Kitco NEWS Roundtable

The wide degree of speculation that is needed to author a preliminary feasibility study and other economic documents is not clear to the general investor, said Douglas Silver, CEO of Balfour Holdings. On Friday Silver joined editor Neils Christensen, Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae to record a podcast.Silver has had a career being on the right side of industry trends. He was founder of International Royalty Corporation, which was acquired by Royal Gold in 2010. Total deal size was C$750 million. Silver also helped get the Denver Gold Group off the ground, a leading industry show. In discussing his issues with economic studies produced by juniors and developers, Silver pointed out that capital cost need to build a mine typically are 30% to 60% over budget. A lack of standards by the firms generating the studies are part of the problem. There is just too much variability. The economic studies are just forecasts, but they can mislead investors. "Preliminary economic estimates are very, very important, but they're important internally for the company for designing future programs," said Silver, noting that an investor expecting a 35.5% internal rate of return on a project when capital costs are libale to swing +/-35% is a gross misrepresentation.Silver would like to see better regulation and standards, warning that if the issue is not fixed it could lead to erosion of trust.

Last month nickel prices looked like they may break to a level that would support new mine development, but news out of Indonesia ended the rally, said Ken Hoffman, Co-Leader EV Battery Materials Group at McKinsey. On Thursday Hoffman joined editor Neils Christensen, Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae to record a podcast. With electric vehicles coming to the fore with government incentives and broad consumer acceptance, more batteries are going to be needed, and nickel is turning out to be a key battery metal. However, supply is limited. The recent rise in nickel prices may have started to trigger new mine development, but news from China’s Tsingshan Holding Group stopped the rally. In early March, news that Chinese stainless steel and nickel giant Tsingshan's decision to produce a large amount of nickel matte in Indonesia eased concerns over battery-grade supply, according to a report by Reuters. In February nickel hit its highest level since 2014, $20,110 a tonne.According to Reuters, Tsingshan said on Wednesday it would supply 100,000 tonnes of nickel matte - an intermediate product that can be used to make both stainless steel and battery-grade nickel for electric vehicles (EVs) - to Huayou Cobalt and CNGR Advanced Material within a year from October. Nickel prices subsequently tumbled. Hoffman said nickel prices need to be higher for mine development to proceed. "I do think that we have to get the price of nickel higher. It's a shame if Indonesia does not come through with this new process. It's really delayed the price point of nickel to get new projects because most nickel miners want something in the twenties before they get comfortable making massive investment," said Hoffman. "The fact that it's fallen down to about 17,000 again is a bit disappointing because it just delays that investment decision." As of today, the cash nickel price on the LME is $16,001 a tonne. The podcast also reprised its conversation with Frank Giustra, CEO of Fiore Group, who has challenged Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, to a public debate on gold versus Bitcoin. Giustra told Kitco News that his intent is to help Saylor clarify some of the things he’s said publicly about gold and challenge Saylor’s thesis. “I am not a Bitcoin hater. I just think that [Saylor’s] thesis on gold and Bitcoin needs to be explored and I think I would love the opportunity to explore some of the statements that he’s making on some of these interviews [that he’s done],” Giustra said.

The adjustments miners had to make during the pandemic may have resulted in speeding up automation, said Eric Winsborrow, EVP Corporate Strategy, Wenco International Mining Systems.On Friday Winsborrow joined editor Neils Christensen, Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae to record a podcast.A subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery, Wenco provides technology solutions to its parent company, such as fleet management and mining analytics.During the pandemic, miners relied more on automation to keep people from coming into close quarters."The experience of not being able to have people on the mine site has really accelerated the realization that we don't need people on the mine site," said Winsborrow.Winsborrow said miners are now embracing technologies like cloud infrastructure, so more mines can be managed remotely. Western Australia's Pilbara is a center of mine automation."How do you manage 13 mines in the Pilbara from one location? How do you manage multiple operations remotely? I never heard miners talking cloud. Now they are all talking to us about it," said Winsborrow.

