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The IKN Weekly
Week 683, June 19th 2022
Contents
This Week: Trade heads-up, In Today’s edition, Next week in jawbone, Staying long gold and
copper.
Fundamental Analysis: Selling Discovery Silver (DSV.v).
Stocks to Follow: Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v), Minera Alamos (MAI.v), Superior Gold
(SGI.v), Amerigo Resources (ARG.to), Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v), Altiplano Metals (APN.v).
Copper Basket: Overview, The seven most tradable copper stocks on the list (in market cap
order), Copper Mountain (CMMC.to): Oroco (OCO.v), Marimaca (MARI.to), Western Copper &
Gold (WRN.to), Aldebaran (ALDE.v), Element 29 (ECU.v), QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v).
Producer Basket: Overview, Alamos Gold (AGI) and B2Gold (BTG), Gold Fields (GFI) again.
TinyCaps Basket: Overview, Kingfisher Metals (KFR.v)
Regional Politics: The Colombia Presidential election run-off: Petro wins, President Boric’s
first clash with Chile’s mining sector, Peru at PDAC, Ecuador social upheaval begins anew, More
sanctions for Nicaragua.
Market Watching: Starcore International Mines (SAM.to): Closing the sidebet, Anacortes
Mining Corp (XYZ.v) feedback and further thoughts.
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
Trade heads-up
With a view to trimming sails further and riding out the potential recession storm in our future,
I’ve decided to sell the rest of my Discovery Silver (DSV.v) shares, thereby closing out (yet
another) poorly timed foray into the silver space. From here, I’m sticking to the two metals I
believe will perform best in the current market, gold and copper.
In Today’s Edition
 Today’s main fundies section is as much a mea culpa on my poor call on sivler recently
as it is the actionable decision to sell Discovery Silver (DSV.v).
 Despite the heavy selling pressure seen on the metal last week and the collapse of the
large majority of junior copper share prices, The Copper Basket this week outlines the
reasons why I’m staying long this metal as the market moves into rougher waters.
 Colombia has a new President, as Gustavo Petro today won the run-off vote by (a still
unofficial) 50.5% to challenger Rodolfo Hernández on 47.3%. That’s around one million
votes and while a close result it didn’t go to a photo finish and loser this evening
conceded in correct and diplomatic style. We consider the initial reaction and possible
ramifications on Colombia and its mining industry in Regional Politics.
 PDAC came and went without many people noticing, what with all eyes on the market
meltdown and the Fed’s new, highly aggressive stance against inflation. The theme
runs through many of today’s sections, starting with the intro.
1

Next week in jawbone
There will be a lack of chatter on Monday, as The USA is on Juneteenth holiday and its markets
are closed. But you won’t need to wait long for Fed-related macro jawbone, as on Wednesday
and Thursday Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives his “Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to
Congress” and will provide all the sound bites the world will need about the fight against
inflation, stagflation, recession and so forth. He may even have a word to say about crypto, you
never know.
Staying long gold and copper
Despite the relatively good showing from gold last week (especially versus Crypto and I
promise, that’s the last reference you get to that particular meltdown today), our GLD proxy still
dropped 1.87% during a tough Fed week in which the eventual 0.75% basis points added by
the US Federal Reserve was pre-empted and baked in before the day arrived. The delivery of
the news on Monday, when four respected media outlets all got word of the Fed’s intention at
the same time (shome coinsidensh shurely, ossifer), whacked the market hard and even
managed to push gold under U$1,800/oz for a few minutes. In other words, the Fed’s
deliberate leak did its job before confirmation was delivered Wednesday afternoon, to the point
where broad markets even managed a mini-rally into the close Wednesday. But the bad news
wasn’t over and that rebound also failed, with the run into this weekend apparently pre-
empting the Fed’s next move. This from yesterday Saturday (1):
(Reuters) -- Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller on Saturday became the latest
U.S. central banker to pledge a whatever-it-takes approach to fighting inflation, three
days after the Fed raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point and
signaled more hikes to come.
"If the data comes in as I expect, I will support a similar-sized move at our July
meeting," Waller said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Society for Computational
Economics conference in Dallas. "The Fed is 'all in' on re-establishing price stability."
As for gold stocks, they were duly led to the woodshed for another beating and a look at the
comparative chart featuring gold (GKLD proxy),
the PM stocks (GDX proxy) and the broad
markets (the S&P500 doing the job) shows the
biggest influence on the PM players last week:
However, there’s also reasons to be cheerful in
that chart above, as the last two days of last
week show how GDX decoupled from its major
influence and managed to hold its own line,
thanks mainly to gold bullion catching plenty of
interest. That even showed in the GLD inventory
data, which saw a rise in absolute physical
holdings as well as an improvement in the
inventory/price ratio that monitors Wall Street’s
appetite for gold bullion trades.
GLD gold holdings, 2022 year to date (metric tonnes)
1140
1120
1100
1080
1060
1040
1020
1000
980
960
940
920
2
12/21/13 22/1/5 22/1/01 22/1/51 22/1/02 22/1/52 22/1/03 22/2/4 22/2/9 22/2/41 22/2/91 22/2/42 22/3/1 22/3/6 22/3/11 22/3/61 22/3/12 22/3/62 22/3/13 22/4/5 22/4/01 22/4/51 22/4/02 22/4/52 22/4/03 22/5/5 22/5/01 22/5/51 22/5/02 22/5/52 22/5/03 22/6/4 22/6/9 22/6/41
mt GLD: Inventory/Price Ratio, 2022 year to date
6.40
6.30
6.20
6.10
6.00
5.90
5.80
5.70
5.60
source: SPDR GLD data 5.50
13/21/1202 5/1/2202 01/1/2202 51/1/2202 02/1/2202 52/1/2202 03/1/2202 4/2/2202 9/2/2202 41/2/2202 91/2/2202 42/2/2202 1/3/2202 6/3/2202 11/3/2202 61/3/2202 12/3/2202 62/3/2202 13/3/2202 5/4/2202 01/4/2202 51/4/2202 02/4/2202 52/4/2202 03/4/2202 5/5/2202 01/5/2202 51/5/2202 02/5/2202 52/5/2202 03/5/2202 4/6/2202 9/6/2202 41/6/2202
Source: SPDR data, IKN calcs

