← Back to Archive

The IKN Weekly
Week 626, May 23rd 2021
Contents
This Week: In today’s edition, Victoria Day, When it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Fundamental Analysis: An analysis of McEwen Mining (MUX) (part one of two).
Stocks to Follow: Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v), Minera Alamos (MAI.v), Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v),
Excelsior Mining (MIN.to), New Gold (NGD), QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v), Orezone (ORE.v).
Copper Basket: Overview, The Peru copper stocks (REG.v, PERU.v, CCCM.v, ECU.v), Western
Copper & Gold (WRN.to), Chibougamau (CBG.v).
Producer Basket: Overview, Pan American Silver (PAAS), Streamerwatch.
Tiny Dogs: Overview, Contact Gold (C.v).
Regional Politics: A Covid-19 update for Argentina and Uruguay, Guatemala: The pre-
consultancy at Escobal begins, Peru election polling and commentary, Chile, Argentina, tax
hikes and Lukas Lundin.
Market Watching: An eye on the Roxgold (ROXG.to) side bet, Wesdome Gold (WDO.to) got
away, Why Filo Mining (FIL.v) stalled.
I remind subscribers that no part of this newsletter can be copied, reproduced or
given to any third party without the express permission of the author.
This Week

In today’s edition
 Today’s main event is part one of a longer than normal analysis on McEwen Mining
(MUX), a difficult and unloved precious metals mining company. Today we set the
scene by running over its financials and pointing to its woes, next week we’ll see if the
company can do anything about them.
 Ten day price charts have taken over this edition. I often use them, but this weekend
has a real flurry because our focus junior complex lagged the rally in the seniors that
started the week before. At least I think that’s why there are so many.
 We continue to cover Peru’s election closely but don’t expect good news. Meanwhile,
the heavily Peru-exposed Pan American Silver continues to get more than its fair share
of coverage (I don’t own any, after all)
 The Copper Basket continues to take centre stage, as despite last week’s metal sell-off,
plenty of the right stocks are now moving up and evidence for that our land grab
theory is working.
Victoria Day
Everyone would gather on the 24th of May
Sitting in the sand to watch the firework display
Dancing fires on the beach, singing songs together
Though it’s just a memory some memories last forever
Rush, Lakeside Park, 1975
A reminder that tomorrow is May Two Four, which refers either to the date on the calendar or
1

the number of beers in the trunk of your car. Or both. As tomorrow Monday in Canada is
Victoria Day, its capital markets are closed.
When it ain’t broke don’t fix it
We witnessed another constructive week for precious metals and their stocks and, even with
copper dropping back, the base metals sector did okay, too. The tidal flow of money back into
miners is easy to track in our ETF-dominated world, the simplest of observation on GDX
volumes will suffice:
We as junior investors and speculators have to account for gold’s movements without ever
getting to control them (or understand them for that
matter), the wider financial mechanisms that throw
our stock prices around. At the moment it’s all about
the US Dollar, as the world places its bets on the size
and scope of The USA inflationary impulse. Last week
saw the dollar index (DXY) dropping back to 90 and
duly bouncing, those moves affecting most other
subordinate prices, such as that of gold*.
The GLD inventory situation continues to show plenty
of promise for gold, too. The world’s number one
bullion ETF added 14.56 metric tonnes of gold to its
holdings last week and now has 1,042.92mt in stock, 25.88mt above the 2021 year low at the
end of April.
GLD gold holdings, 2021 YTD (metric tonnes)
1200
1180
1160
1140
1120
1100
1080
1060
1040
1020
1000
2
02/21/13 12/1/5 12/1/01 12/1/51 12/1/02 12/1/52 12/1/03 12/2/4 12/2/9 12/2/41 12/2/91 12/2/42 12/3/1 12/3/6 12/3/11 12/3/61 12/3/12 12/3/62 12/3/13 12/4/5 12/4/01 12/4/51 12/4/02 12/4/52 12/4/03 12/5/5 12/5/01 12/5/51 12/5/02
mt
source: SPDR GLD data
Below we change the X-axis and stick to the long-term ratio chart to make our continued point:
Gold at 6X this weekend indicates that washout sentiment for gold on Wall St continues. We’ve
seen the ratio bounce from the 6.0X line on three other occasions in the last five years, each
time when appetite for gold ownership comes back to large instos and trading desks (the
preferred customer at GLD).

8.50 GLD: Inventory/Price Ratio, 2016 to date
8.25
8.00
7.75
7.50
7.25
7.00
6.75
6.50
6.25
6.00
5.75
5.50
3
61/4/1 61/61/3 61/62/5 61/8/8 61/81/01 61/92/21 71/41/3 71/42/5 71/4/8 71/61/01 71/72/21 81/21/3 81/22/5 81/2/8 81/21/01 81/42/21 91/8/3 91/02/5 91/13/7 91/01/01 91/02/21 02/5/3 02/51/5 02/82/7 02/7/01 02/71/21 12/3/3 12/11/5
Source: SPDR data, IKN calcs
Normally, when Wall St falls out of love with gold the price drops and keeps dropping, this time
has been different. We dipped under U$1,700/oz in March, but since then prices have improved
as buyers “other than” the big financial institutions have bought into the safe haven metal. The
implication is obvious: With the risk backdrop
GLD Holdings at end month, August 2020 to date
changing again and gold back on the shopping
lists of banks and so forth, this would normally
imply a rally; this time it’s more likely to
supercharge the rally that started six weeks
ago without the banks approval.
All this is more bullish than my “pessimistic
bull” outlook of a couple of weeks ago for
gold, that’s for sure. The temptation to over-
think things will always be there and I’m as
guilty as the rest, but ultimately The IKN
Weekly isn’t the place for cut’n’thrust
commentary on the near-term fluctuations in the price of gold. What we have is a friend of a
trend, gold moving higher and traversing the U$1,800/oz price range well, moving without
massive, headline-grabbing launches higher and beginning to put $2k back in the frame. All
those things are good, they allow me to concentrate on the numbers of the mining company
instead of the metal.
*Gold is not subordinate to the US Dollar or anything else, but it has to be priced in something and the USD is still
more convenient than Dogecoin.
Fundamental Analysis of Mining Stocks
An analysis of McEwen Mining (MUX) (part one of two)
Today’s main fundies note is the first part of a subject that began life three weeks ago: Curious
about McEwen Mining (MUX) and whether its recent corporate financial re-workings would help
the company, the initial idea was to run the basic numbers f running the numbers on a
producer in the penalty box to see if there was any value. That thought expanded to the point
of deferring last week as the company deserved more work. Which brings us to date and in the
last seven days the subject has expanded again (in my mind, at least) and this decision, to
present the first part of the anal ysis today and the second next weekend.
Today’s labour split makes sense, not least because for the time being I am not yet a buyer
of McEwen Mining (MUX) (in bold type and underlined for the TL:DR). However I am
interested, because if MUX executes on its plans adequately it will become a healthier, and
therefore more expensive, company. However, as well as the time and space constraints a long
note place on the weekly, there are also two distinct stories to tell at today’s MUX. Separating
5.1521 9.8621 7.7521
8.4911
7.0711 5.7511
5.3901
5.7301
7101
9.2401
1300
1250
1200
1150
1100
1050
1000
02'guA pes tco von 02'ceD 12'naJ bef ram rpa *yam
NB: cut down Y axis source: SPDR *to date
dlog
sennot
cirtem

them and doing today’s financials nuts and bolts allows next weekend’s note to focus on what
matters for the potential trade, its future execution.
Therefore, today’s job is to look at the company to date, which we are going to do via its
straight financial results (rather than careful tallying of production shortfalls or blown out capex
budgets). First we check corporate financials and make notes, with the MUX balance sheet our
focus of attention. If you are still awake after that, we move to consider operational results but
in a different way; instead of its consolidated operating numbers and due to the arguments in
part two next weekend, we split our look at MUX operations into five parts:
 Canada: Black Fox operations and the MUX Canada exploration, i.e. “The Fox
Complex”, as MUX now likes to incorporate the Stock, Froome, ex-Lexam, etc
projects into the package.
 Mexico: The now depleted El Gallo operation, plus the Fenix mine project
 USA: Gold Bar operations and Tonkin (oxides)
 Argentina: Background on MUX’s large Los Azules copper porphyry in San
Juan, plus the MUX 49% owned Minera Santa Cruz owned and operated by
Hochschild.
 Corporate: Some numbers from the MUX office
Once that is done, we’ll wrap up part one and move on. But the end is later, we begin:
A corporate overview
Before a numerical shot is fired, this chart has a point to make about MUX:
The company has suffered from revolving door management like few others over the last ten
years, the red and blue arrows you see above only the C-suite changes that the company must
inform about by law, under those there were dozens of other VP Exploration and VP Corp Devs
using the same revolving door. At least MUX has managed to slow the pace of change in the
last couple of years. And these days there’s less pretence, as MUX strategy and big decisions
have always come from its “Executive Chairman & Chief Owner” no matter who else was at the
company. These days there is no CEO at the company. It then has a COO (Peter Mah) and a
new CFO in Anna Ladd-Kruger, who recently came from Excellon (EXN.to). That fact alone
makes her adept at financial crisis management and in the time she has been at the company
we’ve seen novel financial developments. MUX didn’t just bite the bullet and raise cash via
dilutive placements, it did so in multiple financings that were sometimes dropped at fait
acompli. This makes sense, in Ladd-Kruger’s position, you wouldn’t have accepted the role of
digging MUX out of a serious financial situation without guarantees of executive decision
regarding corporate financials, in this case heightened by Rob McEwen’s doubtful reputation for
delegation (putting it diplomatically). Putting two and two together, it seems this time Rob
McEwen has finally listened to people who are better at numbers than him, the result is starting
to show in the financials and has already dispelled doubts about its near-term survival.
4

