text:
Eligibility Information
New Construction Projects are Now Eligible for Rebates
We now provide new construction rebates for customers who design and construct their facilities with energy-efficient equipment that exceeds baseline code, or standard practice in cases where code does not apply. Rebates can be pursued through either a Prescriptive or Custom application depending on the measure(s) installed. The incentive catalogs indicate which prescriptive measures are eligible for new construction. Those not listed would be considered a custom project.
Note: All new construction lighting is considered a custom project at this time.
New Construction (NC) or Major Renovation (MR) refers to any of the following cases:
- A newly constructed facility
- A newly constructed addition to an existing facility that adds conditioned space
- A major renovation of an existing space which includes replacement of the HVAC and lighting equipment
The following cases are not eligible:
- Equipment or controls required by code
- Maintenance items – tune-ups for boilers/chillers
- VFDs for HVAC fans and pumps
- Steam traps and surveys
- EC Motors for Refrigeration Evaporator Fans
Additional documents required for pre-approval:
- COMcheck™ Report for lighting projects
How custom lighting incentives are calculated:
- Instead of using existing fixture wattages as the baseline, new construction lighting projects will use the New York State Energy Code (IECC 2015) Lighting Power Density (LPD) requirements to calculate the baseline wattage allowance
- Energy savings are calculated using the proposed lighting wattage and code allowed wattage in our custom lighting calculator
- Incentive = Energy savings x custom incentive rate
Current custom rebate amounts:
- Electric - $0.13/kWh saved
- Natural Gas - $1.50/therm saved
If you have questions about our program, please contact our implementation contractor Franklin Energy at 888.316.8023 or send an email.
Additional Eligibility Information
- Rebates are available to nonresidential, commercial or industrial customers within the NYSEG or RG&E service area.
- Eligible customers must have PSC-mandated System Benefits Charge (SBC) included in their utility bills.
- All equipment must be new. Used or rebuilt equipment is not eligible for incentives. Existing equipment must be removed and not reinstalled within the NYSEG or RG&E service area.
- NYSEG or RG&E reserve the right to deny any application that may result in either company exceeding its program budget. Incentives are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to project and customer eligibility and availability of funds.


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Scenic Art
Why settle for blank walls, when you can transform them into stunning vista points. Explore from imaginative scenic abstracts to sublime beach landscapes captured on camera. The possibilities are endless. The painterly quality of our canvas creates an almost life-like panorama, so you can enjoy your favorite scenery without leaving home.
Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night is one of the most renowned scenic masterpieces. Other famous landscape artists and photographers include Georgia O'Keeffe, Ansel Adams, and Claude Monet.
Travel Art
Art is the best way of seeing the world when travel isn't possible. Explore our curation of travel art for a trip around the globe. See from tourist favorites landmarks–the Eiffel tower– to hidden gems like the breathtaking landscapes of Yosemite National Park.
Whether you find a cozy reminder of home, your dream destinations, or even cool maps of the world, our handcrafted frames will give it the perfect finishing touch.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
You are going to host a seder! You've already read Seven Things to Do to Make Your First Passover Seder a Success. Now you are getting ready to set the table, and realize you have to make a seder plate. Don't panic! You can do this.
THE PLATE – The plate may be your great-grandmother's silver seder-plate, or it can be a paper plate from the grocery store. Truly. If you have a large, pretty plate, great, and if you don't, just use a plate or platter or something. The point is to arrange some mysterious objects that will spur conversation and questions. If it's pretty, good. If it is actually a bit weird, that's not bad, either.
Things to go on the Plate:
Note: the things you put on the plate are to look at, and to provoke discussion. Those foods which you will eat, serve in regular serving bowls that can be handed around. The loaded seder plate will be a disaster waiting to happen if you try to pass it around. Think of it as a centerpiece, or conversation piece.
KARPAS – Karpas is a green vegetable. It is supposed to remind people of spring. Parsley is often used for karpas; get a big bundle of it, put some on the seder plate, and put some in water glasses (sort of as you would flowers) to pass out, because the group will need to "dip" the greens into salt water at one point in the seder. The water will keep the parsley crisp, and it will be drippy with the salt water, anyhow. For more about the symbolism of parsley, read this.
CHAROSET – (also pronounced ha-RO-set or cha-RO-sis).There are lots of good recipes for charoset. It's nuts chopped with apples and sweet wine plus whatever you want. If you have guests who are allergic to nuts, have chopped apples with cinnamon. Put a spoonful on the seder plate. Since it is there to remind us of the hard work of slavery, you can shape it into a little pyramid if you like. (If your charoset is too runny to do this, you are putting too much wine in it.) Again, put the charoset to serve in bowls, and make more than you think you will need, because some of your guests will want lots.
MAROR – Maror (mah-ROAR) is a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery and to fulfill the commandment to eat bitter herbs with the matzah. Many Jews use horseradish for this. Put either a spoonful of ground horseradish on the plate, or a chunk of horseradish root. You will want to have another bowl of horseradish to hand around to actually eat from.
ZEROA – Zeroa is a roasted lamb shank bone. You can get these from a kosher butcher (and often from other butchers) right before Passover. Or you can save one from the last time you had lamb for dinner, clean it, and keep it in the freezer. This is in memory of the Passover sacrifice, back when we had the Temple. It is only for show. Vegetarians may opt to replace the actual bone with a beet root.
