?? The Beauty About Gold
CEO.CA Presents the Chairman's Briefing - September 21st,?2023
“The beauty about gold, though, is that in all states from uncertainty to conviction, it never for once gives up its lustre”
― Ufuoma Apoki
Metals/Crypto Prices
In Partnership With
American Eagle (TSXV: AE) Drills 473 m of 0.62% CuEq from Surface
Highlights:
NAK23-11 was a 120 m step-out from NAK23-08 which returned 776 m of 0.5% CuEq from surface into a previously untested area.? The results further demonstrate that the Company is on the road to defining a mine.? NAK’s system has significant scale, starts from surface, and has an abundance of high grade in a location with excellent infrastructure.
Current exploration work is being funded by two recent investments from Teck Resources, totalling over $5.5M. Drilling continues, and assay results will be released through the end of the year.
Once again, here we are, a mannerly herd, waiting for Chairman Powell to step up to the podium to tell-us-how-it-is via a new policy statement and interest rate decision. The climax to this hammy display will unfold later today at 2 PM EDT (belly buttons have commenced puckering and unpuckering). The Fed isn't expected to do anything rash―the CME FedWatch tool says there's a 99% probability they'll leave rates alone.
In addition to a press conference, the Fed will trot out its dreaded 'Summary of Economic Projections' aka Dot Plot, which analysts and investors will use to divine the potential for future rate hikes. Is all this really necessary? Shouldn't we quit f*cking with the business cycle and allow market forces—the natural rhythms of nature that govern life on this planet—to dictate where rates should be?
Gold
The precious metal continues to chop between its 50 and 200-period SMA (blue and red lines, chart below), looking for a trigger, looking for the right catalyst. Perhaps this is where the Fed might prove useful.
An interesting development out of China, whose central bank has been piling into the precious metal in recent months: Bullion on the Shanghai Gold Exchange has been trading at a $120 an ounce premium (versus international prices) in recent sessions. This sudden burst of activity marks the steepest climb since the exchange was founded over two decades ago. Analysts view this as a sign of Beijing’s escalating battle in defense of its beleaguered currency -?China gold premium hits record as Beijing defends yuan.
Traders have sold the yuan this year as disappointing economic data and real estate turmoil spurred the central bank to cut interest rates. As monetary policy diverges with the rest of the world, sending the currency toward record lows offshore, the central bank has intervened to stem the slide. That includes limiting gold shipments into the local market by squeezing import quotas.
China represents gold's biggest market. Rich and poor alike treat the metal as a savings vehicle—a currency. The country's sputtering economy and weaker yuan have its common folk stepping up their purchases in recent days.
This Just In...
Quoting Kitco: The latest economic projections, also known as the "dot plot," indicates that the central bank continues to see the Fed Funds rate rising to 5.6% by the end of this year, unchanged from June’s estimate. This would signals one more rate hike on the horizon.
U3O8
Uranium is on a tear. Spot U3O8 is trading at levels not seen since 2011, marking a renaissance in the energy-dense metal as utilities around the globe scramble to lock in supply - Uranium bull market is being confirmed as prices approach ATHs - Sprott's Jacob White.
Spot Uranium is currently bid $66.00, offered at $68.00 (source: Numerco).
Bellwether Cameco Corp (CCO.TO) is also ripping higher, consolidating now, but potentially on the cusp of taking out its all-time highs of $60 from the previous U3O8 bull cycle in 2007.
An interesting parallel plot to this flurry of trading activity surrounding Cameco -?Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Cameco. "Cameco Co. was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 384,705 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,490% compared to the average daily volume of 24,198 call options."
Ask any analyst in the bull camp and they’ll pound the table, declaring it’s game on for U3O8 and that the party is only just getting started.
The above chart is bolstering bullish convictions. Juniors in the space are also enjoying positive price trajectory. Note the price action of Forum Energy Metals (FMC.V), who recently announced?a high-grade hit—2.25%?U3O8 over?11.1 meters—at their Thelon Basin Project?in Canada’s Nunavut Territory.
Beaver Creek Coverage
CEO.CA was a media partner at the Precious Metals Summit at Beaver Creek, catching up with all your favourite junior mining CEOs. Watch all the interviews on the company pages on CEO.CA, or on the CEO.CA YouTube Channel.
Lithium
In?a recent Briefing, we speculated that M&A momentum in the lithium arena may be on the cusp of finding a whole new gear as resource-hungry predators scramble to secure supply. We focused on Albemarle's recently fattened bid for Liontown Resources and the potential of a new suitor entering the fray, specifically Australia's uber-wealthy, ultra-charismatic?Gina Rinehart.
We now have word that Sigma Lithium is also in the crosshairs of Li-hungry predators looking to bulk up their battery metals foundations -?Sigma Lithium surges 15% after attracting strategic proposals.
Though most lithium companies have been sucking wind in recent weeks—note the dismal price action of bellwether Pilbara Minerals—M&A activity appears to be accelerating.
Sigma surged 15% after reporting it’s reviewing a number of strategic approaches. That announcement put a nice gap on their price chart, setting the stage for an ascent to higher ground in subsequent sessions.
Bloomberg: The nascent industry has been consolidating this year, while some of the world’s biggest carmakers look to secure future supplies of the key battery ingredient. Sigma said it has received multiple strategic proposals for its main Canadian company, its Brazilian subsidiary and the mine it’s developing. The Toronto-listed miner is valued at C$4.77 billion ($3.5 billion).
