Mining Company Stock Picks

The following article highlights current hot topic, the rising price of gold and the sliding dollar. For those considering investment opportunities, the article discusses Van Eck Global’s newly formed Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ, an exchange-traded fund that offers investors a stake in 38 small and mid-sized gold miners.

Read the full context below.

Gold prices are closely watched these days, especially by Uncle Sam. There’s a new ETF that lets you take advantage of all the speculative action.
By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore – (TFN): Gold is a popular topic these days. With the dollar sitting at 15-month lows and America’s debt growing by staggering proportions, bullion bugs have every reason to send prices higher.

As gold prices continue to stretch further and further into record high territory, Washington is screaming, “Go, baby, go!”

That’s because our leaders know they are sitting on the largest stash of gold anywhere in the world. The higher gold prices go, the more they can borrow and the more they can spend.
At last report, Geithner and his Treasury were sitting on 261.5 million ounces of gold.

Sounds like a bunch, right? But when you multiply it by the $1,115 each ounce is currently trading for, the figure comes out to just about $290 billion.
That’s a ton of money for you and I.

But for Washington it’s a drop in an ocean of debt. If the Treasury suddenly unloaded its gold, the proceeds would merely keep Uncle Sam from issuing debt for just two weeks or so.

Error: Insufficient collateral

Other than our word, gold is about the only collateral the country has these days. With $12 trillion in debt and just $300 billion to back it up, lenders have got to be getting nervous.
That is exactly why Geithner may say he is for a stronger dollar, but is doing very little to stop its slide. A weak dollar is good for gold prices, which is good for a country increasingly burdened by debt.

Fortunately you and I can take advantage of the country’s unspoken desire to send gold higher.

By now, you must be aware of the many ways to take advantage of a bullish gold market. There’s bullion, coins, mining stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, you name it.

But you may not have heard of Van Eck’s latest ETF, Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (NYSE:GDXJ). The exchange-traded fund offers investors a stake in 38 small and mid-sized gold miners.
For investors looking for a bit of extra leverage while playing the gold market, the ETF is a good play.

Junior miners are speculative companies. Most of them have yet to produce gold and some may be more than a decade away from production. But when they do prove an economical find, oh boy, hold onto your hat.

Even though the Junior Miner’s ETF was debuted just yesterday, it is already proving popular. It is a sign that many of today’s investors are looking for a bit more speculation and a shot at the large gain potential held by the nation’s smallest publicly traded firms.

That is fantastic news for many of our readers. After all, they just became the first members of our latest service, Penny Stock Confidential, a members-only advisory that seeks out and recommends the best of the nation’s up-and-comers.

The new gold ETF may not be in our portfolio, but you can bet some of its holdings will wind up on our “buy” list.

Gold is a good buy, but small, speculative gold miners are even better.

Below is an article highlighting Jim Cramer’s stock picks from the lightening round session of his show, Mad Money.

Stocks discussed on the lightning round session of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV Program, Wednesday November 11.

Bullish Calls:
Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ): “I want to move you into the mosaic… the basket of junior gold miners which is GDXJ.”

Ford Motor (F): “We are Ford People on this show.”

ADC Telecommunications (ADCT): “I cannot believe this stock is in such a permanent downtrend. I think it is quite wrong. It has got a lot of cash, it has got good business.”

Wynn Resorts (WYNN): “We like Wynn Resorts, you also get Macau… WYNN, you get the special dividend too…I want you to sell yours… and buy mine.”

Foster Wheeler (FWLT): “Alright, here is what we do; we take our invested capital out and we play with the rest of the house’s money. I liked the quarter very much.”

Colgate-Palmolive (CL): “Yes, absolutely, it is a great stock. It hits a 52 week high regularly. I do not talk about it enough; that is my bad. Colgate is a brilliantly-run company that has done a fabulous job for shareholders… and I recommend it heartily.”

Bearish Calls:
Silver Wheaton (SLW): “Okay, Silver Wheaton has been a hot stock but it is not a great stock, and as a matter of fact, I do not want you to own an individual gold or silver stock.”

Toyota Motor (TM): “We are Ford people on this show…we are not going to recommend Toyota…”

Van Eck Global, the New York based U.S. asset manager has announced the creation of a junior gold miners exchange-traded fund (EFT), which will trade under the ticker symbol GDXJ on Wednesday on the NYSE Arca platform.

