6 The IKN Weekly, issue 853 — Sep 23, 2025
The IKN Weekly
Week 853, September 21st 2025
Contents
This Week: Trade heads-up, In today’s edition, You do not need a paid subscription service to make money
in junior mining, All I know is that gold went up.
Fundamental Analysis: Aurion Resources (AU.v): To do what Agnico would do.
Stocks to Follow: Overview, Surge Copper (SURG.v), Aurion Resources (AU.v), i-80 Gold (IAUX) (IAU.to),
Provenance Gold (PAU.cse), Marimaca Copper (MARI.to), Minera Alamos (MAI.v), West Red Lake Gold
(WRLG.v), Rio2 Ltd (RIO.to), Latin Metals (LMS.v), Patagonia Gold (PGDC.v), Orecap Inv (OCI.v).
The Copper Basket: Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v), Hercules Metals (BIG.v), Kobrea Exploration Corp
(KBX.cse), Copper Giant (CGNT.v).
The Producer Basket: Overview, Barrick (B), B2Gold (BTG) (BTO.to), Newmont (NEM).
The TinyCaps Basket: Overview, Kodiak Copper (KDK.v), South Star (STS.v), Electrum Discovery (ELY.v).
Regional Politics: Argentina: What’s at stake on October 26th, Chile’s election season begins, Ecuador;
Protests to ramp up.
Market Watching: Atico Mining (ATY.v) keeps moving, Ero Copper (ERO) (ERO.to) and an obvious trade
set-up.
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
Two trades and three planned changes to the Stocks to Follow list for the week ahead:
SELLING Surge Copper (SURG.v): Target hit and profit to take, wishing the company the
best of fortune in the future. That’s in Stocks to Follow.
BUYING Aurion Resources (AU.v): After way too much dithering, taking the plunge on
the WWAD trade. That’s today’s main fundies note.
DROPPING i-80 Gold (IAUX) (IAU.to) from the Watch List: Not a trade, but a change to
the table as the share price of this company makes risk far greater than potential reward. It
was a good idea, but thanks to my awful execution it’s turned into another example of
personal huevo en cara.
Heads-up done.
In today’s edition
After way too much procrastination, I’m a buyer of Aurion Resources (AU.v) this coming week. If you
join me in this trade, tread carefully on a light bid/ask because if not, you’ll end up paying way too
much.
The star of Mining Forum Americas 2025 turned out to be Barrick (B) (ABX.to), with its Fourmile news
wowing the audience and sending the stock on an impressive late week run. However for me, B2Gold
(BTG) is beginning to look like the pick of the large-cap operators as its setting up to be bought by
someone, somewhere. Both those companies featured in a larger than normal Producer Basket section.
I’ve taken more inquiries and questions on Argentina in the last seven days than any other subject,
mining or otherwise. Today’s Regional Politics section tries to cover the need-to-know on the mid-term
elections happening at the end of next month, why they’ve suddenly moved from important to super-
1
important, what it all might mean for investment exposure there. It’s a subject we’re going to cover
closely in the next few editions.
Hercules Metals (BIG.v) impressed with its drill assay last week and I think that’s the first time I’ve ever
wrote those words in the same sentence. Not buying yet, but if they can emulate that good re-start
there may be a trade here.
Other things as well. There are always other things.
You do not need a paid subscription service to make money in junior mining
How much are you paying me per month, or per year? Are you sure that’s a bright idea, because we’re at a
stage when all you need to do to make money in this junior mining market is find a company with the name
of a metal in its corporate title and buy some shares. Which is another way of saying that The IKN Weekly
isn’t going to veer from is usual course, that of risk in this most trappy and volatile of sectors. So be clear; if
the gold and metals bull continues unabated, as a growing number of sector observers and commentators
now assume, you’re not going to get the best bang-per-buck advice from these pages. Those gains will come
from the riskiest trades, the dog end of the market that’s currently running (and in many cases running hard)
as money rotates into the smaller stocks and less robust projects. That’s normal, understandable and to
consider just one metal that isn’t gold, if our Jekyll/Hyde friend silver continues to add a dollar a day as it
seems to be doing, the process is unlikely to stop. But they’re not the stocks normally recommended on these
pages, not the stocks I normally prefer as an investor. So to make it clear, here’s how we approach the junior
mining sector over its sentiment cycle:
In bear markets, The IKN Weekly focuses on risk-adjusted, quality companies with good operations
or high value projects.
In bull markets, The IKN Weekly focuses on risk-adjusted, quality companies with good operations
or high value projects.
To quote a high-traffic social media account, thank you for your attention in this matter.
All I know is that gold went up
That big FOMC came and went, the market shrugged over the 25bps cut, the Fedwatchers scratched their
heads over a communiqué and presser that seemed to claim inflation was rising but was under control and
employment levels were worrisome but not a problem
and politics were not going to affect the Fed’s
decision-making process unless it became a political
issue. Or something like that, because I’m not the
person to pull the US macro world apart and examine
it, you can find far smarter brains for that job. All I
know is that gold (grey line) dipped on the news and
stayed slightly lower until buyers turned up late
Friday, copper (orange) did roughly the same but from
a lower springboard and silver (red) again attracted
the casino players.
Meanwhile and in other news, the great and good of
our sector assembled and then disassembled in
Denver, offered precious little (no pun intended) in the way of deals or M&A in what is a prime year and a
classic window for same and also made my eyes roll so hard they could have hit a couple of strikes at the
local bowling alley with this particular exercise in mutual back-slapping (1):
At the Mining Forum Americas in Colorado Springs, the industry’s biggest producers, streamers and would-be
builders struck a rare consensus this week: stick to tier-one assets, keep balance sheets clean, and let grade,
margins and jurisdiction do the heavy lifting.
All that’s missing are the vows to be “laser focused on costs” and maybe a random celebrity or two extolling
the virtues of gold as an investment vehicle to the wider wor…oh, wait (2)
London / New York, 15 September 2025 – Today, The World Gold Council unveils a new documentary, Touched
by Gold, a powerful exploration of gold’s enduring influence on culture, creativity, and society, told through the
voice and life stories of Elton John.
2
What to make of The FOMC, the metals market, the Colorado Springs love-in and the arrival of Elton John on
the bullion scene?
Simple: Keep Dancing Until The Music Stops.
Cut through the noise of the week and nothing happened to change the course of this current metals market.
The threats that were out there before are still out there and if you believe a stock market crash is about to
suck the liquidity out of everything financial, you should probably go to 100% USD right now and be done
with it. However, the course and trajectory of this metals market will remain unaltered until something big
happens and last week, nothing big happened.
Fundamental Analysis of Mining Stocks
Aurion Resources (AU.v): To do what Agnico would do
Finland, Finland, Finland, the country where I want to be
Eating breakfast or dinner, or snack lunch in the hall
Finland, Finland, Finland, Finland has it all
You're so sadly neglected and often ignored
A poor second to Belgium, when going abroad
Finland, Monty Python, 1980
Preamble: Over the last two weeks, the working title for this note has been “I’ve run out of reasons not to
buy Aurion” which isn’t the type of snappy, businesslike title the world requires from its company analyses.
However, that the working title gets mention at the start is an indication of how I’ve approached this
potential trade, which as from next week will be an active position on the Stocks to Follow list and a personal
holding. The IKN Weekly has been batting this trade idea around for coming on two months and even wrote
a brief note entitled “Aurion Resources (AU.v): Pending decision” as far back as IKN849. Since then the
combination of observation of the volatile macro backdrop (which I still consider a reasonable concern), the
price moves in AU.v (including its financing and what that entails) and a dose of personal procrastination (not
good) has seen me waffle and dither over whether to take the plunge. It’s got to the point where I’m simply
annoyed at myself, a “piss or get off the pot” moment (as they say in the North of England) so, after
examining AU.v from all angles, today is the day I explain just why I’m a buyer of this stock.
The process began in IKN848 dated August 17th and the fundies note “Four things I’m considering for my
money today”. Those four were…
1) Hold cash for a while and stop with the FOMO
2) Buy i-80 Gold Corp (IAUX) (IAU.to)
3) Buy/add some tinycaps.
4) The WWAD Trade
…and since then, the field has become clearer:
1) Idea #1 has been dropped. While it’s okay to have dry powder for a limited period, it’s also silly to
have sidelined cash in this “Keep Dancing Til The Music Stops” market.
2) Idea #2 to buy IAUX has been dropped, mostly because I didn’t get the entry price required and it
then flew off without me. Now it’s simply too expensive at this stage of its still risky turnaround
process. More fool me perhaps, but the risk/reward simply does not appeal.
3) I’ve acted on idea #3, having added shares of Red Pine Exploration (RPX.v) and opened on XXIX
Metal Corp (XXIX.v), two of the four mentioned that weekend. What’s more, Kobrea Exploration
(KBX.cse) and Electrum Discovery (ELY.v), the other two mentioned in IKN848, are still on my radar
and may turn into trades, albeit small scale to begin with.
4) Which brings us to idea #4, the “What Would Agnico Do?” trade. After due consideration, Aurion
(AU.v) is the most obvious fit of the stocks mentioned as potentials in the Central Lapland
Greenstone Belt (CLGB) region. While AEM might end up expanding via a different strategy or even
go large-scale M&A, its success in Finland and the Kittilä mine, the regional prospectivity on offer in
the area (AEM likes to create its own mining camps and dominate regions) and the low
political/jurisdictional risk profile that sits well with AEM’s corporate strategy make it the most obvious
3
target for a company that thinks through its long-term strategies carefully and makes decisions that
transcend metals price cycles.
Which is where we are today and with the market now transforming into one which is bound to add value to
quality precious metals landholdings, the micro-timing looks right as well. So for the TL:DR among you I’m a
buyer of Aurion Resources Ltd (AU.v) in the days to come and for those who want to know why, here comes
a little more on the company starting with the standard corporate structure box:
Shares out: 161.6m
Options: 10.54m
Warrants: 6.82m
RSU/DSUs: 6.14m
Fully diluted: 185.1m
Current share price: C$1.05
Market Cap: C$169.7m
Approx cash per S/O: 7c
All prices are in Canadian Dollars unless stated, forex CAD$1 = USD 0.73
NB: AU reports in Canadian Dollars, our default currency for today’s note
Monday Edit: For the record, the table is updated to include the 1.375m incentive options awarded this afternoon (3).
The reason to like AU is its land package: As for what you get for that structure, the overriding reason to
consider AU is its land position:
We’ve featured this map from the company’s corporate presentation (latest here (4)) previously, it’s the easy
hack into understanding the investment thesis here. We see the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB)
region and some 35km North of the AU.v concessions sits Kittilä (AEM), which produced 218,860 oz gold in
2024 at a production cash cost of U$1,039/oz and is forecast to produce between 220k and 240k this year
(as well as estimates of 230k to 250k in 2026 and 2027).
We then see three main coloured areas of AU.v concessions:
Blue: The B2Gold (BTG) JV, in which BTG has earned into 70% and AU.v controls 30%.
