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

Obamacare At 'Significant' Risk of 'Death Spiral,' Economist Warns … Economist John Goodman, who warned last October that Obamacare could plunge into a "death spiral" if not enough young, healthy people signed up for coverage, says that danger is now "significant" following news that the Obama administration failed to hit its young adult enrollment target....Read More

Ex-DEA agent jumps jobs to join marijuana investment firm … In a decade with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Patrick Moen rose to supervise a team of agents busting methamphetamine and heroin rings in Oregon – before giving it all up to join the nascent legal marijuana industry in nearby Washington state. In November, the former federal drug agent quit his post to work for a marij...Read More

The rise of the climate change denier: New figures find 23% of Americans do not believe global warming is happening Research found 63 percent do believe in climate change 53 percent are 'somewhat' or 'very' worried about the consequences Change believed to be in response to coverage of IPCC talks – Daily Mail OnlineDominant Social Theme: Climate change is real. The majority b...Read More

Hedge Funds Raise Gold Wagers as Goldman Sees Drop: … Hedge funds raised bullish gold wagers to the highest in eight weeks as signs of stronger Chinese demand drove prices to the longest rally since August. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the gains will be short-lived. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Gold … fuggetaboutit!Free-Market Analysis: In the other article in this issue we...Read More

The rise of the climate change denier: New figures find 23% of Americans do not believe global warming is happening Research found 63 percent do believe in climate change 53 percent are 'somewhat' or 'very' worried about the consequences Change believed to be in response to coverage of IPCC talks – Daily Mail OnlineDominant Social Theme: Climate change is real. The majority b...Read More

Hedge Funds Raise Gold Wagers as Goldman Sees Drop: … Hedge funds raised bullish gold wagers to the highest in eight weeks as signs of stronger Chinese demand drove prices to the longest rally since August. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the gains will be short-lived. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Gold … fuggetaboutit!Free-Market Analysis: In the other article in this issue we...Read More

Madoff/subprime – spot the difference … Bernard Madoff still has some magic. The public finds anything connected to the fraudster's case fascinating, from a prison interview to JPMorgan's agreement last week to pay $2.3 billion for Madoff-related sins. And why not? Madoff was a grandmaster of the confidence trick. But there is more to it than that. His way of doing business was...Read More

David Cameron says British Press plays 'vital' role in democracy… Media are "rowdy and tenacious", says Prime Minister, but the country is "fortunate" to have reporters who stand up to politicians. The British Press is the "linchpin of democracy", Prime Minister David Cameron has said. British newspapers are "rowdy and tenacious" and often make...Read More

Madoff/subprime – spot the difference … Bernard Madoff still has some magic. The public finds anything connected to the fraudster's case fascinating, from a prison interview to JPMorgan's agreement last week to pay $2.3 billion for Madoff-related sins. And why not? Madoff was a grandmaster of the confidence trick. But there is more to it than that. His way of doing business was...Read More

David Cameron says British Press plays 'vital' role in democracy… Media are "rowdy and tenacious", says Prime Minister, but the country is "fortunate" to have reporters who stand up to politicians. The British Press is the "linchpin of democracy", Prime Minister David Cameron has said. British newspapers are "rowdy and tenacious" and often make...Read More

Protesters ask authorities to ban gold mining in the Halkidiki region. Photo from archives, 2013.Canada's Eldorado Gold Corp (TSX:ELD) (NYSE:EGO) said Thursday it doesn't see its Perama Hill project in Greece to get approval before local elections scheduled for May.Delivering its 2013 results, the firm said it has reduced capital spending in the project to $25 million, it now expects to begin con...Read More

Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) … WikiLeaks released the secret draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Environment Chapter and the corresponding Chairs' Report. The TPP transnational legal regime would cover 12 countries initially and encompass 40 per cent of global GDP and one-third of world trade. The Environment Chapter has long been sought by journ...Read More

Democrats Plan to Pressure TV Networks Into Covering Climate Change … Senate Democrats pledging to get more aggressive on climate change will soon pressure the major TV networks to give the topic far greater attention on the Sunday talking-head shows … Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, are gathering colleagues' signatures on a letter to the networks asserting...Read More

Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) … WikiLeaks released the secret draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Environment Chapter and the corresponding Chairs' Report. The TPP transnational legal regime would cover 12 countries initially and encompass 40 per cent of global GDP and one-third of world trade. The Environment Chapter has long been sought by journ...Read More

Democrats Plan to Pressure TV Networks Into Covering Climate Change … Senate Democrats pledging to get more aggressive on climate change will soon pressure the major TV networks to give the topic far greater attention on the Sunday talking-head shows … Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, are gathering colleagues' signatures on a letter to the networks asserting...Read More

U.K. inflation unexpectedly slowed in December, cooling to the Bank of England's 2 percent target for the first time in more than four years. Consumer-price growth eased from 2.1 percent in November, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median of 32 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for it to remain unchanged. Downward pressure from food prices including fruit an...Read More

Gold to tank in 2014: Goldman Sachs … Bad news for "gold-bugs"—bullion's current beginning-of-the-year rally will not only lose steam, but prices could drop sharply by the end of 2014, according to Goldman Sachs' Jeffrey Currie. Currie, Goldman's head of commodities research, told CNBC on Monday he had an end-of-year price target of $1,050 per ounce for gold, a 16...Read More

U.K. inflation unexpectedly slowed in December, cooling to the Bank of England's 2 percent target for the first time in more than four years. Consumer-price growth eased from 2.1 percent in November, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median of 32 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for it to remain unchanged. Downward pressure from food prices including fruit an...Read More

Gold to tank in 2014: Goldman Sachs … Bad news for "gold-bugs"—bullion's current beginning-of-the-year rally will not only lose steam, but prices could drop sharply by the end of 2014, according to Goldman Sachs' Jeffrey Currie. Currie, Goldman's head of commodities research, told CNBC on Monday he had an end-of-year price target of $1,050 per ounce for gold, a 16...Read More

Swiss inch towards renminbi hub … News that Switzerland's central bank recently opened talks with its Chinese counterpart to swap currencies has raised Swiss hopes of attaining a renminbi hub status. But Switzerland is playing catch-up with rivals that share the same ambition. – SwissInfoDominant Social Theme: The Swiss really need the validation of the renminbi …Free-Market...Read More