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The IKN Weekly
Week 876, week of March 8th 2026
Contents
This Week: In today’s edition, Inflation macro week, The Curse of PDAC, The price of power.
Fundamental Analysis: A little extra on Xali Gold (XGC.v).
Stocks to Follow: Overview, Minera Alamos (MAI.v), Xali Gold (XGC.v), Orecap Inv (OCI.v), Tiernan Gold
(TNGD.v), Salazar Resources (SRL.v), West Red Lake Gold (WRLG.v), Amerigo Resources (ARG.to), Mayfair
Gold (MFG.v).
The Copper Basket: Overview, Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v), Faraday Copper (FDY.to), Los Andes Copper
(LA.v), American Eagle (AE.v), Kobrea Exploration (KBX.cn), Metal Energy (MERG.v).
The Producer Basket: Overview, Eldorado Gold (EGO).
The TinyCaps Basket: Overview, Precore Gold (PRCG.cn), Sranan Gold (SRAN.cn).
Regional Politics: The Donroe Doctrine Summit, Venezuela: Crude and bullion and the potential for FDI in
its mining industry, Peru: The country’s export mix, Colombia’s Senate and primary votes offer clues for the
presidential race.
Market Watching: Once in a Blue Moon but not twice (MOON.v).
I remind subscribers that no part of this newsletter can be copied, reproduced or given to any
third party without the express permission of the author.
This Week
In today’s edition
 Today’s main fundies section includes a few extra thoughts on Xali Gold (XGC.v), the company reco’d
last week in IKN875.
 Between the two main intro notes, “The Curse of PDAC” and “The price of power”, is the main
message of this week’s edition.
 It was a tough week to hold junior miners, we survey the damage in Stocks to Follow and while the
portfolio is down overall, it wasn’t all bad and the baseline strategy of holding quality names provided
protection from the worst of the drops.
 The USA isn’t just moving in Iran, as the “Shield of the Americas” summit last weekend got more
attention than I expected and underscores the new found interest that North Americans have
developed for South Americans. As far as this desk is concerned, that’s good news.
 Other things too, there are always other things.
Inflation macro week
A Wednesday abbreviations overload for you, as we get US BLS CPI on 11/3/26 and according to the ever-
reliable Bill McBride (1), “…consensus is for a 0.2% increase in CPI, and a 0.2% increase in core CPI. The
consensus is for CPI to be up 2.5% Year-over-year (YoY), and core CPI to be up 2.4% YoY.” After the
unexpectedly soft Employment Report on Friday, with data that can thank the happenings in Tehran for not
making and holding the business headlines, there are going to be a lot of eyes on US inflation readings. And
the fun continues on Friday when we get the January PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) results for
January, known as “The Fed’s preferred inflation indicator” when media want to scare us into watching their
business shows, as well and Personal Income and Outlays for the same month (that’s PCE + personal interest
payments + personal current transfer payments), which the Fed also likes as a gauge for disposable income
power. We again defer to McBride for the consensus, “…a 0.4% increase in personal income, and for a 0.3%
1

increase in personal spending. And for the Core PCE price index to increase 0.4%. PCE prices are expected to
be up 2.9% YoY, and core PCE prices up 3.1% YoY.”
Lots of numbers, but the upshot for us mortals is that we’re about to get two (or three) readings on the state
of US retail prices and how they’re affecting the consumer, a week before a FOMC that reports back on March
18th and is bound to get plenty of coverage due to the Warsh Factor. While the Iran War (are we allowed to
call it that?) is bound to dominate headlines in the week to come, there are still other influences on the
metals price deck.
The Curse of PDAC
When times are good the job is to search for concerns and weigh them against a bullish market. But a week
of getting the portfolio shellacked such as last week, your contrarian author invariably looks for silver linings,
so I’m happy last week’s intro op-ed was called “Convincing myself to get bullish again” and used the present
participle, rather than “Convinced myself to get bullish again” and the past participle. Yes I bought a couple
of small positions in the shape of XGC and OCI last week (and annoyingly, they were both week-over-week
winners), but the sale of the last of Minera Alamos (MAI.v) meant cash treasury had a net increase last week,
that wouldn’t have been the case if I’d waded in an bought all the Tiernan (and others, see below) at the top
of my shopping list.
Blame it on The Curse Of PDAC, blame it on Tehran or the Strait of Hormuz or Lloyd’s of London, blame it on
Trump or Hegseth, Blame It On Rio, but the metals miners were hit hard last week. While the underlying
causes are surely interesting, the real cause of the sell-off was a reversion to old-school risk aversion, the
type that dominated our lives until the moment Putin invaded Ukraine. It’s not the first time I’ve opened a
paragraph on the US Dollar by paraphrasing Mark Twain and writing that the reports of its death have been
greatly exaggerated, it’s unlikely to be the last either: The course of business history is littered with the
corpses of those who predicted a Weimar end to the US Dollar and last week, when push came to shove and
the world was asked to pick sides, the financial world picked the USD:
We’d noted the modest recovery in the USD from its January low in a couple of previous editions; nothing to
write home about, enough to have marked a potential bottom (see the IKN871 intro rant “Kevin Warsh stops
the music”) and indeed, the nomination of Warsh at next Fed Chair gave the USD bulls enough fuel to point
to a Fed that wouldn’t kowtow to every whim of POTUS47, at least not over the medium-term. But as the
chart’s red box indicates, last week the USD went into full recovery mode on the back of the intensifying
conflict in and around Iran and the bellicose rhetoric out of the White House.
What’s more, this second DXY (right) chart zeros in on what
may be a key moment, as we compare spot gold to the USD
index over the week just gone. The initial reaction last week
was a spike in gold prices, something we’ve become used to
over the last 12 months (or so) as the monetary metal has
regained plenty of kudos as a flight to safety vehicle. We’ve
seen gold trade as the anti-dollar and rise when the
greenback falls, but on several occasions in 2025 we also
saw it do what it looked like doing last week and rise along
with the USD. Then at some moment in the early hours of
2

Tuesday March 3rd (Americas time), something changed and the world made a choice of the USD, this time
to the detriment of gold bullion. That’s an interesting development to say the least. All through this metals
bull run our task has been to note whether the playing field changes and if not, keep dancing. Your author’s
nerves were jangled in late January and as a result, we trimmed sails a little and reduced exposure to the
market while remaining clearly long. The last couple of weeks have seen my enthusiasm start to return, but
the downturn last week on the back of a real rally in the USD came for a different set of reasons and adds to
the uncertainty.
Does that sound too bearish? It’s not meant to, as if I were truly bearish I’d be selling and “observation
mode” is far from that. Quite the contrary in fact, as what the current Iran conflict offers us is an acid test on
the resilience of this bull market. Put simply, if gold and its friends (esp copper) can survive and thrive
though this, they’ll take any geopolitical event in their stride. This wait’n’see decision is also fruit of the
lessons learned in 2022, when Putin decision to invade Ukraine saw gold run higher, but then came the US
Fed’s decision to reverse course on their monetary policy and raise rates sharply as inflation reared its ugly
head and we went through six months of metals market pain. That year is now behind us, the gold market is
now in a far healthier place and the good times are truly rolling, but it was a salutary reminder that “it’s the
economy, stupid” and all the geopolitical machinations the world can offer are beaten to a pulp when the Fed
snatches the punchbowl away.
Therefore the decision is to keep powder dry and not make any rash decisions, for another week at least. The
Iran fun and games will continue [edit Monday: Anyone believe POTUS47’s “mission accomplished”
declarations today?]. I’ll keep that recently fattened cash treasury position intact. While not concerned
enough to sell, there’s no need to buy back before we know more.
The price of power
“Power is not a means; it is an end.”
Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell.
Reader AMC writes in:
“Aha!” I thought. “Simple question”, I thought. “That shouldn’t take too long.”
A topical issue for sure, what with the Iran situation the Strait of Hormuz, bombs, $100/bbl oil and so forth.
However, it’s not an issue that only affects us in times of conflict as it pays the diligent analyst to keep an eye
on fluctuations in operating costs and why mining companies are paying more or less for their unit of metal
producer one of those questions that makes you wonder where to start, as there are so many variables a list
of them start forming in the head and then keeps growing and growing. So the correct answer is “it
depends”, but just answering AMC with those two words would be the height of arrogance and I’m never
high-handed or arrogant with anyone…
3

…so a better answer is to sketch over why “it depends” is the right answer when it comes to the effects the
oil price can have on mining cost inputs. Let’s also keep this practical, as there are way too many variables to
count and from experience and observation, this desk has identified two major factors that matter when it
comes to the oil price/cost price sequence:
1) Open Pit or Underground? As a general rule, open pit mining operations are more price-sensitive to
fluctuations in the oil price. For one thing, they have more vehicles to move around and while things may
be different come 2040, this year that means large internal combustion engines. For another, open pit
mines tend to run on lower grade material that require larger machines to process (and if you ever get
the opportunity to visit the Cerro Verde copper mine in Arequipa and watch its eight ball mills turning as
if one, you’d get that message seared into your neurons as well) and more processing power per tonne
of rock (or pound of copper or ounce of gold) opens up your operation to further energy sensitivity. The
flipside exists of course, for example open pit mines tend to be less labour intensive per unit cost then
UG operations, but today’s question is about fuelling a mine.
2) Jurisdiction and geography. They are related subjects, but not the same. By jurisdiction, we note that
some regions are run by governments that use fixed fuel prices, while others allow the free market to
decide the price of your gallon of hydrocarbon at any given moment. A classic example of the former in
LatAm is Mexico, as thanks to its domestic O&G industry and the Pemex dominance offers a clear pricing
schedule for fuel over long periods of time for national consumers, largely ignores near-term fluctuations
caused by the wonderful world of the oil markets (OPEC, supply/demand moves, wars etc) and even
when its prices change, they’re telegraphed long before they happen. At the other end of the scale,
anyone watching mining operations in Chile has to keep a close eye on fuel input costs on a quarterly
basis, as even its electricity grid runs largely on imported diesel and costs can vary significantly and even
operations with fixed price annual contracts with energy suppliers can end up paying a legally
enforceable surcharge. Meanwhile, geography is about infrastructure, logistics and location. The further
your mine is from civilization, the more you have to pay for transport, general infrastructure and labour
costs (mineworkers in Australia are often on FIFO contracts and those light aircraft need kerosene). All
these factors make a difference to any mine’s fuel price sensitivity.
Or in other words, reader AMC, “it depends” . Each mine operation or project needs to be approached on a
case-by-case basis and what’s more, larger mining companies with the necessary financial clout will often run
a fuel hedging program that secures a more reliable and predictable unit cost input, something their company
head office bigwigs typically require when budgeting their years.
However and with that said, context is required for this subject because, for some reason or another, the
effect of fuel price changes on mining operations has an image attached and tends to get blown out of
proportion by outside observers. As an example, I’ve picked an operation close to the hearts and back
pockets of many people reading these words, Rio2 Ltd at its newly inaugurated Fenix. It’s a good example, as
it checks many the boxes you’d want from a mine susceptible to fuel input cost variations: It’s open pit mine,
it’s in a country where fuel prices for end users fluctuate significantly (Chile), it’s relatively small and doesn’t
benefit from the economies of scale that massive open-pitters enjoy (e.g. La Escondida) and what’s more, it’s
particularly exposed to transport costs because of that notable water supply solution it came up with for its
Phase 1 operations, trucking water to site. There aren’t many mines this exposed to fuel cost changes and
what’s more, it’s an operation we care about on these pages.
So if you dial up the 2023 Feasibility Study for Fenix and scroll to the Processing Operating Costs section
(page 370 onward, if you care enough) you get to the bit that matters and rather than quote script, here’s a
table from that section:
4

