The Future of Junior Mining: Uranium, Copper, Gold, Shorting, Risks, Tokens, M&A, and Even Asteroids

The gold industry is fragmented across 20-30 companies controlling production, whereas copper is concentrated with 5 companies controlling 90% of production; this structural difference creates distinct M&A and valuation dynamics between the two sectors.

“price you know given Trump's coming in inflation everything else uh you know I'm very bullish on the gold price even more bullish on the copper price but copper is are completely different animal Gold's fragmented 20 30 different companies involved in it uh the top 80% of production but if you look at Copper there's five companies that run what 90% of the production so it's completely two different markets that we have to deal with”

The junior mining sector lag from physical metal strength to junior equity performance has been protracted longer than anticipated, though a violent rebound is possible in 2025.

“there's typically there's a sector lag we see it every every cycle when when physical medals run which they have they're very strong for the most part takes a while for it trickle down it goes to baric then it goes to Alamos then it goes to the you know the the big Juniors and so on and so forth so uh now that said the sector lag has been protracted longer than anybody anticipated so so it's not entirely unusual”

Open-pit mining is the most efficient mining method and essential for modern commodity supply; Mexico's recent ban on open-pit mining is a policy mistake that reduces Mexico's mining competitiveness and demonstrates Mexico will not be serious about mining development.

“you can't beat an open pit you just can't beat an open pit in the mining world there's nothing better than that regardless of grade it's the best it's the best mining opportunity to move any commodity forward in today's world we need Commodities coming out the ying-yang it's yeah I think I think it was the wrong decision on their part”

U.S. mining jurisdiction is overlooked because resolution (copper, Arizona) and Pebble (Alaska) have faced 30-year development battles, making the U.S. permitting environment similarly slow to Canada despite reputation for business-friendliness.

“the US you know as of late has been under the same call it regime as Canada in terms of Permitting you've got was it resolution world class mind I mean it's got its challenges because it's deep but you know huge that it's it's it's been discovered 30 years ago Pebble you know you know same thing”

The sector lag between physical metals and junior mining equities has been unusually prolonged this cycle, with gold and copper prices rising substantially while junior stocks remain flat or down, suggesting either temporary dislocation or structural market dysfunction.

“there's typically there's a sector lag we see it every every cycle when when physical medals run which they have they're very strong for the most part takes a while for it trickle down it goes to baric then it goes to Alamos then it goes to the you know the the big Juniors and so on and so forth so uh now that said the sector lag has been protracted longer than anybody anticipated”

Bitcoin is a speculative investment and not a replacement for gold; Bitcoin lacks 5,000 years of history, tangibility, and proven monetary function that gold possesses, making Bitcoin fundamentally different despite similar narratives around scarcity.

“I'm just going to say absolutely not I I'm not a buyer of Bitcoin um I should have bought it at you know $110,000 I would have made a great money I'm not against Bitcoin I think it's it's been a fantastic speculative investment but it's a speculative investment and make no mistake about it is no replacement for gold it's a proxy for gold”

Bitcoin is a speculative investment that has outperformed, but it is not a replacement for gold because it lacks gold's 5,000-year history, tangibility, and does not serve the same function as a store of value during systemic distrust.

“I'm just going to say absolutely not I I'm not a buyer of Bitcoin um I should have bought it at you know $110,000 I would have made a great money I'm not against Bitcoin I think it's it's been a fantastic speculative investment but it's a speculative investment and make no mistake about it is no replacement for gold it's a proxy for gold it sort of mimics a lot of the things but it does not have that 5,000 years worth of History the the tangibility of it h and so on and so forth”

West Africa's safest countries are often run by Islamic governments (Islamic regimes like Mauritania) rather than French-colonial successor states (Burkina Faso, etc.); Islamic governments suppress extremists more effectively because it's in their interest, whereas French-influence regimes face higher terrorism; this reverses conventional risk perception.

“you know I talked to someone recently and they said you know the safest West African countries are actually the ones that are you know essentially run by like you know Islam governments Muslim governments as opposed to like French regimes because like you know the terrorists um people like that the extremists they're not going to go and kind of blow up morania because they're run by you know their own regimes”

Inflation is not under control; central bankers know this despite public statements to the contrary; the current environment resembles the 1970s but will play out differently; protecting wealth requires diversification into tangible assets like gold as a hedge against currency debasement.

“I do not believe that they've got inflation under control the central Bankers know that they they do certainly do not have it uh it looks a lot like the 70s it'll play out differently um but but you know in inflation I I I think we're just in the early days of of seeing that and and if you want to protect them look at the Canadian dollar I mean you not that that's a beacon of strength but um you know you're just your cash sitting in your bank account is is is losing losing value every single day by this debasement”

Foreign government investment restrictions in Canada (e.g., blocking Chinese capital from mining assets) are misguided policy responses that damage capital flows without protecting national interests; instead, the government should encourage Western domestic capital deployment through proactive incentives.

“Canada has sort of um made itself more complicated or less of a destination to invest in because of foreign investment and so you know keeping the call it the Chinese money out now you know not that I'm an advocate of handing away resources to to uh China I'm not but I I'm absolutely not in favor of of the government preventing foreign governments from from investing in our our um our resources or our companies that do that's part of the theme we're seeing companies exit Canada the regulatory regime and the exchanges entirely I think that is that's terrible to see that instead of keeping foreign governments out or foreign investments since how about we in in sent call it Western domestic Capital to invest”

The Canadian dollar is losing value due to currency debasement while sitting in bank accounts, making it necessary to diversify into tangible assets like gold to preserve purchasing power.

“look at the Canadian dollar I mean you not that that's a beacon of strength but um you know you're just your cash sitting in your bank account is is is losing losing value every single day by this debasement so where can you diversify and preserve your wealth um you know gold has always been the answer”

OEM (original equipment manufacturer) investments into mining projects—such as Tesla investing in nickel, Samsung and battery makers investing in lithium and cobalt—represent unprecedented capital flows into the sector and signal end-user demand confidence in long-term commodity requirements.

“we're also seeing the oems coming in and investing in projects and and companies as well that's really kind of unprecedent but I think that still demonstrates the idea that the oems want the product and that's explain that James oh yeah manufacturers but like explain some examples Samsung and you know we're see some of those yeah we're seeing some of the lithium companies uh Tesla making Investments uh nickel battery manufacturers making investments into nickel projects”

Investor capital in the junior mining space is fragmented between short-term traders seeking immediate gains and long-term investors, forcing CEOs to manage conflicting shareholder expectations while attempting to run the business optimally for long-term value creation.

