Commodity Discovery Fund founder Willem Middelkoop is targeting new discoveries and mines nearing production to capture gains from a commodities rally he says could last for decades.
The Netherlands-based fund, with about $316 million (€200 million) in assets under management, invests in roughly 40 to 50 discoveries across different metals, Middelkoop said. He expects persistent supply shortages to start hitting the wider economy around 2030, while major producers are only beginning to increase their exposure to early exploration.
“Everybody thinks he will be a genius because even the lousy stocks will go up,” Middelkoop told The Northern Miner Western Editor Henry Lazenby late last month in Colorado Springs. His fund focuses on two stages of the mining cycle, or the so-called Lassonde Curve: the initial discovery, when drilling can sharply increase a company’s value, and the approach to production, when investors begin pricing in future cash flow.
The timing matters because mining shares can stagnate for years after the initial excitement of a discovery fades, even in a rising metals market, he said. His approach is to take profits after the discovery rally and seek another opportunity as construction nears completion, when investors begin valuing a company’s ability to produce metal and generate cash.
Watch the full interview below: