Gold has traded between $1,184 and $1,194 so far today…as of 9:20 am Pacific, bullion is up $4 an ounce at $1,192…Silver has added 4 pennies to $15.80…Copper is flat at $2.70…Crude Oil has surged nearly $2 a barrel to $57.92 on rising Middle East tensions, while the U.S. Dollar Index has declined two-thirds of a point to 97.37 after some disappointing economic data…
Further to information we posted yesterday, another interesting article from Mineweb’s Lawrence Williams this morning – we suggest readers check it out at www.mineweb.com (“Does Any Nation Hold The Gold It Says It Does?)…
“Bloomberg has recently made quite an impact in other media in suggesting that its analysts reckon Chinese reserves are, in reality, around 2,500 tonnes higher than China says they are,” Williams stated. “This is not really news in that it is just updated research from calculations from over a year earlier. But it has had a strong impact this time due to speculation that China is indeed about to announce a new higher Gold reserve figure. The suggestion is that the country may need to uproot its official reserve holding as a positive element in trying to get the yuan recognized as being part of the make-up of the IMF’s Special Drawing Right when this comes up for re-assessment this year. This is perceived as an interim measure in getting the yuan ever more acceptable as a fully tradable currency in major global business transactions – a role currently dominated by the U.S. dollar.”
According to reports, Gold sales in India picked up during the Akshaya Tritiya festival after what was believed to have been a relatively slow start…ahead of the festival, jewelry industry experts were looking for Gold sales to increase about 20% compared to 2014. “Several Indian Gold traders report that Gold demand around the festival, which took place yesterday, was as much as 25% higher than last year,” said commodity analysts from Commerzbank.
Oil Update
Oil remains firm above fresh support at $54 despite continued supply concerns overseas and in North America…yesterday, U.S. government data showed Crude stockpiles rose by 5.3 million barrels last week, well above the consensus estimate of 2.9 million barrels, to a record 489 million barrels…it was the 15th consecutive weekly build for Crude stocks and pushed U.S. commercial inventories almost 100 million barrels above their level a year ago…
U.S. domestic production has stalled for the moment, according to the EIA, but executives at an industry conference in Houston this week said the cost of drilling wells in the U.S. has fallen much faster than expected, allowing producers to work Oilfields that just months ago looked uncompetitive…
Technically, WTIC continues to show strength and appears to be in a new trading range that could extend from $50 to as high as the mid-$60’s or even the 200-day moving average (SMA) around $70 a barrel…rising Middle East tensions are obviously helping the bid side…however, this remains a volatile market with multiple variables and competing agendas among major producers…
Geopolitical Fires Intensify
More concerns on the geopolitical front – The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that China’s top nuclear experts have increased their estimates of North Korea’s nuclear weapons production well beyond most previous U.S. figures, suggesting Pyongyang can make enough warheads to threaten regional security for the U.S. and its allies…the latest Chinese estimates, relayed in a closed-door meeting with U.S. nuclear specialists, showed that North Korea may already have 20 warheads, as well as the capability of producing enough weapons-grade uranium to double its arsenal by next year, according to people briefed on the matter…the Chinese estimates reflect growing concern in Beijing over North Korea’s weapons program and what they see as U.S. inaction while President Obama focuses (strangely) on a nuclear pact with Iran, a potential deal that would effectively reward an untrustworthy regime actively etending its influence in the Middle East and destabilizing the region in the process…
More Evidence of Strong Dollar Impacting U.S. Economy
Procter & Gamble Co. reported this morning that sales fell 7.6% in the March quarter because of the strong greenback, which also pushed down volume…the consumer products giant called the widespread weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar unprecedented and said it led to declines in all of its main business segments…in the latest quarter, foreign exchange reduced sales by eight percentage points…
Today’s Equity Markets
Asia
Markets in China and Japan pushed higher again today, hitting new multi-year highs…a private survey showed China’s manufacturing activity at a 1-year low as HSBC’s preliminary reading for April below expectations at 49.2…bad economic news is good news for China’s stock market which is on steroids thanks to increasingly aggressive stimulus measures including last weekend’s steepest drop in the RRR ratio for banks since 2008…
The Shanghai has soared about 80% over the past 6 months, even as the country’s economy slowed to a 6-year low of 7% growth in the 1st quarter…according to a commentary published by state media People’s Daily newspaper, China’s bull market “has just begun” and the surge in share prices “has support from China’s grand development strategy and economic reforms.”
