The announcement of Goldman Sachs’ purchase of London Metal Exchange (LME) warehousing company Metro International Trade Services went largely unnoticed by the markets last week.

Vampyroteuthis infernalis (aka the vampire squid or Goldman Sachs) may not be as clever as their press clippings but they’re still a market force to pay attention to. If the Greek debt-swap deal was “consistent with the regulations of the time” does that mean that Goldman was doing “God’s work”. In hindsight, it appears they have doubts. That is the challenge all of us mortals face. We are rarely certain.

Given the complexity of many of Goldman Sachs deals, it is interesting to note that they are now entering the LME Warehousing business. What burning bush motivated an entry into the rudimentary world of storing non-ferrous metals (Aluminum, Aluminum Alloy, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Plastic, Steel, Tin, Zinc, Plastic Resin & Steel Billet)?

The transaction was reported Reuters but there was very little follow up. It was brought to my attention by Ian R. Campbell, one of Canada’s leading business valuation experts and now proprietor of stockresearchportal.com. Ian’s “retirement project” has turned into one of the best places on the web to view hard data on Canadian resource companies.

He believes Goldman is entering the transaction for two reasons:

(1) it believes it will make an acceptable return on its investment, both in the contexts of both an annual return and subsequent capital appreciation

(2) it believes in the future of world resources is economically important going forward.

On the surface, this business seems too unsophisticated for the bright minds at Goldman. Metal producers, traders and end-users all use the LME. Apparently, having control over the cost of carry in the metals trade is part of God’s, err I mean, Goldman’s plan.

If you’ve ever been to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in the last few years you’ve probably noticed some drilling activity. The famed Barnett shale runs right under the DFW runway and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) has been drilling most of the wells in the vicinity. They didn’t get to be America’s #2 gas producer by letting things like airports get in their way.

The population density along the Dallas-Fort Worth corridor hasn’t stopped the development of the Barnett Shale. The groundwater of the region doesn’t appear to be oozing with toxic chemicals from well fracturing so hopefully residents of the northeast states with emerging shale gas plays can ignore the fear mongering and go about their day with one less thing to worry about.

Click here to see if you have rich relatives in Texas! (Barnett Shale Map)

Sean Charland of Zimtu Capital passed on this map of rare metal properties that are being explored in BC. I’ve provided links to the companies below the map image.

• Paget Minerals Corp. – PGS.V (Mt. Bisson)
• Taseko Mines Ltd. -  TKO.TO (Aley)
• Rocher Deboule Minerals Corp. (private company – Lonnie)
• Spectrum Mining Corp. (private company – Wicheeda and Rock Canyon)
• Canadian International Minerals Inc. CIN.CNQ (Carbo)
• Commerce Resources Corp. CCE.V (Blue River)
• Eagle Plains Resources EPL.V  (Moose Cr)
• Zimtu Capital Corp ZC.V (property vendor)

The coal business is alive and well, in spite of increasing concerns about it being a dirty source of energy. Click the map below to go to an interactive map of major coal mines and coal-fired power plants in North America (infomine.com).

Last week we outlined the criteria for companies to make the TSX Venture 50 list along with the 10 Clean Technology companies making the list. The other categories include Mining (listed below) along with:

• Diversified Industries
• Oil and Gas
• Technology/Life Sciences

Mining

1. Romarco Minerals Inc. (R.V)  – an exploration and development stage gold company with projects in the United States and Mexico.
2. East Asia Minerals Corporation (EAS.V) – explores advanced gold and gold-copper
   properties in Indonesia and advanced uranium properties in Mongolia.
3. Terrane Metals Corp. (TRX.V) – developing the large-scale copper and gold reserve at Mt. Milligan, BC
4. Underworld Resources Inc (UW.V) – exploration company focused on developing gold discovery in Yukon Territory
5. Western Lithium Corporation (WLC.V) – developing a lithium deposit at Kings Valley, Nevada
6. Evolving Gold Corp. (EVG.V) – Exploring large gold systems at Rattlesnake Hills, Wyoming and the Carlin Trend in Nevada
7. Explor Resources Inc. (EXS.V) – gold and base metals in Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan
8. Luna Gold Corp. (LGC.V) – near term gold producer in Brazil
9. Lithium One Inc. (LI.V) – developing lithium chloride (Argentina) and lithium carbonate projects (Quebec)
10. Rare Element Resources Ltd. (RES.V) – developing a rare earth and gold deposit at Bear Lodge, Wyoming

