Gold has traded between $1,284 and $1,296 so far today, and confirmation of a technical breakout through the $1,270’s appears likely…as of 7:45 am Pacific, bullion is up $3 an ounce at $1,294…Silver has added 11 cents to $20.35 ($20.50 is important resistance)…Copper is up 3 pennies at $3.26…Crude Oil has surged another $1.05 a barrel to $100.99 thanks to strong trade data out of China…the U.S. Dollar Index, meanwhile, is up modestly at 80.73…

India’s trade deficit has narrowed, raising optimism that authorities may relax bullion import restrictions, which would be supportive for Gold…India’s trade deficit narrowed to $9.9 billion in January from $10.1 billion in December…HSBC stated, “According to Reuters, the trade ministry has recommended an easing of the curbs placed on Gold imports given the rosier trade balance. If the authorities are less concerned with the economic ramification of a lower trade and current-account deficit, then it is possible that India’s trade restrictions on Gold imports will eventually be tempered or the tariff reduced, (and) then the increase in demand would be bullish for Gold, in our view.”

UBS analyst Joni Teves describes China’s physical demand for Gold since the Lunar New Year holiday as “robust” and surprisingly strong…“While historical seasonal patterns imply a slowdown post the Chinese New Year, interest this week seems to suggest otherwise,” she said. “Volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange were very strong Monday at 31 tons and this was corroborated by the demand we saw based on our own flows.” Turnover yesterday was lower at 19 tons, she added, while the premium fell to $8 from $10 the last couple of business days…

Today’s Markets

Asia

China’s Shanghai Composite gained 6 points overnight to close at 2110…the country’s exports jumped unexpectedly in January, a potentially positive sign for the world’s second-largest economy even though there are always some doubts about the reliability of data out of China…exports rose 10.6% compared with January last year, up from a 4.3% year-over-year rise in December…this is well ahead of the median 0.1% growth forecast by 11 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal and suggests a gradual recovery of demand in western economies is helping to boost China’s trade…exports to the European Union were up by more than 10%…that seems logical given improving conditions in the EU…

Europe

European shares are in positive territory in late trading overseas…the latest forecasts from the Bank of England (BOE) show that the British economy is poised to expand much faster than officials previously thought…the central bank now forecasts that the U.K. economy will grow by 3.4% this year, much quicker than the 2.8% forecast in November…the BOE also says it expects upcoming data will show the unemployment rate in the U.K. fell to 7% in January, more than two years earlier than officials predicted in August…in its quarterly inflation report, the BOE stepped away from tying a rise in its benchmark interest rate to progress on unemployment…

North America

The Dow is down 29 points as of 7:45 am Pacific…in testimony yesterday before a House Committee, Janet Yellen promised overall to press ahead with the policies of her predecessor as Fed chief, Ben Bernanke…“Let me emphasize,” she said, “I expect a great deal of continuity in the (Fed’s) approach to monetary policy.  I served on the committee as we formulated our current policy strategy and I strongly support that strategy.”

House Republicans Cave In, U.S. Debt Ceiling Going Higher

The House yesterday approved a bill to extend the federal government’s borrowing authority with no strings attached, after Republican leaders dropped all policy demands to avoid a market-rattling confrontation in an election year…the measure, which would suspend the debt limit and allow the government to borrow until March 16, 2015, marked a retreat from efforts by House Speaker John Boehner to require any debt-ceiling increase to be paired with spending cuts of equal size or with other conservative policy demands – many of which were pushed by the Tea Party…the vote was 221 to 201, with 199 Republicans breaking with Boehner to oppose the debt-ceiling increase…only two Democrats voted against the bill…the Senate is expected to pass the measure, but the timing is unclear…by avoiding a cliff-hanging debt fight, Boehner’s strategy may advance a central Republican political goal ahead of the midterm elections: to keep the public focused on the disaster of Obamacare…

The TSX has climbed 55 points as of 7:45 am Pacific while the Venture – on the verge of a confirmed technical breakout which could come today – has added 4 points to 984…volume shot up significantly yesterday and is strong again this morning, though that is due in part to activity in Renegade Petroleum Ltd. (RPL, TSX-V) and Alexander Energy Ltd. (ALX, TSX-V) which have announced a merger…Castle Mountain Mining Company Ltd. (CMM, TSX-V), which John featured with a chart January 20 when it trading in the 60’s, has hit a multi-year high of 95 cents during the first 75 minutes of trading today…

The 5 Most Shorted TSX Gold Stocks

Five Gold stocks were among the top 20 shorted TSX companies based on data as of January 31 – Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK, TSX, 43 million shares shorted), Kinross Gold Corp. (K, TSX, 38.5 million), New Gold Inc. (NGD, TSX, 37.3 million), Detour Gold Corp. (DGC, TSX, 26 million) and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI, TSX, 22.6 million)…all stocks are up since the end of January with Detour (up 28%) and Kinross (up 15%) jumping the most…some short-covering has likely been occurring…

Paramount Gold & Silver Corp. (PZG, TSX)

Though it’s off slightly in early trading today, pausing after three straight days of advances, a confirmed technical breakout has occurred in Paramount Gold & Silver (PZG, TSX & AMEX) which may have significant implications for Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX) which held 1.8 million PZG shares as per its latest quarterly financials ending October 31…what’s driving Paramount is not only firmer Gold and Silver prices, but high grades recently reported from continued diamond drilling at its San Miguel Project in northern Mexico…

The Don Ese area, which forms part of the Temoris option that GGI advanced and then sold to Paramount several years ago, is now returning grades that are well in excess of what the Don Ese resource model predicted…the latest results included infill drill hole DS-13-040 that intersected 23.9 metres grading 5 g/t Au and 336 g/t Ag including individual intercepts up to 59 g/t Au and 2,793 g/t Ag (over 80 oz/ton)…meanwhile, step-out hole DS-13-42, drilled about 140 metres downdip from DS-13-040, returned 24.3 metres of 4.82 g/t Au and 312 g/t Ag…drilling continues…

On John’s 2-year weekly chart using trading on the AMEX, you can see how PZG has now broken out of a downtrend line in place since 2012…confirmation of this breakout occurred yesterday as PZG closed at $1.39 on the AMEX ($1.52 on the TSX)…the next chart resistance after $1.40 on the AMEX is $1.90…

Venture Updated Chart

A long-awaited confirmed technical breakout by the Venture could come as early as today (will depend of course on the close) with the Index now beginning to gain traction on increased volume above importance resistance…this 6-month chart says it all – shaping up to be a strong finish to the week with a confirmed breakout very likely in our view in the coming days…

