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The IKN Weekly
Week 769, February 11th 2024
Contents
This Week: Trade heads-up, In today’s edition, The Safe Haven.
Fundamental Analysis: A decision on what to do with Top Pick Minera Alamos (MAI.v).
Stocks to Follow: Equinox Gold (EQX), Pan Global Copper (PGZ.v), SilverCrest Metals (SILV)
(SIL.to), Contango ORE (CTGO), Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v), Marimaca Copper (MARI.to).
The Copper Basket: Overview, Arizona Sonoran (ASCU.to), NGEx Resources (NGEX.v),
American Eagle (AE.v), Solaris (SLS.to).
The Producer Basket: Wesdome Gold (WDO.to) (WDOFF), Franco-Nevada (FNV).
The TinyCaps Basket: Overview, Endurance Gold (EDG.v), Kirkland Lake Discovery Corp
(KLDC.v).
Regional Politics: Mexico: AMLO against open pit mining again, Bolivia: Evo is back,
Argentina: A political ambush and a Mining Secretary sacked.
Market Watching: An update on Buenaventura (BVN) and Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Argonaut
Gold (AR.to): A date for the diary, Fortuna Silver (FSM) (FVI.to): Back to square one.
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
It’s not a certainty, but if Equinox Gold (EQX) remains under selling pressure in the coming
week and gold holds in the current U$2k/oz range, I’m looking to add a few extra shares and
average down. However, I do reserve the right not to pull the trigger if the near-term market
doesn’t give me the right circumstances. I’m also thinking about buying an opening position in
Pan Global (PGZ.v) now that it’s back at 18c. See ‘Stocks to Follow’ for more on both those
potential trades.
 In today’s main fundies section I explain why, after due consideration, I’m not going to
reduce my exposure to Top Pick Minera Alamos (MAI.v) for the time being due to a mix
of market circumstances, likely 2024 news flow and personal practical portfolio
management influences.
 To buy or not to buy, that is the question. I’m looking to add some EQX to the current
position as long as the price is right, I’m also thinking about opening on the Watch List
stock Pan Global (PGZ.v) now that it’s back trading firmly under the 20c line, but can’t
make up my mind on that one yet. That and more in today’s Stocks to Follow notes
section.
 The main story in Regional Politics this week covers the news out of Mexico that AMLO
is looking to prohiting the awarding of new open pit mining concessions. It’s not a good
look for Mexico’s mining industry and we’re not sugar-caoting it, but neither is it the
unmitigated disaster that some cliokbait reports doing the rounds this weekend would
have you believe.
The safe haven
Last week’s main intro note, “Gold and Chumbawamba” started with the words “Gold should
not have done as well as it did last week” and that’s as true for the week just gone as it was
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two weeks ago. While copper got whacked by some 3.8% week-over-week, other base metals
followed suit, uranium showed signs of price fatigue after its long run and silver saw enough
selling to push the gold/silver ratio back over 90-to-1, gold was hanging tough once again. And
as one reader noted in the feedback trough from IKN768, the chances of recession being higher
than the Fed would have us believe may be as big a factor as the continued purchases from
central banks other than The USA. So we cue up a chart that hasn’t seen the light of day for a
few months and sure enough, the inverted yield
curve (1) is now extended into the longest period
seen since the Volcker Days of 1980 and
thereabouts. That era saw not just one but two
periods of recession as a result, with Volcker
famously saying that he took his foot off the
interest rate pedal too early and failed to stamp
out inflation, which first dropped and then flared
up again.
On that subject, this coming week’s main US
macro data event may give us a clue about the
Fed’s next move, as on Tuesday we get the CPI
inflation reading for January and according to
Calculated Risk (2), “consensus is for 0.2%
increase in CPI, and a 0.3% increase in core CPI. The consensus is for CPI to be up 3.0% year-
over-year and core CPI to be up 3.8% YoY.”
Fundamental Analysis of Mining Stocks
A decision on what to do with Top Pick Minera Alamos (MAI.v)
We’ve come across a relatively quiet moment in the early year calendar, the brief moment
between 4q23 production reports and 4q23 earnings, with the first major conferences still
ahead of us (BMO Miami, then PDAC) and this year, the early February lull coincides with an
earlier than usual Chinese New Year, with The Dragon Year (wood version) starting yesterday
Saturday 10th February and the festivities going on until Lantern Day, Feb 24th. It all adds up to
a quiet market and that’s also true for the juniors, so with less cloth to work with this weekend,
today’s Fundies section is brief and covers a subject that doesn’t need long, a drawn out
reports. However it is an important one for my portfolio positioning and has been preying on
my mind for the last few months, with last week’s price action bringing the issue to a head so
it’s time to decide what to do with my oversized position in Top Pick Minera Alamos (MAI.v).
The last time we went into the subject deeply was in IKN759 dated December 3rd and the main
fundies note that weekend that checked out the recently published 3q23 financials and MD&A
from the company. By then the share price had gone through its long and painful period under
30c, but had just popped the day before the Q3 results dropped and had hung on to most of
the gains. However, things still weren’t great and after crunching the numbers and thinking
thoughts, the following extended excerpt was part of the conclusion section:
We have no problem with the integrity of Ramshaw, Koningen and their team. We also
applaud the way they are fully aligned with shareholders and have kept the corporate
structure intact and in good financial health through 2022 and 2023 when first it was
water, now the amendment permit, that has slowed progress to a crawl. And if Ramshaw
says “it’s a close thing” in his opinion, he’s one of the few mining executives we can take
at his word in this sector so that’s not a problem, either. However and ultimately, the
issue is not with the company:
 We know Mexico’s political authorities are using heap leach mining permits to
make a political point
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 We also know that a heap leach amendment permit is normally one of the most
straightforward and rote permits out there, with no reason to expect such delays
 An while all discussions and issues can be ironed out to everyone’s content, if the
directive comes down from the hierarchy not to award the permit, the permit will
not be awarded and we can stay “close” for and indefinite period
We have been patient up to now, but there are limits to everything. In this case, the beef
isn’t with the company, its plans or its management as they have been largely
impeccable in their treatment of shareholders, they are victims of circumstance as much
as we retail on the outside. The issue is time, or if you prefer time value of money,
because with the market now showing every signal of perking up I personally have too
much of my portfolio tied into this stock if stocks start to run and leave a permit-less MAI
on the starting blocks. We’re approaching a moment when decisions will have to be
made, so with things reportedly “close” on the Santana permit and Tax Loss Selling upon
us, I’m going to give MAI a few more weeks to show that permit. However, if things
remain close-but-no-cigar into January 2024 it will be time to sell at least half of this
position, move MAI down from its Top Pick status and put the cash raised to work in
another junior goldies (and there are plenty to choose from).
IKN769 back. We then saw MAI flat-line into the end of the year and January was suddenly
upon us. It seemed to be time to make that decision but, as luck would have it, that first week
of January also brought a relief rally in MAI and by IKN764 dated January 7th 2024 the pressure
on making a decision had come off. We
reported that week on positive mining
developments in Mexico, as the national
government and the Governor of mining-
dependent Sonora State talked mining
development and both sides came away
sounding more upbeat about the permitting
schedule at the national level. This price chart
(right) showed the change into 2024 and it
was welcome at this desk, but I was also
aware that if MAI slipped back again there
would still be a proactive decision to make.
Sure enough, that happened last week when,
after fiddling around in the low 30s, MAI.v last
week dropped back under the painful 30c line and stayed there into Friday’s close. By mid-week
last week I was already aware that something needed to be done and Friday’s soft close only
underscored that.
Which brings us to today. Let’s start with the basics and a couple of notes, then get to the real
dilemma. As with any position there are always straightforward choices
Sell: Not happening here, as this company has too much going for it over the long-term
and what’s more, it’s exactly the type of “Capitalism Done Right” story I like to back with
my money and personal reputation.
Reduce: Taking some money off the table is a logical enough option, as even with the
price downturn this is my biggest juniors position by some distance. Nothing inherently
wrong about lowering exposure, improving the portfolio cash position and battening
down hatches.
Hold: Another logical enough option, as I’ve done so now for over four years and
another quarter or two wouldn’t harm the portfolio or my trading philosophy.
Add: In theory, these new bargain prices when many people anticipate a new rally in
gold could be a trading window and I could at least buy a separate “trading block” that
could be considered near-term only, then sell them back for a quick profit on any spike
back up and over 30c. However, the combination of 1) the number of shares already
owned and 2) the recent lackluster trading that seems to cap any rally is enough to put
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me off. As good as any company might be (and MAI is tremendous value at current
levels over the long-term), it’s bad portfolio management to have too many eggs in one
basket and I’m already at my limit.
So with the two extreme choices discarded, it’s down to a decision between reducing the
position, as posited in IKN759 over two months ago, or making a decision to do nothing and
hold through.
Something that didn’t affect my decision this weekend is the current share price. Yes for sure it
would be disappointing to reduce and sell some shares at 29c or so after seeing all sorts of
higher prices and holding for this long, but it would still be a winning trade and it’s not as if I’d
be bowing out completely. The only hurt would be to my ego and that’s would be a net
positive, nothing much bad about that little monster taking a bruise. However and after due
consideration, there are four reasons why I’ve decided not to reduce the position and to hold
through.
1) There’s news on the way for sure.
This weekend I spoke with company President Doug Ramshaw (who has recently been buying
again on the open market) and it’s now clear that the company has also run out of patience
with Mexico’s SEMARNAT enviro agency on Santana. Therefore, the company is in the next few
days going to finalize an alternative plan to make the best of the permits they already have at
Santana and ramp up production anyway without the need for a new permit. According to
President Ramshaw, we should get details of this initiative before or perhaps during BMO Week,
that’s to say in two weeks’ time.
2) A permit decision on Santana’s heap leach pad extension may come at any time.
MAI knows the same as us, that the pad extension permit pending for Santana isn’t the same
as any full-scale EIA permit for a new mine, i.e. the type of permit SEMARNAT has been
refusing to emit. The extension would be a simple addition to its current permits and wouldn’t
contravene AMLO’s tacit moratorium on “new EIA”, but it’s still been way too long for what is in
essence a simple permit to obtain under normal circumstances.
3) Cerro de Oro is in the right State
Away from Santana, the permitting track for Cerro de Oro has been moving forward by all
accounts. Again, we need to be clear that a relaxation of the de-facto ban on permits may not
happen but if you want to be at the front of the queue, the place to be is Sonora. The recent
conversations between the very pro-mining governor of Sonora and his team with the national
government were reportedly fruitful and if there’s any more foot-dragging on permits, Sonora
will be lobbying the AMLO national executive as time passes.
4) My current personal portfolio is already cashed up.
Like it or not (and you probably won’t, this is an active part of my decision to hold all my MAI
shares this weekend. Back in 2023 and also IKN764 dated January 7th the low-ish levels of cash
in my personal portfolio was an issue and with expectations of a lull in mining stocks early 2024
followed by a rally (particularly for copper stocks), I was keen to add cash to the war chest for
later use. However since then I’ve liquidated three positions in Amerigo, Fortuna Silver and
Argonaut Gold and though I have used some of that cash on a couple of smaller purchases, the
majority is still tucked away in treasury. That’s now a factor, because I’m under less pressure to
turn MAI shares into dollars.
And please note the (over)use of the first person singular in the above paragraph. That’s done
deliberately, as long-term readers of this missive should know by now that the system used
here at The IKN Weekly, basically “eat one’s own food”, isn’t a perfect one. Instead we consider
the choice to reco and follow via my own holdings “the least worst” because my decisions at
times like these (or in other moments, decisions to sell) will always come with personal factors
connected to my personal portfolio as well as my own life and style. You may not have as much
loose cash in your port at present and are feeling a bit more of the pinch, that’s not my case
4

after the recent sell calls (esp Amerigo) and as a result, I’m left wondering what I’d do with any
cash raised from a partial MAI sale. Leave myself under-exposed to juniors? Sell MAI at what
looks like a bottom in order to buy another junior at the bottom? Seems like a waste of time
and commissions cash to me. If my circumstances were different and I felt pressure to raise
cash, I’d probably be a seller of at least some MAI in the week ahead but as things stand, the
balance tips in the favour holding through.
The bottom line: It’s far from an optimum situation to see a Top Pick flat line and now sell back
down to under 30c after all this time (and the hope raised at the start of the year) but on
balance, I’m going to hold through on all my MAI shares, keep it as Top Pick and look for some
sort of permit breakthrough before Mexico goes to the polls. But even if we don’t get that,
we’re now surely going to see MAI’s management come out from under its shell and do
something about the lack of growth at Santana, which perhaps won’t be a perfect solution and
more along a Plan B line, but anything at this point is better than nothing. There are the
standard bright sides to the MAI story, such as the excellent capital management at the
company that has kept treasury intact and prevented a share count blowout through this long
wait, there is also of course the quality of its assets and projects that will transform the
company once they’re allowed to roll out.
As noted in Regional Politics below, the latest scary story out of the AMLO government about
the banning of open pit mining concessions in Mexico does not apply to MAI, as the ban would
be placed on awarding new concessions rather than the established ones out there (e.g.
Santana, La Fortuna, Cerro de Oro etc). That won’t stop the fear mongers from exaggerating
last week’s news (of course) and as seen in the note below, there’s no hiding the fact that the
new AMLO project is a negative for mining in the country and bad for its image among
investors large and small. However and for our purposes, the trade in MAI misses the bad news
bullet and if Sonora State gets its wish, we will have permits coming for mining companies soon
enough. So throw brick bats if you want, but after due consideration I’m holding all my Minera
Alamos (MAI.v) shares as the conference season begins, looking for this company to deliver
better news in 2024.
Stocks to Follow
There was no escape, or very little anyway: With gold dropping, copper dropping hard and
institutions exiting the GDX and Tier 1/Tier 2 operating miners the sentiment for the junior
mining space was very negative and that reflects in the numbers posted by our open and
tracked companies here in Stocks to Follow. There were just three winners (MARI.to, MIRL.cse,
SILV) from our 15 charges and among those, only MARI was an improvement worth its name,
as MIRL traded just 1,000 shares all week and SILV added a single penny. There were no
unchanged stocks, that means 12 losers so you don’t get the entire list, instead we point to the
shame of the biggest losers that include Provenance Gold (PAU.cse down 11.1%), Top Pick
Minera Alamos (MAI.v down 9.4%), Adventus (ADZN.v down 9.1%) and Contango (CTGO down
7.7%). As for the running total of greens to reds, six of our positions shows gains since
inception or my personal cost average after more than one buy, the other nine are still
underwater though to cut myself some slack, three of those are on the Watch List and in that
strange way, I’m happy they’re cheaper.
