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1. Spot Gold is under pressure this morning following a U.S. jobs report that even pleasantly surprised Wall Street…as of 7:00 am Pacific the yellow metal is off $32 an ounce at $1,681…today’s range has been $1,712 to $1,676…Spot Silver has retreated 41 cents to $17.32, an area of strong support…Palladium is up $8 an ounce at $1,880…base metals have firmed up modestly with Copper, Nickel and Zinc at $2.55, $5.80 and 92 cents, respectively…Crude Oil has rallied $1.39 a barrel to $38.80 after OPEC decided to move up discussions on whether to extend record production cuts to tomorrow, indicating that some laggard countries may have agreed to align themselves with the deal…the U.S. Dollar Index remains under technical pressure which will provide some support to commodities and the Venture…the Dollar Index has slipped another one-fifth of a point to 96.89…the Canadian government-backed Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is forecasting declines of between 9% and 18% in home prices over the next 12 months…as a result, it’s tightening rules for offering mortgage insurance from July 1…Goldman Sachs told clients in a note yesterday that the odds of a “blue wave” of Democrat victories in November are rising (they’re paying too much attention to the mainstream media) and that such an outcome could threaten the 2017 tax cuts that have fuelled corporate profits in recent years…Goldman VP of equity strategy Cole Hunter and chief U.S. strategist David Kostin warned that a sweep of the House, Senate and Oval Office would almost assure at least a partial rollback of President Donald Trump’s landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act…Wall Street seems to have a different take at the moment on the potential outcome of November’s elections…
2. U.S. employment actually rose by 2.5 million in May and the jobless rate declined to 13.3% according to data this morning from the Labor Department that was far better than economists had been expecting and indicated that an economic turnaround could be close at hand…economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting payrolls to drop by 8.333 million and the unemployment rate to rise to 19.5% from April’s 14.7%…the May gain was by far the biggest one-month jobs gain in U.S. history since at least 1939…“These improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it,” the report said…“In May, employment rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade”…the city of Seattle saw explosive job growth in May…one of the first cities to have a major coronavirus outbreak, Seattle saw an 8% month-over-month increase, attributed in part to recent hiring efforts by Amazon (AMZN, NASDAQ)…Amazon has more than 55,000 employees in the greater Seattle area and, according to the company’s career site, there are more than 9,000 available job openings…the company estimates its investments in the area have contributed $53 billion to the city’s GDP and created more than 240,000 indirect jobs…
3. Credit Suiise hiked its Gold price forecasts this morning, saying that supportive influences include lower and negative yields, weakness in the U.S. dollar and eventual inflationary pressures…further, Credit Suiise said higher prices add to an improved financial picture for Gold producers, which should attract capital flows from “generalist” investors…the expectation for higher prices also led analysts to up their forecasts for target stock prices of the mining companies that they cover…the bank now looks for Gold to average $1,700 an ounce in the 2nd quarter (versus $1,540 previously), then rise to an average of $1,750 in the 3rd quarter ($1,560 previously) and an average of $1,775 in the 4th ($1,600 previously)…the outlook for 2021 was upped to $1,800 from $1,600…“We continue to see meaningful potential upside in the sector, predicated on higher Gold prices and a re-rating closer to multiples seen in the last major Gold rally in 2011-12, particularly for mid-cap/intermediate producers,” Credit Suiise said…“We expect that higher Gold prices, coupled with a renewed sector focus on margins, FCF (free cash flow), and return of capital to shareholders, will continue to attract generalist capital”…
4. The Dow continues to build on this week’s gains, up another 649 points as of 7:00 am Pacific…since March 23 through yesterday, the S&P 500 has surged more than 42% while the Dow has gained over 43% in that time period…the NASDAQ is up more than 46% since hitting its late-March low…the Wuhan COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding lockdowns made way for “one of the greatest wealth transfers in history,” according to CNBC’s Cramer…the stock market is rising as big business rebounds from state-ordered stoppage of nonessential activity, while small businesses drop like flies, the “Mad Money” host stated…“The bigger the business, the more it moves the major averages, and that matters because this is the first recession where big business…is coming through virtually unscathed, if not going for the Gold,” he added…in the first tech IPO since the lockdown, ZoomInfo (ZI, NASDAQ) soared more than 60% in its NASDAQ debut yesterday…it’s up again this morning, underscoring investors’ ongoing appetite