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Canada Mining – North of 60

Seven Inuit communities create non-profit to lobby mining industry in Baffin region – by Beth Brown (CBC News North – January 11, 2021)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

A new Inuit led non-profit in Nunavut’s northern Qikiqtaaluk region is hoping to make sure its seven member-communities benefit from industry in the region, including in aviation, fisheries and mining.

The North Baffin Association, or Qikiqtaaluk Uangnangani Katujjiqatigiit in Inuktut, was formed at the end of 2020 “after years of coordination,” it said in a Jan. 7 news release.

“We are very happy and proud to announce to our members that an organization that reflects their needs has been created to represent them,” executive director Neeko Inuarak said. To do this, the association says it will create its own separate business arm.

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Major reforms proposed in Yukon mineral development strategy report – by Kelsey Rolfe (Northern Miner – January 10, 2021)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Developing new mining legislation, creating a water use tax and completing the Yukon’s six outstanding land use plans in the next five years are among the substantial list of recommendations made by the independent panel in charge of the territory’s mineral development strategy.

The panel’s final report, released Dec. 28, contains 79 recommendations meant to guide future mineral development in the territory. It was developed as part of a 2017 memorandum of understanding on mining between the Yukon government and 11 self-governing First Nations. Yukoners have until Feb. 22 to comment on the report.

“This could shape the way that mineral development’s done in the Yukon for the foreseeable future, so this deserves a lot of attention,” said Yukon Chamber of Mines president Ed Peart in an interview with The Northern Miner.

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Inuit groups say they’re happy about Agnico Eagle’s TMAC purchase – Jim Bell (Nunatsiaq News – January 11, 2021)

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“Agnico Eagle has a track record of success in Nunavut”

Two regional Inuit associations in Nunavut say they’re happy about Agnico Eagle’s impending acquisition of TMAC Resources Inc. TMAC is operator of the Hope Bay gold project southwest of Cambridge Bay.

In one statement, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, which controls most of the land the sprawling Hope Bay project sits on, said it is “optimistic and supportive.”

“Agnico Eagle has a track record of success in Nunavut,” said president Stanley Anablak. He added he’s happy a mature mining company will assume control of Hope Bay.

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Chinese takeover bid had to be stopped – Editorial (Hamilton Spectator – December 28, 2020)

https://www.thespec.com/

There are many good reasons the Canadian government didn’t want to pick a new quarrel with China by stopping a Chinese company from buying up a Canadian gold mine.

But as it turns out, the arguments were even more compelling for blocking the takeover of an important natural resource in a strategically sensitive part of this country.

It’s obvious that even without this latest provocation, relations between the two countries have cooled to the point of being glacial. China’s authoritarian rulers are still furious Canada arrested one of their country’s top telecommunications executives, Huawei Technology’s Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted in the United States on fraud charges.

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Yukon rejects ATAC Resources application for mining access road – by Jackie Hong (CBC News Yukon – December 1, 2021)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

A mineral exploration company says it is questioning a decision by the Yukon government to reject its application to build an exploration road to one of its gold deposits in central Yukon.

ATAC Resources Ltd. has, for years, proposed bettering access to its Tiger Gold deposit, which is part of its larger Rackla Gold project north of Mayo.

The proposed 65-kilometre-long all-season road would overlap onto two existing trails, as well as 46 creek and river crossings in the Beaver River watershed, all within the traditional territory of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun.

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Agnico Eagle CEO explains company’s sudden interest in Hope Bay – by Derek Neary (Nunavut News – January 6, 2021)

https://nunavutnews.com/

When TMAC Resources announced in January 2020 that it was prepared to sell its assets to a larger company, only China’s Shandong Gold Mining stepped forward with a bid.

After the federal government rejected that deal in December, Toronto-headquartered Agnico Eagle announced it was making an offer 20 per cent higher than Shandong did – $286.6 million compared to $230 million.

Agnico Eagle’s appetite to acquire the oft-troubled Hope Bay project at a premium are multifold, according to CEO Sean Boyd.

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Agnico Eagle Mines to buy TMAC Resources after bid from China’s Shandong rejected by Ottawa – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 5, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has reached a friendly agreement to buy TMAC Resources Inc. for $289-million mere weeks after the Canadian government rejected Chinese state-controlled Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.’s attempts to buy the struggling Arctic miner.

Toronto-based TMAC operates the Doris gold mine in Hope Bay, Nunavut, near tidewater in the Northwest Passage, a highly strategic shipping route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

The attempted takeover of the firm by Shandong generated a national debate about sovereignty in Canada’s Far North and whether China should be allowed to gain an economic foothold in the High Arctic.

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Agnico Eagle bulks up Arctic presence with purchase of troubled TMAC mine – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 5, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

Deal comes just weeks after Ottawa blocked Chinese bid for goldfield on national security grounds

Toronto-based Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has agreed to buy a faltering gold mine in Nunavut just weeks after the federal government blocked a Chinese company’s offer for the goldfield on national security grounds.

Agnico will pay $2.20 per share to purchase TMAC Resources Inc., which started producing gold at its Hope Bay Mine in Nunavut in 2017 but has never met performance or output expectations.