5

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$0.29 38.1% $0.75 first tgt, #1 idea
RECOMMENDED STOCKS
Equinox Gold EQX STR BUY U$4.46 30-May-23 U$4.31 -3.4% Leverage trade at U$2k/oz Au
Adventus Mining ADZN.v SPEC BUY C$0.285 7-Jan-24 C$0.25 -12.3% may add, permit play
Rio2 Ltd. RIO.v BUY C$0.83 22-Apr-18 C$0.325 -60.8% Permit approved, rebounding
Marimaca Copper MARI.to BUY C$3.05 26-May-23 C$3.55 16.4% New: Quality Cu developer
Contango Ore CTGO BUY U$18.70 30-Jul-23 U$15.42 -17.5% FY24 production, now moving
SolGold SOLG.to hold C$0.265 19-Feb-23 C$0.13 -50.9% Cu in Ecuador, M&A tgt
Newcore Gold NCAU.v SPEC BUY C$0.205 23-Oct-22 C$0.105 -48.8% Showing signs of life
SPECULATIVE TRADES
Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v SPEC BUY C$0.72 16-May-21 C$0.72 0.0% drilling again
Minera IRL MIRL.cse avoid C$0.195 22-Jul-12 C$0.03 -84.6% leaving list soon (good)
A WATCHLIST OF POTENTIAL TRADES. NB: I DO NOT OWN
Ero Copper ERO.to WATCH C$18.94 22-Oct-23 C$20.96 10.7% High quality Cu prod, cheap
SilverCrest Met SILV WATCH U$5.62 21-Jan-24 U$5.53 -1.6% potential silver trade end Q1
Pan Global Cop PGZ.v WATCH C$0.23 31-Dec-23 C$0.18 -21.7% tinycap Cu in Spain
Provenance Gold PAU.cse WATCH C$0.085 8-Oct-23 C$0.08 -5.9% Idaho gold drill play
LONG-TERM NON-MINING HOLD
Mene Inc. MENE.v adding C$0.63 6-Dec-20 C$0.265 -57.9% LT bet, adding slowly
CLOSED TRADES IN 2024 date closed close price
Amerigo Res ARG.to Jan'24 C$1.36 12-Dec-21 C$1.34 -1.5% reduced Cu exposure
Fortuna Silver FSM Jan'24 U$2.92 13-Aug-23 U$3.09 3.4% Time ran out on NT trade
Argonaut Gold AR.to Jan'24 C$0.42 17-Dec-23 C$0.395 -6.0% NT specflip closed on poor Q4
2015 to 2023 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Now for notes on some of our covered companies, but keeping it brief this week.
Equinox Gold (EQX): LOOKING TO ADD A FEW. Here we are again, lower than my own
purchase price that was, at the time, a nicely timed purchase that caught the near-term
bottom. EQX is suffering from the malaise of the whole sector, though it has been a little “less
worse” than its peers as seen in this YTD chart:
Though more interesting, for me at least, are those red circle highlights of the gold price and
the way both GDX and EQX have rallied on those events. They represent the two occasions
when gold has spiked higher on relief rallies in 2024, the first one from around U$2,020/oz to
U$2,040/oz, the second more recently when it went from around U$2,020/oz to U$2,070/oz.
6

Both times we saw the gold miners dragged higher, but also EQX showing its higher beta and
doing better than the pack. So, two reasons to own EQX today:
1) If gold spikes again, we can expect EQX to do the same.
2) Even if it doesn’t spike higher, every day that gold remains above U$2,000/oz is good
for a mining company like EQX with its high quartile cash cost and resulting leverage on
operating profits. I’ve made the case before that EQX (and others) should get a
favourable reception on their Q4 financials and 2024 guidance in the upcoming
earnings season, as gold in a “new normal” 2-handle is good news and will absorb the
implied cost inflation concerns.
As a result, I’m looking to add a few EQX to my existing position in the days ahead, with the
proviso of averaging down. If EQX decides to spike back higher tomorrow morning, I’ll stick
with what I have. EQX ticks the boxes as the right size, right production, right organic growth
pipeline and right part of the sector. It’ll be one of the first to run if positive sentiment returns
to the PM miners.
Pan Global Copper (PGZ.v): Thinking about buying (again). Here I am again, staring at
the right entry price for PGZ like a rabbit in headlights, afraid to make a move because of my
concerns for the near-term movements in copper.
A braver and/or saner investor than I would buy
this number and if PGZ drops to 15c, just buy
more. I feel conflicted and somewhat leery for
three basic reasons:
 I like having a healthy treasury position at
the moment
 I’m looking to buy/add gold names, rather
than copper, right now due to the relative
strength seen in gold
 I’m chicken. Or perhaps better put, I’m
wary about buying another exploreco
stock that fits the house thesis nicely on
paper, but could turn out to be a value trap. It’s my chronic weak point as an
investor, after all. So yes, chicken.
Thinking about it, though. The entry price is great, PGZ should give us plenty of newsflow in
2024 and current treasury covers all plans. Those are
good things.
SilverCrest Metals (SILV) (SIL.to): SILV kept to
our script last week, flat-lining and following the price
of silver, but doing better than its peers (SIL proxy, see
right)). We’ll keep our eye on the stock in February and
wait for its 4q23 results and 2024 guidance, no hasty
decision required. The value investors among you may
think I’m being way too cute for my own good and if
so, you may be right to buy some now and go fishing.
Contango ORE (CTGO): The pattern in this ten-day
chart is similar to that of many gold developers, just
more so. I admit not understanding why this stock
trades in the wide range that it does, as even though
volume isn’t great the ticket price for a single share
means there’s plenty of cash running through it.
However, every time buyers dry up it drops sharply and
not from any price that reflects its true value. I thought
I was getting a real bargain sub-U$18, but here we are
7

today with the build-out at Manh Choh going as per the timeline and gold above U$2k/oz and
my holding 17.5% in the red. We’re not quite at “insane crazy cheap” yet, but there’s
tremendous risk/reward opportunity available at anything sub-U$16, i.e. where we are today.
Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v): The market yawned
at the latest drill assay NR from ALDE, out Tuesday 6th
(3) and the stock dropped 6c on the week though to be
fair, that ten-day chart pattern (right) almost exactly
matches the move made by the main copper ETF (COPX)
in the same period. However, there’s no denying that the
thin volume once again indicates a stock that being
ignored by the world of copper speculation.
Here’s the table included in the NR:
The issue here is how the average reader will sniff at the grades and move on, but Altar has
always been like this. The project is less about concentration and more about scale and even
those low copper grades are set to be economically extractable if/when the mine is eventually
built. As the NR script points out, these
results have added to the mineralized
footprint and come the MRE planned for the
end of this year, ALDE will be able to add
serious extra tonnage to its plans and that
means more copper under 43-101, as it
gives the modelers more flexibility in pit
shell design and what they can capture in
the economic model. Make no mistake, Altar
is going to be a very big project and that’s
the type of mine that suits the biggest of the
big metals mining companies.
