Is Venezuela a Critical Minerals Target?

Photo: natanaelginting/Adobe Stock View: Source On December 25, 1956, the New York Times declared, “Venezuela Finds Big Ore Deposits; Geologists Assert Reserves of Minerals May Approach Nation’s Oil in Importance.” Nearly seven decades later, that promise has largely gone unrealized. Far from emerging as a major global mining power, Venezuela’s mineral sector has remained marginal, fragmented, and chronically underdeveloped. In early January 2026, …

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Stocks rise after the U.S. attacks Venezuela. But gold tells a different story

View: Source The S&P 500 climbed on energy gains. At the same time, gold and silver rallied amid fears that the geopolitical rules won’t hold. The S&P 500, the major market index with the most exposure to the oil and gas sector, opened higher on Monday after a weekend of geopolitical upheaval, with President Donald Trump declaring that the U.S. plans to …

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Silver Breaks a 140-Year Structure: Cycles and Square of 9 Point Much Higher

View: Source Silver’s 140-year price history reveals a powerful combination of secular cycles, geometric price symmetry, and compression–release behavior that strongly supports the thesis of a historic breakout phase now underway. The chart illustrates a multigenerational rising channel originating in the late 1800s, with price respecting the lower and upper diagonal trend boundaries through every major monetary regime shift, war cycle, and inflationary …

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Copper Hits Record $13,000 on Tariff Concerns and Risk-On Mood

View: Source Copper touched $13,000 a ton for the first time, extending last year’s scorching rally as mine outages and trade dislocations fuel concerns over supplies of the key industrial metal. Benchmark futures rallied as much as 4.3% in London. A strike at the Mantoverde mine in Chile was just the latest supply disruption at a time of expanding global demand …

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Gold Sets the Tone for 2026 as Inflation Trades Linger Beneath Volatility

View: Source 2025 Was a Bad One in Many Ways Except Investment (IMO and Speaking Personally) A silver (and gold) lining was, of course, the precious metals sector for we who had anticipated the bull. Gold led, the rest of the precious metals complex, and eventually broader markets, followed. 2026? It Can’t Get Any Worse Socio-Politically, and Pending a Potential Q1/H1 Liquidity Issue, Could Be …

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The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies releases rare earths support blueprint

AMEC chief executive officer Warren Pearce, pictured in West Perth. Credit: Danella Bevis/The West Australian View: Source Government backing for critical minerals should focus on four rare earths vital for clean energy and national security and emulate an existing scheme underpinning renewable projects, the sector has told ministers. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies has released a blueprint, commissioned by the Government, …

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Aluminum Hits $3,000 for First Time Since 2022 on Supply Concern

View: Source Aluminum climbed above $3,000 a ton for the first time in more than three years on a tightening supply outlook and long-term demand bets, joining other base metals notching recent milestones. A cap on Chinese smelting capacity and constraints to European production due to higher electricity prices have chipped away at global inventories, while the demand outlook from the …

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The West’s New Critical Minerals Playbook

BJP7images/Shutterstock View: Source China has long dominated the critical minerals supply chain, with an already large share in mining of many minerals but a particular chokehold further downstream — it refines between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency. These minerals are used in defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries and refining …

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Nickel hits nine-month high as Indonesia cuts back to boost prices

Nickel is still among this year’s weaker performers on the London Metal Exchange. Credit: TheWest View: Source Nickel has hit the highest since March after top producer Indonesia flagged plans to cut supply in order to boost prices. Nickel rose as much as 4.7 per cent to $US16,560 a tonne on the LME, extending a rally that tracked other metals from mid-December. After …

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Copper Set for Biggest Annual Gain Since 2009 on Supply Bets

Photographer: Lauren Petracca/Bloomberg View: Source Copper headed for its biggest annual gain since 2009, fueled by near-term supply tightness and bets that demand for the metal key in electrification will outpace production. The red metal has notched a series of all-time highs in an end-of-year surge, rallying over 40% on the London Metal Exchange this year. That makes it, along with …

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