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The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee was organized in January 1999 to advocate and undertake litigation against illegal collusion to control the price and supply of gold and related financial securities. The committee arose from essays by Bill Murphy, a financial commentator, and by Chris Powell, a newspaper editor in Connecticut, published at Murphy’s Internet site, www.lemetropolecafe.com.
Latest News
By Adam Sharp
Daily Reckoning, Baltimore
Friday, January 2, 2026
Look at that. We log off for a few days and absolute chaos breaks out in silver.
On Sunday, December 28, silver briefly traded over $83 per ounce here in the U.S. It's currently trading at $72.67. That's up sharply from $29 at the beginning of 2025.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
What a crazy few weeks to end the year for precious metal bugs.
Today we're going to look at what happened with silver, and explain why the bullish case is stronger than ever.
China is the second-largest silver miner behind Mexico. It accounts for about 13% of annual mine supply.
But China refines an estimated 45% of global silver production. They import silver ore and concentrate from all over the world, and use their massive refining capacity to turn it into 99.999% pure silver.
China is also the world's largest consumer of silver. Their solar industry alone gobbles up nearly 15% of annual production.
And now the Chinese government is locking down their silver supply. As of January 1, Chinese companies looking to export silver now require a license. ...
... For the remainder of the commentary:
https://dailyreckoning.com/silver-mania-begins/
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
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By Avery B. Goodman
Talk Markets, Teaneck, New Jersey
Friday, January 2, 2026
China's announcement of silver export restrictions effective January 1 represents the biggest intervention in precious metals markets since 2010-2012.
The licensing framework was announced via Ministry of Commerce Announcement No. 68 on October 30, 2025. It requires exporters to meet minimum standards of 80 tonnes of annual production capacity and $30 million in credit lines. This is very different and much more restrictive than the previous quota system, which emphasized state-trading authorization.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
The geopolitical significance is huge. Similar to the situation with rare-earth metals, China refines 60-70% of the world's silver despite mining only 13% of global output. That means that Beijing has an incredible amount of leverage over global supply chains.
Only China has the massive refining infrastructure to serve as the world's processing hub for silver concentrates shipped from mining jurisdictions all over the world -- from Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and elsewhere.
The new policy concerning silver mirrors China's prior rare earth strategy. Back in 2010-11 export quota reductions of 40% in 2010-2012 drove rare earth prices up 1,000%. If the silver rules do the same with silver, $140 per ounce might end up considered less a pipe dream than, simply, a "very reasonable" price that people wished they had purchased at. ...
... For the remainder of the analysis:
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
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Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
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By Olaf Storbeck
Financial Times, London
Friday, January 2, 2026
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde's full pay is more than 50% higher than her disclosed salary, according to a Financial Times analysis.
The head of Europe's monetary authority earned a total of about E726,000 in 2024, according to the FT's calculations, some 56% higher than the "basic" salary of €466,000 disclosed by the ECB in its annual report.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
This means Lagarde earns nearly four times more than the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jay Powell, whose salary is set by federal U.S. law and is currently capped at $203,000 (E172,720).
While Lagarde's full pay is modest compared to the chief executives of large EU companies, the analysis exposes how limited pay disclosure remains at the ECB.
The central bank is not subject to the same strict rules as listed companies in the bloc, which dictate they must give a "full and reliable picture of the remuneration" of each of their directors. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.ft.com/content/c7cd22f0-efe5-40de-a448-fa9075926a6a
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
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From Reuters
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
BEIJING -- China today named the companies that will be able to export tungsten, antimony, and silver during the 2026 and 2027 period, metals Beijing deems as critical to support its own industries.
