Chart:

https://www.tradingview.com/chart/AXSM/di8zNJvb-AXSM-could-be-the-next-4-6-bagger-biotechstock/

AXSM pipeline:

AXSM infos:

Anticipated Near-Term Clinical Milestones

• Clinical Trial Readouts:

•Phase 3 CREATE-1 trial of AXS-02 in CRPS, interim efficacy analysis (late December 2017 to early January 2018)

•Phase 3 COAST-1 trial of AXS-02 in knee OA associated with BMLs, interim analysis (late December 2017 to early January 2018)

•Phase 3 STRIDE-1 trial of AXS-05 in TRD, top-line data (1H 2018)



7 x Phase 3 Programs in Pipeline :

AXS-02 COAST-1 Knee Osteoarthritis Associated with Bone Marrow Lesions in Phase 3 (SPA & Fast Track) ---7M patients in the U.S.


AXS-02 CREATE-1 Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in Phase 3 (Orphan+Fast Track Status) ---No approved drug = high unmet need. 80,000 new cases per year in the U.S.


AXS-02 Chronic Low Back Pain Associated with Modic Changes in Phase 3 ---1.6M patients in the U.S.


AXS-05 Agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease(AD) in Phase 2/3 ---No approved medication = unmet medical need. 2M patients in the U.S.


AXS-05 STRIDE-1 Treatment resistant depression in Phase 3 ---Only 1 approved drug for TRD = unmet medical need. 3M patients in the U.S.


AXS-06(MoSEIC™ Mx + Eso) Acute and Chronic Pain Phase 3 Ready = 120M NSAID TRx per year in the U.S.


AXS-07 (meloxicam and rizatriptan) for the Treatment of Migraine Phase 3 Ready = Migraine attacks are disabling and affect more than 37 million Americans

Biotech stocks to watch

CLSN
AXSM

The Research Pit has moved.


I refuse to be part of a message system that allows lies to be perpetrated in the Information boxes.

Research Pit can be found at http://tinyurl.com/azl5e9g

Viscount Systems Wins Contract with Phoenix Sky Harbor Sky Train

Viscount Systems, Inc. (QB) (USOTC:VSYS)

Monday 19 November 2012


Viscount Systems Inc. (OTCMARKETS:VSYS) a developer and manufacturer of IT-based solutions for physical security, announced today the Company’s security platform is being implemented at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Sky Train. The Sky Train will provide faster connections for passengers in and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Viscount will deploy both its Freedom access control and MESHView video management solution. Phase I first stage of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Sky Train is scheduled to open in early 2013 and additional phases are scheduled from 2015-2020.

“We are pleased to have Freedom implemented at another high profile and important facility,” noted Stephen Pineau, CEO of Viscount. “Airports, transportation, and critical infrastructure are key markets for Viscount and Freedom continues to demonstrate cost and other benefits over older control panel based technology. For example, large airports have hundreds of card readers and may require over a dozen separate electrical rooms to house the control hardware. Freedom eliminates the need for any of these rooms by eliminating the control panel in favour of a software application that can run on any local server or in the Cloud. So, in addition to savings on electronics, cabling and installation Freedom provides Green benefits by eliminating the cost of designing, building, heating, and maintaining separate rooms just to house electronic hardware.”

About Viscount Systems

Viscount Systems Inc., designs unified software platforms for building security and emergency planning. Recent awards include SIA Convergence Solution of the Year 2011 and Platinum Award for Emergency Response and Gold Award for Access Control at GOVSEC 2011. Additional information on Viscount's products may be obtained on-line at http://www.viscount.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of Viscount Systems Inc., nor shall there be any sale of any such security in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Forward looking statements: This press release and other statements by Viscount Systems Inc. may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to the outlook for earnings and revenues, other future financial or business performance, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "estimate," "position," "assume," "potential," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or similar expressions.

Financial statements are available from the company's registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 6, 2002, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov or the company's web site www.viscount.com under the heading "Investor Relations".

For further information, or to be placed on email NEWS ALERT please e-mail to investors@viscount.com. Call Investor Relations Foothills Group 1-888-516-7415.

Why Copper Is A Critical Metal

Mickey Fulp
November 15, 2012

Copper is often referred to as "Dr. Copper," the metal with a Ph.D. in economics. Yet most analysts don't view it as a critical metal. In this interview with The Critical Metals Report, Mickey Fulp, author of The Mercenary Geologist, gives his thoughts on why the experts are wrong and why copper should be considered a critical metal.

The Critical Metals Report: In the past, there has been some confusion about the term "critical metals." What do you consider to be critical metals and why?

Mickey Fulp: Critical metals are the major metals that are used globally in industrial applications and are essential for world economic health. They include iron, aluminum, copper, the various iron alloys, zinc, lead, tin and uranium. These are the real "critical metals," the ones that enable the world's economy to function.

TCMR: So your classification of a critical metal is based on the need and the supply and demand, is that correct?

MF: It's based on the fact that they have major tonnages mined and processed and are essential to industry and world economic health. Critical metals either trade on worldwide markets through spot, futures and options or they trade as bulk dry commodities, as iron ore does.

TCMR: One that most people don't classify as a critical metal is copper, but you do. What are the supply and demand fundamentals that you think make copper critical right now?

MF: Copper's always critical. In my opinion, some so-called experts have bastardized the idea of what critical metals actually input to our industrial society. Copper is absolutely one of the critical metals because it is so tied to the functioning world economy. For example, you can't transmit electricity without copper. Ask the people in New York and New Jersey right now if transmission of electricity is critical.

TCMR: As you're looking at the price of copper, what are the indicators that you watch for? Is it global gross domestic product? Is it the Shanghai Exchange warehouse inventory data, Baltic Dry Index, bulk dry materials shipping rates?

MF: All of the above, plus London Metal Exchange warehouse inventories, which are the largest in the world; COMEX inventories, which are the third largest; the total world inventory, the Bulk Dry Index, which indicates shipping rates of commodities like copper; LME canceled warrants, which is inventoried copper designated for immediate delivery; monthly demand for the metal from China and world mined copper and refined copper production. At this juncture, China drives the world copper market, consuming somewhere between 35-40% of supply.

TCMR: What are you seeing in those indicators, particularly out of China?

MF: We've been in a holding pattern for copper and that's reflected in the range-bound prices seen for most of the last year, with prices between ~$3.30-3.90 per pound [lb]. The same can be said of the world's economy-we can't say if it's especially healthy, or especially sick, or more likely, just has the "blahs."

This summer I wrote a "Mercenary Musing" called "Long-Term Fundamentals of the Copper Market"; I'm very bullish on the long-term copper outlook. "Short-Term Fundamentals of the Copper Market" followed about a month later. In it, I was equivocal on the direction of copper in the short term, and by the short term, I'm generally looking one to six months out. So now we're four months into that time frame and I still have the same view of the copper market. It's relatively healthy, but it is not robust.

TCMR: It's lingering at the bottom end of that range you talked about, at roughly $3.47/lb today. Do you see it staying there? Do you see anything changing in those indicators we talked about?

MF: Copper has dropped something on the order of $0.30/lb over the last month or so; the major reason is the "net longs" have come out of the market. Traders have been unwilling to risk speculative money in something that is obviously one of the most speculative markets on earth, and that's the futures and options market of copper. I don't think that what's happened over the last month in any of the metals is so much due to supply-demand fundamentals as it was geopolitical reasons connected with the U.S. elections.

TCMR: So you think it's the U.S. political situation, and not the China situation that's driving the recent decline?

MF: Absolutely. All financial markets were in holding patterns in the month leading up to the election.

TCMR: The International Wrought Copper Council [IWCC] recently predicted a 281,000-tonne surplus in 2013. Do you agree with that, and if not, what's your projection and why?

MF: I'm not a copper analyst per se, but I do understand copper supply and demand fundamentals. I don't make projections like that; I'll leave that for the analysts whose full-time work is analyzing a particular commodity. This supposed 281,000-tonne surplus, do you know how many days of world copper use that is?

TCMR: Tell me.

MF: About five days of global demand. The world uses somewhere between 55,000-60,000 tons of copper per day, or well over 20 million metric tonnes [200 Mmt] of copper a year. Current warehouse inventories only account for about eight days of world supply.

These projections always assume a certain amount of supply disruption every year such as labor strikes, accidents, infrastructure failures, weather, etc., usually something on the order of 5-10 days of world supply. So this 281,000-tonne surplus is basically calling for a balanced copper market. The IWCC is saying we're going to have another year largely in supply-demand balance. The copper market has been in supply-demand balance for the last five years. So what else is new?

TCMR: So you still think that $3.50-4 range is intact?

MF: For the next few months, I might expand that range to $3.30-4/lb. But if you look at overall supply costs, including operating, infrastructure and general and administrative costs, they probably average about $3/lb for producing copper worldwide. Therefore, it's a safe bet to say that if prices go below $3/lb, then supply starts coming off the market drastically and the price will go up.

TCMR: An SEC decision on a proposed JP Morgan copper exchange traded fund [ETF] has been delayed again, at least till December. Could such an ETF really take as much as 30% of official inventoried copper off the market and if so, what would that do to prices?

MF: It does not surprise me that it's been delayed once again because of the possible economic effects on the copper market and given the ability now for a single entity to exert significant control over inventories. If 30% of the copper stored in warehouses is not available to the market, prices could skyrocket.

The real concern here is that physical ETFs for industrial metals could be disastrous for the supply-demand fundamentals of the market. I personally do not think that this ETF is going to come about. If it does, then we will have even more manipulation of the copper market than at present. I don't think that would be good for a healthy supply-demand balance.

TCMR: Do you think the copper market is manipulated?

MF: All markets are manipulated. Duh.

TCMR: By whom?

MF: By large speculators with vested interests in that particular market. Get used to it. Learn to live with it. Our task should be to learn to speculate, trade and profit within the paradigms that we are given.

TCMR: Do you think the copper market is manipulated more than other markets?

MF: No. It is more speculative than most other markets though.

TCMR: If 30% of warehoused copper were to go away, that would make it even more vulnerable.

MF: Absolutely. Think about what that will do if you take 30% of official warehouse inventories, the short-term surplus waiting for a buyer, off the market. Obviously, with less of a buffer, the general overall effect would be increased prices. For example, look at precious metals ETFs. They have been one of the biggest drivers for price increases over the past few years.

TCMR: What countries would you say are the biggest users of copper and what are the biggest supplier countries? And are there any projects in particular you're watching?

MF: The biggest supplier of mined copper is Chile. The U.S., Peru, China and Indonesia are other big miners. The largest suppliers of refined copper are China, Japan and Chile, reflecting where the smelters are. The biggest user is China. Numbers two, three and four are Western Europe as a whole, the U.S. and Japan.

One of the future wild cards will be India because it is the world's second-largest country in terms of population. Lots of people still don't have electricity and a big portion of their electrical grid went down briefly last summer. Copper demand is going to be driven number one by China and number two by the rest of Eastern Asia; that would include mainly India and Indonesia. Further out, it will be sub-Saharan Africa. About 25% of the world's population still can't turn on a light switch at night. That's one of the reasons I'm a long-term bull on the copper market.

TCMR: Are most of the producers long established, or are there some new projects that have the potential to change the supply-demand fundamentals going forward?

MF: There are new projects coming along, but for the most part they are either brownfield projects or they are much lower grade than we are seeing for current producers. The problem is we cannot find enough good copper deposits to replace the reserves that are currently being mined.

Established producers are mining lower and lower grades at higher cost and, based on supply and demand fundamentals, copper prices must continue to rise over the longer term. But by the same token, operating and capex costs are keeping pace or exceeding the price increases. So, as Brent Cook is very fond of saying, the world uses a Bingham Canyon every year, about 17 Mmt of newly mined copper and that does not include 4-5 Mmt of scrap supplies and recycled copper. We have to find more and more and that's hard to do with world use growing at an average of 4% per year since 1900.

TCMR: Is technology making it easier to find underground sources?

MF: There are some new tools such as deeper-seeing geophysics tools and remote sensing satellite imagery. The problem is that we've found the outcropping copper deposits in the world. So now we have to discover new, deeper, potentially mineable underground sources.

To be successful, that process comes from a combination of very good multi-disciplined work and new interpretations by companies going back into previously explored districts, specifically places like the southwest U.S. and Chile. So we are making new discoveries employing boots-on-the-ground geology, advances in satellite technology, geophysics, data processing and, as always, drilling.

TCMR: Is there a project that interests you right now?

MF: The company that attracts my attention is Curis Resources Ltd. (PCCRF.PK). It's a company I cover and hold a share position in.

Curis is developing a new in situ recovery [ISR] project in southeast Arizona. It will be the first greenfield ISR project in the world. Curis has received a permit for a test mine facility and construction will start soon. The stock has been beaten up unmercifully and I think it has very good upside.

TCMR: It looks like it's at $0.67/share right now. It was much higher, almost $4/share back in 2011. Do you think it could reach its previous highs, and if so, what would send it there?

MF: That's not my current target price on it. I started covering the stock about a year ago when it was trading in the $0.90 range. I had the opportunity to cover it much earlier, and declined because it was overbought. It finally got to a price where I thought it had significant upside, i.e. a double in 12 months or less. That has proven not to be true because the company had some permitting difficulties, which have now been resolved, and then got hit by a negative publicity campaign in a very bad junior market. The stock got as low as $0.36/share this summer. At its current trading price, I consider it a buy.

TCMR: When we're talking about the catalysts for the stock, you said it should be in production soon. When do you think it will be in production?

MF: The current projection is that the Florence project will be producing copper from the test mine facility sometime in the second quarter of 2013.

TCMR: Is this a site that you've visited?

MF: Yes.

TCMR: What did you see when you went there? How do you like the management team?

MF: It's a Hunter Dickinson company, so there's no doubt about the management team. It has a good share structure and has the ability to finance. There's not much to see when you go look at an ISR project though; they simply are well fields, tank houses and water impoundments. At Florence, there's flat desert, a few hills and some irrigated fields. We did look at the core and at an old well field and facilities that were developed by BHP around 1990, which abandoned it due to poor copper prices at the time.

TCMR: Copper is a new field for a lot of investors. What advice would you have for someone thinking about getting into the space?

