To put things in perspective, the TSXV is now up by 9.42% year to date, while the major indices continue to struggle. Year-to-date performance stands at: TSX -0.43%, Dow Jones Industrial Average -5.74%, S&P 500 -7.09%, and the NASDAQ -12.33%. This divergence underscores how renewed interest in junior gold explorers and critical minerals has helped fuel a rally on Canada’s junior board.

These rare moments when the juniors outshine the majors are worth noting. Often, it’s the result of an exciting new discovery, a strategic acquisition, or a commodity price spike. This time, gold’s breakout above US$3,400 appears to be the spark. Add to that rising volume, sector-specific M&A activity, and retail capital returning to the TSXV, and we have the makings of a real rally.

Gold bullion set a new all-time closing high early in the week at US$3,423 a troy ounce before pulling back to finish at US$3,308. Still, the precious metal remains historically elevated, and my inflation-adjusted calculations (assisted by AI tools like Gemini) confirm that we’re in record territory, surpassing the 1980 high of US$850, which would equate to a range of US$3,420-US$3,800 today.

The rally helped propel Franco-Nevada Corp. ΓÇÿFNV-T & N’ to a new all-time high of $239.73 and lifted Imperial Metals Corp. ΓÇÿIII-T’ to a 3-year high of $3.50.

Notable moves included:

• Lumina Gold Corp. (LUM-V) soared 28.89% to $1.16 following a $581-million all-cash takeover bid by Singapore’s CMOC Group.
• NOVAGOLD Resources Inc. (NG-T & N.A) jumped 39.21% to $6.00 after agreeing to acquire Barrick Gold’s 50% interest in the Donlin Gold Project, increasing its stake to 60%.
• Sitka Gold Corp. (SIG-V) reported a significant intercept of 352.8 metres of 1.55 g/t Au at its RC Gold Project in the Yukon.

In critical minerals, Hecla Mining Co. (HL-N) and Standard Lithium Ltd. (SLI-V & N.A) received recognition under the U.S. Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production Act, providing renewed investor confidence in North American supply chains.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count showed modest movement:

• U.S. rigs: up 2 to 587 (down 26 YoY)
• Canadian rigs: down 6 to 128 (up 10 YoY)

Commodity Performance (Weekly)

Index Performance (Weekly)

Currency & FX

We may be witnessing the early stages of a significant shift in capital flows. While the majors continue to grind through macro pressures and rate volatility, junior investors are gravitating toward gold and critical mineral stories. This environment – rising commodity prices, renewed exploration activity, and government incentives – could be a turning point for the TSXV.

Caution is warranted, as always. The gold market remains sensitive to rate expectations and inflation surprises. But for now, the dance continues.

By Rod Blake

As the major North American equity market focused brokers, investors, traders and portfolio managers collectively licked their wounds ahead of the new trading week – one group off by themselves seem to strangely upbeat. On closer look – these cheerful players were the mostly unnoticed few who were mainly exposed to the junior markets and in particularly – the TSX Venture Exchange ΓÇÿTSXV’. Going into the last full trading week of April – The major North American markets are all down on the year – TSX -2.25%, Dow 30 -8.00%, S&P 500 -10.18%, and NASDAQ -15.66%. Now compare this to the wallflower Venture Exchange if up by 6.02% year to date and one can see why junior investors are smiling.

The way I see it – There are very few times that the junior Venture Exchange outperforms its much larger cousins. It is usually when the market is focused on a new mineral discovery such as Hemlo in Ontario, or diamonds in Canada’s arctic, or when the price of one or more commodities reaches record heights that attracts investor attention to the junior board. The current all-time high price of gold bullion above US$3,300 seems to be a catalyst for most of this investor attention. Venture trading volumes that are now consistently bumping up against 40-million shares traded a day as opposed to just over 20-million a day traded last summer. While the Venture itself is up on the year – the new 52-week trading highs are mostly gold stocks. Being the only issue of focus in a bull market can be a good thing if it keeps going but can be very bad when it turns. Think of the great run the Magnificent Seven tech stocks had earlier this year and how quickly they fell to where they are now. For now, the Venture Exchange investors are smiling, and the Gold Bugs are dancing. This gold market may still have legs but as any good card player will tell you – one has to know when to cash in and walk away from the tableΓǪ

The gold bullion bull market continued into the new week with the price of the world’s true currency reaching a new all-time closing high of US$3,423 a troy ounce (t oz).

Which no doubt helped to drive the closing price of Imperial Metals Corp. ΓÇÿIII-T’ up to a new 3-year high of $3.50 and Franco-Nevada Corp. ΓÇÿFNV-T & N’ to reach a new all-time closing high of $239.73.

I wondered, when adjusted for inflation, if the current new high in gold has surpassed the US$850 high mark set in January, 1980. So I asked my new artificial intelligence (AI) app Gemini. Gemini said that based on whose inflation figures were used, the 1980 US$850 high would today be in a range of US$3,420 – US$3,800 per troy ounce. So, based on Gemini, one could safely say that gold bullion at US$3,423, has officially reached a new inflation adjusted all-time closing high.

The U.S Dollar Index ΓÇÿDXY’ fell to a new 3-year closing low of 98.37.

Which helped the Canadian Loonie to close at a new 5┬╜-month high of US$0.7236.

Lumina Gold Corp. ΓÇÿLUM-V’ shares’ surged up by $0.26 or 28.89% to close at a new 5-year high of $1.16 after the Vancouver, BC based mineral developer agreed to a $581-million all-cash take over from Singapore based CMOC Group Ltd.

Sitka Gold Corp. ΓÇÿSIG-V’ reported its drill hole DDRCC-25-075 at the company’s RC Gold Project east of Dawson City, Yukon returned 352.8 metres (m) of 1.55 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au).

NOVAGOLD Recourses Inc. ΓÇÿNG-T & N.A’ shares’ surged up by $1.69 or 39.21% to close at a new 7-month high of $6.00 on word that the company and Paulson Advisers LLC were buying Barrick Gold Corps. ΓÇÿABX-T’ & ΓÇÿGOLD-N’ 50% interest in the NOVAGOLD’s flagship Donlin Gold project in Alaska in an all-cash deal valued at US$1.0-billion. NOVAGOLD’s interest will now rise from 50% to 60% of the new joint venture.

The key Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 2-rigs over the week to 587, down by 26-rigs from this time last year. Up north – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 6-rigs during the week to 128, up by 10-rigs from one year ago.

Lithium continued to struggle – falling to close at a new 4-year low of US$9,577 a tonne (t).

Forestry stocks struggled with Canfor Corporation ΓÇÿCFP-T’ dropping to close at a new 5-year low of $12.76 and Western Forest Products Inc. ΓÇÿWEF-T’ falling to a new 14┬╜-year closing low of $0.37.

Hecla Mining Co. ΓÇÿHL-N’ and Standard Lithium Ltd. ΓÇÿSLI-V & N.A’ both had projects recognized to be advanced under the recent Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production Act.

Copper and uranium pulled commodities higher on the week, while once again natural gas and lithium were the greatest drag.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange rose to a new 2┬╜-year closing high of 654.

After a mostly give and take week of trading – all of the North American markets rallied going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI gained 2.48% to 40,114, with the S&P 500 up 4.58% to 5,525, and the NASDAQ ahead 6.74% to 17,383. In Canada – the TSX rose 2.14% to 24,711 and the TSX Venture gained 3.15% to 654.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX fell 16.22% to 24.84.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar lost 0.14% to US$0.7215, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ rose 0.21% to 99.61.

