PDAC 2024: Junior miners see short-selling ‘epidemic’

Junior miners at this week’s Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention say recently proposed new rules on short-selling could help stem the bleeding in their stocks, which are especially vulnerable to the practice.

The January proposal by a Canadian regulator would apply to “hard-to-borrow” stocks like junior miners. Before shorting such securities, traders would be required to confirm there is stock available to borrow or the short sale would be prohibited.

“They're basically going to hold the brokerage firms accountable,” Kerry Knoll, chairman of Generation Mining (TSX: GENM) said of the proposed amendments by Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).

“People can't just call up and short and then go looking for the stock," he said on Monday at PDAC, which runs from Mar. 3-6 in Toronto.

"With juniors, you frequently can't find the stock to borrow. I have never shorted one, but I've tried many times. And when I have tried, I call around and see if anybody can borrow the stock and it's always ‘no.’”