Exploration costs are divided on a pro rata basis.
4
Green: The Kinross “Launi East” JV, at which Kinross is earning in (and the reason it took a
9.99% strategic position in Aurion. Special K has to spend U$10m to earn 70% and is likely to do
so soon.
Red: The 100% “Risti” project, which includes drilled and as-yet undrilled targets. Also to the
right side of the main Risti zone there’s an area shaded in light blue, which is a separate JV with
rare earths start-up Kobold that has limited coverage on specific critical metals.
And its neighbour: Finally and importantly, we also need to consider what AU.v’s neighbours have been up to.
Just to the North of the AU.v land and
immediately above the BTG JV area is Ikkari, the
gold development owned by Rupert Resources
(RUP.to) and the #1 reason to assume AEM is
going to pay more attention to the CLGB going
forward. This close-up of the zone (right) shows
the boundaries of AU.v land and how they back
onto the proposed Ikkari open pit operation.
According to the 2025 PFS, Ikkari is scheduled to
produce 227,000 oz gold per year in its first ten
years and over its 20 year mine life, 3.34m oz
gold. The economic criteria used by RUP are a
throwback to its original 2023 PFs, so they use
U$1,700/oz base gold price and assume costs at a
a Total Cash Cost of U$603/oz and an AISC of
U$717/oz. Those would have changed in the meantime and while costs are almost certainly higher these
days, they're still going to be where AEM likes them (its operating cost for 2q25 was U$789/oz). At a gold
price assumption of U$2,650/oz, Ikkari generates an NPV of U$2.5Bn and even if we add U$300/oz to AISC,
today's spot gold price adds almost a billion extra to that margin.
All that is a long winded way of saying that RUP.to at Ikkari is a strong and interesting project. It’s a size that
moves the dial of a Tier 1 mining company, its scope is very similar to that of Kittilä with the (on paper) profit
margin (on paper) that suits the AEM profile and fits with the working asset to the North, it’s located in a safe
jurisdiction in which AEM feels comfortable. With that all said (and having mentioned the possibility in IKN488
at the time), it begs the question as to why I prefer its neighbour Aurion (AU.v) as the method to play the
WWAD? Trade. Reasons:
RUP.to now runs a market cap of U$991m, almost a billion and while I have certainly dabbled
previously (EGO, SAND etc) I trying hard to stick to my knitting and focus on the real junior stories,
the small-caps that provide the leverage.
Aurion has lagged, both versus RUP (chart
right, RUP blue) and the market in general.
For sure it depends where you draw the
timeline and if I pick another period such as
three years, RUP and AU are level pegging but
on consideration, this five year period shows
how RUP took an advantage over its
neighbour in the back end of the Covid
shadow and has never ceded the lead. We
5
have seen AU start to make inroads into that lead in recent weeks which suggests the start of
some momentum, but the reason to hold AU over RUP is that might offer leverage and out-
perform, not merely keep pace with its larger neighbour.
There is no way AEM moves on Rupert Resources without moving on AU.v as well. Perhaps not at
exactly the same time and in the same NR, but everything we know about both Ikkari and the
standard corporate strategy at AEM says that the major will look to consolidate this entire region
under its ownership.
Meanwhile, we know the AE concessions also contain highly prospective targets. This map, also taken from
the latest corporate presentation, is a close-up of the main 100% owned Risti zone to the East of Ikkari and
while AU.v does not yet have a worthwhile 43-101 compliant resource on any of its targets, the viausl shows
the range of gold showings and concentrations around what are the most likely targets (yellow nametags).
This, in a nutshell, is why I believe AU.v is an obvious M&A target in this current round of consolidation. Once
you consider the “WWAD?” question, it becomes clear the CLGD is one of the very few regions that fit its
corporate strategy. With a mine already working there and doing excellent business, AEM is bound to want to
expand and consolidate the region in much the same way it dominates large tracts of its hone ground in
central and eastern Canada. In the Rupert Resources Ikkari project, it has everything it wants as a next step
in expanding its production and land footprint in a country where it feels comfortable and secure. What’s
more, the good outside reputation of Finland as an FDI destination means AEM will keep its highly coveted
crown as a low political risk gold producer…no need to expand into Mali or Ecuador.
RUP at its current $1Bn or so market cap is snack-sized for AEM these days and once capex is applied, the
production schedule will be a meaningful addition to the AEM mix. However and consideration both proximity
and the exploration potential of the AU.v concession areas, its virtually inconceivable to expect AEM to buy
out RUP without adding AE.v to its shopping list as well. The identity of the recent strategic has been kept in
reserve but it’s widely assumed to be AEM itself and the terms of the raising also point to an investor with
some specific demands on what to do with the money (aim it at Risti exploration).
Financials overview: Before getting to the point of this note, a revision of the current state of AE.v financial
should allow some extra perspective on what the
company has been doing and how we expect it to AU.v: Shares Out
become a more obvious M&A target in the near future.
The last time we mentioned AU.v in any detail was
IKN850 dated August 31st in the Market Watching note
“Aurion Resources (AU.v) gets money” in which we
commented on the recently announced C$9.3m
placement by a single strategic investor. Since then
we’ve seen that raising close, we’ve also seen 9.99%
shareholder Kinross (KGC) (K.to) use its top-up right and
add 884k to maintain its just-under-10% holding (5). On
6
65.711 75.711 77.711 68.711 68.711 68.711 10.031 64.231 64.231 64.231 64.231 98.841 98.841 1.941 6.941 6.161
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
12q4 22q1 22q2 22q3 22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2 tse52q3
source: company filings
the subject, another just-under-10% holder is company Chair Dave Lotan with 15.62m shares and by far the
biggest holder between insiders and officers. As well as those, there’s a handful of instos with long-term
positions and Eric Sprott owns 2.7% of S/O.
That’s how the shares stack up after the latest round of financing, now for the cash:
AU.v: Working Capital per qtr
The working cap chart (above left) is the clearest on the current position and, with normal burn rates, we
expect AU.v to close this quarter (3q25) with C$12.3m in the treasury and a working cap of around C$10m.
That’s a comfortable position compared to the last three years, however we need to recognize that the
company is likely to burn that cash at a faster rate than in the last couple of years. That’s because part of the
agreement to raise cash with the strategic investor (who is likely to be Agnico itself, but officially we know
nothing) is that (we quote “At least 75% of the net proceeds of the Offering will be used to advance
exploration and technical work programs on the Company’s 100% owned Risti project.” To that end, we
represent our best guess on cash burn in the Cash&Eq chart (above right) and once the Finland winter is
done, we expect AU.v to burn by putting more drills to work at Risti.
The assets and1 liabilities tracking chart show a simple corporate structure. Exploration is expensed rather
than capitalized, the books do not carry much fixed asset value and the only real fluctuation is cash.
Meanwhile, liabilities are very small and over half the total are the footprint of incentive DSUs for
management.
A look at corporate expenses shows the parsimonious nature of AE the company. The only big column came
in late 2023 when AE bought back a royalty on its
property, the cost balanced off at the end of the year.
Apart from that one-time expense, AE is a cash-
sipping entity that could hardly spend less money on
general upkeep
A separate chart for on-ground exploration and
evaluation costs shows the lack of expensive work
done at Risti in the last few years. On-ground geology
7
5.31
2.11
8.31
0.01
5.7
8.5
9.3
4.01
9.5
8.3
9.1
0.01
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2 tse52q3
C$m AU.v: Cash and ST inv
source company filings
479.8
772.6
442.9
60.7 967.5
986.3
882.2 317.8
494.6 917.5
400.4
3.21
01
8
4
1
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2 tse52q3 tse52q4 tse62q1 tse62q2 tse62q3
C$m
source: company filings
AU.v: Assets, per qtr
85.94 95.15 93.35 88.45 24.85 905.95 925.06 721.26 136.36 361.56 860.76 7.96
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2 tse52q3
C$m total fixed AU.v: Liabilities per qtr
other current 6
cash 5.5
5
4.5
4
3.5 3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
source: company filings
22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2 tse52q3
C$m
LT liabs
current liabs
source: company filings
AU.v: Expenses
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
22q1 22q2 22q3 22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2
other C$m
share based comp
prof fees
consulting fees
wages/benefits
G&A
source: company filings
work for sure, but those costs levels tell us AE has deliberately stayed away from a lot of drilling.
AU.v: Exploration & Evaluation expenditures, per qtr
8
61.1
379.1
731.1
326.1
963.1 003.1
667.1
471.1 058.0 792.1 212.1 247.0 306.0 148.0 839.0 083.1 190.1 626.0
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8 0.6 0.4
0.2
0.0
12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2 22q3 22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2
C$m
source: company filings
Put the two main corporate expense total together for a reasonable estimate of quarterly burn:
AU.v: Effective burn rate
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
12q1 12q2 12q3 12q4 22q1 22q2 22q3 22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2
C$m
Expenses
Explo & Eval
source: company filings, IKN calcs
At around C$2m/qtr, the recently raised C$10m would keep AE ticking over until 2027 if left to its own
devices. However, there are two reasons to suppose that company burn rate is about to move up somewhat:
1) The terms of the recent placement, that 75% of the cash is spent on Risti. Again we assume AEM is
the source of the funding and they have some specific questions they’d like answering.
2) B2Gold (BTG). The 70/30 JV to the West of the 100% owned Risti has been quiet in recent years,
with BTG taking its foot off the gas once it had its 70% ownership locked up. That’s fair enough, BTG
has been extra busy at Goose and it stands to reason its team would pout non-essential development
projects on a back burner while it sorted out the delays and mess, but with Goose now nigh on
complete and ready to produce at a commercial level, BTG will be able to consider its other suite of
projects.
This chart shows where AE.v has spent its money in recent years:
C$m AU.v: Net mineral property expenditures
6 per project area, 2021 - 2024 plus 1h25
5.5 Other
5
4.5 Launi
4 Risti
3.5
3
2.5 4.899
2 3.979 3.932
1.5 3.113
1 2.082
0.5
0
2021 2022 2023 2024 2q25
source: company filings
Launi was a destination of exploration spending in 2021 and 2022 but Kinross now takes charge
of that as it earns into its JV.
Most AE exploration cash goes to Risti. Normal.
However, we see the tiny amounts AE has dedicated to “other”, which effectively is its 30% pro-
rata of the B2Gold JV. Even if BTG wakes up and decides to dedicate a couple of million to
advancing its interesting Helmi discovery, located just to the South of the Rupert Resources
project, it would see AE’s spend on that part of its property increase significantly.
Discussion and conclusion
There is quite clearly a good case for ignoring AE.v as a trade vehicle and aiming directly for the ripest fruit in
the CLGD, Rupert Resources and its 4m oz of near-development ready gold at Ikkari. However and on
consideration, Aurion Resources (AU.v) makes more sense as a speculative trade on “WWAD”. RUP at Ikkari
has been valued according to its 43-101 resource, and rightly so. However, it’s a near certainly that if (when)
AEM moves to buy its second mine in the CLGD and deve3lop Iakkari, it will consolidate its land position and
move to dominate the region in the same way it operates in its Canadian Abitibi home turf. Indeed, it’s
almost operationally impossible to build an open pit at Ikkari without expanding the land position to the South
even if we don’t take high prospectivity of the concessions under AE’s control into consideration.
