What you need to know: • Precious metals were mixed in May amid easing geopolitical tensions, with gold down 1.7% and silver up 2.6%. • Mining equities finished broadly higher, with the GDX up 1.3%, GDXJ up 2.4%, despite gold’s pullback, while SILJ gained 5.8% and COPX climbed 10.7%, with the TSX up 2.1% and the S&P500 up 5.4%. • M&A momentum further accelerated in May with Equinox Gold’s ~US$5.1B all-share acquisition of Orla Mining to create North America’s second largest gold producer (~1.1Moz of annual projection), building on Agnico Eagle’s and G Mining Ventures’ large deals in April. Sentiment Update May proved to be a month of shifting sentiment, as the U.S.-Iran conflict appears to be moving closer to resolution. Oil retreated sharply on the progress, with Brent falling back below $100/bbl, while the geopolitical risk premium that had supported precious metals through the late winter/early spring began to dwindle. The gold/silver ratio compressed meaningfully as silver outperformed, while attention shifted toward the Fed, as stickier-than-expected inflation has pushed expectations for the next rate cut. The M&A momentum we flagged last month accelerated further in May, headlined by Equinox Gold's ~US$5.1B all-share acquisition of Orla Mining to create North America's second-largest gold producer at ~1.1Moz annually. The pro forma entity is anchored by three long-life Canadian assets, including Equinox's Greenstone and Valentine mines and Orla's Musselwhite, with a path toward >1.9Moz through its internal growth pipeline. Coming on the heels of Agnico Eagle's ~C$3.8B Finland consolidation and G Mining Ventures' ~C$3.0B acquisition of G2 Goldfields in April, the merger supports our view that record producer FCF will continue to drive sector consolidation. Copper extended its run to fresh record highs in May as Q1 production data confirmed supply concerns were not overblown, with global output across the majors falling ~162Kt led by declines at Freeport-McMoRan, Codelco, and Ivanhoe Mines. Some projections now forecast the 2026 deficit could exceed 500Kt, a supportive backdrop for copper equities and developers.