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The IKN Weekly
Week 691 August 14th 2022
Contents
This Week: In Today’s Edition, A normal August?
Fundamental Analysis: Deferred.
Stocks to Follow: Superior Gold (SGI.v), Amerigo Resources (ARG.to), Aldebaran Resources
(ALDE.v), Goldshore Resources (GSHR.v), Minera IRL (MIRL.cse), QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v),
Minera Alamos (MAI.v), Western Copper & Gold (WRN.to).
Copper Basket: Overview, Oroco Resources (OCO.v), Hot Chili (HCH.v) (HCH.ax), Nevada
Copper (NCU.to).
Producer Basket: Overview, Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD), Sandstorm Gold (SAND) (SSL.to).
TinyCaps Basket: Overview, Aurelius Resources (AUL.v), Winshear Gold (WINS.v).
Regional Politics: Colombia’s new Minister of Mines and Energy speaks, Chile: More permit
delay news, Chile’s Constitutional referendum update, Argentina: A potential cloud on the
copper horizon, Peru: The Congress strategy against President Castillo.
Market Watching: Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v): Steadying the ship, Electra Battery (ELBM.v) 2q22
financials.
I remind subscribers that no part of this newsletter can be copied, reproduced or
given to any third party without the express permission of the author.
This Week
In Today’s Edition
 A semi-abridged edition this week, with no main Fundies section. That’s due to your
author taking a semi-break during the Northern summer lull. Semi-shameless.
 But we do have news on covered companies, with the Q2 numbers from the distressed
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v) providing a small amount of silver lining to its current woes.
 On the political scene, we keep tabs on the growing storm that will be Colombia’s
mining sector while in Chile, the way the all-important Constitutional Referendum
seems to be slipping away from the left wing Boric government augurs well for a
rebalancing of power between the two political flanks.
 In a week where the inflation data was Goldilocks-eque for the continued rally in
equities and speculative vehicles, copper and its dependent stocks came out better than
most sub-sectors. However, there are signs of the relief rally reaching a near-term limit
A normal August?
“Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back
screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house;
summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand
colors in a parched landscape…”
Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
This year’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium runs under the title of "Reassessing
Constraints on the Economy and Policy” and happens in just under two weeks’ time, August
25th to 27th. So that’s one opportunity for the Fed to jawbone its narrative back into the
1

driving seat of the market. Another comes even sooner, as this Wednesday bring two dates for
the diary with first US Retail Sales (current consensus +0.1%) up on deck before market open,
then the FOMC minutes for the recent meeting are due released later that day.
So while the “Fed Gotta Pivot” narrative still holds sway and those that would fight the Fed
managed to get through last week’s inflation day with their story and market rally intact, there
are still plenty of opportunities for Jay Powell to snatch that proverbial punchbowl away at its
convenience. But what we do know is that the last two weeks…
…have fit the Stagflation story far better than that of the Plain Vanilla Recession. We’ve seen
fluctuations, but by considering the last two weeks we see that even though the US Dollar
(DXY) has remained unchanged, just about anything priced in USD has gone up in price. That
includes copper (HG00 up 4%, with three of those last week), the S&P500 and even gold and
silver. Indeed, the way gold has improved without the need to see either the USD dropping or…
GLD gold holdings, 2021 to date (metric tonnes)
1200
1180
1160
1140
1120
1100
1080
1060
1040
1020
1000
980
960
940 920
900
…any strength in US instos wanting to purchase or own the stuff is indicative of how stagflation
works in word and deed. The “Stag” part tells of buyer apathy, the “Flation” part tells us that
prices don’t care and will rise anyway.
Despite the growing evidence that prices aren’t about to drop back to their recent lows, I’m still
leery enough about this rally to keep the cash I’ve earmarked for new copper exposure in
treasury. I don’t mind admitting that as copper rose last week and a few of the most beaten-
down junior stocks started to ping higher (see The Copper Basket below), the feelings of FOMO
and general temptation began to show. However and overall, the plan to wait on the sidelines
until U$3.80/lb shows up and play this market safe held reasonably easily during what is, after
all, the first “normal” August lull we’ve had in the market since 2019. There is a clear drop in
rhythm among the juniors and this desk has picked up a host of typical signals of a return to
the sector’s summer Doldrums. If so, that also means the wheeling and dealing will pick up in
earnest after US Labor Day.
2
02/21/13 12/1/02 12/2/9 12/3/1 12/3/12 12/4/01 12/4/03 12/5/02 12/6/9 12/6/92 12/7/91 12/8/8 12/8/82 12/9/71 12/01/7 12/01/72 12/11/61 12/21/6 12/21/62 22/1/51 22/2/4 22/2/42 22/3/61 22/4/5 22/4/52 22/5/51 22/6/4 22/6/42 22/7/41 22/8/3
mt GLD: Inventory/Price Ratio, 2021 to date
7.00
6.80
6.60
6.40
6.20
6.00
5.80
5.60
source: SPDR GLD data 5.40
13/21/0202 02/1/1202 9/2/1202 1/3/1202 12/3/1202 01/4/1202 03/4/1202 02/5/1202 9/6/1202 92/6/1202 91/7/1202 8/8/1202 82/8/1202 71/9/1202 7/01/1202 72/01/1202 61/11/1202 6/21/1202 62/21/1202 51/1/2202 4/2/2202 42/2/2202 61/3/2202 5/4/2202 52/4/2202 51/5/2202 4/6/2202 42/6/2202 41/7/2202 3/8/2202
Source: SPDR data, IKN calcs

Fundamental Analysis of Mining Stocks
Deferred. Prompted by my partner (last seen in IKN667). As noted in today’s brief intro, the
subject of the August lull came up this week at home and at one point, she said “What about a
break for you, too?” I found myself agreeing for the most part and yes, I have indeed mostly
enjoyed quiet, non-working week as well as spending half of today Sunday away from the desk,
all deliberately. However (and after some negotiations) the deal was to send a normal edition of
the Weekly but without the main Fundies section. That’s what has happened this week so
excuse the laziness, but I can guarantee that I enjoyed the time I would have dedicated to
writing this section. I’m not a buyer of anything new this week, anyway.
We return in full force next weekend.
Stocks to Follow
Considering gold rose by 1.6% (GLD proxy) and copper by around 3% on the week, it wasn’t a
great performance from the Stocks to Follow list. Hardly a disaster either, but with just six
winners on the week (ARG.to, SGI.v, ALDE.v, MIRL.cse, WRN.to, MENE.v) and of those only
two that really count (ARG.to and SGI.v), versus two UNCH stocks (RIO.v, PA.v) and eight
losers including Top Pick Minera Alamos (MAI.v) that should be doing better by now (as well as
QCCU.v, CKG.v, APN.v, NCAU.v, ELBM.v, XYZ.v, GSHR.v), the headcount does not befit a “risk
on” week for the market that should reward this type of portfolio. There were two double-figure
movers, one up (ALDE.v up 17.1%) and one down (CKG.v down 16.4%).
Still only 16 covered stocks and of those, I’m long eleven of them. Only two in the green and on
looking back six months, I’m glad to have taken profits on Copper Mountain when I did.
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$0.49 133.3% $1.14 tgt, #1 idea on FY22 dev
RECOMMENDED STOCKS
Amerigo Res ARG.to STR BUY C$1.36 12-Dec-21 C$1.21 -11.0% Cheap Cu, low downside risk
Superior Gold SGI.v STR BUY C$0.95 3-Apr-22 C$0.67 -29.5% Au prod jr, Q2 report this week
QC Copper&Gold QCCU.v BUY C$0.275 25-Apr-21 C$0.145 -47.3% Now drilling. Easy hold
Rio2 Ltd. RIO.v HOLD C$0.83 22-Apr-18 C$0.14 -83.1% Downgrade on permit denial
SPECULATIVE TRADES
Chesapeake Gold CKG.v SPEC BUY C$3.07 20-Feb-22 C$2.24 -27.0% Au leverage, small trade so far
Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v BUY C$0.72 16-May-21 C$0.82 13.9% hole 221 may give boost
Palamina Corp PA.v SPEC BUY C$0.295 21-Nov-21 C$0.11 -62.7% Au expl in S.Peru
Altiplano Metals APN.v HOLD C$0.31 17-Sep-21 C$0.22 -29.0% Cheap entry, plan on track.
Minera IRL MIRL.cse hold C$0.195 22-Jul-12 C$0.10 -48.7% CEO change will move stock
A WATCHLIST OF POTENTIAL TRADES. NB: I DO NOT OWN
Newcore Gold NCAU.v WATCH C$0.51 20-Mar-22 C$0.275 -46.1% potential gold exploreco trade
Electra Battery ELBM.v WATCH C$5.31 20-Mar-22 C$4.81 -9.4% potential battery metals play
Anacortes Mining XYZ.v WATCH C$0.49 22-Jul-22 C$0.46 -6.1% potential gold exploreco trade
Goldshore Res GSHR.v WATCH C$0.33 22-Jul-22 C$0.32 -3.0% potential gold exploreco trade
Western Copper WRN.to SPEC BUY C$2.41 20-Mar-22 C$1.92 -20.3% potential copper trade
LONG-TERM NON-MINING HOLD
Mene Inc. MENE.v adding C$0.66 6-Dec-20 C$0.55 -16.7% LT bet, adding slowly
3