But fear not! You’ll be glad to know that this weekend’s intro isn’t a long-winded and drawn-out
borefest of words, as last week’s argument for gold remains valid. Instead, let’s zoom out and
consider these five very basic squiggly lines and how they’ve performed so far in 2022:
Now, I’m the first to admit that The IKN Weekly’s main focus is on the junior mining sector
rather than the metals or the senior mining companies, and that the juniors have had a much
rougher time of it than the components of GDX. However, when we consider how the goldies
have done next to the complete carnage seen in the US broad markets so far, it really doesn’t
seem as bad as all that. Also, at some point the relative out-performance of PM mining stocks is
going to draw the attention of generalist money looking for a position in relative strength (i.e.
the sectors that perform best in a rally) even though our dusty, old-fangled mining sector isn’t
anywhere near as sexy as tech, services or retail growth. So overall and despite the horror
show market of last week, I’m less despondent about the future of the sector than I thought I’d
be this weekend. Gold performed its safe haven role to script last week and found enough
buyers to support the producer equities once the Monday dumpage was through, something we
cannot say about the broad markets. As for copper, the reasons to remain long and strong in
that metal are mostly set out in today’s Copper Basket but as a preview, while agreeing it might
be a bit of a white-knuckle ride for the next few days, there are too many solid fundamental
reasons for sustained demand for the metal to expect The Good Doctor Copper to sink much
further.
Surprisingly upbeat intro done, now for the depressing stuff.
Fundamental Analysis of Mining Stocks
Selling Discovery Silver (DSV.v)
"One must never forget when misfortunes come that it is
quite possible they are saving one from something
much worse; or that when you make some great
mistake, it may very easily serve you better
than the best-advised decision."
Winston Churchill
Over the weekend, the working title for this week’s main Fundies section was the quote
attributed to J.M. Keynes; “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
(ere is some dispute about whether he ever said it). But when it came to putting the note
together it seemed far too arrogant, so after a quick search in Google I spotted the above, by
that veritable quote machine Winston Churchill, which fits the bill better. After all and to borrow
another famous line, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
The great mistake we reference is then call on silver this year, which dates back nine editions
and is covered in this potted history.
 In IKN674 dated April 17th, the main fundies note was “Silver is ready to move
higher.”
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 In IKN675 dated April 24th, the main fundies note announced the purchase of
Abrasilver Resource Corp (ABRA.v) (as well as two small additions to the existing
Chesapeake Gold (CKG.v) and Superior Gold (SGI.v) positions).
 In IKN678 dated May 15th the intro section announced I was “Trimming the
sails” and in the main Fundamental Analysis noted, I was “Selling some shares
and raising some cash.”
Now for a few details on all three, followed by an update to where we stand today
IKN674 dated April 17th: Of all the mistakes, the greatest happened in IKN674 dated April
17th and the main note “Silver is ready to move higher”, in which I took the plunge and
declared my bullish position on the Jekyll & Hyde metal. Yes indeed, that was a mistake, but
before declating the full mea culpa will beg a little (and only a little) mitigation: The analysis
didn’t scream “Buy Silver Now!!!” (with or without multiple exclamation marks) and the thrust
was about preparing for a new upmove in silver rather than making an immediate move, stating
as it did along the way that “Exact timing of any sharp move higher in silver isn’t difficult, it’s
plain impossible.” However even that line found in the conclusion section was followed by,
“However, there’s enough pressure from real money buying into real bullion to suggest we’re
close…” and was preceded by a re-cap of the fundamental evidence I’d collated in the main
body of the note. Here’s a reminder, also from the conclusion section:
“…the pressure building on the price of silver from coin stackers, bar buyers, SLV owners and now even
traders using the futures markets and opposing end-users as seen in the COT data, suggest we’re close to
one of those moments when silver rips away from its financial fetters and moves quickly higher. At the
very least, the COT data above strongly suggests there’s enough backbone to maintain the current
U$25/oz-and-above price deck which means risk is biased to the upside.”
There’s no hiding from a bad call and what’s more, the timing was awful:
So much for the risk biased to the upside, I managed to catch the near-term top before the
Fed-driven selling of all things began and, adding insult to injury, managed to parlay the error
the very next week.
IKN675 dated April 24th: Even though they are both negative since the call, I’m going to
stand behind my decision to add to my previously opened positions in Chesapeake Gold (CKG.v)
and Superior Gold (SGI.v) that day (if you want to argue those feel free to mail in, today is
about silver). However, the decision to cover Abrasilver Resource Corp (ABRA.v) for the first
time in The IKN Weekly and then buy some in the following week has no defence in hindsight.
It was set up as a small trade (that’s one thing I suppose) with the idea of supplementing the
only silver exposed trade at the time, that of Discovery Silver (DSV.v) and benefiting from the
forecast pop in the price of silver.
IKN678 dated May 15th: Three editions later and it was time to reverse course. Along with a
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couple of other moves under the general “Trimming the sails” headline, I took the loss on
Abrasilver and also sold a few of the larger Discovery Silver (DSV.v) position. Most of the intro
and Fundies section was taken to spell out the change in course and decision to reduce
exposure to junior equities, so one small excerpt isn’t enough to do justice but here’s how the
conclusion wrapped up:
…the cruel reality is that the unexpectedly aggressive Federal Reserve policy as
revealed in the last couple of weeks isn’t likely to reverse or be opposed by the broad
markets, that means higher rates and a higher US Dollar, economic slowdown and a
bear market for equities. Due to that and not due to the quality of the companies on
the Stocks to Follow list, I am raising capital and hunkering down.”
For sure, 20/20 hindsight also informs us that as the market hasn’t just dropped but has
dropped substantially since IKN678, I didn’t do enough selling. Indeed true and by taking a
gradual approach to selling, it was a case of “Which wrong decision shall I make this time?”
However, no decision is binary and there’s
always another call to make, which brings us to
this weekend and the decision to raise more
treasury by selling the rest of the Discovery
Silver (DSV.v) position.
We begin here, with a re-cap of the Gold/Silver
ratio via this long-term chart (right). The
standard relationship between gold and silver in
times of economic downturn is well-established
and, while it doesn’t match the narrative now
prevalent on hard money websites and among
its commentators, the record states gold
performs better than silver in times of
recession. It stands to reason too, as the
monetary metal gold is a place where money
takes refuge and its only true use, aside from
being shiny and making attractive pieces of
jewellery, comes to the fore. Proponents of
silver will often claim the same for their preferred metal, but the fact remains that as over 50%
of all silver produced is destined for industrial uses,
when industry slows it will use less of the metal.
This next chart (right) is the same data, a close-up of
the last year of the Gold/Silver ratio (GSR), another
witness to my poorly timed call on silver the metal in
IKN674 as the breakout from 78X to 85X happened
just after that edition. Sigh. Since then we saw some
clawback, but the GSR returned to breach 85X last
week thanks as much to the safe haven purchases in
gold as the selling of silver positions.
We now get to the focus of this anal ysis and a
simple, three month price chart of Discovery Silver
(DSV.v), below right. its shares were priced at
C$1.24 on the weekend of the Sail Trimming of
IKN678, since then the stock has traded in the $1.30
to $1.40 range but last Friday popped hard when the
Van Eck ETFs (GDX/J, etc) added a large swathe of
shares as part of their quarterly rebalancing process.
This comes at the same time as the quickening of Fed
policy regarding inflation. Back in IKN678 we
5

recognized that fighting the Fed was the wrong course and that Jay Powell was now set on a
“whatever it takes” mission to reel in inflation, not matter if the landing turns out to be soft or
hard. The combination of the Fed’s quickening policy and the market-related price hike in DSV
on Friday provides an opportunity to sell out at a not-so-painful price and while the close of
C$1.59 is still lower than my cost average of $1.77, it’s a more attractive exit door than
anything seen since early May. As laid out in today’s intro, in order to ride out the current bear
market storm, this desk’s policy is to focus on gold and copper as they seem to offer most
downside protection from the effects of the US slowdown. I’ve already raised some treasury
cash and that cash is intact (aside the small side bet in Starcore (SAM.to) that also closes
today, see ‘Market Watching’). But the direction and sentiment of the market, particularly in the
last two weeks, suggests more dry powder to be wiser than less and, as my portfolio is
grounded firmly in the real world (and I’m not a bottomless pit of money), that means selling
some shares.
The market backdrop also means the house fundies model for DSV has been reeled in
somewhat. We await the PFS for more reliable input numbers, but DSV offered us a serious PEA
on Cordero last year with solid work that puts it above many of the “heavily optimized” (let’s
say) reports so typically published by juniors at this stage. All the same, we all know about the
inflation pulse which has run through the industry since end 2021 and there’s also the small
matter of lower metals prices, so some of the inputs have been necessarily adapted for the
creuler reality of mid-2022. The result is an updated models for DSV at Cordero, which now
uses $20/oz silver as its base case (other metals prices unchanged) and the preferred option at
U$22/oz, reflecting current metals prices:
DSV at Cordero: 50ktpd model revs by metal type (U$m)
price decks U$20/oz U$22/oz U$24/oz U$25/oz
gold (koz) 45 45 45 45
U$/oz 1,500 1,800 1,800 2,000
Au revs (U$m) 67.5 81.0 81.0 90.0
zinc (Mlb) 173 173 173 173
U$/lb 1.00 1.20 1.50 1.70
Zn revs (U$m) 173.2 207.8 259.7 294.4
lead (mln lbs) 95 95 95 95
U$/lb 0.90 1.10 1.10 1.30
Pb revs (U$m) 85.6 104.6 104.6 123.6
silver Moz 7.88 7.88 7.88 7.88
U$/oz 20.0 22.0 24.0 25.0
Ag revs (U$m) 157.6 173.3 189.1 196.9
Gross revs (U$m) 483.8 566.7 634.4 705.0
Net sales (U$m) 385.1 451.1 505.0 561.2
Gross sales (US$) $869 $1,018 $1,139 $1,266
TC/RC (96.8) (113.3) (126.9) (141.0)
Net sales(U$m) 387.1 453.4 507.5 564.0
Sources: DSV data, IKN calcs and ests
Aside from cutting the preferred silver price to U$22/oz, the only major change above is to raise
the TC/RC deduction to 20% from 15% in the original model, which on reflection was too
generous for a mine producing four payable metals.
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From there we move to our model income statement table and while this is still mostly ballpark
in nature as we work off a PEA, there are some alterations to the original inputs. The most
important one is to add a blanket 10% to opex, including COGs, DD&A and G&A. Then finance
costs are raised from U$15m in the original model to U$20m to reflect the likelihood of higher
capex from cost inflation and its subsequent servicing. We continue to use 400m shares out,
though with 350m S/O already that could arguably be more. These changes applied to the
U$22/oz silver assumption bring an average annual net income of U$166.4m
DSV at Cordero: Condensed income statement (U$m)
case U$20/oz U$22/oz U$24/oz U$25/oz
Sales (U$m) 387.1 453.4 507.5 564.0
Cash COGS 143.5 143.5 143.5 143.5
Depreciation 17.0 17.0 17.0 17.0
G&A 19.3 19.3 19.3 19.3
fin. Costs 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0
royalty 1.9 2.3 2.5 2.8
Op income 183.4 249.1 302.7 358.6
Exploration 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
Tax 40.4 55.5 67.8 80.6
Net income 121.1 166.4 203.4 241.9
Shares out (m) 400 400 400 400
EPS 0.30 0.42 0.51 0.60
Capex 10 10 10 10
FCF 0.37 0.48 0.58 0.67
Sources: DSV data, IKN estimates
Which brings us to our updated target price table:
Sales & earnings model U$/oz Au prices Target price & valuation data for DSV (C$) based on
Ag spot (U$) stress base current bluesky model year economics
Sales (U$m) 385.1 451.1 505.0 561.2 12-month target C$2.99 based on 6x EPS
Upside to target 88% and U$22/oz Ag
EPS 0.30 0.42 0.51 0.60 Mkt cap (C$m) $557 Enterprise value $479
FCF 0.37 0.48 0.58 0.67 P/sales (stress) 1.23 EV/sales (stress) 1.06
P/E (stress) 5.3 EV/EBITDA (stress) 2.4
P/E (base) 3.8 EV/EBITDA (base) 1.8
P/E (current) 3.1 EV/EBITDA (current) 1.5
Once again I’ve decided to be somewhat generous in affording a 6X EPS to a project still
waiting on its PFS (you may remember that at the time of PEA publication, we were told the
PFS would be with us by end 2q22…that’s almost now). That multiple plus the house forex of
1.2 Loonies per US Dollar gives a target price of C$2.99 and a nominal 88% upside to this
weekend’s share price. That’s a reasonable return for a junior and there’s no doubt that
Cordero is a quality project being moved forward in the right way, so it’s not difficult to justify
that sort of valuation based purely on fundamentals.
The issue is more about the length of time between us and production day one, as well as
current market sentiment. It is that combination that wreaks havoc with the forward PE
multiples that a market is willing to pay for a solid and prospective mining project, not its
obvious intrinsic value or the seriousness of the management team moving it forward (or the
strong backing of Eric Sprott, for that matter). In order to give an idea of the way a lacklustre
market affects projections, cutting the PE multiple to 4X gives this target box alternative:
7

