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US Department of Energy adds copper to critical minerals list
Staff Writer | August 3, 2023 | 2:38 pm Intelligence News USA Copper
The US Department of Energy (DOE) this week officially added copper to its Critical Materials list, marking the first time a US government agency has included copper on one of its official “critical” lists, following the examples of the European Union, Japan, India, Canada, and China.
2023 Critical Materials Assessment, which evaluated materials for their criticality to global clean energy technology supply chains focuses on key materials with high risk of supply disruption that are integral to clean energy technologies.
The DOE Critical Materials List will inform eligibility for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act 48C.
The final list includes aluminum, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, electrical steel, fluorine, gallium, iridium, lithium, magnesium, natural graphite, neodymium, nickel, platinum, praseodymium, terbium, silicon, and silicon carbide.
continues here>>https://www.mining.com/us-department-of-energy-adds-copper-to-critical-minerals-list/
Pretenders - Brass In Pocket (Live 1980) Remastered
Metals traders are leaving hedge funds as markets disappoint
Bloomberg News | August 3, 2023 | 6:31 am Intelligence Markets Copper Nickel
quotes A series of metal traders are leaving hedge funds — including some fairly new hires — after the wild price swings that drew fresh money into the sector in recent years have evaporated, leaving markets drifting sideways.
Most of the employees involved joined in the past two years, as funds and banks bulked up their metals-trading divisions to take advantage of volatile markets as the world emerged from Covid-19 lockdowns.
Some hedge funds pulled back from trading contracts on the London Metal Exchange following last year’s unprecedented nickel short squeeze, which led to the exchange canceling billions of dollars worth of trades. The move, which the LME said was necessary to ensure its survival, drew widespread condemnation from money managers, and is now at center of an ongoing lawsuit.
At the same time, tighter monetary policy has weighed on key markets like copper, aluminum and gold, and China’s disappointing economic recovery has also been a drag on prices. One popular strategy among hedge funds this year included buying call options on copper futures, some of the people said, which can pay off handsomely if prices rise above a given level. But a lack of volatility has meant such bets will have left traders nursing losses.
Despite the personnel moves, there aren’t yet signs of permanent retrenchment among hedge funds in metals. The sector is particularly exposed to the energy transition and US-China tensions, which could both present profitable opportunities for traders in the coming years.
https://www.mining.com/web/metals-traders-are-leaving-hedge-funds-as-markets-disappoint/
Wild Billy's Circus Story (Live at the Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles, 1973)
Late-night Heavy Metal on GYS (Mirror Mirror)
Blind Guardian - Mirror Mirror Live
Horse bite of the day
2013 Silver reached 23.85
2023 Silver reached 23.85
gold and silver rode the dog and pony show today and fell right off the cliff.
stocks followed them all the way down landing on top of them.
But that's just a day or 10 years of them
enjoy the heavy metal
Gold prices holding firm but not seeing much reaction as Fitch downgrades U.S. long-term rating to AA+ from AAA
The gold market is holding critical support above $1,980 an ounce but is not seeing any major bullish momentum as markets continue to digest the late-day news that Fitch Ratings has downgraded the United States of America's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'AA+' from 'AAA.'
While the nation's long-term debt outlook was downgraded, the rating agency said its Rating Watch Negative was removed and a Stable Outlook assigned; Fitch also noted that the Country Ceiling was affirmed at 'AAA.'
"The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance relative to 'AA' and 'AAA-rated peers over the last two decades that has manifested in repeated debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions," Fitch said in a press release.
Heading into the Asian trading session, gold prices are seeing some modest gains after a lackluster start during the first trading day of August. December gold futures last traded at $1,986.40 an ounce, up 0.34% on the day.
Fitch also noted the U.S. government's months-long standoff that pushed the nation to the brink of a debt ceiling crisis as one of the reasons for the latest downgrade.
"The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management. In addition, the government lacks a medium-term fiscal framework, unlike most peers, and has a complex budgeting process. These factors, along with several economic shocks as well as tax cuts and new spending initiatives, have contributed to successive debt increases over the last decade. Additionally, there has been only limited progress in tackling medium-term challenges related to rising social security and Medicare costs due to an aging population," Fitch said.
Fitch said it sees the U.S. general government deficit rising to 6.3% of GDP in 2023, up from 3.7% in 2022. The deficit is expected to grow by 6.6% and 6.9% of GDP in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Although the gold market is not seeing much reaction to the downgrade, many analysts have said it could take time for investors to digest the full impact of the announcement.
Adam Button, the chief currency strategist at Forexlive.com, said the last time the U.S.' credit rating was downgraded, it sparked a rally that led to then-all-time highs above $1,900 an ounce.
In a recent interview with Kitco News, John LaForge, head of real asset strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said that he expects growing debt in the U.S. to be a major bullish factor for gold that could support higher prices for at least the next three years.
Economists at Capital Economics said that Fitch's downgrade could have limited market impact as it comes at a time when the U.S. economy remains reasonably resilient.
"It's a little strange to be downgrading the US at a time when the economy now appears poised to pull off the seemingly impossible trick of bringing inflation back to target without triggering a recession. Admittedly, even though the economy is operating above potential and the unemployment rate is below 4%, the Federal deficit remains on track to be close to 6% of GDP in the current fiscal year," the analysts said in a note to clients.
The U.K.-based research firm said that the Federal Reserve's goal to bring inflation back down to its 2% target remains the biggest factor driving the U.S. economy.
"A lot depends on what happens to interest rates, however. If we're right and inflation continues to ease, the Fed will be cutting rates again by next year, bringing the Federal government's borrowing costs down. But if we're wrong and the Fed is forced to keep the nominal interest rate above the rate of nominal GDP growth for an extended period, then the debt dynamics could quickly become unsustainable," the analysts said.
https://www.kitco.com/news/2023-08-01/Gold-prices-holding-firm-but-not-seeing-much-reaction-as-Fitch-downgrades-U-S-long-term-rating-to-AA-from-AAA.html
The xx - On Hold (Live on KEXP)
Silver Lake eyes worst day in eight years as sales outlook disappoints
$SLR
Reuters | July 31, 2023 | 12:13 am Australia Gold
Gold miner Silver Lake Resources is set for its worst session in eight years on Monday as record annual output failed to make up for an unflattering sales outlook.
Shares of Silver Lake plunged as much as 24.2% during the session, before slightly paring losses to trade down 19.5% at A$0.8975. The stock is eying its worst session since Jan. 27, 2015, if current trends hold. It was the top loser on Australia’s benchmark stock index
The miner is expected to sell 210,00 ounces (oz) to 230,000 oz of gold in the year ended June 30, 2024, down from record annual sales of 260,372 oz in fiscal 2023, as it halts mining and processing at its Sugar Zone mine in Northern Ontario, Canada.
Brokers at Ord Minnett had estimated the company will sell 282,000 oz of gold for the period.
Silver Lake is also anticipating an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) – a metric to estimate all direct and recurring costs required to mine a unit of ore – of A$1,850-A$2,050 per oz, compared to A$1,941/oz incurred this year.
The idling of mining activities in FY24 will provide Silver Lake with the opportunity to “reset” the mine and complete the necessary grade control and extensional drilling programs, the miner said.
