Investors/CEOs Biggest Lessons From 2024 & Goals For 2025
At the end of every year I ask CEOs & investors across the metals & mining sector what they learned in the year just passed - I find this to be a useful exercise and enjoy reading the responses
At the end of every year I ask CEOs & investors across the metals & mining sector what they learned in the year just passed, and what they are committed to in the new year. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, however, I do believe that the turning of the page to a new year offers an opportunity for reflection and assessment.
As financial market participants we can easily see what our results were, where we erred, and where we were successful. CEOs might be able identify something they could have done differently, and a way to fix it in 2025.
The responses I received varied from succinct to verbose, from simple to in-depth, and from frustration and regret to gratitude and optimism. Here are the responses, beginning with my own:
Goldfinger
My biggest lessons in 2024 were:
Discovery is a process, it’s not linear. There will be bumps along the way and there will be times when it seems as if the dream is gone. Being able to see through the clouds can be challenging at times, sometimes it requires a big leap of faith. Sometimes that leap of faith will be rewarded handsomely, other times it will look foolish. Always be aware of the risk and the likelihood of failure, but also remember that dreamers and inventors are the ones who create magic in the World.
Magic is worth the risk of failure.
Quiet time for reflection and deep thinking is priceless.
Keep moving.
Health is wealth.
My biggest goal for 2025 is to identify 10x discovery stock ideas and write about them for my readers and viewers across platforms (CEO.ca, Substack, etc.).
As a novice PM investor still learning about sector:
Lessons in 2024: Day 1 of 2024 taught me a great lesson from BIG.V - book your profits when there is bullish euphoria. While I have been holding BIG since September 2023, not taking winnings in December 2023 was a mistake. I corrected this aspect in the second half of 2024 . Now, I take profits when a stock has gone on a run (like BARU) & redistribute it in the portfolio.
Resolution for 2025:
I) With macros declining , I want to be more agile than ever. If there’s a recession, to go defensive at the earliest possibility.
2) Only be with the momentum- i.e. have a smaller portfolio , get in & get out of stocks based on momentum trading (on a weekly chart). Don’t fight trend and be in mining stocks where primary metal is having tailwinds.
Ian Harris, CEO of Libero Copper
This year, the most memorable moment was finally seeing drill core coming down from Mocoa, after a multi-year effort to build trust with local communities and establish the national reputation critical for advancing a major copper project. That single act—watching drill core come in—symbolized countless hours of engagement, planning, and faith in a respect-driven strategy. Perhaps even more telling was an unexpected gift on a recent trip to Montclair: a humble “energy bar” made by local producers who felt proud to be part of our journey. I look forward to sharing that full story with you in an upcoming X Space.
Going into 2025, I’m fully committed to giving Mocoa all the attention it deserves. Our goal is not just to expand a resource, but to build on the foundation we established—day by day, meter by meter—to transform Mocoa into a globally recognized copper project. I’m thankful for the incredible people who believed in this vision from the beginning, and I intend to reward that belief by taking us even further in the new year.
We’ve proven that meaningful partnerships and genuine values can deliver results as powerfully as any drill bit. Now, with 2024’s progress as our launch pad, I’m confident 2025 will be a breakthrough year—one that truly showcases just how far Libero Copper can go.
My biggest lesson in 2024 is that I’m not untouchable by failure and mistakes.
My goal is gratitude.
Easily the clipto currency market exploding higher in November marked the top. I have a friend invested in XRP, just one of the 15,000 Electronic Beanie Babies, at a loss for most of the time she owned it. On November 11th XRP showed a price of $.62 in USD. Three weeks later on December 2nd XRP clocked at $2.71 for a 337% gain in three weeks.
Since no investment in recorded history gained 337% gain in three weeks when nothing else changed, I believe we have seen the final gasp of the biggest bubble and fraud in history. The current $3.33 trillion of all clipto currencies is about to fly off to clipto heaven.
I’d like to believe that the clipto bubble will join the stock market bubble, the real estate bubble, and the bond market bubble as those markets begin a crash back to reality. Since all those markets sucked the air out of the junior resource market, making those shares look like dried up prunes, and me looking like a fool for following them, I will remember the most classic line in investing.
All things change.
By the way, I just invented that.
It was my first year trying to learn the sector. I learned:
Who to trust on CEO.CA and who not to, and how to recognize hype and pump.
With my lack of knowledge, I have to deep dive and should only hold 4 to 5 stocks at a time in the junior mining space.
I need to invest the rest of my cash assets for 2025 in something stable (probably ETFs).
Good relationships can be built online (mostly in the Trading Lab).
YouTube is my best way to understand a Jr Miner. I can't just look at investor presentations.
I've been a very emotional trader since the kids were born. I've learned to recognize that and kill it. Hopefully it goes away with more sleep.
I could probably keep going but that's enough.
