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Some pundits are yelling for investors to take profits in junior resource stocks now. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Richard (Rick) Mills, host of Ahead of the Herd online and editor of Ahead of the Herd newsletter, explains why $1,500 gold means investors should be cashing in, not cashing out.

The Gold Report: Last week, gold reached above $1,540/ounce (oz.) as fears escalated over Greece defaulting on its sovereign debt, most of which is owed to European banks. One telling figure is that the risk of default is so high that the interest rate on two-year Greek bonds is about 29%. Should we expect a continuing upward trend for gold throughout the rest of the year as Greece’s debt story and the fears of contagion play out in Europe?

Rick Mills: Greece is going to be bailed out. The EU cannot let Greece default and there is no precedent for leaving; the legal complications would be horrendous. Greece defaulting would trigger a train of defaults—European lenders reduced their risk tied to Greece by 30% to $136.3B, but they still have almost $2T linked to Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Gold will hang out at the $1,500/oz. mark for a while and may be a little soft during the summer. But come fall, we’re going to see gold continue its uptrend.

There are more than enough impetuses to keep gold prices from falling. Massive structural problems exist in the U.S. as well. The housing sector continues to be a problem and the fiscal deficit is large.

TGR: The Fed plans to stop buying bonds at the end of the month and interest rates are expected to go up, in turn strengthening the dollar. Could “safe haven” purchases of gold ease at that point?

RM: No, I don’t believe that will be the case. In fact, I believe that the U.S. is going to have a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3. The U.S. has committed itself to doing anything that it can to prop up its economy and is going to continue monetizing its debt.

TGR: Where do you think gold’s psychological floor is right now?

RM: For me, breaking the $1,000/oz. mark was extremely important. When India came in and bought the equivalent of 8% of a year’s production at $1,045/oz., that put a solid floor under gold at $1,000/oz. Now as gold consolidates around the $1,500/oz. mark, I think that’s going to be the new floor and the support for climbing even higher.

TGR: How do you think silver will react to gold? Will it continue to track gold much as it’s done historically? Or will their paths begin to diverge?

RM: Silver is definitely going to track gold.

TGR: Do you think silver could get back to that $50/oz. high that it reached earlier this year?

RM: I see no reason why not. Historically, the gold:silver ratio has been 15:1 but since silver made its nominal high in 1984, the gold:silver ratio has held fairly steady at 45:1. With gold at $1,540/oz. and silver at $36/oz., the gold:silver ratio stands at roughly 43:1.

Silver will have to rise to $102/oz. to get back to the historical average with gold at $1,540/oz. The higher gold prices go, the more consumers will step down to silver. As the much cheaper precious metal, silver will win market share from gold buyers—especially if they think silver is undervalued compared to gold.

There was news that gold and silver bullion buying in India was up 222% over one month. The country spent $22B on bullion in 2010 and in one month in 2011 they spent $9B. There’s also something going on in the Chinese market that most people don’t realize—we’re so worried about inflation in the Chinese market, but they actually want some inflation. China needs to have its currency strengthened against the U.S. dollar so they don’t get branded a currency manipulator. What that does for silver buyers in China is that it gives them a little bit of an advantage over the U.S. dollar buyer’s base. Last year, China’s currency went up about 3.5%. This year it is expected to rise 5%. That’s added leverage when it comes to the silver market. The manufacturing use of silver went up 16% in China and the demand is growing as well.

TGR: In an article posted on your website, Toby Connor of Gold Scents said, “Don’t let the perma-bulls fool you, this is not a normal correction, and it has nothing to do with Greece or Spain. This is the beginnings of the next leg down in the secular bear market and the start of the next economic recession/depression. And this time it’s going to be much, much worse than it was in ‘08.” What are your thoughts on that statement?

RM: The U.S. and EU are going to do anything that they can to keep their economies afloat. Beyond credit creation and debt monetization, I think that means we’ll see more investments in new infrastructure. Upgrading and maintaining power grids, railways, roads, bridges, sewers, water, airports and hospitals is another way of putting money into the consumer’s pocket. Greece is not going to be allowed to default. I really don’t see the worst case scenario happening here. I don’t believe it’s all gloom and doom. There are bright spots and I think they’re going to grow.

TGR: Is there a situation where Greece could default, but still stay in the euro?

RM: I don’t see how. If Greece defaults it would lead to an implosion of the EU. The only way out for many of the EU economies is to weaken the euro and this isn’t something the stronger economies want.