Cordoba Minerals Corp. (CDB, TSX-V) Begins Drilling At San Matias Project

Keep an eye on Simon Ridgway’s Cordoba Minerals (CDB, TSX-V) which reported this morning that it has mobilized a RAB (rotary air blast) drill rig at its Montiel prospect within the company’s San Matias Project in Cordoba, Colombia, where previously reported diamond drilling included 101.1 m grading 1% Cu and 0.65 g/t Au (2.37 g/t AuEq)…Cordoba has signed a binding agreement to consolidate the 260 sq. km San Matias project, with closing anticipated in the near future…the Montiel prospect is composed of a large (more than 1 km in diameter) and robust Copper/Gold in-soil anomaly, associated with a cluster of outcropping mineralized porphyry Cu-Au intrusive centres…extensive shallow artisanal mining activity and associated alluvial Gold mining is sourced from the Montiel porphyry cluster…as of 7:45 am Pacific, CDB is down a penny at 59 cents…

Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) Update

Later today, BMR will be interviewing Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) consulting geologist Erik Ostensoe in preparation for Part 2 later this week in our continuing series of reports on DBV and its recent drilling discovery at the Hat Property in the Sheslay Valley…Ostensoe and Tom Lisle, P.Eng., acquired their Hat land position in 1994 and finally decided to option it in 2011 to Doubleview…in a NI-43-101 Technical Report dated February 27, 2012,  Ostensoe wrote, “The 2011 program of MMI soil geochemical sampling and analyses confirms previous observations that the Hat Property is highly prospective for the discovery of one or more important mineral zones possibly including (1) a porphyry-style Copper-Gold deposit, (2) an epithermal Gold-multi-metal deposit and (3) a shear-hosted Gold deposit.”

DBV is unchanged at 24 cents in early trading today – there is strong Fib. support at 23 cents…

Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V) Updated Chart

John’s latest Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V) chart shows increasing buy pressure and a growing likelihood of an immediate to near-term test of Fib. resistance at 24 cents…after 24 cents, the next Fib. resistance is at 35 cents…not shown on this chart is the 1,000-day moving average (SMA) at 17.5 cents which appears poised to reverse to the upside in the very near future after being in decline since late 2008…that would be a highly significant technical development, suggesting that 2014 indeed could be a banner year for GGI…

GoldQuest Mining Corp. (GQC, TSX-V)

We expect 2014 to be a strong year for GoldQuest Mining Corp. (GQC, TSX-V) which has ample cash to ramp up exploration at some very prospective areas in the vicinity of its Romero discovery and deposit (Romero and Romero South) in the Dominican Republic…GQC has pushed above its 200-day moving average (SMA) for the first time since late 2012 with the 200-day now beginning to reverse to the upside, so an important turnaround is definitely underway here…below is a 2.5-year chart from John showing that weak buy pressure has replaced sell pressure which had been been dominant since late 2012…there is a resistance band between 40 and 48 cents…GoldQuest has a history of sudden and explosive moves – it wouldn’t be surprising to see another one at some point in 2014 as drill results come in…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.  Jon also holds a share position in DBV.

Gold continues to shine and jumped over a critical hurdle overnight at $1,275, climbing as high as $1,293 this morning…as of 8:05 am Pacific, bullion is up $14 an ounce at $1,289…confirmation of this breakout through $1,275 will be required by tomorrow’s close…Silver is 16 cents higher at $20.14…Copper is off a penny at $3.23…Crude Oil (WTIC), 6 cents higher at $100.13, has topped the $100 level for the first time this year while the struggling U.S. Dollar Index has retreated nearly one-fifth of a point to 80.46…as we’ve been stating for a few months, the greenback is in trouble technically and a test of the 79 support – which should really help to drive Gold – should be in the cards…

Just how much Gold is China accumulating?…as we mentioned in this space yesterday, the China Gold Association just published data showing that Chinese demand for the yellow metal surged 41% to 1,176 tonnes last year, making it all but certain that China overtook India in 2013 as the world’s biggest consumer of bullion…but the “real” number appears to be significantly higher than 1,176 tonnes, which is one important reason for Gold‘s fresh strength – accumulation by China is even greater than the world has been led to believe, with the Chinese government increasing its reserves as part of its currency strategy…Lawrence Williams at Mineweb has written extensively about this for quite some time…

As the Financial Times reported this morning, China’s “apparent Gold consumption” is much higher than yesterday’s reported 1,176 tonnes….“We would not be surprised to hear the People’s Bank of China announce a new, significantly higher figure (for its official reserves) if it chooses to do so,” stated Na Liu of CNC Asset Management…“if it chooses to do so” are the key words – the Chinese have been very happy to accumulate Gold on weakness, so why are they going to say something that’s going to add fuel to the fire? (the PBOC has said that its Gold reserves have been steady at 1,054 tonnes since April 2009, and if you believe that we have some beautiful oceanfront property in Phoenix we’d like to offer you at a can’t-beat price)…

CNC Asset Management calculated that China’s consumption exceeded 1,700 tonnes in 2013, more than 500 tonnes higher than reported…China imported 1,158 tonnes of Gold via Hong Kong, more than double its 2012 total…domestically, production of bullion rose 6% to 428 tonnes…on top of that, China also imported Gold directly through Shanghai, though these numbers have not been published…adding up the reported and estimated figures, Na Liu calculated that China’s “apparent Gold consumption” exceeded 1,700 tonnes in 2013…

Even if the Chinese central bank’s Gold holdings were twice as large as officially reported, they would still account for only roughly 2% of the country’s official reserves, well below the norm in more developed economies…

Commerzbank On Gold

“While the fundamental situation has brightened, the technical picture has also improved, which could spark follow-up buying that in the short term would probably drive the Gold price even further up,” Commerzbank analysts wrote this morning…according to the bank, trading volume on the Shanghai Gold Exchange yesterday totaled 25,725 kg, the highest it has been since early May last year, “pointing to robust demand for Gold there”.