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-Set-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
Discovery Silver DSV.v Jun'22 C$1.77 24-Oct-21 C$1.39 -21.5% Cutting Ag exp.& raising cash
Element 29 ECU.v Jul'22 C$0.58 6-Mar-22 C$0.30 -48.3% sold to cut Cu exposure
2015 to 2021 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Now for a few notes on some of the covered companies:
Superior Gold (SGI.v): A reminder that we are due SGI’s 2q22 financials this Wednesday
17th pre-open and a webcast Conference Call that same morning on this link (1), starting 10am
ET. What’s more, if you miss the ConfCall CEO Chris Jordaan along with CFO Paul Olmsted are
due to appear on a live Q&A webinar the next morning (2), also at 10am ET (I think, please
check). I’ll be on both those so feel free to say hi if you like (the Thursday 6ix gig has a person-
to-person chat feature).
As for what to expect from its Q2 numbers, a quick reminder that due to the largely one-off
operational issues it went through in the quarter, production and sales of gold lagged
expectations…
SGI gold production and sales
4
40522 73932 00971 99881 05861 63551 29451 55851 83571 99091 28291 34112 32851 62761 00002 00042
25000
22500
20000
17500
15000
12500 10000
7500
5000
2500
0
91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2 tse22q3 tse22q4
Oz Au Au prod
Au sold
source: SGI data
…and as a result, we’re expecting them to lower their current 2022 production guidance from
80k-90k to something lower (my best guess now is 75k oz Au). As for financial results Q2 won’t
be great and we’re not expecting anything else:
SGI: Revenues and operating earnings, per qtr
870.3- 92.2- 803.4- 619.3-
411.1 324.0- 793.0-
548.1-
412.2 927.2 826.3
489.5
144.1
2.0 5.1
3.7
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 tse22q2 tse22q3 tse22q4
U$m
Revenues Op income
source: company filings
Breakeven-ish on operation and a supportable net loss on the bottom line is what’s coming, but

far more important to SGI at this low entry point are two things:
 Guidance for the rest of the year and word on their expectation to deliver the promised
improvement on metrics in Q3 and Q4
 Delivering on those promises
We’ll find out the first on Wednesday, the second will be “show me” and in the 3q22 production
numbers that show in October. I’m confident that this team can deliver and they have showed
their mettle by bringing far more structure and organization to the Plutonic asset. The first half
of 2022 was rougher than expected and gold prices haven’t been conducive, but there’s still
everything to play for with SGI. An excellent risk/reward opportunity at this price, as long as
they publish and say the right things on Wednesday.
Amerigo Resources (ARG.to): Our preferred copper play improved on the
week but at its Friday close of C$1.21, is still very buyable and even more so
when we consider the improvement in copper. On that subject here’s a quick
rule of thumb on its price sensitivity to copper. As long as we understand that
this is ballpark, if we assume ARG sells 15m lbs Cu per quarter that would
bring an extra U$3m per quarter gross for every 20c/lb copper improves.
However and as seen (right), the sliding scale of royalties owed to El
Teniente (DET) means more money to its raw material supplier.
For example, if copper moves from U$3.40/lb to U$3.60/lb, ARG gets 20c/lb
gross but then pays DET U$0.95/lb royalty instead of U$0.86/lb, i.e. an extra
9c/lb which means our company benefits to the tune of 11c/lb. In the
practical, our current financial model that “stress tests” ARG used a U$3.40/lb
copper price for 3q22 and arrived at a projected operating income of U$4m.
Therefore, at a U$3.60/lb average (which is suddenly looking in the cards at
ARG thanks to the recent run in copper) and assuming sales of 15m lbs Cu in
the quarter, that would add around U$3m to gross sales and U$1.6m to top
line revenues. As this is a ballpark model, by assuming zero friction that
would move model operating earnings to U$5.6m, or
approximately CAD$0.04/share and enough to fully
sustain the current dividend policy.
Perhaps the market is waiting for copper to reach
U$3.80/lb before buying back into ARG, as that price
would also guarantee the Top Up Dividend would
have sustainable fund as well. But no matter how
you cut it, ARG today is a company that can provide
an indefinite 10% yield dividend to those buying the
current price and that’s a rare bargain in the world of
mining.
Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v): ALDE duly closed its financing on Friday by announcing that
the money from South32 and Route One had arrived. That leaves the way clear for the
company to deliver the expected drill results from Altar including the hole #221 that they went
out of their way to hype a few weeks ago, before the placement opportunity came up. We were
told there wouldn’t be a drill assay NR until the
financing were closed and that’s fair enough, but
it’s now closed. Numbers time, ALDE, show us
what you got.
In trading, the stock did well though without
breaking any records on volumes traded. This ten-
day chart shows the real story, up 10% or so over
two weeks.
5

Goldshore Resources (GSHR.v): Is it just me, or do people tend to get easily excited these
days? Something as straightforward as a coffee has to be “amazing” or “awesome” and in our
world of explorecos, if a drill result is good, then “good” gets changed to “incredible” or
“stunning.” We got assays from four holes at Moss
Lake in this NR dated Wednesday August 10th (3),
Southwest of the main (historic) resource zone as a
continuation of the parallel mineralized structures.
These parallel structures have done GSHR well as
they look to expand resource size and tonnage and
the results last week were right in line with
expectations. Which may be why the stock didn’t
move much (chart right) despite the CEO comment
which lauded regularity with, “We are excited to
continue to deliver consistent drilling results.” Here’s
the highlight reel from the NR:
Four holes drilled to evaluate the eastern extension of
the Southwest Zone have confirmed gold mineralization within anastomosing shears in altered
diorite with intercepts of:
 39.75m @ 1.18 g/t Au from 44.25m depth in MMD-22-023, including
 14.60m @ 2.65 g/t Au from 462.2m
 11.65m @ 1.05 g/t Au from 37.35m depth, and
 18.70m @ 1.37 g/t Au from 151.1m in MMD-22-031
 10.00m @ 1.05 g/t Au from 290.0m in MMD-22-035
Yes, people get excited easily these days. By the way, “anastomosing” simply means that the
shears come together in some places and draw apart in others. We do like that geology talk.
Minera IRL (MIRL.cse): This is the type of thing that beggars belief at MIRL, from the 2q22
financials posted last week:
Despite running a net loss, a working cap deficit of over $3m even before the Cofide loan (now
U$76.5m) is taken into consideration and allowing G&A to rise by half a million per quarter for
no obvious reason or result, MIRL decided to quietly take out a $2m loan on which it must pay
3% per month interest. Per month, as in “nice work if you can get it”, will we ever get to find
out the identity of the counterparty in this deal? Highly unlikely, this company has too many
shadows and does too many deals in the background, preferring to stay as secret as possible.
We remind readers of MIRL’s assurances that it had buyers and deals read1y to do on Ollachea,
empty promises that got it through the AGM vote last year. Eight months on and all we get is a
roaring silence on the issues that count. Until such time as the top management of this
company changes, expect nothing else.
QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v): Very quiet, off radar and missing the copper rebound that
other Cu explorecos have enjoyed over the past two weeks. At some point this stock will wake
up again and hopefully, it does so before the company delivers the resource update at the end
of the year.
Minera Alamos (MAI.v): We don’t have an exact date, but I asked President Doug Ramshaw
and was told his team expects to file its 2q22 financials on the 23rd or 24th of this month. So,
that’s a week and a bit from here and now you know as well. As for its contents, we’ve been
told by the company that they’ve been running “corporate breakeven” for the last two quarters
as well as investing new money into development projects (Cerro del Oro), so that should show
6

