The New Year typically begins with the cheerful pop of a champagne cork. In 2026, it started with a different sound: US military strikes in oil-rich Venezuela, culminating in the seizure of key military installations, control of infrastructure, and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Although the global reaction was mixed, it was sharply positive among the Venezuelan diaspora in Argentina. 

What matters for precious metal markets is not politics but the persistence of global geopolitical instability. The acceleration of geopolitical risk in 2025 shows little sign of abating, and the US administration’s on-again, off-again crises are likely to continue. 

In this first issue of 2026, I start by welcoming new subscribers before moving into a 2025 Recap that revisits the key themes we discussed throughout the year, along with highlights from site visits and conferences. The 2025 Market Digest steps back to explain why nearly everything, except oil, delivered positive returns, while the 2025 Exploration Insights Portfolio review breaks down performance on both an absolute and relative basis, benchmarks gains and losses, and revisits the rationale behind additions and exits. 

As baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, “the future ain’t what it used to be”, but I remain positive on gold, silver, copper, PGEs, and rare earth elements as an increasingly fluid geopolitical backdrop continues to shape demand for precious and critical minerals. 

I hope you enjoy this recap as much as I did putting it together.