Check out the article by Mineweb’s Williams this morning, “Gold May Already Be Heading For The Next Up Cycle” (www.mineweb.com)…

Today’s Markets

Asia

It was a public holiday in Japan today, so markets there were closed…in China, however, the Shanghai Composite closed at its highest levels in over a month for a second straight session (up 18 points to 2104) on optimism that Beijing could unveil more supportive policy measures…key economic numbers from China are due out this week, including January trade figures as well as consumer price inflation (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) data…

Shanghai Composite Updated Chart

The Shanghai Composite appears to have started an important turnaround with a triple bottom pattern…watch for a potential breakout above the horizontal channel which represents resistance at 2250, 150 points below today’s close…

Europe

European shares are up significantly in late trading overseas…

North America

The Dow has surged 98 points as of 8:05 am Pacific…Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, speaking before the House Financial Services Committee today, said these are “unusual times” and promised a steady and consistent course forward on monetary policy, with less money-printing but continued low rates…in her first public remarks since taking over for Ben Bernanke, Yellen sounded optimistic about the economy, including projections about unemployment and inflation…“The economic recovery gained greater traction in the second half of last year”…Yellen will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday…

The TSX is up 68 points as of 8:05 am Pacific…Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will table the federal budget after the market close…the Venture has added 8 points to 975…

TSX Gold Index Updated Chart

The TSX Gold Index is looking VERY bullish and has managed to hold above its 200-day moving average since mid-January with that SMA (like the Venture’s) on the edge of reversing to the upside for the first time since falling into decline in late 2011…

Key resistance is around 210…this long-term chart is powerful evidence that Gold and Gold stocks did indeed bottom last year and that a new uptrend is now underway…

Romios Gold Resources Inc. (RG, TSX-V)

Keep an eye on Romios Gold Resources Inc. (RG, TSX-V) which last Friday announced that it has more than doubled its land position in the Sheslay Valley by adding claims contiguous to Garibaldi Resources Corp.’s (GGI, TSX-V) Grizzly Property and southeast of Doubleview Capital Corp.’s (DBV, TSX-V) Hat Property discovery…

Romios, as you can see on the map below from its web site, has attached itself to the 66 sq. km area recently staked by Garibaldi, covering what’s believed to be the southeast strike extension of known mineral occurrences over a wide corridor at the Grizzly coincident with magnetic anomalies for at least 15 km…this is part of an important parallel trend running below the trend that extends from Prosper’s Star, North Star and East Star targets southeast for at least 9 km to the DBV discovery…

Romios‘ total holdings now comprise 6,239 hectares, making it the third largest landholder among juniors behind Garibaldi (26,000 hectares) and Prosper Gold Corp. (PGX, TSX-V) with 6,800 hectares…RG is preparing to initiate exploration on its newly-acquired Sheslay Valley claims…

Doubleview is gearing up to resume drilling at its Hat Property where it recently announced a significant discovery, and Part 2 in our series on DBV will be posted later in the week…

Sheslay Valley Updated Area Map

Romios 3-Year Weekly Chart

What’s significant about this 3-year RG chart is how Romios is on the verge of a breakout about a downtrend line in place since late 2012…this is a pattern we’ve seen in numerous Venture stocks in recent months…typically, once the breakout has occurred, a new overall uptrend has commenced…buy pressure has increased significantly in RG recently, and RSI(14) is showing strong up momentum…RG closed yesterday at 6 cents…

Silvercrest Mines Inc. (SVL, TSX-V) Chart

Evidence of a confirmed reversal in Gold and Silver stocks is very clear in this 2.5-year weekly Silvercrest Mines (SVL, TSX-V) chart…while SVL is susceptible to a imminent minor pullback after a strong move from the $2 level over just 8 trading sessions, the bottom line is that there has been a clear change in the overall trend…

Note:  John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.  Jon also holds share positions in GGI, PGX and DBV.

Gold is threatening to push through resistance around $1,275…as of 7:50 am Pacific, bullion is up $9 an ounce at $1,276…Silver is 18 cents higher at $20.18 (John has new Silver charts below)…Copper is off a penny at $3.25…Crude Oil is up 11 cents at $99.99 while the U.S. Dollar Index has slipped more than one-tenth of a point to 80.62…

Reuters reported this morning that China’s Gold consumption jumped 41% in 2013 to exceed 1,000 tonnes for the first time, according to the China Gold Association, as a sharp slide in prices attracted buyers for jewellery and bullion…the demand surge has helped China become the No. 1 Gold consumer and should support prices, which took a hit last year from expectations of a tapering of commodities-friendly economic stimulus by the Federal Reserve and a drop in demand from the other major buyer, India, due to government-imposed curbs…Gold consumption in China grew to 1,176.40 tonnes last year, with jewellery demand climbing 43% to 716.50 tonnes and bullion demand soaring 57% to 375.73 tonnes…

HSBC commodity analysts:  “The reopen of China’s markets after being closed in celebration of Lunar New Year since 31 January is an encouraging sign for the bullion markets and may help support Gold prices,” said commodity analysts at HSBC. “The pick-up in emerging market demand, most notably from China, in reaction to cheaper bullion prices for 2013 was one of the most significant factors to providing a floor of support for Gold.”

Mexican pension funds have shown fresh interest in Gold after certain investment regulations were lifted, according to the World Gold Council…the WGC has been in contact with fund managers representing nearly $160 billion in assets, who have demonstrated interest in Gold investments now that Mexican legislation allows pension funds to invest in Gold and commodities…

Gold 10-Year Monthly Chart

We posted a bullish 9-month daily Gold chart yesterday as part of our Week In Review that shows bullion has an excellent opportunity to stage an immediate or near-term confirmed breakout through important resistance at $1,275…this morning, John provides a longer-term picture of Gold that is also very encouraging…

In this 10-year monthly chart, Gold has interestingly broken above an RSI(14) downtrend line – typically a bullish development…you can see the double bottom pattern which coincides with very strong Fib. support at the 38.2% retrace level…

Today’s Markets

Asia

China’s Shanghai Composite surged to a one-month high overnight, climbing 42 points to close at 2086…Japan’s Nikkei average rose 256 points to 14718…

Europe

European markets are mixed n late trading overseas…French President Francois Hollande begins his state visit to the U.S. today…

North America

The Dow is off 56 points as of 7:50 am Pacific at 15794…new Fed Chair Janet Yellen gets her first big test tomorrow before the House Financial Services Committee in a hearing ostensibly about monetary policy, but in reality about whatever members feel like discussing…she testifies again, before the Senate Banking Committee, on Wednesday…the House hearing will be Yellen’s first major public comments since taking over from Ben Bernanke and will undoubtedly draw extensive media coverage.

