FEATURED PRO: Bill Harris is principal and portfolio manager with Avenue Investment Management (www.avenueinvestment.com). The Toronto firm manages equity and fixed-income accounts for clients.

Management Fees: Two per cent plus performance fees (one per cent if annual returns are not positive).

Harris's Perspective: "The one resource play right now to find value this year is in the natural gas stocks in Western Canada. It's become a very difficult environment because the natural gas price has collapsed (to a recent price in the $7 US range mcf) due to a very warm winter. The warm winter has also created another problem for these companies because oil and gas drill rigs haven't been able to drill in some areas because the ground is not frozen enough. If you are an operating oil and gas company, this is just the worst situation you could ever have, with your cashflow on your existing production going down and your future cashflow not going to kick in for a couple months because you haven't been able to get your well drilled.

"But as a result, the stocks have collapsed, giving investors an opportunity to look at some very interesting companies. High-quality companies are coming down to a much better level and, if natural gas prices are lower and the companies aren't able to drill wells, then that means there won't be enough supply coming on later on next year. That means natural gas prices will be going back up again. So the stocks are going to start discounting the negative situation.

Bill Harris

"The mining sector is also firing on all cylinders. You have to acknowledge we're in a bull market in mining and it will remain a bull market until it stops. I can't tell you when that will be, so I'm going to dig in my fingernails and hold on. Specifically in the mining sector, I actually like nickel right now because it (price) hasn't moved in three years. Nickel could easily go up 50 per cent to 75 per cent in the next year. That's what my hope is."

First Star

* Gentry Resources (TSX:GNY)

* Recent Price: $5.85.

* 52-Week Range: $3.63-$6.75.

* Snapshot: Gentry is an oil and gas company with projects in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and a focus on natural gas in four core areas in Alberta.

* CEO: Hugh Ross.

* Head Office: Calgary.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 35.9; Revenue (last 12 mos), $51.7 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 27.7 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $8 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 12. 2 per cent; Market Cap, $227.27 million; Shares Outstanding, 38.9 million.

* Harris's View: "This company is concentrated mainly in the southeast corner of Alberta and they're having terrific success drilling. They're at roughly 4,500 boe's (barrels of oil equivalent) per day and they continue to be one of the fastest organic growth companies. They made a wonderful land acquisition a year ago and they're just starting to scratch the surface of it. I believe this company has the ability to double production over the next couple of years."

* Harris's Risk Rating: Moderate.

* Web Watch: www.gentryresources.com

Second Star

* Falconbridge (TSX:FAL.LV)

* Recent Price: $33.89.

* 52-Week Range: $18.30-$33.89.

* Snapshot: Falconbridge is an integrated mining and metals company with production in several metals, including nickel, copper, zinc, aluminum and cobalt. Inco (TSX:N) has a pending friendly takeover bid for the company.

* CEO: Derek Pannell.

* Head Office: Toronto.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 12.83; 2005 Revenue, $8.29 billion US; 2005 Earnings, $872 million; Market Cap, $14.32 billion; Shares Outstanding, 369.1 million; Dividend Yield, 1.24 per cent.

* Harris's View: "We still think the (proposed) merger with Inco will go through and we're hoping it does, but we won't know until June. But even on its own, it's in a great position to take advantage of this run in metals prices, particularly if you have a run in nickel prices."

* Harris's Risk Rating: Moderate.

* Web Watch: www.falconbridge.com

Third Star

* Redback Mining (TSX:RBI)

* Recent Price: $3.30.

* 52-Week Range: $1.50-$3.30.

* Snapshot: Redback owns 95 per cent of the Chirano Gold Project in Ghana, West Africa, and is also pursuing other exploration projects in that country.

* CEO: Richard Clark.

* Head Office: Vancouver.

* Vital Stats: Revenue (last 12 mos), $0; Earnings/Loss (last 12 mos), $4.5 million Loss; Market Cap, $252.35 million; Shares Outstanding, 76.5 million.

* Harris's View: "They have a new operating mine in Ghana and they have about a million ounces of gold proven (reserves) and it looks like they have exploration upside of a similar amount of gold. With a conservative view, I'm hoping there's another 500,000 ounces of exploration upside. Another positive development is that this company was a minor position of the Lundin Group of companies and Lundin has recently doubled its (investment) position in the company.

"There's a hope that they can turn this into a real regional development company. It has a solid asset base and it's inexpensive. In terms of West Africa, I'd put Ghana as a low-risk place to operate. In global risk, I'd put Ghana at medium risk. It's actually a pretty wonderful country to have a gold mine in."

* Harris's Risk Rating: Moderate.

* Web Watch: www.redbackmining.com Harris's Edge Record: +47.4 per cent. Best Pick: Falcon Oil & Gas (TSXV:FO) +147.4 per cent. Worst Pick: PetroFalcon (TSX:PFC) -20.5 per cent.

Disclosure: Bill Harris, his family and Avenue Investment Management clients own shares in the featured stocks. The firm has no banking relationships with the companies in which it invests.

(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.)