Gold is showing strength today, though once again it has met resistance around $1,350…as of 8:30 am Pacific, bullion is up $6 an ounce at $1,346…Silver is 16 cents higher at $21.00…Copper is off another 2 pennies at $3.02 following a 5% decline Friday and Monday after China’s first-ever corporate bond default and some weaker than expected economic data out of that country…in addition, according to the Shanghai Futures Exchange, Copper stockpiles increased for an eighth straight week last week, their longest rising streak in two years…as our chart showed yesterday, Copper has strong technical support at $3…Crude Oil is off 22 cents at $100.90 while the U.S. Dollar Index is relatively unchanged at 79.74…
Gold is benefiting from heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia…Ukraineās armed forces are testing the combat readiness of troops, the Defence Ministry said yesterday on its web site, as Russian forces tightened their hold on the Crimean peninsula where residents will have the choice of joining Russia in a March 16 referendum…WSJ is reporting this morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently rejected a U.S. proposal to resolve the dispute over Ukraine that had been put forward by Secretary of State John Kerry over the past week, according to senior Russian and U.S. officials…meanwhile, European officials are preparing sanctions against Russia and additional aid for Ukraine as diplomats acknowledged their efforts had not only failed in persuading Russia to calm the conflict but had seen the Kremlin tighten its grip on Crimea…
Holdings in Gold-backed ETP’s rose 8.4 metric tons yesterday, the most in a single day since October 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…assets are at 1,762.5 tons after dropping to the lowest since October 2009 last month…
Not surprisingly, the biggest growth in trading activity of Gold future contracts in the last five years has come from China, according to the latest information from the Futures Industry Association…the FIA released its annual report on global trends in the trading of futures and options…Gold futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange saw the biggest volume increase in the last five years as 20.09 million contracts were traded in 2013, an increase of 416% from the 3.9 million contracts traded in 2008…
Updated WTIC Chart
It’s likely “decision time” for Crude Oil at some point this year – will it break above or below the ascending triangle it has been in since 2010?…resistance is at $110 while support is just below $92…buy pressure will have to increase significantly in order for Crude Oil to push through the $110 barrier…watch for a potential major catalyst – geopolitical or economic – that would trigger either a breakout or a breakdown…below is a 10-year monthly chart showing the “big picture” for WTIC…
OCED:Ā Global Growth Trend Positive
Global growth is likely to remain somewhat sluggish through the rest of the first half of 2014 as a slowdown in the developing world undercuts gains in Europe and the U.S.,Ā the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated today…one-off factors like the harsh winter weather in North America and the U.S. government shutdown mean “growth for the major advanced economies in the first half of 2014 will be somewhat slower than in the second half of 2013.” The underlying trend for those economies, however, continues to be of strengthening growth, the OECD emphasized, in an update to forecasts made in November…
Today’s Markets
Asia
China’s Shanghai Composite steadied overnight, closing 2 points higher at 2001…in an important move, coming sooner than expected, the Chinese government revealed that it’s preparing to launch a pilot test for privately owned banks in several different regions of the country…this would be the first tentative step by the country to open its closely-guarded banking sector…
Japan’s Nikkei jumped 104 points overnight to close at 15224…
Europe
European markets finished in positive territory today…on the data front, both German exports and imports surged in January, according to figures from the Federal Statistics Office…in Italy, fourth-quarter GDP matched expectations with a climb of 0.1%…Portugal’s growth figures exceeded estimates, rising 0.6% in the last quarter…
North America
The Dow is up 11 points as of 8:30 am Pacific…
Below is a chart that explains why many economic forecasters see an improving trend in the U.S. economy – quite simply, households have made progress paying off debt (if only the government could do the same)…household debt has dropped from 1.4 times annual disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 1.1 times in the fourth quarter of 2013…debt service also has dropped, from 13% of disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 10% in the third quarter of 2013…
U.S. Household Debt On The Decline
The TSX is 26 points higher through the first two hours of trading while the Venture keeps moving forward, up 6 points at 1049…
Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) Update
Things are heating up in the Sheslay Valley in more ways than one…today’s temperature is forecast to reach 7 degrees as a warming trend has settled in which is good news for all companies in the area, especially Doubleview Capital (DBV, TSX-V) which announced this morning that it’s now preparing its camp and drill sites in anticipation of the resumption of diamond drilling as soon as arrangements are completed with various contractors and weather conditions permit…DBV also reported that it has raised another $213,000 from the exercise of warrants, bringing to nearly $900,000 the total so far that the company has raised in the last several weeks since announcing a significant drilling discovery in late January…
