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

Phil North was no fan of the proposed Pebble Mine, so when he was asked in 2010 to offer feedback on a draft petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency to kill the project, he pitched in with suggested language and edits.Given that Mr. North was then a staff scientist with the EPA working on the Pebble Mine, however, his collaboration with outside advocates, which he discussed in a dep...Read More

Identity 2016: ‘Global citizenship’ rising, poll suggests ... People are increasingly identifying themselves as global rather than national citizens, according to a BBC World Service poll. The trend is particularly marked in emerging economies, where people see themselves as outward looking and internationally minded. However, in Germany fewer people say they feel like global citizen...Read More

One day we're saving the banks; the next day we're saving the auto industry; the next day we're trying to see whether we can have some impact on the housing market. – President Barack ObamaYesterday's New York Times devoted 6,000 words and a main feature to nothing short of an all-out defense of Obama's economic legacy. In the process, they went full Keynesian.From the opening paragraph that...Read More

Identity 2016: ‘Global citizenship’ rising, poll suggests ... People are increasingly identifying themselves as global rather than national citizens, according to a BBC World Service poll. The trend is particularly marked in emerging economies, where people see themselves as outward looking and internationally minded. However, in Germany fewer people say they feel like global citizen...Read More

One day we're saving the banks; the next day we're saving the auto industry; the next day we're trying to see whether we can have some impact on the housing market. – President Barack ObamaYesterday's New York Times devoted 6,000 words and a main feature to nothing short of an all-out defense of Obama's economic legacy. In the process, they went full Keynesian.From the opening paragraph that...Read More

In New York trade on Thursday copper for delivery in July continued to drift lower as top producer Chile painted a mixed picture for the metal.July copper futures were lasting trading at $2.27 per pound, just holding onto the psychologically important $5,000 a tonne level. The price of copper is up solid 17.2% from a seven-year low hit mid-January.The Chilean Copper Commission cut its prediction f...Read More

Beleaguered Anglo American (LON:ALL) said Thursday it has reached a deal to sell its niobium and phosphates businesses in Brazil to China Molybdenum Co. Ltd for $1.5 billion in cash, as part of its ongoing drive to offload noncore assets to reduce debt.The niobium and phosphates division, which consists of mines, plants, processing facilities, chemical complexes and deposits, was considered one o...Read More

The dollar has an opportunity to make history. After three straight years of gains, strategists are forecasting the US currency will be a world beater again in 2016, strengthening against seven of 10 developed world peers by the end of the year. – Median estimate from Bloomberg SurveyTwo data points may establish a trend. Three can confirm the trend - with a margin of error.But what happe...Read More

The European Union always was an American project. It was Washington that drove European integration in the late 1940s, and funded it covertly under the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. - TelegraphAmbrose Evans-Pritchard is telling the truth again, or at least part of it, in this most recent column of his. But we find ourselves disagreeing with him on some im...Read More

Germany to launch 1 billion-euro discount scheme for electric car buyers ...Germany is set to launch a new incentive scheme worth about 1 billion euros ($1 billion) to get more consumers buying electric cars as it struggles to meet a target of bringing 1 million of them onto its roads by the end of the decade. The costs of the incentives, similar to those already established in some other European...Read More

The dollar has an opportunity to make history. After three straight years of gains, strategists are forecasting the US currency will be a world beater again in 2016, strengthening against seven of 10 developed world peers by the end of the year. – Median estimate from Bloomberg SurveyTwo data points may establish a trend. Three can confirm the trend - with a margin of error.But what happe...Read More

The European Union always was an American project. It was Washington that drove European integration in the late 1940s, and funded it covertly under the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. - TelegraphAmbrose Evans-Pritchard is telling the truth again, or at least part of it, in this most recent column of his. But we find ourselves disagreeing with him on some im...Read More

Germany to launch 1 billion-euro discount scheme for electric car buyers ...Germany is set to launch a new incentive scheme worth about 1 billion euros ($1 billion) to get more consumers buying electric cars as it struggles to meet a target of bringing 1 million of them onto its roads by the end of the decade. The costs of the incentives, similar to those already established in some other European...Read More

Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world's largest producer of the precious metal by output, is claiming victory in its turnaround effort."Barrick is back," executive chairman John Thornton said during the company's annual general meeting, held TuesdayBarrick Gold has reduced its debt load, reshuffle management and sold several assets.Known for his flamboyant statements, he added: "We wil...Read More

Trump's World to watch as Trump outlines his foreign policy ... Critics have accused the Republican front-runner of bigotry and posing a danger to U.S. national security. Many foreign policy and defense advisers say his views are worrying, mingling isolationism and protectionism, with calls to force U.S. allies to pay more for their defense and proposals to impose punitive tariffs on some import...Read More

It became clear that the best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterey, Mexico. – Carrier Air Conditioning spokespersonBack in February, workers at a Carrier air conditioner manufacturing plant in Indianapolis filmed a company spokesman informing employees that 1,400 jobs would be moved to Mexico. The s...Read More

Why the world needs more U.S. government debt ... Are government-imposed restrictions holding back the U.S. economy? In a way, yes: The federal government is causing great harm by failing to issue enough debt. The U.S. generates more income than any other country, and will keep doing so for many years to come. The federal government can generate a lot of revenue by taxing this income — a p...Read More

Trump's World to watch as Trump outlines his foreign policy ... Critics have accused the Republican front-runner of bigotry and posing a danger to U.S. national security. Many foreign policy and defense advisers say his views are worrying, mingling isolationism and protectionism, with calls to force U.S. allies to pay more for their defense and proposals to impose punitive tariffs on some import...Read More

It became clear that the best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterey, Mexico. – Carrier Air Conditioning spokespersonBack in February, workers at a Carrier air conditioner manufacturing plant in Indianapolis filmed a company spokesman informing employees that 1,400 jobs would be moved to Mexico. The s...Read More

Why the world needs more U.S. government debt ... Are government-imposed restrictions holding back the U.S. economy? In a way, yes: The federal government is causing great harm by failing to issue enough debt. The U.S. generates more income than any other country, and will keep doing so for many years to come. The federal government can generate a lot of revenue by taxing this income — a p...Read More