Europe
European equities were mixed today after sluggish euro zone and German purchasing manager data…Greece can scrape together enough cash to meet its payment obligations into June, euro zone and Greek officials said yesterday, playing down fears of an imminent default even as hopes receded of a deal with its creditors to release fresh aid…
North America
The Dow is up 54 points as of 9:20 am Pacific amid a deluge of earnings reports including a significant miss by GM…
According to a CNBC report, based on research by STA Wealth Management, reported U.S. earnings per share have grown 204% between 2009 and 2014…meanwhile, revenue, reported in sales per share, has increased only 34% – an interesting and potentially problematic divergence, largely the result of the unprecedented degree of corporate share buybacks…
In Toronto, the TSX has gained 73 points, thanks to strength in Golds and Oil, while the Venture has added 2 points to 700…
NexGen Energy Ltd. (NXE, TSX-V) Update
NexGen Energy (NXE, TSX-V) is strong this morning after announcing robust results from its 2015 winter drill program at its 100%-owned Rook 1 Uranium Property in the Athabasca Basin…angled drill hole AR-15–44b has substantially expanded the high-grade core of the A2 shear, intersecting 190.7 m total composite mineralization including 40.5 m off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) within a 519 m section (430.5 m to 949.5 m)…
The high-grade core of the A2 shear is now defined by an 88 m strike length, 340 m vertical extent, and true widths ranging from approximately 11 m to 48.3 m…meanwhile, the high-grade core of the A3 shear has a current strike length of 73 m, a vertical extent of 420 m, and true widths ranging from approximately 30 m to 78.6 m…
The market likes what’s shaping up here, particularly the high-grade nature of this growing deposit…the Arrow zone currently covers 515 x 215 m with the vertical extent of mineralization commencing from 100 to 920 m, and it remains open in all directions and at depth…
NXE is up 2 cents at 57 cents as of 9:20 am Pacific…
Doubleview Capital Corp. (DBV, TSX-V) Update
The odds of a major technical breakout in Doubleview Capital (DBV, TSX-V) continue to increase as another round of drilling draws near at the Hat Project, while final numbers from hole 23 have an excellent chance to confirm the longest and highest-grade interval ever drilled in the Sheslay district (based on preliminary results and visuals below 400 m)…
There are several important takeaways with this 3-year weekly chart…what could be unfolding here is a huge sentiment shift based on previous patterns and TA theory…as always, perform your own due diligence…
1. A breakout is pending above the downsloping flag, the top of which is also Fib. resistance at 15 cents
2. The 200-day SMA, currently 15 cents, has flattened out and is now poised to reverse to the upside
3. RSI(14) is showing strong up momentum at 57%
Not shown on this chart are the 50 and 100-day SMA’s which have already reversed higher…
More on the situation at the Hat and the Sheslay district tomorrow…
Equitas Resources Corp. (EQT, TSX-V) Update
Equitas Resources (EQT, TSX-V), a Nickel play we introduced our readers to last week, has broken out above chart resistance at 10 cents where there should now be fresh support as demonstrated yesterday…this is a company that went through a positive restructuring late last year…it’s now preparing for a busy summer of exploration, and speculation should ramp up as a result…insiders control just over 50% of the 35 million shares outstanding…
The company’s key asset is the 25 sq. km Garland Nickel Property, 30 km south of the Voisey’s Bay mine…since the discovery of the Voisey’s Bay deposit in the early 1990’s, small parcels of Garland have been owned by 9 separate companies…this is the first time that this large property has been consolidated under 1 owner…after adding some technical and capital markets expertise, EQT has a decent chance of enjoying some success in the coming months…
EQT is up a penny at 11.5 cents as of 9:20 am Pacific…
VANC Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NPH, TSX-V) Update
We continue to keep an eye on some select non-resource issues that have speculative potential, particularly those with favorable chart patterns…
VANC Pharmaceuticals (NPH, TSX-V) is strongly supported by a rising 50-day SMA just beneath a Fib. level (46 cents) that has also held recently, and key current resistance is in the mid-50’s…
Significantly, a breakout has occurred this month above a short-term downtrend line…
NPH is up a penny at 55 cents (Fib. resistance) as of 9:20 am Pacific…
Antibe Therapeutics Inc. (ATE, TSX-V)
Antibe Therapeutics (ATE, TSX-V) appears to be back on track after resuming development of its lead drug, ATB-346…
ATE is following an uptrend in place since last month…Fib. 50% resistance on this 6-month daily chart – 22 cents – is a key area to watch…a confirmed breakout above this Fib. level would provide some fresh fuel for a continued advance…the last 4 sessions have formed a bullish candle pattern as noted by John…
ATE is off 1.5 cents at 22.5 cents as of 9:20 am Pacific…
Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in DBV.
