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finlay minerals ltd. (TSXV: FYL) (OTCQB: FYMNF) (‘Finlay’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange (the ‘ Exchange ‘) conditional acceptance for its previously announced earn-in agreement (the ‘ PIL Earn-In Agreement ‘) with Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. (‘ Freeport ‘), a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) relating to its PIL property (‘ PIL Property ‘). The PIL Property consists of 50 mineral claims in the Toodoggone District of northern British Columbia . The Company also entered into an earn-in agreement (the ‘ ATTY Earn-In Agreement ‘) with Freeport relating to its ATTY property (the ‘ ATTY Property ‘, together with the PIL Property, the ‘ Properties ‘). The ATTY Earn-In Agreement is not subject to Exchange approval, as it qualifies as an ‘Exempt Transaction’ under Exchange Policy 5.3 Acquisitions and Dispositions of Non-Cash Assets . The PIL and ATTY earn-in agreements are arm’s length transactions, and no finder’s fees are payable in connection with either earn-in agreement.

Pursuant to the PIL Earn-In Agreement, Freeport may acquire an 80% interest in the PIL Property by making aggregate cash payments of CAD $3,000,000 to Finlay and completing an aggregate of $25,000,000 of exploration expenditures on the PIL Property over a 6-year period.  Pursuant to the ATTY Earn-In Agreement, Freeport may acquire an 80% interest in the ATTY Property by making aggregate cash payments of CAD $1,100,000 to Finlay and completing an aggregate of $10,000,000 of exploration expenditures on the ATTY Property over a 6-year period.  The earn-in in respect of each of the Properties may be exercised separately, and the full details of the exercise requirements for each earn-in are set out in the table below.  Following the completion of the earn-in on either of the Properties, Freeport and Finlay will respectively hold interests of 80% and 20% in such Property, and a joint venture company will be formed for further exploration and development.  In the event that a party does not fund their portion of further joint venture programs, their interests in the joint venture company will dilute. Any party that dilutes to below a 10% interest in the joint venture company will exchange its joint venture company interest for a net smelter returns (‘ NSR ‘) royalty of 1% on the applicable Property, which is subject to a 0.5% buyback for USD $2,000,000 .

Table 1 . Staged cash and expenditure terms for the PIL and ATTY earn-in agreements.

PIL

ATTY

Cash

Work

Cash

Work

Year 1

$ 550,000

$    750,000

$    150,000

$      500,000

Year 2

$ 350,000

$ 1,000,000

$    100,000

$   1,000,000

Year 3

$ 375,000

$ 3,000,000

$    125,000

$   1,500,000

Year 4

$ 400,000

$ 5,250,000

$    150,000

$   2,000,000

Year 5

$ 500,000

$ 5,500,000

$    275,000

$   2,000,000

Year 6

$ 825,000

$ 9,500,000

$    300,000

$   3,000,000

Total (CAD)

$3,000,000

$25,000,000

$1,100,000

$10,000,000

These earn-in requirements can be accelerated by Freeport at its discretion. During the earn-in period, Finlay will be the operator on the Properties, collecting an operator’s fee, under the direction of a joint technical committee that will approve work programs and budgets during the earn-in period.

The PIL & ATTY Properties are each subject to a 3.0% NSR royalty held by Electrum Resource Corporation (‘ Electrum ‘), a private company, the outstanding voting shares of which are held by Company directors John A. Barakso and Ilona B. Lindsay . The Company has a current right to buy back ½ of the royalty (1.5%) on each property for an aggregate payment of $2,000,000 and $1,500,000 respectively.  Finlay and Electrum have entered into amended and restated royalty agreements (the ‘ A&R Royalty Agreements ‘) relating to each of the PIL and ATTY Properties, pursuant to which upon and subject to the exercise of the earn-in in respect of each Property by Freeport , the buy-back right will be amended to provide for a 2.0% royalty buy-back for each Property, in consideration for an increased buy-back payment that will be sole-funded by Freeport without joint venture dilution to Finlay, and will be divided equally between Finlay and Electrum. For the PIL Property, the increased buy-back will be:

    For the ATTY Property, the increased buy-back will be:

      1. USD$5,000,000 if the buy-back is exercised on or before the date that is 60 days following the report of an initial Pre-Feasibility Study on the ATTY Property;
      2. USD$7,500,000 if the buy-back is exercised on or before the date that is 60 days following the report date of an initial Feasibility Study on the ATTY Property; or
      3. USD$10,000,0000 if the buy-back is exercised on or after commercial production.

    Under the A&R Royalty Agreements, Finlay and Electrum have also agreed, subject to the exercise of the applicable Freeport earn-in, to extinguish share issuance obligations of 1,000,000 common shares and 500,000 common shares owing to Electrum prior to or on a production decision on the PIL and ATTY Properties respectively.

    Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is a leading international metals company focused on copper, with major operations in the Americas and Indonesia and significant reserves of copper, gold, and molybdenum.

    About the PIL Property:

    The 100% owned PIL Property covers 13,374 hectares of highly prospective ground in the prolific Toodoggone mining district of north-central British Columbia. The core PIL claims were staked over 30 years ago by the founders of the Company. Over the decades, numerous Cu-Au-Mo porphyry and porphyry-related Au-Ag epithermal targets have been identified at PIL. The identified targets are central to a broader 70 km porphyry corridor trend, which includes: Centerra Gold’s past producing Kemess South Cu-Au porphyry mine and Kemess Underground Cu-Au-Ag porphyry resource, Thesis Gold’s Lawyers-Ranch Au-Ag epithermal resource, and the newly discovered Amarc Resources and Freeport AuRORA Cu-Au-Ag porphyry.  Readers are cautioned that mineralization on the foregoing regional properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the PIL Property. The PIL Property is road accessible and permitted for the 2025 season.

    About the ATTY Property:

    The 100% owned ATTY Property covers 3,875 hectares in the prolific Toodoggone mining district of north-central British Columbia. The ATTY Property adjoins Centerra Gold’s Kemess Project and Amarc Resources and Freeport’s JOY property. Several epithermal-style Ag ± Au ± Cu ± base-metal veins are exposed on the ATTY Property, and geochemical and geophysical work have outlined at least two promising porphyry targets, including the drill-ready KEM Target. The ATTY Property is road accessible and permitted for the 2025 season.

    Qualified Person:

    Wade Barnes , P. Geo. and Vice President, Exploration for Finlay and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

    About finlay minerals ltd.

