Golden Arrow Resources Corporation (TSX-V: GRG, FSE: GAC, OTCQB: GARWF), the Next Massive Silver Producer in Argentina
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By Allen Alper, Jr., President, Metals News
on 9/11/2018
Joe Grosso, with Golden Arrow, the Next Massive Silver Producer in Argentina, advises, “Buy your Straw Hat in the fall.” I am taking a position in Golden Arrow Resources Corporation (TSX-V: GRG, FSE: GAC, OTCQB: GARWF). 2018 Guidance 1.4-to 2.8 Moz. Ag, plus 7.0-12.5 Mlbs Pb, 5.50 – 7.5 Mlbs Zn
Joe Grosso has spent the last 25 years doing the nearly impossible - de-risking a mining operation in Argentina. Before the end of the year, as early as September, Golden Arrow will be in production. Because of current market conditions, this stock is currently around 45 cents a share. This is the fall, for buying a straw hat.
Al Alper Jr: This is Allen Alper Jr., President of Metals News. I'm here interviewing Joe Grosso, President and CEO of Golden Arrow at the Sprott Natural Resource Symposium in Vancouver Canada. Tell me how this amazing opportunity was created.
Joe Grosso: From the beginning, 25 years ago, I went to Argentina to see what they had, because I have a lot of family living in Argentina. Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, and they're surrounded by countries, which are in the mining business for 9,300 kilometers. Twice the distance from New York to Los Angeles and back, and all in mining, except Argentina. So I went. Stupidly, I didn't know that Argentina just didn't even know mining. They were not in the mining business. I went there and I said, "It's impossible. It cannot be. With all this geology here, something has to be here."
Now, this surface is the eighth largest in the world, with almost three million square kilometers. When I saw that, I wasn't going to leave Argentina alone. I wanted to put together a team of specialists to do a report on it, which started in '93 and finished in '95, a complete review of the geology of Argentina. I used that as a guide, and have staked a whole bunch of properties on the locations that were indicated that would be in proximity to or in good trends.
In '98, three years later, we discovered the first gold mine, Gualcamayo, on which Yamana is already in production. Then in 2003, we discovered Navidad. Navidad means Christmas in Spanish. We discovered it the week of Christmas, so we called it Navidad. It was 1.1 billion ounces of silver, the biggest discovery of silver ever known. It still has the record. We discovered it in 2003. We monetized these two projects, and we kept them going with exploration. Exploration is expensive.
When in 2012, we discovered Chinchillas Silver, we had only explored 7% of the surface of this property, which is on a famous trend of silver, copper and zinc, which goes from Bolivia into Argentina, where six other companies were already in production. With just the resources that we found very quickly, we came up with 244 million ounces of silver. The 244 million ounces of silver ore came out of about 7% of the total area of our claim. Exploration and production are universes apart.
Al Alper Jr: Right.
Joe Grosso: The exploration has to work with the community, community historian, a community's fears, what mining can bring, and the needs that they have. We respected any government in power, but we would work very closely with the community to become aware and discuss what the community wanted, their history, and the environment and so on. We have worked 25 years, without a single ejection or disapproval. We are known in Argentina to be number one. We have had a huge amount of honors conveyed. They call us the pioneer that opened Argentina to mining.
Well, I opened Argentina to mining. We have done very well with three major discoveries. Two we monetized, one yet to go into production.
For a junior exploration company, finances weren't available. It was impossible to take our resources to production. Talk about miracles, 25 kilometers away from where we were, SSR Mining, or Silver Standard, had been there for eight or nine years with their project, which had run out of ore. For us, it was a turnkey situation. For them, it would save their life and their $600 million infrastructure. We, with no knowledge of production, entrusted our ore to them. As we speak, we have a partnership with SSR Mining, which has been ongoing and Chinchillas plans to be entering production in 2018. It's targeted to be in production September 30th.
This is like a lunar landing for us! We are so excited! All of this to be in production the end of September!
Al Alper Jr: That's very exciting!
Joe Grosso: Very exciting! This is, of course, part of the infrastructure of which we own 25%. We have a flawless reputation, even with anti-mining community leaders. We are social, community and exploration-wise, one of the best. But when it comes to cost accounting and production, our partnership is absolutely phenomenal.
Now, because they want to speed up all of this, there actually was a cash call where we had to contribute about $18 million. SSR Mining administration gave us a 10 million US line of credit, in case we are short on that cash call, avoiding any stoppage of operation, which is operating right now. For me, that's a major thing, having the trust of my senior partners, and they are running it.
Al Alper Jr: Right.
Joe Grosso: We also have a fantastic portfolio of properties that need exploring, sucking up a lot of money. All the money that will accumulate from production, we'll be investing in partnerships with other producing companies. We took all the exploration assets, put them in another vehicle, which we structured, called New Golden Explorations, Inc. SSR and we agreed on a vehicle called Puna, which is the operator of the project.
