Gold has traded between $1,191 and $1,203 so far today…as of 9:00 am Pacific, bullion is down $8 an ounce at $1,194…Silver is off 30 cents at $16.21…Copper is flat at $2.73…Crude Oil, after sliding nearly 7% yesterday, is up 65 cents to $51.07 while the U.S. Dollar Index has climbed nearly a full point to 98.88…
Minutes released yesterday from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting in mid-March showed that “several” officials judged that the economic outlook warranted monetary policy tightening in June…that level of “hawkishness” took some investors by surprise yesterday, giving a boost to the U.S. Dollar and pressuring commodities as a result, but keep in mind those minutes were recorded before a spate of disappointing data in recent weeks…last Friday’s jobs report followed a string of other soft economic numbers, including readings on manufacturing activity and retail sales…strong evidence that the U.S. recovery has hit a snag has put a Fed rate hike off the table, in our view, until at least late this year, or perhaps not even until 2016…
Precious metals consultancy GFMS today released its annual analysis of the Gold market (Gold 2015)…no major surprises in the report…they contend that further downside in prices is relatively limited, and that geopolitical conflicts have the potential to pressure bullion to the upside…GFMS is forecasting a 2015 average Gold price of $1,170 per ounce, increasing to $1,250 next year…they place China as the world’s #1 consumer of Gold, slightly ahead of India (this excludes banking activity, otherwise China would be the runaway leader)…
TSX Gold Index Updated Chart
A key area to watch in the TSX Gold Index is the mid-160’s…producers have been in a recovery since early March, but the Index features Fib. resistance at 166 on this 6-month daily chart which is also 6 points below the declining 50-day and 200-day moving averages (SMA’s) which have joined together at 172…
The band of resistance between 166 and 175 (another Fib. level) is quite strong…it’ll be interesting to see if the Index can overcome that in the near future…
Despite some softness in bullion this morning, the Gold Index is holding up well…it’s unchanged at 162 as of 9:00 am Pacific…
Oil Update
A huge buildup in Crude supplies sent U.S. prices to their biggest loss in 2 months yesterday…however, WTIC appears to have re-established support at the $50 level as our charts have shown, and that was evident again yesterday…one thing is for certain – Crude has been unusually volatile and that trend will likely continue…after jumping 3.5% Tuesday, WTIC slid 6.6% yesterday….prices have moved more than 2% up or down on 42 trading days this year, more than the total number of such moves in any of the past 3 years, according to The Wall Street Journal…
Plan Nord Update
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has unveiled a scaled-down version of the Plan Nord to tap into the mineral bounty in the remote northern reaches of the province…despite a deep slump in global metal prices, the plan calls for the province to invest about $1.3-billion in infrastructure and other projects over the next 5 years in hopes of attracting $22-billion in private-sector investment…by 2035, the Liberal government anticipates a total of $50-billion in private and public investments, of which at least $2.5-billion will be public money…
China & Uranium
Chinese authorities have unveiled the results of study into the nation’s Uranium deposits, which puts its reserves at over 2 million tonnes, according to a report from the government’s Xinhua News Agency…the country’s uranium deposits have apparently doubled in the last 15 years to more than 350 across the nation…the news comes as China continues to expand its nuclear program, officially resuming construction of new plants after a 15-month hiatus, beginning with the 5th unit at the Hongyanhe nuclear plant in Liaoning…with the move, Beijing intends to become self-sufficient not just in nuclear power plant capacity, but also in the production of fuel for those plants…
Domestic uranium mining currently supplies less than a quarter of China’s nuclear fuel needs, according to data from The World Nuclear Association…exploration and plans for new mines have increased significantly since 2000, and state-owned firms are also acquiring uranium resources internationally…
Today’s Markets
Asia
China’s Shanghai Composite fell 36 points overnight on profit-taking, closing at 3959…in Japan, the Nikkei Japan’s Nikkei finished at its highest level since June 2000, within just 62 points of the 20000 milestone…
Europe
European markets finished up strongly today, helped by a jump in auto sales…other data showed German exports recovering in February and industrial output for the country also edged higher in the same month…
North America
The Dow is off 24 points as of 9:00 am Pacific…in Toronto, the TSX has climbed 117 points while the Venture has added 4 points to 693…highly encouraging news just out from International Montoro Resources (IMT, TSX-V) which has hit a gabbro unit, starting at a depth of 600 meters, with visible sulphide mineralization (disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite) at the Pecors anomaly in northern Ontario’s Elliot Lake mining camp…the hole is still in that unit at over 900 meters and is being extended to a depth of 1200 meters…this adds great credence to the theory that the intense Pecors anomaly, in an area known for uranium and rare earths, is the result of a deep seated Ni-Cu-PGE system which would be an important new discovery…some outstanding exploration work on the part of IMT with this initial hole, and the significance should sink in with investors over the coming days…as of 9:00 am Pacific, IMT is unchanged at 9 cents…
