Imagine something cruising into your neighborhood with a package from somewhere far beyond our solar system. It was not Amazon™, but 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar rock that showed up uninvited in May. 

Bigger, faster, and richer in carbon dioxide and nickel than the only two other interstellar objects we’ve ever seen, it briefly fueled alien-ship chatter before scientists confirmed it’s just a frozen traveler carrying gas and dust collected across the cosmos. 

Although the closest it will get to Earth is about 270 million kilometers in mid-December, the alien body will leave us with a reminder that some of the metals we rely on, especially in today’s energy transition, started their journey long before we got here to dig them up. 

In the Weekly Market Digest, concerns about stretched valuations in the AI sector rattled broader equity markets, spiked volatility, and created a risk-off sentiment. In addition, inflation fears lowered the probability of another US rate cut in 2025. 

The Exploration Insights Portfolio followed the broader risk-off trend in equities but still outperformed both the precious and the base metal equity ETFs.

In The Rant, I look at Canada’s ambition to double non-US exports over the next decade by fast-tracking “Nation Building” projects, a promising development for mining projects that make the wish list. But the inclusion of a low-grade nickel project may warrant a second look. 

I’ve just returned from a site visit in Scandinavia, so I will hold off on exploration updates for a precious metal developer in NW Argentina, a gold explorer in northern Quebec, and an advanced gold-antimony explorer in Australia until next week’s Stock Talk.