Mining Red Flags, Big Risks, Crashing Stocks, and a Lawyer Turned Junior Mining CEO
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The host is not a licensed investment advisor. He is just another talking head on the internet. He might own shares of companies mentioned in this publication. Always assume him biased, and assume he doesn't know much more than a potato does.
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the guest and do not represent the views of the channel or the host.
No recommendations are being made to buy or sell any securities in this video.
The mining and exploration space is highly likely to lose you money. Failure is the norm and should be the expectation. Don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose.
The minimum risk on anything mentioned in this publication is 100% loss of capital. Read the official filings on www.SedarPlus.ca.
Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - Important Warning 04:09 - Junior Market Movers 36:40 - Brian Leni Interview 01:33:22 - Important Warning 01:34:13 - Alain Lambert Interview
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Junior mining is a high-risk venture capital sector where most companies fail, but disciplined investors who understand the business model, manage dilution carefully, and build strong networks can generate substantial returns by focusing on quality management, project fundamentals, and appropriate position sizing.
- Losses are the norm in mining; retail investors typically lose money due to dilution, poor timing, and lack of due diligence on official filings
- Success requires deep networks, understanding of when to sell, portfolio allocation discipline, and evaluation of management integrity and technical competence
- Sector movers like Giant Mining show extreme share dilution patterns and name changes that signal red flags, yet also demonstrate how proper exploration can create value if executed by qualified teams
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Most investors in the junior mining sector lose money; losses are the norm and should be the expectation, with junior mining companies being non-revenue generating, capital-intensive ventures with extremely high failure rates.
“there is a risk to investing and there is an increased risk of investing in non-revenue generated companies that operate in the harsh reality of the mining industry”
The best lesson Alan learned in his career is that success depends on surrounding yourself with talented people rather than on individual brilliance; this principle applies equally to business, mining, and investing, and is emphasized by role models like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
“the lessons learn and uh I would say I you know I I wish I would have known earlier um the importance of the quality I surround myself with so you if you're a guy like me and you start in this business and you're fairly young and and in bull market times money comes easily so so I I had a lot of uh Good Times um and with some guys who made some good money but um you know it's to to be able to have a sustainable business and have a successful career in business you need to surround yourself with the best people possible”
Investors should be able to speak with an independent professional investment advisor (licensed and with a proven track record) before making junior mining investments, as YouTube and Twitter are inadequate sources for due diligence compared to official SEC filings and professional guidance.
“please talk to someone who's proven to know what they are doing and what they are talking about like a professional investment adviser talk to a licensed investment adviser as well as do more research before taking any decisions in the end and you can do your research well really where you do your research is definitely not on YouTube and most definitely not on Twitter or any of the other websites besides set plus.com”
The ability to sell and take profits is more important than finding 10-bagger stocks; Brian's biggest learning came from conversations with investment mentor Gian Bhandari in Singapore in 2019 about selling discipline, and most retail investors get trapped by chasing 10-baggers and forget to sell, destroying wealth they could have locked in.
“and I think that's probably where most people just don't get it and the 10 beggar becomes such a problem for people's minds they get so trapped in the clouds that they forget to sell or to forget to take profits”
Reading official company filings including MD&A, financial statements, management information circulars, and technical documents (NI 43-101) is the most reliable way to identify red flags and avoid losing money in junior mining, rather than relying on company presentations or social media.
“you want to read through the management discussion and Analysis that's the mdna you want to read through the financial statements you want to read through the management information circular and hopefully you're also reading the technical documents the ni 4311 if you don't do that you are highly likely to lose your money”
Alan Lamb's philosophy for dealing with adversity is defined by two principles: (1) perspective (understanding that things can always be worse), and (2) a Hebrew ring inscribed "This Too Shall Pass" which he uses to remind himself that nothing is permanent, whether success or failure, so the correct response to any setback is to own it and fix it.
“I describe myself as a positive person with an ability to have perspective and and what I mean by that is um things can always be worse and um I give you an example of what I mean by that so uh at some point while we lived in the I had to get out of the US to renew the work visa so I lived in Montreal for a few months my wife and the two youngest kids were in in Arizona and we we you know I couldn't travel there just waiting for the permit to be the visa to be issued and so I didn't see her and the kids for a few months and and people were asking me well you know how can you be so happy when you're away from your wife I said well you know I could be with my wife and she could have cancer so I'd rather be away and she's healthy right”
Writing about investments (in newsletters or other forms) improves investment discipline because it forces you to articulate your thesis, explain why you're investing in a company, define valuation methodologies, and explain the company's path to value—investors who cannot explain their positions clearly should probably not hold them.