Sales & earnings model U$/oz Au prices Target price & valuation data for DSV (C$) based on
Ag spot (U$) stress base current bluesky model year economics
Sales (U$m) 385.1 451.1 505.0 561.2 12-month target C$2.00 based on 4x EPS
Upside to target 26% and U$22/oz Ag
EPS 0.30 0.42 0.51 0.60 Mkt cap (C$m) $557 Enterprise value $479
FCF 0.37 0.48 0.58 0.67 P/sales (stress) 1.23 EV/sales (stress) 1.06
P/E (stress) 5.3 EV/EBITDA (stress) 2.4
P/E (base) 3.8 EV/EBITDA (base) 1.8
P/E (current) 3.1 EV/EBITDA (current) 1.5
We’re now down to a target upside of 26% from this evening’s share price and while I’d
welcome any win in this current market, that wouldn’t be enough to get me to buy DSv at the
present time. Therefore, as “not selling” is tantamount to buying it stands to reason that if
sentiment is going to remain in the dumpster for a while, nominal targets for stocks such as
DSV aren’t going to be as mouth-watering as before.
Discussion and conclusion
As always, the “least worst” way of approaching a publication such as this means that at times
like these, its weaknesses come to the fore. Ultimately, in deciding to bail on Discovery Silver
(DSV.v) this weekend and convert the shares held into treasury cash, I am making a personal
portfolio management decision. That’s important to understand, as my sell call today is not a
call on the quality of DSV the company or its Cordero project. I like both and among the typical
mediocrity found in the silver space, both the team and its asset stand out as best in class with
high chances of making it from here and into production.
However, that famous break-up phrase comes to mind: “It’s not you, DSV, it’s me.” The
decision to cut losses and raise cash is one predicated on the likelihood of further weakness in
the silver sector, product of a clearly flagged industrial slowdown coupled with a burst of
inflation that together, may cause the Fed to drag The USA and therefore the industrialized
nations into a fully-fledged recession. In the end, I put my money where my mouth is and as
my firm belief that gold and copper (metal and stocks) will out-perform peer metals and the
stocks they ride, it becomes difficult to hold a project looking to silver, zinc and lead for its main
revenue streams once in operation. Therefore and in order to trim sails further, I’m going to
take advantage of the ETRF-driven price pop in DSV last Friday and sell my remaining shares in
Discovery Silver (DSV.v) in the days ahead, realize my loss, add cash to the war chest and wait
for better days. Another loser for the list, so be it.
Stocks to Follow
To get the not-so-bad news out the way, we had two winners on the week (DSV.v up 14.4%,
then ECU.v up half a penny) then MIRL.cse remained unchanged. Then there were some
modest losers and the ones that did better than the market median or their junior peers include
Top Pick Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v), Superior Gold (SGI.v), Newcore (NCAU.v) and Mene (MENE.v).
That’s the end of the good news. Last week was pure poison for then junior sector and when
the instos rushed for the door, there were no bids to support the selling and as a result, no
matter whether your company in question saw high or low volume, the losses were substantial
and difficult to avoid. There were no fewer than ten double-figure losers, including (take a deep
breath) Altiplano (APN.v down 22.9%), QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v down 19.6%), Amerigo
(ARG.to down 18.1%), Aldebaran (ALDE.v down 13.8%), Top Pick Minera Alamos (MAI.v down
12.6%), Palamina (PA.v down 12.5%), Electra Battery (ELBM.v down 11.9%), Chesapeake
(CKG.v down 11.6%) and Western Copper (WRN.to down 11.3%). Breathe out. Forgive the
weak attempt at humour, but typing up this weekend’s overview was a case of laugh or cry and
there is no avoiding the portfolio hurt in that list.
8

There are currently 16 open positions, four below our self-imposed maximum (and if you prefer
the old system, I’m down to 13 of 15 open positions owned). Just three are in the green and
the others are still in the red, but things are getting better.
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$0.52 147.6% $1.14 tgt, #1 idea on FY22 dev
Rio2 Ltd. RIO.v STR BUY C$0.83 22-Apr-18 C$0.53 -36.1% $1.30 tgt May22 permit catalyst
RECOMMENDED STOCKS
Amerigo Res ARG.to STR BUY C$1.36 12-Dec-21 C$1.40 2.9% $2.40 tgt on FY22 guidance
Superior Gold SGI.v STR BUY C$0.95 3-Apr-22 C$0.84 -11.6% Au prod jr, right place/time
Discovery Silver DSV.v SPEC BUY C$1.77 24-Oct-21 C$1.59 -10.2% Top Ag play, 1st tgt $2.75
QC Copper&Gold QCCU.v SPEC BUY C$0.275 25-Apr-21 C$0.185 -32.7% Now drilling. Easy hold
Element 29 ECU.v HOLD C$0.58 6-Mar-22 C$0.37 -36.2% Cu exploreco w/ 2 Peru assets
SPECULATIVE TRADES
Chesapeake Gold CKG.v SPEC BUY C$3.07 20-Feb-22 C$2.20 -28.3% Au leverage, small trade so far
Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v SPEC BUY C$0.72 16-May-21 C$0.69 -4.2% May sell on NR window
Palamina Corp PA.v SPEC BUY C$0.295 21-Nov-21 C$0.14 -52.5% Au expl in S.Peru
Altiplano Metals APN.v HOLD C$0.31 17-Sep-21 C$0.185 -40.3% Cheap entry, plan on track.
Minera IRL MIRL.cse hold C$0.195 22-Jul-12 C$0.09 -53.8% CEO change will move stock
THREE TRADE IDEAS FROM IKN670, March 2022 (originally five) NB: I DO NOT OWN
Newcore Gold NCAU.v WATCH C$0.51 20-Mar-22 C$0.34 -33.3% tracking IKN670 idea
Electra Battery ELBM.v WATCH C$5.31 20-Mar-22 C$4.23 -20.7% tracking IKN670 idea
Western Copper WRN.to SPEC BUY C$2.41 20-Mar-22 C$1.97 -18.3% tracking IKN670 idea
LONG-TERM NON-MINING HOLD
Mene Inc. MENE.v adding C$0.66 6-Dec-20 C$0.54 -18.2% LT bet, adding slowly
CLOSED TRADES IN 2022 date closed close price
Great Bear Res GBR.v Jan'22 C$15.83 26-Aug-20 C$28.58 80.5% Bought out by Kinross, print
Copper Mountain CMMC.to Jan'22 C$3.40 18-Jun-21 C$3.78 15.9% Sold 1/2 position in rebalance
Copper Mountain CMMC.to Feb'22 C$3.40 18-Jun-21 C$3.70 8.8% Sold rest on FY22 guidance
Trilogy Metals TMQ Mar'22 U$1.84 15-Sep-19 U$1.04 -41.3% killed by US permit reversal
McEwen Mining MUX Apr'22 U$0.89 2-Jan-22 U$0.82 -7.9% No 2022 turnaround, cut loss
Abrasilver Res. ABRA.v May'22 C$0.42 24-Apr-22 C$0.33 -21.4% sold to reduce Ag exposure
Strategic Metals SMD.v May'22 C$0.42 31-Jan-21 C$0.30 -28.6% trade flatlined 1.5 years
2015 to 2021 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Now for a few notes on covered companies:
Aldebaran (ALDE.v): We had a NR out of the company last week that was more about
finding a way to deliver negative news about the curtailed drill program than announcing an
exciting development. On June 13th (2) we got
the NR, “Aldebaran Defines Compelling Copper-
Gold Targets at Altar from Deep-Penetrating
IP/Resistivity and MT Geophysical Surveys”,
which gave plenty on a program that covered
the areas that have been drilled extensively by
previous operators. In the executive comment,
Kevin Heather commented how, “…this
suggests that the Altar system could truly be
the super-giant we thought it might be during
our original due-diligence on the project before
entering into an agreement with Sibanye
9

Stillwater Limited back in 2018.” In other words, jam tomorrow.
There was more jam tomorrow in the other portion that updated on the drill program, and
while they reported there are nine holes in the assay labs pending results, we also learned the
program has now been closed down due to the early arrival of inclement winter weather and
that three holes were lost and two holes left incomplete. Its total of 14,369m as at the date of
the NR is only 120m more than the total of 14,249m completed as at the last quarterly filing,
dated May 30th and lower than the original plan to drill between 20,000m and 25,000 this
season. Then again, we’re used to this team missing deadlines and operating at its own sweet
rhythm.
For more on the IP survey, this week ALDE offers the first of two web shows from covered
companies next week. On Tuesday June 21, 2022 at 12 midday ET has John Black and Kevin
Heather giving a brief presentation, with the opportunity to pose questions afterward. Here’s
the link for that (3).
Minera Alamos (MAI.v): Wednesday June 22nd at 4pm ET (or 3pm in Lima Peru, if you care
enough), MAI President Doug Ramshaw is also on 6ix, but this time we get an hour-long live
webinar which also has participant Q&A and here’s the blurb for this one (4):
Join Minera Alamos' President & Director, Doug Ramshaw, for an operational update
on the company as it moves into Q3 2022.
He'll review progress at both the Santana mine and the Cerro de Oro gold project,
upcoming catalysts and answer your questions live following the presentation.
That’s an intriguing title, interesting timing (just after PDAC, where the company was not
present) and a general blurb which allows plenty of room for the company to announce one of
the key catalysts that we, the patient longs, have waited for. However, these pages can pre-
empt and little and report some good news as at Santana, the rains have arrived and the last
few days have brought some early to its chronic lack of water supply. May the heavens burst
open all month.
Superior Gold (SGI.v): The only company of interest to this desk presenting at the IR INC
Quebec show this week, SGI has already put up its new corporate video on its YouTube channel
and CEO Chris Jordaan is bound to use that in his presentation, too. We also received good
news from the company, which is almost certainly going to be confirmed by CEO Jordaan this
week, that the company is all-but over the Covid related headwinds of this quarter and as
things turned out, Q2 wasn’t as bad as it might have been for SGI (anecdotally, other mining
companies in WA Oz have had it worse than Plutonic).
In trading SGI held up better than most and lost just a penny on the week and rallying well in
Friday trading. Relative strength is good to report.
Amerigo Resources (ARG.to): Of all the drops on display last week, this is by far the most
illogical, unjustified and clearly oversold company on our list. Your author gets that in a sector-
wide downdraft they all get dumped, babies
will get thrown out with bathwater etc but
seeing ARG.to drop by 18.1% on the week
is too much. It closed only just above our
$1.36 average entry price of late last year,
at point before ARG had began its overdue
leg-up and before the new and very
shareholder-friendly dividend and share
buyback policies were in place. So
sentiment and momentum is one thing, but
fundamentals also matter and this is the
first example of “crazy oversold” that has
10

