Gold fell as low as $1,211 this morning, a new five-month low, before bouncing back…as of 7:30 am Pacific, bullion is up $4 an ounce at $1,228…Silver is 20 cents higher at $19.37…Copper is up a penny at $3.16…Crude Oil is enjoying another strong day, up 91 cents a barrel to $96.95, thanks to shrinking stockpiles, while the U.S. Dollar Index has jumped one-quarter of a point to 80.86…
Indian Gold smugglers are adopting the methods of drug couriers to sidestep a government crackdown on imports of the precious metal, stashing Gold in imported vehicles and even using mules who swallow nuggets to try to get them past airport security, according to a report today from Reuters…stung by rules imposed this year to cut a high trade deficit and a record duty on imports, dealers and individual customers are fanning out across Asia to buy Gold and sneak it back into the country…Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore are the latest hotspots as authorities crack down on travellers from Dubai, the traditional source of smuggled Gold…in a sign of the times, whistleblowers who help bust illegal Gold shipments can get a bigger reward in India than those who help catch cocaine and heroin smugglers – it’s not so bad if you bring drugs into India, but Gold – well, that’s a whole different story…don’t get caught by the government committing such a sin…
Mining’s Contribution To Canadian Federal And Provincial Governments
A report published by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has found that from 2003 to 2012, the total payments originating from mining activities made to federal and provincial government coffers totaled about $71-billion…released yesterday, the yearly report quantified the total mining taxes and royalties, corporate income taxes and personal income taxes paid by mining sector employees on a national an regional scale…
“The royalties, taxes and other payments made to governments by the industry ultimately go towards supporting critical government services like health care, education and the building of infrastructure,” MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton said in a statement…he added that this impressive amount of more than $70-billion over the past decade also underscored the importance of mining in Canada as both a significant employer across the country and major contributor to the Canadian economy…that’s a message that needs to resonate a lot more throughout this country…
“This report helps demonstrate that a strong and growing mining industry is good news for Canadians through the significant payments that flow from the industry to governments, as well as in jobs, business development and community investments. For the Canadian mining industry to continue its contributory role, however, it must have access to a regulatory and economic environment that allows it to stay competitive, especially when there is still uncertainty in the global economy,” Gratton added.
According to a report from Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian mining industry employed more than 418,000 workers across the country in 2012, which translated to 1 in every 41 Canadian jobs…further, that report found that mining workers earned the highest wages and salaries of all industrial sectors in Canada…the average weekly pay for a mining worker in 2012 was $1,599, which was more than that of workers in forestry, manufacturing, finance and construction…
Today’s Markets
Asia
Asian markets were mixed overnight but China’s Shanghai Composite enjoyed a strong session, gaining 29 points to close at 2252…investors cheered news that financial liberalization reforms in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) will be implemented by early next year…the People’s Bank of China chief said the policies will serve as models for other free trade zones in Chinese regions…
The Shanghai appears headed for a strong finish to 2013, and that has to be considered bullish for equities in general…a key level to watch on the Shanghai is 2270…a confirmed breakout above this resistance would signal a high probability of a major year-end rally…the Shanghai bottomed in late June, the same time as Gold and the Venture each hit their lows…
Europe
European shares were down slightly today…the second estimate for the euro zone’s third quarter GDP confirmed the economy had grown just 0.1% quarter-on-quarter…tomorrow’s European Central Bank (ECB) meeting is in focus, with analysts awaiting the central bank’s economic forecasts…if the ECB indicates inflation will remain below its target into 2015, new liquidity measures could be introduced next year…right now, the threat of deflation has to be a major concern for the ECB…
North America
The Dow has reversed opening losses and is now up 31 points as of 7:30 am Pacific…
