The silver market faces mounting stress as trade-war concerns intensify, with higher rates to borrow metal adding to signs of global dislocation.
A surge in lease rates for the precious metal has become the latest sign of alarm, with anxiety building over the impact of further tariffs from US President Donald Trump. That’s sparked a dash to ship silver into the US in a bid to capture premium prices in New York, possibly causing a squeeze in London.
(Kitco News) – The stock market selloff and mounting fears of a recession are driving demand for gold, while sales of silver coins are in freefall as high costs and markups discourage buyers, according to precious metals analysts at Heraeus. In their latest precious metals update, the analysts noted that the market’s current risk-off posture is boosting gold’s safe-haven appeal.
“Concerns over a potential US recession are back in focus, with equity markets showing signs of strain,” they wrote. “The S&P 500 is now 2% lower than at 5 November 2024, when Donald Trump was elected, as persistent uncertainty over trade relations weighs on investor sentiment. On 7 March, hedge funds unwound single-stock positions at levels comparable to March 2020, reflecting a notable shift toward risk reduction.”
(Kitco News) – The gold market has hit another major milestone on Friday morning with the spot market briefly breaking above $3,000 an ounce to set a new all-time high of $3,005.04 just as many North American traders had their first cup of coffee.
Gold’s breakout started late Thursday after consolidating around $2,900 for the last three weeks. Overnight, the yellow metal traded in a narrow range but hit a high of $2,999.99. While gold is down from its session highs, it is still holding on to modest gains. Spot gold last traded at $2,999.10 an ounce, up 0.35% on the day.
In one of history’s little-known ironies, the Maple Leaf country pushing back against Donald Trump’s annexation bid is also host to a tiny, remote restaurant and brothel that helped launch the U.S. president’s family fortune more than 100 years ago.
To find it, look west. Way west. On a quiet, remote trail in British Columbia near the Yukon boundary sits a wooden facade resembling the brothel and restaurant Trump’s grandfather built at the turn of the century.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/
High gold prices aren’t resulting in higher spending, report finds
For years, gold has been the focus of Canadian mining exploration spending: the financing that backs efforts to find, assess, and potentially develop mineral deposits into mines. These efforts have established Canada as a top gold producer worldwide.
And over the course of 2024, the price of gold shot up by 38 per cent, reaching historic heights. But a B.C. report says skyrocketing value didn’t necessarily lead to more investment last year – it found overall exploration spending in the province was down 14 per cent from 2023, and exploration spending targeting gold dropped by 24 per cent.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Matheson miner argues no share compensation arrangement exists with First Nation
Matheson gold producer McEwen Mining contends there’s no cause for concern regarding its mine waste tailings storage facility that a nearby First Nation claims is causing environment harm and is a human health risk.
In a news release, McEwen responded to a lawsuit that was launched this month by Apitipi Anicinapek Nation (AAN) against the Toronto gold company for allegedly violating an impact benefit agreement (IBA) between the two parties.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
For me, every January begins with another trip through the key events of Canadian history since 1867, courtesy of a course I have taught for nearly 20 years at Memorial University of Newfoundland. As I write, I just stepped out of a class on Confederation, where we examine all the reasons that four tenuously related colonies decided to become the nation we call Canada.
As most teachers do, I covered off some key factors that produced a new political union: political gridlock and instability in the two Canadas (present-day Ontario and Quebec), fears of an attack from the U.S., dreams of a transcontinental nation, and the mania for railroads that might knit British North America together as a powerful, integrated industrial economy.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Equinox Gold agreed to buy Calibre Mining for about $2.56 billion in stock to become Canada’s second-largest gold producer. Calibre shareholders will receive 0.31 Equinox common share for each Calibre common share held immediately before the transaction, according to a joint statement issued Sunday. At closing, existing Equinox shareholders would own about 65% of the combined company’s outstanding shares, compared with 35% for their Calibre counterparts.
The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, sets the stage for the creation of a Canadian mining powerhouse with two low-cost assets under the same roof – Equinox’s Greenstone property in Ontario, which achieved commercial production in November and is one of the country’s largest open-pit mines; and Calibre’s Valentine mine, which is nearing construction completion.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Underground mine construction activity planned for 2025, pending arrival of government permit
Agnico Eagle wants to grow its northeastern Ontario assets by more than 50 per cent as early as 2030. The leading Toronto gold company has a slew of development projects underway in Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut, including the Detour Lake mine, northeast of Cochrane, where plans are afoot to drive production there to one million ounces a year.
Both the Detour expansion and the Upper Beaver mine project in the Larder Lake area are looked upon as two of Agnico’s catalysts for growth.
(Kitco News) – Fresh off his recent forays into the Treasury Department’s payment systems, tech billionaire Elon Musk is now gearing up to conduct an in-person audit of the United States’ gold reserves at Fort Knox on behalf of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk announced his intentions on Monday afternoon through a pair of posts on his X platform, implying that he doubts whether the $425 billion in bullion is really there. Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the state where Fort Knox is located, said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that he invited Musk to review the gold reserve after failing to gain access to the facility for a decade.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Toronto company sifting through Hollinger mine waste looking for leftover gold
A Matheson-area gold mine developer wants to sift through the tailings of the historic Hollinger Mine in Timmins to look for leftover gold.
STLLR Gold is heralding its Hollinger tailings project as a “gamechanging” and “strategic” opportunity that the Toronto company believes can yield significant amounts of untouched gold that can be reprocessed very cheaply and deliver some cash.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Barrick Gold Corp. is considering redomiciling to the United States from Canada, and under a Donald Trump administration that could happen sooner rather than later, Barrick chief executive Mark Bristow told The Globe and Mail’s editorial board.
On Thursday, he mapped out several reasons why a move to the U.S. makes sense, including access to a more efficient marketplace, and the ability to attract a bigger pool of shareholders. Redomiciling to the U.S. could put Barrick in the S&P 500 index, which would attract automatic buying from scores of mutual funds and exchange traded funds that track indexes.
The head of Barrick Gold Corp. says he’s confident that a resolution will be reached between his company and the Malian government, currently embroiled in a dispute over revenue distribution from one of the largest gold mines in Africa.
In an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday, Barrick’s CEO Mark Bristow said despite recent reports that talks between the company and Malian authorities had broken down, both sides continue to communicate with the aim of reaching an agreement.
https://www.mining-technology.com/
The increase is primarily attributed to the Reko Diq copper-gold project in the Chagai district of Balochistan, Pakistan.
Canadian miner Barrick Gold has reported a 23% increase in its overall proven and probable gold reserves, reaching 17.4 million ounces (moz) at the end of 2024. This rise is primarily attributed to the Reko Diq copper-gold project in the Chagai district of Balochistan, Pakistan.
The company’s attributable proven and probable gold reserves stood at 89moz at 0.99 grams per tonne (g/t) in 2024, up from 77moz at 1.65g/t in 2023. This year-on-year increase was driven by the conversion of Reko Diq’s copper-gold resources into mineral reserves, contributing 13moz of gold at a grade of 0.28g/t on an attributable basis, after the completion of the feasibility study.
(Bloomberg) — The Malian government’s overhaul of its extraction industry risks deterring companies from investing in the nation that’s home to the world’s second-largest gold mine, according to Anglo American Plc Chief Executive Officer Duncan Wanblad.
Mali’s military rulers have demanded a greater share of income from the nation’s gold and other resources since seizing power four years ago. The junta has adopted a new mining code and ordered companies to pay millions of dollars in back taxes and dividends, after a state audit revealed a shortfall of as much as 600 billion CFA francs ($950 million) in government revenue.
