The Biggest Gold Bull Market We'll Ever See? - Brien Lundin | Sprott Money

[00:00:01][music] [music] >> Hello again from Sprott Money and SprottMoney.com.

[00:00:15]We're now into the middle part of June 2026, and that means it's time for your monthly ask the expert segment. I'm your host Craig Hemke, and joining me this month is Brian London.

[00:00:28]Uh many of you will recognize Brian from his great work with his newsletters, and of course the famous uh always must attend New Orleans Investment Conference.

[00:00:37]I'm going to pick Brian's brain about what's going on in the metals as well over the course of the next 20 minutes or so. Brian, thank you so much for joining me.

[00:00:44]>> Great to be with you, Craig. I have always been such a huge fan of what you do and your contributions to metals investors all over the place. So, I hope you don't mind. I may ask you more questions than you ask me. So.

[00:00:59]>> [laughter] >> Fair warning.

[00:01:01]>> Well, you're very kind and generous uh with your words. I appreciate that. It has We've certainly been at it for a long time, Brian, and uh uh hopefully we can keep at it for a while longer, but the current times notwithstanding, it has been mostly mostly fun uh to be following these things. You have, just so people know, uh you run uh and produce a couple of great newsletters, uh the Gold Newsletter and the Golden Opportunities Newsletter. Let's start there. Tell everybody a little bit about that.

[00:01:32]>> Yeah, Gold Newsletter is actually the longest-running investment newsletter uh I believe in the world. I'm going to claim that until somebody proves me wrong, but it was started essentially on August 15th, 1971. You know that date well, when it closed the gold window, severed the the dollar's last connection with with gold. Uh a guy named Jim Blanchard, who was a school teacher at the time, heard uh Nixon's address on the radio and decided to do something about it. At the time, it was illegal to own gold, uh which it just seems so ridiculous now today, but it was and uh he thought it was ridiculous, obviously, and he saw the inflationary implications in the coming dollar devaluation uh that would come and so he decided to lobby for the right return of the right of gold ownership to American citizens so they could protect themselves. And his main tool in doing that was a newsletter called Gold Newsletter, which he sent out from his kitchen table to try and raise funds for the lobbying effort. Did a lot of crazy things to uh uh to advance that effort and Gold Newsletter over the years evolved from a kind of a lobbying uh uh uh publication to an investment publication as it actually became legal to do that in the US. Uh along the way when in 1974, when we knew that it was uh that we were going to be successful, he was going to be successful in getting gold legalized, he decided to have an investment conference to teach Americans how to invest in gold. That has evolved over the years into the New Orleans Investment Conference and that in turn is the longest running investment event in the world today. So, I uh was uh hired as a junior copywriter for Jim in the in the 1980s and um kind of survived all of the iterations of of that and the events and world events and Jim and I was running the organization for Jim and his business partner when he passed away in 1999 and I've been kind of solely running it and trying to burnish its legacy of all those of uh those uh uh organizations and the like since then. Golden Opportunities is a free letter that we put out there. Uh, Gold Newsletter is subscription-based and I focus on a lot of junior mining opportunities, a lot of stock picks and coverage in there.

[00:04:06]Uh, Golden Opportunities, we don't have stock picks, but I do have market commentary twice a week. And uh, one or two times a week we focus on an advertising issue where we focus on one junior mining company stories. So, a lot of great opportunities are presented in that through its ads, but you also get my ongoing market commentary commentaries. So, so there you go. That's what I do.

[00:04:30]>> So, uh, to register for either, uh, like that the just even that free email, you got a website you can uh, lay on people?

[00:04:38]>> Yeah, you can go to goldnewsletter.com to learn more about Gold Newsletter and to register for Golden Opportunities.

[00:04:45]You also get our 40-some-odd page uh, investors guide to gold and silver, uh, which is very uh, valuable and completely objective uh, kind of a starter on investing in the sector.

[00:05:00]And you can go to neworleansconference.com to see our great uh, lineup of speakers, you among them, I might add this year.

[00:05:08]Uh, but it's coming up this fall, October 28th to 31st. Um, and uh, the speakers we have are the best in the industry. I think everybody agrees on that. Uh, you'll see maybe two or three of our speakers at other conferences, but you won't see 30, and that's what we bring to the table.

