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A recent report by the World Gold Council (WGC) noted that US gold bar and coin demand has been higher on average during Democratic presidencies.The data, which draws from the last 37 years, shows that monthly demand in the first year following a Democratic win averages 79,000 ounces of gold, while the average following a Republican win is 32,500 gold ounces. The WGC report suggests that retail investors’ demand for gold bars and coins is partly driven by their perceptions of economic policies when a Democrat is in office. These views include the likelihood of administrations to implement policies that could lead to economic instability or higher inflation, prompting them to seek the safety of tangible assets like gold. However, this does not necessarily mean gold prices follow the same trend. While the report notes a possible correlation, this behavior is not uniformly observed in other types of gold investments, such as ETFs or central bank purchases, showing the complexity of predicting gold prices based on political outcomes alone.Instead, the report emphasizes the enduring role of geopolitical risk in gold’s performance. A 100 basis point rise in the Geopolitical Risk (GPR) Index has an approximate 2.5 percent positive impact on gold’s return, according to WGC data, reinforcing gold’s status as a safe haven during times of elevated geopolitical tension. The GPR Index is constructed using automated text analysis of national and international newspapers, counting the number of articles discussing geopolitical tensions, wars and other forms of political unrest. The index provides a quantitative measure of geopolitical risk, allowing investors to gauge how such events might influence asset prices, including gold.Recent geopolitical incidents, such as the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election, have had significant impacts on global financial markets. The attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, where he sustained a minor wound, led to a surge in gold prices and Bitcoin prices over the following days. This incident underscores how sudden geopolitical events can influence investor behavior and drive demand for safe-haven assets, even if the broader trend does not directly correlate with political party dynamics.The WGC report concludes that while US presidential elections and the resulting administrations do impact investor perceptions and behaviors, these factors are part of a broader array of influences on gold prices. The increase in gold bar and coin demand during Democratic presidencies suggests that retail investors are reacting to perceived economic threats rather than the political party itself. Thus, predicting gold prices based on political events alone is inherently complex, as investor behavior is influenced by a multitude of factors beyond just the party in power.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Rare earths are important for many of today’s technologies and tomorrow’s carbon-free economy. Investors may not be very familiar with the metals individually, but the group of elements is found in technology all around us, commonly in the form of rare earth magnets, which are used in everything from electric vehicles to smartphones to wind turbines. As technology continues to advance, they are expected to remain in high demand. “Rare earth-based magnets offer the simplest approach to powerful and compact electric motors, so continued sales of electric vehicles should bring growing demand for these materials,” Jon Hykawy, president and director of Stormcrow Capital, told the Investing News Network in an interview. Another long-term story in the rare earth element (REE) market is China’s dominance of the overall industry. With geopolitics at the forefront, countries are focusing more and more on attaining domestic sources of critical metals, and companies are working to find new sources in diverse locations to meet this growing demand. Here the Investing News Network looks at the Canadian rare earth mining companies on the TSX and TSXV that have had the biggest gains over the past year. CSE-listed companies were considered, but did not make the cut this time around. This top Canadian rare earth stocks list was compiled using TradingView’s stock screener, and data was gathered on July 18, 2024. 1. Resouro Strategic Metals (TSXV:RSM) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”Resouro Strategic Metals”,”url”:”https://investingnews.com/stocks/tsxv-rsm/resouro-strategic-metals/”,”description”:”Resouro Gold Inc is engaged in the exploration and development of gold.”,”tickerSymbol”:”TSXV:RSM”,”sameAs”:[],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=51035036&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=51035036&width=210″} Company Profile Yearly gain: 95.65 percent; market cap: C$31.97 million; current share price: C$0.45Resouro Strategic Metals is an exploration and development company with mineral projects in Brazil, including the Tiros rare earths and titanium project in Minas Gerais and the Novo Mundo gold project in Mato Grosso. The company has an earn-in agreement to take a 90 percent stake in the Tiros asset.In recent months, Resouro’s drilling and metallurgical testwork at Tiros has yielded high rare earths and titanium dioxide grades. This work culminated in the release of a JORC-complaint maiden resource estimate for the Tiros project on July 17. The estimate includes a combined measured and indicated resources representing 1 billion metric tons at 4,050 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) containing 1,120 ppm magnetic rare earth oxides and 12 percent titanium dioxide. “The MRE places the Tiros Project as one of the largest undeveloped titanium and rare earth resource globally and in Brazil,” stated the company’s press release. 2. Aclara Resources (TSX:ARA) {“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”Aclara Resources”,”url”:”https://www.aclara-re.com/”,”description”:”Environmentally Sustainable Rare Earth Element Extraction with a Transformative Proprietary Process”,”tickerSymbol”:”TSX:ARA”,”sameAs”:[“https://mobile.twitter.com/AclaraResources”],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/aclara-resources-tsx-ara.png?id=32333518&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/aclara-resources-tsx-ara.png?id=32333518&width=210″} Press Releases Company Profile Yearly gain: 44.44 percent; market cap: C$88.2 million; current share price: C$0.52Aclara Resources is a development-stage heavy rare earths company developing its ionic clays deposits, including the Penco module in Southern Chile and the Carina module in Central Brazil.The company’s patented, award-winning Circular Mineral Harvesting closed-circuit rare earths extraction process eliminates the need for a tailings dam and conditions spent clays for future revegetation with native forests.Aclara’s Penco module semi-industrial pilot plant program was completed in September 2023, producing samples of high-purity rare earths concentrate. The plant processed 120 metric tons of ionic clays to produce approximately 107 kilograms of wet high-purity heavy REE concentrate. The company is targeting Q2 2027 for commencing production at the Penco module.More recently, Aclara announced it submitted a new environmental impact assessment for its Penco module project that features an improved design addressing environmental and social concerns. 3. Commerce Resources (TSXV:CCE) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”Commerce Resources Corp.”,”url”:”https://www.commerceresources.com”,”description”:”Commerce Resources Corp is an exploration stage company based in Canada. It engages in the business of acquiring, exploring, developing, and evaluating mineral resource properties. The company is specifically focused on the development of the Ashram Rare Earth Project at the Eldor Property in Quebec, and the Blue River Tantalum and Niobium Project in British Columbia.”,”tickerSymbol”:”TSXV:CCE”,”sameAs”:[],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.gif?id=29648254&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.gif?id=29648254&width=210″} Company Profile Yearly gain: 18.18 percent; market cap: C$25.48 million; current share price: C$0.13Commerce Resources is developing the Ashram rare earth and fluorspar deposit located in Québec, Canada. The company believes the project has the potential to become a low-cost producer of mixed rare earth carbonate and/or neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxide. Commerce has made steady progress over the past year in meeting that object for the Ashram deposit. In March, the company shared significant advancements in optimizing the mineral processing and hydrometallurgical flowsheets for the project, resulting in 30 to 35+ percent rare earth oxide monazite mineral concentrates at recoveries of between 60 percent to 70 percent produced using only flotation. The company released a resource estimate update for Ashram in May, which has the indicated category tonnage increase by 164 percent following nearly 28,800 meters of diamond drilling. The updated resource estimate now shows an indicated 73.2 million metric tons at 1.89 percent TREO and 6.6 percent calcium fluoride, and an inferred 131.1 million metric tons at 1.91 percent TREO and 4 percent calcium fluoride. FAQs for rare earth investing What are rare earth minerals? Rare earths are a category of elements that share many chemical properties. In fact, all but two — yttrium and scandium — are also called lanthanides. These elements are commonly found in the same deposits and are necessary for diverse technological applications such as rare earth magnets. How many rare earth elements are there? In total there are 17 elements that make up the rare earths category, and they are split into light and heavy rare earths. On the light side, there are cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, europium, gadolinium and samarium, and on the heavy side there are dysprosium, yttrium, terbium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, yttrium and lutetium. Where are rare earth metals found? In terms of both reserves and production, China is the frontrunner for rare earth metals by a long shot, with 44 million metric tons of reserves and 240,000 metric tons of production in 2023. However, Vietnam and Brazil also have significant reserves above 20 million MT. With regards to rare earth production, the US is in second place at 43,000 metric tons due to the Mountain Pass mine in California. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

