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Comex nears gold and silver defaults, London trader Maguire says
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2024-03-08 13:50 Section: Daily Dispatches
1:51p ET Friday, March 8, 2024
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):
The New York Commodities Exchange is in danger of defaulting on its gold and silver contracts as demand for delivery of metal increasingly is directed there, London metals trader Andrew Maguire tells this week's "Live from the Vault" program from Kinesis Money.
Short futures positions in the metals, Maguire says, are being destroyed by their excessive leverage amid central bank demand for gold and the realization that silver is grossly underpriced compared to gold.
The interview is 49 minutes long and can be viewed at YouTube here:
See Next Post #44326
Physical silver buyers gatecrash COMEX vaults - LFTV Ep 163
Mar 8, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire brings an in-depth analysis of the recent price movements in both gold and silver, before diving deep into the increasingly depolarised silver market to expose its vulnerabilities.
The London whistleblower takes listeners through the current bullish setup backed by a thorough analysis that highlights silver’s undervaluation and pervasive manipulation, before closing with an update on the BRICS currency.
Junior Gold Stock Bottom or More Pain Coming? with Pro Mining Investors Brian Leni and David Erfle
MiningStockEducation.com
36.3K subscribers
Mar 8, 2024 #goldstocks #goldinvesting #miningstocks
Professional junior mining investors Brian Leni and David Erfle discuss whether we have seen a junior gold stock bottom or if there is more pain coming. They also chat about the current junior gold stock sector and the recent BMO and PDAC mining conferences and offer insights into how they are perceiving the market. Bill Powers facilitates the discussion.
Choosing Mining Stocks Through The Eyes Of The Beer-holder
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE % LAST TRADE
Contango ORE 1.48 8.08 $19.79
Ivanhoe Electric 1.31 12.52 $11.77
Wheaton Precious Metals 1.21 2.08 $59.29
Freeport-McMoRan 1.03 2.77 $38.15
Filo 0.98 4.48 $22.87
Agnico Eagle Mines 0.84 1.17 $72.58
Cameco 0.73 1.31 $56.29
Ero Copper 0.66 2.84 $23.89
Osisko Gold Royalties 0.63 2.99 $21.68
Sigma Lithium 0.62 4.28 $15.11
Lundin Mining 0.58 5.37 $11.38
Seabridge Gold 0.56 3.29 $17.56
Lithium Americas 0.52 7.73 $7.25
Altius Minerals 0.50 2.69 $19.10
Wesdome Gold Mines 0.49 5.04 $10.21
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Argonaut Gold 7,759,492 $0.31
Contact Gold 6,702,788 $0.03
Kinross Gold 5,159,362 $7.22
Uranium Energy 4,954,170 $6.45
ATEX Resources 3,844,351 $1.25
First Quantum Minerals 3,441,735 $13.46
B2Gold 3,044,891 $3.62
Agnico Eagle Mines 2,839,874 $72.58
Fission Uranium 2,757,338 $1.03
Goldshore Resources 2,591,552 $0.13
Mawson Gold 2,505,131 $0.56
Calibre Mining 2,403,288 $1.75
Lundin Mining 2,030,303 $11.38
OceanaGold 1,961,241 $2.63
Granite Creek Copper 1,921,000 $0.05
Powells next move tomorrow
Why Britain is still paying the price for Gordon Brown's gold bullion blunder
Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-03-05 16:58 Section: Daily Dispatches
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Nothing that seemed as stupid and sure to be as loss-making as the Bank of England's gold sales that began in 1999 would have been undertaken unless it accomplished an important objective that couldn't be admitted without causing financial turmoil and scandal.
That is, the Bank of England's gold sales rescued the big UK and U.S. bullion banks from their uncoverable but central bank-instigated short positions as the gold market bounced off the bottom. Saving the banks was deemed necessary to protecting the world financial system.
Ever since the U.S. broke the longstanding link between the dollar and gold in 1971, the primary purpose of Western central banking has been to control the gold price largely surreptitiously, so as to prevent the return of the once and future world reserve currency and the reduction of government power that would result. It is all documented here --
https://gata.org/node/20925
-- but the matter is so sensitive that it cannot be examined by mainstream financial news organizations, or even discussed in polite company. / cp
* * *
By Tom Knowles
The Telegraph, London
Monday, March 4, 2024
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/investing/gold-hits-all-time-high-gordon-brown-blunder-cost/
It has been considered one of the worst financial blunders the Government ever made. On May 7, 1999, the UK Treasury announced it would be selling over half of the nation's gold reserves.
The move, made by then chancellor Gordon Brown, was done in a bid to diversify and strengthen Britain's reserves by reducing the proportion held in gold.
Yet the sale came at what turned out to be the very bottom of the gold market, ultimately costing the Exchequer billions of pounds in lost profits.
As the 25th anniversary of Mr Brown's now infamous decision approaches, the price of gold on Monday hit a record high. Here, Telegraph Money looks at what went wrong and what it meant for the UK in the long run.
... Build-up
In 1999, gold was increasingly being seen as a "barbarous relic," as the economist John Maynard Keynes had described the metal in 1924. The asset had been experiencing a two-decade bear market, having lost 80% of its real worth from a peak in 1980. The low price meant a number of central banks around the world were looking to offload some of their gold.
The metal is ultimately held by central banks as a safe haven that can be called upon as a last resort in times of emergency, seen as a hedge against inflation, currency devaluation and fiscal turmoil.
In this scenario, Mr Brown was not out of step with other nations for wanting to sell some of the UK's 715 tonnes of gold, which was owned by the Treasury and managed by the Bank of England. The plan to convert the proceeds into foreign currencies of 40% US dollars, 40% euros, and 20% yen would also bear interest for the government, unlike gold.
But the timing of the sale, and the way it was announced, would go on to cause ripples still felt today.
... The announcement
The offloading of gold reserves by other central banks up to 1999 had frequently mostly been done quietly on the global markets, only after which details of the sale would be announced. Yet in the UK, the Government publicly announced in May -- via a written question in the House of Commons -- that it would be holding a series of auctions for 125 tonnes of its gold reserves, starting in July that year, with an eventual plan to sell 415 tonnes by 2002.
The Treasury said it wanted to "achieve a better balance in the portfolio" by increasing the proportion of its reserves held in foreign currencies. Gold made up around 50% of the UK's foreign currency net reserves -- $6.5 billion (L5.1 billion) out of $13 billion -- and this exposure to one single asset, whose price was often volatile and earned no interest, was too great, the Treasury argued.
The announcement stunned the markets, however. Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, an online investment gold service, said: "It landed like a bombshell. I don't think the Treasury expected it to make as much noise as it did. It was so cack-handed how they handled it."
Britain's top gold traders had only been told earlier that day about the planned sale at a meeting at the Bank of England and were shocked by the news. They explained to Bank officials that gold prices tend to move in decades-long cycles, with the price probably near its bottom and likely to increase in the coming years.
They also warned that revealing the timings and amounts for sale so far in advance would cause traders to short the asset -- betting on the price of gold falling -- which would drive gold down further.
"The timing of the decision was ludicrous. We told them, 'You are going to push the gold price down before you sell,'" Peter Fava, then head of precious metal dealing at HSBC, told The Sunday Times in 2007. "We thought it was a disastrous decision; we couldn't understand it."
Sure enough, the price of gold, which was $282.40 an ounce on the day of the sale's announcement, had fallen 1%c by the time of the first auction in July. "It was done in a fairly clunky way," Philip Shaw, chief UK economist at Investec, said of the Government's announcement. "It probably didn't do the UK's standing in international markets much good."
The government said a secret sale would have eventually leaked out and provoked rumours that would have pushed the price down further. The announcement of a series of auctions, rather than selling gold through the normal twice-daily price fix, would also increase the number of prospective buyers who could bid "with greater confidence about future supply," the Government argued.
... The sale
Eventually, 395 tonnes of gold were sold by the Bank of England on the Treasury's behalf; the price ranged between $256 and $296 a troy ounce, with an average of $276, and made a total of $3.5bn.
Gold reached a record high of $2,083 a troy ounce on the London gold benchmark on March 4, having enjoyed a tremendous bull run over the past decade. In the spot market, gold reached an all-time high of $2,135 in December last year. The 395 tonnes sold off by the Treasury would now be worth $26.6bn for the UK.
The gold, in other words, was sold at a 20-year-low in the market, and this period has since been nicknamed "Brown's Bottom" by traders.
One key reason that the sale price was so depressed was that the UK was considered symbolically and historically important in the gold market, with the Bank of England holding and helping to manage gold reserves for more than 40 central banks and monetary institutions at the time.
"For the UK to be selling, it was like, 'oh wow, this stuff really is finished.' So sentiment wise, it really did knock a hole in gold," Mr Ash said.
The government's handling of the sale was considered so poor that the backbench Conservative MP Peter Tapsell told the House of Commons in June 1999 that "conspiracy theories are widely circulating in the City" that "famous foreign finance houses" had taken out such dangerously large short positions on gold over the previous years that they needed their friends at the Treasury to kill any prospect of a price rise in the metal.
