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

Sadly, as a result of a new Spanish law, we'll shortly have to close Google News in Spain. Let me explain why. This new legislation requires every Spanish publication to charge services like Google News for showing even the smallest snippet from their publications, whether they want to or not. As Google News itself makes no money (we do not show any advertising on the site) this new approach i...Read More

Congressional leaders hammer out deal to allow pension plans to cut retiree benefits … The measure would alter 40 years of federal law and could affect millions of workers. A measure that would for the first time allow the benefits of current retirees to be severely cut is set to be attached to a massive spending bill, part of an effort to save some of the nation's most distressed pensio...Read More

Congress will block marijuana legalization in Washington, DC … Congress's massive appropriations bill will likely block a voter-approved marijuana legalization initiative in Washington, DC. The bill "prohibits both federal and local funds from being used to implement a referendum legalizing recreational marijuana use in the District," according to a summary from the House Appro...Read More

Congressional leaders hammer out deal to allow pension plans to cut retiree benefits … The measure would alter 40 years of federal law and could affect millions of workers. A measure that would for the first time allow the benefits of current retirees to be severely cut is set to be attached to a massive spending bill, part of an effort to save some of the nation's most distressed pensio...Read More

Congress will block marijuana legalization in Washington, DC … Congress's massive appropriations bill will likely block a voter-approved marijuana legalization initiative in Washington, DC. The bill "prohibits both federal and local funds from being used to implement a referendum legalizing recreational marijuana use in the District," according to a summary from the House Appro...Read More

Greek turmoil and China worries spark market sell-off …The FTSE 100 suffered its second-heaviest fall this year, wiping £36bn off the value of the index … Political turmoil in Greece and worries about a violent swing in the Chinese stock market combined to spark a global sell-off in equities … In Greece, the ASE index tumbled 12.8pc, a plunge that was its worst one-day fall...Read More

To deter U.S. from torturing again, those involved should be prosecuted … The publication of the long-awaited summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the CIA's torture provides a useful moment to consider the lessons learned from this sorry chapter in American history and the steps that might be taken to avoid its recurrence. With the truth now told about this blatantly il...Read More

Greek turmoil and China worries spark market sell-off …The FTSE 100 suffered its second-heaviest fall this year, wiping £36bn off the value of the index … Political turmoil in Greece and worries about a violent swing in the Chinese stock market combined to spark a global sell-off in equities … In Greece, the ASE index tumbled 12.8pc, a plunge that was its worst one-day fall...Read More

To deter U.S. from torturing again, those involved should be prosecuted … The publication of the long-awaited summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the CIA's torture provides a useful moment to consider the lessons learned from this sorry chapter in American history and the steps that might be taken to avoid its recurrence. With the truth now told about this blatantly il...Read More

The status of economists … The power of self-belief … A new paper looks at how economists became so influential … "If economists could manage to get themselves thought of as humble, competent people, on a level with dentists, that would be splendid!" said John Maynard Keynes, a British economist. Despite their collective failure to predict the financial crisis, let alon...Read More

Pew: 75% 'better informed' because of Internet news sites, don't feel 'overloaded' … The Internet is revolutionizing news consumption, with more than seven in 10 telling Pew Research Center that they are better informed than they were five years ago because of the news websites they visit daily. In Pew's latest survey of Internet use, 75 percent said they are "be...Read More

The status of economists … The power of self-belief … A new paper looks at how economists became so influential … "If economists could manage to get themselves thought of as humble, competent people, on a level with dentists, that would be splendid!" said John Maynard Keynes, a British economist. Despite their collective failure to predict the financial crisis, let alon...Read More

Pew: 75% 'better informed' because of Internet news sites, don't feel 'overloaded' … The Internet is revolutionizing news consumption, with more than seven in 10 telling Pew Research Center that they are better informed than they were five years ago because of the news websites they visit daily. In Pew's latest survey of Internet use, 75 percent said they are "be...Read More

Is Europe Too Rigid to Survive? … The European Union is suffering from a democracy problem: Too many Europeans feel that integration is being forced upon them. What's worse, they may be right … New research from a group of economists – Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales – paints a grim picture of the European project from the perspective of its participants....Read More

Arkansas governor pardons own son for a pot offense. He should pardon a lot more people … Mike Beebe, the Arkansas Democrat whose term as governor is expiring early next year, has formally announced that he plans to pardon his own son for a 2003 marijuana conviction. The plan was first reported last month by local media. It's perfectly reasonable to believe that dealing marijuana –...Read More

Is Europe Too Rigid to Survive? … The European Union is suffering from a democracy problem: Too many Europeans feel that integration is being forced upon them. What's worse, they may be right … New research from a group of economists – Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales – paints a grim picture of the European project from the perspective of its participants....Read More

Arkansas governor pardons own son for a pot offense. He should pardon a lot more people … Mike Beebe, the Arkansas Democrat whose term as governor is expiring early next year, has formally announced that he plans to pardon his own son for a 2003 marijuana conviction. The plan was first reported last month by local media. It's perfectly reasonable to believe that dealing marijuana –...Read More

Draghi says will not allow dissenters to block possible ECB action … European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses an ECB news conference December 4, 2014, for the first time in the ECB's new 1.3 billion euro headquarters in Frankfurt … The European Central Bank will decide early next year whether to take further action to revive the euro zone's economy, its pres...Read More

It is now 65 years since George Orwell died, and he has never been bigger. His phrases are on our lips, his ideas are in our heads, his warnings have come true. One answer to "why Orwell?" is because of his posthumous career. Five years before his death in 1950, he was, in the words of one of his biographers, D.J. Taylor, "still a faintly marginal figure" … It was only wi...Read More

Draghi says will not allow dissenters to block possible ECB action … European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses an ECB news conference December 4, 2014, for the first time in the ECB's new 1.3 billion euro headquarters in Frankfurt … The European Central Bank will decide early next year whether to take further action to revive the euro zone's economy, its pres...Read More