EGG – Technically, this egg should be roasted. I have seen people do it by holding the egg, with tongs, in a gas flame until the egg turned odd colors (grey, brown streaks). I have also heard of people boiling the egg with some onion skins to give it color. Leave it in the shell. This egg is not fit to eat, it is just for show. It reminds us of the hagigah sacrifice, and of springtime. Many families eat hard boiled eggs as part of the Passover meal.
HAZERET – This one is optional. Some families do it, some do not. It's an additional bitter vegetable, usually romaine lettuce, for the Hillel sandwich. Families who do not put hazeret on the plate use the horseradish for the Hillel sandwich.
That is the traditional seder plate. (See photo at the top of this article.)
In modern times, there have been several additions, which you may or may not choose to have:
ORANGE – Some people put an orange on the seder plate as a protest against sexism in Judaism. You may hear a poignant tale about the daughter of a famous rabbi, who was not allowed to say kaddish for her father. That story is not true. For the true story, read this article.
BREAD – Some have suggested putting a piece of bread on the seder plate to protest discrimination against homosexuals. Bread is used precisely because it is forbidden by the laws of Passover, just as Leviticus is interpreted to forbid homosexuality. However, this may be extremely problematic to anyone who expects there to be no chametz in the house, much less in the centerpiece. It might be more effective instead to have a discussion about marriage diversity at the table.
TOMATO – Some put a tomato on their seder plate, in solidarity with agricultural workers in the U.S. who do not have to imagine what slavery is like. This article from the Jewish Week says more about that practice, and lists other objects which some people put on the seder plate.
An editorial note: If you consider putting one of these protest items on your seder plate, please also take some actual action on behalf of the people who suffer. Putting a tomato on the seder plate is nice, but it by itself does not do anything for farm workers. Send a little tzedakah (charitable gift) to an organization that works for freedom of those workers, or works to relieve their suffering.
The purpose of almost everything at the seder, but especially the seder plate itself, is to inspire questions and stimulate conversation. There are no "right" answers — perhaps in your discussion this year, you will think of a new way that one of these objects illuminates the story of the passage of a people from slavery to freedom.
I wish you a Pesach sameach – a happy Passover!


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The $3.5 million DARPA Urban Challenge semifinals are underway, and in these qualifying rounds the robot cars are all vying for the right to participate in the actual race on November 3. On this qualifying course, you can see Axion Racing's vehicle, "Spirit," making a pretty dumb move, taking a left turn directly into one of the human-driven Ford Taurus chase cars. No, robot SUV, the idea is to avoid those stunt car is driven by the humans, not attack them. There were a couple of another small accidents with another vehicle yesterday, one from Georgia Tech, which was having a bit of trouble dealing with the protective guard rails set up in the parking lot course. On the other hand, a robot Chevy Tahoe built by Carnegie Mellon's Tartan Racing seems to be doing quite well in the proceedings thus far. [TG Daily, via Danger Room]
UPDATE: Whoops, we almost forgot, Axion sent along a close-up pic of the Spirit robot vehicle, but look out, there are a couple of twins showing off their backsides as they demonstrate the vehicle, so it's almost NSFW. We tried to airbrush/photoshop out the naughty parts for readers working in churches and preschools, to no avail.
Of course, this is the vehicle before that little mishap, so imagine it with a dent or two and that'll bring you up to date. What vehicle, you say?


text:
Wordless Wednesday
22 comments:
She's so adorable! I love my furry kids too- they bring me so much joy:) I used to have a cat, but after her, I started suffering from allergies- real bad ones..so no more kitties for me. I miss that.ReplyDelete
Too cute! I love your wordy wordless post. Hope your day gets better!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMay 27, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Ahhhh. Kitties can always make a crappy day better. Heh, Misfit the kittycat goes one better. She "drowns" her toy mice in the water dish, and on occasion the toilet as well. Came home one time and there were three, count 'em, three toy mice in the loo.ReplyDelete
That's okay - I loved seeing your Kille!ReplyDelete
Hope the day gets better! Our fattest cat, Stripes, likes to carry ballpoint pens around at night and talk to them as if they were her kittens. After a few minutes of toting them around, she dumps them in the hallway. What a bad mama!ReplyDelete
LOL! It is more like a "Wordful Wednesday" but it's fine with me. Kille is absolutely lovely and I say she deserves more than a wordless photograph!ReplyDelete
I agree with Lilly! Kille is adorable. I hope your day has improved too!ReplyDelete
Thanks ladies! I can always count on you girls making me feel better! And I love hearing all the strange things your kitties do! What's up with all the meowing at inanimate objects and the obsession with water? Strange little creatures!ReplyDelete
Sadly, I no longer have kitties. Kiddies I do have, not kitties. But I love them and have had many many kitties. We had a little a cat that would know about the time I should be arriving home from grade school and he would whimper at the door for me to come home. He would snuggle up with me and suck my fingers. No joke.ReplyDelete
Derh.. forgot to say hope your craptastic day dissipates into a less craptastic day.ReplyDelete
Oh Amy Killie is adorable. My co-worker has 3 kitties so I had to share Killie's picture with her. We both just said Awwww! There is nothing like furry kids to make anything better. You did the right thing to cure your craptastic day!ReplyDelete
Isn't she lovely? Cats are such darlings.ReplyDelete
hi amy :)ReplyDelete
love cats so much... cats makes me happy too. love to hv one oso but hubby said we hv to hold that first... hhhmmm
anw, good luck ya!! :D
Amy, what a gorgeous photo. With company like that I'm sure you can't help but be cheered! I love cats!ReplyDelete
Sorry about your day! I always turn to my pets for comfort. She is adorable! They all have their different quirks, just like us humans. LOL!ReplyDelete
Oh kitty love! I don't have any pets anymore so have to get my k-love in the neighborhood on my walks! Thanks for sharing yours!ReplyDelete
Kille looks gorgeous! I love cats too, they have character and their curiosity is mind blogging. Fat, cake, waterbowl - seem like she has a beautiful life!ReplyDelete
Steamy Darcy
What a cutie! I love it when they bring their favorite toys to you so you will play with them. It's so adorable!ReplyDelete
Kille is very cute! Maybe she is conjuring spells in her water bowl :)ReplyDelete
Sorry about the bad day-I sure hope it got better. Kille is beautiful! I agree, on a bad day, one of our pets can always cheer us up. Life wouldn't be the same without them!ReplyDelete
Congratulations to the winners :)ReplyDelete
She is a cutie! Scratch behind her ears for me.ReplyDelete


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Getting a solid view of lightning
Space Science News home
For most of us observing lightning - from a safe distance or inside a building - a lightning bolt is a flat, two-dimensional creature painted against a distant backdrop. But as researchers have shown over the last three decades, lightning has a complex shape that may let scientist pry a few secrets from a storm - including where a tornado might form.
