The "American Jobs Plan" also included a $174 billion investment "to win the EV market".

Base metals closed higher, except aluminium, on the London Metal Exchange, where copper was up 0.2% to $8,787.75 per tonne.

Market futures were mixed.

Gold has risen back above $1,700 an ounce and was worth $1,709/oz at the time of writing.

Telson Mining (TSXV: TSN) shot up in Toronto as it eyes near-term gold production at its 60%-complete Tahuehueto gold project in Mexico.

The company this week closed a placement as part of a $25 million funding package, which president and CEO Ralph Shearing said allowed it to "immediately reinitiate" construction, targeting initial gold near the end of 2021. 

Its shares hit a one-year high of C62c, before closing up almost 43% to 60c.

Mining majors were down slightly in London, where Anglo American and Glencore eased about 0.6%.

It was the reverse in New York, where Newmont and Freeport-McMoran both rose about 0.7%.

Barrick Gold gained more than 1% in Toronto.