Kitco NEWS Roundtable

The surprise bid by Glencore for Teck was covered on Kitco Roundtable, recorded on Friday. The week started with Glencore making an unsolicited $23 billion bid for Teck, which Teck rebuffed. Also this week Pan American Silver, Agnico Eagle wrapped up their $4.8 billion deal to acquire Yamana Gold. Agnico Eagle now owns 100% of Canadian Malartic. The company's production in the Abitibi gold belt is forecast to be approximately 1.9 million ounces to 2.1 million ounces of gold per year through 2025.

While precious metal prices have been relatively high this year, it could be too early to leap into junior gold stocks, said Rick Rule, president and CEO of Rule Investment Media. On Friday Rule recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspodent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. Gold gained $150 in March — its best month since July 2020, noted Kitco's Anna Golubova. Analysts are seeing markets contradicting the Fed's messaging, and gold may have lots more upside, including testing and breaking record highs in April. Gold stocks are catching up. The GDX, an index of gold companies, is up 18% for the month, but it is still significantly off its 52-week high. "A move up may be right in terms of direction, but [investors] may be wrong in terms of timing," said Rule who likes the macro environment for gold but sees other factors weighing on the sector. "When we are in a risk-off environment, the riskiest assets on the planet are non-producing exploration companies," noted Rick. "The gold price can go up, but the shares of companies that inconveniently happen to have not much gold will continue to go down."

The same news that drove gold higher this week also gave copper a lift, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Thursday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris.Gold started off the week strong due to wobbles in the banking sector. Credit Suisse, the European banking giant, was taken over by UBS on the weekend. The markets then turned to the Fed and its rate hike. The Federal Reserve raised its main interest rate by a quarter-point, but the Fed also suggested that rates would not continue to rise. A weakening U.S. dollar also worked in favor of the metals, noted Kitco contributor Jim Wyckoff. On Thursday April gold was last up $47.70 at $1,996.90 and May silver was up $0.509 at $23.30.The lower dollar also worked in copper's favor. The metal reached $4.11 pound mid week. Looking ahead, McCrae noted that the resource sector should get a boost when the senior gold producers announce their first quarter financial results in April, which should be exceptional due to higher than average gold prices during the start of 2023.Roundtable also talked about First Majestic Silver's Jerritt Canyon woes and Albemarle's big investment.

It is a tough time to finance gold exploration projects, says Ari Sussman, executive chair of Collective Mining, who just announced a S$30M bought deal, but conditions will improve as 2023 progresses as investors seek safe haven investments in real assets.

While relatively high gold prices favor the producers, weak financing conditions are going to be a drag on companies not yet producing, noted Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. On Friday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Meridian Mining Executive Chairman Gilbert Clark. Meridian Mine (TSX:MNO) is focused on advancing its Cabaçal gold-copper deposit in Brazil. Earlier this week the company released a positive preliminary economic assessment for the project showing an after-tax net present value of $573 million and a 58.4% internal rate of return using $1,650 oz gold and $3.59 lb copper. Clark said the project's strong economics is something not seen by the markets for many, many years. Looking at the broader market, Harris said there are two factors that are holding back gold juniors. "I think the outlook for the gold juniors, developers and the explorers is not quite so rosy," said Harris. "A lot of people think...it is going to be a tough year to raise equity."Harris added that critical metal companies like copper and lithium have "taken off like a rocket" limiting the amount of funds available for precious metal companies. "[With] a limited pool of capital available, that naturally means there's perhaps going to be less available for the gold juniors."The gold index or GDX is down nearly 10% year-to-date and 30% for the year.

Although gold prices are down from the start of the year, miners still have healthy margins at the current price levels, noted Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. In February Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable at BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference with Mining Audiences manager Michael McCrae and Adriatic Metals CEO Paul Cronin.Adriatic Metals (ASX:ADT) will commence production at its Vares silver project in Bosnia & Herzegovina in Q3 of this year. Adriatic describe Vares as one of the highest margin polymetallic projects globally. Post-tax NPV is estimated at $1.062 billion and IRR at 134%. After gold got as high as $1,960 ounce in January, Harris noted that the BMO conference opened in late February with the metal suffering a four-week slide dipping into the low $1,800 range. "Perhaps [the drop is] a little bit painful, but the producers...still have 40% to 50% margins," noted Harris. "They're making a lot of money."