    Finlay is a TSXV company focused on exploration for base and precious metal deposits with five 100% owned properties in northern British Columbia : the PIL and ATTY properties in the Toodoggone, the Silver Hope Cu-Ag Property (21,322 ha) and the SAY Cu-Ag Property (26,202 ha) and JJB Property (15,423 ha) in the Bear Lake Corridor of BC.

    Finlay Minerals is advancing the ATTY, PIL, JJB, SAY and Silver Hope Properties that host copper-gold porphyry and gold-silver epithermal targets within different porphyry districts of northern and central BC. Each property is located in areas of recent development and porphyry discoveries with the advantage of hosting the potential for new discoveries.

    Finlay trades under the symbol ‘FYL’ on the TSXV and under the symbol ‘FYMNF’ on the OTCQB. For further information and details, please visit the Company’s website at www.finlayminerals.com

    On behalf of the Board of Directors,

    Robert F. Brown
    President, CEO & Director

    Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    Forward-Looking Information: This news release includes certain ‘forward-looking information’ and ‘forward-looking statements’ (collectively, ‘forward-looking statements’) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as ‘expect’, ‘plan’, ‘anticipate’, ‘project’, ‘target’, ‘potential’, ‘schedule’, ‘forecast’, ‘budget’, ‘estimate’, ‘intend’ or ‘believe’ and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘may’, ‘could’, ‘should’ or ‘might’ occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding, among others, the exploration plans for the Properties and the potential exercise of Freeport’s option to acquire an interest in the Properties. Although Finlay believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals, the ability of Finlay and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Finlay’s proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third-party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements,   and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Finlay does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

    SOURCE finlay minerals ltd.

    View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2025/02/c5071.html

    News Provided by Canada Newswire via QuoteMedia

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

    The Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister Mark Carney will form a minority government following their victory in Canada’s national election on Monday (April 28). The Liberals won 168 seats, just shy of the 172 required to form a majority, meaning the Liberal government will have to work with the Bloc Québécois or the NDP, which won 23 and 7 seats, respectively.

    The Conservative Party of Canada, led by Pierre Poilievre, won 144 seats. While the CPC was originally expected to win the election, the trade war and sovereignty threats from new US President Donald Trump turned the tide in favor of Carney, who took a firmer stance against Trump. Other election issues included the high cost of living, housing, immigration and crime.

    Both parties came into the election with visions for Canada’s economy, which included energy and infrastructure corridors, a commitment to energy production and a focus on resource nationalism.

    Statistics Canada released February’s gross domestic product by industry figures on Wednesday (April 30). According to the data, the resource sector’s January gains were largely erased by contractions in February. Oil and gas extraction slipped by 2.8 percent, while mining and quarrying contracted by 2.6 percent during the month. Metal ore mining posted its second month of declines, falling 2.5 percent. On the other hand, non-metallic mineral mining climbed by 2.7 percent, including a 3.5 percent rise in potash mining.

    South of the Border, The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April employment situation summary on Friday (May 2). In the report, the agency said that 177,000 new nonfarm jobs were added to the economy in April, which exceeded analysts’ expectations of 133,000 jobs.

    The biggest gains came in the healthcare sector, which added 51,000 workers, followed by transportation and warehousing, where 29,000 people found new employment.

    Overall, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 percent, and the participation rate was unchanged at 62.6 percent.

    However, there were some caveats, most notably, downward revisions of 15,000 fewer jobs in February and 43,000 jobs in March than initially reported.. Long-term unemployment also ticked up by 179,000 to 1.67 million in April, the highest since March 2022.

    While the number showed strength in the job market, many analysts expect these gains to be temporary, as the effects of US tariffs have yet to be felt in the economy.

    The US government also announced on Wednesday that it signed a critical minerals deal with Ukraine. Under the terms of the agreement, the US will provide funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction in exchange for preferential access to the country’s natural resources, including rare earth minerals, which are critical to tech and military development and supply chains.

    Additionally, the Trump administration announced it added 10 new projects to be fast-tracked to its federal permitting dashboard on Friday. The projects include the NorthMet copper and nickel project in Minnesota, which is a 50/50 joint venture between Teck (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) and Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF), as well as Sibanye Stillwater’s (NYSE:SBSW) Stillwater platinum and palladium project in Montana.

    Markets and commodities react

    In Canada, major indexes posted gains by the week’s close. The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) gained 1.32 percent during the week to close at 25,031.51 on Friday, the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) moved up 0.01 percent to 656.40 and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) climbed 2.52 percent to 122.75.

    US equity markets also posted gains by close on Friday, with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) increasing 2.85 percent to close at 5,686.66, the Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) gaining 3.45 percent to 20,102.61 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rising 2.8 percent to 41,317.44.

    The gold price fell from recent highs, closing out Friday at US$3,233.98, down 2.56 percent over the week. The silver price was also down, shedding 3.21 percent during the period to US$32.03.

    In base metals, the COMEX copper price fell 4.29 percent over the week to US$4.69 per pound. Meanwhile, the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was down 3.17 percent to close at 520.19.

    Top Canadian mining stocks this week

    So how did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

    Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

    Stock data for this article was retrieved at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals sectors were considered.

    1. Lion Rock Resources (TSXV:ROAR)

    Weekly gain: 60 percent
    Market cap: C$20.51 million
    Share price: C$0.32

    Lion Rock Resources is a gold and critical mineral exploration company focused on advancing its Volney gold-lithium-tin project in South Dakota, United States.

    The property is situated on 142 hectares of private land with surface and mineral rights in place. The site hosts historic gold and tin mining operations dating back to the 1920s. Additionally, the site contains the Giant Volney pegmatite body, from which 15 grab samples graded an average of 4.4 percent lithium oxide, with the highest grading 5.4 percent.

    The most recent news from the project came on Thursday (May 1) when Lion Rock announced that it had started its 2025 exploration program, including a high-resolution magnetic survey, mapping and sampling. The company said that the program will target high-grade lithium, gold and tin, and results will be used to refine drill targets and expand known mineralized zones.

    The company also released its year-end 2024 financial report on Tuesday (April 29).

    2. Foremost Clean Energy (CSE:FAT)

    Weekly gain: 42.86 percent
    Market cap: C$14.27 million
    Share price: C$1.30

    Foremost Clean Energy is a uranium exploration company working to advance projects in the Athabasca Basin in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

    In 2025, its primary focus has been its Hatchet Lake property, part of its Eastern Athabasca projects. The site consists of nine mineral claims within two blocks covering an area of 10,2012 hectares and has seen exploration dating back to the 1960s.