Van Eck created the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ because as world gold production has been decreasing, demand is on the rise, and junior exploration companies have both high potential for new production as well as they are possible takeover targets.

Read the full context of the article below.

NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) – U.S. asset manager Van Eck Global said onWednesday it has launched a junior gold miners exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the New York Stock Exchange, focusing on small- and mid-cap gold deposit developers. The New York-based company said the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ has started trading under the ticker symbol GDXJ on Wednesday onthe NYSE Arca platform, where many other ETFs are listed.

“At a time when global gold production has been dropping while demandhas been on the rise, young companies with attractive projects arepotentially both a key source of new gold production and attractivetakeover targets,” said Jan van Eck, principal at Van Eck Global.

Van Eck said that the ETF focuses on early-stage companies which are actively engaged in developing new gold sources through explorations. Top index constituents for the ETF include Coeur D’Alene Mines (CDE.N), Silver Standard (SSO.TO) and New Gold (NGD.TO), the company said.

Van Eck manages a total of $9.7 billion fund assets under its MarketVectors ETFs.

The article below examines the rise in demand for gold as confidence in paper currency weakens. Countries like China, India and Russia are working to strengthen gold reserves and, for the first time in 40 years, countries and individuals are physically holding gold for future security.

Below is the full text of the article.

Gold Market Reaching The Breaking Point
by Eric deCarbonnel

Back in January, I wrote about the significance of gold breaking above $1000 again.

Gold

Rising demand for physical gold is a threat to the dollar because it signals a growing loss of confidence in the paper currency. It is also key to understand that gold prices aren’t rising because of the changing fundamentals of gold, but because of the changing fundamentals of the dollar. In other words, gold isn’t rallying, THE DOLLAR IS FALLING.

Gold is history’s oldest and most stable currency. Its utility is simply that it is rare, and for 5,000 years people have used it to store value for the future. All the gold that has ever been produced would fit in a solid cube of about 19 meters on each side, and this cube is only expanding by about 12 centimeters a year (2%). Since the value and supply of gold itself are fairly constant over long periods of time, the main driver of gold price fluctuations is the ebb and flow of confidence in paper currencies. Rising gold prices are, therefore, a signal of a weakening currency, which is why governments hate them and try to suppress them.

Right now, there is unprecedented worldwide demand for physical precious metals. As a result of this surging demand, gold futures have experiencing backwardation, a rare market condition where gold futures trade under spot prices. It is a signal that gold prices are headed higher and that confidence in our currency is fading quickly. When gold prices break above 1,000 again, the event should be recognized for what it is: the herald of a dollar collapse.
Gold is becoming money once again. The market for the standard gold one-ounce coin is no longer fragmented. Both the ugliest and the most beautiful gold coins are traded strictly by the quantity and quality of metal content, disregarding the outward appearance of the coin. Even Indian gold buyers, who, for years, considered buying jewellery to be the best investment option, are shifting from buying gold jewellery to gold coins.

China is increasing its gold reserves, and India has just bought 200 tons of gold from the IMF. Russia had publicly stated its intention to increase its ratio of gold reserves from 2% to 10%, and Brazil is also considering IMF purchases. Gold inflows into central bank vaults are increasing.

It has been more than 40 years since governments and individuals concerned themselves about physically holding gold, but confidence in the dollar is falling and investors are being “dragged kicking and screaming into the bullish camp” as gold continues to break to the upside.

Gold demand is exploding as Investors turn to gold

Investors around the world are investing in gold bars for their safety. Big investors like David Einhorn are also turning to gold as an attractive alternative to cash, as falling interest rates on savings reduce the opportunity cost of holding gold, a non-interest bearing asset. As Mr. Einhorn put it, “Picking these currencies is like choosing my favorite dental procedure. And I decided holding gold is better than holding cash, especially now that both offer no yield.” Finally, a chaotic scramble to secure physical gold has also been unleashed by negative real interest rates (below inflation) which have upset the gold “leasing” machinery in the gold industry, creating a sustained market squeeze.

