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Gold is stronger today on some weak euro zone economic data…as of 9:00 am Pacific, the yellow metal is up $10 an ounce at $1,776…Silver is off 3 cents at $39.89, Copper is down 4 pennies at $4.00, Crude Oil has slipped 43 cents to $87.45 but is off its lows while the U.S. Dollar Index is up slightly at 73.95…Fitch Ratings has affirmed the United States’ top-notch credit rating at Triple-A, giving the world’s largest economy a reprieve after it was downgraded by S&P more than a week ago…”The affirmation of the U.S. “AAA” sovereign rating reflects the fact that the key pillars of U.S. exceptional creditworthiness remain intact: its pivotal role in the global financial system and the flexible, diversified and wealthy economy that provides its revenue base,” Fitch said in its statement…”Monetary and exchange rate flexibility further enhances the capacity of the economy to absorb and adjust to ‘shocks'”…meanwhile, German economic growth slowed to a near standstill in the second quarter of this year, dealing another blow to the crisis-hit eurozone which has helped boost Gold prices this morning…the surprisingly-sharp deceleration in activity in Europe’s largest economy hit overall euro zone growth and intensified fears about the global slowdown…it also threatened to complicate the challenge facing the region’s policymakers as they seek to combat its escalating debt crisis…the CDNX is down 9 points at 1820…Soltoro Ltd. (SOL, TSX-V) continues to get solid results from its El Rayo primary silver deposit in Jalisco, Mexico…results for 8 holes were released this morning and include 62 metres grading 182 g/t Ag in hole #81, a step-out hole…hole #79 also confirms that the central high grade Silver ore shoot plunges to the northeast…SOL is currently up 8 cents at $1.30…Romios Gold (RG, TSX-V) provided an update this morning on the first phase of drilling this summer at its Trek Property in northwest British Columbia…12 holes have been completed so far (assays still pending) with encouraging indications as the program tests for extensions to the mineralization on the emerging North Zone Gold-copper porphyry mineralization…drilling is also testing a geophysical/geochemical anomaly at the Tangle Zone…Romios is now unchanged at 51 cents after touching 49 cents…RG is strongly supported technically by a rising 100-day moving average (SMA) at 47 cents…Visible Gold Mines (VGD, TSX-V) has outlined its drill plans for the Joutel Project (7,500-metre Phase 1 program) that the company says will test a mineralized structural pattern that appears to strike directly southeast of Agnico-Eagle’s (AEM, TSX) past producing Telbel, Eagle West and Eagle Gold mines…news came out within just the last 30 minutes or so…there are few geologists in our view who could be better at understanding structure than Robert Sansfacon who is heading up the Joutel Project for VGD…if one looks at the project map, it’s hard to imagine there aren’t more deposits in that area…Joutel is a top-notch project for VGD and adds yet another layer of value to this play…the company also announced this morning that 9 holes have now been completed at Wasa Creek…assays are pending for 8 of those holes after LBWC-11-03 came out last week, confirming the potential for a discovery on this previously unexplored land package…LBWC-11-03 was collared almost exactly in between the Francoeur Mine a few kilometres to the northwest and the Wasamac deposit a few kilometres to the northeast…VGD is exploring in a rich geological environment…the stock is currently off half a penny at 33.5 cents but has strong technical support…we see big things in the works for this aggressive company which also has a 43-101 inferred resource at its Stadacona-East Property and $6 million in working capital…Richmont Mines (RIC, TSX) continues to climb…RIC is up another 18 cents to $9.56 and is threatening to hit a new all-time high (it hit $9.68 this morning, just 7 cents shy of its April high)…John updates the very impressive RIC chart…

Note: Both John and Jon continue to hold positions (Terry does not hold a position) in Richmont Mines…

Silver Quest Resources (SQI, TSX-V) is up a nickel this morning and back above $1 again after falling as low as 83 cents August 8…the stock is strongly supported by its rising 100-day moving average (SMA) at 92 cents…SQI’s interest in the northern portion of New Gold Inc.’s (NGD, TSX-V) Blackwater deposit and its presence in the Yukon’s White Gold District gives this play strong potential as the summer progresses…during the recent market sell-off we made mention of Prodigy Gold (PDG, TSX-V), formerly Kodiak Exploration, which is developing a very solid advanced project in Ontario – the Magino Mine…PDG dropped as low as 39.5 cents August 8 and is now trading at 50 cents…we see strong potential for PDG and below is John’s chart update for the stock…

Note: John, Jon and Terry do not hold positions in Prodigy Gold…

Gold has stabilized after correcting Thursday and Friday…the yellow metal has traded in a range between $1,731 and $1,748 today after closing at $1,746 Friday…as of 9:00 am Pacific, Gold is now unchanged at $1,746…Silver is up 24 cents at $39.31, Copper is up a penny at $4.02, Crude Oil is $1.35 higher at $86.73 while the U.S. Dollar Index is off two-thirds of a point at 73.84…more on Gold in a moment…a gauge of manufacturing in New York State showed the sector contracted for the third month in a row in August, as new orders fell to their lowest level since November, 2010, according to a report today from the New York Federal Reserve…the New York Fed’s “Empire State” general business conditions index fell to negative 7.72 from negative 3.76 the month before…economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of zero…the survey of manufacturing plants in the state is one of the earliest monthly guideposts to U.S. factory conditions…the loss of market confidence in economic leadership in key countries like the United States and Europe coupled with a fragile economic recovery have pushed markets into a new danger  zone, something that policymakers have to take seriously, the head of the World Bank said yesterday in a report from Reuters…speaking at the Asia Society dinner in Sydney, Robert Zoellick also said the global economy was going through a multi-speed recovery with developing countries now the source of growth and opportunity…”What’s happened in the past couple of weeks is there is a convergence of some events in Europe and the United States that has led many market participants to lose confidence in economic leadership of some of the key countries,” Zoellick stated…”I think those events combined with some of the other fragilities in the nature of recovery have pushed us into a new danger zone. I don’t say those words lightly … so that policymakers recognise and take it seriously for what it is”…Zoellick said the process of dealing with the sovereign debt problem and some of the  ompetitive issues in the euro zone have tended to be done “a day late”, leaving markets worried that authorities may not be ahead of the problem or moving in the right direction…John has a very interesting chart this morning that shows the relationship between the Volatility Index (VIX) and Gold, Silver and the U.S. Dollar…Gold has unquestionably taken over from the greenback as a safe haven…this is in sharp contrast to the situation in 2008 when traders and investors flocked to the U.S. Dollar during the Market Crash…”Fear Funds” are also now all going to Gold and not Silver, though that’s not to suggest Silver won’t perform well in the months ahead…the chart paints a very revealing picture of how Gold has really started to assert itself as the world’s “ultimate currency” and how the United States has lost economic leadership under President Obama…

