Palisades Gold Radio

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Investor, Speculator, Founder & CEO of Rule Investment Media, Rick Rule to the show. Mr. Rule begins by discussing his current focus on preparing for increased market volatility by deeply re-valuing his major holdings, emphasizing the importance of understanding value over price to capitalize on market fluctuations. He notes that while few sectors are truly hated now, geopolitical war zones and lesser-known jurisdictions like Ivory Coast and Kazakhstan present unique opportunities. Addressing gold, Rule expresses a substantially higher outlook over five years, though he warns of short-term headwinds from rising US interest rates. He draws parallels to the 1970s, explaining that high interest rates and a rising gold price can coexist if driven by inflation fears, but also highlights the current environment’s worse government debt ratios and less favorable demographics, balanced by technological advances.

The conversation shifts to gold miners, with Rule bullish on their potential to outperform the metal due to structural underinvestment in exploration, driving significant merger and acquisition activity. He identifies strategic, tactical, and arbitrage-driven acquisitions as key themes for the sector, noting that single-asset producers are prime takeover targets. On energy, Rule remains long-term bullish on oil due to chronic underinvestment in sustaining capital, though he cautions that a near-term resolution to geopolitical conflicts could cause a sharp price drop. He concludes with advice for resource investors: do the necessary fundamental work, maintain patience for multi-year holds, and cultivate tolerance for volatility. Finally, Rule directs listeners to his free resources at ruleinvestmentmedia.com, the Rule Classroom, and his bank, Battle Bank.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:03 – Preparing for Market Volatility

00:04:31 – Investing in Hated Sectors

00:05:28 – Raising Cash for Opportunities

00:07:53 – Gold Price Outlook

00:11:12 – Parallels to the 1970s

00:12:30 – Technology and Demographics

00:17:30 – Debt, Inflation, & GDP

00:22:04 – Gold as Portfolio Liquidity

00:31:30 – Gold Miners Leverage Potential

00:33:00 – Mining M&A Opportunities

00:46:00 – Energy Sector Analysis

00:52:50 – Rule Investment Media

Guest Links:

X: https://x.com/@realrickrule

Website: https://ruleinvestmentmedia.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RuleInvestmentMedia

Classroom: https://ruleclassroom.com

Battle Bank: https://battlebank.com

Rick Rule has dedicated his entire adult life to many aspects of natural resources securities investing. Besides the knowledge and experience gained in a long and focused career, he has a global network of contacts in the natural resources and finance sectors.

Mr. Rule is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and is regularly interviewed for radio, television, print, and online media outlets concerning natural resources investment and industry topics. Prominent natural resources-oriented newsletters and advisories frequently quote him. Mr. Rule and his team have expertise in many resource sectors, including agriculture, alternative energy, forestry, oil and gas, mining, and water.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Colonel Douglas Macgregor to the show. Mr. Macgregor is a retired U.S. Army Colonel & Decorated Combat Veteran. Macgregor opens with a stark assessment that the global energy structure is being destroyed, warning that the situation will worsen significantly. He dismisses the notion of an imminent diplomatic deal with Iran, stating that trust has evaporated and Iran now holds the strategic initiative, effectively controlling oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. He estimates that only a fraction of normal oil shipments are moving, with tankers forced to pay tolls to Iran, while simultaneous U.S. efforts to punish compliance have made insurance impossible. The disruption extends to the Red Sea, where attacks on infrastructure have halted Saudi oil shipments to Europe, potentially removing 35% of the world’s oil from the market. This energy shock is only beginning to be felt in Europe and has prompted discussions in the U.S. about banning diesel exports, a move Macgregor sees as indicative of the crisis’s severity.

The conversation expands to the broader geopolitical and financial implications. Macgregor argues that the petrodollar system is effectively dead, with the U.S. waging war to restore dominance, particularly against Iranian resistance. He criticizes the American tendency to project its own mindset onto nations like China and Russia, leading to strategic miscalculations. He warns that President Trump’s rhetoric suggests a dangerous escalation, potentially including nuclear options, which would finish off the global energy structure.

Macgregor sees the markets as grossly underestimating the potential for complete disaster, making gold an essential investment. He notes that central banks continue to stockpile gold and that the BRICS nations are actively building parallel financial structures to circumvent the dollar, a trend forced by U.S. sanctions. He concludes that the West, particularly the U.S., faces a period of extreme internal turmoil, driven by an energy crisis, political corruption, and a public insulated from the consequences of endless wars.

Guest Links:

Website: https://douglasmacgregor.com

X: https://x.com/DougAMacgregor

Substack: https://substack.com/@coloneldoug

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@macgregorwarriordiplomacy

Articles: https://breakingdefense.com/author/doug-macgregor/

Douglas Macgregor is a decorated combat veteran, an author of five books, a PhD, and a defense and foreign policy consultant.

