Why We’re Not Showing You Who Will Fail
There used to be a website called F-ckedcompany.com. It kept track of the high tech companies that were f-cked and was full of rumors and gossip, and frankly was one of the best pre-Twitter gossip sites on the Internet.
I was addicted to it for a while, never posted, but read everything.
But as much as I may have enjoyed this website, Oreninc is not in the business of keeping track of who is dying in our industry and shining a light on them. The fact is, behind every f-cked company are good people who might come back with something new, something better. Why would we piss them off or add to their pain?
The mineral industry is going to get smaller, lots of business development people are going to be gone, and some Geos are going to work in the oil patch (inside joke). But for others of us, this is our home; we like rocks, we like the business, and we understand the risks and rewards.
So, to answer the question, we are not going to post who was halted every week, and we are not going to post a list of companies who are dead on arrival (we will sell you such a list, but will never display it publicly). We think there should be some respect for the wounded and dead in our industry.
My dad, who is a smart chap, said something back in 1990. He told me that 96% of all juniors fail in Canada, but that this was OK because the winners pay for the losers. I’m not sure how true that is in the macro, but in the micro it’s brilliant. There will still be winners in the next ten years, and because of the limits on the market there will be by default a lot less companies competing for the resources that will help them win.
The fact is, to win in this business you need good rocks, not-dumb management, an ability to get things done, a bit of luck and, of course, market timing.
Comments
A rare testimonial to the Glass-Half-Full spirit sorely needed in the Land of the Living Dead. The fact that more money went into PE mining funds in 2012 vs all of 2008-2011 should tell us there are some pretty heavy troops hiding in the weeds, and that the oncoming strategic moves might light up the group..