“writing is has been probably the my biggest strength or my biggest uh help in how I invest in the market if you cannot explain to somebody why you are investing in a or speculating in a certain company then you probably shouldn't be investing in it uh having the attachment to an audience that's reading your work on a weekly monthly basis whatever that may be um if you hold yourself accountable to that and you have to justify why you're putting the money in um I think it it just makes you that much better of an investor”
Conflicts of interest are pervasive in junior mining content creation; Antonio explicitly states he makes money from the YouTube channel and from companies paying for interview production, making all company-specific content inherently biased marketing that should be viewed skeptically regardless of disclaimers.
“this is an actual warning that will help you not lose money which losing money by the way is the norm and should be the expectation in the sector... this is not just some disclaimer this is an actual warning that will help you not lose money which losing money by the way is the norm and should be the expectation in the sector as you're going to see as we move forward but also I want you to know that I am here to make money this I make money from the existence of this YouTube channel I make money um by by conducting these interviews and specifically from the companies paying for the production of these interviews”
Alan rejects the notion that investor expectations should drive mining company operations; instead he prioritizes geological and technical guidance from expert teams, refusing to issue premature results without geological explanation, and delaying drilling announcements if the team determines that timing is strategically superior—even if retail investors demand immediate updates.
“the answer is I don't care what people think in terms of expectation a and let me give you a uh couple of examples right so um we know that there are retail investors let's focus on retail investors out there who want to make they they want to make money overnight not over time right the real money doesn't get made overnight and make gets made over time and and so their all investment philosophy is around you know issue results and hopefully the headline about the grades is good Stock's going to go up and I'll make my money o overnight and and I know they're out there and I talk to some of them and I really don't care what they think because that's not how to run a business”
Giant Mining Corp (ticker BFG) has undergone extreme share dilution through multiple reverse splits (1:10 in 2019, 1:10 in 2020, 1:10 in 2022, 1:20 in April 2024) and name changes (from New Point Exploration to Copper Point Ventures to Bam Bam Resources to Mouba Hill Copper to Giant Mining over seven years), resulting in shareholders who bought at 10 cents IPO price now needing a $2,000 per share price just to break even.
“they rolled back one to 20 recently in April uh that got them back to three and a half million shares they did financings and depth settlements uh so right now they have I think and which is not included in the list I guess about 23 million shares out which makes the market cap uh closer to 30 35 million”
Good mining executives must stay in their lane and not pretend to geological expertise they don't have; instead they should surround themselves with the best technical people (geologists, doctors, etc.) and use their skills in capital markets, financing, and storytelling to execute the geological vision others develop.
“so you as an exe executive you need to know what you're good at and you need to stay in your lane I you know too often I see guys who sort of do what I do but they think that they can suddenly become an expert on the edges of geology and I don't believe in that um my Approach is different I want to surround myself with the best people that I can find that are geologists”
Giant Mining spent approximately $18 million on consulting, investor relations, and professional fees over seven years, with $2.5 million spent in just the last year, which is a disproportionate allocation compared to actual exploration spending on drilling and geophysics.
“if you look at the financials they spent about um $18 million in the last seven years just on Consulting investor relations and professional fees that is not including rent travel filing fees GNA just $18 million on Consulting investor relations and professional fees last year this was um about two and a half million”
South Pacific Metals' 80% stock price increase with only $140,000 in trading volume, combined with recent management changes (addition of Michael Murphy as director, founder of Torx Gold), warrant repricing, name change, and rollback, followed a pattern (new chairman, new CEO, rollback, financing, debt settlement) that signals a promotional turnaround attempt rather than fundamental business improvement.
“they're up also 80% uh it's a bit of a larger company too um what although not a lot of volume what $140,000 volume pushed it up 80%”
Brian's largest investment loss was a 100% loss on a private company from 2020 that acquired a past-producing gold mine in Brazil, claimed to have technical competence but refused to answer questions about rumored tailings dam failures, dodged him at conferences, and never released financials—demonstrating that private mining companies require extra diligence and proof of capital deployment timing.
