VRIC 2019, Day 1: Notes from the Floor

This year’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference kicked off on Sunday (January 20) with plenty of presentations from thought leaders, experts and companies.

Held at Canada Place, the first day of the two-day event was well attended, and the Investing News Network team was busy throughout the day.

Below we’ve put together some highlights from the first day. Scroll on to read more about what happened on the floor, and be sure to keep an eye out as we post interviews with some of the most knowledgeable analysts, experts and companies in the resource sector in the next few days.

Day one started with a presentation by Frank Holmes of US Global Investors (NASDAQ:GROW), who talked about the main macro forces that could impact commodities this year.

#VRIC19 kicks off with a presentation by @bulldogholmes pic.twitter.com/UCiy3Sdwsp

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Frank Holmes starts off #VRIC19 with a compelling speech about the future of gold stocks with recognition of AI, machine learning and quantitative analysis pic.twitter.com/RYHLrLkVKq

— Cambridge House (@Cambridge) January 20, 2019

Next, Holmes and Marin Katusa of Katusa Research moderated a top picks competition with presentations by Eira Thomas of Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC), Roy Sebag of Mene (TSXV:MENE), Denis Laviolette of GoldSpot Discoveries, Greg Smith of Equinox Gold (TSXV:EQX), Amir Adnani of Uranium Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:UEC) and GoldMining (TSX:GOLD), and Mike Davies of Gran Colombia Gold (TSX:GCM).

So pleased that $MENE $MENEF won the Top Picks Competition at the Vancouver Resource Conference #VRIC19 thank you for voting! pic.twitter.com/IWXyTjxQMe

— Roy Sebag (@roysebag) January 20, 2019

Following the competition, Holmes, Sebag, Peter Hug of Kitco Metals and Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital answered questions from Daniela Cambone of Kitco Metals about gold’s future this year.

The Ultimate Gold Panel is on now at #VRIC19 – Peter Hug comments on #gold‘s performance in Canadian dollar terms, says it’s proven to be an “excellent investment” over the last decade.

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

.@PeterSchiff mentions QE4, says it could launch a new bull market phase; he used to think #gold would hit $5,000 – now believes it could go further.

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Roy Sebag of @mene and @Goldmoney suggests investors “always average into #gold” – says that over time this is beneficial #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Panelists now discussing the @Newmont/@Goldcorp_Inc deal – @bulldogholmes says the concern leading M&A is peak #gold. Also says big moves like this will create a different environment for mid-tiers #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Closing out the panel, @PeterSchiff says buying #gold is a way to preserve your wealth; gold stocks are a way to potentially increase your wealth #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Workshops conducted by David Erfle of Junior Miner Junky, Peter Spina of GoldSeek.com, Mercenary Geologist Mickey Fulp and Jeff Clark of GoldSilver.com were another highlight of the morning.

To capture the greatest leverage to silver, buy primary silver companies, but the problem is that there’s hardly any, says Jeff Clark at #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Jeff Clark shares his top #silver stocks at #VRIC19 @FMSilverCorp @magsilvercorp @alexcoresource and SilverCrest Metals pic.twitter.com/4OEA6ub7Lv

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Watching Peter Spina of @GoldSeekcom at #VRIC19 – says everything is in a bubble today (except commodities/precious metals), with the biggest bubble being the monetary system.

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Top stock picks from Spina include Gold Resource, @Northern_Vertex, @GoldenArrowGRG, @EDRSilverCorp and Pretium Resources #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

After lunch, investors were ready to take in more talks, this time featuring Eric Townsend of Macro Voices, Jeff Klenda of Ur-Energy (TSX:URE), Andrew O’Donnell of Supercharged Stocks, Jeffrey Christian of CPM Group, Philip O’Neil of MP1 Capital and Gianni Kovacevic of CopperBank Resources (CSE:CBK).

Someday the #dollar crash that many people predict will happen but I think we are at least a decade away, says @ErikSTownsend at #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

How can investors maximize the benefits of #gold and #silver? Jeffrey Christian of @CPMGroupLLC suggests thinking of them as both short- and long-term investments #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Christian continues, speaking about where the #gold price is headed – says right now it’s not low, not high; those who think it should be higher are misunderstanding the political/economic situation #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

#Gold could reach a new record price in the next bull market (above $2,000), says Christian – #silver is unlikely to do the same (price will probably be $20 to $25) #VRIC19

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Another high note in the afternoon was a debate between Katusa and Timothy Sykes of TLC Media. Sykes became a self-made millionaire by the age of 21, trading thousands of penny stocks. Katusa asked Sykes about his strategies, what he thinks about the resource space and how mining can attract younger generations.

Awesome banter at #VRIC19 with The Alligator @MarinKatusa vs the Sniper @timothysykes . You missed out if you didn’t see this one live! pic.twitter.com/paLCaJuNdV

— Cambridge House (@Cambridge) January 21, 2019

Later in the afternoon, Rex Murphy of CBC and the National Post shared his thoughts on Canada’s resource economy.

An iconic and often controversial broadcaster Rex Murphy takes the stage at #VRIC19 speaking about the geopolitical environment and the Canadian resource economy. pic.twitter.com/Jxq81VHULo

— Cambridge House (@Cambridge) January 21, 2019

The day wrapped up with a panel moderated by Katusa featuring Brent Johnson of Santiago Capital, Townsend, Sykes, Murphy and Schiff. The discussion covered gold, the US dollar and oil, and what’s ahead for each space. 

The last panel of day 1 at #VRIC19 #gold vs #oil vs US #dollar pic.twitter.com/pv4vKPpHvC

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 21, 2019

The editorial team was busy conducting interviews with many of the speakers on day one, including Brian Leni of Junior Stock Review, David Morgan of the Morgan Report, US Global Investors’ Holmes, CPM Group’s Christian and many more.

Stay tuned for a wide-ranging video interview with @mercenarygeo – we covered commodities to look at in 2019, stock picks and more #VRIC19 pic.twitter.com/tgZ3YXHEtk

— Resource Investing (@INN_Resource) January 20, 2019

Follow along on Twitter on Monday (January 21) as we cover day two of the conference, and stay tuned as we begin to post video interviews and other coverage.

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

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