MF: Investors need to find and stick with good, fundamentally strong companies. Unless you are a much more speculative gambler than I am, the futures and options copper markets are not something that I consider a small investor can profit in.

I'm a long-term bull in copper and so I'm always looking for good copper projects. I certainly want them to be in the lowest quartile of operating costs to reap windfall profits during the good times and to weather low prices during the bad. I picked Curis because their projections for operating costs will be some of the lowest in the world as an in situ recovery project and not a big open-pit or underground mine.

TCMR: Thank you for your time.

MF: It's always my pleasure.

This interview was conducted by JT Long of The Critical Metals Report and can be read in its entirety at http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/14727.

Michael S. "Mickey" Fulp is the author of The Mercenary Geologist. He is a certified professional geologist with a Bachelor of Science in earth sciences from the University of Tulsa, and a Master of Science in geology from the University of New Mexico. He has 35 years' experience as an exploration geologist searching for economic deposits of base and precious metals, coal, uranium, oil and gas and water. Fulp worked for junior explorers, major mining companies and investors as a consulting economic geologist for 20 years, specializing in geological mapping, property evaluation and business development. In 2007, he went from the sell- to the buy-side as an analyst, writer and speaker.

DISCLOSURE:
1) JT Long of The Critical Metals Report conducted this interview. She personally and/or her family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of The Critical Metals Report: None. Interviews are edited for clarity.
3) Mickey Fulp: I own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: Curis Resources Ltd. I personally and/or my family am paid by the following companies mentioned in this interview: Curis Resources Ltd. pays a fee to sponsor my website. I was not paid by Streetwise Reports for participating in this interview.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1010421-why-copper-is-a-critical-metal-mickey-fulp

China Creating Real Growth

The pragmatic investor has to look at potential game changers to his or her investment portfolio. Being ahead of the key trends should be every investor's goal. The consistent rise of China's middle class will continue to be the engine which drives demand for commodities. While the US can push inflation globally, China provides the fundamental support for commodities through its economic growth. The urbanization of China (and India for that matter) will continue. Did you know that China's copper demand in 2012 is expected to be the highest yet? And this is during a year which has seen the Eurozone fight off a near economic collapse and mediocre growth in the US. China's rising middle class and a raging currency war will fuel higher prices for commodities in the coming quarters.


It can be argued that China's election, which saw power transfer from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping as the new secretary-general of the Communist Party and Premier Wen Jiabao replaced by Li Keqiang, was the most important of the year. There are many reasons, from a global perspective, why this may end up being the most important election of not only the year, but entire decade. The continued work of the Chinese government to stimulate and grow its middle-class has not gone unnoticed by our team.


President Hu Jintao stated this week that China must double per capita income by 2020. The target was set for the country's incoming generation of leaders.


If China is to double its per capita income by 2020, shortly thereafter it would likely become the largest economy on earth. This would give it a serious bargaining chip with which to claim the world reserve currency. Keep in mind, Asia is slowly becoming the financial hub of the world.


China's increased levels of consumption, from oil to copper and many base metals in-between, is mind boggling. With the EU situation deteriorating each and every month, Japan running a government deficit of over 200% debt to GDP and a total deficit including households and financials of over 500% debt to GDP (the highest in the world), there is a clear opening for China. When you consider that the US will be forced to raise the debt ceiling once again (and likely not for the last time), with downgrades likely to follow, it becomes obvious there are few fiscally responsible alternatives to China.


China will not catch the US overnight. It will have to more than double its GDP to catch the US, which reported GDP of over $15 trillion in 2011. However, China has been gaining at a rapid pace, increasing its GDP by almost $1 trillion from 2010 to 2011. China's GDP exploded in 2011 to $7.29 trillion from $5.87 trillion in 2010.


Imagine if, in ten years from now, China has the largest consumer market in the world and the US nor Eurozone have gotten their fiscal act together. Do you know how much bargaining power China would have on a global level? The US, Eurozone and just about every country in the world would desperately need access to China's consumer market, which in turn could lead to a new world reserve currency controlled by the Chinese. Today that might sound crazy, but it is a serious threat. And China is well aware of the possibility, which is a big reason it wants to double per capita income in its country by 2020.



China's Common Man


It is quite simple to put in perspective just how poor rural China remains to this day. China was ranked 121st in gross national per capita income for 2010 by the World Bank. The annual per capita income in China is just $4,260. This compares to countries such as Jordan in the middle east or Thailand in South East Asia. Most importantly, it is less than 1/10 of the United States' $47,140. Nevertheless, with China's 1.6 billion population and counting, a double in its per capita income will have a dramatic impact on the landscape of global trade.


If Hu's goal is realized and China's per capita income can double between now and 2020, it would likely make China the largest economy in the world not long after. As an investor, how one may benefit from China's continued rise must be examined. If China's middle class can continue increasing its per capita income, there is just no way a hard landing is in store for the country.


Canada, home to one of the largest resources of oil, natural gas and almost every commodity in the world, is poised to benefit from China's continued rise.


A perfect Canadian example is the proposed $15.1-billion energy deal between Chinese-controlled CNOOC and Calgary's Nexen. After squashing the $39 billion BHP / Potash deal a couple years ago, this is clearly high on Stephen Harper's political agenda and his own legacy when it comes to global recognition of the oil sands. Harper's passion to maintain a strong Canadian economy, despite a weak US economy, puts him in a difficult social and political position. With plenty of opposition on a global level, when it comes to dealing with the Chinese, it will be very interesting to see if the Nexen bid is given the okay by Harper's Conservatives. The reality is that money talks. And Harper doesn't want to lose international interest in Canada's plethora of natural resources. As China continues to expand, its demand for resources will force the country to pay huge premiums to secure what it needs. Resource rich countries like Canada and Australia, who compete for Chinese investment, understand this.


The rise of China's middle class, combined with a global currency war, supports our theory that the commodity super-cycle will continue. Despite major headwinds in the US, and a possible recession in 2013, the commodity bull market will survive. Precious metals may remain in an upswing, even during the potential recession, as nations take unprecedented monetary action to stave off deflation and bankruptcy (through money creation and inflationary manipulation).



China Helping the US Economy Fight off a Recession

The United States has been reaping rewards from China's rise. In 2010 Obama announced the National Export Initiative in his State of the Union address and set the ambitious goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014.


The US is slowly gaining momentum with its export goal, but that may benefit China more than most realize.



For China to finally control its own destiny, its domestic demand for goods has to increase. As the Chinese middle class becomes wealthier and Americans' wealth deteriorates, eventually the US will rely on exporting goods to the Chinese market. This is a shift long overdue as America has been drowning in multibillion dollar record trade deficits month after month. The US goods and services trade deficit with China was $282 billion in 2011.


US exports to China have risen 542% from 2000 to 2011, going from $16.2 billion annually to a record $103.9 billion in 2011. In 2011 the US imported $411 billion worth of goods from China, quadruple what China imported from the United States.


For Obama's initiative to be successful, exports will have to increase by more than 20% in 2012, 2013 and 2014. This will not happen without increased demand from China.


The director of international economics at the Institute for International Economic Research, a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission, Wang Haifeng recently explained that the positive export figures reveal a great opportunity.


He went on to state that, "The fact that a record was set in US exports to China, which shows the great potential of US exports, not only reduces the trade imbalance between the top two economies but also alleviates unemployment in the US and speeds up the US' economic recovery."



Gold Time Bomb


Excerpt from our Weekly Vol. 286, titled, "Navigating The TSX Venture, Gold and Bad Credit Markets"

"With the S&P (rating agency) beginning to stretch its legs, a downgrade will soon be on deck for the United States. This will likely come after the debt ceiling is hit and immediately raised by Congress. US National Debt stood at $16.17 trillion at the close on Friday, Oct 12th. With only $220 billion left on the US credit card, before hitting the 'debt ceiling' limit, uncertainty is increasing in the market. Be ready for this to ratchet up the fear gauge and come to the forefront immediately following the election. Although this may have a short-term negative impact on equities, it will be tremendously bullish for gold and commodities just as it was in August 2011.

Upon the obvious outcome of Congress raising the debt ceiling, investors should prepare for gold to break out, potentially to new all-time highs."




As of November 9, 2012, the US National Debt stood at $16.24 trillion. There is now a little more than $100 billion left on the US credit card. The debt ceiling will be raised. As the money supply continues to expand, a period of inflation will be thrust upon us. How can faith in the USD be restored when the debt ceiling is popped to $18 or $19 trillion? How can the US continue to take on more debt without more easing from the Fed? The answer to both questions is that it can't. When the debt ceiling is raised, gold will react as it did in 2011, by soaring to new highs.


In these market conditions a new all-time high for gold is needed to awaken the junior resource sector. We are weeks, if not days, away from the debt ceiling creeping back into the headlines and less than two months from it being raised once again.


All the best with your investments,



PINNACLEDIGEST.COM

Coming Uranium Supply Crunch a Boon to Near-term Producers

Thursday November 8, 2012, 4:30am PST
By Melissa Pistilli - Exclusive to Uranium Investing News

http://resourceinvestingnews.com/45742-coming-uranium-supply-crunch-a-boon-to-near-term-producers.html?utm_source=Resource+Investing+News&utm_campaign=56245a21c5-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

JB

Agreed - CTIX has a different drug that's for psoriasis. Clinical trials for it are expected to start during 1st qtr of 2013. FDA granted CTIX permission to skip Phase 1 and go directly to phase 2/3!

JB

CTIX chart... looks ripe for a run

Sluggish markets weigh on Canada's junior miners

Mon Nov 5, 2012 5:34pm EST

* Market caps of top miners on TSX-V down 43 pct in 2012

* Equity financings fall 41 percent

* Juniors eye more stream deals, foreign investment

Nov 5 (Reuters) - The value of the top 100 mining companies on the TSX Venture Exchange has nearly halved in the last year, making it increasingly difficult for junior miners to secure financing through traditional means such as debt or equity offerings.

As a result, Canada's smaller mining companies are turning to alternative forms of financing to fund growth, a PwC report released on Monday said.

"Investors are skittish; wary of the volatile market. They aren't looking to add more risk to their portfolios," the Junior Mine 2012 report said. "Unfortunately for juniors, this is their 'sweet spot.'"

Canada is home to some 60 percent of the world's public mining companies, with the TSX Venture Exchange providing a source of capital for junior mining companies.

Despite historically strong metal prices, the broader mining industry has sagged this year, as slowing growth in China and economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States weighed on investors. The cloudy outlook has hit smaller miners particularly hard.

Equity financings by the top 100 juniors fell 41 percent to just C$1.6 billion ($1.6 billion), in the 12-month period ended June 30, 2012, down from C$2.7 billion in the year-earlier period, the report from the global tax and accounting firm said.

Market capitalization plunged 43 percent, with just 13 mining companies on the TSX Venture Exchange worth more than C$200 million in 2012, compared with 36 companies in 2011.

Not surprisingly, stream deals and other alternative financings rose to 14 percent all financings in 2012, up from just 8 percent 2011, according to the tax and accounting firm.

Stream financing is so hot that Sandstorm Gold Ltd, which provides upfront money to miners in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future gold production at a fixed price, took the No.1 spot on PwC's top 100 list in terms of junior mining company market capitalization.

Sandstorm shares rose 40 percent over the 12-month period ended June 30 and the company currently has a market cap of C$1.16 billion. It is the second largest company on the TSX Venture Exchange after Africa Oil Corp.

Foreign investment is also gaining momentum, partly as Asian steelmakers invested heavily in Canada's Labrador Trough iron ore region, securing a mix of off-take, joint venture and equity deals with exploration-stage companies. Off-take agreements reserve a percentage of future production.

That trend is now expected to move into gold companies.

"Foreign investors are being strategic in the way they structure investments - acquiring substantial economic interests without having to acquire the public company that owns the asset," said John Gravelle, PwC mining leader for the Americas, in a statement.

Copper Fox Metals Inc, last year's top mining junior by market cap, slid 46 percent to land in the No. 3 spot this year, behind Sandstorm and Iberian Minerals Corp, a copper producer.

Rounding out PwC's top 5 of 2012 were Aurcana Corp, a silver producer, and Dia Bras Explorations Inc, a base metal and silver producer.

"Overall in 2012, producers were the only group who did not face a significant decline in market capitalization," said Gravelle.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/05/canada-mining-juniors-idUSL1E8LVFCO20121105?feedType=RSS&feedName=marketsNews&rpc=43

New Apple 'Camera' Patent Will Allow Remote Shutdown of Your Phone or its Features

Our fist story of the newsletter is fitting in the month of Halloween because it really is scary to think about. Apparently, Apple has patented a new feature for their devices that would allow them, or any governmental or third party agency to remotely shut down your smartphone, or even specific features of your smartphone. As far as anyone knows, it isn't a feature they have implemented yet, but if they do, it would take us one step closer to a possible dystopian future ruled by corporations.

In the United States' 2010 general election, only about one-third of all registered voters in the 25-44 age group cast ballots, while half of registered voters between the ages of 45 and 64 voted.

That means less than half the registered voters voted, does that mean the popular vote goes to no-one?

Viscount Systems Partners with Evolis to Provide Visitor Management Solutions

Viscount Systems Inc. (OTCMARKETS:VSYS) a developer and manufacturer of IT-based solutions for physical security systems, announced today the Company has signed an agreement to partner with Evolis, a French manufacturer of plastic card personalization solutions. Under the agreement, Evolis and Viscount have jointly developed the all-in-one Hello Visitors solution, which is ideal for instant badge personalization. With this solution, Evolis will package Viscount’s Facility Friend software with the Evolis Tattoo-RW rewritable card printers, rewritable cards and badge-holders. Viscount will receive a software fee for each system sold. ‘Hello Visitors’ is an all-in-one visitor management solution based on rewritable cards. In addition to Visitor Management it also entails making a carefully designed, personalized badge available, enabling immediate identification of visitors within company premises. The solution will be released at Cartes 2012 (cartes.com) in Paris, France from November 6-8 2012. Cartes is the world’s leading smart technology event for security, identification, payment, and mobility.