A total of 44 companies will be allowed to export silver, while the numbers for tungsten and antimony will be 15 and 11 respectively, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. That's two more than in 2025 for silver, while tungsten and antimony are unchanged.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
Citing national security, China in the past two years has imposed a wave of restrictions to leverage its dominance in the mining and processing of critical minerals used in everything from smartphones and electric car batteries to infrared missiles and ammunition, in response to U.S. chip restrictions and tariffs. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
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By Sean Ring
Daily Reckoning, Baltimore
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Long before Powell "paused," Lagarde fibbed, or Yellen got lost mid-sentence, one man quietly built an economy of trust -- with fire, gold, and grit.
He was Saint Eligius. You probably haven't heard of him unless you're a medieval goldsmith or a devout Catholic with a taste for obscure hagiographies. But I'd argue that he did more for monetary integrity than any central banker alive today.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
Eligius was born in 588 AD near Limoges, in what's now France. By his 20s he was already known as one of the finest goldsmiths in Europe. But what made him special -- what made him dangerous to the corrupt -- is that he was both skilled and honest.
King Clotaire II hired Eligius to craft an ornate gold throne. Eligius used less gold than allotted and returned the surplus.
Imagine that. Today that gets you audited.
Instead, Clotaire made him master of the mint. Eligius didn't just make money; he made sound money. Coins of pure gold and silver, weighed and struck with precision. Monetary policy, circa 7th century: "Don't screw it up."
... For the remainder of the commentary:
https://dailyreckoning.com/the-patron-saint-of-sound-money-2/
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
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By Leslie Hook
Financial Times, London
Thursday, January 1, 2026
In the African island nation of Madagascar, central bank governor Aivo Andrianarivelo has an unusual mission: to end gold smuggling.
Madagascar produces as much as 20 tonnes of gold per year, he estimates, worth about $2.8 billion at today's prices, but almost all of that leaves the country illegally, robbing state coffers of tax revenues and foreign exchange.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
"The criminal gangs, they have aircraft, helicopters, very sophisticated means of transportation," said Andrianarivelo in an interview with the Financial Times. "Our strategy is to reduce the gold trafficking business in Madagascar."
The island nation is one of a growing number of countries where central banks and finance ministries are starting to get more involved in domestic gold trading and to run local buying programmes, in an effort to disrupt illicit gold flows. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.ft.com/content/3c6ae84a-133e-4ea2-8660-96c875205294
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png
By Solomon Ekanem
Business Insider, New York
Wednesday, December 31, 2026
Ethiopia's long-delayed Tulu Kapi gold project has reached a major turning point after securing about $340 million in development financing, clearing the way for construction of one of the country's largest modern gold mines.
The funding package includes roughly $240 million in long-term debt from African development lenders and about $100 million in equity, providing KEFI Gold and Copper, the project's developer, with the financial backing needed to move into full-scale construction.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
KEFI Executive Chairman, Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, commented: "We are delighted that the Tulu Kapi debt offering has now been signed by all the relevant parties. This has triggered further activity at site as part of the launch of full project development and is allowing the remaining equity proposals to be finalised among the assembled local and specialist investors.
"With the gold price at a record high, this is the perfect time to be launching Tulu Kapi."
Early works, including housing, power connections, and road access, have already begun as the project prepares for full buildout.
Located around 360 kilometres west of Addis Ababa, the Tulu Kapi mine is expected to produce about 164,000 ounces of gold per year during its first seven years, with commercial production targeted for 2027. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png
By Jason Kirby
The Globe and Mail, Toronto
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-canada-gold-exporting-powerhouse-economy-benefits/
In the remote northeastern Ontario town of Timmins, new pickup trucks fill gold mine parking lots. In the Yukon, nearly 130 years after the start of the Klondike gold rush, investment is pouring in once again. And at a small refinery in downtown Toronto, people are turning their old gold jewellery into cash.
Across Canada, investors, companies and individuals are scrambling to take advantage of gold's astonishing run. In late December, the price of gold surpassed US$4,550, up more than 70 per cent from a year ago, and marking a threefold increase from 2015.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Blue Lagoon Sells to Ocean Partners Nearly C$1 Million
of Gold and Silver from Dome Mountain's Initial Production
Company Announcement
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (CSE: BLLG; OTCQB: BLAGF; FSE: 7BL) has made its first sale of gold and silver to Ocean Partners UK Ltd. from the Dome Mountain mineralized material that was delivered this month to the company's milling partner, Nicola Mining Inc., for processing.