As the world eagerly anticipates the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place from July 26 to August 11, the medals to be awarded to victorious athletes have garnered attention for their unique design and composition.This year, the medals are not just a symbol of athletic achievement but also a piece of French history. Each medal contains an 18 gram piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, in the shape of a hexagon at the center — a nod to mainland France’s nickname “The Hexagon.” Embossed lines radiating from the hexagon create a striking visual effect.The Eiffel Tower, constructed in 1889, features a type of iron known as “puddle” iron. The puddling process was crucial in producing iron of nearly pure quality and exceptional strength by eliminating excess carbon from cast iron.During the 20th century, some of this original material was removed from the tower during renovations and carefully preserved. In recognition of the games’ importance, the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel has allowed these historic iron pieces to be repurposed into the Olympic medals.“There was a huge amount done to try to bring together these precious metals — gold, silver and bronze — with the most precious metal in the Eiffel Tower, the jewel in the French crown,” Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said.The reverse side of the medals combines the history of the Olympics with France’s iconic landmark, depicting the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, against the backdrop of the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens and the Eiffel Tower.The 2024 Olympic medals are designed by the French jewelry company Chaumet, marking the first time a jeweler has taken on this task for the Olympics. A total of 5,084 medals will be awarded during the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. How much are the metals in a 2024 Olympic medal worth? While the symbolic significance of an Olympic medal and the iron from the Eiffel Tower are both priceless, you may be wondering just how much the Olympic medals are worth based on the metals used to create them.The prices of both gold and silver have performed strongly in 2024, with gold setting new all time highs earlier in July. Prices used for these calculations come from metal pricing on July 24 at 12:00 PM EDT, when the gold price was about US$2,400 and silver was about US$29.First up is the Olympic gold medal, which is actually largely composed of pure silver with 6 grams of gold plating. The 2024 gold medal weighs 529 grams, including the 18 grams of iron, putting the silver content at 505 grams. Combined, the gold and silver metals content give the 2024 gold medal an intrinsic value of approximately US$932.This year’s silver medal weighs 525 grams, 507 grams of which is pure silver, resulting in the Olympic silver medal’s metal content having a value of approximately US$471. The bronze medal weighs in at 455 grams, composed of 415 grams of copper and 22 grams of zinc. With prices for both under US$5 per pound, the metals in the bronze medal hold minimal intrinsic value compared to the other two. However, they make up for it with their immense symbolic significance. The historical context of Olympic medals Olympic medals have evolved significantly since the modern Olympic games began in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Initially, winners received silver medals and olive branches, while second-place finishers were awarded bronze medals and laurel branches.Since then, an estimated 36,600 medals have been awarded. However, the tradition of awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals did not begin until the 1904 St. Louis Olympics in the US.Olympic medals have seen various designs and materials over the years. Early medals often featured Greek mythology, while modern designs have added motifs representing the host city’s culture.More recently, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics set a precedent for innovation by creating medals from recycled electronic devices, including 6.21 million cell phones, to emphasize sustainability. This year, the Paris Olympics continue this legacy of innovation by incorporating historical elements into the medal design. In addition to the use of iron from the Eiffel Tower, the medals were crafted at the Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint, which is the same institution that minted the medals for the 1924 Paris Olympics, bringing a century-old tradition full circle.This upcoming Olympics, each athlete will be vying not only for the glory and honor of their home countries, but also the opportunity to take home a piece of history in each medal that serves as a testament to their skill and determination.“What’s impactful for this year will be having a part of the original Eiffel Tower metal, the iron, in these various medals, and so this is what we wanted to do, to infuse all these 2024 athletes with that metal,” Estanguet said. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The Jansen potash project has surpassed the 50 percent construction completion mark for its first phase (JS1), BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) announced in a press release earlier this week.Jansen was BHP’s first stepping stone into the potash sector more than 14 years ago. The project site is located approximately 140 kilometers east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is fully owned by BHP. Two of the mine’s shafts are over 1,000 metres deep.“As JS1 crosses the halfway mark, the focus now shifts towards the completion of the mill building and processing plant, port construction, finalizing infrastructure and gearing up to handover the project to operations,” the company stated in the press release.Stage one has a planned annual production of 4.15 million tonnes, with first production expected to be delivered in late 2026. Stage two construction is anticipated to take six years, with its first production in 2029 followed by a ramp-up period of three years.Once both stages are complete, the project is designed to produce approximately 8.5 million tonnes per annum of agricultural-grade potash.BHP has already commenced construction of stage two alongside construction of stage one. Some of the benefits of the transition to the second phase during the construction of the first phase, according to BHP, include leveraging the experience of the Jansen project team, using existing contractors and reducing overheads.The company’s total investment amount of about CA$14 million is both the largest investment in BHP’s history and the largest private investment in Saskatchewan. BHP approved CA$7.5 billion in investment for stage one of Jansen in 2021 and allocated an additional CAD$6.4 billion investment for stage two when it announced the expansion in late 2023. “Building one of the largest potash mines in the world requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and the province has really come together to make a project of this magnitude possible,” said Karina Gistelinck, BHP’s asset president for potash. “Delivering Jansen safely remains our top priority as we get ready for Jansen operations in 2026.”The project is expected to operate for up to 100 years, and once stage 2 is complete, Jansen is expected to supply about 10 percent of global potash production.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