Surging demand is spurring a rush at Swiss gold refiners, who cannot work fast enough to meet demand. Mints are seeing a sharp rise in sales this year due to interest so strong that dealers are reported a shortage of products such as Krugerrands and one-ounce bullion coins. One German firm is even planning gold ATMs to meet growing demand, with 500 “Gold-to-Go” ATMs to be set up in Germany, Switzerland and Austria this year.

The rush to buy gold is also filling Swiss bank vaults. Swiss gold ETFs (ZKB Gold ETF – SWX and Julius Baer Physical Gold – SWX) are moving large quantities of gold out of London and into Zurich (70 tons as of last may), and they are running out of secure vaulting space (Why doesn’t GLD ever have any storage issues? Think about it). This shortage of secure storage extends across Swiss bank system with even gold clearing providers like SIS Clear (who only deals with banking counterparties) running out of space.

China is now the driving force in gold market

China is now the fastest growing market for gold, with Beijing’s gold markets reporting record sales. As the Chinese economy rebounds from the global recession this year, China is overtaking India to become the world’s top gold consumer. The Chinese authorities are reinforcing this strong demand for precious metals by pushing their citizens to buy gold.

[China’s] main state-owned television company is promoting gold and silver as an investment. The government is telling its people to buy gold. What’s more, every bank will sell gold and silver bullion bars in four different sizes to individuals, and China’s largest bank, the ICBC, is setting up a precious metals department to handle growing investor demand.
…
And if the Chinese authorities are pushing gold as an investment to their citizens, it obliges them to ‘protect’ the gold price, as Lawrence Williams of Mineweb notes. It would be tantamount to a betrayal if it fell, never mind the loss of all-important face that would result. Just as the US and the UK stepped in to bail out its banks, so China will be duty bound to prop up gold.

But the surprising strength we have seen in gold over the summer – we never really got the summer low I was looking for – suggests that somebody is already ‘buying the dips’ anyway. Indeed, the gold price has this week repeatedly gone through $1,000 during overnight trading, only to fall back when the US markets open. That indicates that the buyers are out east somewhere. I have written about this before: Gold is shifting from West to East – along with the balance of power.
China is now the driving force in the gold market and can be counted on to buy whenever there is a price dip, putting a floor under any correction. So don’t expect to ever see prices beneath $900 again. With growing Chinese demand, Gold is never going back down.

Looking at graphs of the price of gold, it is easy to see Chinese buying drive the market higher. For example, it was Asian buying which drove gold over $1,000 on September 8.

Scary developments in gold

What is really scary about gold breaking the $1000 barrier is that it happened in the face of a flood short selling in US futures markets. So while gold was being driven up by Hong Kong buying, it has also been getting killed by unrelenting selling during COMEX hours. As can be seen in the chart below, the quantity of COMEX gold futures contracts has begun spiraling out of control since the end of August.

Open interest in gold futures is EXPLODING, yet gold prices have broken over $1000 and are STILL going up! Demand for gold is reaching a level that cannot be stop as faith in the dollar disintegrates.

Investors emptying COMEX warehouses

In order to secure gold at the lowest possible price, US investors are turning to the complex, lengthy process of taking delivery of gold futures contracts. By buying gold contracts in deliverable months and wait for them to expire, sophisticated investors are emptying COMEX warehouses. The incredible hassle of trying to pry gold out of Comex warehouses appeals to investors because no other place in the US offers a price equal to the Comex exchange. Nothing even comes close.

Guiding investors through the delivery process are gold and silver brokers like JB Slear who specialize in helping high net worth clients take delivery of gold and silver futures contracts. These advisors are necessary because, as investors are discovering, that there is trouble at Comex warehouses:

1) Delays and complications in the delivery process have become increasingly commonplace. It is taking weeks and possibly even months, and sometimes dozen of inquiries, for investors to get the gold they already own out of the warehouse.

2) More restrictions are being applied to overseas buyers requesting delivery.

3) Some brokerages will not help with the delivery process or refuse to help even after the commissions are paid.

4) The cost in just about everything “Comex” is increasing

5) Investors withdrawing their 100oz. bars from the Comex depositories are being given bars with incorrect serial numbers or weight.

With the difficulties and irregularities in the COMEX delivery process, many, including gold brokers like JB Slear, have doubts as to whether there is gold in inventory to match existing warehouse receipts.