“If Sugar Zone is excluded, SLR’s FY24 sales guidance is broadly in line with our figures,” Ord Minnett said.
Production from Sugar Zone had fallen in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, as wildfires in Ontario caused interruptions to power supply and activities were suspended for about three weeks.
(By Harish Sridharan; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
https://www.mining.com/web/silver-lake-eyes-worst-day-in-eight-years-as-sales-outlook-disappoints/
Giant wildfire forces evacuation of more than 700 properties in Osoyoos, B.C.
How one Canadian wildfire in 2016 is a bellwether for more climate catastrophes
GYS Night-bird..Flat tap $14.5 bn to sell....Uptape +$8.9 bn to buy...-1bn to sell in the SP...
Downtape-38.9 bn to sell(-2.5bn to sell in the SP.)....Downsize skew but ball needs to be rolling downhill first.
Late-night Heavy Metal on GYS (Last In_The_Line)
Dio Last In The Line Holy Diver Live 1986
Gold and Silver caught a bid today
Non farm payrolls Friday
Enjoy the heavy metal
GraveYard Shift Today's Top Mining Picks>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Franco-Nevada +1.77 0.93% $192.42
Royal Gold 1.57 1.32 $120.14
Atlas Lithium 1.47 6.64 $23.60
Cameco 1.42 3.16 $46.36
Pan American Silver 1.34 6.39 $22.32
Agnico Eagle Mines 1.20 1.77 $69.13
First Quantum Minerals 1.07 2.81 $39.11
Freeport-McMoRan 1.02 2.34 $44.65
Ero Copper 0.92 2.99 $31.70
Wheaton Precious Metals 0.90 1.55 $59.13
Lithium Americas 0.85 3.30 $26.62
Piedmont Lithium 0.79 1.46 $54.86
Li-FT Power 0.74 8.51 $9.44
MAG Silver 0.65 4.26 $15.92
Skeena Resources 0.59 9.49 $6.81
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
GoviEx Uranium 10,964,622 $0.12
Uranium Energy 8,182,933 $3.60
Forsys Metals 6,091,611 $0.33
Global Atomic 5,009,485 $1.71
Denison Mines 4,860,655 $1.72
The Metals Company 3,824,142 $1.64
F3 Uranium 3,508,757 $0.41
B2Gold 2,728,227 $4.57
Cameco 2,613,394 $46.36
Lundin Mining 2,486,467 $11.79
NexGen Energy 2,414,797 $6.47
Hudbay Minerals 2,408,625 $7.86
E2Gold 2,327,800 $0.04
enCore Energy 2,265,368 $3.27
CAT Strategic Metals 2,239,000 $0.03
COT Data.... I'm looking for a good global equity CTA update link if you know of one please let me know TIA
https://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/CommitmentsofTraders/index.htm
Late-night Heavy Metal on GYS (War Pigs)
BLACK SABBATH - "War Pigs" from 'The End' (Live Video)
UAE India partnership to trigger a surge in Indian SILVER demand - LFTV Ep: 133
The top 50 biggest mining companies in the world
https://www.mining.com/top-50-biggest-mining-companies/
Global mine production
https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/gold-production-by-country
Thats how this game goes now
Nothing to see here ....the page won't even load
Explorers on high alert as challenging wildfire season rages
Henry Lazenby | July 27, 2023 | 1:38 pm Exploration Canada Gold
Canadian operations halted as miners grapple with record wildfires
Record-setting wildfires have been wreaking havoc across Canada since March. Credit: Adobe Stock
Canada’s most destructive wildfire season is ongoing. While conditions improve in Eastern Canada, Western Canada-focused explorers still face widespread interruptions to their summer field seasons.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre’s (CIFFC) latest data, as of July 26, there were 1,024 active wildfires across Canada with 629 rated as out of control. The 4,787 wildfires counted in the year to date have scorched an estimated 122,000 sq. km, compared with last year’s total burned area of 16,565 sq. km.
In June, nearly 15 mining companies were forced to down tools due to over 150 forest fires engulfing several areas of Quebec. Agnico Eagle (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM), which operates the region’s largest gold mine, said Thursday air quality concerns temporarily paused much of its northern Quebec operations. However it did not materially impact it’s cornerstone Canadian Malartic mine, despite having to ‘adjust’ operations.
The wildfire situation continues to be precarious. In the CIFFC’s national preparedness levels system, Level 5 is the highest level of preparedness, signifying an extremely challenging and widespread fire situation.
Credit: Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
In Quebec, Patriot Battery Metals (TSXV: PMET; ASX: PMT; US-OTC: PMETF) said on Wednesday it is getting ready to resume exploration work at its Corvette lithium property for the first time since June 4 following the lifting of the forest entry ban due to wildfires.
Due to ongoing road closures, the company is remobilizing personnel and materials to the site via fixed-wing aircraft. It expects the roads to reopen soon as firefighters continue to make progress. Patriot will use a helicopter to begin drilling and environmental data collection by the weekend.
Patriot said its highly anticipated initial resource estimate remains on track for release in late July.
The company is upgrading the winter snow road to an all-weather exploration road, extending the drilling season to compensate for lost time due to wildfires. It said it plans to improve the exploration camp, reducing the reliance on helicopters for transportation. CEO Blair Way expressed gratitude to those fighting the wildfires, particularly the Cree Nation, while the company closely monitors the situation to ensure the safety of employees and contractors. Patriot aims to access more helicopters in August to support their exploration efforts.
Brunswick Exploration (TSXV: BRW) also announced this week that it has restarted prospecting at its Mirage project in the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay region of Quebec. Brunswick suspended exploration activities in June following an emergency fire evacuation order from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests that was since lifted.
No equipment on site was undamaged.
While access remains restricted to the other regional projects, visual inspections confirm that the camps were largely untouched, with only the company’s PLEX project camp suffering minimal damage.
Drilling at the project is planned for late in the third quarter, with the permit application underway. Brunswick reported finding more than 20 abundant angular, spodumene-mineralized boulders in June.
Deteriorating situation
While conditions have improved in Eastern Canada, the situation in the Northwest Territories and B.C. is worsening. Slave Lake Zinc (CSE: SLZ) said Thursday the Northwest Territories government had confiscated all available rotary wing aircraft to support the efforts to fight rampant wildfires. Fixed-wing aircraft also have significant issues in operating under the current conditions, adding to a logistics headache for stakeholders.
Consequently, Slave Lake Zinc has had to postpone the scheduled ground exploration recognizance program, but said it would resume its plans as soon as possible.
The company aims to unlock the potential of its O’Connor Lake property, a historical site south of the Great Slave Lake and east of Osisko Metals’ (TSX: OM) Pine Point project, which was initially developed after the Second World War. However, it was abandoned in 1952 due to the post-war collapse of zinc and lead prices.
Sun Summit Minerals (TSXV: SMN) has also suspended exploration activities at its 100%-controlled Buck polymetallic project in British Columbia in response to an uncontrolled wildfire in the region.
As per the evacuation order issued south of Houston, all personnel have been demobilized from the site.
The company does not expect the wildfire to impact its project area significantly.
