The AOCE and WB have moderate overall forecasts for the metals in 2025 inline with IMF forecasts for a decline in economic growth and inflation, although we see the probability of a stagflationary scenario as still reasonably high.Read More

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

Move over Bitcoin. In 2018, so far, it’s gold that’s catching investors’ attention.Gold hit a four-month high on Friday, trading at US$1,338.39 per ounce on the back of strong production outlooks from companies, higher price predictions from bank analysts and merger activity.“It’s going to get more competitive,” Clive T. Johnson, chief executive of B2Gold C...Read More

One of the biggest diamonds in history has been discovered in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa.Gem Diamonds Ltd. found the 910-carat stone, about the size of two golf balls, at its Letseng mine in the country. It’s a D colour Type IIa diamond, which means it has very few or no nitrogen atoms and is one of the most expensive stones. The diamond is the fifth-biggest ever f...Read More

SummaryThe unemployment rate has long been the single measure most used by the media, policymakers, and politicians to gauge overall labour market performance.However, the unemployment rate can decrease for two reasons that imply very different performance: 1) people are finding work, which is positive; or 2) potential workers are dropping out of the labour force and not looking for work anymore,...Read More

Stung by some lousy investments that led to billions of dollars in losses a few years ago, the world’s major gold producers have cut way back on mining deals — even as metal prices posted their biggest rally since 2010.The value of the industry’s transactions, from acquisitions to venture-capital financing, tumbled by more than a third in 2017 to US$8.95 billion, the lowest...Read More

While the provision of health care involves the use of a considerable number of inputs, including medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, health-care services still draw largely on the expertise of health-care professionals. Physicians, in particular, play a prominent role. In this regard, while Canada has one of the most expensive universal health-care systems among developed countries, the number...Read More

TORONTO — The Chilean government has ordered Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) to permanently close all surface facilities at its troubled Pascua-Lama project high in the Andes.The government had suspended the massive project that straddles the Chile-Argentina border in 2013 over concerns of environmental damage and water contamination during development.Barrick was fined the maximum US$16 millio...Read More

Mike Mozak's union was in the middle of labour negotiations with Teck Resources Ltd. last spring when the company announced a proposed $1.2-billion deal to sell its hydroelectric dam that powers the lead and zinc smelter where his members worked."It was a shock to all of us," said Mozak, president of United Steelworkers Local 9705, who questions how the sale could affect the smelter's future. Nest...Read More

The Human Freedom Index (HFI) presents a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. This third annual index uses 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas:Rule of LawSecurity and SafetyMovementReligionAssociation, Assembly, and Civil SocietyExpression and InformationIdentity and RelationshipsSize of GovernmentLegal System...Read More

Conventional wisdom suggests 'buy low, sell high' is the best strategy. But as gold prices surge to new peaks daily, and some companies hang back from acquisitions, Leagold Mining Corp.'s chief executive Neil Woodyer believes he's found a loophole to this age-old adage: In about a one-year timespan, he has built a Latin America-focused intermediate by snapping up assets that larger companies cast...Read More

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. and parent Rio Tinto Group’s ambition to build one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines, called Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, has hit a number of stumbling blocks in recent weeks.Last week, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, the chief executive of Rio Tinto, flew to Mongolia’s capital city to meet with prime minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsuk...Read More

There are serious financial risks associated with running deficits during times of positive economic growth. One of the principal risks is that the budget cannot be balanced regardless of economic conditions because a permanent imbalance between how much the government spends and the amount it raises from taxes and other revenues develops. The Trudeau government took office in late 2015 and immedi...Read More

The Fraser Institute is the top think-tank in Canada for the tenth straight year and ranks in the top 25 among all think-tanks worldwide, according to the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index published by the University of Pennsylvania and released recently in Washington, D.C.The annual index ranks the Fraser Institute first among 100 think-tanks in Canada and 21st out of more than 7,800 think-tanks...Read More

SummaryIn 2016/17, Ontario's net debt reached $302 billion, or approximately $21, 500 per Ontarian. The province's debt-to-GDP level stands at 38 percent, just below its all-time historic high.Ontario's net debt has increased dramatically since 2003/04, with the province running budget deficits in 11 of the past 14 years. These annual deficits have ranged from $991 million to $19.3 billion and hav...Read More

Nutrien Ltd., the newly formed company from the merger of The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium Inc., is well on course to achieve savings of half a billion dollar in synergies annually, according to its chief executive officer Chuck Magro.“When we look at it, the $500 million in annual synergies — we’re very confident about that number,” Magro told investors on...Read More

The presence of counterfeit medicines in international commerce was initially identified as a problem in 1985 at the World Health Organization Conference of Experts on Rational Drug Use. Prior to this event, the dangers and challenges of pharmaceutical counterfeiting were primarily limited to developing countries. The global picture, however, has starkly changed. Pharmaceutical counterfeiting now...Read More

OTTAWA — The federal government is designating a single agency to oversee what is expected to be a more stringent and far-reaching review process, amid concerns Canada is burdening the industry with new and untested layers of regulations.Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told reporters Thursday that the new law would create a “predictable, timely and evidence-based” review p...Read More

Acacia Mining produces gold and copper, both of which are surging in price, so why did the company ditch its dividend and post a $700 million loss?“We were thrown … a lot of curveballs,” chief executive Peter Geleta said on an investor earnings call on Monday. “In fact, I don’t think many people would have faced what we faced last year in their whole careers.”H...Read More

SummaryIn many respects, British Columbia can currently boast of having the soundest fiscal position of any Canadian province. While other provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, have struggled in recent years with comparatively large budget deficits and significant debt accumulation, BC recorded a $2.7 billion operating surplus last year (2016/17)-its fourth consecutive operating surplus and th...Read More

Alberta faces significant fiscal and economic challenges. The government has run nearly uninterrupted deficits since 2008/09 and has seen an approximately $57 billion decline in its net financial assets between 2008/09 and 2017/18. The government has stated that it will continue to run significant budget deficits for many years before finally achieving balance in 2023/24. This unambitious target f...Read More

Gold prices are rising after a prolonged period of sluggish performance, but not all gold producers will be able to use 2018 to grow — as three earnings announcements released this week by senior Canadian gold companies demonstrated.Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer, cut its 2018 production outlook to 4.5 million to 5 million ounces whereas Goldcorp Inc., at nearly half...Read More