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1. Gold has traded between $1,386 and $1,396 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is down $3 an ounce at $1,392…Gold holdings by global ETFs soared in June, rising by 127 tonnes to 2,548 tonnes, the World Gold Council reported this morning…ETFs based in North America posted inflows of 65 tonnes while those in Europe rose by 59 tonnes…holdings of Gold by Asian ETFs climbed by 2.4 tonnes while those from other regions had a 0.4-tonne increase…European ETFs now account for their largest percentage of total global Gold ETF assets in history at 47% of the total…Silver is off a penny at $14.99…Copper, Nickel and Zinc have each retreated slightly to $2.63, $5.68 and $1.07, respectively…Crude Oil is down 19 cents at $57.47 while the U.S. Dollar Index has added one-tenth of a point to 97.50 (resistance) ahead of Fed Chairman Powell’s testimony before Congressional committees tomorrow and Thursday…the Quebec government is joining other provinces in the legal fight against Ottawa’s investment-killing carbon tax, hoping to convince the Supreme Court of Canada that a key part of the federal law intrudes on provincial jurisdiction…the Quebec government will continue to participate in a cap-and-trade system, but is planning to argue in court that Ottawa does not have the power to decide whether carbon pricing by the provinces fails to meet federal standards…Copper production in the Congo (DRC) fell by 16.2% year-on-year in the January to May period, while Cobalt output slid 21.5%, the central bank confirmed today…Copper output for the first 5 months of 2019 stood at 416,067 tonnes compared to 496,468 tonnes in the same period of last year, while Cobalt production was 33,967 tonnes, compared to 43,291 tonnes in 2018…Gold production was off 6.4%…
2. Official central bank reserve data is starting to filter through financial markets, showing that June was a very busy month for Gold purchases, and comes after a relatively quiet May, according to fresh data from the World Gold Council…“Several emerging market central banks – including Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan – have dominated buying for a few years now, and this is still the case in 2019“…however, Poland jumped into the fray last month as its central bank bought a whopping 95 tonnes, one of the highest monthly purchases in recent years…last year Poland bought just 26 tonnes, taking its Gold holdings “for financial security” to 229 tonnes…
3. Canada’s loonie is actually the world’s best-performing fiat currency this year but not for the right reasons (a strong resource sector)…unlike the Fed and other central banks that have adopted a more dovish tone or even cut rates, the Bank of Canada has not signalled its intent to follow…we’ll hear again from Stephen Poloz this week…an appreciating currency is a particular worry for a Canadian economy weighed downed by household debt and banking on its exporters to carry more of the growth burden…
4. Top American and China negotiators are set to speak this week in an effort to revive stalled trade talks, as discord over prior commitments and political considerations threaten to bog down discussions…President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at the recent G20 meeting in Japan to formally resume talks, yet people following the process say that the issues that snagged talks 2 months ago remain…among the sore spots: U.S. demands for China to buy more American agricultural and industrial products and to enforce protection of intellectual property, and China’s insistence that the U.S. remove tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods…“One side or the other can always cave and talks can wrap very quickly, but, barring that, Osaka was conflict limitation, not conflict resolution,” said Derek Scissors, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute think tank who has consulted with the U.S. administration…senior officials from each side, including Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, are set to speak by telephone this week…if successful, that could lead to face-to-face talks, likely in Beijing…the last round of face-to-face meetings that took place in Washington in May ended in an impasse…
5. BASF SE fired a warning shot across industries, as the world’s largest chemical company said slowing markets from cars to crops and the impact of U.S.-China trade tensions threaten to cut profit by 30% this year…the German maker of plastics, pesticides and lubricant additives dropped the most in 2 months, leading chemical-maker peers lower with profit warning that one trader described as a “shocking”…but with the Ludwigshafen-based company supplying industries ranging from autos to consumer products and computer chips, investors quickly called into question the outlook for other sectors in the upcoming earnings season…the projected drop in earnings before interest, taxes and special items was “mainly due to the trade conflicts,” BASF said late yesterday…tensions between the U.S. and China haven’t eased as expected, and that has slowed decision-making and investments in key markets including the Asian country…BASF doesn’t see the situation improving in the 2nd half of 2019…