Like others involved in the gold market, Slear believes that there are real shortages of precious metals that have yet to be exposed. But he recognises the futures market as a last resort for people who can’t buy metals at reasonable prices elsewhere: “If a buyer wants to buy a physical product and cannot find it locally, he or she can go to my firm’s web address to transact that business. My business model is a last resort purchase arena for those who need to protect their personal wealth.”

He says there is anecdotal evidence that this activity is widespread enough to be affecting warehouse stocks as high net worth clients remove metal from warehouses.

But, he [JB Slear] says that the activity has yet to show up on Comex warehouse stock data: “I find it interesting that the Comex numbers don’t show any movement at all as far as deliveries are concerned. I have spoken to three of the warehouses and each facility confirms the fact that the metals are being moved out, and in size. One of my clients says that when she went to “will call” her purchase, that the “will call” staging area for deliveries was stacked high and busy. Seems curious that the warehouse numbers reported through Comex, are not showing any reductions. In the Comex defence though, I don’t know how long it takes them to account for the movements. I just keep my head down and focus on the job allotted me. That is to get the gold into my clients’ hands as fast as possible.
It is absurd that, as gold pours out of the Comex, warehouse stock data shows nothing. The chart below shows gold inventory levels at COMEX warehouse over the last year. Notice, above all, the lack of change.

Although warehouse facilities themselves confirm large gold outflows every month, the activity does not show up on COMEX warehouse stock data. Over the last year, total gold in COMEX warehouses INCREASED 10% or 24 tons (868,000 oz). See for yourself:

COMEX Gold Stocks – October 30, 2008 (total=8.56 million oz)
COMEX Gold Stocks – October 27, 2009 (total=9.43 million oz)

(excel documents downloaded from NYMEX’s website)

The sad part is that, even if Comex warehouse data is to be believed, there is only 66 tons of registered gold backing 1465 tons of gold promised for future delivery. So according to official data, there only enough gold to cover 4.5% of outstanding Comex gold futures contracts.

London Vaults also being emptied

Like Comex warehouses, London gold vaults are being emptied. Hong Kong is pulling all its physical gold holdings from depositories in the UK and moving their $63 million worth of gold home to newly built vaults near the city’s airport. Dubai is also planning to withdraw its gold from London. Meanwhile, private investors and Swiss ETFs continue to move gold out of London.

On top of investor demand prying gold out London and COMEX vaults, Germany and Switzerland are reportedly demanding the return of their custodial gold from the US. In the face of this onslaught of demand, the US/UK gold markets are crumbling

Widespread Abnormalities Across Gold Market

The strange activity in gold markets isn’t limited to out of control open interest on gold futures or fictitious Comex warehouse data. Things are going wrong across the gold market.

1) Early this year, The NYSE-Liffe futures exchange ran out of 1 kg bars of gold. Instead of receiving 1 kg bars as per mini-gold futures contracts, clearing members are now being allowed to hand out little slips of paper, called “warehouse depository receipts” (WDR), which gives the holder 1/3rd interest in a 100 ounce bar. Customers are not being allowed to take delivery, unless they can accumulate 3 WDRs. The NYSE effectively substituted the supply of 100 ounce bars for the supply of 1kg bars, which has run out. NYSE-Liffe mini-gold (YG) contract specifications were altered some time after December 31, 2008 to hide this default.

2) On March 19, the Fed announced its plan to purchase $300 billion long-term Treasuries, $750 billion (toxic) mortgage-backed securities, and $100 billion (toxic) debt issued by Fannie and Freddie. This announcement was INCREADIBLY BEARISH for the dollar and bullish for gold. In the following two days, someone increased open interest in gold futures by shorting 34 tons (1,209,600 ounces) of gold. Who in their right mind would short gold following the fed’s plan to go on a buying binge and load up its balance sheet with toxic debt?

3) Two major events happened in the gold market at the end of March this year:

A) On March 31st, Deutsche Bank delivered 850,000 ounces of gold to Comex contract holders.
B) On March 31st, ECB announced it had “sold” 35.5 tons of gold (1,141,351 ounces).

Circumstantial evidence and common sense suggest that the European Central Bank sold its gold to Deutsche Bank and saved the bank and the Comex from default.

4) In the last three weeks, significant irregularities significant irregularities have appeared in the gold bar registry of GLD, with the length of the published GLD bar list going from 1,381 pages on September 25, to 208 pages on October 2, then back to 855 pages on October 14.

