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Live Q&A with Rick Rule and Albert Lu

Rule Investment Media Jul 2, 2026

Summary

Falling share prices against rising values signal a bargain season; Rule urges investors to pre-build tiered shopping lists before forced selling creates bargains.

Mining costs are inflating: consumables rise near 10% compounded versus stated CPI, so AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — full production cost per ounce) climbs industry-wide.

Rule favors uranium's remaining upside after the hated-to-not-hated move, sees a multi-year US natural gas upcycle, and still expects five-to-ten-year metals bull markets.

Rule backs B2Gold and OceanaGold at low cashflow multiples, seeing resolved construction problems and quiet Mali diplomacy as mispriced strengths supporting further gold-sector M&A.

Ivanhoe Mines offers compelling value for DRC-risk takers as Kamoa-Kakula repairs, a new smelter, and two more tier-one deposits reshape 2027 cashflow.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • Rick says that if he were not already heavily invested, he would buy a Franco-Nevada, Wheaton, and Agnico Eagle package at prices as of the July 2026 stream.
  • He classes Agnico among the 'best of the best' gold names and argues the valuation gap versus the rest of the sector is now too small to justify buying lesser companies.

Key points on B2Gold

  • Rick calls B2Gold anomalously valued — cheap enough as of July 2026 — with free cash flow he describes as spectacular.
  • He says the construction problems that kept the stock in the penalty box are over, with the mine ramping from economic completion toward nameplate capacity, and likens the setup to Equinox before its share price doubled.
  • Rick argues B2Gold is the lowest political-risk player in Mali: while others had drama with the government, Clive Johnson quietly flew to Bamako, negotiated, and cleaned the problem up.
  • Founder Clive Johnson has retired, leaving a management transition Rick says will prove either good or bad; some holders, including Rick, owned the stock partly because of him.
  • He leans slightly toward B2Gold over OceanaGold because of its tier-one Fekola deposit, though he is attracted to both at current prices.

Key points on Barrick Mining

  • Rick cites Barrick's Mali experience — the government sent in troops and confiscated its gold — as the contrast that makes B2Gold, in his view, Mali's lowest political-risk operator.

Key points on Equinox Gold

  • Rick says the Orla acquisition likely puts Equinox into the million-ounce club, moving it from intermediate to major producer, and he expects further material acquisitions of Orla-sized companies with tier-one deposits.
  • The Los Filos community agreement surprised him — the community was tired of two and a half years without wages — and he questions whether Los Filos is still core to Equinox, saying a sale to a Mexico-focused operator would not surprise him.
  • Following what he calls the Ross Beaty-company pattern, Rick expects four or five third-tier Equinox assets to be sold as they consume too much management time relative to the value they deliver.

Key points on Ivanhoe Mines

  • Rick calls Ivanhoe a compelling buy for investors who can accept DRC and South African political risk, with the stock down roughly 50% from peak after the Kamoa problem as of July 2026, and he remains a shareholder after 15 years.
  • He says Kamoa-Kakula was mined too aggressively and must now be mined slowly with larger pillars left in place, so 2027 earnings and near-term cash flow stay impacted.
  • The new smelter offsets much of the cash flow shortfall by enabling finished-copper shipments instead of concentrate and by selling sulfuric acid, which he says is in short supply.
  • Ivanhoe is bringing on the highest-grade major zinc mine in the world and the largest undeveloped platinum-palladium deposit, taking it from one tier-one mine toward three, with cash generation by end-2027 that Rick expects to be staggering.
  • Chinese participation shields Ivanhoe from Congolese political risk but not social risk; Rick notes roughly 2,000 Chinese troops in Katanga make any attempt to seize the mine from the Chinese a non-starter.

Key points on Oceanagold

  • Rick names OceanaGold, with B2Gold, as anomalously valued — cheap enough today, trading at low ratios to trailing earnings and cheap on NPV-to-enterprise-value or price-to-cash-flow.
  • He points to management consistency and the Haile deposit performing well, plus what he calls a lot of exploration upside at Waihi.
  • He notes OceanaGold holds a collection of tier-two deposits versus B2Gold's tier-one Fekola, which is why he leans slightly toward B2Gold, though he is attracted to both at current prices.

Key points on DRDGOLD Ltd

  • Rick says he no longer knows DRDGOLD well enough to comment beyond observing that it appears attractively priced on a price-to-cash-flow basis.
  • He adds that he lacks the reserve and resource knowledge to evaluate the company on an enterprise-value-to-NAV basis.

Key points on Greatland Resources Ltd

  • Rick ranks Greatland a 5 and says it is fully priced as of July 2026 if the current gold price holds.
  • If gold rises, he sees substantial free optionality in Greatland's gold endowment — optionality already in place that does not need permitting to be built.

Key points on Integra Resources

  • Rick expects higher all-in sustaining costs across the gold industry, with consumables inflation running near 10% compounded versus stated CPI of roughly 2.6-2.7%.
  • Energy costs matter directly for Integra: its Florida Canyon operation depends on truck and equipment fuel, and those prices have risen substantially.

