During the Mining Shares panel at the New Orleans Investment Conference, participants emphasized that the bull market in gold will continue – although where we are in that bull run is debatable.
For conference host and Gold Newsletter editor Brian Lundin, there’s still some way to go.
“The gold bull market is still here. We don’t know how long it will last. That’s the hard part. I think in the cycle gold could go to US$6,000 to US$8,000 (per ounce), maybe even higher. (The) mining stock bull market, I would say we’re probably in the fourth inning, fifth inning, maybe. But you know, we could go into additional innings,” he said.
Strategic investor Jeff Phillips also believes that the gold bull market is in its early stages.
“I would say we’re in the third or fourth inning,” he said. “It’s early in the bull market, but I think there will be a rain delay, because we’re talking baseball terminology. I think this is an epic bull market we’re in.”
Phillips compared today’s setup to previous cycles, noting the strong rise seen in gold between 2003 and 2007, before the financial crisis briefly derailed the momentum. Although he expects another correction at some point, he is still confident in the broader bull market and said he will continue buying and remain patient.
For Jordan Roy-Byrne, it is important to understand the difference between secular and cyclical bull markets.
“Secular – this is the dominant long-term trend that typically lasts a decade or more. Cyclical, it could be anywhere from two to five years or longer,” explains the editor and publisher of Daily Gold.
“I think the cyclical boom still has three or four more years left. The risk is if it goes on for a long time, then you have what happened in 1975 to 1976, and also in 2008 – when you had stocks falling 65 or 60 percent.”
Although Roy-Byrne believes this type of correction is “far in the future”, he was adamant that such an event would occur before the current secular bull market ends.
Jennifer Chageck, principal at Sandpiper Trading, said the central bank buying shows the bull market is in its infancy.
“I think we’re still really in the very early innings,” she said. “The underlying fundamentals of why central banks are buying gold have not changed. In fact, I could see it accelerating.”
Chageck acknowledged that gold often experiences seasonal declines at this time of year, and some investors may be waiting for a rebound. But he stressed that broad fundamentals remain strong.
Drawing comparisons to 2008, when gold fell nearly 22 percent before rising above previous highs within six months, he urged investors to keep a long-term perspective and be mentally prepared for short-term volatility. Chageck also noted that gold has historically been one of the first assets to recover after market downturns.
Nick Hodge, publisher of Digest Publishing, addressed the panel and told attendees that gold’s correction has found short-term support at the US$4,000 level, but long-term support lies around US$3,600.
“All the fundamentals, i.e. credit, central bank purchases etc. are still intact and have not eased,” he said. “Silver hasn’t seen its move yet, so that tells me we still have some time to go. And GDX, GDXJ have just started to outperform the gold price in August, so it’s still early to mid days in the precious metals bull market.”
What’s next for the gold price?
From there, panel moderator and renowned investor Rick Rule, owner of Rule Investment Media, emphasized that gold’s recent decline is minor in the context of a much larger, long-running bull market.
Rules agreed with Roy-Byrne’s distinction between cyclical downturns and broader secular trends, noting that many investors are troubled by what is essentially a normal upswing.
He points out that gold has still risen dramatically over the past year, and that previous cycles have seen far steeper declines – including a 50 percent drop in 1975 – that ultimately did not break the long-term trend.
Noting that precious metals cycles follow a familiar pattern, starting with strength in gold and moving on to other segments, Rule asked panel participants which companies in the gold sector – explorers, developers or potential M&A targets – are best positioned now as the market progresses.
For Hodge, as the precious metals cycle evolves, exploration and brownfield development is a strong option.
He said the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ARCA:GDX) outperformed gold over the summer, prompting some investors to take profits and divert capital into earlier-stage opportunities — a momentum he expects to continue.
Hodge said market cycles are now moving faster because of the speed of information, which has accelerated the shift in the value chain from producers to companies as miners try to replace reserves.
Additionally, he pointed to the growing influx of risk-tolerant investors who are cutting their teeth in crypto and increasingly gravitating toward gold and mining equities as they learn about fiat currency and counterparty risk. Their appetite for speculation is likely to drive more capital into smaller, higher-risk exploration names next year, he said.
Chageck echoed Hodge’s sentiment.
“I agree that a lot of speculative money still hasn’t been converted into precious metals,” he said.
“I’m seeing a lot of oversubscribed private placements. I think there’s still room for juniors. There’s some grassroots exploration, which actually hit an all-time low in 2023, and we still have decades of investment in exploration. We still have a lot of room to work there,” Chageck said.
Roy-Byrne advised keeping an eye on silver, highlighting that gold’s peer metal has yet to gain traction.
“After this correction, silver has a chance to make a historic move,” he told the audience. “When that happens we’ll probably see a huge surge in wealth next year.”
Phillips cited an analogy he once heard, comparing a precious metals bull market to the crack of a whip: Producers move in first, followed by mid-tier and single-asset developers, with exploration companies coming into action last. In his view, the market is just reaching its final stages, and searchers are not yet seeing real progress.
Phillips also echoed the comments of other panelists that young crypto investors are becoming more aware of inflation, money printing, and the value of hard assets.
This shift is already visible in unconventional moves, he said, ranging from stablecoin companies buying gold royalties to major tech companies and even governments injecting capital into mining-related assets.
All this suggests that the speculative end of the field is now coming to life, he said.
Expert Stock Picks – Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel and Uranium
At the end of the discussion, Rule asked each panelist to provide a stock pick for the attentive audience.
First up was Lundin, who praised the list of more than 100 exhibitors at the 51st New Orleans Investment Conference.
He recommended Delta Resources (TSXV:DLTA,OTCQB:DTARF), highlighting its “large, still undefined gold resources in the Thunder Bay area.” He also likes Nevada gold-focused companies Getchell Gold (CSE:GTCH,OTCQB:GGLDF) and Seabridge Gold (TSX:SEA,NYSE:SA), which he calls “permanent alternative plays.”
For Phillips, Empress Royalty’s (TSXV:EMPR,OTCQB:EMPYF) management team, cash flow-positive position and focus on gold and silver puts the company at the top of their list.
Almadex Minerals (TSXV:DEX,OTCQX:AAMMF), where management has a history of finding multimillion-ounce deposits, and potential generator Headwaters Gold (CSE:HWG,OTCQB:HWAUF), were also among his stock picks.
Shigek steered clear of precious metals by recommending SPC Nickel (TSXV:SPC, OTCQX:SPCNF), a company with good geology and a management team that owns 36 percent of the firm’s shares.
He also mentioned Pacific Silver (CSE:PSIL,OTCQB:PAGFF), citing the company’s recent private placement, which included First Majestic Silver (TSX:AG,NYSE:AG). His final stock pick and “absolute favorite” is Camino Minerals (TSXV:COR,OTCID:CAMZF), a well-managed Peru-focused copper company.
The list included Hodge’s picks, starting with NorthShore Uranium (TSXV: NSU), due to be based in US deposits. He also picked out Kincora Copper (TSXV:KCC,OTCQB:BZDLF), citing its small market cap, strong investor interest and strong portfolio, and Kingsman Resources (TSXV:KNG,OTCQX:KNGRF), a company that has seen its share price rise from C$0.25 to C$0.75 in the past year.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, do not have any direct investment interest in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. Reflect the views of.
