BullMarketRun.com

Check back later today for Daniel’s Den and visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information

1. Gold has traded between $1,200 and $1,207 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $5 an ounce at $1,203…net-short positions in Gold are still at a very high level, and momentum in the U.S. Dollar Index appears to be waning, so the metal is looking better than it has in quite a while…bullish signs are also appearing in the TSX Gold Index…Silver is up 7 cents at $14.21…Copper is flat at $2.75…Nickel and Zinc continue to rally, at $5.75 and $1.09, respectively, while Cobalt is steady at $28.46…Palladium has regained the $1,000 level and Rhodium has quietly continued its march higher, now north of $2,400…Crude Oil has climbed another 35 cents to $70.20…Oil prices have been given a boost thanks to heightened geopolitical tensions after Russia (of course) blamed Israel for the loss of one of its reconnaissance planes shot down by Syrian defense systems…the U.S. Dollar Index is relatively unchanged at 94.59…

2. Big Pharma is coming:  Pharmaceutical companies have to start thinking about partnering with cannabis companies as a “hedge” against the burgeoning marijuana industry, Brendan Kennedy, the CEO of medical cannabis producer Tilray (TLRY, NASDAQ) stated on CNBC…the stock is up nearly 40% in early trading, surging $56.57 a share to $211.65…“They have to hedge this,” Kennedy told “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer in an exclusive interview.  “Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you’re an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you’re a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution”…the CEO said the same goes for alcohol producers, some of which, namely Constellation Brands (STZ, NYSE), have already begun to invest heavily in marijuana companies…“I think all the alcohol companies need to enter this industry. It’s a great hedge for them,” Kennedy told Cramer…“Whether you’re an alcohol company or an investor in an alcohol company, this is a global opportunity”…

3. Kirkland Lake Gold (KL, TSX, NYSE) has released new high-grade results from ongoing underground drill programs at its Fosterville mine in Victoria, Australia…drilling continues to target down-plunge extensions of Swan mineral Reserves with results providing confirmation of the geological model and continuity of high-grade, visible Gold-bearing mineralization on the Swan structure…results from 19 new drill holes, totalling 6,482 m, outside of the Measured and Indicated resources in the Swan zone as of the end of 2017, continue to return intervals of exceptionally high grades with visible Gold (7.45 m @ 289 g/t Au including 2,857 g/t over 0.75 m; 11.9 m @ 155 g/t Au including 1,566 g/t over 1.1 m; 3.55 m @ 423 g/t Au including 760 g/t over 1.95 m)…rich quartz veins extend at least 200 m down plunge from current Reserves…Tony Makuch, President and CEO of Kirkland Lake, commented:  “We are quickly establishing Fosterville as a new, world-class Gold camp, with the new drill results at Swan being the latest indication that there is much more to be found in terms of mineral Reserves and mineral resources…with the new results, we are increasingly confident that our upcoming December 31, 2018, mineral Reserve and mineral resource estimates will include a considerable increase in mineral Reserves in the Swan zone and a higher overall average grade and increased mineral Reserve base for the Fosterville mine as a whole”…meanwhile, KL says it has upped its stake in Osisko Mining (OSK, TSX) by acquiring some 14.7 million common shares through private placement financing at $1.70 per share for a total of $25 million…KL now owns 13.6% of Osisko…

4. Orca Gold (ORG, TSX-V) has increased Indicated and Inferred resources to 3.3 million ounces and 711,000 ounces, respectively, for its Block 14 Gold Project in Sudan…the updated estimate will form the basis for the Feasibility Study due in November…the Indicated resource for the Galat Sufar South (GSS) and Wadi Doum deposits comprises 79.9 million tonnes grading 1.3 g/t Au for 3,342,000 ounces, while the Inferred resource is 18.5 million tonnes grading 1.2 g/t for 711,000 ounces of Gold (cut-off grade is 0.6 g/t)…notable intercepts from the 2018 resource expansion drilling program include 123 m @ 1.96 g/t Au, 78 m @ 1.92 g/t, 68 m @ 3.48 g/t, and 50 m @ 3.05 g/t…“The drilling completed in 2018 has been specifically aimed at developing mineral reserves as part of the Feasibility Study,” stated Orca CEO Richard Clark.  “Given the increase in the scope of the Block 14 Project, driven by the 2017 discovery of a major fresh water aquifer system and the successful resource drilling campaigns, we expect to see a significant positive change in the scale and scope of the project with the delivery of the Feasibility Study in November.  Exploration will now focus on the expansion of high-grade zones identified at Wadi Doum towards further enhancement of the economics and production potential at Block 14 and drill testing of additional high-grade targets previously identified.  Block 14 has exceeded our expectations and continues to demonstrate that it has a lot more to offer.  The delivery of our Feasibility Study will establish the initial economics of this project and will form the base for further growth of this exciting Gold camp”…