[00:05:30]>> But uh, you definitely has a reputation as the best, uh, especially when it comes to precious metals conference. Um, and again, uh, you've been doing that for a long time. Have you noticed, I mean, compared to where we were 10 years ago, 5 years ago? Uh, is interest pretty regular? Has it picked up as of late?

[00:05:50]is interest pretty >> have picked up. You know, this is you know, every history rhymes and every bull market in the metals I've seen a few now. I've lived through every bull market in gold in human history because before 19 1970s it was money. It wasn't a store of asset. Some would argue and I would that it's still money, but >> Right.

[00:06:16]>> Uh, you know, if you look at every bull market cycle, they all have certain common characteristics.

[00:06:26]Uh, but they're also different to some extent and this one is absolutely unique. It has a lot of characteristics that we've never seen before. We've never seen central banks driving the bus for the first 18 months or so. You know, where you really never had a correction. You just had a pause, you know, and sideways action worked off in time and then off you go again.

[00:06:49]And because of that and because central banks don't buy silver, they don't buy mining stocks, those typical levers to gold were lagging instead of leading the move and and that's been interesting, but it's also created a tremendous opportunity in that investors have had the luxury of an in place bull market and pricing as if there wasn't in the typical levers. So, they're able to pick up silver cheaply and mining stocks cheaply relative to the gold price.

[00:07:20]That's been the the big characteristic, I think, and the defining characteristic of this bull market. Um, I think it partly because of that, I think, is the biggest and the most potentially rewarding one that will ever we've ever had and perhaps we'll ever see because at the end of this one there may be a big reset for all we know.

[00:07:42]>> That's it. Yeah, that's what lies at the end of this.

[00:07:46]And I certainly don't think it's over because the mass of the debt and the deficit and the cash it takes to that they have to create to feed that beast uh certainly is slowing. However, you know, we have had a heck of a pullback since this war began back on March the 1st. Uh it's a GDX has gone from 117 to a low of 73.

[00:08:09]Uh that seems to be a little overdone uh or is it not overdone? Maybe it's telling us where the metals are headed.

[00:08:15]What do you make of the last 100 days or so that we've had in the shares?

[00:08:19]>> You know, it it's absolutely overdone.

[00:08:21]You know, the old adage is if you're in a bull market, buy the dips. That's this I think for the mining stocks and and for silver is one of those opportunities that the market is providing us. The you know, I I started off by saying how different it was with the by being driven by central banks and that steady level of buying.

[00:08:41]But sometime around the late summer uh of last year, we started to see Western investors really get involved.

[00:08:48]If you look at at uh the GDX divided by gold, you see on August 1st last year, all of a sudden it started massively outperforming gold. Then you had uh Powell's uh Jackson Hole speech where he said, "Well, we've got rate cuts coming." conceded rate cuts and you can see gold took off from there.

[00:09:10]That kind of marked the starting gun of of uh the rush or semi-rush as it turned out to be of Western investors of traders Western traders into the market and they entered primarily through um through mining stocks through silver, you know, the typical levers. So, we started to see those outperform. And in gold, they they they kind of got involved with the you know, the area that you're familiar with the futures and options markets and trying to gain leverage on that move. But they got involved and because of that we got out of that mode of steady almost relentless rise in the price to massive rallies and you know, you know, stomach-churning corrections the kind of volatility that you typically get in a market that's driven by Western traders and alike. So right now gold is a risk asset. You know, it's it's trading according to the market sentiment traders sentiment as toward Fed and Central Bank policy.

[00:10:14]So you know, the war came along and well oil prices are going up inflationary pressures more hawkish Fred Fed we sell everything. We sold stocks didn't sell AI interestingly, but you know, you sell the risk assets and gold was lumped into that as far as the traders go.

[00:10:33]And and I think that the the central banks and Asian investors as well are are instead of making the prices they started to do they're taking the price and saying, you know, if it's on sale we'll take it give us more of it and taking advantage of that. So that that buying has been evolved into more of a support for the market than a driver.

[00:10:55]And the next driver is going to be when everyone realizes that uh you know, we're we're going to have an easier money environment no matter what Warsh says no matter what the Fed says no what no matter what the macro picture may say because of that debt situation.

