The Hayli Gubbi shield volcano in eastern Ethiopia has erupted for the first time in 12,000 years, launching an ash plume about 15 kilometers into the stratosphere. The event is a vivid reminder that the East African Rift Valley, stretching 6,400 kilometers from the Red Sea to Mozambique, is slowly pulling the continent apart as Africa’s eastern edge drifts away from the mainland. 

This separation may eventually lead to the formation of a new inland sea and beachfront property. But don't hold your breath; the rift is widening at a sluggish rate of 6–7 millimeters per year.

In the Weekly Market Digest, with key US economic releases held up by the government shutdown and a holiday-shortened trading week, some investors began speculating that the Fed might cut rates at its next meeting after all. That uncertainty helped push up precious metal prices and lit a fire under cash-flowing producers. 

The Exploration Insights Portfolio ended the week in positive territory, though it trailed the precious and base metal equity ETF benchmarks after a disappointing set of results from a grassroots gold explorer in Finland. Fortunately, that setback was tempered by several names pushing through to new 52-week highs.

In Stock Talk, a Top Pick silver-gold developer in NW Argentina delivers another round of encouraging drill results and formally applies for a critical incentive plan. I also cover exploration and permitting updates from a gold-antimony project in Australia and a gold developer in Idaho. A Top Pick cash-flowing royalty generator continues to grow its portfolio and has now secured a NASDAQ listing. A Quebec-focused gold explorer has reported additional coarse gold from its drill program. A silver producer returned encouraging results in a prospect near ground held by a grassroots precious metal explorer. And in eastern Australia, a grassroots copper explorer has expanded its land position to capture more of the regional potential.