Jon could you comment upon the news release from GBB this morning? Frank has followed this up by stating that everywhere they sample there is at least baseline grade 0.5 grams per tonne gold. This could be a game changer in terms of how they deal with waste and the size of their resource estimate.
Comment by Ted — April 23, 2015 @ 9:14 am
Ashburton have commenced work at their Hackett property adjacent to DBV at the Sheslay. Sounds like sampling type work in an ”early work program”. Would be nice if they could raise some cash and drill there in the not too distant future. Along with GGI’s upcoming drilling that would be 4 companies that had got a drill bit turning at their property up there.
Comment by Tom UK — April 23, 2015 @ 9:18 am
Normal adjustment for NAR… 20% down. to $1.08… good opportunities to buy. Profit takers selling in low volume… only 90000 shares so far. It will bounce later in the afternoon.
Comment by Theodore — April 23, 2015 @ 9:41 am
Very positive news, Ted, which reaffirms our faith in the existing Granada resource and the potential of it…reducing the strip ratio is key, and I believe they’ll be able to achieve significant progress in that regard – just given the historical results to be incorporated into the updated model…obviously the market is focused very much right now on the CA and there’s a bunch of flow-through stock that needs to be dealt with again, but patient investors should be rewarded handsomely…
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 23, 2015 @ 9:44 am
NEWS…ABR.V
ASHBURTON TO COMMENCE WORK PROGRAM AT HACKETT PROPERTY IN SHESLAYREGION
April 23rd, 2014, VANCOUVER, B.C. – ASHBURTON VENTURES INC. (TSX-V: ABR) (ARB-FRANKFURT) (“Ashburton” or the “Company”) announces it is arranging an initial work program to commence the 2015 field season on its 100% owned Hackett property in the Sheslay Valley. The Hackettproperty is contiguous to the Doubleview Capital Corp. (TSX-V: DBV) Hat Cu-Au property.
The 2,130 hectare Hackett claim group adjoins the eastern and northern borders of the Hat property. Duringlast season flyovers at Hackett, a large gossanous zone along the western portion of the property was observed from the air and will now be the subject of an early work program. The western edge of Hackett is within 1,000 metres of Doubleview’s discovery drill holes that indicate the strong potential for a copper-gold alkalic porphyry-type deposit (see Doubleview Capital Corp. news release, February 3, 2015).
Approximately 300 metres west of the Hackett, on the Doubleview ground adjoining the southwestern border of the Hackett property, assays from the historical Hoey showing report up to 6,600 parts per billion Au and historical aeromagnetics on the Hackett property define a magnetic high on the southern claims (W. Thompson, 1988, B.C. Minfile report No. 18158). No drilling has ever been carried out on this property.
“We look forward to resuming work on the Hackett property this season.” states Mike England, CEO of Ashburton Ventures. “The Sheslay region of B.C. is an exciting area and with the success to date ofDoubleview’s Hat project, and our proximity to their discovery, we feel we have excellent potential here.”
