Digest Exclusive: Priceless insight from one of the world's great resource investors...

 Today's Digest contains a very special feature. We're publishing an interview that contains this type of insight and information many people willingly pay thousands of dollars to hear... from an individual people step over themselves to get into deals with. As a Digest reader, you get it for free. Make sure to look for this interview just below today's feedback e-mails...

 The U.S. government must be reading Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig's Retirement Millionaire... After years of doctors touting the health benefits of mega doses of vitamin D and calcium supplements, a government advisory panel is warning older women against taking large doses of these supplements. The U.S. Preventative Task Force – an advisory board with the Department of Health and Human Services – says there's not enough evidence to support the supplements as a way to prevent osteoporosis.

Doc has told his readers about the dangers of these supplements for years. He's warned his readers that taking too much vitamin D and calcium can cause severe health issues… It can even be fatal. For example, in the May 2011 issue of Retirement Millionaire, Doc wrote…

The supplement business is huge. Nearly 80% of people take at least one. And close to 60% think supplements are safer than prescription or over-the-counter medications. That's a dangerous – potentially fatal – assumption. The herb and "natural" supplement market is virtually unregulated... As long as it's "natural," you can sell it without needing to prove anything about it – as long as you don't "claim to treat, mitigate, or cure any disease."

But Doc has his readers covered... Not only has he warned them about the dangers of several popular supplements on the market (you may have several in your home)... but he's told readers how they can stay healthy without the use of pills.

Each month, Doc sifts through the nonsense you hear in the mainstream media to give his readers the truth about health. And he gives readers safe, easy ways to collect income and grow their wealth. Doc's most recent special report highlights one of his favorite income-investing strategies (which he's dubbed "The Republican secret to creating wealth"). To learn more about Retirement Millionaire – and how to gain access to Doc's new report – click here.

 Digest readers are familiar with editor Frank Curzio's "Eagle Diesel" thesis… Frank, who writes our Small Stock Specialist newsletter, believes the glut in natural gas – and subsequent low prices – will lead it to become a major transportation fuel in the U.S.

Already, major companies like Ford, General Motors, and Caterpillar are developing natural-gas-powered vehicles. And it's a trend that will continue.

According to the Census Bureau, the U.S. has more than 100,000 gasoline fueling stations (to serve 234 million vehicles). But we have only 1,000 natural gas fueling stations. We'll need thousands more to support the trucking industry's switch to natural gas...

Frank has prepared a report discussing what could be one of the biggest investment opportunities of our lifetime… He has recommended a portfolio of companies that could soar hundreds of percent as America switches more of its transportation to natural gas. (In fact, he's already booked triple-digit gains on one of these companies.) But if you'd like to subscribe to Small Stock Specialist now and get immediate access to Frank's report "Eagle Diesel – America's Next Megatrend," you can click here. (You won't be sent to a long promotional video.)

 New Highs (as of 6/12/2012): SPDR Utilities Select Sector Fund (XLU), Integrys Energy Group (TEG), and Altria Group (MO).

 We love getting feedback from subscribers who learn new trading strategies, and make great money, like the gentleman below... Send your feedback, good or bad, to feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

 "Porter, Thank you and your association for waking me up to options... Recently Chesapeak (CHK) dropped $8 down to $14 a share, so I figured it was beaten up enough and I sold a put option with a strike price of $13 June 12 for a premium of $0.75. I sold 10 puts. Received $741.75.

"CHK took off the next day and went up 70 or so cents. Then a day or two later it went up a dollar. The options were worth a profit to me at that time of $640 so I took it and then used that money to sell another 10 puts for a 75-cent premium and with a $16 strike price July 12. I could not believe that the annual percent profit was an astounding 57% on each trade. I will NEVER BUY another stock again. Unless of course I am put to it. Thanks again." – Paid-up subscriber Grover

Regards,

Sean Goldsmith

New York, New York

June 13, 2012

Editor's note: One of the things we enjoy most at Stansberry & Associates is introducing readers to successful, contrarian investors and entrepreneurs. As one of the world's largest independent financial publishers, we have a tremendous Rolodex of extremely intelligent people. These contacts have introduced our readers to many useful, profitable ideas.