In trading on Thursday, shares of Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A. (Symbol: BVN) entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $15.22 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used t

In trading on Thursday, shares of First Majestic Silver Corp (Symbol: AG) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $5.88, changing hands as low as $5.67 per share. First Majestic Silver Corp shares are currently trading down about 2.8% on the day. The chart below shows th

The second quarter of 2024 saw copper prices surge on the London Metals Exchange (LME) on the back of supply bottlenecks and elevated demand, particularly from energy sectors.Copper markets saw momentum from the first quarter with prices on April 3 sitting at US$8,728 per metric ton, but supply and demand dynamics provided critical support for the base metal and by the end of the month, the price had climbed to US$9,973.50.With an improving macroeconomic environment in the United States increasing the likelihood of a rate cut and continued cuts at Chinese refiners in May, the copper price encountered a perfect storm that helped the metal set a record high on the LME of US$11,104.50 per metric ton on May 20, and it hit an even higher price on the COMEX of US$5.20 per pound, or US$11,464 per metric ton, the same day. The copper price pulled back to end Q2 at US$9,418 per metric ton. Although the price has since retreated to US$9,051.50 as of July 22, it remains at elevated levels with conditions likely to continue providing support for the near future. Chart via London Metal Exchange.Copper price chart, January 1 to June 30, 2024. Copper supply struggles lead to tight market in Q2 Both the loss of existing copper supply and the lack of incoming supply are supporting copper prices this year.Weighing on copper supply has been the closure of First Quantum’s (TSX:FM,OTC Pink:FQVLF) Cobre Panama mine in Panama, which accounted for approximately 1 percent of global copper supply when it was operational. The mine is currently in care and maintenance with negotiations halted as First Quantum awaited the results of presidential elections this past May. The newly elected José Raúl Mulino, a conservative, was seen as an investor favorite. However, Mulino has said his government won’t engage in a fresh round of negotiations unless First Quantum drops its arbitration claims.In an interview with the Investing News Network, Joe Mazumdar, editor and analyst with Exploration Insight spoke briefly about the situation in Panama.“From what I understand most of the people that were running for presidential election were all against the project,” Mazumdar said. “I don’t think there’s anybody there that is for the project winning. So then it’s all about arbitration, which will drag on for a while.” He believes the situation will impact investment decisions elsewhere as well. “It will also make people and companies rethink spending a lot of money in some jurisdictions if they don’t have government support.” Elsewhere in the sector, the news has been mixed at best. Despite predicting lower grades and reduced production at its Quellaveco mine, Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) saw an 11 percent year-over-year increase during the first quarter as the mine achieved its highest throughput rate. Even so, the copper miner has set guidance for copper production at 730,000 to 790,000 metric tons for 2024, substantially lower than the 826,000 metric tons of copper production it saw in 2023.“We’ve also had a secular negative trend in production with the largest copper producer, which is Codelco. They’ve got problems with large amounts of debt, so their ability to fund their expansions is problematic,” Mazumdar said.Codelco, Chile’s state-run mining company, saw production slump to 25 year lows in 2023. This year, the world’s largest copper producer is struggling to meet its 2024 production targets as a new mandate from the Chilean government has prioritized lithium production and the Chuquicamata and El Teniente mines continue to be plagued by long-term debt issues.Lower production levels have stressed treatment charges since the start of the year, forcing Chinese refiners to begin their own production cuts earlier in the year. However, these cuts have done little to raise margins and producers have begun to plan for additional cuts in Q3 as lowered rates begin to affect annual deals that benefit refiners.Mazumdar said that the majority of mines produce copper concentrate, for which 50 percent of the smelting capacity is in China. The end price is dictated by treatment and refining charges, which he said have gone low and nearly turned negative.He went on to say that the other price to look at when analyzing copper markets is copper cathode premiums, which reflect cathode supply and demand.“So there’s the cathode price. That’s stated in the London Metals Exchange, and Shanghai and the COMEX in the States. But if the market is tight in any of those regions, locally, you will see a cathode premium … over the price of the copper,” Mazumdar said. “People are willing to pay more to incentivize people that have copper inventory to actually put it into the market.”According to Mazumdar, the current low treatment and refining charges and high cathode premiums are indicative of a very tight near-term market. Electrification driving copper demand Higher prices also reflect a recovery from manufacturing sectors as well as higher demand from industries tied to the global energy transition.Electricity generation in general is a large driver of copper demand, and renewable energy options such as solar and wind consume even large amounts of copper. This is significant as the world continues to move away from fossil fuels, the need for both wind and solar will drive the need for materials to produce parts for turbines and photovoltaics, including copper. In its Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration reported that US electricity generation increased 5 percent during the first six months of 2024 compared to H12023, and predicted that electricity in the second half of 2024 would be up 2 percent compared to last year. The report also indicates that solar is currently the fastest-growing source of electricity generation. Solar generation was up significantly in the US year-over-year in H1, and the EIA expects it to grow 42 percent year-on-year during the second quarter. This comes alongside increases in installed solar and wind, particularly in China, which saw record-setting installations of wind and solar projects as installed solar costs drop below that of any other energy source.Renewable usage is also increasing with corporations. S&P Global Commodity Insights reports that corporate renewable capacity has increased by 15.8 gigawatts worth of contracts being signed through the first quarter, representing a 36 percent increase from the same time in 2023. Of those, solar led the way and made up roughly half of the deals signed. The report indicated the mineral extraction sector saw strong renewable growth, including 2.5 gigawatts of deals signed by Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) as it works to improve its carbon footprint at its Australian operations. Significant copper demand has also been coming from electric vehicle (EV) producers who have been trying to meet growth in the automotive sector. Since 2023, there have been reports of a slowdown in EV sales, but many US carmakers have strong growth in 2024.During the first half of the year, US EV sales saw an 11.3 percent increase over 2023 with 330,463 units sold. Globally, sales were even stronger, increasing 20 percent to 7 million units sold. China held its position as the strongest EV market, accounting for 4.1 million of those sales.EVs can use as much as 60 kilograms of copper versus the 25 kilograms in traditional internal combustion powered cars and 29 kilograms in hybrids. Additionally, the electrical demands on the grid will require more power generation and thus even greater amounts of copper.In a May 2024 report from the International Energy Forum, a body established to facilitate dialogue between energy-producing and energy-consuming countries, it suggested that current goals for 100 percent EV production by 2035 were unrealistic. Instead, it recommended the goal be moved to the manufacturing of hybrids instead.It noted that the average copper production output of the top 10 mines is 472,000 metric tons per year, and in order to maintain current increases to demand 1.1 new mines will need to be added every year until 2050. When EVs and their demands from the electric grid are factored in, that rises to 1.7 new mines per year or 54 new mines by 2050. What can copper investors expect in 2024? In the short term, there is still copper supply in the market, but the situation could quickly change. The Chinese real estate market, which has traditionally been a major demand generator for copper, hasn’t recovered yet, and a shift there could send an already tight market over the edge.Chinese officials have made attempts to revive the flagging sector, but the initiatives have had little effect and are threatening to drag its economy down further. However, in China, softened copper demand from housing has largely been offset by increased demand from EVs and the country’s attempt to move away from fossil fuel to meet its energy needs.As for incoming supply, Mazumdar noted that funding for projects tough as due to rising costs, and the copper price hasn’t been enough to incentivize it. Additionally, projects that have seen development won’t come online in time to fill gaps in production as they’ve also been held back. He suggested producers are looking to avoid the kind of cost overruns experienced with Teck’s (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) Quebrada Blanca 2 expansion, which ballooned from US$4.7 billion to US$8.8 billion.Additionally, while mergers and acquisitions are taking place in the industry, they have largely been focused on producing assets. “They don’t mind paying a premium for a project in production because it’s permitted, obviously, the tailings are organized and the capital has been spent, so there is no capital escalation risk,” Mazumdar said. Mazumdar also suggested that permitting issues are a major factor to timelines, causing investors to rethink where their capital flows to. These long permitting times are resulting in companies turning to jurisdictions with more government support for critical metals, citing Barrick’s (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) projects in Pakistan.“Why spend a premium on a project that might take 10 plus years to permit when you can spend as much or less on a project that you can get funded in an area that might take half the time to put into production,” he said.With limited supply and little to be done to ease permitting times, copper demand is likely to keep the market bullish. This demand is likely good news for investors looking to find opportunities in the resource sector as copper is critical in the medium and long term to energy transition goals around the world. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Graphite isn’t just used for pencils — it’s also a key electric vehicle (EV) battery component due to its high conductivity and quick-charging capacity. As EV sales rise, experts believe this battery metal will also take flight.With the graphite forecast looking hopeful, investors are searching for ways to get exposure to the sector. Australian investors can look to the ASX, which is home to a slew of companies focused on the graphite market. When learning about an industry, it’s often a good idea to start with key players, and here the Investing News Network has compiled a list of the largest graphite mining companies on the ASX by market cap. Data was collected using TradingView’s stock screener on July 10, 2024. Read on to learn more about Australia’s largest graphite companies. 1. Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”Sovereign Metals Limited”,”url”:”https://investingnews.com/stocks/au-svm/sovereign-metals-limited/”,”description”:”Sovereign Metals Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the identification, exploration, development, and appraisal of mineral resource projects in Malawi.”,”tickerSymbol”:”AU:SVM”,”sameAs”:[],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50743978&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50743978&width=210″} Company Profile Market cap: AU$403.35 million; share price: AU$0.705Sovereign Metals is focused on advancing on its Kasiya rutile-graphite project in Malawi. Rutile is a mineral consisting of titanium dioxide that’s often used to produce titanium metal. Kasiya’s graphite co-product mineral resource estimate is 1.8 billion tonnes at 1.4 percent graphite, containing over 24.4 million tonnes of graphite. The company believes this material has the potential to be used to supply spherical purified graphite for the lithium-ion battery anode market.Major miner Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO,ASX:RIO) has made a series of strategic investments in Sovereign Metals over the past year totalling AU$58.9 million, giving it a 19.76 percent stake in the company as of July 2024. With this funding and Rio Tinto’s technical expertise, Sovereign is advancing Kasiya toward a definitive feasibility study (DFS). In June, the company announced that its pilot plant construction phase is underway as part of its ongoing optimisation study, which will provide critical information for the planned DFS. 2. Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”SYRAH RES FPO [SYR]”,”url”:”https://investingnews.com/stocks/au-syr/syrah-res-fpo-syr/”,”description”:”Syrah Resources Ltd is an Australia-based company engaged in mining, mineral exploration, evaluation, and development. The company operates in three segments: Balama, Vidalia, and Corporate.”,”tickerSymbol”:”AU:SYR”,”sameAs”:[],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50743876&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50743876&width=210″} Company Profile Market cap: AU$331.17 million; share price: AU$0.31Syrah Resources is an industrial minerals and technology company with a vision of becoming a leading global supplier of graphite and battery anode products. Its two main focuses are its flagship Balama graphite project in Mozambique and its Vidalia anode materials facility in Louisiana, US. Syrah’s Balama operation has a projected lifespan of over 50 years, and its combined mining and processing operations allow for the production of 94 to 98 percent pure carbon graphite concentrate.Syrah reached a significant milestone in April 2024 with its sale of 10,000 tonnes of natural graphite fines from its Balama operation to PT Indonesia BTR New Energy Materials. This represents the company’s “first large volume natural graphite sale to a battery supply chain participant destination outside China.” This followed the previous month’s announcement of a binding offtake agreement with South Korea’s Posco Future M (KRX:003670) as part of Syrah’s efforts to expand its reach into ex-China markets.Syrah commenced production at the Vidalia facility in February of this year, making it the first integrated graphite processor outside of China. The plant currently has annual production capacity of 11,250 tonnes of active anode material. In 2022, the company was selected to receive an up to US$220 million grant from the US Department of Energy as part of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The funds are being used to support the financing of an expansion at Syrah’s Vidalia facility that will bring its capacity to 45,000 tonnes per year. The company has binding offtake agreements with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Westwater Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:WWR) and Graphex Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Graphex Group (NYSEAMERICAN:GRFX,HKEX:6128). 3. Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”RENASCOR FPO [RNU]”,”url”:”https://investingnews.com/stocks/au-rnu/renascor-fpo-rnu/”,”description”:”Renascor Resources Ltd is engaged in the exploration of graphite, copper, gold, uranium and other minerals in Australia.”,”tickerSymbol”:”AU:RNU”,”sameAs”:[],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50743926&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50743926&width=210″} Company Profile Market cap: AU$228.73 million; share price: AU$0.09Renascor Resources has honed its efforts on helping to power the future with clean energy resources. While the company has five projects, most of its activities are focused on its two fully owned projects in South Australia: the Siviour battery anode materials project and the Carnding gold project.Renascor announced in April that the Australian Government had approved a AU$185 million loan facility to help advance its planned vertically integrated battery anode material graphite mine and manufacturing operation. More recently, in July the company was awarded a AU$5 million grant under the Australian Government’s International Partnerships in Critical Minerals Program to help fund a AU$10 million demonstration plant. Both of these funding initiatives will help to fast-track the project. Renascor says it’s on track for planned commissioning of the demonstration processing plant in Q2 2025. The plant will produce battery-grade purified spherical graphite. 4. Talga Group (ASX:TLG) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:”Talga Group”,”url”:”https://investingnews.com/stocks/au-tlg/talga-group/”,”description”:”Talga Group Ltd is a technology minerals company.”,”tickerSymbol”:”AU:TLG”,”sameAs”:[],”image”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50530205&width=980″,”logo”:”https://investingnews.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=50530205&width=210″} Company Profile Market cap: AU$214.56 million; share price: AU$0.55Talga Group is a vertically integrated battery anode and materials company, meaning it mines its own graphite and also produces anodes. It has operations in Sweden, Japan, Australia, Germany and the UK.Last year, Talga received environmental approval for its Nunasvaara South graphite mine, which forms part of its vertically integrated Vittangi anode project in Sweden; and it received the environmental permit for its Luleå anode refinery, which Talga says will be Europe’s first commercial natural graphite anode plant. Construction of the plant began in the third quarter of 2023. The FEED study for the Vittangi anode project was completed in the first quarter of 2024, and a scoping study is now underway to expand the existing initial 19,500 tonne per year production of graphite anode products. Talga is targeting Q4 2024 for the completion of the scoping study, which also includes downstream anode refinery expansions and incorporation of the company’s proprietary graphite recycling technology. 5. Quantum Graphite (ASX:QGL) {“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”Corporation”,”name”:” Quantum Graphite”,”url”:”https://investingnews.com/stocks/asx-qgl/quantum-graphite/”,”description”:”Quantum Graphite Ltd operates in the mining industry. It is engaged in the exploration, mining, processing and manufacture of graphite and associated products.”,”tickerSymbol”:”ASX:QGL”,”sameAs”:[]} Company Profile Market cap: AU$163.87 million; share price: AU$0.52Quantum Graphite is advancing the Uley 2 flake graphite project in South Australia, which includes the past-producing Uley mine and the Mikkira deposit. The company bills it as “one of the largest high-grade natural flake deposits in the world.”The project is fully permitted and development ready with a binding offtake agreement with a major European trading group for 50 percent of its production for a minimum of 5 years.Through its Sunlands Power joint venture with Sunlands Energy, Quantum Graphite plans to manufacture coarse-natural-flake-based thermal storage media sourced from the Uley mine to be fitted within Sunland Energy’s patented TES Graphite Cells technology for grid connected long duration energy storage. FAQs for investing in graphite What is graphite? Graphite is a naturally occurring form of the mineral carbon and is composed of many layers of graphene. The other naturally occurring form of carbon is diamonds, although the two minerals look entirely different due to their molecular structure. Graphite is fragile, but it has a very high heat resistance.Graphite comes in three forms: amorphous, flake and vein, with flake being the most used. There is also synthetic graphite. What is graphite used for? The first thing that may come to mind when thinking of graphite applications is pencil lead. In fact, it is that industry that gave graphite its name — its moniker is derived from the Ancient Greek “graphein,” which means to write. However, pencils make up a small percentage of overall graphite consumption.A popular up-and-coming graphite use is as a component of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in everything from smart phones to EVs. It is a primary material in battery anodes — in fact, in the average electric passenger car, there are about 66 kilograms of graphite. Other graphite uses include lubricants and consumer electronics; the commodity is also used as a refractory material in the manufacturing industry and in the creation of graphene sheets. Is graphite found in Australia? Even though there are no large-scale producing graphite mines in Australia (yet), the country sits on 5 million tonnes of ore reserves, and 7.97 million tonnes of economic demonstrated resources, as per government data published in 2022. These reserves and resources are shared between three states: Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Article by Melissa Pistilli; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