While that U$480/oz op costs is almost certainly out of date compared to 2026 and the overall cost inflation
we’ve seen in the industry since then, it provides a decent benchmark and in percentage terms, it’s still going
to show us how sensitive RIO.to at Fenix is to fuel price changes. Let’s be as strict as possible and include
100% of the “Diesel Consumption” and “Fuel, Energy” line items which comes to (9.96 + 77.51) U$87.47/oz.
We then need to add the portion of Water Cost attributable to fuel, so in this table further down the 43-101…
…shows “Fuel Direct” and “Fuel Indirect” line item for water cover 18.6% of the LoM total cost for water.
Therefore, U$37.02/oz. That gives us a grand total of U$124.49/oz of fuel cost per ounce of gold produced at
Fenix for its Phase 1 operation.
Let’s call that U$125/oz. Let’s also assume that’s 40% out of date, what with 2026 not being 2023, so the
current cost is U$175/oz and with that number now established, let’s presume a worst case where fuel prices
suddenly shoot up 50%. That would be a serious increase and highly unlikely, as even 20% would get the
country squealing with pain (car drivers, transport firms etc), but reductio ad absurdum is useful at times like
these so in our case, new Chilean President Kast pulls a vast surprise on his nation next week and suddenly
slaps Fenix with a +50% fuel bill. Do the sums, and it works out to a new fuel input cost of U$262.50/oz, up
U$87.50/oz. People, have you seen the price of gold recently? If RIO.to expects an AISC of U$1,500/oz and
finds, due to a sudden fuel price increase, its AISC moves up to U$1,587,50/oz that it’s about to feel the
pinch on its P+L while selling gold for over U$5,000/oz? At the heady prices levels we enjoy today, if a
mining company sees a U$100/oz difference in its average received price of gold in 2q26 compared to 1q26 it
won’t elicit much more than a shrug or two from observers, which means that even our in extremis +50%
fuel cost hike comes in lower than that.
The Bottom line: The Iran conflict is a serious geopolitical event that’s going to ripple through the world’s
political and economic fabric for some time to come. I’m not here belittling its effects, but I am saying that
with gold offering historically fat margins to any mining company worth its salt or any project worth
considering you have better things to worry about than the possible impact of oil price in the miners AISC.
Fundamental Analysis of Mining Stocks
A little extra on Xali Gold (XGC.v)
Last week’s note on Xali Gold (XGC.v) and the decision to buy and open coverage on the stock affected the
stock price:
[NB: I’ve taken advantage of knowing how trading today Monday went instead of
pretending it’s the weekend, as we again saw strong price/volume action in XGC]
5

This isn’t something to be proud of, quite the contrary in fact. For one thing “moving the market” isn’t that
difficult in a pennycrapper and for another, fame sucks. The days when getting a stock to run and watching
some-or-other company expand its market cap provided any sort of thrill are long in my past, the ego
massage is fleeting and utterly unimportant, the thrill is cheap and as longer-term readers probably realize by
now, . What’s more, I’m the guy who won’t buy a stock before I tell you about it, so the type of reaction we
saw in XGC last week means I don’t get to buy shares at a price that suits me (I was literally staring at the
stock The March 2026 market for mining stocks may not be quite as white-hot as it was a few weeks ago, but
it’s still absolutely bullish with new and eager money sloshing around. Therefore, and I am going to phrase
this as diplomatically as possible (underlined, bold typed) while it’s annoying to see the stock jump as
hard as it did last week I’m also aware of the amount of newer and less inexperienced participants out there
(some may be reading these words at the same time as you) so, on balance, while seeing it move to 28c is a
pain in the rear end it’s not the biggest surprise of all time. With that said two things:
1) Whoever bid XGC to 40c last week needs their head examining. This is just plain common sense and
while I don’t know who it was, that person is highly likely to be reading these words in this edition. So
whoever you are, do yourself a favour and either learn a little about the junior mining scene before
placing your next trade, or just leave it now and don’t come back. You want to ruin a good thing for
yourself? Go ahead, knock yourself out. You want to ruin it for me? Annoying. You want to ruin it for the
other subscribers here? That’s a lack of basic respect for among whom you move, you’re not welcome as
a subscriber, please unsubscribe and go find the service you require somewhere else, e.g. a social media
tipsheet or one of a hundred paid pumpers out there and eager to get you to put your money where their
mouths are, come back when you’ve been around the block a couple of times and know how the world
works. Or don’t come back, I don’t care. And yes, that’s me being diplomatic.
2) There’s no point in loading up at 30c or above when this company is bound to run a placement soon.
We know the company doesn’t have a lot of treasury at the moment, we know it has new and exciting
plans for 2026 and while drilling comes later, at some point they’re going to have to expand the
development program and Joanne Freeze may be many things (as stated last week, not my cup of tea)
but she certainly is not stupid and 30 years of experience in the exploreco world added to a sharp brain
means she’ll take her opportunities when they are presented.
Of the two, point 2) is more important to us going forward and to expand slightly on the thought, here are a
few charts built from back office data I didn’t include in IKN875 and, by fortunate timing, got updated last
week when XGC filed its 3q25 quarter (its year end is March 31st). We start with our standard assets and
liabilities overviews:
C$m XGC: Assets C$m XGC.v: Liabilities
12 16
11
14
10
9 fixed 12 LT debt
8 other current other current liab
7 cash 10 current a/c payable
6 8
5
6
4
3 4
2
1 2
0 0
4q22 1q23 2q23 3q23 4q23 1q24 2q24 3q24 4q24 1q25 2q25 3q25 4q22 1q23 2q23 3q23 4q23 1q24 2q24 3q24 4q24 1q25 2q25 3q25
source: company filings source: company filings
We can clearly see the entrance of Pico Machay to the books, as 3q25 gets a big chunk of assets and
liabilities added with the arrival of the project that matters. But that’s not the reason to feature these charts,
instead it’s to highlight how nothing happens for quarter upon quarter at XGC. Its Mexican assets were
inconsequential, its current liabilities were mostly about fees owed to the Mexican state for concession
upkeep (that they didn’t pay, a typical concession squatting tactic) and salaries owed to management, and a
closer look at cash and working cap in these charts below…
6

x
C$m XGC.v: Cash Treasury per qtr C$m XGC.v: Working cap
0.8 0.20
0.7 0.15
0.10
0.6 0.05
0.5 0.00
-0.05
0.4 -0.10
-0.15
0.3
-0.20
0.2 -0.25
-0.30
0.1
-0.35
0.0 -0.40
4q22 1q232q23 3q23 4q23 1q242q24 3q24 4q24 1q252q25 3q25 4q221q232q233q23 4q231q242q243q24 4q241q252q253q25
source: company filings source: company filings
…show on the Y-axis the rinky-dink amounts XGC has been pushing around for, quite literally, years on end.
It also shows in the quarterly burn, XGC is a company that’s been on tickover for all but one quarter in recent
years, keeping its head down and preserving cash.
C$m XGC: Expenses
2.5
2.25
2
other exp.
1.75
G&A
1.5
Exploration exp
1.25
1
0.75
0.5
0.25
0
-0.25
-0.5
1q23 2q23 3q23 4q23 1q24 2q24 3q24 4q24 1q25 2q25 3q25
source: company filings
This is not the type of company with good standing in the Canadian equity markets and if XGC wants to raise
cash to develop Pico Machay (and it does), they don’t get to run a financing at a massive premium to market
just because some dumb newsletter writer knows a bit more about Pico Machay than the average guy and
understands why its recent CSR agreement is important.
Before wrapping up we insert a sidebar subject, a correction from last week’s note regarding Joanne Freeze’s
share ownership of XGC as I didn’t notice how it has shot up in recent months. As at the last reporting period
in 2025 she owned the 6.7 shares noted in IKN875 last week, but that info is out of date and her holding was
already over 12m at the start of this year. As at last week it was exactly 13.082m shares, or 8.1% of shares
out, which means she’s been adding on the way up as well. For what it’s worth, open market purchase sin
recent weeks are fair enough but it’s unclear how her total rose so quickly in 2025 and the only other
registered holder with a block large enough to make the difference last year was U.S Global Investors (Frank
Holmes et al), so maybe that changed hand or maybe not. Also, her private company loaned XGC $300k last
year and that cash is due re-paid this year, so another possibility is to find out she got a shares-for-debt
deal.
Bottom line: The price increase in XGC last week was too much too soon [edit: include Monday too] and as
noted in Stocks to Follow below, I’ve personally taken a small placeholder position in the stock at last week’s
available prices mostly because I felt the contractual obligation with readers of The IKN Weekly (you guys) to
do as I say. In other circumstances I may end up chasing the stock or even missing out on a trade due to a
penny-pinching attitude, but in this case I’m fairly sure of being able to buy more at better prices in a few
days’ time due to the circumstances around XGC. Yes for sure Pico Machay is interesting (it’s why IKN875
was written), but it’s going to take time to deliver on its promise and this is exploration stage junior mining,
where tiny companies get to grab the limelight for a brief period before the attention of its audience wanders
elsewhere. More importantly, XGC is a tinycap with more plans than money that will surely use its moment to
do what any self-respecting exploreco would do and grab some of the new cash flow for itself. Its history as
7

