Peter Grandich’s $1 million bet that gold will hit $2,000
December 14, 2011,

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2011/12/14/peter-grandich%E2%80%99s-1-million-bet-that-gold-will-hit-2000/

Grandich Raises Gold Challenge to $2 Million [includes a Dr. Evil photo – ha!]
By MARK GONGLOFF
Dec 30, 2011

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/12/30/grandich-raises-gold-challenge-to-2-million/

Million Dollar Bet That Gold Price Hits $2,000
Posted Dec 18 2011 by Will Bancroft

http://therealasset.co.uk/million-dollar-bet-that-gold-price-will-hit-2000/

Here was Frank Holmes most recent Kitco interview for a reminder:

Ignore Sub-$40 Oil, ‘Healthy’ Inflation Returns – Frank Holmes
Guest(s): Frank Holmes – Aug 01, 2016

http://www.kitco.com/news/video/show/Gold-Game-Film/1321/2016-08-01/Ignore-Sub-$40-Oil-Healthy-Inflation-Returns—Frank-Holmes

Frank Giustra is the one that sold Uranium One to the Russian company ARMZ.

He is currently behind Lithium X and why it got so frothy (even when there are far better Lithium companies that just went into production or are much further along). Frank has the midas touch with companies because he has the politicians in his pocket, and he makes sure to put some money back in their pockets.

Cronyism:

https://www.google.com/search?q=frank+holmes&biw=1536&bih=888&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJ4Zm6m87OAhWGNiYKHVQMCFsQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=cronyism

Don’t forget Ian Telfer of Gold Corp was right along with them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0

Thanks Markedtofuture. Wow, I saw that link to Ian Telfer of Gold Corp and how he donated to the Clinton Foundation. Very lucrative for certain mining magnates to influence the political equation……. crazy.

The entire article is great, but I just have to post this section of it because it is so in line with the rest of this thread.

A Seat at the Table

The path to a Russian acquisition of American uranium deposits began in 2005 in Kazakhstan, where the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra orchestrated his first big uranium deal, with Mr. Clinton at his side.

The two men had flown aboard Mr. Giustra’s private jet to Almaty, Kazakhstan, where they dined with the authoritarian president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev. Mr. Clinton handed the Kazakh president a propaganda coup when he expressed support for Mr. Nazarbayev’s bid to head an international elections monitoring group, undercutting American foreign policy and criticism of Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record by, among others, his wife, then a senator.

Within days of the visit, Mr. Giustra’s fledgling company, UrAsia Energy Ltd., signed a preliminary deal giving it stakes in three uranium mines controlled by the state-run uranium agency Kazatomprom.

If the Kazakh deal was a major victory, UrAsia did not wait long before resuming the hunt. In 2007, it merged with Uranium One, a South African company with assets in Africa and Australia, in what was described as a $3.5 billion transaction. The new company, which kept the Uranium One name, was controlled by UrAsia investors including Ian Telfer, a Canadian who became chairman. Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Giustra, whose personal stake in the deal was estimated at about $45 million, said he sold his stake in 2007.

Soon, Uranium One began to snap up companies with assets in the United States. In April 2007, it announced the purchase of a uranium mill in Utah and more than 38,000 acres of uranium exploration properties in four Western states, followed quickly by the acquisition of the Energy Metals Corporation and its uranium holdings in Wyoming, Texas and Utah. That deal made clear that Uranium One was intent on becoming “a powerhouse in the United States uranium sector with the potential to become the domestic supplier of choice for U.S. utilities,” the company declared.

Ian Telfer was chairman of Uranium One and made large donations to the Clinton Foundation. Credit Galit Rodan/Bloomberg, via Getty Images

Still, the company’s story was hardly front-page news in the United States — until early 2008, in the midst of Mrs. Clinton’s failed presidential campaign, when The Times published an article revealing the 2005 trip’s link to Mr. Giustra’s Kazakhstan mining deal. It also reported that several months later, Mr. Giustra had donated $31.3 million to Mr. Clinton’s foundation.