5) GFMS data on the volume of gold traded on the London market (about 90% of gold traded worldwide) does not tally with the estimated amount of gold bars which conform to “London Good Delivery” standard.

6) On October 29, 2008, the TOCOM added a ‘physically backed commodity ETF’ as a possible physical for EFP (Exchange of Futures for Physicals) transactions at the exchange. An exchange for physicals (EFP) transaction is when a client gives an IOU for a physical commodity to a broker and that broker opens a short position on the futures exchange in that commodity. Normally, Exchange for physicals is the legitimate process used by producers to sell futures against their future production. However, if the IOU portion of the EFP is not from a commodity producer (ie: borrowed a GLD Ishares), then you have a problem.]

In summary, New York and Tokyo commodity exchanges are now permitting their gold futures contracts to be settled not in real metal but in shares of gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This essentially allows those short gold (and the exchanges themselves, which guarantee futures contracts) the ability to transfer their obligations to third parties (commodity ETFs) that may not have the metal they claim to have.

7) Half a ton of gold has disappeared from the Royal Canadian Mint. An independent audit released on July 3rd found no accounting, bookkeeping, or other internal errors could account for about 17,500 troy ounces of gold missing from the mints inventory. Fearing a “run” on its gold, Royal Canadian Mint is reassuring customers their deposits are fully accounted for and in secure vaults. A RCMP investigation into the $15.3 million missing gold is “ongoing.” (If half a ton of gold could disappear from one of the most secure buildings in Canada, then Isn’t it about time for US gold reserves to be audited?)

Rob Kirby is reporting some VERY SERIOUS developments in the gold market, which, although I have no way to verify them, seem creditable in light of everything else that I KNOW is going):

A) During the week of Oct. 5, some large allocated physical transactions that were settled in London under VERY strange circumstances. Banks like JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank (who sold endless amounts of gold futures at prices of 950 to 1025) and then tried to make “side deals” with the folks they sold the futures to – offering them spot + 25 % (around 1,275 per ounce) to settle in fiat – after their counter parties demanded substantial tonnage of physical gold bullion.
B) A number of large interests have demanded audits of gold stored in London.
C) In an Asian depository, they’ve found “Good Delivery” bricks that had been gutted and filled with tungsten.

9) US-based clearing house CME Group Inc. is allowing physical gold to be used as collateral for margin requirements on all exchange products. This new CME policy is an act of desperation. The decision to “allow physical gold to be used as collateral for margin requirements on all exchange products”, against a backdrop of record prices and widespread abnormalities in gold markets, screams that something is wrong. The policy would never have been proposed unless JPMorgan really, really needed gold.

10) Statistics from United States Geological Survey show that the united states has exported 5000 metric tons of “Gold compounds” in last two years, and the US Census Bureau has assigned an astronomically high value to these exports. Until someone explains to me what these “gold compounds” are, I am going to assume that they were half the US gold reserves leaving the country.

The gold market is an accident waiting to happen

Basically, the gold market operates on a fractional reserve basis. On average there are several claims of ownership on each gold bar conforming to London Good Delivery (LGD) standard on the “pool” of gold which acts as liquidity for the massive OTC gold trade based in London. Similarly, there are several claims of ownership on the gold bars in Comex wherehouses. If a sufficient number of market participants become concerned about this (which is happening) and there is a stampede to take delivery of physical bullion, the entire gold market will come crashing down, taking most of the global financial system with it. Market failure isn’t a risk, it is a certainty. The unregulated gold market is an accident waiting to happen.

Gold Fields has set a five-year time frame goal to develop a mine as a result of its greenfields exploration program, which has so far plotted four key targets.

Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland said the group had never before had such a promising inventory of exploration projects. “I am hoping like hell one of these projects will become a mine,” he commented to the Gold Fields Analyst Day in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Gold Fields strategic goal is to reach total annual production to between 5.2 million ounces (moz) and 5.5moz by 2014. The production would be split geographically with 1 moz each coming from South America, West Africa and Australasia and the balance from South Africa.

Read the entire text of the article below:

GOLD Fields is hoping to develop at least one new mine within five years as a result of its greenfields exploration programme, which has so far delineated four key targets.