Meanwhile, AE has not seen its market cap or share price move in the way you’d expect in this bull market.
The company is notably, almost infamously low key in its promotion and marketing, you’ll never see it pushed
as a hot trade idea by social media influencers, it’s rarely even mentioned on a day-to-day basis. And that’s
deliberate, it’s exactly the way its main player Dave Lotan likes to operate and it also means that come the
day of a deal, there will be that much more uplift in the stock price.
Now is the time to take a position in AE and for several reasons, including:
The WWAD trade: Not only is AEM making serious coin at its highly profitable gold mines, but it’s
also raising cash by taking profits on share positions in third party companies. The noise on what
AEM will do with its rapidly expanding war chest has already begun and it will only get louder and
the quarterly profits generated from the current gold price roll in.
The CLGD is the right profile for AEM’s next expansion. It makes strategic sense in the near-term
and, most importantly, securing a large land position would enable it to roll out the type of cycle-
busting long-term strategy that has set it apart from the rest of the large PM producers in recent
years.
Land is set to be the next asset type to get bonus revaluation in the gold market. We’ve seen the
metal shoot higher, we’ve seen the best producers, we’re now seeing the small companies and
developers make large gains. The next stage in the process is seeing land assets in the serious.
Prospective explorecos given higher and much higher cash ticket prices and with AE, we have a
prime example. The way the company is run, tight control of spending and a distinct lack of
marketing work, indicates it has been set up to benefit to the maximum once the market comes to
the point we’re seeing today. Rupert Resources may be the most mature and low hanging of the
CLGD fruit, but AE is right behind it and with a market cap at less than 20% of its neighbour, it
offers better leverage to the buyer at this stage in the cycle.
This is not a typical purchase for your author, someone who prefers hanging a valuation on more tangible
factors such as production, profit margins and large, economically robust 43-101 compliant resources. The
reason to buy Aurion Resources (AE.v) is strategic, rather than economic but that doesn’t mean it’s an off-
beat trade proposal. Instead, AE offers a method of getting in front of what this desk believes will be the next
phase of this gold bull market, one where land holdings are revalued to much higher levels as the big players
look around and work on their longer-term strategies. With AEM as a near-perfect fit, AE is in the right place
at the right time and I am a buyer of its stock in the days to come.
Stocks to Follow
A mixed bag of a week for our Stocks to Follow list, with some losers scattered among the winners during a
week in which, unusually, the larger mining companies generally did better than the smallcaps. Of our 16
open positions, eight were winners on the week (ARG.to, RPX.v, LMS.v, SURG.v, PAU.cse, OCI.v, PGDC.v,
MENE.v), four were losers (RIO.v, GROY, WRLG.v, SRL.v) and four unchanged from this time last weekend
9
(MAI.v, MARI.to, XXIX.v, MIRL.cse). The biggest percentage move by far was the big move made in Watch
List stock Patagonia Gold (PGDC.v up 64.7%), but that was ably seconded by Surge Copper (SURG.v 32.4%)
and Mene Inc (MENE.v up 15.4%) also put in a decent percentage gain. There were no big losers.
With the exit of i-80 Gold from the Watch List we’re down to 16 open positions on our Stocks to Follow list,
four fewer than our self-imposed maximum. Thirteen stocks are in the green, two are red, one unchanged.
company Ticker this week Avg Price Reco date Current PPS Gain/Loss% Notes
TOP PICKS
Rio2 Ltd. RIO.v STR BUY C$0.80 22-Apr-18 C$1.72 115.0% Fenix build and re-rate on
RECOMMENDED STOCKS
Minera Alamos MAI.v BUY C$0.21 13-Oct-19 C$0.36 71.4% $0.70 tgt no longer top pick
Amerigo Res ARG.to STR BUY C$1.54 28-Jul-24 C$2.41 56.5% Core copper position
Marimaca Copper MARI.to STR BUY C$3.05 14-Jan-24 C$9.59 214.4% Quality Cu dev, FS due
Gold Royalty Co GROY STR BUY U$1.40 9-Mar-25 U$3.67 162.1% 2nd target U$5 in 2026
West Red Lake WRLG.v STR BUY C$0.88 20-Jul-25 C$1.02 15.9% 2 adds, re-rate trade, $1.44tgt
Red Pine Expl RPX.v BUY C$0.11 8-Sep-24 C$0.13 18.2% Added more Sep'25
Salazar Res SRL.v BUY C$0.08 5-Jan-25 C$0.155 93.8% Ecuador buyout trade
Latin Metals LMS.v BUY C$0.19 10-Jun-25 C$0.20 5.3% proj.generator, Organullo spec
Surge Copper SURG.v SELLING $0.105 22-Dec-24 C$0.225 114.3% taking profits
Provenance Gold PAU.cse spec buy C$0.15 27-Aug-25 C$0.205 36.7% Idaho gold drill play
XXIX Metal XXIX.v spec buy C$0.095 27-Aug-25 C$0.095 0.0% new trade on copper & land
Orecap Inv OCI.v BUY C$0.06 4-May-24 C$0.08 33.3% top fundy value, illiquid
SPECULATIVE TRADES
Minera IRL MIRL.cse avoid C$0.195 22-Jul-12 C$0.015 -92.3% leaving list soon (good)
A WATCHLIST OF POTENTIAL TRADES. NB: I DO NOT OWN
Patagonia Gold PGDC.v WATCH C$0.02 4-Aug-24 C$0.14 600.0% Rio Negro gold developer
LONG-TERM NON-MINING HOLD
Mene Inc. MENE.v adding C$0.45 6-Dec-20 C$0.155 -65.6% LT bet, adding slowly
CLOSED TRADES IN 2025 date closed close price
Arizona Sonoran ASCU.to Jan'25 C$1.39 22-Dec-24 C$1.68 20.9% nice NT trade, took profit
Libero Copper LBC.v Jan'25 C$0.34 20-Oct-24 C$0.245 -30.0% small spec loser
Barrick Gold GOLD Feb'25 U$15.70 22-Dec-24 U$18.26 16.3% taking profit on NT trade
Ero Copper ERO Mar'25 C$19.37 22-Dec-24 C$17.64 -8.9% closed badly timed trade
IMPACT Silver IPT.v Apr'25 C$0.30 14-Apr-24 C$0.195 -35.0% closed small Ag trade fail
Pan Global Res PGZ.v Apr'25 C$0.19 19-Feb-24 C$0.11 -42.1% closed sm Cu on -ve mkt turn
Aftermath Silver AAG.v Jun'25 $0.425 22-Dec-24 C$0.64 50.6% took profits, decent result
Lumina Gold LUM.v Jun'25 C$0.78 23-Feb-25 C$1.25 60.3% successful buyout trade.
Eldorado Gold EGO Aug'25 U$15.93 11-Aug-24 U$21.73 36.4% took profit, underperf'd peers
AbraSilver ABRA.to Aug'25 C$2.73 26-Jan-25 C$5.67 107.7% took profit, good result
Minera Alamos MAI.v Aug'25 C$0.21 13-Oct-19 C$0.345 64.3% lightened overweight position
2015 to 2024 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Now for a few notes on the featured companies
Surge Copper (SURG.v): SELLING. The news (6) that the strategic placement had finally closed provided
something of a catalyst for SURG shares, it seems:
September 18, 2025, Vancouver, British Columbia – Surge Copper Corp. (TSXV: SURG) (OTCQB:
SRGXF) (Frankfurt: G6D2) (“Surge” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the closing of its
previously announced strategic private placement (the “Strategic Placement”) with African Rainbow
Minerals Limited (“ARM”). Under the Strategic Placement, ARM has purchased 25,781,715 common
10
shares at a price of $0.175 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately C$4.5 million. Following the
transaction, ARM’s ownership in Surge has increased to 19.9%.
Part of the C$10m placement announced as long ago as July, the closing had been delayed by African
Rainbow market authorities. The all-clear lit something of a fire under the stock and the 32% rally saw SURG
finally break above the 20c line that we’d seen tested on a couple of previous occasions.
And that means we have our exit point for this trade and this time, I’m taking the opportunity. Wishing the
SURG team every success and if they make me look stupid for selling too early, then so much the better.
However, this was always going to be a speculative trade with a “double or thereabouts” price target set, we
now have that and I’m happy about taking profit.
UPDATE Monday: SURG closed today at 24c, so I’m likely to get a better price than expected when writing
the above. Not complaining.
Aurion Resources (AU.v): BUYING. By way of simple confirmation of today’s main fundies note above, a
line to make it clear I’m a buyer of Aurion this coming week (market willing). And as an extra line added
Monday evening, we note the company today announced incentive options award to officers priced at
C$1.10.
i-80 Gold (IAUX) (IAU.to): NO LONGER ON WATCH LIST. As announced last weekend, IAUX is now
too rich for my blood and no longer offers the right balance of reward to risk for a trade, mainly because I
was stupid and watched it go up instead of buying it and then watching it go up. For the record, it added
another 2c to its share price on the week, closing at 95c. A good idea gone wrong, but the only damage done
is to my own ego so that will certainly do me some good.
Provenance Gold (PAU.cse): Another good hole from
PAU last week, instead of the headline blurb today we go
with the assay table of Hole 26 (right) with the main
return being the 93m of 1.55 g/t gold. That’s right in line
with the holes in 2024 that gave the project momentum
and if you check the link (7), you’ll see the location of the
hole in Zone 1 is in-line with previous returns in that zone.
PAU popped nicely enough on the news and closed Friday
at the lower end of the bid/ask range, it wouldn’t take
much to see this stock get its next move forward. Unlike
Surge Copper (SURG.v), not planning on selling this one
for a quick turnaround profit, in this current market PAU is
the profile of those companies that can go higher and a lot
higher again.
Marimaca Copper (MARI.to): Since its move to raise capital, MARI seems to have found a new trading
range just under the $10 line and that’s fair enough. Not much else to add to this story at the moment, its
main news is now out and from here it’s either Pampa Medina to drive momentum or a buyout offer. If other
stocks in the portfolio take over the limelight for a while, so be it.
Minera Alamos (MAI.v): Right on time and in good order, MAI on Wednesday announced (8) the
successful closing of its bought deal, a central pillar of its pivot move:
Toronto, Ontario – September 17, 2025 – Minera Alamos Inc. (“Minera Alamos” or the “Company”) (TSXV:
MAI) is pleased to report that the Company has closed the “bought deal” private placement (the “Offering”) of
subscription receipts (the “Subscription Receipts”) previously announced on August 7, 2025. Pursuant to the
Offering, the Company has issued an aggregate of 380,282,535 Subscription Receipts at an issue price of
C$0.355 per Subscription Receipt, for gross proceeds of approximately C$135,000,300, which includes
70,422,535 Subscription Receipts issued pursuant to the full exercise of the over-allotment option granted to
the Underwriters (as defined below) in connection with the Offering.
