The Bear Facts of the Bullion Market
Source: John Nadler, Resource Investor  (5/16/12)
"This time around, despite all the denials of the fact and protestations to the contrary, the gold market entered the cave of the bear." More >

Is the Resource Boom Over? A Resounding No!
Source: Lawrence Williams, Mineweb  (5/16/12)
"Adrian Day argues that China's growth is bullish for copper in particular, China's consumption having quadrupled in the past 15 years." More >

Australia's Mining Sector Grows at Staggering 12% a Year
Source: IB Times, Vittorio Hernandez  (5/16/12)
"Australia's mining sector continues to gallop, while the rest of the economy trails behind." More >

Gold Recovers from 4-1/2-Month Low as Euro Firms
Source: Reuters, Amanda Cooper  (5/16/12)
"Gold recovered from its lowest since late December on Wednesday, edging back into positive territory as U.S. stocks opened higher after speculation Germany and France will act to keep Greece in the Eurozone lifted the euro into the black." More >

The Rare Earths Industry Is Only Just Beginning: Jon Hykawy
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Critical Metals Report  (5/15/12)
Is the rare earths space an industry in decline, a bubble popped? Not so, according to Jon Hykawy, head of global research and a clean technologies analyst at Byron Capital Markets. Hykawy tells The Critical Metals Report in this exclusive interview that establishing a supply outside of China could breathe new life into this exiled market. While the winners in the industry may be as rare as the elements they mine, Hykawy believes that the financial community is going to have to revisit rare earths once companies start to produce meaningful cash flows. More >

Have Silver Prices Bottomed Yet?
Source: Bob Kirtley, SK Options Trading  (5/15/12)
"The drop below $30.00/oz that we have alluded to has now happened. We see this as being at or close to a possible buying opportunity." More >

Bob Moriarty: A Contrarian's Guide to Volatile Markets
Source: Sally Lowder of The Gold Report   (5/14/12)
Trotting the globe in his unrelenting quest for investing opportunities, Bob Moriarty had just completed a 21,000-mile travel-a-thon when he picked up the phone for this exclusive interview with The Gold Report. He liked a lot of what he saw, found plenty of bargains along the way and is willing to name names. Ever the contrarian, he is picking up stocks when everyone else is dumping them; he plans to cash in when the mass of sellers morphs into a mass of buyers and drives prices up. More >

IMF to Buy Gold Worth $2.3B
Source: CommodityOnline  (5/14/12)
"The IMF is planning to purchase more than $2B worth of gold on account of rising global risks. The IMF currently holds around 2,800 tons of gold." More >

Bull Market in Gold 'Not Over' But Speculators Turn Bearish
Source: Adrian Ash, BullionVault  (5/14/12)
"The price of gold and gold futures dropped yet again Monday morning, recording the seventh drop in nine trading days in May so far as industrial commodities, global stock markets and the euro currency all sank amid Athens' failure to negotiate a new coalition government." More >

Johnson Matthey: Palladium Market Deficit Expected for 2012
Source: Kitco, Allen Sykora  (5/14/12)
"The global palladium market swung from a deficit to an oversupply situation last year largely due to net disinvestment, but is expected to return to a deficit in 2012, said Johnson Matthey in its 'Platinum 2012' report issued Monday." More >

Have Silver Prices Bottomed Yet?
Source: Bob Kirtley, SK Options Trading  (5/14/12)
"The fallout from European economic uncertainty is taking its toll on gold and silver prices, along with the associated producers. For those who have yet to enter this tiny market sector or who wish to increase their exposure to it, it appears that a fabulous buying opportunity lies ahead." More >

Money Slowdown
Source: Rick Mills, Ahead of the Herd  (5/14/12)
"The resource boom isn't over; someone hit the pause button on the printing presses to take stock and do a review of the attempted fix methods and success achieved to date." More >

Major Bottom in Precious Metals Could Occur This Week
Source: Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold  (5/14/12)
"We anticipate a bottom this month to be followed by a higher low in July or August. The fundamentals should become more clear by the end of the summer and would drive the precious metals complex much higher during the seasonally strong period." More >