“We are excited to make this agreement with one of the world’s leading personalized card and printer companies,” noted Stephen Pineau, CEO of Viscount. “Our relationship with Evolis provides worldwide coverage for our new Facility Friend platform. Facility Friend can be a stand alone visitor management and photo id system and can also be an accessory for Freedom so we may also be able to leverage this relationship to expand our worldwide Freedom channel partners.”

Viscount’s Facility Friend is comprehensive, user-friendly software, which enables precise analysis of visitor streams. A highly intuitive dashboard makes it possible to list visitor identities, state how many visits are underway, schedule facility visits, manage unwelcome visitors and generate an evacuation report listing visitors present onsite. For optimized management of visits over time, this software package also allows a database of visitor contacts to be quickly drawn up through the use of forms. Finally, the platform creates custom templates for photo id and identification badges.

The Evolis Tattoo-RW rewritable card printer supplied with this software provides an economical and efficient response to any problems relating to visitor and employee streams. Indeed, Tattoo-RW was designed to wipe and print new data onto a single badge up to 500 times. Because of the limited timeframe in which such a badge is generally used, it is the rewritable aspect of this application which really sets it apart, making it possible to re-use each card up to 500 times.

Hello Visitors is packaged with card template software, which allows anyone to personalize badges simply by adding text, a logo, and an image or photo.

About Evolis (www.evolis.com):

Evolis (Alternext: ALTVO) designs, manufactures and markets a comprehensive range of personalization solutions for plastic cards. These printers integrate all the options necessary for graphic, magnetic and electronic personalization (smart cards, with both contact and contactless RFID technology) of all types of cards (student cards, payment cards, travelcards, employee badges, etc.). Based in Angers (France) with subsidiaries in Miami (USA) and Singapore, and a representative office in Shanghai (China), Evolis achieved turnover of €44.4 million in 2011. Since January 1st 2012, Evolis has been marketing a full range of card accessories through its subsidiary, Sogedex Accessories. The group employs 185 people, and its solutions are on sale in 125 of the world’s countries.

About Viscount Systems

Viscount Systems Inc., designs unified software platforms for building security and emergency planning. Recent awards include SIA Convergence Solution of the Year 2011 and Platinum Award for Emergency Response and Gold Award for Access Control at GOVSEC 2011. Additional information on Viscount's products may be obtained on-line at http://www.viscount.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of Viscount Systems Inc., nor shall there be any sale of any such security in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Forward looking statements: This press release and other statements by Viscount Systems Inc. may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to the outlook for earnings and revenues, other future financial or business performance, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "estimate," "position," "assume," "potential," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or similar expressions.

Financial statements are available from the company's registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 6, 2002, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov or the company's web site www.viscount.com under the heading "Investor Relations".

For further information, or to be placed on email NEWS ALERT please e-mail to investors@viscount.com or call Investor Relations Foothills Group 1-888-516-7415.

Uranium Buyers Wait as China Lifts Ban on New Nuclear Plants
Thursday November 1, 2012, 3:30am PDT
By Melissa Pistilli - Exclusive to Uranium Investing News

The uranium spot price shed another 50 cents, TradeTech reported, “primarily driven by a lack of buying interest.” The bleak short-term outlook continues, with sellers being forced to accept lower prices in a market dominated by well-supplied buyers content to sit on the sidelines and wait for prices to stabilize.

The news that China has lifted its ban on new nuclear power stations should have lent support to an optimistic long-term outlook. However, the decree only pertains to nuclear plants in coastal areas, and China’s State Council has said the country has reduced its 2015 nuclear energy capacity target from 50 to 40 gigawatts — “[leaving] the market feeling less optimistic about the potential for a surge in near-term uranium demand from China,” commented TradeTech.

Yet China would still need to more than triple its current installed capacity of 12.54 gigawatts to meet that target. And the number of nuclear reactors under construction near coastal areas is 27, according to the World Nuclear Association.

India is also keen to expand its civilian nuclear power program, and Australia’s pro-mining government is making a strong push to supply that expansion with uranium mined in Australia. Last week, Queensland, under pressure from the Federal Labor government, lifted a 23-year ban on uranium mining in the state. The land Down Under boasts 40 percent of global known uranium reserves.

Company news

Last week, Paladin Energy (TSX:PDN;ASX:PDN) announced that Électricité de France (EdF), France’s main electricity generation and distribution company and the world’s largest nuclear utility, is the previously-undisclosed utility that entered into a long-term offtake agreement with the uranium miner. EdF, which manages 58 nuclear power plants in France, has agreed to a deal that includes a prepayment of $200 million by early next year and the delivery of 13.73 million pounds of yellowcake over six years, starting in 2019. Paladin first announced the deal in August.

On Wednesday, shares of Paladin were trading at $1.19 on the TSX.

Also last week, Strathmore Minerals (TSX:STM;OTCQX:STHJF) announced a favorable preliminary economic assessment (PEA) as well as an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for its Roca Honda uranium project in New Mexico. The project is a joint venture between Strathmore (60 percent) and the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan (40 percent).

Using a cut-off grade of 0.13 percent U3O8, the updated NI 43-101 resource estimate shows combined measured and indicated resources of 2,077,000 tons containing 16,783,000 pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.404 percent. An additional inferred resource of 1,448,000 tons contains 11,894,000 pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.411 percent.

On Wednesday, shares of Strathmore were trading at 0.215 cents on the TSX.

On Monday, Quasar Resources, an affiliate of Heathgate Resources, announced its stakeholders have voted to restart operations at the Four Mile uranium project in South Australia. The company is planning an in-situ recovery operation that will commence at Four Mile East in the second quarter of 2013 and at Four Mile West in the fourth quarter of 2013, with uranium sales beginning in 2013's third quarter. The mine is expected to produce 2.1 million pounds of U3O8 over 16 months as part of a staged start prior to construction of full-scale production facilities. Cash expenditures of A$97.8 million to the end of 2013 are expected, with operating costs estimated at between $25.46/lb and $40.33/lb. The company expects sales prices to reach $62.58/lb in 2013.

A division of Alliance Resources (ASX:AGS) that holds a 25 percent stake in the project voted against the decision, preferring the construction of a standalone plant to operations at Four Mile.

On Wednesday, shares of Alliance were trading at 0.245 cents on the ASX.

This week, word hit the African newswires that uranium giant AREVA (EPA:AREVA) had informed the Namibian government that it will be shipping the first 250 tonnes of uranium produced at the Trekkopje mine. The uranium will be transported in the form of dried sodium diuranate (SDU) from Walvis Bay to the company’s uranium treatment subsidiary in France.

The news followed AREVA’s announcement earlier this month that it would be placing Trekkopje on care and maintenance in light of poor market conditions. The 250 tonnes of SDU come from uranium ore extracted via the project’s pilot plant in July of this year.

On Wednesday, shares of AREVA were trading at $13.52 on the EPA.

Wednesday, Ur-Energy (TSX:URE;AMEX:URG) announced that construction of a processing plant and other infrastructure has begun at its wholly-owned Lost Creek ISR uranium project in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. “Thanks to the advanced preparation of the Ur-Energy team, we have been able to initiate construction without delay following receipt of our final regulatory approval earlier this month,” stated Wayne Heili, the company’s president and CEO. “We anticipate that the mine will play an important role in south-central Wyoming’s economic development and employment opportunities throughout the next several years and are pleased to have the opportunity to utilize well qualified Wyoming-based contractors and sub-contractors.” Over the next six to nine months, Ur-Energy plans to invest $30 million to $40 million toward making Lost Creek production-ready by the summer of 2013.

On Wednesday, shares of Ur-Energy were trading at 90 cents on the TSX.
http://resourceinvestingnews.com/45303-uranium-buyers-wait-as-china-lifts-ban-on-new-nuclear-plants.html?utm_source=Resource+Investing+News&utm_campaign=bc013eee3e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

The US Uranium market is about to heat up as its 104 nuclear reactors continue demanding more and more yellowcake, making it the largest uranium market in the world. Rick Mills has long been bullish on uranium and reminds investors that in 2011 the US nuclear reactor fleet required 55 million pounds of uranium.

He notes that the mined supply of uranium in the U.S., in 2011, was about four million pounds - an amazing discrepancy which still forces the US to be a massive net importer of uranium.

Shockingly, even with all of this demand the US is producing less uranium. In 2011, U.S. uranium mines produced 4.1 million pounds U3O8, 3 percent less than in 2010. Total production of U.S. uranium concentrate in 2011 was 4.0 million pounds U3O8, 6 percent less than in 2010. If this is not reversed soon the price of uranium should rise substantially. The US is becoming desperate for domestic producers to begin filling the void.

Mills cites some facts from a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), who predict by the year 2035:

“World nuclear electricity generating capacity is projected to grow from 375 GWe net (at the end of 2010) to between 540 GWe net in the low demand case and 746 GWe net in the high demand case, increases of 44% and 99% respectively.

Accordingly, world annual reactor-related uranium requirements are projected to rise from 63,875 tonnes of uranium metal (tU) at the end of 2010 to between 98,000 tU and 136,000 tU by 2035. The currently defined uranium resource base is more than adequate to meet high-case requirements through 2035 and well into the foreseeable future."

Mills goes on to discuss Wyoming and the In-Situ Recovery Mining method used by a number of companies in that region. If learning more about uranium miners in the United States and future demand is of interest to you, we encourage you to read his latest article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uranium Could be Best Investment

Richard (Rick) Mills

Ahead of the Herd



As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information



US Uranium Market



Under the terms of the 1993 government-to-government nuclear non-proliferation agreement (Megatons to Megawatts program), the United States and Russia agreed to commercially implement a 20 year program to convert 500 metric tons of HEU (uranium 235 enriched to 90 percent) taken from Soviet era warheads, into LEU, low enriched uranium (less than 5 percent uranium 235).



To date 463.5 metric tons of bomb-grade HEU have been recycled into 13,345 metric tons of LEU - enough material to produce fuel to power the entire United States for about two years.



Overall, the blending down of 500 tonnes of Russian weapons HEU will result in about 15,000 tonnes of LEU over the 20 year lifespan of the program. This is equivalent to about 152,000 tonnes of natural U, or just over one year’s global demand.



The Megatons to Megawatts Program was supplying roughly 50% of the US's LEU demand. Mining accounted for eight percent with the rest coming from other sources (rapidly depleting utility and government stockpiles).



Currently, the electricity for 1 in 10 American homes, businesses, schools and hospitals is generated by Megatons to Megawatts fuel.



The U.S. has 104 nuclear reactors operating, this is the largest fleet of nuclear reactors in the world making the U.S. the world's largest uranium market. In 2011 the US nuclear reactor fleet required 55 million pounds of uranium.



The mined supply of uranium in the U.S., in 2011, was about four million pounds.



US Uranium Facts & Figures as published May 2012:



‘2011 Domestic Uranium Production Report’ by the U.S. Energy Information Administration(EIA):

Total uranium drilling in 2011 was 10,597 holes covering 6.3 million feet, 47 percent more holes than in 2010
Expenditures for uranium drilling in the United States for 2011 were $54 million in 2011, an increase of 20 percent compared with 2010
U.S. uranium mines produced 4.1 million pounds U3O8 in 2011, 3 percent less than in 2010
Total production of U.S. uranium concentrate in 2011 was 4.0 million pounds U3O8, 6 percent less than in 2010
Total shipments of uranium concentrate from U.S. mill and ISL plants were 4.0 million pounds U3O8 in 2011, 22 percent less than in 2010
U.S. producers sold 2.9 million pounds U3O8 of uranium concentrate in 2011 at a weighted-average price of $52.36 per pound U3O8

World Uranium Market



According to a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), by the year 2035:



“World nuclear electricity generating capacity is projected to grow from 375 GWe net (at the end of 2010) to between 540 GWe net in the low demand case and 746 GWe net in the high demand case, increases of 44% and 99% respectively.



Accordingly, world annual reactor-related uranium requirements are projected to rise from 63,875 tonnes of uranium metal (tU) at the end of 2010 to between 98,000 tU and 136,000 tU by 2035. The currently defined uranium resource base is more than adequate to meet high-case requirements through 2035 and well into the foreseeable future.



Although ample resources are available, meeting projected demand will require timely investments in uranium production facilities. This is because of the long lead times (typically in the order of ten years or more in most producing countries) required to develop production facilities that can turn resources into refined uranium ready for nuclear fuel production.”



Wyoming and In-Situ Recovery Mining



Wyoming has roll-front uranium deposits in its sandstones and the largest known uranium reserves of any US state. There is no doubt in this author’s mind the state will be a key player in supplying the fuel nuclear power plants in the US need to become independent of foreign supplies.



A pro-mining state, prolific numbers of roll-front uranium deposits, and a rising spot uranium price in a resurgent uranium bull market will all combine to make Wyoming the U.S. center for in situ recovery mining (ISR), also known as solution mining.



ISR uranium mines were the only ones that were able to continue operating economically in the US during the 1980s and 1990s when the downturn in uranium prices happened.





Process



The in-situ recovery mining process uses a 'leaching' solution to extract uranium from underground ore bodies. The 'leaching' agent, which contains an oxidant such as oxygen with sodium bicarbonate (commonly known as baking soda), is added to the native groundwater and injected through wells into the ore body in a confined aquifer to dissolve the uranium. This solution is then pumped via other wells to the surface for processing -- resulting in a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly mining process.

Advantages:

Low Capital Costs for Mine Development
Low Operating Costs
Environmentally Friendly, No Waste Rock, No Tailings Pond
Profitable on Lower Grade Uranium Deposits
Small Work Force (low labor costs)

Uranerz Energy Corp. TSX & NYSE MKT – URZ



Uranerz is a U.S. mining company focused on near-term commercial in-situ recovery ("ISR") uranium production, and is currently constructing its first ISR mine in Wyoming. Uranerz Energy Corporation has significant expertise in the in-situ recovery mining method – they have licensed, designed, constructed or operated no less than seven separate in-situ recovery uranium mines located in Wyoming, Texas, Nebraska, and Kazakhstan.



The Company controls a large strategic land position in the Pumpkin Buttes Uranium Mining District of the central Powder River Basin of Wyoming. In August 2011, Uranerz commenced construction of its first in-situ recovery ("ISR") uranium mine - the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project.