David D’Onofrio, CEO of White Gold Corp
2024 and 2023 for that matter were certainly interesting years in the resources sector in which we saw dynamic prices swings in various directions for several commodities. This was also layered with the politicizing of many commodities as well. Sometimes the markets reacted as one might expect, and sometimes it didn’t and many times there was hardly any reaction at all. We also saw that many of the “traditional” investors or pools of capital that one would have expected to have seen participating were not. So as a commodities sector it certainly made for some challenges and the need to look for alternatives. We clearly are in unusual times. With that said, new challenges can open the door to new opportunities. And we have started to see more of that (by necessity, and I think that is a trend that will (and may need to) continue.
With that said however, as time passed, it started to feel like the commodities and junior equities did start to migrate to what we may consider the value mean (albeit it very slowly in some cases and maybe just starting, with others, with several starts and stops along the way). Yet for many companies (or most) perhaps there has not been any movement yet. So too early to tell how everything shakes out, but feels more and more like a broader consensus is forming that commodity companies have been overlooked from a value perspective, which hopefully is the first step to seeing more capital coming into the sector. If/when that happens, I believe we will see the good assets in good places come in to focus first. That is an old lesson. But this is a very cyclical industry, if you can stay patient, (and solvent), there has been a reward. The big question everyone is asking is what is the catalyst to really kick this off. Everyone seems to be waiting for a FOMO event. What that will be, who knows. Maybe more M&A, maybe sector rotation, political positioning, or other?
With that said, the conviction remains high and the game plan is to keep focusing on where the puck is going and supporting quality opportunities and be in the right position for when the time comes.
The rise in gold metals price was welcome, but it did not translate to the Jr Mining equities. That was frustrating.
Many of the stocks I have owned that have made significant returns also got cut in half quickly, Great Bear is one example.
When to sell? As these stocks are very speculative, they have the chance of halving, or going to a ten bagger. Or both.
I struggle with that. The volatility can be daunting at times.
I am learning from the Lab every day.
2024 showed me a stark reality:
Metals demand and prices hit record highs while public education and interest scraped bottom. These polar opposites define our biggest challenge. We saw glimpses of how to bridge this gap - Hycroft teaching Redditors about silver in EVs, Idris Elba exploring bank vaults and mines worldwide with the World Gold Council. But we're up against a massive misinformation machine - Netflix, HBO, Disney and more. From movies to theme park rides, they consistently portray mining as a destructive force driven by corporate greed. I shared some recent examples here: https://x.com/ceodotca/status/1873046986099966245
Here's what gives me hope for 2025:
The democratization of media is finally letting us fight back. Millions of educated voices are helping shed light on the materials that power our world. So, my commitment is simple - contribute more to the cause. More site footage, more deep dives, more raw updates. Breaking down educational barriers to help generalists not only understand what we do but relish it.
The narrative needs to swing back to what matters most – the treasure hunt. We are modern day explorers, but red tape and the sins of our fathers have clouded this. It's time to take it back. We need to use every platform we have to share why what we do matters. Bring a camera or drone to your project, share what drives you, highlight some shenanigans – projects don't connect with people, stories do. And while there's an art to this, there's never been a better time in history with all our available technology to show the world what we're really about. Because if we don't step up our game in telling mining's real story, their narrative will keep drowning us out. Grateful for a community that understands the stakes and keeps pushing back against the noise.
My biggest lessons in 2024 were:
1) Big money is not necessarily the smart money. This notion goes further once regulatory constraints and career risk at institutions are considered with regards to making "highly risky" moves looking for outsized returns.
2) Great returns are rarely made in just buying the best or just good things. It is crucial to buy things well, even if that means you might be a bit early to the party.
3) Position sizing and portfolio construction are just as important as the positions themselves. Small institutions and retail investors should exploit their inherent flexibility to make portfolio decisions and put themselves in situations big parties can't. To steal from Soros: "It's not whether you're right or wrong, but how much you make when you're right and how much you lose when you're wrong".
4) It is true that a good chunk of broad success in venture capital comes down to people. But focusing solely on "betting on people" implies that someone else has a bigger desire to provide returns for you as an investor than yourself. If you're looking for outsized returns mostly uncorrelated to the underlying market, bet on facts and things that can't change. Rocks can't be bent, but people can.
My biggest priorities for 2025 are to keep providing value to my company and to my network. I expect some of this to be tangible as early as next quarter.
Michael Carr, CEO of Bitterroot Resources
Here are a few macro-oriented things that I learned/observed in the difficult year that was 2024;
The good news was that the TSX-V Index seems to have stopped going down, after it fell off a cliff in April 2022 and bottomed(?) in the Q4 2023 to Q3 2024 period. I hope I don’t regret calling a “TSX-V bottom “ in 2024.
The TSX-V is slowly regaining its footing with Q4 2024 daily volumes in the +/-160 million shares/day range, up from 100 million/day in the first half of 2024. Getting over the 200 million/day level will be necessary for a sustainable TSX-V rally.
Retail investors are slowly coming back, but we still need much more retail participation. Upside momentum and increased trading volumes will bring the Institutional players back. I feel like it is 2002 all over again.
Geopolitical risk for miners and explorers is significantly elevated/increasing these days, which makes road-accessible areas of Canada and USA even more attractive places for juniors to explore.