“I think one of the I think one of the issues is you know the investors are fragmented you you you got a split between people that want you know near-term results right away and then you got your long-term investors and and you know that's us running the company we're all stakeholders we're we're trying to run the business so it's hard to have five Rigs and also have money in you know in five years so you're trying to manage both sides”

Canada's mineral endowment and potential wealth generation from mining and oil/gas is vastly underutilized; countries in Africa and the Middle East that were deserts or swamps 40 years ago have built superior infrastructure and civilizations using fewer mineral resources than Canada has, showing that effective resource management (not resource scarcity) determines national prosperity.

“I travel the world I'm fortunate enough to do that and there's some of these places I've been to that that were swamps and deserts not more than uh 40 years ago that have built um infrastructure and housing and and civilizations that frankly I'm envious of when I see these places and and they have the the the painful part is they have nothing that Canada doesn't have in fact Canada has more of it but we just haven't been managing our resources effectively”

Stock volatility in junior mining (daily swings of 10% are common) keeps institutional investors out because they are constrained by risk management rules designed for less volatile assets, creating persistent undervaluation and reduced demand that depresses share prices.

“you know our stock you know our stock is up what like 400% now Mark to Market on the year but on that particular day was down 10% and he's like this is insane like the the whips and he goes if IBM was down 2% on a day that'd be a really bad day so for a lot of the the money especially from Toronto where you're not run by canor and Haywood you're run by RBC and TD a lot of these investors aren't allowed in”

Peter Monk's (founder of Agnico Eagle) willingness to engage in hostile takeovers created leadership and built a major mining company; current generation lacks this aggressive mindset, preferring safe 'friendly' processes that eliminate surprise acquisitions and allow boards to extract multiple bids, reducing upside for first movers.

“I go back and who you know somebody I've always looked up to in this industry was Peter Monk and Tony you talk about no hostiles Peter would laugh at that I mean he did hostile takeovers for breakfast you know and so the that's the that's the type of mentality that that we need to bring back in this industry”

Junior mining companies need to fund drilling operations for two consecutive years (current year plus next year) without capital raises to avoid predictable equity dilution; companies signaling future capital needs face immediate selloffs regardless of drill results because the market knows a raise is coming.

“I'm scary as an investor looking at a lot of these other companies you may have your cash to drill for the year but what are you going to do after that and even with you know pretty good results they're not good enough you need spectacular results and if not you're going to sell off because the markets knows you're going to do a raise”

A publicly traded junior mining company functions like a 'little central bank' that can print paper (equity) and sell it for cash; this power attracts promoters and fraudsters who abuse the system, which is why enforcement matters more than rule creation.

“we're little uh you know to to quote Rick rule since we're in that uh doing that right now it's we're little Central Banks and so I I can I can con I can print paper and sell it to the next guy uh in exchange for their cash that's that's that is power and and as I said it does attract the wrong types”

The Orap Invest group achieves cost efficiency by sharing a single CFO across seven companies, saving approximately $500,000 annually; this $500k difference enabled American Eagle Gold to drill additional holes that led to discovery of Hole 17, which increased valuation enough to raise $8 million for further exploration.

“by being part of the or group you know we probably save around half a million dollars a year and if I wasn't part of the or group as American Eagle gold we probably would have stopped our drill program on whole 16 last year and not hit 17 which allowed us to get to 80 cents which allowed us to raise another $8 million”

Major mining companies (like Newmont) own numerous world-class deposits on properties they don't even know they have; corporate divestitures from mega-M&A (e.g., Newmont divesting Eleonore, Musselwhite after acquiring Newcrest) will birth the next generation of mid-tier and major mining companies through secondary distributions of assets.

“newmont's got Untold numbers of word-class deposits on properties that they own own that they don't even know that they have and it it's going to take sort of you know the the force to be burned down and and to be regrown through New Capital new companies new leadership so I think you know it's it's just the evolution of the cycle”

Capital flows to majors are driven by fear/greed cycles; currently fear dominates (risk aversion post-2011 cycle) but once an outlier acquires aggressively, entire sector sentiment flips and boards compete to avoid being left out, creating herding behavior in M&A.

“it's so easy I was just talking about this with a guy but you know the These funds and and by extension the the board members they don't mind being wrong as long as everybody else is wrong you know what I mean so uh you know to go out there and be an outlier is a risk but the second you got an outlier you have a leader go out there and be aggressive then then the whole sentiment and attitude changes so we need that outlier to break out start making some moves”

In-person mining conferences are overrated for marketing; online content (interviews, videos, social media) reaches more investors and is more cost-effective than booth presence at trade shows; companies should only attend conferences if they are presenting on video.

“I think it's overrated how important uh some of these you know conferences are that these people like me have to go to I I think the old way of thinking is you got look people in the eye but I think it's all about eyeballs and whether that's in person or online um I think the online things more important because you hit more people”

Canada's first critical minerals strategy initially excluded uranium from the list, which is a significant oversight given uranium's role in future energy security and nuclear power generation.

“Canada in their first critical mineral strategy didn't include uranium what kind of oversight do you guys have there”

Good community relationships in Canada require starting small, transparent communication with stakeholders, and shared upside—investors often overlook that proper community engagement at project inception prevents majority of permitting delays that plague major deposits.

“it's not really easy it's not really hard to figure it out it's all about communication honesty letting people under the tent letting the First Nations know what you're doing same as you do with investors and if you start small at the very beginning you know eventually you become a mind you you'll have a really good path forward”

Major mining company incentives make 3-year development timeline in Canada acceptable even relative to faster jurisdictions—a 30-40 year mine producing across two centuries of service life makes a 3-year permitting delay insignificant in present value terms.

“look I I'm GNA touch it first like it's underrated because quite frankly what what's the delay if you get permits what two three years in Canada well if you're if you're building a real mind it's probably going to be 20 30 year mind so what does the difference really make in two or three years you know in the whole of things especially when you know during those 30 40 years that you're running a mine it's not going to be taken away from you”

Niche commodity projects face structural supply/demand constraints—supply is often fully allocated to existing producers with long-term contracts, and demand is limited, making new niche commodity projects uneconomic regardless of ore grade.

“you have to bring your product if you've got a project that can go into a mine you have to be able to make sure that your mine has a place your product sorry from the mind product has a place to go once it is pulled out of the ground and that is very hard for certain Commodities because there are C there's X number of Mines that that have all of that Supply already locked up vanadium is a very tough Market to get into because that Supply is or the demand I guess is very limited with already over Supply”

The junior mining industry is experiencing sector-wide enforcement failure, where mining companies can abuse the power to issue equity (print paper) for cash without meaningful consequences; Canada's Securities regulators lack the enforcement rigor of the SEC, creating moral hazard and eroding industry credibility.

