By James Kwantes
Published first at Patreon.com
Muddy Waters founder Carson Block pitched Snowline Gold (SGD-T) as a long idea on Nov. 19 at the Sohn London Investment Conference. The stock had closed the previous day at $12.04.
Snowline shares have since climbed about 30%, far outpacing gold (up 3.5%) and the GDXJ (up 10.7%) over the same time frame. Today the stock graduated from the Venture exchange to the TSX.
Muddy Waters is best-known for short bets such as Sino-Forest, a TSX-listed Chinese forestry company that travelled from a $6-billion market cap to zero after publication of a June 2011 MW report describing it as a "multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme." But Carson Block, below, is no stranger to gold.
Snowline is not Muddy Waters' first long gold play, but may be its highest-profile. Others have included GT Gold, purchased for $400 million by Newmont, and Mayfair Gold (MFG-V). More on Mayfair a bit later.
MONEY FLOWS ARE KEY
There are alternative headlines for this article, and we can even throw in Russian doll edits.
Money Moves Stocks
U.S. Money Moves Stocks
Big U.S. Money Moves Small Stocks
Big Respected U.S. Money Moves Small Stocks
Big Respected U.S. Money Moves Small Stocks Bigly
You get the idea, and it's a theme I've touched on before, including here: Shark Into a Swimming Pool | July 15, 2025. Understanding money flows is key to junior mining investing.
Carson Block makes the case for Snowline Gold
I first wrote about Snowline Gold at Patreon back on March 14, 2023. The stock was trading at $2.76 and B2Gold had just bought in: Back to Gold: Once Upon a Time in the Yukon | March 14, 2023.
Muddy Waters' point man on the junior mining sector is Darren McLean, a Muddy Waters consultant and former vice-president at Toronto-based fund K2 & Associates.
A Smart New Voice: Darren McLean of Muddy Waters | June 4, 2025
THAT OTHER MUDDY WATERS GOLD LONG
McLean is also chairman of Mayfair Gold, a gold development company that Muddy Waters literally controls. The hedge fund took control of Mayfair after a public proxy battle, covered here, that saw previous management ousted. Other hedge funds have jumped in, including Howard Marks's Oaktree Capital and Heeney Capital.
Mayfair has the Fenn-Gib gold deposit in Timmins, Ontario, which hosts 4.3 million ounces of open-pittable gold, Indicated, at an average grade of 0.74 g/t gold (0.3 g/t cutoff), as well as a higher-grade starter pit.
The company, helmed by Nick Campbell (formerly of SilverCrest Metals, Artemis Gold), is working on a prefeasibility study scheduled for release in the next month or two. Mayfair is targeting an initial 4,800 tpd operation yielding about 75,000 high-margin ounces of gold annually, with further ramp-ups likely.
Mayfair shares have increased only about 9.5% since Carson Block's Snowline Gold pitch. Fenn-Gib is not the deposit that Snowline's Valley gold deposit is; importantly, it's not nearly as remote, either. Fenn-Gib is a little-known gold asset that was stranded in the portfolios of large gold miners for several years. Location, location, location: the Fenn-Gib deposit is along a highway outside of Timmins, Ontario, one of Canada's premier gold mining districts.
Go Time for Mayfair Gold? | Oct. 31, 2024
Carson Block's lesser-known long gold idea might be worth a look at these levels.
Mayfair Gold (MFG-V)
Price: $2.30
Shares out: 133.5 million (134.4M fully diluted)
Market cap: $307 million
Snowline Gold (SGD-T)
Price: $15.70
Shares out: 173 million (184.3M fully diluted)
Market cap: $2.7 billion
Disclosure: James Kwantes owns shares of Snowline Gold and Mayfair Gold. No business relationship with any company mentioned. This is not financial advice and all investors need to do their own due diligence.
