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

(IDEX Online) - A grading lab in Italy has issued a fraud warning after three one-carat diamonds, all submitted on the same day, were found to be CVD lab growns.The stones, all round brilliant F / VS1, were all accompanied by paper GIA grading reports from different dates in May 2023 which described them as natural.The weights, dimensions and GIA inscriptions all appeared to match, but there was a...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Mejuri, a luxury jewelry startup based in Toronto, has become the latest brand to market lab growns alongside mined diamonds.Its first lab grown collection of stud earrings, tennis bracelet and necklaces, priced from $648 to $10,500, will initially be offered to Mejuri+ loyalty members and to all customers in March 2024.The company, founded in 2015, plans to introduce new styles an...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Japan, as one of the G7 nations, will join the ban on importing of non-industrial diamonds from Russia.But the move is more symbolic than anything, given that total imports amounted to under $400,000 in 2022.The Japanese government announced the diamond sanctions as part of new round of sanctions being implemented in view  of what it described as "the current international sit...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India is reported to be calling on the G7 to delay the introduction of sanctions on Russian diamonds, the first of which are due to take effect from 1 January 2024.It is particularly concerned about restrictions on diamonds that are cut and polished outside Russia - mostly in India - that will come into force on 1 March.It says they will prove impractical to implement in such a tig...Read More

(IDEX Online) - De Beers reported rough diamond sales of $130m of during its last sight of the year, as the polished market started to show some signs of recovery.The UK-based miner expressed cautious optimism that rough trading conditions were gradually improving.Average sales across all 10 cycles this year were $362m. So despite a 51 per cent increase from October's record low of $86m, Nove...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Rolex has been fined $100m by France's Competition Authority for prohibiting the sale of its watches online.The Swiss company has long claimed that restrictions on its authorized retailers are necessary to prevent counterfeiting and parallel trade in its watches. But the Autorite de la Concurrence, France's antitrust agency, ruled that it restricted competition.It sa...Read More

Yesterday's issue drew a very heavy mail.We solicited your opinion concerning the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling to strike Mr. Trump from the Republican primary ballot.We thank you for your responses.In summary: The ruling wrung the gizzards of most readers.They believe the Colorado Supreme Court conducted itself... how do we style it... extrajudicially.Reader Jason M. talks for many when he says...Read More

(IDEX Online) - India's polished diamonds exports fell again in November, as manufacturers cut back on rough purchases in line with a two-month voluntary ban.   Total foreign sales continued their decline, from $1.67bn in September to $1.26bn in October and now down to $1.1bn in November.   The figure is down 12 per cent on the previous month and 12 per cent down on November last ye...Read More

The market is tipping its hand.If you pay close attention, you'll begin to see the signs of a massive rotation in stocks - a phenomenon most investors will ignore until it's too late.But I do have some good news...If you catch these moves early, you have the chance to pull in impressive returns. As this rotation rally extends, I'm betting one sector could double up the S&P 500 during the first...Read More

Colleague Dave Gonigam recently wrote of a potential American "civil war."Is the Supreme Court of the state of Colorado out to kindle one?It has ruled 4-3 that Mr. Donald Trump is disqualified from running upon the Republican ticket in the state of Colorado.That is because the state's high court has deemed the fellow guilty of insurrection against the United States.They claim the 14th Amendmen...Read More

(IDEX Online) - A buyer who thought they'd bagged a bargain 12.15-carat Kashmir sapphire was devastated to learn it was a near-worthless synthetic.The unnamed customer bought the oval modified step cut gem, set in a white metal ring, while travelling in Indonesia, complete with a "reputable" lab report.But they sent it for a lab test at GSI Mumbai after taking it for alterations at local jewe...Read More

Share this articleVANCOUVER -Pan American Silver Corp. [PAAS-TSX, NASDAQ] has released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its 100%-owned La Colorada skarn project in Zacatecas, Mexico, which is located below and adjacent to its currently producing La Colorada mine."Our objective is to provide investors with exposure to silver, and the La Colorada Skarn provides that exposure in scale, wit...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Botswana Diamonds says it has identified anomalies within 6km of its existing KX36 project that could indicate new diamond reserves.KX36, about 260km north west of Gaborone, in the Kalahari Desert, has been described as the most significant diamond discovery in Botswana since the huge Debswana-owned Orapa and Jwaneng mines."Kimberlites occur in clusters, currently only KX36 has bee...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The Indian government say the G7 diamond sanctions only stones over one carats, and will therefore cause minimum disruption to its industry.The vast majority of stones cut and polished in Surat and other diamond hubs are well under the 1.0-cts threshold. "We should be able to export our diamonds without disturbing the proposed sanctions on Russia," said the Commerce Secretary...Read More

Everyday Americans understand inflation perfectly. But the egghead economists and policymakers who govern their lives don't.That may be because inflation is one of the biggest concerns of those who live in the real world, and it may lead to a political earthquake next November in the presidential and congressional elections.Here's the reality and here's the political narrative: Reality is that pri...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD)has agreed to sell one of the world's largest pink diamonds, weighing 108.39 carats, to Antwerp-based Choron for an undisclosed price.The Type IIa gem, recovered in March, is the biggest pink diamond ever at the Kao mine, in Lesotho, and eclipses the 47.81-carat Pink Eternity, which was recovered from the mine last year and which sold for an undisc...Read More

(IDEX Online) - The owner of a New York jewelry store was shot twice during a heist.Three masked raiders dressed in black burst into the premises in Corona, Queens, last Tuesday evening (12 December).The unnamed victim, a 59-year-old man, was hit in the right thigh and grazed by a bullet to the head. His injuries are not described as life-threatening. Police responded to a 911 call and took him to...Read More

"Society lives and acts only in individuals... Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping toward destruction. " Ludwig von MisesRemember, you are a sovereign individual and the blob in our nation's capital city is an undifferentiated mass of feckless protop...Read More

The Fed rate remained unchanged as a result of the FOMC meeting last week. But what's the future look like?Today, I'll explain what happened in terms of policy moves, what Fed Chair Jay Powell believes will happen next and what will actually happen.The difference between Powell's expectations and market expectations creates opportunities for investors to profit from those competing forecasts.Wheth...Read More

(IDEX Online) - TAG Heuer has unveiled a new version of its most expensive watch, the Carrera Plasma, to mark its diamond anniversary, incorporating 15.5 carats of lab growns.The gems are step-cut into "imaginative shapes" and set into both the black aluminum case and into the strap. The watch's dial is a polycrystalline diamond plate - a sum of crystals grown as one, and the crown is a...Read More