Wealthion Macro Bites 2-10

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans this week to overturn the Obama-era “endangerment” finding (scientific determination that green house gas emissions endanger human health), removing the legal foundation for all federal greenhouse gas regulations, such as requirements to measure, report, certify and comply with federal GHG emission standards for autos. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the repeal amounts to “the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States.”

In a 1/30 letter to miners of all metals, DRC Mines Minister Louis Watum announced mining companies operating in Congo must submit proof by 7/31/26 that they are complying with the (long-dormant) tenet in Congo’s 2018 mining code stipulating at least 5% of corporate share capital must be held by Congolese employees. Affected companies include Glencore, CMOC, Ivanhoe, Eurasian Resources, Zijin and Barrick.

Mali’s Council of Ministers announced creation of a state-owned company (Sopamim) which will acquire and manage Mali’s mining company holdings. The new entity mirrors similar state-owned mechanisms in Niger and Guinea and follows the 2023 mining code imposed by Mali’s military rulers which expanded state and local ownership of mines operating in Mali from 20% to a minimum 35%.

Indonesia’s Mineral Industry Agency Chair Brian Yuliarto announced discovery of eight mining blocks with large potential for rare earth elements and plans to launch two research projects to develop rare earth processing technology. The blocks are located in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bangka Belitung, and will be mined by state-owned miner Perminas. Yuliarto said, “Apart from rare earths, some of these blocks also contain several other minerals, namely tungsten, tantalum and antimony, which play a very large role in the defense industry.”

The Sprott Physical Uranium Trust acquired 200klb of uranium on Monday, bringing Q1 purchases to 4Mlb and total holdings to 78.75Mlb.

DXY dollar index +0.08%, spot gold -0.5% and spot silver -2.0%. 10-year Treasury yield -2.8bps (4.174%).

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