The Fed is expected to keep up its fight against inflation rather than ease, and that is bad for gold. On Saturday Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Early this week B2Gold said it would acquire Sabina Gold & Silver for C$1.1 billion (US$823.66 million).On Friday's Roundtable mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris talked about yet another big M&A in the gold sector. Early this month number one gold miner Newmont made a $16.9 billion offer for number seven ranked Newcrest. This week Newcrest said the offer under values the company. McCrae and Harris also talked about LG Chem buying a stake in Piedmont Lithium.

Newcrest Mining, which has a number of assets in B.C., received a $16.9 billion bid from Newmont early this week. On Friday Kitco correspondent Paul Harris discussed on Kitco Roundtable how Newmont's portfolio would change if the deal goes through. By gold production Newmont is the world's number one gold miner. Newcrest is ranked number seven.

The gold market saw significant losses on Friday as the precious metal dropped $50 on the day following a shockingly solid employment report out of the U.S., said mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. The U.S. economy added a staggering 517,000 jobs in January as the unemployment rate dropped to 3.4% — the lowest level since 1969, noted Kitco reporter Anna Golubova. This took many by surprise as market consensus calls were looking for just 185,000 new positions. This week's big mining news was General Motors making a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas to help advance Thacker Pass. A court decision is still pending on whether Thacker should proceed. Earlier this month a U.S. judge said she will rule "in the next couple of months" about whether former U.S. President Donald Trump erred in 2021 when he approved Lithium Americas Corp's plan to build Thacker, according to a report by Reuters.Lithium Americas is targeting 80,000 tonnes per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate from Thacker.

Gold finished last week with its sixth consecutive gain, but the Federal Reserve could slow the metal, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Monday McCrae recorded an episode of Kitco Roundtable. Fed chair Jerome Powell is giving a press conference on Monday. The Twin Metals decision was also covered. The Department of Interior cancelled two hardrock leases in northeastern Minnesota. Twin Metals has been trying to advance an underground mine in the area. The miner called the decision stunning and disappointing.

High battery metals prices, perhaps another lithium squeeze and geopolitical maneuvering will make 2023 an exciting year, Matt Fernley of Battery Metals Review says on the Kitco Roundtable.

A less rosy jobs report helped gold end the week higher, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris and Aura Minerals CEO Rodrigo Barbosa. U.S. employment data from December showed a slight slowdown in hiring. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, beating market consensus calls of 3.7% for December. As of noon Eastern time Friday, spot gold was trading at the $1,860 an ounce level, a range the metal hadn't seen in the last seven months. Barbosa's Aura Minerals is a mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on the development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas.

The critical metal sector saw two big deals during the second last week of the year, noted Michael McCrae, mining audiences manager at Kitco On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with John Feneck, Portfolio Manager and Founder of Feneck Consulting. This week the world's largest miner, BHP, firmed up terms to acquire OZ Minerals. Deal has been upsized to $6.39 billion. For comparison, the Agnico-Pan American-Yamana deal was $4.8 billion. OZ Minerals has copper and nickel operations in Australia. Forbes reports that the acquisition could be BHP's biggest in over a decade. The deal follows the trend of big miners investing in the battery metal space: Sibanye-Stillwater buying ioneer and Keliber, Rio Tinto spending $2.4 billion on Serbian lithium project Jadar. Last year BHP Billiton lost the fight to acquire Noront Resources and its rich nickel project in Ontario. Keeping with the battery metal theme, Lithium Americas is set to acquire Arena Minerals for $227 million. CEO Jonathon Evans said the transaction will consolidate development projects in Argentina. Lithium Americas plans to cut itself in two in 2023 with one company focusing on Latin America and the other on North America with the goal of unlocking value. Roundtable also covered macro picture with Feneck predicting a hard landing due to the Federal Reserve's aggressive moves to fight inflation.

