My dad and I were discussing year end charitable contributions this morning. I told him how I learned about The Boys Club this year and met its founders Walter Mustapich (a Vancouver highschool vice principal) and Jim Cresenzo (a fine arts teacher), two lifelong friends who met at Templeton Secondary School in East Vancouver. The Boys… Continue Reading

Brian Dalton’s Altius Minerals (TSX:ALS) is building THE diversified Canadian minerals royalty company. Today the firm announced acquiring 51% of Sherritt International’s Canadian coal and potash royalties for $254 million, representing approximately 86% of Altius’s market cap at the time of the announcement. Dalton is betting the farm on long life coal and potash assets,… Continue Reading

HBO aired a beautiful tribute to the late actor James Gandolfini Sunday, Tribute to a Friend, which any Sopranos or Gandolfini fan must see. The documentary concluded to a poem by Dominic Chianese who played Uncle Junior Soprano in the famous series. “You can travel down the road, check on every vine, you can travel… Continue Reading

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA – Niocorp Developments Ltd., a Vancouver-based junior mining company which is developing the Elk Creek niobium deposit in Nebraska, announced that newly appointed CEO Mark Smith has invested another $510,000 US (3.4 million shares at $.15), bringing his total ownership in Niocorp to 8.4 million shares or 8.4% of the company, filings… Continue Reading

I came across a 2011 article about Canaccord Financial founder Peter Brown, and I particularly enjoyed the following excerpt: In 1968, Brown and partner Ted Turton bought 51 per cent of a struggling Vancouver brokerage for $23,000. They soon ran into problems with an “irresponsible” financial partner who bankrupted the company, he said. “We started… Continue Reading

Sheldon Inwentash’s Pinetree Capital has acquired 18 million shares of Allen Lone’s Augusta Industries (TSXV:AAO) at 5 cents in a private placement (market price for AAO has been 2-3 cents recently), bringing PNP’s total ownership of AAO to approximately 60 million shares or 28.5% of the company. To pay for the financing, Pinetree swapped 3 million… Continue Reading

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX:PRE), Colombia’s largest non-state owned oil producer, are selling the 5% OCENSA pipeline interest they gained by acquiring Petrominerals last month to Darby Private Equity, the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton, for $385-million (U.S.). Ronald Pantin, the company’s chief executive officer, commented: “This transaction represents an attractive deal for both… Continue Reading

The following is an excerpt of a conversation with Sprott USA Chairman Rick Rule published by Tekoa Da Silva, Editor, Bull Market Thinking (Source). TD: Rick, if I can ask you about the concept of becoming rich to be blunt, based on your experience, what are some of the characteristics that you feel lead to becoming… Continue Reading

Readers may be interested in a position advertised today by Toronto search firm Vlaad and Co: “Our client a globally recognized Foreign Investment Bank currently has a search on for an Analyst/Associate, Investment Banking, Metals and Mining. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to participate in client meetings on day one, and will be… Continue Reading

The Lundin Group’s Lucara Diamond Corp. (TSX:LUC) jumped 11.3% in early trading Friday after the company announced a greater than $1 billion increase in the estimated in-situ value of the Indicated mineral resource at the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana. The growth is credited to the company’s consistent recovery of large and exceptional stones at… Continue Reading

One of the very few Canadian based junior mining companies with any cash is Lowell Copper, which raised $11.4 million earlier this year, with a lead order coming from resource titan Lukas Lundin. Lundin and others backed the junior for the intellectual property of its founder, J. David Lowell, an octogenarian explorationist who pioneered the… Continue Reading

Tekoa from Bull Market Thinking interviews Sprott Asset Management founder Eric Sprott, who became a billionaire in the gold bull market, but has lost his step as the bullish outcome for precious metals and resources equities Sprott predicted has yet to materialize. Still, the interviewer asked a couple of great questions of the pioneer Sprott:… Continue Reading

A new drug has taken Vancouver stoners by storm (sources). Dab, or Butane Hash Oil, is among the purest forms of THC extract. Here’s VICE.com’s intro to the substance (Do not try this at home): Source: Vice

The last day for tax loss selling is December 24th for Canadian listed securities and December 26th for US listed securities.

Junior mining community organizers, Cambridge House International, are set to host their annual blockbuster Vancouver Resource Investment Conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre this January 19-20, 2014. There are roughly 300 junior mining companies exhibiting (full list), ranging from explorers to developers and even some producers, each likely to be prospecting for investors at Vancouver’s… Continue Reading