The TSX is up 18 points as of 7:50 am Pacific…Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Tiff Macklem gave a lecture at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business in Montreal Friday, speaking about “good” and “bad” disinflation…rising competition in the retail sector is an example of “good” disinflation…however, continued slack in the economy is an example of “bad” disinflation, he said…“With inflation persistently below target, we are more concerned about downside risks to inflation than upside ones,” he said…and of course it’s not just Canada that’s suffering from low inflation…Macklem said inflation has fallen by 1.5% in advanced economies during the last two years…he added that consumer prices in Canada are hovering around 1%, below the central bank’s target of 2%…

The Venture is up 2 points at 964 through the first 80 minutes of trading…

Venture Updated Charts

John has two fresh charts this morning on the Venture and both are painting quite a bullish picture…

The “Golden Cross”

Several readers and even Frank Holmes of U.S. Global Investors have commented on the Venture’s “Golden Cross” with the 50-day moving average (SMA) pushing above the 200-day (the last time we saw such a move was in late 2010 and that coincided with a powerful advance in the Index)…

Not every “Golden Cross” is necessarily bullish, but this one has to be considered bullish as it is confirmed by other indicators including a +DI/-DI crossover as shown below…

Venture 3-Year Weekly Chart

Below is John’s regular Monday morning updated 3-year weekly Venture chart…notice how the RSI(14) appears to have found support at the 50% level…strong accumulation in this market continues…

Probe Mines Ltd. (PRB, TSX-V) Drills 39 m of 16.3 g/t Au (Infill Hole) at Borden Lake, Ice Drilling Program Commences For HGZ Expansion

More great results from Probe Mines Ltd. (PRB, TSX-V) as 10 new Borden Lake infill holes were reported this morning…they continue to show the remarkable consistency of the high-grade zone (HGZ) with significant intersections of thick Gold mineralization…hole BL14-573 returned a 19.4-m interval grading 31.6 g/t Au with an even broader mineralized envelope of 39 m averaging 16.3 g/t Au…the importance of this intersection is further enhanced by its location – only 150 metres from the furthest drilled section of the deposit to the southeast, suggesting that the system is still very robust and has considerable potential for expansion…ice drilling on Borden Lake has commenced with four rigs…as of 7:50 am Pacific, PRB is up 31 cents at $2.88…

Oroco Resource Corp. (OCO, TSX-V)

Oroco Resource Corp. (OCO, TSX-V) enjoyed a big day Friday, climbing 7.5 cents to 11 cents on volume of nearly 20 million shares after winning a final court ruling in Mexico which secures its 100% ownership of the Xochipala Property along a prolific trend…technically, watch for a potential test of support around 7.5 cents, but the trend with this play has clearly changed – so keep a close eye on OCO…below is a 2.5-year weekly chart from John…OCO is off a penny at 10 cents as of 7:50 am Pacific…

Global Met Coal Corp. (GMZ, TSX-V) Updated Chart

Significant news recently from Global Met Coal Corp. (GMZ, TSX-V) which has, among other things, received its final permit for the Black Creek metallurgical coal project from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management…as promised, below is an updated GMZ chart from John – looking good, but GMZ needs to clear resistance at a nickel…

Silver Short-Term Chart

Silver’s immediate challenge is to overcome resistance around $20.50…

Silver Long-Term Chart

RSI(2) on the long-term chart certainly has room to move higher – it hasn’t been in overbought territory since last summer…

Note: Jon holds share positions in PRB and GMZ.

BMR Special Report – Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V)

8:00 pm Pacific

When the President and CEO of a junior exploration company mortgages his home and overcomes one obstacle after another in order to drill a property during very challenging market conditions, one can’t help but respect that display of courage.  The real “magical” part, of course, comes when that drilling actually produces a legitimate early-stage discovery.  Such is the compelling story of Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) and its leader, Farshad Shirvani, who now has momentum and a growing list of believers on his side.  This is Part 1 of a special BMR series on Doubleview that will cover everything from the fascinating history of the Hat Property to the high-stakes late 2013 gamble that paid off big time, accelerating northwest British Columbia’s Sheslay Valley play into one of the hottest discovery plays in Canada.

Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script.  In December, Doubleview was a company on “life support” in the eyes of the market.  The money that Shirvani had struggled so hard to raise in the fall, including personal funds he scraped together after re-mortgaging his West Vancouver home, had just been exhausted on a five-hole drill program that many critics said never should have been carried out due to poor market conditions.  Then came a “game changer” – breakthrough results January 20 from this second phase of drilling that followed a promising trail of Cu-Au porphyry mineralization discovered in first-ever drilling at the property several months earlier.  The news sparked a staking rush and new players have arrived on the scene.

Perhaps the market should have seen this “surprise” coming.  The Hat Property features some impressive historical data and it’s located in an under-exploited but now rapidly emerging prolific area of B.C. where, logically, one would expect to find one or more world class deposits.  And the way this is beginning to play out, with drill holes that keep getting better, there’s every reason to believe the best is yet to come – especially when the company President and CEO is demonstrating such focus, boldness, determination and faith in his project.

“We’re very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” Shirvani told BMR in an exclusive interview over the weekend.  “We’re in such a prospective geological environment in the Sheslay Valley.  Some say it’s ‘pregnant’ – that’s certainly one way of describing it in layman’s terms.  The entire district has been under-explored up until this point though the work that has been done shows it bears all the signatures of world class deposits elsewhere in the region.  The possibilities are endless with hard work and of course some good luck.  We have strong neighbors who are also preparing to drill very promising properties, so the potential for multiple discoveries over a broad area definitely exists.  It’s reasonable to postulate that there are clusters of deposits in this district that fit a particular model.”

In this business, showing progression is critical – and that’s one key reason why the market has taken such a liking to recent developments at the Hat.  Doubleview’s last hole (H-11) was its best yet – and H-11 was in strong Copper-Gold mineralization when drill crews ran out of time in their fight against the weather.  They had to flee the scene as a major cold wave descended upon the area in late November.  “We didn’t have the time or even the money to set up a fully winterized camp,” explained Shirvani.  “We pushed as hard as we could, we went right to the wall with the resources we had and given the extreme weather conditions that quickly emerged in November.  Of course the crew desperately wanted to continue the last hole based on what they were seeing in the core, but we couldn’t put lives in jeopardy.  I’m so proud of the dedication and skill our people showed, drilling five holes and giving us a discovery that we’re so eager to follow up on as quickly as possible.”

Volume Potential, Increasing Grades At Depth

The market is clearly seeing the potential for the discovery of a deposit at the Hat.  Just at Anomaly “B”, the horizontal extent from mineral zones in holes H-6 and H-8 is nearly a kilometre.  Hole H-8 returned 287 m of 0.30 CuEq while hole H-11 intersected 313 m of 0.32 CuEq.  The end of the last hole was getting particularly interesting just as crews were forced to shut down due to the weather – a 52-m section between 258 m and 310 m returned 0.42% Cu, 0.34 g/t Au, and 1.56 g/t Ag for a CuEq grade of 0.62%.

“Speculatively,” as DBV’s Jan. 20 news release stated, “if the newly discovered mineral zone is, as appears likely, continuous with the historic Hoey Copper-Gold zone that lies two kilometres south of the drill hole H-8 and has closely similar geologic and mineralogic characteristics, the horizontal extent may be in excess of three kilometres.”

