BullMarketRun.ca

Check back later today for additional posts. Also check the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.

1. Gold has traded between $1,284 and $1,291 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is off $2 an ounce at $1,288…Silver has retreated 11 cents to $16.97…base metals are generally positive with Copper advancing 3 pennies to $2.99 while Nickel is up slightly at $5.27…the U.S. Dollar Index has gained one-tenth of a point to 93.25…whether the dollar goes further into the hole after Jackson Hole remains to be seen, but the currency’s technicals remain weak…

2. Markets are focused on an annual meeting of central bankers beginning today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi are set to deliver important speeches tomorrow on the outlook for monetary policy and interest rates…Draghi yesterday warned against hasty policy responses and said gaps in understanding the workings of new policies remain….

3. Gold is on track to outperform stocks for the first time since 2011, highlighting the uncertainty that has accompanied this year’s stock market gains…Gold is up 12.1% this year while the S&P has risen 9.2%…other indicators of investor anxiety, such as the Japanese yen, Swiss franc and CBOE Volatility Index have also climbed in recent weeks…net bets by hedge funds and other speculative investors on a higher Gold price stood at 179,537 contracts for the week ended August 15, the highest level since the week ended October 4, 2016, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data…

4. The energy industry is closely watching Tropical Storm Harvey that could become the first hurricane to make landfall in Texas in 9 years and threaten one-third of the U.S. refining industry…meanwhile, it was confirmed yesterday that U.S. Crude Oil production hit 9.53 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, its highest since July 2015 and up over 13% from the mid-2016 low…however, U.S. Crude stocks continue to decline as data from the EIA also showed…

5. The Dow is off 22 points through the first 30 minutes of trading while the TSX has edged 9 points lower…the Venture is flat at 765 as it continues to trade in a tight range…THC Biomed International (THC, CSE) is the big gainer this morning soaring 17 cents to 50 cents on high volume (best on the CSE) after announcing that it is now authorized by Health Canada to sell dried marijuana to registered patients…

6. Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) has commenced drilling this morning at the E&L Property at Nickel Mountain in the heart of the Eskay Camp, just 11 miles southwest of Eskay Creek…the original near-surface discovery was made half a century ago when 12 drill holes by Silver Standard (now SSR Mining) defined several Nickel-Copper-rich mineralized zones to a maximum depth of 122 m…there has been no follow-up from surface since then, however…results from mid-1960’s drilling included 37.8 m grading 1.3% Nickel and 0.79% with 5.9% Ni and 1.7% Cu at the bottom of that hole (DDH-4–1966)…based on geophysical surveys and other data, geologists believe that massive sulphides have accumulated at depth below a disseminated halo beginning at about 140 m in a textbook-style Nickel sulphide deposit that features exceptionally high tenor of the sulphide (4.8% to 8% Ni and 2.1% to 10.9% Cu)…PGE’s, Gold, Silver and Cobalt are also present in what is shaping up to be a very unique Eskay-style high-grade Nickel sulphide system that could rewrite the geological playbook for the entire Canadian Cordillera…GGI also reported this morning that ground geophysics carried out in recent days by SJ Geophysics have confirmed the existence of the Anomaly “D” VTEM conductor starting at a depth of 140 m…the trend extending for at least 6 km from the historic E&L deposit is also highly prospective with GGI crews following up on 3 high-priority conductors…meanwhile, Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V) continues drilling its first hole in the southern part of the Kirkham Property adjoining the E&L…more from the Eskay Camp later today including an interview with Adam Travis, Colorado Resources‘ (CXO, TSX-V) President and CEO…

7. Vanadium prices have soared to their highest in nearly 9 years due to shortages created by China’s anti-pollution drive, which has meant the country importing the steel ingredient to meet its needs…prices of ferro Vanadium, used in steel alloys, have risen nearly 90% this year to around $43 per kg, levels last seen in November 2008…Vanadium pentoxide prices have more than doubled on the spot market in Europe to $9.50 per lb from $4.65 in early January…in North America, Cornerstone Metals (CCC, TSX-V) is making a strategic move into the Vanadium space after entering into a non-binding LOI with Americas Gold Exploration Inc., a private Nevada corporation, to acquire a 100% interest in its underlying option agreement on the Carlin Vanadium project in Nevada…Carlin features one of the largest known primary Vanadium deposits in the United States and was discovered by Union Carbide Corp. in the 1960’s…they completed surface mapping, trenching and 152 rotary drill holes in 11,133 m (36,525 feet) of drilling…CCC is trading at 6.5 cents for a market cap of only $1.5 million…

Two Big Plays Emerge in B.C., Setting The Stage For A Summer To Remember

How To Bring A Junior Resource Market To Life!

