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 new Argentinian government is promising to end a series of capital controls that have been propping up the peso - a move that would benefit mining.Reuters reported on Sunday that president-elect Mauricio Macri will lift the clamp-down on dollar purchases by out-going president Cristina Fern??ndez, as early as December 14.Fern??ndez restricted imports and repatriated export revenue since she wa...Read More

Earlier this year, Anglo announced a $3.5bn write-down related to the value of its flagship Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil. (Image courtesy of Anglo American)Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) will likely announce next week that it's cutting its annual dividend since a worsening commodities rout has left management little choice but to focus on balance-sheet preservation in order to navig...Read More

Facing Reality in Five Uneasy StagesSupercycle meets Kubler-RossDenial & Acceptance and Everything In Between+ The marketplace is finally realising that the Commodities Supercycle is dead+ Mining though will rebound just in a different form to that which prevailed from 2001-2011+ The travails of some commodities (oil for example) are good for the rest of the mining sectorIt has taken the...Read More

Mine pit. Aerial | Wikimedia Commons.The Peruvian city of Cerro de Pasco, perched high up in the Andes, is about to sink into the deeps of a half-century-old, open-pit zinc and lead mine that has been belching streamers of dust and polluting its surroundings for years.The locals, National Geographic reports, were submitted to a series of health tests in 1996 when the effects of contamination bec...Read More

Yellen signals growing likelihood of a December rate … Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress Thursday that economic conditions appear to be improving enough for policymakers to raise interest rates when they meet in two weeks — as long as there are no major shocks that undermine confidence. Yellen said that even after the first rate hike, the Fed expects future rate increase...Read More

A few cheering thoughts on terrorism … Terrorism by Moslems in America and Europe cannot be stopped. If attacks do not occur, it will be because nobody tried very hard. Stopping them would require excluding Moslems, deporting them, or controlling them by totalitarian methods. Or, improbably, minding our own business in the Middle East. What you think of the foregoing approaches doesn't m...Read More

Yellen signals growing likelihood of a December rate … Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress Thursday that economic conditions appear to be improving enough for policymakers to raise interest rates when they meet in two weeks — as long as there are no major shocks that undermine confidence. Yellen said that even after the first rate hike, the Fed expects future rate increase...Read More

A few cheering thoughts on terrorism … Terrorism by Moslems in America and Europe cannot be stopped. If attacks do not occur, it will be because nobody tried very hard. Stopping them would require excluding Moslems, deporting them, or controlling them by totalitarian methods. Or, improbably, minding our own business in the Middle East. What you think of the foregoing approaches doesn't m...Read More

The deposit was first discovered in the 1930s and Freeport McMoRan has been mining copper, silver and gold at Grasberg in remote Indonesia since the 1970s. In terms of reserves, Grasberg is still the richest deposit on the planetShares in copper and gold giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) were trending lower on Thursday after reports that Indonesia is likely to delay a decision on extending the lic...Read More

Gold ends near 6-year low as Yellen comments point to rate hike … Janet Yellen all but says interest rates are rising. Gold futures on Wednesday marked their lowest settlement in nearly six years, as a rise in November U.S. private-sector employment and comments from the Federal Reserve's chairwoman supported the likelihood that the central bank will agree to raise interest rates when it...Read More

Fourteen people were confirmed killed and 17 more wounded in a mass shooting at a San Bernardino community social services building. "We do have some preliminary numbers of upwards of 14 people that are dead and upwards of 14 people that are injured," said Chief Jarrod Burguan of San Bernardino Police. The number of injured was later upped to 17. – CBSLocalDominant Social Theme: Te...Read More

Gold ends near 6-year low as Yellen comments point to rate hike … Janet Yellen all but says interest rates are rising. Gold futures on Wednesday marked their lowest settlement in nearly six years, as a rise in November U.S. private-sector employment and comments from the Federal Reserve's chairwoman supported the likelihood that the central bank will agree to raise interest rates when it...Read More

Fourteen people were confirmed killed and 17 more wounded in a mass shooting at a San Bernardino community social services building. "We do have some preliminary numbers of upwards of 14 people that are dead and upwards of 14 people that are injured," said Chief Jarrod Burguan of San Bernardino Police. The number of injured was later upped to 17. – CBSLocalDominant Social Theme: Te...Read More

Data from 2016 Hays Compensation, Benefits, Recruitment and Retention GuideGeneral managers are the top paid engineers at mines according to a year end study, 2016 Hays Compensation, Benefits, Recruitment and Retention Guide.The salaries of engineers largely stayed the same as last year.While there is a downturn with more layoffs planned in 2016, miners still worry about a skills shortage. Three-...Read More

Some experts are calling it the next "Cold War" (likely that pun is intended.)Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark and the United States are posturing for Arctic supremacy. At stake? Oil, natural gas, minerals, shipping passages, and much more.Note: see full-sized infographic for more legibility.Courtesy of: Visual CapitalistIn the year 1776, James Cook was dispatched from Great Britain on an important...Read More

Argentina last week voted in a new pro-business President, Mauricio Macri. This major change in government signifies an end to the leftist populism and starts the engines for a new economic focus designed to restore Argentina to the economic powerhouse it once was.This is the first government party change in 12 years and is considered extremely positive for the future of Argentina and in particula...Read More

Federal Reserve official: Economy on track for 'normalization' phase … "I believe the national economy is on a reasonably solid trajectory," said Dennis Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Speaking Nov. 19 at a DeKalb Chamber of Commerce general business meeting at the Georgia Aquarium, Lockhart added. – The Champion...Read More

Obama pushes for gun control after Planned Parenthood shooting … After a gunman opened fire at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood on Friday, killing three people and injuring several others, President Obama urged the nation to increase controls over "the easy accessibility of weapons of war." – CBS NewsDominant Social Themes: Guns kill people.Free-Market Analysis: Do guns...Read More

Federal Reserve official: Economy on track for 'normalization' phase … "I believe the national economy is on a reasonably solid trajectory," said Dennis Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Speaking Nov. 19 at a DeKalb Chamber of Commerce general business meeting at the Georgia Aquarium, Lockhart added. – The Champion...Read More

Obama pushes for gun control after Planned Parenthood shooting … After a gunman opened fire at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood on Friday, killing three people and injuring several others, President Obama urged the nation to increase controls over "the easy accessibility of weapons of war." – CBS NewsDominant Social Themes: Guns kill people.Free-Market Analysis: Do guns...Read More