“it's sort of like what's going on in you know the neighborhoods around Toronto and and the jewelry shops at the malls right so people are coming in smashing and grabbing because you know why because they're not worried about the consequences and so I think uh you know without going down the rabbit hole and and and throwing throwing Regulators out of the bus but I I do think that uh Canada is known for uh not enforcing um some of the Securities laws that are infringed on um you know so I think uh stepping that up could be serious like when you look at the SEC they do not mess around down there if you if you break the law and you call it abuse this uh this power to print paper and exchange for money uh you're going to jail uh whereas that's not necessarily the case here in in in in Canada”

Newmont's acquisition of Newcrest followed by divestiture of Eleanor and Muslewhite projects exemplifies industry cycle: large miners consolidate competitors, recognize overlaps, then divest assets to new companies with capital and management to develop them, creating next generation of mid-tier and junior producers.

“from after that the digestion process there they decided they want to focus on core assets and they're selling off Elenor they're selling off muscle white and and other things I guess the point I'm trying to make is this is where the next mid-tier in major companies are born from we haven't even we don't even know the names of these companies yet uh some of these major mining companies are so big that they can't afford to allocate Capital into exploration and what now so newmont's got Untold numbers of word-class deposits on properties that they own own that they don't even know that they have and it it's going to take sort of you know the the force to be burned down and and to be regrown through New Capital new companies new leadership”

Stock volatility in junior mining—where a stock can move 10-20% intraday without fundamental news—keeps institutional capital (RBC, TD) from entering the sector because their mandates prohibit investing in securities with that level of price instability, creating a feedback loop of reduced demand and lower valuations.

“the volatility watching it from the outside that you're afraid to even get in and I was talking to a really big broker in Toronto we had lunch together and you know our stock you know our stock is up what like 400% now Mark to Market on the year but on that particular day was down 10% and he's like this is insane like the the whips and he goes if IBM was down 2% on a day that'd be a really bad day so for a lot of the the money especially from Toronto where you're not run by canor and Haywood you're run by RBC and TD a lot of these investors aren't allowed in”

The Orap Invest group structure—with one CFO covering seven companies rather than seven full-time CFOs—creates ~$500,000 annual cost savings per company, translating directly into additional drilling meters that can lead to transformative discoveries; unit cost discipline is a competitive moat in capital-constrained junior mining.

“we probably save around half a million dollars a year and if I wasn't part of the or group as American Eagle gold we probably would have stopped our drill program on whole 16 last year and not hit 17 which allowed us to get to 80 cents which allowed us to raise another $8 million which then allowed us to bring sou 32 in so you know we really do look after the bottom line and you know those 20,000 $40,000 is the difference from possibly drilling a 700 meter hole versus 00 meter hole and actually making that big Discovery”

Gold is fundamentally a proxy for trust and distrust in fiat currency systems; society-wide loss of confidence in institutions, disinformation, and political polarization creates tailwinds for gold as store of value, though Bitcoin has absorbed some flow that historically went to gold.

“gold is just a proxy for risk or trust maybe that's a better way of saying it it's trust and I think um society as a whole has lost trust in the system you know there's a and there's a lot of talk of you know disinformation or fake news you know um you know Trump versus comma like just it's just given rise to distrust and what we're hearing and I think you can extrapolate that all the way down to the fiat currency and which is which is a you know a well-beaten story for you know the gold bugs right but I think it's it's and that's a very that's a niche that's a very small Niche but if that if that um the essence of that story could could be extrapolated or or taken upon by Society at large uh which has happened time and time again in in you know throughout history if you're a student of History um but if if if the world could appreciate Gold's value and Gold's function and that gold is in fact money perhaps you know the only true form of money uh it could be very very powerful”

Copper will see major acquisition activity in 2025-2026 from large mining companies seeking future growth, because major copper mines are not coming into development on the horizon; juniors with advanced copper projects will become M&A targets for majors looking to replace depleting reserves.

“I think the gold industry is completely different than copper gold industry is going to be mid tiers because the Gold's so high right now and these mid tiers are so undervalued you know the barracks of kostic nicoo eagles they're going to buy the mid- tier so if they're buying company using up you know diluting they'll get cash right away um you know out of those mines but I think it's the complete opposite for the copper I think the copper has to buy you know those future growth stories you know like the American Eagles Etc because there are no mins coming into development that are massive that these you know big Majors want so it's too completely you know different things alt together”

Mining company board structures create misaligned incentives against M&A: board members earning $230-300k annually for 6-12 meetings have no change-of-control triggers, so they benefit from companies remaining independent and generating board fees; conversely CEOs benefit from status quo to preserve CEO positions even though M&A creates 3x payouts.

“there's not a lot of these mining companies out there and if you look at the board look at their you know information circular these board members are making $230 to $300,000 a year for pretty much having six to 12 meetings you know are do they really want those companies to sell if they can't collect those nice easy board check so they're not really aligned with shareholders and the same thing is true for management you know if your management at least is a little bit different than the board your management you're probably making what $2 million minimum as a CEO of a mid-tier to Major company and you're getting what three times pay if you get bought out uh but at the same time you know the board the board members are not getting any kind of trigger they they leave they don't get paid any more money but if you're looking at the CEO the CEO you know the more you buy out these companies the less companies there are to work at to make that money so where do you have to go so you're actually more incentive advis to keep your company rolling not have m& and kind of stay with the status quo”

Price stability in commodity prices, not price increases, is the precondition for major mining company M&A activity; companies need 1-2 years of price stability to have confidence their acquisition thesis will hold true through development and production.

“Stability in the price of gold I think the last time you saw that really big run from 2005 to 2011 people never thought it would it would end uh and you you saw the obviously the purchase of you know redback got purchased by Ken Ross obviously not a great one baric purchased Equinox but they thought you know the price was going to keep on moving linear and then all of a sudden it stopped and from 2011 till 20121 the price of gold averaged 1365 and so people a lot of people got hurt a lot people got fired and there's a lot of scars created and right now we've seen this other run up but now everyone's all all of a sudden afraid that we're going to see another drop in the price so I think we probably need another year of stability for you know these big companies to have the courage to actually make these Investments and believe that their investments will actually pay back”

Although critical minerals tax credits are arbitrary, junior copper companies should strategically pursue them because 30% government rebates on exploration spending materially extend drilling capacity, and in capital-constrained sector any available incentive must be leveraged.

“I'll be a contrarian like high level I agree with what Steve and James are saying but you know I think it's kind of under at given the fact that how much we've talked about our balance sheet your cost of capital being able to put your meters in the ground to make that Discovery um you know if I'm running a junior company or starting one from fresh you probably focus on on critical medal because quite frankly you get the rebates from the government so you get rebates back you know in BC for American Eagle we get 30% of every dollar we spend in the ground back in our bank account so it allows us to spend you know about 30% more”

Deep sea mining is underrated in terms of potential mineral endowment, but overrated as investment because environmental movement political power will block development, making it unwise to fight that battle when terrestrial alternatives exist.