    Foremost announced in October 2024 that it had completed the first phase of an option agreement with Denison Mines (TSX:DML,NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) to acquire a 20 percent stake in 10 uranium properties, including Hatchet Lake, in exchange for 1.37 million common shares.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Foremost can earn up to a 70 percent stake in the properties in exchange for meeting certain milestones within 36 months.

    This Thursday, Foremost announced a new uranium discovery at Hatchet Lake from initial results of the company’s ongoing inaugural drill program.

    In the announcement, the company said the discovery included multiple intervals of mineralization, highlighting one grading 0.22 percent equivalent U3O8 over 0.9 meters, including an intersection of 0.5 percent over 0.1 meters.

    3. Baru Gold (TSXV:BARU)

    Weekly gain: 42.86 percent
    Market cap: C$13.53 million
    Share price: C$0.05

    Baru Gold is a development company working to advance its Sangihe gold project in Indonesia.

    The company holds a 70 percent stake in the 42,000 hectare project, with the remaining 30 percent interest held by three Indonesia-based companies.

    Baru Gold is progressing towards approval of its production operations plan, which was redesigned due to the significant macroeconomic shift and increase in the gold price since its last mineral resource estimate in May 2017.

    On February 14, the company published a technical report with an updated mineral resource estimate. The mineral resource estimate demonstrated an indicated resource of 114,000 ounces of gold and 1.93 million ounces of silver from 3.15 million metric tons of ore with grades of 1.12 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold and 19.4 g/t silver. The project also hosts an inferred resource of 91,000 ounces of gold and 1.08 million ounces of silver from 2.3 million metric tons of ore with grades of 1.22 g/t gold and 14.5 g/t silver.

    The update marks a significant step towards government approval for production operations status, with the only remaining requirement being the payment of taxes.

    The most recent news came on April 2 when the company announced the closing of the first tranche of a private placement for C$336,321.88. Funding raised through the placement will be used in part for payment of land use taxes on the Sangihe property.

    4. Taranis Resources (TSXV:TRO)

    Weekly gain: 42.5 percent
    Market cap: C$21.07 million
    Share price: C$0.285

    Taranis Resources is a copper explorer focused on advancing work at its Thor project in Southeast British Columbia, Canada.

    The site has seen previous mining dating back to the early 1900s and hosts at least seven different epithermal zones. In a February mineral resource estimate update, the company reported an indicated resource of 1.14 million metric tons of ore containing 27,400 ounces of gold, 5.58 million ounces of silver, 3.1 million pounds of copper, 47.8 million pounds of lead and 77.9 million pounds of zinc.

    The most recent news from the Thor project came on April 9, when Taranis provided an update on its 2024 deep drilling program. The company finalized an alteration study of the drill holes, which encountered anomalous gold, zinc and arsenic, and plans to use the results to improve targeting and lower costs for its 2025 drilling program.

    5. Black Iron (TSX:BKI)

    Weekly gain: 41.18 percent
    Market cap: C$38.02 million
    Share price: C$0.12

    Black Iron is an exploration and development company working to advance its Shymanivske iron project in Ukraine.

    The 300 hectare property is located approximately 330 kilometers south-east of the capital of Kiev and is situated within the well-known iron ore mining district of KrivBass.

    According to a March 2020 preliminary economic assessment, project economics demonstrated an after-tax net present value of US$1.44 billion at a discount rate of 10 percent with an internal rate of return of 34.4 percent and a payback period of 3.3 years.

    The included mineral resource estimate reported a measured and indicated resource of 645.8 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 31.6 percent total iron and 18.8 percent magnetic iron.

    Although Black Iron did not release any news this week, the company’s share price gained alongside news of the US and Ukraine reaching a critical minerals agreement.

    FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

    What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?

    The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.

    How many mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSXV?

    As of February 2025, there were 1,572 companies listed on the TSXV, 905 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,859 companies, with 181 of those being mining companies.

    Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.

    How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

    There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

    The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

    These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

    How do you trade on the TSXV?

    Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.

    Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    Keep reading…Show less
    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

    Australians will cast their final votes Saturday in a national election campaign dominated by cost-of-living concerns that’s being closely watched abroad for signs of a Donald Trump-inspired swing against conservative candidates.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party is facing off against Peter Dutton’s center-right Liberal Party, which is promising to get the country “back on track” after three years in opposition.

    Pre-election opinion polls firmed in Labor’s favor, but Australia’s preferential voting system and the declining dominance of the two major parties makes it difficult to predict who’ll make up the 150-member House of Representatives.

    Observers will be examining the results for signs of blowback against Australia’s conservative candidates from US President Trump’s whirlwind 100 days in office – after comparisons were drawn between Dutton’s policy offerings and those of the US leader.

    Another center-left prime minister, Mark Carney of Canada – which like Australia is a G20 and Commonwealth nation, as well as US ally – recently scored an election win widely chalked up to anti-Trump sentiment.

    In Australia, almost half of the 18 million registered voters cast their ballots before election day, and the remainder are expected to attend voting centers to comply with compulsory voting laws, with the threat of fines for no-shows.

    Polling centers on election day often resemble a series of small community fairs, taking advantage of the guaranteed flow of customers by selling what’s known as “democracy sausages” – a sausage, sauce, and maybe onions, on a slice of white bread.

    The tradition began decades ago but in recent years has become more organized with an online map built by volunteers showing where voters can find a ballot box with a barbecue.

    “Everybody has to show up to vote. As long as you’re showing up anyway, why not connect with the community through the fair-like atmosphere of a sausage sizzle and whatever other fundraisers are available on the day,” said Alex Dawson from the Democracy Sausage Team.

    International influence

    Over the last five weeks, the two major parties have been locked in a battle for votes, using the promise of tax cuts, rebates and other relief measures aimed at easing a cost-of-living crisis.

    Australian elections tend to focus on domestic issues – housing, health and the economy – but this one has been influenced by international events.

    Albanese called the election in late March, just before Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, sending global markets into a tailspin.

    As with almost all other US allies, Australia was not spared from the tariffs, something Albanese criticized as “against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship.”

    On the campaign trail, the incumbent government has presented itself as a steady pair of hands as the initial hit to stocks broadened into fears of an impending global recession. Now, Labor says the Australian economy is turning the corner, pointing to a recent fall in inflation to 2.9%, the lowest since December 2021.

    Dutton has placed the blame for inflationary pressures firmly on the Labor government, routinely questioning whether voters feel “better off than they were three years ago.”

    Both parties say they’ll make it easier for first-time buyers to get a house, by either cutting the size of the minimum deposit, or offering tax deductions on mortgage repayments – both measures analysts say will likely drive house prices higher.

    Pitch to young voters

    This year, for the first time, younger voters will outnumber older demographics and analysts expect them to extend the decline of the two-party system with more votes for minor parties and independents.