in its numbers and along with the recent financing (as well as its untapped credit line), MAI
should show a set of reasonably boring numbers. I’ll be interested up to a certain point with
pre-commercial production gold ounces and sales, along with development of the costs line, but
more important at this early stage are any details on production results, recoveries, average
grades, leach kinetics etc and anything else we can glean from the MD&A.
Western Copper & Gold (WRN.to): Without ranking in the top tier of copper exploreco
performers last week, WRN did well enough and along the way, completed an important official
milestone by delivering its Casino Feasibility Study to SEDAR (4). I downloaded my copy
(100mega!) and have yet to study it carefully, but was reminded of the true difference between
a FS and PEA/PFS on pages 334 to 336. Now that’s what I call a financial model.
The Copper Basket
After thirty-two weeks of 2022, The Copper Basket shows a loss of 43.49% level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/22 Shares out Market Cap current pps gain/loss%
1 Copper Mtn CMMC.to 3.42 210.166 363.59 1.73 -49.4%
2 Western Copper WRN.to 2.00 151.451 290.79 1.92 -4.0%
3 Marimaca Cop MARI.to 3.77 88.118 269.64 3.06 -18.8%
4 Oroco Res OCO.v 2.04 203.4 205.43 1.01 -50.5%
5 Nevada Copper NCU.to 0.71 448.437 125.56 0.28 -60.6%
6 Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v 0.84 138.401 113.49 0.82 -2.4%
7 Hot Chili HCH.v 1.53 109.223 92.84 0.85 -44.4%
8 Regulus Res. REG.v 1.06 101.845 76.38 0.75 -29.2%
9 Meridian Min MNO.to 1.18 153.735 75.33 0.49 -58.5%
10 C3 Metals CCCM.v 0.16 645.379 35.50 0.055 -65.6%
11 Kutcho Copper KC.v 0.88 103.94 32.22 0.31 -64.8%
12 Doré Copper DCMC.v 0.79 66.123 26.45 0.40 -49.4%
13 Element 29 Res ECU.v 0.58 79.24 24.17 0.305 -47.4%
14 QC Copper QCCU.v 0.34 129.06 18.71 0.145 -57.4%
15 Coast Copper COCO.v 0.13 41.335 2.69 0.065 -50.0%
NB: All stocks in CAD$ Portfolio avg -43.49%
Overall good week for the Copper Basket and probably better for its components, if that makes
any sense. The global portfolio average is still
below the negative 40% line and many of the 10% The Copper Basket 2022, weekly evolution
companies are still 50%+ on the year, but there 0%
was plenty of evidence that the tentative -10%
rebound is picking up steam and a lot of the
-20%
hardest hit companies made significant moves
-30%
higher. Of our 15 stocks, just three (NCU.to,
-40%
REG.v, QCCU.v) were losers and of those, only
-50%
Nevada Copper (NCU.to down 16.4%) was a
-60%
significant move. Two other stocks were
unchanged on the week (KC.v, COCO.v) which
means ten winners and in that group, there were
plenty of large percentage upmoves and here’s the list from top to bottom: Hot Chili (HCH.v up
32.8%), C3 Metals (CCCM.v up 22.2%), Oroco Resources (OCO.v up 21.7%), Aldebaran
(ALDE.v up 17.1%), Copper Mountain (CMMC.to up 13.1%) and Meridian (MNO.to up 11.4%)
and it’s notable to recognize that all those stocks were down by at least 50% on the year
before their rebounds last week.
As for our regular copper metal price visual, this week we bring out the pom-poms and
7
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 ht62 dr3yluj ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 t7gua ht41
source: IKN calcs

cheerlead the one month chart as it covers the last days of the severe price drop we suffered
through in Q2 as well as the decent rebound of July and now into August.
A tonic for the bullish troops and by adding a second visual but focused on the last five days
only (right), the US BLS managed to add to the momentum with its Goldilocks-y inflation
number, which was high enough to keep thoughts of
price appreciation for commodities in the minds of
traders, but not too high as to scare them. All in all, a
continuation of the same “Risk On Rally” from last
week and no change to the script.
We move to our carefully curated copper weekly
macro news slot and this week, two stories. First we
have a follow-up from that odd story about 300kmt of
copper conc that had gone missing in China, as
mentioned last weekend in IKN690. On Friday, Reuters
via the FT reported that Glencore is one of the
middlemen on the hook for the missing metal in this
report (5) and here’s an excerpt:
Aug 12 (Reuters) - Switzerland-based Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) and other major traders
have stopped supplying Chinese metals merchant Huludao Ruisheng over a brewing
scandal about missing copper inventories in the port of Qinhuangdao, the Financial
Times reported on Friday.
Glencore and Geneva-based commodity trader IXM SA have stopped supplying the
Hebei-based metals group, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
At the centre of the scandal is a storage site in Qinhuangdao that is holding only one-
third of the 300,000 tonnes of copper concentrate that more than a dozen Chinese
companies were financing, according to a report earlier this month by Bloomberg.
The 13 Chinese trading companies - 12 of which are state-owned - are facing potential
losses of as much as 3.3 billion yuan ($490 million) from the missing concentrate and
have sent a team to Qinhuangdao to investigate and determine appropriate legal
action, the Financial Times said.
At least we have the silver lining that Glencore are in the hole for this suspected embezzlement,
rather than any seeing an honest company caught out. The report goes on to quote a BMO
desk guy saying that it might get more difficult to trust the Chinese if they keep acting this way.
You don’t say…
In more important news, just hours after going to print last Sunday China published its July
trade data and one of the more positive parts was this, also reported by Reuters (6):
BEIJING: China's imports of copper rose 9.3 per cent from a year earlier, customs data
on Sunday (Aug 7) showed, as a sharp drop in the price of the metal triggered buying
appetite amid falling domestic inventories.
Unwrought copper and copper product imports into China, including anode, refined,
alloy and semi-finished copper products, totalled 463,693.8 tonnes in July, compared
with 424,280.3 tonnes a year earlier.
8

The reason given for the 9.3% rise is the most important thing, it reads as “China is bargain
hunting” and as that one country accounts for over 50% of world copper demand it puts a
bottom into prices. That’s fundamentally good news, but it needs to be tempered by the other
side to the price coin. Your final excerpt for the week comes from Thursday (7):
LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Speculators in the copper market, viewed as an indicator
of the health of the economy, are betting a global downturn means the metal used in
power and construction has further to fall, despite its recent rebound.
The latest data shows more funds with bearish positions than bullish copper positions
on the London Metal Exchange and COMEX.
As is tradition, the reporter on that note hits their Rolodex and gets the quote from some-or-
other trading desk:
"Funds have been building up short positions in anticipation of recession," said Ole
Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.
The takeaway is straightforward enough, we’re back to the dichotomy of a copper price being
pulled one way by real end-user demand and the other by a financial market that is factoring in
its assumptions as the world careers toward what is now supposed as its inevitable recession.
Now for the regular weekly look at world copper inventories, data as usual from Cochilco:
 We finally get a bit of a rebound in world copper stocks, though not by much and with
extenuating circumstances. The aggregate of the three official copper systems added
some 8,499 metric tonnes (mt) to close the week at 225,767mt.
 The biggest add came at the SHFE, its inventory total up 7,043mt to close Friday at
41,811mt. It’s still extremely tight, just slightly less so than last week.
 The headline total at the LME rose 3,250mt to close at 131,850mt as the total held in
its warehouses continues to tread water in a tight range. However, beyond the headline
there’s more evidence of supply drying up in
key areas. Firstly, stocks in fact dropped at LME: Cu tonnage under cancelled warrant
LME warehouses in the key regions of Asia
and Europe, with the final total due to
4,875mt arriving in its New Orleans
warehouses. dropped a small 1,975mt to close Friday at 128,600mt, i.e. virtually
unchanged however (and there’s always a
but), there was a sharp hike in cancelled
warrants as seen in the chart (right), a chart
which has gained a couple of fans and will
continue for the time being. It may be flat-
lining, but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security about the tight supply.
 At the Comex, inventories dropped by a modest 727mt and closed Friday at 54,513mt.
No biggie, but it’s worth reflecting that Comex holds substantially more copper these
days than SHFE.
Here are the dedicated SHFE charts and while stocks rebounded somewhat, we’re still at low
levels:
9
00142 52074 57334 00714 52045 05205 52027 52418 52926 05694 57332 52271 05761 52511 57471 52581 52862 00642
00743
57924
100000
90000
80000
70000
60000
50000 40000 30000
20000
10000
0
dr3rpa ht01 ht71 ht42 1.yam ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht5nuj ht21 ht91 ht62 dr3yluj ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7gua ht41
mt Cu
source: Cochilco
Shanghai Futures Exchange Warehouse Stocks, 2014 to date
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
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 ht41
Mt Cu
|
source: Cochilco

SHFE copper inventory levels, 2018 to 2022
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
10
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
Last week I wrote that SHFE’s inventory situation is going to get worse and that still stands,
one week’s worth of data doesn’t deflect the seasonal drawdown that will now take control and
continue from now until December. Now for some notes on a couple of our basket stocks:
Oroco Resources (OCO.v): There wasn’t any news from OCO (it’s been nearly a month since
the last assay NR) but that hasn’t stopped OCO
from bouncing back and from a look of the three
month chart, the causes are clear enough:
The case of OCO has two elements, with 1) larger
volumes in late June and early to mid-July as a
sizeable numbers of long-term holders/sufferers
decided to throw in their towels, then 2) the
bottoming and rebound of copper-the-metal. Of
course, the second element is a prerequisite for
the rally as without copper’s move from under
U$3.20/lb to above U$3.60/lb in the last few
weeks, we wouldn’t have seen the response from
copper producers or explorecos alike. However,
OCO dropped further than most due to those lumpy sellers (you may recall the YouTube guru
and main promoter of this stock railing against his own followers and calling them names), so
the last couple of weeks have seen a bigger and faster snap-back rally than most others. In
IKN684 I noted the capitulation selling in OCO then in IKN685 dated July 4th even more of the
same as well as writing “At some point OCO will bottom out”. That took another month to
happen and shows once again how bad my timing is on these things, but bottom out it did. As
for the future, yes it’s up a lot from the lows but it’s still buyable at/around the C$1.00 level if
you believe the copper rally has more legs. There are definitely worse copper stocks out there
at the current price deck (but I’ll still target WRN.to for my next purchase).
Hot Chili (HCH.v) (HCH.ax): A massive jump in the price of the Canadian listing for Hot Chili
last week but on tiny volumes compared to its main listing in Australia (for example, the Dot AX
stock did 646,000 share volume in Australian trading on Friday then later during its own Friday
session, the Dot Vee did 7,400 shares. So it’s clear where the driving force of this stock is and
to be as fair as possible to the company in the same spirit at OCO above, here’s the three
month chart of both Canadian and Australian tickers along with the spot copper (HG00):
The move in the Aussie stock came earlier in the
week and the Canada ticker, while thin volumes,
played technical catch up and the catalyst is clearly
the improvement in the price of copper at market.
Australian speculators moved back into this spec
copper play (it has the look of a stock reco move,
too) and the rebound saw it cover most of the recent
breach in much the same way as OCO above.