“I think it's I think it's underrated the potential there is incredible um you know the the the ocean covers what 70% of the Earth's surface uh and we know nothing about it you know on the whole um what what we do know is there's huge amounts of mineral um depos pait down there now would I invest in it no way um just because of what James says you know the the environmental movement in in this um in this world uh is founded but has gone too far and and it's just a is just totally um handcuffed um industry from moving forward”

Naked short selling of junior mining stocks is overrated as the industry's primary problem; companies with poor results get shorted regardless, but companies with good results can benefit from covering short positions, creating positive feedback; CEOs should focus on delivery rather than blaming shorts.

“I think it's overrated if they think it's the biggest problem in the industry it is not is it a problem certainly naked shorting is definitely something that um leaves stocks available to abuse there's no question about that uh I'd love to see it mitigated in some capacity but I'm all for shorting it's a natural part of the industry and uh of any of any markets uh the naked shorting um is a whole different beast and should not be allowed”

Tokenization and blockchain application to mining project financing and commodity trading is overrated; it creates door for scams (tokenizing insitu minerals before development), and unlike supply chain verification benefits, securitization of pre-production minerals adds no real value.

“it's it's ridiculous um I won't say anything more of that to offend anybody but no it has that that I have zero interest in that”

In-person mining conferences are overrated as marketing spend; online content (YouTube interviews, podcasts) provides better reach and ROI because it creates shareable material; companies should only attend in-person conferences if they have presentation opportunity that generates video content.

“I think it's overrated how important uh some of these you know conferences are that these people like me have to go to I I think the old way of thinking is you got look people in the eye but I think it's all about eyeballs and whether that's in person or online um I think the online things more important because you hit more people and that's why we do things like this Antonio like I'm starting to get in the mindset that I only invest in marketing services that I actually use and I'm not seeing a lot of value from these you know in-person marketing meetings and I'm seeing a lot more value from these things that are online with you uh stuff like Robert sin Etc and any any any in-person conference I have to go to to spend money on uh the number one rule I'm now going to follow is unless there's a video attached where I'm doing a presentation I'm not going because I might have like maybe I will have a bunch of good meetings but maybe my 10 meetings won't be good but at least I have a bit of material that I can then go use and share with the share with the internet”

First Nations groups in Canada should be considered stakeholders and partners in development, not barriers; companies that invest early in communication and honesty about operations will build communities supporting their projects, while those that treat FN as regulatory hurdle will face opposition.

“I think you got to look at everything you know by the basis of where that particular mind is located and see how the relationship is with the community so I think for American Eagle we're in a very good position but I think the problem is when people look at Canada it's second biggest country World they brush it with one big stroke and they look at provinces they brush it with one big stroke but a lot of times it's not even anti- mining it's it's anti- people it's anti- running those particular mines and in the end it's not really easy it's not really hard to figure it out it's all about communication honesty letting people under the tent letting the First Nations know what you're doing same as you do with investors”

The permitting process in Canada for mining projects is 20-30 years, but this extended timeline is not a primary disadvantage versus jurisdictions with faster permitting because a 30-year operating mine justifies waiting a few years during permitting, and Canada's legal certainty prevents expropriation risk that affects faster-permitting jurisdictions.

“well look I I'm GNA touch it first like it's underrated because quite frankly what what's the delay if you get permits what two three years in Canada well if you're if you're building a real mind it's probably going to be 20 30 year mind so what does the difference really make in two or three years you know in the whole of things especially when you know during those 30 40 years that you're running a mine it's not going to be taken away from you so I'd rather have an extra three years of permanent than be worried during that 40 years where I'm producing I'm going to lose it”

A junior mining company needs to maintain sufficient cash on its balance sheet to fund drilling operations for the following year after the current year, otherwise markets will anticipate a financing raise and sell the stock in advance, creating downward pressure regardless of drilling results.

“I think if you don't have cash in your bank to cover your folling year after the year you're drilling like if you're a junior company like if you're Drilling in 2025 you can have a great project but if you don't have money for 2026 like you're dead in the water um because the market will know that and it doesn't matter what your results are you will get sold off because we'll know a raise is coming”

Uranium price strength in 2024 was driven by structural nuclear demand (Japan, Middle East, Europe bringing reactors online) that will drive years of supply deficit, and secondary market prices (SWUs) are a better leading indicator than spot price for true nuclear market health.

“I think the uranium and nuclear Market's completely misunderstood I agree I wish the uh junior Market again agree with that bullish narrative that you're that you're giving here about uranium because that's not being the case and and again we'll touch upon that maybe later on but as the as always as the rain of sunshine that I am I'd like to start by by maybe discussing some of the issues facing the junior mining space”

Niche commodity markets are structurally challenged because supply is controlled by few majors with locked-in offtake agreements, making it extremely difficult for juniors to find demand and customers for new production, even if project is technically excellent.

“there's X number of Mines that that have all of that Supply already locked up vadium is a very tough Market to get into because that Supply is or the demand I guess is very limited with already over Supply there are a few other Commodities that are like that and if you can't find a home for for your product it's never going to come out of the ground”

M&A in mining is fundamentally governed by fear and risk aversion on corporate boards; executives fear repeating mistakes from 2011-2012 when major acquisitions at peak gold prices destroyed shareholder value, so they wait for others to move first; this creates lag until one aggressive player breaks out and triggers FOMO-driven consolidation wave.

“it has to do about group think and it has to be about I still think everybody is still in that mind frame of of the cycle from 12 years ago when you know in the last in the last you know cortile of that last cycle there was a lot of poor decisions certainly with the benefit of 2020 hindsight and everybody got fired right and so all the CEOs who are the next generation of CEOs are terrified of that”

British Columbia First Nations governance varies dramatically within province with 200+ groups; mining success depends on local relationship with specific First Nation rather than provincial-level policy, making community engagement more important than macro BC policy narrative.

“how many different first First Nations groups do you think there are in Canada Antonio from someone from Europe 500 yeah there's over 600 that's pretty close now how many do you think are just in BC 100 yeah there's over 200 so onethird of the First Nations groups are actually in British Columbia now it doesn't matter if you're liberal conservative NDP bless your heart um it just matters what different First Nations group you are in within that Province uh if you have a good relationship with them they're the ones that actually run what's going on so I think you got to look at everything you know by the basis of where that particular mind is located and see how the relationship is with the community”

The 'critical minerals' label is marketing hype and arbitrary government designation; all metals are critical to the economy and assigning special status to certain minerals while excluding gold distorts capital allocation toward fashionable commodities rather than fundamentals.

“overrated um they're all first of all they're all critical minerals I think it's you know asinine to exclude gold um you know as if it's not a critical mineral it's as critical to the economy is any any metal and the economy is probably the most uncritical aspect of of anything so first of all they're all critical second of all it's just a marketing Buzz that this this industry does such a wonderful job at at uh banding around and and and thumping um thumping the drum I think the government uh you know has added to that by adding a special mineral tax credits you know to critical minerals which I'm not complaining about they're they're great but honestly they should be for all medals um I think it's too arbitrary for any any one person to select this versus that uh we're digging for dollars from an economic standpoint and we need the complete Suite of metals to live our way of life”

Zombie projects (previously explored deposits revived in commodity booms) take capital away from serious junior mining companies with new discoveries and technical merit; investors should avoid zombie projects and focus on management with successful discovery history.