Exploration activities mainly focused on areas west of the Buck Main zone, including Morice Mountain and a chargeability anomaly in the northern part of the CR property. Meanwhile, assays from three drill holes were completed before exploration was stopped, and 230 samples from surface exploration are expected shortly.
https://www.mining.com/explorers-on-high-alert-as-challenging-wildfire-season-rages/
$MUX McEwen Mining Has A Remarkable Combination Of Gold Mining And Undeveloped Copper Mine Of The Future
RocksAndStocksNews
Jul 26, 2023
It was great to chat with Rob McEwen for an update on their gold mines and their exceptional copper project. Plus, as always he gives great insights into investing in mining from someone that has had exceptional success in the sector, both as an operator and investor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYcRQ_4opXY
Self-healing metals may revolutionize engineering – study
Staff Writer | July 26, 2023 | 6:06 am Suppliers & Equipment USA Copper Platinum
with GYS soundtrack
Recent research by a team at the Sandia National Laboratories and Texas A&M University describes, for the first time, how pieces of metal crack, then fuse back together without any human intervention, overturning fundamental scientific theories in the process.
According to the researchers, if the newly discovered phenomenon can be harnessed, it could usher in an engineering revolution—one in which self-healing engines, bridges and airplanes could reverse damage caused by wear and tear, making them safer and longer-lasting.
In a paper published in the journal Nature, the scientists explain that they were able to confirm that metals have their own intrinsic, natural ability to heal themselves, at least in the case of fatigue damage at the nanoscale.
Artistic rendering of nanoscale self-healing in metal,
Artistic rendering of nanoscale self-healing in metal. Red arrows indicate the direction of the pulling force that unexpectedly triggered the phenomenon. (Image by Dan Thompson, Sandia National Laboratories).
Fatigue damage is one-way machines wear out and eventually break. Repeated stress or motion causes microscopic cracks to form. Over time, these cracks grow and spread until about the whole device breaks.
In detail, Brad Boyce and his team saw a fissure disappear that was one of these tiny but consequential fractures—measured in nanometers.
“From solder joints in our electronic devices to our vehicle’s engines to the bridges that we drive over, these structures often fail unpredictably due to cyclic loading that leads to crack initiation and eventual fracture,” Boyce said. “When they do fail, we have to contend with replacement costs, lost time and, in some cases, even injuries or loss of life. The economic impact of these failures is measured in hundreds of billions of dollars every year for the US.”
Although scientists have created some self-healing materials, mostly plastics, the notion of a self-healing metal has largely been the domain of science fiction.
“Cracks in metals were only ever expected to get bigger, not smaller. Even some of the basic equations we use to describe crack growth preclude the possibility of such healing processes,” the researcher said.
Reversing damage
In 2013, Michael Demkowicz—then an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, now a full professor at Texas A&M—began chipping away at conventional materials theory. He published a new theory, based on findings in computer simulations, that under certain conditions metal should be able to weld shut cracks formed by wear and tear.
The discovery that his theory was true came inadvertently at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a Department of Energy user facility jointly operated by Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories.
“We certainly weren’t looking for it,” Boyce said.
Khalid Hattar, now an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Chris Barr, who now works for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, were running the experiment at Sandia when the discovery was made. They only meant to evaluate how cracks formed and spread through a nanoscale piece of platinum using a specialized electron microscope technique they had developed to repeatedly pull on the ends of the metal 200 times per second.
Surprisingly, about 40 minutes into the experiment, the damage reversed course. One end of the crack fused back together as if it was retracing its steps, leaving no trace of the former injury. Over time, the crack regrew in a different direction.
Boyce, who was aware of the theory, shared his findings with Demkowicz.
“I was very glad to hear it, of course,” Demkowicz said. The professor then recreated the experiment on a computer model, substantiating that the phenomenon witnessed at Sandia was the same one he had theorized years earlier.
Still a way to go
A lot remains unknown about the self-healing process, including whether it will become a practical tool in a manufacturing setting.
“The extent to which these findings are generalizable will likely become a subject of extensive research,” Boyce said. “We show this happening in nanocrystalline metals in a vacuum. But we don’t know if this can also be induced in conventional metals in air.”
Yet for all the unknowns, the discovery remains a leap forward at the frontier of materials science.
“My hope is that this finding will encourage materials researchers to consider that, under the right circumstances, materials can do things we never expected,” Demkowicz said.
https://www.mining.com/self-healing-metals-may-revolutionize-engineering-study/
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (High-Quality Audio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfCmF__lm9Q
“I Ain’t Selling Gold Stocks…Bargains Are Stunning” says Fund Manager Lawrence Lepard Jul 25, 2023 #gold #goldstocks #goldinvesting
Gold stock fund manager and Austrian economist Larry Lepard shared, “It’s tough. The gold stock climate is as bad as I’ve seen it. But I ain’t selling. I ain’t selling. In fact, I’m moving around and selling some of the things that have not been hit quite as bad to buy some of the real bargains that I see. The bargains out here are just stunning. It does not feel good to buy in these kinds of conditions. But history says that if you do buy in these kinds of conditions, you can be very well rewarded for it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nas7-ADpJNI
Visit our sister board Mining and Metals DuJour
https://investorshub.advfn.com/~*~Mining-and-Metals-Du-Jour~*~-15977
Smaller miners’ hunger for cash grows as copper prices fall, sparking M&A bets
with GYS soundtrack
Reuters | July 24, 2023 | 3:19 am Battery Metals Intelligence Markets Africa Australia Canada Latin America USA Copper
Smaller miners' hunger for cash grows as copper prices fall, sparking M&A bets
A fall in copper prices is having an outsized impact on small and mid-sized miners, forcing many to cut output, and some are now open to raising funds from new investors to ride out the current downtrend, several company executives told Reuters.
Copper is set to play a crucial role in the transition to a greener economy and cashed-up bigger miners are seeking assets with longer mine life and high-quality grade ore to meet the growing demand for the red metal.
Depressed prices for the red metal due to global economic growth concerns, however, are forcing some small-to-mid sized companies to cut back exploration budgets and other expenses. But that may not be sufficient for them to survive and the current scenario may pave the way for more M&A in the sector, company executives and analysts say.
So far this year, some $22 billion worth of copper M&A has been launched, according to Reuters calculations, including Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals’ $439 million bid for Copper Mountain, Lundin Mining’s purchase of Japan’s JX Nippon Mining and Metals stake in Caserone mines in Chile, and Newmont Corp’s planned acquisition of gold and copper miner Newcrest for $18 billion.
Copper M&A more than doubled in 2022 to $14.24 billion from the previous year, according to an S&P Intelligence report.
The M&A theme is expected to continue as it is extremely difficult to develop new copper mines, Stuart McDonald, CEO of Vancouver-based Taseko Mines, told Reuters in June.
Taseko is exploring funding proposals to bring in additional liquidity to expand its copper project in Arizona, McDonald said, adding there are significant challenges to permitting new mines across the world.
“So the large miners are saying it is difficult to build new supply, so let’s just buy companies,” McDonald said.
Copper prices have been gradually losing steam since hitting their strongest levels in over seven months in January when optimism abounded about the reopening of China. On Friday, the three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 dropped by 0.6% to $8,436 per metric ton.
Dearth of large mines
Chinese research firm Antaike has predicted that global copper prices are set to fall to $7,000 per tonne or $3.18 per pound in the second half of this year due to lack of solid demand growth in the world’s second biggest economy.