a failed and neglected junior doesn’t help at moments like this and while financing is surely available, those
entering will want good terms.
However and by the same token, I do get why the XGC story touched a nerve and has seen this influx of
buyers willing to pay a lot more for shares than just a week or two ago. Pico Machay ticks the right boxes, it’s
an appreciated project in Peru and has been laying fallow for a long time due to community bad blood more
than anything else. It’s good to see it out of the hands of a company as bludgeoning on CSR as Pan American
Silver and it’s very good to see XGC and the locals reach a preliminary agreement that allows the team to get
in and do initial work, particularly that re-logging. I now own a few shares, I plan to own more but won’t pay
any old price for them.
Stocks to Follow
BOHICA, as they say*. It wasn’t all bad and among the carnage, our Stocks to Follow table has managed to
include two week-over-week winners (XGC.v, OCI.v) which, by sheer coincidence I’m sure, were the two
stocks I bought last week. Two other stocks were unchanged (MIRL.cse, MENE.v) and while all the others
were losers, a gallant loser’s mention goes to our new gold developer trade Tiernan Gold (TNGD.v) which lost
just a penny on the week. However, there’s no real sugarcoating a week like the one just gone, this is junior
mining, sometimes they happen and among the eleven losers were the significant drops taken by Top Pick
Rio2 Ltd (RIO.to down 15.3%), Amerigo Resources (ARG.to down 11.9%), Wesdome (WDO.to down 11.7%),
West Red Lake (WRLD.v down 11.4%) and while we’re at it, let’s add Latin Metals (LMS.v down 9.5%) onto
the pain parade as well.
There are 15 stocks on our current list, five under the self-imposed maximum. Three of the trades are in the
red, one is UNCH, eleven are in the green and somehow or other after last week’s carnage, four of those are
still 200%+ winners.
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$3.21 301.3% New C$6.84 tgt Feb'26
RECOMMENDED STOCKS
Amerigo Res ARG.to BUY C$1.54 28-Jul-24 C$5.46 254.5% Core copper position
Tiernan Gold TNGD.v STR BUY C$7.95 29-Dec-25 C$9.99 25.7% new Chile gold jr, adding
Marimaca Copper MARI.to STR BUY C$3.05 14-Jan-24 C$9.31 205.2% Quality Cu dev, M&A tgt
Gold Royalty Co GROY hold/buy U$1.40 9-Mar-25 U$4.30 207.1% 2nd tgt U$5 hit, hold for buyout
West Red Lake WRLG.v STR BUY C$0.88 20-Jul-25 C$1.24 40.9% re-rate trade, $1.44 tgt close
Wesdome Gold WDO.to STR BUY C$22.42 30-Nov-25 C$23.67 5.6% 2026 M&A tgt trade
Aurion Res AU.v BUY C$1.07 21-Sep-25 C$1.69 57.9% Agnico will buy more Finland
Xali Gold XGC.v BUY C$0.28 2-Mar-26 C$0.28 0.0% New gold risk trade, Peru
Salazar Res SRL.v BUY C$0.08 5-Jan-25 C$0.195 143.8% Ecuador buyout trade
Latin Metals LMS.v BUY C$0.19 10-Jun-25 C$0.24 26.3% proj.generator, Organullo spec
Orecap Inv OCI.v BUY C$0.08 4-May-24 C$0.125 56.3% 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
Mayfair Gold MFG.v WATCH C$5.32 11-Jan-26 C$5.16 -3.0% Canada gold project, watching
LONG-TERM NON-MINING HOLD
Mene Inc. MENE.v adding C$0.45 6-Dec-20 C$0.20 -55.6% LT bet, adding slowly
CLOSED TRADES IN 2025 date closed close price
8

American Eagle AE.v Jan'26 C$0.495 14-Dec-25 C$0.61 27.3% TLS trade, modest, successful
Electrum Disc ELY.v Jan'26 C$0.075 9-Nov-25 C$0.10 33.3% took quick profit on buyout
Amerigo Res ARG.to Jan'26 C$1.54 28-Jul-24 C$5.46 254.5% partial profit-take on port mgmt
XXIX Metal XXIX.v Jan'26 C$0.11 27-Aug-25 C$0.125 13.6% spec copper trade, bad result
Valkea Res OZ.v Jan'26 C$0.36 29-Dec-25 C$0.48 33.3% took NT profit TLS trade
Arizona Metals AMC.to Feb'26 C0.69 5-Oct-25 C$0.66 -4.3% sold to rebalance port, Feb'26
Red Pine Expl RPX.v Feb'26 C$0.12 8-Sep-24 C$0.195 62.5% sold to rebalance port, Feb'26
Minera Alamos MAI.v Feb'26 C$2.10 13-Oct-19 C$6.22 196.2% 75% of trade sold Q1
Blue Moon MOON.v Feb'26 C$4.18 30-Nov-25 C$5.84 39.7% sold to rebalance port, Feb'26
Minera Alamos MAI.v Mar'26 C$2.10 13-Oct-19 C$7.01 233.8% 25% of trade sold, now closed
2015 to 2025 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Now for notes on some of our covered stocks:
Minera Alamos (MAI.v): POSITION CLOSED. A volatile week for most junior mining stocks, this one
included, but I managed to fulfill the (rather petty at this point) desire of getting out at a seven handle. It
wasn’t the top price of the week, but that will do nicely and considering what happened after I was out, it
suits me fine.
To its credit, MAI has shown decent tape action for the last three weeks and even on the down days, there’s
obviously interest from dip-buyers and bargain hunters that turns the price action around quickly if selling
shows. The chart shows its recent out-performance compared to GDXJ and as MAI has popped through the
C$7.05 level on a couple of occasions without much sweat, there may not be as much warrant overhang
effect as I feared. However and with all that said, I’m still happy-I-suppose to bring this trade to a close. It’s
odd to feel disappointed by a trade that’s returned an aggregate of 200% on my money, but that’s the way it
is. The first period of the investment couldn’t have gone any better, the painful opportunity cost period
couldn’t have been much worse and while the re-booted
“New Minera” may have been a good idea in theory, the
way it’s been sucked into the swamp of the TSXV and
become just another junior is palpable, all that aside
from the way its new management team decided to
treat the long-standing shareholders. It’s a pity.
If you’re staying in and remaining long I wish you the
best of fortune and, with gold where it is, there’s
obvious upside to the share price of this producer with a
clear and organic growth pipeline. That said, I’m sure
there are other places that offer at least the same level
of potential return and likely better (e.g. my opinion
about Tiernan is now well established, and of course
Top Pick Rio2 could easily double from here and quicker than many realize) and it’s not too difficult to
withdraw from MAI with the clear intention of putting this cash to work in other places. We’ll end our six and
a half years of Minera Alamos coverage with a little T.S. Eliot:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Xali Gold (XGC.v): POSITION OPENED. More on this new name to our publication above, here you get a
quick line to confirm the opening of the trade even though the stock price rocketed way higher than it should.
Connected to that, reader “OK” bought a few at 28.5c, then watched the same fat fingered/rocket move as
this desk and duly sent in a mail, asking whether that was too expensive in my view. Here’s what I wrote
back later that day, once the fat finger had retired from the scene:
Hi OK
I think we're in roughly the same boat. I bought a small amount at 28c, but only really because I
wanted to open the trade officially. Its price move (up to 40c!!) was silly and I'd expect it to drop. Yes,
9

they'll need to run some sort of financing and considering the track record of the company, it won't be
at a premium to market.
I'm going to add and make it a better sized trade, but don't see any reason to pay this price. Watching
the market.
That’s all I have for you. Cash waiting in the wings for a reasonable entry point, at 28c is not that (and as
noted above the spike to 40c was insane at this early stage).
Orecap Inv (OCI.v): ADDED. The cost average popped to 8c on the chunky addition made to OCI (which
robs this week’s list of another 100%+ winner, oh my bleeding heart) but the move put in by OCI last week
justifies the trade, there’s nothing more satisfying than owning an “up on a down day” stock displaying great
relative strength.
As the liquid-ish assets tracking table shows, most of the move came from the new interest in American Eagle
(AE.v) and that OCI holding alone now justifies our original interest in Ore’s Group hub company, see The
Copper Basket for a bit more on AE’s week. But alongside the star turn, OCI also benefited from a positive
week in Kirkland Lake, XXIX, Metal Energy, Auriginal and even Stardust; there aren’t many portfolios out
there that can point to six winners out of seven holdings last week.
OCI.v: Marketable Secs, Investments in Assocs, Cash
ticker shares owned(m) PPS valueC$m Cents/share
AE.v 10.72 1.26 13.51 5.4
ARIC.v 7.39 1.01 7.46 3.0
ARIC warrant 4.17 0.81 3.38 1.4
XXIX.v 23.637 0.125 2.95 1.2
AUME.v 42.75 0.08 3.21 1.3
MERG.v 1.025 1.17 1.20 0.5
MERG warrant 0.5125 0.72 0.37 0.1
ZIGY.cse 4.942 0.46 2.27 0.9
KLDC.v 40.040 0.25 10.01 4.0
subtotal 44.36 17.9
Est.cash 0.70 0.3
Total 45.06 18.1
At 248.332 S/O
A rewarding good week for Ore Group stocks and while I probably should have mentioned it last week in
IKN875, that may well be due to the “Ore Day” lunch and presentation put on by the ensemble on the
Sautrday before PDAC in Toronto. I spoke with Ore Groups’s main man Stephen Stewart over last weekend
(even by chance while the event was on) and he told me that they weren’t sure how it would go, what with
“Pre PDAC” weekend being difficult to predict, but it turned into a resounding success with 140 people
showing up to hear the presentations from the companies under its umbrella and Standing Room Only once it
began. He also told me the whole gig cost around $20k to put on and, when spread across the nine
companies on show that day, must be on of the most effective AND cost-effective pieces of marketing you’re
going to come across in te 2026 mining sector. Anyway, as threatened in IKN875 this is now a fatter position
and one that will now sit there, as witness to what’s going on at the component companies. And to think I
was accused of overpaying when I got in at six cents…
Tiernan Gold (TNGD.v): On the subject of relative strength, for about three trading hours last week I
thought I was way smarter than I actually am, after 1) selling the last of my MAI.v shares but 2) stating for
the record las week that I’m going to wait and see if a bargain entry price shows up for TNGD before
deploying the cash here. With the market turning South
on Thursdat, TNGD first dipped under the C$10 line and
then on Friday dumped at the opening bell to as low as
C$9.20, with all the C$9.26 you could have wanted on
offer. Dreams of adding more TNGD at an 8-handle
started running round my head…but no.
The confounded thing rallied and rallied again, closing at a
special offer price of C$9.99, just one penny down on the
week. To be fair it’s not a surprise, if this author has
zeroed in on the obvious value TNGD offers then you can
10

