As base metals from copper to iron ore catch a bid, the one thing that investor’s can point to is renewed optimism south of the border. While President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan has yet to be realized or even confirmed, investors are piling into base metal explorers and producers.
New member ‘Hello‘ picked two junior miners for January’s Stock Challenge and topped them all with a 90.24% combined average return.
Hello’s first selection of Energy Fuels, finished December at $2.21 per share and then ran to a high of $3.38 before declining to $2.86.
But that was his second and ‘worst’ performing selection…
Champion Iron Tops Stocks in January Stock Challenge
The deal that delivered member Hello the silver bullion and Pinnacle Prize Package was a long-forgotten iron ore exploration and development company, Champion Iron Limited. The company’s key asset is located in the heart of Canada’s premier iron ore mining district, the Labrador Trough.
According to the company’s website,
“Fermont Holdings consist of 8 iron-rich projects with a surface area of 707 km² that are proximal to electrical power, all-season roads, and railways that connect to year-round shipping terminals on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.”
The company’s slogan on its website is:
“Building the next major iron ore mine in the Labrador Trough”
After finishing the month at $0.47, its shares peaked at $1.47 before settling back to $1.25 at the close of trading today.
Champion Iron – 1 Month Chart
The volume began to get silly mid-month after the company traded 8 million shares on January 13th alone.
On January 13th, market activity became so pronounced that the company was requested to respond, explaining:
“At the request of IIROC (“Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada”), Champion Iron Limited (ASX: CIA) (TSX: CIA) (the “Company”) wishes to confirm that it is not aware of any material, undisclosed information related to the Company that would account for the recent increase in the market price and level of trading volume of its ordinary shares.”
Ultimately, member ‘Hello’ finished January’s Stock Challenge with a 90.24% return.
The TSX Venture has been on fire since the middle of January, declining only 3 times and closing up above 800, near the high of this bull market that began in January of last year.
Back to the stock picking action in January’s Stock Challenge…
Despite Hello’s epic win, it was not always so certain. Member ‘rbd’ made a surge early in the trading and almost took the lead. Take a look at these screen shots from earlier today.
Top 5 – 10:45 AM PST
Top 5 – 11:00 AM PST
After climbing as high as 12th on Monday, long-time member ‘bauman6’ finished in 29th. Power Metals failed to continue its rally, ending his chances at a Top 10 finish. Still, a 32.04% return is nothing to shake a stick at – nice work!
Long-time member ‘rbd’ put up a 86.36% return to finish in second place.
Long-time member ‘Astrodamus7’ who is always competitive finished right behind him with an 84.09% return.
Another long-time member of more than 8 years, and past Stock Challenge Champ, ‘webpanther’ finished in 8th with a 52.54% return.
He has been awarded the People’s Champ award.
The People’s Champ is a selective award associated with Pinnacle’s Stock Challenge, and is given to the participant who failed to win, but nonetheless made a name for himself. It comes with no prizes and unfortunately, no glory.
(It was in April of 2016 that ‘webpanther’ was crowned a Champion!)
That month his selection of ‘JNUG’ and ‘NUGT’ combined to return him a whopping 123.26% in April. He stuck with the same ETFs in January’s Stock Challenge. Not a bad strategy when gold stocks are moving higher.
Gold stocks have been joined with lithium, marijuana-related and now select base metal issuers. The TSX Venture bull market that began in January of 2016 remains intact.
January’s Stock Challenge Top 10
Our champion receives the winner’s only Pinnacle Package – which includes the finest of garments fit for a champion: The Stock Challenge Champ Hoodie and a Pinnacle Digest dri-fit golf shirt (for those afternoons on the links). Wear them with pride Hello!
Member Hello will also receive a Northwest Territorial Mint 10 ounce Silver Bar.
Congratulations to our new champion and welcome to the Stock Stars Hall of Fame! We look forward to watching you compete in future contests!
Good luck to everyone in February’s Stock Challenge, which begins tomorrow.
January’s Stock Challenge Statistics:
Challengers: 261
Highest Return: 90.24%
Lowest Return: – 33.18%
Average Return: 3.49%
Previous Champs in the Top Twenty: 3
