Newmont, the Colorado-based gold miner, was one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500SPX+0.52% Friday as the price of gold slumped from its June record high.
Newmont stock, meanwhile, has risen 59% this year as of Thursday’s close, and competitors like Barrick Mining and Agnico Eagle Mines have also seen their share prices soar.
Source – Barron’s
Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials is considering scaling back copper concentrate processing at its Onahama Smelter & Refinery as falling treatment and processing charges (TC/RCs) weigh on earnings, it said on Monday.
Mitsubishi Materials said the worsening TC/RCs from miners were expected to further erode smelting margins.
“To maintain and improve profitability, we need to raise the ratio of recycled raw materials and accelerate the shift to feedstock less vulnerable to TC/RC fluctuations,” the company said in a statement.
It is now considering the possibility of a partial shutdown of production facilities and a reduction in copper concentrate processing at Onahama, after planned maintenance from October to November this year, Mitsubishi Materials said.
Source – Reuters
In a complaint filed in Boone Circuit Court on March 27, the same day the legislation was delivered to the secretary of state’s office, an online bullion exchange and three Northern Kentucky residents said they and others are owed refunds on taxes improperly collected for their precious metals in the past eight months, naming Gov. Andy Beshear and several state offices as defendants.
The state representative, a frequent foil to Beshear who told colleagues in the House he sponsored the bill to ensure Kentuckians do not “pay taxes that were never lawful in the first place.”
HB 2 ensures the sale, use, storage or other consumption of “bullion currency” — gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals — cannot be taxed, overriding a line-item veto by Beshear that was included in a separate bill passed in 2024.
HB 2, which was filed in January and approved on party-line votes in the House and Senate, allows anyone who paid taxes on gold and silver after that Aug. 1 deadline to seek a refund in court.
Source – Courier Journal
London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper slumped to a 17-month low of $8,105 per metric ton on April 7 after China responded to U.S. tariffs in kind.
Citi, which now expects copper to hit $8,000 per ton over the next three months, warns that commodity markets are still not pricing the full potential impact on demand.
Copper as a macro play cannot but reflect the broader market concerns about the negative impact of an escalating trade war between the United States and China on the world economy.
But at a micro level, the specific threat of U.S. tariffs on the metal is pulling normal trade patterns out of shape and causing both LME and Shanghai exchange inventories to fall.
Source – Reuters
As the threat of a trade war grows, Canadian investors are seeking protection in gold and in shares of companies producing goods with few substitutes, such as uranium, while looking to take advantage of a weaker loonie and expected volatility.
“Tariffs are going to hurt all parties quite a bit but if you’re going to spare some industries, you probably spare industries that you don’t have a substitute for and are currently reliant on,” said Ben Jang, a portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth, noting U.S. dependence on Canadian oil, critical minerals and uranium.
Major producers of uranium include TSX-listed Cameco Corp (CCO.TO)shares of which Nicola Wealth owns. Cameco has pulled back from an all-time high in December but has still managed to advance roughly 46% since early September.
Source – Reuters
Follow up on Stolen Gold Toilet from art exhibit at Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire
There is no evidence a man on trial in connection with the theft of a £4.8m golden toilet knew the gold he was dealing with was stolen, a jury has been told.
The prosecution said the 41-year-old’s decision not to give evidence meant he failed to answer a number of questions, including what the gold looked like when it was delivered to his jewellers in Hatton Garden.
“What clear evidence is there that Mr Guccuk did anything wrong or criminal?”
Source – BBC
China urged the United States on Thursday to halt an investigation into potential new tariffs on copper imports to rebuild U.S. production of the critical metal, vowing to retaliate if Chinese entities got caught up in the levies.
“We urge the U.S. side to withdraw its investigation as soon as possible,” He said.
“If the U.S. insists on imposing tariffs and other restrictive measures, China will resolutely take the required steps to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” He said, without giving any further details.
Source – Reuters