With commodities – gold bullion fell 0.48% to US$3,308, as silver rose 1.66% to US$33.06, and copper gained 2.98% to US$4.84, while lithium lost 2.27% to US$9,577. Crude oil lost 1.71% to US$63.19, and natural gas lost 8.92% to US$2.96, while uranium rose 1.69% to US$66.15. With soft commodities – lumber was unchanged at US$572.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index gained 1.97% to 363.

By Rod Blake

After a whipsawed week of making major bottoms followed by oversold rallies, many index fund players were relieved in thinking that the major American equity markets seemed to have bounced up off of the U.S. Trump administration tariff induced lows and were now positioned to once again move higher.

For resource investors – most were still licking their wounds save for the Gold Bugs who continued their Snoopy Happy Dance as the yellow metal once again set a new all-time closing high.

The way I see it – From my experience – after a market makes a new major bottom – it needs to retest that bottom. So, while the equity markets made rallies going into last weekend, I would not be surprised to see them once again break to the downside and retest the week’s previous lows. Then, if those lows hold once again – perhaps the markets can resume their uncertain march to try and regain previous highs. Should a retest of the recent lows fail – then the equity markets will again try to find a lower bottom.

While no one enjoys a good gold rally more than me – one has to wonder if the current bull run in gold may be running out of legs. Seasonally – gold tends to soften during the spring and early summer months. This year while the gold bullion market and some gold equities continue to make new highs – I wonder if this is more because of the one-off U.S. tariff event a resulting economic uncertainty rather than traditional market events. When you’re the only market making new highs in an otherwise very uncertain world – some profit taking may be the order of the day.

Osisko Metals Inc. ΓÇÿOM-V’ shares’ rose by $0.0225 or 5.92% to close at $0.4025 after the Montr├⌐al, QC based explorer reported drill hole 30-1059 from the company’s Gasp├⌐ Copper Project in Eastern Québec returned 300.0 metres (m) of 0.39% copper (Cu) and 3.17 grams per tonne silver (g/t Ag).

Gold bullion rose to close at a new all-time high of US$3,336 a troy ounce (t oz).

Which no doubt encouraged investors to bid the price of Minera Alamos Inc. ΓÇÿMAI-V’ stock up to close at a new 5┬╜-month high of $0.37 and –

Drive Lundin Gold Inc. ΓÇÿLUG-T’ and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿAEM-T & N’ shares’ up to respective new all-time closing highs of $58.12 and $170.05.

The U.S. Dollar Index or ΓÇÿDXY’ fell to a new 3-year closing low of 0.99.37.

Liberty Gold Corp. ΓÇÿLGD-V’ announced a $20-million ΓÇÿBought Deal’ financing to help advance the Vancouver, BC based explorer’s flagship Black Pine Oxide Gold Project in southeastern Idaho. (Bought Deals show greater confidence in the company’s project as the financier pays for the issue up front and then resells it to clients.)

Lithium issues started to catch a bid with Century Lithium Corp. ΓÇÿLCE-V’ rising to close at a new 5┬╜-month high of $0.37.

This as Rho Motion reported the number of global EV sales grew by 29% in March 2025 over the same month one year ago to 1.7 million units.

The key Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 2-rigs over the week to 585, down by 34-rigs from this time last year. Across the line – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 4-rigs during the week to 134, up by 7-rigs from one year ago.

This old driller’s helper always likes to report encouraging drill hole assays, so with that in mind –

Clean Air Metals Inc. ΓÇÿAIR-V’ reported drill hole CL25-009 from the Thunder Bay, ON based company’s Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project (TBN) northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario returned 16.8 m of 2.95 g/t platinum (Pt), 2.89 g/t palladium (Pd), 0.65% copper (Cu) and 0.33% nickel (Ni) and –

Rupert Resources Ltd. ΓÇÿRUP-T’ reported drill hole #125001 from the company’s Hein├ñ South area of its Central Lapland Project in Northern Finland returned 45.7g/t gold (Au) over 8 metres (m).

Energy Fuels Inc. ΓÇÿEFR-T’ & ΓÇÿUUUU-N.A’ stock rose by $0.66 or 10.70% to close at a new 2-month high of $6.83 after the Denver, CO based miner reported the company had developed the technology to domestically produce six rare earth oxides from monazite ore concentrates into separated neodymium-praseodymium (“NdPr”) oxide at its White Mesa Mill in Utah.

The Canadian Loonie rose late in the week to a new 5┬╜-month closing high of US$0.7225.

Crude oil and copper were the best performing commodities on the week, while natural gas and lithium were the greatest drag.

After a shortened and mixed four-day week of trading – the three major American equity markets were negative going into the Easter long weekend while the two Canadian equity markets were positive.

For the Week – the DJI lost 2.66% to 39,142, with the S&P 500 down 1.49% to 5,283, and the NASDAQ off 2.62% to 16,286. Up North – the TSX rose 2.56% to 24,193 and the TSX Venture gained 2.92% to 634.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX fell 21.06% to 29.65.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.18% to US$0.7225, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ lost 0.36% to 99.41.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 2.69% to US$3,324, as silver rose 0.81% to US$32.53, and copper gained 3.52% to US$4.70, while lithium lost 0.32% to US$9,799. Crude oil gained 4.41% to US$64.29, while natural gas lost 8.19% to US$3.25, and uranium rose 1.01% to US$65.05. With soft commodities – lumber lost 0.17% to US$572.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index gained 2.59% to 356.

By Rod Blake

As the brokers, investors, traders and portfolio managers fired up their terminals pre-opening on Monday morning, with the weight of the 10% haircut the equity markets had delivered the previous week seared into their minds, and staring a very negative futures market – they all had one question in common – why didn’t I sell earlier when I had the chance?

The way I see it – Bad Things Happen! Over 30 plus years in the brokerage business I saw many overextended equities or markets where clients had good paper gains but were hesitant on selling any portion of their holdings because – they might leave money on the table if the market went higher. This is when I would explain that bull markets usually climb a wall of uncertainty that may endure weeks, months or even years – and then end suddenly when a bad or unforeseen event triggered a sudden selloff. Some standout examples of bad things happening were the price of gold bullion suddenly dropping $113 overnight from US$850 to US$737 an ounce in January 1980, the market crash of October 1987, the Dot-Com Bubble bursting in March 2000, the financial meltdown of 2007, the sudden tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan in March 2011, the Covid-19 crisis of 2020, and now the extreme American Trump induced tariffs. Most of these events created overall market sell offs while the Japan tsunami caused the uranium market to collapse almost overnight. When gold turned in January 1980 it created a bear market for precious metals that lasted until gold bottomed at US$275 an ounce in 2000. I would use these examples of bad things happening to encourage my clients to lock in profits accordingly, and looking back, I think that most did. I wonder what percentage of current investors had locked in profits before last Thursday?

The North American equity markets opened Monday hard to the downside and by Tuesday – the S&P 500 sank to a new 1-year closing low of 4,983 while the Dow 30 and NASDAQ had dropped to close at respective new 1┬╝-year lows of 37,646 and 15,268.

Driving the CBOE Volatility Index or VIX up to a new 5-year closing high of 52.33.

The previous high close of the VIX was 53.54 at the breakout of Covid-19. It’s interesting how Donald Trump’s tariffs could cause almost as much economic fear as a world wide pandemic.

Up north – the TSX Composite and Venture Exchanges fell to respective new 8-month closing lows of 22,507 and 562.

Commodities were soft with –

Zinc falling to a new 8-month closing low of US$1.16 a pound (lb).

Nickel sinking to close at a new 4┬╜-year low of US$6.41 a lb.

And Sherritt International Corp. ΓÇÿS-T’ shares’ closed at a new 4┬╛-year low of $0.13.

Lithium fell to a new 7-month closing low of US$9,715 a tonne (t).