TSX Chart Update – Bullish Patterns
The TSX is attempting a significant breakout above chart resistance at 15250, so trading through the rest of today and tomorrow will be crucial…this is a highly interesting 2-year weekly chart showing, among other things, an inverted head and shoulders bottom within an ascending triangle…
Probe Metals Inc. (PRB, TSX-V)
Readers would be wise to keep David Palmer’s Probe Metals (PRB, TSX-V) on their radar screens…the company, which was a spin-out from the recent Probe Mines–Goldcorp deal, now has over $19 million in cash after confirming this morning that it has received a payment of $4 million from the sale of the 5% NSR royalty on a portion of the Goldex mine to Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM, TSX)…
Pursuant to the arrangement agreement between Probe Mines Ltd. and Goldcorp Inc. completed last month, the right to receive the final payment for the sale of the royalty was transferred to Probe Metals…with only 33.7 million shares outstanding, PRB’s current market cap (based on yesterday’s 37-cent close) is 35% below its cash position…PRB is up 2 pennies at 39 cents as of 9:00 am Pacific…
Eskay Mining Corp. (ESK, TSX-V) Update
We’re approaching what should be an exciting several months of exploration in northwest British Columbia, and one company we suggest our readers continue to keep on their radar screens is Eskay Mining Corp. (ESK, TSX-V) which has performed tremendously well since we initially introduced it about a year ago when it was trading at just 6 cents…
ESK controls 40 sq. km surrounding the prolific past producing Eskay Creek mine, and they have some giant neighbors – Pretium Resources (PVG, TSX) and Seabridge Gold (SEA, TSX), with Seabridge just completing a $17 million bought deal for a major upcoming drill program…
While it was in operation, Eskay Creek was the second richest deposit in North America and the 5th largest Silver producer in the world…a technical adviser for ESK is the highly respected James Rogers who was Chief Geologist at the Eskay Creek mine between 1994 and 2003…Rogers prepared an ESK corporate presentation last summer which is available on their web site – we suggest our readers check it out…
Recently, Eskay added well-known geologist Charlie Greig to its technical team…Greig is a master at his craft and consults for Pretium as well as Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V)…
Technically, ESK broke out above a long-term downtrend a year ago and that’s initially what caught our attention along with a surge in volume…
Below is an updated 3-year weekly ESK chart from John…little news but this stock has been under heavy accumulation for a reason, we suspect…very strong support in the low teens…
Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in IMT and GGI.
I’m certainly not concerned, but curious why DBV has such little support at these levels with news around the corner – especially considering its on the heels of H23’s previous find. Hopefully this is just shaking the tree of weak hands.
Comment by Steve A. — April 9, 2015 @ 9:23 am
Venture inching up ever so slowly. I’ll take it 🙂
Comment by Tony T — April 9, 2015 @ 10:26 am
About the DBV I noticed the same thing. The stock price was weak and the promotion seemed weak. I wrote the company an email and never heard back. After that I wanted out and did so at a small loss but it is even lower now so happily have moved on. I would not buy a share of this company again. They may have a good find but it you cant promote it it is not going anywhere.
Comment by Hugh — April 9, 2015 @ 11:28 am
Steve A-
This is how DBV trades. Most often than not it’s light on the bid. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Personally I think results for H23 will be great. Though I believe we will have a sell on news event… unless we have some type of glory hole numbers. There will be another long wait as they recommence drilling and wait for results. I wouldn’t be surprised if it dips under 0.10 during that wait.
Comment by chris — April 9, 2015 @ 11:39 am
Does anyone have any insight as to why KSK may have been halted or even when it may trade again? I saw mention of it here with Teck going to drill it on its highly prospective prospect in the Quesnel Trough. Thank you.
Comment by Hugh — April 9, 2015 @ 11:49 am
I’ve been watching that as well, Hugh, glad you brought it up. Kiska has a lot of projects – the most interesting situation is the Kliyul in the Quesnel Trough that Teck has optioned and is very excited about. I’ve been inquiring about KSK today with no success. Obviously some sort of important corporate development – have no idea if it’s related to Kliyul or not. Anxious to see what it is. This is a company with value.
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 9, 2015 @ 12:02 pm
Ggi news, no results, but full steam ahead..
Comment by Tombc — April 9, 2015 @ 1:03 pm
GGI, great that they are pushing forward on La Patilla, but why so vague on Grizzly and nothing on Rodadero? No wonder the share price is languishing.
Comment by Dan — April 9, 2015 @ 1:55 pm
Dan, it’s obvious they’re holding their Grizzly cards close to their chest (for now). They were first on the ground in the district this winter. A major technical report and drilling to come, so lots of bullets to fire. I suspect everything will start to break loose with the district by month-end, especially with numbers coming from DBV. Rodadero – why would they mix that in with La Patilla? I’m sure we’ll hear separately on Rodadero from GGI shortly. Great to hear they’re getting back to La Patilla, some more holes there could return exceptional grades after what was found in LP-14. There have got to be some high-grade shoots at La Patilla.