It’s interesting to point out that before last Monday, the VIX closed above the 40 level only five times since 1995, and in all but one occurrence the Dow and S&P were at higher levels just three months later…the exception is 2008, when the VIX passed 40 on its way to 90 and remained elevated for months during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression…the CDNX is up 7 points at 1824 on light volume so far today…the next apparent area of resistance is in the 1860’s as John pointed out in his updated CDNX chart over the weekend…one can’t help but be impressed with how Carlos Lopez is building Seafield Resources (SFF, TSX-V) and he’s also putting his money where his mouth is…last Thursday, the new President and CEO announced the hiring of Giovanny Oritz as the company’s Colombian general manager (he was formerly the exploration manager for the the Angostura Project)…a second drill rig has been added at Miraflores and drilling continues at Dos Quebradas…Lopez has also been a strong buyer of Seafield stock on the open market…he purchased another 500,000 shares last Monday during the CDNX‘s 129-point plunge…Seafield is up half a penny this morning to 27 cents…Visible Gold Mines (VGD, TSX-V) is one of our favorites going into September given how its Lucky Break and Joutel Projects are coming together…VGD has a good “feel” to it right now and with more drill results imminent from Wasa Creek, where VGD appears to have found some favorable geology, this stock has the potential of accelerating rapidly…new discoveries are what makes this industry so exciting and VGD has one of the best geologists in the business in Robert Sansfacon who was involved in the discovery of Osisko’s (OSK, TSX) massive Canadian Malartic strategy…we’re putting our faith in Sansfacon and his capable team that that they are going to deliver for VGD which is currently unchanged at 34.5 cents…Richmont Mines (RIC, TSX) is up 22 cents to $9.04…Richmont is coming out soon with an update on its drilling progress at Wasamac…Gold Bullion Development (GBB, TSX-V) is up half a penny at 39.5 cents…investors are patiently waiting for GBB‘s 43-101 Granada resource estimate which obviously has the potential of taking this company to the next level…another property that is under-rated in our view is Adventure Gold’s (AGE, TSX-V) Pascalis-Colombiere Gold Property near Val d’Or…we’re looking forward to a site visit to Pascalis-Colombiere during our upcoming trip to the Rouyn-Noranda/Val d’Or area which will give us an opportunity to explain this story much better to our readers…a 5,000 metre Phase 2 drill program started at this property in late May, so we’re expecting initial results from that almost anytime now…a 43-101 resource estimate is also being prepared…technically, AGE is holding up well, as John’s chart shows, and it has significantly out-performed the CDNX this year…as of 9:00 am Pacific, AGE is down 3.5 cents to 47.5 cents on light volume…

Visible Gold Mines (VGD, TSX-V)

Bulletin

It was a breakthrough week fundamentally and technically for Visible Gold Mines which surged 28%, gaining 7.5 cents to close Friday at 34.5 cents…we expect VGD to begin to garner much more attention in the days and weeks ahead after the company came out with exciting news Thursday regarding its optioned Wasa Creek and Wasa East Properties near Richmont Mines‘ (RIC, TSX) growing Wasamac deposit, unquestionably one of the best exploration stories on the Cadillac Trend right now…at BMR, we were “ahead of the market” with Gold Bullion and its Granada Gold Property in late 2009/early 2010, and we believe we’re ahead of the market again with the Wasamac situation and what’s developing there…not only is Richmont rapidly building its Wasamac deposit – an exploration update from RIC is expected by the end of the month – but the area around Wasamac has also been hugely under-explored…it’s also highly prospective…the Cadillac Fault, for example, runs right under the middle of the 650-hectare Wasa Creek Property…in addition, Visible Gold Mines‘ geologists believe they may have discovered some sort of connection between the Wasa Shear and the Cadillac Fault at Wasa East with that property right in between those two Gold-bearing systems…what impressed us the most about LBWC-11-03 at Wasa Creek was that it was essentially a “blind hole” – this property has been unexplored and on the first very hole VGD intersected several zones of significant Gold mineralization…of particular interest is the 16.4-metre mineralized shear zone which showed the same style of mineralization as the Wasamac deposit – close co-existence of Gold and pyrite disseminated in an altered shear zone…it’s still very early in the game for VGD at Wasa Creek but at least now they have a trail of mineralization to follow, and that’s important…assay results are pending for 6 of 7 holes completed to date, so the market has plenty to speculate about…two rigs are concentrating in the area around LBWC-11-03 with step-out holes being drilled to the east and west, and a north-south “wall” of holes being drilled to the east of LBWC-11-03 for 1.5 kilometres and past the Cadillac Fault…what VGD may hit on the either side of the Cadillac Fault will be interesting to see…meanwhile, VGD geologists have traced Richmont’s Wildcat Zone for more than 900 metres to the south to three claims that form part of the Wasa Creek Property…that’s where LBWC-11-08 was collared, roughly 1,000 metres south of the Wildcat Zone which is about 300 metres south of the north-dipping Wasamac Main Zone…given developments at Wasa Creek and Wasa East, news flow should be strong with VGD and some drama could quickly build…in addition, the company is expected to commence a major drill program very soon at its promising Joutel Project 150 kilometres north of Rouyn-Noranda…Joutel has us very excited given the presence of three former Gold mines on that property and two former copper mines immediately to the southwest…the best place to find a new mine is near an old mine, and VGD will be aggressively tackling Joutel…Visible Gold Mines‘ senior geologist is Robert Sansfacon who’s highly regarded in the industry…he honed his skills for many years as a project manager for Lac Minerals and is blessed with an incredible understanding of structure…he’s a major reason we added VGD to the BMR model portfolio last spring…he was involved in the discovery of Osisko’s (OSK, TSX) massive Canadian Malartic deposit, and we’re convinced he’s going to make a discovery for Visible Gold Mines…technically, VGD is looking very strong with rising 10, 20 and 50-day moving averages…it has momentum, along with $6 million in working capital, and is being driven by a story that has some serious “legs”…