This segues into a look at the financials at MUX. On a consolidated basis, we pay scant
attention to operational results (those come later, we’re looking at each segment as
standalones) as what truly matters at MUX, as at any distressed company, is its balance sheet.
The job was to go back and retrieve data from all years in order to work out whether this
company really is is doing things differently this time. We approach MUX financials differently,
that starts here with the shares out that’s normally stuck at the end of a company overview:
MUX: Shares Out
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
5
11q2 11q3 11q4 21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 tse12q2
source: company filings/IKN ests
serahs
fo
snoillim
For the longest time MUX was “300m shares out and RME owns a quarter”. That’s no longer
the case, as first deal-making and then placement financing has moved the count to 459.188m
shares out, as at March 31st 2021. We’ve seen a whole series of raises recently, starting with a
flow-though that closed in September, then an upsized financing that closed December 2020,
then two more placements in q21 quarter that raised cash specifically for the Fox Complex and
the Froome development project. The main assets overview chart (below) also goes back to the
very start of MUX the company, when it was still called US Gold and had recently incorporated
Minera Andes’s Argentina assets. Back then MUX claimed assets worth over a billion dollars, Los
Azules alone valued at 431.9m. We’ve seen a whole lot of write-downs since then, every one of
them testament to money wasted at corporate level.
MUX: Assets overview
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
11q4 21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$m
current
total fixed
source: company filings, IKN ests
We cut and slice fixed assets below, starting with the fixed ledger split into its mining assets, its
49% holding of Minera Santa Cruz (MSC), i.e. the San José mine which it JVs with Hochschild
(HOC.L being the 51% owner/operator), then “other fixed”, the corporate stuff and so on.
MUX: Fixed Assets
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
11q4 21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$m
other fixed
inv. in MSC
mine prop int
source: company filings

Once we bring the new share count in to the equation, this next visual shows how much the
100% owned Los Azules copper project in San Juan Argentina brings to the table at MUX:
MUX: Carrying value per share of mining assets
1.80
1.60
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
6
51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$/share
other min.prop per share
Los Azules value per share
Inv in MSC per share
source: company filings, IKN calcs
Los Azules is 42c of the total 95c current mine asset carry at MUX and clearly important to the
company. Moving to current assets, this chart is a lot busier and shows how most line items are
constant or trending, except that for cash treasury:
MUX: Current Assets
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
11q4 21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$m other current
inventories
Receivables etc
cash
source: company filings
Isolating cash (below left) shows how there is precious little organic growth, MUX has been
reliant on deals to grow and selling shares to remain afloat. In fact, in 3q20 and 4q20 (see
working cap, below right it would have been perilously close to a cash crunch. A company with
so many divisions has bills to pay and payroll to make, seeing sub-$10m liquidity twice and the
cash suck into 4q20 means things were tight and indeed, MUX admitted as much after the fact
when “celebrating” the fact they had passed yet another review and would be allowed to stay
on the big board.
MUX: Cash treasury position
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
We end with two charts that will remain a little cryptic for seven days, but it’s the logical place
in this narrative to show them. We go into the point next weekend, but part of our current
“wait and see” position is dependent on MUX doing nothing at Los Azules. Any reasonable deal
done by MUX on Los Azules will be an important catalyst for the stock price.
11q4 21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$m
MUX: Working Capital per qtr
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
source: company filings
11q4 21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$m
source company filings/IKN ests

Therefore we get an idea of the net carry at MUX via this pie chart
Net carry breakdown at MUX, end FY20
Other/Corp
Mexico Los Azules
2% 13% 43%
USA
5%
Canada
13%
MSC
24%
(data from this note filing)
Our final chart in this section notes the relative weight of Los Azules on the MUX books, as
without Los Azules on board this would
MUX: Price/Book ratios w-w/o Los Azules Copper
have a lot of valuation based on limited 6.0
assets.
5.0
This chart last saw the light of day in 4.0
December 2015, in a report on MUX 3.0
that came just before the end of the
2.0
long bear market for gold. Under
1.0
U$1.00 at the time, its share price
peaked at U$4.50 two quarters later. 0.0
The spike that pushed MUX there is
visible and sticks out even further when
Los Azules is taken out of the equation.
Operational results
So much for the balance sheet, we move to operations at MUX. After due consideration and our
window on the company, we separate the company into its component country segments and
consider the results of each, starting with Mexico.
An overview of Mexico operations
The simple performance overview is based on the chart below, offering the total annual
revenues from the Mexico country segment, plus COGS (more precisely, production costs
applicable to sales) on an annual basis. In most cases and years, the eye needs no extra
numbers to see El Gallo and the MUX mining operations turned a gross profit.
7
21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
P/BV
P/BV without Los Azules
source: MUX filings, TSX, IKN calcs

U$m revs
MUX: Annual results from Mexico operations
100 costs
segment result
80
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
source: company filings
But factor in other costs such as mine construction, development and exploration and the
segment results tell a more complete story. Indeed even adding in the good years that segment
result adds up to a total loss of $54.9m over the life of MUX in Mexico, with only a small
window between 2015 and 2017 when it managed to turn meaningful profits.
So MUX is $50m to the bad in Mexico, but it plans to turn that around soon as Fenix comes
online to replace the now-depleted El Gallo. We go into the project and future next weekend
but to preview a little, if the “McEwen Silver” spin-out doesn’t take-off, this isn’t going to be a
high priority project for the company I the next 12 to 24 months.
An overview of Canada operations
Moving to the Canada financial overview, this time we offer three charts for a better picture of
Black Fox, and why it’s reputation as a moneypit is well deserved. Originally bought from the
distressed Primero for $40.5m (in cash paid to the vendor, via an agreed subs share raising for
the funds), this chart lays out annual revenues and COGS from Black Fox and surroundings and
gives a simple “gross cash flow” result:
MUX Canada: Annual revenues vs COGS
8
26.11
9.9
37.1
20.26
1.34
39.81
60.05
1.13
49.81
54.14
6.43
18.6
U$m revs
costs
70
gross cash flow
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2017 2018 2019 2020
source: company filings
All years in profit? Think again, as the real burden of costs for MUX has been much greater,
including DD&A and heavy exploration commitments (that continue this year 2021)
U$m
MUX Canada: Annual total costs
90
exploration costs
80
dd&a
70
costs
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2017 2018 2019 2020
source: company filings
This is why the segment result columns look the way they do in this chart, despite the apparent

profitability of operations. Make no mistake, Black Fox has been an unmitigated disaster and
has cost MUX in excess of U$110m net,
including acquisition. For that money and once U$m MUX: Annual results from Canadian operations
70
Stock/Lexam/etc properties are added in, it
60
has $59m in assets and a working mine revs
50
costs
running at cost plus a better looking 40
segment result
expansion project that MUX says will reach 30
20
annual production of 150,000 oz gold per
10
annum. Or so the theory goes.
0
-10
In fact and to preview next week a little, the -20
long-term objective at Fox Complex (the new -30
2017 2018 2019 2020
name, it seems) is still on track, albeit heavily
source: company filings
delayed. It’s been clear from the start that the
Black Fox purchase would go in hand with the Lexam properties, held separately by McEwen
until 2019. The proximity to mill makes sense and despite Black Fox’s reputation as a world
class money pit for corporate iterations San Gold, Brigus and Primero, I’m sure McEwen thought
he could do a better job and turn a profit at the established operation while the merger and
expansion took place. He was very wrong there, but it’s also fair to say MUX has suffered more
than most companies due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
An overview of United State of America operations
By “USA operations” we refer to the Gold Bar mine, plus its nearby Tonkin gold oxides project
that is slated to give the complex extra mine life. So far we’ve seen bad results from Mexico
and worse from Canada and Fox, but they pale in comparison to the issues MUX has faced at
Gold Bar in Nevada, USA. Late to arrive and only in commercial production since 2019, Gold
Bar’s first two years saw a loss and then a massive loss, the mine severely under-performing
and its reserves and resources downgraded after mining results failed to match 43-101
expectations. The result is that of the $108.34m in capex MUX spent to build Gold Bar,
U$83.805m was written down at the end of 2020:
MUX USA: Annual financial results overview
U$m revs costs
100 dd&a exploration costs
segment result
50
0
source: company filings
-50
-100
-150
2019 2020
Even Rob McEwen and his heavyweight reputation in Canadian mining circles cannot walk away
from a mess so obvious and expensive. The future at Gold Bar is Tonkin, a nearby open-pittable
gold oxides resource and Rob McEwen will be keen to see it move forward, it will help bury his
failed legacy at Gold Bar. More on the mine’s poor performance compared to its promise, plus
what it could achieve in the future, next weekend.
An overview of Argeatina operations
In Argentina MUX has two arms and corporately, its 49% of Minera Santa Cruz (51%
owner/operator Hochschild) and its 100$ owned Los Azules copper project in San Juan are
separate entities. Next weekend in Part Two we consider them separately, but for convenience
purposes the financials are overview only, the two go together today.
At Minera Santa Cruz, the company has always benefited from the positive free cash flow from
9

