Bizarro World Podcast,
with Nick and Gerardo
Nov. 2, 2026
The free version of the 386th episode of Investing in Bizarro World is now published.
This episode takes a different format. Nick and Gerardo recorded it in front of a live audience at the New Orleans Investment Conference, using the session to explain how they vet private placements and evaluate opportunities for Private Placement Intel.
The entire episode is free this week, including discussion of companies usually reserved for the Premium Portfolio Picks section. Daura Gold (TSX-V: DGC)(OTC: DGCOF) and Au Gold (TSX-V: AUGC)(OTC: AUGCF) serve as two recent case studies, followed by an audience Q&A covering share structure, warrants, follow-on financings and how deals reach their desks.
The starting point is alignment.
Nick and Gerardo invest their own money alongside subscribers. They receive no commissions, finder’s fees, shares or warrants as compensation for introducing a financing. Their financial interest comes from the investments they make, and they disclose situations in which they already own enough stock to sit out a subsequent round.
That structure gives them a reason to remain engaged after the financing closes. They follow management’s execution, ask questions and monitor whether the company is creating the value that justified writing the original check.
Share structure is one of their first filters. A company can have an exciting property and still be an unattractive investment if its capitalization favors founders, promoters or short-term financing participants over ordinary shareholders.
They examine the number of shares outstanding, insider ownership, previous financing prices and the options and warrants that could become additional shares. Nick generally prefers early-stage companies with fewer than approximately 75 million shares outstanding, meaningful insider ownership and limited warrant overhang.
Ownership also needs to represent a real financial commitment. Management buying a substantial position with its own money sends a different signal from insiders awarding themselves extremely cheap stock.
The people come next. Nick and Gerardo want evidence that management has successfully done what it proposes to do with the new capital. A less experienced executive can still qualify if a strong board and technical team provide the necessary support.
Every financing must also answer a practical question: what will this money allow the company to prove?
Their preferred opportunities have identifiable work programs and catalysts ahead. The capital should fund drilling, advance a geological model or resolve another important uncertainty that could materially change the company’s valuation.
The current market makes that process particularly relevant.
Gold dipped below $4,000, silver dropped below $50, and many resource equities have returned to levels last seen during the July selloff. Higher Treasury yields, Federal Reserve tightening and tax-loss selling have weighed on sentiment.
Nick outlined a scenario in which strong third-quarter economic growth gives way to slower, positive growth into early 2027. Tougher year-over-year comparisons for oil could also help inflation cool, eventually giving the Fed room to stop raising rates.
Gerardo emphasized the longer-term debt and supply arguments. Rising debt-service costs support his case for gold, while copper, uranium and lithium face substantial future demand requirements. Uranium equities trading far below their highs despite strong long-term contracting prices illustrate the disconnect between commodity fundamentals and stock-market sentiment.
Both see the remaining weeks of tax-loss selling as an opportunity to evaluate quality companies while expectations are depressed.
The correction has affected Private Placement Intel’s portfolio as well. Nick cited an average gain of approximately 174%–175% in the portfolio figures presented, down from nearly 300% a year earlier.
Warrant returns are tracked separately and can provide additional upside.
Kingsmen Resources (TSX-V: KNG)(OTC: KNGRF) provided a recent example of that additional upside. Nick and Gerardo exercised C$0.40 warrants while the shares traded around C$1, demonstrating how an early financing can retain substantial value even after a sharp sector pullback.
Daura Gold was the first detailed case study.
Gerardo quoted a market capitalization of approximately $18 million for a company with substantial exploration opportunities in both Peru and Argentina.
Its Peruvian property lies within a mineralized district associated with Highlander Silver, whose much larger valuation provides context for the opportunity. Historical drilling and mapped mineralized trends support the exploration thesis, but the important questions remain permitting, grade and scale.
The hosts expect progress on social license and permitting in 2027, with Gerardo hopeful that a permit could arrive during the first half. Drilling must then determine how far the mineralization extends and whether its richness and continuity justify a substantially higher valuation.
Argentina provides nearer-term catalysts while Peru advances.
Daura can earn up to an 80% interest in the Argentine projects. Initial drilling at Cerro Bayo encountered gold and silver and helped refine the geological model. A second exploration phase is now underway across the Argentine portfolio, including La Flora.
That addition changed Gerardo’s willingness to invest.
He passed on the original financing because he did not want to commit capital while the company waited for its Peruvian permit. Once Argentina offered an active drill program, he was comfortable participating at a higher share price because the company had additional opportunities to create value.
Private Placement Intel’s original Daura financing was completed at C$0.06. Those shares were up approximately 258% when the presentation was prepared, while the more recent C$0.23 round was down roughly 6.5%. Both financings included warrants.
The comparison illustrates why entry price must be considered alongside timing, catalysts and changes in the business. Paying more can make sense when the investment proposition has improved.
Au Gold was the second case study.
Gerardo’s interest began with people he had known for many years, a gold-antimony project in Victoria, Australia, and a small valuation relative to the district-scale exploration potential.
The presentation listed approximately 73.8 million shares outstanding and insider ownership of 14.4%. That ownership matters because the hosts want management exposed to the same outcome as the shareholders supplying exploration capital.
The project covers approximately 11,663 hectares and includes a mineralized trend extending roughly nine kilometers. Historical production and surviving mine records provide valuable clues about where to explore.
Those records contain descriptions of visible gold, vein widths and workings that management has reconstructed into geological cross-sections. Earlier operators also encountered water and antimony mineralization that complicated their operations.
