Sales of gold coins and minted bars rose to 25,103 ounces in February, up 35% from January. On a year-on-year basis, they were down 47%.
Silver product sales increased to 482,451 ounces in February.
“It is heartening to see the increase in sales on January levels given precious metals prices remain at record highs,” said Neil Vance, Perth Mint’s general manager of minted products.
Source – Reuters
Bill HB306, now awaiting signature from Governor Spencer Cox, authorizes the state treasurer to issue a competitive procurement for a precious metals-backed electronic payment platform. This will allow state vendors to opt for payment in physical gold and silver.
Rep. Kenneth Ivory sponsored Bill HB306, and Sen. Keith Grover pushed the legislation through the Senate. The state politicians noted that the legislation is the latest evolution in Utah’s stance in favor of sound money.
“In uncertain economic times, Utah is providing vendors and service providers with the option to receive payment in gold and silver,” Rep. Ivory said. “This law gives Utahns an alternative to choose how they preserve the purchasing power of their earnings and savings.”
Source – KITCO News
Shipments of refined copper from the central African country jumped by 71% year-on-year to 1.48 million metric tons in 2024. The Congo is now by some margin the largest supplier of refined metal to the world’s largest buyer.
The Congo’s share of Chinese copper imports has risen from 10% in 2020 to 36.7% with volumes steadily increasing over the fourth quarter. December’s imports of 167,735 tons were a new monthly record.
Source – Reuters
Canadian miner McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of McEwen Mining, has submitted a request to join an Argentine government incentives program that would give it significant tax breaks for its Los Azules copper project in San Juan province, it said.
Once the government gives McEwen the green light, its corporate tax rate for the Los Azules project will fall from 35% to 25%, and it will be exempt from value-added tax during construction and from export duties.
Source – Reuters
One gold and four silver pieces are being made available for collectors, the Royal Mint said, and they will be presented through auction via Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
“Each coin available at auction is a testament to the exceptional skills of our craftspeople at the Royal Mint.
“Taking hundreds of hours to produce, the masterworks crafted from gold and silver feature highlights from Paul’s career and his journey to becoming one of Britain’s most successful artists in history.
“The impressive five-kilogram gold coin has also been hand signed by Paul during his Got Back tour at the end of last year – a symbol of his personal seal of approval of this iconic one-of-one piece.”
People can bid for the coins online up until March 19, when the auction ends, with bidding starting at one US dollar.
Source – The Irish News
The SPDR Gold Shares ETF was up 3.3% in morning trading, according to FactSet data, at last check. That brought its year-to-date gain to a massive 30.6%.
Source – Market Watch
Chile’s place at the low-end of U.S. tariffs announced last week could be favorable for the world’s leading copper-producing country if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to slap tariffs on copper, Chile Mining Minister Aurora Williams said on Wednesday.
Chile is in “wait-and-see” mode until the investigation concludes, Williams told Reuters, but sees potential for a positive outcome even if the U.S. imposes tariffs on copper.
“If we assume that Chile is within the lowest tariff range, the application of a potential 10% tariff is lower than the tariffs we have seen for other copper-producing countries and therefore also generates a better price position,” Williams said
Source – Reuters