Also as expected, the overallotment was fully taken and now MAI can move forward to close the purchase of
buy Pan (and Gold Rock and Illipah) from Equinox (EQX, expected to close in the first weeks of Q4 (i.e. next
month). The total units emitted, 380,282,535 Subscription Receipts, was right in line with our estimate as
11
seen in the IKN847 note dated August 10th “The Minera Alamos (MAI.v) pivot” and here’s a reminder of that
breakdown:
Current shares out: 576.5m
New shares for EQX: 96.803m
New shares from bought deal: 380.28m
Total pro-forma shares out: 1,053.6m (one point zero five three billion shares out)
Then:
Warrants: 380.28m
Options: 27.7M
Total fully diluted: 1,461.6m
As well as the upcoming deal closure with EQX, we should be aware of two more items regarding the new
share structure. Firstly and all things considered, we may see some of the new holders feed shares back to
the market but on the whole, we can expect them to be reasonably tight hands. However we cannot say the
same for the 96.8m shares due delivered to EQX as those are likely to be disgorged to the market in early
2026. As such, they’re going to throw a shadow over the price action in these next few weeks and while a lot
of people are sure to talk up the potential for an immediate re-rate of MAI once its deal with EQX fully closes,
we might have to wait until EQX disposes. There is, of course the more positive potential of some-or-other
entity willing to do its own deal with EQX and buy its block without it bothering the open market. That would
be a clear positive, but for the moment I prefer to consider the base case as the way forward. Secondly,
please remember that part of this pivot move is a 10-for-1 share rollback, that consolidation will happen in
the near future and bring the pro-forma shares out total to a more esthetically pleasing 105.4m or so.
In trading MAI continued in its UNCH-or thereabouts pattern at this 36c level, logical enough. Overall and
looking back on the past six weeks of upheaval at MAI, while undoubtedly annoyed at how 2025 has panned
out for the company I’m reasonably happy about my current positioning in the stock, the sales of a few
weeks ago bringing the personal holding down to merely “large”, instead of the out-sized Top Pick levels at
which we languished for way too long. Critics will complain that I’ve been too patient with the company and
they may well have a point, but as stated on no end of previous occasions the act of buying well at a cost
average of 21c means it’s much easier to be patient than for someone in at 45c or 50c. The IKN Weekly uses
the “least worst” method for its stock recos, not the method that best reflects what’s going on in the
portfolios of its readership.
West Red Lake Gold (WRLG.v): We squeezed the news of the WRLG placement into last week’s delayed
edition and as a final comment, stated this:
“…the current hot market means an upsizing of this placement in the next day or two would come as
zero surprise, we should also expect the overallotment facility to fully fill. As such, we may end up with a
share count approaching out original guesstimate of 400m at the end of 2025.”
Sure enough, WRLG wasted no time in adding the fizz to its bought deal last week (9):
Vancouver, British Columbia, September 16, 2025 – West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (“West Red Lake Gold” or
“WRLG” or the “Company”) (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to announce that as a result of strong
investor demand, it has entered into an agreement with Raymond James Ltd. (“Raymond James”), as sole
underwriter, to increase the size of its previously announced bought-deal financing. West Red Lake will now issue
32,632,000 common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”) at a price of C$0.95 per Common Share (the
“Common Share Issue Price”) for gross proceeds of C$31,000,400 (the “Offering”). The offering of 3,760,000
charity-flow through shares (the “Charity Flow-Through Shares”) at a price of C$1.33 per Charity Flow-Through
Share remains unchanged. In aggregate, gross proceeds will now be $36,001,200.
We still assume the 15% overallotment facility on the hard dollar shares is fully filled, that means we estimate
WRLG is about to issue 41,286,800 shares in total. That adjusts our model to 390.05m shares out at the end
of 2025, as seen here (right). As our original guesstimate was 400m shares and we later trimmed that to
380m shares, reality has put WRLG in the middle of our guesses and that’s fair enough. It also means the
company will raise gross proceeds of C$40.65m from the placement and that’s good money, more than
enough to see it through to positive free cash flow in 2026 and perhaps some of the extra can be budgeted
toward the next stages at second string Rowan, too.
12
On closing, WRLG will remove one of the most factor factors holding the stock back at the moment, the
doubts about treasury now fully removed. From here, all we really need to see WRLG’s price run is a positive
NR or two on operations and that the ramp-up is going as planned, simple asset re-rating will do the rest of
the work for us.
What could possibly go wrong?
We know Madsen has the cloud of doubt over it due to past mistakes and frankly, I don’t plan to be around
to see whether is will be able to consolidate production at the throughput it envisages. I consider the current
period to be the risk/reward sweet spot, as the development plan enacted by CEO Shane Williams has
multiple stopes in production and that’s more than
enough to get the mine to its first target, the steady WRLG: Shares out (m)
state 600tpd. On this trade my ambitions are near-
term, let’s get to C$1.44 and then take a good hard
look at what’s going on before making any “hold/sell”
call. That said, I want to sign off its notes this week by
underscoring that of all the stocks in the list at the
moment, WRLG strikes me as the most obvious one
for near-term upside and an easy win at U$3,600/oz
(and above) gold. Presumably, we’ll get Q3 production
update in the first couple of weeks of October and
assuming all systems go in that NR, the re-rate is
almost too easy to envisage. What could possibly go
wrong indeed…
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.to): RIO.to saw sellers early week and for a brief moment, our trade lost its 100%+
designation (by a penny, I think), but buyers showed up as we moved towards Friday and while down since
last weekend, the damage was superficial. Zero worries about our Top Pick stock, the build-out at Fenix
remains on schedule/budget. Let us remember, it’s not funded to production, instead it’s funded until positive
free cash flow.
Orecap Inv (OCI.v): An interesting change to the liquid-ish assets table this weekend, as the resumption
and now re-start of Kintavar (KTR.v) has added a new line of value to the OCI portfolio:
OCI.v: Marketable Secs, Investments in Assocs, Cash
value
ticker shares owned(m) PPS C$m Cents/share
AE.v 11.78 0.57 6.72 2.7
ARIC.v 7.39 0.58 4.29 1.7
ARIC warrant 4.17 0.38 1.58 0.6
XXIX.v 22.992 0.095 2.18 0.9
KTR.v 42.75 0.065 2.78 1.1
MERG.v 5.125 0.025 0.13 0.1
MERG warrant 2.56 0.00 0.00 0.0
MIS.cse 24.709 0.04 0.99 0.4
subtotal 18.67 7.5
Est.cash 0.03 0.0
Total 18.70 7.5c
At 247.714 S/O
With the closure of the KTR deal (11), OCI now officially owns its 19.9% when trading re-opened, the stock
popped nicely on the re-vamp. We remind readers that KTR (soon to be re-named “Auriginal”) is the 100%
owner of the Roger project in Quebec that has an all-categories historic resource of around 0.5m oz gold with
a small silver kicker. The company believes there’s a lot more to come from Roger and will begin to execute
on its geological development plan as from now.
The pop in KTR was complemented by modest improvements in the prices of OCI’s main holdings, AE and
ARIC and the per-share value is now just half a cent under the market price. That’s good value considering
its plans to spin out its other projects into newcos soon (update: that was approved by market authorities
this Monday (12)). In the last 18 months or so, OCI has consolidated its position as the hub company in the
Ore Group stable, fingers in most of its pies and poised to benefit from success in any of the projects.
13
868.41 20.25 744.65 851.481 371.512 641.322 532.962 83.172
878.813 74.343 10.843 67.843
50.093
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
22q4 32q1 32q2 32q3 32q4 42q1 42q2 42q3 42q4 52q1 52q2 tse52q3 tse52q4
source: company financials, IKN ests
Alongside my newly opened straight bet on XXIX (also a 19.9% owner of KTR now), it’s a great way to cover
this suite of tinycaps with low downside risk and plenty of upside potential.
Latin Metals (LMS.v): News from LMS last week (10) concerned its troubled Esperanza project in San Juan
Argentina. It went over the minor achievements made by the JV at the project, optionee Moxico working to
earn its 100% ownership over the stages as seen in the NR, but the main news was buried here:
“…Latin Metals has amended the underlying option agreement ("Amended Underlying Option") with the underlying
vendor ("Vendor"). Under the terms of the amendment, the Vendor’s right to terminate the option due to certain
project delays has been removed.”
We know the JV has been told a flat “No Way” by the local authorities to any further drilling at Esperanza,
something not mentioned in the NR last week (what a surprise). So seeing the payment schedule remove the
drilling metre commitment is a logical development. We remind readers that we assign a value of zero dollars
and zero cents to Esperanza, the reason to hold LMA is chiefly Organullo, then Cerro Bayo, then perhaps its
other properties such as Para in Peru.
Patagonia Gold (PGDC.v): And impressive move this week, but the illiquid nature of PGDC means it’s been
very difficult to recommend as a trade in real terms since being added to the Watch List. One of those
“success in name only” situations, I need to review this Watch List stock as the move has already been
massive and it’s time to consider whether it’s worth tracking the stock. On my pending list.
The Copper Basket
After thirty-eight weeks of 2025, The Copper Basket shows a gain of 36.67% to level stakes:
Shares out
company ticker price 1/1/25 (m) Market Cap current pps gain/loss%
1 SolGold (GBP) SOLG.l 6.92 3001.11 491.58 16.38 136.7%
2 Atex Resources ATX.v 1.43 279.21 670.10 2.40 67.8%
3 Trilogy Metals TMQ.to 1.65 164.1 466.04 2.84 72.1%
4 Arizona Sonoran ASCU.to 1.47 174.6 450.47 2.58 75.5%
5 Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v 1.90 169.914 404.40 2.38 25.3%
6 Faraday Copper FDY.to 0.74 205.516 293.89 1.43 93.2%
7 Regulus Resources REG.v 2.05 124.659 290.46 2.33 13.7%
8 Hercules Metals BIG.v 0.55 289.289 231.43 0.80 45.5%
9 Hot Chili HCH.v 0.67 175.07 138.31 0.79 17.9%
10 American Eagle AE.v 0.69 173.377 98.82 0.57 -17.4%
11 Element 29 Res ECU.v 0.63 136.924 83.52 0.61 -3.2%
12 Andina Copper ANDC.cse 0.16 211.085 61.21 0.29 81.3%
13 XXIX Metal XXIX.v 0.11 306.308 29.10 0.095 -13.6%
14 Copper Giant CGNT.v 0.315 117.73 22.37 0.19 -39.7%
15 Kobrea Exploration KBX.cse 0.60 35.622 20.30 0.57 -5.0%
NB: All stocks in CAD$ except SolGold in GBP Portfolio avg 36.67%
The Copper Basket keeps its winning streak intact and for the seventh time running, it’s up compared to the
week before. This time the average added 3.72% thanks to the mix of nine winners (ASCU.to, FDY.to, BIG.v,
AE.v, HCH.v, ECU.v, KBX.cse, CGNT.v, ANDC.cse) versus
The Copper Basket 2025, weekly evolution
five losers (ATX.v, SOLG.l, ALDE.v, TMQ.to, REG.v) and 40%
one stock that remained unchanged on the week 35%
30%
(XXIX.v). No big losers, while on the credit side we saw 25%
out-sized wins from Kobrea (KBX.cse up 23.9%), Copper 20%
15%
Giant (CGNT.v up 18.8%) and let’s add Hot Chili (HCH.v 10%
5%
up 9.7%). However, we are obliged to mention that
0%
there’s a clear sign this rally is getting tired now, as not -5%
-10%
only did all the big moves come from the smallest -15%
14
ts1naJ ht5naJ ht21 ht91 ht62 dn2bef ht9 ht61 dr32 dn2raM ht9 ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6rpA ht31 ht02 ht72 ht4yam ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1nuj ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht6luj ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3gua ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7peS ht41 ts12
source: IKN calcs
stocks, but all five losers came from the top half of the draw where the bigger market cappers live.