In trading on Wednesday, shares of Steel Dynamics Inc. (Symbol: STLD) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $124.16, changing hands as low as $123.16 per share. Steel Dynamics Inc. shares are currently trading down about 2.6% on the day. The chart below shows the one y

KPMG Australia Partner Matthew Herring spoke at this year’s Noosa Mining Conference, shedding light on the current funding landscape in Australia and how Australian resource companies can strategise to secure grants.“The purpose (of this presentation) is to provide examples of funding options so that you can start thinking about how you might take a strategic approach to government funding as part of your overall capital strategy,” Herring said in his introduction.He started his presentation by explaining that governments are intervening in the mining sector and offering funding options because most of them are focused on domestic energy transition and decarbonisation.“They’re also trying to get better capitalised on the phenomenal resource base that we have and move us up the value chain so that we can be internationally competitive,” he continued, adding that governments recognise the global race for investment Australia is in, and that the Australian government needs to compete with other countries on policy in order to attract capital into Australia.In terms of funding options, Herring shared that there is a wide range of both state and federal government programs available. He did note that most of these do not cover standard mining and exploration projects, as they were designed to support projects that are looking at reducing emissions, testing and deploying innovative technologies, expanding production or improving supply chains.While there are plenty of available options, the KPMG partner also noted these grants are generally competitive, meaning companies should plan ahead as to what funding they will apply for.For projects that may not qualify for the usual state and federal government programs, Herring recommends looking at the research and development tax incentive. This option is widely accessed in the mining sector given its nature as an entitlement program.The tax incentive covers up to 43.5 percent of one’s eligible spend and is refunded through the tax system. Herring underlined that this is often almost as good as what one would get with a grant. ​Critical minerals funding  Herring highlighted a few specific grants in his talk, with the first being the Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund, which is targeted to support businesses across the critical minerals supply chain.He said that the fund supports a broad range of supply chain-related projects in the sector, citing how Queensland Pacific Metals (ASX:QPU) was recently awarded AU$8 million in funding for its Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub project.The next point of discussion was the International Partnerships in Critical Minerals grant, offered by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. This is exclusively for critical minerals businesses to have a maximum of AU$20 million in funding to grow end-to-end supply chains with Australia’s international partners.Magnium Australia received AU$6.5 million under this grant, which was allotted to accelerate the development of Magnium’s CSIRO-patented technology for the clean extraction of magnesium metal and construction of the Collie magnesium refinery pilot plant in Collie.Another category he discussed was debt and equity funds, with Herring specifically talking about the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF). Dedicated to investment-ready projects, this is a AU$15 billion fund over 10 years for debt equity and guarantees. As the NRF is new, it has not yet made any investments, but it is aimed at investment-ready projects in priority sectors such as renewables and value addition in mining.Herring also touched on other opportunities for hydrogen and critical metals projects, as well as funding for research partnerships through Australia’s Economic Accelerator program. The most important thing, according to Herring, is for companies to analyse their projects. “Understand what was available at one point in time to try and match with the projects that you might have on board,” he advised.Towards the end of his talk, he gave a few tips on how companies can up their game:Spend time researching and planning to align your projects with available funding.Ensure you have good processes and the wide capability and capacity, either in-house or contract, to apply for the funding.Build relationships with key stakeholders, alliance partners, clients and more.Don’t spend all your time chasing grants at the cost of other priorities.“If you do these things well and you have good quality projects, you absolutely maximise your chance of success,” Herring ended. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