operations, but sustaining capex obligations and exploration budgets over its large and
prospective surrounding land package mean cash calls to the partner. Once a happy source of
net funds, the last three years have seen a net of over U$22m taken from MUX by its
subsidiary.
MUX: Income in investment in MSC, per annum
10
538.02
648.0 482.5- 414.2 159.21
440.0-
568.11- 457.8- 715.1-
U$m
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
source: company filings
This aside from several write-downs taken on the property over the years, but those are often
due to their partner being pernickety.
Finally we reach Los Azules, the MUX copper project with an all-categories 43-101 resource of
19.5Bn lbs copper, plus gold and silver
credits. It also has a PEA dated 2017 that
tells us the project is economic at U$3.00/lb
copper and even if you disagree with that
and point the shortcomings of Los Azules
(geography, water, met), those are problems
that disappear at U$4.50/lb copper. Once
held on the books at over U$430m, since
2105 it’s been carried at a straight
$191.49m.
With copper priced where it is today, there’s
no surprise to learn Rob McEwen has plans
for his asset. MUX is currently evaluating either a spin-out into a newco or bringing in a
strategic partner or JV. But there’s also this:
MUX: Cost to MUX of Los Azules, per annum 190.52
677.41
354.2 484.2
7.2
122.9
921.7
114.3
121.2
MUX: Los Azules asset value
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
U$m
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
source: company filings
In the time of MUX, we’ve seen two main bursts of exploration activity, firstly in the years to
2013 and the first PEA, then the work done around the second updated PEA from 2017. But
even when not active, it costs MUX over U$2m a year to keep the lights on at this high and
desolate piece of land in Argentina. All the more reason for a cash-strapped company to do a
deal on a large deposit of fashionable metl
The MUX corporate drag
To wrap up today’s opener, a word on the corporate side of MUX and a chart to illustrate the
point, which is that MUX office has been sheer liability with eye-wateringly high CG&A for a long
21q1 21q2 21q3 21q4 31q1 31q2 31q3 31q4 41q1 41q2 41q3 41q4 51q1 51q2 51q3 51q4 61q1 61q2 61q3 61q4 71q1 71q2 71q3 71q4 81q1 81q2 81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1
$m
source: company filings

time. Rob McEwen boasted about “not taking a salary” tended to cover this up, but it would
have been preferable that he did and controlled admin costs better. Compared to the size of its
gold production (recall, it can claim 49% of
MSC but Hochschild runs the show and
MUX: Annual corporate G&A
MUX has no Canada office costs for all that
silver and gold) MUX has been guilty of
doing too much, with the lavish annual
PDAC party and the stated mission to
become a member of the S&P500. From the
start, MUX made sure its office address and
fittings looked the part.
However, Covid-19 has come and changed
things, with G&A dropping significantly last
year, most of the savings back-end (and
again, one detects the hand of the CFO
brought in to clean house and make hard decisions on staffing). The trend of lower G&A laos
seems to be continuing in 1q21 with G&A marked at a reasonable U$2.083m in the last quarter,
i.e. half the amount MUX burned through on a daily basis two years ago.
Part one wrap-up
That’s the heavy lifting done, next week we roll out the turnaround story thesis and see
whether MUX will be able to live up to expectations in 2021. Today’s focus on McEwen Mining’s
mediocre track record shows the worst is behind the company, the balance sheet shows they
are indeed effecting a financial turnaround at the company even while the verdict isn’t yet in.
Meanwhile, by considering company operations on a unit-by-unit basis we get a feel for their
leverage to the MUX market cap, which sets the scene for Part Two. Much more fun, we
consider the chances of MUX becoming our third successfully identified turnaround story, after
the previous wins from Sandstorm and New Gold for the same reason. Until next weekend.
Stocks to Follow
This time last weekend, the money that had started to flow back into the mining sector had
moved the Tier 1 and 2 stock up, but hadn’t quite reached the midcaps and juniors. It would
have been disappointing not to have seen our focus sector move up, sure enough we got the
good week. There were five losers (SMD.v, WLF.v AUL.v, MIRL.cse. MENE.v), minor drops
inside current trading ranges. All others were winners, including the biggest week-over-week
improvements from Aldebaran (ALDE.v up 41.4%), Royal Road (RYR.v up 11.8%), Orezone
(ORE.v up 10.7%), New Gold (NGD up 9.8%) and Minera Alamos (MAI.v up 9.2%).
With the addition of Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v) last week and the selling of nothing, we are
11
886.41
391.01 764.8 242.7 271.9
938.11
812.61 955.61
539.11
U$m
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
source: company filings

back over our self-imposed the house maximum with 16 open positions. Eight trades are in the
green eight in the red, the bigger trades generally greener.
company Ticker this week Avg Price Reco date Current PPS Gain/Loss% Notes
TOP PICKS
Minera Alamos MAI.v STR BUY C$0.21 13-Oct-19 C$0.71 238.1% New $1.14 tgt Aug'20 #1 idea
Rio2 Ltd. RIO.v STR BUY C$0.83 22-Apr-18 C$0.82 -1.2% $1.58 tgt, bot again Nov'20
Recommended stocks (In order of preference)
Trilogy Metals TMQ STR BUY U$1.84 15-Sep-19 U$2.72 47.8% Added Dec'20, Cu for 2021
Strategic Metals SMD.v STR BUY C$0.42 31-Jan-21 C$0.44 4.8% Asset $ trade, proj generator
New Gold NGD STR BUY U$0.76 9-Feb-20 U$2.01 164.5% tgt $2.80 end '21
Excelsior Mining MIN.to STR BUY C$0.93 10-Mar-19 C$0.65 -30.1% Delayed, but still great value
Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v BUY C$0.68 16-May-21 C$0.70 2.9% Bet on big copper, pol risk okay
QC Copper &Gold QCCU.v BUY C$0.205 25-Apr-21 C$0.21 2.4% Cu Jr, fast-tracking resource
Royal Road Min. RYR.v BUY C$0.155 17-Mar-19 C$0.38 145.2% Model paying off in Nica
Wolfden Res. WLF.v BUY C$0.30 11-Apr-21 C$0.285 -5.0% near-term Zn trade
Great Bear Res GBR.v BUY C$15.83 26-Aug-20 C$14.65 -7.5% Binary M&A trade, wait for print
Cartier Resources ECR.v hold C$0.32 21-Mar-21 C$0.275 -14.1% Binary M&A trade, wait for print
Orezone Gold ORE.v hold C$0.79 21-Jun-20 C$1.35 70.9% Binary M&A trade, wait for print
Aurelius Min. AUL.v spec buy C$0.75 28-Jun-20 C$0.56 -25.3% added 3 times, risky
Minera IRL MIRL.cse hold C$0.195 22-Jul-12 C$0.09 -53.8% CEO change will move stock
Long-term non-mining hold
Mene Inc. MENE.v LT Hold C$0.62 6-Dec-20 C$0.56 -9.7% LT bet on jockey&horse,will add
Closed in 2021 closed close price
Fiore Gold F.v jan'21 C$0.98 21-May-20 C$1.17 19.4% closed as part of rebalance
Norsemont Mining NOM.cse feb'21 C$1.55 6-Sep-20 C$0.70 -54.8% Cut loser to reduce Au exp.
Element 29 Res ECU.v feb'21 C$0.49 7-Feb-21 C$0.54 10.2% Cut Peru exposure
Kuya Silver KUYA.cse feb'21 C$1.66 8-Nov-20 C$2.51 51.2% Cut Peru exposure
Pucara Gold TORO.v apr'21 C$0.65 4-Oct-20 C$0.26 -60.0% Cut loser, Peru risk call
Copper Mountain CMMC.to apr'21 C$1.40 22-Nov-20 C$4.18 198.6% tgt hit, profit taken
2015 to 2020 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Now for notes on some of our covered stocks:
Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v): POSITION OPENED. I paid 70c to get a foot in the door
Monday and a little less later in the week, but with room to add more. Price in the 60s will do.
Some follow-up to last week’s main note in ‘Market Watching’, below.
Minera Alamos (MAI.v): The news last week (1) that “the Company successfully executed
the first planned production blasts at the Nicho Norte pit at the Santana gold mine in Sonora,
Mexico” means President Doug Ramshaw now has real news to market with, though we
applaud the way he has patched over nearly three quarters of delay to the start of operations.
We note shareholder expectations already being manage, as this segment in the NR that talks
of the “… prudent approach to ramping up operations at Santana throughout the remainder of
2021 ahead of more steady state operation in 2022 and beyond.” In other words, no positive
free cash flow yet. The share price responded readily and finished with a seven handle for the
first time in a long time.
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v): This time a photo on the blog of my half an hour and café Americano with
RIO.v CEO Alex Black last week (2), in which we did the same studied avoidance of the ongoing
financing package being put together by the company. All I know is that the deal is there, close
at hand with heads-up agreement from all parties and there is legal stuff and details to
12

manage.
Though I didn’t make mention last weekend of the May 4th NR update out of RIO.v, it’s clear
from the tone and messaging that RIO.v is as frustrated as you (and I) with the ongoing delay,
but they underscore the point that the actual cash financing part of the development is not
critical path and extra weeks will not change the timeline to production. In trading, RIO caught
a few more bids without ever setting alight at market, we have been bouncing round this 70c to
90c range for far too long.
Excelsior Mining (MIN.to): Some sort of bottom showing:
Up two cents on the week, the main event was an impulse of buying Wednesday, the price
move on volume and indicative of a larger desk making a positive decision.
New Gold (NGD): Have to be happy with the way NGD traded last week, no? Up 18c in US
trading with plenty of appetite on the ask, consistently strong volumes and easily beating the
benchmarks. Then again…
…Wesdome (WDO.to) also had a good week. See ‘Market Watching’ for thoughts on that.
QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v): After the recent burst of interest, then the first assay NR and
reaction, trading in QCCU settled around 20c and 21c last week and that’s a great entry point
for this stock. Expect plenty of newsflow in the next two months, they have a lot of drilling to
do and a tight timeline to reach 43-101 resource status by August.
Orezone (ORE.v): Another rip-snorting week for ORE, up another 10%+ on the back of
obvious accumulative patterns (some insto seems to want in and is getting impatient).
13