A number of techniques have been developed over the years to look at the 3-D structure," said William Rison of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, N.M. Rison works with Paul Krehbiel who talks today about "3-D Lightning Mapping and Observations" at the International Atmospheric Electricity Conference in Guntersville.
December 3: Mars Polar Lander nears touchdown
December 2: What next, Leonids?
November 30: Polar Lander Mission Overview
November 30: Learning how to make a clean sweep in space
Right: A typical radio waveform for a lightning bolt. The large peak is what scientists want to record. The lower peaks are noise, some caused by lightning from distant storms. Links to
The time of arrival method was pioneered in the 1960s by David Proctor of South Africa using VHF radio receivers. His work was laborious, with the data being collated and analyzed by hand.
In the 1970s and '80s, the technique was expanded by Carl Lennon and Launa Maier at NASA's Kennedy Space Center who developed a real-time system linked by microwave relays. This lets meteorologists tell launch directors if an electrical storm is too close for a safe launch. It's also optimized for Florida thunderstorms that are different in structure from what is seen in the central United States, and the microwave relays are bulky and difficult to move for studies in different areas.
Above: Negative leaders - lightning moving upward from negatively to positively charged regions in a cloud - are readily detected by radio techniques. Positive leaders are rarely observed. What sometimes appears to be a positive leader is actually an inverted cloud where the negative charges are at the top and positive charges are below. A negative step leader in a cloud-to-ground strike is not impulsive but continuous, making it difficult to detect by time-of-arrival methods. Credit: NASA/Marshall
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Rison said the system comprises 10 automated ground stations, each with a radio receiver, a precision clock developed for satellite navigation receivers, a signal processor to extract and time-tag just the lightning pulse, and tape recorder. In two field campaigns, the network was set up northwest of Oklahoma City in June 1998 and outside Socorro in August 1998. It is scheduled for another campaign in New Mexico in the summer of 1999 and the Nebraska-Kansas-Colorado area the summer of 2000.
After a storm, the data tapes are collected and sent to Krehbiel's team. They then produce 3-D plots showing a lightning bolt's trip through a storm.
"This gives you, with a few qualifications, the full flash," Rison said. The principal qualification is that the system is most sensitive to negative streamers, discharges in which a stream of electrons burrows its way through the air to a positively charged area.
Time of arrival techniques locate impulsive radio emissions. This happens most often with negative leaders propagating into negative charge regions. It does not locate positive leaders into negative charge regions because the positive leaders do not radiate strongly. It often does not locate negative stripped leaders of cloud-to-ground lightning. These radiate strongly but are continuous, not impulsive.
As the lightning streaks across the sky, it ionizes new points in the air. In effect, the transmitter is moving through the sky, sending a new signal from each point. Each is recorded and, when the storm is reconstructed in a computer, becomes an individual point in a three-dimensional grid. The points are color coded to help the human eye follow a bolt's path across the sky. The positional accuracy is best when the storm is close to the array of receivers, but is still good out to ranges of 250 km (155 mi).
|Web Links
|Human Voltage (June 18, 1999) Scientists discuss biology, safety, and statistics of lightning strikes.
News shorts from Atmospheric Electricity Conference (June 16, 1999) Poster papers on hurricanes and tornadoes summarized.
Soaking in atmospheric electricity (June 15, 1999) 'Fair weather' measurements important to understanding thunderstorms.
Lightning position in storm may circle strongest updrafts (June 11, 1999) New finding could help in predicting hail, tornadoes
Lightning follows the Sun (June 10, 1999) Space imaging team discovers unexpected preferences
Spirits of another sort (June 10, 1999) Thunderstorms generate elusive and mysterious sprites.
Getting a solid view of lightning (June 9, 1999): New Mexico team develops system to depict lightning in three dimensions.
Learning how to diagnose bad flying weather (June 8, 1999): Scientists discuss what they know about lightning's effects on spacecraft and aircraft.
Three bolts from the blue (June 8, 1999): Fundamental questions about atmospheric electricity posed at conference this week.