    A fierce competition for young voters has played out on social media, making this election “drastically different” from those of the past, said Andrea Carson, a professor of political communication at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

    “Instagram and TikTok (are) really taking over some of the space that was occupied by Facebook,” Carson said.

    However, the lack of any regulation requiring truth in political advertising has allowed political parties, as well as third-party campaigners, to say whatever they like about their rivals.

    Many electorates, such as the hotly contested Wentworth in Sydney’s east, have seen a deluge of flyers and signs pushing personal attacks against candidates. The Australian Electoral Commission stated in April that it “cannot, and has never been able to, regulate truth.”

    Commentators will be watching this year to see if more seats go to so-called Teal candidates, independents backed by funds raised through campaign group Climate 200.

    The Teals were the talk of the last election three years ago, when Australians turfed out the Liberal-National Coalition after nine years of rule, in a vote dubbed Australia’s “climate election.” This year, 35 are competing as independents with a shared goal of promoting integrity, gender equality and greater climate action.

    In 2022, the new Labor government committed to net-zero targets and immediately began the work of driving carbon emissions down in a country which derives a significant portion of its wealth from extracting fossil fuels.

    However, despite escalating the rollout of new renewable projects, it’s been criticized for also approving new coal and gas projects.

    The Liberal Party’s response to the country’s energy demands has been to propose a shift to nuclear power, with a plan to build seven nuclear power stations in the coming decades, funded by taxpayers.

    This time around, there has been no promise of bolder climate action from Labor, even as activists have ambushed leaders on the campaign trail.

    “When will you listen to young people?” one protester yelled at Albanese on April 8 at a press conference to announce more funding for mental healthcare.

    For the candidates who’ve worked for weeks to push their message through the noise of competing election campaigns, Saturday could turn into a long, tense evening.

    The last polls close at 6 p.m. on the west coast (6 a.m. ET) and a result is expected within hours – if one of the major parties receives enough votes to win a coveted majority.

    Voters are also electing 40 of 76 seats in the upper house (Senate), replacing senators who are at the end of their six-year term.

    This post appeared first on cnn.com

    Earthquakes are devastating for those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods, but for military dictators clinging to power, such disasters can also bring opportunity.

    Myanmar’s military rulers have spent the past four years waging a brutal civil war across the Southeast Asian country, sending columns of troops on bloody rampages, torching and bombing villages, massacring residents, jailing opponents and forcing young men and women to join the army.

    The junta is headed by a widely reviled army chief who overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and installed himself as leader.

    But like with most aspiring strongmen, Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing’s rule is precarious. He and his cronies have been sanctioned and spurned internationally, the economy is in tatters, and his military is losing significant territory in a grinding, multi-front war against a determined resistance.

    By some accounts, he barely controls 30% of the country.

    So when a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 28, killing more than 3,700 people and causing widespread devastation, the general moved rapidly to bolster his position with a rare plea for international help.

    “Min Aung Hlaing is leveraging the earthquake for regional engagement and electoral legitimacy,” said Kyaw Hsan Hlaing, a PhD student in political science at Cornell University.

    “The humanitarian crisis gives him a pretext to open channels he’d long shut.”

    Those openings included a face-to-face meeting last month between the junta leader and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, which currently holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The regional bloc had shunned high-level talks with Myanmar since the coup, to avoid legitimizing the junta.

    Following the meeting in the Thai capital Bangkok, Anwar said he had a “frank and constructive discussion” with the general, focused on humanitarian assistance for quake-hit communities and the extension of a military-declared ceasefire to facilitate aid deliveries.

    “For Min Aung Hlaing, securing even a veneer of regional legitimacy now lays political groundwork: He can argue ‘Look, neighbors trust me enough to talk,’ even as democratic leaders and exile groups remain excluded from the table,” said Kyaw Hsan Hlaing.

    Specter of elections

    Some say now is the time for countries to engage with Myanmar’s military rulers, to push for dialogue and peace.

    Four years of war has ravaged the country; 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and the earthquake has only deepened an already dire humanitarian crisis in which at least 20 million people need aid.

    “The main concern is the humanitarian situation. Sometimes, when we have this kind of crisis, it’s an opportunity for all the parties to try to come together, to think of the interests of the people… maybe it could lead to some kind of dialogue process,” said Sihasak Phuangketkeow, a former deputy foreign affairs minister of Thailand who has been part of his country’s efforts to engage the State Administration Council, the junta’s official name.

    In recent months, Min Aung Hlaing has enjoyed a series of diplomatic engagements.

    As bodies were still being pulled from the rubble of the quake, the general was shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Bangkok.

    Rights groups and civil society organizations said his presence at the BIMSTEC summit amounted to the gathering lending legitimacy to a war criminal.

    India said its bilateral meeting, set up to facilitate disaster relief, provided an opportunity to push the junta for “inclusive dialogue” and underline that there could be “no military solution to the conflict.”

    That meeting came a month after Min Aung Hlaing’s high-profile state visit to Russia to boost cooperation with President Vladimir Putin, his longtime ally and main arms supplier.

    Above all for the junta leader, domestic legitimacy is key in order to maintain his regime. And regional support for his planned elections, slated to be held later this year, is the first step in securing that.

    Since seizing power, Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly promised elections.

    But with most of the democratic camp in exile or jail, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy dissolved, and the military’s widespread repression of the people, such a vote would never be considered free or fair, observers say.

    Min Aung Hlaing’s March invitation to election observers from Belarus – Europe’s last dictatorship – appeared to underscore their point.

    “We have to make it very clear that for the election to be credible, it has to have inclusive dialogue,” said Sihasak, who is now secretary-general of the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council.

    “It is not a blank check,” he added. “It’s an opportunity for us to engage, but not engage in a way that supports legitimacy, but to impress upon the regime that they have to also make concessions.”

    Stopping the violence

    Some observers say the junta cannot be trusted to make concessions, when the military’s history is littered with false promises masking an unending stream of atrocities.

    Even as Malaysia’s Anwar was touting the military’s so-called ceasefire to help quake-hit communities, the junta was restricting aid and intensifying its deadly campaign with airstrikes in opposition areas that have reportedly killed dozens of civilians.

    Analysts warn that the military will use greater engagement as a pretext to normalize diplomatic ties and entrench its authoritarian rule.

    “If you negotiate with the devil without red lines, that is complicity,” said Adelina Kamal, an independent analyst and member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators network.

    Kamal said the international community risks being “deceived into the military’s stage performance,” where elections would be “an illusion of democratic transition.”