“There are high cost companies that would go out of business if the copper prices fall below $3.50,” Hudbay Minerals CEO Peter Kukielski told Reuters earlier this month.
The lower copper price presents M&A opportunities for Hudbay, Kukielski said, but it will also get “squeezed” if the price of copper falls below $3.50.
With lack of large mines up for grabs, he is expecting that large miners will be looking to expand their production by acquiring smaller mines. Hudbay is also open to entertaining M&A offers at a right price.
In Canada, mines of junior producer Minto Metals also presents an M&A opportunity. Backed by investors such as Japan’s Sumitomo Corp, Minto Metals ceased operations abruptly in May over increased costs in running its mine in the Yukon, according to the company filings.
The Yukon government, which has taken control of the mine, told Reuters there are still significant copper reserves associated with the claims held by the company.
“It is possible that a creditor will make an application to court for the appointment of a receiver to manage Minto’s assets, which could potentially include a sale of the mine,” it added.
An analyst report by Royal Bank of Canada published in June has identified potential acquisition targets, which include Hudbay, First Quantum Minerals, Ivanhoe Mines and Capstone Copper CS.TO. First Quantum, Ivanhoe, Capstone did not offer an immediate comment.
First Quantum rejected an informal takeover offer from Barrick Gold, Bloomberg News reported last month. Barrick at that time said, it does not comment on market speculation.
In Australia, Queensland-based copper miner AIC Mines has cut back on some spending given current copper prices, which are now below its March production costs, Managing Director Aaron Colleran said.
“The recent weakness in the copper price has meant that we have curtailed some small discretionary capital spend but it has not impacted our longer term goals in any way,” Colleran added.
AIC had raised A$30 million ($20 million) equity in February to expand its copper production.
David Lennox, a mining analyst with Sydney-based private wealth management Fat Prophets, said it will be a problem if the copper price falls further and stays down for longer. “Then it’s a matter of how much cash have you got.”
“For a little pure play producer, they generally don’t have the financial or balance sheet strength to last very long.”
($1 = 1.4865 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto and Melanie Burton in MelbourneEditing by Denny Thomas and Marguerita Choy)
https://www.mining.com/web/smaller-miners-hunger-for-cash-grows-as-copper-prices-fall-sparking-ma-bets/
Duran Duran - Hungry like the Wolf (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJL-lCzEXgI
Big earnings season reporting begins (Que Titanic music)
Looks like this week ahead will be one of the biggest earning reporting's of the year.
About 40% of the Dow and 30% of the SP500 will be reporting with Thursday the most active.
GraveYard Shift Today's Top Mining Picks>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Royal Gold +1.41 1.17% $121.95
Newmont 0.76 1.79 $43.21
Atlas Lithium 0.53 2.64 $20.59
Wheaton Precious Metals 0.48 0.83 $58.39
Agnico Eagle Mines 0.47 0.69 $68.86
NGEx Minerals 0.47 7.31 $6.90
Newcrest Mining 0.45 1.92 $23.94
Pan American Silver 0.31 1.45 $21.68
Standard Lithium 0.25 4.35 $6.00
Western Alaska Minerals 0.22 9.02 $2.66
Aura Minerals 0.19 2.03 $9.53
Franco-Nevada 0.19 0.10 $193.51
NioCorp Developments 0.14 2.33 $6.15
Eskay Mining 0.13 13.00 $1.13
Arizona Metals 0.13 4.64 $2.93
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 3,728,978 $3.21
The Metals Company 2,879,342 $1.82
Euro Sun Mining 2,684,439 $0.04
Guanajuato Silver 2,224,145 $0.36
Hycroft Mining 2,188,193 $0.47
Kinross Gold 2,143,406 $6.64
Inventus Mining 1,687,000 $0.07
B2Gold 1,627,118 $4.77
Lundin Mining 1,367,760 $11.27
Pegmatite One Lithium 1,311,454 $0.06
OceanaGold 1,245,345 $2.62
First Mining Gold 1,212,885 $0.18
Renforth Resources 1,175,000 $0.02
Newfoundland Discovery 1,110,578 $0.03
GR Silver Mining 1,107,663 $0.06
Barrick Gold targeted by Russian cybercriminal group Clop in global data theft that hit Sun Life, Vancouver transit police
with gys sound
Niall McGee - The Globe and Mail | July 20, 2023 | 11:28 am Suppliers & Equipment Top Companies Canada Gold
Canada’s biggest gold company has been targeted by shadowy Russian cybercriminal group Clop in a massive global data theft incident that has affected hundreds of corporations and close to 20 million individuals.
Barrick Gold Corp (TSE: ABX) NYSE: $GOLD-1.72% decrease is one of a growing tally of at least 376 organizations publicized by Clop in an attack that has seen confidential data stolen from financial firms and health care providers, as well as U.S. government agencies and Canadian municipalities.
Active since at least 2020, Clop traditionally used software to encrypt files of a company or an individual and then demanded ransom so the information could once again be deciphered. But the latest incident involved a mass data theft that occurred in late May at third-party file sharing system MOVEit, owing to a “zero-day” vulnerability in its software – a flaw for which MOVEit had no fix at the time.
MOVEit is owned by Massachusetts-based Progress Software Corp., and its software is used by thousands of corporations for sending and receiving documents. Progress has said it has since fixed the vulnerabilities in its system that allowed the hack.
“This was simply a smash-and-grab attack in which they got off as much as they could from as many companies as they could in the shortest possible time before anyone noticed what was happening,” said Brett Callow, a British Columbia-based threat analyst with cybersecurity company Emsisoft Ltd.
The Russian gang publishes the names of companies affected by its data thefts on the dark web, which features illicit internet content accessible using a specialized browser. The dark web is routinely used by criminals to peddle stolen personal financial information such as credit card numbers, social security credentials and bank accounts.
Clop’s modus operandi is to demand ransom in return for not publishing the data, or to sell it to a third party. It is also notorious for chiding the companies it targets, calling them out for allegedly having weak systems in place to combat cyberattacks.
“The company doesn’t care about its customers. It ignored their security!!!”” Clop wrote about Barrick in a dark web page obtained by Mr. Callow, and viewed by The Globe and Mail.
Toronto-based Barrick has not revealed what effect the attack has had on the gold miner, said what data was stolen or even confirmed an attack took place.
“Unfortunately, we do not comment on matters relating to cybersecurity,” Kathy du Plessis, spokesperson for Barrick, wrote in an e-mail to The Globe.
Barrick said in a regulatory filing earlier this year that one of the main goals of chief financial officer Graham Shuttleworth in 2022 was to invest more in cybersecurity initiatives. During the year, he established a cybersecurity risk committee to respond to security breaches, conduced third-party cybersecurity assessments and oversaw cybersecurity awareness training at Barrick.
Other Canadian institutions were also affected by the data breach at MOVEit.
Sun Life Financial Inc. +0.42% increase last week said that the personal information of its U.S. customers was compromised after one of its vendors, Pension Benefit Information, which used MOVEit, was hit by Clop.
The Canadian insurance company in a statement said that information accessed by hackers included names, social security ?numbers, policy and account numbers, and the dates of birth of some account holders.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police in June revealed it was also affected by the hack. The police organization said that hackers accessed 186 files and that it had launched a review to determine what information was stolen.