for high-growth subscription software companies…ZoomInfo, not to be confused with video chat provider Zoom Video, priced its IPO at $21 on Wednesday…the stock closed up 62% at $34, valuing the company at about $13.4 billion…the offering reeled in more than $900 million…in Toronto, the TSX is 302 points higher despite a drop in the Gold Index…the Gold Index fell as low as 291 shortly after the open but has rebounded since then, off 10 points at 300 as of 7:00 am Pacific…exceptional support exists around 280, the key breakpoint point this quarter…the Venture has eased off 7 points to 558 as it struggles to post its 9th straight weekly gain…Score Media & Gaming (SCR, TSX-V), which hit a new multi-year high of 93 cents yesterday, is up 4 cents at 90 cents through the first 30 minutes of trading…Auramex Resource (AUX, TSX-V) remains halted, pending news…KABN Systems has successfully completed its RTO of Torino Power (TPS, CSE) including a $2.2 million raise at 15 cents a share…Torino is expected to begin trading again as KABN June 10 on the CSE…
5. PureGold Mining (PGM, TSX-V), up more than 60% the past month, has launched its 2020/2021 exploration and resource growth program at its 100%-owned Red Lake mine…over 30,000 m of diamond drilling, including both underground and surface drilling, are planned to optimize the near-term mine plan, expedite the growth of the company’s mineral resources and aggressively expand new high-grade discoveries…the company expects to pour its first Gold by December…“We believe strongly in the organic growth potential of our PureGold Red Lake mine property. And we are confident that the mine plan outlined in our feasibility study is scalable and has the potential to expand,” stated Darin Labrenz, President and CEO…“We are now launching an aggressive exploration program designed to realize our vision for future growth at Canada’s next Gold mine. Our drill program has been designed with the goal of: increasing indicated mineral resources through infill drilling, with potential to convert to future reserves; expand our Gold resources through stepout drilling; and make new high-grade discoveries through regional exploration. While we remain completely focused on our fully funded mine construction and ramp-up, we strongly believe in the potential for our mineral reserves and mine production to grow, and our new program is designed to start building our future growth today”…PGM is off 8 pennies at $1.32 as of 7:00 am Pacific…
6. For Canada, the “cure” may have been worse than the disease: A new study out of the University of Toronto suggests that the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic and government-ordered lockdowns could result in a spike of as many as 2,114 deaths by suicide above the Canadian average by the end of 2021…“We’re seeing some of the highest unemployment rates in this country since the early 1980’s, we’ve seen the loss of 15 years of job creation in Canada in only 2 months,” said Dr. Roger McIntyre, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Toronto…“The labour contraction, the unemployment, and the income insecurity has resulted in an increase in the number of suicides projected in our country”…the researchers also found that for every percentage point the unemployment rate rises among people below the age of 65, the excess deaths by suicide – meaning the additional suicides above the national average – also raises by a percentage point…“These are significant numbers of people who are at risk, but the important point is this is not a done deal,” said McIntyre. “This is something that can be prevented by getting access to treatments. The treatments are very good. We need better psychiatric first aid, and treatments that can deal with the distress that people are experiencing”…
7. The U.S. is home to the world’s biggest and best-known pharmaceutical companies…but China is giving the U.S. a run for its money in the critical race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, a feat that would instantly change the dynamics of the fight against the deadly virus, and the geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China…Beijing’s government, including its military and several state-backed firms, has committed hundreds of millions of dollars and cleared regulatory barriers to accelerate research and development…even before a front-runner is clear, domestic drug manufacturers have begun ramping up production capacity as leader Xi Jinping vows to share a Chinese-backed vaccine with the world…China’s government and Chinese companies are now behind 5 of the 10 vaccine candidates being tested on people world-wide, according to the World Health Organization…2 belong to state-run China National Biotec Group Co., or CNBG, which has poured more than 5 billion yuan ($703 million U.S.) into research on a new vaccine…another effort, tied to China’s military, has set up efficacy trials abroad after winning approval last month to run a Phase 3 clinical trial in Canada…
How This Pandemic Will Ultimately Help Copper
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Smithers Shakes Off Turmoil For A Major 3-Day Event Connecting Hockey And The Resource Sector
Looks like end of 2020 through 2021 going to be breaking ATHs for S&P 500 and DOW.