These are Chucapaca in Peru, Yanfolio in Mali, Talas in Kyrgyzstan and East Lachlan in New South Wales, Australia.

Addressing the Gold Fields Analyst Day in Johannesburg on Tuesday, CEO Nick Holland said the group had never before had such a promising inventory of exploration projects.

“I am hoping like hell one of these projects will become a mine,” he commented.

Holland said Gold Fields’s strategic aim was to push total annual production to between 5.2 million ounces (moz) and 5.5moz by 2014.

This would be split geographically with 1 moz each coming from South America, West Africa and Australasia and the balance from South Africa.

Head of exploration Tommy McKeith told the meeting that over the past 16 years the gold industry had relied heavily on junior companies to carry out greenfields exploration, but these had not really delivered the goods.

According to statistics presented by McKeith, about 59% of the total funds allocated to greenfields gold exploration from 1992 to 2008 were spent by juniors compared with about 40% by major and intermediate gold companies.

Yet the average size of discoveries made by the majors was 3.2moz compared with 2.2moz by the juniors, and the average discovery cost was $33/oz for the majors and $80/oz for the juniors.

“You have had more industry funding applied to less effective exploration,” he said.

McKeith – who left Gold Fields in 2006 to run Australian gold junior explorer Troy Resources before returning to Gold Fields as head of exploration – attributed the difference to volatile funding conditions in the financial markets and the different “investment objectives” of the exploration companies.

He said: “Junior companies need to put ounces of gold on the books quickly so they can be valued by the market. They tend to go looking for quick hits in existing camps (gold-mining regions) instead of looking for quality grassroots projects.

“They want to grow projects as quickly as possible and then sell them.” This is because unlike the junior companies, major firms have the luxury of building exploration portfolios “given the situation the juniors face, where money may be available today but not tomorrow”.

McKeith said Gold Fields had increased its exploration budget for the current 2010 financial year to $120m. Of this, $80m was being spent on greenfields projects and $40m on projects near existing mines.

He highlighted exploration work being carried out around Gold Fields St Ives mine in Western Australia as “the best recent gold discovery in Australia”.

McKeith said the exploration work there had developed a new gold camp containing 3moz “and growing” at Argo-Athena, which was located within the St Ives lease.

On the greenfields side, McKeith highlighted the Chucapaca project in Peru, a joint venture between Gold Fields and Buenaventura which he described as a “new district”.

The initial work carried out so far on the first target at Canahuire had shown that this was part of a much bigger system. An interim resource and scoping study on Canahuire is due to be completed by end-June 2010.

McKeith was also upbeat on the Yanfolila project in Mali, which Gold Fields now owned 100% after the takeover of Glencar Mining for ₤28m.

He described some of the gold grades reported from drilling intersections made so far as “bonanza grades reminiscent of the early days at Morila”, but added the geology was “poorly understood”.

McKeith added there were several “camp scale” targets to be assessed at Yanfolila, which he described as a “developing district”.

Rodinia Minerals, a growing clean-energy company currently focusing on the world’s rapidly-growing demand for uranium and lithium through explorations mainly in the Western United States has signed a letter of intent with a private party in Argentina to enter into an option agreement to acquire a 100 percent interest in approximately 4,500 hectares of the Salinas Grandes salt flat (salar) in the province of Jujuy, Argentina.

William Randall, Vice President of Exploration for Rodinia Minerals believes there is unexplored potential for lithium reserves, “To our knowledge, the salar has never been explored for lithium at depth. The company believes in the future production potential of the salar based on our understanding that the brines commence at depths between 0.2 metres and 3.0 metres from surface.”

Read the full text of the article below:

Astral Mining (AA.V) is onsite at the company’s high grade gold zone, the Jumping Josephine mining site in British Columbia’s prolific Rossland mining district.

Watch the video below for an inside look at the Jumping Josephine site, operations, background information and interviews with key members of the Astral Mining team.

Disclaimer

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of metals and minerals, namely zinc and uranium, but the country also has numerous Lithium explorations worth investigation and investment. The popular investment advice website Money Energy, recently discussed Canadian Lithium explorations to watch. Below is the full text of the article.

Bolivia is probably more well known for its lithium deposits than Canada is, but there’s still a lot of lithium potential in the northern hemisphere, as well. Whether you’re a metals speculator or penny stock fan, there’s lots of choice in Canada, especially in Quebec. Here’s a selection of a few companies to get you started in your research.

