The AOCE and WB have moderate overall forecasts for the metals in 2025 inline with IMF forecasts for a decline in economic growth and inflation, although we see the probability of a stagflationary scenario as still reasonably high.Read More

The past year was a difficult one overall for the metals, with the main standouts to the upside being a geopolitical risk-driven gain in gold, a China-driven rise in iron ore and a surge in uranium on broadening global support for nuclear power (Figure 1). A jump in global interest rates to near two-decade highs saw recession fears persist all year, and while one still did not actually eru...Read More

This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end t...Read More

Chile is the world leader in copper production, at 28.5% of the total in 2020, and this looks set to continue, with the country having the largest global reserves, at 23.0% of total. It is also the global leader for molybdenum, which is often found along with copper, and is a major lithium player, holding 51.1% of global reserves. Read More

Newfoundland has become a gold exploration hotspot over the past few years, with the sector seeing some of its strongest activity ever. While the province remains a small contributor to Canadian gold production, it has a substantial mineral industry well supported by the government, focused on iron ore, copper and nickel, and the surge in exploration suggests that gold output from the...Read More

Nevada is the core of the U.S. gold output, accounting for by far the majority, at 75.4% on average for the past year. The state looks set to remain a dominant player in U.S. gold, as it accounts for 49% of total U.S. reserves, with Alaska slightly ahead with 51% of reserves, but just 8.6% of current production. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of global gold output, making Nevada one of the largest gol...Read More

The Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia has historically been a major site of Canadian gold production, beginning as early as the mid 1800s. There was a wave of production in the 1990s which cooled as the gold price declined, but larger scale production resumed in 2017, and the area has seen surging exploration interest over the past year, given that the region has some of the largest...Read More

In this report we outline the Quebec gold mining industry, including its major producers, and a survey of many of the junior miners focused on the province. Quebec accounts for 34% of Canadian gold production (second to Ontario, with 44%) and remains a major focus for both producers and junior miners.Read More

Red Lake has been one of the most prolific gold mining districts in Canada and the world, with exploration having started in the 1920s, and production, which began in the 1930s, continuing to the present day. The district is known for the high grade of its gold, its infrastructure, and strong institutional support, given the long history of mining in the area.Read More

Humans are poorly wired for investing.Our operating system remains optimized for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.By default, fear, greed, and envy reign supreme. Each of these emotions can be destructive on its own, but together they can be disastrous.As a result of our brains' faulty wiring, the average investor sees annual returns of around 5% vs the S&P 500's long-term 9% performance.Human psyc...Read More

It's 4,350 miles (7,000 kilometers) from Moscow to Anchorage, almost a straight shot over the North Pole via great circle navigation. And it's not quite 3,400 miles (5,435 km), again via great circle nav, from Washington, D.C. to what some locals call "Anchortown."Great circle routes to ANC. Courtesy GreatCircleMap.com.I mention this point of cartography because today I'll discuss the upcoming sum...Read More

India and China are each home to over 1.4 billion people.Together, the two countries host a whopping 35% of the world's population.The United States and its allies have worked hard to support India as a counterweight to China. American leaders have gone out of their way to embrace India, despite its strong military and economic relationship with Russia.Why? Because India is a key partner in Americ...Read More

Bureau of Labor Statistics head Dr. Erika McEntarfer is one of the latest persons President Trump has told "you're fired." President Trump said this month that he fired Dr. McEntarfer because the president believed she manipulated jobs data. Manipulations, he stated, include the updated May and June BLS numbers showing the U.S. economy created 258,000 fewer jobs than originally reported, as well a...Read More

On yesterday's editorial call, my good friend and colleague, Byron King, mentioned that The Donald was doing well domestically, but abysmally when it came to foreign policy.I recalled how I wrote about King Leopold III of Belgium, who had the same problem. So I started thinking about The Donald and his nearly schizophrenic second administration.Americans are happy with his domestic policy, and the...Read More

Young Americans are fracturing along ideological fault lines.They are breaking into two camps. For lack of better terms, we will call them the far-right and far-left.Unfortunately, there are few surveys which ask these kinds of questions. Pollsters still query along legacy party lines, Democrat vs. Republican, even though those labels are losing relevance.Fortunately I have two teenage kids, and f...Read More

The price of samarium has risen 60-fold over the past year.What the heck is samarium, you ask? It's a rare earth element (REE) used to create magnets designed for high temperature applications.Samarium-cobalt magnets are about 60 times as powerful as your average fridge magnet. They are used in fighter jet engines, where actuators and generators must be able to withstand temperatures up to 350 deg...Read More