[00:11:14]>> And to that end, what do you make of this from Warsh? We're recording this on Thursday the 18th. So it was just yesterday.

[00:11:22]>> Mhm.

[00:11:22]>> We got our first good look at him.

[00:11:24]I've already taken to calling him Mr. Task Force because it seems like >> Right.

[00:11:29]>> he's got a task force for everything, right? It's like Anyway, I won't get into that. I'm just like whatever.

[00:11:35]Anyway, that's a whole other story.

[00:11:36]>> here we're going to form committees.

[00:11:38]>> Yeah, exactly.

[00:11:40]That's what politicians always do, right? So, they're going to have a blue ribbon panel for this and a task force for that. And I'm like, are you leading this thing or are you just looking for cover? But, I digress, Brian.

[00:11:51]Um I you know, when he was announced as the likely pick back at the end of January, uh that was one of the reasons used for rallying the dollar and and the metals getting pounded back from their all-time highs cuz he was going to be this big hawk. And I sat there and thought THERE'S NO NO WAY THIS GUY'S going to be a hawk.

[00:12:09]But, then he comes out yesterday and I'm yeah, I could not have been more wrong. He you can't mention inflation and 2% target and we're going to that's going to be the thing we got to get under control.

[00:12:18]Was it just jawboning?

[00:12:20]Uh or do you think this is really who he is? He really does think he can draw down the balance sheet and raise rates and everything else?

[00:12:27]>> I I think it's to some extent who he is.

[00:12:30]He was a critic of QE and the like.

[00:12:33]Uh and you know, was relatively as hawkish as you could be among that ilk.

[00:12:40]Uh but, it is to some degree jawboning, as you say, because of the debt. The structure of the debt is only so much he can do.

[00:12:49]These uh task force, one of their goals is going to be to rewrite the definition of inflation, which, you know, the uh they've been doing for decades anyway.

[00:13:00]>> Mhm.

[00:13:00]>> And so, rewrite that so we we we change the measuring stick a bit to get a bit of cover.

[00:13:07]Um and and that's what he uh he's going to do. That's what he has to do to get some cover.

[00:13:14]The um the issue is going to be that debt and the structural uh uh you know, requirements to pay off that debt and deficits. So, we have to have lower interest rates. We can't afford higher interest rates. And no matter what war says, you know, you have to dance with the one that brought you.

[00:13:36]And and Trump is not going going to allow uh him to start raising rates in any meaningful or long-lasting way.

[00:13:47]Uh he might get away with one rate cut, uh but he's not going to keep raising rates. And now he has the excuse of, you know, peace in the Middle East and lowering oil prices.

[00:14:00]That and the uh the emphasis on productivity gains, uh which I totally agree with in general, but it it forms more cover for him and that productivity is going to make a lot of things cheaper.

[00:14:15]Um I think he's going to have to have an easier money uh policy or stance going forward.

[00:14:22]And that that debt the debt situation and the cost of servicing that debt means that the the interest rates actually have to be below the rate of inflation. Going forward, we have to have negative real rates or the whole house of cards falls apart. And it that's just simple math at this point.

[00:14:43]>> So, it sounds to me like uh in the next edition of the Gold Newsletter, you're probably going to you're probably thinking, "Yeah, this is just weakness.

[00:14:51]This is a pullback." Um I don't like the word correction cuz it makes it correction means it you know, you did something wrong. So, therefore, we have to correct it. Uh I like the word I prefer the word pullback, but you just kind of look at this as an extended pullback. And And as you mentioned, um that Central Bank demand underpinning this certainly seems to be uh even growing now as we enter the back half of the year. Does that leave you at least optimistic that the perhaps the worst is behind us?

[00:15:20]>> Yeah. Yeah, I think in my next edition I'm going to reuse the headline that I used earlier a few months back of a washout in the Middle East and and we're going to get beyond that. I had expected that the end of a resolution in the Middle East would be the starting gun for the next rally. I kind of revised that because this resolution really wasn't much of one that MOU >> Yeah. You know.

[00:15:51]>> It really there's not much meat on the bone there.

