TGR: In a previous interview with The Gold Report, you talked about Miranda Gold Corp. (NYSE.A:VGZ; TSX:VGZ), Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE.A:VGZ; TSX:VGZ) and Midland Exploration Inc. (TSX.V:MD). Could you give us an update on these companies?

AD: Let's start with Midland, which has been doing extremely well. It's a JV company focused on Quebec, just like Virginia Mines Inc. (TSX:VGQ), which also remains one of my favorite companies. Midland's doing everything right and it's growing very, very well. They've got two joint ventures now with Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (TSX:AEM, NYSE:AEM); one in the southern end of Quebec in the Maritime Cadillac Trend, where it has just decided to up its interest and spend more money on another drill program.

In all, Midland has four drill programs either underway or to be underway in the very near future, which is quite a lot for such a small company. They've got a good balance sheet, they don't need to raise any money. The company just did a JV on a rare earths property with the Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corp. There's some good potential for some good news over the next six or nine months. The stock remains very cheap.

Miranda is a solid prospect generator; it has good management and a good cash position. The company did a fundraising a few months ago, which kind of raised a few eyebrows because they didn't really need the money. But people always say: "Raise money when you don't need it." They have most of their good properties in Nevada farmed out in JVs, and now they've done a deal in Colombia where they're looking for the same deposit type that they are currently exploring in Nevada.

Their chief geologist used to work in Colombia, so he's familiar with the territory and has some good contacts. Colombia has a long history of gold mining; but, in recent years, with the violence and the drug war and everything else, it's kind of gone into the background. The recent elections I think demonstrate very clearly that the country has turned the corner and is on a new path.

So, Miranda's got maybe 10 active projects in Nevada with several JV partners, some of them drilling in the next few months. There's also the big package of properties in Colombia, and Miranda plans to review those quickly and start joint venturing them under the same model used in Nevada. Clearly, the company needs a discovery; it's been around for a long time and what we're seeing today other than the Colombia news is pretty much the same as what we saw a year or two ago. But I think all the ingredients are there—the people, the capital, the properties; it's just a matter of being patient. I like that one a lot; I'd certainly be a buyer at this level.

And Vista, of course, has had a couple of hits in Mexico at the Paredones property. Their land use permit was revoked, and it's taken them over a year now to get a new permit and they still don't have one. That's really hurt the stock.

Their other big asset is the Mount Todd property in northern Australia, which is moving toward a prefeasibility study. Mount Todd has a checkered history. That was the last straw for Pegasus before it went bankrupt. There is no question that this a difficult project, but with the high price of gold, there is every indication that this could be a successful and profitable gold mine. The prefeasibility study, which they're working toward, will give us an indication.

On the negative side, we're waiting on the land use permit, and there's no question that Vista is going to have to raise more money; it has a convertible debenture that it has to deal with next March and is also spending money quite aggressively in Australia. It's going to have to raise more money and the market knows that. The value is there, however, so patient investors can buy on dips.

By arrangement with: www.theaureport.com

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