The company expects to receive C$970,000 in connection with this delivery, representing its first sale related to production from Dome Mountain.
The payment represents an advance on the first shipment of approximately 1,000 tonnes of mineralized material delivered to Nicola, as processing has not yet occurred due to scheduled mill maintenance. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
https://bluelagoonresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blue-Lagoon-Resources_Dec-30.pdf
In the process, gold is leaving its mark on Canada's economy, pumping up exports and boosting Canadians' stock market returns. Yet measuring gold's impact on the Canadian economy isn't cut and dried, say economists. And while the metal's eye-popping price gain is boosting local communities around mines and filling government coffers, it has yet to translate into a broader economic boom for the country.
The starkest example of how gold has shifted Canada's economic narrative is on display almost every month, when the country's trade numbers are released. Gold has become an increasingly influential part of Canada's export picture, accounting for close to 8 per cent of annual exports as of September.
In fact, Canada now exports more gold than it does former top exports such as assembled passenger vehicles, forestry products, farm and fish products and industrial equipment.
The surge in gold exports has also contributed heavily to what early success Canada has had in diversifying its exports away from the U.S. this year.
Of the 11-per-cent increase in non-U.S. exports in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2024, one-third was due to gold alone, an analysis of Statistics Canada trade data shows. Two-thirds of Canada's gold exports went to Britain, where London serves as the largest market for trading precious metals.
Of course, this phenomenon could also work the other way if gold prices experienced a prolonged correction, resulting in a drag on Canada's trade numbers.
The reality is the current gold export boom is almost entirely a function of the metal's price increase rather than the quantity of precious metals being shipped, which is roughly the same as a decade ago.
What's more, the balance of payments method for measuring trade – the metric most commonly cited by Statscan each month – captures payments that occur with a change of ownership, even if gold doesn't physically leave the country. As such, in the Bank of Canada's most recent Monetary Policy Report, the bank's analysis of how tariffs have affected exports specifically excluded gold from consideration, because gold is "frequently re-exported, stored or shipped for financial or custodial reasons."
Looking past the price movements, "gold is relatively limited in terms of how much of a payback there is to the economy," said Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal. The value added from mining gold and silver amounted to less than three-tenths of 1 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product in 2024, he said, and that has grown only slightly over the last decade.
Regardless, those who work in the industry say the run up in prices over the last few years has kick-started activity on a number of fronts, and those gains are starting to add up.
For one thing, production is on the rise and new mines are being developed, which is no small feat in a country where building mining infrastructure has become increasingly difficult because of the lengthy, complex regulatory process and the uncertainty surrounding approvals.
"We've struggled as a country to open up new mines but even though we've only opened a small handful of critical mineral mines, we've been more successful at opening gold mines thanks to gold prices driving more incentives and more investment," said Photinie Koutsavlis, vice-president of economic affairs and climate change at the Mining Association of Canada.
Canada's gold production climbed 32 per cent over the last 10 years as of 2024, allowing the country to overtake the U.S. to become the fourth-largest gold producer behind China, Russia and Australia. In 2025, Statscan's monthly mineral production numbers show gold output as of October jumped by 11.5 per cent from the same period in 2024.
In Northern Ontario, gold's rise has sparked a rush of new prospecting activity, said Bill McRae, interim president of the Ontario Prospectors Association. He added that with gold prices elevated, even low-grade sites that would have been ignored in the past have become economically feasible.
For the Timmins area, which has produced more than 70 million ounces of gold since 1910 – an amount worth US$300-billion at today's prices – wealth from the new rush is visible everywhere.
"We're on the cusp of a really big expansion here, and people working in mining, they have money," he said. "You go into a mine parking lot these days and 90 per cent of the vehicles are trucks that are less than a year old."
