Hassett says supply side stimulus won't spur higher inflationFed officials give differing views of tax plan's impactThe Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building.Photographer: Andrew HarrerThe Federal Reserve won’t need to pick up the pace of its planned interest-rate increases in response to the recently-passed tax overhaul package, White House chief economist Kevin Hassett said.The admi...Read More

How Likely Is a Correction in Bitcoin?The roller coaster that is the cryptocurrency market is alive and well.Ripple, the white-hot cryptocurrency that has more than doubled in the past week, fell as much as 39 percent from the all-high reached yesterday. Bitcoin, which has lost some of its luster as of late to its smaller rival, was up as much as 11 percent Friday.Ripple fell to as low as $2.16 af...Read More

BEIJING, Jan 7 (Reuters) - * China gold reserves were at 59.240 million fine troy ounces at end-Dec, unchanged vs end-Nov, the central bank said on Sunday. (Reporting by Josephine Mason) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neith...Read More

The global billet markets generally remained silent during the working week from Tuesday January 2 to Friday January 5 amid the New Year holidays.ChinaBillet prices were 3,630 yuan ($559) per tonne at 3pm on January 5, down by 40 yuan per tonne from last Friday.A local trader revealed that Tangshan has around 300,000 tonnes of billet stock, which is putting pressure on billet prices."Billet prices...Read More

The global billet markets generally remained silent during the working week from Tuesday January 2 to Friday January 5 amid the New Year holidays.ChinaBillet prices were 3,630 yuan ($559) per tonne at 3pm on January 5, down by 40 yuan per tonne from last Friday.A local trader revealed that Tangshan has around 300,000 tonnes of billet stock, which is putting pressure on billet prices."Billet prices...Read More

World manganese ore supply was still up by 13.3% year on year in November 2017, even as it fell 17.8% compared with the prior month, according to the latest data from the International Manganese Institute (IMnI).Global manganese ore supply fell to 1.62 million tonnes in November last year, down from a record-high of 2 million tonnes hit in October.Supply for the first eleven months of 2017 rose by...Read More

As one hand giveth, the other taketh away. Without getting too biblical, it appears that North American coal mining took a step forward in Canada last week but one foot back south of the border at the same time.The small community of Grand Cache, Alberta, was feeling optimistic going into the new year on an announcement that the metallurgical coal mine that closed three years ago is planning on r...Read More

Chinese media is reporting that a large deposit of silver has been found in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia.According to Xinhua, the state-owned news agency, the deposit contains over 100 million tonnes of silver ore. It wasn't clear from the media report whether that number refers to resources or reserves, but it must be resources, since Chinese silver reserves currently only stand at 39,...Read More

Canadian federal and provincial authorities have completed their technical assessment of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' (CNL's) draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed in-situ decommissioning of Whiteshell Reactor 1 (WR-1).The proposal would involve filling the below-grade portions of the WNR-1 reactor, shown in this diagram, with a special grout (Image: CNL)The research reacto...Read More

Codelco's Ventanas smelter in Chile achieved record-high copper cathode production in 2017 despite stricter environmental regulations and a more complex global scenario for smelters, the company said on Monday January 8.Ventanas' cathode production reached record levels for the fourth consecutive year. Output totaled 410,024 tonnes in 2017, up by 2,700 tonnes...Read More

Aluminium was the only metal that ended lower at the end of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday January 8.The three-month aluminium price ended around 1.2% lower than its pre-weekend closing level at $2,175 per tonne.Around 14,000 lots changed hands by the 5pm close, outpacing copper by about 2,000 lots.Stocks fell a net 3,600 tonnes to 1,095,875 tonnes. Although on-warrant aluminium st...Read More

Comex copper prices recovered from a one-week low amid consolidation on Monday January 8, while a stronger dollar is likely to cap the upside. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.25 cents or 0.4% to $3.2420 per lb. Last week, the contract hit the lowest point since December 22. "Prices could look to resume their upward...Read More

Xiamen Tungsten, China's major tungsten exporter, has not been granted an export license for 2018-2019, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. The ministry refused to grant the company an export license due to two administrative penalties imposed in 2017: one for exceeding emissions and another for having incorrect customs clearance for a batch of cobalt related products, it said on December 2...Read More

China's ferro-chrome market weakened over the past week amid a lull in activity after domestic mills wrapped up their latest round of purchasing negotiations, while ore prices were supported by tight supply and firm demand from smelters. Domestic Chinese ferro-chrome prices slide as purchasing wave ends South African and Turkish ore markets gain on tight supply European high carbon ferro-chrome pr...Read More

A location map showing Harte Gold's Sugar Zone Project in the Hemlo Camp of northern Ontario. Source Harte Gold Corp.Harte Gold Corp. [HRT-TSX] on Monday January 8 released a project update based on recent drilling at its flagship Sugar Zone property located 80 km east of the Hemlo Gold Camp in northern Ontario.The move comes after the company completed 138,000 metres of drilling in 2017, work tha...Read More

Seaborne manganese ore prices held steady over the past week, while alloy prices weakened in China in anticipation of smelter restarts. Manganese ore prices gain a few cents week on week Chinese alloy prices weaken as market awaits Ningxia restarts Silico-manganese prices rise in India on rupee and steel sector strength European alloy prices rise on tighter prompt availability US silico-manganese...Read More

An example of a typical high-grade silver-cobalt vein from the Cobalt Camp in northeastern Ontario. Photo by Ellsworth Dickson.Cruz Cobalt Corp. [CUZ-TSXV, BKTPF-OTC, A2DMG8-FSE] said it has secured the services of Precision GeoSurveys to conduct the airborne work program over Cruz's British Columbia cobalt properties. The airborne survey is the first of several work programs that are being form...Read More

Newstrike Resources Ltd. (TSXV:HIP) is attempting to merge with CanniMed Therapeutics, which is being pursued by Aurora CannabisSmallCapPower | January 8, 2018: Newstrike Resources Ltd. (TSXV:HIP), a Canadian marijuana stock, climbed 40% to $1.51 on Friday after announcing that it has received approval from Health Canada to sell cannabis in dried marijuana form. The Company had received its cultiv...Read More

European antimony prices have started the year on a positive note with prices edging up slightly for both grades amid a tightening market.Metal Bulletin assessed MMTA standard grade II antimony in-warehouse Rotterdam prices at $8,000-8,350 per tonne on Friday January 5, stable from Wednesday's assessment when prices had increased from $7,950-8,300 per tonne.Trioxide grade antimony prices in-wareho...Read More

Click to Enlarge.Read More