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A government shutdown, big or small, is usually a front-and-center issue for lawmakers — but the most recent partial closure could be put on the back burner as Congress returns to several issues in Washington.

Senate Democrats and the White House are still at odds over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the shutdown dragged into its 10th day. Neither side is budging, with the most recent concrete action coming early last week.

Trump, who proved pivotal in striking a funding truce with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in January, was not directly involved in recent negotiations. 

Trump has not had any ‘direct conversations or correspondence’ with congressional Democrats recently, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, noting that the White House and its representatives have been handling the dialogue.

‘But, of course, Democrats are the reason that the Department of Homeland Security is currently shut down,’ she said. ‘They have chosen to act against the American people for political reasons.’ 

Senate Democrats offered a counter to the White House’s own counterproposal, which quickly was rejected as ‘unserious’ by Leavitt. It’s a peculiar instance, given that this is the third shutdown during Trump’s second term, and neither side appears to be in a particular rush to end it.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital that there’s ‘some room for give and take’ in the negotiations, but remained firm in the GOP’s positioning against requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from getting judicial warrants, unmasking or other reforms sought by Democrats that could increase risks for agents in the field.  

‘I felt like, you know, the last offer the White House put out there was a really — it was a good faith one, and it was clear to me that they’re attempting, in every way, to try and land this thing so we can get DHS funded,’ Thune said. 

Funding the agency will be a top priority for the upper chamber, but they’ll be delayed because of winter storms descending on the East Coast. The weather has caused the Senate to delay a vote on the original DHS spending bill until Tuesday night, ahead of Trump’s State of the Union address.

There are other issues that could get in the way of hashing out a deal, including a possible conflict with Iran and Trump’s desire to move ahead with tariffs without congressional approval.

Trump told reporters Friday that he was ‘considering’ a limited military strike against Iran, which already has riled up some in Congress, who are demanding that lawmakers get a say on whether the U.S. strikes.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement that he has a war powers resolution to block an attack on Iran filed and ready, and challenged his colleagues to vote against it.

‘If some of my colleagues support war, then they should have the guts to vote for the war and to be held accountable by their constituents, rather than hiding under their desks,’ Kaine said.

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling to torpedo his sweeping duties, Trump is considering bypassing Congress to move ahead with another set of global 10% tariffs.

That comes as some Republicans are quietly celebrating the end of the duties, and others are open to working with the administration on a path forward for trade policy.

On tariffs, a Republican aide told Fox News that the GOP was ‘waiting to see what POTUS does next.’

‘The State of the Union should be interesting,’ they said.


This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

New York City’s new mayor Zohran Mamdani made housing affordability a big part of his campaign. On his first day in office, he signed three executive orders related to housing policy, and his subsequent housing ideas have mostly involved more regulation or more taxpayer spending. Mamdani may mean well, but government cannot fix the Big Apple’s housing problem.

Mamdani’s most recent setback is related to the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement program, or CityFHEPS. Roughly 60,000 households participate in the voucher program, and its costs have exploded in recent years, rising from $176 million in 2019 to a projected $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2025. Mamdani promised to expand CityFHEPS eligibility but recently said his administration needs more time to evaluate its options given the city’s bleak budget outlook. But time will not solve Mamdani’s money problem.

New York City is facing a $2.2 billion budget deficit, and in addition to his housing dreams, Mamdani recently announced a plan to provide taxpayer-funded childcare for two-year-olds at a projected cost of $6 billion annually. The truth is that New York City does not have the money to provide the housing it needs.

The only way to make housing truly affordable is to build a lot more of it in places people want to live. New York City cannot do this without the private sector. One recent estimate of New York City’s housing shortfall finds it needs 473,000 more units by 2032. The average cost to build an affordable unit in big cities is around $500,000 per unit. Multiplying the two numbers together equals $236.5 billion, or $34 billion per year over seven years. New York City raised $81 billion in tax revenue in 2025, meaning it would take 42 percent of all the city’s annual tax revenue to build the housing it needs if it wants to go it alone.

Mamdani’s political philosophy will be his undoing. As a self-identified democratic socialist supported by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), he sees little use for private developers. The DSA wants housing to be expropriated from its current owners and given to the “working class.” They believe tenants should control housing. As they put it, “Social housing does not offer an equal seat at the table to developers, investors, or city councilors. Social housing prioritizes and makes real the collective will of tenants.” While their long-term vision is an end to “commodified housing”, in the short term they want state-provided and publicly owned free housing available to anyone.