This desk could not be more pleased about the way ORE has reacted to the ROXG/FSM M&A
news (see Market Watching).
Wolfden Resources (WLF.v): Erratic trading last
week, probably due to the news out of Idaho that
smarter political heads had prevailed and a motion
to ban all metals mining in the state had been
voted down.
What’s certain is that WLF didn’t deserve to have
28.5c as its final tick of the week, but that’s a risk
when you own thinly traded stocks.
Trilogy Metals (TMQ): Two editions ago, TMQ
looked annoying cheap next to peers and I
kvetched on how TMQ was lagging. Last weekend it
was “merely cheaper” after putting in a catch-up rally against market headwinds. This
weekend…
…TMQ gives this desk less to complain about. Buyers showed late week to prop the price while
copper stocks all around it faded, TMQ finished up a handy 4c on the week. Holding through.
Aurelius Minerals (AUL.v): Turns out AUL did announce the closing of Tranche Two of its
placement last week and I missed it (on SEDAR). The week was marked by drudge trading in
the shares once again, up to Thursday morning and the NR (8) (deep breath), “Aurelius
Minerals Continues to Intersect Extensive Near Surface Gold at Aureus West - 61.3m at 1.33 g/t
Gold including 0.6m at 50.60 g/t Gold and 0.8m at 34.00 g/t Gold, and Provides Summary of
Aureus West 4,600m Phase 1 Drilling Program” (breathe out, CEO Ashcroft basically providing
the NR in the title line. With latest assay results from Aureus West. Once again strong headline
numbers, once again the market approved, only to start selling quickly after.
14

We’ve made these points previously, but as they
at the heart of this trade you’re going to hear
them again: At Aureus East, its “saddle” type of
gold mineralization with thin bands of high grade
in a low grade halo is 1) difficult to drill
successfully and 2) prone to accusations of grade
smearing from the to the casual observer. The
plan at this desk is to watch the market greet the
eventual maiden resource in open-mouthed
astonishment, wondering where all those ounces
came from. They may have the same dynamic
here at West, it’s their second-string target and
while the company has been and will continue to advance West, it’s also out of sight. Nice to
have two prospective assets, of course, but AUL’s lack of market traction continues to affect
optics. As for that trading, I preferred AUL as a penny stock. Back then, the 0.5c (now 5c)
jumps at least gave the a chance of getting back to UNCH on my trade. These days, it’s going
to take a lot more interest conjured up to move the stock back to the 2020 price deck.
Minera IRL (MIRL.cse): I closed out last
weekend’s note on MIRL’s 1q21 with, “Until there’s a
change at the top, MIRL will continue to descend
toward its due date with Cofide and the loss of its
asset”, that hasn’t changed.
It’s also obvious, as this company is being directed
over a cliff by a man who values his monthly
paycheck over anything else. There is, we repeat, no
way any sane financier would offer reasonable terms
on an eight-figure cheque led by Diego Benavides
after having witnessed his abject managerial errors
and eventual dereliction of duty over two years.
The Copper Basket
After twenty weeks of 2021, The Copper Basket shows a gain of 46.59% to level stakes.
company ticker price 1/1/21 Shares out Market Cap current pps gain/loss%
1 Solaris Res SLS.to 6.08 107.53 1239.82 11.53 89.6%
2 Copper Mtn CMMC.to 1.81 207.5 830.00 4.00 121.0%
3 Oroco Res OCO.v 1.85 186.96 624.45 3.34 80.5%
4 Marimaca Cop MARI.to 3.25 87.737 400.96 4.57 40.6%
5 Western Copper WRN.to 1.57 135.798 334.06 2.46 56.7%
6 Amerigo Res ARG.to 0.80 181.79 247.23 1.36 70.0%
7 Excelsior Min. MIN.to 1.12 273.585 177.83 0.65 -42.0%
8 Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v 0.455 125.24 87.67 0.70 53.8%
9 C3 Metals CCCM.v 0.115 438.56 76.75 0.175 52.2%
10 Regulus Res. REG.v 1.07 101.85 76.39 0.75 -29.9%
11 Doré Copper DCMC.v 1.00 53.304 55.97 1.05 5.0%
12 Chakana Cop PERU.v 0.60 111.41 42.89 0.385 -35.8%
13 Element 29 Res ECU.v 0.45 68.281 28.00 0.41 -8.9%
14 US Copper USCU.v 0.105 87.53 22.32 0.255 142.9%
15 Chibougamau CBG.v 0.165 53.077 17.78 0.335 103.0%
NB: All stocks in CAD$ Portfolio avg 46.59%
15

The Copper Basket has some clear messages for us. A mixed week, which saw the metal dive
and plenty of the producer names drop also saw the average finish higher, driven by buying in
several exploration and development stage junior names. Not often do we get copper dropping
like this…
…back down to the clear baseline at U$4.50/lb, without our basket taking a hit. Instead, the
five losers (CMMC.to, MARI.to, ARG.to,
The Copper Basket 2021, weekly evolution
REG.v, PERU.v) were overwhelmed by ten 50%
winners (SLS.to, OCO.v, MIN.to, WRN.to, 45%
CCCM.v, ALDE.v, DCMC.v, ECU.v, USCU.v, 40%
35%
CBG.v) and in those there were big moves
30%
registered in Aldebaran (ALDE.v up 41.4%), 25%
Chibougamau (CBG.v up 39.6%), C3Metals 20%
15%
(CCCM.v up 25.0%) and Western Copper
10%
(WRN.to up 23.6%). To the downside, the 5%
producers Amerigo (ARG.to down 12.3%) 0%
and Copper Mountain (CMMC.to down 9.9%)
were the biggest losers.
Here below right is another copper price chart, this time the near-dated futures contract over
six months and we see the sell-off last week and how it accelerated into Friday morning. The
direct effect of Chinese PM, Li Kegiang (I think that’s the English version of his name), telling
the world on Wednesday that his country would “strengthen management in the supply and
demand of basic materials”. China has come out blaming speculators for the recent price hike
and vowed to crack down, one of the
occasional geopolitical cards that gets played
during bull markets.
This current run is a SuperBull, so with China
now drawing a line in the sand we’ve probably
come to the end of the expansive phase of the
run. However this is not the time to expect a
spike-and-drop, the reason this time really is
different is that supply isn’t going to crank up
meaningfully and there is real world shortfall.
We are in a secular bull market for copper
and that changes many things. Not least of
which the base case calculations for copper
mine projects, suddenly all those marginal $3.00/lb projects work and that is why we’ve been
seeing a rotation out of producers and into explorers; a move from U$4.90/lb to U$4.50/lb
affects the share price of Copper Mountain, Southern Copper and Freeport, it doesn’t matter to
Oroco, Aldebaran or Josemaria:
16
ts1
naJ
ht01naJ ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7bef ht41 ts12 ht82 ht7ram ht41 ts12 ht82 ht4rpa ht11 ht81 ht52 dn2yam ht9 ht61 dr32
source: IKN calcs

The last words of IKN625 last weekend were, “…as a small retail investor looking for market
edge, the right place now is among the small copper explorecos.” That is working, so while on
the subject, last week also ticked the boxes of the latest chapter in our copper bull run:
 Another blast higher on fundamentals news
 A blow-off top
 A breakout that re-tested successfully at the U$4.50/lb line
 Signals from the futures market that near-term demand had peaked, while long-term
demand growth remains strong.
I’m not you guru and never will be, but within margins of tolerance the recent house calls on
copper have worked well, so the soothsaying continues with the forecast that copper is now
consolidating and finding its new, long-term price deck. The lull in trading intensity has been
about demand, the high price peak found the market’s pinch point and speculators have now
been shooed away by the world’s biggest customer. That’s for the moment, longer-term our
outlook is still for higher prices and Goldman Sachs’ U$15,000/tonne (U$6.70/lb) is a
reasonable marker. Just because copper-the-metal may get boring for a while, doesn’t mean
were destined for flat prices and there’s still no change to a poor supply outlook, both near-
term and longer term as the world wonders where and when the next generation of mines will
come online.
We move to our regular weekly copper inventories coverage:
 A quiet week for stocks movements, with an aggregate of just 4,686mt leaving the
world’s three official systems. We find the number at 403,439mt this weekend, still
heads above the 400k line.
 The SHFE was on holiday and unchanged, total inventories stay at 229,179mt.
 A small drawdown of 3,950mt at The LME (nearly all from Holland warehouses), this
weekend’s total still an ultra-tight 117,300mt.
 At the COMEX, yet another small inventory loss, this time 748mt. The total today is
56,960mt.
Here is the Shanghai-only inventories chart, no change on the right, but there’s no reason to
expect stocks to move any higher on seasonal influences. This is a strange year, however, and
the recent eye-catching addition of nearly 30kmt and last week’s words out of China may mean
the country has begun to use its strategic stockpile of copper.
17

Shanghai Futures Exchange Warehouse Stocks, 2014 to date
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
18
ht5naj ht61 ht52 dr3gua ht21 ts12 5102
ts1ram
ht01 ht91 ht72 ht6ced ht41 ht42 6102
dr3luJ
ht11 ht72 ht5beF ht61 ht52 7102
dr3pes
ht21 ts12 8102
ts1rpa
ht71 ht62 8102
ht4von
9102
ht31naj
ht42 9102
dn2nuj
ht11 ht02 ht92 ht8 ht71 0202ht62luj ht4tco 0202ht31ced ts12 1202dn2yam
Mt Cu
|
source: Cochilco
Now for some notes on a few basket stocks:
The Peru copper stocks (REG.v, PERU.v, CCCM.v, ECU.v): A disparate week here too,
with REG and PERU following COPX lower,
but the earlier stage CCCM and ECU both
climbing by around 10% each over the last
two weeks.
The move on Friday in C3 Metals (CCCM.v)
may be connected to the way placement
shares come out of escrow on Tuesday (no
Canadian trading tomorrow Monday, of
course). I’m not sure whether we should
laugh or cry about the fact that the new John
Black/Kevin Heather/Mark Wayne vehicle
Aldebaran and also the new Fernando
Pickmann vehicle C3 Metals now both have
higher market caps than Regulus Resources.
Western Copper & Gold (WRN.to): In a week of good news for copper explorecos, WRN
probably takes the prize for the NR (3) announcing the “…C$25.6 million strategic investment
by Rio Tinto Canada Inc. ("Rio Tinto"), to advance the Company's copper-gold Casino Project in
the Yukon.” RTZ is buying in at $2.17/share, which was a premium to market right until the
moment it was announced, WRN doing this on the news…
…and quite right, too. This is the type of announcement that makes total sense as soon as it’s
announced, the current trend for strategic partners in juniors and rising interest in lower grade
large copper deposits, now copper has made its move.