In trading on Wednesday, shares of BHP Group Ltd (Symbol: BHP) entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $54.67 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on

Speaking to the Investing News Network, Kerry Stevenson, host of Making Money Matter, explained why she sold all but three stocks in her portfolio late last year, and what she’s doing with her money now.”I actually cashed in the whole portfolio aside from one coal stock … and two gold stocks,” she said on the sidelines of the Rule Symposium. “I’ve been sitting in cash up until about two and a half weeks ago, when I’ve come back in with quite big licks on four stocks, and I’ve still got some cash where I’m looking at some of the small caps.” One gold stock Stevenson is “very happy” with is Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR,OTC Pink:GYYSF), formerly Gascoyne Resources, which she said has undergone a turnaround since Managing Director Simon Lawson took the helm. She’s also looking outside the resource sector at biotech — Argenica Therapeutics (ASX:AGN) is a stock she likes in that sector. It’s developing novel neuroprotective therapeutics to reduce brain damage for people who have had strokes. Stevenson also discussed trends in Australia’s resource sector and why investor education is so important to her. “If you’re not investing your money, you’re going backwards. Because inflation is here to stay, and no matter which way you look at it, if you’re not trying to get ahead of the inflationary curve, you’re going backwards,” she said.Watch the interview above for more from Stevenson on what she’s doing with her money. You can also click here to view the Investing News Network’s Rule Symposium playlist on YouTube. Recorded presentations from the Rule Symposium are available here.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: Spartan Resources is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content. The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.Affiliate Disclosure: The Investing News Network may earn commission from qualifying purchases or actions made through the links or advertisements on this page.

Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist, Americas, at the World Gold Council, reviewed gold’s H1 performance and outlined what factors could drive the yellow metal in the second half of the year. In his opinion, the sector’s east/west divide remains, and will be key to watch as 2024 continues. “I think that what we’re looking at in the second half of the year is whether or not the eastern investor, who doesn’t really pay much attention to where US rates are, or real rates are in western markets — they’re looking at their homegrown investment requirements — will they stay active and actually continue to make that investment into gold in their investment portfolios,” he said on the sidelines of the Rule Symposium. Watch the interview above for more from Cavatoni on gold market trends to watch right now. You can also click here to view the Investing News Network’s Rule Symposium playlist on YouTube. Recorded presentations from the Rule Symposium are available here.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.Affiliate Disclosure: The Investing News Network may earn commission from qualifying purchases or actions made through the links or advertisements on this page.

