4 Prospect Generators Up Over 100 Percent Year-to-date

It isn’t a secret that the prospect generator model is a popular approach to the junior mining space. Rick Rule of Sprott US Holdings is a fan of prospect generators for a number of reasons, and has been quite successful with his picks.
According to Rule, the prospect generator model allows explorers to increase their changes of discovery while minimizing exploration expenses. “The ideal prospect generator generates three or four investment ideas a year and then uses other people’s money to do the heavy lifting of exploration,” explained Rule in a recent interview with INN. “This leaves the intellectual capital free to generate new exploration prospects which will in turn be tested again by other people’s money.”

That approach no doubt makes sense to plenty of junior mining investors. And with gold prices up 26 percent year-to-date, and silver up 44 percent, there are a few prospect generators that are on the rise as well. Those companies include:

• Lara Exploration (TSXV:LRA)
• Riverside Resources (TSXV:RRI)
• Mirasol Resources (TSXV:MRZ)
• Evrim Resources (TSXV:EVM)

Here’s a look at those prospect generators and what they’ve been up to lately:

Lara Exploration

Lara Exploration has gained a whopping 356 percent year-to-date. Currently, the company’s share price is sitting at $1.13.
Lara is focused on prospect generation in South America, focused on Brazil and Peru. As of June 2016, the company has joint venture agreements, royalties and alliances on 10 of its prospects with seven different companies, including Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producing company.
So far in 2016, the company has secured options to acquire a number of new prospects, including the Serrita gold project and Damolandia nickel sulphide project in Brazil. Most recently, Lara reported that it had extended its option agreement for the Grace project in Brazil with Minera Apumayo.

Riverside Resources

Riverside Resources has alliances with the Hothschild Mining and Antogafasta (LSE:ANTO) for regional exploration projects, and, as per the prospect generator model, structures earn-in joint venture agreements for individual projects. Most recently, Riverside reported  results from initial rock chip sampling at its La Silla gold project in Mexico on June 29. Results included samples of up to 7.24 grams per tonne of gold.
Shares of Riverside Resources have gained 231 percent year-to-date to reach $0.465. Key investors in the company include Adrian Day Asset Management, the Rick Rule Family Trust and Kinross Gold (TSX:K).

Mirasol Resources

Mirasol Resources is up 168.18 percent so far in 2016 to $2.36 per share. Discoveries by this prospect generator include the Joaquin bulk-tonnage deposit, the Virginia silver vein deposit, and the Claudia gold-silver property.
Mirasol has a joint venture agreement with Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI) for its projects in the Gorbea belt in northern Chile, and has also signed an option agreement with Cerro Vanguardia Mines for the Claudia project in Argentina. The company has been actively exploring at both projects, reporting drill results from the Atlas project within the Gorbea belt on April 25, as well as the start of drilling at the Claudia project on May 9.

Evrim Resources

The last prospect generator on the list is Evrim Resources, which has optioned its Cumobabi and Ermitaño properties in Sonora, Mexico to First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR). Overall, the company notes that 83 percent of its exploration expenditures have been funded through partnerships—Evrim has spent $3.2 million on exploration between 2011-2015, securing $15.5 million in funding from partners.
Shares of Evrim Resources are up 113.79 percent year-to-date to $0.31. The most recent news from the company came on June 8, when it announced that it would resume exploration work at its Cerro Cascaron project in Mexico.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Teresa Matich, hold no investment interest in any companies mentioned.