Check back later today for Daniel’s Den and visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.
1. Gold has traded between $1,312 and $1,322 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion has slipped $4 an ounce to $3.12…Silver is off 7 cents at $16.30…Copper is flat at $3.12 while Nickel and Zinc have each added 2 pennies to $6.20 and $1.48, respectively…Cobalt has jumped more than $1 a pound to a new decade high of $39.58…Crude Oil is down slightly at $61.11 while the U.S. Dollar Index has retreated one-fifth of a point to 89.97…U.S. industrial production climbed 1.1% in February, much more than expected, according to a report from the Federal Reserve this morning…that was the largest increase in 4 months…the central bank’s measure of the industrial sector comprises manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities…meanwhile, manufacturing output rose 1.2%, the biggest gain since October…the FOMC meets next Tuesday and Wednesday…
2. Gold exchange-traded funds collectively just posted their largest daily accumulation of metal in roughly a month, according to BMO Capital Markets. “Amid rising political friction and increased security concerns as the Washington Post suggested President Trump plans to remove his national security adviser, Gold ETF holdings saw the largest 1-day increase since mid-February,” BMO stated…a 180,000-ounce rise brings this year’s net purchases to 801,000. “With geopolitical risk rising and inflation concerns re-emerging, even with a strengthening dollar, Gold could be entering a period where it benefits from both macro and micro asset allocation gains,” BMO added…the inflation argument seems a little weak but Gold bugs do see the low $1,300’s as very attractive given strong technical support for the metal between $1,300 and $1,280…
3. With the equity market correction barely a month in the rear-view mirror, investors in the U.S. in particular have jumped back into stocks in record numbers…U.S. stock-focused funds took in $38.3 billion in fresh cash over the past week, a new peak that reverses much of the angst over the past several weeks, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch…
4. Global Oil demand will likely grow faster than expected this year, partly offsetting a surge in U.S. shale production and keeping the market in balance, the International Energy Agency (IEA) states in its closely watched monthly report…the IEA predicts the world’s appetite for Crude will increase by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to reach 99.3 bpd in 2018, a revision of 90,000 barrels…the uptick is expected to be driven by robust demand in industrialized nations, including Europe, the U.S. and Japan. “The market rebalancing is clearly moving ahead with…supply and demand becoming more closely aligned,” the report noted…the IEA, a Paris-based organization that advises governments and corporations on energy trends, struck a more optimistic tone than last month when it warned that U.S. shale production could overwhelm global demand and undermine the Oil market’s fragile recovery…
5. The Dow is up 92 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…in Toronto, the TSX is 72 points higher while the Venture is flat at 828…Kraken Robotics‘ (PNG, TSX-V) announced this morning that its German subsidiary has successfully concluded sea trials with its innovative SeaVision 3-D underwater laser imaging system and is presenting results at Oceanology International in London…SeaVision is the world’s first ultra-high resolution RGB underwater laser imaging system that delivers full color 3-D point cloud images of subsea infrastructure with millimetre accuracy in realtime…the initial system is designed for deployment on underwater robotic platforms such as remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles…on the CSE, marijuana play Cannex Capital Holdings (CNNX, CSE) has had a successful debut this week and is once again among the volume and price gain leaders in early trading today, up another 19 cents at $1.89 as of 7:00 am Pacific…
6. Bank of Montreal has stopped customers from using their BMO credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, joining TD Bank, which made a similar announcement last month…the BMO announcement follows similar moves by TD Bank and several U.S. financial institutions…TD Bank said late last month that it is halting credit-card purchases of cryptocurrencies while it reviews the evolving market… Bank of Nova Scotia has also said that it was looking closely at its cryptocurrency transaction policy, while Royal Bank of Canada has said it allows its credit and debit cards to be used to buy virtual currencies in limited circumstances, but cautioned clients that a sudden drop in value of the coins could leave them exposed…
7. The tax man cometh – from the Wall Street Journal’s Laura Sanders this morning: “Late last year, the Internal Revenue Service persuaded a federal judge to require Coinbase, a San Francisco-based digital-currency wallet and platform with about 20 million customers, to turn over customer information. Driving the IRS’s decision was its belief that few Bitcoin investors appear to be paying taxes due on sales. The court order is one of the agency’s first moves as it clamps down on cryptocurrency scofflaws. By March 16, the IRS will have data on about 13,000 Coinbase account holders who bought, sold, sent or received digital currency worth $20,000 or more between 2013 and 2015. The data include the customer’s name, taxpayer identification number, birth date and address, plus account statements and the names of counterparties. Criminal tax lawyers expect the IRS will act on the information and high-profile cases will follow.”
