Lawrence Roulston: The Smart Money in Mining is Positioning Right Now

Interview by Charlotte McLeod; article by Scott Tibballs.

According to Lawrence Roulston, who is managing director at WestBay Capital, the smart money in the resources industry is positioning itself for the next big upswing right now.

“The smart money is getting in there and getting positioned, and once the smart money is in there, the broader investor base is going to start getting into the market. The smart money is made by those that get in early,” he explained.

Speaking with the Investing News Network at Mines and Money London, Roulston drilled down on why the smart money is moving and where it is going.

He noted that the veterans of the industry are the ones to be watching.

“We know what the bottom looks like and we know when it’s looking to turn up. The view I am getting from a lot of these people that have been around for awhile is that we’re starting to see an upturn, and some of these people are getting very active at deploying money into the sector at this stage because they see this as being the right time to be positioned.

“Right now we’re facing the double whammy of a bad market and tax-loss selling, which means there’s extraordinary bargains to be had right now — there’s blood in the streets, and as some of the commentators here have pointed out, the time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets and right now that describes where we’re at,” he said.

Talking commodities, Roulston said that while gold is the “focal point” of interest from investors, basically every commodity is seeing interest.

“These people that understand the market are looking at all of these commodities from a fundamental perspective — the prices are strong enough that the mines that are operating are making money … and projects are looking very attractive at the current metal prices.”

When asked about the recent and ongoing trend of more mergers and acquisitions in mining, Roulston said that mining more than any other sector needs more of it.

“We’ve got roughly 3,000 junior mining companies, and it’s absurd to have that many companies,” he said, taking aim at companies with rusted-on management teams.

Listen to the full interview above for Roulston’s thoughts on what sorts of people he looks for in management and discoveries, as well as his thoughts on what sorts of companies should be merging and why. You can also click here to view our full Mines and Money London playlist on YouTube.

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

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.