The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has just issued the Class I underground injection control (deep disposal well) permit. This deep disposal well authorization is the last permit required to begin operations and commercial uranium production.



The Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project is expected to become the first new uranium mine built in Wyoming since 1996. The project is licensed for a production level of up to two million pounds of uranium per year with initial annual production targeted for 600,000 to 800,000 pounds after ramp-up.



The Nichols Ranch project will also serve as a platform to develop the Company's other Powder River Basin properties with enhanced economics for adjacent and satellite projects.



Conclusion



Make no mistake; there is no shortage of uranium in the ground. What is in short supply is mined uranium.



It’s obvious, that starting very soon, and continuing for at least a decade (the time needed to develop, permit and construct a uranium mine), there is going to be a significant shortfall of uranium supply. Where is the US, and the rest of the world, going to source its needed uranium from?



Perhaps the most relevant question for investors in the junior resource space is WHO is going to, in the very short term, commence production, WHO is perfectly positioned to help fill the looming supply gap?



A looming uranium supply squeeze, and how to potentially profit from it, should be on all our radar screens. Have you got a near term uranium producer on your screen?



If not, maybe you should.



Richard (Rick) Mills

rick@aheadoftheherd.com

www.aheadoftheherd.com



Richard is the owner of Aheadoftheherd.com and invests in the junior resource/bio-tech sectors. His articles have been published on over 400 websites, including:



WallStreetJournal, SafeHaven, MarketOracle, USAToday, NationalPost, Stockhouse, Lewrockwell, Pinnacledigest, UraniumMiner, Beforeitsnews, SeekingAlpha, MontrealGazette, CaseyResearch, 24hgold, VancouverSun, CBSnews, SilverBearCafe, Infomine, HuffingtonPost, Mineweb, 321Gold, Kitco, Gold-Eagle, The Gold/Energy Reports, Wealthwire, CalgaryHerald, ResourceInvestor, Mining.com, Forbes, FNArena, Uraniumseek, FinancialSense, Goldseek, Dallasnews, SGTReport, Vantagewire, Resourceclips, Indiatimes, ninemsn, ibtimes and the Association of Mining Analysts.



If you're interested in learning more about the junior resource and bio-med sectors, and quality individual companies within these sectors, please come and visit us at www.aheadoftheherd.com



***



Legal Notice / Disclaimer



This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment.



Richard Mills has based this document on information obtained from sources he believes to be reliable but which has not been independently verified; Richard Mills makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of Richard Mills only and are subject to change without notice. Richard Mills assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission.



Furthermore, I, Richard Mills, assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information provided within this Report.



Richard Mills does not own shares of Uranerz Energy Corp. TSX – URZ

Uranerz Energy Corp. TSX – URZ is a paid sponsor of Richards site aheadoftheherd.com

How to sugar coat the kiss of death

Dussault Apparel, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: DUSS) ("Dussault" or the "Company") wishes to provide an update to its shareholders in regard to its ongoing corporate planning.

The Company has recently made changes to its Board of Directors and has determined to initiate a review process to consider strategic alternatives with a view to enhancing shareholder value. Strategic alternatives may include, but are not limited to, the sale of all or a portion of Dussault's assets, a merger or other business combination transaction involving a third party, a joint venture, a financing, as well as continued execution of Dussault's existing business plan, or any combination thereof. Certain of these actions may impact on the current shareholders as they may cause a change of control or a restructure of the Company.

It is the Company's current intention not to disclose developments with respect to the strategic review process unless and until the Board of Directors has approved a specific transaction or otherwise determines that disclosure is necessary or appropriate. All disclosures will be made compliant with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any other regulatory bodies to which the Company may have reporting requirements.

The Board of Directors cautions that there are no assurances or guarantees that the process will result in a transaction or, if a transaction should be undertaken what the terms or timing of such a transaction may be. Further, any transactions may result in a change to the structure of the Company, the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time.

U.S. financial markets will remain closed for a second straight trading day Tuesday, as Wall Street deals with the impact of Hurricane Sandy.

Major exchange operators, including NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ), said they expect to re-open for a normal trading day on Wednesday, but will provide additional updates on Tuesday.

Base Resources has announced that the Kenyan Minister of Environment and Resources has passed a regulation under the Mining Act that seeks to mandate a 35% minimum Kenyan equity participation in mining licenses.

The Mining Regulations 2012, which became publicly available on Sunday, state that: “It shall be a condition of every mining license that the mineral right in respect of which the license is issued shall have a component of local equity participation amounting to at least 35% of the mineral right.”

U.S. stock trading will be closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday in response to Hurricane Sandy, NYSE Euronext said late on Sunday.

NYSE Euronext, which runs the New York Stock Exchange, had previously said that electronic trading would remain open and that only the exchange's trading floor would close.

In a statement, the company said that "the dangerous conditions developing as a result of Hurricane Sandy will make it extremely difficult to ensure the safety of our people and communities, and safety must be our first priority."

Nasdaq said it would also close all U.S. equity and derivatives exchanges, as well as the Nasdaq/FINRA TRF on Monday, CNBC reported late Sunday night. It is likley the markets will also be closed on Tuesday, according to the statement from the exchange.
Hundreds of thousands ordered to evacaute as Sandy nears

Hurricane Sandy is expected to slam into the U.S. East Coast on Monday night, bringing torrential rains, high winds, severe flooding and power outages. The rare "super storm," created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm, could be the biggest to hit the U.S. mainland, forecasters said.

The scramble on Wall Street started early as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the subway, bus and rail system in the city begin to close at 7 p.m. EDT on Sunday.

About 8.5 million commuters utilize the Metropolitan Transit Authority's transit lines daily, meaning most Wall Street employees would be unable to get to work. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also closed public schools and ordered an evacuation of 375,000 people in coastal areas, including downtown offices of banks such as Citigroup.

Wall Street was spared the worst of Hurricane Irene in August last year. Officials had feared Hurricane Irene would flood lower Manhattan and cripple business in the world's financial capital, but the flooding was minor and there were no major disruptions at the exchanges.

Storm Tracker: Live interactive map of Hurricane Sandy

Muted trading
CME Group Inc said it was suspending floor trade on Monday at NYMEX headquarters, the world's biggest oil and energy futures and options market. But electronic trade at all of CME will open at their regularly scheduled time at Globex and ClearPort, CME's online electronic platforms.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said it is recommending an early close of noon EDT on Monday for the trading of U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-income securities. It said its member firms should decide for themselves whether their fixed-income departments remain open for trading.

One bond trader at a large Wall Street firm said the New York-based banks would route orders through their Midwest and West Coast offices. West Coast employees were planning to get up early, he said, while colleagues in Europe were expecting a long working day on Monday.

Volumes were, however, expected to be lower and orders may be harder to fill, the trader added.

Ken Polcari, managing director for ICAP Equities, said early on Sunday: "The word going around the floor on Friday was people should expect this to happen. In the event the exchange does not open, they will trade electronically though."

"If that happened, it's probably going to be very muted volume," he added.

Working from home
Goldman, whose office in lower Manhattan is in one of the areas to be evacuated, told employees that it would open for business, with some staff working from offices in Greenwich, Connecticut and in Princeton, New Jersey.

It also plans to use teams in London and other locations around the world for additional support.

Citigroup has its trading floor near the Hudson River in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, putting it in a flood zone. The bank is operating from a backup trading floor in New Jersey and will shuttle critical employees there as necessary. It said "non-critical personnel should invoke their work-from-home strategies."

Credit Suisse Group is situated by Madison Square Park in New York, outside of the city's evacuation zones for hurricanes. The Swiss bank planned to open its trading floor as usual on Monday, staffed with employees that live nearby and key personnel that can access trading systems remotely.

A JPMorgan spokeswoman said many of the bank's traders lived in Manhattan and will be in the office on Monday. The bank expects to be fully operational, using backup trading and technology from Europe or Asia as needed, she said.

Wells Fargo & Co , which has about 1,170 locations in Sandy's path, had already closed some locations by Sunday afternoon. Executives in various departments were holding conference calls on Sunday to discuss preparations, a bank executive said.

The executive also said the exchanges' plan to stay open on Monday had complicated banks' preparations.

"With MTA shut down, how are people supposed to get around?" the executive asked.

Plan to stay open
The NYSE has not suffered a weather-related late opening since 1996, having opened on time in extreme circumstances in the past, including Hurricane Irene last year. It last suspended physical trading floor operations on Sept. 27, 1985, due to Hurricane Gloria, during which all markets were closed.

The Big Board is located in Zone C, an area whose likelihood of evacuation is relatively low, according to the New York Office of Emergency Management.

The NYSE has arranged accommodations for essential staff near its lower-Manhattan headquarters, while other employees have been encouraged to work from home or alternate locations, said a person familiar with the situation.

Being on site is more important for traders that rely on fast network connections and real-time market information, than bankers such as deal advisers and private equity firm executives.

Blackstone Group , for example, planned to close its office on Monday.

Hurricane Sandy also led to some events being canceled or postponed. Citigroup Prime Brokerage postponed a hedge fund event that had been scheduled for Tuesday.

CNBC contributed to this report.


Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

NYMEX closes trading floor due to Hurricane Sandy


Michael Allan McCrae | October 28, 2012


NYMEX will be closing floor trading on Monday, Oct. 29 due to the approach of Hurricane Sandy. Electronic markets will stay open at regularly scheduled times.

The company issued the following statement on its website:

New York City has issued a mandatory evacuation of Zone A, which includes CME Group's NYMEX World Headquarters and New York trading floor. As a result, the New York trading floor will be closed on Monday, October 29. We will open all of our electronic markets at their regularly scheduled times on CME Globex and CME ClearPort, our online electronic platforms. We will continue to update cmegroup.com as additional information becomes available.

Updates are being posted on the CME Group's Twitter feed.

The New York Times and Google have both set up information sites about Hurricane Sandy.

The zinc market is approaching a tipping point. Independent mining research firms across the globe are projecting a massive supply deficit for zinc in the coming years. The reason for this projected deficit is simple. Many of the world's largest zinc mines are permanently shutting down operations as the economic ore has run dry. Furthermore, there are very few new zinc mines being developed. Meanwhile, demand for zinc systematically continues to rise.


(image source: www.crugroup.com)


Lundin Mining's Galmoy Zinc Mine in Ireland has closure plans approved by regulatory authorities and remains on schedule to be shut down prior to the end of 2012. Xstrata's Brunswick Mine, the world's largest underground zinc mine, is scheduled for closure in 2013. The Century Mine in Australia, the country's largest open pit zinc mine, is scheduled to begin the closing process in 2013. The Lisheen Mine in Ireland, one of the largest producers of zinc concentrates in Europe, has an approved closure plan in place as well. These are just some of the major zinc mines scheduled for closure in the near-future, and account for a loss of roughly a million metric tons of zinc production annually. This loss of production will equate to nearly 10% of the entire world's annual zinc consumption.


The last time the zinc market entered a supply deficit, its price more than quadrupled from under $0.40 to over $2 a pound in less than two years. The deficit occurred from 2004 through 2006. Look at zinc's rapid price increase during that deficit period:





The projected zinc supply deficit in the near-future is expected to be more than twice as severe as the one in the mid 2000's. And given the lack of near-term production zinc projects in the world, the deficit could last much longer than the previous. Reuters reported that analysts believe the zinc market is heading for the tightest supply conditions in 30 years.


With global zinc demand growing 1-3% annually, and it being the fourth most consumed metal in the world, new zinc mines are desperately needed.

Athabasca is way undervalued right now, continue to hold and will buy when I can.

ATHABASCA URANIUM ENGAGES RENOWNED USASK TEAM
TO LEAD KEEFE LAKE PHASE 3 EXPLORATION

EXPERTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NUMEROUS BASIN DISCOVERIES

Athabasca Uranium Inc. is pleased to announce that it has engaged the renowned uranium exploration geophysical team at the University of Saskatchewan (USASK) to conduct Phase 3 interpretation and exploration at its flagship Keefe Lake Project, effective immediately.

The USASK team, led by Dr. Zoltan Hajnal, PhD (GeoPh) will be analyzing shear wave data in conjunction with other datasets, which is an innovative approach to seismic interpretation in the Athabasca Basin. Dr. Hajnal commented “Several of the seismic profiles at Keefe Lake show anomalous basement structures, comparable to features of known prominent mineral deposits such as McArthur River and Shea Creek. The objective of the investigation is to detect indicators of mineralization within these anomalous structural settings.” The intent of the analysis is to exploit both P and S waves of surface seismic surveys to determine the above anomalous spatial petrophysical properties of rocks within a larger area of interest.

Dr. Hajnal is a leading expert in the application of seismic methods in uranium exploration and is credited, amongst many accomplishments, with having analyzed seismic data at Rio Tinto’s Roughrider Project (former Hathor Exploration), contributing to its discovery, and with providing better definition of subsurface structures at MacArthur River, the richest uranium mine in the world. Gil Schneider, Athabasca Uranium president commented “Having the USASK team’s attention is a major coup for us - they have helped discover or have analyzed most of the world-class deposits in the Basin, including MacArthur River, Shea Creek, Key and Moore Lakes, and the Roughrider deposit, not to mention their work on the Extech IV survey - and they’re now very excited about our project. Our Keefe Lake dataset apparently bears an uncanny resemblance to that of MacArthur River - and with arguably the foremost experts in uranium discovery now interested in it, we’re excited for our future. Dr. Hajnal will hopefully help prove our Keefe theories out, and launch Athabasca Uranium to becoming a world-class uranium company.”

The USASK Geophysics Team
The USASK Geophysics team is led by Dr. Hajnal, a Ph.D. in Geophysics with a fifty-year history of studying and employing geophysics world-wide. His professional career in geophysical interpretation began with Chevron Standard in 1963, and his recent implementation of modern applied seismology in the Athabasca Basin has led to recognition of the immense importance of spatial understanding of basement structures, and their originating lithospheric processes in selection of exploration area and subsequent drilling targets. He and his USASK laboratory are involved in the adaptation of more effective data acquisition systems in the rugged environment of the basin and development of data-specific signal enhancement software systems. Dr. Hajnal has also recently led the geophysical team at Athabasca Uranium to reanalyze the HD seismic and airborne AeroTem data for Keefe Lake.

