The precious metals all soared in 2025, and while a continued monetary expansion and geopolitical risk could still drive gains especially for gold in 2026, a pullback in silver, platinum and palladium is possible after recent partly speculative surges.Read More
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
The prospects of dry bulk shippers carrying iron ore from mines to smelters have worsened due to the accident at Vale's Brumadinho dam in Brazil, Golden Ocean said on Tuesday as it presented forecast-beating quarterly earnings.The dam in the town of Brumadinho, which contained tailings, the mud-like byproducts of iron ore mining, burst on Jan. 25, killing at least 166 people and with almost 200 mo...Read More
It is almost a year since the United States imposed duties on imports of aluminium and steel on national security grounds.If the aim of the so-called "Section 232" tariffs was to lift domestic production, President Donald Trump's administration can claim a degree of success.U.S. output of primary aluminium has started rising sharply thanks to restarts of idled capacity, although not all of them ha...Read More
The Dow is lower despite Walmart's big post-earnings surgeThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is taking a breather today, last seen marginally lower as U.S.-China trade talks enter a second week ahead of the looming March 1 tariff deadline. Fresh off its eighth straight weekly win, the blue-chip index is shrugging off a strong day from Walmart (WMT) and its latest blowout earnings report. The...Read More
NTES options volume is ramping up as Amazon rumors swirlThe shares of NetEase Inc (NASDAQ:NTES) are popping today after business magazine Caijing reported that Amazon's (AMZN) China unit expressed interest in the Chinese tech giant's e-commerce company, Kaola. The NetEase offshoot sells imported apparel and household goods and has been listed as a leader of online shopping in China. Separately,...Read More
South32 could cut about 500 jobs at its Hillside aluminium smelter in South Africa's coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal, trade union Solidarity said, in a restructuring the company said is designed to reduce costs and help it contend with volatility in commodities markets.The Australia-listed company is planning to cut 500 of the 1,300 employees at the Hillside site, Solidarity said on Tuesday."The...Read More
South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore Ltd on Tuesday reported slightly lower full-year headline earnings for 2018, due to a dip in revenue and lower sales volumes.The company, a unit of Anglo American, said headline earnings came in at 30.28 rand ($2.14) per share in the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, compared to 30.47 rand a year ago.Headline EPS is the primary profit measure in South Africa, and strips out c...Read More
The key to getting monster-sized returns in mining equities is to be small, according to managers of the Plethora Precious Metals Fund.With only 18 million euros ($20 million) in assets, Plethora Precious Metals is a minnow in contrast to giants such as Blackrock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. While investment funds generally try to increase assets to share success and rake in higher fees, this Dutc...Read More
The key to getting monster-sized returns in mining equities is to be small, according to managers of the Plethora Precious Metals Fund.With only 18 million euros ($20 million) in assets, Plethora Precious Metals is a minnow in contrast to giants such as Blackrock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. While investment funds generally try to increase assets to share success and rake in higher fees, this Dutc...Read More
BHP Group, the world's biggest miner, doesn't have capacity to raise shipments into the iron ore market as competitor Vale SA faces outages following the fatal mining disaster in Brazil last month.The global iron ore market has been thrown upside down by the tragedy, after Vale was forced to shutter operations and the Brazilian government said it's banning certain types of dams used to hold mining...Read More
Intercept Pharmaceuticals announced that its NASH drug met one of the goals in a late-stage studyThe shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT) are soaring in early trading -- up 15.4% at $127.93 -- after the company announced that its treatment for liver fibrosis caused by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) achieved one of the primary goals of a late-stage study. The stock peaked at...Read More
The controversial pizza name was also hit with a price-target cutShares of pizza maker Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) are down 2.8% at $43.99, after receiving a downgrade to "sell" from "hold" at Stifel. The brokerage firm also slapped the pizza stock with a $3 price-target cut to $35, and trimmed its 2019 earnings estimates for the company. The analyst said Papa John's "will need...Read More
There's heavy open interest at the 200 strike on MCDMcDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD) is trading up 0.9% this morning at $181.54 following a bull note out of Stephens. The brokerage firm raised its rating on MCD stock to "overweight" from "equal weight," and kept its $200 price target, saying the company's lowered expectations for 2019 have opened the door for upside surprises for the year. Generally spe...Read More
Chile's Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) filed charges against Lumina Copper on Tuesday for infractions to the provisions established in its Resolutions of Environmental Rating (RCA), both at the Caserones mine and the Electric Transmission Line necessary for the development of the project.Lumina Copper faces fines of up to $54.8 million for infractions to the provisions established in it...Read More
Chile's Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) filed charges against Lumina Copper on Tuesday for infractions to the provisions established in its Resolutions of Environmental Rating (RCA), both at the Caserones mine and the Electric Transmission Line necessary for the development of the project.Lumina Copper faces fines of up to $54.8 million for infractions to the provisions established in it...Read More
Chile's Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) filed charges against Lumina Copper on Tuesday for infractions to the provisions established in its Resolutions of Environmental Rating (RCA), both at the Caserones mine and the Electric Transmission Line necessary for the development of the project.Lumina Copper faces fines of up to $54.8 million for infractions to the provisions established in it...Read More
For all the attention lavished on gold for its relative durability during this global dash into risk, the real story could be the companies digging it out of the ground.A growing chorus of big names - including everyone from the quants at Bernstein to Pictet's multi-asset team - is turning increasingly bullish on miners as late-cycle angst and industry shifts make conditions ripe for a prolonged r...Read More
Glencore Plc is planning to cut production at one of its largest copper and cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Wall Street Journal reported citing sources on Tuesday.The output cut is likely to be temporary as the company looks for new ways to mine copper, the report said.The company also plans to lay off about 2,000 employees, mostly contractors, at the Mutanda mine...Read More
* AngloGold reports earnings rise* Looks to sell interest in Cerro Vanguardia* Approves Quebradona project feasibility study (Recasts with asset sale, adds CEO comments)South Africa's AngloGold Ashanti said on Tuesday it was putting its interests in an Argentine mine up for sale as it looks to focus on operations with a longer shelf life and ability to deliver higher returns.AngloGold Chief Execut...Read More
* AngloGold reports earnings rise* Looks to sell interest in Cerro Vanguardia* Approves Quebradona project feasibility study (Recasts with asset sale, adds CEO comments)South Africa's AngloGold Ashanti said on Tuesday it was putting its interests in an Argentine mine up for sale as it looks to focus on operations with a longer shelf life and ability to deliver higher returns.AngloGold Chief Execut...Read More
Trade negotiations between the countries will continue todayDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are slipping as Wall Street anxiously awaits new information regarding trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. Another round of talks kick off today, with more senior-level officials set to meet on Thursday. Investors hope the two countries can hammer out a deal before March 1, when increa...Read More