?? The Most Contrarian Thing Of All
CEO.CA Presents the Chairman's Briefing - November 23rd,?2023
"The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself."
— Peter Thiel
Metals/Crypto Prices
In Partnership With
Wish you knew the crucial mining headlines, before the market opens?
Subscribe to the Daily Mining Dispatch to get the most relevant news, neatly packaged and delivered to your inbox.
Stay sharp, stay ahead – subscribe now!
In Today's Briefing
Gold remains buoyant in brisk trade, riding both sides of the $2k line, even as fund managers appear to be paring their speculative (long) positions confident the 'fear trade' is about done -?Gold's fear trade has officially peaked as hedge funds ditch their bullish bets.
The CFTC's disaggregated Commitments of Traders report for the week ending Nov. 14 showed money managers dropped their speculative gross long positions in Comex gold futures by 7,685 contracts to 132,924. At the same time, short positions rose by 6,235 contracts to 68,609.
We're currently testing recent highs on the daily chart and one can't help but think one of these tests will usher in a breakout to record highground. In light of all the economic and geopolitical uncertainty lurking beneath the surface, those bullish on the metal's long-term prospects believe a meaningful (historic) breakout to new highs is imminent, some proclaiming, "If not now...When?"
Kitco's Gary Wagner says this recent strength in the metal is the result of multiple factors: "First, the release of economic reports indicates that the economy in the United States has been contracting as a result of recent rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Secondly, the Federal Reserve released its minutes from the last FOMC meeting in which the Fed continued to maintain its current interest rate level." -?Fed hikes may have concluded, as central banks purchase gold at a record level.
Wagner also cited easing monetary policies by central banks around the globe (cept for the Fed) and intensified central bank buying as causes for this recent buoyancy.
The World Gold Council has updated its list of gold reserves by countries revealing that many central banks aggressively added to their gold reserves. Collectively these purchases by global central banks are at a record pace for the first three quarters of 2023 which totals 800 tons, with China Poland, and Singapore being the primary buyers. This pace is well above the total purchases for the same period in 2022.
A few select stories that crossed our screens
Ivanhoe Mines Delivers High-Grade Cu in the DRC
Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) recently tabled maiden mineral resource estimates for its high-grade Makoko and Kiala deposits, both contained within the 'uniquely endowed geological terrain' of its?Western Foreland?exploration project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -?Ivanhoe Mines Reports Mineral Resources for Makoko and Kiala Discoveries in the Western Foreland.
According to the company, Makoko ranks as the world’s third-largest and highest-grade copper discovery since tagging Kakula on an adjacent (400-square-kilometre) property back in 2016.
“Makoko and Kiala are two distinct discoveries adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex and continue Ivanhoe’s distinguished track record of making greenfield discoveries in this uniquely endowed geological terrain,” the company said in a statement.
The company will now examine the heap leaching viability of the near-surface resources at Makoko, which, if possible, “would be both a very low capital intensive, as well as a very low carbon intensive way of producing copper cathode.”
All told, Ivanhoe has blocked out 38.7 million tonnes of contained copper in the M&I resource categories, plus an additional 9.4 million tonnes of Inferred material in the subsurface layers underpinning the Western Foreland shelf, a structure that includes?Kamoa and Kakula.
Robert Friedland: “The theory was proven to be correct, as our team of visionary geoscientists discovered Kamoa in 2008, followed by the monumental Kakula discovery in 2016. In little over five years, Kakula went from drill core samples to one of the five largest copper mines in the world, with by far the highest grade, thanks to the hard work of our outstanding project and operations teams."
These high-grade resources were well received by the market, along with Friedland's comment that "there is much more to come as this story unfolds … we continue to perfect our knowledge of the geological controls of this globally significant copper district … and we are adding to our carefully chosen land position in the region."
Hollywood Gives First Quantum What For
领英推荐
First Quantum can't seem to catch a break as opposition to its colossal?Cobre Panama copper mine?in Panama continues to intensify.
Capable of producing > 300,000 tonnes of copper per annum (1.5% of global copper supply) once it's in gear, there's a lot riding on this one. But as things currently stand, the company is contemplating a complete shutdown later this week if a port blockade continues to prevent the flow of critical supplies -?First Quantum to Halt Panama Mine This Week If Blockade Persists.
The Canadian company started slowing operations last week after what it called an illegal blockade of small boats at its port hit the delivery of supplies to the mine. It has since further reduced production and expects to put the site in care and maintenance mode from Nov. 23 if the situation doesn’t change, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Now Hollywood is weighing in -?Leonardo DiCaprio backs Panamanians’ protests against First Quantum’s operation.
The company estimates that the two-month suspension earlier this year caused up to $8 million in losses per day. The country’s Chamber of Commerce estimates that the protests cost the nation between sixty and ninety million US dollars daily.
With the government coffers stoked to the tune of $375 million per annum under their current contract with the Canadian miner, there's a lot riding on this one indeed.