On the engagement, Gil Schneider commented, “The work of the USASK seismology team has been superb and is largely responsible for the identification of the Keefe Lake Alteration Zone and our success in drilling the numerous intersections of uranium mineralization. This new investigation, which will be a synthesis of a host of datasets, should help unlock Keefe Lake and pave the way to discovery.”

Keefe Lake Phase 3
UAX has initiated a full scale interpretation of data from its work to date at Keefe Lake, stimulated by the connection between the anomalous uranium signatures in the KEF 12-08 borehole, the seismic signature of a laterally traceable pegmatite dyke and favorable clay mineral alterations within the unconformity zone.

Full Wave Sonic (FWS) logs, of KEF 12-08 and KEF 12-09, related geology, PIMA (Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer) and whole-rock geochemistry will be correlated with the seismic data to develop a detailed understanding of the Keefe Lake 3D structural Complex, assess major structural and tectonic trends and generate propitious targets for the Company’s upcoming winter drilling program. Optical Tele-viewer Images (OTI) from both boreholes will also be utilized to determine variations of dips and their azimuth with depths for all disturbances (fractures, faults, schistosity, dykes etc.) and thus help to define the prominent structural framework of the prospect area. In addition, combined analyses of sonic longitudinal and shear wave data, allows computation of rock properties such as density, Poisson’s ratio, Lambda and Mu. Anomalous variations of these parameters facilitate the recognition of the location of alteration zones, and definition of fracture intervals, which are primary indicators of mineralization.

About Athabasca Uranium
Athabasca Uranium Inc. is a uranium exploration and development company exploring an aggregate of over 60,000 hectares strategically located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin region of northeast Saskatchewan. The Company’s stated vision is to explore the region using leading-edge technology to become a world-class uranium mining company. Additional information on Athabasca Uranium and its vision is available on the Company’s website at www.athabascauranium.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Gil Schneider”
Gil Schneider, President & CEO

For information, please contact the Company:
Toll-Free: (866) 869-8072
E-mail: info@athabascauranium.com

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.


Athabasca Uranium Inc.

email : info@athabascauranium.com

1040 – 885 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3E8

Toll-Free: (866) 869-8072

Argentina Province Spooks Investors With Tax, Equity Bill - Mining Chamber
By Shane Romig

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina--Santa Cruz Province has unsettled investors with legislation that would hike mining taxes and force mining companies to cede a stake in their projects to the provincial government, according to the president of Argentina's mining chamber.

"The laws need to be coherent and foreseeable...They can't be changed in such an absurd way," Martin Dedeu said in an interview.

The bill currently before the Santa Cruz legislature would see provincial mining company Fomicruz take a 10% equity stake in current and future mines without compensation, and increase royalties to 8% of the value of mineral output.

While it's not clear if the bill will be passed, the cash-strapped province's repeated attempts to secure more tax revenue out of the mining industry threaten a decade-long investment boom that has made Santa Cruz home to the bulk of Argentina's gold mines.

Companies with Santa Cruz operations include AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. ( AU, ANG.JO), McEwen Mining Inc. ( MUX, MUX.T), Hochschild Mining PLC (HOC.LN), Mirasol Resources Ltd. ( MRZLF, MRZ.V), Minera IRL Ltd. (MIRL.LN, IRL.T) and Pan American Silver Corp. ( PAAS, PAA.T).

"Investment will go to other provinces, other countries or other parts of the world," Mr. Dedeu said.

Critics say the legislation, known as "Fomicruz to 10%," clashes with the 30 years of fiscal stability that Argentina's constitution grants mining projects. It also signals to investors that provincial governments won't shy away from changing the rules to plug budget deficits.

The mining industry has proposed alternative legislation that would tax operating income and provide for higher taxes when surging metals prices lead to windfall profits for miners.

"We're thinking about ways to get out of this uncomfortable situation," Mr. Dedeu said.

Argentina's miners are already wary after the Supreme Court in July reversed a lower-court ruling that suspended the implementation of a glacier-protection law in mining-friendly San Juan Province. The law threatens to derail several multibillion-dollar mining projects there.

The high court still hasn't ruled on the constitutionality of the law, which limits economic activity in the areas surrounding glaciers.

The mining industry expects the law to be declared unconstitutional as it infringes on the rights of the provinces to manage their environment and natural resources, Mr. Dedeu said.

The government has started the long-delayed nationwide inventory of glacial ice to determine which areas will be made off limits to mining.

The Supreme Court ruling means that projects such as Barrick Gold Corp.'s (ABX, ABX.T) $5 billion Pascua-Lama mine will have to conduct an inventory of nearby glacial ice before proceeding with construction.

Currency controls that led some mining companies to suspend mineral shipments earlier this year have been loosened and exports are flowing again, Mr. Dedeu said.

In June, mining exports virtually ground to a halt after the government imposed new rules making mining companies exchange their export revenues for Argentine pesos on the local foreign exchange market within 15 days of an export sale. Many companies said it was impossible to comply, as they often don't receive payment until months after shipping the minerals.

The administration of President Cristina Kirchner has tried to bolster the country's international reserves by blocking imports and speeding up the repatriation of export sales.

However, the government relented when it became clear that exports were plunging and extended the repatriation period for many companies to about 120 days.

-Write to Shane Romig at shane.romig@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Crude Oil Production Forecast

Vale to suspend Frood nickel/copper operations in Sudbury

The historic Frood nickel and copper mine will suspend operations by year-end and could be closed on a permanent basis as Vale focuses on more competitive reserves.

RENO (MINEWEB) -

Vale has announced it will close the century-old Frood nickel and copper mine in Sudbury, Ontario by the end of this year.

The Brazilian miner expects to make up for the loss of Frood's annual production of 3,200 metric tons of nickel and 2,900 metric tons of copper by increasing production at other mines.

The 85 people working at Frood will be "redeployed to other mines that are more competitive" and produce higher quality copper and nickel. Frood is part of the Stobie mining complex.

McPhee told Reuters that the decline in nickel prices was a factor in the decision to close the mine. London nickel now trades around $17,000 a tonne, while copper has traded above $9,000 a tonne for most of last year.

Despite the closure of Frood, Vale spokespersons have stressed the company remains "strongly committed to our future in Sudbury."

In an interview with The Sudbury Star, Vale spokeswoman Angie Robson said, ‘We do have some challenges and issues for Stobie Mine and our costs there, and we will be addressing that." She also said Vale's Birchtree nickel mine in Manitoba under consideration to be placed on care and maintenance mode as of August 2013.

I know nothing...

And why did you add this chart? Do tell.

MEXICAN INVASION...

A Navy destroyer stops four Mexicans in a row boat, rowing towards California.

The captain gets on the bull horn and shouts, "Ahoy, small craft, where
are you heading?"


One of the Mexicans stands up and shouts, "We are invading the United States!

The crew of the destroyer all start laughing and when the captain finally
stops laughing, he gets back on the bull horn and says, "Just the four of you?"

The Mexican stands up again and shouts, "No, we're the last four, the rest are already there!

A Coming Commodity Shortage


Dear member,

Contrary to what fair-weather commentators are saying now, the commodity markets remain firmly in a super cycle. This super cycle began following the tech and equity boom of the early 2000s. Historically, over the past hundred years, these cycles have lasted between 16 and 20 years. With interest rates across the world at or near record lows and multi-billion dollar infrastructure initiatives erupting from China to India to Turkey, and even in the United States, there is no end in sight for the current natural resource and commodity cycle. Recessions and short-term economic spasms can only slow down commodity demand momentarily. Population growth, urbanization of rural communities and currency devaluation continue to drive demand for commodities.

In every past commodity super cycle, this one being no different, there are 'tipping points'. Tipping points occur when supply can't keep up with demand. At various points during the commodity super cycle, nearly every major metal reaches its 'tipping point' and prices skyrocket. This happened with uranium in 2006, molybdenum in 2007, rare earths in 2009, silver in 2010 and graphite being the most recent and short-lived occurring in 2011. Our team strongly believes we are approaching a tipping point for zinc.

Zinc is a base metal which has been overlooked by the mainstream media for years. That's about to change.

With any trend there are early adopters and there are followers. Although we are not the first to pick up on the coming supply deficit for zinc, we believe that within the next 3-6 months there will be a rush to zinc assets and an increase in M&A activity within the sector. The following quote was taken from March of 2012, as the fundamentals surrounding zinc quietly surfaced.

"Zinc may represent the next big base metal play. Zinc will shift into 'deficit' (at latest by 2014) due to ongoing demand growth in the face of significant global mine depletion in mid-decade. In 2013, the closure of the Brunswick mine in Canada, Century in Australia and Vedanta's Lisheen mine in Ireland will shift sentiment towards zinc, with prices rallying in anticipation of tightening supplies. In the second half of this decade, zinc demand will be boosted by a recovery in G7 construction activity, particularly in the USA."

- Scotia Bank (Toronto, Canada; March 2012)

That statement was made over 6 months ago and although zinc is currently not in a supply deficit, it will be soon. Zinc prices will begin to rally in anticipation of tightening supply. The market is always looking 6 to 9 months ahead of the present and the institutions and large cap miners are preparing now.

Supply Deficit Looming



Source: www.crugroup.com

The last time the zinc market entered a supply deficit, its value more than quadrupled! Zinc's price went from less than $0.40 per pound in 2003 to over $2 per pound in 2006. Fortunes were made in the sector.


Zinc Price Action When Market Enters Deficit



(the above chart extends to October 19, 2012 when zinc closed at $0.84 per pound)

When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, zinc's price, along with every other commodity, collapsed. However, as mentioned above, even the worst recession cannot STOP continued demand for a base metal so critical to economic growth - it can only temporarily slow it down. This, coupled with extreme population growth and the urbanization of billions of people, resulted in zinc quickly recovering most of its gains from the mid 2000s. After recovering from the 2008 meltdown, zinc increased to more than $1 per pound and was back in its uptrend (up over 100% from early 2000 prices). Zinc has been consolidating since its rise to over $2 per pound back in 2005 and 2006.

What investors should be focused on is that the coming zinc deficits are predicted to be twice as severe as those which occurred in the mid 2000s. With no quick solution to the approaching supply deficit, given that many of the largest zinc mines have depleted their ore and are shutting down, prices are expected to rise. Demand for zinc is also expected to increase, which will put further pressure on supply and drive up prices.

Wood Mackenzie has been analyzing base metals for over 40 years. They released a statement on zinc in April of this year.

"Zinc has the most promising fundamental outlook among the metals... The zinc price is expected to be rangebound for the most part of this year before starting its ascent towards the end of 2012 in anticipation of a tight market. Brook Hunt expects the zinc price to average US$1.24/lb in 2014 and steadily climb thereafter, possibly challenging the previous high of US$2.08/lb that was reached in late 2006."

- Brook Hunt (Wood Mackenzie; April 2012)

Although zinc enjoyed a few years of record high prices in the mid 2000s, thanks to a significant supply shortage, the supply deficit approaching is anticipated to be much more severe. For this reason, we believe hitting its old high of US$2.08 per pound is very realistic.

The following graph should bridge the gap from a visual standpoint.



Source: www.crugroup.com


The mine closures listed above leave out a critical zinc mine also scheduled to be shut down: Lundin Mining's Galmoy Zinc Mine in Ireland, which is scheduled to close at the end of 2012. The result of these closures will see the market lose more than a million tonnes of annual production. Although zinc has enjoyed sufficient supply for many years, this surplus environment is coming to an end in a period where zinc demand is hitting all-time highs. New mines will be in high demand to aid in the deficit. The initial shock to the market should provide at least 18 to 24 months of catch up, where the industry will be hungry for zinc assets and M&A activity will be in full swing.

The reality that zinc is heading into a supply deficit within 12-18 months is the reason we are writing you this week. We are not going to miss out on this opportunity.

Once these zinc mines across the world, which are scheduled for shut-down, close their doors forever it will be too late to begin the search for viable zinc assets of the next generation. The big players move ahead of trends. They don't join them. The preparation for a shortfall won't begin in 2014, when the supply deficit is expected to hit, but long before that. In fact, it is happening right now. The best chance to make money is to get in front of these trends before they go mainstream.

Currently, global demand for refined zinc is expected to rise by 4.4% to 13.41 million tonnes in 2012. The US demand growth is seen at 5.1% for the year while countries like India, Brazil, Korea and Turkey are also projected to be strong.

On the production side, global zinc mine production is predicted to rise only 3.9%, to 13.45 million tonnes, while refined zinc production may rise 4.4% to 13.66 million tonnes. In 2013 the rise in production is expected to be minor; and by 2014, production is expected to be eclipsed by demand. This is bringing about new awareness to a metal that the developed and developing world can't grow without.

Zinc and Infrastructure

The wide usage of zinc goes relatively unnoticed. However, zinc is the fourth most widely consumed metal in the world after iron, aluminum and copper. Zinc has strong anti-corrosive properties and bonds well with other metals. For this reason, just over one-half of the zinc produced is used in zinc galvanizing, which is the process of adding thin layers of zinc to iron or steel to prevent rusting. Think of all the steel and iron being used around the world for infrastructure projects. All of these projects need zinc.

The OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has estimated yearly investment requirement for worldwide infrastructure projects to be roughly $600 billion for the next 20 years - only to guarantee the provision of water. That is annual infrastructure expenditures of more than half a trillion dollars each year, for 20 years straight. That's a staggering amount of money and new zinc mines are desperately needed to feed this demand. The OECD expects China to spend upwards of $2 trillion until 2030 for infrastructure to produce and distribute energy. In North America, the OECD believes the US and Canada must invest roughly $1.8 trillion in electricity facilities. Every country, including India and Russia, have massive infrastructure plans that will be extremely costly and require an exorbitant amount of zinc.

Zinc and its Many Uses

Zinc is a metal that sees its usage and demand increase almost every year. With an increasing global population there is more demand for zinc. It is this type of commodity you want to be holding before a deficit, as there is no substitute.

Brook Hunt commented that, "It is estimated that demand will grow 2-3% per year, especially in industries such as construction, automotive and transport due to zinc`s long useful life-cycle."