shown up in this dump.
Hopefully it will be the last. Also hopefully, the market will do a little math and work out how
cheap this equity now is compared only to its basic 3c/quarter dividend policy (which the
company has said it can maintain even at U$3.80/lb copper, please recall). My only hope is that
CEO Davidson had enough nous about her to 1) sit back from the share buybacks and let the
stock go cheap before 2) coming back to the market in the next few days and loading up on
these heavily discounted prices, then extinguishing more shares at a bargain level.
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v): RIO also dropped last week, but only by 2c. Then again, it was already at
the low end of its trading range and this price is nothing to be proud about. With around a
month to wait for the likely awarding of the key EIA permits, we wait.
Altiplano Metals (APN.v): This was one of the worst hit last week, despite the company
delivering good news from its operations on two fronts in its NR dated June 14th (5). We
learned:
1) In May 2022 APN returned record revenues from its small scale operation at Farellon of
U$377,545 from the sale of115,989lbs Cu (that’s U$3.26/lb, not bad for toll sales only). APN
provided the monthly evolution chart for 2022 in the NR:
2) Though it was originally slated to begin in production in May and is therefore couple of
months behind schedule, the APN El Peñon
processing facility and mill is now expected to start
up “in a few weeks”, which sounds like July 2022 to
me but better late than never. This will add value to
the mined material and, once fully operational, also
produce a saleable iron ore product that will increase
revenues further.
APN has got to this point organically and without
putting pressure on its modest but adequate cash
treasury, so well done to the company but in
response, the market did this to the stock price
(right). That’s every bit as unfair as the fate suffered
by Amerigo (ARG.to) last week, though due to the
small size and general illiquid stock volume, it’s not impossible to understand in purely market
terms. That said, APN’s drop was not deserved at all and if the company keeps delivering on its
plan in the way it has, there’s every reason to expect a rebound.
A total of 1,850 tonnes are stored at the El Peñón processing facility in advance of startup.
Newly mined material will be split shipped between ENAMI and El Peñón to maximize revenue
and manage cash flows as the mill prepares to commence operation.
11

The Copper Basket
After twenty-four weeks of 2022, The Copper Basket shows a loss of 36.96% level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/22 Shares out Market Cap current pps gain/loss%
1 Copper Mtn CMMC.to 3.42 210.166 432.94 2.06 -39.8%
2 Marimaca Cop MARI.to 3.77 88.118 319.87 3.63 -3.7%
3 Western Copper WRN.to 2.00 151.451 298.36 1.97 -1.5%
4 Oroco Res OCO.v 2.04 203.4 221.71 1.09 -46.6%
5 Nevada Copper NCU.to 0.71 448.437 135.88 0.303 -57.3%
6 Hot Chili HCH.v 1.53 109.223 98.30 0.90 -41.2%
7 Meridian Min MNO.to 1.18 153.735 92.24 0.60 -49.2%
8 Regulus Res. REG.v 1.06 101.845 91.66 0.90 -15.1%
9 Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v 0.84 114.495 79.00 0.69 -17.9%
10 Kutcho Copper KC.v 0.88 103.94 41.06 0.395 -55.1%
11 C3 Metals CCCM.v 0.16 645.379 38.72 0.06 -62.5%
12 Doré Copper DCMC.v 0.79 66.123 33.06 0.50 -36.7%
13 Element 29 Res ECU.v 0.58 79.24 29.32 0.37 -36.2%
14 QC Copper QCCU.v 0.34 129.06 23.88 0.185 -45.6%
15 Coast Copper COCO.v 0.13 41.335 2.89 0.07 -46.2%
NB: All stocks in CAD$ Portfolio avg -36.96%
A cheer for Element 29 Resources (ECU.v)
The Copper Basket 2022, weekly evolution
which managed to eke out a half cent win on 5%
0%
the week and close at 7c. But it’s only a weak
-5%
cheer, because the other 14 stocks all returned
-10%
losses and the list of big losers is long, starting -15%
with Copper Mountain (CMMC.to down 19.6%) -20%
and in order passing through QCCU.v, HCH.v, -25%
-30%
OCO.v, MNO.to, CCCM.v, ALDE.v, NCU.to, KC.v,
-35% WRN.to and those are the just the ones that
-40%
lost more than 10%. The selling was even
sharper than the drop during first two weeks of
May and short of outright capitulation, it’s
difficult to imagine a worse week for the sector, the tracking chart (right) shows the damage
clearly. And words of warning are required, as we need to be clear that outside the large lumps
moved around by Van Eck as it re-balanced GDX/J, there wasn’t the volume required for one of
those rare days when participants
throw in their towels en masse. As
bad as last week was for the
mining sector and for copper
juniors in particular, it could still get
worse.
The reason behind the sell-off in
copper stocks was the selling in
copper-the-metal. The talk about
inflation, stagflation and recession
reached Doctor Copper last week
and prices dropped straight
through the recent best line in the
sand at U$4.20/lb (as usual, we
prefer the most liquid futures
contract as our benchmark,
currently the July’22 but about to start rolling over to September):
12
ts1naJ ht9naJ ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6bef ht31 ht02 ht72 t6raM ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3rpA ht01 ht71 ht42 1yam ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht5nuj ht21 ht91
source: IKN calcs

As the above chart shows, it’s not the first time copper has spiked under U$4.20/lb and to the
Friday’s closing level, just above U$4.00/lb, in the last 15 months since Dr. Copper took up his
four-handle. In April, August and September 2021, as well as last month May 2022, we saw
quick re-traces to the 4-line before buyers showed up again. However, we’re now in a new
macro backdrop and this chart that takes in the last two weeks of trading (right) shows the
relentless manner of selling that might have paused for maybe half a day once the Fed had
spoken, but the dive then next day was in-line with the new sentiment.
That’s not pleasant viewing and the type of chart action that normally won’t stop just because a
weekend (or long US weekend) gets in the way.
So why remain bullish copper? Pure masochism? I’m clear that sentiment sucks and bears are
growling, but scratch the surface of this near-term, market driven selling and the same
compelling supply and demand fundamentals for the metal exist. If copper were exposed to the
same type of demand destruction threats currently looming large over the US and European
GDPs and real economies it would be foolhardy remain bullish this metal, but those headwinds
are largely deflected by the dynamics of the copper market. It doesn’t take much of a trip into
the past to get there, either. Take this June 6th report (6) from Reuters, reporting on copper’s
buoyant market and a closing price of U$4.41/lb, thanks to news from China that its Politburo
had announced “a package of 33 measures covering fiscal, financial, investment and industrial
policies to revive its pandemic-ravaged economy”. That day the Chinese Central Bank told us
how, “…it will strengthen the implementation of its prudent monetary policy and bring forward
steps to support the economy.” All that might seem like ancient history after the last ten trading
days, but here’s what the Rolodexed analyst, Max Latyton of Citi, had to say about it all:
"China has slowly been reopening and has been announcing policy measures to
support the economy ... the market appears to continue to be pricing in a further
rebound in Chinese activity over the coming months,"
Then there’s the continued bullish stance taken by one of the highest profile copper bulls out
there at the moment, Nicholas Snowden of Goldman Sachs. He may have been strangely quiet
last week, but the week before was still telling the world how copper prices were about “to go
ballistic” (7) and, hyperbolic language aside, this desk largely agrees with his stance:
The looming supply shock is being driven by surging demand for electric vehicles
(EVs) and other “green” technologies, coupled with chronic underinvestment and lack
of expertise required to build new copper mines, according to Goldman Sachs metals
strategist Nicholas Snowdon.
Speaking with Bloomberg’s Odd Los podcast on Wednesday, Mr Snowdon predicted
copper could rise from its current price of around $US9300 ($13,000) a tonne to
$US15,000 ($20,000), and “we don’t rule out [that] copper could be a $US50,000
($70,000), could be a $US100,000 ($140,000) commodity”.
Mr Snowdon explained that such a previously unheard of level was because, unlike
energy and agricultural commodities such as oil or wheat, the price of copper only
made up a very small part of the cost of the end product.
“So for the copper price to drive demand destruction in cars, in electronics, you’re
13

