Precious Metals Catch Up with Indian Slump
Source: Adrian Ash, BullionVault  (12/28/11)
"London dealers returning to work caught up with a 1.4% drop for the week so far, plus news of falling industrial output in Japan, seasonally low jewelry demand in India and a new edict from China banning all non-official gold trading exchanges." More >

Platinum: Fire Sale on the Rich Man's Gold
Source: John Lee  (12/28/11)
"Historically, the price of platinum runs in tandem with the precious metals group (gold, silver, platinum and palladium). However, as platinum is less liquid and has a smaller investor set, it is much more volatile both on the upside and downside compared to gold." More >

U.S. Dollar Replaced by China, Japan: Positive for Gold
Source: Julian Phillips, The Gold Forecaster  (12/28/11)
"As time passes, the process of the internationalization of the yuan will primarily be at the expense of the dollar." More >

Maya Crude Output, Frack to the Future and More Damn Statistics
Source: Kent Moors, Money Morning  (12/28/11)
"Having supply available locally does not automatically mean it is the preferred option, especially if the cost of extracting it still exceeds the cost of importing equivalent volume. Security of supply is another matter." More >

Top 10 Commentaries of 2011
Source: Frank Holmes, U.S. Global Investors  (12/28/11)
"This week I thought we'd take a moment to reflect on the eventful year it's been for natural resources." More >

Renewed Faith in Oil and Gas: Jim Letourneau
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Energy Report  (12/27/11)
According to Jim Letourneau, author of the Big Picture Speculator, oil and gas aren't going away any time soon. Indeed, new technologies offer the industry and investors profitable opportunities. Read more about why Letourneau considers shale gas, shale oil and enhanced oil recovery "game changers" in this exclusive Energy Report interview. More >

Critical Reading for Rare Earth Metals Investors
Source: The Critical Metals Report Editors  (12/27/11)
Rare earth element coverage has exploded since The Gold Report started covering this sector in early 2009. At that point, the REE junior mining market was a $2 billion industry. Today, REE juniors are a $10 billion+ industry—give or take a one-day market fluctuation, and Streetwise Reports now has a dedicated newsletter to cover the sector: The Critical Metals Report. Let's look back at how far we have come. More >

Winners and Losers Emerge for Renewable Energy in 2012
Source: Platts  (12/27/11)
"Wind turbine makers, solar panel manufacturers, biomass pellet producers and other supply-chain companies, along with project developers, have shared in the good times, with plenty of prosperity to go around."
More >

Investment Forecast: Why 2012 Will Be the Year of the 'Micro Boom'
Source: William Patalon III, Money Morning  (12/27/11)
"These little-known profit machines will separate the winners from the losers in the New Year. The 'Bakken Boom' is unfolding in North Dakota, and profit-seekers are pursuing shale oil." More >

The Aristocrats! MLP Edition
Source: Hinds Howard, MLP HINDSight  (12/27/11)
"What would a list of MLP distribution aristocrats look like, and how would it have performed?" More >

How to Invest in Graphite and the Future of Graphene
Source: Jason Hamlin, GoldStockBull Investment Strategies  (12/26/11)
"High-purity large-flake graphite is essential for the production of the lithium-ion batteries, where demand is growing rapidly due to the evolution of electric cars." More >

Mining Boom in Quebec: Alain-Jean Beauregard
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report  (12/23/11)
While many jurisdictions are working hard to prevent mining or mineral exploration, the province of Quebec is encouraging it. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Alain-Jean Beauregard, founder of Geologica Inc., a geological consulting firm based in Val-d'Or, talks about the shining future of gold mining in Quebec. More >

Christmas Week Rally Spied in Gold as ECB Member Sees No Reason Not to Use QE
Source: Adrian Ash, Bullion Vault  (12/23/11)
"'We still stress the vulnerability of precious metals to a tightening of Eurozone money market liquidity,' says Standard Bank's London team, 'which might result from the region's sovereign debt problems.'" More >

Riders on the Gold and Silver Storm
Source: Jeb Handwerger, Gold Stock Trades  (12/23/11)
"Those of us who are buyers and believers in the long-term continuing secular rise in resource equities are going through a time of testing." More >

Canadian Juniors Are Playing For Results
Source: Rick Mills, Ahead of the Herd  (12/23/11)
"Juniors, not majors, own the world's future mines and juniors are the ones most adept at finding these future mines. They already own what the world's larger mining companies need to replace reserves and grow their asset bases." More >

DOE Report Finds Five Clean-Energy Related REEs at Risk in Short Term
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (12/23/11)
"The substantial capex required for the development of a rare earths mine, compounded by major miners' lack of interest in mining rare earths, may spell trouble in meeting future demand." More >

China Announces Discovery of Massive Coal Deposit
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb  (12/23/11)
"The discovery of a massive new coal reserve in Xinjiang Uygur is hoped will help meet China's coal requirements, which are set to grow to 1 gigaton during the 12th five-year plan." More >

MLP Performance Review: Is It Safe?
Source: Hinds Howard, MLP HINDSight  (12/23/11)
"The MLP index is on track to post a 2011 price change of around 5% and a total return of more than 10%. It will mark another year of MLPs outperforming the S&P 500." More >

2012: The Dow's Annus Horribilis and Gold
Source: Hubert Moolman  (12/23/11)
"The Dow's inflated value, relative to the value of gold, was brought about by this debt-based monetary system." More >

Why Gold, Why Now!
Source: Giuseppe L. Borrelli  (12/23/11)
"In spite of the momentary flashes of economic growth, the world economy continues to decline as deflationary pressures gradually increase. This is one of the reasons gold has floundered of late; that combined with the fact that it had rallied close to 50% by the time it reached the September high." More >

Hints on Due Diligence in Rare Earth Mining
Source: Anthony Alfidi, Resource Investor  (12/23/11)
"Professional investors prefer projects whose production costs are in the bottom quartile of their peer group. The problem with rare earths is that there are too few operating mines worldwide to construct statistically valid cost curves, so other factors must be considered." More >

Year in Review: Long-Term Uranium Stock Prospects Trend Higher
Source: The Energy Report Editors  (12/22/11)
At the beginning of 2011, analysts everywhere championed a "renaissance" of nuclear power. The Japanese tsunami and subsequent Fukishima nuclear accident in March challenged market sentiment; spot prices and stocks alike suffered setbacks. The Energy Report has been there for the entire wild ride, interviewing industry experts, sharing sector news and scouting out the best companies for any market. Read on for a retrospective of expert commentary on this still-promising sector. More >

Why We Remain Bullish on Small Mining Shares
Source: Gene Arensberg, Resource Investor  (12/22/11)
"'The little guys' have had little to be joyous about in 2011. That, of course, is definitely a reason for vulture speculators like me to be filled with jollity." More >

The Currency of the Elite in the Great Financial Crisis
Source: Lawrence Williams, Mineweb  (12/22/11)
"'Elements of inflation, reduced living standards and totalitarianism are already present to a greater or lesser extent,' says Paul Mylchreest in his Thunder Road December report." More >

Silver Investors Prefer to Wait It Out
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb   (12/22/11)
"After hitting record highs in May this year, silver prices have since fallen significantly and a number of analysts remain fairly bearish." More >