Call this a test. 

Not of the emergency broadcast system, but of the audience for incumbent speculations.

Incumbent meaning “still in the doghouse,” like nearly everything else on this planet’s investment landscape, with the exception of overpriced shopping mall REITs (Simon Property Group (SPG) anyone? Not with my money.) 

One of the incumbents in the tough-as-nails cosmos of gold and silver and uranium and coal mining is a small exploration company with its claws in five separate mineral claims across North America. 

Now, I do not own shares of Bitterroot Resources (TSX: V.BTT, Stock Forum) / (OTO: BITTF, Stock Forum), a Canadian miner. I have no intention of buying any right now, either. I do not advise anyone to buy shares. Not just yet. Who knows? If the desecration of speculative equities continues for another day/week/month/year, then instead of 20 Canadian cents, one might be able to pay 10 Canadian cents for a slice of The Root. 

But I have known about Bitterroot for many years, and I know its CEO, Michael Carr, a straight shooter who has worked his body to the bone trying to prove there is a “there” there in Bitterroot’s claims across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, in British Columbia, in Quebec and around Manitoba. 

Carr has been at The Root for 16 years now. The trained geologist could (or could not) be on the verge of a substantial uranium (and nickel and copper) dig in Michigan, among other things. The Root also owns partial or complete claims on Vancouver Island – for possible gold – and Manitoba – for possible coal. And, near Barriere in B.C., for possible silver. And so on. Like most miners, the company has slick maps and full descriptions of each of its claims and projects on the Internet. 

Carr told me the other day he is quite hopeful about results forthcoming from Michigan and Vancouver Island.  “As for market-friendly news, assays and the like coming up, I would look for ongoing gold production numbers from the Mineral Creek bulk sample, plus results from the long-awaited Michigan U. drilling program, which started last week,” he said. 

Carr is an optimist, of course. But he is no promoter. Getting him to say getting that much takes a relationship that goes back almost 10 years. “Assuming the big markets stabilize in the next few months, I think 2009 will be a good year for us,” he says. 

I asked Mike how such a small company can operate five camps that are spread across the North Country. “I have four very competent guys, each one living locally and running a project. I have generally known these guys for 20-plus years and respect their abilities. They hire their own crews and run things the way they want, with guidance from me. “ 

Mike Carr also relies on a vastly larger company, uranium dioxide and hexafluoride producer Cameco (TSX: T.CCO, Stock Forum) / (NYSE: CCJ, Stock Forum), for what he calls “valuable technical advice on the Michigan U. exploration program.” Cameco is footing most of the bill for The Root’s poking around on the Upper Peninsula’s possible uranium fields. 

So there it is. I happen to know folks who own shares of Bitterroot Resources, but they have no expectations of anything happening overnight. Not after 16 years of searching. I also know the folks at Endeavour Financial, a Canadian merchant banker that helped The Root raise via private placements some of the money for its exploration programs.   

Like I said, this is a test of the incumbent doghouse system. 

Note: My cosmos in terms of holdings is listed on www.Stockhouse.com under the “portfolio setting.” I do not own, nor does anyone in my family, shares or any interest in Bitterroot Resources. 

THOM CALANDRA REPORT: For investors who profited from a meteoric rise of commodities, mining and life sciences companies, Thom Calandra acted as a beacon. Thom helped his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Yet he is not a titled investment adviser. He is, more than anything, a scribe who goes where the action is. Thom co-founded CBS MarketWatch and MarketWatch.com. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom beat bushes for prospects. He fancied $300-ounce gold before that metal became an investment rage. Thom visited numerous biomedical companies, metals mines, and even a haberdashery or two, not to mention thin-crust pizza joints across the planet in his search for profit, fashion and food. Thom's latest project, the novel PABLO BY NUMBERS, was completed in summer 2008. He and Stockhouse this autumn will offer a subscription report with all the bells and whistles. The service is tentatively titled Thom Calandra Report. Please stay tuned AND PRUNED to Stockhouse.com, ThomCalandra.blogspot.com and to ThomCalandra.com for more.