First Quantum decision suggests movement to resolve investor dispute with Central American government
Canada’s First Quantum Minerals on Monday said it was stepping back from a multibillion-dollar arbitration demand against Panama’s government over the closing of one of the world’s largest copper mines.
Source – Financial Times
Bullion surged as much as 1.4% to $2,798.59 an ounce, surpassing its previous all-time high set in October. A weaker dollar makes bullion more appealing for investors holding other currencies as it’s priced in the US currency.
“When you get rising inflation and you get declining growth, you get stagflation, then gold is one of the best-performing commodities in that environment.”
Source – Bloomberg
“American industries depend on copper, and it should be made in America, no exemptions, no exceptions,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “It’s time for copper to come home.”
But while the tariffs could be positive for the domestic metals sector, implemented copper tariffs could amplify costs across several segments of the economy. Copper has a broad range of uses, and its cost is an input in the price of everything from electronics to construction materials.
Trump’s tariff probe sparked a surge in copper futures, which rose 1.76% Wednesday morning.
Source – Markets Insider
The inventory of unstruck ready-to-strike cent planchets combined at the Denver and Philadelphia Mints is considered by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Mint enough to handle production needs for the near future as the mintages wind down, with no more planchets ordered from the lone outside vendor.
The unstruck planchets are also sufficient for striking Uncirculated Lincolns cents at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints for inclusion in 2025 Uncirculated Mint sets and for Proof sets executed at the San Francisco Mint.
Source – Coin World
Shares of Aya Gold & Silver were down Friday after the company reported lower silver production than analysts expected in the fourth quarter.
The stock retreated 15% to 10.85 Canadian dollars ($7.58).
Silver production in the fourth quarter totaled 491,310 ounces, compared with 450,046 ounces in the same period a earlier.
Source – Market Watch
The U.S. will soon be flooded with massive amounts of copper shipments in a global rush to front-run President Trump’s probable tariffs, with 100K-150K metric tons of refined copper expected to arrive in U.S. ports in the coming weeks, which potentially would surpass the all-time record of 136,951 tons set in January 2022, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs analysts said they expect all forms of copper shipped to the U.S. to be hit with tariffs by year-end, keeping Comex prices at a hefty premium over other benchmarks, and noted that tariffs could cause China to refine 10K-20K tons/month less copper within the first three months – in a global market that Goldman already expected to face a 180K-ton deficit this year.
Source – Seeking Alpha
“This we hope will be reality in a three to five year period,” PolyMet’s Warren Hudelson told MPR News in 2004.
Now, 20 years later, the controversial mine in northeast Minnesota still hasn’t opened. It hasn’t even begun construction, because three key permits it needs to advance — approvals state and federal agencies granted more than five years ago — have since been revoked or suspended.
Source – MPRnews