Nearly one year ago, the gold/silver ratio rose to a historic high above 124 points. Since then, the silver market has significantly decoupled from gold. The ratio has fallen back to historic norms around 65 points, a decline of nearly 50% from the all-time highs.According to the CEO of the largest silver producer in the U.S., silver's move is just starting. Friday's Kitco Roundtable guest was Phillip Baker, CEO of Hecla Mining and he described silver as the new techno metal as its industrial demand continues to grow."Silver is in a unique position that it's never been in before. And not the pandemic and it's not even the fiscal and monetary stimulus that we've had," he said.Baker said that the world's commitment to decarbonizing the global economy by developing clean, renewable energy to producing more electric vehicles, will be an essential pillar of demand for silver. He added that new industrial fabrication could boost silver demand to 600 million ounces in the next 20 years."[Silver] really is a unique metal. It has characteristics that no other metal has," he said.Not only is silver demand expected to continue to grow, but Baker said that supply is also reaching its limit as there has not been any significant new mine development in years. He added that if this trend continues, supply will struggle to keep up with demand.However, Baker added that Hecla is in a good position to remain a leader in silver production. Baker noted that Hecla producers about a third of all the silver in the U.S.Looking at the company's growth, Baker said that its Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho still has plenty of future growth. Even after 75 years in operation, the company is looking at ways to improve production. Baker said that the mine currently produces 2 million ounces of silver and the company expects that to increase it to 5 million ounces in two years. Baker also noted that aside from Lucky Friday, the company has plenty of growth potential in its pipeline."We have, over the next 10 years, maybe up to seven properties that could go into production," he said.

Copper prices are high, and inventories are low, but the CEO of Kodiak Copper, Claudia Tornquist, said there is another bullish indicator for the base metal.On Friday Tornquist was a guest on Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris, editor Neils Christensen and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.Kodiak is advancing its MPD copper-gold porphyry project in southern British Columbia.As of Friday afternoon, spot copper was $4.13 a lb. The recent price spike is significant. Copper has not seen prices at these levels since 2012.London Metal Exchange copper stock have also dropped below the 100,000 level. "Inventories are at an all-time low. I always look at the treatment and refining charges, and those are at rock bottom. Copper smelters are really scrambling to get their hands on raw material to service their clients," said Tornquist.Supply is constrained, said Tornquist. Regarding mine development she said there isn't much on the horizon. Over the past decade there are only four discoveries of a significant size."Many mines are getting old and declining in production, and the development pipeline is very low. So there's not much there to replenish declining production, and many commentators see a significant supply gap of 5 million tonnes a year."The Roundtable also reprised an interview with Agnico Eagle's CEO Sean Boyd. The company has continued to grow its portfolio through acquisitions. The company acquired TMAC Resources in early 2021.

With nickel prices spiking last month to six-year highs and EV automobile projected to go parabolic, the industry is starting to realize there is not enough metal available.On Friday Kore Mining's VP of exploration, Michael Tucker, joined Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris, editor Neils Christensen and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.Last month LME nickel traded at a six-year high, hitting $19,689 a tonne before falling back.Tucker said nickel is a key material for electric vehicles, and the metal is expected to have one of the highest multiples of current demand.If the battery tech stays the same and EV adoption continues apace, Tucker predicted unprecedented demand: an increase of 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes per year by 2025 and upwards of 1,000,000 tonnes per year by 2030-2035.On top of that, batteries are also picky about their nickel. Only Class 1 or 99.9% pure nickel is usable.Until recent price spikes, years of low nickel prices resulted in lack of projects. "The sad story is that we haven't done a great job as explorers looking for nickel sulfide deposits in the last 20 years," said Tucker. Nickel deposit types of roughly divide into sulfide and laterite deposit types. The nickel from sulfides is usually easier to extract and found further north. Laterites are usually near the equator.Projects can't advance without better prices. In 2018, Yukon-based Nickel Creek Platinum said what it needed to advance its project."The company believes it wouldn't be prudent to complete a PEA [preliminary economic assessment] until the emergence of improved financial market conditions and a stronger commodity price environment, and notionally not until nickel prices settle in the range of at least US$9.00 to US$11.00 per pound," wrote Diane Garrett, President and CEO Nickel Creek Platinum in a 2018 news release.Last month's price hike fell short of $9 a pound. Size of the deposit matters, too. When Tucker was exploring for nickel, his economic baseline was 100,000 tonnes contained nickel at around 1.75% to 2%."Because that's something that'll work really well in an underground environment at most nickel prices," said Tucker."And if you're looking for the same thing in open-pit scenario, we really liked 0.65% with the same amount of contained nickel...that seems to be a bit of a magic number for things getting developed or not developed in the sulfide space."