Chibougamau (CBG.v): The comment about the “dam breaking” at CBG and land assets
becoming equity drivers works just as well this week as it did last:
That’s 110% up in two weeks as newsletter writers
jump on the “new copper camp in Quebec” theme.
We await the same type of move in Strategic Metals
(SMD.v), which may not be primarily copper-focused
but sure has a lot of land in Canada. We also await
more fireworks from QCCU.v, right company doing
the right things at the right time.
The Producer Basket
After twenty weeks of 2021, the Producer Basket shows a gain of 4.06% to level stakes.
company ticker price 1/1/20 Shares out Mkt Cap (U$Bn) current pps gain/loss%
1 Newmont NEM 59.89 805 59.19 73.53 22.8%
2 Barrick GOLD 22.78 1778.04 43.92 24.70 8.4%
3 Agnico Eagle AEM 70.51 244.187 17.60 72.08 2.2%
4 Kirkland Lake KL 41.27 267.056 11.62 43.52 5.5%
5 Kinross Gold KGC 7.34 1261.07 10.14 8.04 9.5%
6 Pan American PAAS 34.71 210.262 7.09 33.71 -2.9%
7 Endeavour Min EDV.to 29.62 252.568 5.98 28.42 -4.1%
8 B2Gold BTG 5.60 1051.697 5.56 5.29 -5.5%
9 Alamos Gold AGI 8.75 392.739 3.57 9.08 3.8%
10 Pretium Res PVG 11.48 187.833 2.18 11.58 0.9%
Prices in U$ except EDV.to (share price in CAD$ and mkt cap in approx USD) Port. avg 4.06%
The GDX rose 3.83% on the week, the GDXJ rose 5.4% and the GLD barometer for gold
appetite also showed positive, up 1.93%. It was a good week to own precious metals mining
stocks of all shapes and sizes, the whole complex moving up with the metal (another sure sign
of generalist interest rising, see intro). These top-down inflow moments create uniform price
rises among sector stocks, another thing we saw last week as all ten of our basket components
rose, but aside AEM (+1.9%) and PAAS (+8.9%) they all rose as one, between 3% and 4.9%.
It also means the precious metals sector is firmly in the green for the first time in 2021, that
mustn’t go unreported as this time, the momentum is with the stocks (finally). The house
basket couldn’t make inroads on its lag to the GDX benchmark, the gap staying at 5%. Not
difficult to work out one of the reasons just by glancing at the table, two new choices for the
year (PAAS, EDV.to) glaring red. Another reason was your author’s opinion that 2021 would not
be the year of the streamer company and to that effect, left out the big streamer/royalty plays
such as Franco-Nevada (FNV). As you will note below, that was another poor call.
The 2021 Producer Basket: Weekly performance and 20%
comparative to GDX control
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
-15%
-20%
19
ts1
naJ
ht71 ts13 ht41 ht82 ht41 ht82 ht11 ht52 ht9 dr32
The 2021 Producer Basket: Percentage difference between
GDX benchmark and basket (negative = IKN basket ahead) 6.0%
5.0%
4.0%
3.0%
2.0%
1.0%
basket
gdx control 0.0%
source: Google, IKN Calcs
ts1
naJ
ht01naJ ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7bef ht41 ts12 ht82 ht7ram ht41 ts12 ht82 ht4rpa ht11 ht81 ht52 dn2yam ht9 ht61 dr32
source: IKN calcs, NYSE/Nasdaq/TSX data

StreamerWatch: A revisit to this occasional series, begun at the beginning of 2021 to track
your author’s suspicion that the royalty/streamer plays would underperform their classic miner
peers. The main reason is to point out how wrong that original assumption now looks at this
point, well into Q2. From the beginning we used Metalla (MTA.v) as an example of the smaller
fry streamer/royalty plays out there and, as it turns out, that company has been a sector under-
performer and hardly representative. The reality is more obvious in the larger caps such as
FNV, WPM, RGLD and even the most closely tracked streamer play on these pages, SAND.
This chart gives wider look how our ten basket stocks for 2021 are doing compared to the GDX
benchmark, with Franco-Nevada (FNV) added as a reasonable proxy for the streamer complex.
The visual is not a difficult one to interpret, aside the out-performing Newmont (NEM), I wasn’t
just wrong about all this streamer under-performance, it’s turned out to be the 180° opposite
Not the first bad call on these pages but when they happen, we try at least to learn something.
In this case I’m still supposing, but the current trend to pay higher multiples for lower risk isn’t
confined to the mining sector. The best guess is that the royalty/streamers, with their
predictable incomes, low COGS), (normally) strong balance sheets and being (normally)
dividend payers, will appeal to the pen-pusher generalists with plenty of money to invest in the
natural resources sector, but under the directive of their compliance departments more than the
corner office.
Pan American Silver (PAAS): See ‘Regional Politics’ for more on a small positive for PAAS in
Guatemala. Here we note that in trading last week, PAAS gained back around 5% on GDX out
the gate on Monday and here’s a chart:
20

Last week we commented on the earnings-related dump, called it overdone and finished the
note with a flourish: “…this quarter was an aberration rather than a disaster and for those so
inclined, a good entry point assuming silver stays in range.” That was the right call, toot toot
trumpet etc, but it gets mention today due to the feedback from a couple of current PAAS
holders, both worried about the way 40% of its revenues are now directly tied to Peru.
Yes, that is an issue. First and foremost, there are the near-certain extra heavy taxes coming
under a Pedro Castillo government (no matter whether they pay up or go to court, provisions
are provisions and hurt the balance sheet). What’s more, in this specific case PAAS does not
have a good reputation as a corporate citizen in Peru even after having cleaned up its act over
the last five years at its silver operations. Also, its inherited Shahuindo mine is an obvious
potential flashpoint, being in Castillo’s bastion zone as well as having the worst of reputations
for CSR (thanks mostly to Tahoe Resources). Old grudges could bear fruit under a Castillo
controlled admin with a newly empowered Vladimir Cerrón treating the whole of Cajamarca as if
it were his fiefdom. Therefore yes, I’d warn against PAAS exposure for exactly the same reason
as for 100% Peru exposed mining companies large and small, the pro-rata duly applied. But last
week’s comment was less about the upcoming political nightmare in the country, more a direct
reflection on the company numbers and for me, the reaction on Monday was the whole thing.
Oversold, then bought back, the end. Finally you should of course feel free to disagree with me
on the country risk as if I’m wrong and Keiko wins in two weeks’ time, PAAS will launch higher
with them all.
The Tiny Dogs
After twenty weeks of 2021, the Tiny Dogs show a gain of 8.22% to level stakes.
company ticker price 1/1/21 Shares out Mkt Cap current pps gain/loss%
Antler Gold ANTL.v 0.205 61.348 7.67 0.125 -39.0%
Aston Bay BAY.v 0.045 163.975 8.20 0.05 11.1%
Constantine Met CEM.v 0.17 45.4 11.80 0.26 52.9%
Contact Gold C.v 0.115 240.757 22.87 0.095 -17.4%
Golden Pursuit GDP.v 0.22 40 5.40 0.135 -38.6%
Manitou Gold MTU.v 0.045 230.79 21.93 0.095 111.1%
Precipitate Gold PRG.v 0.240 106.241 16.47 0.155 -35.4%
QC Copper QCCU.v 0.315 105 22.05 0.21 -33.3%
Red Pine Expl RPX.v 0.400 95.806 71.85 0.75 87.5%
Warrior Gold WAR.v 0.090 91.818 6.89 0.075 -16.7%
Prices in CAD$, data from TSXV basket avg 8.22%
This section attempts to track the tinycap mining sub-sector of the market, our ten companies
chosen under the following criteria to put together a list representing the state of play in the
sub-sector of tinycap exploration company stocks. At least, that’s the plan.
21