After Agnico Eagle Mines and Pan American Silver announced that they would acquire Yamana Gold in November, the Quebec miner is not expected to slow its pace. On Friday Maple Gold Mines' Matthew Hornor made the remarks while recording Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. Maple Gold Mines (TSX.V: MGM) is a Canadian advanced exploration company in a 50/50 joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines to jointly advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in the Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt of Quebec, Canada. With the $4.8 billion Yamana deal set to go through, Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) is set to control all of Quebec-situated Canadian Malartic, Canada's largest gold mine. Hornor said Agnico is not going to slow. "They need to have projects in every stage of the pipeline, and we represent for them what could ultimately be a very large, important camp," said Hornor.

Problems with the copper market were exemplified by two big production reports released this week, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. This week Goldman Sachs predicted prices could reach a record high of $11,000 a tonne within in a year. Copper is expected to be undersupplied in 2023 and "peak supply is now immovably fixed in mid-2024 ... generating deficits from that point." wrote the Goldman Sach analysts, according to reporting by Reuters. Two big miners announced downward revisions for copper the same week as the Goldman report. Glencore forecast copper production of 1.04 million tonnes in 2023, down from 1.06 million this year. And today Anglo American announced in its production report that copper in 2023 is now 840-930kt instead of 910-1,020kt. The company said that copper production in 2023 and 2024 is "...impacted by lower grades across all operations, as well as an increase in ore hardness at Los Bronces, impacting throughput."

German car maker BMW said on Thursday it had invested in Jetti Resources, which has the technology extract copper from low grade material. On Saturday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. McCrae also covered gold's big run in November.

Worries about inflation appear to be supplanted by fears about a recession, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris. The Federal Reserve started raising interest rates in the summer to fight inflation. There are signs the medicine is taking hold. Consumer price inflation figure was lower than expected last month. Commodity prices have also been dropping, notably oil. Early this week oil hit its lowest level since January.With worries about inflation receding, McCrae noted that financial commentators are now switching their concern to recession due to the Fed's rapid interest rate hikes. Regrading mining news Harris discussed an investment by Jiangxi Copper, a Hong Kong-based investment company, into SolGold (LSE: SOLG; TSX: SOLG).

This month's jump in gold prices off the good inflation numbers along with woes in the crypto space provided a lift to junior gold miners, said mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Exploration Insights' Joe Mazumdar and Soar Financial's Kai Hoffmann at Deutsche Goldmesse in Frankfurt. Podcast was sponsored by Snowline Gold.

Yamana Gold is set to be acquired by Pan American Silver and Agnico Eagle Mines after Gold Fields dropped out of the bidding. Kitco correspondent Paul Harris, Soar Finanicial CEO Kai Hoffmann and guest Sam Ash, CEO of Bunker Hill Mining, discussed the week's mining and metal news on Kitco Roundtable. This week Yamana Gold said it preferred a deal offered by Pan American Silver and Agnico Eagle Mines over a Gold Fields deal, which was announced in the spring. The competing bid from Agnico Eagle-Pan American was announced last week.Gold Fields said it did not want to be drawn into a bidding war.

The metals sector ended the week on a positive note with a big bounce for most metals and news that Yamana attracted a new suitor. On Saturday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. Gold prices surged nearly $50 on Friday as the latest U.S. jobs report clarified some of the Federal Reserve's mixed messages, and China signaled a possible easing of its Covid-Zero policy, wrote Kitco reporter Anna Golubova.Gold has had a spectacular start to November after reporting the longest streak of monthly losses in more than five decades.In mining news Yamana, which agreed to a takeover by Gold Fields in the spring, received a new bid from Agnico Eagle Mines and Pan American Silver. Under the new offer Yamana would get $1 billion in cash and 153.5 million common shares of Pan American and approximately 36.1 million common shares of Agnico.The Yamana board said the bid from Agnico and Pan American is superior, and Yamana supports the new bid.

Battery-metal producers warned of softer prices in this season's quarterlies, said mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris and Revival Gold CEO Hugh Agro.