Mamdani seems committed to realizing the DSA’s vision. On his first day in office, he revitalized the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and named Cea Weaver as its director. Weaver has come under fire for some past statements about treating private property as a “collective good” and calling homeownership “a weapon of white supremacy”. While these statements are alarming to people like me who value property rights and the prosperity they generate, they are consistent with how the DSA views housing.

This way of thinking exemplifies Mamdani’s problem. Fewer people will want to build or manage rental housing if the city makes it too hard to remove unruly tenants or those who do not pay. The landlords who do stick around will charge higher prices. New York City already has some of the strictest tenant protections in the country, and these laws contribute to the city’s high housing costs. One study analyzing tenant protections finds that stricter protections reduce the supply of rental housing and increase an area’s median rent by six percent. Another study also finds that good-cause or just-cause eviction laws increase rents by six percent to seven percent, with lower-income renters experiencing larger rent increases.

Raising taxes to generate more revenue is always an option for socialists like Mamdani, but his taxing power is constrained by people’s ability to move. From 2020 to 2022, over $38 billion of adjusted gross income and 485,000 people left New York state. Research shows people, especially wealthy people, move when taxes get too high. Dallas mayor Eric Johnson is already predicting financial firms would flee New York City if Mamdani raises taxes.

Mamdani and his DSA comrades may not like working with private developers, but if he wants to make housing more affordable in New York City he does not have much of a choice. And if he is open-minded, he might learn something, too: Competitive markets often generate amazing outcomes for all involved. New York City’s housing crisis is fixable, but only if Mamdani lets the private sector do its thing.

Kevin Hassett’s recent call to “discipline” Federal Reserve researchers over a New York Fed study on tariffs is not just a political swipe. It is a troubling signal about the growing willingness of policymakers to delegitimize economic analysis they find inconvenient or unsupportive. 

Disagreement with research is a normal, healthy part of scientific inquiry. But attempts to intimidate researchers because their findings conflict with a preferred narrative undermine the credibility of policymaking itself. At a moment when trade policy is already generating uncertainty across markets, this kind of rhetoric risks turning economic debate into a loyalty test rather than an evidence-based process.

The New York Fed study in question found that US firms and consumers absorbed the vast majority of tariff costs in 2025, with importers bearing roughly 94 percent of the burden early in the year and still around 86 percent by November. These findings are not outliers. Similar conclusions have been reached by researchers at the Kiel Institute, Harvard University, Yale Budget Lab, and the Congressional Budget Office, all of which point to high pass-through of tariffs into US import prices. 

The basic economic mechanism is well understood: when tariffs are imposed, domestic buyers often face higher costs because foreign exporters rarely slash prices enough to offset the duties. Hassett may disagree with the methodology or emphasis, but calling the research “an embarrassment” that would fail a first-semester economics course dismisses a body of evidence that aligns with decades of empirical trade literature.

Hassett’s principal criticism — that the study focused on prices rather than quantities —  deserves debate, not disciplinary threats. Economists have long examined tariff incidence through price movements precisely because they reveal who ultimately pays. Quantity adjustments, wage effects, and currency adjustments can matter, but they are separate channels that require rigorous modeling and time to evaluate. Simply asserting that tariffs will raise domestic wages or improve consumer welfare does not invalidate evidence showing that price pass-throughs are substantial. Policy analysis requires grappling with tradeoffs, not declaring victory by ignoring uncomfortable metrics.

More concerning is the broader context. The administration has repeatedly attacked institutions and analysts whose conclusions diverge from its messaging, from pressuring private sector economists to dismissing unfavorable labor statistics. 

Federal Reserve officials, including Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, have warned that such attacks risk compromising the central bank’s independence, a cornerstone of credible monetary policy. Although the Federal Reserve’s current credibility may be open to debate, deliberately undermining it further is imprudent. A strength of the Federal Reserve system lies in its decentralized research structure, where district banks produce analysis that does not necessarily reflect official policy positions. Demanding punishment for economists who publish data-driven findings erodes that institutional integrity and sends a chilling message to researchers across the policy landscape.

