(Kitco News) - The combination of high U.S. spending in an election year, a Fed pivot to monetary easing, and ongoing tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe could be good for precious metals investors, said Brian Leni, founder of Junior Stock Review.
In mid-January Leni spoke to Kitco Mining at the Metals Investors Forum Vancouver 2024.
He prefers development companies to juniors because they have intrinsic value, “meaning these companies have something of value, they have a resource, they have an economic study, there's something outlined that's real,” he said. “And then mix in that with exploration potential to expand that deposit, or some sort of value-add, those are the companies I like to be in.”
Leni is bullish on copper, noting the recent closure of Cobre Panama, which represented about 1.5% of world copper production.
“The supply set of copper moving forward should be really interesting and I think if you're willing to give yourself a little bit more of a time span, maybe looking out two years, I think if you buy the right companies, maybe the copper price will cooperate and you can get some profits out of it,” he said.
Leni listed his criteria for investing in juniors: large land positions i.e., +50,000 hectares; properties that haven’t been extensively explored; and ensuring that the management team has experience that matches the type of exploration they are conducting.
He also looks at the personal side.
“Who do I know that these that this management teams knows, that can vouch for them to a certain degree, because these are the people that I'm going to have to rely on for information, and their ability to sell the company,” Leni said, adding:
“The other thing is getting in as early as possible with these companies when the market caps truly are low. I think this environment that we're in right now is a wonderful place for investors interested in exploration because across the board we're looking at some great valuations.”