This past week the United States Department Of Energy announced several grants to battery metal miners, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act included a provision to fund energy transition. It incentivized companies to build battery metal manufacturing facilities in the U.S.This past week notable announcements were Piedmont Lithium getting $141.7 million for a Tennessee lithium processing plant, Talon Metals getting $114 million for a battery minerals processing facility in North Dakota and Syrah Resources getting $220 million for an anode plant in Louisiana.

A string of economic data is throttling commoditiesOn Friday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris. On Thursday consumer price inflation report was released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Inflation increased by 0.4% in September which was higher than the forecasts predicted. The inflation print along with last week's strong jobs number pushes the Fed to further tightening. As if to put an exclamation point on it, Michigan Consumer Sentiment was released today. It ticked up in October.The gold market is ending the week down nearly $90 from its October highs as investors renew their expectations of a very aggressive Federal Reserve into the year-end. The yellow metal dropped below the $1,650 an ounce level, with December Comex gold futures last trading at $1,647.80, down 1.74% on the day.In mining news Cameco announced this week it is partnering to acquire Westinghouse Electric Company, one of the world’s largest nuclear services businesses.Partner is Brookfield Renewable, which will own a 51% interest in Westinghouse and Cameco will own 49%.Westinghouse services about half the nuclear power generation sector and is the original equipment manufacturer to more than half the global nuclear reactor fleet.Costs for the two will be about $2.25 billion each.

A stronger than expected Friday jobs report halted market momentum, and the decision on Thacker Pass, America's next big lithium mine was pushed to the new year.On Friday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae rounded up the metals and mining news for the week.

Steep interest rate hikes are hard on commodities and the markets, but the move is necessary, said Liberty Gold CEO Cal Everett. On Friday Everett recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. The Federal Reserve's rate hikes have been hard on investors. In early September the Fed increased its benchmark rate by 75 basis points, and another 1.25 percentage points is in the cards before year end. This week gold hit a 2.5 year low. The S&P 500 has dropped nearly a quarter year to date. "I think they're absolutely doing the right thing by raising rates. Yes, it's punitive, but I think they're doing the right thing," said Everett. Everett said the problem with inflation is that it is hard to tamp down once it gets entrenched. "Once a market is fixated on a margin, it will fight to keep those margins."

Too much conservatism and a focus on capital discipline was a drag on the mining sector's big get together in September, said Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.On Tuesday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and VRIFY CEO Steve de Jong. Roundtable was filmed at Gold Forum Americas in Colorado Springs. The event began on Monday.The forum started on a sour note with gold dropping to its lowest level in nearly 2.5 years on Friday. De Jong noted similarities to past pullbacks in the previous decade when junior companies had the option of switching to other sectors."What's fascinating about right now is that there is no sector to hide in," noted de Jong. "In the previous downturn, all of a sudden a bunch of mining companies...were starting really early stage cannabis companies or became blockchain companies. But right now there is no corner that you can hide in."With the markets so uncertain, that has made the sector less risk averse. The proceedings were "boring.""I would even go to so far to say it's more boring than last year's event when pretty much nobody came," said Harris, noting the event in 2021 where attendance was hampered by the pandemic. "It's almost like we're at the institute chartered accounting, because everybody's talking about capital discipline, balance sheets and share buybacks. Nobody's talking about building things, developing things. There's no excitement at all."

With gold dropping below $1,700 junior mining investors are scarce, notes Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. On Friday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. Harris is at the 2022 Precious Metals Summit Beaver Creek. He noted the mood at this fall's kick-off show. "It's quite doom and gloom. The running joke is 'spot the investor'," said Harris.

