The Mining Report: Mark, the price of copper recently dipped to its lowest level since 2010. Are we going to end the year below $3/pound ($3/lb)?
ML: We don't think so. We believe that the price of copper will actually recover as we progress through the year. In fact, we actually are still calling for the price of copper to trade in the $3.60–3.70/lb range by year-end. We really haven't changed our view because if we look at supply and demand conditions, we think there's definitely been an overreaction to some of the recent Chinese economic data. Investors are losing sight of the fact that there are reasons for demand to pick up later in the year, and that the postponed production projects will impact the supply side.
TMR: Are weaker Chinese economic data the only reason behind this shortsightedness?
ML: It's certainly a major factor. It's seems that the export data in particular got the market concerned, because if you look at retail sales and industrial production, they've been only a little bit weaker than analysts had expected. We're really talking about just two months of trade data here, so this is not necessarily a long-term trend. We would also point out that the Russian situation with Crimea has caused some concerns about European growth.
TMR: In other words, prices will remain weak in the short term, but investors should be long copper.
ML: That's right. If you look at the new infrastructure programs planned in China, South Korea, India and Brazil, they all are scheduled to kick off this year, so we should start to see more spending later this year. That's one positive for copper.
Don't forget that China is by far the biggest consumer of copper in the world, and half the copper goes into the wire and cable business, which is growing at about 15–20%/year. We see China ending up with one of the biggest and best electrical grids in the world, but this growth should go on for the next five or six years. So there is a fairly significant built-in amount of copper consumption that's already in place. Whether the country grows at 8%, 7.5% or maybe 7% isn't nearly as relevant as some people think.
TMR: Most of the copper heavy miners have been sold off. What's happening with the juniors?
ML: Across the board, I'd say most junior companies have lower share prices than they had three or four months ago, although some have gone sideways. You'd be hard pressed to find a copper company, other than Augusta Resource Corp. (AZC:TSX; AZC:NYSE.MKT) or an Orvana Minerals Corp. (ORV:TSX), which were in takeovers, that's actually up.
TMR: What are some of the juniors you're following reasonably closely?
ML: We like NovaCopper Inc. (NCQ:TSX.V; NCQ:NYSE.MKT). It has a significant play in Alaska. It was once part of NOVAGOLD (NG:TSX; NG:NYSE.MKT), which is a very well-known gold company, and NOVAGOLD spun out its copper assets, which made sense because the market wasn't giving it really much value for the Upper Kobuk Mineral projects, which are some of the best copper projects in North America. What we like about NovaCopper, first of all, is that management knows the jurisdiction—the Ambler district in northwest Alaska—which is a very good jurisdiction. What's also appealing is that the Bornite deposit found in this area is a significant, high-grade project that also hosts some zinc, lead, gold and silver credits. We like the management team since it has a proven track record in Alaska. We think it's a good way to play copper when the copper price recovers.
TMR: Does it have enough capital?
ML: Yes, they have millions of dollars.
TMR: It has an updated NI 43-101, right?
ML: That's right. On March 18, the company released an updated NI-43-101-compliant resource estimate for the Bornite deposit. The new result contains 5.7 billion oz copper (5.7 Boz copper) Inferred and 334 million pounds copper (334 Mlbs copper) Indicated. In just under three years, the company has increased the scale of the Bornite deposit six fold.
TMR: Can you share another name in that space?
ML: Freyja Resources Inc. (FRA:TSX.V) is another one that we've recently started following after it took over an excellent near-term production project in Northern Mexico. Near-term producers appeal to us because the market seems to prefer those over companies with earlier-stage greenfield projects. Another positive factor about Freyja is that the management team has had two other companies in Northern Mexico that were quite successful, one in copper, one in silver. So the company knows the area very well, and it has a proven track record in the jurisdiction. Plus, Freyja has just been able to raise money in this market, which is positive because it hasn't been easy for small cap mining companies to acquire funds in the present market conditions. We see this as another very interesting play for investors who want leverage to a rising copper price.
TMR: One of the management team members you refer to is Alain Lambert. What do you know about him?
ML: Alain has been around Quebec business for a long time. He's been involved in quite a number of projects and is really well known, certainly in the Quebec financial community and is also known here in Toronto. I think he was an interesting choice to bring in to the operation because of his background and experience with capital markets.
TMR: You mentioned that Freyja is a near-term producer. How near term?
ML: We would expect production later this year.
TMR: Moving on to iron ore, some market experts believe the steep drop in the price for iron ore in early March was based on poor economic data from China, while others believe it was largely caused by a speculative play gone wrong, likely at a Chinese brokerage. What's your perspective?
ML: First of all, some of the economic data in China in the past two months clearly affected the iron ore price. But there was also a slight buildup in inventories before the trade numbers came out, so there had already been a little bit of weakness in the market.
China also announced that it wants to shut down some small marginal steel plants that are not particularly positive for the environment, and that announcement got some analysts concerned about potentially less demand for iron ore. I think that concern is overblown. I expect bigger steel producers in China to make up for this modest drop in steel production. So we don't see a loss in demand for iron ore as a result of the consolidation that is taking place.
