#gold-exploration

#gold-exploration

After nearly a decade spent transforming Endeavour Mining into one of the world's ten largest gold producers, de Montessus is returning to what has long defined his career: building scale, discipline and credibility in frontier markets where volatility is the rule rather than the exception.

But after decades of outsourcing tungsten production, the federal government has now begun restricting imports. United States Tungsten founders Stacy Hastie and Randy Waterfield saw this coming. They're reviving what was once America's largest tungsten mine, the Tungsten Queen. It's a site holding an estimated 1 million tons of tungsten with an in-ground value approaching $450 million, the company says. And it says it is already in talks with the U.S. Government.

It's a little-known fact that Columbia University, in Manhattan, was home to the first mining school in America-the School of Mines-founded in 1864. For the past three decades, the university's program has been mothballed. Parts of its curriculum were subsumed into the more fashionable subjects of earth and environmental engineering. But next fall, Columbia University will offer a bachelor of science degree in mining engineering once again.

Why it matters: Positive stock performance helps explain why so many free-market capitalists have signed onto something that seems more socialist than not. And why others will do so when given the opportunity. By the numbers: The White House appears to have agreed to equity deals with nine companies, most which are publicly traded. The public cohort saw their share prices climb an average of 85% between the time of announcement (or press leak, if earlier) and yesterday, per an Axios analysis.

With the price of a single ounce of gold now currently hovering around $4,700 (right around its all-time high), the question of course is whether it's too late for investors to dive in. I'm of the view that this momentum rally is probably warranted. That's in part due to the underlying fundamentals of gold and its overall market capitalization relative to stocks (which is still low, despite its recent rally).