Stockchase Opinions

Charles Oliver, HBSc CFA Lake Shore Gold LSG-T COMMENT Aug 05, 2014

Went through a bit of a teething period, as many of these mines do. Cash costs were quite high. Have been able to bring them down in the last several quarters, and just came out with some good numbers. One of the concerns is that they are mining above grade at just over 5 grams per ton. If you see that grade come down, you’ll see a slight bump in the overall costs. Has had a nice run. Not the cheapest stock out there, but seem to be making a turn around right now in terms of getting things under control.

$1.230

Stock price when the opinion was issued

precious metals
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DON'T BUY

A well run company which he thinks has good resources. The real problem is gold itself. Gold really depends on inflation eating the value of your paper currency. This is just not happening. He wouldn’t be surprised if gold breaks down through $1000.

STRONG BUY

Is a takeover candidate. They have increased production and lowered costs now. He is very bullish about it.

TOP PICK

This goes beyond the commodity. It does not hinge its return strictly on whether gold goes up or down. The operational execution has been great. Eight quarters of meeting or exceeding guidance. About 180,000 ounce producer, sub-$1,000 an ounce, which is very rare for all-in costs. This is about looking for their initial resource to come out for their 144 gap zone, which he thinks could be transformational in the 1st half of next year. That could potentially double its resource and ultimately lead to potentially replacing its current short reserve life mine, taking it beyond 6 years to maybe 10-11 years.

BUY

It has been one of the stronger stocks in the sector. It had a 50% swing in the last year. It is still up. It is probably going to run quickly.

COMMENT

The company has done a very good job of turning around what was a troubled operation. Has always been a fan of the Northern Ontario Achaean gold deposits, this being a classic example. He is attracted to this company. His suspicion is that the technical problems which plagued the company 3-4 years ago are a thing of the past.

DON'T BUY

It is being taken out. He thinks you will see more of this action in the sector. He would not buy today. Consider his Top Pick today in gold.

COMMENT

Just take the bid. Countries that need mining are often safer than countries that are perceived as lower political risk.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick March 3/15. Up 86.61%.) This was acquired by Tahoe (THO-T). His belief was that this was a company that was underappreciated because of the short mine life. (See Top Picks.)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick June 17/15. Up 57.14%.) Acquired by Tahoe (THO-T), which he continues to hold. There is potential for this to re-rate as investors look to this as an alternative to the senior gold producers that trade at 1.5-2X NAV, with little to no growth.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Sept 25/16. Up 81.74%.) Acquired by Tahoe (THO-T), and he accepted the shares rather than cash.