2012 Chinese Rare Earth Export Quotas Updated
Source: Gareth Hatch, Resource Investor  (5/18/12)
"On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced an update to the 2012 allocations of rare-earth export quotas that were first issued in December 2011. This follows a number of other recent announcements from China." More >

National Strategic and Critical Minerals Act Wins US House Committee Approval
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (5/17/12)
"The U.S. Department of Energy identified the 7–10 year period to obtain mining permits in the U.S. as compared to the average 1–2 years in Australia as one of the principal barriers to new U.S. mining ventures." More >

Precious Metals Market Manipulation?
Source: Doug Casey, Casey Research  (5/17/12)
"I'm not at all disinclined to believe tales of manipulation of markets by the state; I expect it, and as a speculator I relish it. But I like to see evidence for everything. And extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." More >

How Gold Demand Remains Resilient
Source: Frank Holmes, U.S. Global Investors  (5/17/12)
"Demand for gold was relatively resilient in the first quarter of 2012, with global demand falling 5% on a year-over-year basis, says the World Gold Council." More >

Major Long-Term Bottoms Forming in Gold and Commodities
Source: Toby Connor, Gold Scents  (5/17/12)
"I think the 30-point rally in gold Thursday is signaling that gold has put in its yearly cycle bottom." More >

Finding Opportunity in Silver, the Devil's Metal: Chris Thompson
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report   (5/16/12)
Silver has been called the most volatile of metals. But volatility produces opportunity, according to Chris Thompson, a top-ranked StarMine analyst with Haywood Securities. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Thompson forecasts a strong year-end for the devil's metal, despite price weakness so far in Q2/12, and shares the names of a select group of companies that stand to profit. More >

Recovery Via Shared Sacrifice: Lacy Hunt
Source: Karen Roche of The Gold Report  (5/16/12)
If the people and politicians of the U.S. can't muster the will to reform Social Security and Medicare, the country will slide on down toward what internationally renowned economist Lacy Hunt calls the "bang point." What we'd face on the other side would be bad news indeed. But in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Hunt goes on to list a few steps to turn the tide on economic growth. The route won't be an easy one but it would address the debt and begin to improve living standards. More >

Liquidation of 'Crowded' Gold Trade Pauses
Source: Adrian Ash, BullionVault  (5/16/12)
"'Market participants have given up waiting for a bounce,' says a Singapore dealer. 'The market will do what it needs to do to clean out the weakly margined before it becomes healthy once again.'" More >

The Bear Facts of the Bullion Market
Source: John Nadler, Resource Investor  (5/16/12)
"This time around, despite all the denials of the fact and protestations to the contrary, the gold market entered the cave of the bear." More >

Is the Resource Boom Over? A Resounding No!
Source: Lawrence Williams, Mineweb  (5/16/12)
"Adrian Day argues that China's growth is bullish for copper in particular, China's consumption having quadrupled in the past 15 years." More >

Australia's Mining Sector Grows at Staggering 12% a Year
Source: IB Times, Vittorio Hernandez  (5/16/12)
"Australia's mining sector continues to gallop, while the rest of the economy trails behind." More >

Gold Recovers from 4-1/2-Month Low as Euro Firms
Source: Reuters, Amanda Cooper  (5/16/12)
"Gold recovered from its lowest since late December on Wednesday, edging back into positive territory as U.S. stocks opened higher after speculation Germany and France will act to keep Greece in the Eurozone lifted the euro into the black." More >

The Rare Earths Industry Is Only Just Beginning: Jon Hykawy
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Critical Metals Report  (5/15/12)
Is the rare earths space an industry in decline, a bubble popped? Not so, according to Jon Hykawy, head of global research and a clean technologies analyst at Byron Capital Markets. Hykawy tells The Critical Metals Report in this exclusive interview that establishing a supply outside of China could breathe new life into this exiled market. While the winners in the industry may be as rare as the elements they mine, Hykawy believes that the financial community is going to have to revisit rare earths once companies start to produce meaningful cash flows. More >