TGR: If the only way out of it is to devalue the euro, the U.S. dollar could rise against the euro and that’s generally bad for gold.

RM: Yes, if it happens from the coming bailouts. But in the meantime, European economic problems will continue, the U.S. economic recovery will continue to disappoint and doubts about China’s short-term growth prospects and the ongoing fighting and tensions in Africa and the Middle East will provide support for gold at $1,500/oz. There is still a lot of demand for gold. Consumption in China was 700 tons last year. The Chinese government has been doing everything it can to encourage gold buying by its citizens, including expanding the number of banks allowed to import bullion.

The World Gold Council believes that annual demand for gold in India will increase to more than 1,200 tons by 2020. Everything I see is bullish for gold. Gold is integral to all Indian wedding ceremonies—purchases relating to Indian weddings typically account for 50% of annual jewelry demand.

With 50% of the Indian population under 25 and approximately 150 million weddings anticipated over the next decade, the World Gold Council estimates that wedding-related purchasing will drive approximately 500 tons of gold purchases a year.

The Reserve Bank of India has granted licenses to seven more banks to import bullion; this too has helped push up demand.

TGR: Some pundits are telling investors to sell their shares in junior gold companies and take profits if there are profits to be had, and then buy those same stocks once they bottom out. Do you agree?

RM: Investors in this game need to look at the best times to buy and sell. Historically, the best time to pick up junior resources is during the summer doldrums. A company goes to work all summer, there is very little news flow and no one around to pay attention anyway. It does a large drill program and news from the drilling comes out in the fall. That’s traditionally when you want to be a seller. Then the cycle starts all over again in the late winter and early spring as companies put together work programs and a budget.

Right now, investors should be looking at the stories, looking at the management teams and slowly picking up promising stocks.

TGR: Are there juniors with some growth catalysts that you are watching this summer?

RM: Kootenay Gold Inc. (TSX.V:KTN) is a prospect generator and has numerous joint ventures, but I’m most excited about Kootenay’s 100%-owned Promontorio silver project in Sonora, Mexico. It has two drills working and a third diamond drill has been recently mobilized to the site. Promontorio already has an indicated mineral resource of 5.22 million tons (Mts.) averaging 52.7 g/t silver, 0.86% lead and 0.96% zinc, containing 8.9 Moz. silver, 99.3 Mlb. lead and 110.8 Mlb. zinc. This is a company that has great management, great projects, a tight share count, money in the bank and is drilling a very decent size program.

TGR: James McDonald heads up Kootenay. He’s had quite a bit of success before with Black Bull Resources Inc. (TSX.V:BBS), National Gold and White Knight. This is someone who’s been down the path a few times and knows what he’s doing.

RM: Exactly. Kootenay has a great management team, is fully cashed up and drilling 25,000m. I think Promontorio is only going to get bigger and better over the summer.

TGR: What are some of the other names on your list?

RM: Terraco Gold Corp. (TSX.V:TEN) is run by Todd Hilditch. He had some fantastic success with Salares Lithium Inc., which was sold to Talison Lithium Ltd. (TSX:TLH). The company has two properties that excite me. The Moonlight Project in Nevada is 100% owned. Gold and silver mineralization are known to be controlled by northerly-trending structures at Moonlight. The Black Ridge Fault Zone’s eastern boundary controls the eastern margin of precious metals mineralization at Rochester and Spring Valley. Mapping at Moonlight indicates that this district-scale fault system continues northward through the Moonlight Project properties. The company has been quietly consolidating and increasing its land position over the last three years. Terraco is going to drill it this summer. Moonlight could get exciting very quickly.

TGR: Even more advanced is Terraco’s Almaden Project in Idaho. It has just less than 1 Moz. measured, indicated and inferred there. Do you think that Terraco will spin that out and just focus on Moonlight?

RM: Almaden created a lot of unrealized value for Terraco shareholders. I don’t believe the company is going to spin it out. No one had ever drilled the Almaden below 400 feet before. Terraco put together a drill program because it believes that underneath the existing resource are high-grade feeder zones and shoots. The first hole, Hole 1, ended in mineralization at 1,400 feet. Another hole went down 1,700 feet. Hole 4 is at 2,000 feet and we’re awaiting assay results. This deposit already has 1 Moz. and it could be significantly larger.

TGR: Do they have enough cash to continue working on both projects?

RM: They have enough cash to get the results they need. And the right results could drive the share price higher.