5. The Dow has jumped 129 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…in Toronto, the TSX has gained 26 points…Aurora Cannabis (ACB, TSX) is looking at listing shares on a major U.S. stock exchange in October, according to one of its executives quoted in a Financial Post article…such a move, of course, would continue to broaden the scope of Aurora’s would-be investors, including U.S. institutional players, not all of whom are able to trade in OTC-listed securities…the Venture has eased off 2 points to 722 as of 7:00 am Pacific…Chemesis International (CSI, CSE), one of our favorite new marijuana plays, has hit a fresh high of $1.24 in early trading…also on the CSE, Cannabix Technologies (BLO, CSE) is showing renewed technical strength with the stock up a dime at $1.92…Canada Cobalt (CCW, TSX-V) has reversed higher after a healthy retrace of 50% of its big move from May to the end of July, setting the stage for a powerful new wave to the upside for the world’s top-performing Cobalt play in 2018…privately-held Battery Mineral Resources, funded out of New York Australia, is focusing its Northern Ontario Cobalt Camp strategy on its claims bordering Canada Cobalt with Battery having launched a major program within just 300 m of CCW’s Shaft #3…meanwhile, CCW continues with 2 separate drill programs (underground and at surface in a potential new discovery area east of the mine)…Cornerstone Metals (CCC, TSX-V) reported this morning that Phase 2 RC drilling continues at its Carlin Vanadium Project in Nevada with a total of 33 drill holes completed to date…2 drill rigs are currently turning on the property, to infill and expand the deposit, and plans are to complete approximately 60 holes before the end of September…initial assay results are expected shortly…the Carlin Vanadium deposit is considered one of the largest, highest grade primary Vanadium deposits in North America, according to a 2017 report from the USGS…Sokoman Iron (SIC, TSX-V) has started preparations for a 10,000-m Phase 2 drill program utilizing 2 rigs at its Moosehead Project in Newfoundland…at least 50% of the proposed meterage will focus on the Eastern and Western Trends to follow up and expand on results from Phase 1 drilling that turned SIC into a quick 10-bagger…the stock is at 17.5 cents this morning, trading just above very strong support in the mid-teens…

6. Marathon Gold (MOZ, TSX) has cut new wide and continuous intervals of Gold mineralization at open-pit depths in both the footwall and hangingwall margins of the main mineralized corridor of its Marathon deposit, including 105 m grading 1.41 g/t Au…current infill drilling is expected to decrease the open- pit strip ratio and move Inferred material into the Measured and Indicated categories as the company moves toward a Feasibility Study.  “These great Gold intercepts (reported this morning) are expected to add significantly to the upgrading of the next Marathon resource update,” stated Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold…

7. Australis Capital (AUSA, CSE) commenced trading on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE) this morning, following the completion of the distribution of common shares and warrants of Australis by Aurora Cannabis to its shareholders…“The Australis team is excited to begin trading today and grateful to our friends at Aurora Cannabis as the genesis to what will be a compelling and complimentary U.S. mandate,” stated Scott Dowty, CEO of  Australis. “We are laser focused on creating shareholder value through disciplined execution, operational expertise and a go-to-market strategy fueled by defined growth vectors”…Australis Capital will be focused predominately on opportunities in the United States…investments may include but are not limited to equity, debt or other securities of both public and private companies, financings in exchange for royalties or other distribution streams, and control stake acquisitions…

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Visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information!

