Coronavirus Round-Up: Eyes on US as Trump Aims to Reopen Economy

As the new week kicks off, here’s a round-up of the Investing News Network’s top stories last week covering the coronavirus pandemic.

The fight against the novel coronavirus continued to pick up pace last week, with reports of a potential drug treatment increasing hopes that the virus can be conquered.

The spread of COVID-19 has slowed down in some countries, but all eyes are now on the US in the wake of President Donald Trump’s plan to gradually reopen the country’s economy.

The outbreak has now infected more than 2.1 million people, with the death toll reaching over 145,000 as of last Thursday (April 16). Of the more than 691,000 closed cases, over 546,000 have recovered.

To keep investors up to date with what’s been going on in the mining industry related to COVID-19, we’ve put together a round-up of the Investing News Network’s (INN) top stories last week on the pandemic. All information and data were current as of last Thursday.

INN’s COVID-19 coverage: Top stories this week

1. Eric Sprott: Gold and Silver are Obvious Buys Today

The coronavirus pandemic has left many investors wondering where to put their money, and in a recent webinar Canadian billionaire Eric Sprott provided some suggestions.

Speaking during a Grit Capital event called Masters of Mining, Sprott discussed why he’s positive about physical gold and silver, plus gold’s price potential this year and his views on precious metals stocks.

Sprott’s most recent claim to fame is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in junior mining companies, but he is also a co-founder of Save Canadian Mining, an initiative launched last year to reinstate a securities trading rule known as the “uptick rule” or “tick test.”

2. Rick Rule: Be Patient — Gold Stocks Will Follow Gold Higher

With the world in turmoil due to COVID-19, many investors have been wondering about gold’s price activity and whether gold stocks are a good investment during this time.

In the same Grit Capital webinar, Sprott’s (TSX:SII,OTC Pink:SPOXF) Rick Rule shared his thoughts on those and other topics.

During his slot, he explained why he finds precious metals compelling right now, what he thinks about gold’s performance and when he thinks gold stocks will move.

3. COVID-19 Measures to Impact Lithium Mining Plans in Argentina

COVID-19 has brought uncertainty to every market, and lithium has been no exception, with top-producing countries implementing measures that could impact the space beyond the outbreak.

In Argentina, government measures were taken early on, with a lockdown declared on March 19; it is still ongoing for major cities as President Alberto Fernandez extended the quarantine on April 10, saying he believes it is the best way to slow the spread of the virus.

Lithium miners in the country stopped operations from March 19 to 31, including top producer Livent’s (NYSE:LTHM) Hombre Muerto, Orocobre’s (TSX:ORL,ASX:ORE) Olaroz, Lithium Americas’ (NYSE:LAC,TSX:LAC) Cauchari-Olaroz and Neo Lithium’s (TSXV:NLC) Tres Quebradas.

INN’s COVID-19 coverage: The bright side

Results from a clinical trial at the University of Chicago last Thursday show that the antiviral drug Remdesivir appears to have some fighting force against COVID-19, according to a report from STATnews.

Also last week, institutional investors in 15 major pharmaceutical companies joined forces to call on drugmakers to set aside rivalries and short-term interests and cooperate on finding solutions to the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

In commodities, gold broke the US$1,700 per ounce threshold and stayed there for most of the week, with silver also trading above the US$15 per ounce mark. Base metals had an uptick as well, with copper holding onto the US$5,000 per tonne range.

Aside from coronavirus-related news, last week the mining space saw Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) say it expects to meet production guidance despite COVID-19, while SilverCrest Metals (TSX:SIL,NYSEAMERICAN:SILV) raised C$101 million for its Las Chispas project in Sonora, Mexico. And, slowly but surely, Canadian miners started resuming operations as mining has now been deemed an essential activity in some regions.