As far as a speculative play gone wrong, there have been a few rumors of that out there. It's hard to know if that's true. We would suggest that if it is true, it's one of those factors that is not going to have any significant impact on the medium or long-term iron ore market.
"Freyja Resources Inc. is a very interesting play for investors who want leverage to a rising copper price."
TMR: What's your forecast range for iron prices over the course of 2014? Is it above $120/ton?
ML: We expect prices to get back above $120/ton, closer to the $125–130/ton range by the end of this year. Again, like copper, we do see this increase in infrastructure spending in China, South Korea, India and Brazil as a bullish signal for steel demand. We also expect China to produce over 20 million (20M) vehicles this year, so we see steel demand rising out of the consumer sector. Meanwhile, China is also trying to increase the quality of its steel. This generally means that there will be increased demand for iron ore. Finally, supply, which increased significantly last year, should level off this year since Australia is producing at close to full capacity given the infrastructure constraints currently being experienced in the country.
TMR: Big iron miners, like Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK), produce iron at $30/ton or even $20/ton at some operations, but smaller miners generally have much higher production costs. Midtier producer, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF:NYSE), is already experiencing a shareholder revolt over poor share price performance. What does all this mean for investors in this space?
ML: It's true that Rio Tinto does have some production in that cost range. If you looked around the world, the cost production for the majority of iron ore mines is considerably higher. Some Chinese production has costs of around $100/ton. So the question becomes, will companies produce at a small profit, or will they take some of that iron ore out of the market? Our expectation is that the Chinese will take some of those smaller inefficient mines out of operation.
TMR: What are some of the companies you're keeping an eye on, Mark?
ML: One of the ones we like is Champion Iron Mines Limited (CHM:TSX), which has operations in the Labrador Trough. It's well run. It's also just recently done a deal with Mamba Minerals Ltd. (MAB:ASX), an Australian company. We like this deal and recommend that shareholders agree to it. We think bringing in Michael O'Keeffe and his people, as well as increased access to capital helps to derisk the projects, because now Champion Iron Mines has a major player behind it with a proven track record in Australia's iron ore business. From our vantage point, we think this merger really is a positive situation for Champion and its shareholders.
TMR: Does Mamba bring enough cash to cover the capital expenditures (capex)?
ML: Certainly, Mamba brings enough money to move the projects to the next stage. Ultimately, any company that is going to develop these mines is going to need more cash down the road, but once you have the Australians involved, the chances of getting offtake agreements with Chinese and Indian stakeholders goes up significantly. The problem for some of the Labrador Trough players, frankly, is that they don't have any big strategic partner. We're only following companies that have these partners. So this merger has made Champion a much more viable option.
TMR: Any other names on that list?
ML: We like Century Iron Mines Corp. (FER:TSX). Of course, Century is also an exploration and development company of iron ore projects in the Labrador Trough and Western Quebec. Century's management team, led by CEO Sandy Chim, has a background in the Labrador Trough, as it developed Consolidated Thompson Iron Ore Mines Ltd., which was ultimately taken over. That was one of the big developments that took place in the Labrador Trough. Century has a winning formula relative to most of the junior iron ore developers. The company is focusing on the production of Direct Shipping Ore (DSO), which has relatively low technical risk, does not require a large capex, and has a fast development time. Century is therefore a near-term producer, which appeals to us. In addition, Century has two key strategic partners in Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. and MinMetals Resources Ltd., which are large state-owned Chinese companies. These corporations have the financial and technical resources to assist Century with the funding and technical expertise for the development and exploration of its projects.
On a more general note, there are a number of factors that look good for the Labrador Trough, including the fact that the deepening of the Panama Canal will be finished by the end of the year. This will allow larger ships to leave Quebec and then go through the Panama Canal, thus cutting time and costs. The other recent development is the South Korean-Canada free trade agreement, which is actually very positive for Canadian iron ore producers because it eliminates the iron ore tariff. Canadian iron ore companies have a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis some other producers who already had these trade agreements with the South Koreans.
TMR: Let's move from metals to minerals and potash. Like most mined commodities, potash had a turbulent 2013. What do investors need to know about what's happening in the potash space in 2014?
"If you have no exposure to equities in the commodity markets, you could miss an excellent opportunity over the next couple of years to enhance your portfolio return."
ML: The basic underlying supply-demand scenario has not changed. In fact, we continue to see less arable land in the world per capita every year. As a consequence, there is a need for higher crop yields, and thus a continually growing market and demand for potash, particularly the muriate of potash (MOP), which is 90% of the potash market. We believe that potash prices actually will start to recover this year. There is also some other positive news on the demand side. It looks like this will be the best soybean-planting season in Brazil in history, and it looks like a strong year in the Midwestern U.S. Plus there's been less potash used in the last few years in India, and you cannot go more than a couple of years if you want to continue to have enough nutrients in your fields. So we see this as a bounce-back year for potash and the MOP market as we go through the year.
