JD400
2 days ago
McEwen Mining Announces Friendly Acquisition of Timberline Resources
April 16, 2024
TORONTO, April 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX)(TSX: MUX) (“McEwen”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger (the “Agreement”) to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Timberline Resources Corporation (TSXV:TBR)(OTCQB:TLRS) (“Timberline”) by way of a merger between Timberline and a subsidiary of McEwen (the “Transaction”). The Transaction will augment McEwen’s existing portfolio of development and exploration projects in Nevada.
Timberline shareholders will have the right to receive 0.01 of a share of McEwen’s common stock for each share of Timberline’s common stock (the “Exchange Ratio”), representing a value of US$0.102 per Timberline share, calculated based on the 20-day volume weighted average trading price of McEwen’s shares on the NYSE at the close on April 15th, 2024. This represents an 132% premium to Timberline’s 20-day volume-weighted average price on the OTCQB. McEwen currently owns 6.25 million Timberline shares representing approximately 3.3% of Timberline’s basic common shares outstanding and 6.25 million Timberline warrants. Excluding McEwen’s existing ownership, McEwen expects to issue approximately 1.84 million shares on closing for a transaction value of US$18.8 million.
The closing of the Transaction is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals and approval from Timberline’s shareholders holding a majority of its outstanding shares.
Timberline’s board of directors has unanimously recommended that Timberline’s shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction. The directors, officers and two principal shareholders of Timberline, holding shares reflecting approximately 40% of Timberline's aggregate outstanding shares, have entered into voting and support agreements with McEwen, pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things, to vote their shares in favour of the Transaction.
The Agreement includes customary deal-protection provisions. Timberline has agreed not to solicit or initiate any discussion regarding any other business combination or acquisition. In the event that Timberline validly terminates the Agreement to accept a superior offer, Timberline will be required to pay McEwen a termination fee of US$400,000.
Each Timberline warrant outstanding immediately prior to the closing of the Transaction will remain outstanding and be converted into a warrant to acquire McEwen shares based on the Exchange Ratio. Each Timberline stock option outstanding and in-the-money immediately prior to the closing of the Transaction will automatically vest and be converted into the right to receive McEwen shares at the Exchange Ratio less the exercise price per stock option; all other outstanding Timberline stock options will be cancelled.
https://www.mcewenmining.com/investor-relations/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/McEwen-Mining-Announces-Friendly-Acquisition-of-Timberline-Resources/default.aspx
................................
$MUX McEwen Mining Rolls in Timberline Resources
Lets take a quick glance of the property in this 2019 video
Timberline Resources advancing district-scale Gold and Copper Exploration and Development Projects
Mar 27, 2019
Timberline Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on gold and copper discoveries in north-central Nevada, USA
Timberline's district-scale Elder Creek-Paiute and Eureka properties are located within the prolific Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, one of Nevada’s world class mineral belts with active multi-million ounce gold, and copper-gold mines.
Elder Creek / Paiute Projects - Battle Mountain Mining District
- Copper-Molybdenite-Gold-Silver discovery
- Partnerships with Barrick Gold and McEwen Mining subsidiaries
- Follow-up offset drilling of discovery hole to target a strong geophysical anomaly
Eureka Gold Project, Eureka District
- Gold discovery in a 5 km drill-defined trend
- NI 43-101 gold resource of 508,000 oz (M&I), 141,000 oz (Inf); open in all directions
- Priority exploration of an adjacent, higher-grade, geophysically-defined gold zone
JD400
2 weeks ago
Gold price shatters new records as Mideast tensions add to bullish mix
Reuters | April 2, 2024 | 3:36 pm Intelligence Markets USA Gold
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Gold scaled yet another record peak on Tuesday as traders snapped up the safe haven asset amid growing Middle East tensions, largely ignoring a stronger dollar and tempered bets for US rate cuts.
Spot gold was up 0.8% at $2,268.44 per ounce by 2:07 p.m. EDT (1807 GMT), after hitting an all-time high of $2,276.89.
US gold futures settled 1.1% higher at $2,281.8.
“We’re seeing some safe-haven demand flowing into gold, which relates to the Israeli strikes on Iran’s embassy in Syria,” said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.
The latest leg up in gold prices is probably also associated with short covering from family offices and proprietary trading shops, Ghali added.
Iran vowed to take revenge on Israel for an airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.
Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen said an underlying bid from retail and central banks was being joined by momentum-following speculators who have extended their already elevated longs following gold’s break above $2,200.
The mix of bullish tailwinds has driven bullion nearly 10% higher so far this year.
“What makes the gold rally so unusual is that it is occurring despite significant traditional headwinds with the US dollar rising, Treasury yields rising, the likelihood of higher for longer US rates increasing,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.
The dollar jumped after Monday’s data showed US manufacturing grew for the first time in 1-1/2 years in March.
Traders pared bets of a June interest rate cut to 58% versus around 60% before the data, which under normal circumstances, would pressure zero-yield bullion.
But while the gold market remains in a “highly bullish mood”, it probably needs to consolidate amid a shift back to a more hawkish view of Federal Reserve policy, said Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader.
Silver rose 3.2% to $25.89 per ounce, platinum added 2.4% to $923.00 and palladium climbed 0.1% to $996.88.
(By Anjana Anil, Brijesh Patel and Polina Devitt; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Vijay Kishore)
https://www.mining.com/web/gold-shatters-new-records-as-mideast-tensions-add-to-bullish-mix/
The Muskrat down by the river says if we break $17 we will see $50 in two years and should we see 50 it will run to $95 two years after that .
That's the way these top-tier large deposits stocks run,
Then he went back to chewing on a cattail.