As for the reason behind the pop that’s this NR out Monday (8) with the title line “Valentina
Delivers Hot Chili’s Highest-Grade Result 8m grading 5.7% Copper & 24g/t Silver.” Valentina is
the satellite target to the East of the main project pits and the company expects to get high
grade mineral from this smaller target that would bump up average head grade at the eventual
operation. Its first assay result is a good start on the plan and the NR came with plenty of
superlative script, including talk of the next expected assay hole 002 from the same Valentina
target and its “stunning 17m visual intersection” that was seen in photos published in July.
All this is how the Aussies promo their junior explorecos, I suppose. I pass on this, over-hyped
and with the wrong people backing it for too long.
Nevada Copper (NCU.to): A second “Post-Close Friday” NR from NCU in as many weeks, this
one even worse as the company filed its 2q22 numbers and as seen in this post on the open
blog that evening (9), there’s nothing pleasant
about the sticky financial mess in which the
company finds itself. Here’s the visual used in the
post, that of its 2q22 balance sheet:
Truly horrid. With the company now in declared
technical default it doesn’t matter whether creditors
have officially pushed the Big Red Button, NCU still
has to declare its financial debts on the current
liabilities. That’s moved the total up over U$250m
and with its cash and treasury position scraping the
barrel hard, the result is a negative working capital
of nearly U$360m. As for assets, the red ink note I
added to the balance sheet is a reminder of the
difference between what a mining company says its
asset is worth and what it’s really worth. As long as
NCU uses the assumption of its operations are
going concerns, it’s not under any legal obligation
to write down or impair its asset value. In other
words, that total (U$915m or so) is the amount of
money they’ve invested in Pumpkin Hollow, which is
a far cry from its true asset value. Come the day
that backers pull the plug, we’ll get a more honest
assessment of what is there and its true hard cash value and you can bet a lot of money on
that number being a lot less than NCU’s current claims.
The Producer Basket
After thirty-two weeks of 2022, the Producer Basket shows a loss of 12.77% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/22 Shares out MktCap(U$Bn) current pps gain/loss%
1 Newmont NEM 62.02 797.44 37.12 46.55 -24.9%
2 Barrick GOLD 19.00 1779 29.78 16.74 -11.9%
3 Franco-Nevada FNV 138.29 191.192 25.49 133.34 -3.6%
4 Agnico Eagle AEM 53.14 454.904 21.04 46.26 -12.9%
5 Wheaton PM WPM 42.93 450.3 15.35 34.09 -20.6%
6 Gold Fields GFI 10.99 887.72 8.35 9.41 -14.4%
7 Kinross Gold KGC 5.81 1296.5 4.67 3.60 -38.0%
8 B2Gold BTG 3.93 1055.6 3.73 3.53 -10.2%
9 Alamos Gold AGI 7.69 392.503 3.19 8.12 5.6%
10 Sandstorm SAND 6.20 191.4 1.22 6.40 3.2%
All prices and stock quotes in U$ Port. avg -12.77%
11

Ten winners out of ten from our Producer Basket and due to the fact our list doesn’t contain
any of the companies that reported sub-standard Q2 financials last week (e.g. PAAS, EDO,
WDO, AR, FSM), we out-performed the GDX benchmark by nearly a full percentage point. There
was a range of results, with the worst on the week (WPM up 1.1%, GFI up 1.3%) down there
and the best (SAND up 9.6%, KGC up 7.5%, GOLD up 7.3%) up there. It was also notable how
the larger cap producers of the GDX (up 3.6%) did better than the junior sized producers and
explorecos of the GDXJ (up 2.3%).
The 2022 Producer Basket: Percentage difference
between GDX benchmark & basket (negative = IKN ahead) 5.0%
4.5%
4.0%
3.5%
3.0%
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
-0.5%
-1.0%
Barrick (GOLD): Here’s one I got wrong (right). After advertising my thoughts on “taking the
under” on Barrick (GOLD) ever since
Newmont returned a lacklustre quarter a
couple of weeks ago, GOLD pleased the
market on Monday with its results and rallied
nicely. This chart shows its out-performance
against NEM over two weeks, as well as both
compared to the GDX.
So I was wrong and I will have to live with
that, but I’m going to annoy you by saying it
was for the right reasons. GOLD and Bristow
continued to warn on cost inflation in the
producer pipeline and indeed, our assumption
that it was its African assets that kept its
overall gold AISC/oz down was also right.
That points to a quality degradation down the line, but as far as Q2 goes Barrick did better than
I expected and navigated the week in finer style than I expected. So more fool me.
Sandstorm Gold (SAND) (SSL.to): The big winner of the week also reported its quarter and
rose more by default than for great numbers. SAND reported a noisy Q2 affected by all the
corporate wheeling and dealing it’s doing, but the stock rose as the NOMAD deal was closed
and the standard pending deal short positions came off the stock.
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 ht62 dr3luj ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7 ht41
The 2022 Producer Basket: Weekly performance and
35% comparative to GDX control
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
-15%
-20%
-25%
source: IKN calcs, NYSE data
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 ht62 dr3luj ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7 ht41
ikn
gdx control
source: NYSE, IKN Calcs

It’s nothing extraordinary, but SAND has outperformed the market in the last few weeks and
ultimately, that’s why this royalty/streamer was included in the 2022 list, as a safe alternative to
the classic mid-tier producer name. However and considering the way SAND has re-worked its
story in the first half of this year, eschewing Hod Maden, buying a smaller royaltyco and flipping
out other assets into a sister show (in deals that suit insider back pockets), it feels as though I
was right for the wrong reasons.
The TinyCaps List
After thirty-two weeks of 2022, the TinyCaps show a loss of 28.37% 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 0.140 -41.7%
Golden Pursuit GDP.v 0.13 34.638 5.89 0.17 30.8%
Infield Min INFD.v 0.06 48.445 1.94 0.04 -33.3%
Kingfisher Met KFR.v 0.30 103.007 22.66 0.22 -33.3%
Latin Metals LMS.v 0.12 57.686 6.35 0.11 -8.3%
Manitou Gold MTU.v 0.06 344.57 12.06 0.035 -41.7%
Melkior Res MKR.v 0.295 24.011 5.64 0.235 -20.3%
Precipitate Gold PRG.v 0.105 129.322 10.35 0.08 -23.8%
Signature Res SGU.v 0.07 238.4 4.77 0.02 -71.4%
Winshear Gold WINS.v 0.08 61.585 3.08 0.05 -37.5%
Prices in CAD$, data from TSXV basket avg -28.37%
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.
Unlike the rebounds of varying strengths in our other sections today, The TinyCap end of the
juniors market still lacks direction, volume and
15% TinyCaps, 2022 weekly tracker
general oomph. Just two of our ten
10%
representative stocks for 2022 managed to
5%
return gains on the week (AUL.v, GDP.v) and 0%
four others remained unchanged and largely -5%
ignored (INFD.v, MTU.v, SGU.v, WINS.v), which -10%
-15%
means four losers (KFR.v, LMS.v, MKR.v, PRG.v)
-20%
but even there, we didn’t see a single stock
-25%
move up or down by more than 10% on the -30%
week. That’s rare for a sector which can see -35%
stocks move by 20% simply by rising or falling a
penny. The tracking chart (right) tells the same
type of story, a flatline of apathy for weeks on
end and an average that refuses to budge from its tight (and negative) range.
Aurelius Resources (AUL.v): One of only two winners on the week, AUL announced a new
13
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 ht62 dr3yluj ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7gua ht41
source: IKN calcs, TSX data

