Good recovery in sentiment with a stronger gold price

The bounce in the gold price back above US$2,000/oz is showing that the markets think interest rates have stopped rising. It is too difficult to say whether gold is just at a trading high, or whether there is enough momentum to keep it going higher - or even a reason to go higher - but gold producing company share prices are responding appropriately. Improving sentiment is starting to flow down to developing and exploration companies. Watch to see if the breaching of downtrends last week evolves into new uptrends.

A dispatch overnight said that China was considering banning exports of various rare-earth magnet production and process/refining technologies as a response to the US targeting the Chinese chip-making industry. The last major official rare earth policy shift by Beijing saw NdPr prices skyrocket when exports to Japan were suspended in 2010, over the Senkaku Islands. There could be fun and games coming for the REE sector if China becomes more combative

Australian Rare Earths (AR3) was a spectacular performer in the market after the IPO in June 2021, rising from $0.30 to a high of $1.07 by November of that year. However, since then the price has dropped down to $0.19 before recovering to $0.215 on Friday's close. One would have been forgiven for thinking that the wheel had fallen off, but that is not the case. Read on.

We also provide an update on South Harz, an emerging potash company. 

 WeeklyComm8April2023.pdf