Doubleview has no shortage of potential targets as you can see on the map below.  Importantly, strong geophysical responses are coincident with areas of anomalous to strongly anomalous copper-in-soils throughout a wide portion of the property.  Only further drilling, however, will explain the IP response, surface geochem and known geology and at the end determine the size and grade of any deposit.  These are still “early days” and DBV is still trying to find the core of this system, the “heat engine” of the Hat.

Plenty of room for expansion here. Target “C” has the highest chargeability readings recorded on the property.

The 47 year-old Shirvani, who earned a Masters degree in hydrogeology in his native Iran, has specialized in modeling deposits since coming to Canada in the mid-1990’s.  With 11 holes now drilled at the Hat, combined with a plethora of geophysical and geochemical data, he believes he has a much better understanding of the shape of a potential deposit at this property which will help immensely going forward.  At his side is highly respected geologist Erik Ostensoe.  It was Ostensoe and Tom Lisle., P.Eng., who finally decided to option the Hat to Doubleview in the summer of 2011 after several years of “hard chasing” by Shirvani.

Geologist Erik Ostensoe (left) on the Hat Property last summer (Phase 1 program) with DBV President and CEO Farshad Shirvani.

“I had never seen so many dots on a page with 300+ ppm Copper – that’s how the Hat got my attention,” Shirvani told us, reiterating the significance of extensive geochemical data collected at this property since prospecting began there about four decades ago.

Now the Hat and the entire Sheslay Valley area have got the attention of the markets, and how this all unfolds over the coming weeks and months is going to be fascinating as at least three companies could be running simultaneous drill programs.

Given the boldness Shirvani has displayed so far, and his ability to make things happen, our take is that he should not be underestimated in terms of his next moves including how quickly drilling operations may resume at the Hat to follow up on the highly encouraging last set of results.  Money is starting to flow into Doubleview through the exercise of warrants, thanks to loyal shareholders and a substantial lift in the stock price. Investors may not have to wait too long, therefore, before learning the mysteries of H-11 below 260 m vertical depth where drilling abruptly ended, thanks to a blast of Arctic air, with the hole in strong Copper-Gold mineralization.

Later this week…Part 2.

Note: The writer holds a share position in DBV.  As always, perform your own due diligence. 

Disclaimer:

BullMarketRun.com (BMR) is completely independent from any companies it covers.  BMR accepts no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations for coverage of any company mentioned on this site.  We accept no advertising either.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. No investment opinion or other advice is being rendered on any stock or company. We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified investment adviser, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction, and do your own due diligence and research before making any investment decisions. The stocks we cover, by definition, are highly speculative and potentially very volatile. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment if they make a purchase or short sale in these speculative stocks.  We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. It should be assumed that BMR personnel, writers and their associates may hold or dispose of or trade in positions in any securities mentioned herein at any time.  Owner/Publisher of BullMarketRun.com is Terry Dyer of Langley, British Columbia.

Forward Looking Statements:

All statements in BMR’s reports, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance. Forward-looking statements are often but not always identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”, “targeting”, “intend”, “could”, “might”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

TSX Venture Exchange and Gold

The Venture snapped a two-week losing skid with a gain of 10 points to finish at 962.  Strength in commodities helped last week, and U.S. equity markets turned around over the last two trading sessions after the Dow plunged more than 1,000 points from its January high. As we’ve been pointing out consistently, the Venture has a very strong band of technical support between the 920’s and the upper 940’s – Fib. levels coinciding with general chart support including the 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages (SMA’s).  The 50-day is crossing above the 200-day (the “Golden Cross”) for the first time since the Venture bear market began in early 2011.

Below is a 6-month daily Venture chart from John.  This shows a very pronounced RSI(14) bullish “W” pattern, and a bullish crossover in the ADX indicator.  Very promising for the coming week.

The Seeds Have Been Planted (And Continue To Be Planted) For The Next Big Run In Gold Stocks

There’s no better cure for low prices than low prices.  The great benefit of the collapse in Gold prices in 2013 is that it forced producers (at least most of them) to start to become much more lean in terms of their cost structures. Producers, big and small, have started to make hard decisions in terms of costs, projects, and rationalizing their their overall operations.  Exploration budgets among both producers and juniors have also been cut sharply.  In addition, government policies across much of the globe are making it more difficult (sometimes impossible) for mining companies to put Gold (or other) deposits into production, thanks to the ignorance of many politicians and the impact of radical and vocal environmentalists (technology has made it easier for groups opposing mining projects to organize and disseminate information, even in remote areas around the globe).   Ultimately, all of  these factors are going to create a supply problem – think about it, where are the next major Gold deposits going to come from? On top of that, grades have fallen significantly just over the past decade.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the next huge bull market in Gold stocks is just around the corner due to demand-supply dynamics, much leaner producers who will suddenly become earnings machines, and a junior market that will be healthier simply because a lot of the “lifestyle” companies sucking money out of investors will simply disappear or get taken over by individuals or groups who are actually competent and serious about building shareholder value.   A healthy “cleansing” in the market has been taking place.  As this continues, more and more seeds are being planted for an incredible future move in well-managed Gold producers and explorers that could make the dotcom bubble look like a tea party.  As for the juniors, focus on the small universe of companies that have the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market.  Companies that are strong financially, have superior exploration prospects, competent management and clean share structures.

Gold

Gold showed some surprising strength last week, considering the fact that many Chinese buyers were on the sidelines due to the Lunar New Year holidays.  Gold jumped $21 an ounce to close Friday at $1,267.  Is something brewing with bullion?  Quite possibly. We have a very interesting 10-year monthly chart we’ll be posting as part of tomorrow’s Morning Musings, while below is a 9-month daily chart that shows Gold threatening to break out above a downsloping wedge.  The bullish trend is gaining strength.  The key for Gold, of course, will be to push through stiff resistance around $1,275.  When that occurs (appears increasingly likely), some shorts could be scrambling.

Silver soared 83 cents last week to close at $20.00 (John will have updated Silver charts tomorrow morning).  Copper gained 4 pennies to $3.26.  Crude Oil climbed another $2.39 a barrel to finish at $99.88 while the U.S. Dollar Index fell half a point and closed at 80.67.

