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1. Spot Gold has traded between $1,713 and $1,737 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific the yellow metal has retreated $14 an ounce to $1,714…Spot Silver, which has been the best-performing major metal this month with a gain of 15.2%, has added 7 cents to $17.19…Nickel is up 11 cents at $5.60…Copper has gained 3 pennies to $2.42 while Zinc is flat at 89 cents…Crude Oil has jumped $1.02 a barrel to $34.27 while the U.S. Dollar Index has declined three-quarters of a point to 99.10…strong inflows of Gold into ETF’s are more than offsetting unusually weak demand from key consuming nations China and India, according to Commerzbank analyst Cartsen Fritsch…data from Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department yesterday showed that Chinese Gold imports from Hong Kong were negative for the first time since records began in 2007…“Normally, Hong Kong serves as the leading import hub for Gold to China because Chinese Gold demand significantly exceeds domestic supply,” Fritsch said in a research note…“However, Chinese households have been buying virtually no Gold because of the corona crisis and record-high local prices”…China’s imports during the 4 months of 2020 were just 17.1 tons, down 89% from the same period last year, Fritsch continued…meanwhile, he pointed out that Gold demand in India has also been weak, with April imports grinding completely to a halt…“This underlines just how much Gold demand and the Gold price depend at present on demand for Gold ETFs, which has remained extremely robust recently. This month alone, more than 120 tons of Gold have flowed into the Gold ETFs tracked by Bloomberg. This is significantly more than is normally imported by China and India combined”…overnight saw another high-profile casualty of COVID-19 as Latin America’s largest airline, LATAM Airlines Group and its affiliates in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States…the car-rental firm Hertz had done the same on Friday…thanks largely to the explosion of new cases and deaths in Brazil and, to a lesser extent, Mexico – as well as outbreaks in Chile and elsewhere that have purportedly been aggravated by proximity to Brazil – Latin America has finally surpassed the U.S. as the ‘global epicenter’ of the coronavirus outbreak…Russia, which has also been a major contributor to the growth in global cases in recent weeks, has seen the number of new cases decline over the last 2 weeks, even as testing has ramped up…however, experts believe as many as 1/8th of Muscovites have probably already been infected…investors are cheering signs of economic activity resuming faster than some people had expected across parts of the U.S. and elsewhere in the world…restaurant bookings and spending on hotels and airlines appears to be picking up in the U.S., and coincide with a decline in the daily number of new infections…the U.K. has laid out plans to reopen retail stores next month while Italy, one of the hardest hit countries, saw people return to bars and restaurants over the weekend…U.S. consumer confidence numbers just out – the index rose to 86.6 this month (significantly better than analysts were predicting), from 85.7 in April…much of the mainstream media is sure to bury those numbers – doesn’t fit their narrative and agenda to try to bury Trump during this pandemic-induced downturn, made worse by some Democratic states going slow on re-opening…

2. For more than a decade, going back to the Obama-Biden pro-China era, Chinese companies raised billions by listing their shares on American stock exchanges while avoiding the accounting-quality checks that other public firms endure…but economic tension between the 2 global superpowers, amplified by political outrage in the U.S. over China’s negligence in the spread of the Wuhan COVID-19 virus, has pushed a financial-markets issue into the political mainstream…legislation passed by the Senate – and now introduced in the House – would kick Chinese companies off U.S. stock exchanges unless their audits are inspected by U.S. regulators…unlike other countries, China has never given U.S. regulators routine access to audit records needed to review the quality of financial accounting…that covers about 200 companies with a total market value exceeding $1.4 trillion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence…investors have often been willing to overlook the regulatory gap as they snapped up shares of Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group Holdings, that made their debuts on U.S. exchanges…Wall Street banks, which underwrote the stock sales and are supposed to conduct due diligence on the companies, have been rewarded with more than $1.4 billion in fees, according to data from Dealogic…the major stock exchanges also benefited from lucrative, attention-getting global listings…the Senate legislation requires the Chinese companies with shares traded in the U.S. to disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission whether they are owned or controlled by state authorities…while many of the Chinese companies traded in the U.S. aren’t state-owned, such as Alibaba and e-commerce rival JD.com,   others are fully or partially under Chinese government control…