bet a whole bunch of smarter market players have latched on as well.
Meanwhile and by way of a quick update, in IKN870 (after opening this trade) we ran a quick thought or
three on just why Hochschild was happy to flip out Volcan into this new vehicle and own merely most of the
project, instead of just all of it. Part of the explanation ran a Net Book Value chart showing how HOC had
benefited from the initiative and at the time, its asset value had increased from the sub-U$30m carry in the
pre-Tiernan times to U$188.1m. Well folks…
Volcan Effective Net Book Value for Hochschild, 2012 to date
11
3.68 6.09 0.29
6.84 3.94 1.05 3.05 1.15 1.25 4.44 5.54
3.03 6.72
1.021
1.881
6.642
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2102 3102 4102 5102 6102 7102 8102 9102 0202 1202 2202 3202 4202 5202 078NKI 678NKI
U$m
source: company filings, IKN calcs
…the HOC guys are now up to U$246.6m. Must be happy.
Salazar Resources (SRL.v): It’s disappointing to see SRL back under the 20c line, at least our cost average
means this is easy to hold now until our one and only exit strategy moment comes to pass. SVM will by the
15% of El Domo/Curipamba it doesn’t own, the only mystery is timing.
West Red Lake Gold (WRLG.v): Just when you think it’s breaking out…(etc etc). One thing confirmed to
this desk by multiple people is the expected timing of 2026 guidance, as according to those who spoke to
CEO Shane Williams and/or his team WRLG isn’t going to give those numbers “in Q1” as previously stated,
instead they’ll come at the industry standard moment when it files its annuals. As the 2024 YE financials
didn’t drop until April 23rd last year, near the end of the deadline for TSXV companies, we’re better off not
holding our breath. Aside that, those who spoke with WRLG IR people at PDAC (apparently Gwen Preston has
left, unhappy with the incentive option offer they gave her) and then spoke to me (there are four of you,
thanks and appreciated) all came away with the same impression, upbeat about a company executing on its
plans and focused on the whole “incremental improvement” line, instead of trying to wow the market.
Amerigo Resources (ARG.to): Here’s a line rescued from the last paragraph of last week’s review of the
ARG 4q25 financials…
“Those long and happy with ARG in 2025 should hold through and continue to reap benefits. The share
price will reflect moves in copper and for what it’s worth, this desk believes that as another reason to hold
tight if we see any weakness in the first part of the year…”
…because that weakness showed up early. Down 11.9% on the week and quick-returned evidence that ARG
will need higher copper prices from here in order to rally in the way it’s done in the last six months. As a little
extra, here’s our dividend yield chart showing a range of share prices in the left column (from C$3.50 to a
heady C$7.50), while the horizontal axis offers a range of annual dividend payments:
Amerigo (ARG.to): Dividend Yield Percentage Spread Table
Share Dividend per year (Cad Dollar Cents)
price CAD$ 12 16 21 26 30 35
3.50 3.43 4.57 6.00 7.43 8.57 10.00
4.00 3.00 4.00 5.25 6.50 7.50 8.75
4.50 2.67 3.56 4.67 5.78 6.67 7.78
5.00 2.40 3.20 4.20 5.20 6.00 7.00
5.50 2.18 2.91 3.82% 4.73% 5.45 6.36
6.00 2.00 2.67 3.50% 4.33% 5.00 5.83
6.50 1.85 2.46 3.23 4.00 4.62 5.38
7.00 1.71 2.29 3.00 3.71 4.29 5.00
7.50 1.60 2.13 2.80 3.47 4.00 4.67
source: ARG data, IKN estimates

With the quarterly standard dividend now 4c, 16c/annual is the logical baseline and from there, we assume
ARG will pay either one (21c) or two (26c) 5c “performance” (bonus) divis as long as copper maintains its
levels. Feel free to target any part of the grid you prefer, but I’ll stick with roughly where we are today in
price terms and the resulting sub-grid shaded yellow shows that at a C$5.50 share price, the investor gets a
3.82% or 4.73% yield while at C$6.00, it’s down to 3.5% or 4.33%. That’s still a decent amount, but we’re
now far from the eye-popping yield numbers we used to suppose when ARG was a sub-C$2.00 share price.
In other words, the explosive price growth phase of this stock is now likely behind us (unless copper runs
hard on us again, of course) and investors who want near-term leverage to the metal are advised to look
elsewhere. For the rest of us, looking for that “core copper” stock, this one will treat you very well over the
long-term. I sold a few early this year, not planning selling any more as long as copper-the-metal’s price
remains in the bullish zone.
Mayfair Gold (MFG.v): At what price would MFG become an offer I couldn’t refuse? This price:
That’s not to say it’s going to drop as low as C$4.50, it doesn’t preclude me from buying at higher prcies than
that either, but if MFG breaks C$5 to the downside as it threatened to do in Thursday (when some very
obvious propping trades came in for it at C$5.02) then C$4.50 becomes a distinct possibility and that would
be too cheap to ignore. And don’t say it can’t happen to a Carson Block stock, far weirder things happen in
the junior market on a daily basis.
*Bend Over Here It Comes Again
The Copper Basket
After nine weeks of 2026, The Copper Basket shows a gain of 37.23% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/26 Shares out m Market Cap current pps gain/loss%
1 Faraday Copper FDY.to 2.73 252.88 1226.47 4.85 77.7%
2 Aldebaran Res. ALDE.v 3.67 185.34 518.95 2.80 -23.7%
3 Pecoy Copper PCU.v 1.32 213.1 438.99 2.06 56.1%
4 Los Andes Copper LA.v 9.20 29.56 362.11 12.25 33.2%
5 Hot Chili HCH.v 1.33 190.772 276.62 1.45 9.0%
6 Surge Copper SURG.v 0.475 385.41 250.52 0.65 36.8%
7 American Eagle AE.v 0.56 192.1 242.05 1.26 125.0%
8 Andina Copper ANDC.v 0.56 263.7 221.51 0.84 50.0%
9 Hercules Metals BIG.v 0.74 289.41 219.95 0.76 2.7%
10 Element 29 Res ECU.v 1.20 155.51 192.83 1.24 3.3%
11 Copper Giant CGNT.v 0.49 188.635 175.43 0.93 89.8%
12 Fitzroy Min FTZ.v 0.48 282.294 138.32 0.49 2.1%
13 Metal Energy MERG.v 0.64 36.03 42.16 1.17 82.8%
14 Algo Grande Copper ALGR.v 0.53 39.64 29.73 0.75 41.5%
15 Kobrea Exp KBX.cse 0.51 35.622 20.66 0.58 13.7%
NB: All stocks in CAD$ Portfolio avg 37.23%
12

Our basket of copper explorecos managed to scrape a 0.58% gain on the week, despite the general stock
mining malaise and ten of our fifteen basket components putting in week-over-week losses (FDY.to, ALDE.v,
PCU.v, LA.v, HCH.v, BIG.v, SURG.v, FTZ.v, ANDC.v,
ALGR.v). What’s more, there were big losers among 45% The Copper Basket 2026, weekly evolution
those names such as Aldebaran (ALDE.v down 19.1%), 40%
35%
Los Andes Copper (LA.v down 15.5%), Andina Copper
30%
(ANDC.v down 14.3%) and Surge Copper (SURG.v down
25%
13.3%). The overall basket win came on the back of the 20%
wins registered by other five stocks (ECU.v, AE.v, 15%
CGNT.v, MERG.v, KBX.cn) and of those, four put in very 10%
5%
big moves against the sector grain which made all the
0%
difference so a cheer and a round of applause for
American Eagle (AE.v up 34.0%), Metal Energy (MERG.v
up 30.0%), Copper Giant (CGNT.v up 16.3%) and
Element 29 (ECU.v up 8.8%). Overall an unlikely week to get a positive return and I’m the first to admit
that’s not the idea behind a “representative cross section” tracking basket. But it is what it is and PDAC Week
tends to throw out individual success story stocks and market springers…we managed to catch two of them
on our list.
Moving on to copper-the-metal, two weekends ago in
IKN874 we noted how copper had been a “reasonably
orderly market since Christmas”, obeying a wide but
otherwise predictable and obvious trading range that
bounced the forward contract price between U$5.70/lb and
U$6.15/lb. At the time it was at the bottom of the range,
then last week it popped to U$6.06, a welcome move, but
still inside the range. Well folks, sure enough copper had
another negative week but as you can see in the red box
over there on the right of the chosen chart, still inside the
stubborn trading range. As is always the case with these
things, trading ranges persist right up to the moment when they don’t (and even then they need a test
moment, take for example that late January spike on show in our visual) so take this with a pinch of salt, but
we’d also warn that this weekend the break in this pattern is potentially to the downside.
The week in copper was all about Iran, as this Trading Economics note succinctly covers (2):
Copper futures climbed back above $5.8 per pound on Friday as the broader metals complex rebounded, but were
still poised to finish the week lower as investors rushed for the dollar amid the escalating Middle East conflict and
rising inflation concerns.
The US-Israeli offensive against Iran has now entered its seventh day with no signs of easing, while Tehran
launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes across the Gulf.
Traders also contended with surging oil prices, which fueled fears of resurgent global inflation, supporting bets that
the Federal Reserve will delay rate cuts and strengthening the dollar at the expense of other assets.
Meanwhile, this desk highly recommends this report (3) published last week by the International Energy
Agency (IEA) and entitled “Copper prices have hit record highs, but smelters face mounting strategic
pressures”, one of the best articles I’ve read on copper in recent years (and my stars I get to read a lot of
those). Unsurprisingly, China is at the centre of this puzzle and the paper puts academic rigor behind an issue
this desk has mentioned on various occasions, that China’s decision to build out its refinery infrastructure is
the cause of price competition that other countries cannot handle and, slowly but surely, China is taking
control of the midstream of copper supply.
The strange juxtaposition of all-time record high prices for copper and TC/RC contracts at zero (and negative
for spot deals) for the metal is caused by the oversupply of refinery services and that’s all about China, the
only country that’s significantly expanded its refining business in the last 20 years. There’s a lot on the
subject in the IEA report and from all angles, but one chart and accompanying text really rams home what’s
going on:
13
ts1naJ ht4naJ ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1bef ht8 ht51 dn22 ts1raM ht8
source: IKN calcs