In copper-the-metal trading, we saw market prices drop on the Fed decision news but it wasn’t a massive
move and come Friday, the December Comex
contract was back to nearly unchanged on the
week. The chart (right makes the week’s worth of
trading look more dramatic than it was, as the Y-
axis is tight and the range wasn’t more than +/-
2% all week
Trading on the exchanges was somewhat quiet,
with the market seemingly taking a breather
before the upcoming double public holiday
scheduled in China for the first week of October.
According to all desks, when the combined
“National Day” and “Moon/Family” holidays
coincide China takes a whole week off instead of
two separate days, that’s happening in 2025 and
due to that, end-user factory buyers are holding fire. Now for our regular check on the weekly changes in
copper inventories. This week we went to the three source websites instead of relying on Chile’s Cochilco, as
due to a Chilean public holiday that State bureau had Friday off.
Another hike in world copper stocks levels this week, it’s becoming a habit. The three official
copper inventories systems added 12,981 metric tonnes (mt) of copper to close the week at
542,062mt.
Once again the most interesting and significant move was in Shanghai SHFE inventories, wh9ich
added another 11,760mt to close at 105,814mt. This time last week we were surprised by a similar
addition during a period when stocks normally draw down, seeing this happen two weeks in a row
makes it all the more concerning for the bull narrative. A few more words on this with the
dedicated chart, below.
The LME saw a small drop in overall inventory, down 5,075mt to close at 148,875mt
Another new record inventory at the Comex, this week adding another 6,200mt or so to get the
total to 287,373mt. IKN851 two weeks ago laid out the reason for the continued increase in Comex
stocks despite the end of the import influx, there’s simply an excess of copper in the North
American market at present and at least some of it ends up here.
Our dedicated SHFE chart shows that unexpected upmove in the thick blackk 2025 line in the last two weeks,
moving the total away from the 2022 and 2023 lines it’s tracked for most of the year and putting its stock
levels in line with years that showed less stress on supply, such as 2018 and 2019 (remember what the world
was like before the word Covid was invented?).
SHFE copper inventory levels, 2018 to 2025
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
15
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 2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
source: Cochilco data
However, the use of this yearly comparative chart includes the seasonal wrinkles and if you check closely, we
had a similar (though smaller) bump in SHFE copper inventories at this point of 2023. In this case 2025 may
be emulating that as two national holidays are coinciding this year to create an eight day holiday period and
copper are affected for their own sweet reasons, but if the trend remains in place in the first two weeks of
October, and SHFE continues to add stocks when by rights it should see draw downs, it will be time to raise
the alarm.
Now for notes on a few of our 2025 basket component stocks:
Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v): If there’s one mining stock that would be most obviously affected by a
stymied Milei government that wouldn’t be able to extend the time window for its RIGI investment benefits
program, it’s this one. We now know the size of
ALDE, we also know an approximate capex ticket
of around U$1.5Bn, but there’s no way ALDE will
be able to qualify for the current RIGI program, as
its project needs years of work before it gets to
the point where capex can be raised and a build
decision made. If Milei does well on October 26th,
expect ALDE to rally significantly as it will allow his
government the political space to widen the reach
of RIGI. However, a poor showing for the Milei
alliance in the legislative elections will turn his
admin into a dead duck and while those in the
RIGI system will still be in good shape (Vicuña,
Pachon, probably AbraSilver at Diablillos), Altar
and others will have to wait until 2027 and the
next Presidential election to see if they can get their place.
It wasn’t a surprise to see ALDE sell down last week and while its C$2.38 finish was 11c (-4.4%) down on the
week, even that needed to receive a massage on Friday at low volumes (while nobody was looking) because
before then , it was trading on a wide bid/ask between C$2.20 and C$2.30. Unless copper puts in a big spurt
in the next few days, I expect ALDE to trade lower.
Hercules Metals (BIG.v): We’ve watched several false starts at the Leviathan copper project over the last
year and a half (coming on two years, in fact), but the
hole assay delivered to market on Wednesday 17th (13)
may have marked a turning point in the project. Entitled
“Hercules Metals Intersects 81 m of 1.5% Copper Within
346 m of 0.66% Copper in First 2025 Drill Hole Completed
at the Leviathan Porphyry System in Idaho”, the results
from this single reported hole 25 (HER-25-02) are the first
clear evidence BIG.v has got a better handle on the
geology after its work on better understanding the
geological model at the start of the year. This drill map
from the NR is the pick of the visual aids, as it shows how
the best grades from hole 25, the sweet spot of 80.8m of
1.49% Cu (plus Ag and Mo kickers) coincides with the
grades returned from the previous hole HER-24-12 of last
year. With (if memory serves) six more holes left to report
in the weeks ahead from the 1.3km Leviathan, I’m looking
for reasons to take the project more seriously.
In trading, this ten-day chart shows how BIG popped
nicely on the news and touched 85c briefly, so its Friday
close of 80c must have been a little disappointing for
those already bought in. They don’t include me, so I’m
happy to see it close lower than expected. It may have
deserved to run higher, but as this desk’s feeling is “let’s
16
see it they hit with the next batch too before changing opinion”, a few others thinking the same way is all it
takes for an exploreco rally to fade a little.
Wishing them the best for the next few assay NR and I’d be more than happy to eat a few words on BIG.v if
the next holes deliver, the metals world needs a large copper discovery in a good address. Watching closely.
Kobrea Exploration Corp (KBX.cse): Considering its news pre-open on Wednesday (14)…
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 17, 2025) - Kobrea Exploration Corp. (CSE: KBX)
(FSE: F3I) (OTCQB: KBXFF) ("Kobrea" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an
agreement with Kernaghan & Partners Ltd. (the "Lead Agent") to act as lead agent and sole bookrunner, on its
own behalf and on behalf of a syndicate of agents including Beacon Securities Limited and Red Cloud Securities
Inc. (collectively, the "Agents"), pursuant to which the Agents have agreed to sell, on a best efforts private
placement basis, up to 10,000,000 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.50 per Unit for aggregate
gross proceeds to the Company of up to $5,000,000 (the "Offering").
The Units will be issued pursuant to Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-
106"), as amended and supplemented by Coordinated Blanket Order 45-935 – Exemptions from Certain
Conditions of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). Each Unit will
consist of one (1) common share in the capital of the Company and one-half of one (1/2) common share purchase
warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant") of the Company.
Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one (1)
common share at a price per share of $0.75 for a period of
24 months from the date of issuance, provided the Warrants
may not be exercised for a period of 60 days from the date of
issuance.
…KBS held its price together well on the week, though it
must be said the 57c finish was more than a little tape-
painty and we should expect the open market price to at
least fall back to the placement price. One of my
candidates for a small spec trade, this is not the price
that I’d want as an entry. No reason to pay 56c on the
open market when the placement takers pay 50c and get
a half warrant as well.
Copper Giant (CGNT.v): There’s no dump without a pump.
17
You never know who instigates these pump moves in a stock happy to pay for “sponsored coverage” to a
whole range of outlets, but now and again the breathless prose creates traction and last week seems to be
one of those moments. Its proponents will of course say CGNT is only playing catch-up and has a lot further
to run, compared to its size and promise. I’m not one of those, but seeing it rally in this market that seems to
be willing to pay up for the worst dogs in any metals sub-sector is logical enough.
The Producer Basket
After 38 weeks of 2025, the Producer Basket shows a gain of 107.43% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/25 Shares out MktCap(U$Bn) current pps gain/loss%
1 Newmont NEM 37.22 1108 90.55 81.72 119.6%
2 Agnico Eagle AEM 78.21 502.579 81.01 161.19 106.1%
3 Barrick B 15.50 1705.994 56.28 32.99 112.8%
4 Franco-Nevada FNV 117.59 192.119 41.10 213.93 81.9%
5 Eldorado Gold EGO 14.87 204.909 6.09 29.71 99.8%
6 B2Gold Corp BTG 2.44 1313.11 5.90 4.49 84.0%
7 New Gold NGD 2.49 790.9 5.26 6.65 168.1%
8 OceanaGold OGC.to 11.94 231.127 4.67 27.68 131.8%
9 Sandstorm SAND 5.58 296.844 3.56 11.99 114.9%
10 Wesdome Gold WDOFF 8.98 149.891 2.09 13.94 55.2%
All prices and stock quotes in U$, except share price of OGC (in CAD$) Port. avg 107.43%
An unusual week for the bigger PM producers, as the largest market cap companies did better than the
smaller ones even as gold continued its run higher (GLD up 1.1% on the week). Perhaps it was the Denver
Gold Show influence and a lack of real dealflow (lots of talk, not so much action) that crimped the style of the
medium-caps, or perhaps it’s a raft of new money finding the easy ways in after watching the presentations
of Bristow, Palmer, Harquail, Smallwood and the other sector A-list stars, but it wasn’t just our list of ten, as
the GDX (+3.7%) also beat out the more leveraged GDXJ (+2.7%).
Anyway, only seven of our ten managed to record week-over-week gains (NEM, AEM, B, FNV, EGO, NGD,
SAND), as two were losers (OGC.to, WDOFF) and once was unchanged to the penny (BTG). Best mover by
some distance was Barrick (B up 13.6%) as Bristow managed to wow them with Fourmile at the show. At the
end of Q2, the market cap difference between Barrick and Franco-Nevada was down to less than four billion
dollars, as we approach the end of Q3 that’s now over fourteen billion.
The 2025 Producer Basket: Weekly performance and
140% comparative to GDX control
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Barrick (B) (ABX.to): We continue with thoughts on B, starting with a re-cap of the note on this stock in
IKN849 dated September that started this way…
“I found myself pondering the future prospects of B last week and strangely, found myself
thinking positive thoughts about the company for the first time in a long time.”