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http://www.mining.com/new-study-rips-cobalt-lithium-price-bulls/ – any thoughts BMR? They don’t seem to go past 2021-2022. We know demand is supposed to be huge for mid-2020s and beyond…
Comment by flyinthruu — March 16, 2018 @ 9:31 am
Reminds me, flyinthru, of some of the much publicized predictions we’ve seen earlier for Cobalt and Nickel in particular (even Copper) which have been way off the mark (too low)…a lot of scrambling going on by some big companies to get their hands on secure supplies looking out over the next several years – you’d think they’d be doing that if there weren’t going to be supply issues?…
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 16, 2018 @ 9:55 am
CANADA COBALT APPOINTS DR. RON MOLNAR, ASSAYS 2.46% COBALT, 6,173 G/T SILVER FROM SELECTED BULK SAMPLE UNDERGROUND AT CASTLE MINE
Canada Cobalt Works Inc. has provided the following corporate update pertaining to its operations in the Northern Ontario cobalt camp.
Highlights:
– Continued underground bulk sampling at the Castle mine has assayed 2.46 per cent cobalt and 6,173 grams per tonne (198.5 ounces per tonne) silver.
– Hydrometallurgical and pilot plant specialist Dr. Ron Molnar has joined Canada Cobalt as a special adviser as the company advances its Re-2OX process.
Canada Cobalt’s proprietary Re-2OX process for cobalt battery metals is being optimized at SGS Lakefield in Southern Ontario. Dr. Molnar has designed, built and operated over 60 pilot plant circuits extracting, separating and purifying a wide range of metallic elements from cobalt to rare earths, and he will be one of the key individuals who will assist Canada Cobalt in taking Re-2OX to the full pilot plant stage in 2018 with client-specific cobalt formulations for the battery sector.
Meanwhile, Canada Cobalt’s underground program at the Castle mine continues ahead of further rehabilitation and drilling. The latest selected bulk sample from the floor of the first level of the mine, crushed, blended and assayed by SGS Lakefield, has returned 2.46 per cent cobalt, 1.0 per cent nickel and 6,173 grams per tonne (198.5 ounces per ton) silver. Native silver was not included in that pulp assay. A metallic screen fire assay was performed on the native silver, producing a head grade of 818,254 grams per tonne (26,307 ounces per ton). Canada Cobalt cautions that samples are selective and not representative of mineralization underground at the Castle mine.
Rehab engineers have noted that cobalt mineralization remains in the stopes on the first level of the mine.
With its Re-2OX process, coming underground drill program and other initiatives, Canada Cobalt is strategically and uniquely positioned in the Northern Ontario cobalt camp to benefit from the electric vehicle supercycle and the continuing uptrend in cobalt prices.
Quality assurance/quality control
These Castle samples represent bulk sampling obtained by removing muck rock from the floor of the drift and chipping out vein material over two lengths of 10 metres, each filling a five-gallon pail with approximately 20 kilograms of material. Sample pails were transported by truck to SGS Minerals’ accredited lab in Lakefield, Ont. All material was crushed and then screened at 10 mesh, and components were assayed for cobalt, nickel, silver and gold. Analysis for cobalt and nickel was done by aqua regia digestion while analysis for silver and gold was done by fire assay with atomic absorption finish. A screen metallic fire assay was carried out for the native silver.
