Slow Hand and Lithium Demand

Last week I talked about the best day in my life when I partied with Jeff Beck. A very popular conversation for young guitarists in the late sixties: was who is better? Beck, Clapton, or Jimmy Page. This consumed a fair amount of my youth at one point.

Eric "Slow-Hand" Clapton left the Yardbirds in March 65, and soon joined John Mayall. Eric was a blues purist, and at nineteen, with his Les Paul and Marshall amplifier -- ripped his solos, and that still sends shivers though my spine to this day. He never played better in my opinion.

Clapton formed the supergroup trio -- the Cream, with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce in 1966. They played their first gig in July, and were world-famous within two years. They formed after Baker suggested to Clapton, that Jack Bruce join the trio. Baker and Bruce were regular jam partners at Ronnie Scotts in Soho going back to 1962.

I finally drove Eric Clapton in 1985. He was very friendly, polite and quiet. In a comfortable way, the conversation was limited. Upon dropping him off at his jet and shaking his hand, I said -- what to me was a very embarrassing thing: "Thank you, Clapton."

As he walked towards the jet, you could see him lift his head up and giggle. I should have said, "Mr. Clapton." After a quarter century debating with friends "who was the better guitarist", it was alway Clapton, Beck or Page, by their last names.

Joe Bonamassa fans can thank the British blues guitarists, like Clapton and his licks from half a century ago, as a major influence on his style. Can you blame him after listening to this?

HIDEAWAY (1966) by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers- featuring Eric Clapton

https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=m9N8Qi6zLSU

STEPPIN OUT (1966) by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers

https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=PkulcvRkd4I

Led Zeppelin

The closest I ever got to meeting Jimmy Page was from the first row in December 1968, and rushing the stage in 69, and 70. I did meet Robert Plant in June 1985, when he kicked off his world tour in Vancouver.

He was very calm compared to his wild evening in 1975. Neal Hall from the Vancouver Sun wrote a piece in May 1984 titled: "What the Chauffeur Saw". Neal interviewed me on the Beach Boys in the article. He also quoted me earlier in November 83, on the Moody Blues.

This is what my colleague told Neal about Led Zeppelin:

"Led Zeppelin was the most hectic concert I ever did. It was 75. They rented six cars for 72 hours. After the concert, they went back to the hotel -- they stayed at the Hyatt -- and the road manager told the drivers to wait.

When they came down, they packed the cars to the maximum. They wanted to go to Oil Can Harry's. They rented the place after hours and partied there all night -- the band, the road crew, and a lot of people from Vancouver."

In the theme of keeping this clean, I will repeat my last sentence that Neal quoted me on in the 83 article:

But he says some of the things he overhears are incredible. "I can't repeat them."

Dow 20,000 Update: $1 Trillion Short

Last Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that short interest was at its highest level since 2008. This fits in perfectly with my ongoing unpopular prediction, that the Dow is heading way higher before year-end. Every time the markets drop for whatever reason, it's the shorts that buy in, and up it goes.

Once again, the Dow (up 9.14% from Black Friday, August 24th) gold, oil and lithium are behaving very well. There was an interesting chart posted on Don Wolanchuk's Silicon Investor site titled: "Bradley Turning Points chart with S&P 500 and Gold overlay"

http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=30533518

Dow 20,000 and Gold 1400 looks better every day. Lithium had a good week. Tesla sales shocked the bears with over 325K pre-orders, and over $14.5B in potential sales. TSLA was up $12.50 for the week, and up $109.00 from the February 09 smackdown.

Last Wednesday, Simon Moores tweeted: "There are at least 12 battery megafactories under construction. Tesla Gigafactory is the biggest, but still 7 in China."

From Benchmark Minerals on April 7th:

Will Tesla have to compete with China’s megafactories?

