A big jobs number slows metals

The gold market saw significant losses on Friday as the precious metal dropped $50 on the day following a shockingly solid employment report out of the U.S., said mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.  

On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.  

The U.S. economy added a staggering 517,000 jobs in January as the unemployment rate dropped to 3.4% — the lowest level since 1969, noted Kitco reporter Anna Golubova. This took many by surprise as market consensus calls were looking for just 185,000 new positions.  

This week's big mining news was General Motors making a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas to help advance Thacker Pass. A court decision is still pending on whether Thacker should proceed. Earlier this month a U.S. judge said she will rule "in the next couple of months" about whether former U.S. President Donald Trump erred in 2021 when he approved Lithium Americas Corp's plan to build Thacker, according to a report by Reuters.

Lithium Americas is targeting 80,000 tonnes per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate from Thacker.