Byron King: The Season When Fortunes Are Made

The Yukon, Tintina Belt, and metals come to the fore in summer. [The Rude Awakening] June 07, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Byron King: The Season When Fortunes Are Made - Why is summer prime time for moneymaking? - What in Sam Hill is the Tintina Belt? - There are many companies of high quality in the region. [Hey, It’s Jim Rickards Here]( I need your attention immediately. [My big announcement]( comes down on Wednesday at midnight. If you haven’t already, [click here now to see it.]( Trust me, you do not want to miss out on what’s coming. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from The Big Apple! My friend and ace collaborator Byron King has come up with another gem for [The Lifetime Income Report](. I asked if we could run it in the Rude. And thanks to Byron’s usual magnanimity, it is here run. I’ll get back to you tomorrow with some interesting goings-on. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Byron King] BYRON KING The Season When Fortunes Are Made Welcome to June. Even though it’s not officially summer (not until June 21), it’s still safe to say that the summer season has begun. Of course, we just celebrated Memorial Day in the U.S., traditionally considered the beginning of summer. Most schools have ended or are ending. And vacation travel season is kicking off, with packed airports, airplanes, and even cruise ships, per news I’ve seen. But in this note, we’re not going to talk about vacations. No, today I’ll clue you in on how summer is often a time when fortunes can be made. That is, to many geologists, summer has its own meaning, what’s called field season. It’s when geologists head out into the boondocks to walk the ridges, hills, and valleys, kicking rocks and gathering data that goes into maps and other elements of scientific research or commercial exploration of the earth. Of course, actual rock-kicking fieldwork is just one aspect of understanding the world, how it’s put together, and what’s down there, underfoot. There’s plenty more that goes into exploration, from aerial and geospatial imagery to all manner of geophysics, geochemistry, and much more, to be sure. But whatever you’re doing in terms of exploration or development, it never hurts to begin with a solid grasp of bedrock geology at the surface. My Field Camp Days From Long Ago… To me, the really fun part of geology is going out into the field. Heck, my first summer field camp was 48 years ago, back in 1975 in North Park, Colorado, a high, inter-mountain valley that abuts the border with Wyoming. I had just finished my sophomore year in college, and one of the requirements for majoring in geology was to attend a field camp program. The thing is, Harvard didn’t sponsor a summer field program in those days, so students were encouraged to find suitable programs elsewhere. I chose a camp run by Purdue University, of West Lafayette, Indiana, which entailed humping out to the Colorado Rockies for two months. Yeah, two months in the Rocky Mountains in the summer, hiking around, and climbing up and down hillsides all day. Tough duty. And I just plain loved it. Indeed, every minute of field camp was a learning experience, from driving west on I-70 to see, for the first time in my life, massive mountains appear on the horizon, to learning about the distinct hazards of summer lightning storms while standing atop the peak of an extinct volcano. How loud is the thunder when lightning hits a rock about 25 feet away? I can tell you… Really Loud! The Purdue people were great. Their program was great. And I’m forever grateful to all those old Boilermakers (the school mascot) who got my brain into “thinking like a geologist.” [We just had the biggest – and most drastic – operational change in our company’s history.]( I believe it will have profound effects on our editors and readers alike. I’m urging you to listen to a short memo from our VP of Publishing. He explains why, after 20 years, this decision was 100% necessary… […and why this “fix” could have a significant impact on your personal wealth.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( What’s Happening This Summer? Okay, enough reminiscing. Because currently, I’m watching a host of companies this summer, all of which have well-funded and aggressive field programs across North America. Today, I’ll focus on just one geographic/geological area, the large swath encompassing Alaska and northwest Canada, including the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and northern parts of British Columbia. In particular, I’ll look at a feature called the Tintina Belt. [SJN] The map above illustrates a few things, in a broad sense. The Tintina Belt is bounded on the south by the massive Denali Fault, which transects Alaska and the Yukon generally west-east. And on the north, Tintina is bounded by another massive fault zone called (no surprise) the Kaltag-Tintina Fault. I won’t get heavy into technical geology, because then we will rapidly spin-off on plate tectonic tangents. I’ll just say that this part of North America is a very complex series of rock types. Things range from multibillion-year-old Precambrian basement to shallow and deepwater sediments, along