Economic geologist and mining analyst Joe Mazumdar, who recently joined Brent Cook at Exploration Insights, stopped by to chat with the Investing News Network about the mining space and what to look for when assessing potential investments. Formerly a senior mining analyst at Canaccord Genuity and Haywood Securities, Mazumdar's opinions are certainly worth paying attention to.On the junior side of things, Mazumdar stressed that it's important to pay attention to how well the geology of a project has been mapped out. "Geology's really basic, and if you don't have that right, it's hard to get anything else right," he said.Other highlights from our conversation included:Mazumdar's thoughts on the recent troubles faced by Rubicon Minerals's (TSX:RMX) Phoenix project, how common such issues are, and what investors can take away from the storyA few red flags for investors to watch out for when evaluating potential investments in mining companies or junior mining stocksWhy he likes Claude Resources (TSX:CRJ) and Lake Shore Gold (TSX:LSG)What he hopes to see in the junior resource sector in 2016Watch the video to hear what he had to say.