It's the speed of the industry that John Skinner notices most when remarking on changes in mining and finance.On Friday Skinner was a guest on Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae.Skinner has been in and out of the resource sector since starting his career in the mid ‘80s at Yorkton Securities."The thing I've noticed since I was in the industry is just how different and how much faster everything happens because of social media. You used to have to wait for a newspaper to come out. The rumor mill happens and it's instant. It's faster. It's more ferocious and due diligence is that much faster," said Skinner. "I'm really excited for guys in the industry."Success in the industry led him to pursue another passion: wine. In early 2004 he purchased land in Osoyoos and started Painted Rock Winery. He recently returned to the industry with the general lift in resources. Skinnner is independent director at Meridian Mining, which is focused on projects in Brazil.Skinner also noticed how the slow years in the resource sector between '08 and '15 led to a talent gap.“There's a certain age group in the 2008 to 2015 window. [People] weren't coming into the industry,” said Skinner. “But now…it’s attracting people. It’s attractive again, and it feels like the market is on.”Kicto Roundtable also reprised its video with Danielle DiMartino Booth.The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield briefly surged above 1.6% on Thursday.Until the Federal Reserve declares an intervention to bring down the long-end of the curve, equities markets could see continued "nervousness" said Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO of Quill Intelligence.

With copper hitting a multi-year high, copper projects can start moving into the development phase, said Ashley Heppenstall, director at Lundin Mining and chair of Joemaria Resources.On Friday Heppenstall joined editor Neils Christensen, correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae to record Kitco Roundtable. Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) is a copper, nickel, zinc and gold producer. Today, the company reported a $498.1 million in gross profit, an increase of $57.7 million in comparison to the prior year off of strong base metal prices. Heppenstall's Josemaria Resources is advancing a copper-project in Argentina. The copper market is firing on all cylinders with the prices pushing above $4 a pound, the metal's highest level since September 2011. April high-grade copper futures last traded at $4.069 a pound, up 4% on the day. The base metal is up more than 56% since the start of the year. In London markets, copper prices are trading at $8,940.50 a tonne. Investors believe copper's future looks bright. Energy transition to renewables is going to require lots of copper. Up to now Heppenstall said there has been an extended period where companies did not invest in new supply. Companies were rewarded for conservatism, but the recent spike in copper prices has changed the landscape. When asked if an incentive price for moving projects forward had been hit, Heppenstall said: "we're pretty much there already.""Boards and management need to be a little bit more aggressive," said Heppenstall, who noted a steep drop in copper supply with demand set to increase. During the podcast, David Lin's interview with Peter Grandich was reprised. Grandich is founder of Peter Grandich & Co. With the world embracing renewable energy, nuclear power will see substantially more use in energy grids around the world and with it bring up uranium prices and uranium stocks, said Grandich. Heppenstall's Josemaria Resources' feasibility study imagines an open pit operation feeding a conventional process plant at 152,000 tonnes per day over a 19 year mine life, yielding average annual metal production of 136,000 tonnes copper (Cu), 231,000 oz gold (Au) and 1,164,000 oz silver (Ag) per year.

Several miners released record cash hauls at year end, but investors are showing the sector scant love. On Friday Kitco Roundtable podcast featured editor Neils Christensen, correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. Special guest was Sam Riggall, CEO of Clean TeQ. Riggall's company is developing a nickel-cobalt-scandium project in New South Wales. The company is positioning itself to supply materials for the electric vehicle materials market. Riggall said the project is large. "Sixty-five per cent of the current U.S. passenger fleet could be converted to fully electric vehicles using the nickel and cobalt in our Sunrise resource in Australia," said Riggall. Turning to gold Neils Christensen said precious metal miners are generating record cash flow, but investors are generally ignoring the sector. Some of the miners who released 4Q earnings this past week were Agnico Eagle and Kinross. In 2020 Kinross had operating cash flow of just under $2 billion compared to 1.2 billion in 2019. Agnico's cash for the full year was C$1.19 billion, up from $882 million the year prior. Newcrest had its half year with earnings per share up 121% compared to the prior period. Half-year free cash flow was $439 million.Despite the big numbers, investors aren't responding. Over the past month, the GDX ETF, which tracks the major gold miners, is down 6% to $34.78."I don't know what it is going to take to shake this malaise," said Christensen.Kitco Roundtable reprised anchor David Lin's interview with Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network, which aired on Tuesday.Tesla has stated in its latest annual report that the company has updated its investment policy to now include bitcoin, gold, and “other assets” as possible investments."What they’re not telling you is they don’t trust the U.S. dollar. They’re saying by voting for Bitcoin and putting gold as a reference. They’re basically saying we do not want our treasury to be held in U.S. dollars because we expect high inflation, we expect debasement, we expect everything besides good news about the U.S. dollar,” Mashinsky said.Tesla's announcement that it invested in bitcoin sent the stock up 2%, although the stock has since settled."The gold miners should buy bitcoin," quipped McCrae.