3. The Dow has surged 586 points through the first 30 minutes of trading, topping the key 25,000 level…both the Dow and the S&P 500 are at their best levels since early March, and the S&P 500 has also pushed above its 200-day moving average (SMA)…markets are encouraged by a partial reopening of economies and news on the COVID-19 vaccine front…Novavax (NVAX, NASDAQ) says it has started the first human study of its experimental coronavirus vaccine…the company said it expects initial results on safety and immune responses in July…last week Moderna (MRNA, NASDAQ) reported positive developments on its vaccine trial, and this morning Merck (MRK, NYSE) announced that it has joined the vaccine race by teaming up with research non-profit IAVI…President Trump is pushing for a vaccine to be developed and distributed by the end of 2020, in a project called “Operation Warp Speed“, though most health experts – the same ones whose COVID-19 models proved to be wildly inaccurate – insist it’ll take between 12 and 18 months for a safe-to-use vaccine to be rolled out to the market…in a 65-day window, researchers have isolated and identified the COVID-19 virus and begun testing a potential vaccine on humans – this has never happened before…in Toronto, the TSX is up 148 points in early trading…the TSX Gold Index, which fell 18 points last week, is off another 14 points at 337 as of 7:00 am Pacific as a healthy pullback continues…The Bank of Nova Scotia has reported Q2 earnings that were hit hard by the economic effects of COVID-19 and investigations of the lender’s metal-trading activities…Toronto-based Scotiabank, Canada’s 3rd-largest bank, reported net income of $1.32 billion for the quarter ended April 30, down 41% from $2.26 billion for the same 3 months of 2019…earnings per share were $1, compared to $1.73 a year earlier…the Venture, gunning for its 8th straight weekly gain, is up a point at 543…the Venture is locked in a powerful uptrend channel (next Fib. resistance in the 580’s followed by 740) and any minor pullbacks toward the supporting EMA-8 (currently 529, slightly above the now-rising 200-day EMA) should be embraced…PyroGenesis Canada (PYR, TSX-V), continuing to look very strong, has gained another 21 cents to $1.28 through the first 30 minutes of trading…Azimut Exploration (AZM, TSX-V) has resumed drilling at its 100%-owned Elmer Property in the James Bay region of Quebec…the 6,000-m, 30-hole diamond drilling program is utilizing 2 rigs as originally planned…the objective is to expand the recent Patwon Gold discovery which consists of multiple substantial drill hole intersections including 3.1 g/t over 102 m…most targets can be drilled year-round…5 main target areas (ELM-1 to ELM-5) are located within a 2.5 x 1 km highly prospective corridor, open at both ends…the target areas are mostly defined by IP anomalies along several subparallel axes, for a cumulative length of at least 7 km…AZM is up 6 cents at $1.81…Clean Air Metals (AIR, TSX-V), which made its Venture debut last Friday, is up another penny-and-a-half at 43.5 cents…PureGold Mining (PGM, TSX-V) has raised $12.3 million from the exercise of nearly 14.5 million share purchase warrants with a strike price of 85 cents, representing 100% of the warrants that otherwise would have expired May 24…on closing of its recently announced private placement, PureGold will have approximately $101 million in cash, along with $35 million (U.S.) available in an undrawn credit facility as it prepares to pour its first Gold at Madsen by late Q4…Marathon Gold (MOZ, TSX) has closed a $34.5 million bought deal at $1.50 per unit…

4. Follow the money: Lundin Gold (LUG, TSX) has arranged a $50 million bought deal financing through BMO Capital Markets at a price of $12.05 per share…the offering is expected to close on or about June 11…Newcrest Mining (NCM, ASX), which currently holds approximately 32% of Lundin Gold, has exercised its pre-emptive participation rights in the offering, along with Orion Mine Finance, which currently holds approximately 11% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares…Lundin Gold expects that Zebra Holdings and Investments SARL, Lorito Holdings SARL, and/or Nemesia SARL, which collectively hold approximately 27% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares, will participate in the financing at their collective pro rata shareholdings…Lundin Gold owns the Fruta del Norte mine in southeast Ecuador, among the largest and highest-grade Gold deposits in the world…LUG is off 48 cents at $12.20 as of 7:00 am Pacific…

