Notes from the Floor: Mines and Money New York 2019

Mines and Money New York just wrapped up, and the Investing News Network (INN) kept busy by engaging with companies, attending panel discussions and interviewing industry experts.

The two day event was a must-attend North American conference and a key meeting place for mining companies as well as potential and current investors interested or invested in the resource space. 

The INN editorial team covered panel discussions and keynote presentations and conducted interviews with industry experts and CEOs. If you were unable to make it to the convention or just want a recap of what happened, continue on for an overview of the day.

Following a welcome message from Kai Hoffman, CEO of Oreninc, the day started with a keynote session that featured Ivan Bebek, executive chairman and director of Auryn Resources (TSX:AUG).

Auryn resources #minesandmoneynewyork one of the most exciting exploration mining projects pic.twitter.com/s6tgkxE4Ek

— Andrew Thake (@norwich4862) May 1, 2019

Day one continued with a precious metals keynote session that featured a gold-focused presentation from Stephen Letwin, CEO of IAMGOLD (TSX:IMG,NYSE:IAG). In his presentation, titled “Gold Mining — Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying,” Letwin spoke about the amount of money that has been placed into exploration within the resource space.

“Total exploration spending grew 19 percent in 2018” – Stephen Letwin @IAMGOLDcareers #MinesandMoneyNYC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 1, 2019

Letwin also notes that gold exploration is leading the way. Over 50 percent of the global budget was allocated to exploration of the yellow metal last year. @IAMGOLDcareers #MinesandMoneyNYC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 1, 2019

“Canada is the only major gold-producing country to continue significant increases in 5 years” – Stephen Letwin @IAMGOLDcareers #MinesandMoneyNYC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 1, 2019

Silver rounded out the precious metals session as Johann Wiebe, lead metals analyst with GFMS, provided attendees with an update from the recently released World Silver Survey. He discussed the white metal’s new uses, industrial demand and supply.

Silver not the most popular precious metal amongst investors at #minesandmoneynewyork I disagree. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/bUP9SaDOtO

— Andrew Thake (@norwich4862) May 1, 2019

The final morning sessions of the day focused on the future for mining and mining finance, and covered topics such as capitalizing on the changing nature of mining finance, what works for exploration, development and production and whether alternative finance is the new normal when it comes to financing mining projects.

Great panel #minesandmoneynewyork on financing with IFC, SBP Management, Tocqueville, Peartree and Oreninc pic.twitter.com/EyPY80UXin

— Andrew Thake (@norwich4862) May 1, 2019

The afternoon of day one belonged to battery metals, with panels that covered topics such as “Are You Too Late for Lithium?” Participants covered the long-term prospects of the metal.

Are you too late for #lithium?
A panel of experts, including @cberry1, discuss the long-term prospects of the battery metal. #MinesandMoneyNYC pic.twitter.com/zWE0J6hpr3

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 1, 2019

Don’t expect true merger & acquisition trends in the #lithium space this year.#MinesandMoneyNYC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 1, 2019

Lithium is an “irreplaceable element for an electronic future”#MinesAndMoneyNY

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 1, 2019

Next up, Andrew O’Donnell, managing director of Super Charged Stocks, ran through whether vanadium, the hottest commodity of 2018, can be expected to continue its trajectory in 2019.

The day ended on a cobalt panel discussion that addressed the shortage of pure cobalt plays and the best way for investors to play the cobalt investment thesis.

INN’s editorial team spoke with resource experts such as Howard Klein, founder of RK Equity Group; IAMGOLD’s Letwin; and Jon Hykawy, president and director of Stormcrow Capital, to name a few. 

On Thursday (May 2), the spotlight was back on the yellow metal, with a keynote presentation from Peter Grosskopf, CEO of Sprott (TSX:SII,OTC Pink:SPOXF), whom INN sat down with following his address on where gold stands right now.

This morning, on day 2 of #MinesAndMoneyNYC , it’s all about #gold pic.twitter.com/6JbDTTiVOK

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 2, 2019

“It’s been a tough month in the gold business” – Peter Grosskopf, CEO of @Sprott #MinesAndMoneyNYC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 2, 2019

“You don’t have to defend gold’s place in the mindset of investors” said Grosskopf. He also added that gold is a US$6-trillion industry and investors should have it in their portfolio. @Sprott #MinesAndMoneyNYC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) May 2, 2019

James Steel, chief metals analyst with HSBC (LSE:HSBA), also focused on precious metals, with a look at the various macroeconomic indicators that help analysts predict the prices of these metals.

Jim steel @HSBC one of the worlds best precious metals strategists at #minesandmoneyny pic.twitter.com/dvHnC8aY59

— Andrew Thake (@norwich4862) May 2, 2019

The morning of day two ended with a panel discussion on the investment thesis for gold in 2019 and how investors should allocate between equities, bullion, exchange-traded funds and digital gold.

Trey reik, chen lin, Chris Mancini and Dan Oliver #minesandmoneyny pic.twitter.com/tXdRfs7iw1

— Andrew Thake (@norwich4862) May 2, 2019

Rounding out the day was a pitch battle between several companies and a look at success stories in investing.

INN’s editorial team also spent the day interviewing industry experts such as Adam Rozencwajg, managing partner at Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates, and Chris Mancini, analyst with the Gabelli Gold Fund. Make sure to check back next week when we will feature all of the interviews conducted at this year’s Mines and Money New York event.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.