    In 2008, when parts of the country were ravaged by powerful Cyclone Nargis, the military regime at the time pushed ahead with a constitutional referendum that paved the way for a semi-civilian government but cemented the military’s influence on the country’s politics.

    With a new military-drafted constitution in place, the regime – called the State Peace and Development Council – held elections in 2010 widely regarded as a sham.

    Today’s junta is “taking a page from the SPDC’s playbook to assert and retain its political role,” said Moe Thuzar, coordinator of the Myanmar studies program at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

    “The people of Myanmar have made it amply clear since 2021 about their mistrust in the military’s statements about elections, and view elections in the current situation as potentially leading to more violence.”

    Those who have firsthand experience of that violence say actions speak louder than words.

    “Talking to Min Aung Hlaing will not bring any political solution and satisfy what the majority of people want,” said Khun Bedu, chairman of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, which is fighting the military in the country’s southeast.

    The Karen National Union, which has been fighting the military since independence from Britain more than 70 years ago, said inclusive dialogue cannot happen without first a ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

    There is hope, however, from some quarters that progress could be made this year.

    Following his talks with the junta leader, Malaysia’s Anwar also held a widely praised virtual meeting with Mahn Win Khaing Than, prime minister of the National Unity Government, in ASEAN’s first public face-to-face with Myanmar’s shadow administration of lawmakers deposed in the coup.

    The NUG, which considers itself the legitimate government of Myanmar, has repeatedly insisted on engaging all stakeholders to solve the crisis.

    “I see 2025 as the year, with the election coming in and with this crisis, that we can either win the peace or we can lose the peace,” said Sihasak, the former Thai minister.

    To get there, international partners should “tie any dialogue to verifiable steps” including “genuine humanitarian corridors, release of political prisoners, and binding guarantees of inclusive talks,” said Kyaw Hsan Hlaing at Cornell.

    “Otherwise, engagement simply extends the junta’s lifeline at the expense of the Burmese people’s aspirations for democracy,” he said.

    This post appeared first on cnn.com

    Singapore is holding an election on Saturday almost certain to perpetuate the unbroken rule of the People’s Action Party, in a test of public approval for its new prime minister as the city-state braces for economic turbulence from a global trade war.

    The election is a bellwether for the popularity of the PAP, which has ruled since before Singapore’s 1965 independence, with attention on whether the opposition can challenge the ruling party’s tight grip on power and make further inroads after small but unprecedented gains in the last contest.

    Though the PAP has consistently won in landslides with about 90% of seats, its share of the popular vote is closely watched as a measure of the strength of its mandate, with premier Lawrence Wong keen to improve on the PAP’s 60.1% in the 2020 election – one of its worst performances on record.

    Wong, 52, became the Asian financial hub’s fourth prime minister last year, promising continuity, new blood and to lead Singapore his own way.

    He took over at the end of the two-decade premiership of Lee Hsien Loong, the son of former leader Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore.

    Polls opened at 8 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. (8 a.m. ET), with a result expected in the early hours of Sunday.

    Living costs and housing availability in one of the world’s most expensive cities are key issues for the 2.76 million voters and a continued challenge for Wong, whose government has warned of recession if the trade-dependent economy becomes collateral damage in the war over steep U.S. tariffs.

    Lopsided contest

    The PAP has long had the upper hand in politics, with a big membership to draw from, influence in state institutions and far greater resources than its untested opponents, which are each running in only a small number of constituencies.

    The election will be a lopsided affair, with 46% of all candidates representing the PAP, which is contesting all 97 seats compared to 26 for its biggest rival, the Workers’ Party, which won 10 last time, the most by an opposition party.

    But though a PAP defeat is extremely unlikely, some analysts say the election could alter the dynamic of Singapore politics in the years ahead if the opposition can make more headway, with younger voters keen to see alternative voices, greater scrutiny and more robust debate.

    “It is to be expected that (its) overall electoral support will gradually, gradually dip from general election to general election,” said National University of Singapore political scientist Lam Peng Er.

    “Would Singaporeans be that surprised if the PAP’s electoral support were to dip to 57% or 58%? It will surprise nobody. I don’t think it will even surprise the PAP at all.”

    The PAP for its part is keen to avoid upsets and warned voters of the consequences of seat losses for key cabinet members, whom Wong said were critical to balancing ties between the United States and China and navigating Singapore’s highly exposed economy through potentially choppy waters.

    “I have backups … sure. But everyone knows that the team cannot function at the same level,” Wong told the 1.4 million-strong labor union on Thursday.

    This post appeared first on cnn.com

    Sitting inside her new apartment in kibbutz Tzora, a leafy community just west of Jerusalem, Almog Holot ran her fingers over a bowl of crystals as the wind chime on her balcony blew in the breeze.

    Eighteen months ago, she spent 12 hours gripping the handle of her safe room door in kibbutz Nirim as she, along with her mother and her children – then 6 and 8 years old – hid from Hamas militants, who threw grenades at their house, ransacked their home and terrorized their community.

    Five people were killed and another five were kidnapped from Holot’s kibbutz on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militant groups launched a coordinated terror attack on Israeli communities and military posts, killing 1,200 and kidnapping 251 people.

    Holot and her family survived. But her belief in peace did not.

    Holot and her ex-husband, who is from Nirim, a kibbutz about 2 kilometers (approximately 1.2 miles) from the Gaza border, had decided to raise their family there, believing it was the best place for their children.

    “Kibbutzes are like paradise on earth in many ways,” she said. “You live in a community where money is not the most important thing… people know each other, people care about each other, and people help each other.”

    While her children grew up “in a reality in which in every single second of every single day, a rocket might hit them,” Holot said that before October 7, such attacks were rare.

    “Most of the time it was really peaceful,” she said. “My children knew to answer people that the people who threw rockets were just Hamas, and most of the people in Gaza are good – just like them.”

    Like many residents of kibbutzim – or communal settlements – located near the Gaza border, Holot says she holds left-leaning political views. And like many so-called kibbutzniks, she too believed in, and advocated for, peace with Palestinians.

    People from outside of her kibbutz used to tell her that her views were “naïve,” she said. Now she believes they were right.

    “I can no longer say that 95% of them (Palestinians) want to live in peace,” Holot said, adding that many in her community were “surprised” by the attacks, but not because of the actions of Hamas.

    “We thought (Gazans) were like us. And it turned out, no, they’re not,” she said, alleging that “common people of Gaza” were involved in the looting of October 7 and expressed support for the attacks.

    It’s an attitude that Avida Bachar, from nearby kibbutz Be’eri also shares. Bachar lost his wife, his teenage son and his right leg in the attacks, in which 100 of the kibbutz’s 1,100 residents were killed.

