Visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.
1. Gold has bounced around between $1,314 and $1,328 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $3 an ounce at $1,325…Silver has added 7 cents to $16.57…Copper, Nickel and Zinc are all up slightly at $3.12, $6.26 and $1.49, respectively…Cobalt is steady at a decade high of $38.33…Crude Oil has jumped 50 cents to $61.86 while the U.S. Dollar Index has retreated one-quarter of a point to 89.88…the greenback came under pressure immediately after a tepid U.S. inflation report…the Fed meets next week, and the pattern in Gold immediately prior to an anticipated rate hike is well established as Commerzbank pointed out today: “It was not unusual for Gold to experience phases of weakness ahead of a Fed meeting last year – this was particularly noticeably in the run-up to the 4 ‘major’ Fed meetings. These took place in March, June, September and December and were regarded by the market as possible occasions for the Fed to hike interest rates. Gold always shed 3-4% in the 2 weeks before these meetings.”
2. The key economic data point of the day came 1 hour before the opening bell on Wall Street as the U.S. consumer price index report for February was in line with expectations, up 0.2% for the month and 2.2% year-on-year…this will help ease inflation concerns, and stock prices have reacted accordingly in early trading…the “core” CPI number, which excludes food and energy, was also up 0.2% from January but has only advanced 1.8% year-on-year…a decline in energy prices helped keep inflation in check while apparel contributed the most to gains, adding to the increase in January…new car prices fell 0.5%, the biggest monthly decline since August 2009…this morning’s report marked the 3rd straight month in which core prices have risen at an annual rate of 1.8%, suggesting inflation is rising at only a moderate pace…real average hourly earnings were flat in February, and Oil prices remain at non-inflationary levels…
3. The Dow is up 144 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…in Toronto, the TSX is 69 points higher while the Venture has added 2 points to 829…Kopin (KOPN, NASDAQ), a global leader in the wearable technology space, is up another 16 cents to $3.88 as of 7:00 am Pacific…KOPN has posted 8 consecutive winning sessions with the stock now gaining traction above its 200-day moving average (SMA)…Skeena Resources (SKE, TSX-V) has arranged a $6 million “best efforts” private placement through a syndicate of agents led by PI Financial and Sprott Capital Partners ($3 million in hard dollars at 60 cents per unit and $3 million in flow-through at 70 cents per unit)…Cypress Development (CYP, TSX-V) has drilled 126 m averaging 1,068 ppm Lithium (DDH-15) and 121 m averaging 1,146 ppm Lithium (DDH-16) from surface at its Dean Property in Nevada – the two intersections, located in the southeastern corner of the property, are the best the company has drilled to date in terms of contained Lithium…this comes ahead of Cypress completing work on a maiden resource estimate…drilling continues with assays pending for DDH-17…on the CSE, Auxico Resources Canada (AUAG, CSE) has released some exceptionally high Scandium assays from sampling at its Metalor Property in Colombia…a total of 6 selected samples were taken…5 of the 6 samples contain Scandium within an average content of 1,300 g/t Scandium…5 of the 6 samples also contain Gold with an average Gold content of 21 g/t…the selected samples were taken over a distance of approximately 481 m…the high-grade Scandium and Gold values are associated with a fault observed over a width of at least 480 m…the fault is represented by an exhalative shale sequence containing disseminated to massive sulphide strata…
4. Pascal Biosciences (PAS, TSX-V) has closed a $5.2 million financing at 40 cents per unit…there is a growing body of research demonstrating the effectiveness of cannabinoids in the treatment of cancer symptoms, including nausea, appetite enhancement and pain management…however, Pascal is the first to identify a mechanism in which cannabinoids may provide a direct benefit in immunotherapy…
5. Blue Moon Zinc (MOON, TSX-V) has added Peter A. Ball to its board of directors…currently an executive/board advisor with Bonterra Resources (BTR, TSX-V), Ball brings nearly 3 decades of extensive experience and leadership in the mining sector…Patrick McGrath, Blue Moon CEO, stated, “We welcome Peter’s leadership to our board and his broad experience from development stage assets through to active mining companies such as Hud Bay and Eldorado. Peter also brings a wealth of knowledge of the capital markets and the mining investment community which will benefit shareholders significantly as we enter an exciting new phase for the Blue Moon Zinc Project.”
