CHF WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Jan. 26 - 30, 2026

Markets were troubled this week, waiting for an interest rate announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed).  A pending announcement by U.S. President Trump of his nominee to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair when Powell’s term ends on May 15 was also affecting global markets. European shares opened higher after markets retreated in Asia. Some have termed the markets as in a “yo-yo phase”.

The TSX opened the week at a new all-time high but was down 1.25% by the close yesterday and is under pressure today. On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada (BoC) made its first interest rate decision of the year and held its benchmark rate steady at 2.25%, as widely expected. At the same time, it forecasts a gradual economic recovery from the U.S. tariff shock. BoC Governor Macklem said that the economy has evolved broadly in line with the central bank’s expectations, but warned of unusually high uncertainty, particularly around geopolitical risks, and the upcoming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement (CUSMA). This agreement is critical to Canada’s economy, and agreements with China, India, or Korea may not replace trade being lost with the U.S. any time soon. Earlier, Statistics Canada reported that exports fell in November, resulting in a merchandise trade deficit of $2.2 billion amid an economic slowdown. Total exports fell 2.8% as exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 24.4%. Exports of motor vehicles and parts also fell 11.6%, their lowest level in three years. U.S. trade representatives and the Mexican Secretary of Economy agreed during a meeting on Wednesday to begin formal discussions on suggested reforms to the CUSMA. This could include stricter rules of origin for key industrial goods, more collaboration on critical minerals, increasing efforts to defend workers and producers, and efforts to combat the dumping of low-cost (subsidized) manufactured goods from China. China has effectively closed its borders to imports as it seeks to dump its excess production into other countries. Rumours of dissent and protests within China are circulating, fuelled by reports of a purge of top military leadership, leaving President Xi with no opposition and even more authority than he already holds.

U.S. markets faced many issues this week as more tariff threats against allies emerged from the White House. Tech earnings reports were mixed, immigration action was in the spotlight, and a partial government shutdown was looming at the end of the week. This morning, there is a report that the President and U.S. Senate Democrats have reached a tentative deal to avoid a disruptive federal government shutdown as the White House continues to negotiate with them on placing new limits on immigration enforcement policy. However, lawmakers probably will not get the agreement to enact the measure before tonight, resulting in a short funding lapse and partial government shutdown, minimal if it gets resolved in short order, rather than a prolonged shutdown, as occurred last year. On Wednesday, the Fed held interest rates steady in the 3.50%-3.75% range, citing still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth, and gave little indication when rates might fall again. Two dissenting Governors were in favour of a quarter-percentage-point rate cut. Markets struggled to move up during the week as some of the big Tech companies delivered less-than-exciting earnings, but then fell at the open yesterday after the Fed decision. Reports surfaced late Thursday that Kevin Warsh would be Trump’s new Fed chair nominee. U.S. stocks dropped sharply, and U.S. treasury yields pushed higher. Gold and silver prices posted substantial losses, and the U.S dollar (USD) dropped, now down 1.6% this month. Warsh has held hawkish views, emphasizing the importance of fighting inflation and leaning toward keeping interest rates higher rather than cutting them. However, he has recently argued for lower interest rates, siding with the President.

Precious metals had a wild week, shooting up to all-time highs and then dropping back, adding to the uncertainty. Today, gold opens at USD$5,047.50/oz. While down from a high of USD$5,600/oz on Thursday, it is back to the support level it had been building earlier in the week. Some are calling this the top, but it looks like a bit of speculative excess, and we wait. Silver, not to be outdone, rose to USD$121.80/oz but has since settled back to USD$98.05/oz at today's opening. Persistent U.S. inflation remains, and interest rate relief being further off than desired could provide further headwinds and selling pressure for precious metals.  The underlying reasons to hold remain in place. There is room for gold as a diversification holding. The bullish environment will not go away soon, and this is where the opportunity lies. Gold mining stocks remain deeply undervalued relative to the gold price, and their free cash flow continues to rise.