JD400
4 weeks ago
Gold hits fifth record high in March on Fed rate-cut view
By Sherin Elizabeth Varghese
March 21, 20243:49 AM MSTUpdated 19 min ago
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Summary
Gold hits all-time high of $2,222.39 per ounce
Dollar slips to 1-week low after Fed verdict
Fed stands pat on rates and view on 2024 cuts
March 21 (Reuters) - Gold prices on Thursday hit record highs for the fifth time this month after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it would press ahead with three rate cuts in 2024 despite elevated inflation.
Spot gold was up 1.1% at $2,209.65 per ounce at 1035 GMT after hitting an all-time high of $2,222.39 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures soared 2.4% to $2,212.40.
"The rally was started by yesterday's Federal Reserve comments, basically confirming their intention to eventually start cutting U.S. interest rates," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.
"The mood in the gold futures market is very bullish. So your hedge funds or any other short-term traders or trend followers are positioned for higher prices, and I think this is the segment that is in the driving seat while the physical gold market is rather soft."
Despite recent high inflation readings, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is still likely to reduce interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024, but that it also depends on further economic data.
Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 74% probability that the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, up from 60% before the rate decision, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
The dollar slipped to a one-week low against its rivals, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields also dipped.
Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making greenback-priced bullion more appealing for other currency holders.
Spot gold may retest resistance at $2,222 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain into the $2,228-$2,234 range, according to Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao.
Spot silver fell 0.4% to $25.51 per ounce, platinum rose 0.6% to $912.10 and palladium dropped 0.9% to $1,012.22.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-sprints-record-high-fed-sticks-2024-rate-cut-view-2024-03-21/
This post dedicated to JW@KSC
JD400
1 month ago
$MUX CU Copper prices soared on Wednesday to their highest in seven months
Copper price soars to 7-month high on China’s plans to cut output
Staff Writer | March 13, 2024 | 9:29 am Markets China Copper
with MMGYS Soundtrack
China copper smelters raise Q4 treatment charge floor ahead of miner talks
Copper prices soared on Wednesday to their highest in seven months after Chinese smelters, which process half of the world’s mined copper, agreed on a joint production cut.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) touched $8,799 a metric ton, the highest since Aug. 1, 2023. It last traded 1.6% up at $8,790 as at 1055 GMT.
Copper for delivery in May rose on the Comex market in New York, touching $4.06 per pound ($8,932 per tonne), up 3.3% compared to Tuesday’s closing.
The rise started on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), where copper reached a two-year high of 70,460 yuan ($9,796) per ton.
China’s biggest copper smelters met in Beijing on Wednesday, agreeing on a symbolic cut in loss-making production, without specifying volumes and timing.
“It’s a knee-jerk response to rush in. Interest spiked on SHFE right after the announcement of China’s production cut,” a trader said. “Who will admit they are the first to turn unprofitable?”
Shortages have led to intensifying competition for mined copper concentrates, causing a sharp fall in income for smelters to decade-low levels.
“But it’s important to note that there are around 1.7 million tons per year new ex-China smelter projects that are expected to come online in the second half, which will put more pressure on global concentrate supply,” said Brian Peng, a copper analyst of consultancy CRU.
More global copper smelters were not operating in the first two months of the year than in the same period last year, mainly because of Chinese inactivity, data from satellite surveillance of metal processing plants showed.
However, higher copper prices could further dampen demand in top consumer China, as can be seen in inventories.
Copper inventory in warehouses monitored by SHFE rose steeply to 239,245 tonnes as at March 8 from 30,905 tonnes in the beginning of the year.
Clarity on demand prospects could be provided by China’s loan data due this week, including total social financing numbers, a gauge of future metals consumption.
(With files from Reuters)
https://www.mining.com/copper-price-soars-to-7-month-high-on-chinese-plans-to-cut-output/
Copperline - James Taylor
Copperline was released on the 1991 album "New Moon Shine". During the late 1980s, he had began touring regularly, especially on the summer amphitheater circuit. His later concerts featured songs from throughout his career.
Taylor had thoughts of retiring by the time he played the massive Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro in January 1985. He was encouraged by the nascent democracy in Brazil at the time, buoyed by the positive reception he got from the large crowd and other musicians, and musically energized by the sounds and nature of Brazilian music. Lyrics follow:
Even the old folks never knew
Why they call it like they do
I was wondering since the age of two
Down on copperline
Copper head, copper beech
Copper kettles sitting side by each
Copper coil, cup o'georgia peach
Down on copperline
Half a mile down to morgan creek
Leaning heavy on the end of the week
Hercules and a hog-nosed snake
Down on copperline
We were down on copperline.
One summer night on the copperline
Slip away past supper time
Wood smoke and moonshine
Down on copperline
One time I saw my daddy dance
Watched him moving like a man in a trance
He brought it back from the war in france
Down onto copperline
Branch water and tomato wine
Creosote and turpentine
Sour mash and new moon shine
Down on copperline
Down on copperline.
First kiss ever I took
Like a page from a romance book
The sky opened and the earth shook
Down on copperline
Down on copperline
Took a fall from a windy height
I only knew how to hold on tight
And pray for love enough to last all night
Down on copperline
Day breaks and the boys wakes up
And the dog barks and the birds sings
And the sap rises and the angels sigh, yeah.
I tried to go back, as if I could
All spec house and plywood
Tore up and tore up good
Down on copperline
It doesn't come as a surprise to me
It doesn't touch my memory
Man I'm lifting up and rising free
Down on over copperline
Half a mile down to morgan creek
I'm only living for the end of the week
Hercules and a hog-nosed snake
Down on copperline, yeah
Take me down on copperline
Oh, down on copperline
Take me down on copperline.
JD400
2 months ago
$MUX hit the top 8th place on the junior miners network list.
MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY +CHANGE% LAST TRADE
Royal Gold 3.02 2.94 $105.65
Franco-Nevada 3.02 2.13 $145.11
Agnico Eagle Mines 2.19 3.36 $67.28
Cameco 1.91 3.47 $56.91
Sigma Lithium 1.71 12.03 $15.93
Contango ORE 1.32 7.80 $18.25
Endeavour Mining 1.32 5.92 $23.63
McEwen Mining 1.01 12.21 $9.28
Wheaton Precious Metals 1.00 1.79 $56.93
Torex Gold Resources 0.95 6.69 $15.15
Ero Copper 0.95 4.11 $24.07
NexGen Energy 0.91 9.51 $10.48
Piedmont Lithium 0.87 5.98 $15.43
Gold Fields 0.79 6.06 $13.83
Osisko Gold Royalties 0.73 3.68 $20.55
HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Uranium Energy 11,011,798 $6.95
B2Gold 5,717,650 $3.48
NexGen Energy 4,782,433 $10.48
Fission Uranium 4,126,731 $1.06
Calibre Mining 3,544,085 $1.63
Kinross Gold 3,275,852 $6.88
OceanaGold 2,978,863 $2.44
First Quantum Minerals 2,710,568 $12.90
Argonaut Gold 2,561,600 $0.24
Sigma Lithium 2,487,056 $15.93
Omai Gold Mines 2,260,256 $0.11
Euro Sun Mining 2,227,843 $0.07
New Gold 2,047,172 $1.82
Pelangio Exploration 2,039,000 $0.02
Guanajuato Silver 1,992,656 $0.16
Whelp I'm bout done on the old hub, don't think I'm doing anybody any good anymore
Feeling I'm knocking on heavens door
Have a good one everybody and Thanks
JD400
2 months ago
Whistlin Past The $MUX Geopolitical Graveyard
Milei's economic reforms stall in Argentina Congress
Argentine President Javier Milei was dealt a major setback in parliament Tuesday (February 6) when his deeply controversial deregulatory reform package was prevented from advancing and sent back for a rewrite, legislators said.
Latest $MUX Stock Update
McEwen drills 121.5 g/t over 0.4 metre at Stock gold mine
Staff Writer | February 28, 2024 | 8:04 am Exploration Canada Gold
The Stock East zone could be an early source of more ore for the Fox complex. Credit: McEwen Mining
McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) says gold resources are up 31% year-over-year at both the Stock West and Stock Main zones. The past-producing Stock mine is part of the company’s Fox complex near Timmins, Ontario.
The mineralization has been traced at depth. Geological interpretation suggests that there are two principal plunging structures, and drilling along these structures accounts to about half the 31% increases in resources. Both structures remain highly prospective for additional growth, said McEwen.
The Stock East zone is also emerging as a potential new source of near-term production. Here are the true width highlights of the recent assays:
Hole SEZ24-86: 121.5 g/t gold over 0.4 metre
Hole SEZ24-84: 6.5 g/t gold over 10.2 metres
Hole SEZ24-88: 4.5 g/t gold over 10.4 metres
Infill drilling at the Stock East zone has intersected mineable widths and grades. Drilling has also identified two plunge directions at Stock East.
McEwen says the location of the Stock East zone is strategic for several reasons. It lies close to the splay point of the Nighthawk Lake fault, and such splays are known to be good traps for gold mineralization. It is located only 700 metres east of the existing Fox mill, and because it is shallow it could be quickly and relatively inexpensive to develop.
The current drill program aims to upgrade most of the inferred mineralization to the indicated category and target the high-grade sections of the zone.
McEwen Mining produced 128,650 oz. of gold and 2.2 million oz. of silver in 2023, or 154,600 gold-equivalent ounces. The Fox complex was responsible for producing 44,450 gold-equivalent oz. or roughly 29% of the output.
https://www.mining.com/mcewen-drills-121-5-g-t-over-0-4-metre-at-stock-gold-mine/
Javier Milei to take on Argentina’s Economic Crisis
February 7, 2024 MJEInternational Economics
Written by Gabi Breuer
In late October, Argentina held presidential elections, crucial in determining how the country would handle its economic turmoil. Since the nineties, Argentina has struggled with such hardships: having substantial debts, falling into deep recession periods, and facing extraordinary inflation. This most recent election was critical to ensure Argentinians were put on the proper path to fix decades of poor economic decisions.
On November 19th, Argentina’s run-off election day, Javier Milei faced Sergio Massa after neither candidate received the necessary votes to win the first round. Milei won with 56% of the votes primarily due to his radical economic plan, which gave many Argentinians hope (Eliott, 2023). Even with the majority vote, people were anxious about the immediate ramifications their newly elected president would have on the peso. As of October 2023, inflation reached a 143% high, resulting in four in ten people living in poverty and the nation heading towards its sixth recession in a decade (Gillespie, 2023).
The morning after the election, Argentinians were most concerned with the “blue dollar” value. The blue dollar is a parallel rate to the dollar commonly used in backroom financial houses. Although the blue dollar is an unofficial exchange rate, news sites track the exchange in real-time due to its popularity. Starting his presidency with the blue dollar’s value increasing by 13%, Milei’s time in office began on a celebratory note (Biller, Politi, 2023). Compared to the bank-set price of 356 pesos to the dollar, the blue dollar exchange is almost triple that. The rate increase was an immediate positive sign for the newly elected president and possibly a beacon of hope that his economic plan could lead the country out of a recession.
Milei’s campaign was built upon perhaps the boldest plan any candidate has proposed in some time. The “Hail Mary” looks to dismantle the Argentine peso entirely and put into effect the US Dollar as the national currency. By dollarizing the economy, the national bank would set an exchange rate and buy back pesos.
