(Business Edge columnist Gyle Konotopetz regularly profiles the top stock picks of some of Canada's most accomplished investment pros.)

FEATURED PRO: Bill Harris is principal and portfolio manager of Avenue Investment Management (www.avenuemanagement.com), a Toronto-based investment counselling firm that manages equity and fixed-income accounts for clients. Avenue also is an adviser for the Terra Flow-Through Funds (www.terraresources.com).

Investment Theme: Harris is currently bullish on small-cap or microcap natural gas-weighted companies or early-stage producers in the mining sector.

Harris's Perspective: "I think there's an extraordinary opportunity in natural gas right now, but you have to be very sensitive the way you play it. There still might be the second shoe to drop (in the corrective phase) but I don't want to totally count on that. We took up our weighting in energy in the early summer and we're now leaving another component for October in case we get a complete wipeout. You might have full storage (of natural gas) for the first time ever and nobody really knows what that means. So the worry that you could get a real washout in natural gas is still very real for this fall. However, I'm a buyer because you're supposed to buy when things are washed out. But you make sure the company (you buy) can weather it (low commodity prices). You have to be sure it has a conservative balance sheet, really look at the debt level as well as for strong management and whether they have a project.

Bill Harris

"There are also a number of companies in mining that are going into production and I'm completely fired up on those. These are undervalued assets that are going into production and they will go higher. I look for companies with projects that are going to be profitable. Then you know that the market will eventually wake up and say, 'Oh my God, look at that thing.' "

First Star

* Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines (TSXV:CLM)

* Recent Price: $2.35.

* 52-Week Range: $0.45-$4.10.

* Snapshot: Consolidated Thompson is a junior exploration company that is developing the Bloom Lake Iron Ore property in Quebec, with production slated to start in late 2008.

* CEO: Richard Quesnel.

* Head Office: Toronto.

* Vital Stats: Revenue (last 12 mos), $0; Earnings/Loss (last 12 mos), $1 million Loss; Market Cap, $41.2 million; Shares Outstanding, 17.6 million shares.

* Harris's View: "This is very much a junior investing situation and therefore high risk. But it looks like it (Bloom Lake project) will be in production of iron ore within the next 24 months in Canada. There's execution risk. Can they do it? That's my biggest concern. In the junior industry, a company usually proves up the assets and some major (company) comes in and builds it. But this junior company has actually hired real management to physically build and operate it (mine). What I like is that the stock hasn't moved much."

* Harris's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.consolidatedthompson.com

Second Star

* Scorpio Mining (TSXV:SPM)

* Recent Price: $1.20.

* 52-Week Range: $0.33-$1.53.

* Snapshot: Scorpio's main focus is the Nuestra Senora silver/zinc/copper project in Mexico. The company's other mining interests are in Nova Scotia and Quebec.

* CEO: Peter Hawley.

* Head Office: Vancouver.

* Vital Stats: Revenue (last 12 mos), $158.7 million; Earnings/Loss (last 12 mos), $3 million Loss; Market Cap, $54.1 million; Shares Outstanding, 45.1 million.

* Harris's View: "This (Nuestra Senora) is a silver/zinc/copper play in Mexico and the company has a relatively low market cap. I like this play because it looks like they'll be going into production in the next year. Really, this project has blue sky in terms of expanding the resource. Scorpio also has a very experienced management team. I own what I term an initial position in the stock and if I can get a little more comfortable with it, then we might just back up the truck on it."

* Harris's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.scorpiomining.com

Third Star

* San Gold Corp.

(TSXV:SGR)

* Recent Price: $1.53.

* 52-Week Range: $0.41-$2.25.

* Snapshot: San Gold is a mining company with a former gold-producing project in Manitoba near Bissett.

* CEO: Dale Ginn.

* Head Office: Bissett, Man.

* Vital Stats: Revenue (last 12 mos), $0; Earnings/Loss (last 12 mos), $3.1 million Loss; Market Cap, $161.5 million; Shares Outstanding, 105.6 million.

* Harris's View: "This company just started to pour its first gold and that's exciting. Their mine is in Manitoba and it's off the radar screen of most people. This company also has great blue-sky potential. They're taking an old producing mine and putting it back into production, which is what you can do with the current gold price. The stock is fairly inexpensive considering their assets. And these are competent miners operating in a proven mining camp."

* Harris's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.sangoldcorp.com

Harris's Edge Record (last 12 mos): +89.2 per cent. Best Pick: Falcon Oil & Gas (TSXV:FO) +610.5 per cent. Worst Pick: PetroFalcon (TSX:PFC) -38.5 per cent.

Disclosure: Harris owns shares in the Avenue Investment Management portfolio and the Terra Resources Flow-Through Funds in which the featured stocks are held.

(This feature is provided for information purposes. Investors are advised to do their own research or consult a qualified investment professional before making investment decisions.)