    Prior to October 7, Bachar believed that Palestinians and Israelis could coexist.

    Now, he believes that Israel should raze Gaza and take complete control of it.

    “We have to take the border, to move the border, and put potatoes and peanut fields there (in Gaza), until the sea. That is a different system, and we have to do it,” he said, acknowledging that his support of such an extreme idea would have surprised him prior to the war.

    Such shifts in attitudes aren’t surprising for survivors of extreme trauma, said Merav Roth, a Haifa-based clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

    “It takes most of your energy just to survive mentally. And that’s why they don’t have spare energy to think of ‘the other,’” Roth said, adding that they are often in “fight or flight” mode and react in “binary, primitive ways.”

    “When you’re in chaos, when you’re intimidated, when you’re threatened, you split the world into two: total good and total bad… and revenge is an illusion of becoming strong,” Roth said.

    So, by operating with a mentality of “I don’t want to think about them. I don’t want to solve anything,’” Roth said, survivors are able to create a sense of protection for themselves.

    It’s the type of protection Holot seeks for herself and her children, who both suffer from PTSD.

    While Holot said that she does not support US President Donald Trump or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu politically, their call to relocate Palestinians in Gaza to third countries – a “voluntary” emigration plan approved by Israel’s cabinet in March that critics say could amount to ethnic cleansing – has given her pause.

    “Would I want to get up tomorrow morning, wake up and see that all the people in Gaza disappeared and everything is peaceful? Yes. On the same note, I would like to get up tomorrow morning and find out that all the people in Gaza want peace,” she said, before adding: “But do I think (either) is possible? No.”

    A shift to the right

    In the 1990s and 2000s, the conflict was a dividing line between left and right, split 50-50 along political lines, according to Tamar Hermann, a public opinion and polling expert at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), a Jerusalem-based think tank.

    Holot and Bachar’s views mirror a wider shift in attitudes among Israeli Jews to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the idea of a two-state solution since October 7.

    But over the years, Jewish Israeli society has made a significant shift to the right, with only 13% of that population now self-identifying as on the left, compared with 30% in the center, and 55-60% on the right, Hermann said.

    While the right remains staunchly against a Palestinian state, a view that has only hardened since the war began, the center is now much more aligned with the right than it used to be, she said.

    But the major shift has been among those on the left, who used to support a two-state solution but now see a Palestinian state as unfeasible anytime soon, she said.

    Meanwhile, across all political lines, very few Jewish Israelis (5%) believe that Hamas would end its struggle against Israel even if there was a Palestinian state, according to an IDI opinion poll conducted 13 months ago.

    Holot, who still identifies as on the left, said she believes left-wing activists outside of Israel who demonstrate for a “Free Palestine” do not fully understand Hamas’ ideological stance, instead only focusing on images of Palestinian suffering.

    Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 people since October 2023 – among them 16,000 children – according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. 2,100 Palestinians have been killed since Israel reignited its aerial and ground campaign last month, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire.

    “I’m very sad for this reality, but I’m very stable about knowing that it’s not our fault and their leaders brought it upon them,” Holot said, echoing a wider national sentiment. Nearly all Jewish Israelis (94.5%) believe that Hamas bears a great deal of responsibility for the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to the IDI poll.

    “Murderousness is infectious, aggression is infectious,” Roth said of the vicious cycle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    But Roth, who believes in a two-state solution, still has hope for peace. She said some of the returned hostages and survivors she’s worked with have told her: “’I will fight for the two-state solution. We still need peace.”

    “They are amazing, and it’s inspiring,” Roth said. “They keep their higher selves, even after all that they went through.”

    ‘The only reality I knew’

    In between lectures, 21-year-old Gili Avidor walks under trees on the perimeter of the Tel Aviv University campus. Like the survivors – and much of Israeli society – she, too, has undergone a profound personal and political transformation since October 7.

    But her story is very different than most.

    “I remember telling my sister that I want everyone in Gaza dead,” said Avidor.

    “Now I am ashamed and frightened of the fact that these words came out of my mouth,” Avidor, who describes herself as being from a right-wing family, said: “I was completely inside the Israeli narrative. That’s the only reality I knew.”

    As Israel escalated its war on Gaza, Avidor said something changed for her.

    “I thought, there is probably some other girl on the other side of the gate in Gaza that is feeling exactly what I feel, that someone she loved got killed, and revenge is the answer…(but) revenge is what makes such things to happen in the first place.”

    Avidor began to engage with left-wing activist groups that support Palestinian self-determination and volunteered as a “protective presence” for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, who have suffered an increasing number of attacks by Jewish settlers since the start of the war.

    It’s hard to stand up to your own society, she said, adding that individual and collective trauma has been weaponized to empower extremists to perpetuate the conflict and dehumanize Palestinians.

    Still, she remains committed to a different way forward, saying that it is her “duty” to advocate for “human beliefs in this very dark time.”

    Avidor acknowledges that she did not experience the first-hand trauma that many kibbutzniks did, and expresses deep sympathy for them.

    “I can understand that people who endure such a trauma (flips) their life upside-down,” Avidor said.

    But she pushed back on the idea that October 7 is a reason for them to stop seeing a path forward to peace with Palestinians.

    “I mean, they say: ‘Okay, we were the the good Jews who helped you and took you to the hospital when you’re sick…’ but now they strip them from their humanity,” she said.

    “The notion that human rights is something that people need to gain and to be thankful for? That makes me angry. And I think they’re hypocrites,” Avidor added.

    Not every survivor has faltered in their vision for peace.

    At her father’s graveside at kibbutz Nir Oz several weeks ago, Sharone Lifschitz read one of his poems to friends and family attending his headstone-setting ceremony, as the sound of bombs exploded a mile away in Gaza.

    Oded Lifschitz, a lifelong peace activist, was kidnapped age 83 from the kibbutz on October 7, along with his wife Yocheved, who was freed weeks after her capture.

    She and her mother continue to embody Oded’s ideology, saying that peace with Palestinians is the only way forward.

    Roth, the psychologist, believes Israel’s most “severe danger as a society is if we become the atrocity we experience.”

    “This will be really the victory of Hamas, if the Israeli people will lose their values, their higher selves, their morality, (capacity for) seeing the other,” she said.

    Back in kibbutz Tzora, Holot says she still holds liberal values, and is focused on healing herself and her children.

    “I don’t want to teach them bad things about humanity. So, I prepare them to keep thinking that Hamas is bad and the people are good… even if I don’t feel it myself,” she said.