Today's labor report showing deeper than expected job losses in January will support stronger stimulus measures, which could be bullish for gold, said Kitco editor Neils Christensen.On Friday Christensen recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with mining audiences manager Michael McCrae, correspondent Paul Harris and ValOre Metals CEO Jim Paterson.The U.S. Labor Department released its jobs report today indicating that the number of new jobs gained in January came in at 49,000, and the unemployment rate fell from 6.7% to 6.3%, wrote contributor Gary Wagner. Although there was a down-tick in the unemployment rate, last week Jerome Powell said that the “real” unemployment rate is most likely higher and is probably closer to 10%.Christensen noted that real economic damage to the economy is putting steam behind the Democrats' larger stimulus plan."There's still a lot of heavy lifting to do in the U.S. economy to improve the labor market. And I think that's going to be good for gold and silver," said Christensen.Reuters reported that President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress forged ahead with their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package on Friday as lawmakers approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle Biden’s plan through in the coming weeks without Republican support.Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted the final COVID-19 relief legislation could pass Congress before March 15, when special unemployment benefits that were added during the pandemic expire. Republicans have floated a $600 billion aid package, less than a third the size of the Democratic plan.Paterson's ValOre is advancing a PGE+Au project in northeastern Brazil. The Pedra Branca PGE Project comprises 38 exploration licenses covering a total area of 38,940 hectares (96,223 acres). At Pedra Branca, five distinct PGE+Au deposit areas host, in aggregate, a current Inferred Resource of 1,067,000 ounces 2PGE+Au contained in 27.2 million tonnes grading 1.22 g/t 2PGE+Au. The company says that all the currently known Pedra Branca inferred PGE resources are potentially open pittable.ValOre is under the Discovery Group umbrella, an alliance of nine public companies that include Great Bear Resources and Fireweed Zinc.The podcast also reprised David Lin's conversation with Kendra Johnston President & CEO, AME. She outlined the metals to watch for as the as the economy shifts to renewables.

Watch the flows of cash from one sector to another to see when mining truly turns bullish, said Hedley Widdup, executive director of Australia-based Lion Selection Group. On Friday, Widdup recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with editor Neils Christensen and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.Widdup traces the history of the mining booms and busts starting with the mining boom that ended in 1998 due to the East Asian currency crisis and Bre-X scandal."[It] was an enormous wipe out of risk money, and it told people instantly you can't put your money in explorers because they're liars," said Widdup.The dot-com bubble followed in the late 90s."It's like [money flowing] from one ocean to another. And whilst it's happy playing somewhere, it is probably not going to inflate anything else," said Widdup."I think we've seen a pretty reasonable run of risk money into the mining sector...but we really haven't seen the washout of tech, and if that was to happen, it might be bad for the equity market broadly, but mining would be the beneficiary in the years that follow."Kitco Roundtable also reprised its interview with Peter Hug, Global Trading Director of Kitco.Plans to short-squeeze silver to never before seen prices circulated on Reddit. Hug evaluated what it would take, hypothetically, for these plans to come to fruition.

Even with gold's recent falter heading into winter and its current range-bound price, Gran Colombia (TSX: GCM) CEO Serafino Iacono said gold at the $1,800 to $1,900 level has a lot of advantages. On Friday Iacono recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris, editor Neils Christensen and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae.In 2020 gold was not expected to do as well as it did. At the start of the year analysts at LBMA had an average gold price forecast of $1,558.8 ounce in 2020, up 12% from 2019. It was a big miss with the actual price averaging $1,769.59 ounce, an undershoot of more than $200.Recently gold is caught in a wide trading range between $1,800 and $1,900, with the precious metal holding support but lacking momentum to move higher. As of Friday afternoon, February Comex gold futures were trading at $1,855.10, up 1.4% from last week's close.Iacono who founded Gran Colombia said the current precious metal price is fine with him. "I'm very comfortable with $1,800," said Iacono who noted that miners are still booking incredible profits, increasing dividends and paying down debt. "It's not that I don't want gold to go higher. I want gold to go to $2,500, and I believe it will get there."Iacono said the problem with high gold prices is that "stupid mines" are built--repeating mining's boom and bust cycle. "I lived $1,000 gold. I never want to go through that problem again. When gold went to a thousand, I saw red stars and green stars and blue stars. So to me, $1,800 is a fantastic price because it keeps everybody honest and it, and the mines that are going to be built--the mines are efficient."