The Bank of England's then Head of Foreign Exchange, Clifford Smout, denied any conspiracy "with persons known or unknown." Mr Brown was also suspected of attempting to support the newly launched euro. This was also denied by the Bank of England, which described the idea as "conspiracy theory gone to extreme."
... The immediate aftermath
The government's announcement of the sale prompted other Western nations to publicly defend having the asset in their reserves. Jean-Claude Trichet, governor of the Bank of France at the time, said that France, Germany, Italy, and the US would not sell their gold. In the US, Alan Greenspan, the then chairman of the Federal Reserve, responded to the UK's sale by saying: "Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world."
The poor handling of the sale also pushed European central banks to set some rules around gold sales. There was growing concern that uncoordinated sales and lending of gold by central banks were causing issues for the market and driving down prices.
As a result of this, 15 European central banks, including the Bank of England, agreed on 26 September 1999 to limit their sales to 400 tonnes annually over the next five years, and also to announce sales to the market beforehand. Crucially, the central banks also announced that they would not increase their lending above 2,119 tonnes currently out on lease.
The announcement caused a sharp spike in the price -- with a two-week gain of 25% -- as it had made gold trading more transparent and had removed uncertainty around the intentions of central banks' sales.
... Effect on the UK
The sale of the gold was reinvested back in the UK's reserves and so had no palpable effect on the UK consumer or economy as it was not used for public spending or to pay off debt.
Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said: "Although much is made of the squandering of a national asset, the main function of such reserve assets is more for precautionary reasons such as intervening to stop a currency crisis, than managing wealth on behalf of the country."
He added that the need for governments to continue holding large gold reserves is "questionable."
However, critics argue the poor sale damaged the UK's reputation on a global stage. Ross Norman, chief executive of Metals Daily, a precious metals data provider, said: "The problem is, once you've consumed a significant part of our reserves, it's very hard to rebuild. I think that damages the UK."
The sale was also thought to be embarrassing for the Bank of England considering its eminent role in the bullion market, despite it not having control over the decision, which was made by the Treasury. There were press reports that Eddie George, then-governor of the Bank of England, had privately argued against the sale, saying it would erode the Bank's power base in the City.
However, Mr George told a Select Treasury Committee in May 1999: "People get emotionally attached to gold and we have seen quite a lot of emotional reaction to that decision. However, as a portfolio decision, it is perfectly sensible" to sell the gold.
... Would there ever be another sale?
Whereas in the 1990s, central banks were trying to offload some of their gold, the reverse is true today. A number of central banks, especially those not aligned with the West, have been buying physical gold in record quantities over the past two years, as the pandemic, inflation and geopolitical tensions, such as war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza conflict, boost its popularity as a safe haven.
Gold, if held in a nation's own vaults, cannot be frozen or accessed by others. Other countries are looking to reduce their dependence on the US dollar, such as China, which bought 225 tonnes of gold in 2023.
However, the likelihood of the UK either buying or selling more gold is virtually nil. Mr Norman added: "Selling any of its gold reserves at this stage would be regarded internationally as the UK being in absolute dire straits and would be most definitely counterproductive."
Attempts to buy more gold would also appear that the UK is worried about the stability of the global financial market. "These guys will never say much or do anything with gold for at least another generation," Mr Ash said. "Western central banks are still so paralysed by the PR disaster of their sales 20 years ago -- it wasn't just the UK by any stretch -- that whatever they do with gold now would look ridiculous."
... Lessons for consumers
Private investors should take Mr Brown's poor sale as evidence that there is a danger of herd thinking in financial markets. Mr Ash said: "It felt like every major nation was selling gold, cutting their bullion holdings as the hype around tech stocks and Western triumphalism in geopolitics ushered in the 21st century. Yet since that gold price low for UK investors in 1999, physical bullion has beaten all UK asset classes hands down."
The rise in gold prices has also shown the value of holding a little gold in a portfolio. Analysis by BullionVault shows that adding 10% to a portfolio otherwise split 60:40 between UK equities and bonds would have raised annualised returns from 5 to 5.6% across the past quarter century, and it would have boosted a private investor's worst five-year returns of the last half-century (ending 2022) from 0.6c to 1.6% per year.
https://www.gata.org/node/23056
Thanks starboy I've made a little coin last two sessions finally.
I miss my daily conversations with Bob so much sometimes I still hear him guiding me with his one of a kind enthusiasm.
Yes I've been picking up on some kind of change happening with the miners in a epic way.
There coming from the road of hell
to the road of redemption
as Rob McEwen puts it
take care man and thanks again
Been a tough sled for the miner's, for sure JD400, so not too much to crow about or point to in their results.
Last time I had contact with the cork (Bob Bye) was 08.24.2020, and he is certainly missed, RIP.
You've done the best you could JD400, and that's all we could've asked for.
Maybe gold will finally pump up the miner's if the massive debt loads everywhere finally take their toll and if the current global hotspots catch fire with uncertain results.
Thanks Doug Means a lot to me 😊. Theirs not many contributors left on Ihub mining boards.
Thank you for this and all of your other posts.
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Royal Gold 3.02 2.94 $105.65
Franco-Nevada 3.02 2.13 $145.11
Agnico Eagle Mines 2.19 3.36 $67.28
Cameco 1.91 3.47 $56.91
Sigma Lithium 1.71 12.03 $15.93
Contango ORE 1.32 7.80 $18.25
Endeavour Mining 1.32 5.92 $23.63
McEwen Mining 1.01 12.21 $9.28
Wheaton Precious Metals 1.00 1.79 $56.93
Torex Gold Resources 0.95 6.69 $15.15
Ero Copper 0.95 4.11 $24.07
NexGen Energy 0.91 9.51 $10.48
Piedmont Lithium 0.87 5.98 $15.43
Gold Fields 0.79 6.06 $13.83
Osisko Gold Royalties 0.73 3.68 $20.55
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 11,011,798 $6.95
B2Gold 5,717,650 $3.48
NexGen Energy 4,782,433 $10.48
Fission Uranium 4,126,731 $1.06
Calibre Mining 3,544,085 $1.63
Kinross Gold 3,275,852 $6.88
OceanaGold 2,978,863 $2.44
First Quantum Minerals 2,710,568 $12.90
Argonaut Gold 2,561,600 $0.24
Sigma Lithium 2,487,056 $15.93
Omai Gold Mines 2,260,256 $0.11
Euro Sun Mining 2,227,843 $0.07
New Gold 2,047,172 $1.82
Pelangio Exploration 2,039,000 $0.02
Guanajuato Silver 1,992,656 $0.16
Whelp I'm bout done on the old hub don't think I'm doing anybody any good anymore
Feeling I'm knocking on heavens door
Have a good one everybody and Thanks
Newly created Critical Metals on track to construct EU’s first battery-grade lithium mine
https://www.mining.com/newly-created-critical-metals-on-track-to-construct-eus-first-battery-grade-lithium-mine/
Plenty of time on this one. They expect a steady slow rise in their stock price 2024,25,26,27 as they get closer to production bigger rise in 2028.
At least that what I heard the CEO say in a video that I cant find now.
Hope all is well with you JJ24 and Thanks for the catch
Sound Money Outside of the System Feat. Lynette Zang - LFTV Ep 162
Kinesis Money
Mar 1, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined for the first time by renowned US-based banker, stockbroker, and economist Lynette Zang to talk about the growing sound money movement and ways to preserve wealth.
Lynette takes listeners through an American perspective on the failing dollar and recent developments in certain states, before offering a message of hope: people are waking up to the manipulation of the mainstream media.
Lynette Zang's Website: https://lynettezang.com/
Ask your questions for Andy here: https://forum.kinesis.money/forums/qu...
Whistlin Past The $MUX Geopolitical Graveyard
Milei's economic reforms stall in Argentina Congress
Argentine President Javier Milei was dealt a major setback in parliament Tuesday (February 6) when his deeply controversial deregulatory reform package was prevented from advancing and sent back for a rewrite, legislators said.
Latest $MUX Stock Update
McEwen drills 121.5 g/t over 0.4 metre at Stock gold mine
Staff Writer | February 28, 2024 | 8:04 am Exploration Canada Gold
The Stock East zone could be an early source of more ore for the Fox complex. Credit: McEwen Mining
McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) says gold resources are up 31% year-over-year at both the Stock West and Stock Main zones. The past-producing Stock mine is part of the company’s Fox complex near Timmins, Ontario.
The mineralization has been traced at depth. Geological interpretation suggests that there are two principal plunging structures, and drilling along these structures accounts to about half the 31% increases in resources. Both structures remain highly prospective for additional growth, said McEwen.
The Stock East zone is also emerging as a potential new source of near-term production. Here are the true width highlights of the recent assays:
Hole SEZ24-86: 121.5 g/t gold over 0.4 metre
Hole SEZ24-84: 6.5 g/t gold over 10.2 metres
Hole SEZ24-88: 4.5 g/t gold over 10.4 metres
Infill drilling at the Stock East zone has intersected mineable widths and grades. Drilling has also identified two plunge directions at Stock East.