Sigma is developing one of the world's largest and highest-grade hard rock Li deposits—the Grota do Cirilo Project in the Eastern Pegmatite Province of Brazil—where the current M&I resource stands at 85.6 Mt @ 1.43% Li2O. This weighty 1.43% Li2O resource has apparently attracted the attention of global industry leaders in the energy, auto, battery, and lithium refining industries.
"The boom in lithium has kick started a race for deposits. Mining heavyweights, battery manufacturers and automakers from Rio Tinto Plc to Tesla Inc. are chasing deals, even for early stage or pre-production projects. That includes a raft of offtake and supply agreements."
Taseko Gets EPA Nod for Arizona Copper Project
Last week, Taseko Mines (TKO.TO) announced receipt of a key permit—a final Underground Injection Control permit—for its Florence Copper Project in Arizona - Taseko trades up on receipt of final permit for the Florence Copper project.
Florence is a next-generation mine that could boast minimal environmental impact. The company is employing a process called in-situ copper recovery where the metal is extracted using a water-based solution.
This method requires no open pit, no tunneling, no blasting, no waste dumps, and no large equipment that is typically associated with mining activity. The in-situ process is energy efficient, uses significantly less water, and produces far less carbon dioxide emissions and waste per pound of copper produced that convention mining operations.
Florence's reserve base currently stands at 320 million tons of material grading 0.36% Cu for 2.3 billion pounds of the malleable metal essential to a world hell-bent on forcing electricity through everything designed for motion.
Florence's economics appear compelling—note the modest CapEx (we like it when companies publish 'after-tax' values):
Adriatic Ramps Up to Production
British-based and ASX-listed Adriatic Metals (ADT.ASX) is on the verge of production at its?Vares Silver Project?in central Bosnia, the first mine to open in Europe in over a decade -?Adriatic Metals to start output at Bosnia silver mine in November.
Vares consists of two high-grade polymetallic deposits—the Rupice underground deposit and the Veovaca open-pit deposit. Probable reserves at Vares currently stand at 7.3 million tonnes grading 202g/t of silver, 5.7% zinc, 3.6% lead, 1.9g/t of gold, 0.6% copper, and 0.23% tin (sweet grades here y'all).
Production will initially focus on the (underground) Rupice deposit, which hosts the higher-grade rock. The development of Veovaca's open pit material will be deferred until the company completes additional metallurgical test work and engineering. The current mine plan envisions a mine life of ten years.
A cursory look under Vares' hood, based on a?2021 Definitive Feasibility Study, shows (note the after-tax IRR):
Around 800,000 tons of polymetallic ore will be dug annually from the mine, from which around 65,000 tons of lead-silver concentrate and 90,000 tons of zinc concentrate is expected to be produced following the six-year exploration and a $200 million investment.
B2Gold Consolidates Colombian Asset
B2Gold (BTO.TO) just announced having entered into an agreement with AngloGold Ashanti to acquire the latter's 50% stake in the?Gramalote Gold Project?in Colombia -?B2Gold to Consolidate Gramalote Project by Acquiring AngloGold Ashanti's 50% Stake.
Gramalote's Indicated resources are currently pegged at 78.2 million tonnes at 0.85 g/t gold—the Inferred material works out to 129.2 million tonnes at 0.68 g/t gold. The price tag for total control of the asset? $60 million, to be paid in cash, contingent upon certain milestones.
But the economics underpinning the project don't quite work at current Au prices (note the hefty CapEx):
"The structure of the transaction immediately adds to B2Gold’s consolidated mineral resource base and significantly increases the company’s exposure to the upside from the potential development of the Gramalote project, while still providing ongoing exposure to AngloGold through the contingent payments, which make up the majority of the purchase price," B2Gold said in a statement.
Hits Of The Week
More than a year after Canada first announced incentives to jumpstart clean technology projects there is still no money flowing, and if they are not in place soon, more than C$50 billion ($37 billion) in investments could be at risk, industry groups said - Canada risks more than C$50 billion in clean tech as incentives in limbo
(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to the world of China’s lithium auctions, where vast numbers of bids are placed, firms end up spending over a thousand times the opening price, and buyers promising hundreds of millions of dollars have walked without paying - Welcome to the Crazy World of China’s Lithium Mine Auctions
A metal detectorist recently discovered nine coin-like gold pendants engraved with rare horse symbols, along with 10 gold beads and three gold rings that were buried 1,500 years ago on the Norwegian island of Rennes?y - Norwegian metal detectorist hits the “find of the century”
With Citi Token Services, customers’ deposits will undergo a transformation into digital tokens, opening the door to instantaneous cross-border transfers to anyone, anywhere in the world. Spearheaded by Citigroup’s treasury and trade solutions division, this pioneering initiative is set to redefine the landscape of transaction banking services for institutional clients - Citigroup Launches Its Own Digital Token And Blockchain
"I don't want them to take away what has been left to me by my parents and grandparents," 55-year-old Loureiro said. "I don't want the mine ... I will fight it to the death" - Europe's mining quest faces a hurdle: angry locals
Have you been following this guys protests? Some are too funny (nearly had a little accident reading one a couple weeks back)...
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