Led by small companies, U.S. businesses added jobs at a robust pace last month, according to a tally of hiring released this morning…private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 215,000 in November according to the national employment report compiled by ADP and forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics…November’s increase was the strongest gain in a year…economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected ADP to report a smaller November increase of 178,000 jobs…in addition, October’s ADP employment increase was revised to 184,000 from 130,000 reported a month ago…the ADP estimate is released ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment situation report which is due tomorrow…November’s non-farm payrolls number is expected to show a gain of 180,000, on top of the 204,000 slots added in October…
In Toronto, the TSX is down 16 points through the first hour of trading while the Venture is up 3 points at 918…
Corvus Gold (KOR, TSX) Updated Chart
The first part of December is typically a great time to search for bargains – even short-term trading opportunities – in the Gold stock space, and Corvus Gold (KOR, TSX) is definitely worthy of our readers’ attention as we’ve mentioned previously…KOR continues to advance its North Bullfrog Project in Nevada and recently completed a $5.2 million financing at $1 a share, no small feat given the current overall market environment…Corvus intends to focus on continued drilling and expansion of its newly discovered Yellowjacket high-grade Gold-Silver system at North Bullfrog, and the company expects to deliver an update resource estimate for the project and a PEA during the first quarter of next year…
Below is an updated 2.5-year weekly KOR chart from John…key resistance is around $1.27…KOR is off 6 cents at $1.14 as of 7:30 am Pacific…
Gold Standard Ventures Corp. (GSV, TSX-V)
Another company with a strong exploration project that bargain hunters should keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks is Gold Standard Ventures (GSV, TSX-V) which reported encouraging new drill results last month from its Railroad Project in Nevada…GSV broke above a long-term downtrend line in October which now serves as excellent support…in fact, a very strong support band exists from 58 cents to 70 cents – the “sweet spot”, to to speak, for accumulation in the event of any additional weakness…GSV has gained strength after opening at 74 cents this morning…it’s up 7 cents at 82 cents as of 7:30 am Pacific…as always, perform your own due diligence…
Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (ZEN, TSX-V)
Zenyatta Ventures‘ (ZEN, TSX-V) seems to have succumbed to the “buy on mystery, sell on history” approach by many investors…the company released an initial resource estimate Monday for its Albany graphite deposit in northeastern Ontario…indicated mineral resources delineated to date total 25.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 3.89% graphitic carbon, containing 977,000 tonnes of Cg…in addition, inferred mineral resources are estimated to total 20.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.2% Cg, containing 441,000 tonnes of Cg…
Zenyatta and its technical advisers believe that hydrothermal graphite from Albany will command higher prices than flake graphite products, based on process testwork completed earlier this year…according to Zenyatta, results suggest that high-purity graphitic material can be produced, suitable for competing in the $13-billion (1.5 million tonnes annually) synthetic graphite market…
Below is 6-month daily ZEN chart from John…critical support is at $2…of concern is a now declining 100-day moving average (SMA) – the first time we’ve seen this in ZEN since its big run started in the summer of 2012…that’s a warning sign, along with a 200-day SMA, currently around $2.80, which is now flat and in danger of turning down as well…ZEN is off 3 cents at $2.27 through the first hour of trading…
Note: John, Jon and Terry do not hold share positions in KOR, GSV or ZEN.
anyone following PGD???
Comment by brian — December 4, 2013 @ 10:15 am
GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, ETC MOVING ALOT HIGHER TODAY!
Comment by STEVEN1 — December 4, 2013 @ 10:49 am
Timmins has a lot of big volume down at this bottom, lots of weak hands turning into strong hands.
Comment by Justin — December 4, 2013 @ 11:18 am
xme seems to be the stock with great upside ,I think the zen area play will be the hot hot place to be
Comment by gil — December 4, 2013 @ 12:39 pm
Timmins insiders buying shares http://m.seekingalpha.com/article/1877771
Comment by Justin — December 4, 2013 @ 1:32 pm
V.GGI 12.50%
V.HBK 20.00%
T.SAM -10.81%
V.IO -20.83%
V.TGK -33.33%
V.GTA -9.38%
V.KWG 0.00%
V.RBW -37.50%
V.FMS -8.82%
V.PGX -1.45%
V.GBB -25.00%
V.GMZ -25.00%
120.32 106.38 -13.93 -11.58
bmr members stock picks
Comment by gil — December 4, 2013 @ 4:40 pm
Jon – GGI still nothing on the hole from the valley floor. When do you think we will see assays? Not like they had to drill very deep. 250-300 meters. Stock had a little more volume today so maybe we will hear something soon. They really need to put out something significant before Christmas. I don’t like fluff either and I think the 90 second video is fluff unless they can back it up with a significant NR.
