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

A rare public protest in Mongolia's capital on Wednesday drew thousands of demonstrators who criticized foreign mining concessions and demanded action to prop up the tottering economy.More than 2,000 demonstrators in Ulaanbaatar's Freedom Square also called for parliament to be dissolved and a new government formed over alleged corruption and the economic crisis battering the vast, landlocked nati...Read More

On Wednesday, Lockheed Martin signed the first customer for the LMH-1, the giant defense contractor's hybrid airship. The LMH-1 is a unique new aircraft which is part helium dirigible, part cargo helicopter, part passenger airliner and part hovercraft.UK-based Straightline Aviation signed a letter of intent with Hybrid Enterprises, the exclusive reseller of the hybrid airship, to purchase up to...Read More

Yellen Says Caution in Raising Rates Is 'Especially Warranted' ... Fed Chair makes case for go-slow changes with rate near zero ... Janet Yellen said it is appropriate for U.S. central bankers to "proceed cautiously" in raising interest rates because the global economy presents heightened risks. The speech to the Economic Club of New York made a strong case for running the economy hot to push aw...Read More

Yellen Says Caution in Raising Rates Is 'Especially Warranted' ... Fed Chair makes case for go-slow changes with rate near zero ... Janet Yellen said it is appropriate for U.S. central bankers to "proceed cautiously" in raising interest rates because the global economy presents heightened risks. The speech to the Economic Club of New York made a strong case for running the economy hot to push aw...Read More

… Along with the crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech, as well as an increasingly ideological tone, some observers worry that Chinese politics is now taking a more authoritarian direction of the kind not seen since the days of Chairman Mao. And with the normal political process so opaque and closed, the things we can glimpse on the edges of China’s parliamentary set pieces are...Read More

… Along with the crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech, as well as an increasingly ideological tone, some observers worry that Chinese politics is now taking a more authoritarian direction of the kind not seen since the days of Chairman Mao. And with the normal political process so opaque and closed, the things we can glimpse on the edges of China’s parliamentary set pieces are...Read More

Despite falling to a one-month low on Monday after three straight weeks of declines, year to date gold is holding onto a 15% gain, silver and platinum are up 10% while copper's trading more than 15% higher than its January lows.Industrial metals have all advanced in 2016 led by zinc which has jumped by more than 20% in three months. Volatile iron ore at $55.20 on Monday is the best performer with...Read More

Tony Blair [in the Sunday Times]: Britain and its western allies must be prepared to send ground troops to "crush" Islamic State forces or risk a terror attack in Europe of "such size and horror" that draconian security measures would have to be introduced, Tony Blair has said. -GuardianIn a widely noted editorial, Tony Blair is speaking up again, pounding the drums for war without apology. This a...Read More

Tony Blair [in the Sunday Times]: Britain and its western allies must be prepared to send ground troops to "crush" Islamic State forces or risk a terror attack in Europe of "such size and horror" that draconian security measures would have to be introduced, Tony Blair has said. -GuardianIn a widely noted editorial, Tony Blair is speaking up again, pounding the drums for war without apology. This a...Read More

China is stashing away copper from London warehouses at a breakneck pace, which may put downward pressure on the price.While copper has rebounded 15 percent since mid-January, copper investors may be lulled into a false sense of security. That's because there is mounting evidence that the industrial metal is really just being stockpiled rather than imported to satisfy increasing demand for coppe...Read More

State-owned Zijin Mining, China's largest listed gold producer, said Friday net profit for 2015 dropped by almost 30% to $261 million (1.7 billion yuan) from the previous year's $353m (2.3 billion yuan) as a result of weak metal prices.The firm, which also mines copper, zinc and lead, said it aims to increase gold production this year by 15% to 42.5 tonnes this year. It also expects to hike copper...Read More

Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world' largest producer of the precious metal, has decided to shrink its chairman salary by almost US$10 million, or 76% its current pay, in response to relentless criticism from investors over the firm's compensation packages.John Thornton, 62, will receive $3.4 million for his work in 2015, including compensations and pension, a significant reduction fr...Read More

Chile's Codelco, the world's No.1 copper producer, posted Thursday (in Spanish) a net loss of $ 1.4 billion for 2015 related to asset impairments and a sharp fall of prices for the red metal.The company, which produces nearly 11% of the total global copper supply, booked $2.4 billion in write-downs, and said the results were its worst bottom-line figures since it began issuing earnings reports in...Read More

Pascua-Lama has been shut since 2013. (Image courtesy of Barrick Gold)Canada's Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) will have to face a U.S. class-action lawsuit that accuses the world's largest gold producer of distorting facts related to its now halted $8.5 billion Pascua-Lama project, straddling the border of Chile and Argentina.U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan ruled Wednesday that sha...Read More

Commodities giant Mitsubishi Corp became Thursday the second Japanese trading house this week to report huge write-downs and a likely first annual loss ever, echoing Mitsui & Co's warning on the effect of weak commodity prices.Japan's biggest trader said it expected to book an impairment charge of $3.8 billion (430 billion yen) mainly on its metals and energy businesses, which will lead to a net l...Read More

Tony Blair has warned against “flabby liberalism” and says there needs to be a tougher centre ground approach to issues such as tackling extremism and responding to the refugee crisis ... He argues that education against extremism and intolerance will come to be seen as an international obligation – in the way that environmental policy, such as tackling pollution, is addressed...Read More

Tony Blair has warned against “flabby liberalism” and says there needs to be a tougher centre ground approach to issues such as tackling extremism and responding to the refugee crisis ... He argues that education against extremism and intolerance will come to be seen as an international obligation – in the way that environmental policy, such as tackling pollution, is addressed...Read More

On Wednesday investors curbed their enthusiasm for commodities, sending everything from copper and gold to oil and iron ore sharply lower.But despite nervousness returning to metals and mining markets this week, 2016 is still looking decidedly better for the sector. Year to date gold is holding onto 15% gains, silver and platinum are up 10% while bellwether copper's trading nearly 15% higher than...Read More

Donald Trump claims that America keeps "losing" at trade with China.While the number he cites is exaggerated, it's also not far off. Today's animation shows the last 30 years of history of trade between the USA and China.The U.S. trade deficit with China reached record proportions in 2015.With a difference of $365.7 billion between imports and exports, it is not only the largest trade deficit with...Read More

Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co warned Wednesday is set to post its first annual loss since being established in 1947 after a sustained rout in energy and metal prices forced it to book $2.3 billion (260 billion yen) in write-downs on projects from South America to Australia.The Tokyo-based firm, Japan's second biggest trading house, expects a net loss of 70 billion yen ($623 million) in the fis...Read More