Morning Briefing: Metals on the Rise as Powell Confirms Criminal Investigation
Good morning and welcome back to the Mining Stock Daily morning briefing. I’m your host, Trevor Hall
It's Monday, January 12th.
The metals complex is trading with a clear risk-premium this morning as markets react to political uncertainty out of Washington. News that Jerome Powell is under investigation has unsettled confidence in monetary leadership, pushing investors back toward hard assets as a hedge against policy instability. Gold and silver are both in new all-time highs to start the session, reflecting renewed safe-haven demand as credibility and independence at the Federal Reserve come into question. Spot gold is north of $4,600/oz and silver is currently trading at $85/oz. Platinum and palladium are following higher as well, supported by broader precious-metals momentum and tightening supply narratives across the PGM space. Copper remains elevated over $6/lb once again, holding recent gains as structural supply constraints and long-term electrification demand continue to outweigh short-term macro noise. Overall, metals markets are responding not just to prices and data, but to a growing sense that political risk is once again becoming a central driver of capital flows into real assets.
We’ll get to the news from the miners and explorers here in a moment, but first a quick word about today’s sponsor.
This episode of Mining Stock Daily is brought to you by… Integra Resources.
Integra is a growing precious metals producer in the Great Basin of the Western United States. Integra is focused on demonstrating profitability and operational excellence at its principal operating asset, the Florida Canyon Mine, located in Nevada. In addition, Integra is committed to advancing its flagship development-stage heap leach projects: the past producing DeLamar Project located in southwestern Idaho, and the Nevada North Project located in western Nevada. Learn more about the business and their high industry standards over at integraresources.com
And here’s what you need to know this morning…..
NGEx Minerals announced drill results from its ongoing Phase 4 program on the Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina. Hole 51 intersected 327.4m of 3.74% CuEq, hole 52 returned 13m of 5.99% CuEq while hole 54 intersected 94m of 8.99% CuEq, which included 21.7m of 31.92% CuEq. The Phase 4 program continues to be ahead of schedule. To date, over 12,000m have been drilled with 12 holes completed and eight underway. Initial holes have focused on defining and expanding the three named zones, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter, and drilling will start to pivot towards larger step-outs and test new exploration targets as the campaign progresses. Of the completed Phase 4 holes, two have been drilled into the Jupiter Zone, two into Mars and eight into Saturn. In addition to the exploration holes, a geotechnical hole is currently being drilled down the centerline of the proposed exploration adit as planning for that project progresses. (TSX: NGEX) (OTCQX: NGXXF) News Release
Coppernico Metals announced results from recent geological mapping and channel sampling at Zone 1 within the Nioc target area on the Sombrero project, which continue to confirm the presence of a laterally extensive copper skarn system. Multiple channel intervals exceeded .4% copper at Zone 1, and included 164m of .41% Cu, 126m of .4% and 155m of .54%. Channel sampling within the broader mineralized envelope returned 12m of 2.82% Cu and 25.5m of .53% Cu. Mineralization remains open to the north and south, coincident with a large chargeability anomaly interpreted to extend beneath post-mineral cover. These results significantly expand the known extent of surface mineralization and reinforce the scale potential of the Nioc system. (TSX: COPR, OTCQB: CPPMF) News Release
Apex Critical Metals has secured Boart Longyear as its drilling contractor for the Rift Rare Earth Project in Nebraska. Boart Longyear has been contracted to complete approximately 8,000 metres across 10-15 drillholes. With permitting now finalized, the Company is focused on the remaining operational preparations to support mobilization with drilling expected to commence before the end of the month. (CSE:APXC) (OTCQX:APXCF) News Release
West Red Lake Gold has declared commercial production at the Madsen Gold Mine in the Red Lake Mining District of Ontario. The mill averaged 689 tonnes per day (“tpd”) in December 2025. This represents 86% of permitted throughput of 800 tpd and meets the Company’s internal commercial production requirement of 30 consecutive days of mill throughput at 65% or greater of permitted capacity. Operational stability, the other internal requirement, is also in place at Madsen. Consistent strong mill recoveries, which averaged 94.6% in December, enabled production of 3,215 ounces of gold. (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQX: WRLGF) News Release
Pacifica Silver Corp says it will commence its Phase II drill program this week at the Claudia Silver-Gold Project in Durango, Mexico. The program will include approximately 12,000 m of diamond drilling to follow up on high-grade results encountered in the Phase I program and to test high-priority targets in the southern portion of the property. The Company completed its Phase I drill program at the end of December 2025 with assay results pending release for 19 holes. (CSE: PSIL) (OTCQB: PAGFF) News Release
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That’s it for today everyone. Have a great day. Stay safe.
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