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

Ben S. Bernanke, the world’s most-powerful central banker, says he doesn’t understand gold prices. If his peers had paid attention, they might have stopped expanding reserves that lost $545 billion in value since bullion peaked in 2011.Bernanke, who holds economics degrees from Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and led the Federal Reserve through the biggest...Read More

Sir Bob Geldof: 'All humans will die before 2030'… Bob Geldof based his miserable prediction on the effects of climate changeThe musician-turned-activist reckons the world will end in 2030 – leading to the extinction of humankind.Sir Bob, 61, based his miserable prediction on the effects of climate change.“The world can decide in a fit of madness to kill itself," he...Read More

Ben S. Bernanke, the world’s most-powerful central banker, says he doesn’t understand gold prices. If his peers had paid attention, they might have stopped expanding reserves that lost $545 billion in value since bullion peaked in 2011.Bernanke, who holds economics degrees from Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and led the Federal Reserve through the biggest...Read More

Sir Bob Geldof: 'All humans will die before 2030'… Bob Geldof based his miserable prediction on the effects of climate changeThe musician-turned-activist reckons the world will end in 2030 – leading to the extinction of humankind.Sir Bob, 61, based his miserable prediction on the effects of climate change.“The world can decide in a fit of madness to kill itself," he...Read More

Shutdown: A fight with no room for compromise … To end the government shutdown, all Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) needs to do is let the House of Representatives vote on a budget. It would pass within 30 minutes. Virtually all 200 House Democrats would vote to keep the government open, as would as many as 50 Republicans. An easy majority. But no. Boehner and other Republican leaders refuse t...Read More

IRS at 100: How income taxation built the middle class … Exactly a century ago, on October 3, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the first modern federal income tax into law. The sky did not fall.That may have surprised the eminences of the American plutocracy. For years they had predicted the most dire of consequences should the federal government begin taxing the incomes of America&rsq...Read More

Shutdown: A fight with no room for compromise … To end the government shutdown, all Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) needs to do is let the House of Representatives vote on a budget. It would pass within 30 minutes. Virtually all 200 House Democrats would vote to keep the government open, as would as many as 50 Republicans. An easy majority. But no. Boehner and other Republican leaders refuse t...Read More

IRS at 100: How income taxation built the middle class … Exactly a century ago, on October 3, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the first modern federal income tax into law. The sky did not fall.That may have surprised the eminences of the American plutocracy. For years they had predicted the most dire of consequences should the federal government begin taxing the incomes of America&rsq...Read More

Alberta bitumen is going on a journey next month: Operating company Canexus will start transporting 50,000 barrels of crude per day on trains destined for the US.The company is scheduled to start transporting from a new train terminal in Bruderheim, Alberta in Novemeber, the CEO of Canexus told Reuters reporters on Thursday.The initial load of 50,000 barrels will double by the second half of 2014,...Read More

In the commodity world, trade agreements and regulations can either make or break a particular market. Whether it be new alliances, tariffs, or taxes, each decision made by commodity producing countries can have a significant and material impact on the flow of goods and natural resources. Over recent years, one country has struggled to take a concrete stance on its trade agreements, going back and...Read More

Striking workers at Drummond's Colombian coal mine will not go back to work after wage negotiations failed on Tuesday.The country's coal output has been down by nearly one-third since labour action began two weeks ago, Reuters reports. Drummond - Colombia's second largest coal producer - offered the main union, Sintramienergetica, a 5% pay raise for miners at its two operations; the union was as...Read More

Economic focus should shift from the BRICs to Africa's emerging markets … Just as the green shoots of recovery are appearing in the UK, and positively sprouting upwards in the US, so it seems that the so-called BRIC economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are slowing. 'The BRICs really matter. They now account for one quarter of global GDP and, since 2005, they have...Read More

A short history of North America's financial panics … President Andrew Jackson rode a wave of hostility toward financiers into the White House. He declared America's national bank corrupt, and set out to thwart its activities. Private banks responded with rapid expansion, fuelling a real estate bubble. Jackson, who had paid off the national debt, insisted that public lands be paid fo...Read More

Three trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income … The digitization of our economy will bring with it a new generation of radical economic ideologies, of which Bitcoin is arguably the ?rst. For those with assets, technological savvy, and a sense of adventure, the state is the enemy and a cryptographic currency is the solution. But for those more focused on the decline o...Read More

This is What Budget Cuts Have Done to Detroit … And It's Freaking Awesome … Leaving aside the details on whether the U.S. budget is actually shrinking, one needs to look no further than the city of Detroit to find the spontaneous order, civic cooperation, and peaceful market forces that take over when government simply isn't around. – policymix.comDominant Social Theme: A...Read More

Economic focus should shift from the BRICs to Africa's emerging markets … Just as the green shoots of recovery are appearing in the UK, and positively sprouting upwards in the US, so it seems that the so-called BRIC economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are slowing. 'The BRICs really matter. They now account for one quarter of global GDP and, since 2005, they have...Read More

A short history of North America's financial panics … President Andrew Jackson rode a wave of hostility toward financiers into the White House. He declared America's national bank corrupt, and set out to thwart its activities. Private banks responded with rapid expansion, fuelling a real estate bubble. Jackson, who had paid off the national debt, insisted that public lands be paid fo...Read More

Three trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income … The digitization of our economy will bring with it a new generation of radical economic ideologies, of which Bitcoin is arguably the ?rst. For those with assets, technological savvy, and a sense of adventure, the state is the enemy and a cryptographic currency is the solution. But for those more focused on the decline o...Read More

This is What Budget Cuts Have Done to Detroit … And It's Freaking Awesome … Leaving aside the details on whether the U.S. budget is actually shrinking, one needs to look no further than the city of Detroit to find the spontaneous order, civic cooperation, and peaceful market forces that take over when government simply isn't around. – policymix.comDominant Social Theme: A...Read More

Fed mulls adjusting its tune to quell jittery markets … Federal Reserve officials are considering moving the goal posts on U.S. monetary policy with a promise to keep interest rates low for longer in the hopes of heading off a troubling rise in markets borrowing costs. Top Fed officials, who have pulled out all the stops to boost the U.S. recovery from recession, have worried for months that...Read More