After reaching a 17 year high in January, uranium prices consolidated in Q2, holding above US$82 per pound.Despite the cooldown, geopolitical tensions, supply concerns and resource nationalism added support to the uranium sector over the 90 day period, preventing the energy fuel from dipping below the US$80 level. Some analysts believe the correction is part of the uranium market’s ongoing bull run.“Although the price of uranium has appreciated significantly, we’re still well shy of the record US$135 per pound realized in 2007, or US$200 per pound when adjusted for inflation,” Steven Schoffstall, director of ETF product management at Sprott, wrote in an April 25 note on uranium’s resurgence. “Rising global commitments to nuclear energy and other supporting factors are helping to make uranium a more compelling investment than ever.” Starting the quarter at US$87.26, uranium values had contracted slightly by the end of June to hit US$85.76. While prices moved slightly lower, market fundamentals still favor a higher uranium price in the months and years to come. Chart via Trading Economics.Uranium price, Q2 2024.Schoffstall states that a positive trend working in uranium’s favor is the COP28 commitment to triple nuclear capacity by 2050. Globally, 152 nuclear reactors are currently either under construction or planned.Additionally, in early January, the UK government announced plans to expedite investment decisions for new nuclear projects, aiming to quadruple its nuclear capacity by 2050. Schoffstall notes that with this expansion, nuclear energy would account for 25 percent of Britain’s electricity demand, up from 15 percent previously. US ban on Russian uranium boosts prices After holding in the US$86 to US$89 range through April, uranium prices were pushed higher in May by the news that the Biden administration will be banning Russian uranium imports.“This new law reestablishes America’s leadership in the nuclear sector. It will help secure our energy sector for generations to come,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on May 13. “And — building off the unprecedented US$2.72 billion in federal funding that Congress recently appropriated at the President’s request — it will jumpstart new enrichment capacity in the United States and send a clear message to industry that we are committed to long-term growth in our nuclear sector.” The decision aligns with goals set last December by the US and its allies, including Canada, France, Japan and the UK, which collectively pledged US$4.2 billion to expand uranium enrichment and conversion capacity. The US has relied on Russian uranium since the 1993 Megatons to Megawatts program, which involved converting 500 metric tons (MT) of uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear warheads into reactor fuel.According to the US Energy Information Agency, Russian imports accounted for 12 percent of the nation’s uranium supply in 2022. The new legislation aims to shift this dependenct toward local uranium sourcing.The announcement raised questions about the US’ ability to source uranium domestically and through allies, which proved beneficial for US-focused producers like Energy Fuels (TSX:EFR,NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU). Uranium miners bringing supply back online As countries look to bolster their nuclear energy capacity, issues around future supply are intensifying. In 2022, total global production satiated just 74 percent of global demand, pointing to a sizable shortfall.If the world intends to meet the COP28 obligation of tripling nuclear capacity, increased uranium production is needed. Some of that supply will come from projects that were curtailed due to weak prices in the 2010s.Restarting uranium production at these projects will likely prove easier than bringing new projects online due to the decades-long process of getting mines approved. Indeed, several uranium companies in the US, Canada and Australia have already announced plans to restart existing mines due to recent market optimism.In late November, Cameco( TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) announced it would resume operations at its McArthur River/Key Lake project in Saskatchewan. In January of this year, Denison Mines (TSX:DML,NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) and Orano Canada revealed plans to restart the McClean Lake project, also in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.On the other side of the border, IsoEnergy (TSXV:ISO,OTCQX:ISENF) is preparing to restart its Tony M underground uranium mine in Utah, with first production slated for 2025.In Australia, Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN,OTCQX:PALAF) resumed commercial production at its Langer Henrich mine in late March, with the first customer shipment expected in July. The company subsequently released guidance for its 2025 fiscal year, outlining 4 million to 4.5 million pounds of production. Paladin’s goal is for Langer Heinrich to reach nameplate production of 6 million pounds annually by the end of the 2026 calendar year. “Now that uranium prices have returned to more profitable levels, many previously closed mines are taking steps to start producing again,” said Schoffstall in his note. “However, adding to the supply of uranium isn’t as simple as flipping a switch, and increasing uranium production is proving difficult.”Case in point — the sector’s largest producers have had to reduce their 2024 production guidance. In 2023, Cameco, the largest pure-play uranium miner by market cap, had to lower the production forecast for its Cigar Lake mine and its McArthur River/Key Lake operations, expecting a nearly 3 million pound shortfall.Similarly, Kazatomprom, which produces about 44 percent of the world’s uranium, announced in February that it will fall short of its production targets in 2024, and likely in 2025 as well. These positive long-term fundamentals pushed uranium to a Q2 high of US$93.72 on May 8. Paladin’s Fission offer hints at more M&A Amid that environment, some producers started looking for uranium deals in June.Most notable was Paladin’s C$1.4 billion offer for Saskatchewan-focused Fission Uranium (TSX:FCU,OTCQX:FCUUF).“The acquisition of Fission, along with the successful restart of our Langer Heinrich Mine, is another step in our strategy to diversify and grow into a global uranium leader across the top uranium mining jurisdictions of Canada, Namibia and Australia,” said Paladin CEO Ian Purdy in a June 24 press release. “Fission is a natural fit for our portfolio with the shallow high-grade PLS project located in Canada’s Athabasca Basin. The addition of PLS creates a leading Canadian development hub alongside Paladin’s Michelin project, with exploration upside across all Canadian properties,” he continued. While some market watchers think the deal could open the floodgates for more M&A activity in the sector, others have warned of potential pitfalls like those witnessed during uranium’s last bull market.During that period, only one major acquisition led to the development of a new uranium mine: China General Nuclear’s 2012 purchase of Extract Resources, which resulted in Namibia’s Husab mine. Other deals failed to produce viable assets as they were often based on promising geological surveys rather than proven reserves.This time, industry players are expected to focus on acquiring high-quality, low-cost assets that can withstand market downturns. The Fission deal emphasizes the importance of prioritizing “large single asset scale” properties, Arthur Hyde, partner and portfolio manager at Segra Capital, told Energy Intelligence.“This is perfectly predictable and probably exactly what the market should be seeing,” he continued during the interview. “I would say that we’re kind of in a unique commodity cycle here, where I don’t think smaller bolt-on acquisitions will be enough to satiate the supply-demand gap. What I think we’re seeing in the Fission deal is a premium for scale and I think that’s something that you’ll continue to see through the cycle.” Tailwinds seen pushing prices higher Uranium’s May rally was short-lived, with prices returning to rangebound status through June. Values registered a Q2 low of US$82.07 on June 11, but remained in multi-decade high territory.“Besides being a pause in a longer-term bull market, the uranium spot market has been susceptible to broader factors like broader commodities weakness, seasonal softness and a lack of expected buying activity with the passage of the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act,” wrote Jacob White, ETF product manager at Sprott Asset Management.“On the other hand, fundamentals continue to strengthen with nuclear power plant restarts, new builds and a deepening supply deficit. Notably, the spot market may have paused, but the increasingly positive fundamental picture has played out differently for both the term market and uranium miners,” he further explained.This sentiment was shared by panelists polled by FocusEconomics. They noted that June saw prices fall for the third time in four months, although they remain near the highest levels since the pre-financial crisis bubble in 2007.This decline likely indicates a market correction, as the spot price has eased this year, while the long-term contract price, which better reflects market fundamentals, has increased.Against that backdrop, the panelists expect to see prices remain around their highest level in more than a decade for the rest of the year, with a Q4 price forecast of US$91.72. “Over 2024 as a whole, they see prices averaging the highest level since 2007, with the pledge at the December UN COP 28 summit to triple nuclear energy output driving a worldwide push for uranium supply — which is relatively inelastic,” the firm’s report reads. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: Energy Fuels is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.