Cadillac Mining (CQX, TSX-V)

Sellers hit Cadillac hard in last Monday’s market drop, sending CQX as low as 9.5 cents, but the stock recovered later in the week and closed Friday at 12.5 cents (unchanged for the week) on the strength of Visible Gold Mines‘ news regarding Wasa Creek and Wasa East…VGD optioned those properties from Cadillac last December…with a market cap of just $3.4 million, CQX certainly offers significant upside potential simply given its current deal with VGD which allows CQX to retain a 40% interest in Wasa Creek, Wasa East and the entire Lucky Break/Cadillac Break Projects…what could really cause CQX to explode, however, is if it’s able to raise some cash and put its 100%-owned seven Wasa claims adjoining the northern portion of Richmont’s Wasamac Property into play…that’s what CQX has to do for the benefit of its shareholders…the company had a glorious opportunity to raise cash and build shareholder value earlier this year because of Wasamac and failed to do so…now they have another opportunity…second chances don’t come often in life but Cadillac management has been blessed with one in this instance, and hopefully they take advantage of it…we give CQX credit for securing an excellent project (Goldstrike) in Utah on fabulous terms but several million dollars is going to be required to explore Goldstrike in the right way…the best solution in our view is for Cadillac to cut a deal with another company for exploration of its Wasa claims and the natural partner for that appears to be VGD which has all the money and expertise necessary to unlock the value of those claims and create excitement in the market…Cadillac could let others do all the heavy lifting at and around Wasamac and then focus its energies on developing the Goldstrike Project…

Abcourt Mines (ABI, TSX-V)

Abcourt was up a penny last week, closing at 11.5 cents Friday…the stock fell as low as 9.5 cents (support) during Monday’s sell-off before rebounding…ABI faces stiff overhead resistance with a declining 100-day moving average (SMA) at 13.5 cents and a declining 200-day SMA at 15 cents…if you’re bullish on Silver and Zinc prices, however, which we are, you have to love this play as the current market cap ($17 million) really doesn’t take into account the value of the company’s Abcourt-Barvue Silver-Zinc deposit near Val d’Or…ABI is ripe for an eventual takeover given the value of its assets and management’s obvious inability to unlock that value which is why we still view this company with considerable interest…ABI’s decline from a 52-week high of 25.5 cents in late March was brought on by the closing of a financing (35 million units at 18 cents), a sharp drop in Silver, overall CDNX weakness, and selling by MineralFields Group…the company released more results from Abcourt-Barvue August 2 including 2.1 metres grading 422.35 g/t Ag…drill results to date should significantly upgrade and increase all-category reserves and resources, most of which can be mined by open-pit…four years ago, GENIVAR produced a very positive feasibility report for the project which showed robust economics…more drilling will take place at the property this year…the rig was temporarily moved to the Vendome Property (Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc) approximately 13 kilometres south of Abcourt-Barvue where 4 holes were drilled to confirm historical data…results were announced last Monday and included 33 metres grading 1.69 g/t Au…more results were released July 5 from the company’s Elder-Tagami Gold Property near Rouyn-Noranda including 8.50 metres grading 3.71 g/t Au…that was from the Tagami area to the north which has untapped potential including some higher grades…the latest NI-43-101 resource estimate of 216,000 ounces was released in the summer of 2009…the possibility of Abcourt expanding that resource beyond 500,000 ounces certainly exists given the encouraging results to date (look what Richmont has done at Wasamac)…the heavy accumulation that began in Abcourt in December was no fluke in our view…this is a company with significant assets that could justify a substantially higher valuation…nearly 60 million shares of ABI changed hands on the CDNX in December and January – record volume for this stock, accompanied by a price jump from 14.5 cents…while the stock price is now slightly below that level, the record volume in ABI since late last year (take a look at a 10-year chart) is still a very bullish sign…Abcourt has been under significant accumulation and our best guess is that some savvy players like the assets in the ground…continued drilling success and higher prices for Gold, Silver and zinc would be exciting developments for this stock which has a history of major moves…from mid-2005 to early 2006, Abcourt rocketed from 15 cents to nearly $1.40…

Greencastle Resources (VGN, TSX-V)