"One thing is for certain, Tesla will become one of the largest purchasers of niche raw materials in the world. But with 70% of expected lithium ion battery demand coming from China, securing the necessary volumes will not be an easy feat."

http://benchmarkminerals.com/Blog/tesla-will-need-a-lot-of-graphite-lithium-but-china-will-need-more/

I asked 9 (rhetorical?) questions about the lithium market on my January 08, "More Q's than A's" post. Number 6 and 7 stick out:

6) Nevada is well picked over I think, otherwise Elon would be content, which he is not?

7) Elon would be willing to rattle the cage, because only he "thinks" he understands how much lithium is actually needed in the next 2 decades?

"Hence the opportunity...."

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=119699667

Talking Our Books

Every week, the list of stocks discussed at CEO.CA grows, with many new all-time-highs reported real time. One fact is certain -- performance trumps all dissent. The typical May-to-September slump will probably show up again, as it usually does.

The key is to focus on the outliers that usually grab even more attention, during the slow period. Let the shorters enjoy their pennies, as we watch our portfolios grow in multiples. This will shock the Millenials from the sidelines, until they slowly figure this risky, and sometimes immensely rewarding junior mining game out.

The upcoming September-to-March run into 2017, or the second inning, will add a lot of zeros and commas to our net worth, I think.

BergDex Update

Robert Hirschberg's three stock picks from the Globe and Mail article of March 4 are continuing to trend up:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/this-junior-resource-stocks-investor-rides-commodities-market-swings/article29038110/

$LIX March 3rd: 0.85
Friday Close: 1.52
Up 79%

$PGM March 3rd: 0.24
Friday Close: .40
Up 67%

$NGZ March 3rd: 0.045
Friday Close: 0.08
Up 78%

This is how the rest of the BergDex performed since he tweeted his list on March 24th. He expects these stocks to do well over the next year:

$BOL Mar 24: 0.02, Friday: 0.025

$CAP Mar 24: 0.02, Friday: 0.02

$EAM Mar 24: 0.085, Friday: 0.115

$GSH Mar 24: 0.095, Friday: 0.095

$NFR Mar 24: 0.08, Friday: 0.10

$NX Mar 24: 0.07, Friday: 0.065

$SXR Mar 24: 0.02, Friday: 0.02

$UWE Mar 24: 0.03, Friday: 0.03

$WML Mar 24: 0.27, Friday: 0.45

$WPQ Mar24: 0.055, Friday: 0.055

https://mobile.twitter.com/r_hirschberg/status/713018047846490112?p=v

What you have to understand about Robert, is that these are not just random picks. He has been doing this for decades, and may be one of the best speculators out there. We all had a bad time in the juniors in 2008-09. It was violent down, followed by violent up.

Robert laments in the YouTube video that his portfolio of stocks plummeted (2008) to a value of around $300,000 from much higher prices the year before. Most of the bids were at a few pennies at best. By 2011, his portfolio rocketed to a value of around $15 million.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=hu0kcB5gVL8

Robert has a couple of very close friends that he invests with, that would make any Bay Street analyst envious.

He has a very strong, long-lasting relationship with a gentleman with a PHD in Geology, who has close to 5 decades of international experience. He has -- what may be an unprecedented -- 11 discoveries with his name attached. What is even more amazing is that seven of these projects went into production.

Here are a few of the questions they ask when considering an investment:

  • Is management competent, with a strong track record?
  • Is there a strong share structure with a small float?
  • Does management have money in the project?
  • Do they have a sound marketing strategy, with the right team?
  • Is there a demand for the commodity they are exploring, developing or producing?
  • Is there a billionaire involved for support during market dips?
  • Are they market leaders, and do they know who their competitors are?

If all this checks out, and Dr. 7/11 approves the property -- out comes the chequebook.