Macgregor was commissioned in the Regular Army in 1976 after 1 year at VMI and 4 years at West Point. In 2004, Macgregor retired with the rank of Colonel. In 2020, the President appointed Macgregor to serve as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, a post he held until President Trump left office. He holds an MA in comparative politics and a PhD in international relations from the University of Virginia.

Macgregor is widely known inside the U.S., Europe, Israel, Russia, China and Korea for both his leadership in the Battle of 73 Easting, the U.S. Army’s largest tank battle since World War II, and for his ground breaking books on military transformation: Breaking the Phalanx (Praeger, 1997) and Transformation under Fire (Praeger, 2003). Macgregor’s recommendations for change in Force Design and “integrated all arms-all effects” operations have profoundly influenced force development in Israel, Russia and China. In 2010, Macgregor traveled to Seoul, Korea to advise the ROK Ministry of Defense on force design. In 2019, Transformation under Fire was selected by Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, Chief of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), as the intellectual basis for IDF transformation. His fifth book, Margin of Victory: Five Battles that Changed the Face of Modern War from Naval Institute Press is available in Chinese, as well as, English and will soon appear in Hebrew.

In 28 years of service Macgregor taught in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, commanded the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, and served as the Director of the Joint Operations Center at SHAPE during the 1999 Kosovo Air Campaign for which he was awarded the Defense Superior Service medal. In January 2002, at Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s insistence the USCENTCOM Commander listened to Colonel Macgregor’s concept for the offensive to seize Baghdad. The plan was largely adopted, but assumed no occupation of Iraq by U.S. Forces.

Macgregor has also testified as an expert witness before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and appeared as a defense analyst on Fox News, CNN, BBC, Sky News and public radio. He is fluent in German.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Strategic Investor and Co-Founder of Bastion Asset Management, Michael Gentile to the show. Michael maintains a strongly bullish long-term outlook on gold, viewing the recent price consolidation from its highs as a normal pullback within a broader bull market. He emphasizes that his conviction is backed by significant personal capital deployment, having made his largest-ever quarterly allocation to junior mining companies during the recent downturn. He argues that the fundamental drivers for gold remain firmly intact, pointing to unsustainable global debt levels and a revolt in the bond markets as investors increasingly seek hard assets over devaluing paper currencies. He anticipates that central banks will eventually be forced to intervene to suppress bond yields, an action he believes will serve as turbo fuel for gold prices.

Gentile sees a historic opportunity in junior mining equities, which he believes are dramatically undervalued relative to the gold price. He explains that while all-in mining margins have expanded massively, the market is still pricing many in-ground ounces at the same low levels seen when margins were a fraction of what they are today. Recent high-profile acquisitions at valuations of five to six hundred dollars per ounce validate his thesis that a significant re-rating is possible for quality assets currently trading at a steep discount.

His investment strategy focuses on identifying assets with the scale, grade, and infrastructure to become actual mines, thinking like a major mining company would. He prioritizes projects that are already economic at lower gold prices and possess substantial exploration upside. For portfolio management, he limits initial positions to one percent of his net worth, aiming for a significant ownership stake, and only allocates follow-on capital to companies that continue to execute and advance toward becoming a mine. He also highlights his efforts to create synergies by marketing his portfolio companies collectively to investors.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:00:46 – Gold Price Consolidation

00:03:20 – Recent Mining Investments

00:06:43 – Bond Markets Driving Gold

00:11:25 – Central Bank Gold Buying

00:14:30 – Money Supply Acceleration

00:18:15 – Global Debt Problems

00:20:40 – Gold Miners Leverage Opportunity

00:26:24 – Company Selection Criteria

00:30:16 – Portfolio Management Strategy

00:36:00 – Metal Prices & Margins

00:39:24 – Commodities and Derisking

00:42:24 – Reallocating Capital

00:48:35 – European Roadshow Details

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gentile-01028552

Website: https://www.bastion-am.com/

Mining & Metals European Roadshow: https://saturdaymorningmining.subscribepage.io/

Michael Gentile, CFA is Founding Partner & Senior Portfolio Manager at Bastion Asset Management. Before founding BAM, Michael was Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at Formula Growth Ltd for over 17 years. Michael co-managed the FG Alpha Fund (US SMid equity market neutral) between 2012 and 2018, co-managed the FG Focus Fund (US SMid long short strategy) between 2014 and 2018. Since leaving FG in 2018, Michael has been very successful investing in the gold sector also acting as Strategic Advisor and Director for several companies in the natural resource sector. Michael graduated with Great Distinction from the John Molson School of Business (Concordia University) with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and received the Calvin Potter Fellowship from Concordia’s Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation (CFA)

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Economist and Senior Fellow from the Mises Institute, Dr. Mark Thornton. He paints a dire picture of the global economy, arguing that widespread socialist policies are driving governments to extreme borrowing, money printing, and protectionism. He points to the trade war and real conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as direct consequences, which have disrupted diesel, crude oil, and fertilizer production. This creates a global pinch on agriculture and mining, threatening food supplies and crop yields, while strategic energy reserves are depleted, leaving economies vulnerable. The resulting higher fuel and food prices are squeezing consumers worldwide, whose wages are failing to keep pace with inflation, leading to a systematic harm of the working class while asset bubbles benefit the wealthy.

