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1. Gold has traded between $1,277 and $1,289 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, the yellow metal is down $6 an ounce at $1,280 after being unable to push thorough a key resistance band between $1,300 and $1,313 (Fib.) earlier in the week…Silver is off 12 cents at $14.41…Copper is 2 cents lower at $2.72…Nickel is also off 2 cents at $5.46 while Zinc is unchanged at $1.24…Cobalt remains steady at $15.76…Crude Oil is up again, 35 cents higher at $63.22…U.S. sanctions on Iran have cut the OPEC member’s Crude exports further in May, adding to supply curbs resulting from an OPEC-led pact to cap output…meanwhile, rising tensions in the Middle East this week have raised concern about additional supply disruption…the U.S. Dollar Index is unchanged at 97.86…U.S.-China trade rhetoric continues…according to state-run news agency Xinhua, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said yesterday that the U.S. is exhibiting “bullying behavior” with its latest moves on the trade front, noting it is “regrettable that the U.S. side unilaterally escalated trade disputes, which resulted in severe negotiating setbacks”…exactly what what would expect to hear from China in the midst of high stakes negotiations…the U.S. hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods last week while China retaliated Monday with higher levies on $60 billion worth of U.S. products…the major indexes clawed back most of their losses through yesterday’s close and are off modestly in early trading today…markets seem to be getting more comfortable with the background noise surrounding U.S.-China talks, cautiously optimistic that a deal is going to be reached through steady pressure being applied by the Trump administration…
2. Analysts at Goldman Sachs say Copper prices are “cheap at current levels” as Beijing is likely to continue to ease monetary and fiscal policy to boost the economy…Copper demand is stable in China and the government is likely to “take the foot off the accelerator” mildly but not “step hard on the brakes,” Goldman said…“We expect the easing policies implemented to date to continue to boost demand in the coming months”…
3. Alberta’s energy industry appears to be pleased with the latest changes to a controversial piece of Liberal legislation that poses a threat to Canada’s resource sector…yesterday, the Senate energy committee approved nearly 200 amendments to Bill C-69…the amendments would reduce cabinet discretion to intervene in the assessment process, make it harder for anyone to initiate court challenges to decisions on projects and change how “climate change” impacts are considered…some of the amendments are word-for-word what was proposed by energy lobby groups…“The package that the Senate has put together, I think, has positioned this bill as good as is possible,” said Tim McMillan, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers…“They are the best possible structure that this bill could be in at this point”…Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who has correctly dubbed the bill the “No More Pipelines Act”, pronounced himself pleased with the changes, but he said he wants to see what happens with the final law…Senator Doug Black of Alberta said the bill, in its “revamped” form, should satisfy Kenney…“I believe it’s a package that’s going to work to allow projects to be built in Canada and to ensure that investment comes back to Canada while respecting the environment and our obligations to First Nations people. So we may be on the verge of a win-win here after a very, very long fight,” Black told CBC Calgary News at 6…no matter what happens with regard to Bill C-69, this anti-resource federal government – the most anti-resource in Canadian history – must be replaced…
4. The price of Iron ore has surged to a 5-year high, buoyed by mine closures in Brazil and unexpectedly strong demand for steel in China…supplies of the ore, the main ingredient in steel, have been crimped by a dam disaster in January at a mine owned by Vale…fears of a prolonged shortfall intensified as Vale warned another of its mine-waste dams is at risk of collapsing…meanwhile, China’s steel market is b0oming…analysts and traders say this is thanks to a hot property market and demand for infrastructure such as subways and sewerage systems – suggesting China’s drive to shore up growth is feeding into the real economy…China is the biggest buyer of Iron ore and produces more than half of the world’s steel…the benchmark price for cargoes of Iron ore sold into northern China jumped 2.4% today to $100.40 a metric ton, according to S&P Global Platts…it quotes one such price for every trading day…that level is the highest since May 2014, and up 38% this year…Chinese Iron-ore futures, dominated by speculators and short-term individual investors, have also rallied…