“one of the things that it's it's a repeat thing throughout time but one thing that's always overrated when there's a rush in the commodity which we were talking about earlier on the gold side of things you get a lot of these zombie projects that are revived that didn't go anywhere in the last cycle and didn't go anywhere in the cycle before that and they just keep re get getting revived and revived and I think that takes away capital from companies who have serious projects who have uh something deliverable to the market”

Canada has mineral endowment equivalent or superior to countries that developed rapidly (Middle East, Southeast Asia) over last 40 years, but has failed to monetize it through poor policy, resulting in massive opportunity cost and forgone wealth creation.

“I travel the world I'm fortunate enough to do that and there's some of these places I've been to that that were swamps and deserts not more than uh 40 years ago that have built um infrastructure and housing and and civilizations that frankly I'm envious of when I see these places and and they have the the painful part is they have nothing that Canada doesn't have in fact Canada has more of it but we just haven't been managing our resources effectively think how wealthy we could be and what we could do if we took uh our our oil and gas yes oil and gas and our uh Metals Industries seriously again”

Gold is a proxy for societal trust; distrust in institutions (media, government, currency) is rising globally, making gold acquisition an asymmetric bet on loss of confidence in fiat currency and centralized systems.

“to me gold is just a proxy for risk or trust maybe that's a better way of saying it it's trust and I think um society as a whole has lost trust in the system you know there's a and there's a lot of talk of you know disinformation or fake news you know um you know Trump versus comma like just it's just given rise to distrust”

Discovery is exceptionally rare; most drilling produces no economic mineralization, and market expectations that repeated drilling should yield improving results are fundamentally misaligned with geological reality, making 'patience' and understanding probability distributions critical for long-term investing in juniors.

“Discovery is hard and rare true Discovery is exceptionally rare and and within a very um unforgiving Market where capital is constrained I think the market you know our industry is doing the best it can and I think it you know there's a segment of it that does a phenomenal job at it there's obviously uh those in in like any uh industry who do less of a phenomenal job but it's it's not like we don't want to deliver 300 meters at 3% I do it every every single hole if we could um but you know”

Board members of mining companies earning $230-300k annually for 6-12 meetings have perverse incentives against M&A because M&A eliminates their company and their board compensation; this structural misalignment means boards prioritize company survival over shareholder value, unlike management which gets change-of-control multiples.

“there's not a lot of these mining companies out there and if you look at the board look at their you know information circular these board members are making $230 to $300,000 a year for pretty much having six to 12 meetings you know are do they really want those companies to sell if they can't collect those nice easy board check so they're not really aligned with shareholders”

Gold price stability (not necessarily higher prices, just consistency) is required for major mining companies to gain confidence to make M&A investments; current gold stability above $2600 is beginning to restore confidence after years of volatility from 2011-2024.

“I think we probably need another year of stability for you know these big companies to have the courage to actually make these Investments and believe that their investments will actually pay back so I think that's the big thing is stability in the price the price doesn't necessarily need to move up much higher it just needs to stay where it is”

Naked shorting can actually benefit companies with good results; when shorts are forced to cover good news, it creates explosive upside momentum exceeding what fundamental valuation changes would produce; the problem is not shorting itself but shorting working better on weak stocks than strong stocks.

“look naked shorting can really work well for a company too if you got great drill results and people are naked shorting you like they're going to have to cover it it just exponentially caus your stock to go up a lot further the the problem is the results coming out for these companies isn't asymmetrical so the probability of actually having you know negative results is better than the probability of having positive results so the nied shorting actually works out more than it dozen”

Government tax credits for critical minerals exploration (such as BC's 30% refund on exploration spending) effectively increase a junior's exploration budget by 30% without additional capital raise, making critical minerals focus underrated from a capital efficiency perspective despite the label's arbitrary nature.

“if I'm running a junior company or starting one from fresh you probably focus on on critical medal because quite frankly you get the rebates from the government so you get rebates back you know in BC for American Eagle we get 30% of every dollar we spend in the ground back in our bank account so it allows us to spend you know about 30% more”

Canada is becoming a counter-cyclical investment opportunity in mining because of policy deterioration over 10-15 years; when policy improves (potentially under Trump's administration's focus on productivity and rational permitting), Canada will capture disproportionate capital flows due to its mineral endowment and security of tenure.

“I think Canada in and of itself is now have become a counter cyclical bet like and that's how we've always invested in the mining when you know you buy uranium when it's $19 you buy gold when it's thousand and you position yourself and I think that's what you know we at the or group and all of all of the guys here are are all Canada Focus projects is Canada Canada is Gonna Come Back we have no choice”

Uranium is misunderstood by the market: nuclear energy demand is growing globally (East building reactors, Europe, Middle East expanding), creating structural demand growth; however, markets focus on spot price volatility ($100 down to $75) and miss the leading indicator of health, which is swaps and secondary market prices that are performing strongly.

“the uranium and nuclear Market's completely misunderstood I agree I wish the uh junior Market again agree with that bullish narrative that you're that you're giving here about uranium because that's not being the case and and again we'll touch upon that maybe later on but this uranium will have a positive year um macro as a whole bring cross will have a positive Year too but it's things just look too Rosy for it”

AI in exploration has potential but requires 5-10 years to mature; the current hype cycle will require a 'pets.com moment' where AI startups burn down before the technology is rebuilt on solid foundations and integrated into mining workflows.

“I think it's going to have to have its uh you know 1999 pets.com moment so I think the whole AI industry is going to have to be burned down and then uh we're going to have to build it back up to figure out its utility and where it fits so it's probably you know um you know I may I mean this may Pro prove a laughable quote but probably 5 10 years ago from now until it really becomes you know integral”

Blockchain technology for metals is underrated as a tool for supply chain tracking and provenance verification; if blockchain tracks Northern Canadian nickel versus Indonesian nickel (with different environmental profiles), it could support price differentiation and ESG-conscious purchasing, benefiting North American producers.

“I think it's underrated in the fact that you look at Bitcoin you got to leverage the infrastructure that Bitcoin has in the blockchain to what it's all about supply and demand for your your metals and if you look at at the average look for every ounce of gold that is produced it's traded probably 500 probably more times so if there's a way to actually have that gold and track the Provence and keep it where it is without it getting like cut up and resold imagine you had gold and someone's like trading it and selling it like 500 times like that's your goal why should someone else leverage off it off you”

East-West tensions in uranium supply could create supply security issues if Western nations cannot secure uranium from domestic sources, creating geopolitical urgency for Western uranium mining and especially Canadian production.