The BeckDex 50

We had 7 stocks break out to new 52-week highs last week:

$GGS $LIX $MAG $NXE $PGM $PRS.H $WML

$NDR $CXO and $KES were added to the BeckDex 50

$LIX $SBB $IDM $NXE $PTM $SKE $JEM $HPL $IDI $CCY $MCC $BOL $EAM $CAP $GSH $NFR $NGZ $NX $PGM $SXR $UWE $WML $WPQ $MRZ $KLS $BUS $CT $NXO $BAR $CIN $CT $DMA $GRG $ICG $MAG $WKM $RLG $RST $JEM $BAY $WLF $MSD $LAG $GPH $NEV $IN $TV $BTH $GLH $KRN $PE $KOR $GGS $NDR

$CXO $KES

The list is broken down into 3 categories: Under .25, Under .50, and Over .50


Under .25:

$CXO Colorado Resources

Year High 0.185 (New)

Year Low 0.05

Last 0.17 (New)

Up 3660% (New)

$GGS Golden Secret Ventures

Year High 0.385 (New)

Year Low 0.02

Last 0.38 (New)

Up 1800% (New)

$RLG West Red Lake Gold Mines

Year High 0.21

Year Low 0.01

Last 0.125

Up 1150%

$MCC Magor Corporation

Year High 0.315

Year Low 0.015

Last 0.115

Up 667%

$HPL Horizon Petroleum

Year High 0.13

Year Low 0.01

Last 0.065

Up 550%

$JEM Jagercor Energy

Year High 0.08

Year Low 0.01

Last 0.05

Up 400%

$KES Kessulrun Resources

Year High 0.085

Year Low 0.02

Last 0.08

Up 400%

$DMA DiaMedica

Year High 0.25

2014 Low 0.035

Last 0.15

Up 329%

$HRT Harte Gold

Year High 0.345

Year Low 0.045

Last 0.19

Up 322%

$CAP Castle Peak

Year High 0.025

Year Low 0.005

Last 0.02

Up 300%

$SXR SGX Resources

Year High 0.025

Year Low 0.005

Last 0.02

Up 300%

$NGZ NRG Metals

Year High 0.12

Year Low 0.02

Last 0.08

Up 300%

$EAM East Africa Metals

Year High 0.12

Year Low 0.03

Last 0.115

Up 283%

$RST Rosita Mining

Year High 0.10

Year Low 0.01

Last 0.035

Up 250%

$BAY Aston Bay Holdings

Year High 0.32

Year Low 0.08

Last 0.26

Up 225%

$GSH Golden Share Mining

Year High 0.105

Year Low 0.03

Last 0.095

Up 217%

$MSD Moseda Technologies

Year High 0.365

Year Low 0.065

Last 0.185

Up 185%

$IDI Indico Resources

Year High 0.16

Year Low 0.02

Last 0.055

Up 175%

$PRS.H Prism Resources

Year High 0.11 (New)

Year Low 0.04

Last 0.11 (New)

Up 175% (New)

$NX Noka Resources

Year High 0.26

Year Low 0.025

Last 0.065

Up 160%

$WKM West Kirkland Mining

Year High 0.095

Year Low 0.035

Last 0.09

Up 157%

$WLF Wolfden Resources

Year High 0.21

2014 Low 0.045

Last 0.105

Up 133%

$NFR Northern Freegold

Year High 0.115 (New)

Year Low 0.04

Last 0.10

Up 125%

$WPQ WPC Resources

Year High 0.08

Year Low 0.025

Last 0.055

Up 120%

$UWE U308 Corp

Year High 0.07

Year Low 0.015

Last 0.03

Up 100%

$IDM IDM Mining

Year High 0.115

Year Low 0.065

Last 0.11

Up 69%

$BOL Bold Ventures

Year High 0.055

Year Low 0.015

Last 0.025

Up 67%

$GPH Graphite One Resources

Year High 0.145

Year Low 0.065

Last 0.1075

Up 65%

$LAG Laguna Blends

Year High 0.40

Year Low 0.08

Last 0.13

Up 63%

$SKE Skeena Resources

Year High 0.125

Year Low 0.055

Last 0.09

Up 64%

$NEV Nevada Sunrise Gold

Year High 0.38

Year Low 0.125

Last 0.19

Up 52%

$IN InMed Pharmaceuticals

Year High 0.405

Year Low 0.10

Last 0.12

Up 20%

$MRS

Year High 0.275

Year Low 0.05

Last 0.05

Up 0%

Under .50:

$WML Wealth Minerals

Year High 0.46 (New)

2014 Low 0.03

Last 0.45 (New)

Up 1400% (New)

$PGM Pure Gold Mining

Year High 0.43 (New)

Year Low 0.07

Last 0.40 (New)

Up 471% (New)

$CCY Catalyst Copper

Year High 0.41 (New)

Year Low 0.10

Last 0.36

Up 260%

$BAR Balmoral Resources

Year High 1.22

Year Low 0.33

Last 0.495

Up 50%

$TV Trevali Mining

Year High 1.24

Year Low 0.245

Last 0.35

Up 43%

$BTH Breathtec BioMedical

Year High 0.55

Year Low 0.37

Last 0.48

Up 30%

$GLH Golden Leaf Holdings

Year High 1.40

Year Low 0.39

Last 0.455

Up 17%


Over .50:

$CRH CRH Medical

Year High 5.50

2014 Low 0.65

Last 4.14

Up 537%

$KRN Karnalyte Resources

Year High 4.15

Year Low 0.52

Last 2.23

Up 429%

$NXE NexGen Energy

Year High 2.10 (New)

2015 Low 0.40

Last 2.05 (New)

Up 412% (New)

$LIX Lithium X Energy

Year High 1.66 (New)

Year Low 0.35

Last 1.52 (New)

Up 334% (New)

$PE Pure Energy

Year High 1.03

Year Low 0.18

Last 0.75

Up 317%

$LTE Lite Access Technologies

Year High 1.80

Year Low 0.39

Last 1.57

Up 303%

$PTM Platinum Group Metals

Year High 7.40

Year Low 1.35

Last 4.72

Up 250%

$SBB Sabina Gold & Silver

Year High 1.06

Year Low 0.30

Last 0.95

Up 217%

$KOR Corvus Gold

Year High 0.84

Year Low 0.33

Last 0.67

Up 103%

$MAG Mag Silver

Year High 13.01 (New)

Year Low 6.90

Last 12.54

Up 82%

Recent Reports

On Jeff Beck, Elon Musk and the power of intention (April 4)

https://ceo.ca/@50yearbeckfan/on-jeff-beck-elon-musk-and-the-w-of-intention

Kenny Rogers and the immutable law of reciprocity (March 27)

https://ceo.ca/@50yearbeckfan/kenny-rogers-and-the-immutable-law-of-reciprocity

From the Four Seasons to Expo 86, and the Birth of CEO.CA (March 20)

https://ceo.ca/@50yearbeckfan/from-the-four-seasons-to-expo-86-and-the-birth-of-ceoca

1974 All Over Again (March 13) https://ceo.ca/@50YearBeckFan/1974-all-over-again

The Trickle Down Theory: Large Gains in Junior Miners and Micro-Caps (March 7) https://ceo.ca/@50yearbeckfan/the-trickle-down-theory-large-gains-in-junior-miners-and-micro-caps

Finally, an Acorn for Us Mining Bulls (Feb. 29) https://chat.ceo.ca/@50YearBeckFan/finally-an-acorn-for-us-mining-bulls

Why I Continue to Bet the Jockey in Canadian Micro-Caps (Feb. 21) https://ceo.ca/@50YearBeckFan/why-i-continue-to-bet-the-jockey-in-canadian-micro-caps

The Takeover Kings: $25 Billion to Shareholders and $22 Billion in Current Market Value (Jan. 12) https://chat.ceo.ca/@50YearBeckFan/the-takeover-kings-25-billion-to-shareholders-and-22-billion-in-current-market-value

Betting on the Jockeys: The Yorkton Lithium Express (Oct. 19) http://blog.ceo.ca/2015/10/19/betting-on-the-jockeys-the-yorkton-lithium-express/

This article discusses highly speculative penny stocks. Nothing in this article should be construed as investment or professional advice of any kind. From time to time, the author may transact in securities mentioned. All facts are to be verified by the reader and all readers to do their own due diligence before investing including talking to a licensed financial advisor.