Standard Lithium Ltd. ΓÇÿSLI-T & N.A’ shares’ sank to a new 17-month closing low of $1.55.

Copper closed at a new 3-month low of US$4.09 a pound (lb).

Capstone Copper Corp. ΓÇÿCS-T’ shares’ dropped to close at a new 16-month low of $5.37.

Cameco Corporation ΓÇÿCCO-T’ & ΓÇÿCCJ-N’ stock fell to a new 1┬╜-year closing low of $52.24.

MAG Silver Corp. ΓÇÿMAG-T & N.A’ shares’ sank to close at a new 7-month low of $12.56.

Crude oil dropped to close at a new 4-year low of US$58.19 a barrel (bbl).

Helping Cenovus Energy ΓÇÿCVE-T & N’ stock to close at a new 4^1/3-year low of $15.14.

The key Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs fell by 7-rigs over the week to 583, down by 34-rigs from this time last year. Up north – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 15-rigs during the week to 138, down by 3-rigs from one year ago.

Enertopia Corporation ΓÇÿENRT-C’ shares’ rose by $0.04 or 40.00% to close at a new 3-month high of $0.14 after the Kelowna, BC based alternative energy company provided a positive update on the company’s patent pending Oxyhydrogen Production, Storage & Utilization System.

Investors get whipsawed when the North American equity markets surged up from 5% (TSX) to 12% (Q) on Wednesday after the Trump administration announced a 90-day moratorium on their worldwide tariffs – only to give back about half of those gains Thursday on continued economic uncertainty.

Gold bullion rose to a new all-time closing high of US$3,237 a troy ounce (t oz).

Which no doubt encouraged investors to bid Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿAEM-T & N’ and Lundin Gold Inc. ΓÇÿLUG-T’ stock up to respective new all-time closing highs of $163.42 and $48.85.

The U.S. Dollar Index ΓÇÿDXY’ fell to close at a new 1^3/4-year low of 99.76.

And the Canadian Loonie surged up to a new 5-month closing high of US$0.7212.

Gold bullion and silver led the commodity market higher on the week, while natural gas and lithium were the greatest drag.

After a hard drop, a recovery and a yo-yo week – all of the North American equity markets rallied going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI gained 4.95% to 40,213, with the S&P 500 up 5.70% to 5,363, and the NASDAQ ahead by 7.29% to 16,724. In Canada – the TSX rose 1.70% to 23,588 and the TSX Venture gained 6.94% to 616.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX fell 17.10% to 37.56.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 2.81% to US$0.7212, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ fell 3.34% to 99.76.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 6.59% to US$3,237, as silver rose 8.91% to US$32.27, and copper gained 3.89% to US$4.54, while lithium lost 3.00% to US$9,830. Crude oil fell 1.60% to US$61.48, while natural gas lost 7.57% to US$3.54, and uranium fell 1.15% to US$64.40. With soft commodities – lumber lost 2.88% to US$573.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index lost 5.96% to 347.

By Rod Blake

As the brokers, investors, traders, and portfolio managers opened their terminals on Monday morning – they were all keenly aware that this week might go down as one of the prominent times in market history in that come Wednesday, April 2^nd – the U.S. Trump induced Retaliatory Tariffs were to come into effect.

The way I see it – there a very few times where a government/media focused event affects markets like the current tariff controversy has. Two that come to mind are the 1999 turn of the century computer clock fiasco, where the financial markets were predicted to freeze, and planes would drop from the sky when the clocks struck midnight on December 31^st. The second and more recent was in 2024 as the markets waited anxiously for the U.S. Fed to finally drop their key interest rate following the post Covid-19 run up in rates. In the first case – markets ground lower ahead of the event as investors went to the sidelines ahead of January 1^st, just in case things went really bad when the clocks turned to the new century – only to bounce back to normal on January 2^nd when the financial institutions opened normally, and planes stayed in the air. In the second case, the equity markets pushed higher and higher anticipating that a lower interest rate would have a positive effect on the bottom line of companies – and then kept grinding to new all-time closing highs because if one rate cut was good for equities then two or three had be better.

This week’s tariff event could go either way. Currently, equity investors are driving markets lower as they go to the sidelines ahead of the April 3^rd event. Will equity markets bounce back when businesses reopen on April 4^th if the tariffs are marginal – or will they continue to push lower if the tariffs are extreme and affect countries, companies and consumers alike? Stay tunedΓǪ

Early in the week –

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft ΓÇÿSIE-DE’ announced the German technology giant will invest about $150-million over 5-years to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) oriented battery facility in Oakville, Ontario.

Gold bullion rose to a new all-time closing high of US$3,132 a troy ounce (t oz).

Which no doubt encouraged investors to push the share price of New Gold Inc. ΓÇÿNGD-T & N.A’ up to a new 8-year closing high of $5.32 and –

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿAEM-T & N’ stock to reach a new all-time closing high of $155.91.

Crude oil rose to close at a new 5-week high of US$71.51 a barrel (bbl).

TSX Venture Exchange ΓÇÿTSXV’ daily trading volume reached a new 10-month high of 65.42-million shares traded.

Money continued to flow into the junior markets with Sitka Gold Corp. ΓÇÿSIG-V’ announcing a $10-million ΓÇÿBought Deal’ financing. A Bought Deal shows confidence in the project as the financing firm pays the company for the securities “up front” and then re-sales them to the market.

Lithium continued to drift lower with the key battery mineral falling to a new 5-month closing low of US$10,134 per tonne (t).

American Lithium Corp. ΓÇÿLI-V’ shares’ fell to close at a new 5-year low of $0.38.

Uranium companies continued to have trouble finding bids with –

NexGen Energy Ltd. ΓÇÿNXE-T & N’ stock dropping to a new 1┬╛-year closing low of $5.92.

Sierra Metals Inc. ΓÇÿSMT-T’ shares’ rose by $0.06 or 7.79% to close at a new 1┬╜-month high of $0.83 after Peruvian mining group Alpayana S.A.C. reiterated its desire to take over the Toronto. ON based junior miner.

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿIVN-T’ stock rose by $0.94 or 7.69% to $13.16 after the Vancouver, BC based miner filed a robust technical report on the company’s Platreef multi-metal mine in South Africa.

The closely followed Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs fell by 2-rigs over the week to 590, down by 30-rigs from this time last year. Across the line – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 10-rigs during the week to 153, up by 17-rigs from one year ago.

The New Retaliatory U.S. Tariffs hit the equity, currency and commodity markets hard on Thursday and Friday.

Causing the CBOE Volatility Index or ΓÇÿVIX’ to surge up to a new 5-year closing high of 45.31.

The U.S. Dollar Index or DXY fell to a new 6-month closing low of 101.86.

Going the other way – the Canadian Loonie rose to close at a new 4-month high of US$0.7110.

Copper fell to a new 2-month closing low of US$4.37 a pound (lb).

Silver dropped to close at a new 3-month low of US$29.38 a troy ounce (t oz).

Zinc fell to a new 8-month closing low of US$1.21 a pound (lb).

Nickel fell to close at a new 4┬╜-year low of US$6.67 a lb.

Crude oil sank to close at a new 4^2/3-year low of US$61.72.

Uranium was the only commodity with a gain on the week, while copper and silver fell the most.

All of the North American equity markets were racing to the bottom going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI lost 7.86% to 38,315, while the S&P 500 fell 9.08% to 5,074, and the NASDAQ dropped 10.02% to 15,588. Up north – the TSX fell 6.32% to 23,193 and the TSX Venture lost 9.15% to 576.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX surged up 109.28% to 45.31.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.46% to US$0.7015, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ fell 0.90% to 103.10.