The speculative rush was felt across all metals, with copper rising to USD$6.50/lb on Thursday, but at USD$5.98/lb this morning, back within this year's trading range. Other metals spiked as well, but muted in comparison to copper, and are settling back to support levels today. Zinc is holding onto some of the gains made this month. There is currently just enough material supply to meet anticipated demand, and new mine development remains slow; stay invested in the sector.

Battery metals did not participate in the price action, with cobalt holding steady and lithium off slightly. The restart of CATL’s Jianxiawo lithium operation appears to be delayed, contributing to already low lithium levels amid rising demand. Prices for battery component materials continue to rise in China. Uranium rose to USD$98.30/lb early this week, but price reporting is slow, and it may be falling back.

We are pleased to present our round-up of client news released between January 26 and 30, 2026.

Mining

On January 25, 2026, Athena Gold Corporation (CSE: ATHA) (OTCQB: AHNR) CEO Koby Kushner joined Steve Darling of ProActive Investors at the Vancouver Resources Investment Conference (VRIC) to share news about the company’s strategic positioning for a potential grassroots gold discovery at its flagship Laird Lake project in Red Lake, Ontario. Kushner explained that Athena recently monetized its non-core Nevada asset, Excelsior Springs, while retaining significant upside. That move, combined with an oversubscribed $3.5 million financing, has positioned the company with $8 million in cash and marketable securities, and ready for discovery.  A drill program of approximately 5,000 metres is slated to begin by the end of Q1 2026. It will assess multiple high-priority targets, including the Bounty anomaly, the Rigby showing, and geophysical conductors G1 to G6. Athena plans to drill.

“Athena is a gold exploration company, and we're aiming to make the next grassroots gold discovery in Red Lake, Ontario,” Kushner said.

On  January 25, 2026, Libra Energy Materials Inc. (CSE: LIBR) (FSE: W0R0) CEO Koby Kushner joined Steve Darling from the Vancouver Resources Investment Conference to share news about the company’s unconventional strategy and rapid progress in lithium exploration.

On January 28, 2026, Nuinsco Resources Limited (CSE: NWI) announced that, due to investor demand, the size of the non-brokered private placement of flow-through common shares and common shares first announced on November 7, 2025, has been further increased. Nuinsco may now issue up to 220,000,000 Flow-Through Shares and/or Common Shares priced at $0.005 for an aggregate amount of $1,100,000. All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a four-month plus one-day statutory hold period following their issuance.

On January 8, 2026, the Company announced it issued 73,180,000 common shares at the Subscription Price ($0.005) for aggregate proceeds of $365,900. On January 19, 2026, the Company announced an increase in the Private Placement to an aggregate amount of $800,000.

On January 28, 2026, Rocky Shore Gold Ltd. (CSE: RSG) announced that it is undertaking a non-brokered private placement to raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to $5,000,000 through the sale of units at a price of $0.175 per Unit. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.30 until the date that is three years following the closing date of the Offering. The proceeds from the Units issued under the Offering will be used for general corporate purposes and advancement of the Company's Gold Anchor Project located in central Newfoundland. The securities to be issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance.

On January 29, 2026, Pirate Gold Corp. (TSXV: YARR) (OTCQB: SICNF) released Chronicles Chapter 2, which tells the bigger picture story for investors, explaining the geology, scale, and potential behind Pirate Gold’s story, while the Pirate Gold Treasure Hunters series captures the boots-on-the-ground, day-to-day exploration.

Denis, Greg, and Tim will take you across Pirate Gold’s Treasure Island, from Moosehead to Crippleback Lake, nearly 100 kilometres of prospective ground tied into the same regional system as Valentine Lake and Queensway. They break down why Treasure Island could be part of an Abitibi-scale system in Newfoundland, highlighting bonanza-grade gold at Moosehead and a combination of orogenic gold and porphyry copper targets at Crippleback. Anchors up. The hunt continues.  Come aboard and watch the full episode.