After an August shellacking, markets and commodities were keen to turn to the page, said Kitco's mining audience manager, Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with correspondent Paul Harris and Arnoud Star Busmann, president and CEO of Minehub Technologies.On Friday gold rose as the dollar weakened, although prospects of more rate hikes from the U.S.Federal Reserve are keep a lid on further gains. Spot gold hit a high of $1,729 today. Bitcoin spiked above $21K, pushing the total crypto market cap back above $1 trillion. Copper finished the week around $3.50 a pound range, and oil is trading in the mid $80s a barrel. China, a major commodity importer, has been an anchor on metals. A deflating property bubble, COVID lockdowns, restrictions on lending and electricity shortages have all slowed China's economy. Economists are looking ahead to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to be held mid-October, which will set the the country's economic agenda. Key finance roles in the country will also be filled. Bloomberg reports that a number of high-level functionaries should vacate government by early next year: Premier Li Keqiang, economic czar Liu He, central bank Governor Yi Gang, banking regulator Guo Shuqing and Finance Minister Liu Kun.Harris rounded up the mining news, mentioning the new feasibility study announced by Skeena Resources and Sabina Gold & Silver going ahead on a new mine in Nunavut.

Decelerating economic growth was pitched as a solution for meeting the world's demand for metals, reported Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. On Friday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. While energy transtion will require higher production levels of copper, lithium and nickel, metal production is generally declining. Reuters reported that top copper miner, Codelco, is set to produce significantly less copper. Over the next five years production is not expected to surpass 1.5 million tonnes. Traditionally Codelco has produced over 2 million tonnes annually. Some reasons for the decline are water shortages, declining asset grades and industrial action.Harris reported from the Colombian Mining Association that Irene Velez, minister of mines and energy, suggested that the country must not ramp up production by building more mines. Rather, economies should decelerate.Critics said that would impede energy transition and also hurt Colombia's economic growth.

Uranium miners traded higher this week after Japan announced plans to resume the country's nuclear program, noted Ur-Energy's CEO John Cash. On Friday Cash recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. Ur-Energy is an in-situ uranium company with operations in Wyoming, U.S. Since 2013 the company has produced and shipped about 2.6 million pounds U3O8 from its Lost Creek operation.Japan will restart more idled nuclear plants and look at developing next-generation reactors, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday, a major policy shift on nuclear energy a decade after the Fukushima disaster, reported Reuters.Uarnium bellweather Cameco (TSX:CCO) benefitted, trading up 19% this week to end at $34 a share. Cash's company (TSE:URE) was up 15% for the week finishing at $1.60.

Near permanence and verification are the chief advantages to using reactive rocks for carbon sequestration, said CO2Lock's CEO Cooper Quinn.On Friday Quinn recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris.CO2Lock is commercializing carbon capture and storage (CCS) using rocks that react and trap carbon dioxide. CO2Lock was formed this spring. It is a subsidiary of FPX Nickel (TSXV: FPX).The minerals the company are using are brucite-rich serpentinized peridotite. CO2Lock claims the rocks have a high rate of reaction with CO2. The company is advancing in-situ and ex-situ methods for CCS.The advantages to using rocks instead of other methods, such as planting trees or injecting CO2 into empty wells, is near permanence and verification. Quinn said CO2 capture using rocks means that the amount of carbon captured is highly verifiable. It also has near permanence. The carbon dioxide is bound within the mineralization.

The Consumer Price Index number released on Wednesday marked a turning point in the markets, argued Kitco's mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.On Friday McCrae recorded Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and Exploration Insights editor Joe Mazumdar.The Wednesday inflation news from the Labor Department shows that U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in July. The CPI was flat last month after advancing 1.3% in June. A drop in oil prices were credited. McCrae argued that the inflation narrative has weakened."It's just one month's data, but there was a sea change. Money came back to beaten up tech. The NASDAQ was up 1.51% for the week," said McCrae. "Beaten up copper hit a six-week high on hopes the Fed will stop tightening. It finished the week at the $3.70 pound level.""Although gold was an inflation trade, it had been taken down in the past few months but also rose this week. Gold shot through 1800 on the CPI announcement and finished the week in the 1790s."Companies are releasing their Q2s, and some are indicating that inflation has peaked.Panelists also talked about Barrick's quarter, Gold Fields attempt to acquire Yamana Gold and BHP Billiton's play for Oz Minerals.