“that market disconnect that doesn't really see or appreciate that longterm view as well which leads to almost couldn't lead to security of Supply if we start if we keep seeing this East versus West and that's going to become very important especially being within Canada and having neighbors to the South Lake States I think security of Supply is going to be very important for a long-term Outlook”

West Africa's mining jurisdictions (Mali, Burkina Faso, Kivu) vary dramatically; safety is more nuanced than Western media portrayal suggests; companies operating in Mali under careful management (like Imacor) have achieved production without disruption; jurisdiction selection (Ivory Coast, Kivu) matters more than country classification.

“you know I worked at IM gold for a while and Mali was a really tough jurisdiction and we had saola there and obviously you know your your value for their asset went down because people were risk adverse to B but you know we had operations in Quebec and I think they went on strike five or six times during the 10 years I was there a lot of disrupted production Mali for what everyone says about it where they had saola they never had one break of production for the entire 10 years I was there”

The gold price of $2,700 on average for 2024 would have driven junior gold stocks to double if market sentiment matched fundamentals, but traders and benchmark comparisons to the broad market (which keeps rising) prevent juniors from receiving proper valuation for growth, creating structural undervaluation.

“if you talk to me two years ago you said gold was going to be $2,700 on average for the year I think a lot of these gold stocks would have probably doubled but the you know the Traders the market they're just so hungry for more and more gains and I guess you're being benchmarked to the you know General market that just seems to never stop going up”

Trump administration's apparent shift toward rationality in permitting and infrastructure development could catalyze Canadian mining renaissance if government responds with proactive permitting reform and capital incentives, rather than reactive foreign investment restrictions.

“I think uh the biggest overarching theme of 2024 was one name down to the South and that's Trump and and and just sort of the the potential that he brings now I don't think he's some sort of Panacea and I do think there'll be a honeymoon phase and I don't think it'll be linear however what I do believe is that it's sort of the beginning of call it back to rationality in many respects back to productivity let's get things done as opposed to just trying to please everybody which goes nowhere fast so I I do think that um you know we may be forced to be productive again um you know so so there's lots of politicking going on but it's nice to see for all you know all the politics involved it's nice to see us talking about building roads Bridges uh shortening permits and stuff so I think you know that is that maybe that's the spark that really um um solidifies U our long-term counter cyclical bet on Canada”

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has been a more robust market for junior miners over past 2 years relative to TSX, but this valuation arbitrage will shrink as Canadian market catches up and capital flows equalize, making Canadian listings relatively undervalued today.

“the ASX has been a much better more robust uh Market over the past two years uh I think they have better uh regulations on a number of things we won't get into but look it's been a better Market I think the I think Australia is kind of like Vancouver you go to Vancouver and you go in the Starbucks everybody's talking about mining I think Australia is sort of by extension that whereas Toronto uh is is much more Diversified but uh I guess uh they just have a better Market if you can list copper in Australia everybody's say oh well you'll get a better valuation I think that has been true but now again going back to my my comment on Canada being um underrated um I think I think that that that Arbitrage is going to shrink and I think the TSX is going to catch up and I think the as it's going to be arbed out”

Gold investors in 2024 expected linear progression where if gold was predicted at $2,700/oz average for the year then gold stocks would double, but traders focused on 'what have you done for me lately' are hungry for more and more gains, benchmarking juniors against general markets that never stop going up, making juniors undervalued relative to the gold price achieved.

“if you talk to me two years ago you said gold was going to be $2,700 on average for the year I think a lot of these gold stocks would have probably doubled but the you know the Traders the market they're just so hungry for more and more gains and I guess you're being benchmarked to the you know General market that just seems to never stop going up that I think a lot of these stocks are are really undervalued”

AI in mineral exploration is overrated because it relies entirely on garbage-in-garbage-out data inputs, lacks the human ability to think creatively outside model parameters, and no major deposit has yet been discovered using AI as primary discovery tool.

“overrated absolutely no because I think nothing will beat the human mind I think AI is too data driven and doesn't have that ability to think outside the box it's set on based on a number of parameters that even if you don't put the right parameters in sorry garbage in garbage out that's that's data that's math and that's what AI is completely driven on and the human mind can yes the human mind can also do garbage in garbage out but it can interpret a little bit more and again yeah I think really think outside the box”

Blockchain technology could be valuable for tracking mineral provenance and supply chain transparency, creating customer preference for ethically-sourced metals, which would increase demand and prices for North American metals while decreasing demand for conflict minerals from Indonesia.

“if you can somehow leverage blockchain technology to afflect the supply curve that means that metal is going to go up so I think in that aspect it's super underrated”

Canada has become a counterintuitive long-term value play despite recent policy headwinds, because it offers geological endowment, infrastructure, and tenure security that no offshore jurisdiction can match; the country is strategically undervalued and will revert to its historical premium as Western governments prioritize domestic supply chains.

“Canada is Gonna Come Back we have no choice and I think uh the biggest overarching theme of 2024 was one name down to the South and that's Trump and and and just sort of the the potential that he brings now I don't think he's some sort of Panacea and I do think there'll be a honeymoon phase and I don't think it'll be linear however what I do believe is that it's sort of the beginning of call it back to rationality in many respects back to productivity let's get things done as opposed to just trying to please everybody which goes nowhere fast so I I do think that um you know we may be forced to be productive again”

Critical minerals labels are overrated marketing buzzwords; all metals are critical to the modern economy; the political designation of 'critical minerals' is arbitrary and driven by government incentive programs, not by fundamental criticality.

“they're all first of all they're all critical minerals I think it's you know asinine to exclude gold um you know as if it's not a critical mineral it's as critical to the economy is any any metal and the economy is probably the most uncritical aspect of of anything so first of all they're all critical second of all it's just a marketing Buzz”

Canada is still very underexplored relative to its geological potential; recent discoveries (Cot Lake, Emira, Marathon, Valentine gold projects, Patriot battery metals in Quebec) prove that world-class deposits are still being discovered in Canada despite perceived jurisdiction disadvantage.

“cotay gold emis Marathon Victoria project or whatever it's called Valentine project there's a lot of projects still being discovered look at p you know battery metal project in Quebec so I think Canada is still very underexplored”

Quality project selection (management credibility, cash preservation, strong balance sheets) is significantly underrated as an investment factor; investors should focus on whether management has made discoveries before and whether they are disciplined about capital allocation rather than chasing results.

“I think that is completely underrated in the investment Community that's well said um I've got I've got another one here and this sort of lends back to um critical critical minerals not really but it has to do with about um retail invest should stay away from vadium geranium um you know manganese antimon Etc stick to Gold copper uranium”

The Orap Invest group strategy is to own assets (mining properties) rather than just manage companies; this gives the group skin in the game and ensures capital discipline because asset value (not equity price) is the primary focus.