A highly impressive visual in my opinion, providing solid numerical evidence China is in the process of pricing
out the rest of the world from copper smelting. The IEA report covers so many issues that it feels like a crime
to offer a single extract but I’m going to do so anyway, if only to whet your appetite, get you to use the link
(3) and read it all:
“If the low TC/RC environment persists and by-product prices fall, many custom smelters outside
China could face significant economic challenges. Should these conditions materialise, the copper
market could follow a pattern seen for some other critical minerals: oversupply drives low prices,
rendering production outside the dominant supplier uneconomic – in turn resulting in curtailment or
rationalisation and eventually increasing the dominant player’s market concentration. This recently
played out in the nickel market, where over past few years a flood of supply from Indonesia –
predominantly developed with Chinese investment – drove the market into sustained oversupply,
rendering projects around the world uneconomical. This resulted in closures and suspensions and
rapidly increased the concentration of the dominant player.”
Or if you like “We’re all Keynesians now.” Good old free market economics only works when all the
participants use the same playing field, so if China decides to weaponize capitalism by using it for its own
long-term ends, it’s the job of its competitors (adversaries? enemies?) to do the same and if that means
subsidizing the metals downstream industry in order to de-bottleneck ex-Sino supply, then that’s what they’re
going to have to do. Anyway, if you’re interested in the copper market and only read one thing on it this
month make it that IEA report, it’s thorough and intelligent work.
We move to our regular weekly world copper inventories update, data from Cochilco.
 We expected copper stocks to continue to rise across the world last week and they did just that.
The aggregate of the three official futures systems added 58,561 metric tonnes (mt) to the pile
and this weekend, the total sits at 1,253,474mt and a new 21st century record.
 Talking of records, SHFE added 33,616mt of copper to stocks and this weekend holds a total of
425,145mt, its own all-time record and the first time the number has been over the 400,000mt
line.
 Stocks are also climbing sharply at LME, with plenty of reports of Chinese exports landing in LME
warehouses in Singapore and Taiwan. Overall, the daddy exchange see 26,650mt copper added
by Friday and the trend is likely to continue, the total this weekend 284,325mt.
 Notably, Comex stocks dropped for the first time in a long time. Not by much, just 1,705mt to
report a week nine close of 544,004mt, but this snippet adds to the growing evidence that
copper imports into The USA are finally topping out after their record Trump Tariff induced run.
The first of our dedicated SHFE tracking charts shows the rise and record close compared to all recent years,
it also indicates that under normal circumstances, the spike pekas out around this time (week 9 or 10 of any
given year). From here on in it’s all about how quickly it reverts and copper is drawn out of its warehouse
stocks for end users; as you can see, some years get steeper drops than others:
14

SHFE copper inventory levels, 2018 to 2025
500000
450000
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 2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
source: Cochilco data
The second of our charts delves back to the end of 2013 to show that even the most anomalous peaks of the
modern era of Chinese metals markets, i.e. 2016 when demand fell off a cliff and 2020 when the Covid
pandemic played havoc with everything, stocks at SHFE have never been higher.
Shanghai Futures Exchange Warehouse Stocks, 2013 to date
450000
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
31'13ceD dr32 ht51 ht7 ht03 dn22 ht71 ht9 ts1von ht42 ht71 ht01 dn2tcO 7102ts1naJ ht62 ht81 ht01 dr3ced ht52 102ht72rpa ht91 ht11 9102
dr3bef
102ht82rpa ts12 ht31 0202ht5naj 202ht92ram ts12 ht31 0202ht6ced ht82 dr32 ht51 ht7 2202ht03naj 22ht42rpA ht71 22ht9tco 3202
naJ
ht62 ht81 ht01peS dr3ceD ht52beF ht91 ht11 42'dr3von ht62 ht02 ht31 ht5tcO 202ht82ceD
Mt Cu
3|
source: Cochilco
Now for notes on some of the basket component stocks:
Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v): At the start of the year when picking the 15 names for this year’s list, e
top two names by market cap were Faraday Copper (FDY.to) and Aldebaran Resources (ALDE.v) and at the
time, with FDY valued at C$690m and ALDE at C$623m, there was just C$67m between them. In the
presentation edition (IKN867), the blurb justifying the inclusion of FDY included this as the summing up line:
“Not cheap, quality story, strong and trustworthy management team, it represents the mature copper
exploreco as 2026 rolls out.” Meanwhile, we liked ALDE as it had a more dynamic air to it than its sister
company Regulus Resources and was located “…in the hot address of San Juan Argentina, arguably the best
place to go mining in the new market darling mining country.”
We’ll cover the FDY share price in its dedicated note
below, here’s how ALDE and REG have got on in 2026 YTD
(with COPX there as referee). ALDE was doing just fine
until just before its move to raise capital and fill treasury
for its PFS studies. That raising went well in fact (it was
nicely timed and upsized), but since then it’s been downhill
while REG has kept lockstep with the market median.
Meanwhile FDY has become all the rage and “not cheap”
has become “even not cheaper”, its market cap blasting
through the Billion line as the Lundin Group doubles down
on the project and near neighbour Arizona Sonoran
(ASCU.to) sets the regional tone by getting bought out by
HudBay. As at this weekend, the C$67m market cap gap
has grown between the new market darling FDY and ALDE has grown to an impressive C$707m so if you feel
like writing about mining winners and losers of Q1, here’s a chapter to consider for your report.

Faraday Copper (FDY.to): After a two-week period that its shareholders will remember for years to come,
FDY came back to its field slightly last week and returned to moving with the ebb and flow of the sub-sector.
The Curse Of PDAC applies even here.
Los Andes Copper (LA.v): Cast your mind back to January 20th, the day LA made a base political error by
announcing that its CEO at the time, Santiago Montt, had been chosen as the country’s next Mining Minister.
That would have been a feather in the cap of both Señor Montt and implicitly LA.v in its quest to unlock itself
from the interminable legal blocks to its Vizcachitas project, but the company managed to snatch defeat from
the jaws of victory by announcing the appointment before Kast and his government elect had made the
official announcement, making the President-Elect look foolish just hours before the big protocol-lade
moment, offering his enemies plenty of political capital (“in the mining company pockets” etc) and as a result,
getting him to fire Montt before he’d even been nominated and forcing Kast to improvise his eventual cabinet
pick. We covered the faux pas in IKN870 and finished the note that day with these words:
The bottom line: Los Andes Copper put its foot in it last week, embarrassing the President-Elect and giving
political capital to his enemies. The five day price chart (right) shows the pop and drop as the debacle
happened, but somehow LA.v still managed to record
a week-over-week win. That, to this desk at least,
seems supremely optimistic under the circumstances
as LA did itself a bad turn with the Kast government
last week, be clear. Here right is a chart of LA.v versus
the main copper producer ETF, COPX. While LA.v
didn’t reverse and drop immediately after the
clownshow of January 20th, once the sentiment top
was in a few days later LA.v went into sharp decline
and has given back nearly all the advantage it enjoyed
in that 2026 run. So when a stock with a history of
legal issues suddenly runs like the wind (it doubled in
less than a month), then drops the political ball as
badly as it did, then falls back from whence it came in
the month that follows I can only assume that people operating on insider got badly burned. None of this
looks good for LA.v and those who sail in her.
American Eagle (AE.v): We already knew AE would be a massive winner for the second week running in
IKN875, as last week’s edition out Monday evening included an update to capture its Monday move on the
back of the Eric Sprott entry into the stock. That moved AE from 94c to C$1.32 on Monday, so the weekly
close of C$1.26 means the sector headwinds also affected this stock. Still, its +34% week-over-week move
was still massive and means AE.v is up from 82.6% in the last two weeks. That’s the combo of two decent
drill assays, the Eric Sprott entry and whole hatful of hype.
Kobrea Exploration (KBX.cn): It’s difficult to read too much into the KBX NR dated March 4th (4) and
entitled “Kobrea Expands Phase 1 Drill Program at El Perdido Porphyry Copper-Gold-Molybdenum System -
Mendoza Province, Argentina”, as there are both positive and negative rationales possible behind this
decision:
16