Lukas Lundin's passing was announced on Wednesday. On Friday Lundin Gold CEO Ron Hochstein shared his rememberances with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae on Kitco Roundtable. Lundin Gold's flagship asset is its Fruta Del Norte Mine. In 2014 Lukas Lundin acquired Fruta Del Norte project for $240 million. The company (TSE: LUG), which Lukas chaired, now has a market cap just under $2 billion and is set to produce 420,000 ounces at around $900 a ounce. Lukas Lundin led the development of many resource projects. He was a dealmaker and a mine builder. "Over the past 40 years, Lukas has been a driving force behind the tremendous successes of companies within the Lundin Group. Lukas started his career in the international energy and mining sectors in the early 1980s working side-by-side with his father, the late Mr. Adolf H. Lundin," wrote the company in a news release announcing Lukas Lundin's passing."Under the leadership of Lukas and his brother Ian, and in close cooperation with the rest of the Lundin family, the Lundin Group has grown into an internationally recognized portfolio of energy and mining companies with operations spanning the globe. The eleven companies that comprise the Lundin Group today have a combined market capitalization in excess of USD 11 billion, directly employing more than 15,000 people and creating opportunities for tens of thousands more."Lukas Lundin founded Lundin Mining together with his father in the mid-1990s for more than 25 years until he stepped down in May 2022. In his role as chair, Lukas oversaw Lundin Mining's development from an exploration-stage company into a global mid-tier producer with a strong copper focus and a portfolio of world-class assets.

Ford Motors announced seven battery-metal deals this week, noted Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. On Friday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Cornish Metals CEO Richard Williams.On Thursday the automaker announced it will buy lithium from ioneer, which is advancing its Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada. Other deals Ford announced were with Compass Minerals, Syrah Resources and Rio Tinto.Keeping with the battery metals theme, Williams updated the Roundtable on the company's South Crofty tin project in south west England.

Snowline Gold CEO Scott Berdahl singled out Victoria Gold going into operation as one of the biggest catalyst for the region's mining sector. On Friday Berdahl recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. Snowline Gold (CSE:SGD, OTCQB:SNWGF) is an exploration company operating in the Yukon. Snowline’s portfolio is spun out from a private, Yukon-based, family-owned prospecting company. The company's flagship, district-scale gold projects occupy the intersection of two mineral belts. Two significant greenfield gold discoveries in 2021, Jupiter and Valley, demonstrate presence of multiple deposit types and the emergence of a large, unexplored district, notes Snowline Gold in its investor presentation."Of course leading the way is Victoria Gold," said Berdahl. "They've done a great job of bringing an intrusion-related gold system, a Fort-Knox-style sort of mineralization, into production. And they're becoming an economic powerhouse in the territory, and that's great to see."Victoria Gold's (TSX:VGCX) first pour from its Eagle Gold Mine was in 2019. The company estimates 2022 production will be between 165,000 and 190,000 ounces.

Under-investment, just-in-time manufacturing and environmental pressures are some the factors that resulted in the U.S. falling behind in securing its own domestic supply of critical metals, said Duncan Wood, vice president for strategy & new initiatives at the Wilson Center. On Friday Wood recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. Wood was lead author for the The Mosaic Approach: a Multidimensional Strategy forStrengthening America’s Critical Minerals Supply Chain. The Wilson Center, chartered by Congress in 1968 as the official memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, is an American non-partisan policy forum. In the summer of 2021, the Wilson Center convened a Critical Minerals Working Group, made up of stakeholders from industry, academia and civil society, to examine the vulnerabilities that exist in the supply chain, and to discuss how the private sector and government can address them. Finding from the group were compiled in the report.

Carmaker Stellantis bought an 8% stake in direct lithium extraction company Vulcan Energy Resources for $52 million this week. On Friday Kitco Roundtable's Michael McCrae sat down with the CEO of Golden Shield Resources, Leo Hathaway. Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and editor Neils Christensen recorded a segment from the Yukon, where they are participating in a mine tour. Golden Shield Resources is a gold-exploration company focused on three, 100% owned, exploration projects in Guyana, South America.

