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

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

Why the bull market in stocks isn't dead yet … Don't write off the bull market in stocks … Market professionals surveyed by CNNMoney believe that the U.S. stock market will claw its way past these obstacles and reach new heights next year. – CNN MoneyDominant Social Theme: Things will go on. They always do.Free-Market Analysis: In this analysis we'll cover a predictab...Read More

Pakistan-Afghanistan hotline set up to reduce tension … Pakistan and Afghanistan have established a hotline between their respective military commanders to reduce frequent cross-border tensions … Security co-operation between the two countries is seen as crucial in countering the growing Taliban threat. – BBCDominant Social Theme: Everything is going to plan. Step by step we crea...Read More

Why the bull market in stocks isn't dead yet … Don't write off the bull market in stocks … Market professionals surveyed by CNNMoney believe that the U.S. stock market will claw its way past these obstacles and reach new heights next year. – CNN MoneyDominant Social Theme: Things will go on. They always do.Free-Market Analysis: In this analysis we'll cover a predictab...Read More

Pakistan-Afghanistan hotline set up to reduce tension … Pakistan and Afghanistan have established a hotline between their respective military commanders to reduce frequent cross-border tensions … Security co-operation between the two countries is seen as crucial in countering the growing Taliban threat. – BBCDominant Social Theme: Everything is going to plan. Step by step we crea...Read More

Mining companies in British Columbia may be able to defer paying their electricity bills, the Mines Minister Bill Bennett tells NEWS 1130.Given low commodity prices and the general struggles of the resource industry, Bennett said mining companies could escape expected Hydro bill rate hikes in 2016 if all "the pieces can be put together.""There might be a deferral opportunity for power costs for th...Read More

Osisko Resources owns 16.2% of the Quebec gold junior Falco Resources (TSX-V:FPC) after purchasing 5.9 million shares for $1.88 million.Falco Resources' Horne Project area in Rouyn-Noranda encompasses the former producing Horne and Quemont mines, according to information on the company's website. The Horne mine, discovered by EH Horne in 1920 and operated by Noranda from 1926 to 1976, was one of t...Read More

A heartless Conservative Government was elected, Labour was defeated in Scotland and the rise of ISIS has been remorseless … Yet there are still some hopeful signs for the year ahead. Axeman George Osborne has been forced to drop some of the harshest measures he wanted to introduce, including slashing benefits for the low-paid and poor, and decimating the police, while a global deal has been...Read More

Obama's 'Boots on the Ground': U.S. Special Forces Are Sent to Tackle Global Threats … They are taking on a larger combat role in Afghanistan, where the war was supposed to be over. They are headed to Syria to help fight the Islamic State in its stronghold. And President Obama recently ordered nearly 300 of them to Cameroon to assist African troops in their battle against a milit...Read More

A heartless Conservative Government was elected, Labour was defeated in Scotland and the rise of ISIS has been remorseless … Yet there are still some hopeful signs for the year ahead. Axeman George Osborne has been forced to drop some of the harshest measures he wanted to introduce, including slashing benefits for the low-paid and poor, and decimating the police, while a global deal has been...Read More

Obama's 'Boots on the Ground': U.S. Special Forces Are Sent to Tackle Global Threats … They are taking on a larger combat role in Afghanistan, where the war was supposed to be over. They are headed to Syria to help fight the Islamic State in its stronghold. And President Obama recently ordered nearly 300 of them to Cameroon to assist African troops in their battle against a milit...Read More

The Misinformation Mess … As Americans approach Election Year 2016, the crisis of misinformation is growing more and more dangerous. On issues from foreign policy to the economy, almost none of the candidates in the race appears to be addressing the real world, writes Robert Parry. – ConsortiumNewsDominant Social Theme: False flags? Nothing to see here. Let's move along.Free-Market...Read More

Anonymous war on Isis: Online activists claim to have foiled terror attack on Italy as part of 'Operation Isis' … Supporters of Anonymous have been working to shut down Twitter accounts and websites, but claims to have now disrupted attacks in the real world too. – UK IndependentDominant Social Theme: Anonymous is full of modern day heroes.Free-Market Analysis: Do we believe it...Read More

The Misinformation Mess … As Americans approach Election Year 2016, the crisis of misinformation is growing more and more dangerous. On issues from foreign policy to the economy, almost none of the candidates in the race appears to be addressing the real world, writes Robert Parry. – ConsortiumNewsDominant Social Theme: False flags? Nothing to see here. Let's move along.Free-Market...Read More

Anonymous war on Isis: Online activists claim to have foiled terror attack on Italy as part of 'Operation Isis' … Supporters of Anonymous have been working to shut down Twitter accounts and websites, but claims to have now disrupted attacks in the real world too. – UK IndependentDominant Social Theme: Anonymous is full of modern day heroes.Free-Market Analysis: Do we believe it...Read More

Chuquicamata, the world's largest open pit copper mine. (Courtesy of Codelco via Flickr)Chile, the world's top copper producing country, surprised investors by publishing for the first time ever detailed data related to costs for nearly its entire mining industry.According to the recently launched "Costs Observatory," the average cash cost per pound of copper produced in the country during the sec...Read More

What if saving the economy was the easy part? … If the past seven years have proven anything, it's that the biggest danger is often the one that no one sees coming. "You have to worry, otherwise you can't be a central banker," Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in a speech this month. "What worries me most is that things happen: You've got a nice framework. It&...Read More

The truth is rushing out there: why conspiracy theories spread faster than ever … From 9/11 to the Paris attacks, from Ebola to Isis, every major global event attracts a corresponding counter-narrative from the 'truthers', some so all-encompassing that they take over people's lives. Are our brains wired to believe, as a new book argues? And could such thinking actually be benefic...Read More

What if saving the economy was the easy part? … If the past seven years have proven anything, it's that the biggest danger is often the one that no one sees coming. "You have to worry, otherwise you can't be a central banker," Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in a speech this month. "What worries me most is that things happen: You've got a nice framework. It&...Read More