(In a statement issued after this article appeared online, Mr. Giustra said he was “extremely proud” of his charitable work with Mr. Clinton, and he urged the media to focus on poverty, health care and “the real challenges of the world.”)

Though the 2008 article quoted the former head of Kazatomprom, Moukhtar Dzhakishev, as saying that the deal required government approval and was discussed at a dinner with the president, Mr. Giustra insisted that it was a private transaction, with no need for Mr. Clinton’s influence with Kazakh officials. He described his relationship with Mr. Clinton as motivated solely by a shared interest in philanthropy.

As if to underscore the point, five months later Mr. Giustra held a fund-raiser for the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, a project aimed at fostering progressive environmental and labor practices in the natural resources industry, to which he had pledged $100 million. The star-studded gala, at a conference center in Toronto, featured performances by Elton John and Shakira and celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Robin Williams encouraging contributions from the many so-called F.O.F.s — Friends of Frank — in attendance, among them Mr. Telfer. In all, the evening generated $16 million in pledges, according to an article in The Globe and Mail.

“None of this would have been possible if Frank Giustra didn’t have a remarkable combination of caring and modesty, of vision and energy and iron determination,” Mr. Clinton told those gathered, adding: “I love this guy, and you should, too.”

But what had been a string of successes was about to hit a speed bump….”

Clinton Foundation mega donor Frank Holmes was grilled on CNBC…..says he donated $145million to Clinton Foundation

OOTB – I see where the “MISINFORMATION” started in the media (if that is what you want to call it).

They ran this story bashing Frank Holmes for his connection with the Clinton Foundation [which is wrong as Frank Holmes is staunch conservative], but they did crappy research, as it was Frank Giustra that owned Uranium One and he is the one the runs with the Clintons. I am amazed that they didn’t have to retract this article:

Here is the bogus news story:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/05/12/uranium-investor-turned-clinton-foundation-mega-donor-frank-holmes-grilled-by-cnbc/

Here is the reality of who owned Uranium One and contributed so much money to the Clinton Foundation:

“In 2007 Uranium One acquired a controlling interest in UrAsia Energy, a Canadian firm with headquarters in Vancouver, from Frank Giustra.[4] UrAsia Energy has interests in rich uranium operations in Kazakhstan.[5] UrAsia Energy’s acquisition of its Kazakhstan uranium interests from Kazatomprom followed a trip to Almaty in 2005 by Giustra and former U.S. President Bill Clinton where they met with Nursultan Nazarbayev, the leader of Kazakhstan. Substantial contributions to the Clinton Foundation by Giustra followed.[4][6][7]”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One

Looks like, quite frankly, they got their Franks mixed up…..

Most of the $145million was corporate ,but says donated $250-500k to the foundation.

“In 2008, a New York Times article reported that a Canadian financier, Frank Giustra, flew Clinton on a luxurious jet to Kazakhstan in 2005 as part of a three-country philanthropic tour. The article implied that a statement Clinton made praising that nation’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was linked to Giustra’s uranium company signing preliminary agreements for the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by the state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom. It also reported that in 2006, Giustra donated $31 million to the Clinton Foundation.[13]”

Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative

“Frank Giustra is a Canadian business executive sitting on the board of the Clinton Foundation. Launched in 2007, CGSGI describes itself as working with local communities, the private sector, governments and other non-governmental organizations to develop models for businesses to spur social and economic development as part of their operations in the developing world. CGSGI says it is focusing on market-driven development that creates jobs and increases incomes, and on enabling factors such as health and education.”

“Frank Giustra’s involvement with the Clinton Foundation has been criticized by the International Business Times.[62]”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Foundation

OOTB – It looks like you are correct about Frank Holmes. I just did more digging and stand corrected, as a later article came out where Frank Holmes did confirm he donated to the Clinton foundation as well, and did own Uranium One shares from 2008 to 2011. {I find that shocking as Frank Holmes is always bashing Socialism and is such a free-market conservative minded guy. I guess nothing should be shocking at this point though}

It is confusing because Uranium One was owned by Frank Giustra at one point, he donates heavily to the Clinton Foundation, and has been at the scene of many scandals.

