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Climate warrior Jane Goodall isn’t sold on carbon taxes and electric vehicles – by John Paul Tasker (CBC News Politics – April 13, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/

‘It’s not something I endorse,’ British primatologist says of carbon taxes

World-renowned primatologist and climate activist Jane Goodall says carbon pricing schemes like the one Canada has deployed aren’t a silver bullet to solve the pressing threat of climate change.

Speaking to CBC News during the Ottawa stop of her cross-country tour of Canada this week, Goodall said the jury’s out on whether levying a consumer price on emissions will meaningfully improve the climate picture over the long term. Goodall, who just turned 90, said a carbon tax can seem punitive to consumers — making a measure to fight climate change seem like a costly chore.

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Nickel developer hires access road consultant – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 15, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Tartisan’s Kenbridge Project hold promise of nine years of mine life

Tartisan Nickel, a mine developer in the Kenora area, has retained a Thunder Bay mining services company to help with project management of its Kenbridge Project. Northwest Solutions specializes in catering to the forestry and natural resources sector since 2014. The family-owned Thunder Bay company helps with training, project management support and communication consulting services.

Tartisan said Northwest Solutions, specifically co-owner Kevin Shorthouse, will handle the design, permitting and construction of an access road to the site.

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Is this the right vision for the NWT’s economy? – by Ollie Williams (Cabin Radio – April 13, 2024)

Front Page

It’s been a big week for discussion of the Northwest Territories’ economy. It might be about 15 years overdue.

Economist Graeme Clinton, who lives in Yellowknife, started the week by telling city council an “economic cliff” is coming – and there seems to be no plan.

He was referring to the closure of the NWT’s three active diamond mines, which currently power thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. The first of the three to close will do so in just over 18 months’ time. Financially, diamond mining is the most important industry the territory has. There’s nothing on the radar that comes close to matching it for job creation and profit.

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New Sanctions on Russia to Drive Even More Metals Sales to China – by Alfred Cang (Bloomberg News – April 15, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

US and UK sanctions on Russian metals will cement China as Moscow’s buyer of last resort for key commodities, and enhance Shanghai’s role as a venue to set prices for materials crucial to the global economy.

The London Metal Exchange’s ban on newly produced Russian aluminum, copper and nickel is likely to drive Chinese imports even higher. It also leaves the Shanghai Futures Exchange as the only major commodities bourse in the world to accept Russian shipments of the three metals.

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Barrick facing uncertainty in Mali, amid reports of regime seeking control of mine – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – April 15, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is facing mounting pressure in Mali as the country’s military regime seeks to boost its control of the multibillion-dollar mining sector at a time of growing Russian influence over its economy.

Mali’s junta, which seized power in a coup in 2021 and later forged an alliance with Russian troops, has been targeting the mining sector for more than a year with a controversial audit of the industry and a new mining code to authorize greater state control of mining companies.

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Southeast Asia’s potential in critical minerals – by Han Phoumin (Australian Strategic Policy Institute – April 15, 2024)

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/

Global critical mineral demand is expected to increase dramatically in coming decades, from a 7.1 million tonnes in 2020 to 42.3 million tonnes in 2050. Global commitments to decarbonisation are the main drivers of this growth, because clean-energy technologies depend on large quantities of critical minerals. But all manner of sophisticated industries, including defence manufacturing, will also compete for these materials.

Secure and reliable critical mineral supply chains will be vital for energy transition. The supply chains are the secret to scaling up installation of wind turbines, advanced batteries, electrolysers and clean-energy grids.

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Glencore-backed nickel miner fails to secure financing after rising costs – by Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – April 15, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Horizonte Minerals looking at sale of Brazilian nickel mine as investors fear Indonesia is flooding the market

Glencore-backed Horizonte Minerals has failed to secure financing to complete its nickel mine in Brazil following soaring costs and rising investor concern that Indonesia is flooding the market for the electric vehicle battery and steelmaking ingredient.

The London-listed group said in a statement on Monday that it was now exploring a sale, liquidation, or raising financing at the subsidiary level, following an 87 per cent increase in the estimated cost to build the Araguaia nickel mine, to more than $1bn.

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Tesla supplier Piedmont Lithium gets key North Carolina mining permit – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – April 15, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

April 15 (Reuters) – North Carolina regulators have approved a state mining permit for Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab supplier Piedmont Lithium to develop one of the largest U.S. sources of the key electric vehicle battery metal, although key financing and local regulatory challenges remain.

The approval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, which was announced by the company on Monday and is conditional on the posting of a $1 million reclamation bond, removes a major hurdle to Piedmont’s plans to tap a large lithium deposit just outside Charlotte.

