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

Federal Reserve: Credibility on the line … Sam Fleming in Washington … Last month's rate rise is drawing criticism. Some say it should abandon plans to increase again soon … 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. – Financial...Read More

'This was all planned': Former IG says Hillary, State Dept. are lying … The State Department is lying when it says it didn't know until it was too late that Hillary Clinton was improperly using personal e-mails and a private server to conduct official business — because it never set up an agency e-mail address for her in the first place, the department's former top watc...Read More

Tiny Aston Bay Holdings (BAY-V), a junior with a copper-zinc project in Nunavut, seized the market's attention today by announcing a preliminary joint-venture deal with the world's largest mining company.According to the exclusive letter of intent, BHP Billiton would pay a minimum of $40 million in exploration expenditures over 9 years - including $2.5 million within 2 years of signing a final d...Read More

Teck Metals Ltd. is expected to be hit with substantial fines after the company admits in court next week to causing pollution in Trail, in southeast B.C.The provincial court registry shows Teck, which operates the largest lead-zinc smelter in the world in the small town on the banks of the Columbia River, intends to plead guilty Monday to 15 charges.The charges, which follow an investigation by E...Read More

Japan adopts negative interest rate … In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan has introduced a negative interest rate. The benchmark rate of -0.1% means that commercial banks will be charged by the central bank for some deposits. It hopes this will be a disincentive to banks to save and prompt them to lend in another attempt to counter the continuing economic slump in the world's third-lar...Read More

Cover-Up of Autism and Vaccine Link … I am sure you are aware that the water supply in Flint, Michigan, was recently found to be contaminated with lead … An article (1.26.16) in the Detroit Free Press stated that the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on February 3, 2016 about the Flint water crises. I am happy this hearing will happen. – Dr...Read More

Japan adopts negative interest rate … In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan has introduced a negative interest rate. The benchmark rate of -0.1% means that commercial banks will be charged by the central bank for some deposits. It hopes this will be a disincentive to banks to save and prompt them to lend in another attempt to counter the continuing economic slump in the world's third-lar...Read More

Cover-Up of Autism and Vaccine Link … I am sure you are aware that the water supply in Flint, Michigan, was recently found to be contaminated with lead … An article (1.26.16) in the Detroit Free Press stated that the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on February 3, 2016 about the Flint water crises. I am happy this hearing will happen. – Dr...Read More

With sales and operations at the ends of the earth, few companies are in a better position to take the pulse of the global economy and the resource sector in particular than Caterpillar.The world's number one heavy equipment manufacturer has been hit hard by the decline in mining and construction - sales are down more than $20 billion from its peak just four years ago after a drop of over $8 billi...Read More

Anglo will scale back operations and cut costs at its flagship Sishen mine (pictured), which is Africa's largest iron ore operation. (Image courtesy of Anglo American)Shares in besieged Anglo American (LON:AAL) soared Thursday after the miner reported increased production and revealed plans to keep lowering costs at its iron ore mines in South Africa and Brazil, which include laying-off about 4,00...Read More

Barrick Gold Corp. has surged to become Canada's best-performing stock as a two-month rally in the precious metal gives added lift to the company's turnaround efforts.Barrick's shares are up 29 per cent this year in Toronto, making it the best-performing stock on the Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index. It's also overtaken its two biggest competitors, Goldcorp Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp., in m...Read More

Indonesia's government and Freeport McMoRan Inc on Thursday failed to reach a deal on extending the U.S. mining giant's six-month export permit, potentially halting shipments from the country's massive Grasberg copper and gold mine.An export stoppage would deal a blow to Freeport's profits and deny the Indonesian government desperately needed revenue from one of its biggest taxpayers. It could als...Read More

The Illusion of Safety: Index Funds Are Not Low-Risk … If the risk-on euphoria of punters borrowing billions of dollars in margin debt doesn't materialize, stocks could languish for years after falling 50%. The financial service industry's Prime Directive is to exploit humanity's core drives of Greed and Fear. Financial service companies promise high returns (fulfilling our greed...Read More

Could math solve conspiracy theory debates? A physicist at Oxford University developed a mathematical equation to derive the truth of conspiracy theories, and it all comes down to the number of people involved. – Christian Science MonitorDominant Social Theme: These conspiracy theories gotta go!Free-Market Analysis: Another day, another attempt in the mainstream media to figure out why peopl...Read More

The Illusion of Safety: Index Funds Are Not Low-Risk … If the risk-on euphoria of punters borrowing billions of dollars in margin debt doesn't materialize, stocks could languish for years after falling 50%. The financial service industry's Prime Directive is to exploit humanity's core drives of Greed and Fear. Financial service companies promise high returns (fulfilling our greed...Read More

Could math solve conspiracy theory debates? A physicist at Oxford University developed a mathematical equation to derive the truth of conspiracy theories, and it all comes down to the number of people involved. – Christian Science MonitorDominant Social Theme: These conspiracy theories gotta go!Free-Market Analysis: Another day, another attempt in the mainstream media to figure out why peopl...Read More

In its 2016 Commodity Outlook published yesterday, the World Bank pays special attention to the impact of weak growth in emerging economies on commodity markets.The answer, unsurprisingly, is that a faster-than-expected slowdown in Brazil, Russia, India and China - especially if combined with financial stress - "could reduce commodity prices considerably" even after three years of sharp declines...Read More

Los Pelambres remains Antofagasta's flagship mine, producing over 55% of the total group output. (Image courtesy of Antofagasta)Chile's Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) said Wednesday it plans to boost copper production in 2016 by as much as 17% after it missed its output target for last year.The mining group, property of the Luksic family -one of Chile's richest- said it produced 630,300 metric tons of th...Read More

Ministro Hales copper mine in Chile. (Image courtesy of Codelco via Flickr)The continued rout in commodity prices that has severely hit the mining industry in the past year can't be considered a "normal" cyclical downturn, but rather, an unprecedented one, says Moody's in a new report released this week.The ratings agency, which recently placed 175 energy and mining firms at risk of downgrades, sa...Read More

The sharp sell-off in the stock market has some of Wall Street’s top strategists recommending to clients that they buy. “With the S&P 500 down 11.7% from its all-time high (2,130 in May 2015), investors are questioning whether a bear market is in the offing,” RBC chief equity strategist Jonathan Golub said on Tuesday. “History shows that sell-offs of 20% or more rarely...Read More