Economic geologist Brent Cook, the editor of Exploration Insights, a high value subscriber supported publication focused on junior miners, echoed much of what he said in our interview of a few weeks back when he sat down with Vanessa Collette at the Cambridge House conference in Vancouver the other day.

Related: Brent Cook: Why gold miners must acquire new projects in 2015, 2016

The rest of 2014 will be ugly, according to Mr. Cook, with 2015 and 2016 setting up to be more positive for the junior mining sector, simply because on that timeframe, majors need new deposits to mine badly.

Projects that have the lowest quartile cap-ex and operating costs are Cook's favourites, especially one's led by management teams with the mental firepower to find metal in the ground, and more importantly, can quickly recognize if they fail and move on without further wasting shareholders money.

Cook commented that resource estimates put out by companies are very difficult for the average investor to understand, adding that companies can influence the outcome of these reports to their liking.

"You can tell a lot by the quality of report that comes out. Solid strong management demands a legitimate report, and you can buy pretty much any quality you want, whether you want a sales document, or a buying document."

Are you ready to sign up for Brent's weekly letter for $140 / month here?