BullMarketRun.ca

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

1. Gold has traded between $1,324 and $1,335 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is off $8 an ounce at $1,325…Silver has retreated 16 cents to $16.48…monthly Chinese Silver imports have come in at the highest in 7-and-a-half years…Commerzbank notes that the most recent data from customs authorities showed 493 tonnes were imported last month, 85% more than January 2016…however, the Silver market was certainly not in tight supply last month as ETF investors dumped nearly 400 tonnes…base metals are looking better, though Copper is down 4 cents this morning at $3.18…Nickel and Zinc are both relatively unchanged at $6.29 and $1.61, respectively…Cobalt continues to hover around a decade high of $37 a pound, off slightly at $36.97…Crude Oil has slipped 14 cents to $63.77 while the U.S. Dollar Index has reversed higher, up slightly at 89.96…

2. U.S. consumer confidence numbers came in higher than expected this morning as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made his first public comments during Congressional testimony since replacing Janet Yellen at the helm earlier this month…Powell downplayed concerns over recent market volatility, arguing that such swings do not weigh heavily on his outlook for the economy…he said he expects continued gradual increases in interest rates given that the job market remains robust, consumer spending is solid and wage growth is accelerating…he also highlighted gains in U.S. exports and stimulative fiscal policy as new “tailwinds” for the economy.  “The economic outlook remains strong,” he concluded, in remarks that are pushing Treasury yields higher this morning…

3. The Dow has jumped 911 points the last 3 sessions and is up another 6 points through the first 30 minutes of trading this morning…gains have been recorded in 10 out of the past 12 sessions since a 1,033-point drop February 8, so a modest pullback soon is likely in order…in Toronto, the TSX is 14 points higher while the Venture has fallen 6 points to 821 after failing to push through resistance at 833 yesterday…bucking the trend is Blue Moon Zinc  (MOON, TSX-V), up half a penny at 10.5 cents and near a new multi-year high as the company progresses toward a drill program at its Zinc-rich VMS deposit in Mariposa County…licensed producer Aurora Cannabis (ACB, TSX) has signed a deal to supply medical marijuana to Shoppers Drug Mart…the agreement is subject to Health Canada’s approval of the pharmacy chain’s application to dispense medical cannabis….Aurora’s products are expected to be sold online, as current Canadian regulations prohibit the sale of medical marijuana in pharmacy locations…Shoppers Drug Mart’s deal with Aurora comes after it recently signed similar deals with licensed medical marijuana producers Aphria, MedReleaf and Tilray…Cronos Group (MJN, TSX-V and CRON, NASDAQ) became the first marijuana company to trade on a major U.S. exchange this morning…it climbed as high as $8.38 before pulling back…

4. The northern Ontario Cobalt Camp now features an aggressive new brand – Canada Cobalt Works (CCW, TSX-V), formerly Castle Silver, has laid out a powerful vision for the role it expects to play as a vertically integrated and leading domestic pure play Cobalt company focused exclusively on northern Ontario…the company has also delivered more exceptionally high Cobalt grades from underground selected bulk sampling on the first level of its 100%-owned Castle mine – 2.47% Cobalt and 0.91% Cobalt…the underground sampling program continues (more results pending) ahead of important underground drilling…CCW is also applying to have all 11 levels of the Castle mine dewatered…significantly, CCW has retained Amec Foster Wheeler (Wood), a leading global engineering firm specializing in the energy sector, to design plans and launch the permitting process for a state-of-the-art 600-tonne-per-day gravity flotation cyanidation mill at the Castle mine…no such processing facility exists in the entire district and it’ll be designed to handle Gold mineralization from the Granada mine across the border in Quebec, and material from the Castle mine and elsewhere throughout the Cobalt Camp…the planned mill, underground access and a proprietary process (Re-2OX) to handle the complex metallurgy of the Cobalt Camp are major distinguishing features for Canada Cobalt…

5. Group Ten Metals (PGE, TSX-V) has identified an initial 12 major geophysical conductive anomalies from a 1,914-line-km Fugro DIGHEM electromagnetic survey covering its Stillwater West Project in south-central Montana…these first targets are located within the lower banded, ultramafic, and basal series of the Stillwater complex within Group Ten’s main claim group adjacent to, and contiguous with, Sibanye-Stillwater’s high-grade Platinum PGE mining operations…the strongest geophysical conductors show signatures that may be characteristic of large bodies of massive to extensively disseminated sulphides, which correspond with overlapping highly elevated Palladium, Platinum, Gold, Nickel, Copper and chromium values in soil samples, covering a distance of 18 km…

6. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has issued issuing an urgent call for a “course correction” with energy investors dumping Canada for Iran and Brazil, among other places (notably as well, of course, the United States which is aggressively promoting Oil and gas).  “Rising government costs, the burden of inefficient regulation, lack of energy infrastructure, are moving Canadian investment further and further behind,” Tim McMillan, president and CEO of CAPP, said at a news conference in Ottawa to launch a year long-campaign to propose a new energy vision. “In Canada we need pipelines, not barricades, to supply the world with more energy. The time to build is now.”  CAPP’s vision has 4 key components:  1) Global connection for Canada’s Oil and natural gas resources; 2) Globally competitive policies; 3) Climate plan that doesn’t disadvantage Canada and is comparable to other jurisdictions competing for the same global capital;  and 4) Government policies that encourage and accelerate innovation and technology in the Oil and natural gas sector…

7. The Financial Post reported this morning that the B.C. government has appointed a 12-member task force of industry, indigenous and labour leaders to measure the current state of the provincial mining industry…Mines Minister Michelle Mungall says the group will provide an economic analysis of the mining sector and offer recommendations to ensure job security for the industry during times of commodity price fluctuations…the task force has until this November to submit a report to her ministry, including recommendations for changes or amendments to current legislation or regulations…the task force members include Tumbler Ridge Mayor Don McPherson, Tom Syer of Teck Resources, Michelle Laurie with the United Steelworkers, and Mark Podlasly, a senior adviser with the First Nations Energy and Mining Council…the government says B.C.’s mining sector provides more than 30,000 jobs and generates more than $6-billion annually to the provincial economy…the task force will give the industry and those connected to mining the opportunity to provide direct input on policy and direction to the government…whether this is just a PR stunt by the NDP-Green coalition, or a real attempt at helping grow this industry, remains to be seen…

Most Popular Recent BMR Posts

Venture Locked and Loaded For Powerful Q1

Commodity Check!

The Template For The Next 10% Stake In Garibaldi Resources

Thunder In The Corridor!

The Nickel Mountain Magma Highway

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