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
Victoria Gold (TSXV: GCX) must quickly stabilize its Eagle gold mine site to prevent another landslide and a spill to neighbouring property, a landslide expert says.The company suspended operations and said it's investigating an accident on Monday at the Yukon site's heap leach pad. It's about 375 km north of Whitehorse. No one was injured.Photos show a 1.3-km failure of material down a slope afte...Read More
Had enough of the current Middle East war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news.But it's time to get ready for the next phase of this war. The next Middle East war will also involve Israel. Except in this war, Israel's guns will be pointing north toward Lebanon.And it risks a much wider conflict, with Iran in particular. Let's break it down...Recent intelligen...Read More
This is the most significant reality of the world picture now: The wishes of the manager class are going in one direction while the actual dynamics of economy and politics go in the opposite direction.The managers wish for their management of systems to become as centralized and top-down as possible; but the very systems they manage are breaking down and seeking to reorganize at smaller scale, dis...Read More
There's been a lot of talk over the past several days that Saudi Arabia is ending the petrodollar deal it's had with the U.S. for 50 years. This story has been highly exaggerated. Today I want to address the misinformation you're seeing right now, and show you what really happened.News services of dubious accuracy reported that Saudi Arabia had ended the petrodollar deal on June 9, after 50 years....Read More
Victoria Gold (TSXV: GCX) has suspended operations at its Eagle mine in the Yukon after an accident at its heap leach pad. There were no injuries, the company said. The site operations teams and management are working on assessing the situation and gathering information, the company said in a release Monday. Eagle, the territory's only producing gold mine, is located about 375 km north of Whitehor...Read More
Touch off the rockets! Light the sparklers! Raise a joyous toast!That is because May's inflation data came issuing this morning. And it disappointed expectations or rather exceeded expectations.A Dow Jones survey of economists had divined a 3.4% inflation rate. Yet the United States Department of Labor reported a mere 3.3% inflation rate.We can only assume you are as gleeful as us. Media outlets...Read More
I admit, I wasn't fussed about the whole Hunter Biden conviction. But I couldn't understand why. I mean, they finally got a Democrat on something.But Hunter Biden is such a dirtbag; gun charges don't do him justice.No, this isn't the same as getting Al Capone on tax evasion. It's more like getting Lex Luthor on a jaywalking charge.Let's not mince words. Hunter is a crackhead who shagged his dead b...Read More
The state is a transformer that takes on different appearances in different ages, depending on resources, traditions, technologies and geography.History chronicles theocratic despotisms, feudal lords, exploitative slavocracies, imperial autocracies, peaceful republics, small-scale democracies, divine-right monarchies, murderous party dictatorships and many more besides.What is the 21st-century for...Read More
We remain besieged by responses to our D-Day coverage.Certain readers nearly chain us Mr. Benedict Arnold. Reader B.H. for example.From whom:I find the comments about D-Day very disturbing. There was no need to disrespect D-Day on that day. Whatever your views on D-Day they could have been discussed at any time than on that day. You do all Americans a disservice when you have to dig into every a...Read More
There's a long-held fable within investing circles that surging M&A activity can (at times) signal a market top. So, how does that come about?Just like regular investors, major corporate executives suffer from the same psychological condition known as FOMO.The 'fear of missing out' is a timeless human condition repeated for eons and ingrained in human DNA. Yet, it seems to hold a special place in...Read More
Money being scarce saves us from many pernicious forms of mischief, and having too much money/credit leads to catastrophe. This is of course the exact opposite of the conventional belief that having lots of money makes life not just easier but expansive and, well, as perfect as human life can be.On the scale of nation-states, having too much money/credit leads to the catastrophe of wars of choice,...Read More
The paint isn't even dry on the freshly-split NVIDIA shares and the financial media is already crowning it as the next big addition to the Dow.It's all just speculation at this point. But if NVDA keeps pace with its historic run, it would certainly be a welcome addition to the industrials. After all, NVDA just casually added another trillion bucks to its market cap as it stacks up a gain of nearly...Read More
I suspect you thought that June 6, 1944, was D-Day, when U.S.-British-Canadian and other Allies invaded Normandy, France, eighty years ago today. Yes, I know that the event is called D-Day, but for reasons I'll explain in a moment, let's go with the letter "L." Bear with me...Who Put the "D" in D-Day?D-Day is a confusing label. There's no correct explanation for the letter "D," not now nor back on...Read More
This week's episode features AI.Energy CEO Mariem Akrout in conversation with host Adrian Pocobelli on the latest developments in artificial intelligence, as well as its general impact on the mining industry. Akrout explains how AI can create efficiencies within companies to save both money and time, as well as how AI technology can be used to reassess deposits, providing more accurate and efficie...Read More
Canada boasts of its rich history and continued success in mining, metallurgical and chemical processing, advanced manufacturing, strong trade relations north-south and east-west, access to clean energy and its commitment to sustainability. While these strengths lay the foundation for Canada to succeed in a rapidly changing economy driven by the global energy transition, they're not enough. The l...Read More
Yesterday's reckoning drew a heaping mail.We reckoned that the United States contributed less to World War II victory than the Russian contribution.Thus we have offended the national pieties.We may as well have denounced the institution of motherhood, pies with apples in them and the Declaration of Independence.Reader K.K deals with us this way:What a lousy thing to write on D-Day. Any other day,...Read More
I'm sure you recall the banking crisis of March to May 2023.It began with the collapse of the little-known Silvergate Bank on March 8. This was followed the next day by the collapse of the much larger Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 9. SVB had over $120 billion in uninsured deposits.Bank deposits over $250,000 each are not covered by FDIC insurance. Those depositors stood to lose all their mone...Read More
Eighty years ago this day the Allied powers massively raided the French beaches at Normandy.It was a superexcellent event the greatest maritime invasion in all of history.Its plotting, its organizing and its implementation remain astounding wonders.Over 4,000 Allied men fell down that day and never stood back up over half were American.Thousands and thousands more were slain in subsequent camp...Read More
Beware the sting in the tail.In the context of today's reckoning, beware the sting in the banking tail.Beginning March last year, the banking system absorbed a substantial clout.A score of regional banks sank to their knees... and plunged into receivership.By way of background:Their portfolios were loaded through with long-term Treasury bonds. The banks purchased these "safe" bonds in a period of...Read More
The steady path toward World War III continues. U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine in the war with Russia has been one long failure, but that hasn't stopped them from escalating the war with new weapons and tactics.Russia has met the escalation with its own escalation every step of the way. At what point do rational leaders in the West (if there are any left) pause, consider that the war is lost in...Read More