Comment by Marcus — June 5, 2020 @ 9:44 am
End of 2020? The way it’s going we might break ATH by end of the month lol
Comment by Sameer — June 5, 2020 @ 1:12 pm
If SONA can get validated and FDA approved asap, maybe they have a shot at signing a contract with the various sports leagues. For example, the NBA has plans to resume at ESPN headquarters in July. Looks like the plans for the NBA to resume are based on daily covid-19 testing of the players of 22 teams plus coaches, staff, etc… That is hundreds of tests per day and thousands per week needed to resume for the end of season and playoffs! I imagine similar rapid response testing would be in the works for the NHL to resume, and the other professional sports leagues.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/5/20/21264742/nba-coronavirus-testing-covid-19
Comment by Bryan — June 6, 2020 @ 9:00 am
Hello BMR, given your expertise with the GT, any comment on Evergold? Original guys behind GT Gold so that’s a huge plus.
Comment by Shane — June 7, 2020 @ 7:23 am
Hi Jon, I’m curious on Evergold too…thanks…
Comment by MacT — June 7, 2020 @ 5:49 pm
I have enormous respect for Charlie Greig, Shane, as an individual and geologist, so any properties he’s associated with have to be taken very seriously for their discovery potential, and Kevin Keough I also know well and he is first class, too. So this play certainly has a good shot and we’ll be keeping a close eye on it. The stock IMHO however is fairly priced at its current $20 million market cap given the relatively early stage nature of both Golden Lion and Snowball. Drilling starts in July at Golden Lion, drilling at Snowball (this excites me a little more given its location) a little later in the summer. Not a shareholder yet but I could become one based on initial results. Definitely a stock to keep on the radar screen.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 7, 2020 @ 6:40 pm
Hi BMR, drilling starts for Snowball this month actually…Golden Lion second. Cheers!
Comment by MacT — June 8, 2020 @ 4:47 am
If snow conditions have allowed for that, MacT, even better…
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 8, 2020 @ 5:05 am
More great news from Dixie this morning:
GREAT BEAR DRILLS 30.51 G/T GOLD OVER 12.40 M AT LP FAULT
Great Bear Resources Ltd. has released results from its continuing fully financed $21-million exploration program at its 100-per-cent-owned flagship Dixie project in the Red Lake district of Ontario.
Chris Taylor, President and CEO of Great Bear said, “The LP Fault continues to demonstrate excellent continuity of near-surface high-grade gold, and has just yielded the highest-grade, widest drill interval to date. Deeper drilling towards the northwest margin of our planned grid program has also extended high-grade gold mineralization in this area. Having completed our upsized private placement, we have over $50 million in cash and sufficient capital to continue aggressive drilling into 2022. Updated exploration plans reflective of our ability to undertake an expanded fully-funded drill program will be provided in the near future.”
The Company has completed 111 of approximately 300 planned drill holes into the LP Fault target, as part of its 5 kilometre long by 500 metre deep grid drill program.
Drill Results Highlights:
New drill hole BR-133 on section 20050 was completed in a 140 metre gap in drilling. It contained multiple mineralized intervals, highlights of which include:
– 30.51 g/t gold over 12.40 metres, including 103.56 g/t gold over 1.10 metres, within a broader interval of 15.45 g/t gold over 25.15 metres, beginning at 163.35 metres down hole. This is the widest, highest-grade gold interval drilled at the LP Fault to date. Mineralization is present at the bedrock surface. Previously disclosed drill hole BR-118 (May 4, 2020), which assayed 18.57 g/t gold over 13.00 metres, was formerly considered one of the best high-grade intervals along the LP Fault zone prior to BR-133. These holes are 600 metres apart and both intersect the same gold zone.
Continuity of gold mineralization is suggested by deeper drilling on the same section as BR-133:
– New drill hole BR-134 intersected the same mineralized zone 75 metres vertically below BR-133. Assays include 11.16 g/t gold over 18.50 metres, including 47.95 g/t gold over 1.50 metres, within a broader interval of 3.62 g/t gold over 63.65 metres, beginning at 158.35 metres down hole.
Continuity of gold mineralization is also suggested by similar results on both adjacent sections to BR-133 and 134:
– Drill section 20100, located 50 metres to the northwest of BR-133, includes previously reported drill hole BR-020 which returned 10.65 g/t gold over 17.25 metres (September 3, 2019). Drill section 19950, located 90 – 100 metres to the southeast of BR-133, includes previously reported drill hole BR-065 which returned 48.67 g/t gold over 8.70 metres (December 16, 2019).