The NR rounded off by noting that four rigs
were currently running and we can expect
plenty of ongoing newsflow. All well and
good, but the market apathy will need
something extra in the next batch of results
instead of the “normal” from Altar.
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Marimaca Copper (MARI.to): The good vibes at low volumes continue for MARI, as seen in
this comparative chart against COPX and we’re now back at what has been its baseline level for
the last couple of years. This suggests to me that I managed to pick up my MARI position at a
great price, which once again gets my mind drifting back toward PGZ and its current level.
Stocks such as MARI (and AE, see The Copper
Basket below) show it’s possible for explorecos
and developers to beat metals price headwinds
as long as there’s quality behind the story. In the
case of AE the jury is still out and there’s plenty
left to be proved, but MARI is rallyingh because
of the clear intrinsic value in its assets.
The Copper Basket
After six weeks of 2024, The Copper Basket shows a gain of 1.00% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/24 Shares out Market Cap current pps gain/loss%
1 NGEx Minerals NGEX.v 7.16 186.824 1455.36 7.79 8.8%
2 Solaris Res SLS.to 4.13 179.221 659.53 3.68 -10.9%
3 Los Andes LA.v 11.80 29.53 352.00 11.92 1.0%
4 Marimaca Cop MARI.to 3.43 93.11 330.54 3.55 3.5%
5 Hercules Silver BIG.v 1.38 231 212.52 0.92 -33.3%
6 Arizona Sonoran ASCU.to 1.75 109.17 152.84 1.40 -20.0%
7 Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v 0.89 169.819 122.27 0.72 -20.0%
8 Faraday Copper FDY.to 0.63 175.97 87.99 0.50 -20.6%
9 Oroco Res OCO.v 0.375 222.86 84.69 0.38 1.3%
10 American Eagle AE.v 0.26 108.87 63.14 0.58 123.1%
11 C3 Metals CCCM.v 0.61 61.885 38.37 0.62 1.6%
12 Kodiak Copper KDK.v 0.58 63.93 32.60 0.51 -12.1%
13 QC Copper QCCU.v 0.12 173.7 20.84 0.12 0.0%
14 Element 29 Res ECU.v 0.18 106.25 17.53 0.165 -8.3%
15 Camino Min COR.v 0.07 206.66 14.47 0.07 0.0%
NB: All stocks in CAD$ Portfolio avg 1.00%
A negative week for copper, the miners and our
The Copper Basket 2024, weekly evolution
basket of copper exploreco stocks, with the 5%
4%
headcount of 10 losers (not listing them all), three
3%
unchanged stocks (BIG.v, ECU.v, COR.v) and just
2%
two winners (MARI.to, AE.v) testament to the 1%
negativity in the sub-sector. The overall basket 0%
average has managed to keep in positive territory, -1%
-2%
but only just and is now heavily dependent on us
-3%
having 2024’s hot copper story as a component. -4%
That’s American Eagle, which ran another 11c last -5% source: IKN calcs
week (AE.v up 23.4%) and to give an idea of the Jan1st Jan8th 15th 22nd 29th feb5th 12th
propping being done by AE.v at the moment, if
the stock were 26c and unchanged this weekend our basket average would be at negative
7.21%.
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As for the larger drops among the ten losers, they were headed by Arizona Sonoran (ASCU.to
down 11.4%) and QC Copper & Gold (QCCU.v down 11.1%), with Faraday (FDY.to down 9.1%)
and Los Andes (LA.v down 8.3%) not far behind in the league table of shame.
The negativity came from the copper metal price action, of course. Our benchmark near-dated
Comex contract (HGH24) dropped 14c last
week, from U$3.82/lb to U$3.68/lb, a 3.7%
drop that dragged copper from the higher end
of its recent trading range to below recent lows.
That’s not good, but some perspective is
required so instead of fixating over the near-
term move, this week’s chosen chart is the
longer view that takes in the last two years.
In this context, last week’s drop is still in the
world of the sober and bearable. The issues
begin at U$3.60/lb and would get smellier if
U$3.55/lb gets broken to the downside. So for
the moment we’re taking it easy and not
worrying about Friday’s closing price but by the same token (and as your author edits this text
Sunday evening, he’s back to thinking about PGZ.v again), there doesn’t seem to be any
pressing reason to buy the copper complex this weekend.
As for macro sector news, we were told the drop in copper prices was driven by instos and
funds selling copper, as LME Ring Dealer Marex told the world last week (4).
Copper went into the red after US traders became active, especially Commodity Trade
Advisor (CTA) investment funds, which are largely driven by computer programs.
“We also have heavy CTA sell programmes continuing on likes of copper and zinc,” Al
Munro at broker Marex said in a note.
It’s up to you to decide whether to go with or oppose those pesky computers. In fundies news,
Chile’s State-run mining company Codelco last week announced (5) its total production for 2023
of 1,325 million metric tonnes (mmt). That was some 25mmt higher than our best guess made
roughly mid-2023, but as the chart right shows, it’s still the lowest total production out of
Codelco since 1997, the year its Radomiro Tomić mine came online. At the same presser,
Codelco’s chief executive forecast 2024 production slightly higher at 1,353mmt. However, let us
recall that in December 2022, Codelco estimated its 2023 production at 1,400mmt and they
eventually missed that number by a nautical mile.
Chile: Codelco copper production per year, 1990 to 2024(e)
We still don’t know the total for the private entities working Chile in 2023, but with the well-
documented issues faced by the country’s copper sector in the second half of last year we’ve
10
1.395391,1 8.886621,1 4.677651,1 0.619931,1
8.580,1431,1
9.323,1561,1
5.498,1
122,1
8.061,2
132,1
1.482,2
304,1
7.388,2
805,1
3.680,3
615,1
7.641,3
295,1
9.060,3
025,1
7.143,3
365,1
3.976,3
337,1
5.295,3
827,1
9.486,3
676,1
7.379,3
385,1
2.168,3
664,1
4.296,3
207,1
8.927,3
986,1
6.725,3
537,1
4.787,3
746,1
3.451,4
226,1
3.980,4
276,1
4.040,4
237,1
1.548,3
807,1
6.967,3
437,1
1.451,4
876,1
2.991,4
885,1
1.511,4
816,1
5.500,4
816,1
8.488,3
644,1
0083
523,1
7,000
6,500
6,000
5,500
5,000
4,500
4,000 3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
0991 1991 2991 3991 4991 5991 6991 7991 8991 9991 0002 1002 2002 3002 4002 5002 6002 7002 8002 9002 0102 1102 2102 3102 4102 5102 6102 7102 8102 9102 0202 1202 2202 3202
MMT Cu
Total Non-Codelco
Total Codelco
source: Cochilco

cut our forecast to an overall total of 3,800mmt. That would put the annual overall total at
5.125mmt, a twenty-year low.
Time for our regular weekly segment, the world copper inventories, with data from Chile’s
Cochilco:
 In the last full trading week before China’s New Year celebrations and business
closedown, copper stocks across the three official systems rose by 13,197 metric
tonnes to close at 244,304mt. That’s still a low number.
 The Shanghai SHFE continued to show its seasonal habit of stock increases and as the
second dedicated chart below shows, it’s now on a normal schedule for the time of
year. Another 17,743mt was added last week, that makes 36kmt in two weeks and
once China comes back from its public holiday, expect that number to rocket higher.