There is nothing wrong with policymakers arguing that tariffs could produce broader strategic benefits, whether through reshoring, geopolitical leverage, or sectoral wage gains. Those claims should be debated openly, supported by models and evidence, and tested against real-world outcomes. But dismissing empirical research as “partisan” simply because it challenges a policy narrative turns economic discourse into political theater where bully pulpits have the advantage. 

If policymakers want to persuade markets and the public, they should present competing analyses. Hassett could have assailed the Fed study on the basis of tradeoffs, methodological assumptions, or competing interpretations of the data, rather than resorting to vacant dismissal.

Ignoring the economic effects of tariffs in the face of strong empirical evidence risks veering into a form of modern economic Lysenkoism where political loyalty takes precedence over analysis and communal scientific review. (Trofim Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist who rejected established genetic science, instead promoting politically-favored agricultural theories that aligned with Stalinist ideology. Under his influence, dissenting scientists were silenced, imprisoned, or purged, illustrating how injecting ideology into research handily squelches scientific progress.) 

The issue here is not whether tariffs are good or bad policy, although the administration has already conceded the harms associated with them. It is whether economic research can proceed without fear of reprisal when its conclusions prove inconvenient. Undermining that principle will surely generate a measure of sycophantic political applause, but carries long-term costs — not only for American economic health, but for scientific inquiry itself.

Gold and silver prices experienced declines early in the week, but ended higher.

The yellow metal closed the week at US$5,111.88 per ounce, while silver finished at US$84.65 per ounce, buoyed by reignited tariff uncertainty out of the US.

On Friday (February 20), the US Supreme Court stuck down tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He quickly responded by announcing a new 10 percent global tariff and then increasing it to 15 percent, ramping up trade tensions.

Earlier in the week, Wednesday (February 18) brought the release of the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, which show that although officials largely agreed with the January decision to hold interest rates steady, they aren’t aligned about the path forward as 2026 continues.

What’s received more attention is the Lunar New Year holiday.

Most Asian markets are closed for the occasion, and will reopen next week. I asked Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank about the significance of the closure, and he said that in his view, the more important question is what will happen when they’re back in business next week.

Here’s how he thinks that could play out:

‘I think … if they come back to more or less unchanged prices, they will see that probably as a buying opportunity. Simply — well, they probably hope that they might be able to pick it up cheaper in the absence. But if we can manage to hold these levels, then there could be a positive story building as we as we see China reopen.’

Hansen is bullish on gold this year, saying he sees it reaching US$6,000 in the next 12 months.

But interestingly, he has a different take on silver — he thinks the white metal’s upside could be limited by demand-side factors like substitution and higher supply from scrap material.

‘Gold over time can go to US$10,000, it can go to US$20,000 — it’s a monetary metal, which doesn’t really depend on demand from areas where demand could be negatively impacted with the price.

‘Silver hasn’t got that luxury. And that basically means if gold moves towards US$6,000, I would believe that — I would think that silver, at some point, will struggle to keep up, and we will see basically gold relatively outperform silver. But when that point, when that time comes, I can’t see. Again it’s very unclear, especially given the speculative demand, which can carry on for a while longer.’

I also heard this week from Christopher Aaron of iGold Advisor and Elite Private Placements, who has a much brighter outlook for silver — he said given that the metal has just broken out of a 45 year consolidation period, it still has much further to go:

‘Now that whole process, the 45 year consolidation breakout and now coming back, that is — for a number of people here — that is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime breakout. We’re talking a multi-generational breakout happening in silver right now. And it’s really important to — I mean, the bottom line is this: After 45 years of consolidation, a market doesn’t end just two months after a breakout and then kind of withering and petering out for the next 45 years. Again, that’s not how 45 year breakouts happen when we look back.’

Ultimately Aaron sees US$250 to US$350 as a reasonable price level for silver.

Bullet briefing — TSX Venture 50, BHP/Wheaton deal

Gold, silver dominate TSX Venture 50

The latest TSX Venture 50 list was released on Wednesday, with gold and silver juniors dominating. In fact, of the companies included, only three fall outside the mining sector.

The list ranks TSXV companies’ annual performance by market cap growth, share price performance and Canadian consolidated trading value. Taking the top spot was Santacruz Silver Mining (TSXV:SCZ,NASDAQ:SCZM), which had an impressive share price increase of over 1,100 percent.

