- Resource nationalism will be a key concern for the resource sector in 2023, according to Oreninc CEO Kai Hoffmann.In 2022 the Federal Reserve's tightening to tame inflation hurt the resource sector, with financings down markedly. Oreninc reported that the number of financings dropped 30%. Without investment, some companies were forced to slow work. But at the close of the year, Hoffmann saw the glimmers of a recovery.Conversation was lightly edited.
HOFFMANN: It has been brutal for most of the year, but then came November and the tide has turned a little bit. The financing window has opened. When we compiled the numbers for the year we came out at around $3.7 billion. That's actually surprisingly better than I expected. Last year we set a record $6.4 billion. Market sentiment told me that it should have been way less but keep in mind that there are companies below $1.
HOFFMANN: We saw gold go from a low of 1650 to the 1800s. That gives the gold space massive momentum. The junior resource sector hinges on the gold. If the gold juniors are doing well, usually, the other juniors are doing well. I was happy to see that some of the juniors got some financing over the last four weeks, but a lot of them still haven't financed. I just spoke with Rick Rule, and he expects the next six months to be quite bleak.