6. Tinka Resources (TK, TSX-V) , enjoying success at its Ayawilca Zinc Project in central Peru, has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by GMP Securities LP pursuant for a $7 million bought deal financing at 48 cents per unit…the Ayawilca Zinc zone Inferred mineral resource estimate now consists of 42.7 million tonnes at 6.0% Zn, 0.2% Pb, 17 g/t Ag and 79 g/t Indium, and a Tin zone Inferred mineral resource of 10.5 million tonnes at 0.63% Tin, 0.23% Cu and 12 g/t Ag…drilling at Ayawilca continues…President and CEO Dr. Graham Carman stated, “The company has two key objectives for 2018: continue our exploration drill program targeting additional zinc resources at Ayawilca with 15,000 m of drilling planned; and advance the project with desktop mining studies and detailed metallurgical tests that will form the basis of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) planned for the 2nd half of 2018.”
7. Northern Vertex Mining (NEE, TSX-V) has achieved its first Gold pour at the Moss mine in northwestern Arizona…it has received a commitment of up to $100 million (U.S.) for acquisition and development from its partner Sprott Private Resource Lending LP and has arranged a $2-million non-brokered exploration financing at 52 cents per unit…Ken Berry, Northern Vertex President and CEO, stated: “The first Gold pour at the Moss mine is an exciting milestone for all stakeholders. The transition to U.S. Gold producer is the culmination of 6 years of development, millions in economic activity and a dedication to safety with more than 1,967 days without a lost-time accident. Furthermore, the commitment of up to $100-million (U.S.) by our partner Sprott for acquisitions and development positions Northern Vertex to aggressively pursue our goals for 2018 (see news release dated Jan. 3, 2018).”
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I don’t claim to be chart expert but it sure looks like AIS is putting in a bottom, you would think the risk/reward scenario is pretty good at these levels wouldn’t you?
Comment by Danny — March 13, 2018 @ 3:16 pm
In one word Danny…..YES.
Comment by John BMR — March 13, 2018 @ 7:40 pm
Now that I sold all my AIS ( mostly at a loss ) , I’ll have to keep a watch on it in case it starts to turn North …. the loss went into GGI between 2.08 and 2.34 ….. turned out to be a good move !! Ya gotta do what you gotta do !! MTS also finally moving …. winner winner, chicken dinner $$ Farmer T
Comment by farmer — March 13, 2018 @ 7:46 pm
Jon
What’s the deal with BLOC lots of selling this is turning into a disaster.
Comment by Gregh — March 13, 2018 @ 8:31 pm
It’ll turn when it wants to turn, Gregh, though it’s notable that volume has dropped significantly on this latest move down which is a positive sign…they’re sitting on a lot of cash after a $43 million PP at $1.27 a share (post-split basis) vs. 41.5 cent close today, though keep in mind there’s the 1-for-1 dividend spin-out which helps mitigate the drop…I’m looking for clear evidence of a bottom before averaging down…if they hadn’t raised over $40 million I’d be concerned, but at the right point this is going to bounce back powerfully…the key will be knowing when that is and getting in before it happens…of course the broader blockchain sector has fallen significantly over the last couple of months but it’s volatile and will reverse to the upside…
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 13, 2018 @ 9:48 pm
Thanks Jon
Please let me know when you think the bottom is in and I’ll average down with you, lol
Thanks
Comment by Gregh — March 13, 2018 @ 10:03 pm
First Cobalt and U.S. Cobalt both halted at the same time this morning, interesting!
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 14, 2018 @ 5:29 am