Greencastle was up 2 pennies for the week at 19.5 cents after dropping to 16 cents, slightly below its cash value, last Monday and Tuesday…the 100-day moving average (SMA) has flattened out at 19.5 cents but a breakout above the still-rising 200-day SMA at 23.5 cents is what we’re watching for to confirm that a new uptrend is underway…as far as the fundamentals go, our gut feeling is that something is cooking here – President and CEO Tony Roodenburg has been quiet for too long…the company released its Q1 financials June 9 which show working capital of 16.4 cents per share ($7.5 million)…oil royalties have declined significantly – just $212,000 for the first three months of 2011 vs. $355,000 over the same period a year ago which underscores the need for VGN to make some major changes as Primate just isn’t the cash cow it used to be…the fact Roodenburg is no longer at the helm of Seafield Resources (SFF, TSX-V) is a positive development in our view for Greencastle…Roodenburg had been trying to ease his way out of Seafield since 2009 without much success until a couple of months ago…he’s now able to focus almost exclusively on Greencastle which has been a favorite project of his for many years…we suspect he’s going to take a serious look at spinning out the oil assets or the Gold assets into a separate company…something needs to happen here to move VGN forward and boost shareholder value, but we’re confident Roodenburg will do it – sooner or later…Greencastle’s market cap of $9 million means the stock is now trading just 3 cents per share above its cash value…history shows that whenever VGN is near cash value, a terrific buying opportunity has opened up though investors must be patient…Greencastle tripled over a six-week period from late October to early December…since the beginning of January, though, the stock has struggled due mostly to impatient investors frustrated with the lack of news…patience is definitely required with VGN or one shouldn’t invest in it…over the years the successful strategy with Greencastle has been to accumulate on weakness when the stock is near cash value and then sell into strength when something develops…with strong working capital, three Gold properties (including land near the Blackwater Project and a couple of very good Nevada properties) and monthly (albeit declining) cash flow from an oil royalty, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Greencastle does offer excellent value at current levels…the long-term chart remains encouraging with rising 200 and 300-day SMA’s (the 200-day will start declining if something doesn’t develop by the end of this month)…it’s also important to note that Roodenburg, a large shareholder in VGN, refrained from selling any of his holdings during the late 2010 run-up in the share price…this is different from past bullish in the stock and adds further credence to our view that we haven’t seen the highs in this cycle yet from Greencastle – it’s poised for what we believe could be a massive breakout sometime during the last half of this year…Pinetree Capital also accumulated more shares in Greencastle late last year, so there’s every reason to be very optimistic regarding this company’s prospects…Greencastle is up 39% since we added it back in to the BMR model portfolio last October…

Sidon International (SD, TSX-V)

Still nothing new to report here…we’re all entitled to have one dog in our portfolio and Sidon is that dog for us at the moment, though it did increase five-fold for us last year and still holds potential…things remain very quiet on the Sidon front with the stock down half a penny last week at 3.5 cents on a mild uptick in volume…the company hasn’t been able to recover yet from its fall in March, one day after the CDNX correction began, on poor drill results from its Morogoro East Gold Property in Tanzania…there has been no news from the company since March 14 – they effectively “sat out” the correction in the CDNX – when it announced a proposed private placement at 8 cents and an option to acquire an 80% interest in a 50-square kilometre property adjacent to Canaco’s (CAN, TSX-V) Handeni discovery in Tanzania…the 6 shallow holes drilled in December at Morogoro East failed to produce significant results, the best hole showing 3 metres grading 1.7 g/t Au…the company has drilled 4 deeper holes with results for those still pending…what the initial 6 holes have given Sidon, however, is a better understanding of the Morogoro geological structure which would aid in any future drilling…exploration, especially at such an early stage, is never easy and disappointing early results don’t necessarily mean a property doesn’t hold excellent potential…the company is also trying to develop a placer operation at Morogoro…there is certainly the possibility of better days ahead for Sidon but the lack of news is not encouraging…the climb back up won’t be easy and the company potentially may have to look at a consolidation of its capital…Sidon ran as high as 26.5 cents last winter but is now off a penny-and-a-half since we introduced it to BMR readers just over a year ago at a nickel…the company currently has approximately 140 million shares outstanding for a market cap of $4.9 million…

Gold Bullion Development (GBB, TSX-V)

GBB dropped as low as 33.5 cents in Monday’s sell-off but finished the week unchanged at 39 cents, almost a penny above its still-declining 20-day moving average (SMA)…the 10-day SMA has flattened out at 37 cents…the 50, 100, 200 and 300-day SMA’s are all in decline but that could change abruptly on significant news like drill results or a 43-101 resource estimate, for example…the latest news from GBB came out July 27 when the company announced it has applied to the Venture Exchange to lower the exercise price of a total of nearly 8 million share purchase warrants to 58 cents (7.4 million from last October’s financing were priced at 75 cents)…these warrants expire October 27, 2011…having those warrants exercised would bring another $5 million or so into the GBB treasury, so a resource estimate by sometime in September would be timely…a move through the mid-50′s would also constitute a major technical breakout for the stock but that’s going to require a strong 43-101…GBB’s last drill results were released July 13…there was nothing spectacular in those numbers but hole #165, collared approximately 50 metres northeast of hole #108, offered encouragement with regard to the very promising northern portion of the Eastern Extension…#165 returned 141.5 metres grading 0.31 g/t Au (from 155 to 296.50 metres) with no high-grade spikes, showing an apparent consistency of mineralization…it included a 20.5-metre section grading 1.2 g/t Au…assays have yet to be reported on 8 more important holes drilled in this general area (168, 178, 183, 241, 243, 246, 254, 257) according to GBB’s most recent drill map…along with additional results, GBB’s 43-101 resource estimate is going to be critical along with the Castle spin-off and potential discoveries in LONG Bars Zone 2…infill drilling is GBB’s focus at the moment with drill hole spacing tightening (which could help to improve grade) in preparation for a resource calculation…the company’s current market cap of $65 million puts a value of just $22 an ounce on Gold in the ground at Granada if one were to assume the 43-101 will outline approximately 3 million ounces in the measured, indicated and inferred categories…that’s just a hypothetical number on our part at the moment but whatever number GENIVAR comes up with, we believe it should exceed the 2.4 to 2.6 million ounce conceptual figure that Gold Bullion gave in April of last year…based on all the drill results to date, this appears to be shaping up as a half-gram deposit with a higher grade starter pit and massive volume…it’s all about volume at Granada which is why the drills have to keep turning and why we want to see more than just two rigs in the LONG Bars Zone which has such incredible potential…the company provided an update on its Castle Silver Mine Project June 8…the 6,000 metre Phase 1 drill program is nearing completion and a strong new vein structure was intersected at the first IP target…a 43-101 technical report on the property has also been released…assay results from the 10 holes drilled so far are still pending…GBB plans to spin-off this asset into a separate publicly traded entity…GBB is up 457% since we introduced it to BMR readers in late December, 2009…

