CHF WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Jan. 16 - 23, 2026

Asian markets advanced while European shares were mixed as calm was restored after a tumultuous week. Markets are experiencing renewed volatility amid heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly over U.S. President Donald Trump’s perceived claims on Greenland. As they reposition for the year ahead, investors are weighing uncertainty against still-solid economics and earnings fundamentals.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney went on a nine-day trip around the world touted as drumming up investment abroad. Carney started his trip in Beijing, where he arrived at his first trade a deal to get China to temporarily lower agricultural tariffs in exchange for opening some market access for lower-priced Chinese-made electric vehicles. Carney went on to Qatar seeking investments in major projects and promising to improve cultural ties by expanding direct flights between the two countries. He then appeared at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland, giving a speech in which he warned that the Old World Order, based on the U.S., was dead and urged middle powers to band together as the New World Order arrives. A mini war of words and much political noise erupted between the PM, President Trump and U.S. officials, generating volatility across major markets. This did not increase confidence among potential investors in Canada. China is already pushing for the rapid implementation of the agreement and the inclusion of other products it wants to export, even ahead of Parliament's return on Monday. The resolution of the all-important renewed North American trade agreement with the U.S. and Mexico should be priority one. The issues of interprovincial trade liberation and advancing major projects remain lagging.

President Trump announced that the U.S. had a framework agreement on the future of Greenland, but such a plan would not threaten sovereignty. It would, instead, be focussed on broader, and more practical, security issues in the Arctic to fend off any threat from Russia or China. This could entail the stationing of U.S. missiles, certain mining rights aimed at keeping Chinese interests out, and a bolstered NATO presence, but not necessarily U.S. troops. This reassured markets somewhat, and they stabilized in North America and Asia. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced on Thursday that the third-quarter Gross Domestic Product showed that the economy expanded by 4.4%, slightly better than economists’ expectations and the second estimate of 4.3%.  Final Q2 GDP growth was 3.8%. The U.S. dollar was stronger early in the week but settled back into its recent trading range as calm returned. U.S. jobless claims rose to 200k but below the consensus of 205k. Inflation is coming in lower at 2.8%. Headline inflation is also at 2.8% from October's revised 2.9%. At the same time, profits are accelerating. The Q3 GDP forecast is 4.4%, and the Q4/25 GDP is now 5.4%. The economy is doing better despite the Trump barrage. Given this U.S. economic performance, European stagnation, and China’s inability to develop its internal economy, there is no prospect of a New World Order that excludes or isolates America. Monetary leadership and reserve currency status remain issues to watch.

The beneficiary of uncertainty, as always, is gold, opening at USD$4,939.70/oz this morning after hitting USD$4,968/oz overnight but within striking distance of USD$5,000/oz. Bank of America today has raised its near-term gold target to USD$6,000/oz. There is room for some pullback until the next geopolitical storm arrives. Silver is on the edge of USD$100.00/oz, opening at $99.54/oz this morning. Platinum is at an all-time high of USD$2,715.00/oz this morning, with palladium opening at USD$1,969.00/oz today with an eye towards USD$2,000/oz. Stay in with the precious metals; any pullback should be viewed as a buying opportunity.

Copper is at USD$5.89/lb after going over USD$6.00/lb last week. While higher prices offset the income lost from lower production, producers are still struggling to increase output. Investment in new production is still lagging as demand grows driven by the needs of electrification and data center infrastructure, as Asia currently consumes almost three-quarters of global copper output. Look for issuers building significant copper resources and the ability to develop projects.  Nickel has surged ahead this year, reaching USD$8.40/lb today, near a two-year high. Other base and industrial metals have been in uptrend since “Liberation Day” in early April. This is the time to be in materials.

Cobalt prices continue to step upwards, reaching USD$25.53/lb this week. The DRC and Indonesia remain the major producers, with the cobalt industry in near balance, and the stage is set for a tighter, more volatile landscape heading into 2026. Lithium has made a major price recovery over the last quarter, trading at USD$23.60/kg and looking upward, as battery-ready materials prices are rising in China. A survey of TSXV lithium issuers shows share price increases of 30%- 50% over the last month. The party is just getting started; look for quality projects with good access and infrastructure across multiple battery commodities in jurisdictions with favourable policies, held by issuers with the financial ability to sustain. The infrastructure investment focussed on energy production and transmission, needed to light up this sector, may be about to arrive.

The uranium price, at USD$85.25/lb, has been in an uptrend for three quarters, with a lot of room to grow, as nuclear power is the option to keep the booming AI and data centres from sucking all the electricity out of the grid. The 24/7 nature of this demand makes intermittent power from wind and solar problematic without massive battery storage. The manufacturing capability for grid storage batteries and the supply of materials to make them are far behind demand. Investment opportunities abound.

We are pleased to present our round-up of client news released between January 16 and 23, 2026.

Mining

On January 19, 2026, Athena Gold Corporation (CSE: ATHA) (OTCQB: AHNRF) invited existing and prospective investors to visit Booth #212 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC) on Sunday, January 25 and Monday, January 26, 2026. 