with vast amounts of volcanics of many ages and even material that has been pushed up from far below, from down in the mantle of the earth. Yes, it’s quite complex. Indeed, a lifetime of summer field camps would not be enough to figure it all out. But the good news is that this year is the 125th anniversary of the 1898 Yukon gold rush, when tens of thousands of “tenderfoot” southerners — people from other parts of Canada and the U.S., plus elsewhere in the world — came to Alaska and the Yukon in search of gold. And over the course of that century and a quarter, a lot of people have figured out a lot of geology. The point is that all that rock movement, especially along the Denali and Tintina fault zones, has allowed many zones of igneous rock and other metamorphosed material to form. And embedded in these fascinating rock structures are vast amounts of ore-forming minerals. The long and short of things is that the Tintina Belt is a treasure trove of valuable elements: gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and much else. And currently, dozens of companies work there on exploration and development plays, along with many solid production camps in operation. There Are Many High-Quality Companies Here Off the top of my head, I could name a dozen small, high-quality Yukon exploration companies, all with excellent geologic assets and strong management teams. And of course, it’s early in the summer so I expect to see strong results from here, there, and all over as the months pass by and we move into fall. Some of these small guys surely will surprise us. I can’t end, though, without mentioning an outstanding company called Fireweed Metals (OTC: FWEDF), with a market cap of about $90 million. I’ve followed this one for about six years, since the geologic team was in the early stages of work on a rich zinc deposit in Yukon (with lead and silver as well), near the border with Northwest Territories. Fireweed’s zinc alone makes for a world-class deposit, remote as it may be. But what has added even more glitter to the attraction was an acquisition last year of one of the best tungsten deposits in North America, the MacTung deposit, right on the border of the Northwest Territories. You may or may not know that tungsten is a critical mineral for U.S. and Canadian industry, ranging from automotive to aerospace and defense. Right now, almost all tungsten in North America makes its way here directly from or via China, which is unacceptable in the current political climate. U.S. and Canadian political powers have made no secret that they want domestic tungsten sources, which bodes well for Fireweed. And the company has an aggressive program to drill, do more geology, and come up with resource numbers to make people look twice. And summer is field season, as I noted above. Okay, we could discuss this all day, but that’s it for now. I’ll follow these companies, monitor results, and have more for you as summer unfolds. I’m even planning to travel up to Yukon in a few weeks to see the projects, kick rocks and enjoy some field camp again. One final point: FWEDF is not an official recommendation for the publication, so if you buy shares, be sure to watch the charts and never chase momentum. I keep a continuous eye on these guys, and as things develop, I’ll keep you posted. So please keep watching and reading. That’s all for now… Thank you for subscribing. Best wishes… All the best, [Byron W. King] Byron W. King P.S. In the complete article for the [Lifetime Income Report]( Byron named five other companies he constantly watches and keeps his readers updated on. If you fancy more of Byron’s most excellent writings on history, investments, and geology, I encourage you to subscribe to [Lifetime Income Report](. Not only is it incredible value for money, but it’s refundable for the next six months. That’s right. If you decide it’s not your cup of tea, you’ve got a full 183 days to get your money back. So there’s no risk in trying it out. Enjoy! In Case You Missed It… NYC Re-Run: Piss and Vinegar and Weed [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning on this fine Tuesday. I wrote this piece last year, when I returned to New York for the first time in many years. I’m taking off from Milan Malpensa to return to the Big Apple to teach a 3-day course for interns at one of the US megabanks. Luckily, one of my best friends, Andy, is co-teaching with me. We’ll be able to get out and about a bit… if it’s safe enough to. I’ll be writing for the rest of the week from NYC, so I hope to get you on-the-ground details of what’s going on there. But first, let me refresh you with what I wrote last July. --------------------------------------------------------------- I’m still in New York City. The state of the place… It’s incredible how people inside the fishbowl can’t see what’s happening. That’s true of us all to a certain extent. But this is a city of millions, and you’d think someone would notice the deterioration. Asia spoiled me with its pristine hotels, clean streets, and rule of law. Yes, the rule of law exists there, and it’s a beautiful thing. So I suppose it’s easy for me to notice what a hole the place has become. October 1999 When I was 23 and working at Credit