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 9, 2015 @ 2:09 pm
DBV – when a company makes promises, like a winter drill program and then don’t deliver it’s being reflected in the share price , also DBV made no news release as to why the program was delayed although it was quite obvious they ran low on funds .
Many people exit their positions at the first sign of problems in the jr. market. I’m not giving up yet as DBV is just at the stage where they can prove up their resource with each new drill hole and there is every indication they will do so. As they build a resource in tonnage the share price will go up. Just remember Antofagasta is not hanging around for ” nothing ” and is most likely well aware of every move DBV makes.
Comment by Les — April 9, 2015 @ 3:53 pm
That was my thinking as well Jon, maybe a seperate release on Rodadero and Grizzly.
Comment by Dan — April 9, 2015 @ 5:00 pm
People need to realize that Farshad was basically almost a one man team- he was CEO, President, acted as an IR rep, took phones calls and answered emails the best he could, organized and oversaw the drilling from the site, ran around trying to find money, etc, etc so lets give him a break if he dropped the ball on an email, under delivered with no winter drilling, experienced delays, etc. He is a very hard worker, if determined to succeed, has a lot of his own money invested into the company and is its biggest shareholder, his is very frugal with money (prefers to use up a lot of his valuable time acting as an IR rep so that money can be spent on drilling as drilling will take the company to new heights, he works long hours………he has a lot of qualities that are hard to find in CEO of a junior.
Now he has a dedicated team in place to look after the drill plan and drilling and what a team it is! He can now concentrate on his CEO/President duties and the administration of the company. The company had to move to a bigger location due to the bigger team. I know we are in good hands and just need to be patient and let then do things on their schedule. One of the most important things in a success junior is its management, its technical team and its property……we have all so give it some time and imo we will be rewarded well.
Comment by D4 — April 9, 2015 @ 6:03 pm
Well stated, D4. I have the utmost respect for Farshad and what he has been able to accomplish at the Hat, seemingly against all odds. This is going to have a magnificent ending.
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 9, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
Great post D4 I like the man a hard workers cares for the shareholders travels economy class to meetings runs a thigh operations hates dilution Has a outstanding team I am not selling thinking of buying on the dip
Long live Farshard a different breed of CEO
Comment by Eddie — April 9, 2015 @ 6:56 pm
WRR doing a private placement at 5 cents? Jon?
Comment by STEVEN1 — April 9, 2015 @ 6:57 pm
I agree Jon. People are too quick to criticize things without knowing the facts and reasons behind it. Farshad has done a remarkable job with what he had especially since he was almost a one man team. I have never seen a CEO/President hold so many positions and do as much as Farshad has……they aren’t at the site during drilling, they are less frugal with the money as its not their money, they dilute, they pay for IR instead of doing it for themselves, etc. Farshad goes through great lengths to find the best financings and the least dilutive for shareholders and this is why it has involved a lot more work, taken longer and has resulted in many smaller ones…..he does this in hopes that at some point the next hole will propel the stock price much higher and the next financing will be a lot less dilutive! Most CEOs would just raise a big amount once and dilute a lot when the price is near all time lows and not be bothered with it! I do believe that an IR rep would be beneficial at some put once there is a big story to tell and many investors are calling the company for info but at this put the money saved goes into the ground where it counts and where it will help raise more money on the following financing based on results/potential. With the team in place now, I really think we will see a different company and a more focused company that is set to deliver! Really looking forward to the their aggressive drill program this year based on the targets to drill and the encouraging results so far.
Comment by D4 — April 10, 2015 @ 1:24 am
Good question, Steven. I don’t see that as a bad thing; perhaps their intent is to expand their original plans in Nevada. Checking into this today.
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 10, 2015 @ 1:26 am
WRR News……
Walker River arranges $150,000 private placement
2015-04-09 18:52 ET – News Release
Mr. Michel David reports
WALKER ARRANGES NON-BROKERED PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Walker River Resources Corp. is arranging a non-brokered private placement.
The company is arranging a non-brokered private placement of up to three million units at a price of five cents per unit to raise gross proceeds of up to $150,000. Each unit will consist of one common share and share purchase warrant. Each full warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share of the company at a price of five cents for a period of two years following the closing date.
Proceeds of the placement will be used for work on the company’s mineral properties and for general working capital.
The private placement is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued under the private placement will be subject to a four-month hold period.
Comment by John BMR — April 10, 2015 @ 3:11 am
Well said D4 . With so many things in the right places and such a dedicated CEO at DBV it’s hard to understand some peoples reasoning to sell their shares. Hole 23 must be on the way to the lab as Dr. Razique the crew have been on site for a week. I’m thinking an aggressive drill plan is soon to follow.
Comment by Les — April 10, 2015 @ 6:51 am
Les- let them make the mistake of selling their DBV as the shares are going from weak hands to stroner hands. Plus, it has allowed me to continue to add to my holdings before things heat up!
Comment by d4 — April 10, 2015 @ 7:19 am