Erik Wetterling – Retail Resource Investors Are Asleep At The Wheel, While The Big Boys Are Going Shopping
Erik Wetterling, Founder and Editor of The Hedgeless Horseman website, joins us to recap his boots on the ground takeaway from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference, where he noted retail investors were mostly not engaged and yet many of the larger investors, producers, and multi-national conglomerates were out talking with junior explorers and development companies and looking to take strategic positions.
We discussed a few anecdotal encounters he saw like some of the Hecla Mining (HL) team visiting with Western Alaska Minerals (WAM) booth, or several folks from Japanese mining and manufacturing conglomerates visiting multiple times with Magna Mining (NICU) at their booth. This led to chatting about how, case in point, after the PDAC that B2Gold (BTO) (BTG) took a strategic stake in Snowline Gold (SGD) for a large premium. We also reviewed how recently AngloGold Ashanti (AU) took a strategic earn-in position in Inflection Resources (AUCU), or Newcrest Mining (NCM) took a strategic earn-in position in Headwater Gold (HWG), or that Freeport MacMoRan just took a strategic earn-in position in ArcWest Exploration (AWX). It is clear that this trend of larger Majors positioning in Juniors along with high net worth investors, capital groups, multi-national mining conglomerates, and even manufacturers is on the rise and will continue with juniors valued at such attractive levels.*
We wrap up with getting Erik’s final big picture takeaways from the PDAC convention, if he’d go back, if he’d truly gotten an edge by going as an investor, and if nothing else the sentiment gauge it offered on the sector and the ability to size up the character of mining management teams in person.
*In full disclosure, the companies mentioned by Erik in this interview, are positions held in his personal portfolio, and are also site sponsors of The Hedgeless Horseman website.
