Gold has traded between $1,266 and $1,276 so far today…as of 8:20 Pacific, bullion is down $1 an ounce at $1,271…Silver is unchanged at $19.76…Copper is flat at $3.05…Crude Oil pushed higher this morning but has since backed off…WTIC is now down 32 cents a barrel to $106.04…militants in Iraq have attacked the country’s biggest Oil refinery and may have it largely under their control according to reports from Reuters…a British security company helped get Western workers out of the refinery just ahead of the attack…meanwhile, CNN reported militants have made big advances towards Baquba, which is less than 40 miles north of Baghdad…yesterday, the International Energy Agency revised downward its estimates for Iraq’s Oil output to 2019 to levels only roughly half as high as that targeted by the Iraqi government…the U.S. Dollar Index is off slightly at 80.54…
Holdings in EFTs backed by Gold touched 1,714.4 metric tons Monday, the lowest since October, 2009…in 2013, more than $73 billion was erased from the value of the funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…
Gold’s reaction to today’s Fed policy announcement (likely a further cut to its monthly bond-buying program) will largely depend on the tone of the accompanying comments by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in a news conference…the biggest pickup in core consumer inflation in nearly three years makes the Fed’s job tougher and adds fuel to market speculation that it will move faster to raise interest rates, though the doves on the Fed are likely to prevail in our view…a Labor Department report yesterday showed consumer inflation rose 0.4% in May…inflation was up 2.1% over the past 12 months, compared to a 1% pace eight months ago, though the Fed will welcome that…the Fed was thought to be aiming for an inflation rate of around 2% to keep disinflation from hurting the economy…
With geopolitical tensions on the rise, and setbacks at home, public confidence in President Barack Obama’s leadership is eroding, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll…the survey showed that just 41% of Americans now approve of Obama’s handling of his job, reversing an uptick this spring…the same proportion approve his handling of the economy, while just 37 percent approve his handling of foreign policy – the worst such rating of his presidency…
Today’s Equity Markets
Asia
China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 11 points overnight to close at 2056…China’s home prices rose at the slowest annual pace so far this year in May, official data showed today…average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities rose 5.6% from a year earlier, slowing from April’s 6.7% rise, according to Reuters’ calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)…this was the first month-on-month decline in two years…a stabilization in home prices will give the Chinese government greater monetary flexibility…
Japan’s Nikkei finished at a one-and-a-half week high, up for a second straight day, as a weaker currency offset disappointing May trade data…
Europe
European markets were mixed in cautious trading today ahead of the Fed announcement…
North America
The Dow is down 39 points as of 8:20 am Pacific…the TSX is up 15 points while the Venture has added a point to 1007…the Venture’s 50-day moving average (SMA) is reversing to the upside, just one more bullish sign in a long list of technical indicators that underscore the case for a strong move in the CDNX…nervous nellies who were selling into the mild weakness in the Index since mid-March, rather than accumulating some of the great bargains that emerged, have made a profound miscalculation…they’ll be scrambling to climb on board as see plenty of upside potential in this market between now and the end of September…
Lumina Copper (LCC, TSX-V) jumped $1.82 a share yesterday to $9.62 on the announcement of a friendly takeover valued at $470 million by First Quantum Minerals (FM, TSX)…Lumina’s Taca Taca Cu-Au-Mo Project in Argentina, 120 km east of the world’s largest Copper mine in Chile, has an indicated resource estimate of about 21.1 billion pounds of Copper, 5.6 million ounces of Gold and 616 million pounds of molybdenum…
TSX 2.5-Year Weekly Chart
The TSX continues to flirt with all-time high territory, and the question now is whether it will break above an upsloping channel in place since the summer of last year…the rising 50-day SMA has been providing exceptional support during that time…a bullish “W” formation in the RSI(14) suggests higher prices are on the way…buy pressure is strong but volume has been disappointing – perhaps a spike in volume is on the way if more investors become convinced that this market has the potential to climb significantly higher…
TSX 10-Year Weekly Chart
Below is a long-term TSX chart…an important turning point for the Index came late last year when it broke above a 2-year ascending triangle (at the same time, the Venture pushed above its long-term downtrend line)…RSI(14) at 73% is in overbought territory but below levels seen during 2005, 2006 and 2011…
TSX Gold Index
The TSX Gold Index is up 7.6% so far this month…the 50-day SMA has flattened out just below 180 and a reversal to the upside does appear likely in the near future, implying new strength during Q3…the Gold Index has two important Fib. resistance levels to overcome – 182 and 190…
Ashburton Ventures Inc. (ABR, TSX-V) Update