But amidst all this uncertainty (and Hollywood drama), at least one large investor views the current equity beatdown as an opportunity -?China's Jiangxi Copper boosts First Quantum stake after stock rout.
With general elections coming up in May, Cobre Panamá will be the subject of heated debate (understatement)―many a political career will rise or fall over this issue―there can be no middle ground.
In the auction arena, heaps of What For...
Abitibi Metals Lights Up Trading Screens
Abitibi Metals (AMQ.C) trotted out an acquisition last week that generated a high-volume trading frenzy in the company's underlying common shares -Abitibi Metals Secures the High-Grade B26 Polymetallic Copper Deposit (Ind: 7.0MT @ 2.94% Cu Eq & Inf: 4.4MT @ 2.97% Cu Eq).
It would appear that SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, has a few high-quality gems available for JV in its project portfolio. But only to the right partner. The B26 Polymetallic Copper Project, the acquisition that triggered the high-volume trajectory highlighted in the above chart, is a property company management has had its eye on for the past three years. Located along the prolific Abitibi Greenstone belt and characterized as "one of Quebec's most promising mineral discoveries (with a current strike of 1 km and depth extent of 0.8 km)," the project boasts a high-grade resource of some 400 million pounds of copper and 286,000 ounces of gold (along with significant zinc and silver credits at depth).
B26 Resource Summary (2018):
Located along the same structural trend as the historical Selbaie Mine 7 kilometers to the southwest (Selbaie's historical resource = 56.9 Mt @ 0.87% Cu, 1.85% Zn, 0.55 g/t Au, 39 g/t Ag), the company is targeting the "low hanging fruit"―the expansion potential of its existing high-grade (shallow) resource with an initial drill program consisting of roughly 2,750 meters.
Jonathon Deluce, CEO and significant shareholder: "One of the key characteristics for us was to find an asset with the potential to deliver an economic PEA with a minimum defined 20-to-30-million-ton high-grade copper resource, and I firmly believe that we have achieved that with B26. We have an aggressive exploration plan designed for this deposit with 12,500 metres targeted in 2023-2024 with an initial 2,750 metre program to commence shortly. Our initial drill strategy aims to delineate B26’s open-pit potential in addition to continuing to develop and grow the existing underground resource. We believe there is significant upside in developing an open-pit resource and look forward to including this as part of a robust maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment with strong numbers.”
Getting this deal inked with SOQUEM, now a significant AMQ shareholder, demonstrates a high level of confidence in their new partner. On the ropes and in desperate need of a confidence boost, the junior sector would benefit from more deals like this one.
New Li Discovery in James Bay Stokes Hopes for Resumption of Regional Bull Market
The James Bay district of Quebec has all the makings for a classic area play. The region's Li discovery cycle is in its infancy, but exploration newflow has been dead slow. Last summer's region-wide forest fire shutdown didn't help. And now, with exploration activity ramped back up, the labs are inundated with samples, and assay results have slowed to a trickle.
But investors may again develop an appetite for the region, courtesy of the business end of the drill bit -?Patriot Makes New Discovery at the Corvette Property as it Intercepts 100 m of Spodumene-Bearing Pegmatite at CV9, Quebec, Canada.
Patriot's meteoric price chart trajectory was based in no small part on the regional potential for significant new hard rock Li discoveries at its mothership?Corvette Property located in the Eeyou Istchee region of James Bay, Quebec. This Nov. 22 press release stands to validate this discovery potential. This new discovery―the CV9 Spodumene Pegmatite―is located roughly 14 kilometers west of the CV5 mineral resource that currently stands at 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O Inferred (CV5 ranks as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas and one of the top 10 largest lithium pegmatite resources in the world).
The Nov. 22 press release highlights:
The company states that, to date, seven distinct clusters of lithium pegmatite have been discovered across the Corvette Property―CV4, CV5, CV8, CV9, CV10, CV12, and CV13. "Given the proximity of some pegmatite outcrops to each other, as well as the shallow till cover in the area, it is probable that some of the outcrops may reflect a discontinuous surface exposure of a single, larger pegmatite "outcrop" subsurface."
Assays for the new CV9 discovery are pending.
Hits of the Week
Early Saturday morning, Elon Musk posted that his social media platform X will be?"filing a thermonuclear lawsuit" against left-leaning non-profit Media Matters and "all those who colluded" for "completely misrepresenting" the real user experience on X - "Don't Be Manipulated, Stand With X" - As Elon Promised, X Files Suit Against Media Matters
An Illinois federal jury found that leading egg producers and leading trade groups illegally manipulated the market to boost the price of eggs. The jury, consisting of nine men and three women from the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois,?ruled in favor of the food companies, stating that the egg producers and trade groups must pay damages -?Jury Rules Against the Country’s Largest Egg Producers in Price-Fixing Scheme
It doesn't appear in textbooks and isn't included in the much-anticipated movie Napoleon – but the French politician had bold plans to start a new life in the US - The New Orleans landmark that almost became Napoleon's retirement home
?
?