“Clop has hit some companies that will hold extremely sensitive information, including one whose clients included the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Raytheon,” Mr. Callow said. “And who knows where that information may now be.”
While companies can try to keep a close watch on ransomware attacks that happen on their own internal systems, the attack on MOVEit illustrates the challenges that arise when sensitive information is outsourced to third parties.
Mr. Callow says that it is extremely difficult to defend against these kinds of ransomware attacks, and he is only aware of one company that was able to fend off in real time a breach that was in progress.
By Niall McGee
https://www.mining.com/web/barrick-gold-targeted-by-russian-cybercriminal-group-clop-in-global-data-theft-that-hit-sun-life-vancouver-transit-police/
The secret to growing gold wealth in any market Feat. NorthStar & BadCharts - LFTV Ep: 132 Timestamps:
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined by Patrick Karim and Kevin Wadsworth from NorthStar & BadCharts, a technical analysis and ratio trading platform, who reach out to the Kinesis community with a special offer.
The two chart trading veterans explain how their combined experience helps them to predict the future events of gold and silver markets with a highly-accurate scientific approach, and explain how to increase wealth even when prices go down.
00:00 Start
05:14 Meteorology & Charting with Kevin Wadsworth
08:30 What are some of the tools Patrick uses to measure energy?
14:00 Building wealth: Bitcoin vs precious metals
16:45 Using ratios to increase your stack of silver and gold without needing to buy any
19:00 The Gold Silver Ratio Chart (XAUUSD/XAGUSD)
25:40 Gold vs CPI Chart
29:00 Can gold rise alongside the dollar?
37:00 How Kinesis & Northstar Badcharts are working together
42:00 Assessing risk
44:30 Trusting the banking system
48:00 Awareness of what’s going on in the world around you
53:45 No position is a position and removing emotion from trading
01:03:45 The special offer for Kinesis users: 50% off
Late Night Heavy Metal (Storytime)
Gold and silver fell asleep at the wheel today
Theirs a stock option expiration Friday
Everybody's suffering from heat stroke around here.
enjoy the heavy metal
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NIGHTWISH - Storytime (OFFICIAL LIVE VIDEO)
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Jesse's Cafe American
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
NIGHTWISH - Storytime (OFFICIAL LIVE VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvkYwOJZONU
JD400 - ABCOURT FILES THE TECHNICAL REPORT AND THE PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT FOR THE SLEEPING GIANT PROJECT
Rouyn-Noranda, Canada, July 19, 2023 –
Abcourt Mines Inc. (“Abcourt” or the “Corporation”) (TSX Venture: ABI) is pleased to announce that it has filed the Technical Report and the Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Sleeping Giant Project in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Disclosure Standards for Mining Projects. The technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report & Preliminary Economic Assessment for Sleeping Giant Project, Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Québec, Canada ” and dated July 19, 2023 (with an effective date of June 7, 2023) was prepared for Abcourt by the firm InnovExplo of Val-d’Or. The technical report is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Abcourt’s issuer profile.
https://abcourt.ca/en/news/abcourt-depose-le-rapport-technique-et-levaluation-economique-preliminaire-du-projet-geant-dormant/
The Abcourt’s news release dated June 7, 2023 (entitled “Abcourt releases a Positive Preliminary
Economic Assessment for its Sleeping Giant Gold Project”) summarized certain key results,
assumptions and estimates contained in the Technical Report filed on SEDAR.
Qualified Person
Mr. Pascal Hamelin, ing, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, has verified and approved the technical information contained in this press release.
About Abcourt Mines Inc.
Abcourt Mines Inc. is an emerging gold producer and a Canadian exploration corporation with strategically located properties in northwestern Québec, Canada. Abcourt owns the Sleeping Giant mill and mine where it concentrates its activities.
For further information, please visit our website at www.abcourt.ca , and consult our filings under Abcourt’s profile on www.sedar.com, or contact:
Pascal Hamelin
President and CEO
T: (819) 768-2857
E: phamelin@abcourt.com
Dany Cenac Robert, Investor Relations
Reseau ProMarket Inc.,
T: (514) 722-2276, post 456
E: dany.cenac-robert@reseaupromarket.com
https://abcourt.ca/en/
https://abcourt.ca/en/projects/geant-dormant/
The TSX Venture Exchange and its regulatory service provider (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) assume no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
GraveYard Shift Today's Top Mining Picks>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Freeport-McMoRan +1.22 3.00% $41.89
Foremost Lithium 0.52 6.48 $8.55
Gold Reserve 0.46 13.37 $3.90
Bravo Mining 0.21 4.21 $5.20
Los Andes Copper 0.17 0.95 $17.99
Graphite One 0.13 9.15 $1.55
Lithium Royalty 0.13 0.97 $13.49
Ero Copper 0.11 0.38 $28.77
Bolt Metals 0.10 20.00 $0.60
Critical Elements 0.09 5.14 $1.84
Idaho Strategic Resources 0.08 1.43 $5.67
Perpetua Resources 0.08 1.63 $4.99
Imperial Metals 0.08 4.00 $2.08
American Future Fuel 0.08 31.91 $0.31
MP Materials 0.06 0.25 $24.14
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Hycroft Mining 4,000,409 $0.46
Pegmatite One Lithium 3,885,750 $0.06
Standard Uranium 3,420,250 $0.03
Westward Gold 3,401,415 $0.12
CAT Strategic Metals 2,923,360 $0.03
B2Gold 2,751,290 $4.77
Lundin Mining 2,726,902 $11.33
Uranium Energy 2,599,838 $3.29
The Metals Company 2,464,710 $1.88
Kinross Gold 2,212,755 $6.62
Orea Mining 2,065,311 $0.04
Ivanhoe Mines 1,856,208 $12.59
First Quantum Minerals 1,834,452 $35.36
OceanaGold 1,722,097 $2.62
Contact Gold 1,720,000 $0.02
New US sanctions are aimed at choking off Russia's
Good evening All
in this first segment it looks like the US is ramping up tighter sanctions against Russia.
New US sanctions are aimed at choking off Russia's access to battlefield supplies and revenue
The United States has imposed sanctions on roughly 120 firms and people in an effort to choke off Moscow’s access to products, money and financial channels that support its continued invasion of Ukraine
ByFATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press
July 20, 2023, 10:09 AM
Russia Ukraine War
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on roughly 120 firms and people from Russia to the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan in an effort to choke off Moscow's access to products, money and financial channels that support its invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions imposed by the Treasury and State departments target dozens of Russian mining, technology and munitions firms and commercial banks. In addition, a group of Kyrgyzstan-based electronics firms and its leadership were targeted as exporters of components and other technology to Russia.
A UAE-based engineering company that sent dozens of shipments of electronics to Russia was also sanctioned.
The latest sanctions build on those imposed on Russia when the U.S. and other Group of Seven nations rolled out a wave of global actions during a Japan summit in May.
“Since Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States, working with our allies and partners, has taken unprecedented steps to impose costs on Russia and promote accountability for the individuals and entities who support its illegal war,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.
After the invasion's one-year anniversary in February, U.S. officials said Russia’s metals and mining sector would be a focus of future sanctions actions, as well as reducing Russia's energy revenues through the imposition of a price cap on Russian oil.
