Bienvenido a Nacionalización: Bolivia Nabs Silver Deposit
July 9, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—These days, it seems the best thing to do if you are a miner who hits a big deposit in [enter foreign country here] is to try to keep the deposit as hush-hush as possible. Of course, pesky regulations prevent this secrecy from happening, as all those nosey shareholders demand “full and true disclosure” after [...]
Deadly Clash in Peru Continues PR Nightmare for Newmont
July 4, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—If the image of mining in Peru wasn’t already on shaky ground, it is now: on Tuesday, 3 protestors died and 21 were injured as clashes between police and locals over Newmont’s $5 billion gold mine turned ugly. Again, Peru had to declare a state of emergency in the mineral-rich Cajamarca region where Newmont’s Conga [...]
Encana Keeps The Gas On, Invests $600 Million
June 21, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—These days, it’s hard to find someone who is “cautiously optimistic” about the price of natural gas. In fact, the short-term prospect of anything is hard to see in a positive light. Oil just received the biggest two day drop in over nine months, the DOW lost the second most points this year, the TSX [...]
Rio Tinto Puts $4+ Billion Where its Mouth is: Iron Ore
June 20, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—Defying the current trend of economic uncertainty, which has mainly focused around growing fears of a slowdown in China, Rio Tinto has stayed its bullish course towards iron ore. In today’s media release, Rio announced that it will spend US$4.2 billion to develop its iron ore business in Australia and West Africa. According to Rio, [...]
Credence Copper Revival: Junior Teaches Old Arizona Mine New Tricks
April 30, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—Despite the effects of erratic markets, now driven by debt headlines and reports of cooling Chinese demand , copper is holding steady. The reason is simple: the commodity with the “PhD in Economics” plays an integral role as our wired society’s nervous system. One look at cu’s five-year spot price illustrates this resilience, not to [...]
Goals Met, New Targets Set: Endeavour Mining Earns an A+ For 2011 Results
March 20, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—For West African gold producer Endeavour Mining [EDV – TSX], 2011 was significant. The year-end witnessed the “Merger of Equals” with Australia’s Adamus Resources Ltd and shortly after, Endeavour reported meeting 2011 gold production targets. With 2012 underway, projections for the price of gold place Endeavour in the spotlight, as has the Company’s latest press [...]
The Uranium Supply Crunch: Strong Demand Spurs Exploration in the Athabasca
March 1, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—Recently, we touched on the sizzling Canadian uranium scene after Rio Tinto threw its weight around Saskatchewan’s renowned Athabasca Basin via the takeover of Hathor Exploration [HAT – TSX] and its Roughrider uranium project for $654 million. This takeover has since fed into a continuous stream of good news for uranium investors, as Harper just [...]
Iron Ore, Brazil, & Vale: This Junior Has All Three
February 29, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—As Brazil powers through the global financial downturn, investors are eager to take advantage of its reputation as one of the world’s top iron ore producers. And of the country’s various geological hotspots, the renowned Iron Quadrilateral in the state of Minas Gerais is attracting an abundance of miners. Among the juniors with strategic projects [...]
Is 2012 the Next 1897? Juniors Prepare for Yukon Gold Rush
February 28, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—When it comes to gold mining, the Yukon needs little introduction. The westernmost territory’s frigid climate and unforgiving terrain hasn’t deterred prospectors, past and present. The end of the 19th century saw gold miners rush in on mere rumours of the yellow metal, which eventually lead to the renowned Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Now, [...]
Company Growth Feeds Human Growth: Junior Secures Key Phosphate Deposit in Brazil
February 22, 2012 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—Brazil, now the envy of debt-ridden nations, is scrambling to strengthen its control over domestic food production. This move became a matter of national security as the country saw 2008’s increased fertilizer prices threaten its agricultural sector. The result has been a flurry of activity from the domestic mining community and major tax incentives provided [...]
Premature Evacuation? Silvercorp (Not) Down with Fraud
September 2, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—If “a gold mine is [indeed] a hole in the ground surrounded by liars,” then a Canadian-listed Chinese silver miner is a yo-yo attached to an excitable dog. Silvercorp Metals Inc. (TSX: SVM) is the latest Canadian commodity company operating in China to join the growing list of stock-blasting fraud allegations. And after the debacle surrounding [...]
Libya’s “Freedom” Comes at a Price: Gold & Oil
August 30, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—Gold shows the facts, oil the reality. Libya, the latest mis-adventure for the increasingly desperate western powers, has both. Or had, to be precise, as what will be left of the place will likely consist of little more than charred bodies, broken infrastructure and a shattered social fabric after the superpowers work to make a [...]
Imaginary Investing In A Market Collapse
August 12, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—I’m a big fan of “imagine” conversations, mainly because they take me back to the glory days of high school class-skipping shenanigans. These spaced-out talks would focus on completely unrealistic projections, as participants started each scenario with a drawn-out “MAGIN” that quickly veered off into the realm of stupidity. Indeed, we were deliberately unrealistic in [...]
Gold Defies Gravity: Drags TSX from Freefall
August 11, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—The last couple weeks have been a sickening rollercoaster ride for investors, who are vomiting cash after a relentless series of free-falls forced even the hardiest of stomachs to give in to the fear that the world economy is, quite possibly, screwed. The occasional relief from the Debtocalypse, as seen in yesterday’s gains, seems more [...]