TGR: What other companies are intriguing to you?

RM: I’m pretty high on a Robert (Bob) Archer play called Cangold Ltd. (TSX.V:CLD). Bob and his team are responsible for Great Panther Silver Ltd. (TSX:GPR; NYSE.A:GPL). He delivers on his promises and is very experienced. Bob found the Ixhuatan advanced-stage project in Mexico and signed a letter of intent with Brigus Gold Corp. (TSX:BRD; NYSE.A:BRD). This project has 89,000m of drilling in 342 holes. It’s over 4,000 hectares and host to the Campamento Gold-Silver Deposit. It’s got an NI 43-101 compliant resource of more than 1 Moz. gold and 4.4 Moz. silver. There is a lot of blue-sky potential in this project. I believe Cangold is going to garner a lot of attention.

TGR: What do you think about VMS Ventures Inc. (TSX.V:VMS)?

RM: I like the team behind it a lot and I think they have some exceptional properties. VMS made a discovery at Reed Lake. The deposit is 2.55 Mt. at 4.5% copper in the indicated category with potential to grow. VMS joint ventured this with HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM; NYSE:HBM). VMS has a carried-to-production interest; HudBay is the operator with 70%. It’s a high-grade, near-surface copper deposit and HudBay has a smelter in Flin Flon, Canada. Permitting and prefeasibility are going to continue through 2011 and a construction decision could happen by year-end.

TGR: Is that a takeover target?

RM: I believe that in the future HudBay is going to have to look at taking VMS out. The interesting thing is that VMS has a joint venture with HudBay on Reed Lake and the four properties that surround it. But it also has an option agreement with HudBay on four properties next door. HudBay was drilling over there and made a huge discovery 1.8 km. northeast of the Reed Lake deposit—7.44% copper over 7.18m. HudBay is now drilling back toward the Reed Lake Mine. VMS is carried for $50M of expenditures on this option. So, what we’ve got here on the JV and optioned properties are very good backstops to what VMS is doing on its 100%-owned properties.

The North Shore Group, which heads up VMS, is experienced and made up of highly technical explorationists who have made several recent discoveries. It has $5M worth of drilling lined up on top of what HudBay is doing. It’s a perfect example of lots of work over the summer and huge news flow coming out in the fall.

NioGold Mining Corp. (TSX.V:NOX; OTCPK:NOXGF) is another good example of what to look for. It has a very good share structure and money in the bank. It has a joint venture with Aurizon Mines Ltd. (TSX:ARZ; NYSE.A:AZK) where Aurizon has to spend $20M to complete 200,000m of drilling during the next several years. ARZ has three drills working away right now.

NioGold is also working at Siscoe East with Alexandria Minerals Corp. (TSX.V:AZX) in a 50/50 joint venture. It is drilling between two of the highest grade mines ever in the Val d’Or camp, the Sullivan and the Siscoe.

A fifth rig is drilling right beside Osisko Mining Corp.’s (TSX:OSK) Canadian Malartic project They got some early very exciting results on this 100%-owned property and more assays are pending. NOX is a company with exciting properties, great management, money in the bank and large drill programs being conducted over the summer to give shareholders lots of news and increase interest in the company.

TGR: It certainly seems to fit your investment philosophy.

RM: Definitely. I look for a mine that’s going to get bigger or a property with the propensity to give up discoveries. I’m looking for the strongest management teams that I can find.

TGR: You believe that gold and silver plays are ultimately going to hold their value over the long term?

RM: Absolutely and if you look at the companies we talked about today, they are the kind of companies that you can do due diligence on and feel confident that you have a management team dedicated to increasing shareholder value through the drill bit, or acquisitions, and put together a properly managed exploration and drill program. Investors want to pick these up during market weakness in the summer doldrums so positions can potentially be sold for a profit in the fall.

TGR: That seems like sound advice. Thanks, Rick.

RM: You are welcome.

Richard is host of www.Aheadoftheherd.com and invests in the junior resource sector. His articles have been published on over 300 websites, including: The Wall Street Journal, SafeHaven, Market Oracle, USAToday, National Post, Stockhouse, Lewrockwell, Uranium Miner, Casey Research, 24hgold, Vancouver Sun, SilverBearCafe, Infomine, Huffington Post, Mineweb, 321Gold, Kitco, Gold-Eagle, The Gold/Energy Reports, Calgary Herald, Resource Investor, Mining.com, Forbes, FNArena, Uraniumseek, and Financial Sense.

