NIO, NewPeak Metals, Barrick Gold - The calm before the storm!

Long-term significantly higher

The chart picture of the gold price has brightened somewhat. After the correction low at just under USD 1,680.00 was successfully tested for the second time at the beginning of April, the price was able to show a considerable gain of 5% this week. The next price target is the downward trend formed since last August at 1,802.00 points. Even if there could be another correction loop in the short term, there is a lot to be said for new highs for gold in the long term. On the one hand, the geopolitical tensions between the US and China and between Russia and the United States are taking a threatening development.

On the other hand, whether one likes it or not, gold will fulfill its service as capital and inflation protection. The extremely loose monetary policy of the central banks should lead to exploding inflation rates in the next few years. In addition to investing in physical gold, stocks of gold mine producers and explorers are particularly suitable. Due to the price decline, there are interesting entry opportunities in the first and second row.

Right on target

Once again, the world's largest mining company has delivered. Based on the production results published last week, Barrick Gold sees itself confirmed for the full year. In the first three months of the current year, the Canadians produced 1.10 million ounces of gold and 93 million pounds of copper, which was roughly in line with expectations. These are lower than the previous quarter due to the mining sequence at the Carlin and Cortez mines and lower gold grades at the Pueblo Viejo mine but are within mine and stockpile processing plans. Copper production fell 22% from last quarter. Sales in the past three months totaled 1.09 million ounces of gold and 113 million pounds of copper. Barrick Gold will benefit disproportionately from the rising gold market due to its prominent position in the gold market. We expect the share price to double in the next 12 months.

Once around the world

A country diversification like that of the Australian gold explorer NewPeak Metals Ltd. is otherwise only known from the big players in the industry. The Company is focused on discovering a multi-million-ounce gold deposit and is advancing its gold projects in three of the world's top mining regions. In addition to 2 properties in Argentina and one in New Zealand, NewPeak Metals has secured two additional projects and several exploration permits in Finland. The Company's success is made possible by a world-class network and a team with decades of experience in the mining sector around CEO David Mason, the Company's board of directors, the former CEO of SolGold, Nick Mather as well as Neil Stuart. He gained his experience at Cerro Negro and Orocobre, among others.

Incredible pace

New milestones have been added almost every month since the second half of 2020. The successful completion of maiden drilling at Cachi Gold in Argentina was announced at a prolific depth of more than 200m. Further drilling was conducted in March 2021 over several epithermal gold targets defined by surface exploration. Here, drill results should cross the tickers in a timely manner. Drilling in New Zealand began in December 2020 and continued in February 2021. There, exploration of orogenic gold is underway near OceanaGold's large Macraes mine.

In addition, the Australians plan to begin drilling at the Tampere and Somero gold projects in Finland no later than May. Recently, the Company acquired additional gold concessions from Sunstone Metals in southern Finland to complement the Tampere Gold Project. Drilling results to date on this area include high-grade 29.5m at 2.65g/t gold from 137m, including 9m at 7.3g/t gold.

Expansion continues

In addition to the prospective gold deposits, NewPeak has significant undisclosed reserves lying dormant. The Company owns 30% of Australian oil and gas explorer Lakes Oil. The Company operates in two segments: Exploration of hydrocarbon reserves, primarily in the onshore regions of Victoria, Australia, and investments in renewable energy companies. The trading of Lakes Oil, which holds several permits and applications in PNG for proven hydrocarbon producing areas, is currently suspended. Before the suspension, the stock market value was the equivalent of approximately EUR 9.6 million. In addition to the gold projects, NewPeak Metals has secured seven exploration permits totaling 11,012 hectares at the Bergslagen tungsten project in Sweden. A scoping study has already been completed there, confirming historical results of anomalous tungsten and elevated copper, zinc, and molybdenum values. NewPeak Metals is traded in Frankfurt in addition to its home exchange in Sydney. The stock market value is currently EUR 8.5 million. An extremely exciting story with experienced players. The share should be limited due to the tightness of the market.

Decisive marks

In mid-January, the high of the Chinese car manufacturer NIO was still USD 61.95. Currently, the stock is trading at USD 36.09, just above its 200-day line, currently at USD 35. Should the support area around USD 35 fall, the next price targets are at USD 29.50. At least from the indicator side, there is still no all-clear. Fundamentally, the Company was able to shine both with the last sales figures and with promising long-term cooperation. The first NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 was put into operation with Sinopec, one of the largest Chinese natural gas and mineral oil companies. In the future, NIO will work with Sinopec to further expand its network of battery swap stations.

The partnership also includes extensive collaboration in new materials, smart EV technologies and Battery as a Service. There are already over 190 NIO Power Swap stations in China. The smart battery swap system is controlled via software-defined cloud computing. NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 is the world's first mass-produced battery swap station that a vehicle can enter fully automatically. For its part, like the other global petroleum companies, Sinopec is trying to accelerate its transformation from a traditional petroleum product seller to an energy service provider for oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity, and non-oil businesses.