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said Thursday's actions represent “another step in our efforts to constrain Russia’s military capabilities, its access to battlefield supplies, and its economic bottom line.”
“As long as Russia continues to wage its unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine, we will impose sanctions to deprive Russia of the technology it needs and disrupt the Russian arms industry’s ability to resupply," Adeyemo said in a statement.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-imposes-new-sanctions-aimed-choking-off-russias-101527183
Moving on with our final segment
Here's whats happening over there today
OK ....Here we go
Courtesy The Enforcer
North Korea Threatens Nuclear War | Breaking News With The Enforcer
Jul 20, 2023
North Korea has threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the US and South Korea after the appearance of a Ballistic Missile submarine, the USS Kentucky. This comes after the a US soldier defected to North Korea, with more information coming out that they apparently may have had prior dealings with the soldier and the defection was planned. Meanwhile Ukraine has stated Odessa was hit badly because they do not have the ability to intercept the Oryx missile.
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Brazilian companies invest in blockchain to fight illegal gold mining
Bruno Venditti | July 19, 2023 | 12:04 pm Suppliers & Equipment Latin America Gold
Over the last year, Certimine certified 120 operations from large, medium, and small mining companies in Mato Grosso, Pará, Goiás, Tocantins, São Paulo, Rondônia, and Minas Gerais. (Image: Certimine)
Brazilian companies are adopting blockchain technology to fight illegal mining.
Data from Instituto Escolhas shows that around half of all gold production in the country is contaminated by serious indications of illegality.
Between 2015 and 2020, Brazil traded 229 tonnes of gold with evidence of illegality.
According to Instituto Escolhas director, Sérgio Leitão, it is essential to trace the origin of the metal throughout its production chain up to commercialization.
“The challenge is to understand how it was produced, if good mining practices were used, assessing health and safety issues,” said Frederico Bedran, a lawyer specializing in mining.
Brazilian startup Certimine has been using a certification platform to combat the problem. Over the last year, the company certified 120 operations from large, medium and small mining companies in Mato Grosso, Pará, Goiás, Tocantins, São Paulo, Rondônia and Minas Gerais.
Certimine’s certification system uses standards adopted in Australia and Canada as a reference, in addition to Brazilian safety standards and UN sustainable development goals in its checklist to ensure that the mining company or prospector is only certified if it meets the compliance criteria legal, management, security, sustainability and social.
“We developed an operation certification process evaluating more than 140 national and international mining standards and parameters,” explains Certimine’s CEO, Eduardo Gama.
“All data is monitored using QR Code, allowing information to be consulted at any stage, from the mining company to the final buyer.”
Thirty mining companies were not approved in the certification process and are undergoing adaptations.
https://www.mining.com/subscribe-login/?id=1122771
Illegal gold mining in Amazon equivalent to half of Brazil’s production — report
Bruno Venditti | July 7, 2022 | 11:06 am Intelligence News Latin America Gold
Between 2015 and 2020, Brazil traded 229 tonnes of gold with evidence of illegality, equivalent to almost half of the gold produced and exported by the country, according to a new report from NGO Instituto Escolhas.
The organization says most of the metal comes from wildcat mining in the Amazon rain forest, threatening local indigenous people who still live in relative isolation.
According to the report, 84 tonnes came from “shell titles”, where there was no evidence of extraction. Another 38 tonnes came from mining titles with evidence of extraction outside the designated mining areas.
Brazil’s wildcat gold mines operate in the Amazon and the gold mined by these operations must be sold to Distribuidoras De Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios (DTVMs). When miners (or anyone) sell gold to a DTVM, they fill out a paper form asking for the gold’s origin. The information is not checked and the provision of documents providing proof of origin is not required. Under current law, the declaration of origin is based on good faith.
“Here we are in the 21st century and companies still use paper forms. The gold is laundered by simply declaring illegally mined gold legal at the moment of sale. Just like that,” Instituto Escolhas project manager Juliana Siqueira-Gay told MINING.COM.
According to the report, there has been a seven-fold rise in deforestation caused by mining in the Amazon over the last seven years, from 18 square kilometers in 2015 to 121 square kilometers in 2021.
Violence and contamination
On May 10, 2021, two Yanomami children drowned after fleeing from gunshots fired by wildcat miners. Fifteen days later, miners burned down Munduruku leader Maria Leusa’s house.
Recent studies have shown high levels of mercury contamination among indigenous peoples caused by gold mining.
The Brazilian Senate is currently discussing a bill that sets out a legal framework for tracing gold at all points of the supply chain, from extraction to purchase by consumers, defining transportation and proof of origin documentation, electronic invoicing, and digital recording systems.
https://www.mining.com/illegal-gold-mining-in-amazon-equivalent-to-half-of-brazils-production-report/
What a slap in the face to their fellow BRICKS nations
Fire burns area larger than most countries. Officials can't stop it ul 17, 2023 #CNN #News
BTW that mine in Canada Burned Down but their shareholders would never know it till the quarter reports come out explaining why they missed on revenue.
It's OK Mr. Mining CEO ...We can keep a secret shhhhhh
One of the worst wildfire seasons is plaguing Canada. The fire has burned an area larger than most countries, and officials on the ground say they don't have a way to extinguish it. CNN's Paula Newton reports.
List of Mines in Quebec
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mines_in_Quebec
Late night heavy metal (Enter Sandman)
gold was down a bit today
silver was up a bit
I'm dealing with a minor heat stroke
Feeling a little better
enjoy the heavy metal
Metallica - Enter Sandman (Live in Mexico City) [Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria]
Didn't quite get that link or story copytele
looked for it too
Micro-sluicing some rich "CONS" ~~~~$83,000 so far not even half thru the half gal :NOME BEACH SUPER CONS.
Micro-sluicing some rich "CONS" ~~~~$83,000 so far not even half thru the half gal :NOME BEACH SUPER CONS.} https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?pli=1#inbox/FMfcgzGtwDFjkHNBmHWVKXtHxqpHBVrW
Look at all those Summer miners bulls Run........