“I do think we're due um I don't think we're there yet but we're getting closer and uh I'm just going to keep my head down um focus on owning assets again that's you know one of our core principles the or group is to own our assets so that when the good times times do come back you're in the game”

The junior mining sector experienced one of the worst years in memory from a share price perspective in 2024, but from an asset acquisition standpoint it was fantastic because long-term investors can acquire assets at discounted prices when most people focus on stock performance rather than underlying asset value.

“from a market standpoint from a share price perspective it's been atrocious um one of the worst in memories but uh when you're in my seat I think about assets so I'm not buying stocks necessarily I'm buying assets it's been a wonderful opportunity for uh people who have a long-term view to acquire assets”

Personal risk tolerance differs from investment risk—an executive will not operate in a jurisdiction where personal physical safety is at question (kidnapping risk), so West African geopolitical risk is not just financial but personal, creating rational risk aversion.

“where I draw the line it's where um either myself or somebody I have to send their their uh personal physical safety is a is is at question and then it's a hard not so that's kind of how I Define it”

The industry should focus on making the 'haystack as small as possible' (reduce number of exploration targets to the best ones) and the 'needle as big as possible' (maximize size of discoveries when found), rather than drilling everywhere indiscriminately; discipline in target selection and marketing is what separates winning from losing junior companies.

“my job as a CEO is it's it's like finding a needle in the haast stack for for some of these Juniors finding a mine and getting an exit we're making that Hast stack as small as possible at American Eagle gold and we want to make sure that needle is as big as possible and that's all we really can do and we got to Market that and get people to buy our stock”

West Africa carries both geological opportunity (unexplored elephant deposits) and genuine physical security risks (kidnapping, political instability) that make it high-risk/high-reward; investment decision hinges on acceptable risk threshold for operations personnel safety, not just financial risk.

“there's just the risks are just different for me where I draw the line it's where um either myself or somebody I have to send their their uh personal physical safety is a is is at question and then it's a hard not so that's kind of how I Define it you West Africa you know you guess you have 10e risk and it could have a coup and it could be gone tomorrow or other uh here it's permitting risk and your ability to extract it get gain social license but if I have to send somebody in there at risk of kidnapping or or Worse forget it”

Retail investors should stick to major commodities (gold, copper, uranium) that are traded on major exchanges (London Metal Exchange) and avoid niche commodities (vanadium, germanium, antimony) which have thin markets, few majors, and high promotional risk.

“retail invest should stay away from vadium geranium um you know manganese antimon Etc stick to Gold copper uranium um anything that's traded on the me the London Metals exchange or a major Metals exchange not that uranium is but uranium will be you know an exception but uh uh these these Niche let just call them the niche Commodities um are so difficult to understand and they are hot and cold real fast and they are the flavors of the day and the promoters of the world get involved and they changed their com name of their company to this that and the other so like can you make money there sure you can are there good people doing it sure are they great projects sure but they're few and far between in these very Niche um Metals retail this is General some people understand but the vast vast majority of retail you know they listen to one of your phenomenal inter interview interviews Antonio and they feel they're educated on on the needs of antimony or the antimony Market but they haven't a clue”

Critical minerals labels are greenwashing and overrated; Canada's first critical minerals strategy didn't even include uranium, which is a major oversight despite uranium's importance to energy supply and nuclear future.

“I actually agree 100% with Stephen and almost forbit him that's I I think that whole thing's overrated it's greenwashing and that's just the way it is yes we need every single metal out there they're all critical Metals funny enough Canada in their first critical mineral strategy didn't include uranium what kind of oversight do you guys have there way to way to catch that guys yeah uranium is definitely critical mineral it's it's energy Supply in the future but does it have to be deemed this whole magical critical mineral across the globe no it's it's always going to be necessary nuclear energy is always going to be necessary”

Cash is the most underrated factor in evaluating junior mining companies; investors should first assess cash on hand before evaluating any other metric, as lack of cash forces dilutive raises that destroy shareholder value regardless of asset quality.

“I think that is completely underrated in the investment Community... I always think that you the certain part of your portfolio should be put towards risky Investments... you got to realize you put your money let's say in three different Junior stocks two of them you know you might lose all your money in but one of them will be a 10x”

The junior mining sector experienced one of the worst years in memory from a share price perspective in 2024, but this created wonderful opportunities for long-term investors to acquire assets at distressed valuations because most money is made on the buy, not the sell.

“from a market standpoint from a share price perspective it's been atrocious um one of the worst in memories but uh when you're in my seat I think about assets so I'm not buying stocks necessarily I'm buying assets it's been a wonderful opportunity for uh people who have a long-term view to acquire assets so uh there's opportunities to make money in good markets and there's certainly opportunities to make money in bad markets I believe fundamentally you make most of your money on the buy”

Investors in junior mining are fragmented between short-term traders seeking immediate results and long-term holders seeking multi-year gains, making it impossible for management to satisfy both constituencies simultaneously; management must therefore prioritize long-term shareholder value over quarterly noise.

“I think one of the I think one of the issues is you know the investors are fragmented you you you got a split between people that want you know near-term results right away and then you got your long-term investors and and you know that's us running the company we're all stakeholders we're trying to run the business so it's hard to have five Rigs and also have money in you know in five years so you're trying to manage both sides”

In Canada, acquisitions are typically conducted with open data rooms and transparent bidding processes that leak information to banks and signal to the market, reducing upside for shareholders; in contrast, hostile takeovers (as practiced historically by Peter Monk at Barrick) create superior returns but are culturally disfavored in modern Canadian mining.

“it's not canace is different than the us though I think a lot of these companies they they follow these certain rules there's no hostile takeovers and I'll tell you exactly what happens when a company's going to be taken over um no company you know for the most part you know igno Ken Ross they're not going to take out imold until imold starts a process lets everyone in the data room to get their information and Nik and kinos isn't going to buy IM gold until they actually understand everything under the kimono so you got that process and by that time that happens all the banks are going to know about it the stock will start moving uh which create takes away some of that upside um so you know that that's one of the issues these guys would rather big companies would rather buy you being completely Dr risk they'd rather buy you for a billion dollars being deris and $100 million do and taking a punt”

Mexico's ban on open pit mining is policy mistake that signals government is not serious about mining; open pit mining is lowest-cost production method and essential for future ore grades that are declining globally; modern reclamation standards make open pit environmentally acceptable.

“you can't beat an open pit you just can't beat an open pit in the mining world there's nothing better than that regardless of grade it's the best it's the best mining opportunity to move any commodity forward in today's world we need Commodities coming out the ying-yang it's yeah I think I think it was the wrong decision on their part open pits can be done safely and they're not really uh you know environmentally impact no it's with with modern Reclamation and rules in place”

Water pressure in the Athabasca Basin is equal to ocean water pressure, meaning uranium ISR mining difficulty in the basin is comparable to deep ocean mining—making deep sea mining technically similar to Canada's proven ISR method.

