Russian State-funded private military company (PMC) Wagner Group is one of the greatest beneficiaries of illicit gold trading, a new report published by the World Gold Council (WGC) shows.
According to the report, penned by former UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, estimates suggest the PMC earned more than $2.5-billion from illicit gold mining since the invasion of Ukraine alone, which has been funnelled back into the Russian war machine.
LONDON – The illicit trade in gold from artisanal mining is feeding conflicts from Ukraine to Sudan, funding terrorism, fuelling organised crime and subjecting the world’s poorest people to horrendous violence. This is the picture painted by the World Gold Council (WGC) in a report urging concerted international action to clean up the booming sector.
The artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) industry now produces an estimated 20% of the world’s gold, up from 4% in the 1990s, and possibly accounts for 80% of the global gold mining workforce, said the ‘Silence is Golden’ report.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Vancouver’s Orla Mining does an $850 million deal with Newmont to acquire northwestern Ontario mine
Musselwhite Mine in northwestern Ontario finally has a new owner. Denver-based Newmont is selling Musselwhite to Vancouver’s Orla Mining for up to US$850 million in total consideration.
Newmont receives cash consideration of $810 million when the deal will be finalized in the first quarter of 2025 and up to US$40 million in contingent payments based on the average spot gold price following the two years after the transaction is closed. The fly-in, fly-out underground operation is roughly 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Inside the bank’s push into the sometimes peculiar world of precious metal collectibles
Two aliens with emerald-green eyes stare out from the face of a gold coin on the website of Canada’s second-largest bank, the words “The invasion is here” stamped above their elongated heads.
The gleaming extraterrestrials, straight out of Area 51 central casting, appeared some time ago on the online store of TD Precious Metals, Toronto-Dominion Bank’s bullion trading division, which has quietly become one of the largest purveyors of gold and silver items in Canada’s retail market.
(Kitco News) – Asian demand has transformed the gold market this year, driving prices to record highs. While the market has recently retreated from those highs, Asia’s influence in the marketplace is expected to grow, according to the latest report from the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).
The DMCC highlighted that Dubai and the United Arab Emirates are uniquely positioned to serve as an important bridge between East and West. According to the report, the DMCC envisions the start of an “Asian Century” for gold, with a focus on developing a new gold economic corridor among BRICS nations, including the UAE.
https://www.thesudburystar.com/
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited outlines its plans to develop gold mines in the province
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is planning to spend billions developing gold mines in Ontario – a fact that should benefit mining services and supply companies based in Sudbury. That’s one of the messages Andre Leite, Ontario vice president of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, brought to a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce President’s Series Luncheon on Thursday.
Agnico Eagle’s business is gold production and Sudbury is the home base for Leite. His company is recognized globally for its leading environmental, social and governance practices.
NEW YORK (AP) — After ripping higher for much of this year, the price of gold has suddenly become not so golden since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Gold fell more than 4% in the four days since Election Day, when the broad U.S. stock market climbed nearly 4%. That’s even though investors are expecting a Trump White House to drive tax rates lower and tariffs higher. Such a combination could push the U.S. government’s debt and inflation higher, which are both things that can help gold’s price.
(Kitco News) – As precious metals investors watched gold prices slide from a high of $2,800 per ounce only two weeks ago to just over $2,500 per ounce this week, analysts and traders have been working overtime to contextualize the magnitude of the move, and to try to determine the likely near-term floor for the yellow metal.
And while gold holders are reassured to hear that all the medium and long-term tailwinds behind bullion remain in effect, they remain anxious as they watch gold prices decline further day after day. “This week alone, gold prices have fallen nearly 5%, marking the steepest weekly decline in almost three years,” noted Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Drill results from B2Gold’s (TSX: BTO; NYSE: BTG) Goose project in Nunavut, which is under construction and expected to yield first gold next year, may point to a longer mine life and bigger resource base, the company said Wednesday.
Drill hole 24GSE-683Z1 at the Nuvuyak deposit at Goose cut 28.8 metres at 6.39 grams gold per tonne from 982.2 metres. It had a higher-grade interval of 23.49 grams gold over 6.5 metres from 1,005 metres depth. This extends high-grade mineralization by 150 metres to the north-northwest.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Ontario Junior Exploration Program dispenses $13 million to 84 projects across province
Ontario’s mineral exploration sector fielded $13 million in provincial funding to discover and define the next generation of mines in Ontario. Provincial mines minister George Pirie announced the fifth round of funding through the Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP) in his home riding of Timmins at the headquarters of NPLH Drilling on Nov. 12.
“There’s a lot of exciting projects to talk about, too many to talk about, with incredible potential,” said Pirie, whose announcement was streamed live on Facebook.
(Kitco News) – Gold has been recognized as a trusted store of value for centuries, allowing holders to maintain their wealth during times of uncertainty, and sometimes, hidden away treasures resurface in the modern age, as was the case for a Civil War-era coin stash recently found in Kentucky.
As reported on a special episode of Kentucky Life, a farmer in the state made a valuable discovery in 2023 that’s come to be known as The Great Kentucky Hoard, comprised of a cache of gold and silver coins dating to the Civil War era.
Mineral growth opportunities abound as Magino Mine is absorbed into Island Gold operations
DUBREUILVILLE – Adding the Magino open-pit mine to the Alamos Gold stable helped the Toronto gold company post a record third quarter in a number of areas.
Across its mines in Northern Ontario and Mexico, Alamos posted a record 152,000 ounces of gold, up nine per cent from the previous quarter. That’s a reflection, the company said of the performance of its pair of Dubreuilville-area gold mines, Island Gold and Magino. Last week the company posted its financial results for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
(Kitco News) – Gold’s price decline since Trump’s electoral victory is as much about the party as it is the candidate, while global silver demand from the solar industry continues to rise as technology evolves and countries surpass their installation targets, according to precious metals analysts at Heraeus.
In their latest precious metals update, the analysts noted that historically, Republican victories have not been good for gold’s near-term prospects. “Gold dropped to $2,643/oz, the lowest price in 19 days, and the dollar strengthened as it became clear that Trump would return as US president,” they wrote.
(Bloomberg) — Most of the world’s top gold miners have seen their shares surge this year as bullion prices hit repeated record highs. Not Barrick Gold Corp.
Missed production targets, higher operational costs and political turbulence at mines in Africa and Asia have investors turning increasingly sour on the world’s second-biggest gold producer. On Thursday, Barrick posted gold output that missed analysts’ estimates for the 11th straight quarter.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive Mark Bristow says the Canadian gold miner is prepared to fork over to Mali more than half of the economic spoils from mining in the country, as it toils to put an end to yet another fiscal dispute with an overseas government.
Toronto-based Barrick over the past few years has bounced from one fiscal dispute to another with several host countries over taxes, royalties and joint-venture stakes in its mines overseas. After patching up disputes that lasted for years with both Tanzania in East Africa and then Papua New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific, Barrick this year has tangled with Mali’s military junta in West Africa.