Last week we outlined the criteria for companies to make the TSX Venture 50 list along with the 10 Clean Technology companies making the list. The other categories include Oil and Gas (listed below) along with:

• Diversified Industries
• Mining
• Technology/Life Sciences

Oil and Gas

1. Southern Pacific Resources Corp. (STP.V) – in-situ oil sands in the Athabasca oil sands region of  Alberta, and the thermal production of approximately 5,000 barrels per day of heavy oil in Senlac, Saskatchewan.
2. Vast Exploration Inc. (VST.V) – exploration in the Kurdistan region of Iraq
3. Universal Power Corp. (UNX.V) – exploration offshore Namibia
4. Ithaca Energy Inc. (IAE.V) – exploration, development and production in the North Sea
5. Result Energy Inc. (RTE.V) – purchased by PetroBakken Energy for ~$480-million
6. Eaglewood Energy Inc (EWD.V) – exploration company in Papua New Guinea
7. Sterling Resources Ltd (SLG.V) – exploration, development, and production company in UK, Romania and France
8. Sea Dragon Energy Inc (SDX.V) – exploration, acquisition, development and production in Egypt
9. Coastal Energy Company (CEN.V) – exploration and production in Thailand
10. Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. (PPY-A.V) – Bakken oil (Saskatchewan), Montney and Buckinghorse gas (BC)

Last week we outlined the criteria for companies to make the TSX Venture 50 list along with the 10 Clean Technology companies making the list. The other categories include Technology/Life Sciences (listed below) along with:

• Diversified Industries
• Mining
• Oil and Gas

Technology/Life Sciences

1. Sensio Technologies Inc (SIO.V) – technologies for 3D home video
2. Medicago Inc. (MDG.V) – plant based vaccine and antibody production system
3. ALDA Pharmaceuticals Corp. (APH.V) – infection control – disinfectants and hand sanitizers
4. EnWave Corporation (ENW.V) – Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV) dehydration technology for food, bulk liquids, and pharmaceuticals
5. TransGaming Inc (TNG.V) – software to migrate video game content  across multiple gaming platforms
6. Opsens Inc. (OPS.V) – Fiber optic sensors
7. D‐Box Technologies Inc. (DBO-A.V) – high-technology motion systems for the entertainment industry
8. Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. (NTB.V) – production of bioactive ingredients such as omega-3 phospholipids from krill
9. Diagnos Inc. (ADK.V) – develops software and offers data mining services in natural resources, entertainment and health
10. QHR Technologies Inc. (QHR.V) – Software designed to improve the efficiency of professionals in healthcare and other markets

Last week we outlined the criteria for companies to make the TSX Venture 50 list along with the 10 Clean Technology companies making the list. The other categories include Diversified Industries (listed below) along with:

• Mining
• Oil and Gas
• Technology/Life Sciences

Diversified Industries

1. AeroMechanical Services Ltd. (AMA.V) – provides real-time data communications for the aerospace industry
2. Leisure Canada (LCN.V) – developer of luxury resorts in Cuba
3. Lakeside Steel Inc. (LS.V) – Ontario based steel pipe and tubing manufacturer
4. Energold Drilling Corp. (EGD.V) – contract diamond driller servicing the mining industry
5. Quizam Media Corporation (QQ.V) – on-line education and training
6. iLOOKABOUT Corp (ILA.V) – geo-spatial imaging
7. Cathay Forest Products Corp. (CFZ.Z) – forestry products company in the People’s Republic of China and Russia
8. Cervus Equipment Corporation (CVL.V) – John Deere, Bobcat and, JCB Construction dealer
9. Sylogist Ltd. (SYZ.V) – software development and marketing for the Public sector and enterprise connectivity software
10. Paragon Pharmacies Limited (PGN.V) – pharmacies located throughout BC, Alberta and Manitoba

…the following New Issue has been cancelled, withdrawn or deferred by the issuer. Therefore, all Expressions of Interest on this offering have been cancelled.

Uranium Investment Corporation

This was promoted at the end of last year as closed end fund backed by RBC Dominion Securities. They were hoping to raise between C$75 and $150 million.

The market doesn’t seem interested in uranium anymore. Ultimately a bullish sign.

In a wonderful example of spinning what works and ignoring what doesn’t, The David Suzuki Foundation is blaming climate change for the lack of Vancouver snow.

Meanwhile, not far away we note with interest that 49 US states have snow with 1180 snowfall records set in the past week.

If The David Suzuki Foundation made automobiles, there would be national outcry for a recall.