    This post appeared first on cnn.com

    When you’re lost in the woods, you reach for a compass to find true north. In the markets, it’s not so simple, as the landscape is always shifting. If there is a “true north” in this terrain, it might be better understood as a characteristic—strength and momentum over time, rather than a single stock or sector.

    With sentiment muddled and signals mixed, how do you cut through near-term noise and find the “true north” in a shifting market landscape? This is where StockCharts’ MarketCarpets comes in. You can think of it as a visual compass that can help you reorient and recalibrate.

    What MarketCarpets is Saying Now

    All MarketCarpets readings use the five-day setting, since shorter time frames are particularly susceptible to noise in the current context.

    FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPETS S&P VIEW. Lots of green, but I want to see a reduction.

    On Thursday morning, there were more bullish greens than bearish reds. They represent S&P 500 stocks performing better relative to others—specifically from a ‘long only’ (bullish) perspective. But what do those greens have in common?

    The answer is that most, if not all, are Information Technology sector funds.

    Technology Sector Leads the Charge in S&P 500

    If you select the S&P Sector ETFs group, Technology is the strongest among all 11 S&P sectors.

    FIGURE 2. MARKETCARPETS SECTORS. Technology is far ahead of most other sectors, which read bullish.

    If you follow financial news, you’re probably well aware of how certain tech companies are performing, especially in light of the current earnings season.

    But not every investor wants to risk allocating capital toward individual stocks, given the volatility of today’s geopolitical environment, where news on a given day can cause markets to soar or slump. So, conservative investors, particularly those in or nearing retirement, might want to opt for a sector ETF instead, like the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK).

    Why is technology outperforming?

    Six Reasons Tech Stocks are Outperforming in 2025

    Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s going on:

    • AI and cloud boom. Enterprise-focused giants are thriving due to surging AI demand.
    • Earnings confidence. Big tech’s strong earnings are keeping investor sentiment positive despite market volatility.
    • Tariff mitigation. Tech companies are proactively shifting supply chains to soften tariff impact.
    • Tariff relief. Temporary exemptions on key tech products give hardware makers a short-term boost.
    • Long-term innovation appeal. Investors see AI, chips, and automation as long-term growth drivers.
    • Stable revenue streams. Tech firms with enterprise and software services offer more stability than consumer-driven sectors.

    Technology Sector Overbought? Market Breadth Says Maybe

    That’s a lot of fundamental talk, but what does the technical picture look like? Let’s start by analyzing market breadth with the S&P Technology Sector Bullish Percent Index ($BPINFO) chart.

    FIGURE 3. TECH SECTOR BPI. Most tech stocks in the sector are ultra-bullish, but that can also signal overbought conditions.

    The Bullish Percent Index (BPI) is at 85, meaning 85% of all stocks within the sector are triggering Point & Figure Buy Signals. Above 50% is bullish, but above 70%, let alone 85%, XLK is straddling ultra-bullish to overbought.

    If you look at the magenta rectangle, you can see where XLK’s trend is situated—at the point of recovery following a two-month tumble. However, it’s still below its 200-day simple moving average (SMA), and, as the saying goes, nothing good happens below the 200.

    XLK’s Price and Volume Action: A Closer Look

    Let’s zoom in on a daily chart.

    FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF XLK. It broke above resistance, but can it sustain upward momentum?

    XLK’s recovery effort gained momentum with a notable gap up on Thursday. Positive momentum is reinforced by a rising Relative Strength Index (RSI) above the 50 level, suggesting XLK still has room to run.

    From a volume perspective, the On Balance Volume (OBV) indicator is trending higher, signaling increased buying pressure. A 20-day SMA is overlaid to show how OBV is performing relative to its average. However, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), hovering flat near the zero line (see blue circle), indicates accumulation with hesitation.

    Key Support Levels to Watch If You’re Bullish on XLK

    If you’re considering a long position in XLK, keep an eye on these key technical levels:

    • Initial Support – $205. The breakout level around $205 (marked by the blue dotted line) should act as the first line of support on any pullback.
    • Secondary Support Zone – $185 to $187.50. If $205 fails, the yellow-shaded zone becomes the next support range. But note: if price falls here, the $205 breakout level may flip into resistance.
    • Critical Support – $172.50. A drop toward $172.50 could signal deeper technical weakness. That’s why the area is shaded red—to underscore its importance.

    In each case, monitor the CMF for confirmation. A rising CMF, especially in the first two support zones, would suggest continued buying pressure—a bullish signal. Conversely, if CMF dips below the zero line, it would signal growing selling pressure, reinforcing a more bearish outlook.

    At the Close

    The tech sector is leading the charge, but you have to estimate whether momentum is real or just generating noise. MarketCarpets works like a compass, helping you visually navigate market conditions and spot patterns. Pair it with tools like RSI, OBV, CMF, or any other preferred tool in your analytical toolbox to create well-defined setups and exits. In a market environment driven by sentiment, headlines, fear, and FOMO, having a solid technical foundation is more important than ever.



    Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

    Discover the top 10 stock charts to watch this month with Grayson Roze and David Keller, CMT. They break down breakout strategies, moving average setups, and technical analysis strategies using relative strength, momentum, and trend-following indicators. This analysis covers key market trends that could impact your trading decisions. You don’t want to miss these insights into market dynamics and chart patterns that could impact your trading decisions.

    This video originally premiered on May 1, 2025. Click on the above image to watch on our dedicated Grayson Roze page on StockCharts TV.

    You can view previously recorded videos from Grayson at this link.

    Uranium.io is a next-generation platform transforming access to physical uranium (U₃O₈) through the power of blockchain technology. It empowers both individual and institutional investors to directly own and trade uranium, eliminating many of the traditional barriers, such as high costs, limited transparency, and market inefficiencies. Each xU₃O₈ token is fully backed by physical uranium stored in a secure, regulated facility operated by Cameco. Custodianship is provided by Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset firm, ensuring robust transparency and trust in the asset’s backing.

    The platform meets rising investor demand for uranium—a key driver of the global energy transition. As nations pursue net-zero targets, nuclear energy is gaining momentum as a reliable, low-carbon power source. Governments across North America, Europe, and Asia are expanding nuclear capacity by restarting reactors, building new ones, and advancing small modular reactor development.

    Uranium.io combines blockchain, digital custody, and real-world uranium supply to deliver secure, transparent access to the uranium market. By bridging traditional commodity trading with Web3, the platform enables users to seamlessly acquire, hold, and trade physical uranium through xU₃O₈ tokens.