Diamond Field Resources is pivoting to West African gold explorer, said CEO John McGloin. On Friday McGloin recorded Kitco Roundable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. Last year Diamond Fields (TSX.VDFR) announced it acquired Moydow Holdings, which has a portfolio of exploration and development projects across Africa, including the highly prospective Labola gold project in Burkina Faso. In May Diamond Fields announced a drilling program for Labola. Diamond Fields joins other resource companies in the country, which has seen a mining renaissance due to regulatory changes.

Hard rock lithium mines can have much higher greenhouse gas emmissions compared to brines, said Mark Fellows, co-founder of and director at Skarn Associates.On Friday Fellows recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris and mininga adiences manager Michael McCrae. Skarn is a UK-based consultancy that quantifies and benchmarks asset-level greenhouse gas emissions, energy intensity and water use across the mining sector.Transportation, conversion and refining of hardrock lithium all lead to much higher greehouse gas output compared to brines. Fellows said his company will be studying water usage at brines.

Brownfield projects have distinct advantages, said Vizsla Silver CEO Michael Konnert. On Friday Konnert recorded Kitco Roundtable. Vizsla Silver (TSX-V: VZLA, NYSE: VZLA) is advancing its flagship, 100%-owned Panuco silver-gold project located in Sinaloa, Mexico. The company said it has completed over 140,000 metres of drilling at Panuco leading to the discovery of several new high-grade veins. Vizsla is budgeting another 120,000 meters drilling in 2022 as it advances towards production. "It's such an opportune platform to move into production simply because of the excellent infrastructure. We even have a past-producing mill and tailings," said Konnert. "Everything that you would need is on the property.""Some mines take ten years to move into production or 20 years you to get through permitting. What have you is a past producing district with all that infrastructure, so it's a it's a huge opportunity for us to to move very rapidly." Follow Michael McCrae on Twitter: @michaelmccrae (https://twitter.com/michaelmccrae)Follow Kitco Mining on Twitter: @KitcoMining (https://twitter.com/KitcoMining)

The Russia-Ukraine war revealed the vulnerability of the potash supply chain, said Gensource Potash CEO Mike Ferguson. On Friday Ferguson recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. Gensource is advancing a new technology, which Ferguson said is more modular and requires less capital. Gensource produces potash using a closed-loop method called selective extraction. A hot salt brine that is injected into ore bodies and then pumped out. Russia and Belarus account for approximately 40 percent of global potash production and exports, noted Nutrien in its Q1 guidance. Due to sanctions and other restrictions, exports from the region are 20% lower this year compared to the year prior. "The invasion of Ukraine by Russia really has shown a light on or exposed the lack of resiliency in the supply chain for for potash," said Ferguson, noting that high concentration within the industry and older mines have also contributed. India announced that it was increasing subsidies for fertilizers due to prices rises for the commodity.

Gold is holding up relatively well compared to everything else, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris after a tumultuous week for markets and metals. On Wednesday the Fed announced a 50-basis point hike, the biggest in 22 years. The U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury yields all soared this week, while there was carnage in the markets. NASDAQ composite is down 22% year to date, while the S&P is down 13%. Bitcoin is also down 23% since Dec. 31. Gold hasn't been all that bad. The metal is still up about $80 on the year. Winners have been the senior gold miners. Barrick and Newmont are both up 20% year to date. GDXJ just 2%. The week culminated in Friday job's report. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said 428,000 jobs were created in April. The data beat expectations. Economists were forecasting job gains of around 390,000.As of recording Roundtable June gold futures last traded at $1,887.20 an ounce.Kitco Roundtable was sponsored by Libero Copper

Gold dropped sharply in April due to a rise in U.S. Treasury yields and a resilient U.S. dollar, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. Copper was off about 5% for the week, noted McCrae. Concerns about the pandemic and an industrial slowdown in China weighed. In its earnings Caterpillar warned that demand in China will be weak, similar to what was experienced in 2019 during the start of the pandemic. The Chinese government did announce an aggressive stimulus to support the economy. Podcast sponsor was Libero Copper.