Lightning Leaders Converge in Alabama (May 24, 1999): Preview of the 11th International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity.
What Comes Out of the Top of a Thunderstorm? (May 26, 1999): Gamma-rays (sometimes).
Lightning research at NASA/Marshall and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center.
The results are impressive and highly promising, Rison said.
"The initial discharge goes up," he said, describing one bolt recorded during a July 11, 1998, storm. The negative charge was at about 6 km altitude, and the positive charge was at 9 to 10 km. When discharge occurred when electric potential between the two regions became great enough to ionize a channel through air and become as conductive as a metal wire.
"Once that channel is established, then the discharge continued in the horizontal direction," he said. The upper charge center expanded east-west, and the lower center expanded north-south. Like snowflakes, each bolt is unique. "It depends on the structure of the cloud."
Right: The black patch in this plot of lightning indicates that path of a tornado that formed in Oklahoma on June 13, 1998. The Lightning Mapping System did not see the tornado itself, but shows lightning snaking around the strong convective core that spawned the twister. Links to
"There was no time without lightning," Rison said. "The data are very amorphous. It just fills the plot and appears to be continuous. There's no gap in between. It's a real challenge to sort out. You can see tendrils, but not the start of one discharge and the start of another. That hasn't been seen before."
On the other hand, the Lightning Mapping System has recorded storms with apparent dead zones, where almost no lightning appears. But these are not hurricane-like eyes of the storm.
"That's a region of a very strong updraft moving at about 100 to 160 km/h (60-100 mph), vertically," Rison said. Storm watchers observed "a very high turret penetrating to the stratosphere." A little lightning does appear at extreme altitudes.
"We see clear evidence of an updraft," he continued. "We see continued discharging that has to be explained somehow." In this case, no tornado appeared. But Rison and his team have seen lightning dead spots where tornadoes did appear.
Left: Another portion of the June 13, 1998, storm shows an "eye" that isn't - it's a strongly convective core where only sparse lightning (blue circle) occurs, and that's at the top of the core, as seen in the cross-section at right. Links to
Radar is the tool that is needed now to complement studies with the Lightning Mapping System. Observations with two or more Doppler radar units would provide three-dimensional data on wind speed and direction.
New Mexico Tech is talking with the Global Hydrology and Climate Center in Huntsville about establishing a system in Huntsville, and with the Federal Aviation Administration, National Severe Storms Laboratory, and Global Atmospheric Inc., about setting up a prototype unit at the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport.
More Space Science Headlines - NASA research on the web
NASA's Earth Science Enterprise Information on Earth Science missions, etc.
45th Weather Squadron at Patrick AFB, lightning reference page.
National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, OK
Numerical Modeling at NSSL
The New Mexico Tech 3D Lightning Mapping System
Lightning Detection and Ranging project at Kennedy Space Center.
National Severe Storms Laboratory Photo Library, where we got a lot of the neat pictures in these stories.
return to Space Science News Home
|For more information, please contact:
Dr. John M. Horackack , Director of Science Communications
|Author: Dave Dooling
Curator: Linda Porter
NASA Official: Ron Koczor


text:
|Instrument(s): Voice (SATB)
|Style: Hymn
|Lyricist(s): n/a
|Arranger(s): n/a
|Meter: 6 6. 8 6. D
|Date of composition: 1868
|Source: Book of Common Praise, 1908, number 367
|Copyright: Public Domain
|Last updated: 2005/Jan/18. View change history
|Music ID Number: Mutopia-2005/01/18-524
|Typeset using: LilyPond, version 2.4.2
|LilyPond file
|MIDI file
|A4 PDF files
|Letter PDF files
Words include "Crown him with many crowns".
|Maintainer: Peter Chubb
|mutopia (at) chubb.wattle.id.au


text:
by Dave Blount | January 15, 2013 12:39 pm
Obama's appalling reelection put the country on a path that has come to a fork. One way leads to strife — very possibly impeachment and even civil war. That's the high road. The other way lies socialist dictatorship — and it is so close you can see it from here:[1]
The White House has identified 19 executive actions for President Barack Obama to move unilaterally on gun control, Vice President Joe Biden told a group of House Democrats on Monday, the administration's first definitive statements about its response to last month's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. …
The focus on executive orders is the result of the White House and other Democrats acknowledging the political difficulty of enacting any new gun legislation, a topic Biden did not address in Monday's meeting.
Comrade Chairman Obama confirmed yesterday that he will go full dictator[2] with the executive action approach:
"My understanding is the vice president's going to provide a range of steps that we can take to reduce gun violence. Some of them will require legislation, some of them I can accomplish through executive action. … I'm confident that there are some steps that we can take that don't require legislation and that are within my authority as president, and where you get a step that, has the opportunity to reduce the possibility of gun violence, then I want to go ahead and take it."
Even among the gutless wonders that constitute the Republican Party, some have noticed that using executive orders to circumvent our fundamental constitutional rights is an impeachable offense:[3]
Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman threatened Monday afternoon that he would file articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama if he institutes gun control measures with an executive order.
Stockman warned that such executive orders would be "unconstitutional" and "infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms."
"I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment," Stockman said in a statement.
Thankfully there are still a few Americans left in America.