McEwen says the location of the Stock East zone is strategic for several reasons. It lies close to the splay point of the Nighthawk Lake fault, and such splays are known to be good traps for gold mineralization. It is located only 700 metres east of the existing Fox mill, and because it is shallow it could be quickly and relatively inexpensive to develop.
The current drill program aims to upgrade most of the inferred mineralization to the indicated category and target the high-grade sections of the zone.
McEwen Mining produced 128,650 oz. of gold and 2.2 million oz. of silver in 2023, or 154,600 gold-equivalent ounces. The Fox complex was responsible for producing 44,450 gold-equivalent oz. or roughly 29% of the output.
https://www.mining.com/mcewen-drills-121-5-g-t-over-0-4-metre-at-stock-gold-mine/
Javier Milei to take on Argentina’s Economic Crisis
February 7, 2024 MJEInternational Economics
Written by Gabi Breuer
In late October, Argentina held presidential elections, crucial in determining how the country would handle its economic turmoil. Since the nineties, Argentina has struggled with such hardships: having substantial debts, falling into deep recession periods, and facing extraordinary inflation. This most recent election was critical to ensure Argentinians were put on the proper path to fix decades of poor economic decisions.
On November 19th, Argentina’s run-off election day, Javier Milei faced Sergio Massa after neither candidate received the necessary votes to win the first round. Milei won with 56% of the votes primarily due to his radical economic plan, which gave many Argentinians hope (Eliott, 2023). Even with the majority vote, people were anxious about the immediate ramifications their newly elected president would have on the peso. As of October 2023, inflation reached a 143% high, resulting in four in ten people living in poverty and the nation heading towards its sixth recession in a decade (Gillespie, 2023).
The morning after the election, Argentinians were most concerned with the “blue dollar” value. The blue dollar is a parallel rate to the dollar commonly used in backroom financial houses. Although the blue dollar is an unofficial exchange rate, news sites track the exchange in real-time due to its popularity. Starting his presidency with the blue dollar’s value increasing by 13%, Milei’s time in office began on a celebratory note (Biller, Politi, 2023). Compared to the bank-set price of 356 pesos to the dollar, the blue dollar exchange is almost triple that. The rate increase was an immediate positive sign for the newly elected president and possibly a beacon of hope that his economic plan could lead the country out of a recession.
Milei’s campaign was built upon perhaps the boldest plan any candidate has proposed in some time. The “Hail Mary” looks to dismantle the Argentine peso entirely and put into effect the US Dollar as the national currency. By dollarizing the economy, the national bank would set an exchange rate and buy back pesos.
Although the idea may seem far-fetched, it has been successfully implemented in Ecuador and Panama. It is important to highlight that both these countries have significantly smaller economies, whereas Argentina remains the third-largest economy in Latin America despite its economic difficulties (Gura, Martin, 2023). Argentina’s size will play a major part in the outcome of Milei’s plan as it faces the tedious process of buying back pesos from its 45 million citizens.
In addition to the nation’s size, Argentina faces a more significant problem. Likely, they do not have enough dollars to replace the peso, at least without causing an expansive currency shortage. Currently, the country owes the International Monetary Fund $44 billion and has $7.5 billion less than that in its reserves (Gura, Martin, 2023). It is improbable Argentina can find the funds to properly buy back all its pesos.
Even if the government did have the funds, Milei would need to convince over 45 million people to exchange their money in large quantities. This alone is an immense obstacle to face. With this being said, the Argentinian people feel a sense of safety with the US dollar, which could help ease the transition. Seeing that the peso loses value rapidly, Argentinians prefer to save money in American cash because of its reliability. As a result, 10% of all globally circulating US dollars are held in Argentina (Nica et al., 2023). This sense of safety helped Milei’s plan appeal to many and gain him their vote.
If Milei successfully dolarizes the economy, Argentina will lose autonomy over its currency and will depend entirely on the US for monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve would continue to make decisions based on what benefits the American economy, regardless of the impact on Argentina. Argentina would also lose its power to print money, an act done repeatedly over the last few decades in hopes of solving its crisis (Velde, Veracierto, 2023). Ultimately, money would be printed in the US.
Roughly two weeks after his election, Milei took the first step towards a new page in Argentine economics. The president appointed Luis Caputo as his economic minister. Caputo formerly served as the country’s finance minister and is known for his connections with Wall Street. Milei’s decision to appoint Caputo is a relatively calm choice compared to his alternatives. Previously, Milei had mentioned naming Emilio Ocampo, a strong supporter of dollarisation, but Ocampo backed out of the role (Nugent, 2023). Caputo’s appointment has many believing Milei will put aside his dollarization plan and focus on other issues first, like putting an immediate halt on printing excess money.
It is difficult to tell precisely what direction Milei will take in his first months as president, but it is clear that whatever decides, his attack must be aggressive. Javier Milei is set to take office officially on December 10th.
Works Cited
Biller, David, and Daniel Politi. “After the Dollar-Loving Milei Wins the Presidency, Argentines Anxiously Watch the Exchange Rate.” AP News, November 21, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/milei-argentina-dollar-peso-exchange-bb61f9e9a6108ba0ced63f89b2cfd431.
“Dollarization in Argentina.” Federal Reserve Cank of Chicago, 1999. https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/1999/june-142.
Elliott, Larry. “Would Javier Milei’s Dollar Plan for Argentina Be an Economic Experiment Too Far?” The Guardian, November 20, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/javier-milei-dollar-plan-argentina-economy.
Gillespie, Patrick. “Argentina Inflation Hits 143% in Final Release before Presidential Election.” Bloomberg.com, November 13, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-13/argentina-s-inflation-hits-143-in-final-release-before-election?embedded-checkout=true.
Martin, Michel, and David Gura. “Argentina’s President-Elect Javier Milei Has a Plan to Fight Inflation: Dollarization.” NPR, November 22, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/11/22/1214619380/argentinas-president-elect-javier-mile-has-a-plan-to-fight-inflation-dollarizati.
Nicas, Jack, Natalie Alcoba, and Lucía Cholakian Herrera. “In Country Where Houses Are Bought in $100 Bills, Plans for Sweeping Change.” The New York Times, November 24, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/world/americas/argentina-economy-peso-dollar-javier-milei.html#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20about%2010,to%20%243%2C100%20for%20every%20American.
Nugent, Ciara. Argentina’s Javier Milei names moderate ex-trader as economy minister, November 29, 2023. https://www.ft.com/content/330bd3fb-b418-458f-9b2b-31718b52f935.
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mje/2024/02/07/javier-milei-to-take-on-argentinas-economic-crisis/
...............................
with Mining & Metals GraveYard Shift Soundtrack
Tom Waits - Whistlin´ Past The Graveyard
Well I come in on a night train
With an arm full of box cars
On the wings of a magpie
Cross a hooligan night
And I busted up a chifforobe
Way out by the Cocomo
Cooked up a mess a mulligan
And got into a fight
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
You probably seen me sleepin'
Out by the railroad tracks
Go on and ask the prince of darkness
What about all that smoke
Come from the stack
Sometimes I kill myself a jacket
Suck out all the blood
Steal myself a station wagon
Drivin' through the mud
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
I know you seen my headlights
And the honkin' of my horn
I'm callin' out my bloodhounds
Chase the devil through the corn
Last night I chugged the Mississippi
Now that suckers dry as a bone
Born in a taxi cab
I'm never comin' home
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
My eyes have seen the glory
Of the draining of the ditch
I only come to baton rouge
To find myself a witch
I'm-ona snatch me up a
Couple of em every time it rains
You see a locomotive
Probably thinkin' its a train
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
What you think is the sunshine
Is just a twinkle in my eye
That ring around my fingers
Just the fourth of July
When I get a little bit lonesome
And a tear falls from my cheek
There's gonna be an ocean in
The middle of the week
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
I rode into town on a night train
With an arm full of box cars
On the wings of a magpie
Cross a hooligan night
I'm-ona tear me off a rainbow
And wear it for a tie
I never told the truth
So I can never tell a lie
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
,,,,,,,,,
Nickel faces existential moment with half of mines unprofitable
Bloomberg News | February 26, 2024 | 7:01 am Battery Metals Intelligence Top Companies Asia Australia Nickel
with MMGYS Soundtrack
A nickel briquette. Image from Sherritt International
Many of the world’s biggest nickel mines are facing an increasingly bleak future as they wake up to an existential threat: a near limitless supply of low-cost metal from Indonesia.
With roughly half of all nickel operations unprofitable at recent prices, the bosses of the largest mining companies last week sounded a warning that there was little prospect of a recovery.
The potential collapse of nickel mining from Australia to New Caledonia comes at a time when western governments are scrambling to secure the supply chains needed to decarbonize the global economy. But in an ironic twist, Indonesia’s coal-fired nickel output is pricing out greener metal that’s so far failed to command a market premium.
Wresting control of strategic metals from China has become a focal point of Joe Biden’s administration. Yet while US officials have dashed around the world looking to strike deals for materials such as cobalt and copper, the heaviest reverse has come in Chinese-backed Indonesian nickel, a key component of electric vehicles.