Currie Rose Resources (CUI, TSX-V)

Currie Rose held steady at 16 cents last week with no panic selling during Monday’s bloodbath…the stock remains in a zone of strong technical support…a move through resistance in the low 20′s will require a more bullish overall market or some solid drill results from Tanzania, and either scenario is certainly possible…the Currie Rose drill continues to turn at Mabale Hills, so a summer of interesting action in CUI is likely though there has been no news since early July…three properties are being drilled at Mabale (Mwamazengo, Dhahabu and Sisu River) before the rig shifts to the flagship Sekenke Project about 200 kilometres to the southeast…CUI‘s first-ever drill program at Sisu River late last year gave reason for encouragement but this time the holes were pushed a little deeper in hopes of cutting wider intersections and higher grade…reading between the lines of the July 5 news release, it’s possible the geologists liked what they saw in the first 3 holes as 506 samples were delivered to a nearby lab for assaying and drilling continued…drilling will also test targets at Dhahabu and Mwamaznego…geochemical analysis has outlined a continuous anomaly over a few hundred metres that runs parallel to the west of a previously reported discovery at Mwamazengo where drill results included notable high-grade intercepts such as 34 metres grading 3.60 grams per tonne gold, 12 metres grading 9.11 g/t Au, 63 metres grading 2.59 g/t Au and 31 metres grading 5.97 g/t Au…we’re most excited, however, about the Sekenke Project which has “blue sky” written all over it…Sekenke is why we decided to start following CUI when it was trading around a dime last fall…results from satellite imagery provide additional evidence that Sekenke is a highly intriguing geological target and part of the same northwest trending structure that hosts Canaco’s (CAN, TSX-V) Handeni Project…satellite imagery has also shown that the structures at Sekenke are coincident with a strong alteration envelope…what’s unique about this project is that it surrounds and runs in between two former high grade Gold mines including Tanzania’s original producer…this greatly increases the chances of a discovery as it’s unlikely the former mines were fully exploited or explored as techniques a century ago in this industry obviously weren’t what they are today…CUI has a terrific chance to hit it big at Sekenke and we also wouldn’t be surprised if the company takes a shot at acquiring the former Sekenke Mine…that’s speculation on our part but it makes sense from a strategic point of view…pre-drilling exploration work continues at Sekenke to pinpoint the best targets…while its Tanzanian properties are the market’s major focus, Currie Rose could also benefit over the summer from continued good exploration news out of Trueclaim Exploration (TRM, TSX-V) which is currently conducting an 8,000 metre drill program at the Scadding Gold Property near Sudbury…Trueclaim, which continues to release decent assay results, has earned a 51% interest in Scadding and can acquire a full 100% interest by completing a feasibility study, paying $2 million to Currie Rose, and giving Currie Rose a 3% net smelter royalty…TRM announced July 26 that it has intersected a previously unknown area of Gold mineralization at Scadding with hole #48 assaying 5 metres grading 4.54 g/t Au (from 98 to 103 metres, assumed to be true width)…about 25 metres below that interval was a 10.25-metre section grading 1.37 g/t Au…TRM has drilled the North Zone, the South Zone and the Currie Rose Zone with promising results (the Central Zone, which could get really interesting, has yet to be drilled)…CUI announced a joint-venture deal January 25 with Australian-based Liontown Resources for Currie’s Jubilee Reef Gold Project in Tanzania…CUI’s focus is on the Sekenke and Mabale Hills Projects, so finding a partner for Jubilee Reef made sense…the deal commits Liontown to at least 5,000 metres of drilling at the property this year which will give Currie Rose a minimum of 23,000 metres of drilling at all of its properties in 2011…while Currie Rose has had its market cap shaved by more than half, from a high of nearly $40 million late last year to the current $14 million, what hasn’t changed is the quality of this company’s project portfolio which remains as high as ever…Currie Rose has all the cash it needs ($2 million) to complete an initial major round of drilling (10,000 metres) in Tanzania this summer, so there will not be any dilution of the stock at current levels as confirmed by President and CEO Harold Smith…

Adventure Gold (AGE, TSX-V)

