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

Donald Trump hasn’t succeeded in discrediting Hillary Clinton, but he has managed to tarnish one target: Paul Ryan, the top Republican office holder in the country. – BloombergThis Bloomberg article explains that Trump has not succeeded in “dragging down” Hillary Clinton but has effectively reduced Paul Ryan’s favorability and credibility.The article argues, therefore...Read More

Maintaining and replacing tires are expensive for miners, said Bob Bennett, Vice President of Operations for Kal Tire during an interview at last month's MINExpo.Kal Tire is Canada's largest independent tire dealer and one of North America's largest commercial tire dealers. Kal Tire's Mining Tire Group operates at more than 150 mine sites across five continents.Full interview transcribed for clari...Read More

BHP Billiton aspires to have a workforce that is 50% female by 2025, in a report by The Financial Times.CEO Andrew Mackenzie made the announcement before the company kicks off its annual meeting in London on Thursday.BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP), the world's largest miner, currently has 65,000 employees with just 17% being female. Senior staff bonuses are already tied to hiring more female workers. BHP...Read More

Canadian junior Pistol Bay Mining (CVE:PST) announced the acquisition of all properties and deposits from AurCrest Gold (CVE:AGO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) in Ontario's Confederation Lake Greenstone Belt.The property package covers a 31 kilometres length of the Confederation Lake Greenstone Belt and includes two zinc-copper deposits and a number of zones which are in need of follow-up drilling. Mine...Read More

One year after the reopening of its zinc, copper, and lead Aznalc??llar mine near the Spaniard city of Sevilla, Grupo Mexico's project is being scrutinized once again.Sevilla's Provincial Court decided to revisit the investigation behind the mining rights awarded to GMexico's subsidiary M?(C)xico-Minorbis. Last year, accusations about shady pre-arranged agreements to obtain such concession, dismis...Read More

In May Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) announced the sale of its Tenke Fungurume copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to China Molybdenum (CMOC) for up to $2.65 billion, a crucial part of the Phoenix-based company's debt reduction program.But exiting the DRC is proving to be as complicated as operating a mine in the troubled central African country. Now Gecamines, the stat...Read More

Certain commodities tend to fly under the radar for periods of time.For example, it was only in the last couple of years that markets have been able to digest the potential impact of the electric vehicle boom, and what it may mean for raw materials. The lithium, graphite, and cobalt prices reacted accordingly, and suddenly these essential ingredients for lithium-ion batteries were hot commodities....Read More

For the first time in about five years, the world's No. 1 mining company BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) has said it was finally seeing clear signs of a commodity market turnaround.Announcing the results of an operational review ended Sep. 30, chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said there were "early signs of markets rebalancing."Iron ore and metallurgical coal prices have been stron...Read More

Populism on the March Why the West Is in Trouble ... Trump is part of a broad populist upsurge running through the Western world. It can be seen in countries of widely varying circumstances, from prosperous Sweden to crisis-ridden Greece. In most, populism remains an opposition movement, although one that is growing in strength; in others, such as Hungary, it is now the reigning ideology. But almo...Read More

Mess With Central-Bank Independence at Your Peril ... There are worrying signs that, against the current backdrop of record-low interest rates, politicians are tempted to start meddling. -BloombergThe idea of nationalizing banks is probably part of a continued strategy to destroy local and regional central banks in favor of one that is worldwide.It is surely true that the indefensible nature o...Read More

70 Nobel Laureates Endorse Hillary Clinton ... A group of the world's leading experts in science, medicine and economics threw their support behind Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, endorsing the Democratic presidential candidate and arguing that her election is crucial for safeguarding freedom and preserving a constitutional government.The Nobel Prize long ago turned into a meme that reinforces speci...Read More

Populism on the March Why the West Is in Trouble ... Trump is part of a broad populist upsurge running through the Western world. It can be seen in countries of widely varying circumstances, from prosperous Sweden to crisis-ridden Greece. In most, populism remains an opposition movement, although one that is growing in strength; in others, such as Hungary, it is now the reigning ideology. But almo...Read More

Mess With Central-Bank Independence at Your Peril ... There are worrying signs that, against the current backdrop of record-low interest rates, politicians are tempted to start meddling. -BloombergThe idea of nationalizing banks is probably part of a continued strategy to destroy local and regional central banks in favor of one that is worldwide.It is surely true that the indefensible nature o...Read More

70 Nobel Laureates Endorse Hillary Clinton ... A group of the world's leading experts in science, medicine and economics threw their support behind Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, endorsing the Democratic presidential candidate and arguing that her election is crucial for safeguarding freedom and preserving a constitutional government.The Nobel Prize long ago turned into a meme that reinforces speci...Read More

Imperial Metals escaped charges from its 2014 Mount Polley tailings breach near the city of Williams Lake, but the company isn't going to dodge new legal actions coming its way.Today, MiningWatch, backed by more than a dozen of other non-profit organizations including Amnesty International, Clayoquot Action, and Wilderness Committee, announced its plans to file a private prosecution under Canada's...Read More

Canadian Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI) (NYSE:AUY) is set to spin off its Brio Gold subsidiary, which operates non-core assets in Brazil, as a standalone public company.This is not the first time the Toronto-based mid-sized gold producer tries to divest the three Brazilian mines owned by its local unit. Late last year, the company attempted to sell some of its 100% stake in Brio through a private share pla...Read More

Production of cobalt, used in the lithium batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric cars, is set to soar in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), thanks to the country's low operating costs and strong projects pipeline, a new study published Tuesday shows.Analysts a BMI Research, a division of Fitch Group, estimate the country's cobalt output will jump from 66.2 thousand t...Read More

A massive gold-copper mine planned for northwest B.C.'s Golden Triangle would have a higher capital cost but lower operating costs and a smaller environmental footprint, according to a revised plan.Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX:SEA) recently updated its plans for the proposed Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine 65 kilometres northwest of Stewart with a preliminary economic assessment and an updated p...Read More

The public release, via WikiLeaks, of purloined e-mails and documents related to Hillary Clinton and her campaign has produced starkly different reactions. On the whole, the news media is nonplussed.- BloombergThis Bloomberg article makes the case that none of the emails released by WikiLeaks provides evidence of wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton.Is suggests that the leaks "may or may not be part of a...Read More

The public release, via WikiLeaks, of purloined e-mails and documents related to Hillary Clinton and her campaign has produced starkly different reactions. On the whole, the news media is nonplussed.- BloombergThis Bloomberg article makes the case that none of the emails released by WikiLeaks provides evidence of wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton.Is suggests that the leaks "may or may not be part of a...Read More