going to have to see a massive outsized move in the copper price to achieve the
necessary increase in the cost of the total good to drive that demand destruction,” he
said.
“The thing about the copper market is that we’ve never been in such an extreme set of
fundamental circumstances. We’ve never had to go to end demand destruction pricing
to achieve a rebalancing.”
It’s his last little phrase that brought Snowden of The Squid to memory this weekend. The last
few days have made “demand destruction” the latest buzzword among the financial
cognoscenti, a new wave of soothsayers explaining how price rises in commodities, chiefly
hydrocarbons and oil, will curb demand (e.g. at the fuel pump of your ICE vehicle) and create
the inflation drop that the Fed requires, (all in time for tea at 5 O’Clock and a Goldilocks-esque
soft landing, we suppose). Well, that may be the case for fuel prices,but assuming simple
demand destruction is behind this week’s drop in copper prices, or any other of the so-called
future facing metals, is pie-in-the-sky. Firstly, demand destruction works for fuel prices because
oil is just about the only ingredient (raw material) that companies need for the consumer’s end
product. In the case of copper, it may be a key ingredient in your final consumer product (e.g
your cool Tesla Roadster wont’ work without some) but it’s a minor percentage of its cost. As
Elon Musk has pointed out, demand for Teslas far outstrips supply but at the same time he’s
thinking about reducing workforce at his company, which means the issues are somewhere else
along the chain.
Secondly and more importantly, in this modern world when the going gets tough, the tough get
Keynesian. China’s centralized policy book is not that of capitalism’s creative destruction, their
government will meddle with the levers of the economy without a second thought in order to
keep the wheels turning and growth growing. China doesn’t rely on the Fed’s dual mandate to
control its future and ride out any world economic downturn by stimulating its internal
economy. The report above and its 33 or so new measures will only add to demand for copper
from the country that already uses over 50% of the world’s total supply. We even had evidence
of China’s centralized policy showing its fruits last week, so for a final time we dial up Reuters
on Wednesday (8):
China's economy showed signs of recovery in May after slumping in the prior month as
industrial production rose unexpectedly, while car sales jumped 54% in the week of
June 6 versus the same period in May.
"The industrial production beat suggests China has become very agile at keeping the
export engines revving despite mobility restrictions," said Stephen Innes, managing
partner at SPI Asset Management.
The comings and goings of the financial market for copper (and other industrial metals) last
week overrode the fundamental demand news, of that there is no doubt. However, the demise
of copper demand is unlikely to happen on US or even European economic terms and at some
point, the continued and undoubtedly tight market for real, physical deliver-it-to-me copper is
going to clash with the abstract market’s nerves and paper trades. It would be wonderful to
predict it as having bottomed on Friday and as from this week, real world buyers will regain the
market and see prices bottom out, but it’s unlikely to be as neat and tidy as that. However,
arguing over exactly when the market price for copper will bottom out is not why we’re here,
our job is to invest in juniors and make a profit and for the time being, there’s no need to risk
catching a falling knife. Better to wait, miss the bottom and grab hold during the first part of
the rebound for a safer entry point with readier chances of making money on the trade.
And with tight demand for copper already on our minds, we move to our regular weekly look at
copper inventories data:
 In a quiet week for stock movements, the aggregate copper inventory from the three
official systems rose by a thin 3,942 metric tonnes (mt) to close out the week at
246,218mt.
 The biggest move of the three components was at the SHFE, which added 3,784mt to
its stock to finish Friday at 55,237mt as some more late arrivals arrived in the recently
14

Covid-struck city. However, this wasn’t a big move and supply remains tight.
 The LME hardly budged after its very big drawdown of the week before, this week
seeing a total of 275mt added for a total this weekend of 118,025mt. A quiet week.
 The Comex saw a drawdown of 117mt from stocks, closing the week at 72,956mt. No
biggie.
Here are the dedicated SHFE charts, that show little change for the part few weeks as SHFE
bounces along a bottom. Demand for end-users wishing to re-stock normally begin in Q3, at
which point we should have a more accurate gauge on appetite.
Shanghai Futures Exchange Warehouse Stocks, 2014 to date
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
15
31'13ceD dr32 ht02 ht51 ht01 ht5tco ht03 ht52 dn22 ht71 ht21 ht6pes ts1von 5102ht72ced ts12 ht71 ht21 ht7guA dn2tcO ht4ceD ht92 ht62 ts12 ht61 ht01 7102
ht5von
ts13 ht52 dn22 ht42 ht91 ht41 ht9 9102
dr3bef
ts13 ht62 ts12 ht51 ht01 0202ht5naj 0202ts1ram ht62 ts12 ht61 ht11 0202ht6ced ts13 ht82 dr32 ht81 ht21 ht7 2202dn2naj ht72 ht42 ht91
Mt Cu
|
source: Cochilco
SHFE copper inventory levels, 2018 to 2022
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 01 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 02 12 22 32 42 52 62 72 82 92 03 13 23 33 43 53 63 73 83 93 04 14 24 34 44 54 64 74 84 94 05 15 25
MT Cu 2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
source: Cochilco data
The seven most tradable copper stocks on the list
Now for notes on a few basket stocks, but this week we take a slightly different approach. The
last couple of weeks have included a reminder that The Copper Basket is not a list of
recommended stocks, instead it deliberately draws from the good, bad and ugly of the junior
copper sub-sector. So with the potential of a bottom in the price of the metal coming soon and
the equal potential that a rebound in stocks creates a relief rally that offers trading
opportunities, this week you get three or four lines on the seven stocks that I consider worthy
trade vehicles, avoiding all mention of the horrid dogs and shady schemer stocks also included
in the 2022 table. So in market cap order, here we go:
Copper Mountain (CMMC.to): This time last week, the brief note included “…if C$2.30
shows up next week I’m a likely bidder.” Well folks, it showed and I didn’t (it would have been
with a Flash update for sure) as the rotten state of the market became apparent and CMMC
showed no sign of stopping its drop at $2.30, or $2.20 for that matter. However, here we are
with the right entry point for CMMC if copper prices can hold the line and after it’s 19.8% drop
(that was even worse at some point, CMMC went under $2.00 for a while), the price is right for
a bounce.

However, we do need to consider that the substantial insider seller was back at work last week.
Zeta Resources, the closed-end fund that’s been a 10% owner of CMMC since 2018 (via fund
manager ICM) sold another 387,400 shares last week. Since first filing in April 2021, Zeta’s
holding has dropped from 41.5m shares to the current 36.2m, though last week’s sales were a
also change to its normal M.O. Until now, Zeta has nearly always sold into strength and at
prices $3.50 and above (often when CMMC tipped over $4). So the sales last week, including
the majority at just $2.05, are sold on a downturn since its distribution policy began last year.
Zeta bought most of its shares at prices under $2.00, in fact often well under that level so, as a
closed-end fund, has every right to take its profits and we shouldn’t begrudge them access to
normal market mechanisms. However, as they still have 36m shares of CMMC and seat on the
CMMC board (in the shape of Zeta co-founder and non-executive chair Peter Sullivan), there is
a shadow hanging over the stock price now Zeta is selling at lows, rather than using strength to
distribute some of its big position.
Oroco Resources (OCO.v): I’ve been critical about this stock, but only because its share
price got ahead of itself (and for an extended period) on “true believer” internet promotion to
retail newbies. This week saw OCO come back to a truly buyable price and with the prospect of
further weakness, when the bottom comes it’s one that should rebound fast (thanks to its
HODL core fanclub).
Marimaca Copper Corp (MARI.to): I’m warming to this stock and it may even become a
personal purchase at some point. The only issue at the moment is that it doesn’t represent and
knockdown value entry, as it hasn’t dropped as much as others. Its project ticks a lot of the
right boxes, with jurisdiction, size, location, management and the right type of serious insto
backing.
Western Copper & Gold (WRN.to): Its issue is the low grade, which won’t hold up to lower
copper prices as well as other projects (e.g. in the Andean Cordillera). But it has size, it’s the
right moment on its development track to become “shovel ready” for a buyer and it’s obviously
being courted by Rio Tinto (RTZ).
Aldebaran (ALDE.v): The preferred trade of the John Black/Kevin Heather companies, thanks
to its location and size. It to has low grade issues and its earlier stage development plus thin
treasury is a weakness, but I’m not long here out of charity. It’s an obvious “San Juan Copper
Play” at a cheap price.
Element 29 (ECU.v): I am long and my trade hasn’t worked out well so far, as ECU’s two
projects are early in their development track and that’s not the right place for a bear market.
However, it’s cheap (and now very cheap) compared to its projects and potential, active at Flor
de Cobre and with the next program of drilling about to start at the more interesting Elida next
quarter. Serious team and good projects, with treasury to cover plans. Speculative and won’t be
the first to rise on any rebound due to its lack of market radar.
QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v): I thought I was getting a great bargain with my compounded
entry price average of 27.5c, it’s now 18.5c and all due to market sentiment. This company is
another that ticks the right boxes for location, project, prospectivity and team and I’m an
undisputed fan of Opemiska, it has “mine rebirth” written all over it. Now at a severely oversold
bargain level and what’s more, this company has the market radar and enough following to see
it bounce back in the first rank come the day copper reverses and goes higher. Put it centre
radar for a trade vehicle, alongside CMMC.
Those are my ideas for the best seven copper stocks on the 2022 Copper Basket list with half a
year gone as perspective. None of them are perfect trade vehicles and they all have issues to
consider, but overall they represent good teams going about the work of developing
prospective copper projects in the right way. As for me personally, I own QCCU, ALDE and ECU
at this point so they get some sort of automatic seal of approval. After those, my interest in
16

