diversified portfolio. I think that you have to have a certain amount of gold in your portfolio, or you have to have something that’s hard. I know I’m going to come out of here (and everyone will be) like “Ray Dalio’s wild on gold.”
CNBC Interviewer #2: I’m going to say “cash is trash” is your headline.
Ray Dalio: But cash is trash.
Admittedly, Dalio’s call on cash looked terrible during the depths of last month’s market crash. But a mere two weeks into April, his call on gold looks brilliant. Gold is outperforming all forms of paper cash this year and is now up double digits versus the U.S. dollar.
Silver is also starting to emerge as a superior form of wealth in this unprecedented period of unlimited emergency currency creation by the Fed. Spot silver prices are up a dollar, or 6.8%, this week to trade at $15.70 an ounce.
Platinum checks in at $758 after gaining 3.6% since last Friday’s close. And finally, palladium closed yesterday at $2,230 an ounce, up a modest 0.9% on the week.
Well, as I noted earlier, the Federal Reserve is now adding junk bonds – the riskiest, lowest quality corporate debt instruments – to its balance sheet. Such a move by the custodian of the world’s reserve currency would have previously been unthinkable. It may even be illegal, but the central bank has long since strayed from its original Congressional mandate and nobody in Washington seems to care.
Previously in our history, the U.S. dollar was backed by gold and silver and could not be inflated to serve any purpose, let alone to bail out banks and private corporations. Then after the Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and President Richard Nixon closed the international gold window in 1971, fiat Federal Reserve notes were backed only by the full faith and credit of the United States.
After 2008, the era of Quantitative Easing began as the Fed ballooned its balance sheet with Treasury and agency bonds. In 2020, we are entering a new monetary era – the era of Unlimited Easing, the era of Federal Reserve Notes attaining the status of junk.
How rapidly the downgrading of the U.S. dollar translates into real losses of purchasing power remains to be seen. But we could certainly see price spikes across an array of raw materials and consumer goods once economic lockdowns are lifted and pent-up demand is released with trillions of newly created junk dollars circulating in the financial system.
One of the most practical forms of hard money to hold for protection against junk dollar depreciation is junk silver. Don’t let the name fool you, though. “Junk” silver is actually up to 90% pure and consists of dimes, quarters, and half dollars minted before 1965. Their instantly recognizable design and handy size for small-scale transactions makes these coins ideal for barter and trade.
Even if you never use them in direct economic transactions, you can still benefit from holding them as part of a core investment in physical precious metals. A gold and silver coin stash will never become trash.
Well that will do it for this week, thanks for listening. Be sure to check back next Friday for our next Weekly Market Wrap Podcast. Until then, this have been Mike Gleason with Money Metals Exchange, thanks for listening and have a great Easter weekend everybody.
The Money Metals News Service provides market news and crisp commentary for investors following the precious metals markets.
– Now that you’ve learned about Fibonacci Price Theory Part I and how major and minor Fibonacci Price Pivots help to map out true price structure Part II, we’ll continue our research article illustrating why we believe a deeper price low should take place before a true bottoms sets up in the US and global markets.
Our researchers use a host of available tools and proprietary price modeling systems in an attempt to identify the most likely outcome of future price activity. Within this article, we’re focusing on the Fibonacci Price Theory and our Adaptive Fibonacci Price Modeling system. We just taught you about Fibonacci Price Pivots and how to use them. Now, we are going to go into a detailed analysis of deeper Fibonacci price theory with the NQ (NASDAQ)
Daily Nasdaq Fibonacci Chart
This Daily NQ chart, below, should show you a whole new world if you are viewing the chart bars in the Fibonacci price structure. The recent highs in price, near 8000, have established a minor Fibonacci High Pivot. There is another minor Fibonacci High Pivot back near 9000 in the midst of the sell-off. There are others in this chart as well – see if you can find them.
The structure of price based on Fibonacci Price Theory continues to suggest that resistance will be found near the 7875 or the 8210 levels in the NQ that may prompt a strong Bearish price reversal. The NQ price would have to rally to levels above 9000, at this point, to qualify as a potential Bullish trend based on Fibonacci Price Theory. The minor price pivot high near 9000 can be interpreted at a Major Price Pivot because of the size of the downside price move.
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Weekly Nasdaq Fibonacci Chart
This last chart highlights our Weekly Adaptive Fibonacci Price Modeling system and shows the GREEN Trigger Line on the right side of the chart. The Bullish Trigger level on the NQ Weekly chart is at 8200. This suggests that the NQ price would have to rally and close above the 8200 level to have any type of early confirmation of a potential bullish price trend. If the price were to fail near 8200 and fall below this level, then the bullish trigger is negated.
You can see what our research team expects to happen by the drawn levels on the chart below. We believe a deeper price low must complete in order for the proper Fibonacci price structure to set up a bottom. The next Major low price pivot for the NQ is the 2018 low level near 5824. It is very likely that this level will become the next downside target should the current NQ price rally fail. Remember, failure to establish a new price high means price must attempt to establish a new price low.
If you are trying to call a bottom in this market, we urge you to move towards a safer stance in your investing style. We moved our clients into a nearly 100% cash position just before the peak in the markets. Since then, we’ve been very protective of assets and allocated only a small portion of our capital to new trade signals.
This is not the time to get married to any positions or trades. The markets can change in an instant and the volatility is still excessive (VIX above 40)
As a technical analyst and trader since 1997, I have been through a few bull/bear market cycles in stocks and commodities. I believe I have a good pulse on the market and timing key turning points for investing and short-term swing traders. 2020 is going to be an incredible year for skilled traders. Don’t miss all the incredible moves and trade setups.
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We all have trading accounts, and while our trading accounts are important, what is even more important are our long-term investment and retirement accounts. Why? Because they are, in most cases, our largest store of wealth other than our homes, and if they are not protected during a time like this, you could lose 25-50% or more of your entire net worth. The good news is we can preserve and even grow our long term capital when things get ugly like they are now and ill show you how and one of the best trades is one your financial advisor will never let you do because they do not make money from the trade/position.
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