Are You Looking For Miners In Nevada?

We will see some price consolidation before the next bull market in gold starts again. Nevada could fuel the (junior) mining sector, with some interesting new discoveries going forward.

Background
Gold stocks are in bear market territory, but we think it's only temporary. The price of gold crossed the $1,900 mark per ounce in 2011, fueled by fears in the financial markets and the general belief that gold was a safe haven. Last October, gold was changing hands for $1,754 per ounce. Since then, however, the price of gold has fallen hard, weakening dramatically in recent weeks.
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The Gloom and Doom scenario would take us to the $700-$900 range for gold. Personally we don't think this will happen and we firmly believe trading will be above the $1100 level.

Gold Constraints
Gold is viewed as a hedge against rapid inflation and against the collapse of the banking system, an event that would be expected to have deflationary expectations. That gives gold bugs an each way bet and also makes it hard to interpret the signal being sent by a rise (or fall) in the gold price. It does not help that gold has no cashflows. This makes it very difficult to put a value on the metal in the way that one can suggest a stock with a price-earnings ratio of 50 looks overpriced. It also allows for a wide range of forecasts; Standard Chartered says the superbull case is for $4869 an ounce by 2020; Tim Lee of pi Economics, a monetarist, is going for $700 in 12 months' time.

One common criteria that value investors are looking for is cash flow and which companies have the ability to be self-sustainable. Keep a close eye on emerging gold and silver producers in mining friendly jurisdictions looking to increase production, resource growth and of free cash flow.

With that said, the place investors can look for buying opportunities is the U.S. The state of Nevada is such an area which could turn the coin and reap the fruits going forward.

Nevada
Gold mining in Nevada is a major industry, and one of the largest sources of gold in the world. Nevada currently produces 82% of all the gold mined in the United States, over six million ounces in 2007. Almost all the gold in Nevada comes from large open pit mining and cyanide heap leaching recovery.

The state is host to minerals including gold, silver, copper, precious opal and diatomite; with particular focus on precious metals. Nevada is also the leading producer of barite and gypsum in the country. Major gold mines in the area include the Goldstrike Mine owned by Barrick (ABX), the Coeur Rochester Mine owned by Coeur D'Alene Mines (CDE.WT), and the Twin Creeks Mine owned by Newmont Mining (NEM). These mines contribute to the state's overall gold production which accounts for 87% of the country's gold production. Nevada's deep investments in gold mining means it is the third largest gold producer in the world after South America and Australia.

Nevada has a strong mining history, dating back to 1849 when gold was first discovered near Dayton. This initial discovery led prospectors to silver in the Comstock Lode, which made Virginia City, Nevada, one of the most famous boomtowns in the country's history. The Comstock Lode, for instance, produced 8.6 million troy ounces (267 tonnes) of gold through 1959, and the Eureka district produced 1.2 million troy ounces (37.3 tonnes).

Since these initial discoveries, mining has played an integral part in Nevada's economy, directly and indirectly employing thousands of people. In 2011, the natural resources and mining sector created 500 new jobs and, as of December 2011, there were 12,900 jobs in the sector. In February 2012 the Nevada Mining Association's informal survey found that the industry will create between 1,200 and 1,500 new jobs this year. Every year Nevada mining provided approximately US$100 million in state tax revenue.

The "Nevada" Candidates

Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) is the gold industry leader. The company operates mines and advanced exploration and development projects on four continents, and holds large land positions on some of the most prolific and prospective mineral trends.

Coeur Mining
Coeur Mining, Inc. (CDE) is a large primary silver producer with growing gold production with assets in the United States, Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina and Australia. Coeur also owns strategic minority shareholdings in eight silver and gold development companies in North and South America. The Palmarejo mine in Mexico, San Bartolomé mine in Bolivia and Rochester mine in Nevada all produce silver and gold in doré form. Coeur's Kensington gold mine in Alaska produces gold concentrate and the Endeavor mine in Australia produces a concentrate that contains silver.

In 2013, Coeur expects to produce between 18.0 and 19.5 million ounces of silver and between 250,000 and 265,000 ounces of gold.

Newmont Mining
Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) is primarily a gold producer, with significant assets or operations in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, New Zealand and Mexico. Founded in 1921 and publicly traded since 1925, Newmont is one of the world's largest gold producers and is the only gold company included in the S&P 500 Index and Fortune 500. Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, the company has around 40,000 employees and contractors worldwide.

Allied Nevada Gold Corp.
Allied Nevada (ANV) is a US-based gold mining and exploration company, which operates its wholly owned Hycroft gold mine located near Winnemucca, Nevada. The company also owns more than 100 advanced and early stage exploration properties located throughout the State of Nevada.

The company's focus is on internal growth strategies, including the development of the Hycroft mine from a run-of-mine heap leach operation to a world-class, large-scale heap leach a milling operation. This will be accomplished through a logically staged growth plan involving the acceleration of the current mining rate for the heap leach operation, which is currently underway, construction of a gyratory crushing system expected to be completed mid-2013 and construction of a milling facility to treat sulfide material.

Pershing Gold
An emerging producer in Nevada is Pershing Gold Corporation (PGLC). This newly formed gold exploration and development company purchased the Relief Canyon Mine in Nevada in August 2011. The company bought the mine at a very low price out of bankruptcy. Relief Canyon Gold Mine produced gold intermittently since 1984, but was abandoned when the parent company ran into financial problems. Pershing has bought some land around the mine and is preparing to resume drilling and expanding the mine with a goal of production in early 2014, if not sooner. The company is also debt free and they have obtained almost all of the permits necessary to go back into production.

While the Pershing has not yet released detailed preliminary for the Relief Canyon project, CEO Alfers stated that the economics appear to be robust. Relief Canyon is highly attractive with initial annual production of 50k gold equivalent ounces, ramping up to 100k ounces. Pershing's Relief Canyon mine alone has an all-in costs estimation of $750-$775 per ounce.

This may just be the beginning of major institutions becoming aware of this emerging Nevada producer. Smart money is already invested. The largest shareholder in addition to Coeur Mining is Phillip Frost. Mr. Frost made his fortune by selling drug manufacturer Ivax to Teva Pharmaceuticals for $7.6 billion in 2005. He is also a successful investor in Opka Health (OPK) and Muscle Pharm Corp. (MSLP.OB).

Final Note
There's a compelling reason for investors to hold gold in their portfolios. Prices should start to stabilize once there's a significant reduction in supply as miners cut back. Some miners may hold - depending on their cash flow situation - some production and inventory for a while just to see what happens. Other miners will start to close down some of the more costly mines, spend less on exploration and invest less in general. We think Nevada will be the place to be the coming years.
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Main Risk: Profitability Problems
Gold falling below $1,200 an ounce is certainly at the level where miners, especially the smaller ones, will face profitability issues. According to industry experts, the total cost of production varies between $1,000 and $1,200 an ounce depending on the scale of a miner's operations.