Without This, Major Gold Producers Won't Survive

KITCO NEWS - Know as the Indiana Jones of the gold world, famed geologist Brent Cook has a stern warning for miners: there's a serious gold shortage.

The major gold producers are not finding enough of the metal and need to start acquiring smaller projects and companies to fill the gap, said Cook on the sidelines of the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, CO.

"The one big change I have seen this year, is that the major companies are putting a lot more money into the juniors, about $300 million worth," said Cook, a veteran geologist. "The majors need to replace their reserves and I don't care what the gold price is - if I can own the company that finds the highest margin deposit, I don't care [what gold is priced at]."

When deciding which company to put your money on, Cook said to look for miners that are capable of producing a couple of million ounces of gold and have good, solid management.

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This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held TK positions in the stocks mentioned.