I am on my way to Lima, Peru, though not for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum — but neither is the soon-to-be leader of the largest economy in the group. About half of Peru’s trade is among APEC members, which includes China. At the exploration and mining conference I am attending, I will be discussing Peru’s role in copper supply, one of its major exports to China. 

Given this travel schedule, which includes a few site visits and a stop in Mendoza, Argentina, the newsletter publication may be a bit off-timing over the next few weeks. Thanks for your patience — I’m looking forward to sharing insights from the field and beyond as we wrap up the year.

In the Weekly Market Digest, although the President-elect has yet to take office, it appears that the ‘honeymoon’ is over as the US equity markets pulled back in an environment of higher volatility. Nonetheless, cryptocurrencies continue to hit new record highs with the expectation of deregulation.

Precious metals and the equities levered to them retreated in the face of a stronger US dollar. The overhang of higher tariffs on the largest commodity consumer and the enmity held by the incoming administration for carbon-neutral technologies such as electric vehicles hurt industrial metals and base metal equities. 

The Exploration Insights Portfolio fell back with both the precious and base metal equity ETFs but by not as much. A US copper developer adds to its treasury while a cash-flowing royalty junior expands its credit facility for future M&A. A US-based gold developer advances its permitting timeline while a South American-based REE developer is working with the current US administration.  

In Stock Talk, I take a dive into a poor quarter from a Top Pick copper producer and review drill results from a silver-gold explorer in NW Argentina, a southern Australian gold explorer, and a Brazil-focused PGM+Au+Ni explorer.