18
ts1naJ ht5naJ ht21 ht91 ht62 dn2bef ht9 ht61 dr32 dn2raM ht9 ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6rpA ht31 ht02 ht72 ht4yam ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1nuj ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht6luj ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3gua ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7peS ht41 ts12
The 2025 Producer Basket: Percentage diff. between
10% GDX benchmark & basket (negative= IKN ahead)
8%
ikn 6%
gdx control
4%
2%
0%
source: IKN calcs -2%
-4%
ts1naJ ht5naJ ht21 ht91 ht62 dn2bef ht9 ht61 dr32 dn2raM ht9 ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6rpA ht31 ht02 ht72 ht4yam ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1nuj ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht6luj ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3gua ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7peS ht41 ts12
source: IKN calcs, NYSE data
…and ended this way:
“It may be time to reconsider Barrick as its long-term strategy starts to play out.”
Now I’m the first to admit there was no mention of Fourmile in IKN849 and my contention was based more
around the strategy playing out at Pueblo Viejo, Veladero and Reko Diq, but the move made by this stock last
week was right in the wheelhouse of a company at a cycle low that’s ready to deliver a series of more upbeat
news events to the market. The surprise came from a different place (15):
“Fourmile is emerging as a multi-generational project,” says Barrick President and Chief Executive Mark Bristow.
“With the ongoing exploration drilling results, we expect to double the resource by the end of this year2 and, even
more excitingly, we are continuing to define significant high-grade orebody extensions underpinning the current
exploration upside estimate of 32-34Mt @ 15 – 16g/t2 outside of our current 2024 mineral resource. As a result,
Fourmile is rapidly competing to be the largest and highest-grade gold discovery this century.”
Fourmile is the 100% Barrick-owned extension to the Goldrush mine (NGM, Barrick NEM JV) and has been
slated as one of NGM extension projects for many years, but Barrick’s claim that its resource is expected to
double was the talk of the Denver show. The current resource stands at 1.4m oz M+I, plus 6.4m oz inferred
at the high grades as seen above, so the assumption after this week is a resource that goes to 15m oz in the
near term (and then who knows in the longer-term).
With so much still in the inferred category it’s still
early to say when the project becomes a mine and
what its output will be, but the ballpark estimate of
600k to 750k oz gold per year was quickly
transformed into 750k in the trade paper headlines.
The news dropped Tuesday 16th , the same day as
CEO Bristow’s keynote speech and at first the share
price didn’t respond, so maybe it took the suited Wall
St people the time to wrap up the Denver networking
and get back to New York before deciding they
needed to own Barrick again, the stock shot higher at
the end of the week, adding 10% between the
Wednesday and Friday closes at 13.6% total week-
over-week. It’s also 25.9% up from the publication of IKN849 and for the record, I’ll always prefer being right
for the wrong reason over getting a call spot on and failing to make money.
B2Gold (BTG) (BTO.to): The recent news out of B2Gold (BTG) (BTO.to) has seen the stock rally nicely
and, perhaps for the first time this year, keep pace with its peers in the Tier 1/Tier 2 gold producer universe.
We could go back to mid-May and note the stock was still trading under U$3 at that time, but for me the real
difference is in August and September, as the last two months have seen BTG move +32% from U$3.40 to
this weekend’s U$4.49 and that’s not at all shabby. However, as this chart shows the stock is still lagging the
field over the longer-term and the trigger for the under-performance is almost certainly Goose. We’d already
been told of a cost overrun when in late November 2023 the first official “we’re delayed” news was offered,
that followed by further cost hike and ramp-up delay when BTG filed its 2023 annuals in February of 2024. As
2024 became 2025, the out-of favour BTG failed to catch the same winds as the sector star turns and the
gap widened in 1q25 and 2q25.
19
So the recent rally is welcome, but on due consideration and taking into account what we’ve been told in the
last couple of weeks, I firmly believe there’s more to come from BTG in the near-term. There are, as I see it,
four good reasons to buy BTG today:
Firstly, the NR out last week (16) entitled “B2Gold Provides an Update on Goose Mine Commissioning,
Confirms Consolidated 2025 Production Guidance Range, and Provides Operational Updates for the Fekola,
Masbate, and Otjikoto Mines” and while long and covering several aspects of the company, what mattered
most is the latest from the troubled Goose build-out (your author supplies the bold-type)
Due to the crushing plant capacity shortfall in the third quarter of 2025, B2Gold is modifying its 2025 gold
production guidance for the Goose Mine to 80,000 to 110,000 ounces (original guidance range of
120,000 to 150,000 ounces). B2Gold anticipates gold production in the fourth quarter of 2025 to be in line
with original estimates of approximately 70,000 ounces. The Company reiterates the near-term and long-term
gold production estimates at the Goose Mine, which included gold production forecasts of approximately 250,000
ounces of gold production in 2026, approximately 330,000 ounces of gold production in 2027, and average
annual gold production for the initial full six years of operations (2026 to 2031 inclusive) of approximately
300,000 ounces per year, based only on existing Mineral Reserves.
In other words, more delays but this time, the company is being specific and promising things will be on track
by the start of 4q25. As such, the reaction of the market wasn’t so negative and that’s the first reason to like
BTG today, it’s getting buyers moving in and hunting bargains when on other occasions, the selling would
have sunk the price unabated.
Second reason to like BTG comes from statements made at the Denver Gold Show by CEO Clive Johnson last
week and for those, we’ll lean on Mining Dot Com (17):
B2Gold (TSX:BTO) (NYSE AMERICAN: BTG) is open to mergers and acquisitions, but may hold off until 2026,
when management expects the market to assign greater value to its fully ramped-up Goose mine in Nunavut and
the Fekola Regional project in Mali, CEO Clive Johnson said.
Johnson’s comments, shared this week at Forum Americas in Colorado Springs, come as B2Gold joins a sector
seeing a surge of deal-making in 2025, with Australian and Canadian miners driving consolidation.
We again see clear confidence that the company is about to turn the corner at Goose, as that M&A talk
assumes the long-overdue re-rate as Goose starts to perform to spec. Which leads us to our third reason to
consider going long BTG, this split photo I put up on TwitterX
this weekend (18).
The Clive Johnson of 2025 is not a CEO looking to be the
aggressor in an M&A process, instead that’s the aspect and
physical profile of a man ready to sell to the highest bidder
and get out the game. Of course no person is irreplaceable in
a company and BTG as an entity could survive and thrive
without Johnson at the helm, but in real terms this company is
his fiefdom and kingdom, BTG isn’t going to move forward
without him. I have no special insight into his physical health,
we also know the serious family issues he want through a
couple of years ago (because Johnson was open and public
about the matter),and those may have taken their toll. But for
whatever reason, he looked old and tired to the bone at Denver last week, the image of a seller and not a
buyer (and if that strikes you as unfair, intrusive and too personal, sorry but he heads up a public company
and weaknesses in any story are best considered for what they are; capitalism sucks somtimes). Also please
note, “holding off M&A until 2026” may sound like a long way in the future, in reality it’s less than 100 days
from now.
The fourth and final reason to consider BTG today is the simplest of them all, the price. All the mining politics
intrigue in the world is still beaten by “it’s the economy, stupid” And while hardly the perfect corporate
vehicle, B2Gold is still a 1m oz/year producer, the U$5.9Bn market cap for those ounces makes a deal price
incremental and in Goose it gets to improve is geopolitical risk profile significantly. It’s not a great fit for
every major or Tier 1 player (Agnico does not want Masbate or Fekola, of that we can be sure), but there’s
obvious synergies with a Kinross or similar.
20
Summing up, we’re not crunching the numbers here and with Goose about to deliver weak Q3 production, we
may see an above-guidance AISC that squashes the share price temporarily. However a convergence of
factor, including that notable change in the aspect of its CEO (trying to be as diplomatic as possible), point to
a company that’s on the block and ready to accept offers from the highest bidder. The stock price lag of 2024
and the first half of 2025 was notable, recent action has given BTG some of its missing momentum and I’d
fully expect that to continue from here into 2026 and an eventual M&A deal.
Newmont (NEM): When the fusion with Newcrest happened, NEM vowed to dispose of several non-core
assets and come the start of 3q25, it was down to just one project on its books as held for sale the Coffee
project in Canadian Yukon. That’s now gone, with NEM selling it to the Tim Warman junior Fuerte Metals
(FMT.v) for U$50m cash and a 3% NSR that has a ticket price of U$100m, allowing the company to claim a
U$150m headline sales price (silly). Along with that asset sale, NEM also announced last week the exit from
its position in Orla Mining (ORLA), the sale of its 43mn shares grossing U$439m (19).
This is all about balance sheet improvement and to its credit, NEM has done a good job of getting its financial
debt to manageable levels. As at end 2q25 debt stood at U$7.1Bn and BV U$32.3Bn, so the cash raised will
continue to de-leverage the balance sheet (assuming NEM isn’t about to buy something else, of course…we
doubt that).
The TinyCaps List
After 38 weeks of 2024, the TinyCaps show a gain of 33.97% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/25 Shares out Mkt Cap current pps gain/loss%
Barksdale Res BRO.v 0.17 135.557 12.20 0.09 -47.1%
Condor Res CN.v 0.145 149.913 17.24 0.115 -20.7%
Electrum Disc ELY.v 0.13 98.995 6.43 0.065 -50.0%
Endurance Gold EDG.v 0.145 176.296 41.43 0.235 62.1%
Kodiak Copper KDK.v 0.39 85.7 69.42 0.81 107.7%
Latin Metals LMS.v 0.08 121.915 24.38 0.20 150.0%
Mogotes Metals MOG.v 0.13 374.759 112.43 0.30 130.8%
Radius Gold RDU.v 0.085 107.554 16.67 0.155 82.4%
South Star STS.v 0.55 69.2 9.34 0.135 -75.5%
Viva Gold VAU.v 0.14 145.53 20.37 0.14 0.0%
Prices in CAD$, data from TSXV basket avg 33.97%
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 $25m They have to be tiny. In a couple of cases I’ve stretched the window a little and
allowed sub-U$25m market capper in, 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 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 2025. This connects to the company’s “unbroken” status, as we
want news and potential catalysts from companies with projects that can work.
Decent management if possible. When you are down among the little guys it doesn’t pay to be too choosy, but still I
preferred companies that have teams or people with good peer reputations.
A decent week for the TinyCaps list, our basket average up
50% TinyCaps, 2025 weekly tracker
nearly 5% on the week and now pushing the ceiling of the
40%
range it’s been trading around since breaking out in June.
30%
The move was fueled by five winners (BRO.v, EDG.v, KDK.v,
MS.v, VAU.v), in particular the strong percentage gains seen 20%
in Viva Gold (VAU.v up 27.3%) and Kodiak Copper (KDK.v 10%
up 20.9%). There were three losers (MOG.v, RDU.v, STS.v) 0%
with the broken story at South Star (STS.v down 15.6%) -10%
21 ts1naJ ht5naJ ht21 ht91 ht62 dn2bef ht9 ht61 dr32 dn2raM ht9 ht61 dr32 ht03 ht6rpA ht31 ht02 ht72 ht4yam ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1nuj ht8 ht51 dn22 ht92 ht6luj ht31 ht02 ht72 dr3gua ht01 ht71 ht42 ts13 ht7peS ht41 ts12
source: IKN calcs, TSX data
the biggest drop. Two others (CN.v, ELY.v) were unchanged.
