The Gold Report: Peter, can you give us your long-term view of the Eurozone as it lurches from bailout to bailout?
Peter Rose: Some major things have to happen in Europe and the sooner, the better. Unfortunately, I think it will get worse in the short term.
But from the mining industry perspective, these crises are bringing a lot of realism to certain governments. Greece has opposed mining, despite having quite good ore bodies, as do Portugal, Spain and Cyprus. Mining companies can generate real revenues, exports and jobs and contribute to the financial coffers.
In addition, the European Union has good rules of law. The tenures are pretty safe, there are pro-mining interests and there are deposits of strategic elements. If you compare the operating costs with Australia, the European infrastructure tends to be better; wage rates are significantly lower. It makes for a pretty compelling story.
TGR: You deal with many junior mining companies. In 2004, the junior mining companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX.V) averaged 27 million (27M) shares outstanding. Today, the average is 73M shares. Why have share floats risen so dramatically? Continue reading "Can Equities Cushion the Blow of Falling Gold Prices?"
