1. Bitcoin price reaches new all-time high

Bitcoin’s price has continued to soar in the wake of Donald Trump’s US election victory, benefiting from bullish sentiment generated by anticipated crypto-friendly policies from the incoming administration. The market capitalization of the crypto industry has surpassed US$3.14 trillion, higher than the GDP of Canada, Brazil and Italy.

After rallying last week, Bitcoin ended the week up 19 percent over seven days, boosted by the prospect of looser regulations and support for innovation under the Trump administration.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high of US$80,000 on Sunday (November 10) and continued its upward trajectory, peaking for the week at US$92,435 on Wednesday (November 13).

Bitcoin performance, November 9 to 15, 2024.

Chart via CoinGecko.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a surge in popularity as the price rose, with six consecutive days of inflows totaling US$4.71 billion as of Thursday (November 14). Analysts at Checkmate have identified demand for Bitcoin ETFs as the primary factor driving the surge in Bitcoin demand at the moment.

Additionally, Bitcoin futures open interest climbed to a notable US$55.07 billion.

However, Bitcoin struggled to maintain its hold above US$90,000, falling to the US$87,200 range after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s address in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday. Fresh data on Friday (November 15) morning showed US$400 million of net outflows from Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday, the third-highest loss since the funds were listed.

A slight recovery followed later on Friday after news of a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Gary Gensler by 18 Republican attorneys general, alleging overreach in crypto regulation.

Coinciding with this news, XRP, the native token of Ripple — a company currently involved in legal disputes with the SEC — saw a 17 percent increase in value. The lawsuit challenges the SEC’s application of the Howey Test to classify cryptocurrencies as securities, arguing that the SEC’s interpretation goes beyond the original scope of the Howey Test.

Plaintiffs, including the DeFi Education Fund, point to the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs as a precedent. The judge in that case determined that XRP and similar cryptocurrencies are not inherently securities, even if initially offered as part of an investment contract. This ruling is now being referenced in other legal proceedings.

This ongoing legal challenge could further reshape the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies in the US in 2025.

As of 6:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Bitcoin was priced at US$91,246.49.

2. Biden admin finalizes CHIPS Act deal with TSMC

In a push to distribute CHIPS and Science Act funds, the Biden administration has finalized an incentive agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) (NYSE:TSM,TPE:2330).

Under the terms of the deal, the company will receive US$6.6 billion in federal grants to expand operations in the US. In a statement released on Friday (November 15), President Joe Biden said:

“The first of TSMC’s three facilities is on track to fully open early next year, which means that for the first time in decades, an American manufacturing plant will be producing the leading-edge chips used in our most advanced technologies — from our smartphones to autonomous vehicles, to the data centers powering artificial intelligence.”

According to administration officials, TSMC will receive a minimum of US$1 billion out of the total funding awarded this year, since it has already met certain performance targets.

The Biden administration has reportedly been amping up efforts to finalize deals with companies promised CHIPS Act funds, including large firms like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930).

Earlier this month, a group of 18 companies sent a letter to the president, urging him to “work with members of your Cabinet and staff across your Administration to remove any roadblocks that may exist, ensuring that the funds highlighted as critical to the success of the objectives of these laws are delivered as promptly as possible.”

The act — which set aside US$39 billion in grants, US$75 billion in loans and loan guarantees and 25 percent tax credits to entice semiconductor companies to manufacture in the US — was criticized as “so bad” by President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign. There is widespread speculation that he may attempt to renegotiate the agreements.

3. Oklo signs letters of intent with data center providers

Oklo (NYSE:OKLO), a company that is developing advanced fission power plants, announced on Wednesday that it has received two letters of intent from major data center providers for up to 750 megawatts of power.

This development marks a major milestone for Oklo, which is backed by OpenAI’s Altman, and underscores the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions within the data center industry.

Oklo says its technology has the potential to revolutionize the way data centers are powered, providing a reliable and sustainable source of energy that can support the ever-increasing demand for computing power.

The company focuses on developing micro reactors, which are smaller than traditional nuclear reactors. This makes them a more viable option as they are better suited for a variety of locations and applications.

While Oklo did not specify which data center operators it received the letters of intent from, the news demonstrates the commercial viability of its technology and the growing importance of nuclear power in the energy mix.

4. Applied Materials, Foxconn release quarterly results

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), a leading provider of equipment and software used to manufacture semiconductors, unveiled results for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2024 on Thursday.

While the company’s performance met market watchers’ expectations, its revenue forecast of US$7.15 billion for its first fiscal quarter of 2025 fell short of estimates of US$7.25 billion.