Xstrata Zinc, one of the world's largest producers of zinc, describes it as a versatile material that plays a vital role in modern society. It is an essential nutrient in human health and very useful in crop yield improvement.

Aside from construction projects around the world, Zinc is coming to the forefront of the agriculture industry as its demand to increase crop yields has been hitting new heights. This is something that could be a catalyst for zinc in the years ahead and a factor many analysts and investors are not considering.

Zinc, in its traditional use of galvanizing, protects steel against corrosion for its use in automobiles, buildings and others. It is also used for the production of zinc die-casting alloys, brass and oxide, and in manufacturing batteries and other electrical and consumer goods.

Lundin Mining, known as a global leader in base metals, recently let the industry know it is on the prowl for advanced zinc assets. This is a management team who previously netted a $9.2 billion sale of Red Back Mining Inc. Whenever you have one of the best in the business focusing on a base metal such as zinc, one should take notice.

Paul Conibear, Lundin Mining's President and CEO, stated in respect to zinc acquisitions, "What we're looking at in a more substantial manner is things that could make a difference to our production profile and cash generation, either immediately or in a three-year term."

He went on to note that, "We're not desperate to do anything...We're looking at things right now, but we're doing so cautiously." This quote was from early 2012. Caution can quickly turn to aggressive movement, especially when some of the largest zinc mines are closing around the world.

MAJOR ZINC MINE CLOSURES



Lundin Mining's Galmoy Mine. The mine closure plan has been approved by regulatory authorities and remains on schedule to be completed prior to the end of 2012.
(image source: lundinmining.com)



Xstrata Zinc's Brunswick Mine - largest underground zinc mine in world. Scheduled for closure in 2013.
(image source: infomine.com)



Century Mine - Australia's largest open pit zinc mine. Current defined ore runs out in 2016.
(image source: mmg.com)



Lisheen Zinc Mine in Ireland has an approved closure plan in place.
(image source: lisheenmine.ie)


Another world leader, Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.A), the largest diversified mining company in Canada, is also becoming more bullish on zinc and its expanding uses.

In March of this year, Teck signed an agreement that promotes the use of zinc as a fertilizer with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck, said of the agreement that "Working with NATESC (China's National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center) we can increase the use of zinc fertilizers in China to significantly improve crop yields, reduce zinc deficiency and ultimately improve human health."


Zinc and Fertilizer Demand

When our team began researching the current market for zinc, it came as a surprise to us that its demand was growing exceptionally fast in the agriculture space. Strangely enough, scientists have admitted that they do not fully understand the specific role zinc plays in plant development; regardless, plant scientists have proven that the metal is an important component of plant growth.

It has been reported that, combined with macronutrients like potash, phosphate and nitrogen, zinc can support root growth and increase leaf size and resilience during stressful growing conditions.

Below is an excerpt from James Wellstead of Zinc Investing News:

The move to increase the amount of zinc in plants and foods is widespread and is supported by companies like Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and K+S Group (FRA:SDF) company K+S KALI. Zinc fertilizers, most prominently zinc sulphate, are being used to reduce zinc deficiencies in both humans and plants.

The case for zinc fertilizers is often strongest in locations such as the US, Canada, Turkey and China. The relatively northern state of Minnesota, which ranks third in US soybean production and fourth in corn production, is one location where zinc fertilizer programs are being applied to large-scale industrial food crops like corn, sweet corn and soybean crops.

Read the entire article by clicking here.


Zinc Prices Expected to Rise

Andrew Michelmore, another CEO of an industry leading player, Minmetals Resources, stated, "While prices are not very good at the moment in zinc, that tightness of supply going forward will drive much better prices."

Zinc is a versatile metal that plays a vital role in modern society. Its uses are widespread and don't simply begin with galvanizing steel or iron and end with fertilizer growth. Zinc is also used for the production of zinc die-casting alloys, brass and oxide, batteries, health supplements and more electrical and consumer products than we could list in this report.

The zinc sector today is one that has under-performed due to a marginal supply surplus. Prior to the surplus ending in the next 12-18 months, we expect a rush to secure assets as zinc's price is expected to rise significantly. Remember that the last time zinc fell into a deficit its price more than quadrupled. Zinc was trading in the $0.40 range when it began its ascent in the mid 2000s. With zinc trading at $0.84 per pound, a triple in its price is not out of the question and could usher in new all-time highs for the metal. This is likely what some of the leading base metal companies are anticipating.

When this zinc surplus ends abruptly in the coming year, we are expecting a widespread bullish reaction from the market.


As you know, we haven't introduced a new Featured Company in roughly four months. There's a reason for that. We have been actively searching for a specific type of company. And we have found what we were looking for. Our team meticulously evaluated a number of highly advanced zinc projects located within friendly, pro-mining jurisdictions. We've been searching for a company with several million dollars in its treasury and trading near its 52 week low. A significant amount of cash is extremely important for an advanced staged junior to have in this market as it can support the company through various economic environments. We want that safety net. When you learn about this company's management, you'll understand exactly why they have been selected as a Pinnacle Featured Company. They fit our criteria perfectly. Furthermore, there are large base metal mining companies with significant positions in this advanced junior.


There are five primary metrics that influence a junior mining stocks price action. Keep this in mind:

1. Fundamentals: Strength of its flagship asset (location, how much it owns, size, average grade, type of deposit).

2. Management: The most valuable asset a junior has. What is the track record of management? Have they taken assets to production stage, been bought out, etc.

3. Capital structure: Who is invested in the company (do they have strategic shareholders with a long-term view) and at what price? How much of the company do insiders own and how much does the public hold?

4. Price point: Where does it trade in comparison to where its financings have been completed? How many shares outstanding? How much cash is in its treasury in comparison to its market cap? Where is the line of support in the stock?

5. Market psychology: Are there reasons to believe the sector and/or stock will gain public market notoriety based on an influential component to its story or the sector it operates in?

We will be sending you our exclusive report on our new Featured Company as soon as it is completed. It will arrive in your inbox toward the latter half of the week. Stay tuned.

All the best with your investments,



PINNACLEDIGEST.COM

Added a new chart to the I-box... Platinum

Heads up here... do the due!!!


if this statement is true and I believe that it is

MIMV: news due on Windows 8 via MSFT on 10/26.
Should be quite a powerful news release from MIMV & MSFT next week as MIMV apps search is embeded in Windows 8 operating system.



About MIMVI

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, MIMVI, Inc. (OTCBB: MIMV) is a pure-play search and recommendation technology company. Its proprietary search and "intelligent" recommendation algorithms enable the search and discovery of Mobile Apps, Mobile Content and Mobile Products across multiple devices and platforms, including: Apple's iPhone and iPad, Google Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Facebook and Web Apps. For more information, please visit: http://www.mimvi.com.

Share Structure
Market Value $17,832,504 a/o Oct 18, 2012
Shares Outstanding 50,950,012 a/o Aug 17, 2012
Float 5,000,000 a/o Jul 14, 2010

A classic lol~

The Basher's Handbook


Reprinted here as a service to those who doubt this actually exists, or is simply an unfounded urban legend.

Is the "Bashing" of a stock an essential part of the online investment landscape?

Our Constitution guarantees us free speech and we have always valued the lessons gleaned from dissent. When does dissent cross over that imaginary line and become "Bashing"? To often we find well grounded dissent capriciously labeled as "Bashing" by over zealous investors bent on protecting a stocks reputation at any cost. The "Bashing" that is addressed on this site is quite different from dissent. The Anatomy of a Basher strives to look at the calculated erosion of confidence in a given stock. Erosion by means that are, in every sense, void of truth, hinged on deception and innuendo, and motivated by greed at the expense of others. This compendium is offered to aid in identifying the telltale signs of "Bashing", and hopefully provide a counter balance to this heretofore unchecked manipulation of investors fears for personal gain.

IS IT EASIER TO SCARE PEOPLE INTO SELLING THAN IT IS TO SCARE PEOPLE INTO BUYING A STOCK? I have asked some knowledgeable investors this question and the answer is always: "YES, OF COURSE YES!"

WHO BASHERS PREY UPON

Consider the elderly that are investing for retirement, they find their way to the message boards for validation only to see false posts about "SEC Violations" and "Class action suits"... or the head of a "typical growing family", with children to put through college, who is monitoring a message board only to read posts by a "pack of 15 to 20 Bashers" (probably 5 or 6 under various alias's) posting continuous disinformation... what do you think these new investors will do? It's safer to not buy or even sell the stock, put the money back in the bank than to deal with all this whirl wind of "unsupported" negative chaff.

The Internet has lured a whole new class of investor into the market. A new investor is just that - New! This new investor, while learning the basics, is particularly vulnerable to the tactics of professional Bashers. New investors tend to lurk in the background of message boards, content to form independent opinions based on what they read with their own eyes. Very often, honest, intelligent and cautious people can easily be overcome by a well orchestrated propaganda effort.

You must always remember that their is a lot of money to be made in just the motion of a stock UP or DOWN it doesn't matter! And Bashers have money at risk just as you do. But they have the edge of fear, lies, and falsehoods to post while preying on the un-initiated. The average investor dose not have the edge of organized deception.

Recent revelations have indicated that even Market Makers (those charged with keeping the playing field level) have been involved in stock manipulation by Bashing on a stock message board. HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THIS IS A REAL THREAT!

Lesson 1: Remember, BASHERS NEVER Bash A BAD STOCK. Check the boards for stocks with no potential. They never have any Bashers. Bashers only go after stocks that are moving up or have excellent potential to do so. Bashers work to bring the price down to either increase their position at the expense of others or help a Short make their bones.

Lesson 2: BASHERS ALWAYS BRING UP OLD NEWS THAT YOU HAVE HEARD MANY TIMES. New startup companies always have a few bits of bad news. The Basher will post this over and over again. Unsophisticated Bashers will try to freshen up old news with a new date or by-line in an attempt to fool you.

Lesson 3: BASHERS POST MANY TIMES A DAY. They try to wear you out. They comment on everything, every other post, and can answer every question. THEY KNOW IT ALL! There is no positive comment they won't Bash. They try to control the board. True longs may have to confront the Bashers or they will appear to the newbies as being the people with all the information. This is best accomplished by posting positive, well researched data on the company, repetitively, while trying hard not to engage the Bashers in direct repartee. REMEMBER - LONGS... RESIST USING THE BASHERS ALIAS!

Lesson 4: BASHERS WILL LIE TO YOUR FACE. Never trust a Basher. The truth on startup companies is that they make mistakes. What new company hasn't? The Basher will compare your issue to a another companies, financials - deals - management, etc., trying to lure you into making an Apples to Oranges comparison. Remember each company is unique and while it is prudent to seek out established indicators, do so with care and don't take someone else's word for it. Strive to come up with at least a "six-pack" of indicators so your vision of the state of a company is not tied to a single barometer. Not doing so is tantamount to going to a Race Track and betting on the "Pretty Brown Horsey". BASHERS WANT TO WHISPER IN YOUR EAR - PLANT A SEED OF DOUBT, AND HOPE THAT YOU ARE NOT SAVVY ENOUGH TO RESEARCH THE TRUTH ON YOUR OWN. This is how they achieve their greatest success.

DOUBT + FEAR + LAZINESS = BAIL OUT!

This is your investment... work for it, protect it and don't panic on the words of very shadowy figure that "has your best interest in their heart". Consider that one factor: Someone you have never met, is not a member of your family, is now, out of the goodness of their hearts - GIVING YOU FREE ADVICE (that you didn't ask for). It's a no brainer. They have motives $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Lesson 5: Bashers know YOU CAN'T VERIFY THEIR STATEMENTS. That's why they make the vague statements they do. They rely on you being to lazy to research their droppings other than to scan the board for others opinions. This is particularly dangerous when you consider that Bashers work in packs and often validate and back up each others nonsense with what appears to be "innocuous and unsolicited" verification by comrade Bashers. Let's face it, we are all conditioned to "believe" everything we see in writing. If others by virtue of their "posts" also confirm this belief, then we are subconsciously doomed to swallow the hook, line and sinker... Basher - 1 Honest Investor - 0

Lesson 6: The Bashers PLAY ON YOUR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE. They can lie about information and you won't know the difference (unless you have done your own DD on the company and know the truth and facts).

Lesson 7: Bashers play on your lack of patience. You have held a stock for a while. You knew it will be a big stock someday, but the BASHER CAN GET TO YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOUR GAIN. That's when the Basher is best. You are tired. You have forgotten the goal for the stock was to hold it for one year. The Basher is bothersome, so you dump it on a bad day. Some others also dump. Then you get mad for your loss and return to let everyone know how mad you are. Then you turn into a semi-Basher as well. THE BASHER HAS WON, AND GAINED A NEW ALLY - YOU!

Lesson 8: BRING THE PRICE DOWN. That is the Basher's job. The truth is not important. Lies are the norm. Post continuously on the board every day. They are trying to scare the newbies that are just investigating a stock. They are trying to wear down the faithful longs on the board and gain free reign and control.

A BASHER HANDBOOK:
Do not underestimate a Bashers influence on a stock. The Pro's are good at what they do and what they do is profit from your losses. Below is their "hand-book". Learn from it or you will be donating your hard earned money to them!

Rules for Successful Bashing:


1. Be anonymous

2. Use 10% fact. 90% suggestion. The facts will lend credibility to your suggestions.

3. Let others help you learn about the stock. Build rapport and a
support base before initiating your Bashing routine.

4. Enter w/ humor and reply to all who reply to you.

5. Use multiple ISP's, handles and aliases.

6. Use two (2) or more aliases to simulate a discussion.

7. Do not start with an all out slam of the stock. Build softly.

8. Identify your foes (Longs) and the boards "guru" Use them to
your advantage. Lead them do not follow their lead.

9. Only Bash until the tide/momentum turns. Let doubt carry it the
rest of the way.

10. Give the appearance of being open minded.

11. Be bold in your statements. People follow strength.

12. Write headlines in caps with catchy statements.

13. Pour it on as your position gains momentum. Not your personality.

14. Don't worry about being labeled a "Basher". Newbies won't
know your history.

15. When identified put up a brief fight, then back off. Return in an hour unless your foe is a weak in reasoning powers.