After acquiring TMAC Resources, Agnico Eagle (TSE:AEM) still intends to keep its exploration budget elevated.On Friday CEO Sean Boyd recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.Agnico Eagle operates Canadian Malartic, the nation's largest gold mine. The company is a top ten gold producer, having produced 1.7 million ounces in 2019.Agnico gave the sector a huge boost of confidence with the big M&A deal announced at the start of the year, the $286 million acquisition of TMAC Resources. Boyd said the deal was closed on its ability to generate net free cash flow."That's still the primary motivation for the investor base in the producers. And so when you introduce a new asset, they want to know where it fits in the pipeline," said Boyd.Overall, he said miners and juniors need to drill more. "Early-stage exploration—that's where the true value gets created. And I think from our perspective, that's another sort of strategic emphasis. We're bumping our exploration budget by 50% or $50 million in 2021. And that was prior to acquiring TMAC," said Boyd. He forecasts more industry M&A. "When you see a commodity do what gold has done in the last couple of years in the resource space, you tend to get consolidation. Gold is quite fractured in terms of ownership."There's just so many players relative to the number of quality opportunities, and this is still an industry that's capital constrained," said Boyd.Regarding energy transition and switch to renewables, Boyd said he would like to see more powerlines to the north."The ultimate goal and the wish of a large part of the population in Nunavut is to have the hydro line run from Churchill, Manitoba, up into the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, collect communities along the way... and potentially benefit Meliadine mine," said Boyd.Boyd admits such a project is a long way out. Wind is another option for mines in the north for mines making an energy transition."We've been discussing wind farms with the federal government. We know that the federal government had been talking to TMAC about wind technology and wind farm for Hope Bay, so we're going to pick up on the discussions," said Boyd.

While gold was flashing yellow, gold miners made a number of aggressive deals this week.Ron Macdonald, CEO of Zinc8 Energy Solutions (CSE:ZAIR), joined correspondent Paul Harris and Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae to record Kitco Roundtable podcast on Friday.Today gold tumbled around 4% as investors sold off the precious metal. February Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,839.40, down 3.88% on the day after breaching a key $1,850 an ounce level.The fall is being blamed on a rise in bond yields and worries about the economy, resulting in liquidation and a flight to cash.However, analysts are still holding onto a long-term bullish trend for gold. Writes that the year ahead is shaping up to be a ‘steady-as-she-goes’ year for Fed policy, which is expected to be generally supportive of precious metals for the next two to three years.Despite gold's wobbles, miners announced big moves this week. Agnico Eagle bought TMAC Resources for $286 million Canadian. Of course Shandong announced its takeover offer last May after TMAC but was prevented by federal government with Canadian and China relations souring. Agnico Eagle paid about 26% higher than Shandong's bid.SilverCrest Metals announced this week that it secured project financing facility of US$120 million with RK Mining to build its Las Chispas project in Mexico. SilverCrest already has a contract with Ausenco for construction. Commissioning of the process plant is targeted for Q2 2022 and production ramp-up is slated to begin in Q3 2022.Macdonald's Zinc8 develops energy storage technology. Macdonald is excited about the political changes ahead in the U.S., and the Biden administration should be supportive of moves towards renewables and electrification.

When asked what factor will have the most significant impact upon mining and metals over the next decade, social license and electric vehicle material demand were common choices amongst a panel of news editors and special guests.Correspondent Paul Harris, editor Neil Christensen and Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable Christmas Special last week.The panelists looked back at the year that was and also looked forward to the next ten years. There were appearances by Sprott's CEO, Peter Grosskopf, and Wheaton Precious Metals CEO, Randy Smallwood.Other topics the panel weighed in on were deciding what will be the top-performing metal over the next decade and what were the top news headlines of 2020. COVID-19 was not selected. The editors felt that COVID-19's effects were limited to just 2020. There are other stories that will have a more profound and lasting impact.McCrae chose Vale's difficulties in New Caledonia, which tie together themes of EV materials, social license and China's strategic tie-up of resources outside its borders. Harris chose the tightening of emission standards at mines, and Christensen liked Warren Buffett's decision to invest in Barrick Gold, resulting in the mainstreaming of precious metal investing.

The competing theories for gold heading higher or trending lower were explored on Kitco Roundtable on Friday. Andrew Cheatle, recently-appointed director of Tanzanian Gold (TSE:TNX), joined correspondent Paul Harris, editor Neils Christensen and Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae to record Kitco Roundtable podcast.Christensen said there are many reasons that gold will head higher. "Pretty much everybody's saying the same thing, which is unprecedented central bank and government stimulus policies across the globe," said Christensen. "Central banks and governments are pumping trillions and trillions of dollars into financial markets, and this is going to create inflation. "On the downside is obviously equity markets, and we're hitting record valuations. It just feels like this is the bubble that can go on forever, especially as we get a vaccine roll out."The panel also discussed a series of social license stumbles in the mining industry: the troubles Vale is facing in New Caledonia due to the sale of the company's nickel complex and Rio Tinto's new CEO appointment, Jakob Stausholm, who is replacing outgoing Jean-Sébastien Jacques after the miner blew up sacred Aboriginal rock shelters in the spring. "I think we've got a lot of work to do in terms of overturning public perceptions, which often to me seem to be stuck in the 1970s," said Cheatle. "It's our job to, to build the trust, uh, with society at large and with the governments that we work with."