5. The Dow, on a 3-session winning streak, has retreated 90 points through the first 30 minutes of trading..in Toronto, the TSX has lost 37 points going into a long weekend (Canadian markets are closed Monday for the Victoria Day holiday) while the Venture is flat at 608…the Index has pushed above its 10 and 20-day moving averages for the first time in more than a month, while the 50-day is flattening out after a brief decline – it all points toward a more robust market to finish off Q2 and moving into the summer when key exploration programs heat up on multiple fronts…IAMGOLD (IMG, TSX) is exploring a possible sale of all or part of the company amid a wave of consolidation in the Gold sector, according to industry sources…the Toronto-based miner is working with advisers and has spoken to several potential buyers…IAMGOLD’s plans could still change and there’s no guarantee it would succeed in selling itself…IMG jumped nearly 10% yesterday, valuing the company at about $1.6 billion…the stock had fallen 36% this year through Wednesday…some analysts have cut their ratings for IAMGOLD, expressing concern about its weaker-than-expected results, the increased risk to its 2019 guidance, and uncertainty around its Westwood Project in Quebec…ideal takeover candidate…
6. GT Gold (GTT, TSX-V) outlined plans this morning for a Phase 1 drill program starting next month at its Saddle North discovery in the Red Chris district, about a 2-hour drive north of the Eskay Camp…the 1st phase will consist of approximately 10,000 m of diamond drilling, with holes designed to expand on and further test the continuity of the Copper-Gold-rich mineralized zone intersected last year (8,200 m in 10 holes)…the principal targets for Phase 1 will be nearer-surface (400 m) extensions, both to depth and along strike, of the “high-grade” core mineralization (>1% Cueq) encountered in holes such as TTD093 and TTD109…targets in the 2nd phase of 2019 drilling will be determined by the results of Phase 1 but may include peripheral targets on the property…GT Gold drilled a total of approximately 25,000 m in 2 phases last year…“We’re thrilled to be gearing up for what will be an important and exciting season in our company’s short history,” commented Charlie Greig, Vice President, Exploration…“On the back of an exceptional 2018 campaign, our team has successfully outlined a potentially world-class Copper-Gold porphyry system. We expect this year’s program to be comparable in size to last year’s, but with the vast majority of the meterage to be drilled on Saddle North. We also welcome a strategic investment from Newmont Goldcorp – we look forward to working with them and leveraging their significant resources and expertise. Now supported by our strong balance sheet, our exploration efforts will be fully funded well into 2020″…
7. World Class Extractions (PUMP, CSE) continues to be one of the most active stocks on the CSE with a chart pattern that remains very favorable…it’s unchanged at 19 cents in early trading today…yesterday, the company announced that it has entered into a service agreement with Deveron UAS (DVR, CSE) whereby Deveron will provide drone data and soil sampling services to World Class and its affiliate farmers focused on hemp production in the United States and Canada, providing an opportunity to increase yields and reduce costs…Deveron has worked with leading agricultural companies to bring data acquisition and analytics to broad acre farmland…the company is integrated with leading farm platforms, like Bayer Crop Science’s Climate FieldView and John Deere’s MyJohnDeere data management systems…the expansion into hemp data analytics is a natural extension to the current data insights it provides to leading farmers in North America that grow corn, soybean, wheat and canola…“Farming hemp requires proper planning, preparation and execution and we want to make sure our partner farmers have access to the best technology to assist them. The high value of hemp crops today makes the data Deveron collects even more valuable than for traditional row crops and will help our farming partners make better informed decisions on the field,” said Michael McCombie, CEO of World Class…“Deveron has a large network of agronomists and drone pilots throughout Canada and the United States, leveraging their technology and personnel spanning such large service areas will provide great value to our farmers as we build our network of processing facilities”…
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Do any of you guys at BMR have any thoughts on ESM (Euro Sun Mining)? Another letter writer I subscribe to calls it his gold stock of the decade.
Comment by Thomas — May 17, 2019 @ 12:19 pm
Aware of it, Thomas…as a potential producer, they would certainly benefit from higher Gold prices and would need higher Gold prices…IRR from latest PEA showed only 15.4% at $1,325 (U.S.) per ounce gold and $3.10 (U.S.) per pound Copper…
Comment by Jon - BMR — May 18, 2019 @ 7:38 am