5. Great Bear Resources (GBR, TSX-V) has entered into an “Exploration Agreement” with Wabauskang First Nation (WFN) and Lac Seul First Nation (LSFN) in relation to the company’s activities on its properties within the WFN and LSFN traditional territories…the parties say the agreement establishes the framework for a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship to support Great Bear’s exploration activities and the interests of WFN and LSFN in the region…Chris Taylor, President and CEO of Great Bear, stated: “We view this agreement as one of the most significant steps taken by our company to date. While we have been working operationally with our Wabauskang First Nation neighbours for the past 3 years, we are very pleased to progress that relationship to include Lac Seul First Nation on a go-forward basis. We feel strongly that the Dixie Project will benefit from the traditional knowledge regarding land use, environmental stewardship and cultural history stemming from our partners’ long experience in the area and look forward to our ongoing cooperation and mutual benefit”…GBR is the process of closing an over-subscribed $33 million bought deal…

6. AngloGold Ashanti (ANG, JSE) has voluntarily closed its Mponeng mine in South Africa’s Gautenga province after 651 staff were tested for COVID-19 with 30% of them (196) yielding positive results…Mponeng has about 5,051 permanent employees and contractors…“In the vast majority of these cases, the individuals were asymptomatic, with the balance showing very mild symptoms. All positive cases continue to be isolated in line with national health protocols, with on-site isolation facilities available for those who may need them,” the company stated yesterday…operations at Mponeng have been voluntarily suspended to enable contact tracing, further engagement with all relevant stakeholders, and deep cleaning and sanitization of workplaces and key infrastructure...COVID-19 testing regimes are taking hold at big companies as they try to get back to business and prevent outbreaks on the job, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday…employees at Smithfield Foods, Ford and UnitedHealth have begun reporting to tents and clinics or getting kits in the mail for coronavirus testing…the tests, combined with mandatory face masks and physical distancing practices on the job, are intended to protect staff and provide managers with a real-time sense of the virus’s presence in their ranks…however, long waits for results – up to 72 hours – mean that companies’ grasp on workers’ health remains imperfect at best, even with costly testing…employers are puzzling over whom to test, and how often, particularly given that tests typically cost $100 or more each (all the more reason why Sona Nanotech’s Rapid Response antigen-based COVID-19 test, in the final validation stage, would be such a game-changer)…companies should test enough to catch problems early, but not so often that logistics outweigh the benefits, said Raj Behal, chief quality officer at primary-care chain One Medical, which counted Google among its pre-pandemic clients…he advises clients to consider the size of a worker population, and whether workers must be near others on the job…

7. Troubling situation on the LEFT Coast: More than 4 in 10 British Columbia businesses say they’ll need ongoing federal and provincial help to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey (how ironic, since some questionable actions of these governments contributed to their financial woes)…the survey of 1,300 businesses was conducted by the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and the Business Council of British Columbia, and highlights a number of areas where companies are struggling, as B.C.’s seeks to reboot its economy amid a “pandemic of fear” and a host of new regulations created by the NDP socialist government…just 26% of respondents said they thought they could generate a profit during Phase 2 of B.C.’s restart plan, with a majority saying they’d take at least 2 months to reopen…interestingly, the survey found that 39% of respondents were having challenges getting staff who were laid off back on the payroll…“The CERB benefits (some employees are making more money by NOT working!) and others have created some distortions, where people either are prepared to take a little bit of a pay cut and not work,” stated Greg D’Avignon, B.C. Business Council President and CEO…“Also, there’s that real anxiety that employees have about coming back to the workplace, are if they’re going to be safe”…under B.C.’s restart plan, the province has outlined key guidelines for various sectors on how to ensure safety in the workplace…however, nearly a third of businesses said they’re having trouble meeting new safety standards…for those that can, it’s another cost during an already challenging time: a quarter of businesses polled said they were dealing with increased operating costs, at a time of course when cutting operating costs is essential due to lower revenues…earlier (pre-COVID-19), the NDP government had already introduced measures that raised costs for most companies doing business in British Columbia…the flow of capital and talent out of B.C. to other more favourable jurisdictions will only increase in the months and years ahead as long as the NDP remains in power, similar to what occurred last time they ruled (ruined) the province in the 1990’s…

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