Sweet Dreams and Nightmares Await US Jobs Report
August 5, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY–ProspectingJournal.com–Perhaps it’s time to make some bets. After today’s horrible stock market plunge, there are likely few investors who have emerged confident, let alone financially victorious. A week of losses across the board and a joke of a US debt deal are hardly encouraging signs for those who are still bothering with the worldwide, digital [...]
Debt-Terrorism and Gold Records: Just Another Day
August 4, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY–ProspectingJournal–Whether an illusion or not, a bubble or a parabolic paradigm shift, gold puts a smile on my face every time I hear it in the news or read about it among the vast sea of opinions. Forget the so-called economists and anti-gold philosophers: when gold goes up it does so in contrast to fear, [...]
Debt-Beats: IOU the New Global Culture
July 29, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—Well, it has been nice knowing all of you, whoever you are. Indeed, we had fun while we could—spending those hard-earned dollars on paying back credit cards, kicking our own personal cans down the road, living beyond our means thanks to third-world sweatshops and oil. Ah, the pursuit of happiness and the American dream. I’m [...]
The Dangers of Misinformation: BE Resources Releases Incorrect Results
July 26, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY–ProspectingJournal.com–It’s easy to get caught up in the classic investor trap of wishing for good results, hoping that an upcoming press release blows away expectations with high numbers and overwhelming “good” news. After all, it’s the arbitrary but somewhat functional nature of the digital stock age, where the typing and dissemination of a few results can mean the death or explosive success of [...]
Uranium Didn’t Go Anywhere, Did You?
July 24, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY–ProspectingJournal.com–While it’s perhaps a bit early to announce the rebirth of the uranium sector, signs are now pointing to a steady comeback as governments and businesses are returning to one of their favourite obsessions: worrying about–and profiting from–the world’s energy needs. For someone invested in uranium, early 2011 was a classic textbook example of an [...]
Canada’s Reserved Currency Gone Wild
July 22, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—Canada’s reputation as a slightly dull but dependable financial safe-haven has made its way back into the international spotlight. The loonie hit a 3 ½ year high against the US dollar this week, at $1.06US, as Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s sober comments hinted at what many central banks can now only dream about: [...]
Miners Scramble for Rare Earths as China Tightens Supply
July 18, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal.com—The race for rare earths is on . . . Say what? Amazingly, many investors are still confused as to what “rare earths” entails, as the name evokes images of sparkling jewels and shiny things with intrinsic value. Instead, these 17 crucial elements, with futuristic names such as praseodymium, lathanum and gadolinium, power fluorescent lamps, iPods, [...]
“Do You Think Gold is Money?”: Metals Surge As Ron Paul Smacks Bernanke
July 15, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY–ProspectingJournal.com–A short while ago, we issued an article on the gold boom in Nicaragua and the bright future this precious metal faces as a result of the global economic turmoil. Highlighted in the article were companies we thought worth following, given their placement on Nicaragua’s soon-to-explode Gold Belt, such as Golden Reign Resources (TSXV: GRR), [...]
Silver Valley’s Grande Re-Opening: Sunshine Silver Mines Goes Public
July 13, 2011 by prospectingjournal · 2 Comments
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—These days, it doesn’t take much effort to convince the average investor to at least think about silver. The precious metal’s expanding use as a paste in solar cells has pushed its importance into the sustainable energy spotlight. Being one of the most conductive metals, its use in electronics is ever-growing. Silver nanoparticles are an [...]
Mortgage Mayhem: Just Around the Corner?
July 6, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal—If China’s recent interest rate hikes, Greece’s debt fiasco, America’s upcoming double dip, and Portugal’s acclaimed “junk” rating should teach the average Canadian one thing, it’s that perhaps now is not a good time to take out a large mortgage for that waterfront condo. There’s enough financial armageddon stories out there to attract even those [...]
Economic Nationalism Listed on TSX: Buyers Beware
July 4, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal—Despite the legions of globalization fanatics, economic nationalism is gaining support as a last-ditch effort to fend off corporate domination. The justification for this emerging protectionism is understandable: the wholesale of countries is now under way in the EU; the once laughable idea that “banksters” are pushing us towards a world bank (and currency) is now [...]
Third Time the “Charm?” – Bernanke Stops the Presses
June 30, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
COMMENTARY—ProspectingJournal—That’s it, there’s no more, the Monopoly money tidal wave is gone, the world is safe, QE2 is over, enjoy your long weekend! . . . At least, that’s what the Federal Reserve would like the world to believe, now that the US is halting the waste of perfectly good trees for almost perfectly useless [...]
Dispelling the Myth of Over-Diversification: Canadian Miners Branch Out
June 27, 2011 by prospectingjournal · Leave a Comment
ANALYSIS—ProspectingJournal.com—It can seem that only in the Canadian exploration sector can you have a company that carries a vast portfolio of projects that cover potash and gold, oil and copper, silver and ore, and so on. This project diversity, once thought of as a warning sign for potential investors, is emerging as a successful (and [...]