We mentioned in this space a week ago that a great opportunity had opened in Adventure Gold and we hope some of our readers were able to take advantage of it…AGE dipped as low as 40.5 cents Tuesday before recovering to close Friday at 51 cents for a weekly gain of 6 cents…AGE remains one of our favorites this summer with several exciting projects on the go…our theory is that there’s a very good chance at least one of those projects will “hit” and our prediction is that it will be Pascalis-Colombiere…we recently spoke with President and CEO Marco Gagnon and we’re continuing to perform some additional research on AGE in advance of some postings in the near future…Gagnon is a sharp operator who knows how to maximize every dollar spent…he also has the strong backing of Montreal investment firm Windermere Capital which holds just under 20% of AGE as disclosed January 21…the company has five active key projects, two of which are in the hands of joint venture partners Lake Shore Gold (LSG, TSX) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM, TSX)…AGE is currently conducting a 5,000 metre Phase 2 program at its very promising Pascalis-Colombiere Property near Val d’Or…at the end of May the company reported highly encouraging drill results from this former producer including 4.8 g/t Au over 33.1 metres in hole #20 (plus lower grade halos over significant widths)…the Phase 2 program is designed to further define the Gold system, leading to a resource calculation which is already being worked on…Pascalis-Colombiere encompasses the past producing L.C. Beliveau Mine (Richmont’s Beaufor Mine is nearby)…we found a comment from Gagnon in AGE’s June 2 news release quite interesting…“Following positive drill results and the permitting process, an open-pit or an underground operation could be producing in the near future”…we believe Richmont Mines (RIC, TSX) may have interest in this project…earlier this year we met with AGE’s Jules Riopel, VP Exploration, regarding the company’s strong portfolio of properties…he was very keen at that time on Pascalis-Colombiere and given the drill results, his bullishness on this property appears to have been justified…the former L.C. Beliveau Mine was a very profitable operation between 1989 and 1993, producing nearly 170,000 ounces of Gold for Cambior…we believe a lot of Gold was overlooked in that area…in addition, the geometry of the deposit is such that mining costs should be relatively low…considerable infrastructure is also in place…meanwhile, Agnico-Eagle has completed its 4,000 metre drill program at AGE’s Dubuisson Property near Val d’or…Dubuisson is contiguous to the Goldex Mine Property and also straddles a 5-kilometre segment of the prolific Cadillac-Larder Lake Gold break…also of immediate interest is AGE’s partnership with Lake Shore Gold on the Meunier 144 Property where deep drilling is still testing the down-plunge extension of Gold zones located at the Timmins and Thunder Creek deposits…the current initial deep drill hole onto the Meunier JV property is continuing and had reached a core length of 2500 metres as of mid-June with another 500 metres to go…if a discovery is made, AGE will instantly explode higher…AGE has completed an 8-hole Phase 1 program at the Lapaska Property near Val D’Or…results released July 21 for the remaining 6 holes at Lapaska were very mediocre compared to the first 2 holes (MZO-TSX-V has an option to earn up to a 70% interest in the property) but Lapaska still holds good potential…the Granada Extension Property will be worked on later this year…AGE’s latest financials, released June 29, show the company with $3.3 million in working capital as of April 30, a $300,000 improvement in working capital over the quarter ending January 31…we first mentioned Adventure Gold to our readers in an article September 29 last year, just a couple of days following the company’s announcement that it had acquired land at Granada, when the stock was trading in the low 20′s…we officially added AGE to the BMR model portfolio at just 34 cents October 28…Adventure Gold has been around only since late 2007…AGE is clearly a keeper for the long haul and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a major breakout in this play before the end of summer…

GoldQuest Mining (GQX, TSX-V)

GoldQuest had a quiet week overall but volume spiked to its highest level since early last month (383,000 shares on all exchanges) during Monday’s plunge in the markets…for the week GQC was off half a penny…the 200-day moving average (SMA), currently at 29 cents, has now started to decline but the 300-day (SMA) at 25 cents continues to rise…support for the stock has proven to be very strong in the upper teens…there’s no question in our view that GQC presents a great opportunity for patient and long-term investors…Chairman Bill Fisher has been buying GQC stock on the open market, his latest purchase being 20,000 shares July 12…he has bought nearly 250,000 shares over the past couple of months between 18 and 20.5 cents according to insider trading reports…GQC’s prospects remain solid as the company has an outstanding portfolio of projects in the Dominican Republic and Spain…the substantial drop in the share price from a high of 48.5 cents in early February was due to general market weakness and selling from speculators whose expectations may have been too high regarding initial drill results from the company’s La Escandalosa Project in the Dominican Republic…in addition, the company has stopped all drilling in the DR for the time being in order to conduct extensive IP surveys over Escandalosa and other properties…interest in the stock should pick up as soon as drilling re-starts…overall assay results from Escandalosa were decent though far from spectacular…the final set of assays for 7 holes came out May 16…the best intersection from Escandalosa Sur, where an initial 43-101 inferred resource of 400,000 ounces was outlined last fall, was 20 meters grading 1.32 g/t Au…results from this area overall (21 holes) were somewhat disappointing though more drilling is required and will take place later this year…however, the company drilled 3 holes at the Hondo Valle target 1.6 kilometres to the north (outside the resource area) and all 3 intersected significant mineralization including 29 metres grading 2.18 g/t Au in hole #65…that’s the thickest and highest grade mineralized section drilled to date at Hondo Valle…the theory is that mineralization trends north from Escandalosa Sur to Hondo Valle…GoldQuest has been carrying out a 16-square kilometre IP survey and magnetic ground geophysical survey from 2 kilometres north of Hondo Valle to 2.2 kilometres south of Escandalosa Sur…GQC will use the data to pinpoint key targets for an additional 3,000 metres of drilling…GoldQuest also has other promising projects in the DR (in particular, Loma Oculta – formerly Las Animas – where an exploration program aimed at identifying new drill targets is now underway) in addition to its lead-zinc-silver deposit in Spain…GoldQuest’s potential has not diminished whatsoever yet the share price has dropped by more than 60% from its early February high…the company released a 43-101 resource estimate March 2 on its Toral zinc-lead-Silver deposit in Spain…it showed slightly lower grades but much higher overall tonnage than the previous historical non-compliant estimate…as a result, total resources came out 15% higher…resources in the indicated category are 4.04 million tonnes grading 11.8% lead and zinc (5.3% lead, 6.5% zinc) as well as 41 g/t Ag and 0.11% Cu… inferred resources are 4.67 million tonnes grading 9.8% lead and zinc (4.44% lead, 5.4% zinc), 32 g/t Ag and 0.14 Cu…Toral has significant exploration and development upside as a majority of the historical drilling (40,000+ metres) was conducted over one relatively small part of the property…the zone of sulphide mineralization is open along strike to the northwest toward a known lead deposit as well as along strike to the southeast and downdip…the project is also an ideal candidate for a fast-track to production…the deposit is close to a power line, highway and rail line…a large smelter is located just 300 kilometers away by rail…meanwhile, GQC has been granted the Lago exploration concession, as reported last July 19, which is only a 30-minute drive northeast of Toral…the Lago property is the first permit granted of three applications by GoldQuest…securing an exploration concession for Lago, where mineralization is similar to that of Toral, is another important step for GoldQuest in building its assets in that region…a comprehensive mapping, geochemical sampling and ground geophysical program will be initiated at Lago to define both infill drilling and new targets that may warrant drilling in the vicinity of the known hydrothermal lead and zinc mineralization that remains open along strike and at depth…GQC is down 2.5 pennies since we added it to the BMR model portfolio last fall…

