Conference is expected to be second only to the PDAC convention in Toronto
SmallCapPower | September 27, 2016: Toronto is currently playing host to its first Mines and Money conference (Sept 26-28, 2016), which is an international event series for capital raising and mining investment that has been previously held in Hong Kong as well as Australia and London. And with plans to host the event again in 2017, Mines and Money Americas would likely be second only to the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) gathering held in Toronto in terms of mining investment conferences. That being said, the companies on our list will likely be ones to watch at this week’s conference.
Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSE:GCM): The Colombian government and left-wing Farc rebels recently signed an agreement that formally ended 52 years of civil war in that country, which should boost economic growth and hopefully encourage greater foreign investment. In August, Gran Colombia increased its production guidance for 2016 to a total of 135,000 to 145,000 ounces of gold. As well, all-in sustaining costs fell 10% to US$811 per ounce for the second quarter this year. All of which, along with a recovering gold price, should help Gran Colombia pay down its approximate US$150 million in debt. That effort was also recently aided by some Debenture holders electing take common shares of the Company instead. In addition, Gran Colombia Gold announced earlier this month that it intends explore alternatives to enhance shareholder value that could include a merger or Company sale.
eCobalt Solutions Inc. (TSE:ECS): While some resource speculators have gone wild over lithium juniors due to the surge in demand for electric vehicle batteries, investors need to remember that cobalt is also needed for these devices. So much so that battery usage accounts for about 49% of annual cobalt demand. Unfortunately, about half of the global supply currently comes from politically-unstable Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). With demand expected to outstrip supply for at least the next few years, end users will need to seek new supply sources. eCobalt Solutions’ Idaho Cobalt Project in the only primary cobalt deposit presently in development in the United States. It’s also environmentally permitted, and needs about $150 million to begin cobalt production. A feasibility study that began in June is expected to be completed early in 2017.
Neo Lithium Corp. (CVE:NLC): The Company went public in July, soaring as much as 357% on its first day of trading. Neo Lithium’s 3Q brine-reservoir lithium project in Lithium Triangle of Argentina is thought to have high lithium grades with low impurities based on some early sampling. The Company is well funded to complete a drill program expected to begin in the spring as well as a Preliminary Economic Assessment after that.
RNC Minerals (TSE:RNX): RNC’s Board and management team is made up of former Inco and Falconbridge executives, including Scott Hand. The Company has assembled a promising set of mining assets that include the producing Beta Hunt gold and nickel mine in Western Australia, the Dumont Nickel Project in Quebec, and a 30% stake in the producing Reed copper-gold mine in Manitoba. On September 23, 2016, precious metals investing legend Eric Sprott acquired a 10% stake in RNC.