16. Your goal is to limit the momentum of the run. Not to tank the
company or create a plunge in the stock; be subtle and consistent.

17. Kill the dreams of profits, not the company or the stock.

18. Use questions to create critical thinking. Statements to
reinforce facts.

19. DO NOT LIE, NAME CALL or USE PROFANITY.

20. Encourage people to call the company. 99% won't. They'll take your word for claims made. If they do call you can always find something that is inaccurate in how they report their findings.

21. Discourage people from believing Press Releases.
Encourage them to call the company. They won't out of laziness.

22. If the companies history/PR's are negative constantly point to that. Compile a list of this data prior to beginning your efforts.

23. If the price rises blame it on the hype or the PR, temporary
mass reaction, the market, etc. Anything but the stock itself.

24. If other posters share your concerns, play on that and share theirs too.

25. Always cite low volume, even when it's not.

26. Three or four aliases can dominate a board and wear down the longs.

27. Bait the Longs into personal debates putting their
focus/efforts on you and not the stock or facts. Divert their attention from facts.

28. Promote other stocks that would-be investors can turn to
instead of the one your Bashing.

30. Do not fall for challenges on the "values" of what you are doing, it's a game and you are playing it with your own rules.


Grade 'A' Basher:
If you post lots of old news, respond to all positive posts with a negative side. Never respond to being called a Basher, never post on another board with same alias. Can spend up to 80 hours a week Bashing a stock.

Grade 'B' Basher:
Very good way with words, always claims to be your "friend" taking the positive poster into confidence, never posts on another board, spends about 60 hours a week.


Grade 'C' Basher:
Spends less time than the others but is somewhat effective and gets a C grade due to getting excited when Bashers rules say not to get excited, spends about 40 hours a week.


Grade 'D' Basher:
Needs to learn the basics about being convincing when making a negative statement. Spends a good amount of time working the stock, maybe 20 hours a week.


Grade 'F' Basher:
A complete idiot, most readers are not convinced he knows anything about stocks in general. The type that says a stock "sucks", but gives no rationale, shows up every so often but no regular schedule.

LEARN ABOUT HOW BASHERS WORK: For instance: did you know that some Bashers are paid?

Golden Rule:

IGNORE THEM ...learn how professional Bashers are paid: When you REPLY to Bashers you give them an opportunity to earn appox. 5-7 dollars. The service agreement they enter into with their employer states their messages will be monitored for content, profanity, lies, etc. but Overseers and the like don't have the time to check all their Bashers messages. Only occasional spot checks are done. Those who manage the Basher will generally read the headlines to see if a Basher is replying to other posters by name. That tells them the Basher isn't just "posting blindly" or repeating the same message over and over since they won't pay for those.(True to form a Basher will put the bite on anyone, even their unscrupulous employer). A Basher will attempt to milk three to five replies per post at one to two dollars each. This way the Basher spreads negative influence to as many stockholders as possible. A Basher will create this discussion thread because it takes less time reading more messages than is necessary. This ultimately allows the Basher more time to post and make money. In general, NEVER ENGAGE A BASHER. Make them read all the posts and think up ways to enter the discussion. NEVER ENGAGE A BASHER; if you do so then YOU BECOME THE BASHER,S AID! If you feel compelled to challenge a Basher do so without mentioning his/her true alias in your response. This will make it hard for the Basher to use your post as a revenue stream. Read the news, do your own homework and make your own decisions. Get real time quotes and follow the stock for a couple of weeks. Due Diligence is key here. Know that there will be a time when the stock runs up which will be followed followed by the Bashers and those that missed the boat. The Bashers will trash the stock by saying such things as "it's a Pump and Dump" and "the company is lying" and deceiving. There goal is to scare off newbies and potential new investors by "shaking" you out of your shares. Take the time to confirm your DD ,trust your own judgement and believe in yourself, pick your point of return or loss and live with it. Don't listen to hype or Bashers trust your own judgement. Live by the rules you have created .

HOW TO IDENTIFY A BASHER

1. Check the "Born on Date" Bashers create identities on a regular basis. Rarely do you find a Basher with older "Created On" date. So click on the Identity icon for more details.

2. Take the time to look at the Basher's history of Posts. Go to other boards and see if their is a pattern to the theme of the posts. Bashers rarely waste time trying to blend in with "positive" posts, unless they are cultivating a new uninformed assistant.

3. When did the Basher show up. Bashers rarely show up when activity is in at a Lull. They show up when activity up/down..

4. Bashers never answer direct questions except with another question.

5. Bashers do work in teams (sometimes themselves as a team). So be suspicious of someone showing up and automatically having a Shadow to converse with who supports their argument.

6. Bashers always select "an argument" that can never be resolved by research.

The Basher 'Pack' Mentality

Bashers love to work in packs. It provides the quintessential cover to achieve supposedly "independent" validation of an argument. It is neither independent nor validating.

Pack Structure: Basher Packs can be comprised of any number of Bashers. They can be purposely formed within an organization or they can be "ad hoc" formed during a conclave on a particular board. In fact a pack mentality can be achieved by an ambitious "party of one" with a few select aliases.

Once a pack is formed, a leader emerges. This leader is usually acknowledged by other Bashers because of 1. Knowledge of the stock. or 2. Recognition by current board Longs (high visibility). Once established the Leader will usually work the Pack members up in to a posting frenzy. Constantly changing themes and even occasionally biting the ear of another pack member (this earns instant credibility), and it doesn't offend the bitten Basher because he/she knows it is all part of the effect. Quite sophisticated.

Packs will disband and slink away without notice. Usually this is the call of the Pack Leader who is adept at recognizing overplay. More often than not, Pack members must move on because they have other Bashing commitments to fulfill. They will return to the site of a good hunt over and over again, until hamstringing is achieved.

What calls a pack together. The Cry of the Leader. Certain Bashers love to work together. They know each others bite, how to feign in and out, it is a well choreographed Bash when pack members have worked together before. They constantly check their "Sites Du Jour" for signs of Pack activity. Occasionally they will throw out a "Nibbler" Bash to see if the pack responds or if not they can work the site themselves. It's all about effectiveness, time and earning money.

< BEWARE OF THE PACK >

Mariana Resources completes diligence at Condor de Oro

7:48 am by Philip Whiterow

Mariana has pledged to spend US$12.5 million on exploration within four yearsMariana has pledged to spend US$12.5 million on exploration within four years

Mariana Resources (LON:MARL TSE:MRY) will go ahead with its earn-in option for the Condor de Oro project in Northern Peru after due diligence was completed satisfactorily.

The Latin America-focused explorer has been granted options to earn up to 51% of two properties – Pucayacu, which is prospective for gold and copper and the Yuracyacu, where copper and silver are being targeted.

Mariana has pledged to spend US$12.5 million on exploration within four years as well as pay the current holder, Canadian group Condor Resources, US$2.5 million for each property.

The 102 sq km Condor del Oro project is located in the Cordillera del Condor in northern Peru, one of the most significant underexplored gold-copper belts in South America, and approximately 130km southwest of Kinross' Fruta del Norte gold deposit.

Mariana described the option as a potential 'company-maker' when it first announced the deal two weeks ago.

WTF are they for real??

Medical Marijuana, Inc. and CanChew Biotechnologies Have Officially Started
Market Trial Sign-Ups for CBD Chewing Gum

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Medical Marijuana, Inc.
(MJNA), a leading hemp industry innovator and its CanChew Biotechnologies
portfolio company have commenced market trial sign ups for the CanChew CBD
chewing gum product line. The free market trial offer is open to patients
suffering from pain from MS Muscular Spasticity, Cancer, Neuropathic Conditions,
Psychological/Mood Disorders and Arthritis. The trial will be managed by CanChew
Directors: Dr. George Anastassov, Dr. Philip A. Van Damme, and Production
Specialist Lekhram Changoer. The sign-up period is underway and will last until
November 15th or until all of the participant slots are filled.

Since announcing the trial on October 1, the company has received terrific
feedback from many qualifying patient participants and looks forward to a strong
program.

For more information about the trial qualifications and registration, please
visit http://canchewbiotech.com/ and click on the "Join Our Free Trial" link.
Prospective patients are now able to log into a dedicated website and answer
questions on a health history survey to determine their eligibility. Patients who
qualify for the trial will receive a minimum one-month supply of the CBD chewing
gum, which contains approximately 8-10 milligrams of CBD per piece and will be
blister packed in packages of 8 and 32 pieces. Patients will provide specific
feedback to the Company regarding usage and experience. While the company has
been underway with clinical development for many months, it expects to launch
human Clinical trials for this product and other CBD containing products by the
end of 2013. CanChew Biotechnologies expects to launch over-the-counter retail
sales of the product in early 2013.

Great news for some under the radar Jnr miners/explorers

Nice one~

Analysis: Canadian miners see signs of thaw in equity financings


TORONTO | Thu Oct 4, 2012 12:31pm EDT

(Reuters) - A sudden squall of equity deals arranged for Canadian junior miners signals a potential thaw in a year-long freeze on new financings that has held back the pace of mining exploration.

Over the past year, the flow of bought deals - a type of equity financing commonly used by early-stage miners in Canada - slowed to a crawl as the euro zone debt crisis and a pullback in emerging economies fueled market uncertainty.

Equity financings are the lifeblood of early-stage mining companies, which rely on them to fund their projects, and when economic fears paralyze markets hundreds of Canadian miners and explorers are often deprived of the capital needed to survive.

Mining stocks have now started to bounce back after falling more than 40 percent over the past year, reflecting a brighter macroeconomic outlook. And the S&P TSX Metals & Mining Index is up more than 25 percent since July, giving some early-stage miners confidence to wade back into equity markets.

Tyler Swan, a managing director in equity capital markets at CIBC, expects a flurry of financings in the months ahead.

"There is a large pipeline in place, of companies looking to come to market before the end of the year," he said.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd was one of the first to take the plunge. The company, which recently raised C$150 million ($153 million) for itself, focuses on arranging production-sharing, or so-called streaming, deals to fund mining projects of others.

"Our financing was somewhat of a bellwether for the rest of the industry to see that financings can be done, and investment banks since then having been going around trying to convince mining companies to raise equity," said Nolan Watson, chief executive of Sandstorm.

The numbers illustrate the pent-up demand. Only about C$400 million was raised through fewer than 30 bought deals in the spring and summer of 2012, compared with the roughly C$2 billion raised via 80 deals a year earlier, according to Oren inc, a firm that tracks financing activity among juniors in Canada.

But investor sentiment seems to be turning, thanks to a brighter economic outlook. The U.S. Federal Reserve recently outlined plans for a third aggressive program to lift the U.S. economy, while China has given the go-ahead to some 60 infrastructure projects worth over $150 billion.

Not coincidentally, precious metal explorers Premier Gold Mines and Torex Gold Resources Inc this week outlined plans for bought deals to fund projects. And Labrador Iron Mines Ltd, one of Canada's newest ore miners, has joined the rush.

Bought deals help reduce risk for issuers by allowing them to sell shares to an underwriter, or a syndicate that in turn markets the equity to the public.

LATEST OFFERINGS

Torex, which owns the Morelos gold project in Mexico, said on Monday it plans to raise about C$350 million through a deal being led by BMO Capital Markets. Premier Gold, which owns assets in the gold mining belts of Ontario and Nevada, aims to raise nearly C$60 million in a deal led by RBC Capital Markets.

In a sign that the equity window may have also opened for miners outside precious metals, Labrador Iron Mines plans to move on a C$30 million bought deal led by Canaccord Financial.

New issuers are also stepping up. Last month, Ivanplats - the mining company founded by billionaire Robert Friedland - began a long-awaited process to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company, which owns copper and platinum projects in Africa, plans to sell about 60 million shares at between C$4.50 and C$5.40 as part of its initial public offering, said a source familiar with the situation. That would make the offering worth between C$270 million and C$325 million.

Among the other new issuers seeking to tap the market is Potash Ridge - a potash exploration company with a project in Utah - that filed its papers with regulators in late September.

But some caution that there is no guarantee the window for financings will remain open.

"A lot of people are optimistic and are hoping the window will extend for some time, but I think markets are still fairly volatile," said Richard Steinberg, who heads the securities and mergers and acquisitions group at Fasken Martineau in Toronto.

Steinberg believes companies that move quickly will benefit, given lingering uncertainty and caution among many investors.

"There is nothing better than being first in line," he said. "Whether the window will extend to allow additional offerings by other similarly situated mining companies remains to be seen."

One of the big overhangs remains the steady stream of bad news from Europe, Watson warns.

"I do not think that this window is going to stay open indefinitely. I think it is going to close here," he said. "It could be one month away or six months away, it just depends on when the next macro problem crops up globally, whether it be Spain, or Greece, or Italy, or the U.S. fiscal cliff."

($1=$0.98 Canadian)

(Editing by Frank McGurty; and Peter Galloway)

Copper Market Shenanigans from Beijing

Oct 12, 2012
By: Richard_Mills

Fact - China is the world’s largest user of copper.

Copper is critical for China and the country has imported unbelievable tonnages over the years, but according to the copper bears the story could be coming to an end.

There are several reasons investors might question the longevity of China’s copper story:

Concerns about weak global growth, investors are worried about China’s exports slowing and its implications for industrial metal demand
China is thought to have high inventory levels of copper
China’s economic growth has slowed to a three year low of 7.6 percent
Surplus capacity
Extraordinarily tight cash

According to the Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. copper consumption is expected to expand this year at the slowest rate since 1997. Copper Market

“This lack of inventory growth is the hardest indicator that there has neither been a significant negative shock to demand nor a pronounced destocking cycle.”Andrew Keen, Head of Metals and Mining Equity Research for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, CNBC’s Asia Squawk Box

According to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG):
(WORLD REFINED COPPER PRODCUTION AND USAGE TRENDS)
Table 1.

“The apparent refined copper balance for the first half 2012 indicates a production *deficit of 473,000 t (a seasonally adjusted deficit of 292,000 t)…As of the end of August, copper stocks held at the major metal exchanges (LME, COMEX, SHFE) totaled 434,277 t, a decline of 110,334 t from stocks held at the end of December 2011 and a decrease of 14,520 t from stock levels at the end of July 2012.”