With commodities – gold bullion lost 1.59% to US$3,037, as silver fell 13.08% to US$29.63, while copper dropped 14.15% to US$4.37, and lithium lost 0.64% to US$10,134. Crude oil fell 9.51% to US$62.48, while natural gas lost 6.13% to US$3.83, while uranium gained 1.24% to US$65.15. With soft commodities – lumber lost 12.98% to US$590.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index fell 1.07% to 369.

By Rod Blake

As the brokers, investors, fund and portfolio managers who mainly participated in American Index Funds closed down their terminals last Friday, March 21^st – there a collective sense of relief in that – for the first week in the past five – the major American indexes of Dow 30, S&P 500 and NASDAQ had shown a positive return. Could it be that downward threat of tariffs was now built into the market and these indexes can now resume their march to greater heights? Meanwhile, for resource investors – the three market leading commodities of gold bullion (+16%), silver (+15%) and copper (+25%) with their gains to date in 2025 – showed signs of peaking last Friday. Could it be time to lock in seasonal profits?

The way I see it – The recent 4-week downturns of 7%, 10% and 14% for the Dow 30, S&P 500 and NASDAQ were not excessive for indexes that have enjoyed relentless respective gains of 40%, 48% and 49% gains since October, 2023. The key now will be – have these high flying markets digested all of the bad Trump induced negativism or is this merely a dead cat bounce going into a long overdue bear market.

As for gold, silver and copper – These bellwether commodities are entering their traditional spring – summer season of weakness so a short term selloff is warranted. The key now will be – can they stay above their respective 2024 seasonal lows of US$2,300, US$29, & US$4. If these levels hold then the multi-year pattern of higher lows and higher highs is still in place, which may indicate a very buoyant second half of 2025.

BYD Company Ltd. ΓÇÿBYDDF-OTC’ shares’ rose by $2.61 or 5.12% to close at US$53.54 after the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer reported global 2024 sales surged by 29% to US$107-billion on deliveries of 4.27million units. For comparison – Tesla’s ΓÇÿTSLA-Q’ 2024 sales were 1.76-million units.

Meanwhile – Lithium continued having trouble finding a bid as the key battery mineral fell to close at a new 2┬╜-year low of US$10,199 a tonne.

MAG Silver Corp. ΓÇÿMAG-T & N.A’ stock price gained $1.325 or 5.85% to close at $23.98 after the Vancouver, BC based miner introduced a cash flow linked dividend policy targeting about 30% of the revenues from the company’s flagship Juanicipio Mine in Mexico.

This as the price of silver rose to close at a new 17-month high of US$34.39 a troy ounce (t oz).

Copper rose to close at a new all-time high of US$5.20 a pound (lb).

Which no doubt encouraged speculators to push the stock price of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. ΓÇÿNDM-T & N.A’ up to a new 4┬╜-year closing high of $1.69 and –

Taseko Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿTKO-T’ & ΓÇÿTGB-N.A’ shares’ to close at a new 1┬╜-year high of $3.58.

Committing to the future of copper – Hudbay Minerals Inc. ΓÇÿHBM-T & N’ announced the Toronto, ON based miner had agreed to purchase Mitsubishi Materials Corporation’s 25% in the Copper Mountain Mine near Princeton, BC in a cash and payment deal valued at some US$44.25-million.

Veren Inc. ΓÇÿVRN-T & N’ shares’ rose to a new 7-month closing high of $9.67.

The influential Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs fell by 1-rig over the week to 592, down by 29-rigs from this time last year. Up north – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 17-rigs during the week to 163, up by 12-rigs from one year ago.

Lumber rose to a new 5-month closing high of US$685 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

Extreme high grade uranium assays are few and far between so I took notice when NexGen Energy Ltd. ΓÇÿNXE-T & N’ reported its drill hole RK-25-232 from the company’s Patterson Corridor East (PCE) area in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin returned a “best ever” 3.9 metres (m) of >61,000 counts per second (cps) spectrometer reading.

Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. ΓÇÿWTE-T’ stock rose to a new 11-month closing high of $25.99.

New Found Gold Corp. ΓÇÿNFG-V’ shares fell by $0.66 or 29.33% to a new 4┬╜-year closing low of $1.59 after Vancouver, BC based mineral developer’s initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the company’s Queensway Gold Project in Newfoundland & Labrador failed to meet the streets expectations.

This as the price of gold bullion rose to a new all-time closing high of US$3,086 a troy oz (t oz).

Which encouraged investors to bid the closing share price of Kinross Gold Corp. ΓÇÿK-T’ & ΓÇÿKGC-N’ up to a new 14┬╝-year high of $17.88.

And gold bellwether company Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿAEM-T & N’ closed at a new all-time high of $154.34.

Going the other way – the stock price of B2Gold Corporation ΓÇÿBTO-T’ & ΓÇÿBTG-N.A’ fell by $0.39 or 8.59% to close at $4.15 after the Vancouver, BC based miner’s updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the company’s Goose Project in northern Canada’s Nunavut failed to live up to the streets’ expectations.

Silver and natural gas showed the greatest commodity gains over the week, while uranium and lithium fell the most.

After a give and take week of trading – all of the North American equity markets turned turtle going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI lost 0.96% to 41,584, while the S&P 500 fell 1.53% to 5,581, and the NASDAQ dropped 2.59% to 17,323. In Canada – the TSX fell 0.84% to 24,759 and the TSX Venture lost 0.63% to 634.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX gained 12.30% to 21.65.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.17% to US$0.6983, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ fell 0.09% to 104.04.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 2.12% to US$3,086, while silver rose 3.21% to US$34.09, as copper gained 0.20% to US$5.09, and lithium lost 0.37% to US$10,199. Crude oil gained 1.16% to US$69.05, while natural gas rose 3.03% to US$4.08, and uranium lost 1.76% to US$64.35. With soft commodities – lumber gained 0.44% to US$678.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index was unchanged at 373.

By Rod Blake

As the markets participants shut down their terminals last Friday, March 14^th, they faced the reality that with the major American Exchanges Dow 30, S&P 500, and NASDAQ down to or near correction levels – the 2┬╜-year free ride of buying and holding U.S. equity indexes looked to be over. Meanwhile, in a far corner of the market, those throwbacks who still followed the junior resource markets where feeling almost optimistic in that while the major American indexes seemed to be correcting – the often forgotten TSX Venture Exchange, after being dragged back down to just 594 a week ago, had climbed back up to 621, and was still up some 3.85% on the year.

The way I see it – When, as a broker, I had a good day in the markets, I used to imagine Peanuts’ Snoopy doing his Happy Dance on top of his doghouse. History had taught me that those wins, especially in the junior markets, were hard to come by, so a short-term celebration was very much in order. Snoopy, in the form of the TSX Venture Exchange, and helped by a resurgence of interest in gold, silver and copper equities, is currently doing its Happy Dance because it’s been a long time coming and the junior exchange certainly deserves it. It might not be a long dance as the traditional spring and summer down months are upon us. But for now, the TSX Venture is the happy top dog of the North American equity markets – and that dog is dancingΓǪ

One of the truths of the junior mining sector is that outstanding drill results attract more funding. Case in point – Snowline Gold Corp. ΓÇÿSGD-V’ share price rose by $0.24 or 2.94% to close at a new all-time high of $8.41, after the Vancouver, BC based developer reported a $20-million ΓÇÿBought Deal’ (funds paid up front) financing to help advance the Vancouver, BC based developer’s showcase Valley Gold Deposit in Yukon.

And Collective Mining Ltd. ΓÇÿCNL-T’ stock gained $1.12 or 9.29% over 3-days to reach a new all-time closing high of $13.18 on word that Canadian mining giant Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿAEM-T & N’ had taken up a 14.99% interest in the Toronto, ON based junior explorer and its Guayables Project in Caldas, Colombia.

