AmeriWest Critical Metals is the kind of micro-cap speculation that looks too small to matter—right up until you notice what’s sitting inside the story.
Doug Casey put it plainly: the market cap is “six to eight million… just about nothing,” and yet the company is rebuilding around an Oregon copper project with historic drilling that includes what he called “one spectacular drill hole… a hundred feet of 6% copper plus,” with gold and silver credits layered on top.
That mismatch—tiny valuation vs. a real, drilled deposit—is why this Roundtable is worth your time.
And it’s why the second half of the video is the real prize.
Because after CEO David Watkinson walks through the asset, the experts do what they’re supposed to do: they take turns pulling the story in opposite directions—bull case vs. bear case—until the shape of the opportunity becomes obvious.
The “bull” view: a real asset + a big upside angle
Watkinson’s core pitch is that Bornite is not a grassroots lottery ticket. It’s a breccia-pipe system with extensive historic work, and he emphasized the advantage this way: “it’s not like you’re starting from grassroots.”
The historic mine plan focused on a high-grade outer shell, but the potential upside is the interior of the pipe—material that was treated as secondary decades ago but might be economic under today’s metal prices. In his words, if the interior works, “all of a sudden… you might have 40 or 50 million tons” instead of a small, high-grade-only story.
That’s the thesis in one line: the market is pricing the company as if there’s nothing to see here, but the company shows the Bornite project is real and the company thinks it could be big enough to bring into production.
Lawrence Roulston captures the constructive version of that argument: the project “looks very attractive,” he likes the “high grade,” and he likes the concept of “getting into production near term” if the high-grade can be “backed up” by the interior—because that combination could make it a genuinely viable mining operation.
And Byron King adds a key point that helps the story: the project has been “frozen in amber for the last like 30 years,” and now it’s thawing in a world that suddenly cares a lot more about domestic copper supply. His comments are supportive, but they’re also a nudge: improve the geological “system” narrative so investors understand why this pipe exists and what it implies for expansion potential.
The “bear” view: Oregon + capex inflation + the size problem
Then mickey mercenarygeologist.com does what Mickey does: he brings the cold water, and it’s useful cold water.
He agrees it’s “a really nice deposit” but argues the company has to prove it’s bigger—because in his experience the current scale is “too small to justify the CapEx… building a mill.” He also points out the obvious political headwind: permitting in Oregon can be brutal.
Brent Cook backs him up from a different angle: even if you can get early drilling permitted, this jurisdiction is going to be a longer, harder slog than many alternatives—so you’re trading difficulty for leverage (tiny market cap, lots of torque if the story catches).
Why this still lands as a positive watch
Here’s the important part: this isn’t a story the experts “write off.”
It’s a story they argue about—because the upside is real if a few things go right.
Even in the critique, you can hear the pathway:
If the interior grades are stronger than expected, the “too small” problem changes fast.
If they can identify additional pipes, the “mine life / scale” issue changes again.
If the company executes the early technical steps quickly, the market doesn’t need a mine tomorrow—just credible progress.
That’s why Doug Casey ends up where he does: he’s “very interested in this as a speculation,” he “love[s] the low market cap,” and he calls it “a good story.” He’s not promising a mine. He’s saying the setup has the kind of asymmetric profile speculators look for—especially with a financing structure designed to give early participants leverage.
And that’s also why the post-presentation discussion is “educational and priceless”: you’re watching how experienced pros weigh grade vs. tonnage, capex reality, jurisdiction risk, and capital structure—without killing the story.
If you want the polished pitch, you’ll get it in the presentation.
If you want the real value—how smart people pressure-test a micro-cap mining thesis in real time—stay for the second half.
If your company would like the opportunity to be featured in a Doug Casey’s Experts Roundtable session, click here to speak with a member of our team.
Disclaimer: The company has paid a fee for the opportunity to sit in the ‘hot seat’ and present their story to our panel of experts; however, the opinions, analysis, and verdicts expressed by the expert panel are entirely their own, independent, and unfiltered. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investing in junior mining stocks is speculative and carries a high degree of risk. Please conduct your own due diligence and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