The esteemed constitutional lawyer Mark Levin sees other grounds for impeachment[4] in the unacceptable power grabs contemplated by the Obama Regime:
On his Monday radio show, conservative talker Mark Levin said that if President Barack Obama sidesteps Congress on the debt ceiling fight and attacks the Congress' constitutionally enumerated "core power" — that is control over spending and taxing — through executive action, Congress will have "no choice" but impeachment.
Obama et al. will do whatever it takes to "fundamentally transform" America into an authoritarian socialist banana republic. We have to do whatever it takes to stop them.
This will require acknowledging the base of Obama's power. I am not referring to welfare dependents deliberately bred to produce Democrat votes, but to the left-wing media establishment that placed and keeps him in power. Any attempt to defend the Constitution from this onslaught will be met with ferocious counterattacks from the media. These will send most Republicans to their knees as they whimper for clemency.
Only if there is a resistance with the courage to name the liberal media and its figurehead Obama as an implacably hostile existential threat to America and to fight them to the end will this country survive Hope & Change intact.
On tips from TheWrightWing[5], Spider, and Bo-Jangles. Graphic compliments of Joel C. Cross-posted at Moonbattery[6].
Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/freedom/fork-in-the-road/
Copyright ©2023 John Hawkins' Right Wing News unless otherwise noted.


text:
Yield: 18 cookies (3 inch)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a cookie sheet.
Place the raisins and apple juice in a small pan and sinner over low
heat for 15 minutes.
Coarsely grind chashews or walnuts in a blender. In a mixing bowl,
cream the cashew or walnut meal and soy flour into the softened butter
(or margarine). Stir in the stevia, maple flavoring, vanilla, and slightly
beaten egg.
Cream 1/3 of the stewed raisins and all of the juice in a blender.
Set the rest of the raisins aside. Stir the creamed raisins into the
butter mixture. Add the milk and oats.
Sift together the wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir
the flour into the other ingredients. Add the rest of the raisins. Don't
Drop onto oiled cookie sheet and flatten with the palm of the hand.
Bake 13-15 minutes.
NOTE: Soft margarine may also be used. For reduced-fat cookies: substitute
the 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe for 1/3 cup butter and 1/4 cup apple
butter. If you don't want to add the nuts increase the flour by 1/4


text:
Please try another search
Henk Krasenberg, founder of the European Gold Centre, is back from the INDABA Mining Conference in South Africa with plenty to report. He has seen a sea change in mining in Africa over the last few years; countries are growing more confident and have a greater awareness of mining's potential. In this interview with The Gold Report, Krasenberg provides a European perspective on a whole slew of miners working in Africa, as well as in all corners of the world.
The Gold Report: Where's the rally for gold?
Henk Krasenberg: The general investment public is not in the right mood for resource stocks. Those who own them are not happy with their performance, and those who don't own them are not convinced that they should own them. Only 2% of all investment capital is in gold, other metals and related vehicles. I believe that gold is not as high as most people think. I relate it to the all-time high of $850/ounce ($850/oz) in 1980 and if you correct that to today's standards, that would equal $2,400–2,500/oz. So we are well below the real historical high. Further, the market for resource shares has not been very stimulating. Resource shares are greatly undervalued in my opinion. That surprises me. Several producers are reporting record production and record earnings and project further increases for the next few years. Also, the results that exploration companies report are generally very encouraging.
TGR: A lot of people would say that the market pretty much has these companies right where they should be. Why do you believe they are undervalued?
HK: If you talk about production companies, what is not reflected in their prices is their potential. Of course, that doesn't count for everybody. It is very difficult for the major companies to achieve substantial increases in their production, but several of the emerging and midtier producers are looking at a great future.
TGR: When the rally does happen, how high could that percentage get?
HK: That depends a lot on the nature of the frenzy that gives reason for a rally and whether the institutions will come in—the regular investment capital of pension funds and insurance companies, regular shareholding companies. If gold investment moves from 2% to 4% of the total investments, we are talking about a lot of new capital coming to the market.
TGR: You recently attended the annual INDABA Mining Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. What were two or three takeaways from that conference?
HK: I was impressed with the confidence that people have in the future. So many things are happening in Africa that are different from even just five years ago. I noticed that the governments of the presenting countries show more dedication and a more realistic and constructive attitude; it seems that they are now viewing mining more as a blessing than as a curse. They seem to be more aware of their potential and the possible benefits. The countries expressed awareness of and willingness about the need to work together with the companies.
Also remarkable were the questions that people asked about the risk of resources being nationalized and about indigenization. Countries want their local investors to have a certain percentage of ownership, but they often do not have money to pay for it. In Zimbabwe, for example, it is all paper deals. Kenya wants to apply a rule that 35% of every company should be owned by national people. If they indeed pay for that, it could also be a positive factor. All the companies need money for their progress, so if they can raise 35% of their requirements within those countries, that would be welcome.
Also remarkable was that newer countries are coming into the game: after Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Mauritania have joined the ranks of mining countries. Now, former mining nations like Zambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe are re-emerging and a new generation of countries that you hardly ever thought of for their resource potential, like Mozambique, Gabon, Senegal, Uganda and Malawi, were at the conference. Some were mainly known for diamonds, but now they are also working on gold, copper and other metals.
TGR: So mostly Central and West Africa?
HK: There weren't too many countries presenting from the eastern part, but in the second half of last year, I wrote a report on East Africa, and I think that is a much underexplored area. Interesting things are happening there too, but not yet as widely as in West Africa.