The Dramatic New Chase For A Nickel-Copper-Rich Massive Sulphide Deposit In The Heart Of A Famous Gold Camp

Northern Ontario Cobalt Junior Attracts Interest From Metal Trading Companies

The Most Important Venture Development Since The New Bull Market Began

CSR Builds Momentum At Castle Mine

Eskay Heart of Gold Camp, Northwest British Columbia

9:30 pm Pacific

If there’s one district in Canada that can suddenly supercharge the exploration sector and the Venture Exchange, it’s none other than the prolific Eskay Camp in northwest British Columbia where multiple major discoveries since the 1980’s have solidified this area as one of the most mineralized parts of the entire planet.

Eskay Creek produced phenomenal grades (just over 3 million ounces of Gold @ 49.5 g/t and nearly 160 million ounces of Silver at 2,406 g/t) and that’s being followed up by Pretium Resources‘ (PVG, TSX) Brucejack mine which just recently commenced commercial production.  Brucejack is projected to churn out approximately 500,000 ounces of Gold per year at an average grade of about 16 g/t while Pretium drills for additional deposits to the east.  Meanwhile, Seabridge Gold’s (SEA, TSX) KSM hosts the world’s largest reserves of Gold and Copper with the company currently drilling for high-grade Gold to the west at its promising Iskut Project.

Given massive infrastructure improvements in the last few years, a healthier commodity sector and big dollars going into the ground, the Eskay Camp is in the midst of its own powerful new bull cycle phase.

Overlooking part of the large accommodation facilities at the AltaGas Forrest Kerr camp which serves the very active mining exploration sector in the Eskay district (BMR photo).

Adjacent to the Iskut Project, Colorado Resources (CXO, TSX-V) is fervishly drilling its now 100%-owned KSP Project with technical prowess and military-style operational efficiency.  KSP features the promising Inel zone and multiple prospective additional high-grade Gold target areas on a land package that fits the definition of “large scale” – 37 juniors owned portions of the now consolidated KSP in the 1980’s, and the property package to this day remains vastly under-explored despite CXO’s aggressive efforts since 2014.  Hence, Goldcorp has just taken a nearly 15% ownership slice of CXO.

Helicopters are buzzing around like bees near a hive as nearly 10 companies are now carrying out drill programs in the broader Eskay Camp, increasing the odds of an important new discovery at any point over the coming weeks.

Helicopter for Metallis Resources delivers first drill core from Kirkham Property to staging area used by several juniors about 8 km west of the AltaGas camp.

In the middle of this Camp, a junior that traded for as little as a nickel less than a year ago could be on the verge of a stunning high-grade Nickel sulphide discovery that SSR Mining (SSRM, TSX) may have missed by less than 30 meters when it was known as Silver Standard Resources and defined several Nickel-Copper-rich mineralized zones in shallow drilling at Nickel Mountain in the mid-1960’s.  More analysis tonight in a subscriber-only piece regarding Garibaldi Resources‘ (GGI, TSX-V) unusually strong odds for a game-changing discovery, one that would rewrite the geological playbook for the entire Canadian Cordillera.

With “boots on the ground” in the Eskay Camp, BMR is delivering unparalleled coverage of developments and opportunities for junior resource investors in this world class district.

Check back later today for additional posts including Daniel’s Den and visit the comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.

1. Gold has traded between $1,284 and $1,292 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $3 an ounce at $1,287…Silver has added 5 cents to $17.02…base metals are relatively quiet this morning with Nickel leading the way with a gain of 3 cents to $5.17…Crude Oil is off slightly at $47.70…the U.S. Dollar Index has rebounded off its morning lows and is now up nearly one-tenth of a point to 93.61…President Trump raised the prospect of a government shutdown at a rally in Phoenix last night as he tries to push through plans to build the wall along the border with Mexico…

2. UBS strategist Joni Teves on Gold:  “We maintain this view and think that geopolitical tensions alone are unlikely to trigger a convincing break above $1,300, unless there is a significant escalation in the situation.  Nevertheless, that the downside in Gold has been relatively contained despite fluctuations in risk appetite over the past few weeks suggests that there’s an underlying appetite to hold Gold as a safe haven and hedge against potential tail risks. We hold on to our bullish stance on Gold, expecting prices to continue higher against a backdrop of benign real rates, soft dollar, lingering uncertainty and relatively limited exposure, which suggests room for Gold allocations to grow. Having said this, although we remain convinced of the direction of travel, we do recognize that there’s growing uncertainty on the pace and extent of the uptrend.”