Keep a close eye on Ashburton Ventures (ABI, TSX-V) which has the lowest market cap ($1.4 million) of any Sheslay District play but controls very strategic ground with the Hackett Property and the Grizzly West Extension Project…we expect both areas to garner significant attention as the Sheslay district advances and moves into high gear over the summer…ABR sold off to just 3 cents the other day, but we attribute that to uninformed investors who simply don’t understand the value of the Hackett or the company’s newly-acquired ground contiguous to the western border of Garibaldi Resources‘ Grizzly Project (GGI, TSX-V)…it’ll be Ashburton’s job to get that message across in the coming weeks and we’re confident they will given our recent discussion with ABR President Kyler Hardy who has a strong familiarity with the entire area…
Interestingly, despite the recent drop in the share price, accumulation of ABR remains robust as indicated by the CMF…this shows that stock is moving from weak hands into strong hands…we see opportunity – not a cause for concern – during this period of weakness in ABR, and the same applies to Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) which we’ll be updating again shortly…
Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (SCZ, TSX-V)
A quality Silver play in Mexico worthy of our readers’ due diligence is Santacruz Silver Mining (SCZ, TSX-V) which is ramping up production at its Rosario Mine…SCZ is also working on two advanced-stage projects and one early-stage exploration play…the company expects to achieve lower costs during the second half of the year along with increased revenues, and that’s certainly a recipe for success…
Technically, what’s interesting about SCZ is that it’s closing in on a potential breakout above a downtrend line that you can see in this 2-year weekly chart from John…RSI(14) is also threatening to break above important resistance…
SCZ is off 2 pennies at 94 cents as of 8:20 am Pacific…
Pilot Gold Inc. (PLG, TSX) Chart Update
Pilot Gold (PLG, TSX) continues to strengthen after finding strong support around the Fib. 50% retracement level at $1.20…PLG is a more compelling opportunity than ever in our view given the grades the company is reporting from its Kinsley Mountain Project in Nevada, and the kind of bullish environment we expect for quality Gold stocks during the upcoming third quarter…
PLG is unchanged at $1.54 as of 8:20 am Pacific…
Canada Carbon Inc. (CCB, TSX-V) Chart Update
Canada Carbon (CCB, TSX-V) continues to make noise with its Miller Graphite Project in Quebec. “The results we report today reaffirm that the Miller hydrothermal lump/vein graphite is nuclear grade material, as we first reported on Oct. 15, 2013,” stated CEO Bruce Duncan in a news release yesterday…
One of our readers yesterday requested a CCB chart…”decision time” is fast approaching as CCB is moving quickly into the apex of a symmetrical triangle…CCB is off half a penny at 19.5 cents as of 8:20 am Pacific…
Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI, DBV and ABR.
Good Read on the Shesley that I do not remember seeing before, someone posted it on Stockhouse…..
Read at Midas Letter website… “In Search Of Behemoth Porphyries In British Columbia’s Golden Triangle”
Comment by Greg — June 18, 2014 @ 10:22 am
I’m just wondering like many about Alix Resources, it also has a low market cap and has been very quiet recently, the North Cap East looks like its on trend with the other
Comment by Gary — June 18, 2014 @ 11:36 am
I’m just wondering like many about Alix Resources, it also has a low market cap and has been very quiet recently, the North Cap Eastlooks like its on trend with the other discoveries in the Sheslay Valley, the North Cap west is close to PGX’s discoveries, does anyone know how close this is and which property looks promising?
Comment by Gary — June 18, 2014 @ 11:39 am
Second drill still not in service at PGX.
Comment by Robert — June 18, 2014 @ 3:08 pm
Gary, There is a copper showing called no dick creek about 500M N/NE of Star North, from there North cap east is about 1500M.
Comment by Martin — June 18, 2014 @ 4:16 pm
Someone had a sense of humor when they came up with that name, Martin. To add to what Gary mentioned, North Cap East runs along the entire northern border of the Star, but the far western portion of North Cap East also adjoins GGI’s Grizzly Property, and the Grizzly West porphyry target which is quite a large target as defined by a geochemical anomaly which is open in multiple directions. I think AIX has a great chance for huge success both on the ground and in the market if they handle things right, and I believe they will. And if Prosper hits at Star North, it’s definitely game on for AIX.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 18, 2014 @ 4:17 pm
North cap west is on trend with Grizzly showing (GGI) straight to the north,
Comment by Martin — June 18, 2014 @ 4:20 pm
Loll, yep, but i am french, not sure i understand :-p
Comment by Martin — June 18, 2014 @ 4:23 pm
GGI….News
Garibaldi drilling fourth hole at Silver Eagle
2014-06-19 08:08 ET – News Release
Mr. Steve Regoci reports
GARIBALDI ADVANCES SILVER EAGLE TARGET AT RODADERO
Further to its news release of May 14, 2014, Garibaldi Resources Corp. has provided this progress report as drilling continues at the Silver Eagle target, Rodadero North, in central Sonora state, Mexico. A fourth hole is now under way to test the geometry and dimensions of a promising high-grade, near-surface structure. Pending additional assay results are eagerly anticipated and will be released as they become available.
