From Kitco. No specific mention of Lamaque, but good exposure for this region nonetheless.
The video crew of the Korelin Economics Report, namely Sarah, Kathy and yours truly recently spent a little under two weeks in Quebec, Canada where we divided our time between the towns of Duparquet, Malarctic, Val d’Or and Rouyn Noranda visiting mining properties. We were hosted by the folks from Clifton Star Resources and Niogold Mining, but we also visited other properties including portions of those held by Osisko.
At the beginning of our visit, we were joined by Louis James of Casey Research and Laura Stein, the belle of the mining investment community. Later we met up with Greg McCoach of The Mining Speculator, Bob Moriarty of 321 Gold, analyst David Smith, Marshall Berol of the Encompass Fund and Dan Pisenti of Whitehall Parker Securities.
For the Korelins it was a valuable educational experience. Our hosts Harry Miller and Fred Archibald of Clifton Star Resources and Mike Iverson and Rock LeFrancois of Niogold gave us an extensive tour of this prolific mining area, opening our eyes to a region that, in my mind, many resource investors are overlooking.
The countryside is some of the most beautiful that I have seen anywhere in the world. Gorgeous lakes, known for exciting walleye fishing, were everywhere. Beautiful green forests were abundant. And, yes there were some challenging and scenic golf courses. Even the little mining town of Duparquet, population about 1500, had a course with a welcoming clubhouse where Kathy, Sarah, Fred and I had a great lunch.
Whether it was in a fixed winged aircraft, in a helicopter, riding in corporate vehicles or tramping through the bush to visit drill rigs or mine sites, we got an excellent perspective of the area.
Lately, a lot of attention has been drawn to mining companies located in South America, Mexico and China. These areas, to be sure, are home to some serious projects, many of which could return profits to their shareholders.
I certainly would not want any of my readers or listeners to The Korelin Economics Report radio program to discount the potential offered in these parts of the world, but I do need to point out that Quebec too has a lot to offer.
First of all, the provincial government strongly supports the miners both in terms of putting sensible regulations in place and providing monetary support that includes rebates from the government for qualified mining work.
The miners live up to their responsibilities by utilizing environmentally sound practices and supporting the communities where they are located.
As an example, a portion of the town of Malarctic is being moved, lock stock and barrel, to a location away from an important resource deposit controlled by Osisko. This company is not randomly moving buildings, but they are keeping neighborhoods together and completely updating each building and home after it is transported to the new location. Needless to say, this is a win-win situation for both the town’s residents and the mining company.
Far and away the majority of the people living in this region benefit from the mining industry whether it is through direct employment or the sale of goods and services.
I learned this not only on the property visits, but in restaurants and, believe it or not, on the golf course in Val d’Dor where I met a number of both currently active and retired people many of whom were third or fourth generation miners.
I bring this up as a comment to those folks who subscribe to the theory that the mining industry has no regard for environmental issues and I would suggest that anyone who feels that way visit Quebec and see first hand just how environmentally conscious these miners are.
Called the “Golden Highway”, the country that we saw from Duparquet to Val d’Or was impressive. Millions of ounces of gold have been mined in the past and the results of current testing indicate that many more will be mined there in the future.
It’s hard to fail when companies have a qualified work force, a supportive government, existing infrastructure and a large amount of mineralization yet to be discovered.
As you can tell, I was impressed. We recorded a lot of radio while we were there and if you did not hear it on your local station simply go to our website, www.kereport.com where all the recent shows are archived and take a listen.
A.B. Korelin
2 comments:
Carib,
The author clearly hadn't heard about CMM when he wrote the following paragraph:
[It’s hard to fail when companies have a qualified work force, a supportive government, existing infrastructure and a large amount of mineralization yet to be discovered.]
The reference to Louis James piqued my interest. He was the writer from Casey Research's International Speculator who did the pump on CMM at PDAC in 2007. He followed up with a visit to the Blaine office a few weeks later and that was the last anyone heard of him. I guess PK didn't agree to line his or Casey's pockets with some cash and shares. I wonder what he would write about CMM 16 months on now that they actually have 43-101's?
It boggles the mind that Kinross would pay $88/ounce gold in the ground to Aurelian in Ecuador while CMM's 4.3 million 43-101 ounces are worth less than a buck fifty in Quebec. Read what Yamana Gold had to say about not getting involved in a rival offer for ARU:
[FP says Yamana takes itself out of running for Aurelian
2008-08-07 07:13 MT - In the News
The Financial Post in its Thursday edition muses over whether a rival offer will emerge for Aurelian Resources. The Post's Peter Koven notes that Aurelian unveiled its friendly deal with Kinross Gold on July 24. Now one company can be crossed off the list of potential rival bidders. Peter Marrone, chief executive officer of Yamana Gold, called the Kinross-Aurelian pact "a great deal for both companies" and said Yamana has no interest in a counteroffer. That is because Ecuador does not fit the profile of countries Yamana wants to invest in. "We've always gone to jurisdictions that have significant mining pedigree. But more importantly where there's established infrastructure, where the capital costs are very manageable because of that established infrastructure. ... That's the profile of the company and I wouldn't want to deviate from that at this point," Mr. Marrone said. Yamana posted adjusted second-quarter earnings of $102.7-million (U.S.) after the bell Wednesday.]
Are there any companies located near Val d'Or that might be interested in a M&A deal with CMM?
Next door is Alexis Minerals. How about Aurizon? They are developing a property on the Cadillac break and have the u/g mining experience CMM needs.
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