set of assay results at the same time as a new round of financing and put all that in its NR title
line (10):
Aurelius Announces Non-Brokered Equity Financing of Up To $1.25 Million and Also
Announces Additional High Grade Results with Channel 944L-042 Yielding 365g/t Au
Over 2.0m, Including 1,425 g/t Au Over 0.5m
A mouthful which means I don’t have to write as much.
As for the assay results, they are channel cuts (not drill
numbers) and broadly in-line with the mineralization
we’ve seen previously from the Aureus East project. As
for the placement, it’s priced at 10c for standard shares
and 12c for flow-thru shares, there are no warrants
attached and I understand that the book was filled at
time of the announcement (though if you want in they’d
probably upsize). The ten-day chart here shows a flurry
of activity on news, with 361k shares traded Friday.
Winshear Gold (WINS.v): The $500k placement announced by WINS three weeks ago was
upsized to $650k last week and in the announcement NR, the section bold-typed below stands
out (11):
Proceeds from the financing will be used for exploration, corporate development and
general working capital purposes. Winshear Gold is focused on advancing the Gaban
Gold Project to a drilling programme in south eastern Peru, and has also commenced
arbitration against the Tanzanian government to recover its investment in the SMP
gold project in Tanzania.
After talking with WINDS management, I understand that the arbitration involving WINS in its
previous iteration, Helios, has been brought forward to September 5th this year and they are
now confident of getting a favourable judgement as well as financial compensation. There will
be lawyers fees and other such matters to back out, but in theory if they 1) get what they
expect and 2) get paid (it’s Africa, believe when see) this stock is going to be worth a lot more
than the current 5c market price. For what it’s worth, I’m on its sister stock Palamina (PA.v) for
a small bet on Peru exploration and I’m beginning to feel that I may have backed the wrong
horse of the two.
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
Colombia’s new Minister of Mines and Energy speaks
The first week of the Gustavo Petro presidency is in the books and while it took until Thursday
to swear in many of his new ministerial team, all but three of the posts are now operational
with a slight sidebar that the Ministry of Science post is still vacant [EDIT: Petro announced one
Arturo Luna, a microbiologist, as his new Science Minister this Sunday afternoon], with no
proposed candidate yet. This gets a mention because the person tipped a month ago to
become Minister of Science, Irene Vélez Torres, was sworn in as Minister of Mines and Energy
on Thursday along with a handful of others.
Then on Friday, Minister Vélez gave her first interview on Colombia’s national and respected
news radio station Blu Radio and you can read a news report of the Q&A here (12), but
understandably under the circumstances the report focuses on the political angles and
headlines with the snippet that Colombia would consider buying natural gas from Venezuela in
the future. Also, what with it being Colombia the large majority of the interview time was taken
up by the government’s plans for energy and hydrocarbons, rather than hard rock mining for
metals. Colombia’s priorities are oil, gas and coal, it’s been that way for decades and even the
14

sector “mining” means Oil&Gas there. However, there was content on our focus subject and
that’s why this segment exists this weekend and for that, it’s worth dialing into the whole Q&A
now available here (13). Here are bullet points on the main issues:
 She said the government will honour all established contracts. That’s to say, we’re not
about to get mines closed from out the blue, or government expropriation of property
and while her emphasis on this point was O&G, she made specific mention of the 180
or so contracts currently open with the Ministry and that covers hard rock mining
operations as well.
 She said there will be no new concessions granted. That’s in line with the policies
repeated by Petro during the campaign and should come as no surprise.
 She said that environmental laws would be tightened up and all current concessions will
come under review. That review will be on legal matters and will also involve
communities located around any operation or exploration project, with plenty of
emphasis and power handed to the “prior consultancy” rights of communities.
Those points came out while Minister Vélez kept on the subject of energy policy and in fact, on
two occasions she averted talk of hard rock mining to keep on the subject of the government’s
energy policy and how “short term goals” of improving reserves shouldn’t impede “long-term
issues”, such as whether fracking (which will be banned no matter whether the current law
project is approved or not, that’s now clear) should be allowed. However, after keeping the
subject on energy transition for most of the interview, the two presenters conducting the
interviewer at Blu Radio (they did a good job) managed to get Vélez onto the subject of hard
rock mining by asking her about the government’s plans for copper. Vélez began her answer by
noting that as well as an “energy transition” there is also a “transition of materials” and that the
greening of the energy sector and economy would require copper as a strategic metal in the
energy transition policy. She noted that there would be a dialogue between ministries on the
subject, but then went on and as we now get to the central part of her argument on hard rock
mining in Colombia under this new government, I translate:
“One key matter is that lithium, copper, and other minerals that could be very strategic
for the development for agricultural supplies such as phosphates, all these strategic
(materials) we have to see how we managed them, but one thing I want to say is that
here, is that the development of mining is going to be absolutely responsible with the
environment and absolutely responsible with the local communities. That means that
it’s not just because we need copper, lithium, or phosphates that we’re going to put
pressure on the frontier of the Páramos, on strategic ecosystems such as the Amazon
basin, on strategic ecosystems such as wetlands. And we are not going to violate the
fundamental rights of communities, particularly with their right to be informed prior to
any development (the “informe previa”), to know about strategic materials but we’re
going to do it with social and environmental responsibility, because this is what this
government is about, a government that’s socially and environmentally responsible.”
After listening a couple of times, I got two inferences from the interview:
 She stayed on energy and hydrocarbons as much as possible because on a practical
level, Colombia will keep producing them for at least eight years and that makes it an
easier sell at this early stage. She was careful to present the plans as well thought out
(we can debate on that) and sold them as for the long-term well-being of the country.
 She is totally against all forms of metals mining. While I suspected as much due to her
academic background and published work before going into last week’s Q&A, the
content more than confirmed those suspicions and it is now obvious that the new
Minister in charge of mining in Colombia will do anything in her power to stop metals
mining from moving forward. Her lukewarm attitude toward even copper mining was
obvious (she knows that “energy transition” using copper only works for a country that
has smelters and they aren’t going to build any of them in the next four years), as was
the way she quickly jumped to the defence of environmental concerns around the
mining industry (the Páramos, wetlands etc mentioned above, as well as other causes
earlier in the interview when on the O&G subject).
15

It’s one thing being blindsided by the 180° turn done by the new government of Chile, which is
still trying to make itself out to be mining friendly on the public stage while sabotaging the
sector from within by denying and delaying permits as much as possible. It’s quite another to
ignore the new, left wing government of Colombia when it openly states its anti-mining
credentials to one and all (and its new President made no bones about the position during his
campaign. Unlike Chile, Colombia does not have a developed mining industry and the
environmental angle makes opposing large-scale formal mining a net vote winner across the
country. The first declarations of its new Minister of Mines and Energy underscore what is about
to happen to mining companies exposed to Colombia.
Chile: More permit delay news
I posted “More Chilean permit news” on the blog on Tuesday (14), here’s the content of the
post:
Solaris Resources (SLS.to): “On July 27, 2022, the Company received a letter of notification from
Freeport that it does not intend to continue with the earn-in of the Ricardo Property after delays in
receiving environmental permits required for drilling. The effective termination date of the Ricardo
Option Agreement will be 30 days from the date of the notification, or August 26, 2022.”
Aclara Resources (ACA.to): “In terms of brownfield exploration, although we have stopped drilling
in the Penco Module due to the delay in permits…”
Probably just coincidence.
Both these come from company 2q22 financials filings, the place where they have to disclose
things that aren’t so popular among investor and followers. In the case of SLS, it’s not going to
affect its stock price or operations greatly as they are firmly centred on their Warintza project in
Ecuador (and have enough of their own problems there, what with the term “Ancestral
Territories” now up for definition). But seeing a company as big as FCX back out of its earn-in
deal for the Ricardo project due ostensibly to “drill permit delays” is nobody’s idea of a positive
sign for what’s going on in Chile’s ministry. Meanwhile, Aclara (ACA.to) is the spin-out of
Hochschild (HOC.l) that’s developing (or trying to develop) the Penco Module rare earths
project and in March, decided to withdraw its EIA application at the last minute when it became
clear to the company that its permit would be denied if it went to the committee decision stage
(i.e. what happened to Rio2 Ltd at Fenix). ACA is in deeper trouble than most because the local
population is dead set against the project as seen in its 1q22 MD&A:
On February 27, 2022, the Municipality of Penco held a non-binding consultation to poll
local residents on the development of the Penco Module. Of the 42,186 eligible
registered voters of Penco and Lirquen, 7,548 people turned out to vote (representing
a turnout of 17.89%) in the said consultation of which 7,474 people voted against the
installation of the proposed project. As a response to this development, the Company
will be undertaking a local community outreach program during 2022.
Once again, a datapoint that didn’t make it into a company NR. That ACA is still suffering from
drill permit delays is another outward sign of the true intents at Chile’s Mining and Environment
Ministries. We can add these two cases for drill permit delays to the list of outright permit
denials as noted in IKN688 dated July 24th:
 Minera San Cayetano
 Exploraciones Ricardo II
 Fenix Gold
 Los Bronces Integrado
 Plan de Desarrollo LP Minera Cerro Negro S.A.
 Fase V de El Soldado
Proponents of Chile have pointed to the fact that Los Andes Copper (LA.v) recently got its
permit to drill at its Vizcachitas project in Central Chile and use it as evidence that things aren’t
so bad. On the contrary, it’s yet another example that things are bad as the company had to
fight in the courts for over four months and even then the program was cut from 250 holes to
100, as well as demanding a list of new environmental protection measures from the company.
And this was for a simple and standard exploration drill program continuation license.
16