“the biggest loss I took is or probably will take is 100% I invested in a private company um about four years ago I think it was 2020 and uh the company has been terrible at they won't release financials there's been some rumors um and this is a they basically the deal they bought this um this past producing gold mine in Brazil and supposedly there was a tailing Dam leak or something some some failure occurred wasn't wasn't necessarily reported or I haven't seen news of it but I just heard rumor of it asked the management no no answer no answer no answer they're ducking me at the conferences”
Brian's 'Field Notes' YouTube documentary series on mining site visits increases investor understanding by showing actual project locations and meeting management teams in person, increasing the utility of his investment recommendations beyond newsletter performance metrics alone.
“so field notes it's the I I always had the idea ever since I I started doing this on my own and started writing I I thought it would be great to have this video series focused on site visits um especially uh so and that's what makes this the newest episode a little bit that much sweeter is because New Finland was the first place I ever did my own self-paid for site visit”
The most stressful aspect of Alan's job as a mining executive is financing: getting the timing right, identifying the right investors, structuring the deal appropriately, and securing funding through an appropriate process (with committed investors rather than unsecured tranches) to minimize dilution and preserve shareholder value.
“I think it's always the same which is the timing of the financing and the terms and conditions of the financing and if you're going to be successful putting it together because um financing Junior exploration companies is an art right and there's a right time the right people the right structure”
GFG Resources' surprise high-grade intercept of 14 grams of gold over 7.1 meters was not expected by management and came from an unexpected structural location, meaning the company still needs to determine mineralization controls, metallurgy, and whether the deposit is continuous and economically extractable before knowing if it represents a major discovery.
“they drilled almost 14 grams of gold over 7.1 meters so 14 grams over seven meters stock uh almost doubled up about 80%”
Diamond mining stocks are structurally difficult to profit from despite attractive discoveries because: (1) pricing is vague with no transparent spot market unlike other commodities, (2) large diamonds sometimes result in losses rather than profits, (3) lab-grown diamonds continue improving and displace natural diamond demand, and (4) the diamond industry depends on luxury market cycles which are unstable.
“if you think about Diamond industry you know it's very difficult again to make money in Diamond industry find me one Diamond stock that made any money over the last couple of years last 10 15 years was my sort of um idea to talk about and these diamonds are always mind almost always in very remote regions um either in the north of Africa or in the north of Canada or in Africa and the demand is really driven by luxury markets”
Prospect generation companies (like Altius Minerals and others on Brian's watchlist) offer lower-risk exposure to exploration upside by generating royalties, joint venture equity, and cash payments from junior companies they license properties to, allowing them to build market cap through organic cash generation rather than single-discovery-dependent geology.
“on the prospect generation side of things origin royalties canland minerals um you know companies that I think Stand Out amongst that genre um and it's not that people weren't following that there's a lot of people that but I think a lot of people will talk about the the more flashier stuff first um and I have sort of overloaded my portfolio to a higher degree and some of these maybe less flash year names and still done very well on them”
Brian Lenny achieved 33% CAGR returns from 2013 to 2024 (13x initial investment from 2013-2022, declining to approximately 11x after market corrections) by selling his house in 2013, deploying proceeds over time, achieving early wins like Reservoir Minerals which funded a down payment on his next house, and developing a disciplined approach to stock selection and portfolio allocation.
“so if you go back to 2013 to today uh or let's say 2013 to two years ago I was up around 13 times um my original um which I I was extremely happy with the last two years I probably came back half that um and yeah yeah no but that's that's reality”
Alan emphasizes smaller successful milestones (singles, doubles, triples) over home runs (10-baggers) because expecting only grand slams is unrealistic and prevents appreciation of sustainable progress.
“it's like not everything needs to be a grand slam you know a single a double or triple if you don't get pleasure out of those I think there's something wrong with you”
Stockwatch (stockwatch.com) is the most valuable tool for tracing professional connections in junior mining; despite its outdated appearance, it provides searchable history dating back to 1982 and links directors and employees across companies, allowing investors to identify networks and conflicts of interest that reveal which people consistently work together.
“I still use Stockwatch quite a lot because Stockwatch is a um site that looks like from the 90s or 80s actually never really changed much I think well I think the previous version was actually more like a 70s website even though there were no no websites at the time it was really like a bad looking website but it's an amazing website uh where you can find history back to 1982”
Alan Lamb's three core personal values are: do not commit adultery, do not steal, and do not bear false witness—principles he learned from religious upbringing and reinforced through his understanding that a CEO's most important quality is integrity and honesty, not business credentials.