Total stocks this weekend are now 86,520mt.
 Another drop at the LME, though not as sharp as the week before when over 11kmt
left. This time was saw net outflows of 3,400mt, with the biggest drops seen in Europe.
However, 3,000mt was added to LME South Korea. This weekend’s totals is 136,825mt.
 Comex copper inventory dropped again, this time by a moderately substantial 1,146mt.
and closed at 20,961mt.
We run both of the dedicated SHFE charts this weekend, as the second one is beginning to be
useful and also shows how 2024 (thick black line) is now tracking the low end of the historical
channel for the time of year.
Shanghai Futures Exchange Warehouse Stocks, 2014 to date
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
11
31'13ceD dr32 ht51 ht7 ht03 dn22 ht71 ht9 ts1von ht42 ht71 ht01 dn2tcO 7102ts1naJ ht62 ht81 ht01 dr3ced ht52 8102ht72rpa ht91 ht11 9102
dr3bef
9102ht82rpa ts12 ht31 0202ht5naj 0202ht92ram ts12 ht31 0202ht6ced ht82 dr32 ht51 ht7 2202ht03naj 22ht42rpA ht71 22ht9tco 3202
naJ
ht62 ht81 ht01peS dr3ceD
Mt Cu
|
source: Cochilco
SHFE copper inventory levels, 2019 to 2024
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 2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
source: Cochilco data
Now for notes on a few of our basket stocks:
Arizona Sonoran (ASCU.to): We’re now on the cusp of getting the “Standalone PFS” (i.e. no
help from Nuton) on Cactus, as that’s due at some point in 1q24. If the market is any guide, it’s
not going to impress the world:

A couple of weeks ago ASCU was talked up to retail at the Vancouver trade events (by its usual
suspects, all exuding the air of knowledge) but once that buying spurt was done, the market
went back to its previous attitude toward ASCU and buyers dried up. I see no reason at all to
get involved with this stock before we known the contents of the upcoming PFS
NGEx Resources (NGEX.v): We finally get a
negative week in NGEX.v, with trading Monday to
Thursday on a slight downtrend and then Friday
with some profit-taking on weak macro copper
data (see above). This story has plenty of money
running through it and some trade variance is
understandable, plus we should recognize that last
week’s drop hasn’t done much damage to a bullish
looking price chart and its upward price channel, it
wasn’t even a lower low on 2024 trading.
American Eagle (AE.v): The 2024 rocketship
continues in AE and this YRD chart (right) shows
not just continued, but accelerating momentum
(aside from some totally understandable profit
taking on Friday). There are now a lot of people
hanging on the next NR and both the contents
and the market reaction will be indicative to how
the rest of 2024 will roll out.
Solaris (SLS.to): An unfounded rumour did the
rounds last week that the Canadian government
was about to prohibit the Zijin strategic
investment in SLS on political grounds. SLS was
quick to counter this, stating that unlike recent
examples when Chinese strategic moves into
lithium companies were blocked by government
rules, copper was not “on the list” and that it had
received no feedback from the government about
any objections. All the same, SLS has traded
poorly since that Zijin investment news and even if
we take the 2024 high water mark as C$4.32,
rather than the $4.55 paid by the Chinese, this
weekend and just one month later the stock is
down 14.8%.
For what it’s worth, I think the rumour propagated
12

by market investor Warren Irwin about Zijin being barred from SLS is a load of bunkum and he
probably made it all up. On the other hand, the ongoing poor CSR situation at Warintza gives all
the reasons one needs to avoid investing in this stock.
The Producer Basket
After 6 weeks of 2024, the Producer Basket shows a loss of 10.82% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/24 Shares out MktCap(U$Bn) current pps gain/loss%
1 Newmont NEM 41.39 1152.6 37.79 32.79 -20.8%
2 Barrick GOLD 18.09 1761.54 25.84 14.67 -18.9%
3 Agnico Eagle AEM 54.85 496.54 23.15 46.62 -15.0%
4 Franco-Nevada FNV 110.81 192.119 20.91 108.84 -1.8%
5 Pan American PAAS 16.33 364.439 4.74 13.01 -20.3%
6 Lundin Gold LUGDF 12.64 237.68 2.78 11.70 -7.4%
7 Eldorado Gold EGO 12.97 202.472 2.41 11.89 -8.3%
8 Hecla Mining HL 4.81 617.768 2.21 3.57 -25.8%
9 Dundee PM DPMLF 6.43 183.278 1.12 6.12 -4.8%
10 Wesdome Gold WDOFF 5.83 148.95 1.00 6.70 14.9%
All prices and stock quotes in U$ Port. avg -10.82%
Despite the negativity, somehow two of our ten The Producer Basket vs GDX, annual result
2024 Producer Basket picks managed to return a 12%
week-over-week improvement (FNV, WDOFF). 10% 9.46% 9.05%
However the other eight were more representative 8%
5.95%
of the pain that the wider mining sector felt last 6%
week and the relatively uniformity of the losses, in
4% 2.10% 2.49%
a tight range of 3.6% to 5.6% aside from the 2% 1.01%
-1.80% 0.05%
outlier loss in Agnico (AEM down 6.1%), is
0%
indicative of a market in which the Top Down
-2%
money is leaving. 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
source: GDX data, IKN data
As for our 2024 semi-serious competition as we try
to beat the benchmark for the eighth time in nine years (right), our two winners helped to
leaven the losses nicely and we’re now over 2% ahead of the GDX. The fact that’s it’s “least
worst” rather than a positive position in absolute terms is of course another matter and that
whistling sound you hear is me walking past a graveyard.
The 2024 Producer Basket: Weekly performance and The 2024 Producer Basket: Percentage diff. between
4% comparative to GDX control GDX benchmark & basket (negative= IKN ahead)
1.5%
2%
0% 1.0%
-2% 0.5%
-4% 0.0%
-6% -0.5%
-8% -1.0%
-10% ikn -1.5%
-12% gdx control -2.0%
-14% -2.5%
-16% -3.0%
Jan1st Jan7th 14th 21st 28th feb4th 11th Jan1st Jan7th 14th 21st 28th feb4th 11th
source: IKN calcs source: IKN calcs, NYSE data
Wesdome Gold (WDO.to) (WDOFF): The good vibes
continue as WDO.to and its US OTC sibling continue to
push back successfully against market headwinds.
13

We chewed over the possible reasons for this rally last week in IKN768 and nothing much has
changed since then, aside perhaps for the continued eye-catching momentum. I still think this
is more about WDO playing catch-up to the market after its weak 2023 now we have more
clarity about Kiena, but if the rally continues in this fashion at some point the M&A potential
comes to the fore.
Franco-Nevada (FNV): We swapped out WPM and added FNV to the 2024 basket because 1)
WPM had put in a good 2023 performance and was probably already at the top of its range
while 2) FNV had just been whacked very hard by the drama around Panama Cobre and First
Quantum (FM.to), with that mine being one of its most important revenue streams. We
reasoned that FNV was in deep oversold territory at the end of 2023 and would play the
presumed bounce as the drama subsided in Panama. Now for sure the mine is still in the
penalty box, but we’ve also seen calmer heads
starting to prevail and one noteworthy
concession in recent days has been the Panama
government looking to allow FM to sell the
stockpiled copper concentrate at the mine. One
reason is that its continued storage there
presents a fire risk (true), but there is of course
the small matter of a heap load of cash that the
sale would generate. Panama’s government
wants to broker some sort of deal to get FM to
earmark the revenues to fund mine closure, but
whatever happens to the majority of the money,
FNV will get its share and that means this (right).
