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CHF WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Feb. 9 - 13, 2026
- John A
- Feb 13
- 5 min read
According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the Year of the Horse begins on February 17, 2026, but this is also a “Fire” year in the 60-year Five Elements cycle. The Fire Horse energy supports bold actions, creative thinking, and entrepreneurship. It can be wild and unpredictable, bringing volatility across multiple sectors. Great for traders.
World shares were generally down overnight following sharp losses led by Wall Street yesterday in a sell-off of technology-related issuers. Gold and silver prices posted sharp losses by midday Thursday, and late-morning price declines were quick to occur in other commodities, with platinum, palladium, copper, and crude oil prices all dropping to their daily price lows at the same time with heavy selling pressure in what has been termed a “flash crash” across several markets. Investors are scrambling to get out of the digital world and back to the analog, physical world, which may be less likely to be disrupted by AI. The major U.S. stock indexes were also down, and U.S. Treasuries hit their daily highs at the same time and the U.S. dollar (USD) gained against world currencies. Buying the dip was noted.
The TSX index was down almost 800 points, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metals, and industrial sectors, finishing the day down by 2.4%. The Venture exchange was off by 5.1% on the day. Canadian indices are recovering this morning. The U.S. markets were all down on the day, with the Dow down 400.91 points. The S&P 500 index was down 77.03 points, and the Nasdaq composite was down 370.39 points. This morning, the U.S. indices are looking up. Investors are now waiting for the U.S. Consumer Price Index data, due later today, to gauge the health of the labour market and the prospects of further Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
The U.S. Congress has passed legislation to end President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports. Many major industrial sectors in the U.S. are dependent upon free and fair trade with Canada, and state representatives have concerns about the damage tariffs are causing to local economies. While President Trump is likely to veto this bill, politicians have positioned themselves as the November midterm elections loom. Expect more political posturing as we progress through this year.
The Trump administration reached a trade deal with Taiwan on Thursday. Taiwan agreed to remove or reduce 99% of its tariff barriers; the U.S. remains reliant on Taiwan for computer chip production. A U.S. Trade Representative suggested this week that the U.S. is considering negotiating separate trade deals with Canada and Mexico but concluded that going forward without some kind of agreement was unlikely. Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem has noted that Canada's economy is highly likely to enter a recession if it loses preferential trade access under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The three North American nations need to form a trading bloc that ensures maximum economic opportunities are shared among them, rather than leaving open markets to China. Economists have said Canada’s economy is on “life support,” and in a clear recession watch. However, despite the recent trade frictions, such a scenario is not considered in the BoC's baseline outlook, that still assumes Canada will maintain its tariff-exempt status.
Gold price had moved up a bit off its daily low near midday yesterday and opened at USD$4,971.80/oz today. Silver gained overnight and opened at USD$77.50/oz today. Platinum and palladium have started to uptick today. Dip-buying by market participants is evident in Asia, with the Chinese gold market seeing robust demand as it heads into the Lunar New Year holiday. Analysts raised their gold forecasts to USD$5,800/oz for the second quarter, noting that the metal remains an insurance asset against multiple uncertainties.
Copper prices fell yesterday but are coming back to support levels near USD$5.95/lb today.
Nickel has also begun recovering to USD$7.79/lb overnight. Aluminum, zinc, and lead are also creeping back to their 2-day-old price levels.
Cobalt has held steady, and lithium prices are rising, still up over 90% year-over-year. Prices for lithium chemicals (carbonate and hydroxide) continue to rise in China. Uranium is holding on near USD$88.90/lb.
Canadian markets will be closed on Monday for Family Day, and likewise for the U.S. for Presidents' Day. Stay invested, buy the dips.
We are pleased to present you with our round-up of client news released between February 9 and 13, 2026.
Mining
On February 6, 2026, Nuinsco Resources Limited (CSE: NWI) announced it had issued an additional 151,820,000 common shares at a subscription price of $0.005 per share for aggregate proceeds of $759,100 as the Final Tranche of its oversubscribed private placement announced on November 7, 2025. 101,820,000 shares issued as part of the Final Tranche qualify as “flow-through shares”, and 50,000,000 shares in the Final Tranche are not flow-through shares.
Previously, the Company closed on 73,180,000 common shares for proceeds of $365,900, as announced on January 8, 2026.
All securities issued pursuant to the Final Tranche and the Offering are subject to a four-month plus one-day hold period following their issuance.
Proceeds from the Offering will be used to advance the Company’s Prairie Lake critical metals project located near Terrace Bay, Ontario.
On February 13, 2026, Pirate Gold Corp. (TSXV: YARR) (OTCQB: SICNF) announced that it has initiated two simultaneous project-scale airborne geophysical surveys at its Treasure Island Project in central Newfoundland. The Treasure Island Project covers over 90 km of strike along the Valentine Lake Fault Zone in Canada's newest gold district.
Greg Matheson, VP Exploration of Pirate Gold said, "Exploration is moving quickly on all fronts at the Treasure Island Project in 2026. Our drilling program at Moosehead continues to expand the known mineralized zones, with multiple holes intersecting visible gold and yielding new discoveries. Two project-scale airborne surveys are now underway, bringing enhanced geophysical resolution to Treasure Island. These surveys are designed to refine structural interpretation beneath the glacial till and generate new drill targets across the broader property. Additionally, the receipt of drill permits for both the Crippleback Lake and Stony Lake areas allows us to extend exploration beyond the immediate Moosehead footprint and systematically evaluate high-priority regional targets along the Valentine Lake Fault Zone. We are advancing a comprehensive understanding of the district-scale potential at Treasure Island, and 2026 represents an important step forward for Pirate Gold."
Drilling Program Update
Two diamond drills are currently active at the Treasure Island Project with a third drill anticipated to mobilize in 1-2 weeks
Since the previous drilling update on Dec 18, 2025, two drills have been active at the Treasure Island North project, focused on the expansion of the known mineralized zones at Moosehead and testing of regional geophysical targets
Pirate Gold has now released Episode 5 of “Treasure Hunters Season 1 - Shots Fired” that captures a turning point in the 2026 drill campaign, underscoring the persistence required in orogenic gold systems and the breakthroughs that follow.
The episode features:
Ongoing diamond drilling across regional targets and the launch of two high-resolution airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys
Step-out drilling on the Moosehead Western Trend intersecting a new system, including visible gold in multiple holes
Identification of a potential linkage structure between the Moosehead Eastern and Western Trends, expanding the target corridor along strike and at depth
Receipt of drill permits for Crippleback, located along the same regional structure as Moosehead and the Valentine Lake Mine
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