The “Big Picture” View Of Gold

As Frank Holmes so effectively illustrates at www.usfunds.com, the long-term bull market in Gold has been driven by both the Fear Trade and the Love Trade.  The transfer of wealth from west to east, and the accumulation of wealth particularly in China and India, has had a huge impact on bullion.  Despite Gold’s largest annual drop in three decades in 2013, the fundamental long-term case for the metal remains solidly intact – currency instability and an overall lack of confidence in fiat currencies, governments and world leaders in general, an environment of historically low interest rates, a Fed balance sheet now at $4 trillion and still expanding, money supply growth around the globe, massive government debt from the United States to Europe, central bank buying, flat mine supply, physical demand (especially from China), emerging market growth, geopolitical unrest and conflicts…the list goes on.  However, deflationary concerns around the globe and the prospect of Fed tapering had a lot to do with Gold’s plunge during the spring below the technically and psychologically important $1,500 level, along with the strong performance of equities which has drawn “momentum traders” away from bullion.  June’s low of $1,179 may have been the bottom for Gold – only  time will tell.  Given the high level of bearishness that exists in this market at the moment, it’s probably safe to say that if Gold hasn’t seen its low yet, it’s at least very close to a bottom (within 10% to 15%).  We do, however, expect new all-time highs as the decade progresses and inflationary pressures finally kick in around the globe after years of ultra-loose monetary policy.  There are many reasons to believe that Gold’s long-term bull market is still intact despite this major correction from the 2011 all-time high of just above $1,900 an ounce.

Welcome to our site, or at least the initial version of it!  BMR has been online for more than four years and strictly through word-of-mouth we have built a loyal following.  We encourage reader feedback and the exchange of helpful opinions and ideas among investors in our forum. 

We’re continuing with our plans to ultimately construct a very unique investment and money-management resource site that goes considerably beyond what we have now.  We focus a great deal on the Gold, Silver and Copper markets as well as trends in the global economy, in addition of course to the technical health of the TSX Venture Exchange (CDNX).  An important component of this site, as well, will always be original research on high quality junior exploration companies or small producers that offer very real and significant upside potential. We are extremely selective in the companies we feature and put forward to investors – we prefer quality over quantity, and we are being more selective than ever in the current market environment.  We look for companies with the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market, who are determined to build shareholder value, which actually excludes most Venture stocks.  However, investors must understand that the companies we do put forward for our readers’ due diligence are still highly speculative situations and entail considerable risk, volatility and unpredictability.

Our intent is to provide you with information that you can use as part of your own due diligence.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. Always perform your own due diligence and please read our disclaimer at the bottom.

We use a combination of fundamental and technical factors in determining the value and potential of a stock.  In terms of fundamentals we look for a company with a superb project supported by strong management.  Management must possess integrity, solid ethics and a determination to succeed and build shareholder value.

At BullMarketRun (BMR) we approach the handling of money from a biblical perspective and this is an important topic we will be sharing with our readers (and listeners) as the site continues to develop. The Bible teaches so much about money and how to handle it and invest it –  there are literally thousands of verses on how we should handle the money and possessions that God entrusts us with.  By examining the life of Jesus and reading the Word of God, we can all become fully equipped to be successful investors and handle money wisely.  We have a God who thinks big – He created the universe – and He wants us to think big  in every area of our lives.  When we handle money from a Biblical perspective (His money that we have been given stewardship of), He will bless you.  This all begins, of course, with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior and putting Him at the throne of your life.  It is the most important decision you’ll ever make.

God Bless,

Terry Dyer

Owner/Publisher, www.BullMarketRun.com

Disclaimer:

BullMarketRun.com (BMR) is completely independent from any companies it covers.  BMR accepts no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations for coverage of any company mentioned on this site.  We accept no advertising either.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. No investment opinion or other advice is being rendered on any stock or company. We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified investment adviser, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction, and do your own due diligence and research before making any investment decisions. The stocks we cover, by definition, are highly speculative and potentially very volatile. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment if they make a purchase or short sale in these speculative stocks.  We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. It should be assumed that BMR personnel, writers and their associates may hold or dispose of or trade in positions in any securities mentioned herein at any time.  Owner/Publisher of BullMarketRun.com is Terry Dyer of Langley, British Columbia.

Forward Looking Statements:

All statements in BMR’s reports, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance. Forward-looking statements are often but not always identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”, “targeting”, “intend”, “could”, “might”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

Gold fell as low as $1,255 overnight but received a boost from a lower-than-expected U.S. payrolls number for January…as of 7:30 am Pacific, bullion is up $6 an ounce at $1,264…Silver is 4 cents higher at $19.98…Copper is flat at $3.26…Crude Oil is up 47 cents at $98.31 while the U.S. Dollar Index is down one-tenth of a point to 80.78…

U.S. non-farm payrolls came in at only 113,000 vs. expectations of 185,000, but many traders and analysts are attributing the weak number to bad weather conditions in many parts of the country last month…the Labor Department also reported that the unemployment rate fell to 6.6%, a function of a continued decline in the labor force as the participation rate remains mired around 36-year lows…there was hardly any change in the revised December jobs report (75,000 vs. 74,000, well below the 200,000 originally expected)…what will the excuse be if there’s a third straight month of weak job growth in February?…

Chinese buyers have returned from the country’s New Year holidays with a “decent” appetite for Gold, according to UBS (source: Kitco)…Shanghai Gold Exchange volume was about 26 metric tons yesterday, in line with the week before participants went on holiday. “Comparing this year’s post-Lunar New Year appetite to last year is somewhat encouraging,” UBS stated…volume in 2013 also picked up after the holiday, but was helped by a 6% decline in the price. “But this year, Gold is actually over 1% higher than where it was before participants in China left for the New Year break a week ago, and yet demand seems to be very resilient upon their return,” UBS says. “This suggests that demand in China is robust.”

Shanghai premiums for 99.99% purity Gold have advanced to $11 an ounce over London prices, a substantial increase from just before China went on holidays…trading volumes today have hit their highest in a month on the Shanghai Exchange…

Emerging Market Equity Outflows

Outflows from emerging market equity funds since the start of this year now exceed those for all of 2013 after investors continued to flee emerging stock and bond funds during the past week, according to data from EPFR Global…the Boston-based fund tracker said $6.37 billion had fled emerging equity funds in the week to Feb. 5, while bond funds shed $1.98 billion…

U.S. Dollar Index Updated Chart& Implications For Gold

The U.S. Dollar Index continues to struggle technically as it remains under pressure from a declining 200-day moving average (SMA)…in September, the Dollar Index broke below both its 200-day and a long-term uptrend on the 2.5-year weekly chart – it immediately sank lower and bounced off strong support at 79…another test of that critical support is certainly very possible, and such an event would probably give Gold the lift it needs to gain some traction above $1,300 an ounce…

Today’s Markets

Asia

Trading resumed in China overnight, following the holidays there…the Shanghai Composite gained 11 points to close at 2044 while Japan’s Nikkei surged 307 points or 2.2%…however, the Nikkei still finished 3% lower for the week…