Comment by Dan — December 4, 2013 @ 4:57 pm
Just my personal opinion, Dan, but GGI has a very good feel to it at the moment; in no way was that video by accident IMHO. This is a careful group that thinks things through and doesn’t misstep like so many other companies. I suspect that something very positive is indeed brewing (Tonichi and/or elsewhere) and the video is meant to set the stage. There’s a reason for it, as you’re suggesting. If my intuition is correct, and they have something important to say, it won’t be “too close” to Christmas which would mean likely next week, probably earlier in the week than later – that kind of timing just makes common sense. Should be interesting. This is one of a number of situations we see that could finish the year on a very strong note, and we’re preparing a special report for release imminently pertaining to that and what could be about to unfold with the Venture.
Comment by Jon - BMR — December 4, 2013 @ 5:17 pm
Jon my friend ! Jon my buddy ! you write as if you know exactly what is about to
happen & i feel that may be misleading to those, who may be willing to be mislead.
I consider you a cyber friend & have to be careful how i express myself, but can
you imagine my response, if i considered you an enemy. R !
Comment by Bert — December 4, 2013 @ 5:35 pm
Ggi is really not doing anything special and the market is telling you that.
Comment by OldMan — December 5, 2013 @ 4:02 am
Less than an hour until open & Gold is down $23.00.
Nothing going our way these days & i assume even Frank
Holmes will find it difficult to put a positive spin
on Gold today. Anyway, without those folks what the
reading world be like. For those, who may be interested,
i managed to get back into LXV recently at 0.51 & even
with a small position, i am up more on this stock already
than all my Gold plays, so BMR please diversify. Have a
good day. R !
Comment by Bert — December 5, 2013 @ 6:02 am
Gold is down but the U.S. Dollar is down, too. The upward revision in U.S. Q3 growth isn’t as bullish as it appears on the surface – half of the increase was the result of a huge buildup in inventories, which will probably come down in Q4. Nothing here to convince the Fed to begin tapering. Today is just background noise and positioning. Tomorrow will be a more important day with the release of the jobs report.
Comment by Jon - BMR — December 5, 2013 @ 6:13 am
http://wallstreetwindow.com/node/9147
GREAT VIDEO JON/JOHN!
Comment by STEVEN1 — December 5, 2013 @ 6:26 am
It may be background noise or positioning, but if the
johs report is not want they want, we have to put up
with more noise & more positioning, on the downside that
is. We can’t use the jobs report as a positive for Gold,
especially when we don’t know what the jobs report will
be. I don’t see us having a good December, but if we have
a chance at all, it may be at the start of the New Year.
Some are using Tax selling as a reason for the selling,
i state to them. we must have had tax selling for the
past 2 years. I don’t listen to anyone anymore & the
question remains, why should i ? In fact, i feel at times
that i know as much or more than those so called experts.
Whatever one states, there is a 50/50 chance that they will
be right, but in this market, they usually are left with
no bragging rights. R !
Comment by Bert — December 5, 2013 @ 6:27 am
Gold has very strong support, Bert, and the Venture is speaking to that this morning by shrugging off the drop and actually opening higher…but it’s how the Venture and Gold close for the week that could reveal a lot I think…the overall set-up remains bullish as December progresses…it’s just a matter of getting through some of the typical choppy seas this market can encounter during the first half of the month, but that’s where the buying opportunities come in…it’s a time to be bold, not fearful IMHO…
Comment by Jon - BMR — December 5, 2013 @ 6:33 am
Jon
I have no fear, just stating the facts & as for being bold,
do you mean buying a stock at it’s low & the stock staying
low until they, the consolidators, decide to consolidate
once again & once the consolidation is complete, guess what?
the stock drifts back to the low again, and guess what again ?
you are left with just a portion of your shares. Thanks for
trying Jon, but it’s like having bologna for dinner every day
for an extended period of time, guess what ? you get sick &
tired of bologna. R !
Comment by Bert — December 5, 2013 @ 7:03 am
‘IB’…HAS MOVED FROM 5 CENTS TO 19 CENTS IN A FEW DAYS!!!
Comment by STEVEN1 — December 5, 2013 @ 7:04 am