Kodiak Copper (KDK.v): Up 20.9% for no particular reason, other than the company got plenty of
exposure both at Beaver Creek and the Denver show. We await the closure of the $7m financing, then the
resource estimate for MPD which is due in 4q25 (i.e. soon).
The world is looking for copper bargains, this has a good address and newsflow is guaranteed in the next
weeks. Though at C$70m market cap even before this financing closes, KDK is no longer cheap and we know
MPD will be a low grade project.
South Star (STS.v): The bottom has dropped out of this stock and with the recent firing of the CEO, it
looks as though shares will have to go through a ritual bloodletting of sellers before some sort of floor is
reached. A broken story, we wrote off the stock many weeks ago and stated that it wouldn’t make the 2026
list, but on second thoughts we should also recognize that its profile of “Brazil Critical Metals” is a hot one
right now and once the selling has subsided, there may be a trade if the company gets corporate level
interest. No way do I buy at the moment, but perhaps it’s worth keeping on the radar, after all. As far as I’m
concerned, the lower it goes in the next few weeks, the better.
Electrum Discovery (ELY.v): Still languishing at these lows and likely to do so until the current placement
(20) (20m units, full warrant, to raise C$1.4m) is closed. This is still my idea of a decent dice roll microcap at
these levels, perhaps it should be moved to the formal Watch List to make my point clearer.
NB: Please be clear that The TinyCaps list is NOT a list of recommended tinycap stocks. It is a list of companies with market caps of
under $25m 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
Argentina: What’s at stake on October 26th
The Buenos Aires Provincial parliament elections are now behind us and as noted in the last two editions,
plus any number of places in the market selling off Argentina-exposed issues, it didn’t go well for incumbent
President Javier Milei. However and as mentioned on several occasions in previous editions, The Buenos Aires
provincial parliament vote was a mere hors d’oeuvre to the main event this year in Argentina, formally known
as “Las elecciones legislativas de Argentina de 2025”. These are the “mid-terms” in the country that decide
around half the seats in the national parliament lower house (deputies) and a third of the national congress
upper house (senate). This time around, 127 (of 257) lower house and 24 (or 72) upper house seats are up
for grabs in elections over the length and breadth of the country. Though as important as the make-up of the
country’s parliament for the next two years is the message sent by the public, as this vote is traditionally a
referendum on how the sitting government is doing. This year is no exception and all 25 provinces will have a
vote for at least some of their lower house representatives, (normally half the province allotted seats), with a
third of province elections including Senate seat battles (three per province). This election is, therefore, vitally
important for Javier Milei and his party, particularly in light of the defeat (no other words fits) earlier this
month, when the Peronist opposition came from behind in the polls to beat his candidates by around 14
points in Argentina's biggest and most important province. So to the current pulse and this opinion poll
22
tracker shows the latest voter intention across the country's average, with the Milei people showing in the
lead with just under 40% and the main opposition on 35% or so.
However, it's not that easy to gauge whether one side "wins" or "loses" in the midterms as a simple global
number, a lot depends on exactly which seats are up for grabs. It's a little complicated for the first-timer and
I was wondering how the explain it to an audience that only really wants to know about the election effect on
mining, but to my surprise the Wikipedia page (21)
on the election does a good job via three tables that
cut and slice what's about to happen into a logical
sequence. I’m not going to fill up this note with pure
political visuals, please check out the link if you care
enough and if you do, you’ll see the “Bancas por
bloque” tables for both lower and upper house. But
to give a taste of how it works, here (right) is the bit
that matters most from the most important table
that covers the seats in the lower house of deputies.
It shows that “Fuerza Patria”, i.e. the main Peronist
alliance and opposition to Milei, currently has 98 of
the 257 lower house seats. Of those, 46 are in-play
in this mid-term election. If we then move to the Milei alliance “La Libertad Avanza”, it currently has 37 of the
257 lower house seats, of which just eight are seats up for grabs in this mid-term election. It then goes on
with the Macri PRO party (21 seats in play this election), the UCR, etc.
In other words, some parties have more to lose than others and ostensibly at least, the Peronist opposition
has the most to lose in these mid-terms. Until recently it was assumed the Milei team would make significant
gains and hold many more seats after October 26th, thereby increasing their power in the country’s
Congress. However, the combo of the Buenos Aires province result two weeks ago and the quickly declining
popularity of the Milei government (corruption scandal etc) means it could end up as a fight for political
survival. So even if Milei “wins” more seats in a month’s time, he may be considered the overall loser if the
Peronists do better than expected, or hold on to a veto bloc in either lower or upper house, etc.
As for the stakes, they are now high. Before the provincial result, Milei was strutting and claiming it was “the
end of Socialism” in Argentina, with the combo of both votes about to give him a de facto mandate to push
for deeper reforms and for his agenda of law changes to move through a friendlier Congress and into law.
Suddenly, he’s faced with the possibility of the country punishing his government instead of rewarding it and,
if October 25th doesn’t go well, he’ll be left as a quasi dead duck President that, even in the best of cases,
would have to throttle back on his reform plans until 2027 and an eventual re-election as President. To give
an example, before the Buenos Aires vote Argentina’s Country Risk premium had dropped to around 800 bps,
the lowest it’s been in years, thanks to the foreign markets’ approval for what Milei has been doing. Post vote
country risk rocketed to around 1,400bps, which is now the second joint highest in Latin America along with
Bolivia (yes, Venezuela is the worst) (22).
23
Come the day of the vote, Argentines will have a good feel for who has won, lost or whether the results are
in the grey area, with successes and failures for either side. We can expect headlines abroad to feature
successes for Milei, as even with the recent drop in popularity his alliance is almost certain to make inroads
and hold more seats in the lower and upper house and, importantly, gain seats from the the Peronists. (they
have 46 seats in the lower house to defend, his party has just eight). So “look we did well” headlines will be
fed to the outside world. However, it will pay observers FDI to heed local pundits (especially the level-headed
ones) before making a call on who wins or loses. Also, it may be an obvious thing to say but with all
provinces having seats in play, regional factors will matter as well. For example, a good performance for Milei
in Salta or San Juan will mean more to our sector of focus, mining, than if he does well in Formosa or
Misiones.
Regarding mining, one of the most obvious knock-on effects of this mid-term will be on RIGI. We know the
19 projects already entered, as well as those expected to apply for the RIGI scheme soon (see IKN851).
However, other mining project that will need more time to mature before making a construction decision
have been quietly pinning hopes on a RIGI Part Two and assuming Milei will be able to extend the deadline
for application past 2026 and include future years. Be clear, if Milei does badly on October 26th that will
become far more unlikely and projects such as Aldebaran’s Altar, for just one example, wouldn’t be able to
take advantage in the same way as Josemaria, Pachón or Diablillos (which should be able to make its formal
move in mid-2026) can and will.
Chile’s election season begins
This week saw the start of the official campaign period for the Chilean Presidential election, now less than
two months away. We also had the first live TV debate between the main candidates on September 10th and
considering the yawning gap in political positions between the frontrunners, classic left wing Jeannette Jara
and the very right wing José Antonio Kast, it was a well mannered affair that centered on policies rather than
personal attacks or mud-slinging. That won’t last.
Meanwhile, Chile loves its opinion polls almost as much as Argentina and since the debate, we’ve had results
from no fewer than 11 polls. Wikipedia (the flavour of the day) does a reasonable visual on them all (23) so
here’s the bit that matters:
Within a reasonable margin they all say the same thing, that Jeannette Jara and José Antonio Kast are
heading to a second round run-off and the only other candidate within touching distance is the centre-right
Evelyn Matthei. This isn’t a Bolivia situation in which a Rodrigo Pax can come from nowhere and make the
frame so for all intents and purposes we can forget the rest, including the somewhat vaunted “Chile’s Milei”,
the Libertarian Johannes Kaiser (who, between us, is a dumbass of the first order).
But I digress. As noted in previous editions, we can be fairly sure to see Jara face Kast in the run-off.
However, all polls predict an easy Kast win if that is the case, as he’s bound to capture most of the right wing
votes that Matthei, Parisi, Kaiser etc get in Round One. For example, this survey (24) by LCN predicts a 61/39
win for Kast which is typical for the range. This desk firmly agrees and as stated previously, we should
assume Kast is the next President of Chile and position accordingly, the best Latam jurisdiction for mining FDI
is about to get better.
24
Ecuador: Protests to ramp up
Last week, President Daniel Noboa grasped the same nettle that other Presidents had tried and failed to
implement, announcing the end of government subsidized fuel prices in Ecuador. The measure, particularly
as regards diesel, was the cause of significant protests during the Moreno and Lasso governments and led to
the downfall of Guillermo Lasso as President. The response from the same people who brought the country to
a standstill the last time cheap fuel was threatened, CONAIE and the other indigenous community groups,
was quick, with an “immediate and indefinite strike” called on Thursday (25). President Noboa replied, telling
protesters to “get back to work and stop bothering the lives of everyone else” (26) and with that the battle
lines are drawn. It’s the right time for Noboa to move on this issue, just after his election victory and just
before the November referendum with seven questions (now eight, he wants to set up a body to review the
country’s Constitution) widely expected to go his way. However, it doesn’t mean he won’t have a fight on his
hands and the chances of an unstable Ecuador of an extended period are high. The country risk shot higher
on the news and USD sovereign bonds sold off. Watch this space.
Meanwhile, the controversy at the Dundee (DPM.to) Loma Larga gold project in South Ecuador made national
news headlines last week when, on the back of President Daniel Noboa’s statements about how the project’s
future is in the hands of the local authorities (see IKN852 last week), the residents of the provincial capital
Cuenca put on a well-attended protest march on Tuesday that was big enough to get an English language
news report from Reuters (27) that starts like this:
Tens of thousands of residents and local leaders in Ecuador's central Azuay province took to the
streets on Tuesday to demand the suspension of a mining project by Canada's Dundee Precious
Metals, which they say will affect a vital water reserve.
The government of President Daniel Noboa had granted Dundee an environmental license to start
building the Loma Larga gold mine there, but as community pressure mounted, the country's energy
minister in August suspended the start of construction work until Dundee Precious Metals (DPM.TO),
which recently changed its name to DPM Metals, provides an environmental management plan.
Provincial authorities reject the project, saying it will affect the region's 3,200-hectare Quimsacocha
reserve and its surrounding paramos - highland moors that act as giant sponges and supply the bulk
of drinking water to major cities there.
Authorities estimated that over 90,000 people marched in the provincial capital of Cuenca on
Tuesday, chanting "Hands off Quimsacocha!" and "Water is worth more than anything!"
"We want the national government to revoke the environmental license," Cuenca Mayor Cristian
Zamora said. "The streets of Cuenca are roaring ... and they will have to listen to us."