This as gold bullion closed at a new all-time high of US$3,046 a troy ounce (t oz).

Which no doubt encouraged investors to drive the stock price on Minera Alamos Inc. ΓÇÿMAI-V’ up to a new 5-month closing high of $0.0365 –

And sending New Gold Inc. ΓÇÿNGD-T & N.A’ shares’ to close at a new 7┬╜-year high of $4.83 –

While the Gold Bugs favourite company – Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿAEM-T & N’ reached a new all-time closing high of $151.33.

Silver rose to a new 5-month closing high of US$33.93 a troy ounce (t oz) and –

Pan American Silver Corp. ΓÇÿPAAS-T & N’ closed at a new 3┬╛-year high of $38.15.

Copper reached a new 10-month closing high of US$5.10 a pound (lb) and –

Taseko Mines Ltd. ΓÇÿTKO-T’ & ΓÇÿTGB-N.A’ share price rose to a new 4┬╜-month closing high of $3.54.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD Company Ltd. ΓÇÿBYDDY-OTC’ put the rest on the EV industry on notice by introducing its new “Super e-Platform” that will charge EVs to a 400 kilometer driving range in justΓǪ. 5-minutes.

Oil patch takeover target Veren Inc. ΓÇÿVRN-T & N’ rose to close at a new 7-month high of $9.52.

This as the closely followed Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 1-rig over the week to 593, down by 31-rigs from this time last year. Across the line – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 19-rigs during the week to 180, up by 11-rigs from one year ago.

The U.S. Dollar Index or ΓÇÿDXY’ dropped to a new 5-month closing low of 103.22.

Being dropped from a major index can be detrimental to a company’s stock price as some funds and institutions are forced to sell those issues. Case in point – Interfor Corp. ΓÇÿIFP-T’ shares’ fell to a new 2┬╜-year closing low of $14.70 after the Burnaby, BC based forestry company’s listing was dropped from the TSX Composite Index.

This as the price of tariff sensitive lumber rose to close at a new 2┬╜-year high of US$675 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

Lithium continued to find a bottom – falling to a new 5-month closing low of $US$10,237 a tonne (t).

Lithium Royalty Corporation ΓÇÿLIRC-T’ fell to a new all-time closing low of $4.18.

Late in the week U.S. President Donald Trump signed off on two bills to enhance American mineral and critical mineral production.

Copper and uranium were the commodities with the greatest gains over the week, while natural gas and silver suffered the most.

After a mostly indecisive week of trading – all of the North American equity markets held onto gains going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI gained 1.20% to 41,985, while the S&P 500 rose 0.51% to 5,668, and the NASDAQ improved 0.17% to 17,784. Up north – the TSX gained 1.77% to 24,968 while the TSX Venture rose 2.74% to 638.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX fell 11.44% to 19.28.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.10% to US$0.6971, and the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ rose 0.42% to 104.13.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 1.17% to US$3,022, while silver fell 2.13% to US$33.03, as copper gained 4.53% to US$5.08, and lithium lost 1.02% to US$10,237. Crude oil gained 1.55% to US$68.26, while natural gas lost 3.18% to US$3.96, and uranium rose 2.91% to US$65.50. With soft commodities – lumber gained 2.12% to US$675.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index rose 1.63% to 373.

By Rod Blake

As the brokers, investors, traders and portfolio managers looked over the performance statistics of the North American equity markets for the first week of March, one thing stood out above all of the rest. For the most part – all of the market gains for 2025 had been erased. The three American exchanges are now down on the year. The S&P 500 which struck a new all-time closing high of 6144, to be up almost 3% just a few weeks ago, was now below its year end 2024 level. Similiarly, the artificial intelligence (AI) fueled NASDAQ Exchange, which recently peaked at a new all-time closing level of 20,056, is also below where it started this year. The Dow 30, which held a 3.6% gain in mid-February, closed down on the year last Friday. Further north things look a little better – the TSX Composite Index which established a new all-time closing high of 25,808 at the end of January, for a 4% year to date gain, is down but still up marginally on the year. Only the TSX Venture Exchange – which peaked up some 8.4% on the year to 648 three weeks ago, is now at 614 –but still up about 2.7% in 2025.

The way I see it – it’s very rare that the TSX Venture Exchange outperforms its larger counterparts as understandably – the big money tends to migrate into the larger and more stable equities. The few times the Venture does outperform is either when there is a major mineral area play, a new product of focus, or when key commodities such as gold, silver and copper are at or near all-time highs. Today, we do not have an area play of note or a new product such a cannabis to focus on, so that leaves gold silver and copper. Probably over half of the listings on the venture are involved with these three metals in some way from grass roots exploration to development and even into production. For whatever reason – safe haven, electronics or electrifying the world – these three key metals are in vogue and look to stay there for some time to come. That said – spring to summer is usually a correction time for the Venture. But if the junior exchange can hold this level or at least stay above 600 through summer – then 2025 might be one of those years where the TSX venture Exchange has its time in the sunΓǪ

For the second consecutive week the North American equity markets sold off hard on the first day of trading driving the TSX Composite down to a new 2-month closing low of 24,203 while –

The Dow 30 fell to close at a new 6-month low of 40,814 and –

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed at consecutive 7-month lows of 5,522 and 17,303.

Driving the CBOE Volatility Index or ΓÇÿVIX’ to close up at a new 19-month high of 27.86.

And the U.S. Dollar Index ΓÇÿDXY’ down to a new 4-month closing low of 103.39.

Veren Inc. ΓÇÿVRN-T & N’ shares’ rose by $1.13 or 16.01% to $8.19 and the stock of Whitecap Resources Inc. ΓÇÿWCP-T’ fell by $1.36 or 14.55% to $7.99 after the two Calgary, AB based petroleum companies announced a merger of equals in a share & debt deal valued at some $15-billion.

This as the price of crude oil dropped to close at a new 6-month low of US$66.03 a barrel (bbl).

Going the other way – the price of natural gas rose to a new 3┬╝-year closing high of US$4.50 per 1-million British thermal units (mmBtu).

The key Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs was unchanged at 592, down by 37-rigs from this time last year. Across the line – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 35-rigs during the week to 199, down by 8-rigs from one year ago.

Uranium continued to sell off – dropping to a new 1┬╜-year closing low of US$63.65 a pound (lb).

Nickel rose to close at a new 4-month high of US$7.56 a pound (lb).

Copper closed later in the week at a new 10-month high of US$4.88 a pound (lb).

Zinc rose to a new 2┬╜-month closing high of US$1.35 a pound (lb).

Eloro Resources Ltd. ΓÇÿELO-T’ stock rose by $0.05 or 5.81% to close at $0.91 after the Toronto, ON based explorer released Drill Hole DSB-75 from the company’s Iska Iska Silver-Tin-Polymetallic Deposit in southwestern Bolivia that returned 135 metres (m) grading 157.47 grams per tonne silver (g/t Ag).

This as the price of silver rose to a new 4┬╜-month closing low of US$33.81 a troy ounce (t oz).

Gold bullion closed at a new all-time high of US$2,987 a t oz.

Lumber rose to a new 2┬╜-year closing high of US$661 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

Copper and silver had the greatest gains with commodities over the week, while natural gas and uranium fell the most.

After another mostly negative week of trading – all of the North American equity markets once again staged a Friday rally to go into the weekend on a positive note.