TGR: You note in a recent edition of your GOLDVIEW newsletter that developing countries are buying a lot more gold than developed nations. Is that reflective of growing global fear about U.S. and Europe economic stability?
HK: The developing countries never were in a position to be able to buy gold. Now they are doing better and are getting some money, and they see all this turmoil in the world. They finally have reached the point that they can afford to buy gold, so they will. Most of the countries that used to have big gold reserves have sold part of their gold, and in most cases that happened at a time when the gold price had not even started its real rise. If you sold gold at $250–400/oz in the past, as did the U.K., the Netherlands and Canada, it is not easy to be buying it at $1,600–1,700/oz. It would take a lot of courage, and I am sure that they would receive push back from the public. Despite the current setback of the gold price, I think there may come a time when they will seriously regret not having bought it back at $1,600/oz. This may very well be the last opportunity to buy it at these levels.
TGR: Germany recently announced that it wanted to repatriate part of the gold that it has in foreign banks. What did you make of that announcement and that it's not going to fully happen until 2020?
HK: I'm puzzled that not more people are concerned about this because most of the foreign gold is with the Federal Reserve in New York. First there was a 30-year deal, and now it is to take them seven years to deliver that gold to Germany. That scares me because what does that mean? Is the gold not there, as some people believe? But the seven-year stretch most probably suggests or indicates that they used the gold, which was deposited by the central banks, to lend it out and/or to secure loans. Some people say gold is the only asset without a liability. True, if you buy gold with your own money, but not with a loan. If it indeed turns out that the Fed has put all kinds of obligations on the foreign gold, we have a serious problem. If this scenario is true, the Fed has every reason not to let the gold price move up to over $2,000/oz because sooner or later it has to cover its possible shortfall.
TGR: What about some of the recent rhetoric from Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank?
HK: People like him cannot say what they think. They are in a political function. They have a responsibility toward the nations, to the public. They have to lie, to put it bluntly, and they do. They will never say they don't have the gold or they don't have enough gold or they used it. If it ever comes out that not all the gold is where we think it is, we could see crazy days with gold prices of $10,000/oz, $20,000/oz or whatever.
TGR: What are you seeing for a trading range for gold in 2013?
HK: I'm confident that we will see higher prices. It does not take that much to get it over $1,700/oz, although what happened in the last two weeks with the gold price may make us wonder. But if you ask me whether it will be $2,000/oz, $3,000/oz or $5,000/oz, that will largely depend on the situations that arise. There are enough ghosts in the closet.
TGR: Gold went up 6.2% in 2012. Do you think it will beat that percentage in 2013?
HK: It doesn't take much to beat that.
TGR: Where does that leave silver?
HK: The fact that there is already not enough silver to make the coins that people want tells me a lot. On the other hand, nobody seems to panic. I think silver has extra potential because there is an actual shortage looming while the demand for silver coins and other uses is strong. But the old dogma is still valid: If and when gold jumps, silver will jump too.
TGR: Were people particularly bullish on platinum, perhaps copper?
HK: Not surprisingly, copper was widely mentioned at the conference because China has a large appetite for it. Copper is not a glamorous metal but a daily necessity.
One presenter on platinum said mining platinum is tough. It's so different from gold. It is a hard business to be in. At the moment, platinum is struggling. There may be a very significant shortage in platinum, in particular because of lower output of the mines in South Africa. Zimbabwe could benefit from that situation.
TGR: Tell us the difference between the average European precious metals investor and one from North America.
HK: North American investors are much more opportunistic. They have a better and longer history of metals and even more of mining than Europeans have. In North America it is easier to meet people who have invested in resources. When North American investors have gold shares and they hear that uranium is hot, they jump easily into uranium and then into tantalum, graphite, graphene, and so on. They follow the trend. Here in Europe only the fairly sophisticated or adventurous investors will do so. Once we commit, we tend to stick with it. We take a longer-term approach.
TGR: What are some European mining stories?
HK: We have over 300 companies that are active in the European resources, and we never hear about them. The media hardly ever talk about them. Most people don't even know we have an industry like that. Even in investment circles information is scarce. When the European Union is talking about resources, about mining, they are talking about industrial minerals like cement and stone; that is what they call their mining industry. If the industry will move forward and we will have more production stories, they will be more appealing to the people.
There are a few companies now producing gold in Sweden. Nordic Mines AB (NOMI:ST; NOM:OSLO) is producing nicely. In Spain we have Orvana Minerals Corp. (ORV:TSX), which just became a client of mine. Astur Gold Corp. (AST:TSX.V) is relaunching its mine in Asturias, Spain. Global Minerals Ltd. (CTG:TSX.V; DPF:FSE) is reviving a former copper-silver producer in Slovakia and aims to become the first real silver producer in Europe.
TGR: AsturGold is trying to bring the Salave gold project back into production. Where is it on that path?
HK: It has had some hurdles. There are environmental protests. The company recently made some changes in its plans because it is pretty close to the sea. Rather than producing the gold itself with the use of cyanide, it has decided to make a concentrate and send it to a smelter. That has taken the wind out of the sails of the environmentalists and the government officials. Now the government has issued its latest list of requirements, which is still an extensive list. The company has to comply with about 30 points, and CEO Cary Pinkowski is confident that he can meet those.
A good example of how the production of crushed ore and concentrates could work is Excellon Resources Inc. (EXN:TSX) in Mexico. I have always said that it was the most profitable trucking company because it crushed the ore and shipped it to a smelter, and it got the money back. That was a fairly nice and clean operation. Now Excellon is adding its own mill.