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Uranium and potash prices seem to be inversely correlated lately: As potash prices reach their highest levels, uranium prices have suffered. But Richard (Rick) Mills, host of Ahead of the Herd online and editor of the Ahead of the Herd newsletter, believes the prospects for both industries are bright. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Rick explains why the U.S.’ commitment to nuclear power and even biofuels is helping to propel both markets.

The Energy Report: German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently decided to shut down the country’s nuclear reactors that began operating prior to 1980. Germany will ultimately disband its nuclear energy program in favor of gas and wind power following the fallout from Japan’s nuclear disaster in March. Meanwhile, Japan is also attempting to lessen its dependency on nuclear power. How has that disaster permanently changed the uranium market?

Rick Mills: It’s a short-term hiccup and it’s probably presenting us with one of the greatest buying opportunities for carefully selected uranium stocks that a retail investor can get. The global nuclear renaissance that was underway in early 2010 was happening for specific reasons: concerns about climate change, reducing carbon footprints, energy security and the rising cost of fossil fuels. And then the disaster hit. It gave pause to the renaissance, but none of these reasons have gone away.

Germany’s kneejerk reaction shut seven of its nuclear reactors. They won’t be opened again. Its other reactors will also be completely mothballed by 2022. But the thing is that in 2002 Germany’s center-left coalition enacted a law to phase-out nuclear power. Last autumn, Merkel’s center-right coalition government decided to extend the lifetimes of the country’s 17 reactors by an average of 12 years. That decision was based on a judgment that Germany could not meet its power demand using only natural energy sources, such as wind and solar. The country doesn’t have abundant natural gas reserves. So, I find it pretty ironic what’s happening over there. I think Germany may suffer when it finds it can’t maintain its manufacturing competitiveness. Germany is now burning more coal, and already buying more nuclear power-generated electricity from France and the Czechs, who use the old Soviet-style reactors.

TER: There’s a lot of talk right now about thorium replacing uranium as the fuel in nuclear reactors. These reactors could use thorium, which is much more stable than uranium, and roughly performs the same function. Do you think that thorium will ultimately replace uranium?

RM: Ultimately, but we’re 35 to 40 years away from incorporating that technology. Uranium’s got a long way to run. I believe thorium will be the answer one day, but not for several decades at least.

TER: What about the U.S.? It has some reactors slated to come onstream over the next 5 to 10 years. Do you think that the U.S. is going to follow suit with Germany?

RM: The U.S. is going to ramp up its nuclear power. On April 21, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating license for the U.S.’s largest atomic plant, the Palo Verde nuclear generating station in Arizona, for 20 years. The U.S. Department of Energy just dedicated a new research facility on May 3. The U.S. is accelerating the advancement of nuclear reactor technology. It’s studying the performance of light water reactors and developing highly sophisticated modeling that will help accelerate upgrades at existing nuclear plants.

That doesn’t sound like the U.S. is in any way, shape or form going to cut back. As a matter of fact, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu just said nuclear energy is the nation’s largest source of carbon-free power and it is an important part of the U.S. energy mix moving forward.

Uranium supplies are going to get very tight. There’s going to be fierce competition for available material in both the spot and long-term markets. Investors should be looking at uranium-focused juniors with money in the treasury. We’re being set up for the perfect storm in uranium.

TER: Since the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan, the spot price for uranium has fallen to about $50/lb. from around $73/lb. in early March. Many junior uranium miners and explorers have seen their share prices fall dramatically since then, too. What are some companies that you think offer a lot of value as a result?

RM: Uranerz Energy Corp. (TSX:URZ; NYSE.A:URZ) is one of the best uranium companies out there. The management is top-notch. These guys wrote the book on in-situ leach mining.

Uranerz is going to be included in the Russell 3000 Index again. If you want to see something interesting, pull up a chart from June 2009 when it was included on the Russell the last time. Funds that track that index have to include these new additions. We’re talking about an awful lot of money. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to Uranerz’ share price as this becomes common knowledge.

Uranerz is waiting for its final permit to start well field construction and build its production facility. Currently, the company has $45M in the treasury; that’s $0.60 a share. Costs to get into production are estimated to be $35M, so the company has some money for contingencies. I expect Uranerz to be in production in 12 to 15 months. Currently, two drill rigs are performing exploration drilling. Uranerz has identified over 483 kilometers (km.) of alteration-reduction trends on its project areas which cover 38,000 hectares. Uranerz has explored only 15% of the identified trends. One drill is doing delineation drilling for the construction of the well fields.