Lovin this... last couple weeks miners have been on fire
$MUX
$HL
$AG
$CDE
$ARTG
$USGO
$EXK
$GPH
# RARE EARTH ELEMENT STOCKS
MP Materials (NYSE: MP)
NioCorp Developments (TSX: NB)
Texas Mineral Resources (OTCMKTS: TMRC)
Rare Element Resources (OTCMKTS: REEMF)
Namibia Critical Metals (TSX.V: NMI)
# PLATINUM GROUP METAL STOCKS
Platinum Group Metals (TSX: PTM)
Generation Mining (TSX: GENM)
Stillwater Critical Metals (TSX.V: PGE)
Clean Air Metals (TSX.V: AIR)
Palladium One Mining (TSX.V: PDM)
# LITHIUM STOCKS
Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC)
Sigma Lithium (NASDAQ: SGML)
Standard Lithium (TSX.V: SLI)
Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL)
Frontier Lithium (TSX.V: FL)
# GRAPHITE STOCKS
Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSX.V: NOU)
NextSource Materials (TSX: NEXT)
Graphite One (TSX.V: GPH)
Gratomic (TSX.V: GRAT)
Mason Graphite (TSX.V: LLG
# ZINC STOCKS
Titan Mining (TSX: TI)
Tinka Resources (TSX.V: TK)
Fireweed Metals (TSX.V: FWZ)
Osisko Metals (TSX.V: OM)
Solitario Zinc (TSX: SLR
# DIAMOND STOCKS
Lucara Diamond (TSX: LUC)
Star Diamond (TSX: DIAM)
Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX: MPVD)
Diamcor Mining (TSX.V: DMI)
Arctic Star Exploration (TSX.V: ADD)
# NICKEL STOCKS
Horizonte Minerals (TSX: HZM)
Talon Metals (TSX: TLO)
Canada Nickel Company (TSX.V: CNC)
FPX Nickel (TSX.V: FPX)
North American Nickel (TSX.V: NAN)
# SILVER STOCKS
Pan American Silver (TSX: PAAS)
First Majestic Silver (TSX: FR)
Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM)
Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL)
Mag Silver (TSX: MAG
# COPPER STOCKS
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN)
Capstone Copper (TSX: CS)
HudBay Minerals (TSX: HBM)
Ero Copper (TSX: ERO)
Copper Mountain Mining (TSX: CMMC)
# GOLD STOCKS
Newmont (NYSE: NEM)
Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD)
Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM)
Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI)
B2 Gold (TSX: BTO)
# URANIUM STOCKS
Cameco (TSX: CCO)
NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE)
Energy Fuels (TSX: EFR)
Denison Mines (TSX: DML)
Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU)
# ROYALTY / STREAMING STOCKS
Franco-Nevada (TSX: FNV)
Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX: WPM)
Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD)
Triple Flag Precious Metals (TSX: TFPM)
Osisko Gold Royalties (TSX: OR)
.
Middle of the night heavy metal
Loveless - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (Official Music Video)
GraveYard Shift Today's Top Mining Picks>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Piedmont Lithium 2.69 4.60 $61.16
U.S. GoldMining 1.52 12.77 $13.42
Sigma Lithium 1.18 3.00 $40.54
Atlas Lithium 1.11 5.47 $21.39
McEwen Mining 0.43 3.89 $11.47
Torex Gold Resources 0.36 1.93 $19.03
Lithium Americas 0.33 1.21 $27.61
Ivanhoe Electric 0.33 1.55 $21.58
MP Materials 0.23 0.93 $24.86
Artemis Gold 0.23 4.57 $5.26
Endeavour Silver 0.22 4.87 $4.74
Minas Buenaventura 0.21 2.71 $7.97
Largo Resources 0.21 3.64 $5.98
Graphite One 0.20 14.60 $1.57
Pan American Silver 0.17 0.81 $21.22
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
The Metals Company 6,958,609 $1.89
Contact Gold 5,728,574 $0.02
Victory Battery Metals 4,865,407 $0.05
Uranium Energy 4,365,273 $3.17
B2Gold 3,329,602 $4.83
Canadian Chrome Company 2,941,494 $0.03
Hycroft Mining 2,644,912 $0.46
Omai Gold Mines 2,090,751 $0.04
Argonaut Gold 1,986,583 $0.57
Euro Sun Mining 1,742,583 $0.04
Libero Copper & Gold 1,578,294 $0.06
Power Metals 1,503,440 $0.57
Kinross Gold 1,403,598 $6.71
Denison Mines 1,395,922 $1.63
Arbor Battery Metals 1,237,082 $3.30
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on gold companies suspected of funding the group’s activities
In our first segment
We dig deeper into the Wagner groups gold mines that are funding the war.
A look at the Wagner Group's presence and activities in Africa
PBS NewsHour Jul 4, 2023
More than a week after the failed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries in Russia, there are lingering questions about the future of the paramilitary group. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on gold companies suspected of funding the group’s activities, including in Africa, where thousands of Wagner fighters have been deployed since 2017. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Kimberly Marten.
Moving on with our final segment
Here's whats happening over there today
OK ....Here we go
Courtesy The Enforcer
The KERCH BRIDGE Is DESTROYED AGAIN; Russia Seeks Revenge | Breaking News With The Enforcer
The KERCH BRIDGE IS OUT! The Ukrainians have successfully carried out a multiple drone boat attack on the bridge and now the Russians say the road bridge will have to be completely rebuilt in the damaged sections. Putin vows revenge on Ukraine for what he calls a "terrorist act" and Ukraine looks to cripple the Russian logistical effort. Also, a conflict may be imminent between Turkey and Russia in regards to the Ukrainian grain deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf00vwUBRRc
The Battle for Rare Earths & Critical Minerals Heats Up
with GYS sound
This seemed like one of the longest “short” weeks that I can remember. Maybe it was the Tuesday
holiday. Maybe it was because I started the week somewhat jaded (What a “Weird” Week). Maybe it
was because the jobs data also forced me to invoke the word “weird” repeatedly (Jobs – What You See
Isn’t What You Get?). The fact that my air conditioning unit struggled to keep up with the heat and
humidity definitely didn’t help, but neither did watching algo-driven markets (or having to wait until
the last hour of trading for stocks to fade). However, I did enjoy catching up with some colleagues on
Bloomberg’s Real Yield and talking about credit.
But enough on that right now, let’s focus on the matter at hand – the battle for resources and chips.
The week started with China imposing export restrictions on crucial raw materials. Gallium and
germanium now require special permission from the government to be exported. These “rare
elements” are crucial in the manufacturing of high-end chips.
The week ended with the Defense Department invoking the Defense Production Act to help collect
and (even more crucially) refine the materials in question (Reuters story).
We have been discussing this theme on many fronts at Academy Securities. Our basic premise has
been:
• China figured out several years ago that rare earths and critical minerals (both their extraction
and their processing) would shape the future of global trade and relationships. If the past few
decades were shaped by petroleum products, the future will be shaped by these rare earths
and critical minerals. We have argued that Russia and India seemed to figure this out a year or
so ago (after China) and the U.S. is only recently reacting with the urgency necessary.
• While sad to say, a tagline that we have been using for two years (or more) is that:
o The West has a great vision for sustainability, but no plan to get there.
o China has no vision for sustainability, but a great plan to attain the resources that they
think we might need.
Yes, Yellen is in China (and Blinken was also there recently), but I don’t think that we will see any real
thawing of tensions regarding the semiconductor industry or rare earths and critical minerals.
The cynical side of me expects that China will “throw us a bone” that we will happily gnaw on while
they continue to secure the access to and the production of these resources.
Over two years ago, we published a special SITREP on the topic (Rare Earths – A National Security and
Environmental Threat). Generals (ret.) Chinn, Robeson, Kearney, Marks, and Walsh all weighed in on
the subject. Michael Rodriguez (Head of ESG) also brought up several salient points which helped form
our macro outlook. We will update and refine this outlook in the coming weeks, but this is a great
primer and it is (somewhat sadly) easy to see how we got from where we were two years ago to where
we are today.
In February of this year, we “upped the ante” with World War v3.1. While rare earths and critical
minerals were a part of that discussion, the main section worth reviewing is “The Semiconductor
Industry Viewed Through a Geopolitical Lens”.
I would put Academy’s track record on predicting the path of U.S./China relations up against anyone’s.
The geopolitical insights and experience of the Geopolitical Intelligence Group have been crucial in
staying a step ahead of many. However, I do lament that by the time the consensus view catches up
with Academy’s view, the relationship with China will likely have deteriorated further. Unfortunately,
that seems to be occurring again as chips, rare earths, and critical minerals are without a doubt a
national security issue with strong bipartisan support.
