The 2025 conference season kicked off with a bang in Vancouver, where the Metals Investor Forum drew more than 2,228 attendees and hosted the largest number of companies in its decade-long history. Brent, who is participating in the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) today and tomorrow, noted that this event is also very well-attended. 

That said, future sources of capital for the mineral sector may shift to the Middle East and private equity. The former was evident as 14,000 attendees from 178 countries, including 75 government representatives, met in Riyadh last week for the invite-only Future Minerals Forum. 

Maaden, a Saudi Arabian mining company with a US$50 billion market capitalization, is set to inject over US$12 billion into the sector by the end of the decade. Private equity from Silicon Valley is also showing interest, as evidenced by Kobold Metals' impressive fundraising of US$537 billion, which valued the private company at US$2.9 billion. 

In the Weekly Market Digest, a lower-than-expected December US core inflation number supported equity markets and hinted at higher rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in 2025 than those previously anticipated. Investors traded up the US equity markets along with gold and precious metal equities. 

The Exploration Insights Portfolio outperformed both the precious and base metal equity ETFs, led by a copper explorer in Central Asia.   

In Stock Talk, I review a solid copper-gold intersection from a greenfield target in Kazakhstan and positive results from testing a gold-antimony prospect in northern Quebec. A REE developer gets another cash injection from its strategic partner. Two Top Picks provide corporate updates. I plan to catch up on other company news next week.