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David Fuller and Eoin Treacy's Comment of the Day
Category - Precious Metals / Commodities

Crackdown Deepens as Russian Troops Arrive

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Kazakhstan’s top uranium miner, Kazatomprom, said supplies of the radioactive metal used for nuclear fuel haven’t been disrupted by the unrest and work at all company units has continued. Kazakhstan produces more than 40% of the world’s uranium; prices for the metal jumped.

“We are fulfilling all our obligations easily, there are no problems with uranium shipments and we will meet all delivery deadlines,” Kazatomprom Chief Commercial Officer Askar Batyrbayev said in a phone interview.

Russian Foreign Ministry Says Unrest ‘Inspired From Outside’ (1:51 p.m.)
The unrest in Kazakhstan is “an attempt inspired from outside to violently undermine the security and integrity of the state with the use of organized and trained armed units,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday in a statement.

The ministry didn’t offer further details on who was meant by outside forces. A senior Russian legislator, Konstantin Kosachyov, blamed terrorist groups from Afghanistan and the Middle East, without providing evidence.



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Byron Wien and Joe Zidle Announce the Ten Surprises of 2022

Here is a link to this year’s 10 potential surprises from Blackstone. Here is a section:

6.The price of gold rallies by 20% to a new record high. Despite strong growth in the US, investors seek the perceived safety and inflation hedge of gold amidst rising prices and volatility. Gold reclaims its title as a haven for newly minted billionaires, even as cryptocurrencies continue to gain market share.

7.While the major oil-producing countries conclude that high oil prices are speeding up the implementation of alternative energy programs and allowing US shale producers to become profitable again, these countries can’t increase production enough to meet demand. The price of West Texas crude confounds forward curves and analyst forecasts when it rises above $100 per barrel.



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Unloved and Uninteresting, Gold Heads for Worst Year Since 2015

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One key factor has been a lack of interest from financial investors, who are crucial to driving gold’s rallies. Holdings in exchange-traded funds have dropped almost 9% through the year, while hedge funds trading Comex futures have kept their bullion bets muted.
 
While the prospect of monetary tightening hurt gold’s appeal, prices were supported by strong demand from Asian jewelry consumers and central bank buying.

The opposing drivers have left bullion hovering almost magnetically around the $1,800-an-ounce mark. While that’s a historically high price, it will be disappointing to those who enjoyed the surge to a record in 2020.

However, the equilibrium between dip buyers and sellers may not hold for long. More gains in the dollar could spell misery. On the other hand, signs of persistent, runaway inflation could finally provide the spark needed for a sustainable gold rally.
 
BlackRock Inc.’s Evy Hambro said earlier this month that gold could climb in 2022, driven by a combination of real interest rates, U.S. dollar performance and demand for haven assets. However, analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. see gold coming under more pressure as the global economic recovery continues, forecasting an average price of $1,520 an ounce in the fourth quarter.
 
On the last day of 2021, gold edged up 0.3% to $1,820 an ounce by 1:04 p.m. in London. Silver also gained, while platinum and palladium declined. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index weakened.



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China merges 3 rare earths miners to strengthen dominance of sector

Thanks to a subscriber for this article from the Financial Times which may be of interest. Here is a section:

The move is the latest step by Beijing to consolidate an industry often buffeted by wild price swings that cause headaches for end users. The merger will reduce competitive pressure in the industry by shrinking the number of Chinese rare earths producers from six to four.

The Chinese government has used the same strategy in other industries, including rail transport and shipping lines, to prevent rival groups from undercutting each other when bidding for lucrative overseas contracts.

“We can’t let market force determine how much rare earths should cost given their strategic importance,” said one person close to Ganzhou Rare Earth who asked not to be identified. “We need to keep prices stable so end users could control costs and move up the value chain.”

The Chinese government also wants to strengthen the industry as the US and other large importers of rare earths mined or refined in China seek to develop alternative supply sources, such as large mines in California and Australia.

Daan de Jonge of consultants CRU Group said the merger would see the pricing power of key rare earths, such as dysprosium and terbium, consolidated in the hands of one “super group”.
“Given that the majority of rare earths investment outside of China has centred on light rare earths, it is likely that prices and access for the historically volatile heavy rare earths will be de facto controlled by this group until new capacity can come online, which may take several years,” he said.



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Email of the day on the tin supply deficit

You have mentioned Afritin Mining as a tin miner to watch. Michael Rawlinson is new board member and believes it could become a billion $ company.

AfriTin NED - Michael Rawlinson Introduction - YouTube

Michael Rawlinson's CV in mining is impressive

Michael Rawlinson has over 25 years experience in mining finance as research analyst, corporate financier, investor and non executive Director. He as the Global Co-Head of Mining and Metals at Barclays investment bank between 2013 and 2017 having joined from the boutique investment bank, Liberum Capital, a business he helped found in 2007. Prior to that he was a Partner at Cazenove and MD at JP Morgan Cazenove.

