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

Some of the best friendships start that way.A knockdown, dragout brawl kicks things off. A brutal beating was taken on both sides. A moment of clarity ensues. The look that says, "What did we start fighting over to begin with?"A shoulder shrug, indicating no one can remember what the catalyst was. A smile. A handshake. And a drunken night out with raucous backslapping and man hugs to consummate th...Read More

There was an oblique message buried in a recent New York Times story on the growing crisis in commercial real estate in cities.Yes, this is exactly the kind of article that people pass over because it seems like it doesn't have broad application. In fact, it does.It affects the core of issues like our city skylines, how we think about urbanism and progress, where we vacation and work and whether t...Read More

We understand the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is pursuing fresh initiatives in the fields of artificial intelligence, information management and cybersecurity.Its purpose claims United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is to:Harness the unique strengths of highly capable democracies to address shared global challenges.We are not certain to which "unique strengths of highly...Read More

Here is the central difficulty of economists:They are not women and men of science.They believe they are. Yet they are not."Science" binds back to the Latin scientia knowledge "to know."The practitioner of the astronomical sciences, for example, is merely out to comprehend the universe he infests.He is not out to change or influence it. He is not out to engineer it. He is merely out to study i...Read More

Myths die hard. Among these is the great myth that China's poised to take over the world. Today I'll debunk that myth.No one seriously disputes the importance of China to the global economy. It's the world's second-largest economy after the U.S. and accounts for 17% of global GDP (or an even larger percentage if one uses an alternative accounting method called purchasing power parity).It has the w...Read More

Everyday Americans and investors in particular are confronted with "narratives" daily. Many include hidden agendas that are politically, ideologically or financially driven.The key for investors is to see the narrative for what it is, avoid the mass psychosis, position yourself for reality and succeed in the end.Following are four reigning narratives.In each case, I sketch these narratives (and wh...Read More

Instead of a sizzling summer rally, crypto once again finds itself at a crossroads.The year began with hope and excitement. Bitcoin had just led stocks off their lows during the fourth-quarter melt-up rally, gaining more than 60% off its October lows. Crypto bulls were giddy as two big developments appeared on the horizon: the impending Bitcoin ETF approvals - courtesy of the Securities and Exchan...Read More

Geopolitical/financial risks are proliferating and becoming more difficult to predict or hedge for a very basic reason:The era of global integration and accord has ended and the era of global disintegration and discord is heating up.In historian Peter Turchin’s terminology, when everyone finds reasons to cooperate, the result is an era of accord; when everyone finds reasons not to cooperate,...Read More

I did not celebrate the Fourth of July today.This goes back to a term paper I wrote in graduate school. It was on Colonial taxation in the British North American Colonies in 1775. Not counting local taxation, I discovered that the total burden of British imperial taxation was about 1% of national income. It may have been as high as 2.5% in the southern Colonies.In 2008, Alvin Rabushka’s book...Read More

If you’ve got any exposure to gold or other precious metals, congrats! The first half of 2024 has been an absolute thrill ride.You may recall that gold closed the month above $2,000 an ounce for the first time late last year a breakout that'd been a long time coming.This breakthrough cleared the way for gold to soar to its next psychologically important milestone of $3,000 an ounce.Given h...Read More

The doom and gloom surrounding the Presidential race is both undeniable and justified.America seems tapped out. It's out of money. It has lost the moral high ground. It resorts to coercion to keep its allies - or rather, vassal states - in line. And it prints money to cover its lies.There's a reason the Founding Fathers wrote hard money into the Constitution. Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitut...Read More

It's no secret that the vast majority of the so-called elites are advocates of climate alarmism and are taken in by the Green New Scam.Whether this preference is based on ignorance of the science, ideological zeal, a willful desire to hurt American growth or simple greed because of their investments in Green New Scam infrastructure varies case by case.The typical upper-income supporter of the clim...Read More

Remote eastern Yukon The snow-peaked mountains and green valleys of eastern Yukon may seem like a place that would attract only wily old prospectors and extreme hikers. But on a gentle mountain slope, a camp full of young geologists armed with the latest exploration technology are searching for metals needed for the green energy transition. On the border with the Northwest Territories, Fireweed...Read More

BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) is halting its Western Australia nickel operations starting in October, as the world's largest miner struggles to navigate challenges posed by a substantial decline in nickel prices and a global oversupply.The mining giant, which had warned the market about this potential outcome earlier this year, said it will review its decision affecting both the Nickel West...Read More

Here is the trouble with America's jingos, warhawks, drum-beaters, glory hounds, world-improvers and idealists:They are not patriotic.A jolting, nearly scandalous claim, it is true. Do these Americans not cry tears red, white and blue?Do they not yell about American "greatness"… American "exceptionalism"… the "shining city" atop the hill?That and more they do, yes. Yet they are not pat...Read More

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) could be back in the running to develop Europe's top lithium mine after a Serbian court ruled the government unlawfully revoked the miner's Jadar lithium project permits.The Serbian Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that the government's 2022 decision was unconstitutional.Belgrade revoked licences for the Australian miner's US$2.4-billion project in w...Read More

Gold has re-emerged as one of the top asset classes of 2024, having risen by 12% year to date and shattered multiple records along the way. It is now well on track for its best year since 2020.The yellow metal has benefitted from heightened uncertainty in the global economy, namely recession fears and geopolitical risks, which are driving up demand.The world's production of gold has also steadily...Read More

Africa-focused Montage Gold (TSXV: MAU) has secured the final mining permit for its flagship Kon? project in C?te d'Ivoire, paving the way to start construction early next year.The US$712-million project is forecast to churn out a total of 3.6 million oz. gold over a 16-year life, according to an updated feasibility study from January.Along with the Kon? permit, which is valid for 20 years, Montag...Read More

Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW; JSE: SSW) has confirmed reports of an ongoing cyberattack that has disrupted its IT systems globally.In a statement Thursday, the South African miner said it took immediate steps to proactively isolate IT systems and safeguard data as soon as it became aware of the incident, which began on Monday.In addition to the containment measures implemented, Sibanye said it h...Read More

Now's the perfect time for the red-hot semiconductors to take a nap.If this year's major chip winners - NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU) - continue to chop sideways or retest key support levels in July, what will be your next big trade this summer?We've discussed several potential summer rotation trade ideas over the past several weeks ranging f...Read More