While many metal prices have rocketed, mining equities have mostly under-performed, noted Queen's Road Capital CEO Warren Gilman.On Friday Gilman recorded a podcast with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.Queen's Road Capital (TSX:QRC.V) finances miners. The company focuses on convertible debt securities. Some investments are NexGen Energy, Adriatic Metals and Los Andes Copper.Metal prices are up due to supply disruptions and the pandemic, but Gilman said companies are still under-valued."It's generally harder to deploy capital in a equity bull market, but this is a different equity bull market," said Gilman. "Commodity prices are doing very, very well. Equities aren't quite keeping pace. That's particularly true in the North American gold space."Over the past year, the gold price is up 9.8% but the VanEck Junior Gold Miners has lost 8.21% over the same time period.Gilman said his company is not focused on any particular commodity."I think being commodity agnostics agnostic helps us to find opportunities in out of focus sectors," said Gilman. "We are focused on debt securities. So we're not direct equity investors normally. We have that protection of a debt position in the company's balance sheet. We go to relatively safe jurisdictions in the mining sector, and we try to diversify the portfolio to your point amongst different commodities, amongst different projects and amongst different geographies."Kitco Roundtable was sponsored by Libero Copper.

Mergers and acquisitions are creating their own momentum, said Tectonic Metals' CEO Tony Reda. On Friday Kitco recorded Kitco Roundtable. Tectonic Metals (CVE:TECT) is a mineral exploration company focused on North America. Assets include the Tibbs project, which hosts three new Tectonic drill discoveries in the Goodpaster District and is 35 kilometres east of the Pogo Mine.Before heading Tectonic, Reda who was part of the team that advanced Kaminak's Coffee project in the Yukon. The company was eventually bought by Goldcorp or C$520 million in 2016.Majors have been showing interest in northwest America. In 2021 Newcrest Mining acquired Pretium for $2.8 billion. In the same year Newmont acquired GT Gold for $393 million. Both acquired companies operated in B.C.'s Golden Triangle. In the Yukon, Teck invested in Fireweed Zinc in 2019, and Rio Tinto invested in Western Copper and Gold in 2021. "You know, success breeds more success, and that's not just on the exploration front. It's also on the permitting front, the political front, the First Nations front," said Reda. "People go where there's opportunity, where there's a flight to safety—working in your own backyard working in jurisdictions where there is established law and it's predictable and stable."

News this week that Ottawa plans to spend C$3.8 billion ($3.02 billion) to support battery metals was welcomed by miners. On Friday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae hosted Kitco Roundtable. The Canadian government announced the funding it its budget. Funds would go to mineral surveying, processing and recycling, as well as tax credits for digging new mines and subsidies for infrastructure. Regulatory oversight, however, would mostly stay the same. "$3.8 billion for minerals and metals, and that’s not including other budget items, like the $15B Clean Growth Fund, a piece of which will doubtless support critical minerals. A time for celebrating Canadian #mining and its role in #climateaction," tweeted Pierre Gratton, President and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada, supporting the measure. Sponsor of Kitco Roundtable was Golden Minerals.

Energy transition is going to require a lot of copper, but miners are still cautious, said Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. On Friday Harris recorded Kitco Roundtable with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and CEO and co-founder of Enduro Metals, Cole Evans. Enduro Metals (TSXV: ENDR) is an exploration company focused on British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. In late March Harris covered the CRU World Copper Conference 2022 in Santiago, Chile. According to CRU presentations at the show, there is a six-million tonne per year supply deficit for copper. The deficit will require about $100 billion of investment, but miners are mostly limiting risk by developing brownfield sites, areas that were previously mined. "Mining companies are pretty much focused on brownfield projects where they perhaps already got permitting," said Harris. "They've already got relationships with communities and local government. Companies do not want to engage in greenfield developments at the moment. I guess the feeling is [greenfields] are just high-risk from a permitting point of view, from a cost view and from a cost overrun point of view."Cole said there will be an eventual turn to greenfields development. "There's only a finite amount of brownfields projects," said Cole. "I think you're going to start to see a transition."Kitco Roundtable is sponsored by Golden Minerals.