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Inauguration day is over, and the hoped-for sense of clarity has been deferred. Trump got busy signing a series of executive orders on TV for his top priorities; it was quite a show. More orders follow every day, keeping the world in suspense.
Canada got a bit of a reprieve as tariffs were not implemented on “Day One”. February 1st became the new target date. The TSX has been in a rising trend for two weeks and is up 2.2% since the beginning of the year.
Canada’s annual inflation rate fell to 1.8 percent in December, thanks in large part to the federal government’s mid-December temporary tax break on taxes for food purchased from restaurants and alcohol purchases from stores along with tobacco and cannabis products, clothing, and some toys. Without the tax break, Statistics Canada said the annual inflation rate would have risen to 2.3 percent. That shows how inflationary high tax rates can be. Attention now turns to the Bank of Canada (BoC), which is set to make an interest rate decision next week. The danger in continuing to lower Interest rates is that the too strong U.S. dollar (USD) and increasing the USD/CAD exchange rate resulting in higher costs for imported goods and importing inflation from the U.S. The BoC needs to balance the need to defend the CAD with its desire to lift the economy and hold off a recession brought on by a tariff war.
U.S. stock markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day and the Inauguration, but major indices have moved steadily up since. Foreign investor demand has been pushing up U.S. Stocks and Bonds as they and domestic U.S. investors are currently less fearful about monetary policy and inflation in the U.S., a U.S. debt crisis doesn't seem to be imminent. The next Federal Reserve meeting is scheduled for January 29th with the expectation that rates will be held, with up to three rate cuts of 0.25% possible in 2025. Trump needs lower interest rates to reduce the USD exchange rates and to fund his deficits.
This week, gold prices surged to more than a two-month high as the U.S. dollar weakened from a 2.5-year high, with the precious metal also supported by buying amid uncertainty surrounding President Trump's trade policies. Spot gold climbed to USD$2,763/oz early in the week and is opening today at USD$2,783/oz, nearing the all-time high of USD$2,790.15 set in October. Targets for 2025 now range from USD$2,800 to USD$3,200. Silver opens at USD$30.90/oz this morning after two weeks of strength.
This month, base metal prices had weakened from gains of late last year in the face of U.S. dollar strength but, despite a small run-up this week, are seen dropping in early trading today. Copper, at USD$4.30, has been bound in a range for the last four years. Nickel at USD$7.10 is at a four-year low. Copper remains the backbone of every industrial sector in the world and the industries of the future, such as AI and the entire New Industrial Revolution. Big producers are positioning themselves for a major demand spike.
Among the first Executive orders issued by Trump was the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and the cancellation of US Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandates. Prices for battery materials were already so low that they did not reflect this event. Yet Trump remains in favour of energy generation, data centres, AI, and crypto, and this should attract major investments and create demand for these materials while the EV sector creeps along.
We are pleased to present to you our round-up of our client’s news released between January 20-24, 2025.
Mining
On January 21, 2025, Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) released results from the ongoing Western Trend diamond drilling program at the 100%-owned Moosehead Project. A total of 19 holes (1,325 m) were completed immediately before the Christmas break, with this release including assays for 13 holes, highlighted by the following:
MH-24-649: - 69.48 g/t Au over 4.85m, incl. 176.47 g/t Au over 1.90 m from 41.60 m
MH-24-648: - 40.89 g/t Au over 4.30m, incl. 74.08 g/t Au over 2.35 m from 47.20 m
MH-24-646: - 26.72 g/t Au over 3.10m, incl. 40.56 g/t Au over 1.90 m from 28.30 m
Timothy Froude, P.Geo., President and CEO, states, “We are incredibly pleased with the high grades, with visible gold in 9 of 13 holes from the Western Trend. The success of the drilling was the result of using what we learned from the Western Trend trenching program last November, which included input from structural consultant Dr. David Coller, who mapped the trench. Western Trend drilling is scheduled to resume on January 27 with a minimum 10-hole program to further expand the high-grade mineralization in the trench, the site of the planned conventional (drill and blast) bulk sample.”
The recent Western Trend drilling has tested 100 m of strike to 80 m down dip, with the zone remaining open. The remaining assays are expected in 3-4 weeks. The next phase of drilling will be deeper holes targeting the high-grade plunge of the intersection point between the east-west trending splay and the main north-trending vein system (down plunge from MH-24-648 and 649) to a depth of 165 m down plunge and 100 m vertically. This area is a key target as it is a location where rock preparation is ideal for gold deposition with the potential to be where there is a dilation zone. We will also be testing to the south of the trench (south of MH-24-646) to extend the strike to 145 m.
