Onsite & Online Auction May 29, 2014

In 2001 palladium reached $1,080/oz when gold was only $300/oz and platinum $715/oz. Three factors will help fuel palladium to surpass its 2001 high and well beyond says Market Oracle: Chinese auto production is expected to go from 18 million units in 2010 to a staggering 30 million vehicles by 2020. A vehicle's catalytic converter requires about 1/20th of a troy ounce of palladium and/or platinum and since platinum costs 124% more than palladium ($1,735 vs $776) it is reasonable to assume automobile manufactures will elect to use cheaper palladium. Secondly the looming palladium supply deficit and thirdly the exemplary success of pure palladium ETFs which already have over $1 billion in assets representing roughly 1.3 million oz of palladium taken off the market.

Xstrata Zinc Canada has agreed to purchase the remaining 23.6% interest in the Pallas Green property in Ireland belonging to its current joint venture partner in the project, Minco, for $19.4 million. Under the agreement, which is subject to Minco shareholder approval, Xstrata Zinc will become the sole owner of the project at Cahernconlish, Limerick.

An electronics recycling company in Badin, Washington was talking Saturday to applicants for jobs at a facility that could employ as many as 200 people. A building that once was part of Alcoa's aluminum smelting operation is being upgraded to house an outpost of Electronic Recyclers International, said company president John Shegerian. "We use manual labor to take the screens out of the machines, and then start segregating the material," Shegerian said. "Then the carcasses all go into the shredding machine." He said the materials are then sold to manufacturers, which use the plastic, aluminum and copper to make new products. The only thing left to dispose of is a little dust. It's a process Shegerian calls "urban mining."

BUCHAREST - Bucharest issued an archaeological discharge certificate for an area in northwestern Romania where a Canadian firm wants to establish a gold mine, the culture ministry said Friday. The decision was criticized by groups defending the patrimony

Canada's Lucara Diamond Corp, building the AK6 mine in Botswana, said on Friday strike action in South Africa’s steel sector was delaying deliveries to the project, though it did not yet know the full impact on the mine's schedule. AK6 was on track so far, being 60% complete. The company’s other projects include Mothae Diamond Project, located in Lesotho, and Kavango Project, located in northeast Namibia.

Oilsands Quest stock was trading up more than 60% at the close on Friday on more than 10-times usual volumes after the company announced it has received approval from the Government of Saskatchewan to convert portions of permits for its flagship project at Axe Lake to 15-year leases, the first oil sands leases in Saskatchewan. The stock was clobbered earlier this week after the company said it will ask for more cash from investors because its almost one-year long global quest to find a heavyweight partner had come up empty handed.

Australian iron ore developer WPG Resources said on Friday it will bring forward its Buzzard direct shipping ore project at Hawks Nest in South Australia. Drilling at the site has already commenced so that the mine can operate in parallel to its flaghship Peculiar Knob project (pictured) growing output to 5 mtpa. WPG stock received a lift on the news and ended Friday's trading in Sydney up more than 4%, bringing its gains for the year to 24%.

Gold futures pulled back early on Friday after adding over $50 an ounce since Monday and more than a $100 since the start of July, but in after hours trade in New York had reached $1,594.50, adding a solid $5 to Thursday's record high of $1,589.30 an ounce. Thursday's gains were sparked by rating agency Moody's saying US bonds were on review for possible downgrade which followed similar warnings by S&P. Although Fed chief Ben Bernanke has downplayed talk of fresh stimulus for the US economy ongoing political wrangling about the US's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling are sending investors into safe havens like gold.

Norilsk Nickel, world number one nickel and palladium producer and Russia's biggest miner, announced on Friday it is restarting operations at its Maggie Hays mine near Lake Johnston in West Australia. Norilsk mothballed Maggie Hays bought from BHP and the other Australian operations it acquired in 2007 two years later as the financial crisis cut demand. Stainless steel production accounts for around two-thirds of nickel consumption.