Indonesia now accounts for more than half of world supply, with the potential to reach three-quarters of all production toward the end of the decade.
“There is a serious structural challenge as a result of Indonesian nickel,” said Duncan Wanblad, chief executive officer of Anglo American Plc, after his company took a $500 million writedown on its nickel business last week. “They don’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.”
Traditionally, nickel has been split into two categories: low grade for making stainless steel and high grade for batteries. A huge Indonesian expansion of low-grade production led to a surplus, and, crucially, processing innovations have allowed that glut to be refined into a high-quality product.
Commodity markets have always been susceptible to cyclical volatility, especially when sudden supply and demand imbalances get a push from wider macro upswings or downturns. But what’s happening in nickel right now is different, with the entire industry undergoing a structural shift that has upended forecasts and models.
For BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, nickel is a rounding error, contributing mostly losses to profits that routinely break $30 billion a year. Yet in recent years the company has championed the metal, seeing it as a key growth market that will help offset its retreat from fossil fuels.
Instead it’s turned into a disaster.
This week CEO Mike Henry conceded that the company will have to make a decision on whether to shutter its flagship nickel business in Australia within the next few months. Having already written down the business’s value by $2.5 billion, Henry said he expects the market to remain in surplus until at least 2030.
That means the pain is likely just starting.
Macquarie Group Ltd. calculates that about 250,000 tons of annual production — equivalent to about 7% of the total — has been taken out of the market by closures, with another 190,000 of planned output delayed.
Combined with economic slowdowns in China and the US and the choppy adoption of EVs, nickel has been pummeled. The price fell 45% last year, and is currently hovering around $17,000 a ton. According to Macquarie, at $18,000 a ton 35% of production is unprofitable, while at $15,000 a ton that jumps to 75%.
Anglo’s CEO Wanblad, who is reviewing nearly all the company’s mines in bid to cut costs, said that he will give the miner’s nickel business time in the face of the Indonesian threat.
“Our nickel business will undergo a fulsome review in terms of holding its head above water and making a viable profit,” he said. “I’m not giving up on the guys to come up with a plan that might help them readjust themselves into a position where they can function effectively.”
Glencore Plc, which has already moved to shutter its nickel operations on the islands of New Caledonia, is one of the world’s biggest producers with sprawling businesses in Canada and Australia. At current prices, that business will make just $500 million this year, with CEO Gary Nagle expecting prices to remain depressed.
“We see continuing strong production growth out of Indonesia,” Nagle said. “We do not expect significant price recovery in the short to medium term.”
With more than half a decade of oversupply ahead, more mines are likely to close before things get better. Should the market finally rebalance, that will leave Indonesia and China with even more market share then they already have.
Still, Indonesia’s rapid expansion has drawn criticism. Much of its production comes from coal-powered energy, giving it higher emissions per ton than rival producers, and its rapid expansion is eroding rainforests.
With little prospect of a near term recovery, western miners are pinning their hopes on state aid in the short term and a push toward customers — such as carmakers — demanding “greener” nickel in the future and being willing to pay more for it.
BHP this week called for the London Metal Exchange to expand its responsible sourcing policy to include environmental due diligence, helping to differentiate production from Indonesian and Chinese supply.
Still, as conceded by Glencore, so far buyers of nickel are unwilling to pay more.
“Right now there is not much of a premium in the market,” Nagle said.
(By Thomas Biesheuvel)
https://www.mining.com/web/nickel-faces-existential-moment-with-half-of-mines-unprofitable/
Waylon Jennings Old Five and Dimers
Elliott Management plans to spend over $1 billion on mining assets
Reuters | February 23, 2024 | 7:55 am Battery Metals Intelligence Markets USA
with MMGYS Soundtrack
US activist investor Elliott Investment Management is setting up a company to hunt for mining assets worth more than $1 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Elliott’s new venture, called Hyperion, would have a mandate to buy across all assets, including base and precious metals and commodities used in electric vehicles, the sources said on condition of anonymity. The new venture will be led by former Newcrest Mining CEO Sandeep Biswas, they added.
The Financial Times first reported the news.
The mining industry is a key focus for policymakers and investors globally because it provides the critical raw materials needed for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure.
By 2035, demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt is expected to be 23 times higher than in 2021, with copper demand doubling over the same period, a study by US ratings agency S&P showed last August.
Elliott is willing to leverage the $65 billion that it has under management to go after larger deals if the opportunity arises or bring in co-investors, according to the sources.
The investment management firm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(By Kanjyik Ghosh and Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Paul Simao)
https://www.mining.com/web/elliott-management-plans-to-spend-over-1-billion-on-mining-assets-ft-reports/
Tribute to Randy Meisner - Take It to the Limit (Live 1977 with lyrics)
40 Million ounces of COMEX gold vaporised! - LFTV Ep 161
Kinesis Money
41.9K subscribers
Feb 23, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire tackles a burning question from a US-based bullion dealer: is it possible that the Federal Reserve could try and confiscate your hard-earned gold savings?
The precious metals expert provides an update on the effects of Bitcoin ETFs on the gold price and comments on the strong geopolitically-driven demand for precious metals. Finally, Andrew shares some very good news for Silver Stackers.
Ask your questions for Andy here: https://forum.kinesis.money/forums/qu...
$EULIF merger with $SZZL spac approved . Critical Metals Group is born !$CRML!
*****7 Days 11 Hours Transition Marker*****
Will the government shut down next week end the miners transitory sell off
Might be the pivot
Counting The Numbers Down The Waterline MUX
$MUX Jump Financial LLC Sells 21,877 Shares of McEwen Mining Inc (NYSE:MUX)
Posted by AM Reporter Staff on Feb 17th, 2024
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Jump Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McEwen Mining Inc (NYSE:MUX – Free Report) (TSE:MUX) by 42.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,877 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of McEwen Mining worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUX. UBS Group AG increased its position in McEwen Mining by 37.3% during the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 83,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22,541 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of McEwen Mining by 968.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 5,393 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McEwen Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of McEwen Mining by 47.1% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 38,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of McEwen Mining by 221.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.63% of the company’s stock.
other news
Feb 15, 2024 #Copper #Gold #Investing
Rob McEwen of McEwen Mining and Michael Meding of McEwen Copper discuss their respective companies and share their thoughts on gold and copper in the year ahead. For McEwen, the price trajectory for both metals is "higher."
He also spoke about the disconnect between the gold price and gold stocks, commenting, "I find this is time to be buying, and I have been buying juniors and adding to positions in companies. You just need to bear in mind it's cyclical, and when it wants to run there are some very attractive gains to be made — and the stocks are cheap right now."
This interview was filmed on February 8, 2024.
#Investing #Gold #Copper
$Silver refuses to collapse.... last 3 days... outstanding.
Rough Seas Ahead, Mateys
with MMGYS Soundtrack
"I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that."
Captain Edward John Smith, RMS Titanic
"It is not possible to found a lasting power upon injustice, perjury, and treachery. These may, perhaps, succeed at first, and limp along on hope for awhile with a flourishing appearance. But time betrays their weakness, and they eventually fall into ruin of their own designs."
Demosthenes
"Monetary and regulatory policy encourage asset bubbles to proliferate. Hot money seeks out the conscious mispricing of risk. Capital, in the form of both money and personal talent, increasingly flows into malinvestment and the gaming of markets. The productive economy languishes, left wanting for the lack of creative resources and attention. The bubble rises to unsustainable valuations— and fails, and a nation's capital is consumed."
Jesse 5 August 2019, The Men Who Sold the World
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you may be certain that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are within the city must escape from its boundaries, and those who are in country areas must not return. For those will be days of retribution when all that is written will come to pass."
Luke 21:21-22
"Everyone knows that plagues have a way of recurring throughout history, yet somehow we find it hard to believe in the ones that crash down on us out of the sky. There have always been plagues and wars, yet they always take us by surprise. When war breaks out people say it's stupid and won't last long. Stupidity has a knack of getting in the way, which we would see if not wrapped up in ourselves. In this our townsfolk were like everybody else— they did not believe in plagues."
Albert Camus, The Plague
Stocks went out near the lows.
The Dollar was flat.
VIX is on a coffee break.
Gold and silver rallied. Silver is feisty.
PPI came in hot today but stocks failed to rally with the good 'bad news.'
Markets closed on Monday for President's Day.
Why so serious?
Have a pleasant weekend.
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
Quality Projects Are Being Financed and Starting to Bifurcate” says Pro Mining Investor David Erfle
*****5 Week Miners Transient Marker*******
Welcome to the M+M board
This is the 5th week straight of record stock markets highs
with lethargic mining lows.
The transient nature seems catering for the big money players and mining CEOs seem hog tied to their banks.
Hopefully this miners cold spell will be over soon.