1. Gold has traded between $1,195 and $1,204 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is flat at $1,201 an ounce… Silver is up 3 cents at $14.14…Copper, Nickel and Zinc have all pushed higher despite a ratcheting up of trade tensions between the U.S. and China…Copper has jumped 8 cents to $2.75…Nickel has added 7 cents to $5.61 while Zinc has edged up 2 pennies to $1.06…Cobalt is steady at $28.46…Crude Oil has jumped $1.44 a barrel to $70.35…based on talk out of Saudi Arabia, there are fresh doubts that the kingdom will increase output enough to fully compensate for the loss of Iranian Crude once U.S. sanctions come into effect November 4…ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC producers meet on Sunday to discuss compliance with output policies…OPEC sources have told Reuters no immediate action was planned and producers would discuss how to share a previously agreed output increase…the U.S. Dollar Index is off slightly at 94.58… 

2. President Trump says he’ll impose new tariffs on about $200 billion in Chinese goods and threatened to add hundreds of billions more as part of his campaign to pressure Beijing to change its commercial practices, escalating trade tensions between the world’s 2 largest economies…the 10% tax on Chinese imports will take effect on September 24 and will increase to 25% at the end of the year, according to administration officials…the tariffs will affect thousands of goods ranging from luggage to seafood, extending the impact of Trump’s aggressive tariff policy for the first time to a broad population of American consumers…Chinese trade practices “plainly constitute a grave threat to the long-term health and prosperity of the United States economy,” Trump said in a statement…China has retaliated today, saying it’ll institute new tariffs between 5% and 10% on 5,207 U.S. products worth $60 billion on September 24…the left in North America is making the false claim that Trump has started a trade war with China…in fact, he’s the first President standing up to the Chinese and is trying to end a trade war the communist country first started more than 20 years ago…

3. The Financial Post reported this morning that Canada’s economy is in the throes of a “zombie” outbreak that threatens to devour the country’s productivity…that’s the conclusion of a new report from Deloitte, which found that at least 16% of publicly traded firms in Canada could be classified as “zombies,” defined as mature firms more than 10 years old which lack sufficient revenue to cover interest payments on their debt…Deloitte looked at 2,274 companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange from 2015 to 2017, and found that 350 firms fit the definition…this likely understates the full extent of the issue across the broader economy, Deloitte said, because only a few thousand Canadian companies are publicly traded…Duncan Sinclair, chairman of Deloitte Canada, said to be successful, companies need to do more than simply survive… “The question is, what can you do as a business leader in that reality to try and reinvigorate and renew and restart that organization?,” he said…48% of the companies surveyed are not investing anything in exploring new markets outside of Canada, and only 22% are vigorously pursuing international expansion…other definitions of a “zombie” company, in our view, would likely include at least half the listings on the Venture…

4. Royal Nickel (RNX, TSX) has doubled the strike length of a high-grade coarse Gold structure, to approximately 10 m, after restarting development in the new high-grade Gold discovery area known as the Father’s Day vein at its Beta Hunt mine in Australia…a 43-kilogram specimen stone containing an estimated 1,100 ounces of Gold and a 2nd 7-kg specimen containing 190 ounces were recovered from this most recent development…an updated estimate of ounces from the Father’s Day vein is expected to be provided later this week after final outturns from last week’s shipments to the Perth Mint have been received and initial estimates from the recovery and shipment of coarse Gold and specimen stones from the most recent development are completed… Mark Selby, President & CEO, stated:   “The Father’s Day vein delivers additional Gold and cash flow from this further extension with additional potential updip still to be developed”…