Rare Earth Mining Rises Again in the US
Source: Wired Science, Danielle Venton  (5/14/12)
"Encouraged by rising prices and political support, new mines are starting up around the world, most notably in Malaysia and in California." More >

Gold and Gold Miners Are Closing in on a Major Bottom
Source: JW Jones, Options Trading Signals  (5/13/12)
"A great buying opportunity for gold, silver and the miners is likely going to present itself in the near future. I will be watching this price relationship over the next few weeks waiting for a strong entry point for a longer-term purchase. After this pullback concludes, the potential returns that could occur in gold, silver and the miners could be breathtaking." More >

Gold and Base Metal Plays: Jerome Hass and Jimmy Chu
Source: Peter Byrne of The Gold Report  (5/11/12)
Toronto-based hedge fund managers Jerome Hass and Jimmy Chu of Lightwater Partners discuss their strategic approach to taking long positions on gold, zinc and tungsten opportunities around the world. In an exclusive interview with The Gold Report, the Lightwater principals reveal several precious and base metal plays in which they have purchased stakes and define their criteria for limiting risks when taking on junior mining investments. More >

Gold Is Not a Growth Industry—It Can Just Pay Investors Big: John Hathaway
Source: JT Long of The Gold Report  (5/11/12)
John Hathaway is the senior managing director of Tocqueville Asset Management, where he manages all gold equity products and strategies. In an exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he shares why he is and will remain bullish on gold, the advice he most often gives mining companies and the investing advice that has stayed with him for almost 50 years. More >

Everything You Need to Know About Gold Prices
Source: Keith Fitz-Gerald, Money Morning  (5/11/12)
"Gold's hot. Then it's not. Now what? Where did the love for the shiny metal go?" More >

Dollar Strength 'Making It Difficult' for Gold Prices to Rally
Source: Ben Traynor, BullionVault  (5/11/12)
"Gold prices fell as low as $1,574/oz Friday morning, their lowest level since the first week of January, before recovering some ground, while dealers in major gold-buying countries report continued limited demand for precious metals." More >

Gold Takes It on the Chin. . .What's Next?
Source: Frank Holmes, U.S. Global Investors  (5/11/12)
"The markets generally overreact to negative news, however, investors should keep in mind gold's normal monthly historical volatility. Throughout the past 20 years of monthly returns, the precious metal generally increased only 0.5% in May and has historically declined in June and July." More >

Do Eric Sprott and China Still Believe in Gold?
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (5/11/12)
"Although gold and silver have been in a 'funk' lately, as Sprott points out, the year is not over and the reasons for holding precious metals have not changed. He also predicts that silver will be the investment of the next decade." More >

Molycorp Kicks Off Mt. Pass Concentrate Production Circuit
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (5/11/12)
"Colorado-based Molycorp initiated the start-up of its new mill, flotation separator and paste-tailing facility at its flagship Mountain Pass operation, located about 55 miles from Las Vegas." More >

Looking Under the Sea for REEs
Source: Rare Metal Blog, Robin Bromby  (5/10/12)
"The bottom-of-the-ocean-REE-riches story is back. Scientists at the University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have developed a technology that will allow undersea metals to be detected by changes in gravity." More >

Casey Research Summit Special Report: Reality Check or Checkmate?
Source: Karen Roche and JT Long of The Gold Report   (5/9/12)
One special session at the April 27–29 Casey Research Recovery Reality Check Summit wasn't on the agenda—a private panel for The Gold Report readers with three of the premier summit speakers: Global Resource Investments Founder and Chairman Rick Rule, Casey Research Senior Editor Louis James and Casey Energy Opportunities Senior Editor Marin Katusa. You won't pin them down to a timeframe, but they're looking forward to a buyer's market, as equity prices fall and volatility increases. As Rule puts it, "When the luster is off the sector, it's off all parts of the sector, so in bad markets the best companies are cheap. When the best come cheap, you have to play." More >

Sell in May and Go Away? Not this Year: Frank Holmes
Source: Frank Holmes, U.S. Global Investors  (5/9/12)
Frank Holmes, CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors and a keynote speaker at the New York Hard Assets Conference May 14–15, explains why he believes the old expression "sell in May and go away" is not the advice to follow this year. He counsels investors to look to global stock markets and ride the global wave. More >