 Market capitalization of under $20m. They have to be tiny. In two cases I’ve stretched the window a
little and allowed sub-U$20m market capper in that are just over the C$20m level, but the spirit is unaltered.
 A “non broken” stock price and project story. There are literally hundreds of tinycap juniors of the right
size, but it was a particularly depressing exercise to trawl through the whole of the TSXV and find companies
that are small enough, but with life in them. The vast majority of sub-$20m stocks are broken stocks, either
traded to death on the exchange or with projects that are a bust or with entrenched management more
interested in their monthly paycheck than anything else.
 Likelihood of meaningful newsflow in 2020. This connects to the company’s “unbroken” status, as we
want news and potential catalysts from companies with projects that can work.
 Decent management if possible. When you are down among the little guys it doesn’t pay to be too
choosy, but still I preferred companies that have teams or people with good peer reputations.
A slow week with no signal from the sub-sector, with four risers in our Tiny Dogs (C.v, PRG.v,
QCCU.v, RPX.v), three unchanged stocks (BAY.v, GDP.v, MTU.v) and three losers (ANTL.v,
CEM.v, WAR.v). The only double figure
percentage move in either direction the 16.7% Tiny Dogs, 2021 weekly tracker
20%
lost by Antler Gold (ANTL.v), its mediocre first 18%
pass exploration results announced the week 16%
14%
before turned into sleeper news, somebody woke 12%
up and sold. 10%
8%
6%
Rather than company comment, this weekend a 4%
thought on how The Tiny Dogs list is progressing 2%
0%
this year and, as noted in passing recently, I’m
happy with the choices for 2021 as they are
giving a reasonable representation of the tinycap
sub-sector. This also shows in the green/red ink
today, as even though the average is still in the green and has stayed in a fairly tight +8% to
+16% range since the year took shape, it’s positive on the back of just four stocks, and one of
them is almost a wash. That pattern is well known to all long-termers, be they retail running
their own stocks or professional portfolio managers. There’s also a wealth of advice available on
this subject and you’ll always hear the smarter sector voices talking about the way it’s
impossible to avoid backing losers in this game. There are sayings about “batting averages” and
how you must “cut the losers, let the winners run” etc.
An index or benchmark is not a portfolio, the mentality is different for a tracking device. This
year, the typical Tiny Dog split of winners/losers allows us to watch the development of the
stock price failures next to the winners and in your author’s opinion, The Tiny Dogs has another
signal available for the rest of 2021. If we see a general reversal of fortunes, that would show
money arriving at the bottom rungs of the sector. However, it doesn’t need everything to go
into the red for a negative signal, it would be enough to see “the rich getting richer and the
poor getting poorer” to surmise that cash is not flowing freely among the tinycaps.
NB: Please be clear that The Tiny Dogs is NOT a list of recommended tinycap stocks. It is a list of companies with
market caps of under $20m offering a reasonable representation of the wider tinycaps market. It is possible that in the
future I may buy shares in one or several of these stocks, but at the moment both my opinion and my wallet are strictly
neutral.
Regional politics
A Covid-19 update for Argentina and Uruguay
Regarding Covid-19 coverage, The IKN Weekly has largely remained focused on regional
outbreaks and LatAm countries with mining sectors that may be potential or actually affected by
the virus. That has meant preferred coverage of Brazil (the source of LatAm’s issues), Chile,
Peru and Mexico, but today we bring news from Argentina and Uruguay.
The news is the emergency “circuit-breaker” type lockdown imposed on Argentina last week by
its government, in light of a sharp rise in cases. The visual from this report out of Argentina’s
22
ts1
naJ
ht71 ts13 ht41 ht82 ht41 ht82 ht11 ht52 ht9 dr32
source: IKN calcs, TSX data

newspaper of record, La Nación (4), does the job:
From the same report, one of the members of the government committee and a medical
spokesperson for the group (Dr. Eduardo López is head of infections at a large Buenos Aires
children’s hospital) put it like this (translated):
“Death is the final episode, but we must speak clearly that there is an increase in cases
and that the (Covid-19) variants have a higher risk of mortality because the infection
cases are now more serious. The average over the seven days to May 14th was 426
deaths, the average over seven days to May 20th is 493. Regarding infections, it has
moved from 20,932 to 29,277, respectively. These data explain the decision we have
taken.”
And Uruguay, sandwiched between big infected Argentina and even bigger and even worse
Brazil, things have deteriorated rapidly. This world map with a few selected numbers highlights
the situation in the Southern Cone, the official Uruguay infection rate way higher than anything
in India o a per-capita basis. Numbers are average daily infections per million population per
day, using the same seven day trailing average.
The contrast with the more vaccinated countries such as The USA and China is also telling.
Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, this desk has highlighted the abysmal choices and decisions
made by Brazil’s populist far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, even making the precise point that
no matter how well Uruguay conducted itself in 2020, it was destined for a widespread problem
due to its dirty neighbour. Sadly, it’s another correct prediction for these pages.
South America is now all about improving the percentages of vaccinated citizens, with coverage
still low/very low compared to the North. Argentina has vaccinated around 19% of its
population so far, while your author’s adopted home of Peru is still under 5%. To wrap up and
semi-OT, another phenomenon noted across the whole of the LatAm region is the “Covid Flight”
to Miami (or other US destination), with plenty of well-off families deciding on a week’s vacation
in Miami Beach and getting vaccinated while in town. These people pay some of the most
23

expensive prices in the world for their Covid-19 vaccine shows the power of money as a queue-
jumper.
Guatemala: The pre-consultancy at Escobal begins
It took two years, but finally on May 20th the three corners of the issues around the Escobal
mine in Guatemala (Pan American Silver, the government of Guatemala, the Xinka people who
live in the region) began the “pre-consultancy” meetings that will lead to the legally mandated
consulting period for the mine, needed for the mine to re-gain its operating licence. The
meeting came to four official agreements (e.g. the choice of the leader for the investigation of
Xinka cultural matters, recognized local anthropologist and Xinka expert Claudia Dary, was
agreed upon in 2020 and rubber-stamped yesterday. The next meeting is scheduled for June
20th, at which point the timetable for the meetings and eventual conclusion should be available.
This desk repeats: Don’t expect any production out of Escobal until 2030 or so, neither side is in
a rush to get to a decision and on the mining side, that’s because PAAS because it doesn’t want
to hear “no”. They get to keep Escobal as large metals reserves on the books, plus avoid the
eventual bonus payment on production within ten years of the deal with ex-owners Tahoe
Resources.
Peru election polling and commentary
The Peruvian Sol (PEN) has been very skittish recently, testament to the influence of a
Communist party candidate leading an election run-off. But as this XE.com chart shows (5)
there have also been moments when the PEN rallies against the US Dollar (USD), the latest
coming last Thursday.
That was due to a poll from IDICE released that morning and here’s a screenshot from (the
personally very useful website that saves me time making my own charts) “encuestas punto
com punto pe” (6):
This is the first poll to have given Keiko Fujimori any sort of lead at any time in the past five
years and is testament to her climb in the second round polls, but we need to talk a little about
this pollster (again). Not only is IDICE a second-level reputation polling company, but it
consistently skews results to the right and is under the control of César Acuña, the right-wing
24

business and private universities magnate who ran for President this year (there’s very little to
like about the man). And even when the pollsters are honest there’s a general lack of accuracy
in Peru results, they aren’t the data set to bet on, so perhaps a better view of Peruvian polls is
as a wider body of information. This chart shows all published polls to date, including this
weekend’s from IEP that put Castillo’s lead at 10% and one from Peru’s flagship pollster IPSOS,
which ran an “under electoral conditions” simulation poll and reported tonight Sunday 52.6%
for Pedro Castillo, 47.4% for Keiko Fujimori.
60% Peru: Evolution of second round polls
55%
50%
45%
40%
35%
30% Pedro
25% Keiko
20%
18 apr 25 apr 2.may 9.may 14.may 21.may
source: encuestas.com.pe
NB: PLEASE NOTE THE CUT DOWN Y-AXIS
The evolution of all polls shows the race tightening, but by taking the five results from most
prolific second round polling company Datum only shows how Keiko is now hard up against the
“Never Fujimori” people, the ones that made an impressive show yesterday Saturday on city
streets all over the country in a “Never Keiko” mass march.
50% Peru: Datum-only second round polls
48%
46%
44%
42%
40%
38%
36%
34% Pedro
32%
30% Keiko
28%
26%
24%
22%
20%
22 apr 29 apr 7.may 14.may 21.may
source: encuestas.com.pe
Meanwhile, Peru’s National Coordinator of Human Rights (CNDDHH) withdrew its apparent
support for the signing ceremony on Monday in Lima, at which both Castillo and Fujimori signed
and pledged on an oath of democracy and other noble sounding things. The CNDDHH explained
why later in the week and it may come as a surprise to the outside world, but their beef is not
with Castillo and his Communists. Instead CNDDHH refuses to support Keiko Fujimori’s
signature as “Fujimorism hasn’t changed, it is a criminal and authoritarian force.” (8) Keiko’s
team also made very pro-mining noises last week, her economics person Rafael Belaunde
stating (9) her government would push the contentious Conga (NEM/BVN) and Tia Maria
(SCCO) projects forward. Less reality, this is a political play to draw the urban/rural battle line
and attempt to capture a small percentage of provincial voters in the “undecided, pro-business”
sub-sector. With two weeks to run, the difference in the improvised, amateur-hour campaigning
and improvised team-gathering of Pedro Castillo and the smooth, politically adept, well-financed
Keiko machine is chalk and cheese (as is most of the media coverage, most TV channels are
skewed pro-Keiko and even the centre-left bastion La Republica refuses to get involved,
preferring to highlight the negatives around Keiko. That’s the whore Left, doing as expected
and enabling a Communist party into executive power. However, despite all the field and
campaign advantages Keiko’s voter intention has stagnated, the inertia coming at the 60% hard
anti-vote level. The outside world, while concentrating on “The Communist Threat”, has failed
to recognize how bad a candidate Keiko Fujimori is. Not so in Peru, for example this political
scientist (10) who notes the campaign is going badly for her due to “her baggage”.
25

Bottom line: I’d love to be wrong, but to date there’s been little reason to abandon the “Pedro
wins this” position and the last few days underscore that. Recent polls have a look of wishful
thinking about them, particularly those published by companies with an obvious agenda. Unless
the game changes dramatically in the next two weeks put me down for Castillo by ten points
and then, only then, do the bad things start to happen.
Chile, Argentina, tax hikes and Lukas Lundin
In Chile today, we have three items playing against mining:
 The (false) polemic over the law project for 3% royalty on sales (see IKN624)
 A Presidential election at the end of this year which will likely bring in a centre-left
government.
 The constitutional reform process, set to roll out in 2021
Chile is one of the main countries of production for Lundin Mining (LUN.to) and Lukas Lundin
also has his massive new discovery at Filo Mining (FIL.v) next to Josemaria (JOSE.v), both on
the Argentine side of the border with Chile. Which means suddenly we have headlines like this
out of Chile’s main business paper (11): “Multimillionaire Miner Ready to Bet on Argentina if
Risk Grows in Chile.” The note quotes Lukas Lundin on his and his companies’ plans for
investment, in light of the U$1Bn ploughed into Chile recently by LUN. His responses were
designed to spread consternation among Chilean ruling classes (translated from Spanish text):
"We are going to wait and see before investing a lot of money, I'm sure everyone else
is doing the same.”
"If there is too much uncertainty next year, obviously we won't press the button (on
major investments in Chile)."
"Countries want higher revenues, I understand that. But if you tax too much, it
becomes very difficult to reinvest."
All while making Chile well aware of the monster hole out of FIL this month. Then royalty
debate has stalled at Senate and while the congressional agenda makes it clear the Upper
House will debate and move on the bill this year, there does seem to be plenty of smoke-filled
room negotiations going on. We wait for resolution on the subject, but once again remind
readers that Chile is not an isolated case and the tax hike is likely to look relatively good once
Peru’s next government has finished murdering its mining exploration business.
Market Watching
An eye on the Roxgold (ROXG.to) side bet
We keep to the ten-day rolling chart to watch our side bet, but this time we go with the comp
to aggressor, Fortuna Silver (FVI.to) FSM):
26