“Based on geological observations of drill core, the Company has expanded upon the originally
planned three drill hole program and has commenced a fourth hole approximately 220 metres east of
the initial drill pad.”
 Glass half full: They’re onto something, the initial read of the core indicates where to drill into a likely
sweet spot, there’s no point in hanging around and the rig is on site.
 Glass half empty: The first three holes look like dusters, time for a Hail Mary in the next most likely
spot.
Those sketch out two extremes, the reality may be either or more likely something more nuanced between
the two. But this is exploration-stage drilling, a first–foot look at a prospective and under-explored region of
the Andean Cordillera and I, for one, am willing to give KBX as much slack as they want in these early stages.
That and I’m not long the stock, which makes quiet observartion that much easier. At the moment, my most
likely strategy will be to wait on the sidelines and see what KBX returns when the first assay results show up
(or if they go that route, one of those highly annoying pre-assay core photo NRS).
In trading, KBX added a penny on the week and offered zero clues about its future.
Metal Energy (MERG.v): As seen in the Orecap (OCI.v) notes above, it was a very good week for Ore
Group companies and while MERG is a minor holding in the OCI hub company, it’s still a member of the clan
and apparently hit all the right notes at the Ore Day presentation the weekend before PDAC.
From feedback received, MERG didn’t go much further than the information emitted in its February 26th NR
which laid it its plans for the year (5), including these bullet points copypasted as the quick hack…
 NIV’s initial drill program scheduled to begin in June.
 First phase between 4,000 and 8,000 metres of drilling.
 Multiple deposit-scale target areas outlined.
 Fully funded for 2026 with approximately $10 million cash.
 Centerra Gold and Teck Resources each own 9.9% of Metal Energy.
…but the general theme as presented to the room full of people plus the prospect of getting on “American
Eagle Part Deux” in a company being run by Charles Greig instead of merely advised by him hit all the right
notes.
The Producer Basket
After nine weeks of 2026, the Producer Basket shows a gain of 22.91% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/26 Shares out MktCap(U$Bn) current pps gain/loss%
1 Newmont NEM 99.85 1108 128.85 116.29 16.5%
2 Agnico Eagle AEM 169.53 502.579 111.07 221.00 30.4%
3 Barrick B 43.55 1705.994 77.49 45.42 4.3%
4 Wheaton PM WPM 117.52 454.02 66.67 146.85 25.0%
5 Alamos Gold AGI 38.58 420.68 20.99 49.89 29.3%
6 Lundin Gold LUG.to 114.02 241.433 20.48 114.62 0.5%
7 IAMGOLD IAG 16.49 594 12.93 21.76 32.0%
8 Eldorado Gold EGO 35.92 201.275 8.14 40.46 12.6%
9 B2Gold Corp BTG 4.51 1330.134 7.08 5.32 18.0%
10 Americas G & S USAS 5.11 318.26 2.61 8.21 60.7%
All prices and stock quotes in U$, except share price of LUG (in CAD$) Port. avg 22.91%
In the words of Edwin Starr war is good for absolutely nothing. The PM producers fell off a collective cliff last
week as investors ran for the figurative bomb shelters of Wall St and the physical ones in Tehran. We’re still
handsomely up on the year of course, it was a January and February to remember, but the wholesale profit-
taking saw GDX down 12.8% and GDXJ down 12.5% week-over-week while gold lost a more reasonable
2.1% in US Dollar terms. In terms of our semi-serious annual fight against the GDX, our ten picks and the
benchmark lost nearly the same amount and we’re still a bit under 5% in the lead.
17

The 2026 Producer Basket: Weekly performance and
50% comparative to GDX control
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
We’ve done a lot on the bigger producer stocks in the last few editions, the annual financials and year
guidance period makes for headlines and eye-catching moves. So this week we’ll throttle back and just add a
few words on one of the companies mentioned last week.
Eldorado Gold (EGO): Frankly, my track record with this
stock is abysmal and last week’s confident prediction that
“…I’d expect EGO to play catch-up in the week ahead and
show relative strength…”, a theory reiterated from a
couple of previous editions, worked out like this (right).
Long story short, it didn’t work at all. EGO matched GDX
all week and in fact lost a few tenths against the ETF
giant, showing no sign of picking up any of the lost ground
of the first two months of 2026 (around 10%). Between
this and the under-performing Wesdome, I really should
stick to my knitting.
The TinyCaps List
After nine weeks of 2026, the TinyCaps show a gain of 8.82% to level stakes:
company ticker price 1/1/26 Shares out Mkt Cap current pps gain/loss%
Auriginal Min AUME.v 0.07 264.51 21.16 0.08 14.3%
Canex Metals CANX.v 0.215 166.95 40.07 0.24 11.6%
Sranan Gold SRAN.cn 0.30 60.42 14.50 0.24 -20.0%
Enduro Metals ENDR.v 0.155 76.04 14.45 0.19 22.6%
Latin Metals LMS.v 0.21 138 33.12 0.24 14.3%
Precore Gold PRCG.cn 0.26 32.003 9.28 0.29 11.5%
Radius Gold RDU.v 0.14 115.7 16.78 0.145 3.6%
Silver Wolf SWLF.v 0.135 62.18 11.19 0.18 33.3%
Trifecta Gold TG.v 0.195 47.7 10.73 0.225 15.4%
Viva Gold VAU.v 0.19 171.677 26.61 0.155 -18.4%
Prices in CAD$, data from TSXV basket avg 8.82%
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 one 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.
18
ts1naJ ht4naJ ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1bef ht8 ht51 dn22 ts1raM ht8
The 2026 Producer Basket: Percentage diff. Between
GDX benchmark & basket (negative = IKN ahead)
4%
3%
ikn 2%
gdx control 1%
0%
-1%
-2%
-3%
-4%
-5% -6% source: IKN calcs
source: IKN calcs Jan1stJan4th11th 18th 25th feb1st 8th 15th 22ndMar1st 8th

 Likelihood of meaningful newsflow in 2026. 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 cheer for Auriginal Mining (AUME.v), which managed to
TinyCaps, 2026 weekly tracker
25%
add half a penny on the week and buck the obvious trend,
as all the other stocks in our 2026 TinyCaps List were losers 20%
on the week and the basket average profit for the year was 15%
almost cut in half, back below the levels seen after Week 10%
Two. The losses were generalized rather than specific and
5%
the only double figure percentage loss was taken by Viva
0%
Gold (VAU.v down 13.9%).
Precore Gold (PRCG.cn): The most intriguing stock on
the 2026 TinyCaps list (in my opinion at least) managed to
hold on to all but a penny of its gains from the previous
week, not a bad performance in light of the sector selling.
However, the ten day price chart shows the wide variations
on low volume, the sure sign of a market with a bid/ask you
can drive a truck through. That needs to tighten up.
Sranan Gold (SRAN.cn): The dog ate my homework. In
IKN870 dated week of January 25th, the week after we
added SRAN to the list as replacement for, we noted that
the company was under Management Cease Trade Order
(MTCO) due to expectedlate filing of its YE financials. At the
time and then in its bi-weekly update at the start of
February, it said it expected to file and get up to date by the end of this month of February and while not
good (we called it what it was in IKN872, “…the type of unprofessional and lax thing that happens at this end
of the market”, they gave us a timetable and so be it. They confirmed the same on February 18th too, but on
the evening of Wednesday March 4th we learned something new (6):
The audit is now in its final stages, with only minor outstanding items remaining. Sranan remains in ongoing
communication with its auditor to confirm any remaining documentation requirements and has committed to
providing any outstanding materials promptly upon request. Sranan anticipates that the Required Filings will be
completed on or before March 13, 2026. The interim first-quarter financial statements are expected to be filed
within 48 hours thereafter, and in any event no later than March
15, 2026.
A CSE stock that can’t file its annuals on time, then confirms
the extended deadline three times, then lets the deadline
pass without a word, then the week after tells the world it
needs another week. For many people, the simple “it’s a CSE
stock” is enough to call SRAN an avoid (which is fair
enough), but add its attitude toward disclosure and the red
flags flutter. As for a final cherry on this particular cake,
note (chart right) how SRAN sold off on the news (again,
perfectly understandable) but then managed to rally from
22c to 24c on thing volume Friday afternoon so add “they
paint this tape” to the list of dubious mannerisms.
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
The Donroe Doctrine Summit
Saturday March 7th saw the Trump-owned Doral golf course and resort in Miami play host to the Latin
America Summit, with 11 Presidents (USA, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dom Rep, Ecuador, El Salvador,
19
ts1naJ ht4naJ ht11 ht81 ht52 ts1bef ht8 ht51 dn22 ts1raM ht8
source: IKN calcs, TSX data

Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay), one President-Elect (Chile’s Kast, about to take up his new job this
coming week, see IKN875) and the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago all attending. As Peru doesn’t have a
real President at the moment it wasn’t represented but aside that, the above list is a roll call of the Trump-
Friendly LatAm Heads of States at present. As for most notable absentees, we have in descending order of
Trumphate the Presidents of Venezuela (Delcy’s probably afraid she’d be arrested), Colombia (Petro has
elections on his mind), Mexico (Sheinbaum had a point to make) and Brazil (it’s always complicated with
Lula). Let’s also throw Uruguay into the mix as its new President, Yamandú Orsi of the left leaning Frente
Amplio alliance, was also notable by his absence.
And with that, the battle lines are drawn in the “you’re either for us or against us” world of POTUS47. This
summit part of a clear wider US plan to influence and direct the rest of the world. The summit was a Trump
vehicle for the Donroe Doctrine and came with a laundry list of points that sum up to the increasing influence
of The USA in LatAm:
 To use Trump’s own words, a “brand-new military coalition” between LatAm states that would
“eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region.”
 The Trump admin’s audacious move against Maduro of Venezuela was celebrated in public.
 Plenty of “Cuba is next” rhetoric.
 Trade deals and investment opportunities for LatAm countries friendly to the US cause.
The sub-plot to this summit, which wasn’t exactly hastily convened but surely wouldn’t have been organized
before the toppling of Maduro in January, was China. The USA is positioning as the region’s trade partner of
choice and having won a significant victory in Venezuela on that score, is keen to double down on its
momentum. What did surprise this desk was the amount of peress coverage garnered by the event, as in the
run-up to the summit I found myself gathering Spanish language reports on what was in store and when it
happened, every major English language media channel carried details and analysis. Overall that’s a very
good thing and it’s also good that The USA is taking its relationship with Central and South America seriously
again, it’s fair to say that LatAm has received more attention from President Trump than any other US admin
of the 21st century. China has taken advantage of that policy vacuum and moved into many places it
wouldn’t have been able to influence otherwise (Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and of course Venezuela, throw in a
smattering of Brazil and Argentina into the mix) and The USA has ground to catch up. Trump’s openly
aggressive strategy is probably the most effective way
Venezuela: Crude and bullion and the potential for FDI in its mining industry
The attention of the world’s news channels, influencers and opinionators has moved on from Venezuela and
it’s now all the Iran all the time, (“Dude…puleeeze….Venezuela is sooooo January”) but another media
surprise awaited this desk last week as the diplomatic and trade meeting country is going to get one of its
rare mentions in this publication today and, unlike anything that happened at the end of last year and start of
this, there’s even a direct connection to the mining industry. Your author was again impressed by the amount
of English language press and commentary attention garnered by the visit of US Interior Secretary Doug
Burgum to Venezuela last Wednesday, with the centerpiece being a meeting at the Presidential Palace in
Caracas with acting President Delcy Rodríguez. Nice things were said by either side and just for a change, I
get to quote English language reports instead of trawling through Spanish examples and translating. This one
covers all the points succinctly (9) and if you click through, offer plenty of links in its text for further reading
Senior officials from both countries also attended a closed-door meeting, including US Chargé d’Affaires Laura
Dogu and Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. Rodríguez and Burgum later gave a joint press
conference.
“We welcomed Burgum to address important aspects related to metallic, non-metallic, strategic and non-strategic
minerals,” the acting president told reporters. “We want the Venezuelan people to see the advantage of having
good relations with the world and with the United States.”
Rodríguez said that her economic team will soon present a proposal to the National Assembly to “expand”
Venezuela’s Mining Law, urging lawmakers to reform it “swiftly” in order to showcase “investment and
development opportunities in the mining sector” to both domestic and international business groups.
Venezuela’s current mining legislation was approved in 1999. Rodríguez noted that the government intends to
replicate the “win-win formula” of the recent hydrocarbon reform approved on January 29, which introduced wide-
reaching benefits for foreign capital in the oil sector.
Under the overhauled legislation, private operators get expanded control over operations, with limited
parliamentary oversight and a reduced tax burden.
20