In the mean time feel free to enjoy the board and say Hi ☺️
Here"s today market movers
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Royal Gold +0.94 0.88% $107.30
Sigma Lithium 0.76 5.46 $14.69
Piedmont Lithium 0.47 3.57 $13.64
Filo 0.36 1.83 $20.00
Minas Buenaventura 0.32 2.13 $15.33
Torex Gold Resources 0.32 2.47 $13.28
Centerra Gold 0.31 5.05 $6.45
Lithium Americas 0.28 4.96 $5.92
Lundin Gold 0.28 1.94 $14.74
Patriot Battery Metals 0.25 3.83 $6.78
NGEx Minerals 0.25 3.36 $7.70
Contango ORE 0.24 1.60 $15.25
Metalore Resources 0.24 8.89 $2.94
MAG Silver 0.21 1.86 $11.51
Atlas Lithium 0.21 1.12 $19.00
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 3,940,487 $7.69
Rusoro Mining 3,875,769 $1.13
SSR Mining 2,886,138 $5.89
Purepoint Uranium 2,033,862 $0.05
Argonaut Gold 1,973,296 $0.36
Stallion Uranium 1,844,204 $0.17
New Gold 1,784,193 $1.57
B2Gold 1,432,435 $3.33
Brigadier Gold 1,393,700 $0.01
NiCAN 1,249,000 $0.11
Gold’n Futures 1,245,000 $0.02
Calibre Mining 1,211,428 $1.39
Hudbay Minerals 1,019,888 $7.03
First Quantum Minerals 994,728 $11.59
$CNLMF Collective Mining Reports a New Porphyry Discovery Named Olympus Deeps by Drilling 202.35 Metres @ 2.16 g/t AuEq; Also Expands Apollo with 548.9m @ 1.91 g/t AuEq.
Jan 30, 2024
Website
https://www.collectivemining.com/
Mine next door has discovered 9 Million gold ounces
$AA Alcoa Overview
Alcoa $AA CEO On 4Q Earnings & Alumina Shipments
Jan 18, 2024 #alcoa #markets #global
Alcoa (AA) is the world’s eighth-largest producer of aluminum. President and CEO Bill Oplinger joins Oliver Renick to give an overview of the company. He talks about Alcoa’s 4Q earnings. Its adjusted EPS came in at -$0.56 versus an estimated -$0.99 and revenue came in at $2.60B versus an estimated $2.61B. He goes over the outlook for the company as its alumina shipments came in at 12.7M -12.9M metric tons. Tune in to find out more about the stock market today.
$X U. S. Steel Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results
Feb 2, 2024
Choosing Mining Stocks Through The Eyes Of The Beerholder
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY CHANGE LAST TRADE
MP Materials +1.03 6.37% $17.19
McEwen Mining 0.62 6.65 $9.95
Gatos Silver 0.31 3.52 $9.12
Wesdome Gold Mines 0.28 3.29 $8.78
U.S. GoldMining 0.19 3.15 $6.23
Standard Lithium 0.15 8.67 $1.88
Orla Mining 0.13 2.77 $4.82
Element79 Gold 0.12 52.17 $0.35
Premium Nickel Resources 0.12 8.70 $1.50
Gold Reserve 0.10 2.36 $4.33
Marimaca Copper 0.08 2.44 $3.36
West Vault Mining 0.08 9.76 $0.90
NOA Lithium Brines 0.08 26.32 $0.36
Gabriel Resources 0.06 11.76 $0.57
Lumina Gold 0.06 12.77 $0.53
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 6,820,019 $8.15
NiCAN 5,453,385 $0.15
Capstone Copper 5,400,802 $6.51
B2Gold 5,025,667 $3.71
Libero Copper & Gold 4,718,260 $0.04
Sigma Lithium 4,208,041 $16.85
Fission Uranium 3,310,214 $1.30
Kinross Gold 2,325,193 $7.40
First Quantum Minerals 2,203,855 $12.40
Lundin Mining 2,035,408 $11.10
Sulliden Mining 2,006,600 $0.03
Calibre Mining 1,941,171 $1.41
Anfield Energy 1,685,915 $0.10
NexGen Energy 1,651,802 $10.91
Denison Mines 1,648,423 $2.84
BRICS nations to drag US back into the gold standard? Feat. Ron Branstetter - LFTV Ep 158
Kinesis Money
Feb 2, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined - a popular request - by Ron Branstetter of Ron’s Basement to discuss the accelerating pace of change that silver stackers should experience in the months to come.
The precious metals experts take listeners through the implications of recent manoeuvres of the Global South, questioning whether international conflict can be avoided through leveraging a global gold and silver reevaluation.
Copper Crunch Ended in 2022 when Musk announced by raising the voltage from 12 volt to 48 volts will eliminate copper supply crunch.
All the auto manufactures will follow the savings
Copper gained only 2% last year, following a 14% decline in 2022. So far this year, the base metal’s price is little changed, with a metric ton of copper costing around $8,600, according to prices on the London Metal Exchange.
For more than seven decades, the 12-volt automobile power system has been the dominant force in the industry. However, 48-volt alternatives have started to break through this stronghold. The versions with a larger power output have a number of benefits, one of which is the capability to provide significantly higher levels of power across wiring harnesses that are thinner, lighter, and more affordable. Due to the fact that these systems do not have to satisfy the more strict safety and performance standards that govern so-called high-voltage systems that are rated for more than 62 V, the implementation of such systems is also relatively inexpensively done.
now back to the bullshirt
Hedge funds ramp up copper bets as supply shocks reverberate
https://www.mining.com/web/hedge-funds-ramp-up-copper-bets-as-supply-shocks-reverberate/
$EULIF major catalyst on the way with $750 million merger vote scheduled for the 31st of this month.
Mines and Money Miami in conversation with Rick Rule
Mines and Money Jan 22, 2024
Visit https://minesandmoney.com/miami
Mines and Money Miami takes place at the James L. Knight Center, and in the run-up to the event, the Head of Investor Content, Jonathan Leader, spoke to the Advisory Board Chair, Rick Rule, Chief Executive Officer of Rule Investment Media about how he identifies winners in the junior mining space.
Aluminum price jumps after report EU may sanction Russian metal
Bloomberg News | January 23, 2024 | 3:14 pm Intelligence Markets Europe Russia and Central Asia Aluminum
Aluminium
Prices rose as much as 3.6% on the London Metal Exchange as the report raised fresh concerns about the flow of Russian metal into western markets, and US and European aluminum stocks jumped.
However, while some EU member states are pushing for aluminum sanctions as the bloc shapes plans for a 13th package, the idea remains controversial in several capitals, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg. Any sanctions would require unanimous support of the EU’s 27 members.
Russian metals had escaped broad sanctions until December, when the UK moved to block British individuals and entities from trading physical Russian metals, including aluminum, copper and nickel. At the time, the UK hinted at the possibility of coordinated action with international partners in a statement announcing the sanctions.
Politico reported on Tuesday that EU countries will soon start discussing measures that could lead to a full ban on Russian aluminum, citing EU diplomats.
The LME said after the UK measures that its members and clients had been granted a license allowing the continued trade of Russian metals on the exchange, and it expected that the sanctions wouldn’t impact trading access to the LME. Still, the rules potentially may prevent UK persons from withdrawing Russian metal they buy on the exchange.
The LME said earlier this month it was “actively monitoring for market orderliness” after a flood of Russian aluminum onto the exchange in the wake of UK sanctions.
Aluminum rose 3.2% on Tuesday, the biggest daily increase in a month. Alcoa Corp., the largest US aluminum producer, jumped as much as 10% before paring gains. Other metals were also higher, with zinc climbing 2.6% and copper up 0.7%.
(By Mark Burton)
https://www.mining.com/web/aluminum-price-jumps-after-report-eu-may-sanction-russian-metal/
Foil "Weird Al "
Choosing Mining Stocks Through The Eyes Of A Beer-Holder
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY CHANGE LAST TRADE
Royal Gold 0.58 0.50 $116.34
Freeport-McMoRan 0.56 1.47 $38.77
Minas Buenaventura 0.46 3.19 $14.89
NGEx Minerals 0.41 5.43 $7.96
Lundin Mining 0.28 2.82 $10.20
Aya Gold & Silver 0.18 1.78 $10.27
Ero Copper 0.18 0.89 $20.48
Li-FT Power 0.18 2.99 $6.21
Gold Fields 0.17 1.36 $12.66
Graphite One 0.15 17.05 $1.03
Ivanhoe Mines 0.14 1.06 $13.29
Callinex Mines 0.12 7.84 $1.65
Filo 0.11 0.52 $21.38
Perpetua Resources 0.10 2.49 $4.11
Victoria Gold 0.10 1.57 $6.48
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 8,091,601 $7.74
Libero Copper & Gold 6,847,460 $0.02
Kinross Gold 4,595,207 $7.26
Origen Resources 3,723,900 $0.03
F3 Uranium 3,578,579 $0.45
Blackwolf Copper and Gold 3,423,875 $0.14
First Quantum Minerals 3,224,579 $12.55
Lithium Ionic 3,163,151 $1.08
Sienna Resources 2,716,888 $0.05
B2Gold 2,114,554 $3.90
Lundin Mining 1,968,708 $10.20
GoviEx Uranium 1,949,651 $0.20
Rusoro Mining 1,921,454 $0.89
NexGen Energy 1,807,748 $10.21
Volatility isn’t in gold or oil, it’s in the dollar!" Feat. Alasdair Macleod - LFTV Ep 156
Kinesis Money
Jan 19, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined by Alasdair Macleod, stockbroker and Head of Research for Goldmoney, to exchange views on the US dollar hegemony and its impact on the price of gold.
