By Matthew Allan
Investors Chronicle
Canada, a country with nearly 1,500 listed small-cap mining companies, is often seen as the heart of junior mineral exploration — so it’s important to keep one’s finger on the pulse there.
Unfortunately, both for Canadian companies and for small-cap resource investors the world over, the financial landscape for Canadian junior mining stocks is bleak.
Many junior explorers based in Canada are currently struggling to raise money after the heady days of 2009, 2010 and 2011 — and their share prices have plummeted alongside their balance sheets. Research by respected newsletter writer John Kaiser shows that, by the end of the summer, just under half of all junior mining companies listed on the TSX-V were trading at under 10¢ a share with a median working capital of a paltry C$100,000 (£63,000); another 23 per cent trade under 20¢ a share with a median working capital of $700,000; while the next 10 per cent trade under 30¢ a share with a median working capital of $1.3m — hardly enough for even a small drilling program.