As we continue to work on the second part of our feature on DBV, followed by a “big picture” view of what’s unfolding in the district, below is an updated DBV chart from John showing a confirmed technical breakout…sell pressure bought on by the exercise of warrants is clearly abating, and increased accumulation could certainly occur with the prospect of near-term drilling…note how the RSI(14) has broken above a downtrend line…this is looking very good…DBV is up 1.5 cents at 28.5 cents as of 8:30 am Pacific…
Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU, TSX-V) Update
Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU, TSX-V) keeps churning out spectacular results from its Patterson Lake South discovery in the Athabasca Basin, and this morning the company was rewarded with a $25 million bought deal financing through the issuance of special warrants at $1.60 per warrant…the stock fell slightly on the news this morning but is now up a penny at $1.68 as of 8:30 am Pacific…FCU has enjoyed a strong run from last week’s low of $1.36 to yesterday’s all-time high of $1.71…
Below is an updated 9-month weekly FCU chart from John…confirmed breakouts are always important to watch for…
Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (PTU, TSX-V)
Interesting news out of Purepoint Uranium (PTU, TSX-V) yesterday regarding its Hook Lake Project in the Athabasca Basin, 5 km northeast of Fission’s PLS discovery (PTU is the operator of the Hook Lake Project though it has only a 21% interest with Cameco Corp. and AREVA Resources Canada Inc. holding the rest)…hole HK14-09 returned 0.32% U3O8 over 6.2 m including an interval of 1.1% U3O8 over 0.5 m…a second rig is being mobilized to the Spitfire zone…the D2 conductor, now known to be associated with uranium mineralization, is 2.9 km in length and has only been tested by four drill holes along a single section line with two of those holes (including HK14-09) intersecting uranium mineralization as reported yesterday, so this has potential to get better…PTU is off half a penny at 15.5 cents as of 8:30 am Pacific after yesterday’s 3.5-cent jump on volume of more than 5 million shares…a rising 10-day moving average (SMA), currently at 13 cents, has been providing strong support since the beginning of the year…
Discovery Ventures Ltd. (DVN, TSX-V) Update
We continue to keep a close eye on Discovery Ventures (DVN, TSX-V) which has impressed us with how efficiently it’s pulling things together for development of its WillaMax project in southeastern British Columbia…one of the final pieces of the puzzle is a recently announced $3 million financing at 15 cents…combined with the debt facility the company has arranged, DVN believes it has all the financial strength it needs to rapidly advance this project through the planned acquisitions, permitting and development…the company also recently announced that over the next quarter it anticipates strategic restructuring of both its management team and board of directorsā¦the changes are expected to add significant leadership, technical expertise and experience to the senior management teamā¦
DVN’s $3 million financing, announced March 3, created some immediate but likely temporary weakness in the share price, and the stock has now stabilized just above strong support at 17.5 cents as you can see in the 2.5-year weekly chart from John…the overall trend remains bullish…DVN’s success in advancing this project is yet another positive development in mining and exploration in British Columbia…we’ll have more on this situation in the coming weeks…DVN is off a penny at 18 cents as of 8:30 am Pacific…
Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in DBV.
Added to my GGI today
Comment by Justin — March 11, 2014 @ 9:54 am
When is Ggi interview due out? Thanks
Comment by Dave s — March 11, 2014 @ 10:22 am
Canaccord loading up on AIX
Comment by BRIAN — March 11, 2014 @ 11:57 am
Brian- thanks, Who’s the large seller?? TIA!
Comment by Greg J. — March 11, 2014 @ 1:08 pm
most of it was TD I think
Comment by BRIAN — March 11, 2014 @ 1:30 pm
5 million on the bid 02-.04 looks good
Comment by BRIAN — March 11, 2014 @ 1:34 pm
Yes looks good! The 02 and 03 bids IMO.. Dreamers..
Comment by Greg J. — March 11, 2014 @ 3:17 pm
Hi jon,
I am trying to do some DD on Alix, I am notable to find Minfile #21209 do you have a link, Thanks
Comment by Martin — March 11, 2014 @ 5:30 pm
I have red about the Ashburton and the hoey showing it’s looking good, there are some showing in the south area of the smalest lake on the garibaldi ground!
Comment by Martin — March 11, 2014 @ 5:57 pm
Gold brake above 1350$ few minute ago!
Comment by Martin — March 11, 2014 @ 6:18 pm
News out for AIX, they are aggresive!!
Comment by Martin — March 12, 2014 @ 2:59 am
Aix news is good if followed up with drills in the ground. Too many of these companies I have seen just squire land etc near hit areas hoping that will boost their share price. Also the options seem to be set quite low which doesn’t show much confidence
Comment by Dave s — March 12, 2014 @ 3:13 am
You’re right, Dave, in terms of the importance of following up on the ground, and that’s exactly what AIX is going to do from my due diligence. They’re reviewing huge amounts of data, historical and technical, to prioritize key areas of interest over their various properties…this will be followed by boots on the ground with initial work programs shortly……this will lead to IP and then drilling, so they have a very clear game plan with 100% focus on this area…they are moving quickly and aggressively, and given the volumes in this stock over the last several sessions I suspect there are some big players out here in Vancouver lining up behind this one, which is key because obviously they need to raise some money too, but they will….as this scenario plays out, one can easily imagine where this is headed in a few months when the masses roll into the Sheslay Valley….on another note, BMR has acquired the Kalt Industries Sheslay Valley map, we’ll be posting this morning as part of Morning Musings…looking great for all the players in this district…..I’m convinced we’re all in at ground zero here because the masses have yet to pick up on what’s unfolding which is typical in the early stages of a major discovery/area play…..
