Categories: Mining Stocks
Topics: Copper Stocks

Kincora Copper (TSX-V: KCC)(OTC: BZDLF) Strategic Advisor Brent Cook on Gold, Silver, Copper & Kincora Copper

 

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the newly appointed strategic advisor to Kincora Copper (TSX-V: KCC)(OTC: BZDLF), Mr. Brent Cook. Brent, welcome on. Great to have you back. How are you today, sir?

Brent Cook: Yeah, glad to be here, and thanks for the time. Yeah, everything's good, at least in the metals market.

Gerardo Del Real: At least in the metals market is well put, sir. Look, let's get right to it. The last time that you and I spoke publicly, we chatted about the fact that you don't lend your name to very many companies. You're very selective. You were like that when you were quarterbacking Exploration Insights. And subsequently, you've been like that whether you're writing a check, buying stock in the market, or advising companies.

So when I saw that you were being appointed as a strategic advisor to Kincora Copper, one, it was interesting, and two, it was really interesting because it follows the news that none other than Rick Rule and Jeff Phillips, who of course are friends of yours, had led a financing that clearly was very, very successful. So I wanted to have you on to talk about prospect generators, but I wanted to congratulate you first and ask you, why Kincora?

Brent Cook: Right. Well, I know the terrain. I worked in Australia and New Guinea for six years, lived over there, worked a bunch of them in the Macquarie Arc. The prospectivity there is much greater than you'd expect, given what's been found so far. And what's happening now is companies are looking beneath covers for like blind targets and having some real success. And I think what Kincora has done in the joint ventures with AngloGold is lined up a smart exploration and business model to look for these high-grade porphyry copper gold systems without diluting themselves out of the picture. These are hard to find, but very rich and profitable when they are found.

Gerardo Del Real: Can you give me the analogs to what Kincora is looking for? What is the potential prize here? We have a gold market that is hitting record highs at an almost weekly level. We've had a doubling of the gold price in the last 18 months, velocity that we haven't seen since the '70s, and then a variety of factors for that. Now, I'll ask you here in a second, but what's the potential prize that the company is looking for?

Brent Cook: Well, really, it's a porphyry copper gold system that is large enough to bring AngloGold or some other company to take out Kincora's share of the deposit and make a lot of money for all its shareholders. I mean, we're looking at Cadia, which is over 10 million ounces, a number of other projects in development and mines in the area that have produced over 10 million ounces plus copper. So that's the sort of thing we're looking for.

Gerardo Del Real: The company has done a really good job of bringing in a robust, robust portfolio of assets. Can you speak to some of the projects specifically that you liked that attracted you to the company?

Brent Cook: Well, really all of them. I mean, they're all equal. I'm sure there are better and worse. But right now, this is pure grassroots exploration. I mean, Northern Junee, Nevertire and Nyngan are all being explored by Anglo. And they've had some initial technical success, I guess you'd call it. And they are finding the right style of alteration and the right style of porphyry systems. But the thing about finding these is it can take tens to hundreds of millions to actually make the discovery and drill out some sort of mineral resource. And that's where they need the big money, and where a tiny company like Kincora or any junior exploration company, really, they are at a big disadvantage because they've got to continue going back to the market on what might only be technical successes without making that big drill hole, if you know what I mean.

Gerardo Del Real: One other company that employs a similar model and that has attracted quite a bit of capital from majors is Headwater Gold. Do you see the majors with the gold price at 4,000 now and companies reporting results here in the next three weeks – balance sheets clearly are robust – do you see more majors wanting to move in and joint venture projects with quality explorers like the Headwaters and like the Kincoras?

Brent Cook: Most definitely. For a major mining company, their overhead to move into a new area or just do some exploration, it is much higher and more time-consuming than if they hook up with a competent exploration team whose focus is on a specific region and a specific type of deposit. That is much more efficient for them in the long run, I think, than moving to Australia or Mongolia or Ecuador or whatever, because there's just a lot of big overhead and they're slow to move, whereas you've got a small exploration team, they can move very quickly and they know all the ins and outs of that particular locality, how to deal with the locals, how to deal with the government, what needs to be done, who to talk to, that sort of thing.

Gerardo Del Real: Interesting, interesting. Obviously, everybody loves gold right now. Are there other commodities that are on your radar? And where do you think we are in the cycle here with not just the precious metals but the base metals? And anything you like out there in the commodity space?

Brent Cook: Well, certainly gold. I would put silver there as well. Copper, I think copper long-term looks really positive. We are not finding enough copper to replace what we've been mining. Uranium in the right location. I think US jurisdiction is a great place to be drilling out uranium deposits right now. Rare earths, if you've got the ionic clay-style deposit that they're finding now, well, in Brazil, those are probably the big things I'm focused on right now.

Gerardo Del Real: This is as optimistic as I've heard you in quite some time, Brent. How much bull market do we have left, in baseball parlance? I'm a big baseball fan, a big Cubs fan. What inning do you think we're in as it relates to, let's just call it the commodity super cycle, for lack of a better phrase?

Brent Cook: Well, that's a tough call. It looks early to me. I really expect gold to be higher by the end of the year. I think the big geopolitical events that are happening, the fact that the US dollar is declining, that the US' presence and dominance and respect around the world is going away, that more countries are looking to secure their own supply of metal, I think all those are going to play favorably to the metal prices. What inning we're in? That depends on who's playing, the Dodgers or the Rockies? I'd say we're halfway there at least, but I do expect we're going to get whacked from something we don't see coming. But longer term, I think we'll do fine.

Gerardo Del Real: So you think the fundamentals overall ... and I know it's commodity specific, but in general, you think there's enough demand and a lack of quality deposits that have been discovered here over the last decade or so to justify coming in if you're newer to the space?

Brent Cook: Oh, I do, for sure. I do, for sure. I mean, what happens to the global stock markets will definitely impact what happens to metal prices and such, but I can't predict that.

Gerardo Del Real: Brent, always a pleasure. Appreciate the time. Let's do it again soon. Will you be in New Orleans this year?

Brent Cook: Unfortunately, I won't make New Orleans this year. It's a shame, but there's a charity event that we run here just outside of Zion to help with kids getting into the park, underprivileged kids learning about nature and rocks and that sort of thing. So it coincides, and I'm going to be here.

Gerardo Del Real: Well done, sir. Need more of that in these turbulent times, especially ... well, I would say especially here in the US, but frankly around the globe. So no, good on you. We'll chat soon. Thanks again, Brent.

Brent Cook: All right, thanks. See you.

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