“um do not commit adultery do not steal and do not bear false witness right so so that that you know so it's very yeah I mean listen um I like to uh leave a uh live a life of Integrity um so you know those are those are the things I remember”
Junior mining investment requires investors to know themselves first (risk tolerance, knowledge areas, time horizon) before selecting which segment of the market to invest in, and most retail investors fail by adopting others' ideas without establishing a personal framework.
“it's something that I've had to learn myself and and adapt I think far too many people try to adapt themselves to other people's ideas and views of the market where you should really start with yourself first and understand to whatever degree that is yourself where the risk tolerance what you actually know and what you don't know um and sort of that should direct you where to start and then you're invariably that's going to direct you to the people that you should listen to”
Beyond Lithium, a company Alan co-founded and took public via a CPC structure with a qualifying asset, pivoted into lithium exploration in 2023, made two significant lithium discoveries in Ontario (one awarded Discovery of the Year), but the stock collapsed from 50 cents to 4 cents because the market has lost interest in lithium despite the company's assets being genuinely valuable.
“so let's talk about Beyond lithium um Beyond lithium is something I I was a co-founder of and and took the company public with a qualifying asset three years ago maybe pivoted um early last year into the lithium space we became the largest owner of lithium uh property exploration properties in Ontario made two significant discoveries one the discovery of the year in Ontario last year for for one of our discoveries on and on and on like success after success after success but um nobody cares about lithium and uh so the the stock went from 50 cents last fall to like four cents today”
Raising capital for junior mining exploration companies is more difficult at smaller scales ($5 million) than for advanced projects ($30 million), and more difficult in mining generally than in non-mining venture capital, because larger projects attract institutional capital more easily and investors evaluate on consistent criteria: management quality, project quality, and the company's ability to market itself and deploy capital competently.
“the the the larger financings for the larger companies are always easier and I think that's true in mining and and in non-mining so so at the lower end of that um I would actually claim that it's more difficult to raise smaller amounts of money in the non-mining space and and and you know but it's it's hard on on both so you know I mean if if you want to raise 30 million bucks uh for an advanced mining project and I can think about you know one of our partners uh at prismo so vizla silver they're fairly Advanced you know great economics to what they have it's easier for them to do a $30 million raise than it is for us to do a $5 million race right because we're not the same level”
Mining industry participants (experienced investors, geologists, and operators) believe that making a major discovery is more motivating than financial returns; this reflects why mining executives stay in the sector despite lower financial returns than tech and why discoveries are pursued even in bear markets.
“and I can speak for all the guys at prismo that's a much bigger source of motivation than making the money uh now if we do that are we going to make tremendous amounts of money of course we will but you know the money is not an add it to itself”
Brian Lenny does not follow other professional newsletters but instead relies on in-person networking at conferences and mentorship relationships with respected figures like Rick Rule and Gian Bhandari to generate investment ideas and validation of his approach.
“I don't follow any other newsletters uh there are certain people that I'll listen to uh myself if if I have given the chance or more importantly to me is speaking to the person in person in person like at a conference um there's there's certain guys that I don't necessarily know that personally but um if I talk to them in in person at a conference I I'll take more heat of what they say um my network is something that I've I don't know if I should say relied upon but I've definitely used”
G Mining Ventures represents a single-project, single-country (Brazil) risk profile, making the entire company vulnerable to one operational failure, supply chain disruption, or political change; investing 10-11% despite understanding this concentrated risk reflects calculated position sizing rather than underestimating the risk.
“most people in this industry who who follow stuff know that that one has good followers you know good team big shareholders um but still companies that are ramping up in production and only have one project there's just one thing in the country or with the project that has to go wrong and the complete company is toast uh that's and I I do think that g mining is certainly something I also owned it and sold it too early but still made money on it uh I I feel like that one probably has the supporters are so big and so you know uh experienced and and and big Deep Pockets that it was worth the risk but it's just it's still one project and everything depends on that one project in going in production”
Brian Lenny believes that even among very skilled junior mining investors, the distribution of outcomes is roughly 50-60% winners, several that do nothing, and 2-3 that are losers, making it statistically impossible to succeed if portfolio allocation is poor, even if stock picks are above-average in quality.
“if you think that you're going to hit a home run on everything you invested in the junior mining space you're absolutely wrong and you know I think even the best stock Pickers you know like maybe there maybe it's 50 or 60% of the companies they invest in um they're you know really successful in um then they probably have a couple that do nothing and then you probably have two or three that that are losers”
Alan Letwin's company Prismo Metals took a 22-hectare initial asset and leveraged it into $5 million in strategic partnerships and capital investments, including a partnership with Vizla Silver and acquisition of an option on the Hud Breta project, which he describes as an example of small success that should be valued alongside larger eventual discoveries.