For the Week – the DJI lost 3.07% to 41,488, while the S&P 500 fell 2.27% to 5,639, and the NASDAQ lost 2.43% to 17,754. In Canada – the TSX lost 0.91% to 24,533 while the TSX Venture gained 1.14% to 621.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX fell 6.85% to 21.77.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.09% to US$0.6964, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ lost 0.09% to 103.69.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 2.65% to US$2,987, as silver rose 3.85% to US$33.75, while copper also gained 3.85% to US$4.86, and lithium lost 0.15% to US$10,343. Crude oil gained 0.22% to US$67.22, while natural gas lost 6.62% to US$4.09, and uranium fell 1.55% to US$63.65. With soft commodities – lumber gained 2.80% to US$661.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index rose 0.55% to 367.

By Rod Blake

The first few days of March once again saw the great migration of some 27-thousand prospectors, miners, investors, brokers, financiers and portfolio managers converge on Toronto, Ontario for the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention. This world’s largest gathering of mineral exploration and mining enthusiasts has roots that go all the way back to 1932 with prospectors seeking funding for their field season in Canada’s north.

The way I see it – I always enjoyed my time at the PDAC and some of the mining holding I still hold today I researched after seeing them at the show. This year’s convention is in one of those unique times where some minerals such as gold bullion, silver and copper are at or near all-time highs while recent high flyers such as lithium and uranium are at or near multi-year lows. Also thrown into the mix this year is the sudden uncertainty of American tariffs on commodity pricing and demand. Certainly, no shortage of topics for discussion on the convention floor and in the many hospitality suitesΓǪ.

I’m sure that Snowline Gold Corp. ΓÇÿSGD-V’ had a lot of attention at its booth as the Vancouver, BC junior mineral developer released infill drill hole V-24-119 from the Valley Deposit of the company’s Rogue Project in Yukon that returned 617.6 metres (m) of 1.68 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) from bedrock surface. Snowline’s stock rose by $1.00 or 15.70% to close at an all-time high of $7.37 on the news.

The tariff leery North American equity markets began the trading week hard to the downside – pushing the fragile TSX Venture Exchange down to a new 2-month closing low of 594.

Copper producers Hudbay Minerals Inc. ΓÇÿHBM-T & N’ stock fell to close at a new 5┬╜-month low of $10.00 and Capstone Copper Corp. ΓÇÿCS-T’ shares closed at a new 1-year closing low of $7.78.

This as the price of copper rose to close at a new 10-month high of US$4.78 a pound (lb).

Nickel rose to a new 4-month closing high of US$7.46 a lb.

Uranium issues continued their slide with –

Uranium heavyweight Cameco Corporation ΓÇÿCCO-T’ & ΓÇÿCCJ-N’ shares’ closing at a new 5┬╜-month low of $59.65 and –

NexGen Energy Ltd. ΓÇÿNXE-T & N’ stock falling to a new 5┬╜-month closing low of $6.94 and –

Denison Mines Corp. ΓÇÿDML-T’ & ΓÇÿDNN-N.A’ shares’ closing at a new 6-month low of $2.00.

Crude oil fell to close at a new 6-month low of US$66.21 a barrel (bbl).

All of which encouraged investors to drive Cenovus Energy Inc. ΓÇÿCVE-T & N’ share price down to a new 3-year closing low of $17.71.

Trican Well Services Ltd. ΓÇÿTCW-T’ stock fell to a new 4-month closing low of $4.43.

Going the other way – the price of natural gas rose to close at a new 3-year high of US$4.47 per 1-million British thermal units (mmBtu).

This as the key Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs fell by 1-rig over the week to 592, down by 30-rigs from this time last year. Up north – the number of Canadian active rigs dropped by 14-rigs during the week to 234, up by 9-rigs from one year ago.

Lumber closed at a new 2┬╜-year high of US$660 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

But – Canfor Corporation ΓÇÿCFP-T’ stock dropped to close at a new 5┬╜-month low of $14.41 and –

Doman Building Materials Group Ltd. ΓÇÿDBM-T’ shares’ fell to a new 6-month closing low of $6.91.

Investors continued to shed lithium equities –

Forcing the price of Standard Lithium Ltd. ΓÇÿSLI-V’ & ΓÇÿSLI-N.A’ stock to drop to a new 5┬╜-month closing low of $1.70 and –

Lithium giant Albemarle Corporation ΓÇÿALB-N’ shares’ to close at a new 5-year low of US$69.95.

Sunnova Energy International ΓÇÿNOVA-N’ shares’ plunged lower by $1.0685 or 64.247% to close at an all-time low of just US$0.5935 after the American solar energy company issued a warning of its ability to continue due to financial constraints.

Doubleview Gold Corp. ΓÇÿDBG-V’ shares’ rose to a new 3┬╜-year closing high of $0.71 after the Vancouver, BC based explorer announced a collaboration with the State of Qatar to develop the company’s Polymetallic HAT Porphyry Deposit in northwestern British Columbia.

Orla Mining Inc. ΓÇÿOLA-T’ & ΓÇÿORLA-N’ stock rose to close at a new all-time high of $10.80 after the Vancouver, BC based miner acquired Newmont Corporation’s ΓÇÿNEM-N’ Musselwhite Gold Mine in Northwestern Ontario for a cash and gold-price consideration of some US$840-million.

Natural gas and silver had the greatest upward pulled with commodities over the week, while crude oil and uranium were the greatest drag.

The S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ Exchange fell to respective new 4-month closing lows of 5,739 and 18,069.

The U.S. Dollar Index or ΓÇÿDXY’ fell to close at a new 4-month low of 103.78.

The CBOE Volatility Index ΓÇÿVIX’ Index rose to a new 2┬╜-month closing high of 24.87.

After a mostly negative week of trading – all of the North American equity markets staged a late Friday rally going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI lost 2.37% to 42,802, while the S&P 500 fell 3.11% to 5,770, and the NASDAQ lost 3.45% to 18,196. In Canada – the TSX lost 2.50% to 24,759 and the TSX Venture fell 0.16% to 614.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX gained 19.05% to 23.37.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.65% to US$0.6958, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ lost 3.52% to 103.78.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 1.89% to US$2,910, as silver rose 4.37% to US$32.50, while copper gained 3.31% to US$4.68, and lithium rose 0.50% to US$10,359. Crude oil lost 4.20% to US$67.07, while natural gas rose 14.36% to US$4.38, and uranium fell 1.37% to US$64.65. With soft commodities – lumber gained 1.26% to US$643.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index fell 1.62% to 365.

By Rod Blake

As the market participants prepared for the final week of trading this February, there was a collective feeling of trepidation in that twice in the past few months – the S&P 500, NASDAQ and TSX Composite have established new all-time closing highs – only to sell off hard, sometimes the very next day. Previously these selloffs represented buying opportunities as the markets managed to climb back higher. But how long can this cycle keep repeating itself.

The way I see it – We used to describe markets like these as ΓÇÿAll In’. It was a term we used when we thought the markets were fully invested by the last speculators who couldn’t stand it any longer and had to buy into the action. A good indicator of an ΓÇÿAll In’ market is one where the market works hard to establish a new high only to sell off quickly as there are very few buyers left to take over from those who want out. Much like the major markets we have today. We’ve had two-years of an artificial intelligence (AI) induced, followed by lower interest rate anticipated bull market, that just had a Donald Trump presidential victory late surge. Previously, buying the dips in this market was always rewarded. Now suddenly – IA isn’t all that exciting, U.S. interest rate declines are stalling, and the Trump enthusiasm seems to be wearing a little thin. I think we’re late in this bull’s cycle and to me – these markets need a new catalyst in order to move much higher. They may move higher again or they may not. Just be careful not to be the last investor to be ΓÇÿAll In’ΓǪ

Gold bullion began the week by rising to close at a new all-time high of US$2,953 a troy ounce (t oz.).