He is currently Chairman of Balkan mining development company Adriatic Metals plc, a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at precious metals producer Hochschild Mining and Independent Non-Executive Director at African mining services provider Capital Limited.

I am no expert but this looks like a large flag forming since April and we have now reached the apex of the triangle on the FM weekly chart.



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Stocks Under Pressure as Megacap Tech Sells Off

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A rout in some of the world’s biggest technology companies dragged down the broader equity market, outweighing gains in companies that stand to benefit the most from an economic rebound.

The S&P 500 fell after earlier climbing on bets that central banks can move toward tighter policies to fight inflation without derailing the economy. The Nasdaq 100 tumbled, led by losses in giants like Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. Commodity, financial and industrial shares rose. European equities jumped as the region’s policy makers unveiled a gradual pullback of pandemic stimulus, while the pound gained as the Bank of England unexpectedly raised rates. Bitcoin slumped.

Central banks are weighing measures to fight price pressures while balancing risks to growth amid coronavirus challenges. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde unveiled forecasts showing a strong economic rebound along with an outlook for faster inflation. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it will accelerate the pace at which it tapers bond purchases, and projected rate hikes through 2024.



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Copper Jumps as Miner to Halt Output in Peru Amid Protests

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It’s the second Peruvian mine to suspend production this week after Nexa Resources SA halted Cerro Lindo, although Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez said Wednesday that police had dispersed protesters at that zinc operation. 

And

A prolonged shutdown at a mine that before the pandemic accounted for almost 2% of the world’s mined copper would further tighten global supplies that have been hit with shipping snarls and low warehouse inventories. Las Bambas has 60,770 tons of copper stranded on site. 

 



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European Gas, Power Surge to Record on Russia-Ukraine Tension

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European gas and power prices closed at a record high as heightened tension between Russia and Ukraine threatened to further crimp supply, increasing the risk the energy crunch will persist into next winter.

The West is hardening its stance against Russia. New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he will “do everything” to prevent Russia from using the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline to cripple flows through Ukraine, while Belarus’s leader reiterated threats to halt supplies if the West presses on with sanctions in a dispute over migrants. 

The risks for Europe are mounting with gas stockpiles dropping to record lows for this time of the year and no end to the crisis in sight. Inventories are only 63% full, a level more typical for mid-January, which leaves little in reserve in case of colder weather in the coming months. If stocks fall too low, it’ll be harder to refill them in time for next winter.



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Global Shortage of Fertilizers Sends Demand for Dung Soaring

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“The arable area still requires significant tonnage of synthetic fertilizer, but this is reduced by the use of manures,” Butler said. Since the animal waste from his farm is not enough, he has been buying biosolids from utility Thames Water, which produces over 750,000 meters squared of sludge each year for farmers across Britain’s southeast. 

However, Butler said that it’s increasingly difficult to source human excrement as “there is more demand than supply for biosolid materials.”

In the U.S., biosolids are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, and in Europe, biosolids have been in use since 1986 when it received regulatory approval from the European Union. 

While manure is an inexpensive alternative to pricey synthetic fertilizers, it is a “poor replacement for those accustomed to traditional fertilizer products,” said Alexis Maxwell, an analyst at Bloomberg’s Green Markets. For example, the fertilizer diammonium phosphate has six times the nitrogen and 15 times the phosphate as manure on a per ton basis.



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Trafigura Co-Founder Moves From Oil to Lumber for Skyscrapers

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While the idea of mass timber has been kicking around for years, increasing pressure on developers to reduce their carbon footprint may finally help propel the market. The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that demand for cross-laminated timber, one of the most widely used mass timber products, will grow more than 13% a year through the mid-2020s. By 2025, mass timber is expected to account for about $1.4 billion of the $14 trillion global construction industry.

Norway boasts the world’s tallest wood building at 18 stories, soon to be displaced by a 25-story mass-timber tower in Milwaukee next year. Vienna has built an entire district out of the stuff. In the U.S., the number of mass-timber buildings completed or under construction soared more than seven-fold in just three years to 576 at the end of September. Another 665 are in the design phase, according to data compiled by the Softwood Lumber Board.

Not everyone is sold on mass timber. There are concerns about its resistance to moisture and fire. And critics say its environmental benefits are overstated due to the carbon that’s released from the decay of branches and tree tops left in the forest after the wood is cut, and also through the burning of waste products like sawdust. That carbon footprint swells even more when considering wood’s shorter lifespan and greater vulnerability to natural disasters than concrete buildings, said Beverly Law, a carbon-cycle scientist and emeritus professor at Oregon State University.

“The reason you might see it catching on more is because it’s being marketed heavily by the timber industry in the U.S.,” Law said.



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