Qualified person
The technical information in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Frank J. Basa, PEng, Canada Cobalt’s president and chief executive officer, who is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario and a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.
About Canada Cobalt Works Inc.
Canada Cobalt is a pure play cobalt company focused exclusively on the Northern Ontario cobalt camp, Canada’s most prolific cobalt district. The company has three 100-per-cent-owned past-producing mines, a proprietary hydrometallurgical process known as Re-2OX as well as plans for a 600-tonne-per-day mill at its flagship Castle property near Gowganda, Canada.
We seek Safe Harbor.
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 16, 2018 @ 10:23 am
Terrific Cobalt numbers again (2.46%) from CCW underground at Castle mine, plus wild Silver grades (6,173 g/t or >800,000 g/t on metallics screen fire assay on that native silver!)…the addition of Ron Molnar, very respected at his craft, adds a lot to the Re-2OX process and the drive for the pilot plant…valuation deserves to be way higher than it is…
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 16, 2018 @ 10:33 am
First thing that came to mind for CCW was AIS with their test pilot plant and an expert like Carlos S. helping bring a product to Market. Ccw in good hands. Nice work BMR
Comment by flyinthruu — March 16, 2018 @ 10:40 am
26,000 ounces per tonne Silver, and that’s not a typo (198 ounces on the regular pulp assay)…shows you how rich the Castle mine is…also, missed this earlier, but looks like Agnico Eagle left quite a bit of ore in the stopes which would have been the lower grade Silver they weren’t interested in (3 ounces per tonne or less) but that would contain the higher grade Cobalt (Cobalt mineralization in the stopes as referenced in the NR)…I would say the 11-level Castle mine is an even more valuable asset than what First Cobalt is paying more than $100 million for in stock in its U.S. Cobalt buyout…and yet CCW’s market cap is just $23 million…
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 16, 2018 @ 10:42 am
Nice update from CCW and there should be more right Jon? Great to see how much they have on the go
Comment by TD75 — March 16, 2018 @ 10:57 am
Jon, have you heard anything about Agnico working with CCW? That would tie them into cobalt with a mine they know very well…
Comment by flyinthruu — March 16, 2018 @ 11:08 am
How is ccw trading below it’s 38 cent open today?
Comment by mike — March 16, 2018 @ 12:06 pm
There’s barely ANY shares for sale below 40 Mike…only 60k for sale around 40 and pretty thin from there…hard for folks wanting to even start a solid position with CCW…at least more house bids coming in…
Comment by flyinthruu — March 16, 2018 @ 12:32 pm
Jon:
Thank you for the excellent details on the CCW!
Comment by GoldenFalcons — March 16, 2018 @ 12:43 pm
” The News is now coming through ” from East and West !!! Soon we’ll be getting Buy recommendations from a couple of ” other ” American Newsletter writers, and well, that suits me just fine. Ya’ll gonna see the noise starting up on CCW and GGM and if we remain patient, we might even get some chatter on IMR ….. as my good ole friend from out West said many times to me over the past 50 years of Stock Market activity , ” be patient or else you’ll become the Patient ” !!!! Three cheers for Cobalt’s price rise ……. Farmer T
Comment by farmer — March 16, 2018 @ 3:44 pm
Straight out of Sudbury! Finally, things are starting to look fun.
http://www.thesudburystar.com/2017/07/07/accent-cobalt-could-take-centre-stage-again
Comment by Matt — March 16, 2018 @ 7:36 pm
Sold all my MLG yesterday. Low grade is not good enough so took my hit. Might buy some more IMR or AIS with the funds.
Comment by Patrick — March 17, 2018 @ 5:02 am
Ahhhhh, since it’s St Patrick’s Day, may I offer you a suggestion Patrick, take a look at PAS …. BMR love it and they’ve done their PP …. $5M worth at .40 ….. cheers Bro Farmer T
Comment by farmer — March 17, 2018 @ 6:56 pm