Europe

European markets are up slightly in late trading overseas…German industrial output unexpectedly fell in December, signaling that Europe’s largest economy remains vulnerable to weakness in the rest of the region…however, the overall economic outlook for Germany still remains very positive with consumer confidence at near-record levels and declining unemployment hinting at a pickup in consumption…manufacturing in the country expanded for a seventh month in January, according to a survey of purchasing managers…

North America

The Dow is up 4 points through the first hour of trading…the TSX is down 12 points while the Venture is at 954 as of 7:30 am Pacific, up a point…

Oskiso Mining Corp. (OSK, TSX) Update

Interesting that Osisko Mining (OSK, TSX), the target of course of a hostile takeover attempt by Goldcorp Inc. (G, TSX), has commenced a drill program on its Canadian Malartic Property as announced in a news release this morning…drilling is targeting additional low-grade, near-surface disseminated mineralization outside the mine area as well as traditional vein-type lode Gold systems deeper on the property (our emphasis) near the Cadillac-Larder Lake fault…it’s not just the current output of Canadian Malartic that Goldcorp would like to get its hands on – they likely see strong potential for additional discoveries on the property…

New Gold Inc. (NGD, TSX) Reports Lowest Cash Costs In Company History

New Gold Inc. (NGD, TSX) yesterday reported full-year 2013 production of 397,688 ounces of Gold, 85.4 million pounds of Copper and 1.6 million ounces of Silver with total cash costs of $377 per ounce, the lowest in the company’s history, and all-in sustaining costs of $899 per ounce…New Gold’s year-end cash balance was $414 million…focus will be on further cost reductions in 2014 with targeted total cash costs of $320 to $340 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of $815 to $835 per ounce…like other Canadian producers, NGD is benefiting from a weak loonie…

Redhill Resources Corp. (RHR, TSX-V) – Potential New Player In The Sheslay Valley?

Mere speculation on our part, but it’s interesting that Redhill Resources Corp. (RHR, TSX-V) cut a deal just recently with privately-held Divitiae Resources to acquire an option on Divitiae’s SAT Property in central British Columbia…Divitiae also holds some important claims (the Dickster Property) in the Sheslay Valley, contiguous to the northern borders of ground held by both Prosper Gold Corp. (PGX, TSX-V) and Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V)…knowing that Redhill has just completed an agreement with Divitiae on the SAT, might they have the inside track on also picking up the Dickster?…

Redhill was rolled back 1-for-10 in October and currently has just over 13 million shares outstanding…it had about $4 million in cash according to its latest financials ending November 30, and increased its equity position in High North Resources Ltd. (HN, TSX-V) to 13% in the fourth quarter last year (High North is an active oil and gas play with assets in northwest Alberta…it hit a new 52-week high yesterday of 56 cents)…

Below is a 3-year weekly Redhill chart from John…RHR has backed off modestly this morning after nearly doubling over just a few trading sessions, climbing from a closing price of 15.5 cents February 3 to 30 cents yesterday…the potential breakout to watch for in RHR this year is a move above the long-term down trendline, currently around 55 cents…there’s also Fib. resistance at 70 cents…

Contact Exploration Inc. (CEX, TSX-V) Chart

Speaking of northwest Alberta oil and gas opportunities, we continue to follow Contact Exploration (CEX, TSX-V) with great interest…CEX staged an important breakout in December above a horizontal channel in place for more than a year…Contact continues to accelerate its Kakwa Montney play, and is poised for further increases in production as East Kakwa pushes westward…

Technically, CEX is performing in textbook fashion – retracing to test the uptrend support – as you can see in John’s 2.5-year weekly chart…CEX is down a penny at 30 cents through the first hour of trading…as always, perform your own due diligence…

Global Coal Met Corp. (GMZ, TSX-V) Update

Encouraging news from Global Coal Met (GMZ, TSX-V) recently with the company announcing that it has received (at long last) the final permit for its Black Creek metallurgical coal project from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management…what’s even more significant, in our view however, is that the terms of GMZ’s agreement with the landholder have been changed, through a new LOI, to allow GMZ to purchase the surface rights for Black Creek on much more favorable terms…instead of the lump-sum $3 million previous arrangement, GMZ will now only have to pay out $30,000 upon execution of the LOI, $30,000 within 90 days of the execution of the agreement, and then $20,000 per month afterward…in addition, the optionors will receive a 7% royalty on all coal sales…this underscores the optionors’ faith in the project and GMZ’s ability to advance it…GMZ expects to announce a timetable for development of Black Creek later this quarter, so we don’t expect extraction to begin until the second half of the year…however, patient investors have an opportunity to do extremely well with this play given the current 4-cent price…John will have an updated chart in the near future…

Canadian Zinc Metals Corp. (CZX, TSX-V) Updated Chart

Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (CZX, TSX-V) has been a strong performer in recent months and is certainly worthy of our readers’ consideration as 2014 progresses…CZX is once again testing long-term resistance after a brief pullback…the stock has been very resilient since waking up last June and has seldom fallen below its 20-day SMA, currently at 52.5 cents…

Canada Zinc is a dominant landholder in B.C.’s Kechika Trough which hosts several known Zinc-Lead-Silver deposits including the company’s Cardiac Creek deposit which has a NI-43-101 resource…Cardiac Creek forms one of CZX’s two 100%-owned projects – the other is the Kechika Regional which holds significant exploration upside…CZX is off a penny at 56 cents as of 7:30 am Pacific…

Magor Corp. (MCC, TSX-V) Update

Magor Corp. (MCC, TSX-V) reported yesterday that it has closed the second and final tranche of a brokered private placement debenture offering, raising another $1.1 million for total proceeds of $2.3 million…Magor appears to be on track and expects to be cash flow break-even in the 2015 fiscal year starting May 1…President and CEO Mike Pascoe stated, “As a direct result of this successful raise, we have significantly strengthened our cash position, allowing us to continue to expand our global presence through our sales channels, partners and the service providers whom we are currently in trials with. Operationally, we continue to receive orders from our key global customers and, due to high demand from the Middle East, we recently opened an office in Dubai. Based on our current growth in business and as a result of this last capital raise, we are confident we have enough capital to reach the significant milestone of cash flow break-even during fiscal 2015.”

Wanted Technologies Corp. (WAN, TSX-V)

Another tech company we like is Wanted Technologies Corp. (WAN, TSX-V)…headquartered in Quebec City with subsidiary offices in New York, Wanted provides real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace…it’s also the exclusive data provider for the Conference Board’s Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™, the monthly economic indicator of hiring demand in the United States…

Technically, WAN has been unwinding an overbought condition that emerged late last year and has found strong support at the Fib. 61.8% level…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI. Jon also holds a share position in MCC.