Following the discovery of a seven-metre section grading 2,010 grams per tonne (g/t) Ag (65 ounces per ton) in hole SE-14-01, and after encountering exceptionally hard mineralized sulphide-bearing quartz rock in SE-14-02 (collared 50 metres to the south), Garibaldi contracted a commercial diamond drill rig to complete the second hole. The larger rig using HQ core is successfully penetrating the rock within the target zone at Silver Eagle and is also providing better core recovery than the company-owned diamond drill. Mineralization at Silver Eagle consists of an apparently flat-lying silicified zone or cap of brecciated rock exposed on a hill. Mineralized structures cross this silicified zone and may form a tabular root or feeder zone to the silicification.
The Silver Eagle target is one of eight prospects defined at Rodadero North along a 10-kilometre northwest-southeast trend. Garibaldi’s regional exploration efforts at Rodadero featured the use of hyperspectral remote sensing technology followed by a ground program of mapping and sampling which produced highly encouraging results. Surface sampling results from Silver Eagle, the first target to be drilled at Rodadero, ranged from anomalous to 1,840 g/t Ag. Of 171 chip samples taken in the area of the silicified cap, 44 (26 per cent) contained 100 g/t or more Ag and 23 (13 per cent) contained more than 300 g/t Ag. Assay results from SE-14-01 drill core demonstrated even higher grades within 30 metres from surface.
A link to drill core photos from Silver Eagle can be found on the Garibaldi website.
Quality assurance and control
Garibaldi maintains strict QA-QC protocols for all aspects of its exploration programs that include the systematic insertion of blanks and standards into each sample batch. ACME Labs (now part of the Bureau Veritis group that includes BSI Inspectorate) is performing assay analyses on all drill core from Silver Eagle, while ALS Global (formerly ALS Chemex) performed analyses on rock samples reported in this release. All rock samples were assayed using certified and industry standard assay techniques. Silver was analyzed by multielement ICP. Samples in excess of 1,500 g/t Ag were analyzed by gravimetric methods.
Qualified person
Dr. Craig Gibson, certified professional geologist and a director of Garibaldi, is a non-arm’s-length qualified person for the company’s Mexico projects and the direct manager of the technical programs operated under contract by Prospeccion Y Desarrollo Minero del Norte (ProDeMin). Dr. Gibson has reviewed this news release and approved the content thereof.
Comment by John BMR — June 19, 2014 @ 4:30 am
Caddilac Mining is being acquired and share price is up. Any thoughts on the transaction, share value and the attractiveness of the acquirer? Thanks.
Comment by Alex L — June 19, 2014 @ 4:35 am
The acquirer (PLG), Alex, is definitely attractive as we explained again yesterday…what I think PLG sees in CQX is potential for another Kinsley Mountain-type deposit at the Goldstrike Project…
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 19, 2014 @ 5:04 am
Garibaldi advances Silver Eagle target at Rodadero
Comment by Martin — June 19, 2014 @ 5:51 am
GOLD APPROACHING $1300!
Comment by STEVEN1 — June 19, 2014 @ 5:58 am
I hope the TSX venture can get to all time highs like DOW and Toronto!
Comment by STEVEN1 — June 19, 2014 @ 5:59 am
This looks significant, Martin, as the language indicates a “hit” on the step-out 50 m to the south of the initial discovery hole…SE-14-01 was not a “one-hole wonder” based on this morning’s news…once this begins to circulate and digest with people, watch out…
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 19, 2014 @ 6:02 am
My gest is next week should be a very good week for Sheslay stocks, we will have update from at least two players if not three, Prosper need to deliver some strong numbers in order to get the thing going, Asburton have something underneath them. we need some strong number from them to, Jon, do you think Kyler Hardy is teaming with Farshad Shirvani and is team so they have a better understanding of the geology of the district. Alix should provide update to. As far as GGI is concern, they are so strong at delivering, they will probably be the ultimate winner in the area, if i should go back few mounth in time i would have bought only share from them.
Comment by Martin — June 19, 2014 @ 8:02 pm