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 USA? Secession Movement Gains Steam … If you mention the word "secession" most people think of the South during the Civil War. But today, a new movement is gaining steam because of frustration over a growing, out-of-control federal government. A number of conservative, rural Americans are taking about seceding and creating their own states … A 51st state called Jeffer...Read More

Obama Budget Offers Tax Breaks From Child Care to College … U.S. President Barack Obama's budget will propose tax cuts for low-income families, a retirement savings plan and ask Congress to make permanent certain tax breaks to offset the cost of higher education. The Obama administration yesterday released excerpts of the president's $3 trillion-plus fiscal 2015 budget to be sent to...Read More

Ukraine crisis: Angry Angela Merkel questions whether Putin is 'in touch with reality' German newspaper claims that in a conversation between Angela Merkel and Barack Obama she was heard to question the Russian President's grip on reality … The German mass circulation Bild newspaper wrote on Monday that during a telephone conversation she held with US President Barack Obama to di...Read More

Apple's Tim Cook: Business isn't just about making a profit … He leads a company that some would consider the epitome of ruthless global capitalism. But Apple chief executive Tim Cook has shocked some in the US with an impassioned attack on the singleminded pursuit of profit – and a direct appeal to climate-change deniers not to buy shares in his firm. Eyewitnesses said Cook, w...Read More

Ukraine crisis: Angry Angela Merkel questions whether Putin is 'in touch with reality' German newspaper claims that in a conversation between Angela Merkel and Barack Obama she was heard to question the Russian President's grip on reality … The German mass circulation Bild newspaper wrote on Monday that during a telephone conversation she held with US President Barack Obama to di...Read More

Apple's Tim Cook: Business isn't just about making a profit … He leads a company that some would consider the epitome of ruthless global capitalism. But Apple chief executive Tim Cook has shocked some in the US with an impassioned attack on the singleminded pursuit of profit – and a direct appeal to climate-change deniers not to buy shares in his firm. Eyewitnesses said Cook, w...Read More

Ukraine crisis tests Obama's foreign policy focus on diplomacy over military force … For much of his time in office, President Obama has been accused by a mix of conservative hawks and liberal interventionists of overseeing a dangerous retreat from the world at a time when American influence is needed most. The once-hopeful Arab Spring has staggered into civil war and military coup. Chin...Read More

In Search of a Stable Electronic Currency … Bitcoin, an experiment with a radically new kind of electronic money, has exhibited many of the characteristics of a speculative bubble. That was clear long before the collapse of the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox last week. Bitcoin's future is very much in doubt. Yet whatever becomes of it, something good can arise from its innovations – even...Read More

Ukraine crisis tests Obama's foreign policy focus on diplomacy over military force … For much of his time in office, President Obama has been accused by a mix of conservative hawks and liberal interventionists of overseeing a dangerous retreat from the world at a time when American influence is needed most. The once-hopeful Arab Spring has staggered into civil war and military coup. Chin...Read More

In Search of a Stable Electronic Currency … Bitcoin, an experiment with a radically new kind of electronic money, has exhibited many of the characteristics of a speculative bubble. That was clear long before the collapse of the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox last week. Bitcoin's future is very much in doubt. Yet whatever becomes of it, something good can arise from its innovations – even...Read More

Here Is The FT's Gold Price Manipulation Article That Was Removed … Two days ago the FT released a clear, informative and fact-based article, titled simply enough "Gold price rigging fears put investors on alert" in which author Madison Marriage, citing a report by the Fideres consultancy, revealed that global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions be...Read More

U.S. Pivotal Point Is Seen as More States Consider Legalizing Marijuana … A little over a year after Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, more than half the states, including some in the conservative South, are considering decriminalizing the drug or legalizing it for medical or recreational use. That has set up a watershed year in the battle over whether marijuana should be as avail...Read More

Here Is The FT's Gold Price Manipulation Article That Was Removed … Two days ago the FT released a clear, informative and fact-based article, titled simply enough "Gold price rigging fears put investors on alert" in which author Madison Marriage, citing a report by the Fideres consultancy, revealed that global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions be...Read More

U.S. Pivotal Point Is Seen as More States Consider Legalizing Marijuana … A little over a year after Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, more than half the states, including some in the conservative South, are considering decriminalizing the drug or legalizing it for medical or recreational use. That has set up a watershed year in the battle over whether marijuana should be as avail...Read More

Rand Paul Is the GOP's Early Presidential Front-Runner. While the establishment hopes for a governor to emerge, he is quietly putting together a formidable operation. Democrats in Denial Over Obamacare … Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky would start out 2016 in ideal position for the GOP presidential nomination. Make no mistake: The Kentuckian scares the living daylights out of many Republicans...Read More

Presenting The #1 Financial Haven For Dictators & Criminals … Pop quiz: When really nasty criminals and dictators want to hide their illicit gains, which country do they go to? I'll make this easy for you – multiple choice: a) Switzerland b) British Virgin Islands c) Hong Kong … With all the drama, history, and stigma surrounding Switzerland, most people would choose (A)...Read More

Rand Paul Is the GOP's Early Presidential Front-Runner. While the establishment hopes for a governor to emerge, he is quietly putting together a formidable operation. Democrats in Denial Over Obamacare … Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky would start out 2016 in ideal position for the GOP presidential nomination. Make no mistake: The Kentuckian scares the living daylights out of many Republicans...Read More

Presenting The #1 Financial Haven For Dictators & Criminals … Pop quiz: When really nasty criminals and dictators want to hide their illicit gains, which country do they go to? I'll make this easy for you – multiple choice: a) Switzerland b) British Virgin Islands c) Hong Kong … With all the drama, history, and stigma surrounding Switzerland, most people would choose (A)...Read More

Mt. Gox website says all transactions closed for the time being … Mt Gox CEO Karpeles says bitcoin exchange is at "turning point" … Prominent bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox posted an update on its website on Tuesday, saying a "decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being," citing "recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's o...Read More

New Snowden Doc Reveals How GCHQ/NSA Use The Internet To 'Manipulate, Deceive And Destroy Reputations' … A few weeks ago, Glenn Greenwald, while working with NBC News, revealed some details of a GCHQ presentation concerning how the surveillance organization had a "dirty tricks" group known as JTRIG – the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group. Now, over at The Inter...Read More