“we took a 22 Hector asset and leveraged it into $5 million of Investments over 50 uh Mr strategic relationship with vizla silver um got enough Capital to bring one of our properties Los pavitos which a large Gold prospect in sonar state from Grassroots to the drill stage and to acquire the option on on HUD breta...that's huge success”
Giant Mining appears to have a connection to Bridgemark, which was involved in a major Canadian mining scam a couple years prior, suggesting patterns of management involvement in problematic structures, though Luke is careful not to definitively label current operations as fraudulent.
“I only found out this week when I started looking into it for the show really to talk about it that this is actually an A company that was related to bridgemark one of the big mining scams a couple of years ago in Canada I don't want to suggest that this is a scam right now because I don't know uh but it has still a couple of the same practices”
Good management teams are difficult to identify but can be evaluated through several factors: (1) technical competence on the project, (2) skin in the game (ownership stake), (3) reasonable salaries relative to company stage, (4) ability to tell the market story, and (5) past success working with people you trust.
“there's there's a few groups of people that I've had success with and it hasn't necessarily been with the same person but it's been association with the same people and that to me has been meaningful I think that you you have to realize the junior mining sector is one of dilution where these companies are constantly going to the market and asking for more money”
Exploration-stage companies are closer to 'gambling' (educated guessing) than developers and producers because the outcome depends heavily on geological luck, while developers and producers provide some downside protection through existing assets, making them less gambling-like.
“I think I think if you're on the expiration side I think you're closer to the the gambling but it's educated um you're still talking about and the people that play it big are extremely smart people and um I think you're taking educated guesses”
IPO activity on the TSX Venture has declined dramatically and is near all-time lows according to recent reports, indicating structural challenges in the junior mining financing ecosystem and the difficulty of taking exploration companies public in bear markets.
“because this is is often times I think the reality of IPOs and the tsxv seems to be struggling if if I'm to believe I saw they saw something online I don't remember who posted it first or what everybody saw that TS tsxv IPOs are very close to an alltime low uh or were over the last couple of months”
Alan Lamb spent approximately $150,000 buying Prismo Metals stock on the open market in the past year and participates in company financings, demonstrating personal capital commitment to his company despite being in a financially secure position.
“is part of that going to be investing your own money on the exchange like like like the rest of us regular folks well I do if you look at my uh set I think I bought somebody was making the the comment I think I I spent 150 Grand something like that I could be wrong by 10 grand or so but um in the past year buying prismo stock out of the market so I I mean I do that uh I will continue to do that I participate in the financings”
Alan Letwin served as founding director of two oil and gas companies in the 1990s (Key West Energy and Luke Energy), took the first public at 26 cents and sold at ~$5 (approximately 19x return over 5 years), and took the second public at 80 cents and sold at ~$6.30 (approximately 7.9x return over 3 years), demonstrating a pattern of successful venture exits prior to mining.
“I worked uh in the um well in gas field as a as a founding um director of two oil and gas companies...we successfully in the 90s uh built two companies Key West energy and Luke energy...we started I think one was at 26 Cents sold it at like five bucks five years later created Luke at 80 cents and sold it at six three years later”
Alan Lamb has been married for 31 years, has six children and five grandchildren (with a sixth grandchild on the way), maintains strong family relationships, and views his wife's support as the critical factor enabling his career success despite requiring sacrifices from her as a full-time homemaker and grandmother.
“31 years the same wife six kids five grandchildren and one of our daughters was here um two weeks ago and Ann now that she's 3 months pregnant so number six underway”
Alan Lamb was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1963, raised in a traditional French Canadian household, learned English in his 20s while attending law school, practiced law for 2 years before starting a consulting firm in 1987, ran an investor relations business (Trilogy Integrated Investor Relations) with 26 employees from the 1990s to 2000, and has been involved in multiple business ventures including oil and gas companies (Key West Energy, Luke Energy) and professional cycling team management.
“1963 in Montreal Quebec I was born there uh um and I and and I was raised in Montreal I lived in Montreal since uh well until 2015 when my wife and I decided to move to Tucson Arizona stayed there for four years moved back to Canada and um we now live in in Vancouver since 2019”
Alan's biggest regret is not marrying his wife sooner—he waited three years after meeting her before proposing, which he now considers a mistake.
