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

Saudi Arabia is our natural ally against Isil. Just like David Cameron, Riyadh is committed both to destroying Islamic State and to toppling Assad. It would be foolish to alienate them now … – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: The House of Saud and the House of Bush, perfect together?Free-Market Analysis: This article by a man who is the Telegraph's chief military correspondent, a...Read More

Last year was a horrible year for commodities and the resources sector, but it appears contrarian investing in the sector is alive and well.According to a new report by private capital tracker Preqin, fundraising for natural resources investment reached record levels in 2015, with 62 funds raising a total of $63bn. That was up 14% compared to 2014 and edged past 2013's banner year when more than 1...Read More

Image courtesy of Imperial Metals.Canada's Imperial Metals (TSX:III) became Wednesday the latest copper producer to announce tough measures aimed to weather the effects of low metal prices by suspending operations at its Huckleberry copper mine in British Columbia.The company, which owns 50% of the mine, said it would lay off 100 of its 260 workers, keeping the rest to mill stockpiled ore."While H...Read More

The streaming deal has been a lifeline for many mining companies. In fact, 2015 showcased a record number of streaming deals for gold, silver, and copper. The number of transactions doubled from 11 to 27 year-over-year, with the dollar values associated tripling from $1.1 billion to over $4.0 billion!What was once considered a new and innovative way of raising money - the streaming deal has take...Read More

The US Economy: Still on Track? … Raw materials and goods need to be transported regardless of how modern or sophisticated an economy is. Every week the Association of American Railways ("AAR") posts a free report on rail volumes transported across North America by major category. This provides some decent clues on the condition of the US economy, almost in real time … The la...Read More

Obama wipes away tears as he calls for new gun measures … The president gets emotional as he remembers Sandy Hook victims and fiercely calls for more rights for those vulnerable to gun violence. – PoliticoDominant Social Theme: Once we get guns out of the hands of the people we can worry about knives … and fists.Free-Market Analysis: The story is all over the news. More gun contr...Read More

The US Economy: Still on Track? … Raw materials and goods need to be transported regardless of how modern or sophisticated an economy is. Every week the Association of American Railways ("AAR") posts a free report on rail volumes transported across North America by major category. This provides some decent clues on the condition of the US economy, almost in real time … The la...Read More

Obama wipes away tears as he calls for new gun measures … The president gets emotional as he remembers Sandy Hook victims and fiercely calls for more rights for those vulnerable to gun violence. – PoliticoDominant Social Theme: Once we get guns out of the hands of the people we can worry about knives … and fists.Free-Market Analysis: The story is all over the news. More gun contr...Read More

Unusual and massive storms flooded Chile's Atacama Desert, heart of the country's copper industry, in March last year. (Image: Screenshot via YouTube)The El Ni??o weather event, considered one of the strongest in almost two decades due to droughts caused in Asia and South America, as well as flooding and cyclones in Australia last year, has already peaked and it is likely to be followed by the opp...Read More

Mining companies like Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) and Thompson Creek Metals (TSX:TCM) may need to make some hard decisions in 2016 if they are to avoid solvency problems in 2017, warns the Bank of Merrill Lynch.In a recent outlook, Merrill Lynch singled out these two B.C. miners for solvency issues in 2017, and flagged First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX:FQM) for solvency problems in 2018, based on co...Read More

Oracle Mining Corp. (TSX-V:OMN), a Vancouver-headquartered junior mining company focused on a single copper project in Arizona, has gone into receivership, is now halted from trading and its directors and chief executive officers have resigned en masse.Oracle, which has been focused on reviving an idled copper-silver mine-the Oracle Ridge mine near Tucson-has had financial problems since 2014.The...Read More

After 1 million migrants, Europe's borders are back … Since it opened in 2000, the Oresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark has been a towering symbol of European integration and hassle-free travel across borders that people didn't even notice were there. On Monday new travel restrictions imposed by Sweden to stem a record flow of migrants are transforming the bridge into a striking...Read More

Will the U.S. fall for Saudi Arabia's deliberate provocation in killing of Shi'ite cleric?… Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent political leader of the monarchy's Shiite minority has worsened Mideast tensions and is forcing the Obama administration to decide if there are any limits to the outrages that the longtime U.S. "ally" may commit, as Trita Parsi explains...Read More

After 1 million migrants, Europe's borders are back … Since it opened in 2000, the Oresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark has been a towering symbol of European integration and hassle-free travel across borders that people didn't even notice were there. On Monday new travel restrictions imposed by Sweden to stem a record flow of migrants are transforming the bridge into a striking...Read More

Will the U.S. fall for Saudi Arabia's deliberate provocation in killing of Shi'ite cleric?… Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent political leader of the monarchy's Shiite minority has worsened Mideast tensions and is forcing the Obama administration to decide if there are any limits to the outrages that the longtime U.S. "ally" may commit, as Trita Parsi explains...Read More

Image from archives.Global stock markets fell Monday as worries over China's economy and instability in the Middle East combined to scare investors.Chinese bourses tumbled 6.9% in their opening session of 2016, its biggest decline on record for the first trading day of the year, forcing exchanges to halt trade for the first time.This so called "circuit breaker" mechanism, which halts trade for 15...Read More

One of the hardest things for a mining executive to do may be nothing. But in a market that is not rewarding companies for pulling resources out of the ground, Sprott US Holdings Inc. CEO Rick Rule would prefer to see what he calls "optionality" rather than dilution from companies looking to justify salaries. In this interview with The Gold Report, he praises innovative precious metals streams on...Read More

Bill Bennett.Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett rang in 2016 with thoughts of a potential rescue package for B.C.'s beleaguered mining industry on his mind to ward off potential mine shutdowns.Options for assistance to mining companies struggling with low commodity prices could include deferrals on payment of power bills and delayed payments on mineral taxes, Bennett said in an interview. Ther...Read More

The Most Important Person in 2016 … Forget the presidential candidates – Fed Chair Janet Yellen is who you need to watch … – US NewsDominant Social Theme: The most important person in the world …Free-Market Analysis: The great debate has started and will continue to keep us focused on the Fed until the next move. We will be reminded over and over again of the phony im...Read More

The Teddy Awards 2015 … The arena was noisy in 2015, scarily so. … Political courage, which these annual Teddy Awards celebrate, seems a particularly necessary commodity in the face of such noise, the courage to stand against a tide of barbarity and incivility. – TIMEDominant Social Theme: The world belongs to the moderates.Free-Market Analysis: TIME magazine informs us that a ce...Read More