As a group, the companies on the list delivered a share price increase of 431 percent.

We’ll have to wait and see whether these types of gains are repeated — or exceeded — in 2026, but the list definitely underscores the strength in gold and silver prices, and shows that their momentum is boosting not just the majors, but also the juniors.

BHP, Wheaton sign streaming deal

On the M&A side, BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) has entered into a long-term streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM).

Under the deal, which was signed by subsidiaries of BHP and Wheaton, BHP will receive an upfront payment of US$4.3 billion in exchange for the delivery of silver from the Peru-based Antamina mine, plus ongoing payments when metal is delivered. According to BHP, this is the most valuable streaming transaction to date based on upfront consideration received.

Antamina is a joint venture between commodities giants BHP, Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF), Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) and Mitsubishi (TSE:8058,OTCPL:MSBHF), and Wheaton already has a silver stream in place with Glencore. Once the BHP arrangement closes, Wheaton will receive a combined 67.5 percent of the mine’s silver.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project, Canada

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Cygnus sets up value drivers for 2026 with exploration and resource growth a high priority
  • At Cedar Bay, Downhole Electromagnetics (‘DHEM’) is in progress to identify follow-up targets from recent intersections1 such as:
    • 28.9m at 2.5g/t AuEq (1.0g/t Au, 1.0% Cu & 12.0g/t Ag) (CDR-25-16)
    • 10.6m at 4.1g/t AuEq (3.6g/t Au, 0.3% Cu & 2.8g/t Ag) (CDR-25-11W1)
  • This is the first time DHEM is being used at Cedar Bay in over 20 years
  • Drilling has started at Golden Eye to test extensions below the current resource, which stands at 0.5Mt at 5.6g/t AuEq for 91koz AuEq (Indicated) and 1.2Mt at 4.6g/t AuEq for 182koz AuEq (Inferred)2
  • At Joe Mann, a detailed Induced Polarisation (‘IP’) survey is underway to identify walk-up drill targets analogous to IAMGOLD’s Nelligan Complex deposits which contain 4.3Moz Au (M&I) and 7.5Moz Au (Inferred)3 located just 10km west of Joe Mann
  • Permits are being submitted for the Gwillim prospect for drilling in the coming quarter; This will co-funded by 50% JV partner Alamos Gold, which has a market capitalisation of ~C$25B. Initial targets will follow up historic intersections4 of:
    • 7.6m @ 38.1g/t Au from 314.9m (87-KOD-18);
    • 15.2m @ 9.4g/t Au from 155.1m (87-KOD-1); and
    • 16.4m @ 8.3g/t Au from 168.3m (87-KOD-10).
  • Cygnus believes there is significant potential to continue growing the Chibougamau resource, which stands at 6.4Mt at 3% CuEq for 193kt CuEq (M&I) and 8.5Mt at 3.5% CuEq for 295kt CuEq (Inferred)2

Cygnus Executive Chairman David Southam said: ‘There is overwhelming evidence which points to the potential for substantial resource growth at Chibougamau. The resources remain open in many places and we have a pipeline of compelling targets to test.

‘We have devised an extensive program of drilling and geophysics to unlock this upside. This will include brownfields drilling as well as testing new targets. After growing the resource by 29 per cent last year, we are confident that our exploration strategy will deliver more strong results and create more value for shareholders.

‘We are now drilling at Golden Eye and Cedar Bay, which provide substantial resource upside.

‘Joe Mann and Gwillim have excellent discovery potential and have been materially overlooked for the last 20 years. With this potential and the current gold price we are excited to commence exploration on these targets’.

Cygnus Metals Limited (ASX: CY5; TSXV: CYG,OTC:CYGGF; OTCQB: CYGGF) (‘Cygnus’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce the start of extensive exploration programs aimed at growing the resources at its Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project in Quebec.

Resource growth and discovery remain a key pillar of Cygnus’ growth strategy as the Company continues to unlock the Chibougamau district. A key focus is brownfields exploration, including extensions to deposits such as Cedar Bay and Golden Eye.