Chile’s Constitutional referendum update
With three weeks to go before the key Constitutional Reform Referendum and the government’s
strongly desired “Approve” lagging the opposition’s “Reject” option by between six and ten
points (depending on which pollster you prefer), The Boric government played what amounts to
its last card to try to revert voter intention. After weeks of intense negotiations with coalition
partners, the government on Thursday announced an agreement to change or alter several of
the most contentious motions in the Draft Constitution in the event it is approved by the
population on September 4th. They include three specific changes in the text of the Draft
Constitution (all internal matters and regarding State of Emergency laws, laws regarding judicial
oversight and laws on the limits on the imposition of so-called “indigenous justice” (i.e.
indigenous communities’ rights to self-govern and impose their own penalties on wrongdoers).
The reforms also promise to look into an improve several other contentious aspects of the
Draft, for example the dissolution of the Upper House of Senators in Chile’s parliament, but as
those announcing the deal on Thursday quickly admitted these were not pledges and only
proposals that may not be executed later.
The keen anticipation felt by Boric government supporters before the announcement last week
turned to disappointment and the feeling on the streets of Santiago this week (where Boric
holds a modest majority of support) is that the proposed changers are too little, too late. This
referendum vote is by no means decided yet, but time is running out for the “Approve” camp to
get momentum going and as things stand this weekend, the new Lefty government is set to
suffer a significant reversal of fortune at the polls. Boric will of course fall back on his position
of “something must be done” about the current Constitution (which is also unpopular) and
we’re likely to set off on another process to draft a better document, but that will take at least a
year and a half (probably two) and in the meantime, Chile’s right wing opposition will have
momentum back on its side.
Argentina: A potential cloud on the copper horizon
Here’s a screenshot of a header story in Argentina’s business daily, ‘Ambito Financiero’ from
Friday August 12th (15) and while deeper knowledge of
Spanish is required for the full story, even basic level
comprehension will see the name of the new
“Superminister” Sergio Massa along with key words
“Ambassador” “China” “investment” and “mining”. Indeed,
the meet-up was all about talking mining investment in the
country with an emphasis on the “green metals” China
wishes to procure for its next generation of electric
development.
That’s this week’s headline out the way and now for the
potential copper cloud. I don’t want to make too much of
this and stress before we get to the details that the issue
is only a potential one and, as the title suggests, on the
horizon rather than a present threat. With that said, we
note that to the surprise of many Argentina mining
watchers that Flavia Royón, erstwhile secretary of mining
for the Province of Salta, was not named as the new
Secretary (i.e. Minister in by any other name) of Mining &
Energy. Instead (16) the job has been split into two, the
newly promoted Royón gets to by Secretary of Energy and
the Mining portfolio stays with the previous incumbent, Fernanda Ávila (who was appointed last
year and has done a reasonable job so far, so good for her).
Now for the conjecture and these changes have of course come from Superminister Sergio
Massa, who took over as Minister of the Economy with direct responsibility for that brief as well
as bringing the Ministry of Agriculture/Livestock/Fishery and Ministry of Productive Development
and under his direct power (by changing those two from autonomous ministries to secretariats).
17

Productive Development includes the mining sectors and that means Massa has made the
moves he wants to make, which is where the conjecture begins:
 We know that Sergio Massa has a history of speaking out against and opposing open
pit mining projects, particularly those in the Andean Cordillera that bump up against
environmental issues.
 We know that part of his new job is to promote development and attract hard dollar
investment into the country.
 We know that Argentina is pushing hard on its own version of the Green New Deal,
with energy transition as an integral part of the mix.
That makes the lithium sector in particular an attractive selling point for the nation and it has
already attracted multi-billion dollar investments in lithium development projects in the first
year-and-a-bit of the Alberto Fernández presidency (mostly from Chinese and Australian
capitals). True also for copper and we’ve seen the first big project move through permitting
already (Josemaria, of Lundin Group) but with a Superminister who is rather cool on the copper
sub-sector and the decision to move his preferred minister to “Energy” rather than “Mining”, it
seems as though the new Argentina government is going to be more welcoming to lithium brine
investment in its salt flats zones than it is toward the more classic “big hole in the ground” that
results from a large porphyry/skarn/etc multi-billion dollar copper or metals project. There’s
more than a little tealeaves reading required at this point and as I’ve pointed out on many
occasions, Argentina is the Basket Case Country to beat them all, anything can happen there
and often does. So to boil it down to a There are two ways of looking at this:
The negative interpretation: Flavia Royón to Energy means that portfolio gets to manage the
lithium accounts. She was secretary of mining in Salta and did exactly this job while running the
province. Then Fernanda Ávila at “Mining” becomes a second level portfolio and possibly the
butt of environmental pushback against the mining industry, due to Massa’s stated anti-mining
position.
The positive interpretation: Flavia Royón to Energy means that Fernanda Ávila at Mining gets
more autonomy to promote hard rock mining, with a emphasis on the large, high capex
porphyry copper projects that would bring those much needed investment dollars into the
country. As Massa’s overriding preoccupation is keeping good with the IMF and making its debt
payments, they require a Central Bank with USD in reserves, it would suit him to allow the
Mining desk to attract investment and by splitting the sector into two, would enable him to turn
a political blind eye to the less attractive projects under his jurisdiction (as we need to be clear,
Massa’s real objective is the Presidency and every decision he makes in his new job will be after
political consideration).
Peru: The Congress strategy against President Castillo
The gloves are now coming off in the fight for control of Peru’s political future and for those
watching closely enough, the strategy Congress plans became clear last week. While those who
would be President in the event of a resignation (e.g. César Acuña, head of the powerful
Alianza para el Progreso (APP) party) are now openly calling for “87 members of Congress to do
the right thing” and vote up a motion to “vacate” (impeach) the President, the most likely
course of action was laid out by one of President Pedro Castillo’s fiercest Congressional
opponents, Jorge Montoya of the hard right wing Renovación Popular party. Though hardly the
most pleasant of characters himself (one of the main issues in Peru isn’t just the pathetic level
of government but the paucity of its opposition). Montoya carries plenty of weight in the current
Congress and is pushing to denounce and force the resignation of Peru’s Vice-President, Dina
Boluarte, on procedural mistakes she has made (by remaining on the steering committees of
other associations after becoming Veep, which is illegal in Peru) (17). At that point, Congress
would be able to move against Castillo and in the event of his ousting (fair means or foul, I’ll
leave that for others to decide) the role of Head of State moves to the current President of
Congress, his political ally Lady Camones (from the Cesar Acuña APP party, but close enough in
Peruvian politics terms) who then calls new President-only elections without the self-serving
18

members of Congress having to face new elections themselves. That’s the plan, at least.
It’s worth noting that evidence of wrongdoings in President Castillo’s inner circle that probably
directly connect to him to corrupt activities are beginning to stack up. That’s not particularly
new in the world of Peru politics, the difference this time is the absolute hatred that Lima feels
towards its President (i.e. the majority of the capital’s population and nearly 100% of its
political class) and that means he gets zero tolerance for any “peccadillo”, unlike any of his
predecessors.
Market Watching
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v): Steadying the ship (in USD unless stated)
I don’t mind admitting some trepidation while opening the Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v) 2q22 financials on
Monday evening as until then, there was no real way of knowing what its cash position was
going to be. We know about the serious hit taken by the company when its EIA application was
rejected (for no real reason) by Chile’s regional environmental committee, part of the problem
was timing. The permit refusal came at a bad moment for the company, as it was ramping up
its operations in anticipation of the construction period for the Fenix gold project. That involved
adding staff, ordering the long lead time machinery and materials required to keep on critical
time path and importantly, willingly spending the U$25m advanced by financier Wheaton
Precious Metals (WPM) as both sides were about to trigger the second U$25m to keep
development running at a clip.
So as well as being a serious negative in itself, the permit denial came at a delicate financial
moment with the company spending freely on its plans. There was no real way of knowing
what the RIO.v financial position was when the news hit and while it’s not easy to spending
U$25m quickly (or $30m, ask Montgomery Brewster) neither is it impossible and if the bad
news came at a bad time, it might have left RIO.v without any treasury and the next U$25m
delivery from WPM suspended. That’s the preview and context, now for RIO.v 2q22 numbers
starting with the all-important balance sheet, assets below left and liabilities below right:
RIO.v: Assets per qtr
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
That’s not as bad as it could have been. The main story is that of treasury vs current liabilities
and as at June 30th, just days before the permit denial, cash& short-term investments stood at
U$13.614m and current liabilities at U$3.216m. Here below is a closer look at the datasets that
matter, treasury (below left) and working capital (below right):
19
02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
C$m RIO.v: Liabilities overview
50
fixed 45
other current
cash+ST 40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
source: company filings
02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
U$m
LT liab
current liab
source: company filings
RIO.v: Treasury per qtr
297.41
47.9 579.9
434.3 535.3 554.1 560.32 543.12
966.33
416.31
40
35
30
25
20
15 10
5
0
02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
U$m RIO.v: Working capital
source: company filings
69.31
92.9 19.9
64.1 60.3 80.0-
68.22
54.91
63.52
11.11
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
U$m
source: company filings

