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“They’re the worst place to put money, okay?” he said.

Putting his money where his mouth is, he has been selling his position in Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., one of, if not the lowest-cost gold producers and one of the best-performing stocks on the S&P/TSX Composite Index since 2016.

Sprott was an early investor in Kirkland Lake, was appointed chairman in 2015, and one year later helped engineer its merger with Newmarket Gold Inc., a small gold producer in Australia. Not long after, the newly merged company discovered high-grade veins at two mines, which propelled its stock upwards to $63 per share.

Many investors pride themselves on not selling when a stock hits a bump, but Sprott said it is equally important to not sell when the stock rises, at least not until it’s gone up five or even 10 times, a so-called tenbagger.

“I’ve had lots of tenbaggers and the important thing is to stay in it,” he said.

But when his stake in Kirkland Lake reached about $1.3 billion earlier this year, and it looked like gold prices would keep rising, Sprott said he decided it was time to sell.

“Here’s what I say to the management of Kirkland Lake: you will not be the No. 1 performing stock this year,” he said during an interview in October. “You will not be, because companies like Eldorado (Gold Corp.) and Detour (Gold Corp.) are going to kick your butt.”

In November, Kirkland Lake announced it was buying Detour Gold Corp., and its stock fell by 15 per cent in a day, wiping out what he estimated to be around $140 million of his net worth.