At Cedar Bay, Downhole Electromagnetics (‘DHEM’) is in progress to define follow up drill targets from recent exploration drilling1 which returned:

  • 28.9m at 2.5g/t AuEq (1.0g/t Au, 1.0% Cu & 12.0g/t Ag) (CDR-25-16)
  • 10.6m at 4.1g/t AuEq (3.6g/t Au, 0.3% Cu & 2.8g/t Ag) (CDR-25-11W1)

Recent drilling successfully demonstrated extensions to the current resource at Cedar Bay of 0.3Mt at 8.1g/t AuEq for 67koz (M&I) and 0.8Mt at 7.8g/t AuEq for 205koz (Inferred).2 DHEM aims to define resource extensions as well as identifying high grade shoots which are typically associated with semi massive sulphides. This will be the first time DHEM is being used at Cedar Bay in over 20 years, presenting a huge opportunity for Cygnus.

At Golden Eye, drilling has commenced with three rigs to grow the Indicated Resource and extend the resource below the currently defined depth of just 450m. Golden Eye was a new resource defined by Cygnus last year of 0.5Mt at 5.6g/t AuEq for 91koz (Indicated) and of 1.2Mt at 4.6g/t AuEq for 182koz (Inferred)2 and remains open at depth with one of the deepest intersections5 from last year of:

  • 2.9m @ 10.2g/t AuEq (8.3g/t Au, 1.4% Cu & 3.3g/t Ag) from 463.8m (LDR-25-08)

The Company also has a strong focus on defining new resources and making discoveries. Two key areas identified as high priority are gold targets Joe Mann and Gwillim.

At Joe Mann, the Company has commenced a detailed Induced Polarisation (‘IP’) survey along major structures to identify walk-up drill targets for Q2 this year. Cygnus is targeting analogous mineralisation to IAMGOLD’s Nelligan Complex, which is located just 10km west of the project and contains 4.3Moz Au (M&I) and 7.5Moz Au (Inferred).3

This survey will help to generate further drill targets in addition to some of the high-grade historic intersections which also require follow up.4 These include:

  • 0.7m @ 480.2g/t Au from 92.3m (H-118);
  • 3.8m @ 20.8g/t Au from 287.2m (H-214); and
  • 8.4m @ 6.3g/t Au from 175.6m (H-374).

At Gwillim, permits are underway for drilling to commence in the coming quarter. Drilling at Gwillim will be co-funded by 50% JV partner Alamos Gold, which has a market capitalisation of ~C$25B. Gwillim is just 12km from the Chibougamau processing facility and has high potential for defining new resources. Initial drilling will focus on following up high-grade historic intersections4 such as:

  • 7.6m @ 38.1g/t Au from 314.9m (87-KOD-18);
  • 15.2m @ 9.4g/t Au from 155.1m (87-KOD-1); and
  • 16.4m @ 8.3g/t Au from 168.3m (87-KOD-10).

The Chibougamau area has well-established infrastructure, giving the Project a significant headstart as a copper-gold development opportunity. This infrastructure includes a 900,000tpa processing facility, local mining town, sealed highway, airport, regional rail infrastructure and 25kV hydro power to the processing site. Significantly, the Chibougamau processing facility is the only processing facility within a 250km radius.

Figure 1_Project Location Map

Figure 1: Exploration progressing across mutiple fronts with a focus on both resource extensions and discovery

Figure 2_Joe Mann IP Survey

Figure 2: Joe Mann IP survey covering key structures from IAMGOLD’s major deposits Nelligan and Phillibert3

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Directors of Cygnus.

David Southam
Executive Chair
T: +61 8 6118 1627
E: info@cygnusmetals.com
Nicholas Kwong
President & CEO
T: +1 647 921 0501
E: info@cygnusmetals.com
Media:
Paul Armstrong
Read Corporate
T: +61 8 9388 1474


About Cygnus Metals

Cygnus Metals Limited (ASX: CY5, TSXV: CYG,OTC:CYGGF, OTCQB: CYGGF) is a diversified critical minerals exploration and development company with projects in Quebec, Canada and Western Australia. The Company is dedicated to advancing its Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project in Quebec with an aggressive exploration program to drive resource growth and develop a hub-and-spoke operation model with its centralised processing facility. In addition, Cygnus has quality lithium assets with significant exploration upside in the world-class James Bay district in Quebec, and REE and base metal projects in Western Australia. The Cygnus team has a proven track record of turning exploration success into production enterprises and creating shareholder value.