5. The Dow is up 60 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…in Toronto, the TSX has gained 22 points…Aurora Cannabis (ACB, TSX) responded this morning to rumors yesterday about a potential deal between Aurora and Coca-Cola (KO, NYSE)…“The company does confirm that it engages in exploratory discussions with industry participants from time to time.  At this time the company confirms there is no agreement, understanding or arrangement with respect to any partnership with a beverage company”, the ACB news released stated...Coca-Cola expressed an interest yesterday in the “wellness” use of a key cannabis compound, the latest indication of growing attention being paid to marijuana by major drinks makers…Eldorado Gold (ELD, TSX) says it has requested a government payment of some $750 million euros for damages that are the result of delays in permits for the Skouries Project in Greece… the payment does not initial legal proceedings…“The application represents a good-faith attempt to resolve the matter with the Greek state as it relates to costs incurred resulting from permit delays to our Skouries project,” said George Burns, President & CEO…“We hope that this matter can be resolved in an amicable manner without needing to go down the route of arbitration”…the Venture is up 6 points at 725 as of 7:00 am Pacific…Eskay Mining (ESK, TSX-V) announced this morning that it has identified 3 distinct VTEM anomalies on its Corey Property along the boundary with properties to the west held by Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) and Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V)…the “White Whale” anomaly occurs along strike of GGI’s E&L deposit and VTEM Anomaly A…the “Cascade” anomaly is adjacent to Metallis‘ Thunder North zone, which is coincident with a series of easterly trending gossans that continue onto Eskay’s claims…the “Sweet Virginia” anomaly occurs along ESK’s Red Lightning Ni-Cu trend, within the company’s 100%-owned ground…

6. Corvus Gold (KOR, TSX), one of the top-performing Gold stocks this year, is up in early trading after releasing maiden mineral resource estimates incorporating all drill results from the Phase 1 and 2 drill programs at its 100%-owned Mother Lode Project in Nevada…highlights include: 1) 733,000 ounces of Measured & Indicated resources at an average grade of 1.72 g/t Au in 13.2 million tonnes; 2) 112,000 ounces of Inferred resources at an average grade of 1.6 g/t au in 2.17 million tonnes…Jeff Pontius, Corvus President & CEO stated, “The Mother Lode deposit has delivered a robust maiden Mineral Resource that exceeded our initial expectations and enlarges the overall Corvus Gold Nevada asset base.  The grade and low strip ratio of this deposit makes it an excellent addition to the North Bullfrog project (NBP) and will add to the combined NBP & MLP initial PEA study expected next month.  The Mother Lode deposit remains open and continues to grow with our ongoing Phase III drill campaign building toward the next multi-million-ounce Nevada discovery.  Additionally, the critical mass provided by the Mother Lode deposit for a sulfide circuit opens the door for the large, high-grade sulfide potential at the North Bullfrog Project which has yet to be explored”…

7. British Columbia’s public safety minister says the province will meet demand for recreational marijuana with only 1 government-run shop and an on-line store when the drug is legalized next month…Mike Farnworth also defended the province’s approach to legalization Monday after it announced that only 1 brick-and-mortar B.C. Cannabis Store in Kamloops will be open when recreational pot becomes legal on October 17…Farnworth said, “This is the largest public policy shift in this country in decades and it’s not something that just happens overnight. To say that because you only have one store, this is a failure, quite frankly I just don’t accept that one bit”…Farnworth added that the Kamloops store is just the start and he expects a number of public and private shops will open in the weeks and months after legalization…“The legalization of non-medical cannabis is a historic shift in public policy.  It’s a considerable learning curve and, without a doubt, all levels of government will need to refine their policies and regulations in the years ahead”…

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Daniel T. Cook

Does GFG Resources (GFG, TSX-V) Have The Right Ingredients To Be A Winning Stock Over The Next 6 To 12 Months?

As Jon reminded us yesterday, a rising Venture tide will NOT lift all boats.  Investors are still very discriminating and a relatively small percentage of Venture stocks will do most of the heavy lifting for now which creates a fascinating “market within a market”.

Stocks that perform better than average (or trounce the averages) tend to contain a number of similar ingredients.  While we place a heavy weighting on communications, because some managers are really bad at telling their company’s story and don’t understand investor psychology (which directly relates to how markets work), we also want to have a good feel for the stock’s behavior.

GFG Has A Young But Experienced Management Team That Has Tasted Success!

They’ve got some market smarts, too.

Back in July we called a bottom on GFG near 20 cents.  John’s technical analysis clearly showed the stock was oversold, and his call has been spot on.