In the world of horse racing, many of the all-time greats have been closers.A closer is a horse that starts off slow, then surges on the back half.Many of the best racehorses of all time have been closers. Zenyatta, for example, is a mare that won a remarkable 19 of her 20 races.Zenyatta – Source: LA TimesZenyatta was an iconic closer. In one noteworthy race, she reached a peak of 40 mph dow...Read More

It's not often that significant national policy is announced outside of Washington, D.C., let alone outside of a major political address with all the spectacle and theater. But every now and again, something big happens in unusual places.Consider how, on June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced his eponymous Marshall Plan at the Harvard commencement ceremony, in Cambridge, Mas...Read More

'It certainly has a 1999 feel to it,' we said to no one. Working alone in our little octagonal office in rural France, 'no one' is our assistant…our confidante…our right hand man. As sharp as a tack. As empty-headed as a cabinet member.We look back. As the 21st century gestated, the US stock market became more and more absurd. Companies with no earnings, no business plans, no employees...Read More

The recent disclosures by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing by the Intelligence Community (IC) and the White House at the end of the Obama administration are shocking. It would be an understatement to say they were the most important story of the year. These disclosures (and what will follow) are one of the most important stories in U.S. history.Your editor with T...Read More

For over a century, two dead advisors have shaped the way great powers view the world.On one side, we have Alfred Thayer Mahan the American naval officer who believed sea power determined global supremacy. According to Mahan, controlling the oceans means controlling trade. If you control trade, you control wealth. If you control wealth... well, you get the picture.On the other side is Halford Mack...Read More

"The bank that has only enough cash for its daily requirements is unsafe," noted Henry Ford in 1906. "And the car with only enough power for ordinary use falls down in an emergency," he added.Henry Ford, circa 1915. Courtesy Ford Motor Company.As a budding industrial tycoon in America's gold-standard days, pre-Federal Reserve, Mr. Ford knew a thing or two about cash, banks and unsafe banking. And...Read More

President Trump has recently suggested that, unless Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cuts interest rates, the president might revert to his The Apprentice days and tell Powell, "you're fired."President Trump backtracked on firing Powell after the president's comments caused stock markets to fall. However, it is almost certain that President Trump will not reappoint Powell when Powell's term...Read More

With the Trump Administration headed down the road to higher inflation and the political chaos that results, it is worth asking why there are "only" $4 trillion in notional crypto tokens, this according to the Financial Times. The rise of bitcoin and other ethereal instruments evidences a strong desire on the part of many Americans to escape a sinking ship, but also confirms the love for creating...Read More

The past 10 years has been dominated by tech.The Magnificent 7 is up 2,278% over that period. That's Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Tesla, Meta, Amazon, and Apple.It's been an incredible run. But the tech bull will soon be put out to pasture. Valuations are stretched. Employees are already filthy rich off stock options, draining their motivation.Spending on AI hardware and talent is completely out of...Read More

Throughout the Russo-Ukrainian war, Senator Lindsey Graham has been a primary instigator. His involvement goes back to at least 2016, when he visited Ukraine and told soldiers that "your fight is our fight", while accusing Russia of "hacking our elections".After the war truly kicked off in 2022, Graham told Americans that funding Ukraine was an excellent investment. It was simple, according to the...Read More

There are assertions that, on the face of them, should be dismissed immediately as nonsense. But modern science tells us not to trust our first instincts in favor of "the numbers," or "the data," or "the stats."The problem is that if the numbers are miscalculated or misinterpreted, we start to believe stupid things.For instance, a significant number of X users genuinely believe Spain and Portugal...Read More

Elizabeth rounded the edge of the house. There, in the back yard were two of Pierre's prize cows. Sleek. Fat. Muscled. They were the kind of limousine cows that butchers must dream about."Oh no….they're going to eat our flowers."She called Pierre."Just close your gate so they can't get out onto the road," he advised. "It's too dark for me to get them now. I'll come in the morning."And don't...Read More

In 1970, silver traded at around $1.60 per ounce. By its peak in 1980, it reached $49.45. A handsome 30x return.The story of how it got there is full of intrigue and conspiracy. We'll get to that. But first, a little background is in order.Monetary demand for silver had collapsed after the U.S. and other countries stopped using it in coins in 1965. Before that, America's dimes and quarters were 90...Read More