The cash deal, valued at $286 million in equity, represents about $60 million more, or a 26 per cent premium, to what China’s state-owned Shandong Gold Group offered for TMAC earlier this year, and a 66 per cent premium to TMAC’s 20-day volume weighted average trading price.

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Agnico Eagle buying TMAC after failed deal with China’s Shandong – by Noah Zivitz (Bloomberg News – January 5, 2020)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has swept in as TMAC Resources Inc.’s new takeover partner just a few weeks after that miner’s proposed sale to China’s Shandong Gold Mining Co. was blocked by the federal government.

Under the terms of the agreement announced Tuesday, Agnico will buy TMAC for $2.20 per share, compared to the $1.75 that Shandong had agreed to pay. As well, TMAC and Agnico said their arrangement will be implemented without requiring a new meeting of shareholders, who had previously voted 97.08 per cent in favour of the Shandong deal.

When TMAC revealed last May that it agreed to be purchased by Shandong, it was framed as an opportunity to bring the necessary financial heft to fully develop TMAC’s sprawling Hope Bay gold mine property in Nunavut.

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Canadian government invokes national security to block Chinese takeover of Nunavut gold mine – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 23, 2020)

https://financialpost.com/

Shandong Gold Mining had proposed to pay about $230 million not including debt to purchase TMAC Resources

Canada has blocked a Chinese state-owned mining company from purchasing a gold mine in Nunavut on national security grounds, signalling a new escalation of already high tensions between the two countries.

Under the now terminated deal, Shanghai-listed Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. had proposed to pay about $230 million not including debt to purchase Toronto-based TMAC Resources Inc., which in 2018 developed a gold mine in Hope Bay, Nunavut.

A spokesperson for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada declined to answer questions about why the deal was blocked, but provided a statement noting that all foreign investments are subject to review under the Investment Canada Act.

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Ottawa blocks Chinese takeover of Nunavut gold mine project after national security review (CBC News – December 22, 2020)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Move comes after review under the Investment Canada Act

A $230 million deal for a Chinese company to purchase a gold mine project in Nunavut is off. TMAC Resources Inc. made the announcement in a news release posted to its website Monday.

The company states that the Government of Canada rejected the proposal to sell all TMAC Resources shares and its Hope Bay gold mining project to Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. The deal was approved by 97 per cent of TMAC shareholders on June 26.

The deal, according to TMAC president and CEO Jason Neal, “did not receive Canadian regulatory approval and will not proceed.”

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157.4 carat diamond unearthed at Arctic diamond mine in Canada – by Levon Sevunts (Radio Canada International – December 17, 2020)

https://www.rcinet.ca/

A Canadian mining company says it has unearthed a “157.4 carat gem of exceptional quality” at a diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.

It is the largest “gem quality” diamond recovered to date from the Gahcho Kué mine and will be offered for sale during the first quarter of 2021, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. announced Wednesday in a press release reporting its fourth quarter diamond sales.

The company said it sold 956,348 carats in the fourth quarter raising $80.2 million ($61.7 million US).

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COMMENTARY: Chamber of Mines says mining criticism unfair – by Ed Peart (Yukon News – December 11, 2020)

https://www.yukon-news.com/

This commentary is a response to the commentary, “Trust the public with the public interest,” published last month in the Yukon News.

In a recent opinion piece in a Yukon newspaper, the former Chair of a Yukon Land Use Planning Commission stated “The Yukon government would do well to sincerely ask whether any mine — or for that matter, the mining sector — actually benefits the Yukon and serves our long-term interests.”

We believe all Yukoners should sincerely ask themselves the same question to allow them to develop an informed opinion with fact as a foundation.

To imply that mining provides no benefit to the Yukon or Yukoners does an incredible disservice to the thousands of us who have made a living in the industry and continue to do so.

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Yukon Chamber of Mines wants action on road building promises – by Dave Croft (CBC News North – December 1, 2020)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

The Yukon Chamber of Mines says the territorial government needs to speed up implementation of the Resource Gateway program announced more than three years ago.

The program announcement was the highlight of Justin Trudeau’s first visit to Yukon as prime minister.

Yukon Premier Sandy Silver and Trudeau jointly pledged just over $360 million in funding to build and upgrade mining roads. Mining companies promised another $108 million.

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OPINION: Canada has plenty of reasons to stand up to China. Arctic sovereignty isn’t one of them – by Michael Byers (Globe and Mail – December 2, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Michael Byers is the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia, and the author of International Law and the Arctic.

A Chinese state-owned company wants to purchase a gold mine in Nunavut. Does the Arctic location make the purchase a national security risk?

The Hope Bay gold mine is operated by TMAC Resources, a junior Canadian mining company. Shandong Gold wants to buy TMAC for $208-million, and 97 per cent of TMAC shareholders have approved the sale.

Meanwhile, however, the Canadian government has ordered a national security review; some experts, including retired Major-General David Fraser, have pointed to Arctic sovereignty and security as reasons for blocking the sale.

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