ROXG traded on rails last week, taking and holding the $2.20/$2.25 channel to close Friday at
C$2.24. That puts me 6.7% pre-commish on the trade and it just about justifies its existence.
However, the real payday only comes from the third party interloper and, with each passing
week, that gets less likely. The arb is telling us as much between the two stocks, the approx
2% has hardly shifted and indicates the market expects this deal to consummate.
That brings me to a trading decision: This side bet gets two more Mondays maximum to show
competition, or I cash in. A small win is better than no win so if ROXG starts looking like dead
money, it’s better in the treasury.
Wesdome Gold (WDO.to) got away
Yes, of course it was my error to have procrastinated on WDO. Yes, there was plenty of sub-$9
available at the time I was considering
purchase. On the other hand, I couldn’t have
made the interest plainer and that any of you
long or going long WDO would be in good
shape. I only run my own money, after all.
The NR last week was another example of the
prosaic title, “Wesdome Expands Recently
Discovered High Grade Footwall Zone Over
300 Metres Down Plunge, Drilling 41.2 g/t
Gold Over 51.1 Metres Core Length”, leaving
few surprises in the text itself. The reason
WDO jumped the way it did was the location
of that intersect, way below the newly
discovered zone (A Zone Footwall) and implying impressive mineralization and continuation
(Kiena high grade veins are normally predictable). Figure 1 from the NR (12) is perhaps the
best visual on the discovery and it’s this type of drilling program that should improve the
market’s perceived weakness of reserve depth at the mine.
This desk has nothing bad to say about WDO, the world would be a better place if all mining
companies were run this way. However, preference continues with NGD and its quickly
improving financial position, over the long-term improvements in resource size and mine life.
27

Missing last week’s pop on Kiena is a price paid.
Why Filo Mining (FIL.v) stalled
The rocket move higher in Filo Mining (FIL.v) on Monday morning, on the back of the previous
week’s news and price rise, didn’t see any follow-through Tuesday to Friday no matter what
copper and the other explorecos did. This ten day chart using five minute intervals
We also note how volumes slacked off quickly once Monday was done. This desks proposes the
following reason:
We coin a new chart pattern “The Instant Lassonde Curve”. It’s on thing to have one of the
most exciting holes, and therefore copper projects, drop into your lap. However, in this case it
has appeared at a company with no need to speculate in the market, no need to woo
prospective partners, no need to tap the market for
capex cash even to the tune of three or five billion.
Delivery of this project to a Lundin company means
it has all the backing it needs organically, that puts
an end to speculation quickly. We expect Filo del
Sol to move forward and becomes a mine, so for
those of you with better things to do than read
about the sector every weekend for the next five
years, a reasonable and logical strategy would be to
buy FIL now and go fishing. But its not going to
attract much market buzz and isn’t about to
become a stock for the retail market. Fellow San
Juan provincial exploreco Aldebaran Resources
(ALDE.v), on the other hand, looks set to ride that very wave. That’s why we are long the
stock.
Conclusion
IKN626 is done, we end with bullet points:
28

 This week the main news was no news at all; the continued rally of PM and mining
stocks that should continue, as long as nobody tries to break something that’s working.
 Peruvian pollsters differ in many opinions, but they all agree that Keiko is now at her
hard ceiling of voter appeal. With Castillo still leading and in some recent polls opening
up the gap again, there is no reason to change the house call. Sell Peru and avoid it,
until further notice.
 McEwen Mining (MUX) has been the butt of many a joke and barb over the years on
the blog, but that may change if the company manages to do what it has clearly set out
to do and turn itself around. The financials point to progress so far, next week we
consider the future for MUX.
I thank you in advance for any feedback. Our Top Pick stocks are Minera Alamos (MAI.v) and
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v). Flash updates will be sent if required by events.
I wish you good trading fortune, ladies and gentlemen.
Best, Mark
Footnotes, appendices, references, disclaimer
(1) https://mineraalamos.com/news/2021/first-blast-completed-at-santana-gold-mine-as-mining-operations-commence-
fortuna-update/
(2) https://iknnews.com/business-as-usual-at-rio2-ltd-rio-v/
(3) https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/western-copper-and-gold-announces-c25-6-million-strategic-investment-
by-rio-tinto-301292475.html
(4) https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/coronavirus-los-contagios-se-dispararon-un-40-y-pusieron-al-borde-del-
colapso-el-sistema-sanitario-
nid22052021/?utm_source=n_&utm_medium=nl_titulares_del_dia&utm_campaign=nota_titulo_1
(5) https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=PEN&view=1M
(6) https://www.encuestas.com.pe/encuesta-2da-vuelta-idice-20-mayo-2021/
(7) https://www.prensalibre.com/economia/cuatro-acuerdos-logran-en-primera-reunion-de-preconsulta-por-minera-san-
rafael/
(8) https://larepublica.pe/elecciones/2021/05/21/cnddhh-confirma-su-retiro-de-la-proclama-ciudadana-pltc/?ref=lre
(9) https://www.larepublica.co/globoeconomia/keiko-fujimori-prometio-impulsar-proyectos-mineros-y-de-energia-si-es-
electa-en-peru-3173629
(10) https://larepublica.pe/elecciones/2021/05/22/hernan-chaparro-keiko-fujimori-tiene-una-alforja-muy-pesada-y-su-
campana-no-esta-caminando-bien-pltc/?ref=lre
(11) https://www.df.cl/noticias/empresas/mineria/minero-multimillonario-listo-para-apostar-por-argentina-a-medida-
que/2021-05-18/183355.html
(12) http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/13ce9d66-e846-4d12-8140-ce777de111ff
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2020
Closed in 2020 closed close price
TMAC Resources TMR.to Jan'20 C$3.41 20-Dec-19 C$3.61 5.9% TLS flip play, sold new year
Regulus Res REG.v Jan'20 C$1.10 20-Dec-19 C$1.30 18.2% TLS flip play, profit taken
Bonterra Res BTR.v Jan'20 C$1.90 9-Dec-19 C$1.66 -12.6% TLS flip play, loss taken
McEwen Mining MUX Jan'20 U$1.12 2-Dec-19 U$1.18 5.4% TLS flip play, profit taken
Core Gold CGLD.v Jan'20 C$0.255 7-Apr-19 C$0.305 19.6% arb trade, profit taken
HudBay Min HBM Jan'20 U$3.56 9-Dec-19 U$3.36 -5.6% TLS flip play, loss taken
29