The technical contents of this release were approved by Ashburton director Case Lewis, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The properties have not been the subject of a National Instrument 43-101 report, and Mr. Lewis has not verified the technical data disclosed in this release.
Ashburton Ventures is a junior exploration company actively seeking mineral opportunities for the benefit of all its stakeholders.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Signed “Michael England”
Comment by John BMR — April 23, 2015 @ 10:01 am
NAR Open 1.30 – 1.08 – 1.15…. about 100,000 shares turnover. A very healthy adjustment..
Comment by Theodore — April 23, 2015 @ 10:14 am
Looks like some in the Hat area are trying to improve their well being by stating their proximity to DBV some might even wish they were under DBV.
Comment by Les — April 23, 2015 @ 3:59 pm
NAR closed at $1.23 … not bad at all. Tomorrow, there might be some more small adjustments and then, will have support at $1.1 and build momentum to move up again. $2 is not a miracle.
Comment by Theodore — April 23, 2015 @ 5:23 pm
Les- they all hope to capitalize on DBV’s success. Yes, these area plays will move up due to DBV’s success but nothing will replace owning the real deal and many will wish they did soon imo……this is why I sold off my other Sheslay holding and all other holdings to buy more DBV. As it stands, all my eggs are in one basket for maximum profits! Look forward to seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I believe the fun starts with the remainder of H23 results (due out any day now!) and will intensify with the next holes as Dr Razique knows exactly where to drill……I believe this will be a very prosperous year for shareholders (some a lot more than others due to size of position).
Comment by D4 — April 24, 2015 @ 2:53 am
D4, it’s exciting how things are developing at the Hat, but one thing is certain, and even Dr. Razique and Farshad agree: this is a deposit-filled district with more “real deals”…there will be new discoveries elsewhere, and surprises along the way. The NW-SE trending structures, and cross-cutting faults, extend as parallel trends through the entire district, all through the Grizzly and onto Teck’s ground, and to the north of course onto the Star. So there are going to be many chapters written here, and in looking at the district picture I don’t believe it’s wise not to hold a core position in the company with by far the largest land position (GGI) as that’s no “area play”…in fact, one can easily argue that this all begins on the Grizzly, and we’ll find out for sure soon enough…in our continuing interview series with Dr. Razique, you’ll see him talk about the critical importance of the Kaketsa pluton and the district-sized nature of these Sheslay porphyry systems. A lot has been learned in recent months. Even more will be learned over the next few months. The Hat is indeed coming together magnificently, but also keep in mind that more discoveries elsewhere will be critical in terms of creating economies of scale for a world class mining district.
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 24, 2015 @ 3:37 am
Jon- I don’t disagree that the Sheslay Valley has district wide potential for multiple deposits and some quite large imo. I plan on systematically capitalizing on the whole region but in a specific order by which they will deliver otherwise playing a few of them at a time will not result in nearly as much profit but will decrease risk. My reasoning is why would one want to diversify into other area plays which mainly just consist of a property (small or large) in an area with a lot of potential when one can invest in the leader of the region that is about to put the whole area on the map? To me it doesn’t make sense other than decreasing one’s risk as these other area plays have yet to drill and have yet to get a good understanding of the geology there. It takes many holes and a very good geologist or geoscientist to interpret what lies below before making good educated guesses of where to find the good stuff. With every phase DBV has delivered better results and have a better understanding of the system. DBV has the most experienced team in the region, are still trading at a very low mkt cap and have an aggressive drill campaign lined up. Plus, Dr Razique’s thorough (ie months) work to understand the system will pay off soon in the drilling going forward. If DBV was now trading at say $1 it would be a different story but with a mkt cap of approx. $10 million and all the upside potential I really don’t see any reason to play any area play yet until more is known about their odds of success. You know I like GGi for its land package and where it lies in the region but I had to sell it for DBV to avoid any regrets once DBV delivers the goods soon as GGI was still trying to figure it out. I want to capitalize on my DD on DBV and their experienced team. H23 and the follow-on H24 will put DBV and the region on the map. Once that is done and I am confident that other area plays (mainly GGI) have proven enough to me that they know what they are doing and shows me something that diminishes the risk while also showing a good chance of a big pay off I will flow some of my DBV profits into them. Just because a company like GGI has had success in Mexico doesn’t mean the team will be successful right away in BC as the geology is very different so it may take them a little time to fully understand it before being able to deliver. Take PGX for example, it came off a very big success with Richfield Ventures’ Blackwater deposit located in BC and it has yet to deliver on what you called the most advanced property in the area to me in a reply when I posted saying DBV was the leader. I believe DBV was the leader back then and still are…..its not just a matter of holes/metres drilled. I honestly think that there is a lot of money to be made in this district but to maximize it one needs to play it wisely as district wide plays like the Sheslay Valley don’t come often……
Comment by d4 — April 24, 2015 @ 5:33 am
Jon, check out those 2 large crosses on CMM. Whats your take on that. Isn’t GMP a mutual fund house?