Pre-results, I’d tentatively slated treasury as at June 30th at U$15m and working capital at
U$10m, so seeing cash at U$13.6m is ok and more importantly, the company had dropped its
current liabilities column from $9.6m to $3.2m and that puts working cap on a reasonable
$11.11m.
So with Q2 printed, I got in touch with RIO.v CEO Alex Black and asked about cash burn since
the end of the period because, as noted last weekend, the company has done the necessary
and laid off plenty of its staff due to the permit reversal. That means redundancy payments and
along with some other long lead item contracts they have been obliged to pay, treasury has
dropped to U$8.3m and without knowing the exact working capital (the company can disclose
treasury position, other data are non-public material) a fair guesstimate would be $6m at this
point. In other words, RIO.v has bit the bullet and cut right down on its background burn rate,
putting a halt to company activity and laying off 75% of the staff headcount (which couldn’t
have been an easy day). When we consider the typical quarterly expenses at the company…
C$m RIO.v: Quarterly expenses breakdown
6
5.5 employ. costs prof fees
5 share comp Expl. Costs
4.5 G&A other
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1q20 2q20 3q20 4q20 1q21 2q21 3q21 4q21 1q22 2q22
source: company filings
…employee professional fees were a large chunk of its general running costs so with share-
based compensation bound to drop off as well, once we get the one-time payment Q3 out the
way RIO should get its quarterly burn to under U$0.5m per month. CEO Black mentioned there
were some supplier payments outstanding that they’ve managed to defer for “a few months”,
and they would also be a cash sap eventually, but not until 4q22 at least and that with the
emergency measures in place, RIO.v can keep floating under its own steam until mid 2023
minimum.
And that’s not a bad interim situation. Clearly they need to raise more working capital from
somewhere and the first likely port of call on that would be WPM, but the good (or less worse?)
news is that RIO.v isn’t in the worst case situation of being plain desperate for cash and willing
to accept the first deal that crosses its path. It’s been a rotten few weeks for the company (as
well as being a tough pill to swallow personally) but every cloud has its silver lining and the
company’s financial situation is officially “Not As Bad As It Might Have Been”. With burn rate
now turned down to a minimum, RIO.v can approach potential sources of financing without
having a gun to its head and negotiate a reasonable deal and without rushing to announce one
at the first opportunity, either. I’m led to understand that August being the way it is, there
wouldn’t have been much chance of a refi deal even
RIO.v: Shares out under the best of circumstances so the fact has a
few million as treasury cushion helps on timing, too
(my bets guess is an announcement on support at
some point after Labor Day). To wrap up, we note
that the 257.51m shares out aren’t about to see the
addition of those 50c Eric Sprott warrant papers
either, due to expire any day now. Selling shares at
this ultra-low level isn’t in the company’s best
interest, so the longer that share count stays at-or-
abouts and other sources of financing are found,
the better. Rio2 Ltd remains a “hold” in the
personal portfolio until further notice, though the risk-tolerant among this audience may want
20
49.201 20.301 42.811 42.811
87.081 34.181 34.181 83.281 71.091 17.091 95.991 78.991
43.452 43.452 96.652 15.752
300
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
100 75
50
25
0
81q3 81q4 91q1 91q2 91q3 91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
M s/o
source: company filings

to try and fish stocks at the C$0.13 and C$0.14 level as the advent of a financing deal
(especially one from WPM) would see confidence of survival improve, along with the share
price. Not a big leap of faith to see this trading back at between 20c and 25c once cooler heads
have prevailed.
Electra Battery (ELBM.v) 2q22 financials
One of the Watchlist stocks we track on the ‘Stocks to Follow’ list (without owning personally),
Electra Battery Materials (ELBM.v) also filed its 2q22 financials on Thursday August 11th (18)
and there were a couple of interesting wrinkles to report. Firstly, accompanying documents
suggest ELBM is looking to become eligible to move up to the big board and Dot Tee Oh status,
from its current Venture listing. That would suit a company that’s already listed on the Nasdaq
and has the profile that institutional investors want in our ESG-loving future.
Secondly and more importantly, ELBM announce a significant cost overrun in the current build-
out of its Battery Mineral Park refinery project, the flagship of the company and the reason to
like its chances. A cost hike won’t come as a massive shock to readers as we should be well
aware by now of the cost inflation running through our world, be in mining-related or other.
And sure enough, the same input cost hikes affecting other capex construction projects have hit
ELBM as well (plant construction materials, supplies, wages etc). For the details we quote the
MD&A:
As a result of these issues, the Company is revising its capital cost guidance from a
budget of $83,774 budget amount to a range of $100,000-$105,000 (US$70,000-
US$73,500). The expected total capital cost to complete the Refinery is $16,000-
$21,000 higher when compared to the Company’s original guidance of $83,774
(US$67,020). C$m
ECU.v: Main cash burn
10
As ELBM reports in Canadian Dollars we’ll stay with 9
that currency from here, in order to keep the math 8 Total exp
7 Property additions
straight. We begin with this chart, which shows
6
spending on the two main outgoing line items of
5
general expenses and property additions (which have 4
been capitalized since making the key construction 3
decision. In the last four quarters these two items 2
1
aggregate to C$28.5m, which is a satisfyingly close
0
fit to the declaration made by ELBM in its NR last
4q20 1q21 2q21 3q21 4q21 1q22 2q22
week: source: ECU filings
“Total incurred costs for the refinery construction project at quarter end were $30.1 million.”
We were also informed on the cash position in the NR:
“Held cash of $41.8 million as at June 30, 2022, down from $51.9 million as at March 31, 2022.”
That also fits with the filings, but working capital at C$34.5m is a more pressing number at this
point.
80 ELBM.v: Working Capital per qtr
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
21
91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
source company filings
srallod
fo
snoillim
ELBM.v: Cash treasury per qtr 65
60
55
50
45
40
35 30 25
20
15
10
5
0
91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
source: company filings/IKN ests
srallod
fo snoillim

So up to this point we know:
 The build-out is going to cost a total of between C$100m and C$105m
 ELBM has spent C$30.1m of that
 It has C$34.5m in working cap left in the tank
It doesn’t take a math genius to work out that its current treasury position is not going to be
enough o complete the job. ELBM has an immediate shortfall of between C$35m and C$40m on
its hands just to complete the build-out and after that, it will need working capital on its side to
get through commissioning and early operations before getting to cash flow neutral (and
eventually positive) stage. To that end, ELBM also told us that its…
“…cash balance at the end of Q2 does not include the remaining $6.5 million of
government investments expected to be received or $17.5 million of available funding
from the Company’s At-the-Market (ATM) program.”
And that gets them another C$23m total, leaving at least C$12m extra to find (and after that
working cap), but even these extra lines of cash generation don’t come as a free lunch; that
ATM program is another name for “share dilution” as its NYSE based broker gets to work and
sells newly minted shares on the open market, rather than running a classic placement. As the
main balance sheet overview charts show…
ELBM.v: Liabilities, per qtr
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
…ELBM has taken debt on board to ramp its project up and that’s fair enough, but the simple
math shows the company will need to find more means to raising to cover the inflation-created
capex shortfall. As a result, the stock did this at market last week:
The market greeted the cost news with a 12% drop and while volume wasn’t massive, the 105k
shares traded that day was significantly above the
daily average and with just 32.372m shares out and
covering dual listings (that number correct to
August 11th), it’s not going to be the most liquid of
traders anyway.
22
91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
source: company filings
srallod
fo
snoillim
ELBM.v: Assets, per qtr
200
180 LT liabs
160
current liabs
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
$m
fixed
other current
cash&eq
source: company filings
ELBM.v: Shares Out
186.02 915.12 915.12 54.22 837.22
440.62 894.72 586.92 579.03 42.13 273.23
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
91q4 02q1 02q2 02q3 02q4 12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2
source: company filings/IKN ests
serahs
fo
snoillim

We started following ELBM when the stock was a split-adjusted C$5.31 and since then, it has
bounced around without ever threatening to break higher. This latest cost overrun news isn’t a
big surprise, but it’s still a clear negative for the story and until there’s some certainty about its
capex coverage, as interested as I might be in this stock and its future potential the best course
of action will be to watch from the sidelines.
Conclusion
IKN691 is done, we end with bullet points:
 We’re not expected a sparkling bottom line from SGI in its 2q22 financials this week,
but that won’t stop it from shaping as an even better value proposition for the quarters
ahead, as long as it guides adequately. There’s a ton of potential value in this stock at
this price, basically a 50% upside just to get to a Loonie.
 Colombia, run away.
 Copper may need to take a rest at the U$3.60/lb level, it has got here quickly after that
massive drop and there are still enough doubters and plain recession believers out
there to stop it from running higher in a straight line. Show me U$3.80/lb and I’ll
believe, until then I think it’s fragile and not for price-chasing.
 Without shouting “BUY!!!!” from the rooftops, it was good to see Rio2 posting the type
of Q2 (and then doing the necessary hard cost-cutting) that will allow it to steady the
ship and provide equity holders the assurance it’s not going to die a death. There’s
every reason for it to float to a less-worse price now and it still wouldn’t surprise to see
the stock make 20c a baseline trading price. From there, the company can work on
resolution of its permitting woes and add the real value.
I thank you in advance for any feedback. Our Top Pick stock is Minera Alamos (MAI.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://app.webinar.net/Q6jknP1NdX0
(2) https://6ix.com/event/second-quarter-financial-results-recap-and-h2-outlook
(3) https://goldshoreresources.com/goldshore-intercepts-2-65-g-t-au-over-14-6m-in-200-m-step-out-hole-at-moss-lake/
(4) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/western-copper-gold-files-feasibility-110000005.html
(5) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/glencore-cuts-ties-with-chinese-trader-caught-up-scandal-over-
missing-copper-ft-2022-08-12/
(6) https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/china-july-copper-imports-rise-year-price-slump-spurs-buying-2865011
(7) https://www.reuters.com/business/copper-speculators-anticipate-downturn-market-world-2022-08-11/
(8) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/valentina-delivers-hot-chili-highest-110000361.html
(9) https://iknnews.com/nevada-copper-ncu-to-and-a-classic-note-1-moment/
(10) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aurelius-announces-non-brokered-equity-124600430.html
(11) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/winshear-increases-private-placement-650-181500637.html
23

