Having run into the cane toad in northern Queensland back in the early 1990s, I can’t help but draw comparisons between this invasive amphibian and today’s junior mining executives. Both share a knack for survival: an insatiable appetite, a poison gland for defense, and an uncanny mobility when the environment demands it.

For many attendees at the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, the dilemma was familiar: Do you have to "kiss the frog" before valuations leap even higher? 

In the Weekly Market Digest, I present my review of the current bull market in the precious metals sector, while also covering a significant diversified M&A transaction and the sale of a gold project in Ontario.

The Exploration Insights portfolio outpaced the base metal equity ETF over the past fortnight but trailed the precious metal equity ETF. Standout performers included a grassroots precious metal explorer in Nevada, a cash-flowing royalty generator, and a grassroots copper explorer in the Yukon.

At Beaver Creek, I met with approximately 30 companies, roughly half of which are already in the portfolio. I’ll cover some of those updates in today’s Stock Talk, with the rest deferred to next week. 

In this week’s Stock Talk, I reviewed a strategic private placement in a gold developer in southern Idaho and a US government investment in a REE developer. I also cover drill results from Kazakhstan. Finally, corporate activity helps a copper developer in Arizona secure land while a copper-gold explorer in the Philippines lowers its burn rate in Vietnam.