The stock market more-or-less rebounded this week after its downturn last week. However, except for base metals, the metals mining industry did not rebound. Precious and battery metals stocks are still around 9-month lows. Base metals, including copper, zinc, and iron, did rebound. I personally think battery metals (vanadium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and lithium) will really pop in about 2-3 years once the battery production pipeline creates a crunch on the supply that the Chinese domestic mining industry will be unable to fill. Because of this, Chinese companies will likely continue to try to acquire western junior battery metals mining companies like Millennial Lithium over the next few years. It is in China's interest to control the battery metals' market, if for only one reason that most of the batteries are being produced in China. I hope I'm wrong and that western mining companies will come to dominate the battery market. One of the saving graces for the western mining companies is that many of them have strong prospects in Canada and the US, which will not allow China to take them over.
On a different note, one of the small precious metals mining companies I profiled a few months ago, Americas Gold and Silver (USAS), recently announced that their silver mine in Mexico which had been shut down for a year by the cartel-connected labor union, will be reopening by the end of August. They expect to be in full production by the end of the year. Their gold mine in Nevada underperformed in the first quarter of this year, but I think they'll get it turned around. They also are restarting a legacy silver mine in Idaho that they believe has good potential. Their stock is currently trading at a 5-year low.
