Colombian companies draw crowds at the show

TORONTO – These are my PDAC notes thus far. The conference has drawn 25,000 people to Toronto, a record high. I will have even more later this week:

1. The Colombia Minister of Mines & Energy and execs from a dozen red-hot Colombia companies drew so many people to the PDAC speaker room that folks were asked to wait. The same thing happened the night before at the conference’s best party, a rooftop event hosted by Medoro Resources’ (TSX: T.MRS, Stock Forum) Serafino Iacono. I re-connected with Jose Oro, pictured here. Mr. Oro, with a geology doctorate earned in Moscow, was born in Cuba, lives in Connecticut and as a chief operating officer of a Colombia company in Mr. Iacono’s group of miners, has overseen some of the security details and operation of the Frontino Mine in Segovia, a part of Colombia that has had some labor union unrest. Earlier article on Stockhouse.
2. Colombia’s Carlos Rodado Noriega, the minister, demonstrated his country’s classic charm and patience with a boisterous audience. Several folks questioned, or rambled might be more accurate, about environmental concerns and North America’s perception that Colombia is dangerous. He easily could have waved his hand and dismissed the queries. He did not and handled the presentation with grace. Backing him up with good data and visuals were execs from Continental Gold (TSX: T.CNL, Stock Forum), including CEO and co-founder Ari Sussman. Seen in the room – the host, Mr. Serafino, Mr. Sussman from Colossus Minerals and Continental, and a slew of asset managers, including gold hound Frank Holmes of U.S. Funds.
3. The talk of the show is silver – cheap silver and where to find it. I ran into the folks from Revett Minerals here at the show. Revett (TSX: T.RVM, Stock Forum) is a company we have tracked from time to time. It operates in Montana. Please see the Ticker Trax archives (link below). The company’s John Shanahan and Monique Hayes tell me Revett is perhaps four to six weeks from an AMEX listing. Revett is a silver and polymetallic producer. Against a landscape of rising silver prices, much of the discussion in Toronto is finding shares of companies that have yet to run higher. I own shares of Revett, including some purchased this week at $4.99 a share. I believe if Revett is successful with the listing and follows in the footsteps of Great Panther Silver (TSX: T.GPR, Stock Forum) and (AMEX: GPL, Stock Forum), recently listed on AMEX, and Endeavour Silver (TSX: T.EDR, Stock Forum) and (AMEX: EXK, Stock Forum), just graduated to the NYSE from AMEX, well … we have seen what is happening there. Great Panther and Endeavour were among the first companies covered (and personally purchased) for the TT service. The promise was higher grades and more proving up of resources in Mexico. The two companies’ shares have reached levels that require me to sell portions periodically, as stated here and in TT several times. Alas, each time I sell, as I just told Great Panther CEO Robert Archer on the floor here this morning, the two go higher. And higher. I am on the prowl for other “cheap” silver producers.
4. Comstock Mining (OTC: BB: LODE, Stock Forum), the Virginia City, Nevada, silver and gold prospector, published drill data from its Dayton Resource. The figures were good enough to take the stock 10 percent or so higher. I do not own the shares but have covered the company for Ticker Trax and the Stockhouse audience.

ON THE SCHEDULE: I met with NV Gold (TSX: V.NVX, Stock Forum) and its CEO, John Watson. Mr. Watson of Colorado has a property that belongs in a class I categorize as below fair value: as in, worth less than $10 million in a market of $50 million to $500 million market caps. Colorado geologist Quinton Hennigh of Evolving Gold (TSX: T.EVG, Stock Forum) is an NV Gold director. I do not own the stock.

I intend to old prospector, published drill data from its Dayton Resource. The figures were good enough to take the stock 10 percent or so higher. I do not own the shares but have covered the company for Ticker Trax and the Stockhouse audience.

ON THE SCHEDULE: I met with NV Gold (TSX: V.NVX, Stock Forum) and its CEO, John Watson. Mr. Watson of Colorado has a property that belongs in a class I categorize as below fair value: as in, worth less than $10 million in a market of $50 million to $500 million market caps. Colorado geologist Quinton Hennigh of Evolving Gold (TSX: T.EVG, Stock Forum) is an NV Gold director. I do not own the stock.

I intend to look at an area that I have neglected in my investing and in my reporting: lithium in deep South America. I’ll be attending a presentation by Li3 Energy (OTC: BB: LIEG, Stock Forum) today in Toronto. On the silver front, I intend to look at anything that has yet to make a massive move higher. Eric Sprott of Sprott Resource Corp. (SRC) talked about silver and agriculture at a Sprott presentation at PDAC Monday. He is still quite committed to the notion of silver as money and an accelerating commodity with supply constraints.

That is all for now.