Seafield Resources (SFF, TSX-V)

Seafield continues to bounce up and down between the low 20’s and the low-to-mid-30’s…liquidity is certainly there for traders to play the rather predictable swings this stock has experienced over the last few months…SFF fell as low as 20.5 cents during Monday’s market sell-off and then strengthened to close Friday at 26.5 cents for a weekly gain of 3 pennies…the company made a significant announcement Thursday as Giovanny Ortiz, the former exploration manager of the Angostura Project, has been appointed General Manager of Seafield’s operations in Colombia…we like how new President and CEO Cesar Lopez is pulling things together…he’s also putting his money where his mouth is…Lopez stepped up to the plate again and bought another 500,000 shares last Monday after purchasing 400,000 shares July 29, according to insider trading reports, while another director scooped up 100,000 shares July 29…heavy selling came into the SFF market July 25 when the company announced drill results from Dos Quebradas which were disappointing, though we caution it’s still early in the game for that property…Seafield is currently drilling a promising area at Dos Quebradas approximately 250 metres wide (east to west) and more than 300 metres long (north to south)…the zone is open at depth and is interpreted to plunge to the north…meanwhile, Seafield has added a second drill rig at Miraflores in order to expedite a Phase 2 program there which is designed to better define the shape of the orebody, increase the resource confidence and extend mineralization…a total of 10 holes or 6,200 metres is expected to be completed by November (the rock is hard at Miraflores, so the drilling is slow which is why a second rig has been added)…the company announced July 5 that it has hired SRK Consulting for a preliminary economic assessment or scoping level study on Miraflores for completion by the first quarter of next year…SRK will evaluate the potential positive economics of developing an open-pit and underground operation at the property…it will also provide recommendations to advance the project to prefeasibility…Seafield released an updated 43-101 resource estimate for Miraflores May 26…the project has gone from an inferred resource of 776,000 ounces (at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au) to a measured and indicated resource of 1.2 million ounces and an inferred resource of 354,000 ounces (at a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au)…Seafield exploded from the low 20′s to an all-time high of 77 cents in just one day last December but then proceeded to give up all of those gains…the company’s Quinchia land package in Colombia has a great deal of untapped potential and Seafield is also sitting on nearly $20 million in cash…patient investors have an opportunity to do extremely well with this play given the geological merits of Quinchia and the real potential for 5 million+ ounces from several potential deposits…we have confidence the new management group will unlock value by bringing fresh insight and new energy to this play along with a more aggressive exploration approach…Seafield has gained nearly 350% since we made it the first company in the BMR model portfolio two years ago…its current market cap is $44 million, just over twice the company’s current cash value…

TSX Venture Exchange and Gold

It was a wild week in the markets with triple-digit moves up and down each day in the Dow and Gold surging to another all-time high.  The speculative CDNX of course wasn’t immune to the extreme volatility in the global markets but when the dust finally settled, the CDNX actually finished 6 points higher for the week at 1817.

Monday’s low of 1676 represented a 32% correction from the March 7 high of 2465.  That’s still within the norm for major CDNX corrections.  The duration of this weakness has been unusual, however, and we’re simply not sure what to make of that.  The 300 and 500-day moving averages continue to rise which is confirmation in our view that the overall bull market remains intact.

The next apparent area of resistance, as John pointed out in his updated CDNX chart in the previous post, is 1862.

Exploration news will play a critical role in this market in the weeks ahead.  A tsunami of drill results is just around the corner from the Yukon, northwest Quebec and elsewhere.  All it takes is one major discovery to ignite the CDNX and restore investors’ confidence.

Gold

What a week for Gold bugs.  A quote from Fred Sturm, chief global strategist for Mackenzie Financial, summed up the yellow metal’s surge this way:  “Gold is the best address in a bad neighborhood.” (Globe and Mail, August 11).

U.S. debt concerns, brought into focus by S&P’s credit rating downgrade, as well as continued euro zone debt issues were key drivers in Gold’s move to a new record high of $1,814 mid-week.  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke helped as well with the Fed making the unprecedented statement that it will keep interest rates at current levels until at least mid-2013.

Gold got giddy and clearly became very overbought technically on a short-term basis, pulling back Thursday and Friday to close the week at $1,746.  Profit-taking started to come into the market immediately after the announcement that the CME Group had raised margin requirements by 22.2% for trading Gold futures on the Comex Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Despite the much-needed pullback Thursday and Friday, Gold still finished up $82 for the week which was a gain of 4.9%.  Silver gained 75 cents to $39.07, Copper fell 15 cents to $4.13, Crude Oil was down $1.50 to $85.38 while the U.S. Dollar Index was essentially unchanged at 74.57.

Gold producers kicked into high gear last week as the TSX Gold Index gained 30 points or 8% to 401.  While we focus mainly on the very speculative junior exploration plays at BMR, it’s critical in our view for investors to include some quality producers in their portfolios.  These companies, such as New Gold Inc. (NGD, TSX) and Richmont Mines (RIC, TSX) which we highlighted last week, will benefit not only from the strong possibility of even higher Gold prices in the months ahead but also from lower input costs due to oil’s 28% drop from its 2011 high.  Oil is a major component of a producer’s cost structure.  Many companies have factored in higher oil prices into their 2011 budgets and a higher Canadian dollar as well.