TGR: As far as Global Minerals goes, do you think the share price will get an uptick with the recent increase in copper prices?
HK: It will be a contributing factor but I think Global Mineral's share price will be more dependent on the company's continuous drilling and testing and coming closer to a production decision. The impact of the silver prices will be greater than that of copper.
TGR: Is the financing in place now to bring Strieborná into production?
HK: It is on its way. I think that there are good possibilities to get the financing in Europe.
TGR: What's happening with Orvana?
HK: Orvana is an interesting company. Its CEO, Bill Williams, is also producing in Bolivia. He says, "I don't explore; I only find mines." It's different from the typical exploration company that turns into a production company after a long period of exploration.
TGR: France has joined with the Malian army to drive Muslim extremists out of the country's northern territory. Has this changed your view of Mali or perhaps even West Africa as a jurisdiction in which to invest?
HK: Not really, because there's always a basis for conflict within African countries. But in Mali, when forces both from outside Africa and inside Africa teamed up, things started to be solved. Mali was at INDABA. When I asked, the representatives shrugged their shoulders and said they will solve it. Mining and exploration in the artisanal way is a mode of daily life more than anywhere else, so I'm not concerned that much.
TGR: Are there any West African plays that remain compelling to you?
HK: Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. (ARI:JSE), Randgold Resources Ltd. (GOLD:NASDAQ; RRS:LSE), Resolute Mining Ltd. (RSG:ASX) and Endeavour Mining Corp. (EDV:TSX; EVR:ASX) made excellent presentations at the conference. Tembo Gold Corp. (TEM:TSX.V; TBGPF:OTCQX) has been achieving very nice drill results recently. CEO David Scott was walking around with a big smile on his face. It had almost 23 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 15 meters (15m) from 299m down hole.
TGR: How would you compare that to similar plays, such as when Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; ABX:NYSE) discovered Bulyanhulu?
HK: David Scott is convinced that Tembo Gold is on to something similar, and it is pretty much adjacent to African Barrick Gold Plc's (ABG.L) Bulyanhulu.
TGR: Any others?
HK: I like my client New Dawn Mining Corp. (ND:TSX) in Zimbabwe. It is busy with indigenization and is producing 35,000 oz (35 Koz) and expecting to bring it up to over 100 Koz in the next two years provided that a better sentiment toward Zimbabwe develops, which would make raising money easier.
Centamin Plc (CEE:TSX; CNT:ASX, CEY:LSE) is successfully producing gold in Egypt. I was impressed with the management. I met my former client Helio Resource Corp. (HRC:TSX.V) when I was in Tanzania and Namibia. It has open-pit and underground potential. Another company that I like is in Burkina Faso. It's an Australian company, Ampella Mining Ltd. (AMX:ASX). The man in charge of that project is very knowledgeable, has a lot of experience in Africa and only has the responsibility of bringing the project forward and into production. Other corporate duties are being taken care of at the company's head office in Australia.
African Gold Group Inc. (AGG:TSX.V) is also a former client. It is selling off its interest in Ghana to Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM:NYSE), so it gets a nice amount of cash and will continue to focus on Mali. Merrex Gold Inc. (MXI:TSX.V; MXGIF:OTCQX) is also in Mali and has a joint venture with IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG:TSX; IAG:NYSE). It has been doing well. Castle Peak Mining Ltd. (CAP:TSX.V) is a typical example of a company that had good drill results, and it became public at $0.35/share not too long ago. Shares are selling at $0.06/share despite good results and good management. I've always liked Sunridge Gold Corp. (SGC:TSX.V); it used to have a connection with Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU:TSX; NSU:NYSE.MKT). Teranga Gold Corp. (TGZ:TSX; TGZ:ASX) looks very interesting.
Premier African Minerals Ltd. (PREM:LSE) is in Zimbabwe and Togo. I didn't even know Togo had any minerals, but there's quite some mineralization there, so I'm looking into those new areas. For instance, Liberia used to have political problems, but it's quiet now. It used to be famous for its diamonds. Now it's looking into gold and other minerals, and there are several companies active in Liberia. I am looking at Amlib Holdings Plc (privately held), a very interesting situation, and some other companies.
TGR: Why haven't those companies that have had solid, if not record, years had better share price performance?
HK: In a market that is struggling and depressed, it's not easy to do well despite good results, but if you look at their share prices, they haven't done badly. They are all selling at levels not too far below their former highs. Argonaut Gold Inc. (AR:TSX), Aurcana Corporation (AUN:TSX.V; AUNFF:OTCQX), Great Panther Silver Ltd. (GPR:TSX; GPL:NYSE.MKT), Scorpio Gold Corp. (SGN:TSX.V), SilverCrest Mines Inc. (SVL:TSX.V; SVLC:NYSE.MKT) and Timmins Gold Corp. (TMM:TSX; TGD:NYSE.MKT) are all doing great and are looking at even better results in the next few years.
SilverCrest has remarkable growth potential; it will be doubling its production in the next three years.
Argonaut Gold is digesting the recent takeover of the Magino mine in Ontario, which upon coming to production can double its current output. Argonaut Gold just had warrants converted, and has over $117 million ($117M) in the treasury, so it is well financed.
Timmins Gold is on the right track. The potential at its one project is great and it has the cash flow to do it. Also Great Panther, which was struggling a little bit, had a great fourth quarter last year.