A nice little rally in FNV last week. Up to
Wednesday, FNV and WPM had tracked each
other closely in 2024 YTD, but that above means FNV is now around 6% ahead of its closest
natural peer.
The TinyCaps List
After 6 weeks of 2024, the TinyCaps show a gain of 9.97% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/24 Shares out Mkt Cap current pps gain/loss%
Aston Bay BAY.v 0.065 221.5 27.69 0.125 92.3%
Awalé Res ARIC.v 0.135 67.27 8.07 0.12 -11.1%
District Metals DMX.v 0.170 106.98 33.16 0.31 82.4%
Endurance Gold EDG.v 0.18 150.136 22.52 0.15 -16.7%
Kirkland LDC KLDC.v 0.100 88.625 9.31 0.105 5.0%
Latin Metals LMS.v 0.075 71.476 5.00 0.07 -6.7%
Palamina Corp PA.v 0.130 71.285 7.84 0.11 -15.4%
South Star STS.v 0.750 48.8 32.70 0.67 -10.7%
Surge Copper SURG.v 0.090 219.21 17.54 0.08 -11.1%
Viva Gold VAU.v 0.120 118.384 13.02 0.11 -8.3%
Prices in CAD$, data from TSXV basket avg 9.97%
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 (though this year I’m making one clear exception and one rule
stretcher). 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, our task is to trawl through the TSXV and find companies that are small but with life in them. The vast
14

majority of tinycap stocks are broken stories, 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 2024. 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.
Three of our ten TinyCap representative stocks made
TinyCaps, 2024 weekly tracker
gains last week (BAY.v, KLDC.v, VAU.v), two were 12%
unchanged (ARIC.v, PA.v) and five were losers 10%
(DMX.v, EDG.v, LMS.v, STS.v, SURG.v). So the 8%
headcount was negative but the overall basket
6%
average managed to eke out a gain of a few tenths,
4%
thanks mainly to the move in Aston Bay (BAY.v up
2%
25.0%) which continues to show speculative
0%
volatility.
Jan1st Jan7th 14th 21st 28th feb4th 11th
source: IKN calcs, TSX data
Now for a couple of notes:
Endurance Gold (EDG.v): Down 9.1% on the week due to selling on Monday, EDG on
Tuesday announced (6) grab sample results from its large
“Reliance Gold” project in BC Canada, specifically the area
known as Olympic, with the best returns coming what
they’ve named from the “Kelvin” target , “…including
25.10 grams per tonne (“gpt”) gold and 22.30 gpt gold.”
They called these “the most significant grab samples
collected to date by the Company” and while this early
stage exploration stuff doesn’t usually move markets, it’s
also the stuff that serious geols take seriously as EDG
works up diamond drill targets for the program. However
and as that chart shows, after a very small rebound on the
news Tuesday EDG failed even to trade during the last
three days of the week. This is a dire market for exploreco stories, be in no doubt.
Kirkland Lake Discovery Corp (KLDC.v): NRs that outline upcoming market initiatives
aren’t usually noteworthy, but the one from KLDC last Wednesday (7) may be the exception.
Here’s a chunky excerpt:
In advance of exhibiting at PDAC 2024, the Company has engaged The Northern Miner Group
(“TNM”) to complete a series of activities – i.e. articles, an interview Kirkland Lake CEO Danièle
Spethmann, and CEO ‘Spotlight’ podcast - aimed at raising the Company’s profile.
TNM is part of The Northern Miner Group, a leading group of mining media brands held by
EarthLabs Inc. (“Earthlabs”). In relation to the Company, Earthlabs, and TNM by extension, is
considered to be a Non-Arm’s Length Party, as such term is defined in relevant regulatory
policies, as Kirkland Lake and Earthlabs have two directors in common. One such director, Denis
Laviolette, is also an officer of both companies, and the other, Vincent Dubé-Bourgeois, is also an
officer of Earthlabs.
Clearly leveraging from the connections of insiders (but that’s okay), KLDC is going to push to
get its story out there pre-PDAC and by implication, during the year’s biggest show for our
sector. That’s not a bad thing and if the market decides that an exploreco story with a market
cap of less than C$10m, large concession holdings in one of the best jurisdictions possible and
the money to run a drill program in 2024 is what it wants for a spec on gold, we may see new
buyers in the next four to six weeks. And believe it or not but we’re less than a month to PDAC,
ladies and gents.
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.
15

Regional politics
Mexico: AMLO against open pit mining again
Last week’s news out of Mexico is not good for its mining image. The outgoing AMLO
government on Monday revealed a multi-article reform package for both the country’s
Constitution and its present laws and we’re not going into the wide range of proposals here,
instead we zoom in on proposal 27 (8) to modify the current mining law that would
(translated)…
“Prohibit both the awarding of open pit mining concessions for the activities of
exploration, exploitation, benefit or use of minerals, metals or metalloids.”
That’s ugly, so notes required:
1) This does NOT mean open pit mining would be banned in Mexico, as all current concessions
would not be affected. What the AMLO government wants is to stop any further concessions
being emitted for the activity. So no throwing out babies with bathwater, please.
2) This is a law project that would have to move through Congress, part of a very large
package and due to a recent court judgment, AMLO wouldn’t be able to fast-track this project
in the way he did with a similar package in 2022. As part of the reform package, even if “No
More Open Pit Concessions” gets through undiluted it would take most of 2024 minimum.
3) As Mexico has its General Election in July, this reform package is being interpreted as
“AMLO’s Message To Sheinbaum” as anything else, the way the outgoing President wants to
see the likely new President continue governing the country (his dauphine Claudia Sheinbaum,
current hot fave for the win, see IKN768 last weekend for more). That includes this mining law
change and it remains to be seen whether the eventual President Sheinbaum takes such a
militant stance.
4) The country’s mining lobby is already up in arms about this reform proposal, for example (9)
The Association of Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico (Sonora Division)
(Asociación de Ingenieros de Minas, Metalurgistas y Geólogos de México del Distrito Sonora
(AIMMGM Sonora)), a long and apparently specialist-sounding chamber title for what is in fact a
large and powerful lobby in Mexico. They said:
“Historically, open pit mining has been a significant source of income, employment and
well-being in the communities in which it develops, contributing some 59% of the value
of national mining production, generating growth and stability in the country.”
And after making points about the and the good record of formal mining in environmental issues and the
amount of money mining companies invest in environmental protection, they finished with…
“We ask legislators to reconsider this initiative and find solutions that balance the
protection of the environment with economic development, safeguarding the interests
of communities and guaranteeing long-term viability of the mining industry in Mexico.”
Or if you prefer, the national President of the same Association of Mining Engineers,
Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico, one Raúl García Reimbert, called the proposal (10) “a
serious blow” for the sector that would cause job losses and concerns among investors. He’s
right, of course.
