Global markets continued to fall this week as the fall in commodity prices continued unabated. Both the TSX Composite and Venture Indices fell to 52-week lows on the back of continued falling oil prices, led by WTI crude which fell below the $30 per barrel level for the first time since 2003 as Iran prepared… Continue Reading

Skeena Resources (SKE-V), Ron Netolitzky’s British Columbia gold developer, published an updated resource estimate Thursday morning for two deposits on its GJ property, purchased from Teck and NGEx last October. GJ adjoins Skeena’s flagship Spectrum project in B.C.’s northwestern Golden Triangle, providing a valuable land bridge between Highway 37 and Spectrum. The Donnelly and North… Continue Reading

Heavily promoted nickel explorer Equitas Resources (EQT-V) said today, after a nearly week-long trade halt, that it’s taking on a Brazilian gold project through a merger with privately held Alta Floresta Gold. After the deal is done it is to own 50% of the combined company. Three thoughts: 1. Awkward. I’ll guess I’m not alone… Continue Reading

Of course you don’t break out the Champagne bottle yet on the Lundin Gold ($LUG) deal to advance Fruta del Norte in concert with the Ecuadorian government. Simply put, Ecuador has yet to build much faith in treating the mining sector fairly. It’s fair to remain a sceptic. That said. Obviously Lundin Gold did something… Continue Reading

This morning saw a couple of news releases from mining companies about 2015 year-end production results. I will take a brief look at each company with a focus on if they achieved guidance or not. The supply/demand dynamics for many metals are in the oversupply category to start 2016, especially with China slowing down. It will… Continue Reading

NORTHERN DYNASTY SAYS EPA INVESTIGATION WHITEWASHES ALLEGED MISCONDUCT Northern Dynasty (NDM-T) hit back against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its feud with the environmental regulator over Pebble project permitting. Late yesterday the EPA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report clearing the EPA of misconduct in making a pre-emptive move to… Continue Reading

Sabina Gold & Silver (SBB-T) Bruce McLeod’s Nunavut gold developer was one of Canada’s strongest-performing junior miners in 2015, more than doubling from 35 cents to 73 cents as it advanced its high-grade Back River gold deposit through two feasibility studies as well as permitting. The stock has since pulled back, and CEO McLeod was… Continue Reading

It sounds like there’s a strong fit in McEwen Mining’s new hire, Colin Sutherland. Recently the miner with operating gold-silver assets in Mexico and Argentina announced hiring a new president and CEO after a protracted search. This was after the departure of Ian Ball to Abitibi Resources almost two years ago now. I wanted to… Continue Reading

“Royalty” – the term touches on the right of kings, as well as a legal claim on revenues or profits. It can also be a great business model, as shown by Franco-Nevada over the past several years. And Franco-Nevada has indeed been royalty in the mining space through a period of shareholder value destruction. The… Continue Reading

GMP Capital Inc., one of Canada’s leading independent financial services firms, with international operations, has overhauled its Capital Markets group and cut 25% of staff, citing “technology-driven disintermediation and increased regulation, and the sustained trough in the global commodity cycle.” The firm has exited its U.K. and Australian businesses, closing its London, Perth and Sydney… Continue Reading

The SmartGrid is here to redefine how we generate, deliver, and pay for electricity—and that will be a big opportunity for energy investors in 2016. The SmartGrid will help utilities reduce demand among their customer base during the very expensive peak periods, and cost-effectively increase their use of renewable energy. The good news for investors… Continue Reading

Earlier today I caught up with the President and CEO of MaRS Innovation (MI), Rafi Hofstein, as he takes in the JP Morgan annual biotech conference in San Francisco to talk about funding early stage tech start ups in Canada. MI, as not too many Canadian investors will know, is one of a few organizations… Continue Reading

Themes and Trends at CES The following Consumer Electronics Show recap was written by Pardeep Sangha, technology analyst at Haywood Securities. Email Riley Skinner (rskinner@haywood.com) to request a full copy of Mr. Sangha’s CES report. · The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas last week attracted over 170,000 attendees. There were approximately 3,200… Continue Reading

Pretium Resources (PVG:TSX) – Bob Quartermain’s Pretium Resources is developing one of the highest-grade gold projects in the world. News this morning included stunning high-grade drill results from the fifth batch of underground infill drill holes. Assays included several hits over 1,000 grams per tonne – including 0.5m of 20,287 g/t gold – and Canaccord analyst Eric Zaunscherb had an interesting… Continue Reading

These are treacherous times for public market companies and nowhere more so than in the hard-hit energy space. Oil prices have fallen through the floor, with both Brent crude and WTI trading around US$31 – levels last seen in 2003. With the Saudi and American taps still on, and Iran’s oil production coming onstream, many… Continue Reading