(12) https://www.bluradio.com/economia/en-caso-de-que-reservas-de-gas-no-fueran-suficientes-podriamos-recurrir-a-
venezuela-minminas-pr30
(13) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOzVgMVXX7k
(14) https://iknnews.com/more-chilean-permit-news/
(15) https://www.ambito.com/politica/sergio-massa/recibio-al-embajador-china-hablar-inversiones-y-mineria-n5509067
(16) https://mineriaydesarrollo.com/2022/08/10/fernanda-avila-sigue-pero-no-se-sabe-se-mineria-seguira-como-
secretaria-o-subsecretaria/
(17) https://rpp.pe/politica/congreso/jorge-montoya-senala-que-buscan-resolver-denuncia-a-dina-boluarte-antes-de-
impulsar-nueva-vacancia-a-pedro-castillo-noticia-1423895?ref=rpp
(18) https://electrabmc.com/electra-reports-q2-results-and-provides-update-on-cobalt-refinery-project/
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
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INV Metals INV.to Sep'20 C$0.40 17-May-20 C$0.45 12.5% Cut all Ecuador exposure
Cartier Resources ECR.v Nov'20 C$0.155 3-Aug-18 C$0.25 67.7% Exact close price TBA
Tinka Res TK.v Dec'20 C$0.195 19-Apr-16 C$0.195 0.0% Closed on a round trip fail
2015 to 2019 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2019
Closed in 2019 closed close price
Atico Mining ATY.v jan'19 C$0.55 24-Jul-16 C$0.32 41.8% patience ran out, made room
Candente Copper DNT.to jan'19 C$0.075 3-Ago-18 C$0.05 -33.3% tiny trade, made room for new
B2Gold BTO.to feb'19 C$2.11 12-Set-14 C$4.05 91.9% Took 1/2 profits, reduce size
Western Copper WRN.to mar'19 C$0.80 20-Ene-19 C$0.81 1.3% Spec trade that didn't work
B2Gold BTO.to mar'19 C$2.11 12-Set-14 C$4.15 96.7% Took rest of profit.
GT Gold GTT.v mar'19 C$1.17 10-Oct-18 C$0.90 -23.1% Took loss. Story changed
NovaGold NG apr'19 U$3.84 13-Ene-19 U$4.15 -8.1% Short that didn't work, sm loss
Zinc One Z.v jun'19 C$0.47 14-Set-17 C$0.025 -94.7% clearing out dead trade
Amarillo Gold AGC.v jun'19 C$0.24 22-Ago-18 C$0.20 -16.7% clearing out dead trade
New Gold NGD aug'19 U$1.44 31-Jul-19 U$1.23 14.6% ST short win thru Q2 earnings
IMPACT Silver IPT.v aug'19 C$0.39 21-Jul-19 C$0.46 18.0% took a quick profit
Fiore Gold F.v aug'19 C$0.34 26-May-19 C$0.56 64.7% Took profit, 2q19 avg
Chakana Copper PERU.v oct'19 C$0.84 22-Mar-18 C$0.16 -81.0% Exploreco trade fail. Want space
Wesdome Gold WDO.to oct'19 C$2.37 14-Oct-17 C$7.57 219.4% Sold half, profit taking
Superior Gold SGI.v oct'19 C$1.46 8-Abr-18 C$0.47 -67.8% Failed sm spec on Au. Moved on
Amerigo Res ARG.to nov'19 C$0.91 23-Set-18 C$0.50 -45.1% worst trade of year, hefty loss
Guyana Goldfields GUY.to dec'19 C$0.94 14-Abr-19 C$0.56 -40.4% taking the loss, financials weak
Tethyan Res TETH.v dec'19 C$0.30 8-Set-19 C$0.16 -46.7% tiny trade, word of probs in co
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2018
Closed in 2018 closed close price
Amarillo Gold AGC.v jan'18 C$0.38 24-Mar-17 C$0.31 -18.4% Cut away losing trade
Riverside Res RRI.v jan'18 C$0.39 27-Jun-16 C$0.31 -20.5% Cut away losing trade
Eros Res ERC.v jan'18 C$0.175 1-Mar-17 C$0.16 -8.6% CEO sudden exit, not good
Excellon Res EXN.to jan'18 C$1.54 9-Oct-16 C$1.66 7.8% 4q17 poor, one too many bad qtrs
Wesdome Gold WDO.to jan'18 C$1.68 15-Dec-17 C$2.06 22.6% Near-term trade block, took profit
Sabina G&S SBB.to apr'18 C$2.06 17-Dec-17 C$1.77 -14.1% Near-term trade, bad timing, small
B2Gold BTO.to May'18 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$3.67 73.9% sold 25% to reduce exposure
Lara Expl. LRA.v May'18 C$0.65 11-Feb-18 C$0.58 -13.8% Spec on Brazil didn't work
Solitario XPL June'18 U$0.72 19-Mar-17 U$0.41 -43.1% Failed trade, may return in 4q18
SolGold plc SOLG.to July'18 C$0.475 19-Nov-17 C$0.415 -12.6% cut, trade didn't perform
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
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Constantine Metal CEM.v Aug'17 C$0.135 9-Apr-17 C$0.28 107.4% spec trade closed, good win
Red Eagle Min. R.to Sep'17 C$0.67 13-Dec-16 C$0.27 -59.7% IKN's biggest failure in years
Starcore Intl SAM.to Sep'17 C$0.61 10-Jan-15 C$0.31 -49.2% Patience ran out
B2Gold BTO.to Dec'17 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$3.39 60.7% sold small portion for liquidity
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2016
Closed in 2016 closed close price
Phoscan Chem FOS.to jan16 C$0.28 29-mar-15 C$0.265 -5.4% Buyout trade, bot but poor deal
True Gold TGM.v jan16 C$0.18 23-ago-15 C$0.25 38.9% okay trade, sold on pol risk
McEwen Mining MUX jan16 U$1.09 25-ene-15 U$1.20 10.1% sold due to lack of value
Lake Shore Gold LSG.to feb-16 C$1.10 07-abr-15 C$1.69 53.6% bot out, sold early in process
Atacama Pacific ATM.v feb-16 C$0.19 26-abr-15 C$0.40 110.5% sold for a double on big pop
New Gold NGD feb-16 U$2.06 24-ene-16 U$2.96 43.7% closed good near-term trade
Sandspring Res SSP.v mar-16 C$0.195 18-oct-15 C$0.32 64.1% Hit tgt, took profit
Teranga Gold TGZ.to mar-16 C$0.54 15-feb-15 C$0.60 11.1% disappointing trade
B2Gold BTG mar-16 U$0.85 13-ene-16 U$1.30 52.9% Separate trade on B2, hit tgt
Dalradian Res DNA.to mar-16 C$0.67 27-oct-13 C$1.00 49.3% Hit target, sold, good win
HudBay Min. HBM may-16 U$4.10 03-abr-16 U$4.36 -6.3% Short trade, poor timing
Nevada Sunrise NEV.v may-16 C$0.185 28-feb-16 C$0.23 24.3% V. small, no big deal either way
Richmont RIC jun-16 U$7.60 01-may-16 U$9.30 22.4% near-term trade, profit taken
INV Metals INV.to jul-16 C$0.25 03-abr-16 C$0.95 280.0% Trade closed on time
HudBay Min. HBM aug16 U$4.98 09-jun-16 U$4.80 3.6% short trade covered, no big deal
Miranda Gold MAD.v oct-16 C$0.125 03-jul-16 C$0.10 -20.0% tiny spec trade, didn't work
Avino G & S ASM nov-16 U$2.00 21-oct-16 U$1.40 -30.0% Abandon trade on bad bot deal
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2015
Closed in 2015 closed close price
Argonaut Gold AR.to jan'15 C$1.47 14-dec-14 C$2.53 72.1% Big gain small time, profit taken
Amerigo Res ARG.to jan'15 C$0.405 20-jul-14 C$0.285 -29.6% Given up on weak Cu prices
Reservoir Min. RMC.v jan'15 C$6.05 18-jun-14 C$4.12 -31.9% sold on Cu downturn
Coro Mining COP.to jan'15 C$0.075 26-jan-14 C$0.035 -53.3% sm, sold on Cu downturn
Fortuna Silver FSM mar'15 U$4.12 10-nov-14 U$3.75 9.0% Short used as hedge
GoldQuest Min. GQC.v mar'15 C$0.26 27-oct-13 C$0.085 -67.3% given up ghost
Rio Alto Mining RIO.to apr'15 C$2.30 07-apr-11 C$3.57 55.2% Top pick, bot out, big win
Timmins Gold TGD jun'15 U$0.60 19-apr-15 U$0.62 3.3% near-term trade, out of time
First Majestic AG jul'15 U$10.51 10-aug-14 U$4.55 56.7% horrible failed trade
NovaCopper NCQ.to jul'15 C$1.05 09-apr-14 C$0.50 -52.4% no more Cu exposure, sm sell
McEwen Mining MUX aug'15 U$0.695 21-jul-15 U$0.92 32.4% Closed nearterm flip for win
Midas Gold MAX.to sep'15 C$0.39 21-sep-15 C$0.35 -10.3% Sm. trade idea that didn't work
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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