From a technical perspective, as John pointed out in his chart update earlier today, Gold could quite easily drop another $50 or so over the immediate to short-term and test support slightly below $1,700.  That would actually be a healthy development.  But investors should stay focused on the “big picture” which remains very bullish for Gold.  As Frank Holmes so effectively illustrates at www.usfunds.com, Gold is being driven by both the Fear Trade and the Love Trade.  The transfer of wealth from west to east, and the accumulation of wealth particularly in China and India, is having a huge impact on Gold.  September is also the beginning of the gift-giving season for the yellow metal which drives up demand.  It’s really now becoming just a question of when, not if, Gold hits $2,000 an ounce. Ultimately, $3,000 or more is very possible.

The fundamental case for Gold remains incredibly strong – currency instability and an overall lack of confidence in fiat currencies and governments in general, an environment of historically low interest rates and negative real interest rates (inflation is greater than the nominal interest rate even in parts of the world where rates are increasing), massive government debt from the United States to Europe, central bank buying, flat mine supply, physical demand, investment demand, emerging market growth, geopolitical unrest and conflicts, and inflation concerns…the list goes on.  It’s hard to imagine Gold not performing well in this environment.  The Middle East is being turned on its head and that could ultimately have major positive consequences for Gold.

What’s also driving Gold is the weakness of the United States, brought on in no small part by one of the most ineffectual Presidents the nation has ever been saddled with.  America has lost its way and the S&P downgrade is both a real and a symbolic reflection of that.  Since the summer of 2009, the U.S. economy has produced a net total of just 2 million jobs while federal spending has gone through the roof.  Throughout its incredible history, the United States has demonstrated an amazing resiliency and the ability to bounce back from major economic, social and political troubles.  It will do so again but this will take time and a real Commander-in-Chief in the White House by November 2012.  By then Gold will be up another 50% or more.

A selling climax appeared to hit the TSX Venture Exchange last Monday when the Index plunged 129 points and endured its 10th consecutive losing session.  Investors brave enough to embrace the sell-off picked up some great bargains as the Index dropped as low as 1676.  Such a dramatic fall over a short period of time (15% in just three sessions) is typical of an important market bottom.  RSI(14) reached extreme oversold conditions.

The Index gained 135 points Tuesday through Friday and actually finished with a weekly gain of 6 points by closing at 1817.  As John’s chart shows, the next apparent resistance is in the 1860’s.

It was an historic week for Gold as the yellow metal, driven by U.S. and euro zone debt concerns and an overall “Perfect Storm” of factors, breached $1,700 an ounce and then briefly shot past $1,800 before pulling back Thursday and Friday to close at $1,746.  That was a gain of 4.9% for the week.

So where to from here for Gold?  It seems highly probable at this point that Gold will challenge the $2,000 level before year-end based on fundamental and technical considerations.  Over the immediate and short-term, however, it could test support slightly below $1,700.  Gold got a little ahead of itself early last week and some consolidation appears to have started.  The “big picture”, though, remains incredibly bullish.  John’s chart shows a new Fibonacci target of $1,938.

Welcome to our site, or at least the initial version of it!  BMR has been online for two years and strictly through word-of-mouth we have built a loyal following. 

We’re continuing with our plans to ultimately build a very unique investment and money-management resource site that goes considerably beyond what we have now.  While we focus very much on the Gold market and trends in the global economy, and of course the technical health of the TSX Venture Exchange (CDNX), an important component of this site will always be original research on small and undiscovered junior resource companies, mostly in the Gold exploration space, that offer very real and significant upside potential. We are extremely selective in the companies we feature and put forward to investors – we prefer quality over quantity.  However, investors must understand that these are still highly speculative situations and entail considerable risk, volatility and unpredictability.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. Always perform your own due diligence and please read our disclaimer at the bottom.

We use a combination of fundamental and technical factors in determining the value and potential of a stock.  In terms of fundamentals we look for a company with a superb project supported by strong management.  Management must possess integrity, solid ethics and a determination to succeed and build shareholder value.

At BullMarketRun (BMR) we approach the handling of money from a biblical perspective and this is an important topic we will be sharing with our readers (and listeners) as the site continues to develop. The Bible teaches so much about money and how to handle it and invest it –  there are literally thousands of verses on how we should handle the money and possessions that God entrusts us with.  By examining the life of Jesus and reading the Word of God, we can all become fully equipped to be successful investors and handle money wisely in order to make it work for us.  If it’s the other way around –  if you’re a slave to money by being in debt for instance, or if you don’t respect the value of money and spend it foolishly –  you’re in trouble and you’ll never be blessed financially.  We have a God who thinks big – He created the universe – and He wants us to think big  in every area of our lives.  When we handle money from a Biblical perpective (His money that we have been given stewardship of) He will bless our financial decisions and an increase of tenfold or a hundredfold is always possible.  This all begins, of course, with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior and putting Him at the throne of your life.  It is the most important decision you’ll ever make.

God Bless,

Terry Dyer

Owner/Publisher, www.BullMarketRun.com

Disclaimer:

BullMarketRun.com (BMR) is completely independent from any companies it covers.  BMR accepts no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations for coverage of any company mentioned on this site.  We accept no advertising either.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. No investment opinion or other advice is being rendered on any stock or company. We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified investment adviser, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction, and do your own due diligence and research before making any investment decisions. The stocks we cover, by definition, are highly speculative and potentially very volatile. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment if they make a purchase or short sale in these speculative stocks.  We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. It should be assumed that BMR personnel, writers and their associates may hold or dispose of or trade in positions in any securities mentioned herein at any time.  Owner/Publisher of BullMarketRun.com is Terry Dyer of Langley, British Columbia.