Mickey Fulp podcasts on Peru and its mining industry

Out just a few minutes ago, the Mercenary One gives us nearly 12 minutes of insight into Peru and its mining industry via podcast. You can download and listen yourself by clicking right here.

Something you should do today

Sign up for Mickey Fulp's 'Mercenary Geologist' newsletter. Here are your instructions.

1) Click right here.

2) Fill in the very quick and simple form that awaits you (and privacy rights are fully respected by Fulp and his team, so no worries there and no spam in your mailbox afterwards).

3) That's all.

Fulp's newsletter is about the best deal you can get out there in mining world, because you get the opinions and tips of a seasoned and highly experienced professional economic geologist for free, gratis and no cost. It really doesn't come simpler than this, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain (as his stock recos have been on fire recently too), so go now. Here's the link again, just in case.

Mickey Fulp does CNBC

Mmmm....talking all sexy about metals, too.

Nice one, Fulp, a significant step on your path to richly deserved total world domination. If the pop-up above doesn't work for you, the interview is available on this link too.

Mickey Fulp, CNBC teevee star

Ace metals dude, standup guy and site friend Mickey Fulp is in the bigtime media swimming lane nowadays, as shown by his appearance later today on CNBC. In fact, there are two lined up and here are the details:

Thurs Dec 23rd 5:00pm EST Live TV CNBC Fast Money with Melissa Lee.

So today The Mercenary Geologist gets a five minute slot on Fast Money. Then next week....

Mon Dec 27th 6:35-6:50pm EST Live TV CNBC: Asia Squawk Box with Martin Soon.

....Mickey gets 15 minutes to shoot the breeze on metals, a slot that will also air on CNBC World. 

So make sure you watch Fulp today and then write in to CNBC to tell them it's nice to have a bit of commonsense about metals on their channel at last. Personally, I just want his autograph......

Fulp and U

So take a guess which three Uranium plays Mickey Fulp said he liked during his appearance on BNN, just before midday Tuesday?

Kinda pays to listen to Fulp these days, methinks. Mind you, I've always said that, even before he started moving markets with the flick of an eyebrow. Go watch his segment on this link.

Mickey Fulp, Rare Metals, BNN

Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp was on BNN last night, talking rare metals plays, the REE market and all sorts of other REEstuff. Check out his opinions and ideas on ways to play this sector via this link right here.

Has Rare Metals Blog censored Mickey Fulp?

Yesterday in this post, we left the link to a great article written and published by Mickey Fulp over at Rare Metals Blog. However, this morning the post seems to have disappeared. Why that should be is currently unclear, but as the post did take a couple of REE companies to task and point out their weaknesses the suspicion here at IKN Nerve Centre is that it's been censored by the blog owners. 

We'll get news on that if we can, but in the meantime, here's the whole of the post as written by Fulp. Google cache rocks.

I read with interest the recent blog from respected engineers in rare earth element space, Jack Lifton and Gareth Hatch. These two men are experts and likely have forgotten more about the process metallurgy, separation, refining, sales, and marketing of this fascinating specialty metals group than I will ever know.