Although the idea may seem far-fetched, it has been successfully implemented in Ecuador and Panama. It is important to highlight that both these countries have significantly smaller economies, whereas Argentina remains the third-largest economy in Latin America despite its economic difficulties (Gura, Martin, 2023). Argentina’s size will play a major part in the outcome of Milei’s plan as it faces the tedious process of buying back pesos from its 45 million citizens.
In addition to the nation’s size, Argentina faces a more significant problem. Likely, they do not have enough dollars to replace the peso, at least without causing an expansive currency shortage. Currently, the country owes the International Monetary Fund $44 billion and has $7.5 billion less than that in its reserves (Gura, Martin, 2023). It is improbable Argentina can find the funds to properly buy back all its pesos.
Even if the government did have the funds, Milei would need to convince over 45 million people to exchange their money in large quantities. This alone is an immense obstacle to face. With this being said, the Argentinian people feel a sense of safety with the US dollar, which could help ease the transition. Seeing that the peso loses value rapidly, Argentinians prefer to save money in American cash because of its reliability. As a result, 10% of all globally circulating US dollars are held in Argentina (Nica et al., 2023). This sense of safety helped Milei’s plan appeal to many and gain him their vote.
If Milei successfully dolarizes the economy, Argentina will lose autonomy over its currency and will depend entirely on the US for monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve would continue to make decisions based on what benefits the American economy, regardless of the impact on Argentina. Argentina would also lose its power to print money, an act done repeatedly over the last few decades in hopes of solving its crisis (Velde, Veracierto, 2023). Ultimately, money would be printed in the US.
Roughly two weeks after his election, Milei took the first step towards a new page in Argentine economics. The president appointed Luis Caputo as his economic minister. Caputo formerly served as the country’s finance minister and is known for his connections with Wall Street. Milei’s decision to appoint Caputo is a relatively calm choice compared to his alternatives. Previously, Milei had mentioned naming Emilio Ocampo, a strong supporter of dollarisation, but Ocampo backed out of the role (Nugent, 2023). Caputo’s appointment has many believing Milei will put aside his dollarization plan and focus on other issues first, like putting an immediate halt on printing excess money.
It is difficult to tell precisely what direction Milei will take in his first months as president, but it is clear that whatever decides, his attack must be aggressive. Javier Milei is set to take office officially on December 10th.
Works Cited
Biller, David, and Daniel Politi. “After the Dollar-Loving Milei Wins the Presidency, Argentines Anxiously Watch the Exchange Rate.” AP News, November 21, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/milei-argentina-dollar-peso-exchange-bb61f9e9a6108ba0ced63f89b2cfd431.
“Dollarization in Argentina.” Federal Reserve Cank of Chicago, 1999. https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/1999/june-142.
Elliott, Larry. “Would Javier Milei’s Dollar Plan for Argentina Be an Economic Experiment Too Far?” The Guardian, November 20, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/javier-milei-dollar-plan-argentina-economy.
Gillespie, Patrick. “Argentina Inflation Hits 143% in Final Release before Presidential Election.” Bloomberg.com, November 13, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-13/argentina-s-inflation-hits-143-in-final-release-before-election?embedded-checkout=true.
Martin, Michel, and David Gura. “Argentina’s President-Elect Javier Milei Has a Plan to Fight Inflation: Dollarization.” NPR, November 22, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/11/22/1214619380/argentinas-president-elect-javier-mile-has-a-plan-to-fight-inflation-dollarizati.
Nicas, Jack, Natalie Alcoba, and Lucía Cholakian Herrera. “In Country Where Houses Are Bought in $100 Bills, Plans for Sweeping Change.” The New York Times, November 24, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/world/americas/argentina-economy-peso-dollar-javier-milei.html#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20about%2010,to%20%243%2C100%20for%20every%20American.
Nugent, Ciara. Argentina’s Javier Milei names moderate ex-trader as economy minister, November 29, 2023. https://www.ft.com/content/330bd3fb-b418-458f-9b2b-31718b52f935.
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mje/2024/02/07/javier-milei-to-take-on-argentinas-economic-crisis/
...............................
with Mining & Metals GraveYard Shift Soundtrack
Tom Waits - Whistlin´ Past The Graveyard
Well I come in on a night train
With an arm full of box cars
On the wings of a magpie
Cross a hooligan night
And I busted up a chifforobe
Way out by the Cocomo
Cooked up a mess a mulligan
And got into a fight
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
You probably seen me sleepin'
Out by the railroad tracks
Go on and ask the prince of darkness
What about all that smoke
Come from the stack
Sometimes I kill myself a jacket
Suck out all the blood
Steal myself a station wagon
Drivin' through the mud
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
I know you seen my headlights
And the honkin' of my horn
I'm callin' out my bloodhounds
Chase the devil through the corn
Last night I chugged the Mississippi
Now that suckers dry as a bone
Born in a taxi cab
I'm never comin' home
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
My eyes have seen the glory
Of the draining of the ditch
I only come to baton rouge
To find myself a witch
I'm-ona snatch me up a
Couple of em every time it rains
You see a locomotive
Probably thinkin' its a train
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
What you think is the sunshine
Is just a twinkle in my eye
That ring around my fingers
Just the fourth of July
When I get a little bit lonesome
And a tear falls from my cheek
There's gonna be an ocean in
The middle of the week
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
I rode into town on a night train
With an arm full of box cars
On the wings of a magpie
Cross a hooligan night
I'm-ona tear me off a rainbow
And wear it for a tie
I never told the truth
So I can never tell a lie
Whistlin past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard
Papa one eyed jack
,,,,,,,,,
JD400
2 months ago
Counting The Numbers Down The Waterline MUX
$MUX Jump Financial LLC Sells 21,877 Shares of McEwen Mining Inc (NYSE:MUX)
Posted by AM Reporter Staff on Feb 17th, 2024
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Jump Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McEwen Mining Inc (NYSE:MUX – Free Report) (TSE:MUX) by 42.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,877 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of McEwen Mining worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUX. UBS Group AG increased its position in McEwen Mining by 37.3% during the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 83,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22,541 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of McEwen Mining by 968.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 5,393 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McEwen Mining in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of McEwen Mining by 47.1% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 38,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of McEwen Mining by 221.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.63% of the company’s stock.
other news
Feb 15, 2024 #Copper #Gold #Investing
Rob McEwen of McEwen Mining and Michael Meding of McEwen Copper discuss their respective companies and share their thoughts on gold and copper in the year ahead. For McEwen, the price trajectory for both metals is "higher."