    Company Highlights

    • Uranium.io is a pioneering platform for buying and selling uranium, providing direct ownership of physical uranium via a blockchain-powered token xU3O8.
    • Built on Etherlink, powered by Tezos technology, enabling transparency, low fees, energy efficiency and programmable compliance.
    • FCA-regulated digital asset custodian, Archax, holds physical uranium in trust on behalf of token holders.
    • Physical supply is brokered by Curzon Uranium, a trusted uranium trading and logistics partner with deep industry roots and over $1 billion in uranium trades.
    • The uranium bought on the platform is physically stored at a regulated depository owned and operated by Cameco, one of the world’s leading global uranium providers/converters.
    • Global 24/7 market access offering fractionalized and direct uranium exposure with real-time settlement and cross-border accessibility.
    • Capitalizing on nuclear energy’s role in clean energy transition and the financialization of critical minerals.

    This Uranium.io profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*

    Click here to connect with xU3O8 (uranium.io) to receive an Investor Presentation

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

    International Lithium Corp. (TSXV: ILC) (OTCQB: ILHMF) (FSE: IAH) (the ‘Company’ or ‘ILC’) is pleased to announce that it is increasing the size of its non-brokered private placement financing (the ‘Offering’) from $600,000 to $855,000 and extending the closing of the Offering to May 30, 2025. The Offering was originally announced on February 5, 2025. The upsized Offering is comprised of up to 57,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.015 per share for gross proceeds of up to $855,000.

    On March 31, 2025, the Company closed the first tranche the Offering and issued 23,666,666 common shares at $0.015 per share for proceeds of $355,000. The proposed payments from the first tranche proceeds included $183,600 to pay the outstanding fees to non-arm’s length creditors.

    Proceeds of the private placement will be used primarily for general working capital purposes. The payments to persons conducting Investor Relations Activities shall not exceed 10% of the proceeds.

    Closing of the Offering is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws.

    It is anticipated that some directors and insiders will participate in the future tranches of the Offering. The issue of shares (to the extent subscribed for by insiders) constitute ‘related party transactions’ pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (‘MI 61-101’), as the subscribers include directors of the Company. The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the shares in reliance on the exemptions contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, as the fair market value of the shares does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

    About International Lithium Corp.

    While the world’s politicians are currently divided on the future of the energy market’s historic dependence on oil and gas and on ‘Net Zero’, there seems a clear and unstoppable momentum towards electric vehicles and electric battery storage. We have also seen the clear and increasingly urgent wish by the USA and Canada and other major economies to safeguard their supplies of critical metals and to become more self-sufficient. Our Canadian projects, which contain lithium, rubidium and copper, are strategic in that respect.

    Our key mission in the next decade is to make money for our shareholders from lithium and other battery metals and rare metals while at the same time playing our part in creating a greener, cleaner planet and less polluted cities. This includes optimizing the value of our existing projects in Canada as well as finding, exploring and developing projects that have the potential to become world class deposits. We have announced separately that we regard Zimbabwe as an important strategic target market for ILC, and that we have applied for and hope to receive EPOs there. We hope to be able to make announcements over the next few weeks and months.

    The Company’s interests in various projects now consists of the following, and in addition the Company continues to seek other opportunities:

    Name Metal Location Area (Hectares) Current Ownership Percentage Future Ownership percentage if options exercised or work carried out Operator or JV Partner
    Raleigh Lake Lithium
    Rubidium
    Ontario 32,900 100% 100% ILC
    Firesteel Copper
    Cobalt
    Ontario 6,600 90% 90% ILC
    Wolf Ridge Lithium Ontario 5,700 0% 100% ILC
    Mavis Lake Lithium Ontario 2,600 0% 0%
    (carries an extra earn-in payment of CAD$ 0.7 million if resource targets met)
    Critical Resources Ltd
    ( ASX: CRR)
    Avalonia* Lithium Ireland 29,200 0% 2.0% Net Smelter Royalty Ganfeng Lithium
    Forgan/
    Lucky Lakes
    Lithium Ontario 0% 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty Ultra Lithium Inc.
    ( TSXV: ULT)
    *Sale not completed yet

     

    The Company’s primary strategic focus at this point is on the Raleigh Lake lithium and rubidium project and the Firesteel copper project in Canada and on obtaining EPOs and mineral claims in Zimbabwe.

    The Raleigh Lake Project now consists of 32,900 hectares (329 square kilometres) of mineral claims in Ontario and is ILC’s most significant project in Canada. Drilling has so far been on less than 1,000 hectares of our claims. A Preliminary Economic Assessment( PEA) was published for ILC’s lithium at Raleigh Lake in December 2023, with detailed economic analysis of ILC’s separate rubidium resource still to come. Raleigh Lake is 100% owned by ILC, is not subject to any encumbrances, and is royalty free. The project has excellent access to roads, rail and utilities.

    A continuing goal has been to remain a well-funded company to turn our aspirations into reality, and following the disposal of the Mariana project in Argentina in 2021, the Mavis Lake project in Canada in January 2022, and the Avalonia project in 2024 (sale not completed yet), ILC has achieved sufficient inward cashflow to be able to make progress with its exploration projects.

    With the increasing demand for high tech rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electrical storage as well as portable electronics, lithium has been designated ‘the new oil’ and is a key part of a green energy sustainable economy. By positioning itself with projects with significant resource potential and with solid strategic partners, ILC aims to be one of the lithium and rare metals resource developers of choice for investors and to continue to build value for its shareholders in the ’20s, the decade of battery metals.

    On behalf of the Company,

    John Wisbey
    Chairman and CEO

    www.internationallithium.ca

    For further information concerning this news release please contact +1 604-449-6520

    Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

    Except for statements of historical fact, this news release or other releases contain certain ‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this or other news releases may include: the timing of completion of the Offering and the amounts to be raised, effect of results of anticipated production rates, the timing and/or anticipated results of drilling on the Raleigh Lake or Firesteel or Wolf Ridge projects, the expectation of resource estimates, preliminary economic assessments, feasibility studies, lithium or rubidium or copper recoveries, modeling of capital and operating costs, results of studies utilizing various technologies at the company’s projects, budgeted expenditures and planned exploration work on the Company’s projects, increased value of shareholder investments, the potential from the company’s third party earn-out or royalty arrangements, and assumptions about ethical behaviour by our joint venture partners or third party operators of projects. Such forward-looking information is based on assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the sections entitled ‘Risks’ and ‘Forward-Looking Statements’ in the interim and annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis which are available at www.sedar.com. While management believes that the assumptions made are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. Forward-looking information herein, and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on expectations, estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are subject to significant business, economic, legislative, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.

    NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

    To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/250515

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