Gold’s 30-Year Perfect Storm: How Does It End? | Brad Langille

Brad Langille says Mexican permits now involve more environmental and social diligence, but current permits may take about one to one-and-a-half years, compared with three and a half years for one recent permit, and he says Mexico remains faster than Canada. The host says investors nevertheless assign Mexico a higher risk premium because of political and business risks.

Langille says major gold companies have done little exploration in recent years, while juniors did some and the sector faced periods of difficult financing; he also says production may have peaked for this cycle because mine development takes a long time and the industry underinvested in exploration and development over the past decade. Separately, he views gold as potentially at the start of a strong bull market, citing central-bank buying, but presents that outlook as his opinion rather than a certainty.

At $40 silver and $3,500 gold, Langille estimates Los Ricos North and South would have nearly $2 billion in net present value, rising to more than $3 billion to $3.5 billion at spot prices; he cautions that the sensitivity chart excludes higher costs. He cites industry inflation of about 8% to 10% and silver all-in sustaining costs of roughly $15 to $16 per ounce versus about $12 in the study, while estimating combined annual after-tax cash flow of $425 million to $475 million at full production.