How ‘Big’ is This Discovery?

Sweden may be sitting on massive rare earth mines

The rare earth sector remains one of the most contentious and exciting spaces within mining. Most recently, Sweden, through its state-owned LKAB mining company, reported a new rare earth discovery that received a ton of media attention. The EU imports roughly 99% of its rare earths and desperately needs a domestic mine. Furthermore, rare earths […]

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A Bet on Humanity

copper mines are in short supply

March 2020… The world was descending into a chaotic fear. Markets were crashing, portfolios were in temporary ruin, and financiers had a firm grip on their wallets. I was in Toronto for the PDAC Conference, the biggest mining industry gathering on the planet, and the mood was somber. The countless dejected faces of promoters, mineral […]

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China Leaves US Behind in DRC: A Cobalt EV Supply Chain Story

congo cobalt is where more than 70% of the world's resource comes from

The global decarbonization of our planet, central to the EV revolution, continues to accelerate. However, behind the cool adverts and showrooms of new electric vehicles lies a chunk of the supply chain fraught with forced labor, bribery, rebel armies, and mercenaries battling for a piece of an irreplaceable resource: cobalt. Unlike other green metals such as […]

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Why We Play the Small Caps

Every speculator knows smallcap stocks can go from sleepy to leading performers in an instant… That’s kind of what happened to member ‘Pineros‘s selection of Valeura Energy (VLE: TSX) in December. Pineros’ stock-picking ability will never be overlooked again… Consider this: on December 2nd, just a few days into the month’s Stock Challenge, Valeura Energy […]

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Boy, Did I Learn a Lot in 2022

Aaron Hoddinott's lessons learned from 2022

It’s got to be -100 degrees celsius outside as I sit here in my Calgary office writing this annual letter, reflecting on 2022 and the crazy yet highly educational year it was. The stock market is always changing, but this year stands out for many reasons. They say you learn more from your losses than […]

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Panama Shuts Down First Quantum’s Cobre Copper Mine

First Quantum about to witness its Cobre copper mine be shut down

First Quantum Minerals (FM: TSX) is seeing its massive copper porphyry mine, the Cobre Panamá mine, put in jeopardy by the Panama government. One of the largest copper mines in the world, the government didn’t wait long to demand higher taxes and royalties on the operation. Today’s news represents the most aggressive case of resource […]

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The Fed’s Secret Interest Rate Risk

quantitative tightening is taking all assets lower

The Fed’s balance sheet is the key to market liquidity and performance. When it shrinks, the market and liquidity decline; when it expands, the opposite happens. So while the pandemic ushered in the greatest experiment of quantitative easing or QE in world history, we are now in a world of quantitative tightening or QT – […]

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The Dark Horse of EV Minerals

graphite demand

When it comes to EV battery metals, most of the attention has gone to lithium in recent years – and not undeservedly so. Lithium is in limited supply and it’s critical to all current and next-generation battery technologies. But there is a catch… Canada Poised to Become Global Lithium Superpower Take a look at the […]

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Daily Volume on the TSX Venture and CSE Continue to Crater

total volume on Canada's two junior exchanges continues to plummet

Well, it finally happened. The TSX Venture Composite dropped below 10 million shares in total daily volume. On November 24th, 2022, 9.69 million shares exchanged hands on the beleaguered exchange. While I’ve been tracking the decline in liquidity for years on the exchange, this sudden drop surprised me. Volume Drops 65% in 3 Days While […]

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Savings Rate Nears 65-Year Low, Signalling Pivot on Horizon

Fed pivot is coming as the savings rate hits bottom

The savings rate in the United States is just 0.1% above its all-time low going back to 1959! In yet another significant drop, the savings rate reached just 2.3% in October. While that represents the lowest rate since 2005, it is only 0.1% above the lowest rate recorded in the past 63 years! If the […]

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