Have Silver Prices Bottomed Yet?
Source: Bob Kirtley, SK Options Trading  (5/15/12)
"The drop below $30.00/oz that we have alluded to has now happened. We see this as being at or close to a possible buying opportunity." More >

Bob Moriarty: A Contrarian's Guide to Volatile Markets
Source: Sally Lowder of The Gold Report   (5/14/12)
Trotting the globe in his unrelenting quest for investing opportunities, Bob Moriarty had just completed a 21,000-mile travel-a-thon when he picked up the phone for this exclusive interview with The Gold Report. He liked a lot of what he saw, found plenty of bargains along the way and is willing to name names. Ever the contrarian, he is picking up stocks when everyone else is dumping them; he plans to cash in when the mass of sellers morphs into a mass of buyers and drives prices up. More >

IMF to Buy Gold Worth $2.3B
Source: CommodityOnline  (5/14/12)
"The IMF is planning to purchase more than $2B worth of gold on account of rising global risks. The IMF currently holds around 2,800 tons of gold." More >

Bull Market in Gold 'Not Over' But Speculators Turn Bearish
Source: Adrian Ash, BullionVault  (5/14/12)
"The price of gold and gold futures dropped yet again Monday morning, recording the seventh drop in nine trading days in May so far as industrial commodities, global stock markets and the euro currency all sank amid Athens' failure to negotiate a new coalition government." More >

Johnson Matthey: Palladium Market Deficit Expected for 2012
Source: Kitco, Allen Sykora  (5/14/12)
"The global palladium market swung from a deficit to an oversupply situation last year largely due to net disinvestment, but is expected to return to a deficit in 2012, said Johnson Matthey in its 'Platinum 2012' report issued Monday." More >

Have Silver Prices Bottomed Yet?
Source: Bob Kirtley, SK Options Trading  (5/14/12)
"The fallout from European economic uncertainty is taking its toll on gold and silver prices, along with the associated producers. For those who have yet to enter this tiny market sector or who wish to increase their exposure to it, it appears that a fabulous buying opportunity lies ahead." More >

Money Slowdown
Source: Rick Mills, Ahead of the Herd  (5/14/12)
"The resource boom isn't over; someone hit the pause button on the printing presses to take stock and do a review of the attempted fix methods and success achieved to date." More >

Major Bottom in Precious Metals Could Occur This Week
Source: Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold  (5/14/12)
"We anticipate a bottom this month to be followed by a higher low in July or August. The fundamentals should become more clear by the end of the summer and would drive the precious metals complex much higher during the seasonally strong period." More >

Rare Earth Mining Rises Again in the US
Source: Wired Science, Danielle Venton  (5/14/12)
"Encouraged by rising prices and political support, new mines are starting up around the world, most notably in Malaysia and in California." More >

Gold and Gold Miners Are Closing in on a Major Bottom
Source: JW Jones, Options Trading Signals  (5/13/12)
"A great buying opportunity for gold, silver and the miners is likely going to present itself in the near future. I will be watching this price relationship over the next few weeks waiting for a strong entry point for a longer-term purchase. After this pullback concludes, the potential returns that could occur in gold, silver and the miners could be breathtaking." More >

Gold and Base Metal Plays: Jerome Hass and Jimmy Chu
Source: Peter Byrne of The Gold Report  (5/11/12)
Toronto-based hedge fund managers Jerome Hass and Jimmy Chu of Lightwater Partners discuss their strategic approach to taking long positions on gold, zinc and tungsten opportunities around the world. In an exclusive interview with The Gold Report, the Lightwater principals reveal several precious and base metal plays in which they have purchased stakes and define their criteria for limiting risks when taking on junior mining investments. More >

Gold Is Not a Growth Industry—It Can Just Pay Investors Big: John Hathaway
Source: JT Long of The Gold Report  (5/11/12)
John Hathaway is the senior managing director of Tocqueville Asset Management, where he manages all gold equity products and strategies. In an exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he shares why he is and will remain bullish on gold, the advice he most often gives mining companies and the investing advice that has stayed with him for almost 50 years. More >