*In September, the ICSG projected that global refined copper demand in 2011 would exceed refined copper production by about 200,000 tons, continuing the production deficit experienced in 2010.

The World Bureau of Metal Statistics said that from January to June 2012 worldwide copper demand surpassed production by 129,000 tons.

Also, according to ICSG Copper Market Forecast 2012-2013, in 2012, world refined copper production is projected to increase by only about 2.5% to reach 20.15 million metric tonnes (mmt). Global Industry Analysts Inc. forecasts that the global market for copper is projected to reach 27.5 mmt by the year 2017.

The world will need 7.35 million metric tonnes or 1.47 million metric tonnes of new copper production per year for the next five years to meet anticipated demand. How much copper is that? Thanks to about.com let’s look at copper production figures for 2010 from the world’s top copper miners.

Codelco - the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile – controls about 20 percent of the world's reserves of copper. In 2010, Codelco produced approximately 1.76 million metric tons of refined copper, about 11% of total world copper production.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) is the world's largest publicly traded copper producer. The company's assets include Grasberg, the world’s largest copper and gold mine in terms of recoverable reserves. FCX produced 1.44 million metric tons (mt) of refined copper in 2010, equal to 9% of the world total.

Xstrata Plc’s copper production in 2010 was over 900,000 metric tons, Rio Tinto produced approximately 700,000 t of copper, Anglo American 645,000 t, Groupo Mexico 645,000 t, Glencore 542,000 t, Southern Copper 542,000 t and KGHM Polska Miedz at 425,000 t.

FCX is the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer – 1.44 million metric tonnes of copper per year, the worlds going to need 1.47 million metric tonnes of new copper production per year, is another Freeport out there? Perhaps another Glencore, Southern Copper and KGHM will be built each year?

China’s Copper Market

According to Beijing Antaike, the state run nonferrous metals consultancy, Chinese copper consumption was up 7.8 percent in 2011 to 7.33 mt, is expected to grow 5.9 percent to 7.76 mt in 2012 and to reach 10 mt per year by 2020.

Currently there is an estimated two million metric tons of copper in China’s warehouses.

“That has to be put in context that over the next 5 years, China will probably consume 50 million tons of copper. So there is a major strategic shortfall in the copper market from a Chinese perspective and those warehouses are really part of that longer-term solution…We don’t think it’s a big problem for the copper market going forward.”Andrew Keen

Let’s consider Chinese copper inventories from another perspective – 2011’s 7.33 mt of copper usage works out to 20,082 tonnes a day, so two million tonnes of copper is 99 days of inventory – just three months worth of copper, two million tonnes for a country that, even if copper usage does not grow another tonne, will use 36.65 mt over the next five years, remember no one is forecasting Chinese copper consumption to stop growing, just slowing to between 2-4 percent growth.

At the end of August, copper stocks held at the major metal exchanges (LME, COMEX, SHFE) totaled 434,277 t.

Also consider:

“A market can appear to be in a deficit and a surplus simultaneously because economic forecasts only look at production and demand for the calendar year and exclude excess stocks carried over from the past. The current oversupply – high inventory levels - are a consequence of the economic conditions of the last three years, current and future supply deficits will be strong enough to digest that oversupply.

As much as one million metric tons of surplus isn't available for sale, it has to be part of the ebb and flow of moving copper down the line to the ultimate end product

Up to 600,000 metric tons is kept as China's rainy-day fund.” - Justin Lennon, metals analyst, Mitsui Bussan Commodities

The impact of a build-up of inventory due to Chinese rail delays – there was a build-up of goods in transit due to transport delays on Chinese railways - sales of copper cathode were slowed.

The outgoing Chinese government bosses, while waiting for a leadership change set for November 2012, are trying to prevent expansion from slipping below the 7.5 percent target set in March of this year.

China's powerful economic planning body, The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced approvals for 60 infrastructure projects worth more than $150 billion.

The new Chinese leaders are expected to introduce more policies to support the economy.

"Losses in base metal prices will be capped despite weak fundamentals and global economic worries, as investors expect Beijing to do the necessary fine-tuning to stabilise the economy before the 18th Communist Party Congress." CIFCO Futures analyst Zhou Jie, referring to China's leadership transition event scheduled on Nov. 8.

Demand/Consumption

Two factors are involved in increasing consumption. One is the growth in population:

2011 7 billion

2020 7.6 billion

2027 8 billion

2030 8.2 billion

2040 8.8 billion

2046 9 billion

2050 9.2 billion

The second factor is the growth in wealth in the major developing countries - China, India, Africa and Indonesia have enormous numbers of people who are already middle class and hundreds of millions still to become middle class.

According to the UN report “RESILIENT PEOPLE RESILIENT PLANET A Future Worth Choosing” the number of middle-class consumers will increase by three billion people over the next 20 years.

Copper consumption in developed countries remains stagnant but the appetite for copper in developing countries is growing at an astonishing pace.

The annual per-capita consumption of copper in India is 0.47 kg., China's is 5.4 kg. and the world average is 2.7 kg.

North American consumers use about 10kg of copper per capita. As China undergoes massive urbanization, builds its infrastructure and becomes more of a consumption orientated society, more like the west, copper consumption will start to approach North American levels. Because of the huge population differences between East and West just a slight increase in Asian and Indian consumption will translate into enormous demand growth.

"From a copper-specific perspective, we believe global copper consumption growth will continue to be underpinned by continued robust growth in completions until at least late 2013. This growth in completions is set to be complemented by a forecast pick up in property sales in 2013; higher property sales are associated with higher consumer appliance related copper demand. Together, these findings represent the backbone of our constructive view on copper over the next 6-12 months. The current wave of construction projects in China originated with the implementation of a stimulus package in 2009. Internal and external copper wiring (connection to grid) tends to be installed around project completion, and can account for as much as 50% of Chinese copper consumption. The construction cycle for the first wave of projects launched in 2009-2010 are now in their late stages, resulting in a sharp fall in new projects and rising building inventories.

A second wave of projects has started to gain momentum; "This second wave has yet to crest, underpinning global growth in 'late-cycle' assets or finishing commodities such as copper and aluminum.” Goldman Sachs analysts

Supply

The copper market is already in deficit as miners struggle with operational and labor problems and LME copper stocks are strongly held.

Lets state the obvious:

For over the last ten years supply has struggled to keep pace with demand
Metal supply is finite and subject to compounding demand from developing nations
Metal production is highly cyclical, with intermittent peaks and troughs which are closely linked to economic cycles - declining production has historically been driven by falling demand and prices, not by scarcity
Rates of production and amounts of reserves continually change in response to movements in markets and technological advances
Most mineral resources will not be exhausted in the near future
If energy was cheap and unlimited then recoverable resources would be unlimited

But

Discovery and development is increasingly becoming more challenging and expensive
Average ore grades are in decline for most minerals, yet production has increased dramatically
Our most important metals are suffering from declining ore quality and rising extraction (ore is a different and inferior chemical or structural composition) costs
Our prosperity has always been based on the fact that producing resources yielded more resources than it cost. However the cost of *energy is climbing, the amount used is climbing but the returns from energy expended is declining. Eventually the quantity of resources used in the extraction process will be 100% of what is produced
Most older existing mines, the foundation of our supply, have increasing costs with production rates stagnating or even declining
The rate of discovery is not keeping pace with the rate of depletion, let alone being higher
*Energy can be thought of as a proxy for labor, materials, energy and externalities – environmental, community impact etc.

The metal content of copper ore has been falling since the mid 1990s. A miner now has to dig up an extra 50 percent of ore to get the same amount of copper. As grade drops the amount of rock that must be moved and processed per tonne of produced copper rises dramatically – all the while using more energy that costs several times more than it use to. With the lower grades of ores now being mined energy becomes more and more of a factor when considering economics.

“We took the nice, simple, easy stuff first from Australia, we took it from the U.S., we went to South America. Now we have to go to the more remote places.” Glencore CEO, Ivan Glasenberg in the Financial Times describing why his firm operates in the Congo and Zambia

Conclusion

China has recently, and for the first time ever, revealed the size of its *copper inventories - and they **scared the hell out of investors when they did it.

*China's Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Association announced that the country's copper inventories were at about 1.9 million tons at the end of 2010.

**The International Copper Study Group had their published number at up to 1.5 million tons, no one was too worried about 1.5 mmt’s at the time but add another 400,000 t’s today…

If you were a buyer - and at 40% of world usage China is THE big buyer – and you needed stock would you want lower or higher prices?

Remember, a Chinese copper buying spree in early 2009 triggered a price rally from the lows of the financial crisis to new records above $10,000 a tonne.

Do you think China might have an interest in inflating the size of its stockpiles to push prices down? And really, does it matter if they have two million tonnes or three million tonnes today?

“Whatever the Chinese say that stocks are, in the end they still need copper.” George Cheveley, metals and mining portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management

Tomorrow they need more, a whole lot more, even if future economic growth “only” clocks in at an annual 7.5 percent compounded.

“over the next 5 years, China will probably consume 50 million tons of copper. So there is a major strategic shortfall in the copper market from a Chinese perspective”

Are Copper Shenanigans, and the investment opportunities presented, on your radar screen?

If not, maybe they should be.

By Richard (Rick) Mills

www.aheadoftheherd.com
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article36976.html

where is the mega copper board??

Reuters TOKYO/NEW YORK | Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:27pm EDT - Japanese wireless service provider Softbank Corp is looking to buy roughly 70 percent of Sprint Nextel Corp in a bold move that would make it a major player in the U.S. mobile market.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/11/us-sprint-softbank-idUSBRE89A0I520121011

But Softbank's ambitions may not stop with Sprint, which might also be looking to buy out its partner, Clearwire Corp. The Japanese company might also be aiming to use Sprint as a vehicle to make a run at smaller Sprint peer MetroPCS Communications Inc, a two-step transaction that would potentially cost more than 2 trillion yen ($25.55 billion), according to a Nikkei report.

That would make it the biggest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company ever and vault Softbank into the upper echelons of wireless carriers worldwide.

In response to reports of a pending deal, Sprint said on Thursday that it was in talks with Softbank on a "potential substantial investment" that could involve a change in control of the U.S. company. It said there was no assurance of a sale.

Softbank is eyeing a controlling stake in Sprint worth more than 1 trillion yen ($12.8 billion) and is in talks with several banks to borrow money to finance a bid, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

A second source familiar with the situation, who would not speak on the matter publicly, said Softbank was after a stake of roughly 70 percent, which it could achieve by buying some newly issued shares directly from Sprint and tendering for the rest.

By raising some new equity directly, Sprint would be able to shore up its balance sheet and potentially fund other deals such as a buyout of Clearwire in which it already holds roughly 48 percent.

Sprint shares rose as much as 19 percent on Thursday to levels not seen since the summer of 2011, on the heaviest trading volume in the stock's history. The stock ultimately closed 14.3 percent higher at $5.76 on New York Stock Exchange.

The shares of Clearwire, which could play a key role in any deal, closed almost 71 percent higher at $2.22. Clearwire, which has been looking for new sources of funding, has said that it has enough money until at least the middle of 2013.

It declined to comment on Thursday and its chief financial officer pulled out of a conference presentation at the last minute without an explanation.

A major Sprint investor said any Softbank investment should be used to buy out the rest of Clearwire, to give Sprint attractive wireless spectrum assets and to speed up Clearwire's upgrade of its wireless network with faster data speeds.

"I just don't think there's any deal unless it involves Clearwire. I don't think you'd see one without the other," said Daniel Martino, a fund manager at T. Rowe Price, which owned 47.2 million Sprint shares as of the end of June.

DEALS MULTIPLYING

Sprint, whose market capitalization was $15.12 billion at Wednesday's market close, is the third-largest U.S. carrier, with more than 56 million users at the end of June, even after losing customers for years.

As for Softbank, Sprint might be its only option for an entrance into the U.S. market, according to analysts.

"In terms of (Sprint) standalone, we believe the asset represents the only way for a potential new entrant to get a national presence immediately in the U.S.," Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche wrote in a note to clients.

The Softbank news comes just days after a source told Reuters that Sprint has been considering bidding for MetroPCS, which agreed this month to merge with Deutsche Telekom AG's and NTT Docomo.

Japanese media said buying Sprint - which competes in the United States against Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc - would also make it cheaper for Softbank to procure smartphones and other mobile devices.

Benjamin Powell, a former general counsel to the director of national intelligence now in private practice at WilmerHale, said the deal was very likely to require a government review because it involved sensitive telecommunications networks. But several analysts said regulators were likely to eventually look favorably on a deal.

Japanese companies made a record 642 cross-border deals last year, according to Thomson Reuters data. Buoyed by a stronger yen, the value of all overseas deals rose to $69.5 billion, up 81 percent from 2010, also a record.

(Additional reporting by Mari Saito and James Topham in Japan, Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore, Soyoung Kim and Martinne Geller in New York, Rachelle Younglai in Washington and Carey Gillam in Overland Park, Kansas; Writing by Ian Geoghegan and Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Andre Grenon and John Wallace)

I have been exiled from from the mega copper board. LOL

Haters gotta hate. Let the drilling begin!

Wolverine Exploration Announces Commencement of Diamond Drilling on its Cache River Copper/Gold Property in Central Labrador

PR Newswire

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 10, 2012

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Vancouver Wolverine Exploration Inc. (WOLV-OTCQB) is pleased to announce that mobilization of equipment to the Cache River property for the drilling program was completed yesterday. The drill program is commencing today. The initial drilling will consist of a minimum of four drill holes and a minimum of 300 metres and will be evaluated for further drilling after the assay results of the initial drilling have been received.

The drill program will be conducted by Innu-Cartwright Drilling Limited Partnership under the supervision of the project geologist Ed Montague, P. Geo.

On behalf of the Board

Lee Costerd
President

For further information please contact:

Ronald Jones (778) 297-4409
investor@wolverineexplorationinc.com http://www.wolverineexplorationinc.com/

Or

The Foothills Group
San Jose, CA 1-888-516-7415 (toll free)
info@foothillsgroup.com
http://www.foothillsgroup.com/

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, statements regarding the exploration program.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Wolverine Exploration Inc.