He also spoke about the disconnect between the gold price and gold stocks, commenting, "I find this is time to be buying, and I have been buying juniors and adding to positions in companies. You just need to bear in mind it's cyclical, and when it wants to run there are some very attractive gains to be made — and the stocks are cheap right now."
This interview was filmed on February 8, 2024.
#Investing #Gold #Copper
0:00 - Intro
0:32 - Gold's main price drivers in 2024
2:33 - Gold juniors are cheap and set to run
4:07 - Javier Milei and Argentina mining
8:26 - Raising $100 million for Los Azules
11:08 - Will McEwen Copper do an IPO?
13:08 - Copper outlook, 2024 and beyond
16:43 - McEwen Mining meets guidance
20:26 - Now is the time to be contrarian
21:29 - Outro
JD400
3 months ago
$MUX Rob McEwen seeks $100 million for Argentina copper mine as Milei boosts prospects
Bloomberg News | January 30, 2024 | 10:19 am Top Companies Latin America Copper
McEwen lines up copper partner as surging prices spur interest
Canadian entrepreneur Rob McEwen is in talks to raise about $100 million for a copper project in Argentina, at a time when miners are betting that deregulation by the new government of Javier Milei will boost prospects for the industry.
His closely-held firm, McEwen Copper Inc., is speaking with existing holders — which include automaker Stellantis NV and a Rio Tinto Group venture — as well as prospective new investors, he said in an interview. The idea is to secure fresh funds within six months for feasibility and engineering work. Longer-term options include partnering with a major mining company.
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“We’re socializing the concept,” McEwen said Monday. “Just getting in front of a lot of people who finance large projects, not only for our immediate needs but for the longer term.”
The industry veteran who founded Goldcorp Inc. is hoping President Milei’s efforts to free up Argentina’s tightly controlled economy will help unlock vast copper deposits in San Juan province. That’s where McEwen wants to build the $2.5 billion Los Azules mine that would start up toward the end of the decade, when demand for the wiring metal is expected to accelerate in the shift away from fossil fuels.
Milei, a libertarian who took office on Dec. 10, wants to cut red tape as well as do away with customs and capital restrictions. If he can win over congressional opposition, such changes would reduce risks for investors, who remain optimistic yet cautious, McEwen said. The challenge for Milei is to move swiftly because metal markets are cyclical and financing windows can shut quickly, he said.
Los Azules isn’t waiting around for change. It already has 21 drill rigs on site, and it’s working on a renewable-energy supply deal from YPF Luz and a leaching method that would help it to be carbon neutral. It hopes to obtain an environmental permit this year, have a feasibility study ready in early 2025 and do pre-construction work from 2026, Michael Meding, who heads McEwen Copper, said in the same interview.
McEwen’s copper unit had planned to go public, but it’s now focusing on raising money privately since market conditions aren’t ripe for an IPO, McEwen said. He and Meding recognized that the investment climate for mining generally is tough, but said that tax incentives proposed for large Argentine infrastructure projects in Milei’s signature legislation could help lure partners.
“We think that we would classify as a large-scale infrastructure project and that would generate additional taxation stability,” Meding said. “And that would be very helpful in future financing discussions with the international community.”
(By James Attwood and Jonathan Gilbert)
https://www.mining.com/web/rob-mcewen-seeks-100-million-for-argentina-copper-mine-as-milei-boosts-prospects/
JD400
4 months ago
2023 Mining World was pulled in all directions [
The biggest global mining news of 2023
with MMGYS Soundtrack
by Frik Els | December 27, 2023 | 10:01 am Battery Metals Energy Markets Suppliers & Equipment Aluminum Bauxite Boron Chrome Coal Cobalt Copper Diamond Gold Graphite Iron Ore Lead Lithium Manganese Molybdenum Nickel Oil & Gas Palladium Platinum Potash Rare Earth Rhodium Silver Specialty Minerals Tin Uranium Vanadium Zinc
The mining world was pulled in all directions in 2023: the collapse of lithium prices, furious M&A activity, a bad year for cobalt and nickel, Chinese critical mineral moves, gold’s new record, and state intervention in mining on a scale not seen in decades. Here’s a roundup of some the biggest stories in mining in 2023.
A year where the gold price sets an all-time record should be unalloyed good news for the mining and exploration industry, which despite all the buzz surrounding battery metals and the energy transition still represents the backbone of the junior market.
Metal and mineral markets are volatile at the best of times – the nickel, cobalt and lithium price collapse in 2023 was extreme but not entirely unprecedented. Rare earth producers, platinum group metal watchers, iron ore followers, and gold and silver bugs for that matter, have been through worse.
Mining companies have become better at navigating choppy waters, but the forced closure of one of the biggest copper mines to come into production in recent decades served as a stark reminder of the outsized risks miners face over and above market swings.
Panama shuts down giant copper mine
After months of protests and political pressure, at the end of November the Panama government ordered the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama mine following a ruling by the Supreme Court that declared the mining contract for the operation unconstitutional.
Public figures including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Hollywood actor Leonardo Di Caprio backed the protests and shared a video calling for the “mega mine” to cease operations, which quickly went viral.
