A conversation with Rick Rule, international authority on natural resources, minerals and mining; General Partner, Global Resource investments, Ltd.

BILL: I know you subscribe to Doug's newsletter, Rick. And I've heard you say he's on a level all his own as a source of money-making information. That's quite a compliment. What is it that sets Doug apart?

RICK: To begin with, he digs deep. Doug Casey is willing to drop everything and chase all over the world to make a killing. He's constantly on a plane, or up in a helicopter, or bouncing down some dirt trail in a fourwheel-drive.

You don't find hidden gold mines by playing golf with Skippy every Wednesday. That just doesn't work when it comes to the world of mining. If you want reliable information about a major U.S. corporation, like Ford or Intel, you can pick up a phone and get a decent report. It's different when your subject is a big hole in the ground half a world away ... and all your value rides on whether there's really anything down there. It's a tough job and Doug's just the man for it.

BILL: I know that Doug logs 150,000 miles a year traveling to the actual exploration sites where the companies operate.

RICK: Yes, and these are places that nature has chosen - not us! I can assure your readers that most mines are not located for the convenience of travelers.

I do a lot of traveling myself, but no one I know of has a passport as beat up as Doug's. He has stamps on it from more than a hundred countries. He's been everywhere! Uzbekistan, Khyrghyzstan, Mongolia ... and the last time I spoke with him he had just come back from Zambia and Zaire.

This has everything to do with his ability to anticipate exploration successes in the Third World.

RICK: You know, people in this business marvel at Doug's sixth sense for sniffing out the big strikes And lie does have an instinct for it.

I think sometimes he can feel what's going to happen, just like you or I might smell something in the air before it's about to rain.

But I have a favorite saving about the mining business. "Luck favors the trained observer." That is Doug's most potent weapon. Wherever it's happening today, Doug is going to be out there, right on the heels of the geologists.

BILL: As Doug's publishers, we sometimes get phone calls from subscribers who are impatient to get his next newsletter. We explain the schedule has to stay loose. Doug may be out in Indonesia - and there might be something he's just found that he wants to include ... so hold the press!

RICK: I'm one of his subscribers and I wouldn't have it any other way.

BILL: I know that you've traveled with Doug on occasion. What's it like?

"It Looked Like The Gods Had Been
Playing Paintball ..."

RICK: For one thing, you see clearly how immense the opportunities are at these Third World sites. In some cases the gold literally stares you in the face.

It's an awesome experience to be driving in a four-wheel-drive ... and look on the side of a hill and see gold. Or copper. Or iron.

I took a wonderful trip with Doug in the high Andes of Chile. It was about a 20-hour drive and, as sometimes happens, we got stuck in a pass.

The bad news is that we got back to camp tired as pups. The good news is that it was one of the most incredible days I ever had in my life. Doug and I looked on the side of a hill ... and could see obvious gold oxides. It looked as though the gods had been playing paintball.

BILL: Amazing.

RICK: I was there. I saw it! You know, there is an Indiana Jones quality to what Doug Casey does. Except the treasures are real.