Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
Peter KrauthThere's no question the price of silver has made some bullish moves this week.The silver price has climbed by 3% over that time, aided by a weak U.S. dollar and markets, both of which have also been suffering from growing volatility.Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has given back a stunning 5.7% in the last week and is actually in the red on a year-to-date basis.Some currency experts think t...Read More
Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange by the close on Tuesday December 11, with copper acting as the best performer among the complex.Specifically, the three-month copper price surged by 1.3% to close at $2,590 per tonne. "LME copper continues to run rather positive micro-dynamics. Total LME stocks continue to see drawdowns, with net holdings edging to a fresh 2018 low of...Read More
* Government plans higher taxes in January* Additional revenue to help bring down mounting debtLUSAKA - Mining companies in Zambia may lay off more than 21,000 workers due to reduced capital expenditure over the next three years if the government introduces higher taxes in January, an industry body said on Tuesday.Africa's No.2 copper producer plans to introduce new mining duties, replace Value Ad...Read More
Amarc Resources (TSXV: AHR; US-OTC: AXREF) has identified five clusters of drill ready targets that cover areas ranging from 1.5 sq. km to more than 5 sq. km during 2018 exploration at its JOY copper-gold project in north-central B.C.'s Toodoggone region.Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) funded the $2.5 million exploration program. It also spent $1.15 million in 2018 to help Amarc acquire un...Read More
Comex copper prices hit a one-week high in the US morning on Tuesday December 11 with the continued trade actions between China and the United States guiding the market. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 5.15 cents to $2.7715 per lb today. Earlier, the contract traded at $2.7805, the highest since December 4. Trade tensions betwe...Read More
Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining (ASX:NMC) is betting big on Chile's geological gold potential by closing two deals with exploration juniors in the South American country, the world's top copper producer.The Melbourne-based company kicked off the week by signing an option agreement with Canada's Cornerstone Capital (TSX-V:CGP), which could result in the gold miner acquiring up to a 75% int...Read More
GABORONE - Mowana Mine, Botswana's only operating copper mine, has suspended operations due to working capital constraints which has seen the company fail to pay salaries and suppliers, it said on Tuesday.Mowana had a conditional $4 million working capital facility from Fujax Minerals and Energy Limited, from which it had drawn down $1 million.Copper prices on the international market have been re...Read More
Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY), the company conducting exploration at a Western Australia-based copper project with partner Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE:RIO), said Tuesday it had so far failed to find any economically viable veins of ore at the asset.In an update Tuesday, the junior miner noted "weak mineralization" in the Folly target area that is part of the Citadel project, located in the Paterson pro...Read More
Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) is ending 2018 on a high note, the company reported Tuesday. Anglo expects total production for the year to be 2% above of previous guidance, with costs decreasing by 5%."We are also confident about the outlook, with production expected to increase by 3% in 2019, with cost inflation fully absorbed by our productivity and cost improvements," chief executive M...Read More
Pan Global Resources (TSXV: PGZ) was granted a mineral exploration permit on the Escacena gold / copper / zinc prospect in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in southern Spain. In a press release, the Vancouver-based miner said the Escacena Investigation Permit was granted and a formal notice was received by current owner EVALAM 2003 SL. Yet, Pan Global has a binding Letter of Intent with EVALAM, providing t...Read More
Physical iron ore prices stayed rangebound on Tuesday December 11 while steel markets weakened further. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.97 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.15 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $65.24 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.15 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $69.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.18 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $59.67 per ton...Read More
The rally in uranium prices, which began in April this year amid production cutbacks in Kazakhstan and Canada, is set to continue as inventories of the nuclear material decline for the first time in nearly a decade.Production at Kazakhstan state-owned uranium miner Kazatomprom, responsible for more than a quarter of global output, was 19,600 tonnes during the first eleven months of 2018, a 7% decl...Read More
SASKATCHEWAN - Vancouver's CanAlaska Uranium and Saskatoon's Cameco Corp. have formed the West McArthur joint venture and agreed on a $2.4-million exploration budget for 2019. CanAlaska will be the operator and 70% owner.Next year's work will focus on extending the footprint of the three discovery holes in 2017 and 2018. They define a halo of uranium mineralization in the sandstone. The halo measu...Read More
Drilling at the West McArthur uranium property. (Image: CanAlaska Uranium)SASKATCHEWAN - Vancouver's CanAlaska Uranium and Saskatoon's Cameco Corp. have formed the West McArthur joint venture and agreed on a $2.4-million exploration budget for 2019. CanAlaska will be the operator and 70% owner.Next year's work will focus on extending the footprint of the three discovery holes in 2017 and 2018. The...Read More
Locations of 2019 drill sections in the Derkson Corridor at Hook Lake. (Image: Purepoint Uranium)SASKATCHEWAN - The partners in the Hook Lake uranium joint venture have approved a 2019 exploration budget of $3 million. Situated within the Patterson Uranium District, Hook Lake is owned jointly by Cameco Corp. (39.5%), Orano Canada (39.5%) and Purepoint Uranium Group (operator and holder of a 21% in...Read More
SASKATCHEWAN - Fission 3.0 Corp. of Kelowna, B.C., is preparing for its winter drilling program at four high priority targets - Wales Lake (two holes), Patterson Lake North (five holes), Key Lake (nine holes) and Cree Bay (two holes). About 4,400 metres of drilling is planned.Fission 3 recently completed an $8-million financing with which to fund the work.The Wales Lake occurrence is similar to Fi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Somewhere between the volatility of cryptocurrencies and thestability of diamond prices lies an opportunity for investors. That is, atleast, what several new initiatives to create diamond-backed crypto-coins arebetting on.In fact, developers of these coins, or "tokens," areconfident the asset class will offer a solution to challenges facing both thecrypto market and the diamond trade....Read More
RAPAPORT... Stones must have a stable color to qualify as padparadschasapphires, according to a ruling by the Laboratory Manual HarmonisationCommittee (LMHC), a global alliance of gemological groups.Gemstones that turn pink during a color-stability test donot meet the requirements for the term, LMHC concluded at a meeting in Lucerne,Switzerland, last month. The committee comprises representat...Read More
Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) is ending 2018 on a high note, the company reported Tuesday. Anglo expects total production for the year to be 2% above of previous guidance, with costs decreasing by 5%."We are also confident about the outlook, with production expected to increase by 3% in 2019, with cost inflation fully absorbed by our productivity and cost improvements," chief executive M...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co., Swarovski and Pandora are the preferredjewelry brands among more affluent immigrants in the US, according to a survey byMVI Marketing. Researchers asked 702 Asian-American, Hispanic andLatino-American consumers with an annual household income of $80,000 or more to name the threebrands whose jewelry they own. Tiffany was top, with 42% of respondents sayingthey ha...Read More