Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/1174544
28 www.resourceworld.com O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 A s we enter the final quarter of 2019, we are optimistic that the historical seasonal patterns and trends will kick in; we should have a strong finish in the precious metals' markets into the year end. Year to date, Gold is up ~16% and the precious metal indices that were up earlier this summer to over 40%, have come off their highs and are currently up in a range of plus 20%-26%. The TSX Venture has lagged since reaching a high earlier this year but our work suggests the lows are in, and we have an established uptrend from the 2016 lows and the late 2018 bottom and again since the mid-August lows. We feel that like the first quarter of 2019, when we saw a +20% gain in the TSX Venture exchange, it could repeat itself in the final quarter as uncertainty in overall markets and sea- sonality come into play. Helping us keep the conviction that your stock pick's manage- ment team is still confident in their project are the fundamentals and sentiment that fueled the upward trending moves we have wit- nessed so far in 2019 in the broader precious metal space. We are still facing the threats of a trade war, sanctions, and con- tinuing tariff actions, giving emerging markets added incentive to add gold to their foreign reserves. The Federal Reserve looks like its next move is this week (September 18 th ) and could be lowering interest rates again, moving closer to a near zero interest rate policy. This is a global move by all central bankers back to monetary easing and leaving them with the inflexible nature of excessive debt levels, suggesting we are in the early stages of a credit easing cycle in interest rates, to offset reces- sionary forces that may be on the horizon. When interest rates decline, so does the opportunity cost of holding gold; the interest rate you could have earned on a deposit vs. the zero-interest rate offered by gold. This environment usually leverages gold prices higher. Another factor increasing gold demand is Central Banks con- tinue to purchase gold at almost record pace ignoring higher prices with top buyers being China, Russia, Turkey, India, and Poland. Gold in almost every major currency around the world is hitting all-time highs that leave little doubt that investors are also using precious metals as a hedge against currency debasement and global economic uncertainties. Looking at precious metals as an investment in the environment laid out above, we believe that the playing field for precious met- als and well-run companies is an attractive place to allocate funds. We still believe we are in the early stages of a bull market that At the Market by John Newell Keeping conviction in today's mining market The top chart is the TSX Venture Exchange Index. The lower chart is the NYSE Arca Gold BUGS Index, a modified equal dollar weighted index of companies involved in gold mining. BUGS stands for Basket of Unhedged Gold Stocks. Source: StockCharts. com