Lots of deals despite soft precious metal pricesThere was a noticeable uptick in the number of deals in the junior space this week despite wobbly precious metal prices. George Salamis, president and CEO of Integra Resources, joined correspondent Paul Harris, editor Neil Christensen and Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae to record Kitco Roundtable podcast on Friday. Gold's momentum has slowed. The near-term sentiment in the gold market is mixed as the price runs out of momentum testing critical resistance around $1,850 an ounce according to the latest results of the Kitco News. Wall Street analysts are mostly bearish with 40% calling for lower prices. Main Street investors bucked the trend with 54% as bullish. Despite softer precious metal prices, there were some headline deals. Wheaton Precious Metals is putting its money to work once again announced in a new streaming agreement with Capstone Mining Corp. On Friday the precious metals streaming company said that it would pay Capstone $150 million for 50% of its silver production up to 10 million ounces. The agreement then falls to 33% of production for the rest of the mine life, the company said.Ascot Resources (TSX: AOT; OTCQX: AOTVF) announced on Thursday the closing of a US$105 million project financing package with Sprott and Beedie Investments. The financing is comprised of a senior credit facility for US$80 million provided by Sprott, and a subordinated convertible facility for US$25 million provided by Beedie and Sprott.Northern Vertex Mining (TSX.V:NEE, OTC-NASDAQ Intl: NHVCF) and Eclipse Gold Mining (TSX.V:EGLD, OTC:EGLPF) announced Monday that they have entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to combine in an at-market merger. This merger will create a new gold growth resource business focused on the Western United States. Northern Vertex will be the resulting company with offices in the U.S. and Canada.Salamis said the deal environment looks great. "You've got the major mining companies who are producing gold predicated on mine plans that were done a year or two years ago at $1,300-$1,400 gold [now looking at] a $1,800-$1,900 gold envrionment, plus a $20 silver environment," said Salamis. "They're making money hand over fist, and they're wiping out debt to the tune of about 30% per quarter.""We're not, we're not fussed at all by this weakness that we've seen with the gold price lately. We believe the long-term fundamentals are still there." Follow the panelists:Neils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter

Colorful mining dealmaker, Ivan Glasenberg, will retire as the head of Glencore, the huge mining giant and one of the top 500 largest public companies in the world.Minining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae noted the change during Kitco Roundtable podcast, which was recorded on Friday. McCrae was joined by correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and special guest Terry Harbort, CEO of Talisker Resources. Ivan Glasenberg joined Glencore in April 1984 and has been CEO since January 2002. Glasenberg led the deal that saw the $90 billion merger of Glencore with Xstrata in 2013. Glencore is one of the world’s largest globally diversified natural resource companies with 160,000 employees and contractors and $11.6 billion in earnings in 2019. Glasenberg's successor is Gary Nagle who has held senior roles in coal and ferroalloys. Nagle is 45, Glasenberg 63. "Glasenberg's departure will mark a shift to a new, younger leadership for the business, which, along with other mining companies, has faced increasing pressure from investors to cut carbon emissions," writes Reuters.The roundtable also noted that Seabridge Gold expanded its footprint in B.C.'s Golden Triangle after picking up Pretium Resources' Snowfield project for $105 million. Osisko Mining made headlines with its drill result at Windfall, a project Harbort helped advance before his current role at Talisker. Harbort was asked what decisions he made when building his company and his team. "Our strong belief is that exploration is a science, and we need to apply that science to be successful as an exploration company," said Harbort. "A lot of companies can [be] a bit of lucky...a little bit of serendipity. We hear all those stories and we all have a bit of a joke about them, but the majority of good discoveries and teams that make multiple discoveries [are] based on systematic exploration and the application of good science."Follow the panelists:Neils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter

The good news about the development of a vaccine is hammering gold, said Kitco editor Neils Christensen.Christensen joined Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae and Marcel de Groot, co-founder and president of Pathway Capital, to record Kitco Roundtable podcast on Friday.This past week Bank of America reversed its position on gold and was turning from positive to neutral. In April, the bank made a big announcement and forecasted $ 3,000-ounce gold. Christensen covered the news."One of the first things [Bank of America] said is we're abandoning $ 3,000-ounce gold, and we're now neutral, and my jaw physically dropped," said Christensen.While gold may be slipping, analysts are constructive on silver in 2021.With a pick-up in the global economy, industrial demand for silver should increase. Bank of America predicted $29 oz. CIBC sees $32 oz. As of recording this on Friday at noon, spot silver is just above $22.With a Biden administration in the White House, more investment in green tech like silver-hungry solar panels is expected.Despite gold's drop, De Groot sees the metal doing well over the long run."I'm very bullish on gold. Over the next two or three years, we might get some scary moments. I'm never too pleased about analysts jumping on or off the bandwagon. I tend to look more at the macro factors," said de Groot noting the huge rise in debt levels worldwide.Follow the panelists:Neils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter

With markets looking past the disputed election and a stalled stimulus, editor Neils Christensen said gold is trending down in the short term. On Friday Christensen was joined by correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae to record Kitco Roundtable podcast. Special guest was Patricia Dillon, former president of the PDAC. Gold has been on the backfoot. This week saw massive gold-backed ETF outflows, which weighed on the precious metal. But the market held its ground at the critical $1,850 an ounce level and managed to end the week on a slightly more positive note, with December futures last trading $1,872.30, up 0.58% on the day. Despite the outlook for another government stimulus in the U.S. starting to dim, Christensen said investors believe the good vaccine news may result in the economy getting back to normal sooner, thus the pressure on gold. But Christensen believes the fundamentals still support precious metals going higher.Governments have added debt in the trillions, and there are no signs of reversing, which is tying the hands of the federal reserve and other central banks. "It's the perfect storm for gold. Whether there's a vaccine or not, gold is going up...and gold should continue to go up," said Christensen.The panel also talked about SQM's expansion plans due to lithium output rising, rising diamond sales at De Beers and plans to host PDAC virtually. Follow the panelists:Neils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter

Australian M&A is heating up amongst the early-stage development companies, which could portend bigger deals worldwide, said Peter Akerley, CEO of Erdene Resources.On Friday Akerley recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae.Mergers and acquisitions have been muted due to senior miners being conservative. The companies are worried about excesses committed during the last upcycle, which ended up punishing the resource sector. COVID-19 travel restrictions have also made due diligence hard.However, Australian miner Aurelia Metals made news yesterday when it acquired Dargues Gold Mine and assorted assets for about A$205 million. Akerley likes the news."I think the acquisition is important, but I really think it could be a bellwether of change for acquisitions in our industry. Australia is often ahead of the curve, and I do think that things will heat up here in the North American markets and in gold acquisition space," said Akerley. "I see a lot of discussions right now amongst the early stage developers, pre-development companies looking at a merger of equal type of opportunities."Follow our guests: Erdene ResourceNeils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter

Mergers and acquisitions in the gold space are not likely to heat up until one to two quarters have passed, said Adam Lundin, CEO of Josemaria Resources (TSE:JOSE). On Friday Lundin recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae.Aside from running Josemaria, Lundin is also chair of Filo Mining, Africa Energy, and a director of the Lundin Foundation.The panel noted that the precious metal miners are filing some spectacular numbers with gold holding above $1,900 for most of the last quarter. This past week Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) reported in its Q3 that it generated US$1.3 billion in free cash flow--a record high. Kinross Gold also reported that it was sitting on $1B in cash.Lundin notes that the seniors are still being conservative, and dividends are still relatively low. "I'm not sure there's too many with a yield of more than 3%. So I think you'll continue to see an increase in dividends, but then everybody will look to grow," said Lundin. "So in the first six months, dividend increases are steady as it goes. And then maybe you see some development acquisition take place." Follow our guests: Adam LundinNeils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae Twitter

During a gold bull market, you need to go with growth, said Daniel Earle, CEO of Solaris Resources (CVE:SLS).On Friday, Earle recorded Kitco Roundtable podcast with correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae.At the 121 Mining Investment conference this past week, Earle noted comments from a mining CEO who said seniors need to be disciplined with their capital allocation during this up cycle and not go out and buy things at a high valuation."I think that that's a terrible mistake. I think the problem [during] the last cycle is that they were buying at the end of the cycle," said Earle.Earle warns that seniors are running out of resources."If you look at how to create value in this business--it's a depleting business. You need to be buying up through the troughs in the cycle. In a gold bull market, you need to go with growth. That's where the outsize returns are going to be. Whereas within the seniors, they're playing a defensive game of not making mistakes. And I think that may appeal to large institutional investors, but that's not the square that we play in."The panel also discussed the outstanding quarters that the gold miners are having now that they are mostly out from under COVID-19 work disruptions, and gold traded above $1,900 for most of the quarter.This past week Newmont announced today a 60% increase to its dividend, its second dividend increase in 2020. It also recorded its best quarter in history. It realized an average gold price of $1,913. With an all-in-sustaining cost of $1,020, it was realizing over $900 on every ounce sold.Agnico Eagle doubled its net income in the first nine months of the year at $306 million compared to the previous year. On top of the good results, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 75%.At Yamana, gold cash tripled, and dividends are up 425% over the past 16 months.Links mentioned during the podcast.Daniel Earle TwitterNeils Christensen TwitterPaul Harris TwitterMichael McCrae TwitterDave Lowell video