FQM’s latest statement on Friday said Panama’s government hasn’t provided a legal basis to the Vancouver-based company for pursuing the closure plan, a plan that the industries ministry of the central American nation said will only be presented in June next year.
FQM has filed two notices of arbitration over the closure of the mine, which has not been operating since protesters blocked access to its shipping port in October. However, arbitration would not be the company’s preferred outcome, said CEO Tristan Pascall.
In the aftermath of the unrest, FQM has said it should have better communicated the value of the $10 billion mine to the wider public, and will now spend more time engaging with Panamanians ahead of a national election next year. FQM shares have bounced in the past week, but is still trading more than 50% below the high hit during July this year.
Projected copper deficit evaporates
Cobre Panama’s shutdown and unexpected operational disruptions forcing copper mining companies to slash output has seen the sudden removal of around 600,000 tons of expected supply would, moving the market from a large expected surplus into balance, or even a deficit.
The next couple of years were supposed to be a time of plenty for copper, thanks to a series of big new projects starting up around the world.
The expectation across most of the industry was for a comfortable surplus before the market tightens again later this decade when surging demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure is expected to collide with a lack of new mines.
Instead, the mining industry has highlighted how vulnerable supply can be — whether due to political and social opposition, the difficulty of developing new operations, or simply the day-to-day challenge of pulling rocks up from deep beneath the earth.
Lithium price routed on supply surge
The price of lithium was decimated in 2023, but predictions for next year are far from rosy. Lithium demand from electric vehicles is still growing rapidly, but the supply response has overwhelmed the market.
Global lithium supply, meanwhile, will jump by 40% in 2024, UBS said earlier this month, to more than 1.4 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent.
Output in top producers Australia and Latin America will rise 22% and 29% respectively, while that in Africa is expected to double, driven by projects in Zimbabwe, the bank said.
Chinese production will also jump 40% in the next two years, said UBS, driven by a major CATL project in southern Jiangxi province.
The investment bank expects Chinese lithium carbonate prices could fall by more than 30% next year, dipping as low as 80,000 yuan ($14,800) per tonne in 2024, averaging at around 100,000 yuan, equivalent to production costs in Jiangxi, China’s biggest producing region of the chemical.
Lithium assets still in high demand
In October, Albemarle Corp. walked away from its $4.2 billion takeover of Liontown Resources Ltd., after Australia’s richest woman built up a blocking minority and effectively scuppered one of the largest battery-metals deals to date.
Eager to add new supply, Albemarle had pursued its Perth-based target for months, eying its Kathleen Valley project — one of Australia’s most promising deposits. Liontown agreed to the US company’s “best and final” offer of A$3 a share in September — a near 100% premium to the price before Albemarle’s takeover interest was made public in March.
Albemarle had to contend with the arrival of combative mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, as her Hancock Prospecting steadily built up a 19.9% stake in Liontown. Last week, she became the single largest investor, with enough clout to potentially block a shareholder vote on the deal.
In December, SQM teamed up with Hancock Prospecting to make a sweetened A$1.7 billion ($1.14 billion) bid for Australian lithium developer Azure Minerals, the three parties said on Tuesday.
The deal would give the world’s no.2 lithium producer SQM a foothold in Australia with a stake in Azure’s Andover project and a partnership with Hancock, which has rail infrastructure and local experience in developing mines.
Chile, Mexico take control of lithium
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric announced in April that his government would bring the country’s lithium industry under state control, applying a model in which the state will partner with companies to enable local development.
The long-awaited policy in the world’s second-largest producer of the battery metal includes the creation of a national lithium company, Boric said on national television.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in September said the country’s lithium concessions are being reviewed, after China’s Ganfeng last month indicated that its Mexican lithium concessions were being cancelled.
López Obrador formally nationalized Mexico’s lithium reserves earlier this year and in August, Ganfeng said Mexico’s mining authorities had issued a notice to its local subsidiaries indicating nine of its concessions had been terminated.
Gold to build on record-setting year
The New York futures price of gold set an all-time high at the beginning of December and looks set to surpass the peak going into the new year.
London’s gold price benchmark hit an all-time high of $2,069.40 per troy ounce at an afternoon auction on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of $2,067.15 set in August 2020, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) said.
“I can think of no clearer demonstration of gold’s role as a store of value than the enthusiasm with which investors across the world have turned to the metal during the recent economic and geopolitical turmoils,” said LMBA’s chief executive officer Ruth Crowell.
JPMorgan predicted a new record back in July but expected the new high to occur in the second quarter of 2024. The basis of JPMorgan’s optimism for 2024 – falling US interest rates – remains intact:
“The bank has an average price target of $2,175 an ounce for bullion in the final quarter of 2024, with risks skewed to the upside on a forecast for a mild US recession that’s likely to hit sometime before the Fed starts easing.”
Even as gold climbed new peaks, exploration spending on the precious metal dipped. A study published in November overall mining exploration budgets fell this year for the first time since 2020, dropping 3% to $12.8 billion at the 2,235 companies that allocated funds to find or expand deposits.
Despite the sparkling gold price, gold exploration budgets, which historically have been driven more by the junior mining sector than any other metal or mineral, dropped by 16% or $1.1 billion year-on-year to just under $6 billion, representing 46% of the global total.
That’s down from 54% in 2022 amid higher spending on lithium, nickel and other battery metals, a surge in spending on uranium and rare earths and an uptick for copper.
Mining’s year of M&A, spin-offs, IPOs, and SPAC deals
In December, speculation about Anglo American (LON: AAL) becoming the target of a takeover by a rival or a private equity firm mounted, as weakness in the shares of the diversified miner persisted.
