The first crewed deep-space mission in over 50 years launched from Florida last week, sending four astronauts on a flyby of the Moon, potentially setting a new record.

To put that into perspective, covering the same distance on Earth would cost more than US$70,000 in a minivan, burning over 11,303 gallons of gasoline at current prices. 

The actual mission comprised a capsule the size of two minivans, powered by liquid hydrogen and oxygen, with a price tag north of US$4 billion. 

So we should stop whining. 

In the Weekly Market Digest, two commodities (oil and aluminum) hit 52-week highs due to the ongoing disruptions of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The investor battle is between focusing on the inflationary impacts of rising energy prices and availability, and the fears of a global recession. The risk of declining real rates and the potential to add to the ballooning US deficit by spending US$1 billion per day on the war effort lifted precious metal prices, and the equities levered to them. 

The Exploration Insights Portfolio was up last week, as only one company significantly underperformed its equity ETF benchmark. The performance was led by a grassroots copper-gold explorer in Peru. Top Picks either outperformed or were in line with their respective equity ETF benchmarks. 

In Stock Talk, I cover permitting updates from a grassroots copper explorer in the Yukon, a REE developer in Chile, and a gold developer in the western US. I also review exploration updates from a copper explorer in Peru and a precious metal developer in Argentina.