___________________________________________________________________________

Here is the follow up article where Frank Holmes admitted he went the way of Frank Giustra….. What a bummer…..

Clinton Foundation Donor Changes Story, Admits His Company Owned Uranium One Stock in 2011

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/15/clinton-foundation-donor-changes-story-admits-his-company-owned-uranium-one-stock-in-2011/

Wasn’t Frank Holmes,on the KER blog promoting the Clinton Foundation.?

Wow – was he? The Clinton Foundation invaded the KER. My world is crumbling….. 🙁

By the way, we would not allow this foundation to be touted here. Maybe discussed but not touted. I have real questions about this family.

Nice,

In 2016 I’ve traded in an out of a partial position and sometime sold out the entire position and then bought it back on a dip throughout this year a few times as well.

I’m just letting my core position take the free ride at present….

I wondered why the sudden show of extra strength this afternoon. Now I know. Thanks.

I have a lot of shares, btw.

Ever Upward!

Jaguar Mining Inc. (JAG.V)

$0.80 up +$0.06 (+8.11% gain)

I’m sure every single one of us has had that experience!

There are just too many interesting stories out there from the companies that made it through the bear market and have come out the other side streamlined and ready to shine.

“If you can’t own all of them, at least own some of them” – Brian

That’s not a controversial assumption, LPG. 😉

Ha! Agreed.

To keep a nice valuation upside, you DON’T want other convertible holders to convert their debt as well….
My 2cts
LPG

Complete conversion is inevitable so I factored it in before I bought a single share and am just fine with it. I commented on it here months ago when I pointed out that JAG would still be cheap even when fully diluted. It was probably no more than forty cents at the time which would have put its fully diluted market cap at roughly $120M. Even at today’s price, the fully diluted market cap would be about $235m — not bad at all when compared to its peers and considering where gold is going.

All in all, it’s all good.

Matthew,
From “current” situation – assuming no further dilution – to full dilution, the share count goes up by 80%.
That’s what I meant by “To keep a nice valuation upside, you DON’T want other convertible holders to convert their debt as well….”.
Cheers,
LPG

Like I said, LPG, the conversion of the rest of the debentures is inevitable and does not make the bet a bad one for those who see the big picture and understand value.

Thanks for your concern, though.

Cheers!

Sold. I’m going to borrow at 21% interest on a credit card to start a puggle breeding program for guards around the timeshares. I’ve never bred stone-cold killers like puggles before, but how hard can it be right?

Hey, you’d be a fool not to give it a try. The venture is sure to produce a few nuggets.

Agreed. If those puggles produce any nuggets though, they are going right into the pooper scooper. Can’t leave those around the property or the steady stream of Time Share owners I anticipate may get miffed.

The one exception would be if I found a puggle that lays golden nuggets. If so I’d sell those the gold nuggets and buy over-priced baseball cards. I’d call it my “Gold to Cardboard” campaign.

JohnK – There is a book called “Who Moved My Cheese?” and it taught me to move where the cheese was moving to, and not get stuck in a rut.

Personally, I sold out of Ice Fishing Decoys and A&W Mugs last year. (now I’m kicking myself because yesterday a discussion on Ice fishing broke out and I may have sold out too early).

Earlier in the year I went in heavy on PEZ dispensers and Treadmills and I sold them as a package deal to customers. I may have been too far ahead of the curve on this trend though, because right now everyone is going to gyms to workout, but I know that down the road everyone will want in their garage (I mean family room).

So now Time Shares and VHS rental stores are the rage, so if that is where the cheese is moving…..I’m going all in.

A friend of mine just gave me a tip on breeding puggles (just a word to the wise)…

Lego was the big winner.

Lego Sets Have Been a Better Investment than Gold Since 2000 – Time
time.com/money/4162059/lego-investment-compare-gold-return/

Here’s the top five most expensive (LEGO) sets currently: (from the article)

1. Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon: $510 in 2007, now $4,041

2 Cafe Corner: $134 in 2007, now $3,123

3 Taj Mahal: $298 in 2008, now $2,753

4 Death Star II: $372 in 2005, now $2,270

5 Imperial Star Destroyer: $249.99 in 2002, now $2,185