If Anglo American doesn’t turn operations around and its share price continues to lag, Jefferies analysts say they can’t “rule out the possibility that Anglo is involved in the broader trend of industry consolidation,” according to their research note.
In October, Newcrest Mining shareholders voted strongly in favour of accepting the roughly $17 billion buyout bid from global gold mining giant Newmont Corporation.
Newmont (NYSE: NEM) plans to raise $2 billion in cash through mine sales and project divestments following the acquisition. The acquisition brings the company’s value to around $50 billion and adds five active mines and two advanced projects to Newmont’s portfolio.
Breakups and spin-offs were also a big part of 2023 corporate developments.
After being rebuffed several times in its bid to buy all of Teck Resources, Glencore and its Japanese partner are in a better position to bring the $9 billion bid for the diversified Canadian miner’s coal unit to a close. Glencore CEO Gary Nagle’s initial bid for the entire company faced stiff opposition from Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government and from the premier of British Columbia, where the company is based.
Vale (NYSE: VALE) is not seeking new partners for its base metals unit following a recent equity sale, but could consider an IPO for the unit within three or four years, CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said in October.
Vale recruited former Anglo American Plc boss Mark Cutifani in April to lead an independent board to oversee the $26-billion copper and nickel unit created in July when the Brazilian parent company sold 10% to Saudi fund Manara Minerals.
Shares in Indonesian copper and gold miner, PT Amman Mineral Internasional, have surged more than fourfold since listing in July and are set to keep rising after its inclusion in major emerging market indexes in November.
Amman Mineral’s $715 million IPO was the largest in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy this year and counted on strong demand by global and domestic funds.
Not all dealmaking went smoothly this year.
Announced in June, a $1 billion metals deal by blank-cheque fund ACG Acquisition Co to acquire a Brazilian nickel and and a copper-gold mine from Appian Capital, was terminated in September.
The deal was backed by Glencore, Chrysler parent Stellantis and Volkswagen’s battery unit PowerCo through an equity investment, but as nickel prices slumped there was a lack of interest from minority investors at the stage of the $300 million equity offering which ACG planned as part of the deal.
Talks in 2022 to acquire the mines also fell through after bidder Sibanye-Stillwater pulled out. That transaction is now the subject of legal proceedings after Appian filed a $1.2 billion claim against the South African miner.
Nickel nosedive
In April, Indonesia’s PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, better known as Harita Nickel, raised 10 trillion rupiah ($672 million) in what was then Indonesia’s largest initial public offering of the year.
Harita Nickel’s IPO quickly turned sour for investors, however, as prices for the metal entered a steady and long decline. Nickel is the worst performer among the base metals, nearly halving in value after starting 2023 trading above $30,000 a tonne.
Next year is not looking great for the devil’s copper either with top producer Nornickel predicting a widening surplus due to lacklustre demand from electric vehicles and a ramp-up in supply from Indonesia, which also comes with a thick layer of cobalt:
“…due to the continuing destocking cycle in the EV supply chain, a greater share of non-nickel LFP batteries, and a partial shift from BEV to PHEV sales in China. Meanwhile, the launch of new Indonesian nickel capacities continued at a high pace.”
Palladium also had a rough year, down by more than a third in 2023 despite a late charge from multi-year lows hit at the start of December. Palladium was last trading at $1,150 an ounce.
China flexes its critical mineral muscle
In July China announced it will clamp down on exports of two obscure yet crucial metals in an escalation of the trade war on technology with the US and Europe.
Beijing said exporters will need to apply for licenses from the commerce ministry if they want to start or continue to ship gallium and germanium out of the country and will be required to report details of the overseas buyers and their applications.
China is overwhelmingly the top source of both metals — accounting for 94% of gallium supply and 83% of germanium, according to a European Union study on critical raw materials this year. The two metals have a vast array of specialist uses across chipmaking, communications equipment and defence.
In October, China said it would require export permits for some graphite products to protect national security. China is the world’s top graphite producer and exporter. It also refines more than 90% of the world’s graphite into the material that is used in virtually all EV battery anodes, which is the negatively charged portion of a battery.
US miners said China’s move underscores the need for Washington to ease its own permit review process. Nearly one-third of the graphite consumed in the United States comes from China, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents auto supply chain companies.
In December, Beijing banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets on Thursday, adding it to a ban already in place on technology to extract and separate the critical materials.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for use in electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics.
While Western countries are trying to launch their own rare earth processing operations, the ban is expected to have the biggest impact on so-called “heavy rare earths,” used in electric vehicle motors, medical devices and weaponry, where China has a virtual monopoly on refining.
https://www.mining.com/the-biggest-global-mining-news-of-2023/
JD400
4 months ago
What’s bleeding the junior market dry: Predatory short-selling.
Can beaten-up junior miners fight illegal short-selling?
with MMGYS Soundtrack
Alisha Hiyate | December 22, 2023 | 7:33 am Careers Education Markets Canada
Terry Lynch began to notice unusual price movements in Power Nickel (TSXV: PNPN; US-OTC: PNPNF)’s stock (then called Chilean Metals) years ago.
The shares consistently traded down at the end of the day, regardless of news, with late day trades often made anonymously.
Now the stock is stuck in a range of C25¢ to C30¢ — despite a recently released initial nickel-sulphide resource for the company’s optioned Nisk project in Quebec, and a staged deal with battery and defence supplier CVMR to fund engineering studies.
It’s not unusual for a junior mining CEO to be unhappy with his share price, but Lynch says Power Nickel isn’t alone and something is amiss in the junior sector. The disconnect between the commodity markets and the junior mining-heavy TSX Venture Index, which is at an all-time low, has reached its widest point.
“When I first started talking about this, people thought, Terry, you should have a tinfoil hat on your head. They thought I was a crazy conspiracy theorist,” he told The Northern Miner in early December. “But you know what? I got proof. Man, this is really happening and I’m not the only one that sees it.”
