Following is a recent discussion with Justin O’Connell in which we talk about how rapidly the West is changing and on the bobo culture and utopian expectations of those in the Silicon Valley:

On Investments

I recently read a fabulous book, “What Became of the Crow” by Robert Moriarty, a no holds barred account of the dealings— including the dirty ones—and the psychology and personalities of those in the mining industry. I met Mr. Moriarty on a trip to the Beaton’s Creek project of Novo Resources. The story is written with Novo, Dr. Quinton Hennigh, the Pilbara area, and a well-known Australian mining entrepreneur, Mark Creasy, as the fulcrum.

“Quinton Hennigh’s primary strength is his uncanny ability to think laterally; to view things from a different perspective,” says Mr. Moriarty. No wonder, “you love him, or you hate him.” Dr. Hennigh has theorized about the genesis of gold in the Pilbara area, where Novo controls an extensive land package and, now, a producing mine.

I have rarely seen a book on the mining industry. If you are interested in it and what goes on inside it, I seriously recommend “What Became of the Crow.”

Novo Resources (NVO; C$1.58) has been beaten down by troubles at the processing facility, which for a start-up operation is not only expected but made worse by supply chain problems and the lack of mobility of skilled labour. In my view, NVO currently trades at what it would have had it nothing else than the current mining operations. As an investor, I get a vast prospective area—including Karratha Gold Project and Egina—for free.