One such individual is natural resource financier Jeff Phillips, managing director of Global Market Development.

While Jeff's name rarely appears in the mainstream press, he's one of the world's most successful natural resource investors and entrepreneurs. He's personally financed several of the biggest resource stock winners of the past 15 years... and he's among the most respected names in the industry. When Jeff talks investments, even billionaires listen. He doesn't solicit investors or partners. They solicit him.

Right now, Jeff believes there is great opportunity for long-term, contrarian investors who can stomach the volatility that comes with natural resource stocks. Stansberry & Associates Editor in Chief Brian Hunt recently caught up with him to get his latest thoughts... thoughts people typically pay a great deal of money to hear – but that we're prepared to give you for free.

Our interview with him, conducted on June 1, will be published over the next two days. The first half follows...

Brian Hunt: Jeff... over the past year, natural resource stocks have suffered a huge selloff.

People are worried about U.S. unemployment. They're worried about Europe. They're worried about a China slowdown. You name, it they're worried about it. Thus, they've sold resource shares. It's been a bloodbath. Some of the biggest mining companies are down 50% over the past year... and smaller, more speculative companies are down 75%.

Like any good contrarian, you must be interested in buying right now. Are you seeing opportunities in the resource sector?

Jeff Phillips: Brian, I absolutely see opportunities right now in the resource sector. As you said, both small and large companies have been hit hard for the last 18 months. The decline has accelerated as we approached summer.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that world economies are in disarray over Europe. Also, China is apparently slowing down. But slowing down from what, 9% growth? You have to put it in context. They're not contracting as opposed to seeing their growth slow down.

I don't know if we're at the low for these stocks now or if the lows will be at the end of the year. But the lows are definitely coming. Personally, I'm beginning to scale into some new positions... And I'm adding to some current positions that I like. I think whether you buy now or at the end of the year, you're going to see higher prices later in 2013.

Hunt: Let's start with larger gold stocks. Do you see any opportunities there?

Phillips: I think some of the large producers are excellent contrarian plays. I'll also touch on some undeveloped-type deposits I think are also excellent contrarian plays. These aren't recommendations. I'm just a large investor who advises a number of other large investors and professionals in the industry... And what I'll discuss are some of the things I like and what I'm doing. My business is not recommending stocks. What I'll share is more for educational purposes and the investments I am making in my own portfolio.

Hunt: Sounds good.

Phillips: If we're talking about the mid-tier to large gold producers or precious-metal producers, I do think Goldcorp is a good value right now.

I've owned Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) in the past... But I do not currently own it, mainly because I focus on mining development and discovery. But for people looking for exposure to the precious metals to diversify the portfolio, Goldcorp is a leading candidate for someone who wants to own a large, well-run gold producer. They have a number of mines that they operate very efficiently. The stock is down considerably from its 52-week high.

Goldcorp has a very large mine coming on stream in Argentina, which obviously has some political risks associated with it at this time, but I think it's a good company to own if you believe gold is going higher... or that gold-company valuations will improve in the future due to the current price of gold.

Another company I've owned in the past that is appropriate for a conservative investor, who wants to have exposure to the gold market outside of physical gold or an exchange-traded fund, would be a producer like Yamana Gold.

Yamana is a well-run company that is increasing its production. Yamana trades in the U.S. Its symbol is AUY.

A question I often get from high-net-worth individuals and funds is how to get silver exposure. Silver Standard is another U.S.-traded stock people can consider. There are really only two large plays in the silver sector: Silver Standard and Pan American Silver. Both of these stocks are down... And you wouldn't go wrong with either one if you wanted exposure to the silver market.

Hunt: With the recent bloodbath in smaller resource stocks, are you now seeing some great values in early-stage development deposits?

Phillips: There's quite a few of them.

It's important to know that there are different ways of defining "early stage."

