Barbecue season is upon us, what with summer around the corner and COVID-19 restrictions being eased.

That means that apart from cleaning the BBQ and getting the outdoor umbrella out of the shed, Garimpeiro needs to get ready with a list of potential high-impact exploration stocks to watch in the coming weeks and months.

Teachers at a BBQs get asked about good and bad schools, real estate agents about the property market, Sportsbet operatives about racing tips, and mechanics about car problems. Garimpeiro gets asked for junior stock tips.

Come up with some winners, and it could be the difference between being served up a sausage or a steak next year. This year, the pressure is on because of the huge value uplifts for De Grey (ASX:DEG) and Chalice (ASX:CHN) in response to their respective discoveries.

Garimpeiro always warns that investment in the juniors is high-risk and that rather than listening to what he has to say, anyone looking to have a punt on an exploration stock is best advised to seek expert advice that is appropriate to their circumstances.

So, today’s list of six juniors that Garimpeiro has come up with are not recommendations. They are just names on the ASX that have exposure to exploration programs which might – or might not – excite in the weeks and months ahead.

If there is a common theme to them it is that most have big name miners funding the exploration programs. They are banking on any discoveries being enough to move the dial for them and have usually structured their “farm-in’’ agreements so they end up with 70% of the action.

There is nothing wrong with that from the junior company’s perspective. While De Grey and Chalice did it by themselves, more often than not a big discovery requires deeper pockets than the average junior has.

London’s Greatland Gold is a prime example of a junior enjoying a major value uplift even if its ownership of a discovery is being reduced from 100% to eventually as low as 25%. That is happening in its farm-in deal with Newcrest.

Even so, such is the excitement around the joint venture’s Havieron discovery in Western Australia’s Paterson province, Greatland has gone from junior status to a company with a market cap of $1.6 billion.

Garimpeiro’s BBQ offerings (alphabetical)

AIC Mines (ASX:A1M, 40c): Drilling started in late September at its Lamil gold-copper prospect, 30km from Newcrest’s Telfer gold-copper mine in the Paterson. It is farming into the prospect in a deal with Rumble (ASX:RTR). Lots of pre-drill work identified Telfer, Winu (Rio Tinto in the Paterson) and Havieron-type targets.

Alderan (ASX:AL8, 10.5c): The former highflyer is back on the radar thanks to Rio Tinto expanding the scope of planned exploration at Alderan’s Frisco copper-gold-silver prospect in Utah. It comes after the first hole returned some impressive hits. Rio being Rio, Frisco’s upside must be considered big at this early stage.

Antipa (ASX:AZY, 5c): Antipa was in the Paterson long before the region shot to hotspot status with the recent Winu and Havieron discoveries. Its big ground position is now either wholly-owned or in joint ventures where Rio, Newcrest and IGO. In the JV ground, $20m will be spent in the next two years on the hunt for the next big one.

Carawine (ASX:CWX, 29c): Carawine has lots going on in the Paterson and the Fraser Range in WA. But it gets included here on the strength of its recently started drilling campaign for a big gold-copper porphyry system at its Jamieson project in eastern Victoria.

Encounter (ASX:ENR, 17.5c): Another one with lots on the go. But immediate interest is in the Yeneena copper-cobalt joint venture in which IGO is earning an interest. Some new ideas with this one, and first results in January.

Rumble (ASX:RTR, 13c): Also has lots on the go, including the Lamil joint venture mentioned above. Watch, though, what might come from the Thunderstorm gold joint venture project with IGO in the Fraser Range.

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