3. U.S. government data released moments ago could give Crude Oil a boost today…the EIA has reported an 8th straight weekly drop in U.S. Crude stockpiles and a bigger-than-expected decline in gasoline inventories…U.S. commercial Crude inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels in the week to August 18 to 463.2 million, slightly better than expectations…meanwhile U.S. gasoline inventories were down 1.2 million barrels, according to EIA, which contradicted bearish figures released yesterday by industry group American Petroleum Institute…meanwhile, the next meeting of a ministerial committee of OPEC and non-OPEC states to discuss their production pact has been proposed for September 22…

4. This morning’s flash U.S. manufacturing PMI for August, reported by research firm IHS Market, came in modestly below expectations at 52.5 vs. July’s 53.3 reading…however, this was offset by the firm’s service sector PMI reading which jumped more than expected to a 28-month high of 56.9 from July’s reading of 54.7…in other economic data released this morning, new U.S. single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in July, dropping to their lowest in 7 months which could raise concerns of a slowdown in the housing market recovery…

5. The Dow is off 59 points through the first 30 minutes of trading while the TSX is going in the opposite direction, up 51 points…the Venture has added 1 point to 765 as it continues to trade in a tight range, looking for a reason to break to the upside as certain technical models suggest it will…near-term resistance at 770 has proven to be stubborn but that wall could come down in a hurry given “hot zones” of exploration in northwest British Columbia in particular…

6. Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V) confirmed this morning that it has commenced drilling at its 100%-owned Kirkham Property adjoining Garibaldi Resources‘ (GGI, TSX-V) E&L Project in the Eskay Camp…drilling at Kirkham has started in the south at the Cliff target where surface mineralization at the Hawilson monzonite porphyry has been traced for at least 1.4 km along strike…the first 2 drill holes are designed to intersect Gold-rich copper porphyry mineralized zones below and south of historical drill hole MD-09–01 which featured increasing Gold and Copper grades with depth…alteration in this area is impressive…approximately 2 km to the north, crews are making preparations to drill the King high-grade Gold target adjacent to the 6-km-long Hawilson porphyry…interestingly this morning, Metallis referred to a potential structural link between Kirkham and the E&L – the 2 north-south trending properties comprise a nearly 30-km-long under-explored corridor featuring potential for multiple deposit types in this part of the Eskay Camp with deposits/mines on either side of this corridor…weather has presented challenges for all companies in the Camp over the past week but a major clearing pattern is forecast to begin by the weekend…Garibaldi appears ready to commence drilling with a rig spotted on a drill pad at the top of Nickel Mountain…no less than 10 companies now active with drill programs in the broader Eskay Heart of Gold Camp…

7.  Almaden Minerals (AMM, TSX) has discovered significant new mineralization in an upper portion of the PFS pit modeled as waste material in the company’s Pre-Feasibility Study for its Tuligtic Project in Mexico…separate intervals in drill hole TU-17–504 returned 74.5 m @ 0.66 g/t Au and 45.1 g/t Ag, and 64.30 m @ 0.79 g/t Au and 74.4 g/t Ag including a high-grade section of 10.5 m @ 3.54 g/t Au and 306.9 g/t Ag…the mineralization reported this morning confirms the importance of the emerging Ixtaca North zone, and demonstrates the potential to convert what is currently classified as waste to ore-grade material through continued drilling in this area…J.D. Poliquin, Chairman of Almaden, stated: “While we have established Ixtaca as a prominent new discovery of Gold and Silver reserves, we are clearly only at the beginning of the discovery cycle at this project. Ongoing drilling in areas within and proximal to the PFS pit will provide very useful input into the continuing work to deliver a Feasibility Study early next year, and will begin the process of testing new targets on the Tuligtic claim.”

The most popular recent BMR articles/videos…

Two Big Plays Emerge in B.C., Setting The Stage For A Summer To Remember

How To Bring A Junior Resource Market To Life!

The Dramatic New Chase For A Nickel-Copper-Rich Massive Sulphide Deposit In The Heart Of A Famous Gold Camp

Northern Ontario Cobalt Junior Attracts Interest From Metal Trading Companies

The Most Important Venture Development Since The New Bull Market Began

CSR Builds Momentum At Castle Mine

Check the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.

