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

IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us … The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another. "You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better," the agency's chief, John Koskinen, said after a speech at the National Press Club. Republicans have...Read More

Body Count Report Reveals At Least 1.3 Million Lives Lost to US-Led War on Terror … Although a conservative estimate, physicians' groups say the figure 'is approximately 10 times greater' than typically reported … – CommonDreams.orgDominant Social Theme: These are just skirmishes.Free-Market Analysis: It is important to keep track of the war on terror and its damages....Read More

Teen libertarian is face of Brazil's young free-market right … The March 15 demonstration was the largest Sao Paulo had seen in more than three decades, since 1984 protests demanding democratic elections after a long dictatorship. But more surprising than the crowd of over 200,000, according to the Datafolha polling and statistics agency, was the fact it was being led by Kataguiri, a ski...Read More

Body Count Report Reveals At Least 1.3 Million Lives Lost to US-Led War on Terror … Although a conservative estimate, physicians' groups say the figure 'is approximately 10 times greater' than typically reported … – CommonDreams.orgDominant Social Theme: These are just skirmishes.Free-Market Analysis: It is important to keep track of the war on terror and its damages....Read More

Teen libertarian is face of Brazil's young free-market right … The March 15 demonstration was the largest Sao Paulo had seen in more than three decades, since 1984 protests demanding democratic elections after a long dictatorship. But more surprising than the crowd of over 200,000, according to the Datafolha polling and statistics agency, was the fact it was being led by Kataguiri, a ski...Read More

Lee Kuan Yew and the Myth of Asian Capitalism … When Lee Kuan Yew took office, Singapore was poor; in 2015, it's one of the richest countries in the world. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Prosperity has little to do with freedom.Free-Market Analysis: Predictably, the death of Lee Kuan Yew has generated many positive comments in the mainstream media about his "leadership"...Read More

Africa and Around the World … Experience has shown that force alone cannot reduce the drug supply or the criminality and corruption that it induces. – Kofi Annan, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation via Vice magazineDominant Social Theme: We were wrong. But let's not dwell on the past.Free-Market Analysis: Leaders in high places around the world are making it clear that the drug war...Read More

Lee Kuan Yew and the Myth of Asian Capitalism … When Lee Kuan Yew took office, Singapore was poor; in 2015, it's one of the richest countries in the world. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Prosperity has little to do with freedom.Free-Market Analysis: Predictably, the death of Lee Kuan Yew has generated many positive comments in the mainstream media about his "leadership"...Read More

Africa and Around the World … Experience has shown that force alone cannot reduce the drug supply or the criminality and corruption that it induces. – Kofi Annan, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation via Vice magazineDominant Social Theme: We were wrong. But let's not dwell on the past.Free-Market Analysis: Leaders in high places around the world are making it clear that the drug war...Read More

Piketty's Three Big Mistakes … Piketty, remember, is the French economist who became a celebrity for his work on inequality. In his blockbuster book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," he asserts that the rate at which capital owners' wealth increases is almost always larger than the rate of economic growth. If that's true, it means that the rich get richer, and wea...Read More

Major publisher retracts 43 scientific papers amid wider fake peer-review scandal … A major publisher of scholarly medical and science articles has retracted 43 papers because of "fabricated" peer reviews amid signs of a broader fake peer review racket affecting many more publications. – Washington PostDominant Social Theme: Science saves us?Free-Market Analysis: The breadth...Read More

Piketty's Three Big Mistakes … Piketty, remember, is the French economist who became a celebrity for his work on inequality. In his blockbuster book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," he asserts that the rate at which capital owners' wealth increases is almost always larger than the rate of economic growth. If that's true, it means that the rich get richer, and wea...Read More

Major publisher retracts 43 scientific papers amid wider fake peer-review scandal … A major publisher of scholarly medical and science articles has retracted 43 papers because of "fabricated" peer reviews amid signs of a broader fake peer review racket affecting many more publications. – Washington PostDominant Social Theme: Science saves us?Free-Market Analysis: The breadth...Read More

Stock market rigging is no longer a 'conspiracy theory' … The stock market is rigged. When I started making that claim years ago — and provided solid evidence — people scoffed. Some called it a conspiracy theory, tinfoil hats and that sort of stuff. Most people just ignored me. But that's not happening anymore. The dirty secret is out. – Justohn Crudele/New York...Read More

How Jeremy Clarkson lost his job as 'Top Gear' host … Jeremy Clarkson, hugely famous in the United Kingdom for his job as a presenter on the BBC's "Top Gear," is now a former presenter on the BBC's "Top Gear." The BBC sacked him Wednesday after wrapping up its investigation into "an unprovoked physical and verbal attack" by Clarkson on a member o...Read More

Stock market rigging is no longer a 'conspiracy theory' … The stock market is rigged. When I started making that claim years ago — and provided solid evidence — people scoffed. Some called it a conspiracy theory, tinfoil hats and that sort of stuff. Most people just ignored me. But that's not happening anymore. The dirty secret is out. – Justohn Crudele/New York...Read More

How Jeremy Clarkson lost his job as 'Top Gear' host … Jeremy Clarkson, hugely famous in the United Kingdom for his job as a presenter on the BBC's "Top Gear," is now a former presenter on the BBC's "Top Gear." The BBC sacked him Wednesday after wrapping up its investigation into "an unprovoked physical and verbal attack" by Clarkson on a member o...Read More

Caserones mine.Japan's JX Nippon Mining & Metals, a subsidiary of JX Holdings Inc, said Thursday it will write down by 50 billion yen ($421 million) the value of its investment in its Caserones copper mine, in northern Chile.The company, which has also momentarily halted operations at the mine due to torrential rain, said the charge was caused by a delay in expanding production to full capacity,...Read More

Guess What's Destroying the Middle Class? … Perhaps the biggest question in American political economy right now is why middle-class wages have been falling. There are three main hypotheses. Roughly, these are: Robots, unions and China. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Something is always destroying jobs. People are helpless to withstand the challenges.Free-Market Analysis: Once m...Read More

Smart city index coming to Indonesia … Decades ago, urban conglomerations competed to clinch "global city" or "world city" status by luring big corporations to establish headquarters in their city. Now, the global "smart city" concept has reached Indonesia. – Jakarta TimesDominant Social Theme: Once information technology has centralized every corporate an...Read More