On January 19, 2026, Libra Energy Materials Inc. (CSE: LIBR) (OTCQB: LIBRF) (FSE: W0R0) announced the appointments of Stefano Somma, Néstor Álvarez, and Jordan Quinn to its Advisory Board. "We welcome Stefano, Néstor, and Jordan to Libra. Each advisor will bring their own unique skillsets, rounding out our Advisory Board with deep-rooted expertise in geology across Canada and South America, as well as marketing and social media," said Koby Kushner, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Libra. 

On January 19, 2026, Nuinsco Resources Limited (CSE: NWI) announced it has increased the size of the non-brokered private placement of flow-through common shares and common shares up to 160,000,000 Flow-Through Shares and/or Common Shares, dependent on investor demand, priced at CAD$0.005 for an aggregate amount of CAD$800,000. The private placement is expected to close on or about February 2, 2026. All securities issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a four-month plus one-day statutory hold period. Proceeds from the private placement will be used to advance the Company’s Prairie Lake critical metals project located near Terrace Bay, ON. 

On January 22, 2026, Arya Resources Ltd. (TSXV: RBZ) announced that it is mobilizing its drilling crew to commence a follow-up drill program at its Wedge Lake Gold Project in Saskatchewan, targeting the high-grade Twin Zone and T-6 Zone. The upcoming drill campaign is designed to build on encouraging results in these zones by expanding known mineralized zones, testing depth and strike extensions, and further evaluating the scale and continuity of gold mineralization. 

On January 22, 2026, Libra Energy Materials Inc. (CSE: LIBR) (OTCQB: LIBRF) (FSE: W0R0) announced results from its 2025 exploration field program, conducted in collaboration with KoBold Metals, on the Flanders North, Flanders South, and SBC lithium projects near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The field program, which took place last summer, marks the first full field season carried out under the six-year, KoBold-funded, CAD$33 million earn-in agreement, aimed at unlocking the potential of these critical mineral projects by leveraging KoBold's artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies alongside Libra's proven exploration expertise. 

Exploration Field Program Highlights

• Multiple new lithium-bearing pegmatites discovered across the Kobra Projects, including spodumene occurrences at SBC with surface samples up to 2.08% Li₂O and high-grade tantalum values, along with additional new zones at Flanders South mineralized with amblygonite and cassiterite — representing one of the highest-grade tin occurrences publicly reported in Ontario.

• More than twenty lithium-bearing pegmatite outcrops now identified across the Kobra Projects since 2023, all undrilled and showing strong fractionation trends that point to significant potential for lithium, tantalum, and tin mineralization.

• Advanced geophysical surveys (including KoBold's proprietary HyperPod platform) successfully deployed alongside traditional prospecting, generating new targets and enhancing geologic understanding ahead of the planned 2026 follow-up field program.

• During the 2025 field program, KoBold met its CAD$750,000 minimum expenditure commitment under the earn-in agreement.

• Libra personnel were actively involved in the planning and execution of the field program as an exploration contractor, receiving CAD$35,000 as a monthly payment during the program.

  
  

Libra's Chief Executive Officer and Director, Koby Kushner, stated the following regarding the Company's recent activity -"Since our inaugural exploration program in 2023 and now accelerating with KoBold in 2025, we have successfully discovered more than twenty lithium-bearing pegmatite outcrops across the Kobra Projects alone – all of which have yet to see a drill hole. While lithium has been the primary focus, additional pegmatites have returned high-grade tantalum and tin – including a newly discovered pegmatite outcrop at Flanders South that returned one of the highest-grade tin occurrences that has been publicly disclosed in the province. As a reminder, the Kobra Projects, which are under earn-in by KoBold, represent three of thirty-seven projects – with the remaining projects being 100% owned by Libra. Meanwhile, the lithium market has recovered, with spot prices now approaching multi-year highs, providing us an opportune time to be more communicative with our investors as we kick-off 2026 – which is expected to be our most active year yet, with continued exploration planned across Canada and Brazil." 

On January 23, 2026, Pirate Gold Corp. (TSXV: YARR) (OTCQB: SICNF) released Episode 3 of the Treasure Hunters Series, where they go inside the “Truth Machine” following drill core from deep underground to the geologist’s bench as the team decodes the system one metre at a time. With multiple rigs turning, thousands of samples moving to the lab, and targets being refined in real time, the hunt across Treasure Island is accelerating.

The Pirate Gold crew will be making port in Vancouver for two key industry gatherings. First, Denis Laviolette, Executive Chairman & CEO, will deliver a company presentation on January 26 at 2:10 PM PST (Workshop 2) at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference being held on January 25 and 26, 2026, at the Vancouver Convention Centre (Booth #701).

Then on to AME Roundup 2026, hosted by the Association for Mineral Exploration, running January 26–29, 2026, at the Vancouver Convention Centre East (Booth #304).