Giving an update on the de-dollarisation process and the geopolitical impact of tensions in the Middle East affecting the global economy, the precious metals experts take us through the debt trap the US has fallen into.
Follow Alasdair here: https://alasdairmacleod.substack.com/
Ask your questions for Andy here: https://forum.kinesis.money/threads/q...
$X United Steelworkers union files grievances against U.S. Steel over proposed Nippon sale
with MMGYS Soundtrack Continuing Coverage
90.5 WESA | By Cindi Lash
Published January 13, 2024 at 11:24 AM EST
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, Pa., on Dec. 18, 2023, the day the storied American company announced plans to be acquired by Japan-based Nippon Steel.
The United Steelworkers union has filed grievances against U.S. Steel, alleging the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker violated its contracts with the union when it entered an agreement in December to be acquired by Nippon Steel Corporation.
The international union and union locals in Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota filed the grievances, alleging U.S. Steel violated the successorship clause in its basic labor agreements with the USW when it entered the $14.9 billion deal on Dec. 18 with a Houston-based North American holding company of the Japanese steel conglomerate.
U.S. Steel violated the contracts "in a number of ways," the USW said in a statement to its members issued late Friday.
Also in its statement, the USW questioned whether Nippon Steel North America has the resources to adhere to and fulfill the terms of the union's four-year contract with U.S. Steel, which would remain in effect after a sale.
"These rights are enforceable guarantees that a company seeking to buy our facilities cannot shirk its responsibilities to workers and retirees," the USW said.
The USW said in its statement U.S. Steel entered the sale agreement without reaching out to the union, and the company did not share information about Nippon's finances or ability to fulfill U.S. Steel's existing labor, pension, retiree and other agreements with the USW.
"... We did not agree to this arrangement, nor do we have any information about the financial wherewithal of this holding company to actually stand behind all of the obligations of our existing agreements," the USW said in its statement.
"Commitments like pensions, profit-sharing, capital expenditures, retiree health care and more are all part of the compensation we negotiated in bargaining our contract. Anyone who wants to acquire our facilities must have both the intent and the financial capacity to honor them."
In a statement Saturday, U.S. Steel said it "complied with its obligations under the Basic Labor Agreements, and [it] expect[s] to work through and favorably resolve any grievances filed by the USW as quickly as possible.
"Our USW-represented employees are an integral part of our operations, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the USW and support our employees," the company said in its statement.
When U.S. Steel announced the sale agreement on Dec. 18, it said "all of [its] commitments with its employees," including existing collective bargaining agreements with unions, would be honored and Nippon Steel was "committed to maintaining these relationships uninterrupted." The company also said it would "retain its iconic name and headquarters in Pittsburgh."
Under the sale agreement, Nippon Steel will pay $55 per share for U.S. Steel. Nippon Steel said the deal will bolster its manufacturing and technology capabilities, expand its U.S. production and add to its positions in Japan, India and Southeast Asia.
The agreement came after U.S. Steel in August rejected a $7.3 billion buyout offer from Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and said it was reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers.
The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and is targeted to close in the second or third quarter of 2024. It still needs approval from U.S. Steel shareholders.
The deal has attracted scrutiny and opposition from regional and national government leaders and lawmakers, including Pennsylvania U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey, both of whom said the company should remain under U.S. ownership. Environmental advocates, who have long targeted U.S. Steel's plants in Western Pennsylvania as a source of particulate matter pollution, also have expressed both concern and optimism about the potential effect of the sale on efforts to mitigate emissions and the environmental impact of the plants.
In December, officials from President Joe Biden's administration said he “believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity — even one from a close ally — appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability.”
Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council, indicated then the deal would be reviewed by the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, in which she participates. It includes economic and national security agency representatives to investigate national security risks from foreign investments in American firms.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.wesa.fm/economy-business/2024-01-13/united-steelworkers-union-grievances-u-s-steel-nippon-sale
Nuclear Energy Stocks Are Surging While the Market Is Floundering
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Clearly, the Nuclear Energy Renaissance has arrived
8h ago · By Luke Lango, InvestorPlace Senior Investment Analyst
While the S&P 500 has dropped in January, the Global X Uranium ETF (URA) is up more than 10%. The Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM) is up more than 15%. And U.S.-based uranium miner Uranium Energy (UEC) is already up 25% year-to-date.
Engineering and efficiency improvements to nuclear reactors have all but made safety concerns obsolete. Reactors have become increasingly good at containing radioactive waste. And now nuclear energy is basically the safest form of energy production in the world.
For the past several months, we’ve been studying the nuclear energy industry. And we’ve identified two very promising investment opportunities therein: domestic uranium miners and nuclear fusion developers.
The stock market is off to a rough start to 2024. But someone forgot to give that memo to the red-hot nuclear energy sector.
While the S&P 500 has dropped in January, the Global X Uranium ETF (URA) is up more than 10%. The Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM) is up more than 15%. And U.S.-based uranium miner Uranium Energy (UEC) is already up 25% year-to-date.
n other words, the bull market in stocks has stalled in January. But the bull market in uranium stocks has not wavered – and it won’t anytime soon.
That’s because uranium is the core ingredient in nuclear reactors. And nuclear energy is undergoing a renaissance right now.
Of course, nuclear energy has had its setbacks over the past 50 years. But it has become increasingly clear that it is the ‘Pareto-optimal’ solution to the world’s energy crisis.
Obviously, the world needs more energy. But fossil fuels aren’t cutting it amid the global shift toward clean energy. And renewables like solar and wind are exceptionally expensive and unreliable, especially now, when the world is trying to avoid higher costs and power outages.
But nuclear energy solves all those shortcomings.
Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear reactors do not produce any direct carbon dioxide emissions or air pollution. And unlike renewables, nuclear energy is abundant and cheap. Plus, it can be produced at all times of day and in all weather conditions.
Nuclear Energy: The Ultimate Power Source?
For a long time, folks were fearful of nuclear reactors’ potential threats to safety. Considering the disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima, that’s entirely understandable. But those concerns have proven antiquated in recent years. In fact, these days, you’d be hard-pressed to find any serious scientist questioning the safety of nuclear energy.
Specifically, engineering and efficiency improvements to nuclear reactors have all but made safety concerns obsolete. Reactors have become increasingly good at containing radioactive waste. And now nuclear energy is basically the safest form of energy production in the world.
For example, for every terawatt-hour of coal electricity produced, about 26 people die from accidents and air pollution. For oil, that figure stands at 18 deaths per terawatt-hour of electricity produced.
But for nuclear power plants, just 0.03 people die from related accidents and air pollution.
What’s not to like about nuclear these days?
Not much – which is why governments across the world are starting to take notice. They are ditching antiquated beliefs about nuclear reactors and embracing them instead, centering nuclear power in their future energy plans.
Right now, the U.S. is spearheading a multinational effort to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The United Kingdom just announced its biggest expansion plans for nuclear power in 70 years, vowing to quadruple production. France recently introduced a new energy bill that prioritizes additional nuclear energy development. And Canada is building the world’s largest nuclear power plant in Ontario.
Clearly, the Nuclear Renaissance has arrived.
The Final Word
For the past several months, we’ve been studying the nuclear energy industry. And we’ve identified two very promising investment opportunities therein: domestic uranium miners and nuclear fusion developers.
In short, most of the world’s uranium supply comes from Kazakhstan, Russia’s neighbor. And as Western nations increasingly develop nuclear reactors, they will also increasingly want to power those reactors with domestically sourced uranium – not uranium from Kazakhstan. Therefore, it seems that domestic uranium miners would make great investments.
Additionally, we believe that recent rapid developments in AI will allow us to soon solve the world’s nuclear fusion problem, allowing us to create sustainable, safe, and powerful nuclear fusion reactors. And that will be an absolute game-changer for folks around the globe.
That’s why, considering the Nuclear Energy Renaissance’s current trajectory, we’re looking for domestic uranium miners and nuclear fusion developers.
And in fact, we just bought a few of our top picks in this space.
https://investorplace.com/hypergrowthinvesting/2024/01/nuclear-energy-stocks-are-surging-while-the-market-is-floundering/
Lindsey Stirling & Pentatonix - Radioactive (Imagine Dragons Cover)
Uranium Prices at 16-Year Highs, Breaking $100 Per Pound
By
Jennifer L
Spot uranium prices recently reached a peak not witnessed since 2007, standing strong at $101 per pound, per Numerico data.
This upswing signifies a constrained nuclear fuel market, growing expectations for future demand, and the imperative for additional mine restarts and new constructions, according to experts in the uranium industry.
Uranium is Powering Up the Future
The surge in uranium prices aligns with an increased focus on nuclear energy in global climate change mitigation efforts. Furthermore, rising uranium prices have spurred the revival of uranium mining operations previously scaled back following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Analysts and industry players anticipate more mine restarts in 2024. Plus, new builds are getting more attractive due to rising prices and anticipated supply deficits over the coming years.