It shows 9 to 10 years of mine life just out of 7% of the surface we have. So we have a next generation and a next generation. The next generation will be adding up to a couple of decades of production earnings. Ultimately we will explore the remaining 93%, and so it has an incredible mine life of earnings. We can always use the cash accumulated for the shareholders and other dividends, or new earnings.
The spinoff properties, in a different vehicle, will go and raise money on the venture capital market, and the projects we have are unbelievable. Right now, we are researching a new frontier, where there's no mining now, right across from Argentina, very close. I think Golden Arrow is a great investment. We are very disappointed in the market today because the market is not reacting to this. It's all checkable. Our market cap does not reflect our true. We're down about 15%, which is insane. Insane! With all the value that we have and our potential, just imagine that we're trading at 45 cents US.
Al Alper Jr: Well, currently gold stocks are at bargain prices.
Joe Grosso: And silver with it.
Al Alper Jr: Yes
Joe Grosso: The ratio of silver to gold right now is 81:1.
Al Alper Jr: Yeah. This is the best time for gold investment, for gold investors.
Joe Grosso: Absolutely! If you look at the richest guys in the mining business today, they are buying gold. President Eisenhower had a medical doctor by the name of Dr. White. Dr. White was also dabbling in the market, making himself immensely rich. He was asked, "Dr. White, you're known to be a very wealthy guy, but not in medicine, in the stock market. How do you do it?" He said, "I buy my straw hat in the fall."
Al Alper Jr: Exactly. Exactly.
Joe Grosso: This is the fall.
Al Alper Jr: Exactly. Tell me, how were you able to do so well in Argentina? Argentina has been very hard for mining.
Joe Grosso: That's good for me, because as an Italian, I have numerous family members there, who emigrated in the late '40s and '50s. So I knew the Argentinian temperament. They're very proud, by nature. With the years of dictatorship by Peron, followed by an ultra-left-wing government, Argentina has not concentrated on mining until the last few years. Now they have a pro-business government. Argentina has great geology, speedy permitting, but they need better mining legislation. The world has mixed sentiments about going to Argentina. I understand it, and I'm happy. I'm the guy that opened the door. I've become the most awarded man in Argentina, and in the mining industry, for reopening Argentina. Now I’m looking for the next place where I can be the number one opening the door. We already have about 200 thousand hectares of property lined up in a new neighboring country.
Al Alper Jr: That's very exciting. Tell us, what are the main reasons that investors should be looking at Golden Arrow right now?
Joe Grosso: Overwhelmingly, value, value, value. Management, management strategy. How exciting the strategy is that we have in mind, in continuing with exploration, continuing with earnings coming in from production, and continuing to go into another country, in early-stage geology. I think it is a most undervalued stock, and we will be telling the story far and wide. That'll make a difference. The 45 cents stock is way undervalued. We're not going to spend our earnings on exploration. We're going to be spending our earnings to get more earnings. Exploration values are in addition to the earnings. If you put it together, that is one of the best straw hats you can buy in the fall, Dr. White's hat.
Al Alper Jr: Exactly. What is your timeframe?
Joe Grosso: It's all happening right now. Usually it takes five, six years, and hundreds of millions to go into production. It'll cost us almost a nickel, and our project is in production by the end of this September.
Al Alper Jr: When a company like yours goes into production, it means a total re-rating of your stock, right?
Joe Grosso: Absolutely. When the major funding company lent us money on our projected income, projected by SSR Mining, extremely conservatively. It included SSR Mining’s expectation of doing 25% better year one.
Management is strong and committed. We enjoy great preference in Argentina based on strong relationships developed over the last 25 years. We respect each other. We have been able to work through totally different understandings and arrive at what works. And 25 years of honest communications and proven success has worked to bridge those differences.
Al Alper Jr: Do you feel there's a risk in Argentina?
Joe Grosso: No, no, none whatsoever. We have a government, which is extra right-wing, which has finally, two years ago, made mining development a government priority.
Al Alper Jr: That's very exciting. Is there anything you'd like to add?
Joe Grosso: Thank you for the opportunity to share our story. We have a great program. It’s all coming together and taking off. We've done a marketing drive all over the world, including Europe. I'm in New York quite often. Now, the company has about 6,000 shareholders. We're building at a massive rate.
Al Alper Jr: Excellent!
Joe Grosso: I have a truck with hay on it. Jump on it.
Al Alper Jr: Wonderful. I’m going to buy a straw hat this fall.
https://goldenarrowresources.com/
Mr. Joseph Grosso,
Executive Chairman, President and CEO
Corporate Communications
Tel: 1-604-687-1828
Toll-Free: 1-800-901-0058
Email: info@goldenarrowresources.com
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