All of which no doubt helped the price of B2Gold Corp. ΓÇÿBTO-T’ & ΓÇÿBTG-N.A’ stock to reach a new 1^1/3-year closing high of $4.10 –

And Lundin Gold Inc. ΓÇÿLUG-T’ and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. ΓÇÿWPM-T & N’ to close at respective new all-time highs of $41.68 and $100.81.

Usually with a takeover or merger there is a clear winner for shareholders as one company’s stock price gains significantly as it is considered to have received a premium for accepting the deal. With this merger however, it looked at first glance that no one seemed to win as – Equinox Gold Corp. ΓÇÿEQX-T & N.A’ shares’ rose by only $0.01 or 0.10% to $9.70, and the stock price of Calibre Mining Corp. ΓÇÿCXB-T’ fell by $0.12 or 3.88% to 2.97 after the two Vancouver, BC based miners agreed to a merger of equals to become Canada’s second largest gold producer.

The week had some outstanding drill hole news with –

Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. ΓÇÿASCU-T’ reporting that infill drill hole ECM-299 at its Parks/Salyer copper deposit in Arizona returned 391 metres (m) of 0.74% copper per tonne (Cu/t) of continuous mineralization.

And Collective Mining Ltd. ΓÇÿCNL-T & N’ share price rose by $0.69 or 8.06% to a new all-time closing high of $9.25 after the Toronto, On based explorer’s drill hole APC104-D5 returned 497.35 metres (m) of 3.01 grams per tonne gold equivalent (g/t AuEq) from the Apollo system at the company’s Guayabales Project in Caldes, Colombia.

Uranium issues continued to suffer with NexGen Energy Ltd. ΓÇÿNXE-T & N’ falling to a new 5┬╜-month closing low of $7.55, while Energy Fuels Inc. ΓÇÿEFR-T’ & ΓÇÿUUUU-N.A’ dropped to close at a new 4-year low of $5.78.

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. ΓÇÿINE-T’ stock price surged up by $4.77 or 54.76% to close at a new 1┬╜-year high of $13.48 after the Longueuil, QC based company agreed to be taken over by Québec’s CDPQ in an all-cash deal valued at some $10-billion.

Crude oil fell to a new 2┬╜-month closing low of US$68.55 a barrel (bbl).

Baytex Energy Corp. ΓÇÿBTE-T’ fell to close at a new 3┬╜-year low of $3.18.

This as the closely followed Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 1-rig over the week to 593, down by 36-rigs from this time last year. Across the line – the number of Canadian active rigs rose by 4-rigs during the week to 248, up by 17-rigs from one year ago.

Lumber rose to close at a new 2^1/3-year high of US$624 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

North America’s largest coal exporting facility – Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. ΓÇÿWTE-T’ shares’ rose to a new 10-month closing high of $25.66.

Lithium fell to close at a new 1┬╜-month low of US$10,307 a tonne (t).

Going the other way – Frontier Lithium Inc. ΓÇÿFL-T’ rose to a new 5-month closing high of $0.65 on word the Sudbury, ON based company had secured a $3.35-million loan to help facilitate the company’s expansion plans.

Lumber and uranium pulled commodities higher over the week, while natural gas and silver were the greatest drag.

The U.S. Dollar Index or ΓÇÿDXY’ dropped to close at a new 2┬╜-month low of 106.27.

After many daily gyrations – the Dow 30 and TSX Composite has weekly gains, while the S&P 500, NASDAQ and TSX Venture were all negative.

For the Week – the DJI gained 0.95% to 43,841, while the S&P 500 fell 0.96% to 5,955, and the NASDAQ lost 3.47% to 18,847. Up north – the TSX gained 0.98% to 25,393 and the TSX Venture lost 3.15% to 615.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX gained 7.80% to 19.63.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar lost 1.59% to US$0.6913, while the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ rose 0.87% to 107.57.

With commodities – gold bullion lost 2.72% to US$2,856, and silver fell 4.33% to US$31.14, as copper fell 0.22% to US$4.53, and lithium lost 1.80% to US$10,307. Crude oil lost 0.33% to US$70.01, and natural gas fell 10.09% to US$3.83, while uranium gained 1.00% to US$65.55. With soft commodities – lumber gained 2.20% to US$635.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index fell 3.13% to 371.

By Rod Blake

As the investors, traders, brokers and portfolio managers prepared themselves for an American Presidents Day and Canadian Family Day shortened week of market activity – two items of note stood out amongst all of the rest. One – the American S&P 500 Exchange at 6,115 and NASDAQ Index at 20,027, with last week’s rally, were once again only a few points from breaking through their respective all-time closing highs of 6,119 and 20,035 set a few weeks ago. Two – was last Friday’s sharp selloff in the gold, silver and copper markets and the TSX Venture Exchange a sign that the New Year’s rally for commodities and the junior market was coming to an end?

The way I see it – The senior markets seem to have shaken off the uncertainty of the recent tariff rhetoric and are now taking a wait and see approach as the tariff deadlines get pushed further and further out. There is also a new air of optimism that a settlement of the now 3-year Ukraine & Russia war is on the horizon. We may soon know if this leads to higher highs in the American big cap markets.

When markets change as abruptly to the downside as the gold (-1.5%), silver (-0.83%), copper (-2.94%) and TSX Venture Exchange (-1.23%) did last Friday – one would be well advised to pay attention. To quote economist John Maynard Keynes – “When facts change, I change my mind – what do you do sir?” Now, it takes more than one day’s activity to confirm an end to this nice bull market (+11.72%) that junior investors have been enjoying since Christmas – but last Friday’s negative action should make one sit up and pay attention. As I’ve stated earlier – the traditional bull market for precious metals and the Venture Exchange usually plays out sometime in the first quarter. This is not set in stone and can vary based on world events such as we’re seeing today. One sharp day of decline does not a correction make, and this could just be investors going to cash ahead of a long weekend or locking in profits after a nice run to the upside. So while it may be too soon to call the junior bull market over, it is a time to exercise some caution and not be chasing any highflyers. Cash may be king in the weeks aheadΓǪ

And with that the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ Exchange confirmed the American big cap bull market was intact by rising to respective new closing highs of 6,144 and 20,056.

The commodities bull was also reaffirmed with silver rising to close at a new 4-month high of US$33.04 a troy ounce (t oz), while gold bullion reached a new all-time closing high of US$2,948 a t oz.

All of which helped the share price of B2Gold Corp. ΓÇÿBTO-T’ & ΓÇÿBTG-N.A’ to gain $0.22 or 5.82% to close at a new 3-month high of $4.00 after the Vancouver, BC based miner issued an improved 2025 guidance.

Similiarly – SSR Mining Inc. ΓÇÿSSRM-T & Q’ stock rose by $1.69 or 12.74% to close at a new 2-year high of $14.96 after the Denver, CO producer pleased the street with the company’s 4th-quarter and full 2024 results.

Zinc rose to close at a new 1-month high of US$1.33 a pound (lb).

Going the other way – Uranium fell to a new 1┬╜-year closing low of US$64.30 a pound (lb).

Which encouraged investors to sell the price of Denison Mines Corp. ΓÇÿDML-T’ & ΓÇÿDNN-N.A’ and uranium icon Cameco Corporation ΓÇÿCCO-T’ & ΓÇÿCCJ-N’ shares’ down to respective new 5-month closing lows of $2.21 and $61.87.

Hudbay Minerals Inc. ΓÇÿHBM-T & N’ shares’ fell by $1.19 or 13.31% to a new 5-month low of $11.01 after the Toronto, ON copper/gold miner failed to meet the markets’ expectations with the company’s 2025 guidance.

