All in all, these spending proposals, combined with those already approved, could bring total spending for the current budget year to around $8 trillion—by far the highest level ever recorded in America’s history.

…2017 was just the first year with a small increase after a huge drop off in exploration activity. It may take many years of future increases to get back to where the activity was in 2012, as projected increases in exploration spending are seen to be slow and steady.

Given the enormous expenditures that are required to bring any mining property into production, the industry can ill afford a regulatory system which, by reversing already existent approvals, can nullify the value of funds already expended.

Fundamental information on gold and silver turned more to the bullish side this past month, and we can point to three particular items as the basis for that conclusion.