Commodities and metals are being weaponized. Sudden, unexpected shifts in metal markets and metal prices are likely to happen in 2025-26 due to supply and demand being impacted by overt and stealth wars. China and Russia will continue their considerable efforts to undermine western economies and western political stability. These are dangerous times. All metals are “critical “ in times of war.
I am cautiously optimistic on the junior resource markets in 2025, as precious and base metals will continue to be in high demand and metals prices should continue to grind upwards. Unexpected supply disruptions are likely. Expect volatility.
The TSX-V should finally start to reflect rising metals prices in 2025. Patience and perseverance are required.
My goal in 2025 is simply to finance and get drills turning in Nevada and Michigan once again. Discoveries are made by drilling, so let's not be afraid to drill.
Well, it has been one of those years. Only junior mining investors truly know how bad a "good year" can be. Even with some nice wins, I feel rather empty because the year-end correction was too painful. Additionally, the constant pointing out of the obvious—how bad this sector is, even with gold at all-time highs—by various analysts and content creators is exhausting.
However, there’s also a positive side to this. All these years have taught me to be resilient. Despite the constant challenges in this sector, I feel humble and grateful when I’m part of a good discovery, a company running a profitable operation, or a successful turnaround story.
Tara Christie, CEO of Banyan Gold
Biggest Lesson of 2024: Diversify and remember to balance your risk, when possible. This year, my two largest investments in the mining sector were in Victoria Gold and Banyan, and while I remain confident in the potential of Banyan and for the Eagle project to go back into production, I’ve learned the importance of managing risk. As much as I believe that a CEO should have "skin in the game" — a meaningful financial stake in their company — having two major investments in the same jurisdiction can create unnecessary concentration risk. Any single jurisdiction carries inherent risks — from political instability to permitting challenges and changes in access — all of which can evolve over time.
The decision to invest in two companies within a single jurisdiction was based on my deep commitment to Yukon, long history, family connections and belief in building businesses that can benefit all stakeholders. My dedication to the Yukon and my commitment to advance projects that benefit everyone involved remains steadfast. That saying I still have many investments in Yukon companies, just not as big.
Reflecting on this during the Christmas holidays, I was reminded of the story of the three Magi (wise men), who brought gold to the infant Jesus. Gold has always been viewed as a store of wealth, a gift fit for a king. This symbolic value still holds true today, with gold prices reflecting its enduring worth. However, junior explorers have not yet fully realized this value, despite the current gold market environment.
Biggest Goal for 2025: There is no playbook for a CEO navigating the external challenges that impacted Banyan in 2024. Looking ahead to 2025, my primary focus will be on demonstrating the true value of our 7 million ounces of gold resources, which start right at surface, with existing infrastructure like roads and hydro power already on the property. Our PEA, due in 2025, will provide a detailed picture of the value inherent in our existing resource. Unlike many “flash-in-the-pan” projects, Banyan is focused on building lasting value. We’re not just about a quick return or speculative drilling — our project has the foundations for long-term development and real potential for mine construction. We believe the upside remains significant, and my goal for the year is to unlock that value for our shareholders and demonstrate the sustainable, long-term potential of our assets.
Chad Peters, CEO of Ridgeline Minerals
My biggest lesson in 2024 was realizing that no matter how good of a deal we cut with a major, the only catalyst in a tough market that will support a higher market cap for a junior like us is a big discovery.
In 2025, we expect to see the largest exploration budget in company history, the majority of which will be funded by our partners, and we expect the Swift and Selena projects to be major catalysts for the company this year. However, we will also be shifting our focus back to drilling our own projects with the goal of making a new discovery. We will start drilling Big Blue starting in March and we have high expectations for this maiden program.
Biggest lesson from 2024 - One of the core principles of investing is to “never risk more than you can afford to lose,” and I’ve always made it a point to follow that rule. However, in 2024 I learned that principle needs a slight adjustment: “Never risk more than you can afford to lose, or invest more than you can emotionally detach from for a set period of time.” Exploration stories can take years to unfold, and even if you can afford to lose what you've invested, it's crucial to consider the opportunity cost. I’ve had to pass on some promising stories because I overallocated to a conviction pick and I won’t make that mistake again.
Biggest goal for 2025 - I'm looking to step out of my comfort zone and explore new sectors. Commodities have been out of favour for over a decade, and in my opinion, the bull market has yet to begin. Sector rotation works both ways though, so when that bull market begins to wind down, I’ll be ready to shift my focus and seek out the next investment opportunity.
I would like to thank all of those who took the time to respond and I acknowledge your authenticity. Happy New Year to all of you and may 2025 be filled with Magic for you, your loved ones, and fellow shareholders!
DISCLAIMER: The work included in this article is based on current events, technical charts, company news releases, corporate presentations and the author’s opinions. It may contain errors, and you shouldn’t make any investment decision based solely on what you read here. This publication contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to comments regarding predictions and projections. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. This article is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always thoroughly do your own due diligence and talk to a licensed investment adviser prior to making any investment decisions. Junior resource companies can easily lose 100% of their value so read company profiles on www.SEDAR.com for important risk disclosures. It’s your money and your responsibility.