The Democrats stimulus plan will be positive for gold, but it will be extremely positive for copper, said John Steen, associate professor at the University of British Columbia's mining school. On Friday Steen joined Kitco Roundtable to discuss stimulus, renewables and the electrification of everything, and the knock-on affect on metals, chiefly copper and nickel. Steen was joined by correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae. Republican and Democrat leaders are negotiating a COVID-19 stimulus package in excess of $2 trillion. President Biden is ahead in the polls, which could tilt the eventual stimulus to policy goals favored by Democrats. "A Biden win is extremely positive for copper. The estimated cost of preparing the electricity grid in the U.S. ... is about a trillion dollars. That's a huge stimulus, but it's a wicked amount of copper," said Steen. Steen argues that the whole story of battery material demand seems to be driven by cars and Tesla, but that misses a larger picture. "In the mining space, we have to look beyond the cars. Cars are getting a lot of attention [due] to the magnetism and charisma of Elon Musk, but there's a much, much bigger story here. It's the electrification of everything." Steen notes that China plans to use its stimulus to decarbonize, and 4,000 tonnes of copper are needed to produce enough solar panels for 1GW of electricity. Big miners like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are preparing for future copper demand. In the spring the number two gold miner, Barrick Gold, said it is on the hunt for copper deals. Earlier this week Newmont's Tom Palmer told Reuters that copper would account for up to one-fifth of the metal produced by the end of the decade given its current project pipeline. Copper is currently trading at a two-year high.

B2Gold's recent quarter showed that the company will be a "cash machine," said the CEO of Troilus Gold, Justin Reid.Reid joined editor Neils Christensen; correspondent Paul Harris; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae, to record a podcast on Friday.Troilus Gold is an exploration and development company focused on a mine restart. The project is located in northeast of the Val-d'Or district of Quebec and produced 2 million ounces of gold and almost 70,000 tonnes of copper between 1996 and 2010.This past week B2Gold announced 248,000 ounces of production in Q3, up 17% from a year ago. The company nearly tripled revenue coming in at $487 million compared to the $176 million from a year ago. Clive Johnson is CEO of B2Gold.Reid, a former mining analyst, was impressed. "First of all, they sold gold at an average price of $1,924 ounce," noted Reid. "When was the last time anybody did that? And...they're debt free. They paid back their revolver. They have absolutely no debt. Their cap ex is behind them, and now it's a free cashflow machine."The panel also discussed other news:Argonaut Gold is going ahead with a $380 million mine in Ontario.China-based Shandong Gold Mining's $230 million acquisition of TMAC Resources is now under a security review.Barrick Gold's third-quarter gold output dropped due to no production at the Porgera mine, in Papua New Guinea. In late April, the mine was placed under care and maintenance due to a dispute over its mining lease.

Frequent quarantine stays could be hard on a miner's well being, warns the CEO of Fireweed Zinc, Brandon Macdonald. Macdonald joined Kitco correspondent Paul Harris; editor Neils Christensen; and mining audiences manager, Michael McCrae, to record a podcast on Friday.Macdonald noted that some miners travel outside of Canada for work then have to return to a 14-day quarantine with no access to a gym or recreation. Meals must be eaten in the hotel room. "So they're three-weeks on and two-weeks off. They come back to Canada and [start] a 14-day quarantine. Rinse and repeat. How sustainable is this?" asked Macdonald. Harris noted that some mining companies are providing counseling to workers who travel off-site. Macdonald noted that Fireweed operations are in Western Canada. The group also discussed the Northern Star and Saracen merger, the biggest deal in the gold space in the past two years. The deal is valued at A$5.76 billion ($4.14 billion) and the newly-formed entity will be a global top-10 gold miner by market value. The panel also turned to Osisko Gold Royalties and its spin out of its Barkerville project.Links: Michael McCrae on TwitterNiels Christensen on TwitterBrandon Macdonald on TwitterColombia Gold Symposium, Nov. 10-13Fireweed Zinc