The spot price of uranium surging $100/pound was more than a 100% increase from the 2023 low. It is also a whopping >300% rise from the 2020 low.
Uranium Spot Price USD Per Pound
$101/pound
uranium spot price Jan 12 Numerico
Source: Numerico.com
The 16-year high uranium price, cracking at $101/pound since 2007, is driven by several factors.
For one, shortage in uranium supplies since the Fukushima incident drove prices upward.
Moreover, a U.S. bill seeking to ban nuclear fuel imports from Russia further contributes to the prices’ upward trajectory. The bill was called “NO RUSSIA” – National Opportunity to Restore Uranium Supply Services In America Act of 2022. Put simply, Russia will be out of the U.S. uranium market.
What Causes the Unprecedented Rise of Uranium?
But what are the market experts saying about this price breakthrough?
According to a uranium market analyst, Marin Katusa, the 16-year high uranium price reflects the “real” cost of bringing on previously built and permitted facilities to replace uranium exported from Russia and Niger.
Marin also noted that with the US banning Russian imports, the logical investment is exposure to permitted, built out production in the US. The banned imports include Kazakh production owing to Russian enrichment.
Uranium prices have to increase more, Marin further noted, to incentivize new projects like the case with the Athabasca Basin. Building a new mine in North America would need even higher prices than $100.
Highlighting the growing demands for clean energy from data centers, which require more power for new technologies, SMR technologies offer a promising solution.
Small modular reactor development, with under 300 MWe capacity, is taking place in Western countries with increasing private investment. North America, in particular, would be the epicenter of this rapidly growing nuclear resurgence.
Marin also highlighted Japan’s decision to bring on the world’s largest nuclear power plant and its pro-nuclear stance since Fukushima. This and the positive outlook for nuclear technology globally coming out of the recent COP28 climate summit will create new demand for long term supply of uranium in politically stable jurisdictions. After all, Marin said that:
“…no nation wants to experience what France is experiencing in Niger with their uranium supply being completely cut off.”
For Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke, who happens to be a student of nuclear engineering, nuclear energy already plays a big role in the lives of many Americans. As a nuclear champion, Grace particularly noted that:
“From curing my dad’s cancer twice, to powering 20% of America, to helping with agriculture which is so important in my home state of Wisconsin… it really does feel like nuclear does it all.”
Beyond the Price: Uranium’s Ascent and Nuclear Energy Resurgence
As the world strives to reduce carbon emissions, zero-carbon nuclear energy is crucial. This is expected to make the demand for uranium explode much more.
In effect, escalating spot uranium prices may also exert upward pressure on contract prices as sellers seek higher returns. While higher prices may not dissuade utilities for short-term needs, climbing contract prices, covering larger quantities of uranium, could have a more substantial impact.
Some utilities are already experiencing “sticker shock”, as seen below in the S&P Global presentation. Experts also anticipate a widespread increase in nuclear fuel costs in the coming years due to rising market prices.
uranium companies stock performance
Notably, higher uranium prices would also drive further restarts in the near term, with industry giants like NAZ Kazatomprom JSC and Cameco restarting idle capacity. Canada-based Cameco will add capacity as needed under long-term contract pricing.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan-based Kazatomprom, the largest uranium producer, plans to return to full production capacity by 2025. However, given the challenges that the company faces related to the availability of sulphuric acid (a critical operating material), they expect adjustments to their 2024 production plans. They also anticipate delays in finishing construction works at their newly developed deposits. These may affect Kazatomprom’s 2025 production plan, subject to considerable supply chain risks.
The surge in uranium prices signifies a resurgence in the nuclear energy sector. Driven by geopolitical shifts, legislative actions, and a growing demand for clean energy, the uranium market is poised for unprecedented growth.
https://carboncredits.com/uranium-spot-prices-at-16-year-high-breaking-100-per-pound/
Swing Kids (1993) - The Benny Goodman Orchestra - Sing, Sing, Sing
$UROY HOY $3.66 ~
Uranium Fever $URG $EU HOYs
Check out a uranium stock near you !
Uranium stocks rise in latest metal trader craze
Might pick up some $URG types
Uranium price jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall
Cecilia Jamasmie | January 12, 2024 | 5:53 am Energy Markets Asia Uranium
Uranium jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall
State-controlled Kazatomprom mines uranium in Kazakhstan both independently and through joint ventures. (Image courtesy of Kazatomprom.)
Uranium prices jumped on Friday to an almost 15-year high after the world’s largest producer, Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom (LON: KAP), warned it’s likely to fall short of its output targets over the next two years.
The miner cited shortages of sulfuric acid and construction delays at newly developed deposits as the main factors behind ongoing production challenges, which it said could persist into 2025. A detailed assessment of the potential impacts on output will be released in a trading update by Feb. 1, it added.
“Despite the ongoing active search for alternative sources of sulfuric acid supply, current forecasts indicate that the company may find it difficult to achieve 90% production levels compared to subsoil use contract levels,” Kazatomprom said in the statement.
Sulfuric acid is a favourite among producers to extract uranium from the raw ore due to its low-cost and efficiency for different types of ores.
Kazatomprom noted its guidance for next year could also be affected if supply snags continue throughout 2024 and if it isn’t able to comply with scheduled construction works.
The spot price of the radioactive metal has more-than doubled in 2023 and it is currently trading at $97.45 a pound — still far from the triple-digit figures achieved in 2007 and the fallout after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.
The price increase comes as 24 nations, including the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain and France pledged last month in Dubai at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP28, to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050.
Uranium jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall
China, which wasn’t part of that promise, still leads global nuclear plant construction with plans to nearly double capacity to 100 gigawatts by the end of this decade. The Asian country has 22 of 58 plants being built worldwide.
Recent legislation in the US could also affect uranium prices, even sooner than other factors. Seeking to cut its reliance on Russia, which supplies more than one-fifth of its uranium, Congress passed a bill in December that would require the US to source a portion of its nuclear fuel domestically. The bill calls for 20 tonnes of HALEU — high-assay low enriched uranium fuel needed to run most advanced reactors in the country — to come from domestic sources by the end of 2027. It now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.
Bank of America and Berenberg Bank said this week in separate research notes that continued tightness in the uranium market could push prices over $100 in coming days.
https://www.mining.com/uranium-jumps-to-15-year-high-as-top-miner-flags-shortfall/
You got it Lurch .....Everybody lovs a good run
YOU RANG !
2024 reveals a GOLD BEAR TRAP - LFTV Ep 155
Kinesis Money
40.7K subscribers
20,053 views Jan 12, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire shares his yearly outlook and provides a long-term analysis of what we should expect as 2024 trading begins - will we see a gold price over $2500 by the end of the year?
The precious metals expert examines the bullish drivers that could propel gold forward this year, including Russian-chaired BRICS developments, globally accelerating de-dollarisation and the impact of geopolitical escalations.
Ask your questions for Andy here: https://forum.kinesis.money/threads/q...
That City of Pride, Wickedness, and Lust for Power
with MMGYS Soundtrack
"Seneca had made the bargain that many good men have made when agreeing to aid bad regimes. On the one hand, their presence strengthens the regime and helps it endure. But their moral influence may also improve the regime's behavior or save the lives of its enemies. For many, this has been a bargain worth making, even if it has cost them—as it may have cost Seneca—their immortal soul...
The Rome he has been trained to serve, the Rome of Augustus and Germanicus, was gone. In its place stood Neropolis, ruled by a megalomaniac brat.”
James Romm, Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero
"We live in a world where love itself is condemned. People call it weakness, something to grow out of. Some are saying: 'Let each one become as strong as he can, and let the weak perish.' They say that the Christian religion with its preaching about love is a thing of the past. The neo-paganism [of the Nazis] may well cast off love but, in spite of everything, history teaches us that we shall be the victors over this. We shall not forsake love."
Titus Brandsma, executed at Dachau, 26 July 1942
"Caesar was swimming in blood, Rome and the whole pagan world was mad. But those who had had enough of transgression and madness, those who were trampled upon, those whose lives were misery and oppression, all the weighed down, all the sad, all the unfortunate, came to hear the wonderful tidings of God, who out of love for men had given Himself to be crucified and redeem their sins. When they found a God whom they could love, they had found that which the society of the time could not give any one, — happiness and love.
And Peter understood that neither Nero, nor all his legions, could overcome the living truth— that they could not overwhelm it with tears or blood, and that now its victory was beginning. He understood with equal force why the Lord had turned him back on the road. That city of pride, of crime, of wickedness, and of a lust for power, was beginning to be His city."
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis, 1905
Stocks did their usual wide ranging wash and rinse, ending the day slightly higher.
Gold and silver soared in the morning, and held on to much of their gains, giving up a goodly portion of them during the day.
VIX continues in its complacency.
The conflict in the Mideast is metastasizing, and the unpriced risk it carries continues to grow.
The US presidential election season kicks off next week with the Iowa Primary.
Exceptionalism, in terms of bad judgement and shamelessness, will be on display for all.
Tossing aside the moral high ground and civilized behaviour seems to be a general trend globally.