The gold price has reached historic highs in 2024, rising well above US$2,400 per ounce. For Australian investors, the price of the yellow metal has surged above the AU$3,700 mark in the past few months.These gains have come as investors anticipate interest rate cuts and against a backdrop of geopolitical turmoil. Gold has also been buoyed by central bank buying, with China, India and Turkey leading the way in the first half of 2024.For many investors, gold is a tool for diversification. The precious metal is known for its ability to act as a safe haven and hence operates as a protective option when building a balanced portfolio.Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) give investors a relatively easy way to get exposure to physical gold without having to worry about the extra hassle of buying and storing the metal — not to mention insuring it. Gold ETFs can also track a basket of gold-focused stocks, allowing investors to spread risk instead of betting on individual companies.Below the Investing News Network has listed the four ASX gold ETFs and exchange-traded products (ETPs) that provide exposure to physical gold, and the two ASX gold ETFs that offer exposure to gold companies. The ETFs are listed by assets under management, and data was retrieved from each company’s website on July 23, 2024. 1. Global X Physical Gold (ASX:GOLD) Total assets under management: AU$3.14 billion; current share price: AU$33.29Previously known as ETFS Physical Gold, Global X Physical Gold is an ETP that promises a “low-cost and secure way to access physical gold via the stock exchange,” while avoiding the struggle of storage. The entity is backed by gold held in a London vault by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). Investors can redeem shares for physical gold, not just the cash equivalent; however, this comes with a fee of AU$1,000 per redemption. Global X’s website suggests that for smaller orders, a more cost-effective option is selling units on the secondary market.This ETP has a management fee of 0.4 percent. 2. Perth Mint Gold (ASX:PMGOLD) Total assets under management: AU$875 million; current share price: AU$35.99Owned by the Western Australian government, Perth Mint Gold is an ETP that tracks the international price of gold in Australian dollars. Investments are backed by gold bullion stored in the Perth Mint. Perth Mint Gold is the only gold product on the ASX that maintains a government guarantee for holdings.This ETF has a management fee of just 0.15 percent, making it the lowest-cost physical gold ETF on the ASX. 3. BetaShares Gold Bullion ETF (ASX:QAU) Total assets under management: AU$584.71 million; current share price: AU$19.89The BetaShares Gold Bullion ETF tracks the price of physical gold. It is backed by gold bullion stored by JPMorgan Chase in London. Although the ETF is based on physical gold, you do not own physical gold by owning the ETF. Rather, when you sell shares of your ETF, you receive the cash equivalent of the gold. This ETF has a management fee of 0.59 percent. 4. VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX:GDX) Total assets under management: AU$564.9 million; current share price: AU$56.28The VanEck Gold Miners ETF provides investors with exposure to the largest global gold producers and royalty companies involved in the precious metals space. Its top holdings include Newmont (NYSE:NEM,TSX:NGT), Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM,TSX:AEM) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD,TSX:ABX).This ETF also offers exposure to Australian gold miners, with just over 10 percent of its holdings allocated to Australian gold operators, including Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST,OTC Pink:NESRF). GDX provides a yearly dividend, currently set at 1.65 percent. The ETF has a management fee of 0.53 percent. ​5. Betashares Global Gold Miners ETF (ASX:MNRS) Total assets under management: AU$74.19 million; current share price: AU$6.32The Betashares Global Gold Miners ETF allows Australian investors to add a diverse range of global companies in the gold mining space to their portfolio by focusing on the biggest ex-Australia precious metals companies.Its top holdings include Newmont, Agnico Eagle and royalty company Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM,TSX:WPM).This ETF has a management fee of 0.59 percent. 6. VanEck Gold Bullion ETF (ASX:NUGG) Total assets under management: AU$63.3 million; current share price: AU$35.86The VanEck Gold Bullion ETF allows investors to enjoy the reliability of the gold market without the need to purchase physical gold. It is backed by physical gold bullion bars sourced from Australian gold producers.This ETF has a management fee of 0.25 percent. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) joined an elite club recently. It is now just one of two cryptocurrencies to have a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approved alongside the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

It’s always interesting to monitor stocks to buy during earnings season if the market overreacts to any negative news. With that in mind, I think Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL) are worth a look. Both stocks were sold off recently, and I think the m

Social media has made it even easier to snoop on our friends and neighbors and see what they’re up to — as in, “Oh, looks like Bob bought a new car,” or “Guess John’s doing well at work given that vacation to Greece.” It’s OK to be curious about how people are doing financially

In June, Social Security’s more than 51.1 million retired-worker beneficiaries took home an average check of $1,918.28, which works out to a little over $23,000 on an annualized basis. While Social Security isn’t going to make its recipients rich, it is a program that most retire

CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD) is one of the leaders in cybersecurity and continues to gain momentum by the day. When it released its Falcon platform in 2013, it was viewed as one of the pioneers of cloud-native solutions powered solely by artificial intelligence (AI).

Liz Ann Sonders is a managing director and chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. The Motley Fool’s Bill Mann interviewed Sonders for FoolFest. Here’s part of their conversation.

Fintel reports that on July 26, 2024, Deutsche Bank downgraded their outlook for Southwest Airlines (WBAG:LUV) from Buy to Hold.

Fintel reports that on July 26, 2024, Deutsche Bank upgraded their outlook for Lockheed Martin (WBAG:LMT) from Hold to Buy.

These stocks have recently hit their 52-week lows and are highly rated. Is now the time to buy?

Fintel reports that on July 26, 2024, JP Morgan downgraded their outlook for DexCom (WBAG:DXCM) from Overweight to Neutral.

Fintel reports that on July 26, 2024, Deutsche Bank downgraded their outlook for L3Harris Technologies (WBAG:LHXT) from Buy to Hold.

The wheat complex was in near free fall mode heading into the weekend, with losses across the three exchanges. Chicago SRW futures were down 13 to 15 cents. Kansas City HRW contracts were 16 cents lower in the front months as they hit fresh multi-year lows. MPLS spring wheat was…

Soybeans gave back all of the gains in the August contract for this week and most of November’s on Friday, as contracts fell 28 to 38 ½ cents into the close. Product pressure was in play, especially from the Soy Oil futures, which were down 219 points. Soymeal futures were…

Live cattle futures saw mixed trade on Friday, with contracts anywhere from 37 cents lower to 50 cents higher. Cash trade was quiet this week, with a few sales of $190 in the South and $197-198 in the North, both a $1-2 improvement from the week prior. Feeder cattle futures…

Lean hogs closed out the Friday session with contracts mixed, anywhere from 30 cents lower to 40 cents higher. The USDA National Base Hog price was reported at $82.13 on Friday afternoon, down $2.38 from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was $91.39 on July 24, up 62…

Cotton futures were pulled lower on Friday, as contracts were down 72 to 116 points on the day. The outside markets had some effect, as crude as down $1.85/barrel on the session. CFTC data showed managed money spec funds in cotton futures and options adding 4,357 contracts to their net…

Corn futures ended the Friday session with losses 10 to 11 ½ cent losses across most contracts. The weekly gain for September was 4 cents as Dc was up just over a nickel. The weekly Commitment of Traders report showed specs in corn futures and options covering 24,847 contracts from…

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Riot Platforms Inc (Symbol: RIOT), where a total of 106,849 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 10.7 million underlying shares. That amounts to abou

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Hims & Hers Health Inc (Symbol: HIMS), where a total of 46,707 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 4.7 million underlying shares. That amounts t

Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Floor & Decor Holdings Inc (Symbol: FND), where a total volume of 11,347 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in ResMed Inc. (Symbol: RMD), where a total of 4,404 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 440,400 underlying shares. That amounts to about 46.1% of RMD’