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

This is becoming very concerning.The momentum to "ban cash", and in particular high denomination notes like the 500 euro and $100 bills, is seriously picking up steam.On Monday the European Central Bank President emphatically disclosed that he is strongly considering phasing out the 500 euro note.Yesterday, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers published an op-ed in the Washington Post about...Read More

Why Buying Gold Won't Save You from the Zombie Apocalypse … Despite any advice you might have heard to the contrary, gold bullion is far from a good investment, even if the world is coming to an end. The idea of having a hedge against the end of the world and the collapse of our financial institutions might be alluring. But actually, buying and storing significant amounts of gold bullion...Read More

February 5, 2016Sovereign Valley Farm, ChileThirteen years ago my life changed forever.Colin Powell, then US Secretary of State and the most credible person in George W. Bush's cabinet, made the case for war in Iraq on February 5, 2003.As a young military intelligence officer at the time, watching from a makeshift Army base in Kuwait not far from the Iraq border.Back then I was a true believer...Read More

Starbucks CEO warns the U.S. presidential elections are turning into a 'circus' … CEO Howard Schultz criticized the presidential candidates for making 'bombastic attacks' without 'respect' for each other. He warned the run-up to the U.S. election had 'turned into something none of us has ever seen before… almost a circus.' – Daily MailThe outspoken...Read More

This is becoming very concerning.The momentum to "ban cash", and in particular high denomination notes like the 500 euro and $100 bills, is seriously picking up steam.On Monday the European Central Bank President emphatically disclosed that he is strongly considering phasing out the 500 euro note.Yesterday, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers published an op-ed in the Washington Post about...Read More

Why Buying Gold Won't Save You from the Zombie Apocalypse … Despite any advice you might have heard to the contrary, gold bullion is far from a good investment, even if the world is coming to an end. The idea of having a hedge against the end of the world and the collapse of our financial institutions might be alluring. But actually, buying and storing significant amounts of gold bullion...Read More

February 5, 2016Sovereign Valley Farm, ChileThirteen years ago my life changed forever.Colin Powell, then US Secretary of State and the most credible person in George W. Bush's cabinet, made the case for war in Iraq on February 5, 2003.As a young military intelligence officer at the time, watching from a makeshift Army base in Kuwait not far from the Iraq border.Back then I was a true believer...Read More

On Wednesday another ratings agency downgraded Anglo American's credit to junk status. Fitch Ratings follows Moody's rating and also believe the outlook for the company is negative.Yesterday the London-listed miner said it's exiting the coal sector by selling its remaining operations in Australia, South Africa and Colombia. Anglo also said it would extract itself, over time, from its iron ore busi...Read More

Increased Chinese mineral production is just as much a cause for the slide in prices as the aggressive expansions by western mining companies, says Investec's global mining strategist Jeremy Wrathall.The difference in this dramatic downswing in global mineral prices compared to other troughs in the cycle was the enormous amount of debt firms took on to build new mines and processing capacity afte...Read More

You've heard the story before. The one about that promising mine project that was supposed to become the investment of the decade, or a prime producing mine. But it wasn't.Several projects end up disappointing hopeful investors not only due to community opposition or legal hurdles, but because they were not properly evaluated by the so-called experts.Project evaluation experts require an understan...Read More

The government of Indonesia will relax next year its ban on partially processed minerals exports, including copper, nickel, zinc and bauxite ore order to prop up its economy.According to the country's mining minister Sudirman Said, the review of the metal exports rule is part of a wider revision of the 2009 mining law that led to the export edicts and other regulations, Reuters reports.Indonesia...Read More

Anglo American's overhaul reflects the dire straits the global mining industry is in these days. (Image: Screenshot from Anglo American video via YouTube)After weeks of speculation, battered mining giant Anglo American (LON:AAL) has finally revealed details of its radical "portfolio restructuring,"announced in December, in response to a global rout in commodity prices that punished the costly mine...Read More

Central banks face credibility test … The retreat from unconventional monetary policy was always going to be tricky. While economists are almost equally divided on whether Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will raise U.S. interest rates this week, the bond market suggests policy makers will wait. October's Fed minutes will be scrutinised for signs around the argument to raise rates at t...Read More

Central banks face credibility test … The retreat from unconventional monetary policy was always going to be tricky. While economists are almost equally divided on whether Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will raise U.S. interest rates this week, the bond market suggests policy makers will wait. October's Fed minutes will be scrutinised for signs around the argument to raise rates at t...Read More

Ratings agency Moody's on Monday downgraded Anglo American's credit rating to below investment grade, saying the world's fifth largest diversified miner "now faces a higher business risk due to deterioration in commodities market conditions and a longer and more uncertain deleveraging period than previously expected."After the downgrade to junk status Moody's also maintains a negative outlook on t...Read More

Newcrest Mining rung in US$81 million profit in its half year financial result update, US$117 million lower than the corresponding prior period.The company says it was adversely impacted primarily by lower realised US dollar gold and copper prices and lower copper sales volumes. There was also an extended production outage atCadia following the failure of the main SAG mill motor also adversely imp...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) is selling a 13 percent ownership interest in its Morenci Mine to Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (SMM) for $1.0 billion in cash.Morenci is an open-pit, copper mine located in Arizona.The Morenci unincorporated joint venture is currently owned 85 percent by FCX and 15 percent by Sumitomo Metal Mining Arizona Inc. (SMMAz is owned 80 percent by SMM and 20 percent by Sumi...Read More

Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX: TKO) is suing the federal government in B.C. Supreme Court and seeking unspecified compensation for a 2014 decision that blocked development of a proposed $1.5 billion gold and copper deposit.The Vancouver-based company claims that the government and its agents - including the environment minister at the time - failed to meet their legal duties to Taseko when they blocked t...Read More

Rio Tinto Group should focus on buying floundering rivals to secure copper mines instead of building new ones, according to Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd."The decision should be a no-brainer," Paul Gait, an analyst at Bernstein in London, said in a note Friday. "Building a new ton of supply costs significantly more than buying an existing one."Rio said Thursday it plans to cut its dividend by as much a...Read More

Miners struggling to cut costs amid plunging metal prices just got some help from Argentine President Mauricio Macri, as he announced the government has revoked a 5% tax imposed by the previous administration on mining and energy companies.Macri, who took office in December on a platform of repealing government intervention that scared investors away, unveiled the measure during a visit to the min...Read More