TER: We’re talking about the Powder River Basin Project in Wyoming?

RM: That’s right. The Nichols Ranch project is expected to produce a maximum of 2 Mlb. of yellowcake annually. Initially, the project is targeting 600,000 to 800,000 lb. per year. The company has long-term offtake agreements signed for a portion of production with two major U.S.-based nuclear operators, including Exelon Corp. (NYSE:EXC). The U.S. produces 27% of the world’s nuclear power from 104 nuclear reactors—these reactors use 50–55 Mlb. of uranium a year but the U.S. only produces 4 Mlb.

Uranerz is a company that has its act together and is definitely sitting at a sweet spot for investors. While there’s a little bit of blood in the streets right now concerning uranium, people should be looking at this sector.

TER: That production could be coming on-stream right about the time when uranium prices could be rebounding.

RM: The spot market is definitely going to tighten up before then and people are going to be looking for long-term contracts. This setback, if anything, makes the market stronger. Prices will eventually move higher.

TER: Potash has somewhat of an inverse relationship to uranium prices. Earlier this month, corn futures reached an all-time high, which ultimately means higher food prices for all of us. It also means there’s a greater need for fertilizer and that bodes well for junior mining companies looking for potash. Do you believe that potash prices will remain as high as they are now?

RM: Yes I do and going higher. Food and how we grow it are going to be dominant investment themes for decades to come. Our population increases geometrically. Our food supply can only increase arithmetically. We’ve got major problems in addition to our growing population. One of the biggest threats we are facing is the loss of arable land that was used for food production. Land is being used for biofuels, topsoil is being eroded away and the agricultural land base is being paved over. We’re destroying our freshwater aquifers. But world population growth and three billion people climbing the protein ladder are the elephants in the dining room. Tonight, 220,000 new mouths will need to be fed at the dinner table.

TER: How does potash mining differ from gold or copper mining?

RM: Unlike other resource plays, potash does not have a cycle. Demand is always going to be there, which makes potash an excellent play in a long-term agricultural commodities bull market. Potash markets are never disrupted by political interference. Food shortages will always trigger social and political instability, such as the riots in the Middle East and Africa. All governments fear a hungry populous.

Companies like Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU) and PotashCorp (TSX:POT; NYSE:POT) have very solid bottom lines, but they are mature companies. Investors should start moving down the value chain to junior companies with big potash resources that are going to create value for their shareholders.

TER: What companies fit that bill right now?

RM: We’ve been following three companies on Ahead of the Herd for quite some time now.

Verde Potash (TSX.V:NPK), formerly Amazon Potash, is putting together a fairly large project in Brazil. By the time it finishes, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had enough potash to supply the Brazilian market, the largest potash market in the world, for 30 years.

The company also has phosphate at the Apatita Project and should have a resource calculation out by the end of the third quarter. It is also planning drilling on five other targets bordering their thermal potash product, the Cerro Verde. Recent news suggests they will have a limestone resource as well. This is a company that is definitely in the right area at the right time with the right resources.

The thing about this company that most people don’t realize is that if the potash price is $430/t in Saskatchewan, Canada, it would take $100/t to reach a port in Brazil. Then it would take another $100/t to get it to a blending facility near farmers. The price that Verde’s competing against is not $430—it’s $630—they are already close to that blending facility. According to the last test the company did on its product, thermal potash is about 17% to 19% more effective than KCI, or typical potash.

TER: Verde’s chairman, Peter Gundy, was an executive with PotashCorp. He certainly has some significant background in the potash mining business. He also has the right connections to get the money necessary to bring this company forward.

RM: Absolutely true, and let’s not forget to mention the tremendous efforts of President and CEO Cristiano Veloso, who has done an amazing job pulling it all together, and VP of Corporate Development Jed Richardson, who has been there from day one. Also the government of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has signed a memorandum of understanding regarding support for potential financing.

TER: What’s the next name you’re following on Ahead of the Herd?

RM: Western PotashCorp (TSX.V:WPX) has done really well for its shareholders and we were early into this one as well. It’s adjacent to BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP; OTCPK:BHPLF) and Agrium’s exploration permits, and within 13 km. of PotashCorp’s Rocanville facility. The company has 34 Mts. of indicated potash with 245 Mts. of inferred.