TMR: One of the interesting names in the potash space right now is Western Potash Corp. (WPX:TSX.V). There seems to be something of a bit of a bidding war on for it. What do you know about what's happening there?
ML: Western is not one that we follow, but we've also heard through the grapevine that people tend to look at Western and Potash Ridge Corp. (PRK:TSX; POTRF:OTCQX) as potential takeover candidates. We always try to take things with a bit of a grain of a salt, no pun intended.
Potash Ridge Corp. has a potential mine in Utah with its Blawn Mountain Project. What makes it special is that it is in the sulphate of potash (SOP) market, as opposed to the MOP market. The SOP market represents only 10% of the world's current potash production. SOP is a vital nutrient for high value crops such as nuts, fruits and vegetables and is essential in nourishing crops and strengthening and aiding disease resistance. SOP performs well with crops that have a low tolerance to the chloride in MOP and in saline arid, and heavily cultivated soils. Thus, there is a growing market for SOP, which trades at about $600/ton as opposed to $305/ton for MOP. There are very few SOP companies around, so we think that Potash Ridge, with its SOP project in a very good jurisdiction, is an interesting opportunity for investors.
TMR: So Potash Ridge is one. GreenStar Agricultural Corp. (GRE:TSX.V)?
ML: GreenStar is not actually a potash play, but is in the agricultural sector. The company is currently trading around $1/share and it pays a 6% dividend. The company has a low price/earnings ratio, which is quite unique among small cap resource based companies. GreenStar produces various canned products—oranges, peaches and its biggest product, tomato paste. This is a growing market. The company had record agricultural shipments in 2013 and in the last five years has seen revenue and EBITDA both raise four fold.
With its recent takeover of Beichen Tomato Products Co., GreenStar will produce about four times as much tomato paste in the next year as it does now. Given the drought in California and the fact that tomatoes are fairly water-intensive to grow, it looks like there's going to be some rationing of water in the agricultural system in California this year. This means that some farmers are not going to produce the same amount of tomatoes that they produced in 2013. We see GreenStar attaining a very large increase in revenue and earnings over the next few years.
TMR: Can you share one more agricultural name with us?
ML: Karnalyte Resources Inc. (KRN:TSX) is developing a major project in Saskatchewan that initially could produce 625,000 tonnes of potash per year and increase this to 2.125 million tonnes per year. We like the management; as they have considerable experience in the potash industry. Karnalyte is also a possible takeover candidate because it's one of the few midcap companies in the space, which will make it attractive to some of these bigger potash players, like Potash Corp. (POT:TSX; POT:NYSE), Agrium Inc. (AGU:NYSE; AGU:TSX) and The Mosaic Co. (MOS:NYSE). We also think it's very interesting that Karnalyte has a magnesium byproduct, which is actually in short supply in the world these days—95% of it is produced in China. This is an interesting company because it has a fairly low-capital expenditure project with low operating costs and a byproduct that could have a fairly significant impact on its bottom line.
TMR: What are your parting thoughts for us?
ML: Don't overreact to every data point that comes out of China such that your medium- or long-term view of the world changes. Clearly, one has to recognize that there are going to be ups and downs in the commodity markets. I would suggest we're still in a long-run bull market for commodities because at least 4 billion people in the world are trying to become middle class, whereas in the 1970s, it only took about 400M people to create enough demand to give us a very strong commodity cycle. Finally, in many commodities like copper and iron ore, we're seeing more and more deferred projects. So over the next five years, there is not going to be the supply that some people may anticipate. If you have no exposure to equities in the commodity markets, then you could very well miss an excellent opportunity over the next couple of years to enhance your portfolio return.
TMR: Thanks for joining us today.
ML: Happy to be here.
Mark Lackey, executive vice president of CHF Investor Relations (Cavalcanti Hume Funfer Inc.), has 30 years of experience in energy, mining, banking and investment research sectors. At CHF, Lackey involves himself with business development, client positioning, staff team coaching and education, market analysis and special projects to benefit client companies. He has worked as chief investment strategist at Pope & Company Ltd. and at the Bank of Canada, where he was responsible for U.S. economic forecasting. He was a senior manager of commodities at the Bank of Montreal. He also spent 10 years in the oil industry with Gulf Canada, Chevron Canada and Petro Canada.
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DISCLOSURE:
1) Brian Sylvester conducted this interview for The Mining Report and provides services to The Mining Report as an independent contractor. He or his family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: NOVAGOLD, Champion Iron Mines Limited and Freyja Resources Inc. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for its services or as sponsorship payment.
3) Mark Lackey: I or my family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: Century Iron Mines, Freyja Resources, Greenstar Agriculture, and Potash Ridge Corporation. I personally am or my family is paid by the following companies mentioned in this interview: none. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this interview: Century Iron Mines , Greenstar Agriculture, Freyja Resources and Potash Ridge Corporation. I was not paid by Streetwise Reports for participating in this interview. Comments and opinions expressed are my own comments and opinions. I had the opportunity to review the interview for accuracy as of the date of the interview and am responsible for the content of the interview.
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