Happy New Year to everybody!
I am sorry, but will have to start
this with my favourite subject, Mr.Trump! It looks to me, that he has targeted
the right guy, and probably few people in the Western World have a lot of
sympathy for him…but I very much doubt, whether it has been a smart decision!!!
Not to talk about ethics….my little daughter asked me: How can Mr.Trump kill
somebody, and not go to jail like normal people? I fear this is a very valid
question, and one we should not forget about. The world seems to be changing to
the right of the strongest…going back to he medieval???? And certainly
interesting, in that context, to see Trump´s answer to the Iraqui descision, to
call all foreign troups out of the country! The country has been “freed and
helped” by the US…now the big friend is being asked out - and the big friend is
answering with sanctions and billion $ in payments???? Must be a really good
and selfless friend!
Gold and oil were the obvious
candidates to do well from this - but the muted answer in gold/oil stocks
shows, that probably /hopefully none of the involved parties have an interest
to go to war!
The Australian $ retreated today,
following some advance over the last two/three weeks. Economists believe, that
the terrible bushfires will take something like 0,1-0,2% off the GDP growth ,
and Iraqi comments, that Australia could be targeted as well, did not help
either. The A$ gold price of currently 2280 A$/oz is up strongly ( from
pre-Christmas level under 2150 A$ ) and very sexy - the all time high was 2289
in early Sep! Evolution , my old favourite in the larger gold space, is cheap
again under 4$!
Codelco might find it difficult to
finance the planned, massive 20 bill US$ capex over the next few years, as the
Chilean government will need all the money they can find to keep protesters
quiet. This could well impact their target, to keep copper production stable
over the next few years.
Resolute - have sold an additional 30.000 Oz
of gold at 1501 US$/oz recently. Not only, that they are under water already by
70 US$ - not all investors will like their hedging, consisting of 165.000oz for
delivery until Dec 2020 at just under 1500 US$!
Apollo Consolidated - reported further nice drilling
results from their Lake Rebecca Gold Project in W.A.: 19m with 3,4g and 14m
with 2,5g infill drilling, and extensions of 11m with 3,45g / 16m with 2g / 3m
with 8,45g and 18m with 1,37g are just what is needed to come out with a nice,
first resource estimate some time later this Quarter - it could well be
500.000oz or more at a nice grade. They seem to have a pretty good core of the
project, with good grades, surrounded by potentially a lot of tonnes at lower
grade, which could - combined - add up to a big resource,. They have some
interesting neighbours like Saracen in trucking distance - but this could well
be a large enough resource at some stage to go it alone. Drilling is
continuing, and they have just under 8 mill$ in cash. I declare a small
position in this stock.
Paringa - bad news has been coming to them
very steadily!!!! and here is more: The mine has ecountered more faults in the
coal seame, which have impacted mining and production of coal. The company will
probably be in a psoition of less than 5 mill US$ cash in the bank, which is
the required minimum agreed for the facility provided by Tribeca. The company
could well be bust - but there is a little bit of hope left. The risks are very
high though - stock is suspended and I guess might be so for some time at
least! Mother Earth is - unfortunately - always good for a surprise - the fault
had not been picked up by anyone beforehand….Impossible to say from the
distance, whether due to just bad luck or inability!
Have a nice evening!
WS