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"Yes, I met an old friend who I am told is now worth over $100 million. He owns control of a valuable minerals property in China. When I first met him a few years ago, he had just started the company and was eager to talk to anybody. Now people line up to talk to him.

His company was one of 16 in the silver miners group that offered hospitality in one large suite last evening. All the players were in that room " not that big really, but big enough for the likes of Hecla Mining, Silver Wheaton, Western Silver, Silvercorp, and a dozen others."

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So today, the Company (Silvercorp) sent me a news release that bears weight " if you get my drift.

I don't ever republish corporate news releases but this is a personal story, so you'll find it linked below. You see, it was several years ago that one of my closest friends, Tony Garson, now (among other interests) CEO of Great China Mining (www.GreatChinaMining.com) (OTC BB:GCHA.OB) introduced me to a young guy (Ph.D in geology) by the name of Rui Feng. They were in a China minerals prospecting play together.

Tony by the way is the former Scotiabank, Dean Witter and Canaccord mining analyst I worked closely with (two of those three firms).

Rui has a huge chunk of Silvercorp, which is getting some terrific drill results in China. Download SVM news release

The stock (TSX: SVM) has quadrupled in three months. It's almost doubled since I chatted with Rui and his VP Cathy Fong at PDAC earlier this month. And since Rui has a slug of stock, I guess his net worth has popped about $100 million more. :-)

I see that Greg Hall is a Silvercorp Director. Greg Hall and Tony Garson once were sent to London to turn around the Canaccord office there. It took them a month. Sharp guys.

Tony is the reason that I met Bob Friedland before any other broker in Toronto. Bob came to town to meet up with Tony who had been out of the country, and I was backing him up at Dean Witter. So Bob and I went to dinner and made fast friends. Bob wasn't even a millionaire at that point. Today, he is a billionaire " again because of getting control of great mineral resources properties.

In Vancouver, Tony once introduced me to another guy I now write about a lot. His name is John McCluskey of Alamos Gold (www.AlamosGold.com). At the time, John was with a deal called Grayd Resources (TSX-ven: GYD) that has worked out well, and where I think both he and Tony are still directors. I recall having beers in some downscale pub, but Tony conveniently forgets the occasion. :-)

John then took Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI) to great heights " actually he is just part the way up that rather large mountain of gold in the Sierra Madre in northern Mexico. I wonder how much of it he personally owns? :-)

Maybe that's what I did wrong. Along the way, I forgot to get myself a gold or silver mine. I certainly saw the cycle coming.

LOL

Actually, like I said at PDAC, this is like a big family.