CMMC is well-documented and I’ve made no bones about its trade potential and a vehicle that
could provide a near-term flip win. After that, WRN is another obvious contender as a trade
vehicle if and when that copper market rebound shows. If the advanced MARI dropped in price
it would become far more tempting, its economics are strong and obvious. As for OCO, it’s
always been more speculative and there’s still plenty of distance between us and the PFS that
they’ll need to shop the project, but this price is now buyable and its fanclub would then
become a help, rather than a hindrance. Seven decent companies, all beaten up after last
week’s price waterfall.
The Producer Basket
After twenty-four weeks of 2022, the Producer Basket shows a loss of 5.98% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/22 Shares out MktCap(U$Bn) current pps gain/loss%
1 Newmont NEM 62.02 797.44 50.84 63.76 2.8%
2 Barrick GOLD 19.00 1779 34.78 19.55 2.9%
3 Franco-Nevada FNV 138.29 191.192 26.58 139.00 0.5%
4 Agnico Eagle AEM 53.14 454.904 23.08 50.74 -4.5%
5 Wheaton PM WPM 42.93 450.3 17.30 38.41 -10.5%
6 Gold Fields GFI 10.99 887.72 8.82 9.93 -9.6%
7 Kinross Gold KGC 5.81 1296.5 5.32 4.10 -29.4%
8 B2Gold BTG 3.93 1055.6 3.84 3.64 -7.4%
9 Alamos Gold AGI 7.69 392.503 2.80 7.13 -7.3%
10 Sandstorm SAND 6.20 191.4 1.22 6.37 2.7%
All prices and stock quotes in U$ Port. avg -5.98%
We had ten losers out of ten from our Producer Basket list, which isn’t going to come as much
surprise to this readership in a week where the broad markets did what they did, along with a
GDX that dropped by 6.7% and a GDXJ by 8.8%. Most of the drops were in-line with the GDX,
but in the notes today there are thoughts on the way the two worst performers traded (AGI
down 12.3%, BTG down 12.1%) plus the reason why least worst Gold Fields (GFI down 2.3%)
did better than the rest, particularly on Thursday and Friday.
The 2022 Producer Basket: Weekly performance and
35% comparative to GDX control
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
-15%
Alamos Gold (AGI) and B2Gold (BTG): The point of including smaller cap producers in this
list is to provide leverage to the larger
players but of course, that’s a double-edged
sword:
In weeks like last week, these smaller
players perform less like the GDX (gold line)
and more like the junior ETF GDXJ. It’s the
nature of the beast, but also shines a light
17
ts1naJ ht9naJ ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6bef ht31 ht02 ht72 t6ram ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3rpa ht01 ht71 ht42 1yam ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht5nuj ht21 ht91
The 2022 Producer Basket: Percentage difference
between GDX benchmark & basket (negative = IKN ahead) 5.0%
4.5%
4.0%
ikn 3.5%
gdx control 3.0%
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
source: NYSE, IKN Calcs
ts1naJ ht9naJ ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6bef ht31 ht02 ht72 t6ram ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3rpa ht01 ht71 ht42 1yam ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht5nuj ht21 ht91
source: IKN calcs, NYSE data

on the opportunity of playing the second tier mining companies when the bottom is reached
and indicated by the reversal in the Tier 1 players, such as NEM and GOLD. It wouldn’t take
more than one day of rebound trading from the biggest players for AGI and BTG to start acting
like GDX components again and that 4% approx gap would disappear quickly.
Gold Fields (GFI) again: Further to the opposition voiced by shareholders of Gold Fields
(GFI) to the merger with Yamana (AUY) as noted in IKN682 last week, both newsflow and
moneyflow now point to an impending battle. At the start of this Bloomberg report (9), AUY
head honcho Peter Marrone is quoted as follows:
The few Gold Fields Ltd. shareholders who expressed reservations about the South
African company’s $7 billion takeover offer for Yamana Gold Inc. will come around to
the deal’s benefits.
That’s the view of Yamana’s executive chairman, Peter Marrone, who spoke in an
interview two weeks after the all-stock deal for the Canadian gold producer was
announced. The deal, which includes a relatively high premium by industry standards,
requires approvals from shareholders of both companies.
“It will become very obvious that this is two pieces of a puzzle that fit nicely together,”
Marrone said Tuesday from his Toronto office.
Of course, Marrone has been shopping Yamana for at least a year and is the person with most
to gain from the success of GFI’s bid, so reading the above brought Mandy-Rice Davies’s
famous quote to mind once again (it often happens listening to mining CEOs). For those
unaware, here’s (10) the quote along with a succinct explainer of the 1963 political sex scandal
that brought down the UK government of the time:
“Well, he would, wouldn't he?” — Mandy Rice-Davies
28 June 1963, appearing as a witness in the trial of Stephen Ward, in reply to the
defence barrister putting it to her that one of the men on a certain list, Lord Astor, had
denied any involvement with her. The court burst into laughter and the phrase came to
be used in various circumstances, helped by the touch of innuendo from the court
case.
Despite Marrone’s insistence on Tuesday, this chart is an indication of how the money is talking:
After its original 20% dump on the news on May 31st (unseen here), GFI first twitched away
from AUY two Fridays ago (arrow 1) when minority holder voiced its dissent. On this chart,
Marrone’s interview (arrow 2) this week clearly diodn’t cut much ice with the money, as on
Thursday and Friday (arrow 3) the arbitrage grew with AUY when by rights, a happy deal
should see the two lines trading in lockstep. We add the GDX for reference, but the important
point is to see the 12% gap appear between GFI and AUY in the last two trading weeks, that’s
over half the original gap clawed back and indicates the dissent is not confined to the 3%
holder of GFI we reported on last weekend, Redwheel. This deal is clearly in trouble and if it
falls, would place a large question mark over the head of its relatively new CEO Chris Griffith,
who came from South Africa’s Amplats at the start of 2021. One other interesting ramification is
the break fee on the deal, as if GFI breaks it would owe AUY a cool U$450m and that alone, an
18

equivalent of almost 47c per share for a U$5.18 share price, would be reason to keep AUY
shareholders happy about failure.
The TinyCaps List
After twenty-four weeks of 2022, the TinyCaps show a loss of 25.30% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/22 Shares out Mkt Cap current pps gain/loss%
Aurelius Min AUL.v 0.24 45.836 6.42 0.14 -41.7%
Golden Pursuit GDP.v 0.13 34.638 4.16 0.12 -7.7%
Infield Min INFD.v 0.06 48.445 1.94 0.04 -33.3%
Kingfisher Met KFR.v 0.30 103.007 19.06 0.185 -38.3%
Latin Metals LMS.v 0.12 57.296 5.73 0.10 -16.7%
Manitou Gold MTU.v 0.06 344.57 10.34 0.03 -50.0%
Melkior Res MKR.v 0.295 24.011 6.36 0.265 -10.2%
Precipitate Gold PRG.v 0.105 129.322 10.35 0.08 -23.8%
Signature Res SGU.v 0.07 238.4 11.92 0.05 -28.6%
Winshear Gold WINS.v 0.08 61.585 4.93 0.08 0.0%
Prices in CAD$, data from TSXV basket avg -25.30%
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.
 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.
The overall average only dropped by 2.12%, thanks to a 33.3% put on by our only winner,
Golden Pursuit, which popped back on no news
15% TinyCaps, 2022 weekly tracker
and a single trade of 10,000 shares on Friday.
10%
So that false result made a bad week look less
5%
so for a list that included three UNCH stocks
0%
(INFD.v, MTU.v, WINS.v) and six losers (AUL.v, -5%
KFR.v, LMS.v, MKR.v, PRG.v, SGU.v) and of -10%
those, the biggest drops came form Latin -15%
Metals (LMS.v down 16.7%) and Kingfisher -20%
(KFR.v down 15.9%). However, the main -25%
takeaway is the same as last week’s that the -30%
world is passing the tinycap explorecos by as it
frets over the fate of larger (and much larger)
mining companies. Volumes are thin and any of
these companies’ share prices may cave in on the advent of a medium-sized seller.
Kingfisher Metals (KFR.v): From this time last week, “Those with the necessary risk
tolerance may want to consider KFR at or about a 20c price.” That’s where the downturn
brought us and while it may go a little lower, the volatile nature of this stock means that if it
hits something good at the main phases of the 2022 program at Goldrange, this price will
spring higher. On your menu is:
 The RAB drilling at Day Trip, Langara, and Standard zones. This is happening now and
19
dn2naJ ht9
naJ
ht61naJ dr32 ht03 ht6bef ht31 ht02 ht72 ht6ram ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3rpa ht01 ht71 ht42 ts1yam ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht5nuj ht21 ht91
source: IKN calcs, TSX data

the turnaround to results shouldn’t take long
 The deeper diamond drilling planned for the Cloud Drifter zone, which gave
disappointing results from shallow drill holes last year.
So to the plus side, you get two shots for your bullet by speculating today. To the downside,
prices will likely drop if the RAB drilling disappoints, plus the general market malaise means the
reaction may not be as strong even if results are good. You pays your money and takes your
risks in this sector, but at least in KFR you have a willing and enthusiastic team, a large and
prospective landholding and cash with which to execute an extensive drill program this year. A
purchase at under 20c is a gamble, but you will be playing with odds in your favour.
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’s possible in the future
I may buy shares in one or several of these stocks, at the moment both my opinion and wallet are strictly neutral.
Regional politics
The Colombia Presidential election run-off: Petro wins
The writing was on the wall around 6pm ET and by the time Colombia’s electoral authority had
concluded its fast count result three hours later, the result was:
 Gustavo Petro: 50.44% of valid votes
 Rodolfo Hernández: 47.31% of valid votes
By 3.13% or in absolute numbers 11,281,002 votes to 10,580,399 and a difference of 700,603
votes, the left wing Gustavo Petro won the run-off and is now President-Elect of Colombia. The
good news is that losing candidate Hernández didn’t delay his concession speech, congratulated
the victor and wished him success for the good of his country. The other piece of good news
came in the tone and style of Petro’s victory speech in front of a packed house of his
supporters. The first segment of his speech was primarily a message of conciliation, with
repeated messages for dialogue between all parties and offering the diplomatically correct sort
of “our doors are always open to all actors” messages that are always welcome after a
contentious political campaign.
And that’s where the good news ends for anyone with exposure to Colombia’s mining sector.
The outright and undeniable Petro victory means Colombia gets left wing President and
government for the first time in its history and that wasn’t lost on Petro, he knows he has a
strong mandate and while he has necessarily
moved to the centre on many policy points (and
once in government will have to contend with a
Congress in which his party is in the minority
and will have to form pacts to get legislation
through, he had a lot to say in his speech about
environmental protection, his opposition to the
“extractive industries” (i.e. hydrocarbons and
mining high on his list) and while he didn’t
openly mention his stated policy to stop all
large-scale open pit mining projects from
moving forward, that’s now a given in the
country. He even made special mention of the
Paramó de Santander, location of the Soto
Norte project now under JV with Aris Gold (ARIS.to, chart right). If you’re looking for a trade on
the back of this election result, look no further than a short on Ian Telfer’s over-valued vehicle
that’s not in a lot of trouble.
But it’s not just Aris Gold and not just open-pit projects, expect the next four years in Colombia
to be extremely negative for its mining industry. This country is not Peru, it’s not Chile and it’s
20