Gold has hovered between $1,253 and $1,268 so far today in advance of tomorrow’s U.S. jobs report from the Labor Department…as of 7:40 am Pacific, bullion is down $2 an ounce at $1,256…Silver is up 2 cents at $19.92…Copper has added a penny to $3.23…Crude Oil has climbed $1 a barrel to $98.39 while the U.S. Dollar Index is off nearly one-quarter of a point to 80.81…

Gold reacted at $1,275 resistance yesterday and its gains were pared back after markets digested the slightly worse than expected ADP jobs report…many analysts believe the ADP report is foreshadowing a disappointing payrolls number tomorrow after last month’s very low 74,000 rise…some short covering has been an important factor in driving Gold to the $1,275 area, but fresh buying will be needed to push it above that key resistance…if when a confirmed breakout through $1,275 occurs, “trend followers” will most certainly jump in…combined with additional short covering, Gold could quickly take out resistance at $1,300…that’s of course the bullish scenario…bullion has held up very well this week given lighter Chinese demand due to the Lunar New Year holiday…Chinese traders will be back in full force Monday…tomorrow will be a key day with the jobs report which will set the tone for next week…

The Perth Mint, which runs Australia’s only Gold refinery, said Monday that sales of Gold coins and minted bars rose 10% in January in the latest sign of firm demand for Gold bars and coins…on a broader scale, the transfer of physical Gold from west to east has accelerated significantly over the last 12 months…on that note, Jim Walker, founder and CEO of Asianomics, told CNBC:  “Physical Gold is disappearing off the market at a terrible rate. As soon as that really starts to hit I think Gold goes through the roof.  That’s one of our biggest longs for the year.”  Goldman Sachs, of course, has a different opinion but that’s what makes a market…

ETF selling, which was intense last year and one of the key reasons for Gold’s biggest drop in three decades, is now abating – what if ETF buying suddenly starts to kick in?

Tragedy in South Africa – Harmony Gold Mining (HMY, NYSE) says eight workers are dead and one is missing after a rockfall triggered a blaze more than a mile underground at its Doornkop site in South Africa’s worst Gold mining accident in nearly six years…

Long-Term Crude Oil Chart

Below is an interesting 10-year monthly Crude Oil (WTIC) chart from John…since 2010, WTIC has traded within an ascending triangle – at some point in 2014, it will have to make a decision which way to break…support in the low $90’s is very strong (ascending triangle and Fib. support) and another test of the $110 resistance area is very possible…with the exception of the 2008 Crash and the short period immediately thereafter, RSI(14) has held support at or just below the 50% level throughout the last decade…

Today’s Markets

Asia

Japanese shares reversed gains to close slightly lower overnight at 14155…

Europe

European markets are enjoying a solid day in the green…both the ECB and the Bank of England kept their main interest rates unchanged today…

North America

The Dow has surged 149 points as of 7:40 am Pacific…fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to a Labor Department report issued this morning, suggesting improvement in the labor market…first-time weekly jobless claims fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 331,000 during the week to Saturday…

The TSX is up 92 points while the Venture has gained 4 points to 947 as of 7:40 am Pacific…

Below is a chart from John showing the percentage of S&P/TSX Composite stocks trading above their 200-day moving averages (SMA’s)…that percentage is not dangerously overbought – it’s now at 70.59% which is still below the peaks seen in 2010 and 2011, with room to move higher…it’s a number that should be watched closely, however, as the odds of a significant market pullback increase if this percentage were to “get out of whack” as it did at times in 2010 and 2011…

Discovery Ventures Inc. (DVN, TSX-V)

British Columbia is a jurisdiction full of opportunities in 2014…an interesting situation very worthy of our readers’ due diligence is unfolding in southeastern B.C. where Discovery Ventures Inc. (DVN, TSX-V) continues to systematically press ahead with its “WillaMax” Project which includes the Willa Gold-Copper-Silver deposit in a prolific geological area near Silverton, and the recent key acquisition (final payments are being lined up) of the the Max mine and mill just a one-hour drive north on Highway 6…both the resources and the infrastructure at this past producer are impressive, and DVN was able to negotiate these assets at a huge discount to real value – an underground molybdenum mine, crushing, milling and concentrating facilities, tailings storage facilities, mineral claims, mining leases, licenses and other holdings, not to mention an estimated $50 million tax loss pool…the mill of course would take feed from the Willa which has some nice higher grade material…check out the video on the company’s home page (www.DiscoveryVentures.com), and we’ll comment much more on this play next week…DVN has both near-term production potential and exploration upside…a tremendous amount of work and skill have gone into developing this company and this opportunity, based on the research we’ve completed to date…as always, perform your own due diligence…

In the meantime, below is a 2.5-year weekly DVN chart from John…DVN, with just under 40 million shares outstanding, has been in “turnaround” mode since last summer, and the 200-day moving average (SMA) has flattened out at 18 cents (new support) after being in decline since the middle of last year…DVN is off 2 pennies at 20 cents as of 7:40 am Pacific…

Sheslay Valley Players Heat Up

Speaking of B.C., the Sheslay Valley continues to heat up with Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) staging a confirmed technical breakout and Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V) on the verge of one…Prosper Gold Corp. (PGX, TSX-V), meanwhile, hits its highest level (60 cents) yesterday since October…we’ve been conducting additional research this week and we’ll comment more tomorrow on the geological dynamics of the Sheslay Valley as its time to shine has finally arrived after being under-exploited for far too long…as one individual close to the situation told us yesterday, “This area has a serious future”…

GGI Updated Chart

Garibaldi’s 9-month daily chart shows some impressive strength and momentum…a previously overbought technical condition has unwound, even despite yesterday’s jump to 22 cents, increasing the probability of an imminent breakout above Fib. resistance at 24 cents…keep in mind this company has not had to carry out a significant financing in five years, so there’s no warrant “overhang” or cheap paper that can impede this market which has created a potentially explosive scenario….as of 7:40 am Pacific, GGI is up a penny at 23 cents…

Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) Updated Chart

Doubleview Capital (DBV, TSX-V) has a discovery on its hands and a very fired-up President and CEO, Farshad Shirvani, determined to follow that up with more drilling as quickly as possible…DBV is in all-time high territory with a confirmed breakout occurring above Fib. resistance at 23 cents…below is a 3-year weekly DBV chart from John…

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (ZEN, TSX-V)

Zenyatta Ventures (ZEM, TSX-V) has managed to hold critical technical support and has also recently pushed above a downtrend line as you can see in this 6-month daily chart…buy pressure is increasing, and a bullish crossover has occurred in the ADX trend indicator…ZEN is up a nickel at $2.19 as of 7:40 am Pacific…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.  Jon also holds share positions in DBV and PGX.