GODOLPHIN (Pertinent news & discussion prior to the IPO), page-19

I wonder if fnbig1 means compared to the GNCP etc that Lewis Ponds is of comparably little interest? If so I can see where he is coming from- just on a value of total resource basis.

I, however, like you & many of the other long term/larger holders are happy with it. Being spun off will allow it to progress more speedily and of course give any shareholder a real hedge against any portfolio that does not have a gold focussed stock in it.

I believe such a hedge will give me more certainty at this point in time- or should I say history.

Markets react poorly to conflict in general & as a reaction capital flows in to gold, gold stocks and US treasury bonds.

The US has of course been making defiant moves toward China and Iran ( Iran being the weak partner the US can take on directly in order to affect the main opponent- China ). The boldest statement so far has just been made last week with the sale of M1Abrams tanks & Stinger missiles to Taiwan. That is a first.

Sadly due to the way our markets interact, the US can actually advance itself in the tussle with China more readily through belligerent moves of that kind than it can via trade.

Iran of course has been rocking the boat ( tanker? ), upsetting as much of the West as it can. Who has it’s moves have thus far affected? The oil industry. Once again Western markets & governments are reminded of our need to achieve energy independence from the Middle East.

That includes Japan and South Korea- while China finds itself in a corner as any meaningful assistance to Iran is already snookered by Israel & it’s advanced military now including 5th generation fighter jets ( something only thr West has- China/Russia are years behind in that arena ).

Basically Iran is trying it’s hand at North Korean style diplomacy but doesn’t hold the same cards. N.K can threaten Japan and South Korea & could do great harm at any moment. Meanwhile Iran? No valued neighbours and a readily available base of operations in Israel- itself enough to contain Iran ( do I smell a ‘Stuxxnet’ type attack or some F35 bombing runs on Iranian nuclear facilities soon? You bet I do ).

The Israelis have been proving their reach/capability recently by making open incursions in to Iran including blatantly monitoring Iranian airbases etc from the comfort of their gen V cockpits. Even Russia’s S400 etc missile systems most likely can not touch such aircraft.

On the ocean China is decades behind- 1 aircraft carrier will be ready for operations in the mid 2020’s while the US alone has a dozen or so all of which have are better battle tested than any other Navy’s, many of which are larger and more potent than the Chinese design- & therefore can not force Iranian tankers through any blockade.

The reassuring part for we who also hold nickel stocks? It doesn’t do badly during times of conflict either.

We could actually see one of the demand side shocks I am a big fan of if any Western ( including Jp/Sth Kor. ), defence agencies sign off on an electrification plan.*

*The US Marines or Navy are the ones I’d most like to see drop such a signature on the world as the size of their vehicular fleets are truly mind blowing.

We've seen the US trying to protect its IP etc via trade sanctions but that has not produced the wanted results.
I don’t believe they ever can. That is why we have seen these moves ‘pop up’ in the last few weeks.

Small vehicles do very well with NCA/NCMA batteries.
Will that encourage the Western Hemisphere to move to limiting Chinese control of the DRC? The moves I speak of above are a motivation toward that- not to say it will cause such a thing but it does go on the ‘reasons to act’ column.

All in all a very volatile environment. Exactly what gold is used to safeguard one’s wealth against.

Cheers again to Red for starting this thread- gold and governments really do provide such interesting thoughts.