1. Gold has traded between $1,281 and $1,291 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is down $9 an ounce at $1,282…Silver has retreated 8 cents to $16.92…base metals are mostly slightly higher today, led by Lead and Nickel…Crude Oil has added 39 cents to $47.76…U.S. Crude stocks have been falling consistently in recent weeks…a fresh roll-out of data on inventories starts later today with a report from the American Petroleum Institute…the U.S. Dollar Index has rallied one-third of a point to 93.45…

2. Standard Chartered still looks for Gold to average $1,300 an ounce in the final 3 months of 2017. “Rising geopolitical and political tensions have been a key driver of upward price risk for Gold this year, and we believe $1,300/oz remains a likely possibility in coming weeks and continue to expect prices to average $1,300/oz in Q4 2017 as the market prices in a less hawkish Fed for 2018–19.  Amid a weak physical market, Gold continues to take its cue from a weaker U.S. dollar and real yields but before the next Fed meeting on 20 September, the market will turn its focus to the annual Jackson Hole symposium on 24–26 August. Despite the July Fed minutes raising concerns over downside risks to inflation, our economists believe definitive messages about the next policy move are unlikely.”

3. Palladium hit a 16-year high this morning, touching $940 an ounce before pulling back slightly…the precious metal is getting a strong push from speculative funds…Palladium is used in gasoline engines but has been ignoring the recent downturn in U.S. light vehicle and passenger car sales…

4. Copper prices hit their highest level in nearly 3 years yesterday, and Zinc sits at its highest price in a decade… Aluminum climbed to 3-year peaks last week, and Iron Ore has rallied 35% since the end of May…Nickel, meanwhile, has hit a new 52-week high and is threatening to break out to levels not seen in 2-and-a-half years…driving the gains are expectations that this year’s nascent rebound in global growth will continue, with major economies around the world shifting into higher gear after a long period of lackluster performance…many investors are also betting that reduced supplies and a selloff in the dollar will continue boosting prices…net bets by hedge funds and other speculative investors on a higher Copper price stood at 120,175 contracts for the week ended August 15, the highest level since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began recording the data in 2006…

5. Investors are looking ahead to an annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole this week, with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to speak on Friday…the Dow has jumped 117 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…the TSX has gained 21 points while the Venture has slipped 2 points to 767 as it backs off again from a resistance band that begins at 770…

6. Noront Resources (NOT, TSX-V) is steady in early trading at 41.5 cents (Venture’s 2nd most active stock as of 7:00 Pacific) after jumping more than 30% yesterday on news that the Ontario government and the chiefs of Marten Falls, Webequie and Nibiminik First Nations formally committed provincial funding to two First Nation road proposals that will provide community and industrial access to the Ring of Fire mining district…an environmental assessment of both road projects is expected to begin by January, 2018, followed by construction in 2019 pending all necessary approvals…Noront says this time frame allows the company to advance its pre-development work and ready itself for the 3-year construction of its Eagle’s Nest Nickel/Copper/PGE mine…

7. Northern Ontario Cobalt plays CobalTech (CSK, TSX-V) and Cobalt Power (CPO, TSX-V) firmed up yesterday on news, while an update from Castle Silver Resources (CSR, TSX-V) is due soon with the company having launched its drill program at the Castle mine in mid-July as well as an initial work program at the Beaver Property…CSK pushed above resistance at 16 cents and is unchanged at 18 cents through the first 30 minutes of trading…CobalTech and First Cobalt (FCC, TSX-V), which remains halted, have signed a definitive merger agreement – CSK shareholders will receive 0.2632 of a First Cobalt share for each of their CSK shares…meanwhile, Cobalt Power has found a partner in Hochschild Mining Holdings Ltd. which is completing a private placement in CPO at 13 cents…

The most popular recent BMR articles/videos…

Two Big Plays Emerge in B.C., Setting The Stage For A Summer To Remember

How To Bring A Junior Resource Market To Life!

The Dramatic New Chase For A Nickel-Copper-Rich Massive Sulphide Deposit In The Heart Of A Famous Gold Camp

Northern Ontario Cobalt Junior Attracts Interest From Metal Trading Companies

The Most Important Venture Development Since The New Bull Market Began

CSR Builds Momentum At Castle Mine

Check back later today for Daniel’s Den and visit the comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.