The news resulted in a 9.81 percent decline in Applied Materials’ share price for the week.

The company’s lower outlook suggests a slowdown in spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and indicates that chipmakers are potentially scaling back production expansion plans.

Meanwhile, Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) (TPE:2354), a global electronics manufacturing giant best known for assembling iPhones, released its Q3 results ahead of expectations. The report highlights growing revenue from artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with orders for these servers making up over 40 percent of overall server revenue.

Foxconn projects that its AI server revenue will continue to grow, accounting for more than 50 percent of server revenue in 2025. The company relies on a steady supply of semiconductors to build these servers and its other products.

Foxconn’s focus on server demand aligns with the increasing adoption of cloud computing and other data-intensive technologies, driven by the increasing use of cloud-based AI platforms.

5. OpenAI changes tactics as AI advances slow

According to a report published by the Information on Saturday (November 9), OpenAI’s newer intelligence models are not exhibiting the same degree of progress as was observed between GPT-3 and GPT-4.

The news outlet states that testing of OpenAI’s newest model, code named Orion, shows that the rate of improvement appears to be slowing down. During testing, Orion struggled to solve problems it hadn’t been trained on.

The slowdown comes at a time when the availability of data to train AI models is declining. To address this issue, OpenAI has reportedly created a new team focused on improving its models’ capabilities — its strategies include using synthetic data produced by other AI models to train Orion and alter its post-training processes.

A Reuters article suggests that new training techniques will use more “human-like ways for algorithms to think.’ AI researchers told Reuters about a technique called test-time computing, which could enhance a model’s ability to generate and assess multiple responses before selecting the optimal solution. This method could potentially provide models with increased processing power to tackle complex tasks such as solving math problems and coding.

Sources told Bloomberg that Anthropic and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are seeing similar slowdowns with their newer models, despite investing billions in developing sophisticated AI models and generative AI (AGI).

“The AGI bubble is bursting a little bit,” said Margaret Mitchell, chief ethics scientist at Hugging Face. “It’s become clear that different training approaches may be needed to make AI models work really well on a variety of tasks.”

Researchers developing new training techniques could shift demand away from chips used to train AI and toward “inference clouds,” described to Reuters by Sequoia Capital partner Sonya Huang as “distributed, cloud-based servers for inference.’ This is the process of an AI model applying its knowledge to new data before generating results.

Strategy aligns with global efforts to expand nuclear power

The Biden administration’s roadmap aligns with a broader global push to elevate nuclear energy’s role in climate action.

Last year, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the US joined 20 other nations in pledging to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050.

This week, at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, six more countries added their support to this goal, bringing the total number of signatories to 31. Among these new endorsers are nations like El Salvador, Kenya and Türkiye, highlighting nuclear energy’s growing appeal worldwide as a stable, low-emission energy source.

According to data from the International Energy Agency, global nuclear capacity has largely plateaued since the Fukushima disaster in 2011, but interest is renewing as countries confront the urgency of climate commitments and rising electricity demand.

Advanced economies, including the United States, are leading efforts to secure nuclear energy as a key component of their energy transition strategies.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy wants to regain America’s competitive edge in nuclear technology, aiming to position the US as a top supplier of nuclear energy solutions.

Nuclear power, which currently provides about 9 percent of global electricity, ranks second to hydropower among clean energy sources, according to the World Nuclear Association. With over 60 reactors under construction worldwide, nuclear’s role in the energy transition is expanding, supported by both governmental and private sector initiatives.

Private sector support for nuclear energy in full swing

As the US government moves to implement the framework, private sector interest in nuclear energy is similarly growing, driven in part by the demand for energy-intensive data processing and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have recently pursued nuclear energy deals to ensure consistent, high-output power for their data centers.

The company entered into an agreement in September to receive power from Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear facility — which owner Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) is now working towards restarting — to meet the company’s clean energy goals.

With this roadmap, the US aims to position itself as a global leader in nuclear energy, reaping both economic and environmental benefits.

1. Canterra Minerals (TSXV:CTM)

Weekly gain: 150 percent
Market cap: C$27.92 million
Share price: C$0.10

Canterra Minerals is a critical mineral exploration company working to advance a portfolio of projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The past several months has seen the company focusing its efforts on its Buchans project located on the northern end of Beothuk Lake. The property has seen historic mining between 1935 and 1981. Canterra acquired the project in November 2023 as part of a package along with the Bobby’s Pond, Tulks Hill, Daniel’s Pond and Tulks South properties.