Bottom line: Putting this all together, the reform package move by AMLO last week was clearly
a political signal for Sheinbaum and most of the headline reforms are not part of The IKN
Weekly remit. We also need to note that we’re a long way from any proposal becoming law and
that process could easily see this idea to ban new open pit concessions dying its death in
committee. However, there’s no doubt that the signal from Mexico last week toward mining and
particularly open-pit mining is a clear negative and is another manifestation of AMLO’s
ambivalence toward open pit operations. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the debate around
this issue in the weeks to come, most importantly when Sheinbaum and others begin the formal
campaign trail for the election. At that point, we’ll able to gauge the enthusiasm for the project
from candidate and electorate alike.
16

Bolivia: Evo is back
This is another of those “Gosh, where do we start?” political situations, as I’ve mentioned very
little about Bolivia recently but there’s been big political moves happening all the same. To cut a
VERY long story short, the current President Luis Arce of the MAS party has found a new
political enemy in the unlikely shape of Evo Morales, founder of the MAS party and the reason
Arce is now President. These two have fallen out because Evo thinks Arce is being too
neoliberal and not Socialist enough, Evo has now declared his intention to run for President for
the next election in 2025 and his (large and militant) support has been making plenty of noise,
protesting and marching against Arce and the direction of his government and his policies,
which include those for mining.
That backdrop becomes relevant to us as this weekend, Evo Morales had a high profile meeting
with leaders of mining co-operative in the Cochabamba region. The Evo Twitter account after
the meeting with the meeting (11) said this (translated):
“We agreed to work on a new post-bicentennial mining policy that will form part of a
new economic policy. I thanks my co-operative comrades for their resolve to fight,
support and defend liberty and democracy.”
That’s what I call ominous. As things stand, Evo is still the biggest political star in Bolivia (by a
long way) and if the election were held tomorrow, he’d win in doing handstands. That means
he’d have a free hand in moving Bolivia back toward a more classic Left wing political agenda
and as that is obviously going to include mining, it underscores the issues this country has for
foreign direct investment (FDI) in its mining industry. This desk has always found it easy to
pass on Bolivia mining opportunities and exploreco stories and the volatile nature of its politics
is one of the main reasons to call a blanket “Avoid” on the country. This weekend’s news only
underscores that and you’re strongly advised to do the same. With so many exploreco and
small operator companies trading at deep discounts these days, there’s no reason at all to add
the extra risk of exposure to a country with politics like Bolivia. Great tradition for the industry,
wonderful rocks, but near-uninvestable for the standard Capitalist outsider. Avoid Avoid Avoid.
Argentina: A political ambush and a Mining Secretary sacked
Bear with me, we’ll get to the point but background is required: In last weekend’s note “Javier
Milei has a good week”, we reported on the Argentine Congress’s lower house of deputies vote
that had approved 382 of the 664 law projects in new President Javierr Milei’s “Omnibus Law”
(Ley Omnibus) package through. It was a significant step forward in his plans to transform the
country and the political chattering classes all had their opinions to voice. But rare were any
that predicted what happened last Tuesday and for a decent succinct English language report
on the fun and games, CNBC was surprisingly good (12)
“Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, accused governors of seeking “to destroy” his
sweeping economic reform bill, shortly after his ruling party abruptly withdrew the
package from the floor of the country’s lower house.
The so-called omnibus bill, which had received support in general terms from
opposition lawmakers last week, was rejected on Tuesday during an article-by-article
approval process.”
This was nothing short of a political ambush. Normally in Argentina, the deal is struck by the
main vote and then later, line-item approval of a law bill is protocol in nature. But in this case,
Milei’s political enemies (and there are many) used the mechanism to throw a large spanner in
the works, refusing to budge on some specific projects amount the 382 approved (remember,
already pared down from 664) and stopping the Omnibus Law package from moving to the
Upper Senate for approval. As for the reaction from the new executive, via a communiqué while
he was on a State visit to Israel (sidebar: while showing strong support for the Israeli
government and getting big love from its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu), Milei said this
about the decision (translated) (13):
“This Tuesday, the governors decided to turn their backs on the Argentines to protect
their interests and prevent the national government from having the tools to solve
Argentina’s structural problems.”
17

That he’d traveled to Israel during the line item hearing is a measure of the way it was being
taken as a done deal by all and sundry, until the Tuesday ambush came along. Now, I’m not
going to start filling every edition of The IKN Weekly with a blow-by-blow running commentary
of the bizarro mondo that is Argentine politics, as despite the personal fascination I have for the
subject (a habit of 27 years and counting), general-level politics is not the remit of The IKN
Weekly. So don’t expect the same type of Argentine coverage we’ve seen in the last three or
four editions for much longer, but today the background as seen above is required because of
its consequences. The headline from the decent LatAm news service, InfoBae (8) (translated),
was “Javier Milei Fires the Head of ANSES and the Secretary of Mining”. For the record, Osvaldo
Giordano was the head of ANSES (Argentina’s Social Security bureau) and Flavia Royón was
Mining Secretary (basically Minister of Mining) and these sackings were in direct response to the
Tuesday fun and games in Congress. Both come from Peronist regions with Peronist governors
and in the case of Flavia Royón, she’s know to have a close professional relationship with the
governor of her region, Salta’s Gustavo Saenz. As those governors have been accused of being
part of the plot to de-rail the Omnibus Law package (and Milei is 100% correct to suspect these
figures), he exacted his revenge. For what it’s worth, this weekend (the now ex) Mining
Secretary Flavia Royón went on the record (14) and said that she’d spoken to her direct
superior, Minister of the Economy Luis Caputo (Milei’s “superminister” with control of many
ministries and understood as his RHM in government). She said, “Caputo told me that I was
doing excellent work, but political questions prevented me from continuing (in the job).” Later
on in a radio interview she was more candid, saying (15), “As the President thinks that Gustavo
Saenz deserves punishment and I’m from Salta…well… he has the right to form his team with
people he trusts.”
That’s enough of the deep politics and back story behind the reason why Argentina has no
Minister (Secretary) of Mining this weekend, enough to show the depth of the battle Milei has in
order to push through his agenda and the personality war going on behind the scenes. To his
credit Milei doesn’t lack the gumption to attack the political establishment and is willing to take
the fight to his opponents, so while the firings of Royón and Giordano could be construed as
petty revenge by enemies, they also show he’s not going to be supine and allow space for
opponents. On the other hand, any lack of continuity in his ministerial team won’t help the
speed of the reforms he wants to push through (e.g. Royón was in Berlin Germany just five
days ago, presenting Argentina as a new and interesting potential partner for the mining
sector) and as mentioned before, that’s the longer game being played out in Congress. Milei
has been frank with his country and said there will be a recession, but is betting the farm on a
V-shaped recovery. If that’s diluted away, his government and Presidency will be at risk.
This soap opera will continue. This is LatAm’s #1 Basket Case Country after all.
Market Watching
Argonaut Gold (AR.to): A date for the diary
Even though I sold my speculative position in Argonaut Gold (AR.to) recently, it’s not on the
current Watch List and its been weak in recent trading to boot, but we still have an interesting
date for your diary from the company as on Tuesday (16), AR.to told us it would release its
4q23 and YE financials “…prior to market open on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Following the
release, Argonaut will host a live conference call and audio webcast at 10:00 a.m. ET where
management of the Company will review the
quarterly results.” That’s going to be less about Q4
and more about Magino, its continued ramp-up and
whether its current financial position can handle the
wait to get to positive free cash flow. As noted
when selling recently, I now think there’s a high
likelihood that AR will need to raise more capital
before that (e.g. another dilutive placement) but
I’m always open to being wrong and if March 6th
goes well for the company, there may still be a
18

trade. To mark your cards fully, the link to the webcast that day is here (17). I’ll be using it.
