Silver and gold mining stocks are soaring 📈

Soaring silver prices are driving the listings of mining companies, which are dominating share price gains on Wall Street today. Gainers in today's US session include Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.US), Hecla Mining (HL.US), Silvercorp (SVM.US), Coeur Mining (CDE.US), PanAmerican Silver Corp (PAAS.US), Endeavour (EXK.US) and Iamgold (IAG.US), which is growing by nearly 27% today in the face of a development gold mine project in Ontario and the sale of mining projects in Africa:

Among the most active U.S. companies, mining stocks are leading the way today. Source: xStation5

• Precious metals prices are being driven by concerns around the global economic slowdown and the ever-hawkish central banks that may be guiding the economy toward recession to tame inflationary pressures. Precious metals prices were propelled by an unexpected move by the Bank of Japan, which has slowly begun to make changes to its still very dovish monetary policy. Historically, gold has proven to be a 'safe haven' in periods of recession and has been an asset for investors that can store the value of money over time. Rising gold bullion prices are being followed by silver, further fueled by concerns about a melting supply. Citibank analysts expect gold prices to reach $1,900 per ounce in Q3 next year.

The Gold/Silver ratio, which shows how many troy ounces of silver investors can purchase for one ounce of gold, has approached levels last seen in August 2021. Source: BullionByPost

• Concerns about silver supply have increased, with inventories on the New York Metal Exchange falling 70% over the past 18 months to just over 1 million tons. The London Bullion Market Association's stocks also fell last month for the tenth consecutive month to a record low of 27,100 tons.
• The Silver Institute and Metals Focus reported that the physical silver market, excluding ETFs, is projected to show its most significant supply deficit in decades this year. It is expected to reach 194 million troy ounces. Industrial demand for silver was at a record high in 2022, reaching 539 million troy ounces, according to Metals Focus managing director Philip Newman.

Iamgold (IAG.US)

The company announced the sale of exploration and development projects in Africa for $282 million. The project locations are Senegal, Mali and Guinea, and will be resold to Managem. Company CEO Maryse Bélanger said the sale is the result of a strategic review and sale process. Proceeds are expected to meet financing requirements for the completion of the Cote gold mine project, in northern Ontario, Canada. Currently, the Cote gold mine project is approximately 70% complete and on track to begin production in early 2024. 

The company announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement to amend its joint venture agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining and SMM Gold Cote. Under the agreement, starting next January, Sumitomo will contribute financing amounts to the Côté gold project in Ontario, Canada, amounting to about $340 million over the course of 2023. In return, IAMGOLD will give Sumitomo about a 10% stake in Côté. It will also pay SMM a repurchase option fee and retain the right to exercise the repurchase option between November 30, 2023 and November 30, 2026 to return to its full 70% interest in the Côté gold project. Until the end, IAMGOLD will remain the main operator of the Canadian gold mine project. "Sumitomo's financial support demonstrates to all of our shareholders the strong affirmation of our partner's prospects for the Côté gold mine project and our commitment moving forward to complete construction and begin production," , said Maryse Bélanger, interim CEO of IAMGOLD, in a press release.

Iamgold (IAG.US) shares, W1 interval. Iamgold's stock price today hit levels from the peak of the 2008 crisis panic, giving bulls hope for a test of the 100- and 200-session averages if the bullish momentum in precious metals is maintained in 2023. For nearly four months, stocks have traded below these levels. Source: xStation5