How to Spot Value Traps vs. Real Opportunities in Mining Stocks

Recording date: 2nd September 2025

Derek Mcpherson and Sam Pelaez of Olive Resource Capital recently detailed their institutional approach to junior mining investments, emphasizing both defensive portfolio management and offensive opportunity identification ahead of major industry conferences.

The investment team reported strong performance across core holdings, validating their defensive thesis. Their largest position, Omai Gold Mines, delivered a substantial resource update exceeding 5 million ounces at grades above 1.5 grams per ton, which they characterized as a "global moon stage" asset. This investment originated from a Beaver Creek conference decision two years prior, where they identified resolved management issues and subsequently acquired shares below 5 cents.

Strategic developments strengthened other portfolio positions. Aurion Resources secured a 9.9% strategic investment at 80 cents per share while trading near dollar levels, positioning for potential M&A activity while funding aggressive drilling at the Kaaresselkä project. Elemental Altus Royalty, backed by Tether's majority ownership, deployed its entire cash balance and credit facility for acquisitions in West Australia and Africa, demonstrating the execution capabilities that initially attracted investment.

Olive Resource Capital's investment philosophy centers on identifying fundamentally undervalued assets trading below intrinsic worth due to market inefficiencies in junior mining's specialized market. They distinguish between "cheap" and "undervalued," noting many assets represent value traps despite appearing inexpensive. Critical to their process is evaluating management teams with structured 12-36 month execution plans capable of closing valuation gaps.

The team explicitly avoids momentum investing and crowded trades, citing Barrick Gold as an example they've avoided despite underperformance. Their contrarian approach extends to conference dynamics, where universally pitched stories often end up on their avoid list.

Looking forward, they target three categories: turnaround opportunities in operating companies, cash-flow positive producers with discoveries, and restart projects addressing previous operational failures. The upcoming Beaver Creek and Denver conferences represent critical opportunities for validating current thesis work and identifying new investments.

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