Forward Looking Statements

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements and projections regarding estimates, resources and reserves; planned production and operating costs profiles; planned capital requirements; and planned strategies and corporate objectives. Such forward looking statements/projections are estimates for discussion purposes only and should not be relied upon. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Cygnus’ control. Cygnus makes no representations and provides no warranties concerning the accuracy of the projections and disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements/projections based on new information, future events or otherwise except to the extent required by applicable laws. While the information contained in this release has been prepared in good faith, neither Cygnus or any of its directors, officers, agents, employees or advisors give any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information, opinions and conclusions contained in this release. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by law, none of Cygnus, its directors, employees or agents, advisers, nor any other person accepts any liability whether direct or indirect, express or limited, contractual, tortuous, statutory or otherwise, in respect of the accuracy or completeness of the information or for any of the opinions contained in this release or for any errors, omissions or misstatements or for any loss, howsoever arising, from the use of this release.

End Notes

  1. Refer to Cygnus’ ASX announcements dated 30 October 2025 and 8 December 2025.
  2. Refer to Cygnus’ ASX announcement dated 17 September 2025 and subsequent technical report dated 31 October 2025 titled ‘NI 43-101 Technical Report Chibougamau Hub and Spoke Complex, Québec, Canada’ prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (‘NI 43-101’) and the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code (2012 Edition).
  3. Refer to IAMGOLD’s news release dated 17 February 2026.
  4. Refer to Cygnus’ ASX announcement dated 20 January 2026.
  5. Refer to Cygnus’ ASX announcement dated 8 May 2025.

Qualified Persons and Compliance Statements

The scientific and technical information in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mr Louis Beaupre, the Quebec Exploration Manager of Cygnus, a ‘qualified person’ as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The information in this release that relates to the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chibougamau Project reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition) and NI 43-101 was released by Cygnus in an announcement titled ‘Major Resource Update’ released to the ASX on 17 September 2025 and subsequent technical report dated 31 October 2025 titled ‘NI 43-101 Technical Report Chibougamau Hub and Spoke Complex, Québec, Canada’ prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (‘NI 43-101’) and the JORC Code (2012 Edition). Details of the Mineral Resource Estimate are included in Appendix A.

The information in this announcement that relates to previously reported Exploration Results at the Company’s projects has been previously released by Cygnus in ASX Announcements as noted in the End Notes.

Individual grades for the metals included in the metal equivalents calculations for the Mineral Resource Estimate, as well as the price assumptions, metallurgical recoveries and metal equivalent calculations themselves, are in Appendix A of this release. Individual grades for the metals included in the metal equivalents calculation for the exploration results are in the original market announcements. Metal equivalents for exploration results have been calculated at a copper price of US$8,750/t, gold price of US$2,350/oz and silver price of US$25/oz, with copper equivalents calculated based on the formula CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + (Au(g/t) x 0.77258)+(Ag(g/t) x 0.00822). Metallurgical recovery factors have been applied to the copper equivalents calculations for the exploration results, with copper metallurgical recovery assumed at 95% and gold metallurgical recovery assumed at 85% based upon historical production at the Chibougamau Processing Facility, and the metallurgical results contained in Cygnus’ announcement dated 28 January 2025. It is the Company’s view that all elements in the copper and gold equivalent calculations have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.

Cygnus is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information in these announcements, and in the case of estimates of Mineral Resources, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons’ findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcements.

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

APPENDIX A – Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chibougamau Project as at 17 September 2025