Bottom Line
The February 2021 and February 2023 reports, while dated, are great starting points and worth
reviewing even by those who have already been focused this subject.
While we will be following up more on chips, rare earths, and critical minerals, this also seems like a
good time to highlight our From Made in China to Made by China theme. If there is one risk that I think
is real (and the market is completely discounting) it is the ongoing shift of China going from making our
products to making/selling their own products. That goes hand in hand with their increasing success
at getting some level of trading to occur directly in yuan instead of dollars. For those of you who have
listened to our calls or watched our webinars, you know that we are not doubting the dollar as the
reserve currency, but do see the dollar as the “world wide web” and the yuan as the “dark web”. The
scale sounds about right, but maybe it attributes too many negative connotations to trade using the
yuan (or maybe not enough depending on your view).
Artificial intelligence is the hottest topic helping markets (rightfully so in many ways).
The chip and commodity wars arguably are not getting enough attention.
My view of this is:
• Competing with China will be inflationary as we need to secure access to these resources
(some of it domestically) and build out processing facilities (domestically or with countries we
completely trust).
• Jobs will be created as part of the process of securing our supply chains, but it will take time,
money, and likely the ability to absorb some inflation.
• Whatever relationship you “hope” that we will return to with China is unlikely to occur.
Considering AI, quantum computing, and sustainability (to name a few issues), the stakes are
too high and the powers that be in both countries know this and will thwart each other’s
attempts to gain the upper hand. It doesn’t mean that we can’t have trade, but whatever
relationship we are going to have with China will be something new that is yet to be defined
and will be crucial for our economy, companies, and society.
Maybe for investors, these things will take years to play out and don’t change things much today.
However, for companies, those that have gotten ahead of the curve are prospering (and there is still
time to react for those that have not). The difficulties that we could face with China regarding chips,
rare earths, and critical minerals may lead to some expensive and even seemingly conservative
decisions, but those decisions will pay off in the long run.
Have a great Sunday, hopefully you are having good weather and I did briefly wonder why China was
banning geraniums – such pretty flowers
https://academysecurities.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Battle-for-Rare-Earths-Critical-Minerals-Heats-Up.pdf
Putin ally fighting to control salt and gypsum mines near Ukraine city of Bakhmut, says US
in our first segment
(doing a little research how the Wagner group takes over a mine.)
This article is more than 6 months old
Officials believe Yevgeny Prigozhin – owner of the private military Wagner Group – is vying for natural resources to help fund Russia’s war
Guardian staff and agencies
Thu 5 Jan 2023 21.35 EST
A close ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is interested in taking control of salt and gypsum from mines near the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to a White House official.
Yevgeny Prigozhin is the founder of Russia’s most powerful mercenary force, the Wagner Group. Wagner has played a key role in the Russian offensive against Bakhmut.
There were indications that monetary motives were driving Russia’s and Prigozhin’s “obsession” with Bakhmut, the US official said.
continues here >>> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/06/putin-ally-fighting-to-control-salt-and-gypsum-mines-near-ukraine-city-of-bakhmut-says-us
our next segment is a really good read about Ukraines
Unregulated coal mining
Unregulated coal mining destroys Donbas nature
Posted on April 24, 2023 By Editor No Comments on Unregulated coal mining destroys Donbas nature
by Oleksii Vasyliuk
Translated by Nick Müller and Jennifer Castner
The occupation of eastern Ukraine by Russian troops in 2014 and subsequent fighting in 2014-2017 caused power outages and, as a result, flooded coal mine shafts that are concentrated in this region. This, in addition to ongoing unregulated and illegal coal-mining, poses a significant threat to the environment. The Donbas’s future is complex and requires careful planning and investment to address social, geopolitical, industrial, and environmental challenges.
Southeastern Ukraine is called Donbas, an abbreviation for “Donetsk Coal Basin”. Before the war, the vast majority of this region’s population was in one way or another involved in the mining industry, an important force for the entire socio-economic future of this region. Until 2014, over 6 million people lived here. Coal mining shaped the region and the conditions of its human settlement.
History of the problem
Its ancient mountain landscapes, aged at 150 million years, are today called the “Donetsk Ridge”, thanks to ancient large-scale erosion processes that resulted in easily accessible and large deposits of coal (including at near-surface level).
The Donetsk coal basin has been exploited since 1796. Since then, more than eight billion metric tons of coal have been mined here with the remaining reserves estimated at over 90 billion tons. With an annual production of 100 million tons, the reserves could be exploited for another 570 years.
At the same time, it was precisely this specialization of the local economy that for a long time preserved Donbas’ wild nature in the best possible way, better than in other areas. There was no agricultural development in the region, and wild natural landscapes often border directly on industry. Despite this, attempts to develop tourism in this region before the war were unsuccessful.
Great read with pics and more check it out here
https://uwecworkgroup.info/unregulated-coal-mining-destroys-donbas-nature/
Moving on to our final segment
Here's whats happening over there today
OK ....Here we go
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Black Sea Fleet Attacked In Port | Breaking News With The Enforcer
Jul 16, 2023
The Black Sea Fleet Was attacked in the port of Sevastopol today, with videos of drone boats and drones simultaneously attacking the port. Meanwhile Wagner is moving around and appears to have been stripped of major weaponry. A Russian Colonel was also killed near the front today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WC0p34fma4;
Hey Thanks.. (Were digging the Heavy Metals here)
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Rock on bros ! Thanks for sending :)
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Hope you're having a wonderful and blessed Sunday everybody :)
US Dollar Very Long Term Chart
"I postulated some years ago (2002) that, when push came to shove, the Fed would gather around itself a few 'friendly banks' which would act on its behalf in private to enforce certain policy decisions in markets in which the Fed and Treasury do not wish to openly operate. It is hard to think of any other somewhat moral reason for the government to babysit and subsidize these very expensive and dangerous TBTF monstrosities, except as instruments of policy to provide some degree of freedom to shape events and responses.
If you want to wage a currency war, you need to have some dreadnoughts packing serious financial throw-weight, and economic muscle. It may be Machiavellian, counter-democratic, and expensive, but that is the diktat of strategy if you want to control things and wield power to do what you will, both at home and abroad."
Jesse, Financial Dreadnoughts in Times of Currency War, 22 February 2013
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
Thanks for continuing this series Jesse :)
"Align the guns, unleash their wrath"
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GraveYard Shift Today's Top Mining Picks>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Coal miners provide Ukraine with light and heat
In our first segment
Deep underground in the Dnipro region, miners continuously extract coal to provide Ukrainians with light and heat
Here's whats happening over there today
OK ....Here we go
Courtesy The Enforcer
General Zaluzhny Striking Inside Russia | Breaking News With The Enforcer
Jul 14, 2023
Ukraine has begun striking inside of Russia after a statement by General Zaluzhny claiming they will relentlessly attack Russian targets inside of Russia. Videos were seen soon after of Russian air defenses attempting to intercept missiles in flight over Voronezh. Wagner is in Belarus helping to train the Belarusian army, with pictures seen of Prigozhin there with them. Putin is still trying to disappear Prigozhin, and is trying to stir dissent in the Wagner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3FgjmHX50;
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