For a long stretch of modern market history, platinum traded at a premium to gold. It was rarer, harder to extract, and carried a luxury association that jewellery marketing reinforced. That relationship inverted and then persisted in its inverted form for long enough that a generation of traders has never seen the old one. The interesting question is not when …
Continue ReadingAustralian gold output held around the same level it has averaged over the past decade in the year ended June, even as seismic disruptions at Newmont (NYSE, ASX: NEM; TSX: NGT)’s Cadia mine weighed on the latest quarter. Production totalled 303 tonnes, or about 9.7 million oz., up four tonnes from the previous financial year and worth about A$60 billion …
Continue ReadingThe U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) released on Friday an expression of interest (EOI) seeking input from American industry on the potential transfer of surplus critical minerals, rare earth elements and other materials located at five EM cleanup sites across the country. The materials identified in the EOI are the result of past nuclear weapons …
Continue ReadingCopper rose for a fifth straight session on Monday as signs of tightening supply in China and a rally in equities pushed the metal back toward the record it set earlier this month. Comex copper for December delivery climbed as much as 3.3% to $6.8410 a pound in New York, its highest since 10 September, and was trading at $6.7770 …
Continue ReadingThe United States is desperate to claw back some of the global critical minerals share from China. Beijing has established near-total dominance in international supply chains over the last several decades through its far-reaching Belt and Road Initiative in addition to other deals and programs that have given China a massive presence in mineral-rich countries and emerging markets across the …
Continue ReadingGold is usually the first asset investors associate with inflation, currency weakness, and economic uncertainty. Its limited supply and long history as a store of value have made it the default precious metal for defensive portfolios. However, a new study suggests that gold may not be the metal most consistently connected to changing inflation and interest-rate conditions. Researchers Arusha Cooray …
Continue ReadingThe UK’s EV Battery Economy: A strategic review of the UK’s battery manufacturing sector, was produced by transport research group New AutoMotive and is billed as the most comprehensive audit of the sector to date. It lists more than 14 major projects, spanning lithium extraction, chemical refining, gigafactories and recycling. Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive, said: “The UK …
Continue ReadingCentral bank gold buying is a vital factor in the global gold bullion market today, writes Tom Montagu at BullionVault. Over the past 5 years, leading estimates say that central banks as a group have chosen to buy almost 1 in every 4 ounces produced by global gold mining. Their demand outweighed inflows to gold-backed ETF investment products more than …
Continue ReadingAs the US looks to put a greater emphasis on strengthening the country’s critical-mineral supply chains, it is important that America’s strategy goes beyond the mine. Those efforts cannot stop at what comes out of the ground: the US also needs processing and manufacturing capabilities to turn materials into products here at home. When mining critical-minerals – such as lithium, …
Continue ReadingOn 16 September 2026(Opens in new window), President Lula da Silva signed Brazil’s National Policy for Critical and Strategic Minerals, carrying up to R$7 billion ($1.9 billion) in guarantees and tax credits. The policy aims to unlock the largest rare earth reserves outside China(Opens in new window), driving investment into expanded production and pushing Brazil’s industry up the value chain …
Continue Reading