1. Gold has traded between $1,284 and $1,294 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $8 an ounce at $1,292…the metal surged to its highest since November on Friday when political and security concerns in the United States and Spain jangled investors’ nerves and stoked demand…speculators hiked their net-long positions in COMEX Gold futures and options for a 5th straight week ending August 15, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday…Silver has added 12 cents to $17.06…base metals are robust again today with Nickel leading the way and testing its early 2017 highs just above $5 a pound…Crude Oil has slipped 31 cents to $48.30 while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen one-fifth of a point to 93.28…

2. U.S. hedge funds and money managers cut bullish bets on U.S. Crude for a 2nd straight week but there are nonetheless some positive signs on the Oil front…the U.S. rig count suffered its biggest fall since January with drillers slashing 5 rigs in the week to August 18, reducing the count to 763…in addition, U.S. commercial Crude inventories have fallen almost 13% from their March peaks…meanwhile, investors are awaiting the results of an OPEC technical meeting in Vienna today focused on compliance levels…compliance with the production cut agreement last December fell to its lowest level this year at 75% in July due to higher output from Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest monthly report…

3. Investors are looking ahead to an annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole this week, with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to speak on Friday…watch for potential impacts on both Gold and the U.S. dollar in addition to equity markets…the Dow is off 42 points in early trading while the TSX has slipped 28 points…the Venture is bucking the trend, however, thanks to strength in metals and exploration excitement in parts of B.C. and elsewhere…the Venture has gained 4 points to 774 on strength in precious metals and encouraging exploration developments on various fronts including of course northwest British Columbia…Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V), up 3 pennies at 72 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific, is threatening to break out to new highs as drilling gets set to begin at Nickel Mountain, 11 miles southwest of Eskay Creek, where there’s a bull’s-eye near-surface massive sulphide target immediately below known Nickel-Copper-rich mineralized zones…Aben Resources (ABN, TSX-V), which started drilling at its Forrest Kerr Project in the northern part of the Eskay Heart of Gold Camp at the beginning of the month, is pushing higher on strong volume but no news in early trading…

4. More high-grade results from Dolly Varden Silver (DV, TSX-V) this morning from the company’s ongoing drill program at its Dolly Varden Property south of Stewart…holes DV17–044 to 048 were drilled from the north side of the Dolly Varden deposit area, one of 4 deposits and over 50 exploration targets on the property…best results came from hole DV17–048 which intersected 3 mineralized structures including the Upper Zone where a 13.2-m intersection returned 702 g/t Ag including 2.6 m grading 2,356 g/t Ag, 2.9% Zn and 1.1% Pb…DV is up 9 cents at 69 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

5. Klondike Gold (KG, TSX-V) was halted shortly after the open, pending company contact by the Exchange, after a 12-cent price increase to 47 cents on heavy volume of over 1 million shares through the first 17 minutes of trading…the company has been delivering positive results from its promising Lone Star target within its 527-sq. km Klondike district land package in the Yukon…

6. It was announced this morning that First Cobalt (FCC, TSX-V) and Cobaltech (CSK, TSX-V) have entered into a definitive merger agreement following the signing of a binding LOI June 23, 2017…under the terms of the deal, First Cobalt will acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of CobalTech by way of a court approved plan of arrangement…CobalTech shareholders will receive 0.2632 of a First Cobalt share for each CobalTech share, representing the equivalent of 20 cents per CobalTech common share based on FCC’s most recent closing price of 76 cents before it was halted June 23…Trent Mell, FCC President and CEO, commented: “I am pleased to see our two companies coming together. The Cobalt Camp has been under-explored for its Cobalt potential and has never seen the meaningful land consolidation achieved through this merger and the proposed merger between First Cobalt and Cobalt One. These transactions are expected to create the largest pure play Cobalt explorer in the world and offers an opportunity to revisit this Camp on a district scale for open-pit mining potential.”  Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions including approval by the shareholders of CobalTech and receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Venture Exchange…

7. Cobalt Power Group (CPO, TSX-V) and Hochschild Mining Holdings Ltd. are forming an “alliance”, CPO announced this morning, with Hochschild initially investing $500,000 (U.S.) in the company through a private placement at 13 cents (CDN) per unit…Hochschild will also appoint a director to the Board of CPO and also receives additional rights including the right to option and joint venture one of CPO’s properties…Dr. Andreas Rompel, President and CEO, stated:  “We are delighted to become associated with a reputable mining house like Hochschild and welcome them as our strategic partner in Cobalt, Ontario.  Hochschild’s extensive experience in mining and treatment of steeply dipping, narrow epithermal veins will be of paramount importance in the development of the Smith Cobalt Project and adjoining lands.”

The most popular recent BMR articles/videos…

Two Big Plays Emerge in B.C., Setting The Stage For A Summer To Remember

How To Bring A Junior Resource Market To Life!

The Dramatic New Chase For A Nickel-Copper-Rich Massive Sulphide Deposit In The Heart Of A Famous Gold Camp

Northern Ontario Cobalt Junior Attracts Interest From Metal Trading Companies

The Most Important Venture Development Since The New Bull Market Began

CSR Builds Momentum At Castle Mine