I can agree with many of the points that each makes in his analysis. I will not quibble with the idea that “small” is okay in REE space but will disagree with Jack that small is somehow better.
That said, as a field geologist by education and experience and an analyst and investor by profession, I think both gentlemen are missing key criteria for success by not carefully considering the share structure, people and projects of their top stocks before picking them as favorites. There is much more to the REE game than deposit size, metal distribution, process metallurgy and concentrate tonnages.
I would suggest that most readers of this are speculators in the junior resource sector attempting to learn about the best companies so they can invest and make money in the stock market. Thorough due diligence is always required to assess a company’s chances of success.
Let’s look briefly at some of the companies favored by Jack and/or Gareth:
I visited Ucore Rare Metals’ (UCU.V) Bokan Mountain project in mid-August along with fellow Rare Metal blog editors Jack Lifton and Tracy Weslosky.
The Dotson Ridge deposit is small with low TREO (total rare earth oxide) grade but heavily skewed toward the HREOs (heavy rare earth oxides). The individual mineralized zones are very narrow (generally less than a mineable width of 1.5 meters) and are discontinuous along strike. The deposit will require selective mining and/or physical or mechanical separation of pay zones from wall rock using very high cost mining methods.
The company apparently is reluctant to commence the next logical step: Permitting, test mining, and bulk sampling during the 2011 field season. I must conclude the sole corporate exit strategy is to sell the project but have doubts that any larger player in the REE sector is seriously interested at this juncture. With current knowledge, the Bokan Mountain project is not viable. I agree with Jack that it will require private or government subsidies if a significant deposit can be delineated and if it is ever mined.
As of June 30, Ucore Rare Metals had 105.4 million shares outstanding, 134.0 million shares fully diluted, 24.5 million warrants at an average price of 26 cents, market cap of about $65 million, and $4.4 million in cash and securities. The company must go to the market for financing later this year or in early 2011. Ucore Rare Metals’ share structure is highly diluted given the stage of its flagship project and the potential for a significant increase in its share price is therefore limited.
The second company Jack discussed is Great Western Minerals Group Ltd (GWG.V). Great Western is the only current North American junior with a partially integrated REE business via its Less Common Metals alloy facility in England and what appears to be an R&D lab in Michigan.
I do not think any of the company’s exploration projects currently are candidates for development and mining. Hoidas Lake is too small, low grade, remote, and infrastructure-challenged to be of interest to outside parties. Others are very early stage, remote and/or too low grade.
Steenkampskrall in South Africa is a small, narrow, high grade vein deposit that was mined from 1952-1963. If it eventually proves to be of sufficient size and grade, the mine likely will be operated at a loss to secure supply. Its high thorium content could be an environmental issue. GWG has signed an off-take agreement to purchase the REE mineral concentrates from owner Rare Earth Extraction Co. of South Africa and currently holds a 20% equity interest in that company.
GWG recently announced a $35,000,000 equity financing at 33 cents with a two year half warrant at 45 cents. With another 106 million shares out and 159 million fully diluted, I address the crux of my issues with Great Western Minerals Group: It has a severe case of “Aus disease”, i.e., an excessive number of shares outstanding. I first evaluated GWG at a Toronto show in October 2007 and it had too many shares for my liking at that time.
Post-financing I estimate the company soon will have about 350 million shares outstanding, 451 million fully diluted, a market cap of $125 million, and $38 million in working capital post-financing.
Compare GWG with the share structure of Quest Rare Minerals Ltd (QRM.V): After completion of its new bought deal financing, QRM will have about 53 million shares outstanding, 64 million fully diluted, a market cap of about $250 million, and about $55 million in the bank; or Rare Element Resources Ltd (RES.V; REE.AMEX) with 32 million out, 39 million fully diluted, a market cap of $270 million, and about $8 million in working capital.
I opine that Great Western Minerals Group has diluted beyond being a vehicle for speculative investment. A big share rollback (5 or 10:1?) appears inevitable for Great Western Minerals Group. Note I have never experienced a rollback that was beneficial to current shareholders.
I know some about Gareth’s suggestion, Alkane Resources Ltd (ALK.ASX). The Dubbo project may become a mineable deposit for zirconium and rare earth elements but development has been pending for two decades. As of June 30 Alkane had A$8.5 million in the bank and requires a large capital infusion to complete its goal of a definitive feasibility study, environmental assessment, and mine financing within one year. Capital expenditures to build the mine and processing complex are estimated by the company at A$150 million. The deposit has significant uranium content and that could be problematic since uranium production is prohibited in New South Wales. With ALK’s significant gold projects, Dubbo could be acquired by a specialty metals miner, Zr or REE consumer, or perhaps spun-out as a stand-alone entity.
Alkane is not a company that is likely to attract significant North American speculative interest due to the difficulty of trading Australian-listed stocks in this hemisphere. As per usual, it has a mild case of “Aus disease” with 249 million shares outstanding but with a healthy current market cap of about A$210 million.
I think most savvy North American investors will play on our own terra firma and leave this speculation for those that speak English with an oversized twang, drink beer from oil cans, and waltz with sheilas.
Gareth also mentions Stans Energy Corp (RUU.V). My problem with this company is reflected in its name: Stans’ flagship project is in a country that ends in “stan.”  It’s Kyrgyzstan, a country that had a violent coup, street riots, and ethnic fighting this spring and summer. I will steer clear of companies operating in any of the “stans” for obvious geopolitical reasons.  
The Luxemburg-based company, Frontier Rare Earths that Jack writes about is new with little public information available. It holds the Zandkopsdrift deposit in South Africa and recently applied for a Toronto Stock Exchange listing. I have not found sufficient information to comment.
In my opinion most of the companies discussed above have projects of merit in rare earth element space. That does not imply I will consider them for speculative investment using my key criteria for investing of Share Structure, People, and Projects and employing my Power of Two philosophy.
I will let you decide which are worthy of your speculation. As Otto sez: DYODD dudes and dudettes!
P.S. I own shares of Quest Rare Minerals and Rare Element Resources. Quest is a sponsor of my website.
Ciao for now, 
Mickey Fulp
MercenaryGeologist.com
Contact@MercenaryGeologistGold.com

IKN UPDATE: Confirmed, Rare Metals Blog has pulled the article. More on this later.

UPDATE 2: OH GOODY!! Your humble scribe has just been threatened with legal action by Rare Metals Blog! We'll have a full rundown of the fun and frolics going on behind the scene in a post tomorrow. Until then, when the appearance of our coffee-sipping soldier is a near-certainty. Might be able to get owly in there, too...

