Every proceeding year since the lockdowns of 2020 the world has been shown more and more the true value of real tangible commodities such as the food we eat, the roof over our head, the clothes on our back, critical minerals that power daily items, and of course, one of the most important commodities to an advanced society, our medium of exchange or our money.  The year of 2024 was no different, the Canadian Dollar lost another 7% of its purchasing power measured against the United States Dollar, and other world currencies followed suit weakening the purchasing power of what much of the world considers to be money.  Though, a main component of money is that it successfully stores value over a long period of time, so our current mediums are failing to meet the definition.

On the other hand, those that control the supply of “money” or fiat paper (or digital) currency have been swiftly switching their attention.  Since they year 2020, they went from prioritizing holding other governments debt to ensure they earn a yield or profit to desperately trying to secure as many “strategic” or scarce assets as possible with gold and silver directly at the center.  

Even countries considered to be “Third World” and considerably poorer in comparison to the larger powers of the world have been buying as much gold as they can afford.  Ghana a country that prior to 2024 held 19 tonnes of gold (19x more than Canada…), purchased 11 tonnes of gold in 2024 alone increasing their total reserves by 57.89% for a new total of 30 tonnes.  In sticking with Africa, Nigeria also announced on January 20th that it will be taking its 21.37 tonnes of gold and over 230 million people and joining BRICS+ only growing the blocs power even further.  A shift appears to be rapidly approaching on the horizon, and it is not only the wealthier countries that are looking to protect what they have, as even the poorest of countries are doing so even if it is minuscule in comparison to their counterparts.

When looking at the overall economic landscape of the world, countries like Ghana or Nigeria, while they certainly add colour to a muddy financial picture with their actions, the main story is found in what the main players do.  When looking at the financial superpowers of the world like the United States, China, United Kingdom, Canada, etc. you are seeing what was before a more silent rush toward precious and strategic commodities turn to an all-out sprint that reverberates from the upstairs floor through the entire house.  Their desperation to secure as much of what is a dwindling supply of critical minerals is becoming plain and obvious.  The below stories will be outlined in chronological order, and all just happened in the first month of 2025 highlighting just how quickly the rush picked up as 2025 was welcomed in.  

It also must be reminded that while silver itself was not mentioned in any of the stories we will cover directly, it is arguably the most critical to an advanced society.  Look around, every electronic you see requires silver to operate.  Unless the hastily approaching Digital Age quickly veers to a more primitive age, silver will end up being a cornerstone and therefore, you can be assured is on the radar of every country in the world.

January 9th, 2025

It was reported that the United States and Danish officials heavily lobbied Greenland’s largest developer of rare earth metals not to sell to China through the entirety of 2024.  As currently stands, China has almost total control of the extraction process of these minerals and other countries, specifically the United States wish to stop China from gaining more, while also securing these minerals for itself.

January 10th, 2025

Department of Defense Official in the United States, Adam Burstein, had the following to say, “secure sourcing of critical minerals is critical to the defense industrial base, which uses them to produce virtually every Defense Department System, from unmanned ariel systems and fighter jets to submarines.”  In short, critical minerals are vital to the national security of the United States.  For context, the amount of silver used in each piece of military equipment is highly classified, however, they have revealed it is used for tomahawk missiles, C17 transport aircrafts, Apache helicopters, night vision goggles, and many more that would take use all day to type out.

January 12th, 2025

The United Kingdom was warned by top watchdog UK Critical Mineral Intelligence Centre that more mines are needed to secure critical minerals to avoid a supply issue.  Not only that, but they were told that in the meantime as, of course, new mines cannot open overnight, that they must begin stockpiling critical minerals.  Imagine that.

January 17th, 2025

United States Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, announced the United States will need to use “extortionary measures” after January 21st, 2025, now passed, to avoid defaulting on their debt.  Yellen stated, “I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”  You can see why the rush for real tangible assets is reaching a level of desperation.  Much of the first world hold United States debt as a major part of their foreign reserves.  If the United States defaults, hundreds of billions of dollars for some countries and over a trillion dollars USD for Japan will be wiped out in an instant.

January 27th, 2025

The United States stock market lost over $1 trillion USD in a single day nearly matching the entire losses of the Dot Com Crash in 2000, yet this massive blow went virtually unnoticed.  Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company lost nearly $600 billion USD marking the largest single day drop for any stock in history and they have only continued to drop since then as we close the month.  For added context, the same day, gold dropped in value just $8 USD, while silver lost just $0.08 USD.  Alternatively, both metals have continued higher since that day highlighting their strength and stability during times of chaos. 

January 28th, 2025

Foran Mining Corporations and Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund sign a $41 million CAD agreement to increase the production of critical minerals with copper being a main metal named.  And where does most silver come from?  As a by-product of mining metals like copper.  Although, Canada now holds no gold in reserve, they are visibly aware of the importance of these assets.

January 28th, 2025

Scott Bessent was confirmed by the US Senate as the next Secretary of the Treasury and was previously quoted on a podcast prior to the 2024 US election saying, “I think we’re in a long-term bull market in gold.  We’re seeing reserve accumulation by central banks.  I follow it closely.”  This may also lend some insight into why now President Donald Trump has stated on multiple occasions that the United States is entering a “Golden Age”.

January 28th, 2025

It was reported that between 2000 and 2021, China spent over $57 billion USD in 19 low- and middle-income countries to mine and process critical minerals.  The race for these assets has only in recent years really picked up and now we can all see that China has long foreseen what is currently unfolding and because of that foresight as long been preparing by building up its reserves with commodities the world needs most.

January 29th, 2025

COMEX bullion vault in New York demanded deliveries of gold from London surged to the tune of $82 billion in total reserves out of fear the cost of securing gold will increase due to the tariffs Donald Trump has begun placing on various countries including Canada.  The wait time for delivery of gold from London as a result skyrocketed from a couple days to 4-8 weeks!  Which is why we have long stressed the importance of owning physical gold and silver itself and having it in your own possession.

January 30th, 2025

Not only was the United States taking delivery of mass quantities of gold from London, but they also increased gold imports from Switzerland to highs unseen since 2022 when all central banks were making record purchases of the shiny yellow metal.  Over the last two months, the US has imported approximately 401 tonnes of gold.  For context, in December of 2023 the US imported just 3.3 tonnes of gold from Switzerland.

The above is a lot.  A lot continues to happen and develop very quickly as the new financial system continues to be ushered in.  What may shock you as a reader is that much of what happened this month was left out due to being covered in our previous newsletters this month or simply because we aim for these newsletters not to be chapter books upon completion.

It does appear that a “Golden Age” is approaching.  Though, what is left to be answered is whether that will mean an age of prosperity for all or if it simply implies that gold will remerge as the dominant form of money and that only those with the foresight to own as much as they can, will prosper.