Rodríguez also thanked US President Donald Trump for a social media post praising the Venezuelan acting
president for “doing a great job.” The Venezuelan leader highlighted the US government’s “kind disposition” to
work on a “mutually beneficial” cooperation agenda.
For his part, Burgum said that Venezuela is “an extraordinarily rich nation” in oil, gas, and critical minerals,
adding that the opportunities for collaboration between the two countries “have no limits.” He serves as chair of
the US National Energy Dominance Council as well.
It was amusing to see Burgum in a sit-down meeting with Delcy and Diosdado Cabello, by the way. He may
still be a big wheel in the ruling PSUV government, but Cabello also has a U$25m bounty on his head in The
USA on the same type of narcotrafficking charges faced by Nicolas Maduro, so the US Interior Secretary
missed out on a way to make decent money, all he had to do was arrest him and bring him back to the
States. Anyway, the first news of Venezuela’s plans to reform its mining laws to allow FDI came on Monday
evening, when the President of the country’s Congress, Jorge Rodríguez, held a press conference to float the
idea (quote translated) (10) “…that large-scale foreign companies could enter into the productive sectors of
gold mining, diamond mining and the production of the so-called rare earths”. This relaxation of rules to
allow FDI into Venezuelam mining would be part of a package of 34 laws planned as a “process of economic
reformulation” under the auspices of Delcy Rodríguez. With mining expected to be one of the first to be
debated and voted upon by Congress.
Making mention of this Monday presser and Jorge Rodríguez isn’t some side issue, either. Not only is he the
brother of acting President Delcy, but as the newly installed head of Congress seems to have been given the
role of explainer and charged with telling Venezuela about the changes in the post-Maduro government. We
know Delcy’s Venezuela is going to toe the line on what The USA tells her (them) to do and we know their
medium-term objective is to hang onto power as long as possible, so the country needs to be informed of the
reforms in a way that’s politically acceptable to the party bigwigs and that’s where Rodríguez comes in. Away
from mining and business matters, he’s been the point man for communications on the release of political
prisoners (the #1 hot button issue in Venezuela at present) and has gone as far as to state on national TV
that “mistakes were made” and people jailed that shouldn’t have been. A remarkable shift of tone even
though names were not named or blamed. There was even a solid deal reached by Burgum and his team last
week, as reported here (11):
Venezuela’s state-owned mining company Minerven signed a multimillion-dollar agreement to sell
650 to 1,000 kilograms of gold dore bars to commodities trader Trafigura for U.S. markets, with the
contract specifying 98 % final gold content and Trafigura arranging delivery to U.S. refineries under a
separate arrangement with the U.S. government, two sources told Axios. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug
Burgum, who visited Venezuela to discuss oil and mineral opportunities, helped advance the gold
contract. A source familiar with both the gold and oil deals said the arrangement benefits Venezuela
because it now has access to U.S. markets and a stable financial system, reducing corruption that
previously saw resources sold via black-market smugglers and ensuring revenues go to the
Venezuelan government and people, with gold supplying U.S. refineries instead of being shipped to
countries like Turkey or Iran.
Most interesting, as the Trump admin is clearly willing to deal with and support the Delcy government as long
as it gets what it wants, i.e. deals and moneymaking opportunities. And on the subject a less covered but
equally interesting event in Venezuela last week was the arrival of a UK trade delegation.
Peru: The country’s export mix
Peru’s main mining chamber of commerce, the SNMPE (Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía and
you probably don’t need that translated) as
quick to jump on its country’s 2025 export Peru: 2025 exports copper
figures last week to underscore the everything else (source: SNMPE) 30%
importance of metals mining in Peru and 34%
this pie chart shows that it’s not just about
mining, but copper and gold (12):
Notes pertaining:
 Despite physical tonnages being down
compared to 2024, copper was Peru’s the
biggest single export product in 2025 with gold
a FOB total of U$28.12Bn. 25%
other metals
21 11%

 Second was gold, up 48.8% year-over-year in USD terms to total U$23.24Bn and you won’t be shocked
to learn that the difference was all about the market price of gold.
 Our third piece of the pie is “other metals”, that totaled U$10.48Bn in 2025 and comprises of all other
metal exports from Peru, headed by zinc, silver and lead with contributions from minor metals such as
iron ore, molybdenum, tin and the list continues.
 The final segment is “everything else”, which is literally every other export from Peru to anywhere else.
This includes its successful growth cash crop agro sector with products that go all over the world
(asparagus, mango, avocado etc), its #1 world position in fishmeal, its fisheries and all trade with
neighbours (Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil and you’d be surprised to learn how much Peruvian coffee
Colombians drink without realizing it while selling their own beans to the industrialized North), all those
and more in a long list of products.
In other words, metals exports represents two of every three dollars exported by Peru in 2025, or if you
prefer over half of its exports are copper and official gold (because the illegal/informal gold market is also
massive and doesn’t make the SNMPE data.
Colombia’s Senate vote offers clues for the presidential race
As previewed last week in IKN875, this Sunday’s elections in Colombia have provided insight on the big race
for President and the results of the Senate elections and the primaries are both worth considering.
First up, the obvious big winner in the primaries was Paloma Valencia on the right, who got almost 4m votes
and won the nomination for the right wing alliance by such a wide margin that she’s now a serious rival to
the hard-right independent candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who has led the polls on that side of the
spectrum for many months. Señor de la Espriella wasn’t part of the primaries process on Sunday, so
effectively he now has the double challenge of seeing off Ms Valencia in the first round vote for President on
April 12th and then beating lefty Iván Cepeda, who is a virtual certainty to be the first placed candidate in
round one.
Second up, the vote for the next Senate (with 100 of the 108
seats up for grabs, if you care enough mail in and I’ll explain why
those other eight seats aren’t involved) has left Colombia with an
effectively hung parliament, with the left wing Pacto Historico
alliance on 25 seats, the main right wing Centro Democratico party
with 17 seats and once the likely splits are worked out, it looks like
this chart right (from this report (13)). That means four (and a
half) years of laws held up and blocked in Congress no matter who
wins the Presidency, but on the whole the Petro-aligned Pacto
Historico performed well and came in at the top end of the range
of most forecasts. That augurs well for the candidacy of lefty
Cepeda and he’ll feel in with more of a chance in the crunch
second round run-off.
Bottom line: The left wing did better than expected and indicates
that lefty Iván Cepeda isn’t jst a lock to get to the run-off, but has
a real chance of succeeding Petro. On the right of the aisle, the
size of Paloma Valencia’s support in the primaries will concern Abelardo de la Espriella, those two are now in
a real battle for the key second spot on April 12th. Ms Valencia is still clearly right wing (she’s from the Álvaro
Uribe party and an aerdent supporter of the ex-President) but she ins0t as polemic or reactionary as Abelardo
de la Espriella, which may improve her appeal among her taerget audience. We shall see.
PS: Today Monday Iván Cepeda chose as his Vice-Presidential running mate one Aida Marina Quilcué, a
Senator from the Cauca region and well-known indigenous rights activist. Among other datapoints, her
husband was murdered by Colombian armed forces in 2008 (as in “murdered”, the people involved were
convicted and the army made an official apology in 2018. Cepeda’s choice will help shore up the indigenous
and provincial votes, his task now is to capture as much of the politicak centre as possible.
22

Market Watching
Once in a Blue Moon but not twice (MOON.v)
I’d already cobbled together some notes on the move in Blue Moon Metals (MOON.v), ready to include some
sort of comment this week, when this mail arrived from reader on Friday:
Hi Mark,
I was slightly surprised your last letter did not mentioned the leap that Blue Moon
made after you sold. Many of your sleepy clients who are slow to move scored a
Golazzo!
Fair enough, nothing I don’t deserve, even more so as the last mention MOON.v got on these pages was in
IKN872 dated week of February when I humbledbragged about my C$5.84 selling price compared to that
weekend’s C$5.23 close. Since then, this:
Well done MOON.v, Christian Kargl-Simard and all those long, more fool me and the main trigger point for
the sharp move from the $6 to $8 price level is this NR dated February 27th (14)
Blue Moon to Acquire the Apex Germanium and Gallium Mine from Teck to Advance US
Critical Mineral Projects to Secure North American Supply
TORONTO, Ontario – February 27, 2026 – Blue Moon Metals Inc.(“Blue Moon” or the “Company”) (TSXV:
MOON; NASDAQ: BMM) is pleased to announce that Teck American Incorporated, a subsidiary of Teck
Resources Limited (“Teck“), has agreed to vend 100% of the past-producing Apex germanium (Ge), gallium
(Ga) and copper (Cu) mine located in Utah into Blue Moon (the “Transaction“), becoming a key stakeholder
to support an integrated pipeline of US critical mineral projects to secure North American supply.
Another critical metals mine for the MOON.v stable, different metals targets this time but the company seems
to have its finger firmly on the pulse of what the market wants, i.e. what Donald wants from the US mining
sector. The deal terms are reasonable (Teck get 7.03m shares of MOON.v, a 0.5% NSR and a couple of extra
benefits) and don’t pose a threat to equity upside in the near-term. As for the mine itself, check out the NR
for the potted description but Apex in Utah is an past producing UG asset with a historic resource and plenty
of potential upside from modern exploration techniques.
Conclusion
IKN876 is done, we end with a couple of bullet points:
 We wait on the sidelines with dry powder. We’re witnessing a geopolitical acid test and if the market
doesn’t cave on us this time, it will be time to get fully long again.
 If you’re not in Xali Gold (XGC.v) due to the price run last week, I don’t blame you. Expect it to come
back to its field once the financing runs.
 Colombia is riskier for FDI after this weekend’s election results.
I wish you good trading fortune, ladies and gentlemen. Best wishes, Mark.
23

