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

Agriculture, Coffee And Sugar: The Next Rally? … We discuss the long term bullish case for Rogers Agricultural Index ETN. 3 billion additional middle class consumers will support the demand for agricultural products over the next two decades. We discuss why Rogers Agricultural Index has been in a bear market since early 2011 and what is needed for the next bull market to start. We mention th...Read More

Politicians Exploit School Shooting While Ignoring Bombing Victims … Following the recent Oregon school shooting, many politicians rushed to the microphones to call for new gun control laws … The reaction to the shooting stands in stark contrast to the reaction to the US military's bombing of an Afghanistan hospital run by the international humanitarian (and Nobel Peace Prize winni...Read More

Agriculture, Coffee And Sugar: The Next Rally? … We discuss the long term bullish case for Rogers Agricultural Index ETN. 3 billion additional middle class consumers will support the demand for agricultural products over the next two decades. We discuss why Rogers Agricultural Index has been in a bear market since early 2011 and what is needed for the next bull market to start. We mention th...Read More

Politicians Exploit School Shooting While Ignoring Bombing Victims … Following the recent Oregon school shooting, many politicians rushed to the microphones to call for new gun control laws … The reaction to the shooting stands in stark contrast to the reaction to the US military's bombing of an Afghanistan hospital run by the international humanitarian (and Nobel Peace Prize winni...Read More

Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report (10/12/15) Some $2 trillion is being invested worldwide by private equity funds every year with a chunk of that destined for junior mining companies. Demand is as strong as or stronger than ever as investors see a shopping opportunity. Who is deciding where it goes and based on what criteria? At the annual Fall Mining Showcase event in Toronto, Red Cloud...Read More

Mining and commodity trading giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) has kicked off the process to sell its Australian copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales, and its Lomas Bayas copper mine in the Atacama desert in Chile.According to the BBC, Glencore said it has received a number of unsolicited expressions of interest for the mines and that potential buyers can bid to purchase "either one or both of the...Read More

Fed's Fischer Says Economy May Merit Liftoff Later This Year … Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said the U.S. economy may be strong enough to merit an interest-rate increase by year end, while cautioning that policy makers are monitoring slower domestic job growth and international developments in deciding the precise timing of liftoff. At the Federal Open Market Committee&#...Read More

Here's what $66 gets you in Medellin … Last night after a flurry of legal meetings and property tours throughout the day, I had drinks with a Canadian real estate developer who set up shop here in Medellin a few years ago. Medellin's mountainous geography constrains growth, and this is likely going to heavily influence prices over the long term. So for now, this place is one of the m...Read More

Fed's Fischer Says Economy May Merit Liftoff Later This Year … Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said the U.S. economy may be strong enough to merit an interest-rate increase by year end, while cautioning that policy makers are monitoring slower domestic job growth and international developments in deciding the precise timing of liftoff. At the Federal Open Market Committee&#...Read More

Here's what $66 gets you in Medellin … Last night after a flurry of legal meetings and property tours throughout the day, I had drinks with a Canadian real estate developer who set up shop here in Medellin a few years ago. Medellin's mountainous geography constrains growth, and this is likely going to heavily influence prices over the long term. So for now, this place is one of the m...Read More

The sun also risesOver the past week crude oil prices have jumped 13%, platinum is up 8%, copper 4.8% and industrial metals 5.2% on average after double digit gains for zinc. Aluminum gained more than 5% over the week while benchmark iron ore price advanced by the same margin.Even after including more modest advances for the agricultural sector (cocoa is the sole commodity that lost value) it's...Read More

Glencore will temporarily suspend operations at Lady Loretta and reduce production at George Fisher and McArthur River operations, the company announced on Friday.ABC News reports that 242 workers will lose their jobs at Lady Loretta Mine while while 224 positions will be lost from George Fisher, and 69 at the McArthur mine.The closures gave zinc a bump. The Wall Street Journal says zinc rose 6.7%...Read More

For conscious shoppers at Whole Foods, it was a nightmare to learn that the company had US prison labor in its supply chain. After more than a year of negative publicity culminating in protests outside of its stores in Houston, Texas, Whole Foods announced last week that it will stop sourcing foods that are made with prison labor. Happy ending? Not so fast.Corporations like Whole Foods need to be...Read More

For conscious shoppers at Whole Foods, it was a nightmare to learn that the company had US prison labor in its supply chain. After more than a year of negative publicity culminating in protests outside of its stores in Houston, Texas, Whole Foods announced last week that it will stop sourcing foods that are made with prison labor. Happy ending? Not so fast.Corporations like Whole Foods need to be...Read More

Image by Rawhead RexGFMS Thomson Reuter's closely watched annual base metals review and outlook contains some stark warnings for copper miners.The industry has made progress to reduce costs - since the first quarter of 2014 average cash costs have dropped by $303 a tonne according to GFMS calculations.Over the same period the price of copper is down by $998 a tonne. And since the end of the June q...Read More

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold's Grasberg mine is the world's largest gold mine and third largest copper mine.Copper and gold giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was trading higher Thursday afternoon after the company announced that Indonesia has promised the company to extent the mining contract for its giant Grasberg mine beyond 2021.The approval will include "the same rights and the same level...Read More

Peru's government declared martial law in parts of its southern highlands last week after protests against the $7.4 billion Las Bambas copper mine, owned by a consortium led by China's MMG Ltd. resulted in at least three deaths. (Image via Twitter @NewsRevo)Social conflicts and red tape have caused the delay of $21.5 billion worth of mining projects in recent years in Peru, one of the world's lar...Read More

If the Defense Department, the CIA, and our largest corporations can be hacked, certainly 50 states and over 3,000 separate county systems are no match for individuals or nation states that might want to influence the outcome of elections. This is particularly true because nowadays things in the world of electronics and elections are as complex as ever. Even if we are casting our ballots on the In...Read More

If the Defense Department, the CIA, and our largest corporations can be hacked, certainly 50 states and over 3,000 separate county systems are no match for individuals or nation states that might want to influence the outcome of elections. This is particularly true because nowadays things in the world of electronics and elections are as complex as ever. Even if we are casting our ballots on the In...Read More

Legendary financier Carl Icahn came to an agreement with Freeport McMoran to install two new directors on its board.Icahn's firm owns approximately 100 million shares of FCX common stock, which represents approximately 8.8% of FCX's outstanding shares.News of the deal sent Freeport-McMoran up 9.97% to $13.01.Andrew Langham and Courtney Mather have been appointed to FCX's Board of Directors. With...Read More