6. The Dow has slipped 99 points through the first 30 minutes of trading as weakness continues following Friday’s strong jobs report…in Toronto, the TSX is up 18 points while the Venture is steady at 588…Martello Technologies Group (MTO, TSX-V), which has more than quadrupled in value over the last week, is up again this morning on news that it has forged a partnership with Suria Business Solutions, a provider of IP telephony and unified communications and collaboration (UCC) systems, applications, service, and solutions to more than 500 customers in Malaysia and Indonesia…Bruce Linton’s involvement in Martello, his departure last week from Canopy Growth (WEED, TSX; CGC, NYSE), and technical momentum have combined to really light a fire under the stock…long-term chart shows a band of resistance starting at 90 cents…Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V) has commenced Phase 1 exploration at its 100%-owned Kirkham Property in the Eskay Camp, contiguous to Garibaldi Resources‘ (GGI, TSX-V) Nickel Mountain Project…after 2 years of extensive work, the Kirkham Property is primed for an important new district discovery with geologists honing in on high-grade Gold, Copper-Gold porphyry and Nickel-rich magmatic sulphide targets…Golden Ridge Resources (GLDN, TSX-V) has signed an option agreement with Evrim Resources (EVM, TSX-V) to acquire an 80% interest in the 524 sq. km Ball Creek Project located in the Golden Triangle, just north of the Eskay Camp…the Ball Creek Project fully surrounds Golden Ridge’s 100%-owned 1,700 sq. km Hank Property, effectively increasing the company’s land position by 3,056%…GFG Resources (GFG, TSX-V) has started its 2019 drill program at its Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project in Wyoming…the program will consist of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 m of core drilling and is fully-funded by GFG’s partner, Newcrest Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newcrest Mining (NCM, ASX)…2 drill rigs over the next few months will focus on testing moderate to deep Gold targets proximal to the North Stock deposit and on greenfield targets…GFG is the operator of the program and will receive a 10% management fee on the total expenditures…
7. Aben Resources (ABN, TSX-V) has commenced drilling at its Forrest Kerr Gold Project in the Eskay Camp…Aben is starting with a 5,000-m drill program that can be expanded to 10,000-m as results dictate…initial drilling will be focused within and peripheral to the North Boundary Zone which has previously returned high-grade results such as 38.7 g/t Au over 10 m (from 114 to 124 m) including 331 g/t over 1 m in hole FK18–10…geologists see potential for a northward extension of the high-grade mineralized core at North Boundary…2018 drilling was hampered by limited permitted pad locations as a result of extensive forest fire activity in the area…over the winter season, an additional 45 drill pad locations were approved by government agencies, allowing maximum flexibility for testing new geophysical and geochemical targets and for investigating evolving geological theories…this summer’s drilling will also target polymetallic mineralization at the South Boundary Zone where broad intercepts of Gold-Silver-Copper-Zinc values in quartz veins were intersected in 3 holes last year…
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Mr. Jon, is there any estimation of the lead time from pumping tailings into Castle, converting the concentrate, shipping to smelter, and then get the silver? Even a rough guess?
Comment by Jean — July 9, 2019 @ 9:25 am
Very straightforward process, Jean, that happens quickly and seamlessly…even right now you could take out material from 1st level, crush it and screen it, and throw it in a furnace in Cobalt and pour beautiful Silver…
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 10, 2019 @ 6:48 am
Mr. Jon, that’s very encouraging. If things going that well, wonder what’s taking so long to update market? Based on my prelimary research, lots of warrants expire this week right? Perhaps they are waiting for that to conclude first?
Comment by Jean — July 10, 2019 @ 7:01 am
Battery Mineral Resources (BMR) got a big chunk of cash from a ESI/NY fund over a year ago. Since then, no news on their sonic drilling to verify the Silver #’s, because they don’t have to. But one assumes it wasn’t the results they needed to get the listing since in over a yr, they havent moved fwd to the next phase. All funds, who use other people’s money, would want a safe idea of how realistic the plan is before investing more cash. Based on these speculations, not sure how they do a deal with CCW or if BMR is after Ag (historical resource they were confirming) or Co (which has tanked in price over the past year) ? So any idea on how BMR gonna work with CCW on the tailings?
Comment by david — July 10, 2019 @ 3:04 pm
Jon……..With the apparent turnaround in gold and the Venture(which needs a little work yet), do you still see any value in IMR or have you pretty much sent this one out to pasture.I have a sizable investment in IMR and am wondering whether to cut my losses or hang in for a Hail Mary.I also own GGI and MTS which are threatening to bust out real soon, so at least it’s not all bad news.Thanks for the feedback on GEMC from one of your readers as I also hold that one.
Comment by Dgambler — July 10, 2019 @ 5:07 pm
Dgambler, I expressed my concerns re: IMR a few months back and nothing has changed regarding that, though my confidence remains high regarding the property potential…you’re right about GGI and MTS ready to bust out soon, along with others up there…
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 10, 2019 @ 6:29 pm
Very good question David. I hope Jon chooses to answer…
Comment by Jon (not BMR Jon) — July 10, 2019 @ 7:25 pm
Very simple, David – investors in privately held Battery Mineral are looking for cash flow; the company is sitting on a significant tailings resource that actually extends for many meters underground into the parking lot at the Castle mine office near the #3 Shaft. The expertise in this area (extraction techniques) clearly rests with CCW, so it’s a natural fit to have CCW process the Battery tailings. Discussions regarding these and other synergies between the two companies have already started. They will intensify once CCW has its amendment approved (late stages now) and tailings extraction commences at Castle. Battery is very committed to the Gowganda area as evidenced by the work they’ve done on their tailings to date and the land position they’ve built up.
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 10, 2019 @ 8:10 pm