Seabridge Gold's KSM Project Petitions Proceedings Update: Detailed Submissions Have Been Filed; One Petitioner Has Withdrawn

Gold hit another record high on Tuesday, holding well above the $3,600-mark crossed in the previous session, as growing bets of a U.S. rate cut weakened the dollar and pushed bond yields lower, boosting demand for the precious metal.

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $3,654.09 per ounce, as of 0931 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,659.10 earlier in the session.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.4% higher to $3,693.

Gold prices have gained nearly 39% this year, following a 27% jump in 2024, bolstered by a soft dollar, strong central bank accumulation, dovish monetary policy and heightened global uncertainty.

The dollar index fell to a near seven-week low against rivals, making gold more attractive to other currency holders, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields held near five-month lows. [USD/] [US/]

"Bulls have been energized by the market’s rate cut convictions, sending gold to fresh record highs. The softer dollar also helped pave the way for $3,600, while bullion-backed inflows and central bank purchases add to the strong mix of tailwinds," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Nemo.money.

Traders expect an 88% chance of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate cut next week and a 12% probability of a jumbo 50-bp reduction, CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.

This comes after Friday's data showed U.S. job growth weakened sharply in August.

Lower interest rates pressure the dollar and bond yields, raising the appeal of the non-yielding bullion.

Investors now await U.S. producer price data on Wednesday and consumer price data on Thursday for further rate cut cues.

"We may see spot gold flirting with $3,700 this week if markets are shown drastically lowered revisions to U.S. jobs data and shockingly low CPI prints," Tan said.

"$4,000 gold in 2025 may likely require faster-than-expected Fed rate cuts, along with a rapid deterioration in the Fed's independence or trust in U.S. fiscal policies," Tan added.Elsewhere, spot silver edged 0.3% lower to $41.22 per ounce. Platinum gained 0.5% to $1,389.0 and palladium climbed 0.2% to $1,136.78.

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Al Root

Miners Teck Resources and Anglo American have agreed to a "merger or equals," creating one of the largest copper miners in the world, with a combined market value of about $53 billion.

The companies announced the deal on Tuesday. Anglo shareholders will get a special dividend of $4.19 per share before the merger is completed and will own 62.4% of the combined company. The deal will take 12 to 18 months to complete.

Combining operations is expected to generate some $2.2 billion in annual synergies. Teck is expected to generate 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, of $2.8 billion. Anglo American is expected to generate 2025 Ebitda of about $6.1 billion.

Teck Resources' stock was up 12% at $39.25 in premarket trading, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1% and flat, respectively. Anglo American stock was up 9.5% in overseas trading at GBP25.01.

Net of the dividend paid to Anglo shareholders, the combined market value is about $49 billion. Peer miners BHP and Southern Copper have market values of about $140 billion and $84 billion, respectively. Shares of both companies were up less than 1% in premarket trading.

"We are unlocking outstanding value both in the near and longer term — forming a global critical minerals champion with the focus, agility, capabilities, and culture that have characterised both companies for so long," said Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad in a news release.

"This merger of two highly complementary portfolios will create a leading global critical minerals champion headquartered in Canada — a top five global copper producer with exceptional mining and processing assets located across Canada, the United States, Latin America, and Southern Africa," added Teck CEO Jonathan Price.

Investors appear to agree. The combined value of both companies is up about 10%, or $5 billion, in early trading.

Coming into Tuesday trading, Anglo American stock was down about 2% this year. Teck Resources' stock was down about 13%. Copper prices, at $4.58 a pound, were up about 14%.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Aluminum futures in the US were above $2,610 per tonne, holding their sharp rally since April and outperforming most other base metals this year amid persistent threats to supply.

The 50% tariff rate on aluminum imports placed by US President Trump drove key Canadian producers to divert metal away from the US. Aluminum shipments to the US accounted for 78% of total Canadian exports in Q2, compared to 95% in Q1.

In the meantime, Chinese output is due to be bound by the country's annual limit of 45 million tons this year, capping supply growth from the world's largest producer.

Also, Guinea Alumina lost all of its mining licenses after Guinea's military-led government transferred all mining leases to a newly created state-run company, potentially halting ore production that feeds major producer Emirates Global Aluminum.

This was shortly after South32 announced it will close its Mozal smelter in Mozambique due to troubles in securing power, terminating Africa's second largest smelter.

By Adriano Marchese

Energy Fuels said that a preliminary batch of rare earths provided to a South Korean manufacturer of drive unit motor cores was converted into permanent magnets.

The producer of uranium, rare earth elements and other critical minerals said Tuesday that high-purity neodymium-praseodymium oxide produced at its White Mesa Mill in Utah has been manufactured into commercial scale rare earth permanent magnets by the unidentified company in South Korea.

The preliminary amount provided to the South Korean manufacturer was part of a memorandum of understanding, and Energy Fuels said that the final product passed all quality assurance and quality control benchmarks for use in electric vehicle drive unit motors sold to major automotive manufacturers.

The move is part of a broader movement to break away from supply from China, which currently dominates production and processing of rare earths.

The U.S. has deemed rare earth metals to fall under the category of national security to fuel its clean energy ambitions, and high-tech manufacturing--powering everything from fighter jets and wind turbines to smartphones and electric vehicles.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

U.S. inflation data due later this week could be pivotal for gold's price trajectory, Commerzbank analysts say. Gold futures hit a fresh record high Tuesday, driven by expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates following weak jobs data. Traders are now waiting for U.S. PPI and CPI data on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. So far, tariff-driven rises have been modest. However, "the inflation figures have great potential for a sharp market correction if they show a significantly stronger price surge," says Thu Lan Nguyen, head of commodity research. "If, on the other hand, they turn out to be surprisingly weak, the market is likely to bet more heavily on a 50-basis point interest rate hike, pushing gold further upward." Gold futures are up 0.3% to $3,688.50 a troy ounce in afternoon trade after reaching $3,698.90 an ounce earlier. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)