Midas Gold MAX.to Feb'20 C$0.71 5-Jan-20 C$0.57 -19.7% sm & silly trade
Warrior Gold WAR.v Feb'20 C$0.08 3-Aug-18 C$0.05 -31.3% clean out non-perf sm stocks
Contact Gold C.v Feb'20 C$0.40 19-Aug-18 C$0.18 -55.0% clean out non-perf sm stocks
Sandstorm Gold SAND Feb'20 U$3.73 17-Apr-16 U$7.21 93.3% Sold during port rebalance
NexGen Energy NXE Feb'20 U$1.20 2-Dec-19 U$1.06 -11.7% TLS flip play, loss taken
MAG Silver MAG Apr'20 U$8.95 1-Mar-20 U$10.07 12.5% Sold to cut silver exposure
Alexco Res AXU Apr'20 U$1.69 7-Sep-17 U$1.69 0.0% sold to close Ag exp. in FY20
Bonterra Res BTR.v Jun'20 C$1.62 2-Feb-20 C$1.10 -32.1% under-performer cash moved
Regulus Res REG.v Jun'20 C$0.64 6-Apr-15 C$0.79 23.4% moved $ TMQ/MIN & Au stocks
Great Panther GPR.to Aug'20 C$0.60 21-Jun-20 C$1.10 83.3% Profit taken, good trade
Jaguar Mining JAG.v Aug'20 C$0.42 21-Jun-20 C$0.65 54.8% Profit taken, good trade
Sandstorm Gold SAND Aug'20 U$7.76 10-May-20 U$9.37 20.7% Profit taken, good trade
Integra Resources ITR.v Aug'20 C$2.23 13-Aug-18 C$5.40 142.2% Profit taken, good trade
Wesdome Gold WDO.to Aug'20 C$2.37 14-Oct-17 C$14.82 525.3% last 1/2 of big win closed
INV Metals INV.to Sep'20 C$0.40 17-May-20 C$0.45 12.5% Cut all Ecuador exposure
Cartier Resources ECR.v Nov'20 C$0.155 3-Aug-18 C$0.25 67.7% Exact close price TBA
Tinka Res TK.v Dec'20 C$0.195 19-Apr-16 C$0.195 0.0% Closed on a round trip fail
2015 to 2019 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2019
Closed in 2019 closed close price
Atico Mining ATY.v jan'19 C$0.55 24-Jul-16 C$0.32 41.8% patience ran out, made room
Candente Copper DNT.to jan'19 C$0.075 3-Ago-18 C$0.05 -33.3% tiny trade, made room for new
B2Gold BTO.to feb'19 C$2.11 12-Set-14 C$4.05 91.9% Took 1/2 profits, reduce size
Western Copper WRN.to mar'19 C$0.80 20-Ene-19 C$0.81 1.3% Spec trade that didn't work
B2Gold BTO.to mar'19 C$2.11 12-Set-14 C$4.15 96.7% Took rest of profit.
GT Gold GTT.v mar'19 C$1.17 10-Oct-18 C$0.90 -23.1% Took loss. Story changed
NovaGold NG apr'19 U$3.84 13-Ene-19 U$4.15 -8.1% Short that didn't work, sm loss
Zinc One Z.v jun'19 C$0.47 14-Set-17 C$0.025 -94.7% clearing out dead trade
Amarillo Gold AGC.v jun'19 C$0.24 22-Ago-18 C$0.20 -16.7% clearing out dead trade
New Gold NGD aug'19 U$1.44 31-Jul-19 U$1.23 14.6% ST short win thru Q2 earnings
IMPACT Silver IPT.v aug'19 C$0.39 21-Jul-19 C$0.46 18.0% took a quick profit
Fiore Gold F.v aug'19 C$0.34 26-May-19 C$0.56 64.7% Took profit, 2q19 avg
Chakana Copper PERU.v oct'19 C$0.84 22-Mar-18 C$0.16 -81.0% Exploreco trade fail. Want space
Wesdome Gold WDO.to oct'19 C$2.37 14-Oct-17 C$7.57 219.4% Sold half, profit taking
Superior Gold SGI.v oct'19 C$1.46 8-Abr-18 C$0.47 -67.8% Failed sm spec on Au. Moved on
Amerigo Res ARG.to nov'19 C$0.91 23-Set-18 C$0.50 -45.1% worst trade of year, hefty loss
Guyana Goldfields GUY.to dec'19 C$0.94 14-Abr-19 C$0.56 -40.4% taking the loss, financials weak
Tethyan Res TETH.v dec'19 C$0.30 8-Set-19 C$0.16 -46.7% tiny trade, word of probs in co
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2018
Closed in 2018 closed close price
Amarillo Gold AGC.v jan'18 C$0.38 24-Mar-17 C$0.31 -18.4% Cut away losing trade
Riverside Res RRI.v jan'18 C$0.39 27-Jun-16 C$0.31 -20.5% Cut away losing trade
Eros Res ERC.v jan'18 C$0.175 1-Mar-17 C$0.16 -8.6% CEO sudden exit, not good
Excellon Res EXN.to jan'18 C$1.54 9-Oct-16 C$1.66 7.8% 4q17 poor, one too many bad qtrs
Wesdome Gold WDO.to jan'18 C$1.68 15-Dec-17 C$2.06 22.6% Near-term trade block, took profit
Sabina G&S SBB.to apr'18 C$2.06 17-Dec-17 C$1.77 -14.1% Near-term trade, bad timing, small
B2Gold BTO.to May'18 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$3.67 73.9% sold 25% to reduce exposure
Lara Expl. LRA.v May'18 C$0.65 11-Feb-18 C$0.58 -13.8% Spec on Brazil didn't work
Solitario XPL June'18 U$0.72 19-Mar-17 U$0.41 -43.1% Failed trade, may return in 4q18
SolGold plc SOLG.to July'18 C$0.475 19-Nov-17 C$0.415 -12.6% cut, trade didn't perform
30

Pan American PAAS July'18 U$17.90 1-Jun-18 U$16.30 8.9% modest win on short position
NGEx Res NGQ.to Sep'18 C$1.01 22-Oct-17 C$1.00 -1.0% Closed to reduce Argentina exp
Sandstorm Gold SAND Oct'18 U$3.73 17-Apr-16 U$4.13 10.7% partial sale to raise cash for GTT
Aldebaran Res ALDE.v Nov'18 n/a n/a n/a n/a liquidate spin out of REG
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2017
Closed in 2017 closed close price
Continental Gold CNL.to Jan'17 C$2.68 22-May-16 C$4.17 55.6% trade closed, profit taken
Focus Ventures FCV.v Jan'17 C$0.23 1-Jul-12 C$0.05 -78.3% Give up, a disaster trade
Wesdome Gold WDO.to Feb'17 C$1.72 28-Aug-16 C$3.00 74.4% Target hit, sold, good trade
Belo Sun BSX.to Mar'17 C$0.90 30-Jan-17 C$0.90 0.0% failed near-term flip trade
Lara Expl. LRA.v Mar'17 C$1.15 8-Apr-12 C$1.05 -8.7% cut to make room for new trade
Rye Patch Gold RPM.v Apr'17 C$0.31 2-Sep-16 C$0.32 3.2% cut for doubts & new stock
Cordoba Min. CDB.v Jun'17 C$0.75 15-Sep-16 C$0.63 -16.0% closed
Constantine Metal CEM.v Aug'17 C$0.135 9-Apr-17 C$0.28 107.4% spec trade closed, good win
Red Eagle Min. R.to Sep'17 C$0.67 13-Dec-16 C$0.27 -59.7% IKN's biggest failure in years
Starcore Intl SAM.to Sep'17 C$0.61 10-Jan-15 C$0.31 -49.2% Patience ran out
B2Gold BTO.to Dec'17 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$3.39 60.7% sold small portion for liquidity
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2016
Closed in 2016 closed close price
Phoscan Chem FOS.to jan16 C$0.28 29-mar-15 C$0.265 -5.4% Buyout trade, bot but poor deal
True Gold TGM.v jan16 C$0.18 23-ago-15 C$0.25 38.9% okay trade, sold on pol risk
McEwen Mining MUX jan16 U$1.09 25-ene-15 U$1.20 10.1% sold due to lack of value
Lake Shore Gold LSG.to feb-16 C$1.10 07-abr-15 C$1.69 53.6% bot out, sold early in process
Atacama Pacific ATM.v feb-16 C$0.19 26-abr-15 C$0.40 110.5% sold for a double on big pop
New Gold NGD feb-16 U$2.06 24-ene-16 U$2.96 43.7% closed good near-term trade
Sandspring Res SSP.v mar-16 C$0.195 18-oct-15 C$0.32 64.1% Hit tgt, took profit
Teranga Gold TGZ.to mar-16 C$0.54 15-feb-15 C$0.60 11.1% disappointing trade
B2Gold BTG mar-16 U$0.85 13-ene-16 U$1.30 52.9% Separate trade on B2, hit tgt
Dalradian Res DNA.to mar-16 C$0.67 27-oct-13 C$1.00 49.3% Hit target, sold, good win
HudBay Min. HBM may-16 U$4.10 03-abr-16 U$4.36 -6.3% Short trade, poor timing
Nevada Sunrise NEV.v may-16 C$0.185 28-feb-16 C$0.23 24.3% V. small, no big deal either way
Richmont RIC jun-16 U$7.60 01-may-16 U$9.30 22.4% near-term trade, profit taken
INV Metals INV.to jul-16 C$0.25 03-abr-16 C$0.95 280.0% Trade closed on time
HudBay Min. HBM aug16 U$4.98 09-jun-16 U$4.80 3.6% short trade covered, no big deal
Miranda Gold MAD.v oct-16 C$0.125 03-jul-16 C$0.10 -20.0% tiny spec trade, didn't work
Avino G & S ASM nov-16 U$2.00 21-oct-16 U$1.40 -30.0% Abandon trade on bad bot deal
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2015
Closed in 2015 closed close price
Argonaut Gold AR.to jan'15 C$1.47 14-dec-14 C$2.53 72.1% Big gain small time, profit taken
Amerigo Res ARG.to jan'15 C$0.405 20-jul-14 C$0.285 -29.6% Given up on weak Cu prices
Reservoir Min. RMC.v jan'15 C$6.05 18-jun-14 C$4.12 -31.9% sold on Cu downturn
Coro Mining COP.to jan'15 C$0.075 26-jan-14 C$0.035 -53.3% sm, sold on Cu downturn
Fortuna Silver FSM mar'15 U$4.12 10-nov-14 U$3.75 9.0% Short used as hedge
GoldQuest Min. GQC.v mar'15 C$0.26 27-oct-13 C$0.085 -67.3% given up ghost
Rio Alto Mining RIO.to apr'15 C$2.30 07-apr-11 C$3.57 55.2% Top pick, bot out, big win
Timmins Gold TGD jun'15 U$0.60 19-apr-15 U$0.62 3.3% near-term trade, out of time
First Majestic AG jul'15 U$10.51 10-aug-14 U$4.55 56.7% horrible failed trade
NovaCopper NCQ.to jul'15 C$1.05 09-apr-14 C$0.50 -52.4% no more Cu exposure, sm sell
McEwen Mining MUX aug'15 U$0.695 21-jul-15 U$0.92 32.4% Closed nearterm flip for win
Midas Gold MAX.to sep'15 C$0.39 21-sep-15 C$0.35 -10.3% Sm. trade idea that didn't work
31

New Gold NGD oct'15 U$2.18 23-aug-15 U$3.05 39.9% trade closed, profit taken
Legend Gold LGN.v nov'15 C$0.085 01-mar-15 C$0.035 -58.8% tiny "land grab" idea, failed
Timmins Gold TGD nov'15 U$0.245 20-sep-15 U$0.15 -38.8% small near-term loser
Please note that due to space considerations closed positions 2009 to 2014 are now
available on request, or were published in any edition to IKN553 (end 2019).
Important Disclosure
The information and opinions contained within this report reflect the personal views of the author and therefore all
material within should not be construed as accurate or reliable or be utilized as advice for investment or business
purposes. Independent due diligence and discussions with ones own investment and business advisor is strongly
recommended. Accordingly, nothing in this report should be construed as offering a guarantee of the accuracy or
completeness of the information contained herein, as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any
security or as an endorsement of any product or service. All opinions and estimates included in this report are subject to
change without notice. It is prohibited to copy or redistribute this report to any type of third party without the express
permission of the author.
32