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 12, 2014 @ 3:40 am
Martin, I don’t have that particular link handy, but I’ve reviewed the Hoey showing and other Minfile occurrences in the areas you’re mentioning…..there are a lot of historical reports (assessment reports) from the Sheslay Valley area that are being viewed in a new light right now….
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 12, 2014 @ 4:11 am
GGI posted a new area map of the Sheslay Valley up on their website –
Garibaldi Resources -> Maps -> Canadian Projects Maps -> Grizzly -> Sheslay District Area Map
Comment by bucky — March 12, 2014 @ 4:33 am
Well Jon let’s hope this plays out as anticipated because if so once a few of these companies get drills in the ground simultaneously this could get real exciting
Comment by Dave s — March 12, 2014 @ 4:55 am
Very interesting Bucky, there are showing further north + seems to be other opportunity to the south est, this is getting bigger and bigger!
Comment by Martin — March 12, 2014 @ 4:57 am
Jon any idea why someone hasn’t bought out gbb? What a pity it is to be sitting on such a great property with a couple duds in charge of things!! No direction what so ever, just sit around with zero action or news flow whilst gold mounts a come back
Comment by Dave s — March 12, 2014 @ 4:59 am
Dave, you hit the nail on the head….simultaneous drill programs, and that’s where this is headed and that’s when the masses really start piling in. We’ve done our homework, and more of it is coming out in the days ahead…what’s remarkable about the Sheslay Valley is that only 59 drill holes have ever been completed in this whole region (42 historically and 17 by Prosper and Doubleview), and at least 3 important discoveries have been made – the Star target, Pyrrhotite Creek, and the Hat……that’s an amazing ratio over a wide area, and about 80% of these holes have all hit significant intersections…..from the Star to the Hat is 9 km…..from the Star to Pyrrhotite Creek is 4.5 km…….results are very incomplete from Copper Creek, sort of in between the Star and the Hat, but it certainly qualifies at this point as a very intriguing target and one 8-metre section from one hole returned 1.38% Cu…..on the Grizzly, incredible scale and all the same signatures from the Grizzly West porphyry target to Grizzly Central (that’s 15 km)…..never drilled before, just a few backpack holes by Corona in the NW part of the property that all intersected Copper….it’s amazing that Utah Mines didn’t drill the Hat…..when you see the consistency of mineralization over such a wide area, and classic Cu-Au porphyry signatures throughout, you can’t help but come to the conclusion that this whole area is indeed “pregnant”……..a cluster of deposits over a wide area, and what someone has to do is just hit a high-grade starter area…..investors who comprehend the significance of all that’s unfolding here have the potential to make an awful lot of money, plain and simple…
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 12, 2014 @ 5:24 am
Hi Dave, my apologies, I trashed my original response as I misread the symbol in my rush here this morning. In terms of GBB, I actually spoke with Frank over the weekend. He has a strategy and I think a very good property, but one of the problems they’ve been battling is poor share structure because of all the dilutive flow thru financings at cheap prices. A little flow through is ok, but they went way overboard IMHO and are paying the price. I’m surprised as you are that nobody has taken them out yet. That could still happen. I do see potential at current levels for investors but GBB needs to take some bold steps.
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 12, 2014 @ 6:41 am
Thanks Jon.
Comment by Dave s — March 12, 2014 @ 6:47 am
looks like CIBC turn today buy up ALIX
Comment by BRIAN — March 12, 2014 @ 7:01 am
This entire Sheslay Valley thing is getting crazy, I just looked at the new map on Garibaldi’s website and am amazed at what Kalt Industries is doing, they are basically acquiring ground around every other player in the Sheslay, if the gold/mineralization is out that far this is really going to be HUGE, why would Kalt acquire all of that ground, I think what BMR has been saying that no one really knows so far how big this could be is going to be an understatement, 6 months from now there could be a bunch of new millionaires up there in Canada and else where, lol..
Comment by Greg — March 12, 2014 @ 7:18 am
Cant wait for Garibaldi to get there drilling program going up there in the Grizzly too, they appear to be in the heart of the entire valley…
Comment by Greg — March 12, 2014 @ 7:19 am
Hi Jon,
Could your comment about GBB also be applied to RBW and ABI?
Comment by Paul — March 12, 2014 @ 7:54 am
Paul, all three are different…..at the end of the day, though, it all comes down to management’s ability to execute……ABI has been the best of those 3.
Comment by Jon - BMR — March 12, 2014 @ 8:01 am