Geo-fiction or not, high-grade magnates rule: ThomWatch

Mining magnates are shaking the money tree. We cannot guarantee this two-minute Melt-Up is free of some "geo-fiction," but we can assure you the next two minutes of ThomWatch will alter your natural resources:

Sean Boyd, a top executive at Agnico-Eagle (NYSE: AEM) … $100 million in cash and "significant cash flow" … three copper/zinc/gold mines hurtling toward operating status: "I remember these BMO Capital Markets conferences many years ago when they were at Squaw Valley (California), and 10 or 20 people would be there. … Our team is trained geologists. (We) are not an exercise in geo-fiction. There are more and more investors coming to this space … coming to see where they were positioned. … We like to buy (gold properties) early." Sean Boyd was speaking today at the BMO show, a Florida gathering of big fund managers, i-bankers and sizeable mining companies.

Peter Barnes at Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW), also speaking at BMO: "Almost 80% of our revenue comes from four mines. … About half our silver come from gold mines. … Almost three-quarters of our silver comes from Mexico, and Mexico is probably the best country in the world to operate as a miner. … We have the best leverage to the silver price of any company if it goes higher. … We believe silver prices are going to continue to (appreciate). … Over 60% of the silver produced in the world comes from primary metal miners. … I believe silver is going to $30 over the next three to five years, and maybe a lot higher." 

Across the country, in another sunny venue, Phoenix, a handful of small miners showed their commitment to telling their story to an audience of about 1,000 garage-loft investors. Joe Martin and Howard Fitch's annual Arizona metals show featured silver companies Endeavour Silver (AMEX: EXK), Mag Silver (AMEX: MVG) and Tumi Resources (TSX: V.TM). Other steady-eddies at the Cambridge House Show included Bravo Venture Group (TSX: V.BVG) and Quaterra Resources (AMEX: QMM).

For our beloved garage-loft investors, silver rounds were everywhere at the show. Silver rounds, as Jason Hummel, Peter Spina, Joyce Espinosa and others who mint and auction one-ounce silver "rounds pointed out, are capturing the attention of Europeans and North Americans. The customized coins sport some gorgeous designs, thanks to Jim Pavlakos at Superior Sources Inc. and other designers. Our kids' favorite one, of course, was the skull and cross bones. Ozzy Osborne eat your Black Sabbath heart out.

Road shows are going into turbo drive. At least 200 small and mid-sized miners, everything from silver and lithium to molybdenum, gold, platinum and geothermal, are on the breakfast and luncheon circuit. They are air-dropping via elevator and motoring via creaky taxis across Toronto, New York, Boston, San Francisco, LA, Philadelphia, Denver, Houston and Chicago. Stay tuned to subscription service www.tickertrax.com for the ones I am attending for the words and the food.

Frank Barbera, a gold stock technician with whom I shared a Phoenix panel this past weekend: "Copper and the base metals still have a ways to go lower this year, so more pain. Gold I see at $5,000 (an ounce) at some point in the future."

My favorite line: Peter Grandich of The Grandich Letter – "Those who live by the crystal ball learn to eat broken glass."

My favorite place in Arizona, where I attended graduate school: Sedona. We stayed for a couple of days at Enchantment Resort, which is lined by red rock canyon walls. Thanks to Mason Romney of www.MasonryDomes.com, a local builder whom we ran into at Euro Deli in town. Mason was using gold coins to pay one Sedona contractor. Nice chap and thanks for the hiking directions.

Finally, of note, and back to the BMO show for heavyweights in Florida this week: One of the few presenters and keynoters who requested their words and materials not to be audio-streamed to the general public at this URL, is Robert M. Friedland of the Mongolia miner Ivanhoe Mines and the natural gas/oil producer Ivanhoe Energy. Mr. Friedland told me today (Tuesday morning) that he would prefer keeping his keynote address from Monday and his company presentation today "confidential." Robert's son, Govind Friedland of Beijing, is operating a uranium company with great hopes in Africa and elsewhere and also decided to keep his presentation at the BMO conference "off limits" to Internet stream.

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Ticker Trax By Thom Calandra explores planet Earth for a handful of stakes and strategies that offer the prospect of excellent, in some cases cosmic, returns. The new service is for those who can cope with stratospheric levels of risk attached to a handful of planetary prospects. (Please see www.tickertrax.com.)

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THOM'S STORY: Thom Calandra during 27 years of road work has helped his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Thom co-founded CBS MarketWatch, MarketWatch.com and FT MarketWatch in Europe. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom fancied $300-ounce gold before that metal became an investment rage. Thom visited bioscience companies, metals mines and energy companies in a search for reliable sources and fine planetary prospects. (He was imperfect in at least one regard, having settled a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission complaint in 2004.) Thom's novel PABLO BY NUMBERS was completed in 2008.

HOLDINGS: Thom's cosmos of holdings is listed for free Stockhouse members on www.Stockhouse.com under the "portfolio setting" for user TCALANDRA. He and his family own recently minted gold coins. They receive no compensation for these reports. They own shares of Western Uranium. They have no interest in any publicly traded Ivanhoe company. For the free ThomWatch, please click here. For subscription service Ticker Trax, please visit www.TickerTrax.com. Thank you!

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