In my initial article, I reflected on my positive memories of being a Claude Resources‘ shareholder.  BMR subscribers also pocketed huge gains measuring up to +500%.

Claude’s dramatic turnaround and ultimate sale to SSR Mining (SSRM, TSX) for $337 million happened while Brian Skanderbeg was in charge.

He had some help from an important new discovery at Santoy Gap, a capable mining team, plus a nice turn in Gold prices, but Skanderbeg’s leadership must have been an X-factor!  Over a period of 18 months, production increased and costs decreased considerably.  Claude’s stock rallied from 25 cents to more than $2.

Obviously, not being an employee of the company I can’t speak to every detail.  Maybe I’m giving Skanderbeg too much credit, who’s to say?  I just don’t think there’s any way that type of turnaround would have happened under Claude’s former CEO.

As I see it, though, Skanderbeg’s really, really good – exceptional in fact (and in this business, it also helps to have a little luck on your side, too, but the good ones tend to create their own luck).  Winners also tend to keep on winning!  So Skanderbeg’s the kind of guy you’d want to have managing one of your businesses (owning GFG makes you part owner). 

Between Skanderbeg and 2 of his board members, Jonathan Awde and Stephen de Jong, more than $1 billion worth of deal making has transpired.  Under de Jong’s leadership, Integra was the first company in way too long to replicate Rob McEwen’s “Goldcorp Challenge“.  That creative, yet proven idea, surely contributed toward Integra being acquired for $590 million (it also bought millions worth of free publicity for the stock!).  Jonathan Awde has more of a sales and trading background, but that hasn’t stopped him from running one of the industry’s best performing Gold stocks, Gold Standard Ventures (GSV, TSX).  Understanding the markets has probably helped him and GSV.

I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but there’s gotta be enough clues here to believe these guys have some market smarts.

To further underscore the Skanderbeg factor, it’s likely a combination of his winning personality and technical smarts that attracted such a strong board and management team.  They’re dedicating time, brain power and money to GFG for a reason.

It’s got to be something…

It can’t be only that they just like the properties, as good as they are.  Skanderbeg is a huge factor.

Much of the leadership team has been accumulating shares in the open market all year.  They’ve been averaging down since 60+ cents (and here we sit at 27 cents).  Awde owns nearly 4 million shares and Skanderbeg has about 2.5 million.

We won’t attempt to complete a full behavioral analysis on GFG today, but it’s safe to say the stock has bottomed.  Since touching 20 cents in July, we’ve seen higher lows and higher highs, so the odds of it dropping below 22 cents (its lowest closing price) are extremely low.

Here’s why GFG is ripe for higher prices…

Highlights from my conversation with CEO Brian Skanderbeg!

GFG always knew it would need a partner to be successful in advancing Rattlesnake Hills toward becoming a mine.  The only question was, who would be that strategic partner?

Since January, the search and courtship process has been ongoing.  Numerous companies took the time to visit, but Newcrest Mining (NCM, ASX) ultimately stood above the rest.  Now, finally, as of last week, GFG shareholders have a sense of certainty Rattlesnake Hills can move forward without further dilution to GFG.

Here’s a link to the terms of the deal.

Newcrest, one of Australia’s largest Gold miners, became the obvious choice because of their size and experience with alkaline deposits (Rattlesnake Hills is an alkaline deposit).  With a market cap of $15 billion, Newcrest has the financial muscle to really make a go of this.  If the deal runs its course they’ll be investing upwards of $100 million into Rattlesnake Hills.  With that kind of number this project obviously has the potential to be big, even big enough to move the needle for a company already producing nearly 2.5 million ounces annually from 4 mines.

Newcrest brings new ideas to the table!

Even though 100,000 m have been drilled to date, nearly all of it has been quite shallow.  Very few holes have been drilled below a depth of 300 m.

By the sounds of it, they’re going deep right out of the gates.  Come later this month, and likely thru November, Newcrest could be drilling several 1,000 m holes!  At those depths you could be finding a potential porphyry system, according to Skanderbeg, and porphyry deposits often have higher grades within an alkaline system (I didn’t know that).  Newcrest will be using its advanced technology and targeting capabilities in the hopes of making a BIG new discovery at Rattlesnake Hills.

