MINING.COM

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Uranium’s long-term price indicator held at its highest level in more than 18 years in September, even as uranium mining shares dropped 16%. TradeTech’s indicator stayed at $97 a pound from June through September, up $13 from a year earlier. Utilities were seeking deliveries beginning as early as 2027 and extending into the late 2030s. BMI expects the market to shift from a modest surplus this year into deficit in 2027. It also forecasts reactor uranium requirements growing 4.1% a year from 2026 to 2035, ahead of mine production growth of 3.3%. Source: TradeTech, BMI

Hecla Mining has lost 60% from its 52-week high, taking its market value down to $9 billion as silver dropped below $50 an ounce. Coeur Mining is down 25% in October and 53% from its peak, while Pan American Silver sits 44% below its high at a $16 billion valuation. Silver is down roughly 18% for the month.

Mines are getting harder to run, and executives rank that as the industry’s biggest risk for 2027. EY says aging mines and depleting reserves are making new deposits harder to mine and process. Regulatory delays are the top contributor, followed by variability in reserve grades at 29%. With capital harder to secure, 44% of miners are pursuing funding from original equipment manufacturers and 39% from sovereign wealth funds. Governments are stepping in too, with public critical mineral financing commitments more than quadrupling between 2023 and 2025, to about $65 billion.

North America’s five most valuable gold companies have lost almost $140 billion in combined market value from their 52-week highs, with Agnico Eagle alone accounting for more than $40 billion. Gold fell as much as 3.2% to $3,891.67 an ounce on Friday, its weakest in a year, and is on track for a drop of about 6% in October, its worst for the month since 2008. Bullion trades about 28% below its record close of $5,419.83 on January 28.

60/40 is turning into 60/20/20 at the top of Wall Street, according to Peter Grandich. He says major institutions are now willing to own gold the way they own bonds. Full conversation now on our YouTube channel.

UBS projects silver at $70 an ounce by December, $75 by mid-2027 and $80 by September 2027. The bank projects a sixth consecutive annual deficit for the silver market in 2026. Analysts in a Reuters poll expect silver to average $66.75 in 2027, down from this year’s forecast of $70.30. They cite weakening photovoltaic demand, substitution in manufacturing and cautious investment sentiment after this year’s swings. Source: UBS, Reuters

Metals Focus expects India’s silver imports to fall to around 4,000 metric tons this year from about 7,200 metric tons last year. Investor demand has stayed subdued, partly because of the large quantities accumulated during last year’s buying spree. It expects gold to outperform silver over the next six months, though silver could catch up if global conditions stabilize. “Gold is a much larger liquid market, has a lot of institutional buying support, including that of central banks, which is sort of absent when it comes to silver,” a Metals Focus analyst said. Source: Metals Focus via CNBC TV18