On August 3 we introduced a Blogroll to this Blog. At that time we selected 4 Blogs we thought particularly useful in the context of Precious Metals, Mining, and Oil & Gas Research and Investing. We noted at the time we had reviewed over 250 ‘Economic Related’ blogs prior to selecting those first 4. Having since reviewed many more blogs and websites, in the last few days we have added 7 more to our Blog List. This Post gives a brief outline of each of them in the order they appear in our Blogroll.

1. ‘Calculated Risk‘, a blog we have labeled ‘Finance & Economics‘. This blog is written by a two people, the first claiming to be a retired public company executive with a background in investing, finance and economics, the second claiming to be a former bank officer and mortgage lending specialist. This blog covers wide-ranging economic topics. It appears to get substantial volumes of traffic, and in our view has a great deal of relevant content. New posts appear virtually every day.

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

In your investment analysis of Mining Explorers and Producers do you focus on the various things one needs to consider when determining whether a mineral deposit is commercially viable?

When determining whether a mineral deposit is commercially viable at least the following things must be analyzed and understood pursuant to first a feasibility (sometimes called a bankability) study:

• the existing resource and reserve base at any given point in time in the contexts of geographic location, average grade, existing proven and probable NI 43-101 resources and reserves, and the perceived potential to expand the mineable deposit and timing of such expansion;

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Gold is unique among commodities as it is perceived as a principal store of wealth. It is an element that does not chemically combine with other elements, does not tarnish, is highly malleable, easy to melt, can be subdivided indefinitely, and can’t be counterfeited.

I believe gold’s economics to be comparatively straightforward:

• annual gold supply is quite inelastic and constrained given the long time frames between the time a commercially exploitable gold resource is found and the time that gold is extracted and refined. The top producing countries historically have been Australia, Canada, China, Peru, Russia, South Africa and the United States, the largest producers having been South Africa, Australia and the United States in that order;

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Do you simply accept what is said in Company Analyst Reports, or do you challenge Analyst assumptions and conclusions pursuant to your own research?

Company Analyst Reports are useful tools to assist in understanding value parameters adopted by analysts for specific industry sectors or companies. They can be particularly useful as sources of both knowledge and ‘thought provoking ideas’, and may provide insightful observations on market conditions and company share target prices. However, opinions expressed in Analyst Reports should be recognized for what they are, opinions, and should be weighed accordingly.

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Have you considered whether the companies adopted as ‘comparable to one another’ by Analysts are similar enough in all respects to make share price comparisons between them meaningful?

Comparative analysis utilizes key operating ratios and multiples of what are thought to be similar businesses or so-called ‘peer group companies’. To qualify as comparables, companies must be in the same business, undertake only the same business functions, and have the same risk profiles. When selecting comparable companies, consideration should be given to factors including:

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Silver is the most plentiful precious metal. Its physical properties include adaptability to temperature change, electrical and thermal conductivity, ductility, light reflectivity and sensitivity, and malleability. Some of silver’s physical properties are the better than those of all other elements. As a result, silver is:

• used in industrial and (increasingly) medical applications where in many cases it is used in small quantities and is non-substitutable;

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Have you focused on the following things we think are important when determining whether to invest in Junior Mining Exploration Companies in the Current Market?

The following is a checklist of a number of the things we think investors should carefully consider when assessing Junior Mining Exploration Stocks in the current market environment:

1. Analyze prior promises: be extremely hardheaded and cynical in your assessment of your current and prospective Junior Mining investments. Critically analyze prior management promises against actual performance. In this regard, we suggest you focus on whether companies that raised money in the last three years through a private placement or prospectus offering spent that money in a way that resulted in NI 43-101 Resources or Reserves believed to have a chance of commercial exploitation;

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

In the current and prospective economic and stock market environment are you planning to spend more time understanding the economy, the markets and your investment options than you have done in the past? Are you going to do more stock research, online research, and analysis yourself?

If you read Canadian newpapers, you may have read the recent articles referring to losses suffered by ‘ordinary investors’ on investments made in non-bank ‘asset backed commercial paper’ (‘ABCP’), described in at least one instance as ‘an obscure investment product many … had never heard of’. Another headline stated: ‘Investors blame the brokers, brokers blame the companies, the companies blame the debt raters’. Investors who purchased ABCP’s were quoted as having said things like (paraphrased):

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Are you aware that meaningful statistics and information necessary to reasonably predict Oil Prices do not exist?

Most forecasters, whether economists, senior government officials or stock analysts did not predict the doubling over the past year in the price of Crude Oil. This is in part because data required to make reasonable world oil supply/demand predictions and hence reasonable Oil Price predications – world inventories, production, and consumption – either are not available or are not reliable. For example, OPEC continuously implies in its public statements that it can ‘turn the tap on or off at will’. At the same time no solid OPEC reserve estimates are available.

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.

Are you aware of the chronology of the steps required when exploring for and developing a commercially viable mine?

Those steps are summarized chronologically as follows:

• exploration drilling is conducted;

• if exploration drilling results in discovery of what is believed may be a commercial ore body, resource estimates are developed based on the size and grade of the deposit. For Canadian companies these resource estimates typically are developed pursuant to the reporting standards governed by National Instrument 43-101;

Continue Reading »

Email this Post to a Friend.