In search of answers to the sector’s woes, he formed the Save Canadian Mining group in 2019, recruiting big names like Eric Sprott, Rob McEwen and Sean Roosen as supporters. Now, he can point to exactly what’s bleeding the junior market dry: Predatory short-selling.
“We’re in a market where the governments, to their credit, federally and provincially, have put out some amazing incentives for miners to actually get out there and explore and develop mines,” he said. “So really, we should be in our glory years and we’re instead about to go extinct.”
Short selling is a legal way for traders to profit from a falling stock price. Traders sell borrowed shares in the hope of buying them on the market at a lower price. It serves an important function in helping the market discover the true value of a company’s shares and has even helped uncover frauds like Enron. But it can also be done illegally, if traders don’t “cover” their position — meaning the trader is selling shares they haven’t borrowed, located, or confirmed are available for them to buy.
Lynch and others say “naked” shorting is a widespread and destructive problem in the junior mining sector. Last week he filed a formal complaint with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) in the United States asking them to act on illegal short selling and restore investor confidence in the market.
‘Neverending bear market’
Any sector with declining values will attract short selling, which plays an important role in ensuring overvalued stocks don’t stay that way.
But veteran junior mining investors say that the removal of the “tick test” restrictions on short selling in 2012 have unleashed algorithmic trading programs onto the market that prey on both companies and retail investors. The “tick test” or uptick rule only allowed short sales at a price that was higher than the last sales price of a security.
Often this activity happens in the shadows, in places only institutions like banks and their clients can access, said long-time junior mining analyst John Kaiser of Kaiser Research Online.
“Banks and professional traders are selling stock they don’t even have a means to borrow,” he said in December. “With no downtick rule to get in the way, they just lean into the bid and then everybody’s who’s been a ‘long,’ they get this feeling of despair and they sell.”
Kaiser said these traders take advantage of the share volume rise that happens when companies release news, depressing any rallies.
Any new investors are left with nothing but buyers’ regret — and juniors are stuck in a “neverending” bear market.
Kaiser said a lot of this trading must be predatory because junior mining stock is not easy to borrow.
“None of it’s high enough to be marginable and margin accounts probably don’t own this sort of stuff,” he said. And large shareholders aren’t likely to make stock available to short-sellers.
“Properly covered short selling, if that was enforced, would not be that big a problem.”
Meanwhile, junior mining CEOs, many of whom are geologists with a distaste for or lack of knowledge of the capital markets, have proven hapless and helpless.
John Feneck, an Arizona-based technical analyst and consultant who helps mining companies raise their profiles, said many CEOs believe they can let their drill results speak for themselves. But that hasn’t been the case for the last couple of years.
“Our sector is really thinly traded,” he explained in a phone interview in early December. “Certain stocks are susceptible to larger moves based on their daily trading volume – many trade less than 100,000 shares a day.”
Feneck said better disclosure could help market transparency. He notes that in the U.S., FINRA requires short-selling information to be reported only twice a month. The long gap allows for potentially deceptive activities to take place.
“It’s whatever happens between those reports that’s frustrating people,” he said.
What are the regulators doing?
Regulators have looked at the issue of naked short-selling many times over the past decade. But they’ve found scant evidence that there’s a widespread problem.
In August 2022, CIRO predecessor IIROC did clarify that naked short selling is in fact illegal in Canada. Guidance issued at the time stated that entering into a short order without “reasonable expectation” the trader will be able to access enough securities to settle it within two trading days is prohibited, and considered manipulative and deceptive behaviour.
CIRO’s latest review concluded in November without recommending any regulatory changes.
But it does expect to publish new proposals outlining how it can further “clarify and support” the reasonable expectation requirement in early 2024.
Finally, CIRO and the Canadian Securities Administrators are forming a working group early in the year to study short selling in Canada, including an analysis of stronger requirements to settle trades when they’re due. It will also look more closely at suggestions raised in the previous consultation, including the imposition of “pre-borrow” requirements before a short sale can be entered, and whether short selling of junior stocks should be treated differently. In a response to emailed questions, a CIRO spokesperson confirmed there would also be discussion around suggestions it received to bring back the tick test.
Investor protection momentum
In early 2023, several small-cap companies in the U.S. announced plans to take legal action against short-sellers targeting their stocks.
In November, South Korea placed a temporary ban on short selling until next June. The move was supported by the country’s powerful lobby of retail investors, who believe big banks are suppressing share values through short selling. Over a quarter of the nation’s population invest in the stock market.
And in September, a judge in the Harrington Global Opportunity Fund market manipulation case against CIBC and big banks in the U.S. denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. In her decision, she found that banks and brokerage firms can be held liable for their clients’ illegal trading, if they fail to provide proper oversight.
Banks have previously argued that they’re not responsible for clients’ illegal trading.
Lynch is encouraged by the momentum.
During an “emergency” Save Canadian Mining virtual event in late November, Sprott exhorted junior executives to take action to protect their share prices. “CEOs must realize almost everyone’s working against you,” he said. “If the price sucks, why don’t you wake up and do something about it!”
While Lynch doesn’t want to take the banks to court, he wants to let them know industry is willing to go that far.
“Nobody wants to really fight them, but we need to show them, hey, we’ve got the evidence,” he said. “The banks and the regulators, once they decide they want to do something, they can move very swiftly. They can change all these rules overnight.”
That could usher in the biggest mining boom in human history, he posited.
To the banks, he offers this message:
“The money on the shorting side of this business is almost done. You’ve almost killed us. You need to invest in the long side, and then everyone’s gonna make out like crazy.”
https://www.mining.com/can-beaten-up-junior-miners-fight-illegal-short-selling/
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