Video: ‘Positive, not frothy’ Denver Gold Group’s Tim Wood says on disciplined upcycle

The mood at Mining Forum Americas in Colorado Springs was “very positive, but not frothy at all,” due to the cautious approach of most attendees and investors, Denver Gold Group executive director Tim Wood said last month.

The group added just five companies to the list of Mining Forum Americas attendees this year but focused on buyers, lifting the investor ratio on the floor, he said in an interview in Colorado Springs.

“Investors are up almost 40%,” Wood told The Northern Miner, while member companies kept delegations tight – discipline he also saw in deal-making. Equity markets have rallied off near-historic lows, but miners are avoiding the “bad deals” seen a decade ago as better-quality financings start to clear, he said.

On capital allocation, Wood argues against buybacks, favouring returns built from operations and a measured push into exploration. He expects seniors to take more risk on greenfields and brownfields work and sees scope for district-scale consolidation where “over-capitalization” has crept in.

The main brake on newly mined gold supply growth is permitting, he said.

“Permitting is not getting shorter or easier in most jurisdictions,” Wood says, though he points to recent U.S. efforts to speed files and a broader “reshoring” mindset from mining through refining. He’s also watching new standards from the World Gold Council and the arrival of generalist and crypto-adjacent capital.

Watch the full interview below with The Northern Miner’s Western Editor, Henry Lazenby.