They’ll be going deep and drilling some new search spaces, open land that’s never been drilled (and there’s lots of it!).

GFG will be the operator and earn a 10% management fee.  That’s important because GFG will have access to all the data generated during exploration (sometimes information isn’t always shared so freely in a JV), plus they’ll earn a few extra bucks.

Also a sign of strength, as per the deal’s terms – Newcrest doesn’t earn any interest in Rattlesnake Hills (zero) until they spend $2.6 million U.S., and they’ve got 18 months to do it.  Assuming Newcrest completes this “option phase”, the “earn-in” phase begins.

Compared to what many majors have been doing lately, kind of stealing 19.9% equity stakes, this deal is structured in a way that it should create value right away for GFG (especially if there’s a deep discovery made!) because $2.6 million will be invested in the ground before any equity interests are exchanged.  And in GFG’s case, Newcrest will take equity in the project, not the company.

They Planned Ahead!

Do you think Emeril Lagasse just throws his ingredients together?

He could, I’d imagine, and it would work out fine. But no serious chef would prepare an important meal without planning ahead!  Yet, unfortunately, it seems many “executives” in the resource industry just wing it.  Based on their actions, and inactions, one can only assume 80% of them don’t take their job as seriously as a restaurateur would.

…but that 80/20 rule works for pretty much everything.

We can’t understate how important it is to hook up with the right people.  Great people can work their way out of even the worst situations and come out clean, or ahead!  Bad people (even mediocre people) seem to find a way to screw up the best opportunities, even when it’s handed to them on a Silver platter!  Business is risky enough as it is, especially exploration and mining.  Having the wrong people work for you (and with you) is almost always a recipe for disaster.

Of course, the elephant in the room is how the hell do you identify a “great person”?

It’s not easy. With enough experience some people can trust their gut.  But aside from that you’ve got to go based off track record, which makes it tough on “newbies” that haven’t established a track record yet.

…on a side note, I heard a story (from a fairly reliable source) that Brian Dalton, Founder and CEO of Altius Minerals (ALS, TSX) often slept in his car so more money could be spent exploring and less on hotels.  Now there’s a strong indicator a newbie who doesn’t have a track record could be worth backing!

Knowing Rattlesnake Hills would be optioned out, Skanderbeg set the table by consolidating a large land position in Timmins!

Think about it…if GFG sealed a deal with Newcrest without having a spicy new discovery story to tell, the stock would be milk toast.

Mr. Market would have been, like, congratulations on your JV, but BORING!  Now you’re hostage to a major mining company’s timeline (and they’ve got a lot more time than you do).  Get back to us 8 years from now!

Here’s the unsettling news!

Most people in this industry would have never thought that far ahead!  They would have been shocked when their stock dropped on such “good news” (as GFG would have done without having West Timmins).  Then they would have blamed their poor decision making on something else, like a BAD market.  So it’s not only that most people who are playing resource professionals in real life don’t understand the market: they don’t understand the market, marketing, or strategic thinking (not good qualities to have if you won’t to run a successful restaurant either).

GFG has outlined DISTRICT SCALE targets and has the opportunity to make a new grassroots discovery in West Timmins this year!

And Mr. Market is very hungry for grassroots discoveries.

Before making a new discovery, almost always, you’ve got to build a model for the district.

Skanderbeg and his team have been working on that since last year, when they announced their plans to consolidate a land package in the area (a general area where 70 million ounces have been mined to date!).

Till sampling generates 5 regional targets for GFG.

An 8,000 m drill program starts soon (late September or October)!

An important early stage exploration tool for modeling a district is the “till sample”.  With a till sample you dig a small hole about a metre deep.  Then you send roughly 10 kilograms worth of that material to an assay lab for testing.  In the process you’re hoping to find grains of Gold (plus indicator minerals) which can be classified into size and shape (like roundness).  You also need someone who’s an expert at geochemistry to interpret the results.

Till samples are more data rich than most other types of samples, so they’re more expensive at about $1,000 each.  Pricey, but till samples are less biased, say, compared to a chip sample.  Therefore it’s a truer sampling method for regional targeting.

GFG has used this method/strategy quite successfully to generate 5+ regional targets thus far.  Drilling a 5,000 to 8,000 m program should begin within weeks (or before the end of October at the latest).

In conclusion: Thanks to strategic planning and a pinch of market savvy, GFG has two unique items on its menu that should be appetizing to a broad base of resource investors.  Each one is located in a jurisdiction that encourages mining.  Rattlesnake Hills features a major mining company that could dish out upwards of $100 million in exploration.  It’s a proven discovery and an estimated 750,000+ ounce resource today with huge upside potential (GFG can squirrel away 25% at little to no cost).  All good, and West Timmins isn’t to be overshadowed.  It’s a 68,000 hectare land package that’s never been thoroughly explored with modern day methods.  Even a whiff of discovery there would be very rewarding to shareholders of GFG.

About the writer:  Daniel T. Cook, who joined BMR in June of 2016, hails from the great state of Texas and now resides in beautiful Utah.  Daniel has a strong passion for the junior resource sector and has followed the Venture and broader markets with great interest since he bought his first stock 18 years ago at the age of 12.  He became a licensed investment professional who was a Bright Future’s Scholar at the University of Central Florida, graduating in 2010 with a major in Finance.

Note:  Daniel and Jon hold share positions in GFG.

Check back later today for Daniel’s Den and visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information!

1. Gold has traded between $1,193 and $1,202 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion has climbed $8 an ounce to  $1,201…Silver is up 14 cents at $14.17…Copper, Nickel and Zinc are all off modestly at $2.66, $5.59 and $1.04, respectively, while Cobalt is steady at $28.46…the Prime Minister of the DRC will sign a decree in the coming days to designate Cobalt and other minerals as “strategic” and therefore subject to higher royalties, according to Congo Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu…the change is part of a new mining code which companies including Glencore and Randgold vigorously oppose as it eliminates tax exemptions and hikes royalties and profit taxes – when governments start doing that, investment quickly heads to friendlier jurisdictions…Crude Oil is up 52 cents at $69.51 while the U.S. Dollar Index is off slightly at 94.94…

2. Turkey dumps Gold:  Turkish banks and other types of lenders sold up to $4.5 billion worth of Gold reserves during the past 3 months, confirming speculation, in order to prevent a liquidity crisis amid the plummeting lira, according to Bloomberg…“The commercial banks were probably switching to more liquid assets, given what has happened to the lira,” Capital Economics senior emerging markets economist Jason Tuvey told Bloomberg…“There’s been concern at the commercial banks over their external debt burden, which has been reflected in the rising bank bond yields”…a sharp drop in the lira this summer was partly triggered by markets’ concerns over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s influence over monetary policy…Bloomberg pointed out that the central bank of Turkey’s weekly Gold holdings fell nearly 20% since mid-June to 15.5 million ounces, noting that the move was accompanied by the central bank’s decision to lower reserve requirements for banks…Turkey plays an important role in the precious metals market and is one of the top 20 sovereign Gold holders as well as the world’s 5th largest Gold consumer, according to the World Gold Council (WGC)…

3. Gold demand in India, the world’s 2nd-biggest Gold-consuming nation, picked up in August but may be faltering again this month, according to Commerzbank…analysts note that India’s Finance Ministry reported that the country imported significantly more Gold in August…“Advantage was clearly taken of the fall in local prices to an 8-month low in August to replenish stocks,” Commerzbank says…“Demand in India already appears to be faltering again due to the higher prices, however.  Local Gold traders are reporting negative premiums for the first time in over a month”…meanwhile, the ratio of Comex paper claims to physical Gold continues to rise, currently at 325 to 1 versus the average of 152 to 1 year-to-date…the percentage of Gold available for delivery as a percentage of total COMEX Gold inventory is down to 1.73, versus 12% at the beginning of the year and the 5-year average of 9.82%…with such a limited supply of physical Gold to potentially settle trades, a powerful short squeeze will likely occur before year-end…

