In a time where a surprise attack of Hamas rocked Israel and pretty much the rest of the world, Israel reacted by bombing Palestina back to the stone age it seems, the Russia invasion continues and the Fed seems to be hinting at one other rate hike before year end, metals following the world economy like copper are trading somewhat subdued.

Ice drilling at Regnault target, Frotet project, Quebec

After experiencing the last rate hike by the Federal Reserve in July, it seems more and more likely that the world economy is heading into a soft landing, with inflation continuing to go down.

1. Introduction

With Robert Friedland presenting the thesis about copper as an upcoming “train wreck” waiting to happen, with the price of the red metal potentially tenfolding in the coming years, it seems we have another mining titan on our hand using hyperboles in order to support their own interests, in this case Ivanhoe Mines.

After raising C$2.7M in March and closing the South Timmins JV with Fancamp, Platinex (PTX:CSE)(9PX:FRA) has been busy doing reconnaissance exploration and further developing of exploration plans for their Shining Tree, Heenan and Mallard gold projects located in the Abitibi region, and near well-known assets like Coté (IAMGold/Sumitomo) and Juby (Aris Gold).

It took a while, but Avrupa Minerals (TSXV:AVU)(OTC:AVPMF) and JV partner Sandfire MATSA finally intercepted a substantial mineralized interval at Sesmarias, after the discovery hole from 2014 intersected 7.95m @ 2.21% Cu, 4.82% Zn, 3.05% Pb and 89.8g/t Ag from 150m.

Ice drilling at Regnault target, Frotet project, Quebec

With a recession looming large in the US but continuously delayed, the Fed unsure whether to hike one last time or to pause, the debt ceiling bill passed through the Senate, and inflation going down, there are a lot of mixed signals to take into account for the stock markets.

After a period of relative quietness for Avrupa Minerals (TSXV:AVU)(OTC:AVPMF), things are becoming more active again as Alvalade drilling is completed with results coming from the labs soon.  Exploration planning including first drilling on the first Finnish project will be commencing in June, as the company was recently granted permits.

Ice drilling at Regnault target, Frotet project, Quebec

As we seem to be at a pivotal point in the economy, with the Federal Reserve contemplating a halt in rate hikes, and potentially a more dovish stance for the second half of this year as a recession seems to be coming our way, sending the gold price to all-time highs recently, Kenorland Minerals (KLD.V)(3WQO.FSE)

During the last PDAC, CEO Greg Ferron of Platinex (PTX:CSE)(9PX:FRA) was busy working with the regulators, Fancamp and investors to close the South Timmins JV and the C$2.5M financing as soon as possible. As there were lots of moving parts at work, CEO Ferron preferred to come out with all relevant news at once, but as the first tranche (C$1.25M) of the financing closed on March 10, 2023, 2 weeks after the intended (and disclosed) closing date but before the Fancamp transaction could be closed, separate news releases had to be announced.

Although the markets are giving back some of the recent gains after the Fed indicated we aren’t done yet with the high inflation, combined with the slow escalation of the Russia invasion of the Ukraine and the strange incident with the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon hovering over the US, sentiment for metals and miners seems to be in a recovering trend after a disastrous H2 of 2022.