Cu
Project
Classification COG
CuEq
Tonnage Average Grade Contained Metal
Cu Au Ag CuEq AuEq Cu Au Ag CuEq AuEq
% Mt % g/t g/t % g/t kt koz koz kt koz
Corner Bay Indicated 1.2 4.9 2.5 0.3 8.4 2.8 4.1 124 43 1,316 137 638
Inferred 5.4 2.7 0.2 8.9 3.0 4.3 146 41 1,543 159 744
Devlin Measured 1.5 0.1 2.7 0.3 0.5 2.9 4.7 4 1 2 4 19
Indicated 0.6 2.0 0.2 0.2 2.1 3.4 13 4 5 13 69
M&I 0.8 2.1 0.2 0.3 2.3 3.6 16 5 7 17 88
Inferred 0.3 2.0 0.2 0.3 2.1 3.4 7 2 3 7 36
Joe Mann Inferred 2.0 0.7 0.2 6.0 4.6 6.3 2 143 34 151
Cedar Bay Indicated 1.8 0.3 1.6 6.0 9.9 6.4 8.1 4 50 82 16 67
Inferred 0.8 2.0 5.1 11.8 6.1 7.8 17 134 309 50 205
Golden Eye Indicated 0.5 1.0 4.3 9.9 4.4 5.6 5 69 161 22 91
Inferred 1.2 0.9 3.4 7.9 3.6 4.6 11 134 313 45 182
Project Classification Tonnage Average Grade Contained Metal
Cu Au Ag CuEq AuEq Cu Au Ag CuEq AuEq
Mt % g/t g/t % g/t kt koz koz kt koz
Hub and Spoke Measured 0.1 2.7 0.3 0.5 2.9 4.7 4 1 2 4 19
Indicated 6.3 2.3 0.8 7.8 3.0 4.3 146 166 1,563 189 865
M&I 6.4 2.3 0.8 7.6 3.0 4.3 149 167 1,565 193 884
Inferred 8.5 2.1 1.7 7.9 3.5 4.8 182 454 2,168 295 1,318


Notes:

  1. Cygnus’ Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chibougamau Copper-Gold project, incorporating the Corner Bay, Devlin, Joe Mann, Cedar Bay, and Golden Eye deposits, is reported in accordance with the JORC Code and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (‘CIM’) (2014) definitions in NI 43-101.
  2. Mineral Resources are estimated using a long-term copper price of US$9,370/t, gold price of US$2,400/oz, and silver price of US$30/oz, and a US$/C$ exchange rate of 1:1.35.
  3. Mineral Resources are estimated at a CuEq cut-off grade of 1.2% for Corner Bay and 1.5% CuEq for Devlin. A cut-off grade of 1.8 g/t AuEq was used for Cedar Bay and Golden Eye; and 2.0 g/t AuEq for Joe Mann.
  4. Corner Bay bulk density varies from 2.85 tonnes per cubic metre (t/m3) to 3.02t/m3 for the estimation domains and 2.0 t/m3 for the overburden. At Devlin, bulk density varies from 2.85 t/m3 to 2.90 t/m3. Cedar Bay, Golden Eye, and Joe Mann use a bulk density of 2.90 t/m³ for the estimation domains.
  5. Assumed metallurgical recoveries are as follows: Corner Bay copper is 93%, gold is 78%, and silver is 80%; Devlin copper is 96%, gold is 73%, and silver is 80%; Joe Mann copper is 95%, gold is 84%, and silver is 80%; and Cedar Bay and Golden Eye copper is 91%, gold is 87%, and silver is 80%. 
  6. Assumptions for CuEq and AuEq calculations (set out below) are as follows: Individual metal grades are set out in the table. Commodity prices used: copper price of US$9,370/t, gold price of US$2,400/oz and silver price of US$30/oz. Assumed metallurgical recovery factors: set out above. It is the Company’s view that all elements in the metal equivalent calculations have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.
  7. CuEq Calculations are as follows: (A) Corner Bay = grade Cu (%) + 0.68919 * grade Au (g/t) + 0.00884 * grade Ag (g/t) ; (B) Devlin = grade Cu (%) + 0.62517 * grade Au (g/t) + 0.00862 * grade Ag (g/t); (C) Joe Mann = grade Cu (%) + 0.72774* grade Au (g/t); and (D) Golden Eye and Cedar Bay = grade Cu (%) + 0.78730* grade Au (g/t) + 0.00905 * grade Ag (g/t).
  8. AuEq Calculations are as follows: (A) Corner Bay = grade Au (g/t) + 1.45097* grade Cu(%)+0.01282* grade Ag (g/t); (B) Devlin = grade Au (g/t) + 1.59957* grade Cu(%)+0.01379* grade Ag (g/t); (C) Joe Mann = grade Au (g/t) + 1.37411* grade Cu (%); and (D) Cedar Bay and Golden Eye = grade Au (g/t) + 1.27016 * grade Cu (%) + 0.01149 * grade Ag (g/t).
  9. Wireframes were built using an approximate minimum thickness of 2 m at Corner Bay, 1.8 m at Devlin, 1.2 m at Joe Mann, and 1.5 m at Cedar Bay and Golden Eye.
  10. Mineral Resources are constrained by underground reporting shapes.
  11. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
  12. Totals may vary due to rounding.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has tightened control over Hezbollah in the Middle East amid looming prospects of potential U.S. strikes, according to reports.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the tactical shift comes as Hezbollah and Iran prepare for military confrontation in the region, with analysts warning that if Washington specifically strikes the regime, Hezbollah is ready to be ‘activated.’