not even Ecuador (which has its own problems, see below) and when it comes to mining, the
Petro government will take a much harder line against the “extractive industries” than any of
the above. Petro has necessarily compromised on many of his preferred hard left Socialist
policies to get to where he is but has never changed his stance on large-scale formal mining,
not least because opposition to mining is a net vote winner in the country. He now has a pure
Lefty policy with which to appease his most ardent left wing support as he cedes ground on
other issues and as a result, mining in Colombia will suffer. We’ve said the same thing for night
on seven months, so if you’re still long the mining sector in Colombia, it’s not my fault.
President Boric’s first clash with Chile’s mining sector
While winning his election late last year and on taking power in this, President Gabrial Boric
made plenty of assuaging noises toward Chile’s mining industry and said it was a key part of
the country’s growth and future, but also nailed his pro-environmental/ecological/green
credentials firmly to the mast as well. The impression has always been that when the mining
sector and environment came up against each other, Boric would jump to the green side of the
argument and sure enough, last week gave our first and best example.
Codelco workers who form part of the Federation of Copper Workers (The FTC) announced this
Saturday a national strike in all divisions of the State mining company, in protest against the
government announcement of the closure of the Ventanas smelter, owned by the corporation
and the country’s main processing facility for copper. The problems started two weeks ago
when operations at the Ventana smelter were suspended last weekend when around 100 locals
reported health problems such as burning eyes and breathing issues at around the same time,
and blamed emissions from the smelter. The plant’s ops were suspended to the chagrin of
Codelco’s Ventanas workforce, who since Monday (11) and in partnership with the main unions
at the State-run miner began lobbying for around U$50m in funds, which they say were
required to upgrade the smelter in order to bring it in line with Chile's latest environmental
laws.
They were already threatening strike action on Friday when the newly appointed directorate at
Codelco (chosen by Boric) announced (12) that Ventanas would be closed down permanently,
rather than allowed fuds to upgrade. That same evening, President Boric organized a press
conference at which he supported the decision and said that no jobs would be lost and all
smelter workers would be given new posts at other Codelco divisions. In his speech, Boric
showed his green credentiqals when saying Ventanas would no longer be "a zone of sacrifice",
despite those at the smelter saying they had not suffered any ill effects and that the plant was
not to blame for the recent pollution incident.
At that the FTC heads announced, “We will begin to prepare from this moment the national
strike action in all divisions of Codelco. Our action will continue for as long as the directors at
Codelco insist in the closure of Ventanas and refuse to authorize the funds needed for the
continuation of the Codelco smelters, as operating and sustainable units", they added in the
document, in which they reiterated the defence of all State-owned properties of the company.
Peru at PDAC
Tuesday morning’s Peru Day at PDAC went off without much controversy and speakers tended
to stick to the typical optimistic platitudes used by politicos on such occasions, telling the
audience that things are bright and optimistic in the country despite the image and headlines
they may have heard. While Central Bank head Julio Velarde stuck to macro matters and told
those assembled of Peru’s remarkably resilient consumer base and successful macro-economic
policies that had kept inflation lower than regional peers (he was humblebragging, they are his
policies), Mining Minister Alessandra Herrera, recently appointed to the job for the second time
in six months by President Pedro Castillo, talked up the opportunities for growth in the copper
sector in the country and here’s an extract of her speech (13):
“By 2025,, we estimate that national copper production will reach 3m tonnes per year.
For this, we need the start of the Mina Justa prohect in Ica, Toromocho Amplification in
Junín, San Gabriel in Moquegua, Quellaveco in Moquegua and Chalcobamaba Phase
21

1 in Apurimac.”
As usual, it was a load of codswallop. Some new mines will come online, for example Mina
Justa is close to first production and Quellaveco should see initial throughput by the end of this
year (though it has a long-phased commissioning track and won’t reach commercial production
for another two years). Also, the next phase of the massive Toromocho mine is likely to happen
without much fuss. However, “Chalcobamba Phase 1” is in fact the next phase of the highly
contentious MMG Las Bambas mine, the one causing all the social upheaval in South Peru and
nobody’s idea of a slam dunk to happen at this stage. Plus of course, San Gabriel owned by
Buenaventura is a gold mine project, a detail that slipped past the new minister. Minister
Herrera also talked up the “next most likely” mines to happen up and down the country,
including Bear Creek Mining’s (BCM.v) Corani silver/zinc mine in the list, which always happens
because Corani is fully permitted for construction. No matter that they can’t raise financing or
find a buyer to build it because the mine plan is obviously uneconomic at current metal prices
(U$25/oz silver is a minimum these days), those are details for engineers.
Then somewhat ironically, the day after the Peru Day presentation, the latest mine related
social unrest began at the aforementioned San Gabriel mine, owned by Buenaventura. In fact
two disputes have erupted, with the first happening on Wednesday June 15th, when a family
that claims to be owners of the terrain where the project is located broke into the construction
site, made threats towards the personnel working there and destroyed some of the company
plant. On the heels of this, a community that is located outside the officially designated “area of
direct interest arrived at the project and demanded they be included in the direct interest zone
(and therefore be included in the benefits program enjoyed by those communities closer to the
mine project). When this group also began to use threats of violence and demanded trhat the
company pack up and go home, BVN made the decision to evacuate the project of all non-
essential workers, leaving the security detail on site (14).
Ecuador social upheaval begins anew
The latest uprising in Ecuador, led by the indigenous communities under the main CONAIE
umbrella group banner, is to protest the policies being enacted by the increasingly unpopular
President Guillermo Lasso and the flagship gripe is the sharp hike in fuel prices, caused by the
government removing (or at least trying to remove) the fuel subsidy enjoyed by Ecuadorians
that makes its pump prices some of the cheapest in the world. However, another on the list of
gripes is the government’s policy to promote and develop its major mining projects, therefore
the roadblocks and suspension of normal services in the country last week stand in stark
contrast to the “we are open for business” message that its government promoted at PDAC last
week.
Last week’s protests were nationwide, serious and made worse by the Lasso government’s
decision to push back. First, they declared the country under State of Emergency and at the
same time, then arrested the leader of CONAIE Leonidas Iza on public order charges. Perhaps
Lasso thought that the strongman image would help quell the complaints and sent the
protesters home, but it turned out to be pouring fuel on the fire and within 24 hours, Iza was
freed again and the street marches, roadblocks and protests accelerated. The bad blood has
continued all week and just this weekend, CONAIR reported that somebody shot at the vehicle
used by Iza and put two bullets into its front, though Iza was not in the car at the time. The
strike is now in its seventh day and while both sides say they are willing to sit down and talk,
the rarefied atmosphere until now means that no real negotiations have happened to date.
Just four weeks ago at his first annual address to the nation, President Lasso said, “After one
year, the worst of the storm has passed” after deciding to bypass Congress and attempt to rule
by decree and referendum. We’re now at the point where the government is airlifting medicines
to provincial towns as the majority of interstate roads are blocked and Congress opposition
parties have joined together to present a revocation petition against the President, with 72 of
the 137 Congress members signed up (and in any eventual vote, they only need 70). Congress
is slated to meet tomorrow Monday to debate the motion and it’s not difficult to see a route to
22

the President being thrown out or resigning if this stand-off continues. So much for that storm
passing over, so hopefully your author’s insistence on how mining investors should avoid
Ecuador like the veritable plague will sink in. The Mini-Basket Case Country is doing what it
does best (worst?).
More sanctions for Nicaragua
This week saw The USA tighten its sanctions against Nicaragua in light of the Daniel Ortega
regime’s announcement that it was welcoming sections of the Russian military for training, aid
and cultural exchanges, but this time The USA has specifically targeted its mining sector. The
government PRs are here (15) (16) and without swamping this publication with a ton of
quotable quotes, here’s one that sums up the US position:
The Ortega-Murillo regime rigged last November’s Nicaraguan presidential election
through the arbitrary imprisonment of the political opposition, the blocking of political
parties, the shuttering of independent media, and the bullying of civil society. They are
deepening their relationship with Russia as it wages war against Ukraine, while using
gold revenue to continue to oppress the people of Nicaragua and engage in activities
that pose a threat to the security of the hemisphere. The U.S. will continue to use all
tools available to promote accountability and compliance with international norms from
the Ortega-Murillo regime.
“As the Ortega-Murillo regime increasingly engages Russia and continues lining its
coffers with significant revenue exploited from the Nicaraguan gold sector, the regime
has turned its back on the Nicaraguan people, neglecting their livelihoods for regime
gains,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Brian E. Nelson.
The sanctions have been placed against ENIMINAS, the State-run mining entity that was given
a new life and plenty of new powers in 2017. Its main point of contact with private mining
companies, e.g. Canadian and UK companies such as Calibre Mining and Condor Resources, are
the awarding of land concessions and/or subsequent JVs on their development. While not
directly affecting operations of any Canadian or UK capital private companies, the tightening of
sanctions has started to bring the industry and Nicaragua’s trade in gold and other metals into
greater focus, so aside from the morality issues of investments in the country, investors should
begin to consider the practical issues that continued exposure to the Daniel Ortega dictatorship
may bring.
Market Watching
Starcore International Mines (SAM.to): Closing the sidebet
One month ago, I opened a very small position in Starcore Internaitonal (SAM.to) on the back
of the news that a Mexican-based private equity company was looking to buy the company out
and pay a premium to market to do so. Since then
very little has happened and as 1) the sums
involved are small 2) the private equity NR is
beginning to look more like a simple fishing
expedition than a serous offer with every day that
passes and 3) the stock has held up, I’m going to
exit the trade and add a few extra shekels back to
the treasury war chest fund.
A small and ultimately fruitless speculative punt that
will be remembered by few of us. No real harm
done, aside from having to publish on another
percentage loser (though the paid commissions will
likely be more than the trade losses).
23