TGR: Argonaut's stated goal on the website is to produce 300–500 Koz gold over the next few years, but it's currently producing about 120–140 Koz. Magino is going to add to the production profile, but it's not going to get Argonaut there on its own.
HK: Argonaut has more than Magino—such as San Antonio, El Castillo and La Colorado. It is undertaking to define the potential of the Magino because it would like to see the mine happen first—the company just acquired it. It would like to find out whether it is as big as the former management said it was. Do not underestimate Argonaut's management; it is a pretty serious and determined team. I like the team and I think it will succeed in reaching its goal.
TGR: Great Panther produced 454 Koz in Q4/12 versus 371 Koz in Q3/12. Can investors realistically expect it to continue that kind of growth?
HK: Great Panther has been having some problems with maintaining its cost and production levels. However, the fourth quarter was a nice sign. I have great admiration for Great Panther. Bob Archer is a great entrepreneur and a very intelligent operator. He's the kind of CEO that investors like to see.
TGR: And Scorpio Gold?
HK: CEO Peter Hawley is a modest but very intelligent and reliable person. I believe that Nevada will be one of the great mining areas sometime in the next few years. I would not be surprised if we see Scorpio Gold strengthening its position in Nevada.
TGR: What are your parting thoughts on this space?
HK: There is a new generation of companies coming in general but also in Mexico, one of my favorite mining countries. Argonaut, SilverCrest and Timmins Gold—my top three picks—were not in production five years ago, not even three years ago. But there are still some good old ones; MAG Silver Corp. (MAG:TSX; MVG:NYSE) and Canasil Resources Inc. (CLZ:TSX.V) are old favorites.
Other companies that I know from the past are finally coming to the limelight: Northair, now International Northair Mines Ltd. (INM:TSX.V), is reporting excellent results from its La Cigarra silver project in Mexico. The same is true for Kimber Resources Inc. (KBR:TSX; KBX:NYSE.MKT) with its Monterde project in Mexico. Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (PZG:NYSE.MKT; PZG:TSX) is progressing at its San Miguel project and at its Sleeper mine in Nevada. All these companies are potential production candidates.
TGR: Thank you for your time.
Henk J. Krasenberg is the founder of the European Gold Centre, which analyzes and comments on gold, other metals and minerals and international mining and exploration companies in perspective to the rapidly changing world of economics, finance and investments. The organization publishes GOLDVIEW, Mining in Africa, Mining in Europe and Mining in Mexico, all available at no cost to investors. Krasenberg's career has included security analysis, investment advisory, portfolio management and investment banking.
1) Brian Sylvester conducted this interview for The Gold Report and provides services to The Gold Report as an employee or as an independent contractor. He or his family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of The Gold Report: Orvana Minerals Corp., Global Minerals Ltd., Sunridge Gold Corp., Teranga Gold Corp., Argonaut Gold Inc., Great Panther Silver Ltd., SilverCrest Mines Inc., Timmins Gold Corp. and MAG Silver Corp. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for its services or as sponsorship payment.
3) Henk Krasenberg: I or my family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None. I personally or my family am paid by the following companies mentioned in this interview: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this interview: Argonaut Gold Inc., Aurcana Corporation, Great Panther Silver Inc., New Dawn Mining Corp., Orvana Minerals Corp., Scorpio Gold Corp., SilverCrest Mines Inc., Timmins Gold Corp., Canasil Resources Inc., Tembo Gold Corp., Astur Gold Corp. and Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. I was not paid by Streetwise Reports for participating in this interview. Comments and opinions expressed are my own comments and opinions. I had the opportunity to review the interview for accuracy as of the date of the interview and am responsible for the content of the interview.
4) Interviews are edited for clarity. Streetwise Reports does not make editorial comments or change experts' statements without their consent.
5) The interview does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer.
6) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned and may make purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise.
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Unfortunately, not all business opportunities were created equal. Some business opportunities are better than others and you may be better suited for one, more than the rest.
How do you decide which business opportunity is right for you? Ask yourself these questions about each business you review:
1. Does the seller give you enough information about the business? How many business opportunities have been sold, and how many are in operation? Can you contact some of them? Does a Google search for the business return anything other than webpages selling the bizop, like negative reviews, or other people running the business? Do you have enough information to fully evaluate the business opportunity before you purchase it? Does it sound too good to be true?
2. Are you passionate about the business? If not, your focus may drift as you continue to look for something that does truly interest you, and you'll never be successful with this business opportunity. Don't settle for a bizop just because of the profit potential.
3. Is the business viable? Will someone actually give you money in exchange for the business opportunity's product or service? Remember, until you sell something, it's not a business, it's only a hobby that costs you money. If there are other people operating the business opportunity, can you visit with them and help them sell for a few days to see how real customers react to the product?
4. If you started the business opportunity, what kind of competition would you have? Don't be fooled into thinking that the business has no competitors. Every viable business has competition. If you can't find any, look harder. If you still can't find any, worry. No competition is a very bad thing.
5. Is it worth it to purchase the business opportunity? Will your return on investment be worth the risks involved? Will you make more money than investing in something less risky, or a different business?
* * * * *
About the Author: Dane Carlson is the founder of the Business Opportunities Weblog, a moderated list of legitimate business opportunities for entrepreneurs. Also in Dane's blog network is the Work at Home Business Opportunities Weblog. Dane is always on the lookout for new business opportunities.