Pat Varas and his team have done an exceptional job advancing this project so quickly. The company is doing a prefeasibility study to be completed in the fall, and is planning to start on its feasibility study in August. That’s an amazing amount of engineering going into the project right now. WPX has a memorandum of understanding signed with the city of Regina for water. It’s doing environmental studies and community visits.

Western’s land acquisition program has now successfully secured over 2,550 acres at the company’s preferred plant site location. Securing the plant site location is an important aspect of the ongoing feasibility process as the environmental and regulatory approval processes and project schedules are dependent on it.

TER: Is it a takeover target given its proximity to PotashCorp?

RM: It could be. One of the majors might want to take it and put it on the shelf; the Chinese or Indians have to be interested. I think that’s very possible.

TER: Is there a point where juniors get on the radar screen of larger companies and wake up the sleeping giants like BHP Billiton?

RM: Definitely. I think the major players, the BHPs of the world, are probably looking for at least a prefeasibility study. They want to see solid numbers—capital expenditures and costs of production, net present values and internal rates of return that actually have solid studies behind them. None of these majors have a history of moving too quickly. They’re trudging behemoths that do things at their own pace and need surety in a deal.

TER: There was one more potash company you wanted to talk about. What was that one?

RM: Encanto PotashCorp (TSX.V: EPO) in Saskatchewan, Canada. What makes this one interesting is that they are collaborating with several First Nations groups to develop projects on their lands.

TER: In fact, Encanto was developed with that in mind, right? It was developed with the idea that it would work with First Nations to develop these resources.

RM: Absolutely. The first project Encanto started was developing an 80-to-100-year resource on the Muskowekwan’s land. The goal is to develop a producing mine as quickly as possible. EPO’s upcoming preliminary economic assessment (PEA) remains on schedule to be released in the first half of August. The PEA is designed to determine the most economical method for potash extraction and will make a recommendation on a solution or conventional mining operation.

It hasn’t had the success in the market that Verde and Western have seen because the necessary reserve vote on continuing with development of the project hasn’t happened yet and that creates uncertainty. The vote will happen in the fall; it’s scheduled for late September.

TER: The whole operation hinges on that vote?

RM: Yes. Newly elected Chief Bellerose ran on a pro-potash forum. The majority of candidates also ran on a pro-potash forum, as did all eight successful councilors. I firmly believe it’s going to be passed. But there seems to be some hesitation in the market over it.

TER: If the vote does go through as expected, we could we see a bump in the share price. It’s at $0.23 right now.

RM: The band has approximately 1,050 eligible voters, many of whom don’t live on the home reserve. For the vote to be considered a legal vote, at least 51% of eligible voters must cast a vote. For the vote to be successful, at least 51% of those voting must cast in favor. If a sufficient number of voters don’t participate in the first vote then the vote is considered a failure; a second vote will be held on the home reserve 35 days after the first vote. For the second vote to be successful, a simple majority is required from those who vote. In an effort to ensure that all band members are fully aware of the benefits offered through the partnership with Encanto, Bellerose is holding open sessions in Regina, Calgary, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton.

There are really two drivers for the stock: the vote and getting the Home Reserve Lands, which will double the land acreage (and potentially the resource). It’s been a long haul, but I believe that this is going to be a successful company and we’re going to see it move forward.

TER: What are some things that investors should keep in mind when investing in potash companies?

RM: It’s a long-term investable trend and with surging prices for agricultural commodities, farmers are looking to boost crop yields, opening the door for fertilizer makers to raise prices. There might be temporary weaknesses, but everybody has to eat and there are 220,000 more of us at the dinner table every night. So there are compelling reasons to be looking at these companies. Also, these are not cheap mines to build. The companies need management teams capable of going out there attracting the interest from the institutions and raising the money necessary (all three companies I mentioned do). Their neighborhood is also important. Who’s in the neighborhood? Could a company be a takeover target?

TER: Thanks, Rick.

Richard is host of www.Aheadoftheherd.com and invests in the junior resource sector. His articles have been published on over 300 websites, including: The Wall Street Journal, SafeHaven, Market Oracle, USAToday, National Post, Stockhouse, Lewrockwell, Uranium Miner, Casey Research, 24hgold, Vancouver Sun, SilverBearCafe, Infomine, Huffington Post, Mineweb, 321Gold, Kitco, Gold-Eagle, The Gold/Energy Reports, Calgary Herald, Resource Investor, Mining.com, Forbes, FNArena, Uraniumseek, and Financial Sense.