What's In A Name?: The Silver-Plating of Mining Company Monikers

COMMENTARY – ProspectingJournal.com (CLICK FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE) – What’s in a name? For some executives, the name and logo is merely a placeholder for their companies’ project portfolio, and an identifier on their business card. But for others, the name means everything, and in order to draw the right audience to their brand, they’re willing to go through the rigours of swaying their shareholders into voting for a name change and starting fresh with a new moniker. In the world of junior mining, this process has taken on a silver hue, as of late, as multiple companies are latching themselves to the lure of the devil’s metal, and injecting the word “Silver” into their re-brandings.

Earlier this year, as silver was on its parabolic climb towards $50/oz, a search began among investors clamoring to attach themselves to companies willing to identify themselves as the elusive primary silver miners. Some of the bigger players were already on the silver train, catching the eyes of silver bugs with notable names such as Great Panther Silver [GPR - TSX] (rebranded from Great Panther Resources in 2009) and Arian Silver Corp. [AGQ - TSX.V], both if which focus on their operations in the famous Mexican silver belt and South American Silver Corp. [SAC - TSX] which has made a name for itself through its silver projects in Bolivia and Chile. For these companies, having silver in the title proved beneficial during silver’s run earlier this year.

But, without proper research, novice investors could easily miss out on companies like Alexco Resource Corp. [AXR – TSX] and the company formerly known as United Mining Group. By doing so, one would miss out on half of the silver mining industry, bypassing two of the more experienced and devoted silver miners operating in North America. But for the latter, this no longer poses a problem.

The team at United Mining Group has recently gone through two major identity shifts, starting with a name change to United Silver Corp. [USC – TSX] and a new Interim President and CEO in Graham “Chip” Clark, a former Senior VP for mining giant Newmont Mining Corp. [NMC – TSX].

“We felt it was important to align the Company’s identity with our targeted silver resources as we continue our exploration and development efforts toward bringing the Crescent Silver Mine back into production,” stated former CEO of United Mining Group and current Director of United Silver Corp. Charles Pitcher upon the announcement of the name change back in June.

But UMG’s transformation into United Silver Corp. isn’t the only group adding silver to its nametags. When Netco Energy Inc.’s execs were presented with the opportunity to acquire 5,736 hectares of high-grade potential silver claims on the Toruel vein in Rio Negro Province in Argentina, they essentially left behind their company’s energy history to begin anew as a potential miner. When samples returned averages in excess of 400g/t silver with one sample containing 5,871g/t silver, it was apparent that their name had to change. At the company’s first AGM after the acquisition was announced, Netco Energy Inc. was re-born as Netco Silver Inc. [NEI – TSX.V].

“We believe that the name change to Netco Silver clearly demonstrates to investors our strategy as a pure-play on high grade South American silver assets,” says Netco Director, Colin Bowkett.  “We believe, for numerous reasons, that silver is one of the most attractive asset classes in today’s investment landscape.”

“A high grade silver deposit had significant merit even back with historical prices which were a fraction of today’s silver price,” adds Bowkett. “The increase since even last year in the price of silver only makes these projects more attractive.”

When Eric Sprott declared ‘Silver is the investment of the next decade,’ the metal turned some heads, but with its industrial uses being continually expanded (The US patent office issuing more patents for silver based products than any other metal), demand for silver has continually driven favourable commodity prices in the long term, despite the recent dip since April.

Since silver began to pull back to the mid $30s, United Silver Corp., Netco Silver,Silver Bull Resources [SVB – TSX] (formerly known as Metalline Mining Company) and Axiom Gold and Silver Corp. [AXIO – OTCBB] (formerly known as TC Power Management Corp.) among others have incorporated “silver” into their names. Even prior to silver’s setbacks, Apogee Minerals Limited morphed into Apogee Silver Ltd.[APE – TSX.V].

As we sit and watch through the summer as to where silver prices will shake out, it’s apparent that there are some new names to look up when searching for the next primary silver miner. What’s in a name? For these companies, it’s silver.

G. Joel Chury
Editor in Chief
ProspectingJournal.com

–

Disclaimer: ProspectingJournal is for information and educational purposes only, and should not be considered a solicitation or offer to purchase or sell securities. Responses to feedback and inquiries are based on the opinions and viewpoints of the author and do not take into account reader’s suitability, objectives or risk tolerances. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

No fee has been paid for the distribution of this article. The author currently holds shares in Netco Energy Inc. but not in any of the other companies mentioned in this article. Some members of Cordova Media Inc. may or may not hold shares in companies mentioned in the article. The Prospecting Journal will not be held liable to anyone for financial losses pertaining to companies profiled or information provided within this article.