THE DISPATCH

The Friday Dispatch

🟡 Precious Metals

• Gold hovers around 4,525/oz as triple‑digit oil keeps inflation fears alive

• Spot gold swings between two‑week highs and quick reversals on shifting U.S.–Iran headlines

• Gold price slides to two‑month low near 4,400/oz as traders brace for stickier inflation

• Gold remains Canada’s most valuable mined commodity at 16.9B in 2024, with Ontario and Quebec driving 68% of output

• Live gold, silver, and PGM pricing with intraday commentary from Kitco’s desk

⛽ Energy & Oil Markets

• Brent trades near 96.65/bbl this morning as Iran talks and Hormuz risk keep a security premium in the barrel

• Oil prices slip after prior session spike as Iran reviews a proposed deal with the U.S. to halt hostilities

• Traders weigh reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as Brent holds mid‑90s in thin overnight trading

• Explainer: why Brent keeps pushing toward 110/bbl even as Tehran floats ceasefire proposals

🍁 Canada / Canadian Focus

• Canada and the Republic of Korea deepen co‑operation on energy resources and critical minerals

• Western and northern governments sign MOU to build a shared Western Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy

• Laurentide Controls acquires CIV‑Barsatech, expanding heavy‑industry and mining servicing footprint in Quebec

• Canada’s minerals economy: long‑view data on production, trade, employment, and contribution to GDP

• Canadian mining newswire feed – latest TSX/TSXV mining & metals releases in one place

🔋 Critical Minerals & Battery Metals

• Overview: Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy and where Ottawa is pointing capital

• Analysis: Canada’s critical mineral policy is shifting from climate tool to security and defence strategy

• Inomin Mines closes 615,499 private placement to advance its exploration portfolio

• Stria Lithium provides update on proposed royalty and change‑of‑business transaction

• Western Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy aims to turn BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the North into a global hub

💥 Conflict Watch

• Brent and WTI ease slightly as Iran studies a U.S. proposal to end hostilities, but war risk keeps traders on edge

• Oil holds mid‑90s amid uncertainty over U.S.–Iran talks and speculation around Hormuz reopening

• Earlier in the cycle, Brent surged toward 110/bbl as Trump signaled he would not accept a weak Iran nuclear deal

• Gold’s two‑month low at ~4,400/oz reflects markets betting the conflict‑driven inflation spike will stick

🌍 Geopolitics & Trade

• Canada–Korea pact ties Canadian critical mineral and energy supply into Asian battery and EV value chains

• Western Canadian Critical Minerals MOU links resource policy to trade corridors and Arctic security

• Trump’s “America Wins” energy and crypto strategy framed as a major opportunity for Canadian oil, uranium, and critical minerals

• Canada’s critical minerals strategy evolution and what it means for allies, markets, and national interest

🧭 On the conference circuit

• Critical Elements Lithium to participate in THE Mining Investment Event of the North in Quebec City, June 2–4, 2026

• McFarlane Lake Mining announces participation in THE Mining Investment Event, Quebec City, June 2–4, 2026

• U.S. Gold Corp. schedules presentation at THE Mining Investment Event and other investor conferences in May and June 2026

• UraniumX highlights plans to meet investors at Quebec’s premier mining investment event June 2–4, 2026

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// NOTES FROM THE NORTH

Gold is still trying to decide whether it’s an inflation hedge or a conflict hedge. With bullion bouncing between 4,400 and 4,700/oz depending on the latest rumour out of Tehran, the only thing that looks stable is the intraday whiplash.

Meanwhile, oil is quietly telling you what matters: as long as Brent is printing a 9‑handle in front of the barrel and the Strait of Hormuz is a negotiation rather than a given, the risk premium is back as a structural feature, not a one‑day story.

Ottawa and the western premiers clearly see the same thing. Canada is locking itself deeper into security‑driven critical minerals deals (Korea) and corridor strategies (the western MOU) that assume this isn’t a temporary spike but the new baseline for how energy, mining and geopolitics intersect.

Oh and there’s something about steel and submarines.
Keep that for another day.