Suisse at Eleven Madison Avenue, I met a gorgeous intern. She was a 20-year-old Korean who had a body to die for. J was my first girlfriend on Wall Street. My other relationships were of a more transient sort. I’ll never forget our first date. I took her to a bar just off Union Square for a pre-dinner drink. Then, we went to a lovely new Italian restaurant in Alphabet City, a formerly dangerous place. We had a lovely meal. And she kept up with the drinks. Koreans are called “Asia’s Irish” for a reason. To top off the night, I took her to The Greatest Bar on Earth, at the top of the World Trade Center. As we sat at the bar, she leaned over and kissed me. It was a sloppy, drunken kiss, but I didn’t care. I was on top of the world. After, she said, “Sean, this is the greatest night of my life.” Then… she promptly threw up on the bar. I almost shit myself. I yelled over to Frank, my all-time favorite New York bartender, and he quickly got the cleanup materials. The patrons lifted their glasses in perfect synchronicity as the vomit oozed down the bar like a molasses tidal wave. I escorted her to the bathroom, where she proceeded to fall asleep on the toilet for an hour. Not wanting her to go home alone - she lived just off Kissena Boulevard - I tried to book us a cab to Queens for her and then back to Joisey for me. I couldn’t find one, so I wound up hiring a limo to do it for $140. Cost of that date: $700. Dating that hottie for two more years: Priceless. When I informed her that I was moving to London, she was angry, to say the least. She couldn’t understand why I’d leave the greatest city on earth to go to England. Even when she visited me in London two years later, she hated the place. NYC was her home. It was the best, and that’s that. We eventually broke up because I refused to return home. NYLON (New York-London) relationships never last anyway. But at the time, her claim that NYC was the greatest city on earth was well-founded. It was clean, practically crimeless, and heaps of fun. [There is MASSIVE change happening within our company.]( And I want you to [hear about this – from me]( – otherwise this new policy could blindside you. This has gone into effect immeditaly, so I want you to understand exactly what it will mean for you. [So please, watch this video for my full announcement.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Christmas 2005 A few years later, I brought my Hungarian girlfriend home for Christmas. N was also a hottie with a rack that brought tears of gratitude to my eyes. But it was different this time. It was post-9/11. Unbeknownst to me, New York had changed, and not for the better. I brought her to Madison Avenue, where I used to work. We stood at the intersection of Broadway and 5th Avenue, right at the base of the Flatiron Building. I held my arms out wide and said, “What do you think of this place?” She looked at me and said, “It’s really quiet.” My head snapped around at her, and I was like, “What… are… you… talking….” I stopped mid-sentence. She was right. I could hear a pin drop. An eerie silence pervaded Grammercy. I didn’t like it at all. Christmas 2013 Pam and I were married in the Raffles Hotel two-and-a-half years earlier. But I was smart about bringing her to the US. I knew that most people fall in love with the first genuinely foreign city they see. So I brought her “home” to London for the 2012 Olympics. We had a wonderful time with all my friends. I took her on the Eurostar to Paris, as well, for a bit of romance. I wanted her to fall for Europe, not the States. It worked. When I finally brought her home to meet my parents - yes, after two years of marriage - we went to New York City. She hated the place, which I found charming. A few years later, English friends who’d moved to NYC started to hate then-Mayor Bill DeBlasio. They promptly moved back to the UK. I didn’t think a mayor could cause so much damage. Since then, I’ve been proven wrong. Today This entire town smells like piss (and vinegar) and weed. It’s an angry place, that’s become downright dangerous. There’s a frantic pace about it, though. Much louder than my previous visits. I’m glad to see that. But at nights in Midtown, the place is empty. My guess is that crime drives the money spenders inside their homes. Last night, I sat in a lovely little pub called The Wheeltapper, under the Fitzpatrick Hotel near Grand Central. It’s a quiet place where one can enjoy a decent pint. Except the pints now cost $10 apiece. But I remember the days these pubs were packed on Wednesday nights. Even Grand Central Station itself was much quieter than I ever remember it. Today, I spent $21.83 on two hot dogs and a bottle of San Pellegrino for lunch. Perhaps it’s not the crime; it’s the expense. Wrap Up I long for the safety, affordability, and fun of Giuliani-era Manhattan. The beers were cheap, the nights were long, and the ladies were safe (and gorgeous). Now, it’s a hodgepodge of dope, open-air urinals, and idiotically expensive booze. Having the New York Fed print money on your turf is good. But when it gets out of control, the city loses its soul. Until tomorrow. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. 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