This year’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference is over — here’s a rundown of three key themes that emerged at the show.
This year’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference is over, and the Investing News Network was on the floor interviewing thought leaders, attending panels and speaking with exhibitors.
Held from Sunday (January 19) to Monday (January 20), the annual event, now in its 25th year, brought together mining companies, newsletter writers, the media and — of course — investors.
Read on to learn about a few of the main themes that emerged during the show, and stay tuned as we begin to post video interviews and other coverage from the conference.
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Long-term (not short-term) factors will move gold
The gold price went on an impressive run in 2019, rising from less than US$1,300 per ounce to over US$1,500. Three weeks into 2020 its positive performance has continued, with the yellow metal topping US$1,600 in the wake of a spike in tensions between the US and Iran.
Though it’s cooled off since then, gold remains above the US$1,550 level, and many high-profile market participants at VRIC expressed optimism about its trajectory in the new year.
Why focus on building a #gold company right now? Ross Beaty says he’s “super confident” the metal will have a great year and has a lot further to go #VRIC2020
In fact, despite the exciting price activity being experienced by other precious metals — particularly palladium, which has rocketed to repeated new highs — a large number of industry insiders feel gold’s story will be the most interesting to watch this year.
EB Tucker of Casey Research and Metalla Royalty & Streaming (TSXV:MTA,OTCQX:MTAFF), who predicted well before it happened that gold would hit US$1,500 last year, reiterated at VRIC that he sees gold topping its previous high in 2020.
Tucker is also still waiting for silver to make it over US$20 per ounce, a move he has previously described as an easy trade for investors to make and profit from.
Interestingly, for the most part those commenting on the yellow metal emphasized that factors like the US-China trade war, US-Iran tensions and the upcoming US election are less important drivers for gold than deep, underlying issues like debt in the US, interest rates and the performance of the US dollar.
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Times have changed, but investment strategies shouldn’t
Investors who have attended a mining conference before may be tired of hearing the same advice from the same speakers. But according to at least one of those pundits, there’s a reason for the repetition.
When asked on the sidelines of the show how investors should react in light of events like the trade war, the potential for an actual war and the election, Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp suggested that business as usual is the best path forward.
In other words, due diligence and other best practises for investing in mining stocks shouldn’t fall by the wayside just because of what’s going on in the world.
Fulp wasn’t the only one suggesting that investors stick to tried-and-true principles. In a workshop focused on private placements, Rick Rule of Sprott (TSX:SII,OTC Pink:SPOXF) shared a slew of tips that apply to resource investing in general.
Consider what unanswered question will get an answer if you invest in an exploration company; also think about how much time the company will need to answer the question and what the value of the answer is, says Rick Rule #VRIC20
Rick Rule says investors should also consider management before putting money in a private placement – what is the team’s credibility and can they answer the question at hand? #VRIC20
Brent Cook of Exploration Insights also dropped some familiar kernels of wisdom in a talk at the show. His main point was that investors need to hone in on data and be willing to ask companies tough questions — those who can use that approach to successfully determine when to get in and out of a stock should be able to reap the rewards.
Ultimately, says Brent Cook, discoveries are not replacing production, and any discovery that is economic is going to make a lot of money – it’s up to investors to interpret data and decide when to buy/when to get out #VRIC20pic.twitter.com/UsEpcSbNcr
VRIC’s headline event was Sunday’s keynote from financier and author Lord Conrad Black, who took the main stage to speak about Canada’s natural resource sector.
In a wide-ranging talk, he shared a brief history of the country before moving on to discuss ways that it could be improved, both as a whole and in terms of the resource industry.
Black stayed on stage for a Canada-centric panel discussion led by Jay Martin, president of Cambridge House, and also featuring Peter Brown, founder and former chairman of Canaccord Financial (now Canaccord Genuity Group), and Neils Veldhuis, president of the Fraser Institute.
The trio identified a slew of problems with the nation’s approach to the resource industry, with Black stating that the country is doing a poor job harnessing its potential.
“We’re … strangling our leading export revenue producer, and we’re doing it for (trendy) reasons that are stupid and unjustifiable.” Black was speaking about Alberta’s oil and gas industry, which he said is being hurt by the Canadian federal government’s focus on climate change, among other things.
Climate change is attracting increasing attention in the resource space due to interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, and is a key topic at major events like PDAC. There are currently close to 200 signatories to the Paris Agreement, a deal aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
ESG focus will continue to surge, but will all junior miners benefit? @bulldogholmes shares his thoughts at #VRIC2020
Ultimately, the three panelists ended on a positive note, suggesting that a return to better days in Canada is not only possible, but also not that difficult.
“What we have right now is we have a really great opportunity that we have just mismanaged,” said Brown. “We need to change management here, and we need to come back with a much broader plan … it’s almost a rudderless government.”
Even Black offered a positive stance on Canada’s future. “Tweaking the tax structure and a little discipline on how we spend the money, and ending the attempt to strangle our greatest industry … if we just did that, we’d resuscitate things quite well,” he said.
Stay tuned for more coverage of VRIC, including video interviews with many of the experts mentioned above and overviews of talks and panel discussions.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