More practical REE advice from Fulp

So Mickey, what you got there? Praseodymium, promethium 

or just plain boring kryptonite?
c

Mickey Fulp's columns over at Rare Metal Blog are becoming must-reads on the sector. This week's is no exception and gives solid, practical advice on stockpicking for some of the companies in the universe of REE. Go read it youself by clicking this link. And yeah, DYODD dudettes and dudes.

UPDATE: If that link above doesn't work for you, please check this post.

Rare Earths must read

We like Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp and we really, really like the article he published over at Rare Metal Blog yesterday that ripped a new one for an outfit known as Australian American Mining (AIW.ax). Go follow that link yourself to find out why, but just as a general jist feeling thing, here's an extract:

"...Okay, well and good: Promotional but no big red flags for me except the hosts are complex pegmatites, which are usually small and seldom have the size and grade to make mineable ore bodies, especially in the southwestern United States.

"But then it goes to hell in a hand basket in a hurry:...."

Love it! Y'see, it's a bit like the Ottotrans™ posts we run at this humble corner of cyberspace...only much better. When a ranting fool such as your author rips into these thingsit's one thing, but when somebody like Fulp, a professional and highly experienced geologist, gets busy on these "marginal companies" (let's say) and the way they obfuscate, bewilder and represent themselves as HarderBetterStrongerFaster than they are...well, it's another level. Go Mickey!

So go read Fulp's words yourself by clicking this link. You'll learn stuff about REEs, you'll learn about News Release red flags and you'll learn that there are people such as Mickey Fulp out there in the wild world of the interbwebnetpipes trying their best  to protect you from scamsters. DYODD.

Mickey Fulp updates on Avalon Rare Metals (AVL.to)

Way back when rare metals weren't the hottest dish of the day, Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp was singing the praises of this Avalon (AVL.to) stock. Since then we all know what has happened to the REE sector, but we now get to read an update on AVL from the first-footing Fulp. We also get to see just how much money you would have made by following his original advice... and it's a very lot.

So click here to download your PDF report of his updated analysis and thoughts on what might happen to the high-flying AVL.to going forward, dated September 27th and sent out to his FREE reading list on that day. This report is well worth your time, metalheads. By way of a taster, here's how the eight page report starts:

Avalon Rare Metals Inc (AVL.T) is a company that I have covered since June 2007 with a commissioned report on behalf of a private equity fund by my friend and colleague, Rich Radez, well-known for his semi-annual Chicago Resource Expo.

I was invited by Rich to evaluate AVL on a field tour of one of its three “flagship projects”, a hard rock lithium play in northern Ontario. That project did little to garner my interest but another one that CEO Don Bubar discussed in his power point presentation that morning over breakfast certainly grabbed my attention: Thor Lake, an advanced rare earth element play located 100 km southeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.

Since that sunny day on Rainy Lake near Kenora, Ontario, I have followed and written about Avalon both privately and publicly (Mercenary Musings: September 1, 2008; November 3, 2009). This is the fourth in a series of yearly comprehensive reviews on the company. CONTINUES

Here's the link to read it all again, just in case.

Fulp on BNN does Rare Metals (and moves markets)

Here's the chart of Tasman Metals (TSM.v). Check out 11:50am, the time Mickey Fulp picked TSM out as his favourite play of all the REE sector right now on his 5 minute segment on BNN today:

See the whole interview as recorded on BNN right here. where Fulp talks about TSM and other REE plays. Disclosure: no position in TSM or in any of the companies.

Fulp to do REEs on BNN

Thanks to kind reader 'JC' for this headsup. Tomorrow morning (Thursday) Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp is on BNN, doing the talkinghead bit and talking Rare Earths (REE). Here's 'JC's mail:

Otto

This is Thurs. lineup on BNN.

11:30 AM – Commodities
MAG's Moly/Gold Discovery: Dan MacInnes, president and CEO, MAG Silver
How to play Rare Earths: Mickey Fulp, author, the Mercenary Geologist.com

Regards

So check it out, folks.

Radioactive juice

Here's a paste of a section from this morning's Scotia Mining daily letter thingy. Take it as you will:

Tradetech Uranium Spot Price +$2!!! Late on Friday, Tradetech reported that the spot price jumped by $2/lb to $43.50/lb, or nearly 5% which is the single largest increase since October 2009. This is quite an amazing move for the uranium market during the normally slow summer months. Tradetech noted that utilities, intermediaries and producers were all active in the market, looking to buy small amounts of inventory to offset any supply interruption owing to issues being experienced at ConverDyn’s conversion facility in Metropolis, Illinois (employees locked out since late June, equipment failures: ConverDyn is the only conversion facility in the U.S. (converts uranium in the form of yellowcake into UF6) and has a capacity of 15mm kg UF6 per year, or ~20% of global supply. A squeeze at the conversion stage can lead to higher uranium prices (i.e. a 3-month shut down at ConverDyn in late 2003 contributed to the 2004-2007 price spike, along with mine production issues at Olympic Dam and flooding at Cigar Lake ). Six month price performance of the uranium stocks has been pretty dismal, with the three companies in Scotia ’s coverage universe down 16-18% (see table below). Cameco (2-SP, C$31/sh target, Lawrence Smith) remains the go-to name for uranium “exposure” and is attractive at 1.14x NAV but Larry notes that Uranium One (UUU-CN, 2-SP, C$3.85/sh target) and Denison Mines (DML-CN, 2-SP, C$1.55/sh target) offer better torque to higher uranium prices with 16.3% and 14.1% sensitivity to a 10% move in uranium prices, vs. 6.7% for Cameco (see table below for valuation multiples and share price performance).

Meanwhile, here's a link to a decent interview piece from Mickey Fulp (one of the rare breed that actually knows what he's talking about re U) giving more bullish case for the metal and a few ideas on decent juniors that are worth trading in the U sector.

h/t biiwii

Mickey Fulp does BNN

Mickey Fulp in his role as Lex Luthor in Superman Returns.....
no wait...hold on...I'm getting confused here.....

Site friend Mickey Fulp was on BNN this morning. He talked gold, silver the ratio between the two, why everybody should own at least some gold and all things related. He then comes up with a couple of stock picks in the Rare Earths sector, plus there are updates on his previous TeeVee picks (that have done rather well, must be said).

Go check out The Mercenary Geologist on this video link right here.

Recommended

Tonight I received the following mail (extracted) from subscriber 'SA':

"...I'm trying to expand my gold holdings to other areas of the world. Could you recommend other gold analysts' newsletters you trust and value for their selections. Thanks for any help you can give!

Sincerely,

XXXXX (name witheld)

To which I sent the following reply. Then it occurred to me that more people than SA might be able to take advantage of the calls, so here they are for everyone.

Hi XXXXX,

I trust and recommend three:

1) Mickey Fulp. His newsletter is free. Sign up here. He gets paid by the companies he covers but he's very selective about the companies he takes on. It's a no-brainer to read Fulp..it's free!!

2) Gary Tanashian of Biiwii dot com. Find out more here. A technical analyst who follows precious metals closely. The only tech analyst I ever bother with. Excellent, honest, insightful and amazing value for money at $26/month.

3) Brent Cook at Exploration Insights. Go to his site on this link. The best geology based gold stocks subscription newsletter by a mile. The top industry pros all read Brent Cook. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny. I learn more from Brent than anyone else.

Hope this helps. By the way, i'm not on any sort of commission from any of the three above. I reco them because i read and trust them.

Fulp does Amarillo Gold (AGC.v)

If you're wondering why Amarillo Gold (AGC.v) has suddenly managed to catch a break, get a few bids and move up today (we're $0.69 up 6.2% and with various buyers) after going through such a deathly quiet patch, it's probably due to this very well written report from Mickey Fulp on the company that went out to his subscribers last night (it's free to join his list, BTW...best bargain in junior mining).

So click that link and get your copy of the AGC.v report and get wise to this Brazil gold play that's been way under the radar for way too long.

A great resource on resource(s...and reserves)

Click this link to find a video recording of Mickey Fulp giving his recent talk on what you need to know about mineral resources, mineral reserves and all things connected. It's great mining101 material, but even the more sophisticated investors amongst us will get value and learn things from checking out the presentation.

Nice job, Fulp. Here's the link again, just in case.

Mickey Fulp and a junior miner reco

Mickey Fulp has put together an analysis on a silver company operating out of Mexico called Oremex (ORM.v). I don't personally know the stock very well and don't have an opinion, but if it's good enough for a solid, trustworthy type like Fulp (who is not a pseudo rockhead remember; this guy is a real full-on economic geologist and knows what he's talking about, unlike so many letter writers out there) it's at least worth your time and consideration, I'd venture to say.

So here's the link to his PDF analysis of the company. It's a good job of work and available to you free, gratis and for nothing. Enjoy.

Avalon Metals (AVL.to): A great analysis up for grabs (free, too)

Get yourself over to Mickey Fulp's website the mercenary geologist, sign on for his totally free membership (he's mad) and then download your copy of his analysis on Avalon Metals (AVL.to) that he made available to his membership list late last night. In the 14 page report Fulp does a top job in explaining why there are REE companies and there are REE companies.

Here's how to get over there. Now go.

Disclosure: I get no benefit from reco'ing Fulp to you and I don't own AVL.to, either. It's just a quality resource that out there for you and for free.

Rare Earth Elements

Mickey Fulp ran a very interesting radio report this morning on rare earth elements (REE) and you can hear what he had to say by clicking right here.

Thoroughly recommended.