Fortuna Silver (FSM) (FVI.to): Back to square one
The recent sale of Fortuna Silver (FSM) was made under some duress, as the trade plan always
included a time limit and while I believe the
company is worth more than any price seen
on this chart below, I wasn’t going to break
my “January latest” sell date. So the position
disappeared for a very slight profit, but to my
surprise the price has dropped even further
(right). Today’s quick note isn’t a gloat, it’s a
heads-up on the way FSM has returned to
what has evolved into a fairly strong floor
level. Any further weakness can now get
confidently bought and if there’s some sort of
crash, there’s now a low risk trade available.
Also, it’s worth noting that the big catalyst of
the FSM sell off was its 2024 guidance and the
negative vibes out of San José Mexico, but
recent scuttlebutt has the mine in less risk of total depletion than the current mine plan
outlines. I would be unsurprised to head FSM announcing results of exploration on its
undisputed concession zone that extends mine life.
Conclusion
IKN769 is done, we end with bullet points:
 With mining companies not yet ready to file their 2023 YE financials, China on public
holiday and the Fed’s March decision now telegraphed, we’re likely to be in a quiet
period for the mining sector. A calm before the storm, indeed.
 Don’t freak out on the latest negative Mexico news. Agreed it’s a negative optic and if
passed into law, would affect the long-term future of the Mexican mining industry, but
doesn’t affect established concessions or any current permitting processes
 Avoid Bolivia and Colombia.
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://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T10Y2Y
(2) https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
(3) https://aldebaranresources.com/site/assets/files/5930/2024-02-06-nr-alde-comno9h195ht.pdf
(4) https://www.mining.com/web/codelcos-2023-production-declines-but-recovery-seen-this-year/
(5) https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/chile-copper-miner-codelcos-2023-production-declines-but-recovery-seen-
this-year/
(6) https://endurancegold.com/news-releases/endurance-expands-geochemical-anomalies-associated-with-grab-
samples-up-to-25.1-gpt-gold-on-the-olympic-claims-reliance-gold/
(7) https://www.kirklandlakediscoveries.com/post/kirkland-lake-exhibiting-at-pdac-2024
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(8) https://expansion.mx/empresas/2024/02/09/amlo-minera-cielo-abierto
(9) https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/empresas/2024/02/09/reforma-de-amlo-que-prohibe-mineria-a-cielo-abierto-
costaria-150-mil-mdp-mineros-de-sonora/
(10) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoWinbKmPj4
(11) https://www.la-razon.com/economia/2024/02/10/evo-se-reune-con-cooperativistas-y-avizora-una-nueva-mineria-a-
partir-de-2025/
(12) https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/07/argentina-milei-lashes-out-at-governors-after-key-reform-bill-setback.html
(13) https://www.bloomberglinea.com/latinoamerica/argentina/derrota-politica-para-milei-se-levanto-la-sesion-de-ley-
omnibus/
(14) https://www.infobae.com/politica/2024/02/09/javier-milei-le-pidio-la-renuncia-al-titular-de-la-anses-y-a-la-secretaria-
de-mineria/
(15) https://www.tiempodesanjuan.com/politica/royon-afirmo-que-fue-echada-javier-milei-como-un-castigo-al-
gobernador-salta-n368594
(16) https://www.argonautgold.com/files/doc_news/2024/02/ar-press-release-2024-notice-of-q4-call-final.pdf
(17) https://app.webinar.net/kG904kEPrKE
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2023
CLOSED TRADES IN 2023 date closed close price
Altiplano Metals APN.v jan'23 C$0.31 17-Set-21 C$0.17 -45.2% delayed and will dilute soon
Western Copper WRN.to mar'23 C$2.02 13-Nov-22 C$2.32 14.9% sold on reduced M&A prob.
Chesapeake Gold CKG.v may'23 C$3.07 20-Feb-22 C$1.75 -43.0% Closing on legal action news
Amerigo Res ARG.to may'23 C$1.36 12-Dic-21 C$1.48 8.8% sold 20% to raise cash
Amerigo Res ARG.to oct'23 C$1.36 12-Dic-21 C$1.21 -11.0% sold 10% raise to cash
QC Copper&Gold QCCU.v oct'23 C$0.265 25-Abr-21 C$0.12 -54.7% sold raise to cash
Faraday Copper FDY.to oct'23 C$0.79 26-Mar-23 C$0.68 -11.4% sold raise to cash
AbraSilver Res. ABRA.v oct'23 C$0.36 4-Dic-22 C$0.28 -22.2% sold raise to cash
Orecap inv OCI.v oct'23 C$0.04 20-Nov-22 C$0.03 -25.0% sold raise to cash
Western Explor. WEX.v nov'23 C$1.87 9-Abr-23 C$0.60 -67.9% poor trade, cutting loss
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2022
Closed 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
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
Superior Gold SGI.v Oct'22 C$0.95 3-Apr-22 C$0.24 -74.7% Q3 prod fail was last straw
Goldshore Res GSHR.v Nov'22 C$0.18 23-Oct-22 C$0.34 88.9% Quick profit taken
Palamina Corp PA.v Dec'22 C$0.295 21-Nov-21 C$0.08 -72.9% Clear-out of underperformer
Pure Gold PGM.h Dec'22 C$0.14 26-Sep-22 C$0.015 -89.3% tiny trade on vh risk, went Ch11
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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-Apr-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
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-Aug-18 C$0.05 -33.3% tiny trade, made room for new
B2Gold BTO.to feb'19 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$4.05 91.9% Took 1/2 profits, reduce size
Western Copper WRN.to mar'19 C$0.80 20-Jan-19 C$0.81 1.3% Spec trade that didn't work
B2Gold BTO.to mar'19 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$4.15 96.7% Took rest of profit.
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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-Jan-19 U$4.15 -8.1% Short that didn't work, sm loss
Zinc One Z.v jun'19 C$0.47 14-Sep-17 C$0.025 -94.7% clearing out dead trade
Amarillo Gold AGC.v jun'19 C$0.24 22-Aug-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-Apr-18 C$0.47 -67.8% Failed sm spec on Au. Moved on
Amerigo Res ARG.to nov'19 C$0.91 23-Sep-18 C$0.50 -45.1% worst trade of year, hefty loss
Guyana Goldfields GUY.to dec'19 C$0.94 14-Apr-19 C$0.56 -40.4% taking the loss, financials weak
Tethyan Res TETH.v dec'19 C$0.30 8-Sep-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
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-aug-15 C$0.25 38.9% okay trade, sold on pol risk
McEwen Mining MUX jan16 U$1.09 25-jan-15 U$1.20 10.1% sold due to lack of value
Lake Shore Gold LSG.to feb-16 C$1.10 07-apr-15 C$1.69 53.6% bot out, sold early in process
Atacama Pacific ATM.v feb-16 C$0.19 26-apr-15 C$0.40 110.5% sold for a double on big pop
22

New Gold NGD feb-16 U$2.06 24-jan-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-jan-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-apr-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-apr-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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