‘If the regime in Tehran feels threatened, the likelihood of unleashing Hezbollah against Israel and U.S. regional assets increases substantially,’ Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.

‘Hezbollah would not be activated right away, unless the attack immediately targets the leadership of the Islamic Republic. But as part of a graduated response, Hezbollah will likely be seen as an asset,’ he said.

‘If it faces an existential risk, then Iran may throw caution to the wind and try to deploy Hezbollah to the maximum,’ Harrison explained.

President Donald Trump previously gave Iran a deadline of 10 to 15 days to respond to a deal, raising questions about what steps Washington could take if Tehran fails to comply.

A new round of talks is now scheduled for Thursday in Geneva and expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program, including uranium enrichment levels and sanctions relief.

‘The decision-making circle in the White House is very small regarding Iran, with the president keeping a close hand on it all,’ Harrison explained.

He added that any decision to directly target the Iranian regime would likely rest within Trump’s inner circle of advisers.

‘Normally there is input from the National Security Council and the wider intelligence community,’ Harrison said. ‘Since the decision-making process in the White House is opaque, it is hard to know how much of this is getting through.’

‘If the U.S. is engaging with the Saudis and Emiratis, they are getting warnings about the possibility of this war spreading to the broader region, which would be deleterious to the U.S. and its allies,’ he added.

Harrirson also warned that there was ‘potential for attacks to spread across the region, to Israel through direct Iranian ballistic attacks and via Hezbollah, and to the Gulf Arab states through Iran directly and possibly via the Houthis from Yemen.’

Regional media reports also suggest Iran’s ties with Hezbollah are strengthening. Sources told Al Arabiya and Al Hadath that IRGC officers have been rebuilding Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and managing strategic war plans.

The coordination follows changes within Hezbollah’s leadership, Harrison explained.

‘Since the killing by Israel of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last year, ties and operational coordination have to some degree been reestablished,’ he said.

‘The IRGC has supported Hezbollah in Lebanon for decades,’ he said, adding that efforts to reestablish ties appear to be occurring ‘particularly in light of the destruction of Iran’s nuclear sites last June.’

‘Iran is trying to resurrect lost assets, such as its missile program and its connections to Hezbollah,’ Harrison said.

‘Hezbollah has been seen for decades by Iran as a deterrence asset against an Israeli or American attack. Since Hezbollah has its own interests, connected to but separate from Iran, whether its leadership will go all the way for Tehran is unknown,’ he concluded.

The developments surrounding Hezbollah and the IRGC came as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed close ally Ali Larijani as the country’s de facto leader, according to reports.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.


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President Donald Trump called on Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice immediately or ‘pay the consequences.’

Trump’s comments followed remarks Rice made Thursday on the ‘Stay Tuned with Preet’ podcast, hosted by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. 

During the interview, Rice warned that corporations she said had ‘taken a knee’ to Republican pressure should not expect forgiveness from Democrats if they return to power.

‘This is not going to be an instance of forgive and forget. The damage that these people are doing is too severe to the American people and our national interest,’ Rice said.

It was not immediately clear what specific actions the Trump administration might pursue.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Rice made the remarks while discussing what she described as corporate retreats from diversity and governance commitments amid pressure from Republican lawmakers.

‘If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back into power, are going to, you know, play by the old rules, and, you know, say, ‘Oh, never mind. We’ll forgive you for all the people you fired, all the policies and principles you’ve violated, all, you know, the laws you’ve skirted.’ I think they’ve got another thing coming,’ Rice added.

Rice, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, predicted an ‘accountability agenda’ awaited those entities, forecasting an electoral shift in the upcoming midterm elections. 

She also pointed to waning public approval for Trump’s economic and immigration policies in making her case.


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