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

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

US stocks end off session highs; S&P 500 just below record close … U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, lifting the S&P 500 to a intraday record and briefly clearing its 2014 loss, as investors embraced activity on the M&A front and continued to disregard lackluster economic data as largely due to winter weather. Mergers and acquisitions came into play, with RF Micro Devices agreein...Read More

Profit From Global Warming or Get Left Behind … Still think human activity isn't changing the climate? Last month, I wrote about global warming in the context of investment opportunities. As part of that discussion, I mentioned McKenzie Funk's new book, "Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming." I thought framing the financial opportunities of this might bypass the...Read More

US stocks end off session highs; S&P 500 just below record close … U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, lifting the S&P 500 to a intraday record and briefly clearing its 2014 loss, as investors embraced activity on the M&A front and continued to disregard lackluster economic data as largely due to winter weather. Mergers and acquisitions came into play, with RF Micro Devices agreein...Read More

Profit From Global Warming or Get Left Behind … Still think human activity isn't changing the climate? Last month, I wrote about global warming in the context of investment opportunities. As part of that discussion, I mentioned McKenzie Funk's new book, "Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming." I thought framing the financial opportunities of this might bypass the...Read More

Why North America is stronger than its parts … Twenty years ago NAFTA, the most ambitious free trade agreement negotiation of its time, gave birth to a profound transformation of the economies and the regional value chains of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Trade dramatically changed the relationship between the three countries, though asymmetries of power and economic vitality persist...Read More

Al Gore brings climate change message to Kansas City … Former vice president Al Gore spoke about climate change Saturday during the Folk Alliance International conference at the Westin Crown Center hotel. But the former vice president, speaking Saturday in Kansas City, cited many more recent examples how heavy use of fossil fuels is contributing to extreme weather events and trends, in his v...Read More

Why North America is stronger than its parts … Twenty years ago NAFTA, the most ambitious free trade agreement negotiation of its time, gave birth to a profound transformation of the economies and the regional value chains of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Trade dramatically changed the relationship between the three countries, though asymmetries of power and economic vitality persist...Read More

Al Gore brings climate change message to Kansas City … Former vice president Al Gore spoke about climate change Saturday during the Folk Alliance International conference at the Westin Crown Center hotel. But the former vice president, speaking Saturday in Kansas City, cited many more recent examples how heavy use of fossil fuels is contributing to extreme weather events and trends, in his v...Read More

How to make the world $600 billion poorer … Barack Obama's unwillingness to fight for free trade is an expensive mistake … In July 2008, Barack Obama, then a candidate for the presidency, declared before an adoring crowd in Berlin that "true partnership and true progress [require] constant work and sustained sacrifice." So it is with free trade. If not championed by leade...Read More

Liberals get help from pro-pot group … Following the lead of successful campaigns in several U.S. states, a new Canadian lobby group has a $7 million budget and a two-year plan to elect Members of Parliament who support the legalization of marijuana in Canada. Voters in Colorado and Washington State passed ballot initiatives that led to those states legalizing and regulating the recreational...Read More

How to make the world $600 billion poorer … Barack Obama's unwillingness to fight for free trade is an expensive mistake … In July 2008, Barack Obama, then a candidate for the presidency, declared before an adoring crowd in Berlin that "true partnership and true progress [require] constant work and sustained sacrifice." So it is with free trade. If not championed by leade...Read More

Liberals get help from pro-pot group … Following the lead of successful campaigns in several U.S. states, a new Canadian lobby group has a $7 million budget and a two-year plan to elect Members of Parliament who support the legalization of marijuana in Canada. Voters in Colorado and Washington State passed ballot initiatives that led to those states legalizing and regulating the recreational...Read More

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Jim Pattison, one of Canada's most powerful and influential business people. While sitting in his office overlooking Burrard Inlet and the mountains of Vancouver, Mr. Pattison asked me a most timely and intriguing question. "President Fox, I have read recently that you are in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Is that true? … With Ju...Read More

What exactly is an entrepreneur? … Entrepreneurs are everybody's favourite heroes. … In a new paper Magnus Henrekson and Tino Sanandaji argue that the number of self-made billionaires a country produces provides a much better measure of its entrepreneurial vigour than the number of small businesses. The authors studied Forbes's annual list of billionaires over the past 20 years...Read More

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Jim Pattison, one of Canada's most powerful and influential business people. While sitting in his office overlooking Burrard Inlet and the mountains of Vancouver, Mr. Pattison asked me a most timely and intriguing question. "President Fox, I have read recently that you are in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Is that true? … With Ju...Read More

What exactly is an entrepreneur? … Entrepreneurs are everybody's favourite heroes. … In a new paper Magnus Henrekson and Tino Sanandaji argue that the number of self-made billionaires a country produces provides a much better measure of its entrepreneurial vigour than the number of small businesses. The authors studied Forbes's annual list of billionaires over the past 20 years...Read More

What America's leftward shift means for elections … With each new poll, it's becoming clear that the United States is shifting to the left. A majority of Americans now supports same-sex marriage. And legalization of marijuana. And normalization of relations with Cuba. Gallup reports that, in 2013, the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as liberals reached its highest leve...Read More

Obama Heads to Mexico … Amigos Meeting Strained by Keystone … Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's frustration with U.S. President Barack Obama's failure to approve the Keystone XL pipeline may make this installment of the North America summit, known as the "Three Amigos," the frostiest since the annual meetings began almost a decade ago. At the one-day meeting to...Read More