The national government’s move of “let the locals decide” mentioned last weekend, now looks like part of a
larger strategy in light of the fuel subsidy decision. Noboa knows his attempt to walk back the decades-long
subsidy that makes diesel in Ecuador some of the cheapest fuel in the world would be unpopular and sure
enough CONAIE’s strike action has been triggered by the fuel subsidy decision. We note however that
CONAIE’s call to arms also included “against extractivism” as another of their reasons to protest and Noboa’s
move to sacrifice Loma Larga makes it look like a bargaining chip.
Ecuador is now highly volatile and many eyes will be on how effective the CONAIE protest action turns out to
be, but that’s not the only way it should be measured. The indigenous strategy tends to be an on-off-on
approach to protests, so even if there aren’t many marches or roadblocks in the first days or weeks, don’t
suppose the issue is going to die down. For the record, I’m comfortable about holding my trade in Salazar
Resources (SRL.v), but will pay attention to newsflow in the locality. It’s unlikely to be a prime target, but
there are enough anti-mining people in the locality to cause near-term mischief.
Market Watching
Atico Mining (ATY.v) keeps moving
Last week in IKN852 and “Atico Mining (ATY.v) moves”, we noted that the nominal and loose 20c target we
set for Atico Mining (ATY.v) in IKN849 that presumed it will get a positive decision on its Environmental
Impact (EIA) permit had been reached. We ended the brief commentary last week with these words:
“As things stand, that 20c line may get broken fairly easily if/when the permit news drops. However,
I’d advise readers who speculated on ATY to follow the old adage “buy the rumour, sell the news”
25
and take your profits at that moment. There may be longer-term profit available, but the near-term
for ATY will also include the need for more financing at the very least, and the high likelihood of a
“Loma Larga Reception” for the news, i.e, widespread protests from locals who fell swindled by a
less-than transparent permitting process. We note that whatever the government might say, La Plata
is an unpopular project in the zone.”
Here’s what happened since then:
Indeed, ATY put in a massive move on the back of more positive newsflow out of La Plata and Ecuador,
specifically this NR (28):
Vancouver, September 17, 2025 -- Atico Mining Corporation (the “Company” or “Atico”) (TSX.V: ATY |
OTCQX: ATCMF) is pleased to announce that further to the Press Release on March 5th, 2024,
another milestone has been reached with the signing of the Investment Protection Agreement (IPA).
The agreement with the Ecuadorian State is for development of the La Plata mining project covering
a total investment of USD$157.9 million.
In Ecuador, each project must reach its own agreement with the government of Ecuador on its State burden
regime (taxes, royalties, etc) and while this process is no guarantee the mine happens, it’s understood as a
prelude to the government approving the key EIA which is why the stock did what it did last week. I’d now
strongly suggest anyone long the stock (congrats by the way, I know of at least three of you from
correspondence) take profits in the near future. For one thing, the “sell the news” on the EIA is now more
obvious an outcome, for another a placement is now probably, not just possible.
UPDATE Monday evening: ATY closed at 27c today, giving another reason to take profit.
Ero Copper (ERO) (ERO.to) and an obvious trade set-up
A stock we followed and traded with little success a couple of times, the recent uptick in Ero Copper (ERO)
(ERO.to) catches the attention on a pure charting basis,
as from here there’s little in the way of price resistance
until the USD price gets above U$22 from this
weekend’s U$16.97. That might not be a mega ten-
bagger trade set-up, but with copper now improving and
the company offering good drilling news from its latest
project, it looks one of the safer bets as we approach
the end of Q3 2025.
ERO has been a volatile share price in the last couple of
years, mainly because it goes through periods of market
optimism that is invariably dampened by quarterly
results that have not lived up to guidance or
expectations. That lack of operatrional consistency has cost the company in reputation terms, but it would
only take one good quarter (or more accurately, one that beats more modest expectations) to see the market
come back to the stock. The chart currently tells us we’re on the verge of that happening.
26
Conclusion
IKN853 is done, we end bullet points:
The trade I’m about to open in Aurion (AU.v) is based on larger-scale corporate strategy, rather than
my usual criteria. That’s probably the reason I’ve been reticent about pulling the trigger, as the deep
value has been screaming at me for weeks but it’s taken until now to justify it to myself. I’m finally
comfortable and at just over C$1.00, the entry point is more than reasonable consideringt the
craziness of what’s been going on in peer stocks.
The more I think about it, the more I want to formalize my interest in Electrum (ELY.v) and Kobrea
(KBX.cse) by adding them to the Watch List. A decision next week.
Barrick (B) and B2Gold (BTG) are good places to look if you want larger cap exposure. Then again,
this seemingly unstoppable gold price run is making them all look cheap.
Not so much on Rio2 (RIO.to) today, but I’ll sign off by making sure you understand the importance
of the stock to my portfolio and investment strategy in this gold bull: It’s my biggest position by far,
it’s the single stock I most want you to own at the moment, it’s going a lot higher. Own some.
I thank you in advance for any feedback. Our Top Pick stock is Rio2 Ltd (RIO.v). Flash updates will be sent if
required by events.
I wish you good trading fortune, ladies and gentlemen. Best wishes, Mark.
Footnotes, appendices, references, disclaimer
(1) https://www.mining.com/mining-forum-americas-gold-majors-vow-
discipline/&ved=2ahUKEwju2M3F8u2PAxWoSjABHRnVB2IQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2mYsXW7a8a8VgoBWYYcNz-
(2) https://www.gold.org/news-and-events/press-releases/elton-john-reveals-golden-moments-his-celebrated-life
(3) https://aurionresources.com/news/2025/aurion-announces-stock-option-grants/
(4) https://aurionresources.com/site/assets/files/1587/aurion_corporate_presentation_-_september_2025.pdf
(5) https://aurionresources.com/news/2025/aurion-completes-non-brokered-private-placement-with-kinross/
(6) https://surgecopper.com/news-releases/surge-copper-announces-closing-of-strategic-private-placement-with-african-rainbow-
minerals-limited/
(7) https://www.provenancegold.com/20250918-provenance-gold-intercepts-1.55-gt-gold-over-92.96m-in-hole-ed-26-extending-strong-
pervasive-mineralization-to-the-north
(8) https://mineraalamos.com/news/2025/minera-alamos-announces-completion-of-c-135-million-bought-deal-offering/
(9) https://westredlakegold.com/west-red-lake-gold-announces-upsize-to-previously-announced-bought-deal-public-offering-to-36-million/
(10) https://latin-metals.com/news-releases/latin-metals-provides-update-on-esperanza-project-san-juan-argentina/
(11) https://orecap.ca/news/orecap-closes-its-acquisition-of-19.9-of-kintavar-exploration/
(12) https://orecap.ca/news/orecap-updates-on-43-101-technical-reports-and-receives-shareholder-approval-for-new-spin-outs/
(13) https://www.herculesmetals.com/news-release/?qmodStoryID=8693860981900601
(14) https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266773/Kobrea-Announces-5-Million-Best-Efforts-Private-Placement-of-Units
(15) https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2025/updated-studies-confirm-fourmile-as-one-of-this-centurys-most-significant-
gold-finds/default.aspx
(16) https://www.b2gold.com/news-media/news-releases/news-details/2025/B2Gold-Provides-an-Update-on-Goose-Mine-
Commissioning-Confirms-Consolidated-2025-Production-Guidance-Range-and-Provides-Operational-Updates-for-the-Fekola-Masbate-
and-Otjikoto-Mines/default.aspx
(17) https://www.mining.com/b2gold-open-to-mas-but-not-until-2026/
(18) https://x.com/Mark_IKN/status/1969372442029346834?t=3S5Cbcvjo6maGDr4oumNBQ&s=03
27
(19) https://www.newmont.com/investors/news-release/news-details/2025/Newmont-Announces-Sale-of-its-Interest-in-Orla-Mining-Ltd-
/default.aspx
(20) https://electrumdiscovery.com/electrum-discovery-corp-opens-a-non-brokered-private-placement-of-up-to-c1-4-million/
(21) https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elecciones_legislativas_de_Argentina_de_2025
(22) https://www.perfil.com/noticias/sociedad/encuesta-milei-tiene-un-537-de-desaprobacion-crecio-el-apoyo-a-kicillof-y-la-corrupcion-es-
la-principal-preocupacion-de-los-argentinos.phtml
(23)
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Sondeos_de_intenci%C3%B3n_de_voto_para_la_elecci%C3%B3n_presidencial_de_Chile_de_2025
(24) https://www.democrata.es/internacional/jeannette-jara-domina-encuestas-presidenciales-chilenas-ultimo-sondeo/
(25) https://www.primicias.ec/economia/riesgo-pais-ecuador-subsidio-diesel-paro-conaie-daniel-noboa-105670/
(26) https://www.dw.com/es/ind%C3%ADgenas-de-ecuador-a-paro-indefinido-por-alza-al-di%C3%A9sel/a-74052868
(27) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/tens-thousands-protest-dundees-ecuador-mine-project-near-key-
water-reserve-2025-09-16/
(28) https://aticomining.com/investors/news/index.php?content_id=281
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2024
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
Equinox Gold EQX May'24 U$4.42 30-May-23 U$5.57 26.0% Took sm.profit, disappointing
Adventus Mining ADZN.v May'24 C$0.305 7-Jan-24 C$0.445 45.9% bot out, nice win
SolGold SOLG.to May'24 C$0.22 19-Feb-23 C$0.165 -25.0% ran out of patience
Western Copper WRN.to July'24 C$1.57 26-Feb-24 C$1.53 -2.5% Sold on regional risk
Contango Ore CTGO Sep'24 U$18.70 30-Jul-23 U$20.23 8.2% Port rebalance sale
Florida Can. Gold FCGV.v Oct'24 C$0.63 21-Jul-24 C$0.71 12.7% failed trade with a lucky win
Bear Creek Min BCM.v Oct'24 C$0.35 10-Jun-24 C$0.67 91.4% took profits on spec trade
American Eagle AE.v Oct'24 C$0.43 25-Aug-24 C$0.69 69.8% taking profit on NT flip
SilverCrest Met SILV Nov'24 U$6.90 31-Mar-24 U$9.76 41.4% sold on CDE buyout
Newcore Gold NCAU.v Nov'24 C$0.205 23-Oct-22 C$0.32 56.1% sold on advisor appt
Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v Dec'24 C$0.72 16-May-21 C$2.11 193.1% closed trade, took profits
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
28
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
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-Sep-20 C$0.70 -54.8% Cut loser to reduce Au exp.
Element 29 Res ECU.v feb'21 C$0.49 7-Feb-21 C$0.54 10.2% Cut Peru exposure
Kuya Silver KUYA.cse feb'21 C$1.66 8-Nov-20 C$2.51 51.2% Cut Peru exposure
Pucara Gold TORO.v apr'21 C$0.65 4-Oct-20 C$0.26 -60.0% Cut loser, Peru risk call
Copper Mountain CMMC.to apr'21 C$1.40 22-Nov-20 C$4.18 198.6% tgt hit, profit taken
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
29
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.
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
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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
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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