Extension of high-grade gold:
– New drill hole BR-127 was completed near the northwestern limit of LP Fault drilling on section 22450, approximately 2,400 metres northwest of BR-133 in the on-strike continuation of the same mineralized zone, as shown on Figure 2 . The drill hole intersected the gold zone at greater depth than previous drilling on this section. Results are significantly better than shallower drilling on this section, and include 10.28 g/t gold over 3.90 metres, within a broader interval of 5.04 g/t gold over 10.10 metres at a depth of approximately 375 vertical metres. Results extend drill-confirmed high-grade gold mineralization by approximately 100 metres to the northwest and demonstrate increased grade and thickness of gold mineralization at greater depth. Further deeper drilling is required in this area. Increased gold mineralization at greater depth was also recently reported at the adjacent Dixie Limb zone (May 11, 2020), and is a common feature of mesothermal gold deposits in northwestern Ontario.
Other drill results:
Additional drilling continues to successfully intersect gold mineralization along all points of the LP Fault. New drill hole BR-109, located 150 metres northwest of BR-133 on drill section 20200 intersected 14.48 g/t gold over 4.00 metres, within a broader interval of 3.23 g/t gold over 27.25 metres. New drill hole BR-108, located on the same drill section as BR-109, intersected multiple gold-bearing intervals along 228.80 metres of core length, including 14.97 g/t gold over 1.00 metres, within a broader interval of 1.04 g/t gold over 71.50 metres.
Approximately 189 drill holes remain to be completed as part of the Company’s ongoing 2020 LP Fault drill program. Additional drill holes are also planned into the Dixie Limb and Hinge zones, in addition to other regional targets. The Company remains fully funded for this work and does not anticipate requiring further financing until 2022.
*Widths are drill indicated core length, as insufficient
drilling has been undertaken to determine true widths at
this time. Average grades are calculated with un-capped
gold assays, as insufficient drilling has been completed
to determine capping levels for higher grade gold intercepts.
Average widths are calculated using a 0.10 g/t gold cut-off
grade with up to 3 m of internal dilution of zero grade.
About the Dixie Project
The Dixie Project is 100% owned, comprised of 9,140 hectares of contiguous claims that extend over 22 kilometres, and is located approximately 25 kilometres southeast of the town of Red Lake, Ontario. The project is accessible year-round via a 15 minute drive on a paved highway which runs the length of the northern claim boundary and a network of well-maintained logging roads.
The Dixie Project hosts two principle styles of gold mineralization:
High-grade gold in quartz veins and silica-sulphide replacement zones (Dixie Limb and Hinge). Hosted by mafic volcanic rocks and localized near regional-scale D2 fold axes. These mineralization styles are also typical of the significant mined deposits of the Red Lake district.
High-grade disseminated gold with broad moderate to lower grade envelopes (LP Fault). The LP Fault is a significant gold-hosting structure which has been seismically imaged to extend to 14 kilometres depth (Zeng and Calvert, 2006), and has been interpreted by Great Bear to have up to 18 kilometres of strike length on the Dixie property. High-grade gold mineralization is controlled by structural and geological contacts, and moderate to lower-grade disseminated gold surrounds and flanks the high-grade intervals. The dominant gold-hosting stratigraphy consists of felsic sediments and volcanic units.
About Great Bear
Great Bear Resources Ltd. is a well-financed gold exploration company managed by a team with a track record of success in mineral exploration. Great Bear is focused in the prolific Red Lake gold district in northwest Ontario, where the company controls over 300 km2 of highly prospective tenure across 4 projects: the flagship Dixie Project (100% owned), the Pakwash Property (earning a 100% interest), the Dedee Property (earning a 100% interest), and the Sobel Property (earning a 100% interest), all of which are accessible year-round through existing roads.
QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols
Drill core is logged and sampled in a secure core storage facility located in Red Lake Ontario. Core samples from the program are cut in half, using a diamond cutting saw, and are sent to Activation Laboratories in Ontario, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory, for analysis. All samples are analysed for gold using standard Fire Assay-AA techniques. Samples returning over 10.0 g/t gold are analysed utilizing standard Fire Assay-Gravimetric methods. Pulps from approximately 5% of the gold mineralized samples are submitted for check analysis to a second lab. Selected samples are also chosen for duplicate assay from the coarse reject of the original sample. Selected samples with visible gold are also analyzed with a standard 1 kg metallic screen fire assay. Certified gold reference standards, blanks and field duplicates are routinely inserted into the sample stream, as part of Great Bear’s quality control/quality assurance program (QAQC). No QAQC issues were noted with the results reported herein.
Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure
Mr. R. Bob Singh, P.Geo, Director and VP Exploration, and Ms. Andrea Diakow P.Geo, Exploration Manager for Great Bear are the Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the accuracy of technical information contained in this news release.
We seek Safe Harbor.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 8, 2020 @ 5:11 am