NGEz Minerals Ltd. ΓÇÿNGEX-T’ reported that drill hole DPDH024 from the company’s Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina returned 75.45 metres (m) of 4.95% copper equivalent (CuEq).

Natural gas rose to close at a new 2-year high of US$4.35 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).

This as the key Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 4-rigs over the week to 592, down by 34-rigs from this time last year. Up north – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 1-rig during the week to 244, up by 13-rigs from one year ago.

The price of lumber rose to a new 2^1/3-year closing high of US$621 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

Nikola Corporation ΓÇÿNKLA-Q’ stock plunged lower by $0.30 or 39.13% to close at US$0.4662 after the Phoenix, AZ based zero-emission truck manufacturer applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The CRB Commodities Index rose to close at a new 16┬╜-year high of 383.

Natural gas, gold bullion and lumber pulled commodities higher over the week, while uranium and crude oil were the greatest drag.

The U.S. Dollar Index or ΓÇÿDXY’ fell to a new 2-month closing low of 106.39.

After an upbeat start to the shortened week – all of the North American Indexes went negative and were underwater going into another uncertain weekend.

For the Week – the DJI lost 2.51% to 43,428, with the S&P 500 down 1.67% to 6,013, and the NASDAQ off 2.51% to 19,524. In Canada – the TSX fell 1.32% to 25,147 and the TSX Venture lost 0.78% to 635.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX gained 23.21% to 18.21.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar lost 0.47% to US$0.7025, and the U.S. Dollar Index ‘DXY’ fell 0.31% to 106.64.

With commodities – gold bullion gained 1.80% to US$2,936, and silver rose 1.21% to US$32.55, while copper fell 1.94% to US$4.54, and lithium lost 0.09% to US$10,496. Crude oil lost 0.58% to US$70.24, while natural gas gained 14.21% to US$4.26, and uranium fell 3.85% to US$64.90. With soft commodities – lumber gained 1.80% to US$621.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index rose 1.06% to 373.

By Rod Blake

When the market enthusiasts reviewed last week’s statistics – one item stood out amongst all of the rest. The usually lagging TSX Venture Exchange was the best performing North American market to date in 2025. The Venture at last Friday’s close of 639 is up some 6.93% this year. Well ahead of the Dow 30’s 4.13% gain, the TSX Composite’s 2.89% gain, the S&P 500’s 2.45% gain and the NASDAQ’s 1.10% gain.

The way I see it – It is not very often that the TSX venture outperforms its larger cousins. And when it does it is usually in the first few months of the New Year as tax loss sellers get back into the junior market and the price of gold bullion is usually buoyant. The real test of the Venture’s newfound investor enthusiasm will come as we approach April, when investors rebalance and the traditional 1st-quarter rally in gold comes to an end. Perhaps this year gold will hold onto most of its gains and the Venture will continue to lead. If this happens, we could be setting up for an exciting time for the Venture that we haven’t seen in many years. Stay tunedΓǪ

With that – gold bullion rose to close at a new all-time high of US$2,928 a troy ounce (t oz).

Which no doubt helped the closing price of Equinox Gold Corp. ΓÇÿEQX-T & N.A’ to close at a new 3-year new high of $9.98.

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. ΓÇÿWPM-T & N’ stock rose to a new all-time closing high of $98.24.

Barrick Gold Corp. ΓÇÿABX-T’ & ΓÇÿGOLD-N’ shares’ gained $1.55 or 6.35% to a new 3-month closing high of $25.97 after the gold mining giant pleased the street with its year end 2024 results and better yet – an optimistic 2025 guidance.

Going the other way – the stock price of gold market leader Kinross Gold Corp. ΓÇÿK-T’ & ΓÇÿKGC-N’ fell by $1.18 or 6.79% to $16.21 after the Toronto, ON based miner disappointed with its 4th-quarter and year-end 2024 figures and 2025 guidance.

Calibre Mining Corp. ΓÇÿCXB-T’ issued more encouraging drill hole results from the Vancouver, BC based miner’s Valentine Gold Mine in Newfoundland & Labrador – including Hole FZ-24-062 returning 3.08 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 48.2-metres (m) estimated true width (etw).

Silver issues also caught a bid with the share price of Pan American Silver Corp. ΓÇÿPAAS-T & N’ closing at a new 3-year high of $36.03.

Hecla Mining Company ΓÇÿHL-N’ shares’ rose to close at a new 3-month high of US$6.29 after the American miner announced the company had achieved near all-time high silver reserves of 240-million ounces.

This as the price of silver hit a new 3-month closing high of US$32.40 a troy ounce (t oz).

Copper rose to a new 1┬╛-year closing high of US$4.77 a pound (lb).

Iron ore reached a new 4-month closing high of US$107.26 a tonne (t).

Canadian Nickel Company Inc. ΓÇÿCNC-V’ stock fell to close at a new 5-year low of $0.79.

Birchcliff Energy Ltd. ΓÇÿBIR-T’ stock rose by $0.19 or 3.33% to $5.90 after the Calgary, AB based petroleum producer issued upbeat 4th-quarter and full year 2024 operating results and reserves.

Natural gas closed at a new 1-month high of US$3.73 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).

This as the influential Baker Hughes Petroleum Rig Count reported the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 2-rigs over the week to 588, down by 33-rigs from this time last year. Up north – the number of Canadian active rigs fell by 4-rigs during the week to 245, up by 11-rigs from one year ago.

Uranium fell to a new 17-month low of US$67.35 a pound (lb).

Leaving the market to sell the share price of uranium giant Cameco Corporation ΓÇÿCCO-T’ & ΓÇÿCCJ-N’ down to a new 4┬╜-month closing low of $66.88.

Albemarle Corporation ΓÇÿALB-N’ shares’ fell to a new 6-month closing low of US$75.14 after the giant American lithium producer filed to impress investors with the company’s 4th-quarter and full year 2024 results.

Lithium Royalty Corp. ΓÇÿLIRC-T’ stock dropped to a close at a new all-time low of $4.76.

Lumber rose to a new 3-month closing high of US$610 per 1,000 board feet (mbf).

Doman Building Materials Group Ltd. ΓÇÿDBM-T’ shares’ fell to close at a new 4┬╜-month low of $7.64.

The TSX Venture Exchange rose to close at a new 2┬╜-year high of 648.

The Canadian Loonie reached a new 2-month closing high of US$0.7058 while the US Dollar Index ΓÇÿDXY‘ fell to a new 2-month closing low of 106.77.

Enjoy that cheap cup of morning brew – as the price of Coffee rose to close at a new all-time high of $4.34 a pound (lb) – nearly double its price in the past 3-months.

The CRB Commodities Index closed at a new 16┬╜-year high of 379.

Natural gas and lumber pushed commodities higher over the week, while uranium and lithium were off the most.

Following a mixed week of trading – all of the American Indexes were in the black going into the weekend.

For the Week – the DJI gained 0.55% to 44,546 with the S&P 500 up 1.48% to 6,115, and the NASDAQ higher by 2.58% to 20,027. Across the line – the TSX gained 0.16% to 25,483 and the TSX Venture also rose 0.16% to 640. The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX dropped 1.78% to 14.78.

With currencies – the Canadian dollar gained 0.84% to US$0.7058, while the U.S. dollar Index ‘DXY’ fell 1.20% to 106.77.

With commodities – gold bullion rose 0.73% to US$2,884, as silver gained 0.97% to US$32.16, and copper climbed 1.07% to US$4.63, while lithium lost 0.75% to US$10,505. Crude oil lost 0.55% to US$70.65, while natural gas gained 12.69% to US$3.73, and uranium fell 3.50% to US$67.50. With soft commodities – lumber gained 3.04% to US$610.

Overall – the CRB Commodities Index rose 2.16% to 379.