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Japan, U.S., Philippines to strengthen nickel supply chains – by Takeru Tsuzuki and Hiroyuki Tanaka (Asia News Network – April 15, 2024)

 Asia News Network – Bringing Asia Closer

The three countries will accelerate the creation of a supply chain that is not overly dependent on China to bolster their economic security, with the Philippines being the world’s second-largest producer of nickel ore.

WASHINGTON – Japan, the United States and the Philippines agreed to forge ties to strengthen supply chains of nickel — a critical mineral essential for the batteries used in electric vehicles — at a trilateral summit at the White House on Thursday.

The Philippines is the world’s second-largest producer of nickel ore, and China is the second-largest producer of refined nickel. The three countries will accelerate the creation of a supply chain that is not overly dependent on China to bolster their economic security.

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Canada’s top soldier touts renewed Arctic strategy amid China and Russia’s push to deepen ties – by Robert Fife and Steven Chase (Globe and Mail – April 15, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A sharper focus on the Arctic in Ottawa’s defence policy is a strategic move welcomed by Western allies, Canada’s top soldier says, as Russia and China contest this increasingly pivotal region, where global warming is opening the Northern Sea Route to shipping and military manoeuvres.

General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, acknowledged that the $8.1-billion over all committed by the government to defence spending over the next five years falls short of the NATO spending target of 2 per cent of annual economic output. Still, he says the new money will help a military long neglected by governments of various political stripes.

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Big 5 diversified mining companies are having a rough 2024 – by Frik Els (Mining.com – April 5, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

At the end of the first quarter 2024, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners had a combined market capitalization of a shade under $1.4 trillion, down $13 billion since the start of the year.

The historic gold run and copper’s comeback, up 14% and 12% so far in 2024, only kicked into a higher gear after the end of the March quarter, but copper and gold counters nevertheless dominate the best performer list for Q1.

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Gina Rinehart-Backed Lithium Hopeful Surges After Pilot Batch – by Paul-Alain Hunt (Bloomberg News – April 10, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Australia-listed lithium developer Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd. has gained nearly 40% this week after announcing its first viable output using direct-extraction technology, an emerging technique for producing the battery material.

The firm’s demonstration plant in Landau, Germany, delivered a batch of lithium chloride in line with the quality it eventually plans to make commercially, Vulcan said in a statement on Thursday. The firm backed by Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart has agreements to supply European carmakers including Stellantis, Renault SA, and Volkswagen AG.

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Cheap coal, cheap workers, Chinese money: Indonesia’s nickel success comes at a price – by Per Elinder Liljas (The Guardian – April 11, 2024)

https://www.theguardian.com/

Standing chest-deep in the Molucca Sea, just outside the billowing smokestacks of the world’s largest nickel industry, Upin adjusts his mask and dives. Members of his people, the Bajau, have been known to stay underwater for more than 10 minutes but Upin resurfaces shortly. He hauls a rugged disc of metal over the side of his dugout canoe.

“Since the factories arrived, there has barely been any fish to catch,” he says and grimaces towards the opaque water. “The ocean has become warmer and more polluted. It itches on my skin but I have no choice. Collecting scrap metal is the only way for me to survive.”

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What China’s central bank and Costco shoppers have in common (The Economist – April 11, 2024)

https://www.economist.com/

Hint: it is not a fondness for cryptocurrencies

Gold has always held an allure. The earliest civilisations used it for jewellery; the first forms of money were forged from it. For centuries kings clamoured to get their hands on the stuff. Charlemagne conquered much of Europe after plundering vast amounts of gold from the Avars.

When King Ferdinand of Spain sent explorers to the new world in 1511, he told them to “get gold, humanely if you can, but all hazards, get gold.” Ordinary men also clamoured for it after James Marshall, a labourer, found a flake of gold while constructing a saw mill in Sacramento, California, in 1848.

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Green Rush panel: Is there willingness to pay a premium for responsibly sourced minerals? (Kitco.com – April 9, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Environmental, social, governance (ESG) initiatives are further delaying mining projects while critical metals are in high demand, creating tension within the mining industry, says Matt Watson, founder of Precious Metals Commodity Management LLC.

The other problem is that metals necessary for the green transition are difficult to process, namely nickel, cobalt and rare earths. On April 3, Watson recorded an episode of Green Rush with guests James Gavilan, principal of Gavilan Commodities, and Lyle Trytten, president of Trytten Consulting Services. The subject was ESG in the context of scaling responsibly mined minerals.

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