…. We are near the construction of a large facility, the Tesla Motors Gigafactory #1, near Sparks, Nevada, which will be a huge consumer of the end product. Secondly, expansion of a large electric bus factory in California to the south will also see increased consumption of lithium production for batteries. Furthermore, our Kibby Basin hosts several key features that are similar to the nearby and only operating lithium mine in North America, the area at Silver Peak-Clayton Valley, Nevada.

…. Several years ago, I researched a number of junior exploration companies to invest in. I came across Mountain Boy Minerals and was attracted by their 20% carried interest in the Silver Coin property, a 43-101 resource next to a mature mining camp, and their ownership in several other properties with high-grade gold and silver mineralization. After my initial investment, I started talking to management and had an opportunity to visit the properties. As my share position grew over time I offered the company experience I had gained as CEO, president and director of several listed companies in the mineral resource sector.

…. The lack of systematic testing for cobalt gave rise to these properties being so interesting because, the few times cobalt was tested for, there were several anomalous values. I particularly like the short- and longer-term outlook for both copper and zinc, and these copper-cobalt projects also provide a polymetallic exposure that includes cobalt, gold and silver.

It’s a case of one bold decision leading to another. Among the companies that saw opportunity during the downturn, Golden Dawn Minerals TSXV:GOM began picking up past-producers, assembling a cluster of properties radiating around a mill in south-central British Columbia’s fabled Greenwood mining district. Now, with a recently released PEA and some of the permits in place, the company’s ready to boldly venture into trial mining sans feasibility.

… What has now drawn me to central Manitoba is the untapped potential of finding mines in a proven mining camp with some of the highest-grade base metal-gold deposits and mines in the world. As a geologist, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

What’s the rarest distinction of rare earths—economic deposits, expertise outside China or public awareness of our dependence on these critical metals? Those are concerns crucial to our society and among topics to be discussed as over 100 industry experts and insiders meet in San Diego from June 12 to 14. The event is the Argus Americas Rare Earths Summit 2017 and, with certain geopolitical circumstances looming in the background, this year’s conference might be especially auspicious.

“It’s all about the people.” That sentiment popped up repeatedly this week at the International Metal Writers Conference, where several speakers related their most important consideration in evaluating stocks. Maybe no one expressed it more emphatically than Zimtu Capital TSXV:ZC president Dave Hodge, whose unamplified but booming voice overwhelmed the event’s microphone-dependent speakers, even seeming to threaten the Vancouver Convention Centre with seismic damage.

As an executive search firm, the Mining Recruitment Group might serve as a bellwether for the industry. Founder and self-described mining headhunter Andrew Pollard says, “I put together management teams for companies, I connect people with opportunities and opportunities with people.” In that role, he experienced the upturn well before many industry players did.

Listen to the analysts, pick up some tips and meet company reps face-to-face—what better way for investors to scrutinize opportunities in junior mining? As the market returns so does Cambridge House International with its Vancouver spring event, now called the International Metal Writers Conference and taking place May 28 to 29. Something like 50 speakers and 60 exhibitors will take part, promising a busy, productive and maybe profitable two days.

“If there’s any nation that contributes over 50% of supply for a mineral, alarm bells start to go off.” That’s especially true when the country is as troubled as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence analyst Caspar Rawles told a Vancouver conference on April 21. Social and political instability combined with child labour concerns intensify what he calls the “cobalt conundrum,” in which battery manufacturers have no choice but to increase their reliance on DRC resources. That’s his forecast, even as he acknowledges demand for new sources from elsewhere.