Key points on AbraSilver Resource

  • Rick says much of the AbraSilver DFS NPV uplift does come from a metals-price re-rate, but that is legitimate because the old study was done at much lower silver prices.
  • He has two concerns: he would like to see a higher average grade, which he expects to come, and he fears the upfront capital cost may be understated given the remote location.
  • He argues the deposit will — not might — get bigger with exploration and develop high-grade components, so the DFS, while sufficient to build and finance the mine, understates its real size and tenor.
  • Rick knows the ground from decades ago, when he and Bob Quartermain bought the deposit for Silver Standard, and notes the Salta region has developed considerably since.

Key points on Seabridge Gold

  • Rick expects a possible Seabridge joint-venture announcement imminently — he has promised CEO Rudy Fronk a bourbon, a case on behalf of the classroom, if it lands before next week's symposium.

Key points on Franco-Nevada Corp

  • Rick says that if he were not already heavily invested, he would buy the Franco-Nevada, Wheaton, and Agnico package at current prices.
  • He counts Franco-Nevada among the 'best of the best' names he buys when the valuation gap to the rest of the sector is too small.

Key points on Wheaton Precious Metals

  • Rick says that if he were not already heavily invested, he would buy the Franco-Nevada, Wheaton, and Agnico package at current prices.
  • He counts Wheaton among the 'best of the best' names, which he prefers when the valuation gap to the rest of the sector is small.

Key points on ATEX Resources Inc

  • Rick ranks ATEX Resources a 5 and calls it a high-quality copper deposit.
  • He says if the price keeps falling, the rating will move to a 4 quickly — part of a pattern of falling prices against slowly rising values that he sees as attractive for buyers.

Key points on Banyan Gold Corp

  • Rick says Banyan Gold is not a fit for Equinox, which has no assets in the Yukon; he sees it as a better fit for a dedicated Yukon operator.
  • He describes Banyan as a large deposit that will likely grow, with decent infrastructure.

Ross Beaty's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick notes a pattern in Ross Beaty-associated companies such as Equinox: as they acquire higher-quality assets like Orla, their third-tier assets get sold.

Robert Friedland's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick says he knows Robert Friedland very well, that Ivanhoe has treated him extremely well over 15 years, and that he remains a shareholder.
  • He relays that Friedland is bullish on geothermal energy and pulse power via iPulse, cautioning that whatever Friedland pursues reflects his belief that the world is desperately short of it — and geothermal remains a tricky industry with few public ways to play it.

Clive Johnson's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick says Clive Johnson told him B2Gold's construction problems are over, with the ramp from economic completion toward nameplate capacity underway, and that free cash flow is now spectacular.
  • Johnson has retired as B2Gold's founder-leader, creating a management transition Rick expects will prove either good or bad; Rick was one of the shareholders who held the stock partly because of Clive.
  • On Mali, Rick credits Johnson with quietly flying to Bamako and negotiating directly with the government — no drama, unlike Barrick's confiscated gold — making B2Gold in his view the lowest political-risk player in the country.

Rick Rule's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick expects a soft summer — stable or higher rates supporting a stronger dollar and a 90-120 day hangover from the prior quarter's high oil prices — but he stays a buyer, believing 5-10 year bull markets in precious and industrial metals continue as of July 2026.
  • He sees a small but real chance of a 2008-style liquidity or credit squeeze, possibly from cracks in private credit, and urges investors to keep a shopping list ready because margin-clerk forced selling will put attractive companies on sale.
  • He expects the Federal Reserve's refusal to cut rates under political pressure to keep markets, particularly gold, muted for the balance of the summer — a 2026 phenomenon he does not expect to last.
  • He judges equity pricing as fair rather than spectacular, and frames falling prices against slowly rising values as bargain season, telling viewers to build nibble-and-gobble shopping lists.
  • On Battle Bank, he reports about $112 million in deposits across 9-10 weeks, roughly $1 million added per day, a 23,000-person waitlist clearing around the symposium's end, and checkbook IRAs plus multi-currency deposits rolling out within two to three months.

Jonathan Goodman's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick publicly urges Dundee CEO Jonathan Goodman to put the pedal to the metal on strategic deals over the next two years rather than emphasize share buybacks.
  • He rates Goodman and his team as excellent stewards of capital whose 'technical godfather' skill set is the reason he delegates capital allocation to Dundee.

Brent Cook's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick says a tip from Brent Cook — or Joe Mazumdar or Jonathan Goodman — is enough to get a company onto his evaluation and ranking radar.

Robert Quartermain's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick reports Robert Quartermain has been awarded the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor, for both his commercial mining contributions and his philanthropy; Rick was a guest at Bob's home when the notification arrived.
  • He credits Quartermain with drilling off at least half of the Hemlo deposit in his Teck days, arguing the 1990s exploration hiatus there now accrues to Hemlo shareholders' benefit in 2026.
  • Rick has known Quartermain for some 30-odd years, participating in virtually all of his commercial activities and some philanthropic ones, and calls him a wonderful human being who deserved the award.
  • He and Quartermain together bought what became AbraSilver's deposit back in the Silver Standard days.

Albert Lu's takeaways

  • Top takeaway As host, Albert observes that Rick's company ratings are sliding from 5s to 4s as prices fall, and calls the shift 'quite revealing' about market conditions.
  • He mentions he has finally received his Battle Bank invitation to open an account after the long waitlist, and is excited about it.