On January 21, 2025, Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) CEO Tim Froude appeared on the Rocks and Stocks News program with noted mining commentator Allan Barry Laboucan to discuss the results of drilling at the Western Trend of the Moosehead project.
Watch below:
On January 23, 2025, Athena Gold Corporation (CSE: ATHA) (OTCQB: AHNR) reported initial results from its recently completed fall regional prospecting and sampling program at the 100%-owned Excelsior Springs project in Nevada.
In November 2024, Big Rock Exploration was hired to complete a regional prospecting and mapping program over the Excelsior Springs project, which covered the Buster, Lida Belle, and Blue Dick target areas. The intention is to build a regional framework to guide and prioritize future exploration. While full analytical results remain pending, the Company is pleased to report high-grade precious metal values from surface grab samples, including up to 6,630 g/t Ag from the Blue Dick area – a target with no known historical drill records.
“Since closing our financing, the team has wasted no time diving deep into Excelsior Springs and ground-truthing the newly acquired Blue Dick claims. The 6,630 g/t Ag sample, which exceeds all known historical silver sample grades at Excelsior, confirms the area's high-grade nature of silver mineralization. Importantly, to our knowledge, this target area has never been drill tested, presenting a major blue-sky opportunity for Athena. We plan to return to this area in short order,” stated John Power, President and CEO of Athena Gold.
Highlights:
The recently completed prospecting program at Excelsior Springs comprised mapping and sampling over the property area and represented Athena’s first-time exploring the recently acquired Blue Dick claims (refer to press release dated August 29, 2024).
Sample K024547 returned bonanza silver grades of 6,630 g/t Ag, along with 0.4 g/t Au, 2.28% Cu, and 2.42% Pb.
Sample K024547 also returned high-grade antimony over the >1% Sb detection limit; further overlimit analytical results remain pending.
Historical grab samples from the Blue Dick area, grading up to 2,340 g/t Ag, 7.4 g/t Au, 25.5% Cu, and 6.92% Pb, are indicated in a historical report (R. Milne, 2007, Geology of the BD Claim Block). The QP has not been able to verify these results, and therefore, these results should not be relied upon.
There are no known records of any drilling or geophysical surveys over the Blue Dick claims.
Further analytical results remain pending from the fall 2024 prospecting program at Excelsior Springs and will be released once available.
Fintech
On January 20, 2025, Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTC Pink: PKKFF) released a recording of CEO, Johnson Joseph, and COO, Michael Quiroz, participating in a Town Hall "All About Tenet" hosted by Hoss on Friday, January 17th. During the discussion, they highlighted ie-Pulse, acknowledging it as a key topic of interest for shareholders. For several years, Mr. Joseph has consistently communicated the importance of SME data. While acknowledging ongoing challenges, he reassured investors that ie-Pulse remains a critical component of the company’s strategy. Both executives expressed optimism and appreciation for the opportunity to connect with investors.
You can listen to the interview by clicking here.
On January 22, 2025, Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTCQB: PKKFF) announced that it has signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement with Bankeo, a platform that connects businesses and entrepreneurs with accounting specialists. Bankeo's network of accounting specialists is available to help businesses find the right partner for their accounting needs.
"This new alliance with Bankeo (https://www.bankeo.ca) is another example of our commitment to continue to bring value-added services to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the Cubeler® Business Hub," commented Fredi Tasciyan, Director of Business Development at Cubeler. "With more than 1,500 accounting specialists as part of its network, Bankeo has a proven track record of bringing value to SMEs by helping thousands of them find the right professionals for all their accounting needs. We look forward to working with Bankeo to promote the virtues of the Business Hub to its network of accounting professionals and their thousands of SME clients," concluded Mr. Tasciyan.
"Bankeo is all about bringing efficiency to help SMEs focus on what they do best, and so is the Cubeler® Business Hub. That's why this partnership couldn't be a better fit," said Brian Bergeron, President of Bankeo. "Whether they land on the Bankeo platform or the Cubeler® Business Hub, SMEs will instantly know that they have the ability to quickly be matched with the right accounting professionals and access a host of value-added services to help take their businesses to new heights, all without having to spend a dime. Everyone wins with this alliance, especially Canadian SMEs”.
SAVE THE DATE
PDAC is coming. March 2-5. Get ready to meet our mining clients there!
The annual award winning PDAC Convention in Toronto, Canada brings together 27,000 attendees from over 135 countries for its educational programming, networking events, business opportunities and fun.
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