The primary target for Canterra at Buchans is the Lundberg deposit. According to a 2024 technical report, a 2019 mineral resource estimate for the deposit demonstrated indicated grades of 1.53 percent zinc, 0.64 percent lead, 0.42 percent copper, 5.69 grams per metric ton (g/t) silver and 0.07 g/t gold from 16.79 million metric tons of ore.

The most recent update from the site came on Wednesday when the company reported initial drill results from its maiden drill program. The company received assays from six of the eight holes, and highlighted one hole that returned grades of 0.74 percent copper, 3.92 percent zinc, 1.16 percent lead, 11.5 g/t silver and 0.16 g/t gold over a 60 meter interval starting from the surface. That interval also included an intersection of 26 meters near-surface grading 0.95 percent copper, 6.13 percent zinc, 1.63 percent lead, 13.9 g/t silver and 0.2 g/t gold.

Canterra said that the drill results show the potential for further expansion of the Lundberg deposit and provide a foundation for long-term development.

3. Euromax Resources (TSXV:EOX)

Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: C$11.13 million
Share price: C$0.015

Euromax Resources is a development and exploration company working to advance its Ilovica-Shtuka copper project in Southeast Macedonia.

The advanced stage project is composed of two concession agreements that cover 17.1 square kilometers and hosts mineralized deposits of copper and gold.

The most recent feasibility study for the Ilovica-Shtuka project, released in 2016, demonstrated a sulphide mineral resource with measured and indicated quantities of 2.6 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of copper, with additional oxide quantities of 280,000 ounces of gold.

Shares in Euromax saw gains this week after it announced on Wednesday that it had closed a non-brokered private placement of 118.49 million common shares for gross proceeds of C$1.78 million, a portion of which will go towards working capital for the project.

5. KWG Resources (CSE:CACR)

Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: C$19.09 million
Share price: C$0.015

KWG Resources is a chromite and base metals exploration company focused on advancements of its Ring of Fire assets in Northern Ontario, Canada. It does business as the Canadian Chrome Company.

Its assets consist of the Fancamp and Big Daddy claims, and the Mcfaulds Lake, Koper Lake and Fishtrap Lake properties. All properties are located within a 40 kilometer radius and are home to feeder magma chambers containing chromite, nickel and copper deposits.

KWG is currently working with local First Nations to improve transportation to the region through the development of road and rail links. The company announced on November 7 that it had signed a memorandum of agreement with AtkinsRealis Canada in its capacity as a contractor representing Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations.

The agreement will allow AtkinsRealis temporary access rights over some mineral exploration claims in support of work permits for an environmental assessment for the design, construction and operation of a multi-use all-season road between the proposed Marten Falls community access road and proposed Webequie supply road.

Once completed, the link will provide improved access to communities and mining companies in the region, a goal of KWG’s.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

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LFP batteries dominate as cobalt-rich chemistries decline

According to S&P Global, during the third quarter, the market share for NMC batteries stood at 24.6 percent, while competing chemistry LFP dominated with a 75.2 percent share of the market.

Unlike platinum and palladium, where substitution is relatively common as prices fluctuate, the firm believes the focus on cobalt-free battery chemistries will likely prevail. That’s because they “are preferred for their safety, longer lifespan, and lower costs, and have gained traction, especially in China, in recent years.”

Rising plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) production and sales are also causing shifts in demand, as PHEVs require smaller batteries than fully battery electric vehicles.

Now industry participants are starting to realize the sobering reality that cobalt may be phased out completely.

This possibility has been affirmed in correspondence between Bloomberg and China’s CMOC (OTC Pink:CMCLF,SHA:603993), the world’s largest cobalt-mining company.

“We predict that EV batteries will never return to the era that relies on cobalt,” said Zhou Xing, a spokesperson for CMOC. “Cobalt is far less important than imagined.”

Other segments supporting cobalt demand

Despite its shrinking market share in the auto sector, cobalt demand from the consumer electronics segment remains steady, largely driven by lithium-cobalt-oxide batteries that are approximately 55 percent cobalt.

Citing data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and China Customs, S&P Global notes that in July and August, China’s mobile phone production rose 9.3 percent year-on-year, while exports grew 4.8 percent.

Cobalt demand will also be propped up by its use in superalloys, a niche that is expected to quadruple its cobalt demand by 2050, reaching 55,000 metric tons due to increased military, aerospace and satellite applications.

However, support from consumer electronics and superalloys likely won’t be enough to absorb current oversupply.

“The cobalt market is currently expected to be in surplus through 2028, with the surplus peaking at 27,000 metric tons in 2024 and gradually decreasing to 3,000 metric tons by 2028,’ said Alice Yu, principal analyst at S&P Global.