Several of those mine properties are now owned by Toronto-based Discovery Silver Corp. (DSV-T), which acquired the Porcupine Complex of mines from Denver-based Newmont Corp. this year. The company plans to spend heavily to upgrade existing mines, restart one shuttered mine and explore for new deposits in the area, said Tony Makuch, Discovery's president and chief executive officer, who grew up in the area as the son of a gold miner.
Over the next three to five years, he said employment on the project is expected to double from the current 1,300 workers. That's part of a broader increase in employment in gold and silver mining, which over the last decade grew by 48 per cent to 23,625 in 2024 and narrowed the gap with employment in motor vehicle manufacturing (excluding parts manufacturing), which over the same period shrank by 12 per cent to 35,900, according to Statscan.
"The gold price gives us the opportunity to invest in one of the great gold producing regions in the world in Porcupine," Mr. Makuch said, adding that Discovery expects to pay $118-million in federal and provincial taxes for the year. "Governments are trying to fund programs. Well, gold is money from the ground, it should be considered a critical mineral."
Those prospects helped make Discovery the top-performing stock in the S&P/TSX Composite Index in 2025.
In fact, of the top 20 performing stocks in the benchmark index based on year-to-date returns, 18 were precious metals companies. That's benefited Canadian equity investors even if they don't directly own gold stocks themselves, with the S&P/TSX soundly trumping its U.S. counterpart, the S&P 500 Index, in 2025.
"Even without gold producers, the TSX has held its own against the S&P 500, but gold has definitely been our X-factor," said Mr. Porter.
Similar patterns are unfolding in other gold mining regions in the country.
In the Yukon, 2024 brought the highest level of placer gold production – gold recovered from loose material such as sand and gravel – in the territory's history, according to the Yukon Geological Survey.
Meanwhile, companies with hard rock exploration projects in the Yukon raised more than $400-million in 2025, double the amount from the year before, said Mike Burton, director of innovation, industry and business development for the Yukon government, with spending going to support local businesses including helicopter rentals, camp supplies, accommodation and drilling businesses. "A lot of that increased activity can be attributed to the price of gold," he said.
Far from the mines, in a downtown Toronto low-rise office building atop a dentist's office, Atef Salama, the vice-president of Express Gold Refining, has a front-row seat to the gold frenzy. Express, a fourth-generation gold business started by Mr. Salama's grandfather in Egypt in 1912, offers gold trading and refining services and is seeing a steady flow of traffic to its doors.
"Gold has proven to be a hedge against inflation, a hedge against uncertainty, so it's doing what it's supposed to in the market, but what's changed is people are paying more attention now," Mr. Salama said.
On a recent morning in the company's cramped refining room, protected behind bulletproof glass, an employee melted down the accumulated workspace dust and scraps from a local jeweller, fashioning a small 140-gram bar of various precious metals (42 per cent gold, the rest silver, platinum and some trace metals) for the client.
Earlier, Mr. Salama showed off some of that morning's refining output: a heavy, pockmarked gold bar worth around $400,000. "Good things come in small packages," he said, adding the business is preparing to offer secure storage services to clients because the risk of theft of gold from their homes has intensified. "That's our next push, building that secure infrastructure for Canadians and to keep it in Canada."
What's unclear is how a prolonged price correction for gold could impact the economy. As Ms. Koutsavlis, with the Mining Association of Canada, notes, "Gold doesn't follow what economists would say are the fundamentals of supply and demand, it's so politically and almost emotionally driven that you can't forecast what the price will be with any certainty."
Back in Timmins, Mr. Makuch said he takes a long view. "I've been through cycles since the 1980s, what you learn is you've got to have discipline," he said, noting Discovery's aim is to get its "all-in sustaining cost" down to US$1,500 an ounce from the current US$2,100.
"The price of gold gives us the opportunity to build ourselves up, so if the price does come down, we're still able to be there."
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $400 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png
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