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J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 5 e d i t o r ' s c o m m e n t s E l l s w o r t h D i c k s o n ellsworth Dickson, Editor-in-Chief email: editor@resourceworld.com t: 604 484 3800 | 1 877 484 3800 T he recent recovery in mining stocks has been a long time com- ing. It has been so frustrating to report on companies that, though they had great fundamentals, prevailing negative investor sentiment kept a lid on a share price that would reflect their true value. At the same time, it was hard for junior explorers to find private placees. Private placements are their lifeblood; junior explorers don't have operating mines to fund projects. That private placees and venture capital companies stayed away from mining stocks was understand- able; they figured they would not make any money. Not anymore. For example, Platinum Group Metals just raised $33 mil- lion and Endeavour Silver is arranging a US $40 financing following a share price rise from $1.50 in January to over $5.00 in early May. Things have dramatically changed. Both gold and lithium are hot commodi- ties. Rising in price from below US $1,080/ oz in early January to nudging US $1,300/ oz at the current level, buyers of the yel- low metal have prospered as well as those investing in quality gold-related stocks. For example, the Horizon Betapro gold ETF has increased in value from about $15 in January to about $48 and the Sprott Gold Miners ETF has risen from about $11 to over $23. Goldcorp shares have soared (see Goldcorp article page 6) and Lundin Gold has risen from $3.80 to about $5.84 since January. Some silver companies have done exceptionally well such as Golden Arrow Resources that has rocketed from 16 cents to 47 cents. Silver streamer Silver Wheaton has increased in value from below $15 in January to over $25 in early May. However, it doesn't look like the recov- ery is topping out. The fundamentals are still in place for gold to keep rising. (Refer to the Rick Rule interview on page 22 for more details.) At the same time, there is now a stak- ing rush in the lithium sector that has been fueled by both Telsa alleviating the "range anxiety" that haunted prospective electric car buyers as well the fast-grow- ing lithium battery market for portable electronic devices. Major companies are building lithium battery factories in Asia and Europe. With over 50 companies exploring for lithium, as is the usual case in a stak- ing rush, not everyone will be successful, which means that lithium stock investors would be wise to carefully watch their holdings. Refer to our lithium coverage starting on page 26. All this action is being reflected in the resource stock heavy TSX Venture Exchange Composite Index. All these financings taking place mean that explorers can get back to work dis- covering valuable mineral deposits and building resources and reserves. Looking at commodities from a longer term view, both copper and uranium are slowly building their fundamentals for better market performance in the future. Talking to my colleagues in the junior resource sector, they are relieved and grateful to be back in business and look forward to increasing shareholder value after too long a hiatus. n Back in the saddle