The discussion turns to the unsustainable sovereign debt bubble, with Dr. Thornton noting that when government debt exceeds 100% of GDP, economies become trapped, risking either a deflationary depression or a hyperinflationary collapse. He sees the current fiat money system as steering toward the latter, especially if central banks are forced to monetize debt to suppress rising yields. Unlike the post-World War II era, when the U.S. grew out of its debt through demobilization and global demand, today’s conditions make a similar escape unlikely without drastic government restructuring.

On a more constructive note, Dr. Thornton is bullish on gold and silver, citing fundamental support from ongoing central bank purchases and restricted mining supply. He anticipates that once short-term speculators re-enter the market, precious metals and mining stocks could see a significant upswing. He also suggests the possibility of a government-led gold revaluation as a short-term political tactic, though it would not solve long-term structural problems.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:12 – Socialist Policies Driving Crisis

00:04:36 – Middle East Energy Disruptions

00:08:18 – Global Supply Chain Pressures

00:12:40 – Food Supply and Agriculture Risks

00:18:00 – Consumer Squeeze and Debt

00:23:50 – Government Debt Bubble Analysis

00:28:36 – Hyperinflation Risks Ahead

00:33:55 – Post-WWII Debt Lessons

00:39:23 – Gold Bull Market Drivers

00:49:33 – US Gov’t and Rising Gold

00:53:08 – Mises Institute Wrap Up

Guest Links:
Website: https://mises.org
X: https://x.com/DrMarkThornton
E-Mail: mailto:mthornton@mises.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mark+thornton+minor+issues

Dr. Mark Thornton is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and formerly held the Peterson-Luddy Chair in Austrian Economics. He hosts the podcasts Minor Issues and Unanimity and is Book Review Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. His books include The Economics of Prohibition, Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation, The Bastiat Collection, and The Skyscraper Curse.

He has served on multiple editorial boards, taught economics at several universities, and worked as Assistant Superintendent of Banking and adviser to Alabama Governor Fob James. He holds degrees from St. Bonaventure University and Auburn University and has debated the “War on Drugs” at the Oxford Union.

Dr. Thornton has been featured in major outlets such as The Economist, Forbes, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, along with numerous international and regional newspapers. His commentary appears regularly on the Mises Institute’s platforms and on programs such as Boom-Bust, the Tom Woods Show, and the Scott Horton Show.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Doomberg to the show. Doomberg is the Head Writer For The Doomberg Team and the Creator of the Doomberg Substack. Doomberg analyzes the escalating geopolitical risks following the significant damage to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a critical artery for crude oil exports. He argues that while the initial closure of the Strait of Hormuz did not cause the expected price shock, the pipeline attack pushes an already stressed system into a red zone, with Brent crude nearing demand destruction levels. The core risk, however, extends beyond oil flows.

Doomberg describes Arab Gulf states as metastable constructs propped up by the illusion of U.S. military hegemony. The rapid territorial gains by the Houthis in Yemen represent a potential catalyst for a sudden collapse of this perceived stability, where the common knowledge that a regime is weak can trigger rapid, systemic change. He suggests the possibility of a Saudi leadership crisis, such as MBS fleeing, is a low-probability but enormously consequential event that markets may be underpricing.

The discussion shifts to the war in Ukraine, where Doomberg predicts a devastating Russian strike on energy infrastructure, citing public Russian military orders and U.S. intelligence warnings. He notes that attacks on refineries paradoxically cap crude oil prices while causing diesel crack spreads to explode, as refineries are the sole customers for crude. This dynamic, combined with refineries running at dangerous capacity, creates acute tightness in refined products.

Doomberg emphasizes that in conflicts, victory often belongs to the side with higher pain tolerance, and he assesses that Iran and the Houthis can endure far more hardship than Western consumers. He warns that the convergence of these crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, alongside reckless rhetoric from NATO-aligned nations, creates a genuine risk of uncontrollable global escalation.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:00:54 – Saudi Pipeline Attack Analysis

00:03:12 – Metastable Gulf States Risks

00:09:53 – Houthi Advances and Maps

00:20:40 – Russia Ukraine Energy Strikes

00:27:48 – Pain Tolerance in Wars

00:34:09 – Refineries and Crack Spreads

00:43:57 – China Oil Demand Shifts

00:46:10 – Alberta Natural Gas Outlook

00:47:17 – The Doomberg Substack

Guest Links:

Substack: https://doomberg.substack.com

X: https://x.com/DoombergT

Website: https://doomberg.com

Doomberg is the anonymous publishing arm of a bespoke consulting firm providing advisory services to family offices and c-suite executives. Its principals apply their decades of experience across heavy industry, private equity, and finance to deliver innovative thinking and clarity to complex problems.