Anacortes Mining Corp (XYZ.v) feedback and further thoughts
Last weekend’s main fundies note “Anacortes Mining Corp (XYZ.v): Time to add to the radar”
ended with reasons why I’m interested in this stock but not buying yet, which was headed by
the word “chicken”. Since then, this happened:
Unfortunately for XYZ longs (and for myself, as my own long positions were hit almost as hard,
I was right to be chicken. The stock slumped along with its sector peers and in the case of XYZ,
its dump from 97c to this weekend’s 79c represents a drop of 18.6% on the week and the
company market cap is now down to under C$34m:
Shares out: 42.314m
Options: 3.224m
Warrants: 8.104m
Fully diluted: 53.642m
Current share price: C$0.79
Market Cap: C$33.43m
Approx cash per S/O: 25c
All prices are in Canadian Dollars unless stated. Forex U$0.80=CAD$1
That makes for a more attractive entry point (for those brave enough to buy a gold exploreco in
Peru right now) and as a single week at markets doesn’t change the project fundamentals one
iota, the highly conservative C$1.93 target price we generated via our ballpark scenario last
weekend now represents a 144.3% upside to the current share price. And that’s juicy enough
for anyone, particularly as that price is only predicated on the oxides at Tres Cruces.
Its main issue today, that of the estimated U$125m capex hurdle to build the machine on site,
is still there of course and while the fundamentals and basic model show plenty of equity value
along with a robust model, we’ll always come back to the question of today’s miserable market
sentiment for juniors and the lack of appetite to back early stage projects today. Therefore,
even though I continue to be interested in XYZ.v and will follow its progress closely (particularly
the upcoming assay results on the deeper sulphides), it’s going to continue as watching brief
only (and my powder remains dry.
I’d also like to thank readers for the feedback on last weeks’ note, which was more than I
expected for what’s something of a backwater story in the junior world. Of those mails and
WhatsApp pings, particular thanks go to long-time reader MS, with whom I’ve exchanged
several occasions without ever knowing he’s long XYZ. He made the good point that I didn’t
allow much space or thought for the potential that XYZ.s next door neighbour at Tres Cruces,
i.e. Lagunas Norte now owned by Singapore capitals company Boroo, was also an obvious
potential buyer of Tres Cruces. That’s a fair point so in my answer to MS I said that while
clearly possible, I don’t think Boroo is a likely buyer of Tres Cruces/XYZ, at least in the near or
medium-term and rather than keep that just for MS, here’s a concise version of my reasoning.
Firstly, the deal with the previous owners of Lagunas Norte (LN), Barrick (GOLD) (ABX.to) to
develop Tres Cruces was base don its potential to provide oxide feed to the Lagunas Norte, at
that time also a pure oxides operation. The long-term deal with Barrick as drill project operator
24

meant that in most cases, once the drills moved out of oxide mineralization and into sulphides
the hole was closed down and rig moved to the next target. Then as the program matured, it
became increasingly clear that the oxide tonnage at Tres Cruces was somewhat limited and not
enough to float Barrick’s boat and buy as a supplement for the ageing ops at LN. Then
separately came the timing of the deal between Barrick and Randgold, which brought Mark
Bristow and his new broom to GOLD. He soon started to market LN to the highest bidder as it
didn’t fit his model of a world class Tier One asset (any longer, by that time LN was depleted)
and LN also had a large closure liability attached to it, which was weighing on Barrick’s balance
sheet. To cut a very long story short, after a couple of stop/start/stop selling processes that
were the talk of Limas for a while, sold LN to its present owner, Boroo. We’re now in 2022 and
while a sale to Boroo art LN is possible, for the same small-ish oxides reasoning that Barrick
passed on Tres Cruces, Boroo is likely to do the same. What’s more, during my DD on XYZ I
learned that Boroo bought LN with a carefully considered development plan of its own that is
wholly focused on its concession land and they have enough on their plate for the time being to
do the necessary work to rejuvenate the mature asset and deliver on their plan.
So overall, I highly doubt XYZ is waiting on some kind of first pass interest from its neighbour
and for that matter, they won’t be betting on strategic partner Pan American Silver (PAAS)
making any move either (and certainly not off this current beaten-down share price). The way
forward for Jim Currie and his team is to add value to Tres Cruces via the drillbit and as the
oxide portion of the project is largely a known quantity, the obvious way to add value is to drill
deeper and turn more of the sulphide mineralization into 43-101 compliant resource. That’s
where we are today and why the current drill program matters the way it does. Finally, let’s
also recognize that XYZ under Currie has built a real team of minebuilders and operators, this
company won’t be trying to bluff the market when it says it has a great project and will look to
build it alone. It’s what Currie is known for, after all and here’s how I finished my reply to
reader MS:
The oxides are big enough to bootstrap XYZ into a larger company, the capex
hurdle won't be easy, so they need to show a clear path to bigger things and
that means drilling those sulphides and putting together a big stage two to sit
under next year's Feas study.
Anacortes (XYZ.v) is a real deal junior gold exploreco and the fact it’s stuck in the middle of a
very tough market isn’t the company’s fault. Put it on the radar.
Conclusion
IKN683 is done, we end with bullet points:
 Colombia’s shift to the Left may or may not be bad news for the country and the
region, but be clear that its mining industry is now in deep doo-doo. Colombia-exposed
junior mining companies are no longer an avoid, they’re a short. That probably goes for
Ecuador, too.
 I’m really bad at trading silver. The next time I’m tempted to dabble in the Jekyll &
Hyde metal, would somebody please give me a hard whack over the head and refer me
to IKN683? Thanks in advance.
 However, both gold and copper will continue to carry my investment dollars, as for their
own reasons they are likely to weather the storm in better style than other metals in
the complex.
 Okay I lied, one last Crypto reference today: This weekend’s Dealbook mailer (Andrew
Ross Sorkin is a regular read at this desk) featured a Q&A with one Scott Galloway,
NYU Stern Business School professor and on record as a crypto bear. To his credit,
Galloway steered clear of going the “toldyaso” route, but he still managed to leave a
nice zinger at the end of the not: “Keep in mind, even if all crypto went to zero right
25

now, that’s still less than half the value of Apple.” Those of you imagining a liquidity
suck on gold due to the amount of (imaginary?) wealth being destroyed in this crypto
downturn should stop worrying so much.
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 wishes, Mark
Footnotes, appendices, references, disclaimer
(1) https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Inflation/Fed-governor-calls-for-another-75-basis-points-hike-in-July
(2) https://aldebaranresources.com/news-releases/2022/aldebaran-defines-compelling-copper-gold-targets-at-altar-
from-deep-penetrating-ip-resistivity-and-mt-geophysical-surveys/
(3) https://6ix.com/event/altar-project-drilling-program-update-and-exciting-results-from-deep-penetrating-ip-resistivity-
and-mt-geophysical-surveys/
(4) https://6ix.com/event/minera-alamos-corporate-update/
(5) https://apnmetals.com/news/altiplano-reports-may-2022-results-at-farellon-with-record-monthly-income/
(6) https://www.zawya.com/en/markets/commodities/metals-stronger-china-demand-prospects-propel-copper-to-five-
week-peak-ea6y62ry
(7) https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/mining/copper-prices-tipped-to-go-ballistic-as-ev-revolution-causes-
supplies-to-run-out/news-story/a96b3f0f2f55453cab9f03dcf286af4c
(8) https://www.zawya.com/en/markets/commodities/copper-and-aluminium-bounce-on-upbeat-china-factory-auto-data-
ilu151r1
(9) https://www.mining.com/web/yamana-expects-to-turn-gold-fields-skeptics-into-deal-believers/
(10) https://quotepark.com/authors/mandy-rice-davies/
(11) https://www.df.cl/trabajadores-de-ventanas-afirman-que-codelco-resolvio-el-cierre-de-la
(12) https://www.df.cl/empresas/mineria/trabajadores-de-codelco-anuncian-que-comienzan-a-preparar-paro-nacional
(13) https://larepublica.pe/economia/2022/06/15/mineria-se-impulsaran-7-proyectos-por-us-4400-mllns-alessandra-
herrera-mef-oscar-graham-minem/
(14) https://larepublica.pe/economia/2022/06/17/buenaventura-paraliza-la-construccion-de-san-gabriel-por-amenazas-a-
trabajadores/
(15) https://www.state.gov/holding-the-nicaraguan-regime-accountable/
(16) https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0822
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Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2021
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 Min NOM.cse feb'21 C$1.55 6-Set-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
New Gold NGD may'21 U$0.76 9-Feb-20 U$2.14 181.6% Sold to buy AGC, nice win
Orezone Gold ORE.v jun'21 C$0.79 21-Jun-20 C$1.61 103.8% sold on pop, leaky boat
Wolfden Res. WLF.v sep'21 C$0.30 11-Abr-21 C$0.19 -36.7% Failed spec trade, cut loss
Cartier Res ECR.v sep'21 C$0.32 21-Mar-21 C$0.235 -26.6% Failed spec trade, cut loss
Amarillo Gold AGC.v sep'21 C$0.31 30-May-21 C$0.30 -3.2% Capex story changed: Out
Excelsior Mining MIN.to oct'21 C$0.93 10-Mar-19 C$0.53 -43.0% May return in 2022
Royal Road Min. RYR.v nov'21 C$0.155 17-Mar-19 C$0.275 77.4% Closed on Nica pol risk
Aurelius Min. AUL.v dec'21 C$0.75 28-Jun-20 0.24 -68.0% cut end 2021, failed trade
Argonaut Gold AR.to dec'21 C$2.95 25-Jun-21 C$2.15 -27.1% cut on capex blowout
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
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
27

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
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
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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
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.
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