[00:15:56]Um I think that Trump is trying to get past the midterms and he's losing the leverage and it's we're going to be back to dropping bombs or we're going to back be back to the status quo minus the Iranian army and in nuclear facilities that we were had for years. So, that I think may come back to haunt us as it were. We have seasonality coming into play right now, but that seasonality is about to turn in our in our favor. You know, gold typically when when there is a seasonal effect, gold typically bottoms between the middle of July and the middle of August. So, we're not that far away.

[00:16:40]So, I just think people need to focus on the longer term picture and look at lower prices as an opportunity.

[00:16:49]>> Certainly I know a lot of folks listening are I'm sure nodding their head in agreement. Um in the end, Brian, how do you see this playing out? Are you are you uh We're just we're in the first inning of this game. We've got a little ways to go. Do you think gold revaluation at the official level is a possibility? What ultimately how which direction do you think this ultimately plays out in?

[00:17:12]Uh when do you think this bull market does it?

[00:17:15]>> Yeah, I don't think gold revaluation does much. It cleans up the balance sheet, but you know, governments especially government that issues the world's reserve currency doesn't really worry about the balance sheet too much.

[00:17:30]Um deficits is are one thing and debt is another is is well, but you know, the having the ability to borrow at a better credit rating doesn't really matter for the US. You know, it has a lot of other reasons why it has the the best credit rating out there.

[00:17:48]Um I think there may be at some point a reset because of the you know, we've had 40 some odd years.

[00:17:55]This is my primary thesis. We've had four and a half decades going on five of ever easier money, not just easy money, but ever easier money. And because of that, we've had ever greater debt accumulation. If you know, the money's getting cheaper, well, you want to accumulate and you will accumulate ever greater debts. Now, we're we're in the end game of that, however long it lasts.

[00:18:20]At the end of it, there will be such a relatively rapid depreciation of currency purchasing power that the only way to reinstate or regain that credibility for currencies or fiat currencies would be to establish it to some sort of a reconnect to gold in some way. So, I think that's probably the end game. Whether that comes in 2 years or 20 years or more, I don't think anyone knows, but we have to recognize that trend toward a more rapid depreciation of purchasing power. That's going to mean you want to own gold, you want to own silver, and you want to own investments like mining stocks that leverage that trend.

[00:19:01]And it's really as simple as that.

[00:19:02]Everything else, you know, if you recognize that long-term trend, you want to buy the dips.

[00:19:09]And and the opportunities that the market hands you in that regard.

[00:19:14]>> Brian, you've done a great job of helping people all these decades uh through both the Gold Newsletter and that Golden Opportunities Newsletter.

[00:19:21]And certainly the conference that you organize every year at the end of October, I can't even imagine how that has helped people over the years to bring them information, fair, objective, independent information that then they can analyze for themselves and take action. I know Sprott Money is happy to work with you and it's been a pleasure getting a chance to visit with you, Brian. Uh thank you so much for your time.

[00:19:43]>> Same here, Craig. As I said, I'm a big fan. Our business model for the New Orleans conference is to bring the best to investors and I'm so happy you're joining us this year because that's part of the business model. You're the best at what you do um and uh and I'm excited that you're going to bring that to our conference this year.

[00:20:02]>> Well, that's very kind of you to say and I look forward to shaking your hand in person. Uh in the meantime, I want to thank everybody for watching. Of course, all of this content brought to you by Sprott Money and you can find great deals on precious metal and storing that precious metal at sprottmoney.com.

[00:20:20]Of course, you can also call them and talk to a human being, an actual human being. They can walk you through the process too at 888 861-0775.

[00:20:30]One last thing, hit the like or subscribe button cuz we're not done with June. There's more content to come. If you like or subscribe to whatever channel you've been watching, you'll be notified as soon as it goes live. And uh you're going to want to hear what's coming next. How do I phrase this, Brian, to let people know there's a certain uh well-regarded natural resource investor from the Great White North uh who likes to stop in uh semiannually and have a discussion. Uh Santa Claus himself may be having that discussion with me in another week or so and you're not going to want to miss it.

[00:21:08]So, hit that like or subscribe button so you can watch it as soon as it gets posted. Um anyway, Brian, thank you so much for your time. It's been great to visit with you.

[00:21:16]>> Thank you, Craig.

[00:21:18]>> And from all of us SprottMoney, sprottmoney.com, thanks for watching.

[00:21:22]And like I said, keep an eye on this channel for more content to come here in the month of June.