Michael McClintock, P.Eng.’s Post

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Founder & Principal @ McClintock Group| Co-Founder EOC | Enhancing Mineral Projects, Advocating for Shareholders

⚒️ #GOLD: The Hidden Challenges of Gold Developers and Explorers I am continually surprised by the number of investors who conflate the hedge of gold against inflation with buying gold miners, particularly developers and explorers. Historical data clearly shows that gold producers often face significant financial pressure during inflationary periods, almost regardless of the rise in physical gold prices. When we examine gold developers and explorers, the situation becomes even more challenging. These entities, without direct metal price appreciation to realize, are frequently squeezed harder. Despite this, a significant portion of investment still flows into gold. ▪️The Stuggle With Cost Control: Gold producers typically struggle more than other miners to control costs. Gold projects generally have lower economies of scale, are smaller, and face significantly more competition. This means that the costs of services, reagents, and equipment in the gold mining space are much more sensitive. Moreover, the perception that rising gold prices necessitate accelerated timelines and drilling exacerbates the situation. Combine this with the fact that almost 50% of Jr. Mining companies on the #TSXV, and this competitive challenge becomes self evident. ▪️Risk of Investing Agnostically: In the long run, costs rise rapidly, often consuming any appreciation in the metal price. Back in 2011, I analyzed this trend and found that it took about six months for costs to erode 50% of any metal price appreciation. This highlights a larger disconnect between capital allocation in the industry and technical expertise. In this environment, you can't be saved by a rising tide, but need to be investing in quality and projects capable of being the exception. In an industry where significant gains are made through a handful of projects, excellent discoveries, and strategic de-risking, understanding these dynamics and relationships is critical to improving capital allocation and competing against growing and emerging sectors. #GoldMining #Inflation #Investing #MiningIndustry #GoldProducers #Exploration #MiningEconomics #GoldInvestments #CostControl #StrategicInvesting

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