There are companies that have very large resources, 43-101 compliant. (Saying "43-101 compliant" means a company has followed strict Canadian guidelines in reporting a known mineral deposit.) And then there's companies that have made new discoveries that may or may not be at the initial stage of an inferred resource or about to have an inferred resource that offers huge leverage if things do work out.

I tend to focus on both companies. These aren't necessarily appropriate for some of your readers because they are much more speculative. They are also much less liquid than a large company like Goldcorp. Someone who is trying to invest millions of dollars should be looking at something different than someone who wants to put $10,000 of their risk capital into resources.

On the development side or discovery side, there are lots of Canadian low-grade gold deposits, 43-101 compliant... And a lot of those companies talk about how they're going to get bought out and these are multimillion-ounce deposits. Very few will see this reality.

But the one I'd look at is a company called Rainy River. I don't own any shares of it. But I've considered buying in, and I probably will own shares in the future. Rainy River is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Its symbol is RR. It has 7 million ounces of gold at its flagship project, The Rainy River Project, up in Canada. That's both an open-pit potential and underground potential. The underground's obviously higher grade.

The open pit, I believe, is right around 1 gram per ton of gold. People should, of course, do their own due diligence. But I believe the stock is attractive. It's down from the double digits to the mid-$4 range.

With Rainy River, you also have a company there that I believe is probably in the top tier of the lower-grade Canadian deposits to be taken over by somebody. So Rainy River is a very interesting company. And again, it has 7 million ounces in the measured, indicated, and referred categories on that flagship project... and is down considerably from its highs in this market.

Hunt: How about another one?

Phillips: I like a company that you guys have written about before, called Almaden Minerals (AAU). It's what you would call a "prospect generator," although it's a hybrid – it generates prospects out to others to spend their money drilling them and keeps a percentage, usually 30% or 40% of the project. They've also had a large discovery, and have decided to keep 100% of that discovery.

It's not a 43-101 compliant resource at this point. But down in Mexico, Almaden has a 100%-owned project called Ixtaca. It is currently drilling the project. It only has about 80 holes, which is a lot for an exploration-type play in a lot of these junior companies, but is not a lot when you're talking about a new discovery. It looks very interesting. It's weighted half in gold and half in silver. Almaden will have its first resource of the summer, and that's quite interesting to me.

I expect it to be a resource in the multimillion-ounce range. More importantly, the metallurgy and the grade – and I know the location – are very favorable. In addition, there are a number of other yet untested targets on the property.

The stock recently traded around $2. Of course, it could go lower if the market gets a lot worse. I'd look at that as a great opportunity, personally. That's what I'm doing as I continue to add to my position... scaling in over the summer. That's a highly leveraged play. It's very different than a Rainy River, that's sitting on 7 million ounces. So those are a couple stocks.

Just so you and your readers know, I consult for Almaden. I'm already a large shareholder in it. I'm buying the stock on a weekly basis, and I have been for a month now.

Hunt: Are you interested at all in some of the more highly publicized Canadian Yukon names, like ATAC or Kaminak?

Phillips: Absolutely. The Yukon is an interesting area right now. You had Underworld make a discovery three or four years ago, which was taken out by Kinross (a large gold producer). And I think it was at about 1.5 million ounces when it was bought out.

And then you had Kaminak and ATAC make discoveries, so both of those stocks, I think, are very interesting. Highly speculative, because you're betting on them continuing to get great drill results and to come up with a larger resource and have that and all the things that go into a resource. It's not just number of ounces... It's metallurgy, it's location, it's infrastructure, it's strip ratio – a number of things that really come into that.

But I think the Yukon is going to see a lot of money spent there, specifically by those two companies, ATAC and Kaminak. They already have discoveries. How those play out, we're going to see. So I think there's definitely speculative value in those.

There are a bunch of other companies out there that will be spending money this summer, so I expect that Yukon will see another discovery this summer, which will reignite the "area play" mentality. Especially in the better gold market I see coming, I think those are great speculations.