Comment by dave — April 24, 2015 @ 5:49 am
Yes, those CMM trades definitely appear to be fund related, Dave, especially being GMP.
Comment by Jon - BMR — April 24, 2015 @ 5:58 am
Hmmmmmm – thats a lot of buying
Comment by dave — April 24, 2015 @ 6:34 am
Oh Jon and others involved with NPH. Jon, don’t take my post here the wrong way, its not meant to be that way. In your write up today, you mentioned the word “speculative”. I wanted to point out that NPH is not really speculative in the sense of being at the mercy of a drill bit. They are going to market with 49 generic drugs and in time should have over 200 pharmacy stores on contract. This is potent stuff.
I wanted to share with everyone that there were 7 million warrants that became free trading earlier this month. I am getting 2 theories here from the people in the know. One is that the warrants have not been exercised and they are waiting for the news before they do this. The other is that the warrants have been excersized at a much lower price when she was in the 30 to 40 cent range. If the latter is true, we could see a little weakness till news which should be soon.
Comment by dave — April 24, 2015 @ 6:43 am
d4, maybe GGI have figured it out and will hit big early on. You will be kicking yourself then, but that is the risk you are happy to take. If DBV’s next couple of holes are not good ones, I think it is game over for them, as they will have difficulty in raising cash which is what will be required in the near future. GGI have a strategy that may bring some cash in soon, that is why I prefer GGI to DBV.
On another note – no sell off on Gold Bullion development, even though around 19mil shares became free trading today.
Comment by Tom UK — April 24, 2015 @ 7:43 am
Tom UK- lets see who regrets it the most in the next few months. My goal is to make money first in DBV then move some profits into the next area play that is ready to move based on my DD criteria.
I have done extensive DD (includes porphty geo’s opinions) on DBV and I am not worried. GGI is too much of a gamble and this is coming from someone with all eggs in one basket. I do believe I will eventually become a GGI shareholder again one day but only they prove they know what they are doing there and the drill speaks of an early discovery.
Between me and my best friend, we have almost 4.5 million shares placed on DBV being successful. Also, one of our experienced porphry geo friends was just buying more this week.
Comment by d4 — April 24, 2015 @ 9:11 am
Tom – GGI has a very good possibility of making a good strike on their property next to DBV but Dr Abdule Razeque did not pick DBV to work for on a whim , he chose DBV after looking at all of Canada . IMHO
Comment by Les — April 24, 2015 @ 9:24 am
Les- also PGX’s CEO and geo that just came off a big success wanted DBV’s property but Farshad said no….on the BMR PGX interview the company said they evaluated over a hundred properties before taking the property from Firesteel if my memory is correct. It is said that PGX really wanted the HAT property. They were so curious about DBV’s property that they over flew it when they did they magnetic testing of their property……
I could go on and on and on but will let the drill bit do the talking.
Comment by d4 — April 24, 2015 @ 9:49 am
d4, you will maximise your profits with your strategy, as long as it goes according to plan. Problem with exploration companies is that things don’t always work out as expected, but good luck to you. It is an exciting time for the Sheslay area and the next few months could be very rewarding to people holding stock in the companies involved.
Comment by Tom UK — April 24, 2015 @ 11:19 am