“Bas Lo's thesis is all based on water in the aabas Basin the water pressure that exists in the aabas Basin is same water pressure that exists in the ocean and if it's difficult to M uranium in the athabaska Basin because the water pressure is going to be the same thing in the ocean”

Junior mining companies fail to attract young leaders because promising individuals prefer stable, high-benefit corporate roles at Accenture or major banks to the risk-taking required in resource exploration, creating a leadership quality problem across the industry.

“we're running by gray hairs that have you know a habit of not delivering on their companies and I think those are kind of the companies that I would avoid we're talking about Leaders with all this stuff going on what Young leaders are really getting into the industry to run these companies it's hard to find really good people to work for us like Steve and I have tried to find people try to poach people and quite frankly they'd rather work at Accenture or the big Banks get their benefits work N9 to5 than you know take a risk to get rich they just want something that's safe”

AI's utility in mineral exploration will improve over 5-10 years as technology matures and proper training datasets are developed, but current applications are premature and the entire sector needs a 'pets.com moment' to reset expectations and purge hype.

“it's totally overrated um you know it's a valuable tool um but it's nothing new we've had algorithms and you know in this industry for and others for a long time um but it's got scary potential um but we're not there yet certainly not you know in this industry sure it can help edit my emails but outside of that you know it's not going to find you deposit it's not going to log your rock um you know so uh but it will get there but I think it's going to have to have its uh you know 1999 pets.com moment so I think the whole AI industry is going to have to be burned down and then uh we're going to have to build it back up to figure out its utility and where it fits so it's probably you know um you know I may I mean this may Pro prove a laughable quote but probably 5 10 years ago from now until it really becomes you know integral and and does become underrated”

Investors should allocate 3-5% of their portfolio to junior mining as a high-risk/high-reward sleeve, understanding that 2 of 3 holdings may lose money completely but the 10x return on the successful one will more than triple the overall sleeve returns.

“I always think that you the certain part of your portfolio should be put towards risky Investments whether that's 3% 5% 10% and you got to realize you put your money let's say in three different Junior stocks two of them you know you might lose all your money in but one of them will be a 10x so that will triple your overall investment in that quote unquote risky portfolio”

Paladin Resources' acquisition of Fission is a recent major M&A transaction in uranium, validating the thesis that producing uranium companies are willing to acquire assets at substantial valuations because they see long-term value in the uranium market.

“the Paladin acquisition of fision was just a big one that was recently announced got approval so that is and that's a testimony to a producing company seeing value in large large assets with with the with the price of uranium”

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has been a better-performing market than the TSX for mining stocks over the past two years due to better regulations and market structure; however, this arbitrage will shrink as the TSX catches up and capital markets normalize.

“the ASX has been a much better more robust uh Market over the past two years uh I think they have better uh regulations on a number of things we won't get into but look it's been a better Market I think Australia is kind of like Vancouver you go to Vancouver and you go in the Starbucks everybody's talking about mining... I think that that that Arbitrage is going to shrink and I think the TSX is going to catch up”

Major mining companies have been irrationally risk-averse, missing opportunities to acquire projects like Imacor's Cot Lake (3-4 million ounces, top-tier jurisdiction, decades of production) when available at depressed valuations 2 years ago; aggressive M&A becomes value-creating when majors have confidence in commodity cycles.

“there's companies like you know imold is a wonderful company then and as they had U the cot Lake Project which I which both Tony and I have have history with struggled and could have been IM gold could have been bought for you know a buck 50 now I don't know Tony what's IM gold that you know that's 750 I don't think A50”

Naked short selling is overrated as the biggest problem in junior mining; other issues (balance sheets, capital, geology) matter more; naked shorting is a scapegoat that CEOs blame when their stocks underperform, but results (not shorts) drive long-term valuation.

“I I'm just more worried about people just selling shares based on not understanding what the results are uh you know Terry Lynch from Power nickel was the biggest advocate for naked shorting and I I think my counter has just come up with good results and you know power nickel came out with good results and since then we haven't seen Terry Lynch talk about it at all”

Ivory Coast is the best country to be in within the West African mining region; it is forward-thinking and attracts experienced mining professionals; personal risk tolerance can be gauged by whether one's spouse would permit travel there—a wife's willingness to visit is a proxy for actual safety.

“something else that I learned about West Africa is that you know Ivory Coast probably is the best country to be in in that entire area completely Forward Thinking uh great place to visit for me as someone that's going to run a company I would never invest in marketing uh that I don't use myself on a day-to-day basis and I would never be involved in a country that I would never be allowed to visit by my wife”

ETF selling and macro market dynamics drive junior mining stock declines rather than poor company performance—technical factors like index rebalancing affect prices independent of geology or fundamentals.

“the ETF selling so it's not really a reflection of how the company's doing but more of this macro Market stuff that's that's going on and people just don't care and they don't do the research and then they'll just sell as soon as they can”

ETF selling (passive fund flows) has been a major driver of junior mining equity weakness in 2024 rather than fundamental deterioration in companies; this macro/mechanical selling creates disconnects where good company results don't translate to stock appreciation due to basket liquidations outside management control.

“the ETF selling so it's not really a reflection of how the company's doing but more of this macro Market stuff that's that's going on and people just don't care and they don't do the research and then they'll just sell as soon as they can so you know we see the same thing probably to a lesser degree to American Eagle but you know people just look at the screen and the Traders know that they know what sell it down they play on the euristic behavior of some of these investors and it kind of creates a bit of contagion”

Ivory Coast is the most forward-thinking country in West Africa for mining operations and provides the best governance environment for mining companies, making it the preferred jurisdiction in the region despite competition from Burkina Faso and Mali.

“something else that I learned about West Africa is that you know Ivory Coast probably is the best country to be in in that entire area completely Forward Thinking uh great place to visit”

A junior mining company with a strong balance sheet, management track record, and projects in safe jurisdictions can make exceptional long-term returns if investors practice patience and treat the investment as a 2-3 year hold, accepting volatility along the way.

“if you have a long-term View and and you are patient and you believe in the industry like I do it's it's it's a fantastic time everything's on sale uh there's something we can touch upon there maybe toward the latter part U because your respective stocks have not all done well”

AI in mineral exploration is currently overrated; AI is data-driven and parameter-dependent, suffering from 'garbage in, garbage out'; human geologists can interpret ambiguous data and think creatively outside predefined parameters, making human judgment irreplaceable in exploration despite AI's potential future utility.

“AI in Exploration underrated or overrated overrated absolutely no because I think nothing will beat the human mind I think AI is too data driven and doesn't have that ability to think outside the box it's set on based on a number of parameters that even if you don't put the right parameters in sorry garbage in garbage out that's that's data that's math and that's what AI is completely driven on”