Keep an eye on a company called Ethos Gold. It's a Toronto Venture Exchange-listed company that's spending $7 million this year drilling, which is one of the higher budgets out there.

I think it's probably five or six holes into its drill program. Watch those drill results. They have some of the best trench samples reported in the Yukon. If Ethos Gold can match those trench samples in these initial drilling results – which we should see in the next 60 days – that stock will go much higher. And it'd probably be a good opportunity to get in if you see those drill results – even if you're paying a higher price – because again, it would be a new discovery. I'd watch the drill results and see what happens with the company.

Keep in mind... Ethos is not a highly liquid stock. It's something I own shares in. But it's not something I can point out like a Rainy River and say, "It has a resource" or "It made a discovery" at this point. It has great trench samples. And like Kaminak and ATAC, Ethos is drilling. If it's fortunate enough to make the discovery of these trench samples, something like that will do really well.

You might also keep an eye on Tarsis Resources, a tiny company that – with its [joint venture] partners – will begin drilling this month on a very interesting Yukon property. The drill is often called the "truth machine." So with both Ethos and Tarsis, we will see what the truth machine has to say.

I do not own Kaminak or ATAC, but I do consult and own shares in Ethos and Tarsis.

Hunt: Let's switch gears here and talk about uranium. The sector has sold off heavily over the past 18 months. Are you interested in this sector right now?

Phillips: I do invest in the uranium sector. I'm more precious-metals-based than strategic metals, but I consider uranium a strategic metal for multiple reasons.

Many of your readers know uranium had a huge boom back in the 2004 and 2005 time range with exploration and lots of money being spent. Stocks got well ahead of themselves. That bubble burst... And then, you had the Japanese earthquake, which caused another selloff. So we have a space that's really beaten down... But the fundamentals for uranium are very positive.

Just in the last month, we've seen news that several towns in Japan voted to restart their reactors. The Japanese have to be concerned coming into summer with their energy needs. They're not going to be able to get away from using nuclear. The rest of the world isn't able to, either... especially China. Right now, you have some interesting companies in this space that I think offer value at this point for people who have a long-term perspective.

Cameco is a major uranium producer that is involved in the Athabasca Basin in Canada (a major uranium district). It's a stock that a conservative investor looking for exposure to the sector can consider... like the big gold stocks I mentioned.

As you move down the food chain again in that area of Canada, which is very prospective and has a number of mines built there, you have someone like Denison Mines. It's a company that recently sold off its U.S. assets. It has a number of properties in that area of Canada. And by selling off its U.S. assets, I think it's setting itself up for a sale of its Canadian assets.

We've recently seen Rio Tinto (a large mining firm) buy out Hathor Exploration, which had the Rough Rider deposit up there. I was a shareholder of Hathor, and I was happy about the buyout. I'm sure Cameco doesn't like that in its backyard. The Hathor deposit that Rio Tinto bought is not big enough to make a huge difference to a giant like Rio Tinto. I expect it'll be making more acquisitions.

Denison is an interesting speculation on someone like Rio Tinto buying it. Cameco just announced shelf registration to raise, I think, $1 billion. It's already sitting on about $1.2 billion. You've got to ask yourself why Cameco is raising more money. I would say it's for acquisitions.

Down the food chain even farther – just meters away from Hathor's discovery that Rio Tinto bought out – is a little company called Fission Energy (TSX.V: FIS).

Fission has about 10 million pounds of uranium in the 43-101 category. Its property is meters away from Rough Rider, and it has lots of expansion potential. Fission also has a number of other properties. I could easily see Fission being a target for a roll up (a situation where many small projects are "rolled up" into one big one) in that area for a Rio Tinto or Cameco. Fission is not a liquid stock. It's definitely more highly leveraged and riskier than something like Cameco or even Denison, but it offers more upside for the risk.

Editor's note: Tomorrow's Digest will include the rest of our conversation with Jeff Phillips. In it, he discusses some more unusual investment ideas – like graphite and rare-earth elements. Don't miss it.