4. The Eskay Camp is heating up again…Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) is up strongly in early trading following news post-market Friday…3 drill rigs are currently “building out the discovery” at Nickel Mountain with the first major exploration update of the 2018 program expected sometime this week…President and CEO Steve Regoci also announced the company has accelerated the buyout of its 2016 option to purchase 100% of the E&L claims totalling 766 hectares…GGI now owns 100% of 6,300 hectares (63 sq. km) that comprise the Nickel Mountain Project, with no NSR royalty on nearly 90% of the project…the 2% NSR applicable on a vast majority of a 766-hectare block can be bought back for just $1 million…on 1 claim within that block covering the historic deposit, SSR Mining (SSRM, TSX) holds a 1% NSR, while half of the other 1% NSR royalty attached to that claim can be purchased from the vendor for $500,000…meanwhile, GGI neighbor Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V) has also leaped out of the gate this morning…MTS has been drilling aggressively at its Kirkham Project (multiple targets) and is expected to commence drilling at Thunder North soon…Skeena Resources (SKE, TSX-V), currently drilling at Eskay Creek just a few km from the Garibaldi camp, was halted pre-market this morning, pending news…

5. The world’s largest beverage company may be the next industry giant to jump into the cannabis drinks market…Coca-Cola (KO, NYSE) says it’s monitoring the nascent industry and is interested in CBD – the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – for beverages as soda consumption slows…the Atlanta-based soft drinks maker is in talks with Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis (ACB, TSX) to develop the drinks, according to a report from BNN Bloomberg Television, which helps explain the heavy trading action in ACB this morning…“We are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world,” Coca-Cola spokesman Kent Landers said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News…“The space is evolving quickly.  No decisions have been made at this time”…

6. The Dow is down 34 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…in Toronto, the TSX has gained 66 points…Imperial Metals (III, TSX) announced this morning that it has commenced a financial and business restructuring process…steps have also been taken to both rationalize and improve operations at both of the company’s operating mines, measures that are expected to have a positive operational impact in the 4th quarter of 2018…a special committee has also been authorized to identify, consider, negotiate and potentially implement all strategic alternatives including sales of some of the company’s assets, joint ventures, a recapitalization, and a sale or merger of the company…III is up slightly at $1.20 through the first 30 minutes of trading…Canopy Growth (WEED, TSX; CGC, NYSE) announced this morning that that its Tweed Farms site has received licence amendments approving all remaining greenhouse space, bringing the company’s total licensed footprint to approximately 3.2 million square feet…WEED’s Canadian platform is now 57% licensed with the balance under aggressive development toward the previously announced 5.6 million sq. ft. target production footprint…the Venture Exchange, which has climbed in 16 out of the last 21 sessions, is up 6 points at 721 as of 7:00 am Pacific…Aldershot Resources (ALZ, TSX-V), once a fledgling resource deal going nowhere with poor management, has hit new highs in early trading…it’s now doing business as Solo Growth Corp. which intends to leverage its extensive real estate expertise and operational acumen to become a premier retailer and a trusted destination for adult-use cannabis…the company is fully financed for the planned opening of over 60 retail cannabis locations across Alberta by the end of 2020, complemented by a calculated expansion into Ontario in 2019…

7.  White Gold (WGO, TSX-V) has intersected 56.2 g/t Au over 3 m, within a broader near-surface intercept of 17.3 g/t over 10.7 m, at its JP Ross Property (Vertigo target) in the Yukon…75 m to the west, another hole cut 45 g/t Au over 3 m within a wider intercept of 9.6 g/t Au over 15.2 m…those results are among the highest grades ever encountered in the Yukon’s White Gold district…the rotary arblast (RAB) drilling followed top on high-grade GT probe results on the property…at least 10 individual mineral zones have been recognized over a 350 m by 1,000-m area, with individual zones having been traced up to 400 m along strike…all zones are open along strike and at depth…more assay results from RAB drilling are pending while an RC drill has moved to the Vertigo target to further test the new discovery…WGO is up a nickel at 70 cents through the first 30 minutes of trading…

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