Footnotes, appendices, references, disclaimer
(1) https://economicweekly.substack.com/p/economic-weekly-march-6-2026
(2) https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/copper-heads-for-weekly-drop/
(3) https://www.iea.org/commentaries/copper-prices-have-hit-record-highs-but-smelters-face-mounting-strategic-pressures
(4) https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286185/Kobrea-Expands-Phase-1-Drill-Program-at-El-Perdido-Porphyry-
CopperGoldMolybdenum-System-Mendoza-Province-Argentina
(5) https://metalenergy.ca/news-releases/metal-energy-planning-2026-drilling-on-its-niv-project-toodoggone-district-north-central-british-
columbia/
(6) https://sranangold.com/news/sranan-provides-update-on-late-filing-of-financial-statements-extends-mcto/
(7) https://www.atalayar.com/en/opinion/adalberto-agozino/donald-trump-calls-on-his-latin-american-allies-to-relaunch-the-monroe-
doctrine-in-the-21st-century/20260301090000223716.html
(8) https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2026/03/08/uruguay-dejo-de-pertenecer-al-club-de-amigos-de-estados-unidos-y-
volvio-a-estrechar-lazos-con-el-regimen-chino/
(9) https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela-rodriguez-hosts-trump-official-announces-mining-law-reform/
(10) https://noticiasvenevision.com/noticias/politica/asamblea-nacional-prepara-reforma-para-abrir-la-mineria-a-inversion-extranjera
(11) https://x.com/i/status/2029392800656310358
(12) https://rpp.pe/economia/economia/exportaciones-mineras-marcan-cifra-record-de-us-61849-millones-en-2025-representan-el-66-de-
las-ventas-del-peru-al-mundo-noticia-1678401?ref=rpp
(13) https://www.elinformador.com.co/index.php/general/79-nacional/348798-colombia-eligio-a-los-102-senadores-que-integraran-el-
congreso-para-el-periodo-2026-2030
(14) https://bluemoonmetals.com/blue-moon-to-acquire-the-apex-germanium-and-gallium-mine-from-teck-to-advance-us-critical-mineral-
projects-to-secure-north-american-supply/
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2025
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
Surge Copper SURG.v Sep'25 $0.105 22-Dec-24 C$0.215 104.8% took profits, good result
Provenance Gold PAU.cse Oct'25 C$0.15 27-Aug-25 C$0.265 76.7% took profits, good result
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
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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
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
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Aurelius Min. AUL.v dec'21 C$0.75 28-Jun-20 0.24 -68.0% cut end 2021, failed trade
Argonaut Gold AR.to dec'21 C$2.95 25-Jun-21 C$2.15 -27.1% cut on capex blowout
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2020
Closed in 2020 closed close price
TMAC Resources TMR.to Jan'20 C$3.41 20-Dec-19 C$3.61 5.9% TLS flip play, sold new year
Regulus Res REG.v Jan'20 C$1.10 20-Dec-19 C$1.30 18.2% TLS flip play, profit taken
Bonterra Res BTR.v Jan'20 C$1.90 9-Dec-19 C$1.66 -12.6% TLS flip play, loss taken
McEwen Mining MUX Jan'20 U$1.12 2-Dec-19 U$1.18 5.4% TLS flip play, profit taken
Core Gold CGLD.v Jan'20 C$0.255 7-Apr-19 C$0.305 19.6% arb trade, profit taken
HudBay Min HBM Jan'20 U$3.56 9-Dec-19 U$3.36 -5.6% TLS flip play, loss taken
Midas Gold MAX.to Feb'20 C$0.71 5-Jan-20 C$0.57 -19.7% sm & silly trade
Warrior Gold WAR.v Feb'20 C$0.08 3-Aug-18 C$0.05 -31.3% clean out non-perf sm stocks
Contact Gold C.v Feb'20 C$0.40 19-Aug-18 C$0.18 -55.0% clean out non-perf sm stocks
Sandstorm Gold SAND Feb'20 U$3.73 17-Apr-16 U$7.21 93.3% Sold during port rebalance
NexGen Energy NXE Feb'20 U$1.20 2-Dec-19 U$1.06 -11.7% TLS flip play, loss taken
MAG Silver MAG Apr'20 U$8.95 1-Mar-20 U$10.07 12.5% Sold to cut silver exposure
Alexco Res AXU Apr'20 U$1.69 7-Sep-17 U$1.69 0.0% sold to close Ag exp. in FY20
Bonterra Res BTR.v Jun'20 C$1.62 2-Feb-20 C$1.10 -32.1% under-performer cash moved
Regulus Res REG.v Jun'20 C$0.64 6-Apr-15 C$0.79 23.4% moved $ TMQ/MIN & Au stocks
Great Panther GPR.to Aug'20 C$0.60 21-Jun-20 C$1.10 83.3% Profit taken, good trade
Jaguar Mining JAG.v Aug'20 C$0.42 21-Jun-20 C$0.65 54.8% Profit taken, good trade
Sandstorm Gold SAND Aug'20 U$7.76 10-May-20 U$9.37 20.7% Profit taken, good trade
Integra Resources ITR.v Aug'20 C$2.23 13-Aug-18 C$5.40 142.2% Profit taken, good trade
Wesdome Gold WDO.to Aug'20 C$2.37 14-Oct-17 C$14.82 525.3% last 1/2 of big win closed
INV Metals INV.to Sep'20 C$0.40 17-May-20 C$0.45 12.5% Cut all Ecuador exposure
Cartier Resources ECR.v Nov'20 C$0.155 3-Aug-18 C$0.25 67.7% Exact close price TBA
Tinka Res TK.v Dec'20 C$0.195 19-Apr-16 C$0.195 0.0% Closed on a round trip fail
2015 to 2019 annual closed positions in appendices below, 2009 to 2014 closed positions in editions IKN553 or earlier
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2019
Closed in 2019 closed close price
Atico Mining ATY.v jan'19 C$0.55 24-Jul-16 C$0.32 41.8% patience ran out, made room
Candente Copper DNT.to jan'19 C$0.075 3-Aug-18 C$0.05 -33.3% tiny trade, made room for new
B2Gold BTO.to feb'19 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$4.05 91.9% Took 1/2 profits, reduce size
Western Copper WRN.to mar'19 C$0.80 20-Jan-19 C$0.81 1.3% Spec trade that didn't work
B2Gold BTO.to mar'19 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$4.15 96.7% Took rest of profit.
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
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Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2018
Closed in 2018 closed close price
Amarillo Gold AGC.v jan'18 C$0.38 24-Mar-17 C$0.31 -18.4% Cut away losing trade
Riverside Res RRI.v jan'18 C$0.39 27-Jun-16 C$0.31 -20.5% Cut away losing trade
Eros Res ERC.v jan'18 C$0.175 1-Mar-17 C$0.16 -8.6% CEO sudden exit, not good
Excellon Res EXN.to jan'18 C$1.54 9-Oct-16 C$1.66 7.8% 4q17 poor, one too many bad qtrs
Wesdome Gold WDO.to jan'18 C$1.68 15-Dec-17 C$2.06 22.6% Near-term trade block, took profit
Sabina G&S SBB.to apr'18 C$2.06 17-Dec-17 C$1.77 -14.1% Near-term trade, bad timing, small
B2Gold BTO.to May'18 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$3.67 73.9% sold 25% to reduce exposure
Lara Expl. LRA.v May'18 C$0.65 11-Feb-18 C$0.58 -13.8% Spec on Brazil didn't work
Solitario XPL June'18 U$0.72 19-Mar-17 U$0.41 -43.1% Failed trade, may return in 4q18
SolGold plc SOLG.to July'18 C$0.475 19-Nov-17 C$0.415 -12.6% cut, trade didn't perform
Pan American PAAS July'18 U$17.90 1-Jun-18 U$16.30 8.9% modest win on short position
NGEx Res NGQ.to Sep'18 C$1.01 22-Oct-17 C$1.00 -1.0% Closed to reduce Argentina exp
Sandstorm Gold SAND Oct'18 U$3.73 17-Apr-16 U$4.13 10.7% partial sale to raise cash for GTT
Aldebaran Res ALDE.v Nov'18 n/a n/a n/a n/a liquidate spin out of REG
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2017
Closed in 2017 closed close price
Continental Gold CNL.to Jan'17 C$2.68 22-May-16 C$4.17 55.6% trade closed, profit taken
Focus Ventures FCV.v Jan'17 C$0.23 1-Jul-12 C$0.05 -78.3% Give up, a disaster trade
Wesdome Gold WDO.to Feb'17 C$1.72 28-Aug-16 C$3.00 74.4% Target hit, sold, good trade
Belo Sun BSX.to Mar'17 C$0.90 30-Jan-17 C$0.90 0.0% failed near-term flip trade
Lara Expl. LRA.v Mar'17 C$1.15 8-Apr-12 C$1.05 -8.7% cut to make room for new trade
Rye Patch Gold RPM.v Apr'17 C$0.31 2-Sep-16 C$0.32 3.2% cut for doubts & new stock
Cordoba Min. CDB.v Jun'17 C$0.75 15-Sep-16 C$0.63 -16.0% closed
Constantine Metal CEM.v Aug'17 C$0.135 9-Apr-17 C$0.28 107.4% spec trade closed, good win
Red Eagle Min. R.to Sep'17 C$0.67 13-Dec-16 C$0.27 -59.7% IKN's biggest failure in years
Starcore Intl SAM.to Sep'17 C$0.61 10-Jan-15 C$0.31 -49.2% Patience ran out
B2Gold BTO.to Dec'17 C$2.11 12-Sep-14 C$3.39 60.7% sold small portion for liquidity
Stocks To Follow Closed Positions 2016
Closed in 2016 closed close price
Phoscan Chem FOS.to jan16 C$0.28 29-mar-15 C$0.265 -5.4% Buyout trade, bot but poor deal
True Gold TGM.v jan16 C$0.18 23-aug-15 C$0.25 38.9% okay trade, sold on pol risk
McEwen Mining MUX jan16 U$1.09 25-jan-15 U$1.20 10.1% sold due to lack of value
Lake Shore Gold LSG.to feb-16 C$1.10 07-apr-15 C$1.69 53.6% bot out, sold early in process
Atacama Pacific ATM.v feb-16 C$0.19 26-apr-15 C$0.40 110.5% sold for a double on big pop
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
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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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