Antimony’s role has changed considerably. It now carries strategic importance as Western governments seek alternatives to Chinese supply, potentially adding value to a system historically pursued primarily for gold.
Gerardo drew on Southern Cross Gold’s success to explain why the combination of jurisdiction, geology and commodity exposure attracts his attention. Au Gold’s own drilling still has to establish the scale and quality of its mineralization.
Geomorphic AI is another part of the evaluation process.
Au Gold retained the company to analyze data and assess exploration targets. Nick and Gerardo are Geomorphic shareholders, and Nick serves as an adviser. They see its ability to process large historical datasets as a useful tool alongside their geological advisers and conventional due diligence.
Private Placement Intel participated in Au Gold’s earlier C$0.15 financing and returned for a subsequent round. Gerardo noted that the latest financing raised approximately $3.5 million despite demand for more, underscoring the importance of balancing sufficient exploration funding with dilution.
Across both examples, the objective is to finance companies before a discovery or major milestone changes the market’s perception of their value.
That can mean participating around a new listing, backing a restructuring or funding a change in commodity or jurisdiction. Nick explained that they generally seek the early discovery portion of the Lassonde curve, where successful exploration can create substantial value before the much larger capital requirements of mine development.
The audience Q&A expanded on how that approach works.
Asked about broker-led financings, Gerardo explained his preference for early, direct opportunities where he knows management and can conduct his own diligence. Nick added that Private Placement Intel can participate alongside brokers in later rounds as companies mature and continue delivering results.
A question about another Daura financing produced a clear answer: the company had just raised capital, and the immediate priority was to deploy it into the current drill program. Another round could become attractive after results, but a future financing would need a reason and a defined use of proceeds.
Nick described Private Placement Intel’s general aim of evaluating approximately six to 12 deals per year. Opportunities include newly listed companies, private businesses approaching an IPO and companies undergoing a meaningful restructuring. Manhattan Metals was mentioned as an example of a private investment progressing toward a potential listing.
At the time of recording, Private Placement Intel was also participating in a private financing for Geomorphic AI.
Several questions focused on warrants.
Warrants can provide valuable additional upside to placement investors, while an excessive number outstanding can create problems for the company’s share price. The hosts examine their size, exercise prices, expiry dates and the strength of the catalysts that could help the market absorb additional shares.
Nick used a hypothetical example of a stock repeatedly struggling near a large block of warrants’ exercise price. Gerardo added that a major discovery can attract enough demand to overcome an overhang, although investors should evaluate that possibility carefully.
On exercise timing, Nick explained that he often preserves capital until warrants approach expiry so the money remains available for other opportunities. Expected holding periods and individual tax circumstances can change that decision.
His recent Kingsmen exercise illustrated the point. He had waited despite the shares previously trading much higher, and he expects to continue holding the resulting shares as the company advances its exploration program.
An oil-shock question returned the discussion to the economy. Nick expects growth to slow while remaining positive. Gerardo emphasized the strain that high food, fuel and fertilizer costs place on households, farmers and transportation businesses, even when broad economic measures remain resilient.
The final questions addressed deal sourcing.
Most opportunities come through relationships with management teams, technical advisers, financiers and investors who know how Nick and Gerardo operate. Companies also value access to shareholders willing to stay through an exploration program instead of automatically selling when an initial holding restriction expires.
Both case studies show the process they want subscribers to understand: examine the capitalization, assess the people, identify what remains unproven and determine whether the financing funds work capable of answering those questions. The ambition is a discovery-driven return large enough to matter, supported by patient capital and a realistic understanding of exploration risk.
0:00 Introduction
1:31 Vetting Private Placements: Share Structure. Management Track Records. Insider Alignment. No Issuer Commissions.
4:06 Metals & Macro: Gold’s $4,000 Floor. Silver Weakness. Copper Demand. Fed Outlook. Tax-Loss Opportunities.
11:12 Uranium & Lithium: Strong Fundamentals. Weak Equities. Future Supply Shortfalls.
13:39 PPI Portfolio Performance: Portfolio Gains. Kingsmen Warrants. Patience Through Pullbacks.
16:25 Daura Gold: Peru Permitting. Highlander Comparison. Argentina Drilling. Financing Results.
21:57 Au Gold: Victoria Gold-Antimony. Historical Mine Records. District-Scale Targets. Insider Ownership.
26:48 Geomorphic AI: Geological Analysis. Target Generation. Faster Research.
28:14 Early-Stage Investing: Discovery Catalysts. Low Valuations. Financing Discipline. Position Sizing.
32:40 Audience Q&A — Brokered Deals: Direct Financings. Broker Participation. Kingsmen Follow-Ons.
35:59 Q&A — Daura’s Next Financing: Argentina Results. Peru Catalysts. Follow-On Investment Criteria.
38:00 Q&A — PPI Deal Flow: Financing Frequency. Geomorphic Financing. Evaluating New Opportunities.
38:44 Q&A — Pre-IPO Investing: Manhattan Metals. New Listings. Corporate Restructurings.
40:07 Q&A — Share Structure: Share Counts. Insider Ownership. Financing History. Cap Table Transparency.
41:25 Q&A — Warrant Overhang: Exercise Prices. Price Resistance. Discovery Catalysts.
44:23 Q&A — Oil & the Economy: GDP Outlook. Inflation Comparisons. Household Pressures.
46:53 Q&A — Exercising Warrants: Kingsmen Example. Capital Allocation. Tax Planning.
49:55 Q&A — Sourcing Deals: Trusted Networks. Management Relationships. Patient Shareholders.
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