Lithium Exploration and Production Companies in Canada
Western Lithium Canada Corporation (TSXV: WLC) – Market Cap: $65.3 million.

Canada Lithium Corp. (TSXV: CLQ) – Market Cap: $63.3 million. *penny stock*

Lithium One Inc. (TSXV: LI) – Market Cap: $49.0 million.

Jantar Resources/ Ultra Lithium (TSXV: ULI) – Market Cap: $9.4 million. *penny stock*

First Lithium Resources Inc. (TSXV: MCI) – Market Cap: $4.9 million. *penny stock*

Note that these companies are all on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) which means that these are junior or early-stage companies that have yet to “graduate” to the senior equities market which is the TSX. And, of course, none of these will pay dividends. Also note that all of these companies have negative earnings per share, which means they are not the most profitable games in town yet.

Needless to say, these are not stocks for the average portfolio. You should probably be a money manager or very experienced speculator to lay down any money on these – unless, of course, you’re just a stock hobbyist and you like to play the markets in your spare time. I’d also recommend doing some research on the lithium industry, its uses, the sector history and what growth prospects look like going forward. We’ve recently seen what a big run-up in gold prices can do to gold penny stocks. That kind of speculation could pay off in Lithium, too.

David Pescod’s StockTalk Late Edition recently toured Ucore Uranium (TSX-V: UCU) facilities outside of Ketchikan, Alaska.

Jim McKenzie, CEO of Ucore, was asked to pick a mining stock in any sector with the potential to double,  McKenzie picked Astral Mining (TSX-V: AA). Click here to download the file http://bit.ly/3FXNih (PDF download).

Astral Mining Corporation is a Canadian company engaged in the exploration and development of precious metal properties in North America. The Company is focused on identifying high potential gold and silver deposits in politically stable, mining friendly districts of North America. Astral seeks exploration projects that are in close proximity to the infrastructure needs of a successful mining project, thereby removing risks and enhancing the potential for an economic discovery during the current strong commodity cycle.

Disclaimer

Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. (TSX: PBM.V) announced Wednesday that the Company has acquired three mineral claims in the Liard Mining Division, a historical mining area that has not been explored since 1989-1990.

David Brett, CEO of Pacific Bay expressed interest in reexamining the historic Tri gold and polymetallic mining area, stating “The high gold and polymetalic anomalies have received only minor exploration work and we are looking forward to taking a closer look during the 2010 exploration season.”

Below is a copy of the press release issued by Pacific Bay Minerals, Ltd.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – 10/21/09) – David H. Brett, President and CEO, Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V:PBM – News) (the “Company”) reports that Company has acquired by staking 3 minerals claims in the Liard Mining Division covering the historic Tri gold and polymetalic showing explored by Cominco, Continental Gold and others in 1989-1990. Of interest to Cominco were quartz vein systems and quartz-carbonate vein breccias grading up to 13.2 grams per tonne gold and 435 grams per ton silver. The Tri property has not been explored since 1990 and the Company believes that further exploration is warranted.

The Company retained consulting geologist Steve Noakes, formerly with the Cominco team that staked and explored the Tri Property, to complete a summary report and develop recommendations for further work. A geological mapping and sampling program is planned for 2010 to verify the historic data and in particular look for evidence of intrusive hosted mineralization underlying the quartz vein and hydrothermal breccia zones.

“The Tri property area was subject of a staking rush in 1988 following the release of extremely high regional geochemical results by the Province of BC,” said CEO David Brett. “The high gold and polymetalic anomalies have received only minor exploration work and we are looking forward to taking a closer look during the 2010 exploration season.”

About Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd.: Pacific Bay is a mineral exploration company with a diverse portfolio of properties with an emphasis on mineral discovery worldwide. The Company has extensive land holdings in Quebec’s Otish Mountains Uranium region, uranium and gold prospects in Argentina, advanced base and precious metal prospect in northern British Columbia, claims in the Red Lake Gold Camp of Ontario, and an exploration office seeking uranium opportunities in Namibia, Africa.

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed, edited and approved by Ernie Black, P.Eng., a consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person under policy NI43-101.

Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd.

David H. Brett, MBA, President & CEO