The Beast is rising.
US markets will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King day.
Option expiration next week Friday.
Have a pleasant holiday weekend.
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
...........................
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY CHANGE LAST TRADE
Franco-Nevada 5.14 3.62 $147.01
Cameco 4.45 7.12 $66.96
Royal Gold 1.59 1.32 $122.47
Agnico Eagle Mines 1.31 1.89 $70.48
Endeavour Mining 1.20 4.99 $25.25
NexGen Energy 1.05 11.11 $10.50
Pan American Silver 1.02 5.16 $20.77
Wheaton Precious Metals 1.02 1.59 $65.00
Osisko Gold Royalties 0.89 4.80 $19.45
Filo 0.88 3.86 $23.70
Uranium Energy 0.82 11.83 $7.75
Energy Fuels 0.80 8.45 $10.27
Eldorado Gold 0.79 4.86 $17.05
Gold Fields 0.76 6.08 $13.25
Torex Gold Resources 0.69 4.83 $14.97
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 29,116,510 $7.75
Fission Uranium 6,272,785 $1.24
Denison Mines 5,395,888 $2.64
NexGen Energy 5,027,533 $10.50
GoviEx Uranium 4,343,228 $0.18
Kinross Gold 3,154,593 $7.88
Argonaut Gold 2,822,789 $0.42
Cameco 2,735,410 $66.96
Anfield Energy 2,601,794 $0.09
Calibre Mining 2,515,084 $1.32
B2Gold 2,490,591 $4.15
Mega Uranium 2,395,219 $0.49
Prime Mining 2,342,784 $1.89
First Quantum Minerals 2,180,820 $13.15
Marathon Gold 2,047,778 $0.81
Moloch Metropolis Miners Lament
with MMGYS Fritz Lang's 1927 German Expressionist silent sci-fi film Metropolis soundtracks
The Consumer Price Index came in on the high side this morning.
With dreams of plentiful rate cuts challenged, stocks slumped.
But by the end of the day traders' dementia reasserted its calming influence and stocks regained much of their losses.
Gold ans silver had an intraday yo-yo wash and rinse.
VIX continues to wallow.
We're heading into a three day weekend.
Have a pleasant evening.
full read here....
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
About That Idris Elba Gold Documentary
Folding Ideas
908K subscribers
Jan 10, 2024 #8 on Trending
Clickbait Title: Can this magical metal make you immortal? Godkings hate this one weird trick!
This was a lot of fun to work on because I got to spend a lot of time learning THE TRUTH ABOUT GOLD and by that I mean actually interesting facts about how humans use gold. The mythology of gold actually makes a lot of sense through the lens of its physical properties, the fact that ancient humans could make things out of it and those things would outlive generations. It's just rare enough that societal elites can monopolize it, but common enough you can gather enough to actually make stuff with it. So these things, namely jewellery for the leaders, are so resistant to the elements that you can see how the gold itself became representative of the power of the kings, of their claimed immortality.
$STRRF Expands High-Grade at Depth
Mine Resource Intersecting 12.7 GPT Gold Over 3.2 m, Meaningfully Expanding High-Grade at Depth
Phase 2 Drilling Resumes Targeting Main Zone, South Zone and East Tartan VMS Prospect
Toronto, Ontario – January 11, 2024 – Canadian Gold Corp. (TSXV: CGC) (“Canadian Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce initial results from its Phase 2 Exploration Program at the Tartan Mine, located near Flin Flon, Manitoba, including the deepest hole in the project’s history. Drilling continues to extend the vertical limits of the high-grade gold mineralization, now identified to at least 415 metres below the resource estimate, increasing the vertical extent of the high-grade mineralization by 72% compared to the resource (Fig. 1). Hole TLMZ23-26W5 returned 12.7 gpt gold over 3.2 m, inside of another wide interval of disseminated gold mineralization that returned 2.7 gpt gold over 25 m. The implication of these wider intervals surrounding the high-grade at depth (which are becoming common) is being reviewed by the Company’s geological team in order to determine its importance and the ability to convert this mineralization into a potential resource.
Canadian Gold further announces
https://canadiangoldcorp.com/canadian-gold-corp-drills-deepest-hole-at-tartan-415-m-below-the-mine-resource-intersecting-12-7-gpt-gold-over-3-2-m-meaningfully-expanding-high-grade-at-depth/
Gold CEO firing deals fresh blow to mining’s battered reputation
Bloomberg News | January 7, 2024 | 11:38 am Top Companies Africa Canada Europe Latin America USA Copper Gold Lithium Nickel
Endeavour Mining’s former CEO Se´bastien de Montessus. (Image by Endeavour Mining).
Endeavour Mining Plc’s shock firing of its chief executive has capped a miserable three months for the global mining industry — and an equally painful period for its shareholders.
The world’s biggest producers have spent much of the past decade trying to rebuild mining’s reputation, after a slew of bad deals and billion-dollar writedowns sent investors fleeing from a business already viewed by many as dirty and risky
That attempted makeover has taken a battering in recent months: The mining industry has suffered blow after blow, costing investors billions and shaking faith in some of the industry’s biggest names.
In Panama, mass protests against one of the world’s largest and newest copper mines culminated in an order to permanently shut it down, and wiped out more than half of the market value of owner First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd. dropped 9% on a single day in October after revealing the latest cost blowout at its flagship Chilean project, while larger rival Anglo American Plc’s surprise cut to its planned copper production sent shares plunging 19% on Dec. 8.
In South Africa, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. dropped as much as 25% in November after announcing a convertible bond sale. while an accident at rival Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. left 12 people dead and dozens injured.
The latest jolt came on Thursday, when Endeavour — the biggest gold miner listed in the UK — announced it fired CEO Sébastien de Montessus for “serious misconduct” after discovering an alleged “irregular payment instruction” of $5.9 million related to an asset sale. The shares plunged as much as 15%. De Montessus has separately said that the relevant decision didn’t cost the company anything and had no benefit for himself.
For the mining industry broadly, the fresh wave of setbacks comes as the sector is seeking to position itself as a vital part of the green transition because of its role supplying materials like copper, nickel and lithium that are needed to decarbonize the global economy. But to do that, the producers need supportive governments and local populations, as well as investors willing to fund them.
While the setbacks vary in nature, they reflect many of the perennial challenges facing the companies responsible for digging up the world’s metals and minerals. Miners are fighting a growing battle with rising costs to build and operate mines, and many of the remaining deposits are in poorer countries, where governments and local populations are increasingly determined to seek a greater share of profits.
Panama’s move to “definitively” close First Quantum’s $10 billion copper mine — which opened just four years earlier and still has decades worth of copper to dig up — has sent shockwaves through the mining industry. The shares ended the year more than 60% lower after the loss of its biggest profit generator, and analysts have raised questions about the company’s balance sheet, with billions of dollars of debt maturing in the coming years.
Anglo American has also punished mining investors. The century-old company, long seen as one of the best mine operators, stunned shareholders by announcing it was slashing its copper production for the next two years, including a significant cut at its Los Bronces mine in Chile, as well as lowering output for nearly all the other commodities it mines.
The announcement wiped more than $6 billion off Anglo’s market capitalization in the steepest single-day fall since the global financial crisis.
The series of disappointments for the mining industry also comes against the backdrop of weak prices for its commodities — although gold has been an exception after hitting a record late last year — and soft demand from key markets such as China.
At Endeavour, the company said that de Montessus was fired after the board discovered an “irregular payment instruction” of $5.9 million. The company said it discovered the payment when it was reviewing previous acquisitions and disposals. That review is ongoing, with more deals still being assessed.
In a statement, de Montessus said he instructed a creditor of Endeavor to make the payment in 2021 to a security company, to offset money owed for essential security equipment.
The payment was connected to the sale of Endeavour’s Agbaou mine in Ivory Coast in 2021 to Allied Gold Corp., according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. De Montessus instructed Allied Gold to pay $5.9 million owed to Endeavour to another company, the people said.
“The decision had no additional cost to the company and did not benefit me personally in any way,” de Montessus said. “I omitted to inform the board that I had arranged for this offset, which I have freely accepted was a lapse in judgment.”
(By Thomas Biesheuvel)
https://www.mining.com/web/gold-ceo-firing-deals-fresh-blow-to-minings-battered-reputation/
Ten Junior Resource Stock Investing Lessons Learned in 2023 by Bill Powers (most fail at #4)
MiningStockEducation.com
Jan 4, 2024 #commodities #miningstocks #resourceinvesting
Bill Powers shares ten junior resource stock investing lessons he learned in 2023 in this MSE episode.
The 2024 Gold Market Amidst Banking Volatility and Rising Federal Deficits
Trevor Hall
Jan 3, 2024
We kick off 2024 with a conversation with Dave Kranzler of Investment Research Dynamics. We start off the conversation with a little bit of reflection on the previous year. What surprised him the most in these markets. And now that we move into 2024, what are his expectations regarding the national deficit, gold's move into a new year, and if the junior equities can find a more supporting market than in the past 2 years.
Geocentric Resources
Zero Hedge Goldquote Mining & Metals Silver Doctors Goldseek
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