“my biggest regret is not marrying my wife sooner when did you guys marry again what say 31 it's a it's a true story I mean I I yeah I waited three years I don't know why I I waited three years that was not the case for me”
Alan will never retire because he likes what he's doing and doesn't know what he would replace it with; he contrasts himself with people who retire and travel, arguing that having ongoing challenges and learning opportunities is what keeps him engaged.
“I I I'll never retire what what what would I do right how can I find something else to replace doing what I really like doing there's always something new right”
Alan got into mining because he met Craig Gibson and Peter McAu while living in Tucson, Arizona, and was attracted to mining by the concept of 'finding something out of nothing' and creating wealth, rather than because of geological passion.
“so how how did I get into mining I got into mining you know primarily because I I met two guys that I like and I respect a lot and that's Craig Gibson and Peter Megan that's as a result of living in in in Tucson so so I'm in mining a because I generally kind of like uh the concept of of and potential finding something out of nothing and and create a lot of wealth”
Alan was chairman of a professional cycling team headquartered in Atlanta and worked with a Swiss partner on amateur cycling acquisitions in the US, running 27 days of amateur cycling events that comprised the largest amateur cycling series in the US in 2017.
“for five years I was um chairman of a professional cycling team headquartered in um in Atlanta and I also um worked with a friend of mine out of Switzerland and did some Acquisitions in the amateur cycling business in the US and I think in 2017 we ran 27 days of amateure cycling in the US and we had the largest series there”
Alan once felt 'out of his depth' at dinner with three geologists (Steve Robertson and two PhDs) discussing Humbug Skarn mineralization and carbonate formations, where he understood almost nothing, but he accepts this limitation and doesn't pretend to understand geological terminology.
“so one night the four of us decide to go for dinner and and so the three GEOS start talking including the two doctors in geology and I literally Antonio had no clue what they were talking about it's it's not an exaggeration I had no idea what they were talking about because you know one out of a three word was a new word for me”
Alan is interested in learning geology and asked Steve Robertson to help him find geology classes at Vancouver colleges, though he was unwilling to go through the process of getting transcripts from 1981 math and chemistry courses.
“I've actually asked uh Steve Robertson our president to if he could help me find a way to take geology uh classes here in Vancouver at one of the colleges um I don't have I would have in order to do it the regular way I'd have to get my transcripts for Math and chemistry dating back to 1981”
Timing is often more stressful than stock performance for a CEO; Alan notes that he wanted a drilling rig at Humbug Breta 'a month ago' but timing it for September is the right decision because people are returning from holidays and the market will have more attention.
“but you know you're just you're only as good as your last financing right it's it's so you have to be sharp you got to be smart and and sometimes when you know you'd like like I would I'd like to have a uh a drilling rig on H breta like a month ago right and but it's going to be in September but I think that is the right decision for the company”
Alan is fascinated by mining because you can find something (copper) in a hole where half a percent of rock content is copper, extract it, and it then runs electricity everywhere on Earth, which he finds conceptually fascinating.
“I'm in Vancouver I'm looking out the window here and everything I'm seeing pretty much comes from the earth right so so you know metal and cement and you know it it comes from from the earth it's it's part of our Lives it's the biggest part of our lives and and I find it fascinating that you can find something in a hole somewhere and you know half a percent of the rock content is copper and then we're going to take that extract it from the Earth turn it into copper and then it will run the electricity everywhere on Earth”
Alan doesn't have macro-level business regrets, but he does reflect on a specific example: he sold his CPC (Capital Pool Company) stake in Astra Telecom at 75 cents per share (10x return) but the stock later reached $41, showing he could have made much more by holding longer.
“we had put a CPC together Capital Pool Company and um and these you know micro Nano spaxs kind of a blind shell and and we um then the founders get stock at you know discount I think I had a million shares at at seven and a half cents and then we did this deal and took a company in the Telecom business public called Astra Telecom and you know by time the stock hit 75 cents I sold my million shares and you know I was on top of the world I was the smartest guy around and literally within four years the stock went to $41”
Brian's portfolio currently holds 15 companies with 10.5% cash, with concentration of about 24% in his top two holdings, ranging down to 1% positions (mostly early-stage explorers), with exposure across precious metals (primary), nickel, lithium, copper, and PGMs.
“probably a maximum of 20 um and of course if you want to just even have 5% per position uh but that right now I think the portfolio has 15 companies in it and uh I've got 10 n and a half% cash”