Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/937377
10 www.resourceworld.com F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 8 low prices. The peak of the cycle is where we make money for shareholders because our revenue is higher and our cash flow is higher. We're making more money and adding more capital to our balance sheet more quickly at the highs. At the bottom of the cycle, yes, our rev- enue decreases because the gold prices are lower. Our cash flow decreases but we're sitting on lots of cash because we 'cash flowed' during the peak and then can deploy that into mining companies seek- ing capital who have projects with lots of exploration upside. The bottom of the cycle lets us buy cheap and the top of the cycle lets us earn a great deal of money off things we bought cheap. We like volatility. RW: There are seven precious metals. Does Sandstorm have any preference? NW: We focus on gold. RW: Does Sandstorm have any prefer- ence for mining jurisdictions? NW: We do. Every jurisdiction has its own risks and rewards. We believe that diversification around the world is one of the best ways to deal with those risks. Within an individual country or area, we look for a combination of a systematic rule of law and a government that is motivated to get mines up and running, permitted and allow them to continue to operate. Government support is something we look for. RW: How many streaming agreements does Sandstorm have? NW: We have 174 streaming royalty agreements. RW: The Hot Maden Project in Turkey was a company acquisition (Mariana Resources) rather than a simple streaming agreement. Why did Sandstorm go this route? NW: Mariana's main asset was a 30% profits interest in the Hot Maden Mine. When you read through that agreement, it reads very much like an NPI type of roy- alty, and so yes, we bought a company but their main asset was something akin to an NPI royalty which is not new to us. RW: The Sandstorm information package states that "more ounces were discovered on Sandstorm properties than were mined in 2016." What does that mean? NW: What we are referring to is the assets; that is, the mines where Sandstorm has a royalty stream. When you look at the number of ounces of gold or other metals that were pulled out of the ground, more ounces of gold were found on those assets than were mined from them. At the begin- ning of 2016 we had a certain number of resources. We got US $50 million of free cash flow and, at the end of the year with- out making any acquisitions, we ended up with more ounces on the books. RW: What is your current business strategy? NW: For the past couple of years, our strategy has been to do more of what we have been doing but doing it a little smarter. Now we're acting from a stronger position on our balance sheet and cash