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

Gold price collapse is the worst for 30 years … The precious metal has been one of the worst-performing assets in 2013, bringing an end to a decade-long rally. Gold has fallen almost 28pc over the last 12 months … Gold will finish the year as one of the worst-performing asset classes, bringing to an end a decade-long rally in the precious metal. Gold has suffered its sharpest fall in 3...Read More

The Audacity of Optimism. In the year or more that I have written this column, I have often emphasized the way in which things may be going at least a bit right. That contrasts with the frequently repeated mantra that we are going dangerously off the rails. Of course, like anyone, I may be right or wrong or somewhere in between. What's been perplexing about responses to this column, however, i...Read More

U.S. jobless claims fall, holiday retail sales rise. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly a month, a hopeful sign for the labor market, while holiday retail sales rose in November and December. While the holiday season has made recent claims data so volatile it has been difficult to interpret, Thursday's report showed...Read More

Local courts reviving "debtors' prison" for overdue fines, fees … As if out of a Charles Dickens novel, people struggling to pay overdue fines and fees associated with court costs for even the simplest traffic infractions are being thrown in jail across the United States. Critics are calling the practice the new "debtors' prison" – referring to the jails tha...Read More

U.S. jobless claims fall, holiday retail sales rise. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly a month, a hopeful sign for the labor market, while holiday retail sales rose in November and December. While the holiday season has made recent claims data so volatile it has been difficult to interpret, Thursday's report showed...Read More

Local courts reviving "debtors' prison" for overdue fines, fees … As if out of a Charles Dickens novel, people struggling to pay overdue fines and fees associated with court costs for even the simplest traffic infractions are being thrown in jail across the United States. Critics are calling the practice the new "debtors' prison" – referring to the jails tha...Read More

China move calms credit concerns … Chinese authorities have been trying to curb excessive lending … China's central bank has pumped $5bn (£3.1bn) into the banking system to ease concerns over a credit squeeze that has caused rising interest rates. The People's Bank of China did not explain its actions, but over the last few days there has been growing concern over the ava...Read More

U.S. Postal Service Wins 6 Percent Increase to Cover Loss … The U.S. Postal Service's regulator has approved price increases amounting to 6 percent on most mail, a step the service's board called a "last resort" forced by Congress's failure to pass cost-cutting legislation. A first-class stamp will cost 49 cents, up from 46 cents, starting Jan. 26. Similar changes will...Read More

China move calms credit concerns … Chinese authorities have been trying to curb excessive lending … China's central bank has pumped $5bn (£3.1bn) into the banking system to ease concerns over a credit squeeze that has caused rising interest rates. The People's Bank of China did not explain its actions, but over the last few days there has been growing concern over the ava...Read More

U.S. Postal Service Wins 6 Percent Increase to Cover Loss … The U.S. Postal Service's regulator has approved price increases amounting to 6 percent on most mail, a step the service's board called a "last resort" forced by Congress's failure to pass cost-cutting legislation. A first-class stamp will cost 49 cents, up from 46 cents, starting Jan. 26. Similar changes will...Read More

2013 was undoubtedly a rough year for commodities, particularly for precious metals like gold and silver. There were, however, some bright spots in the space, including cocoa, soybean meal, orange juice, gasoline, and brent. For the coming year, analysts remain rather pessimistic on the broad commodity market. Goldman Sachs analysts have noted: "Last year, we pointed to the ongoing shift in our co...Read More

Swiss Banks Employ Army of Advisers for U.S. Amnesty Plan … Switzerland's 300 banks have enlisted an army of auditors, lawyers and in-house workers as they race to meet a Dec. 31 deadline on whether to seek U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes. Banks in Switzerland, the largest cross-border financial center with $2.2 trillion of assets, are closely examining accounts bef...Read More

Solid Concepts' Printed Metal Gun on Sale … In just short of two months 3D printing firm Solid Concepts has introduced, and will now sell a 3D printed metal gun. While the model M1911 semi-automatic pistol is made from stainless steel and Inconel 625 it's going to cost you a bit more than your standard issue US Army pistol. – Engineering.comDominant Social Theme: Libertarian ti...Read More

Swiss Banks Employ Army of Advisers for U.S. Amnesty Plan … Switzerland's 300 banks have enlisted an army of auditors, lawyers and in-house workers as they race to meet a Dec. 31 deadline on whether to seek U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes. Banks in Switzerland, the largest cross-border financial center with $2.2 trillion of assets, are closely examining accounts bef...Read More

Solid Concepts' Printed Metal Gun on Sale … In just short of two months 3D printing firm Solid Concepts has introduced, and will now sell a 3D printed metal gun. While the model M1911 semi-automatic pistol is made from stainless steel and Inconel 625 it's going to cost you a bit more than your standard issue US Army pistol. – Engineering.comDominant Social Theme: Libertarian ti...Read More

Age shall not weary her… America's central bank has become ever more powerful over the past century … As the holiday season of 1913 drew near … Congress was still fighting over a bill to create the Federal Reserve, and Wilson had threatened to keep it in session over Christmas until the bill was ready for his signature. A century later, the Fed is still overshadowing the fest...Read More

NSA revelations: Fallout can serve our nation … The fallout from the Edward Snowden revelations continues to snowball. With each disclosure, allies, businesses and influential authors call for reform. There is ever growing pressure on the Obama administration to respond and quell these concerns before permanent damage is done … President Barack Obama's meeting with technology leade...Read More

Age shall not weary her… America's central bank has become ever more powerful over the past century … As the holiday season of 1913 drew near … Congress was still fighting over a bill to create the Federal Reserve, and Wilson had threatened to keep it in session over Christmas until the bill was ready for his signature. A century later, the Fed is still overshadowing the fest...Read More

NSA revelations: Fallout can serve our nation … The fallout from the Edward Snowden revelations continues to snowball. With each disclosure, allies, businesses and influential authors call for reform. There is ever growing pressure on the Obama administration to respond and quell these concerns before permanent damage is done … President Barack Obama's meeting with technology leade...Read More

Fed Finds Elixir for Tapering QE as Markets Embrace Rate Outlook … For six months, the Federal Reserve has struggled to engineer a pullback of its bond-buying program without unhinging financial markets. Yesterday, the Fed did it. After the Fed and Chairman Ben S. Bernanke expressed enough confidence in the jobs outlook to taper the pace of asset buying and extended the timeline for zero int...Read More