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Canada Mining – North of 60

ATAC, Barrick to invest C$13M at Rackla (North of 60 Mining News – April 6, 2018)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

ATAC Resources Ltd. April 4 outlined plans for roughly 20,000 meters of drilling at the Rackla Gold property in the Yukon.

At roughly C$13 million, this program included a C$6 million investment by Barrick Gold Corp. for exploring the Orion gold project at the center of the massive Rackla property and C$7 million from ATAC, which will explore Osiris and Rau, located on the east and west ends of Rackla, respectively.

“We are excited to get started on what will be the largest drilling campaign since 2012 on the Rackla Gold property,” said ATAC President and CEO Graham Downs.

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Canadian author’s ‘atomic memoir’ links H-bomb to Great Bear Lake – by Soma Basu (The Hindu – April 6, 2018)

http://www.thehindu.com/

Dr.Julie Salverson, is an anti-nuclear activist, scholar and artist, who works as Assistant Professor of Drama at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.

Dr.Julie Salverson’s book Lines of Flight is about a little known aspect of Canada’s connection to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945

All of us are constantly living in the middle of something happening somewhere. As a witness to increasing violent events in the world, how do we live life with courage?

Dr.Julie Salverson’s book Lines of Flight delves into how humanity is inextinguishable no matter what in the light of her accidental discovery of the connection between the small village Deline outside Toronto and the bomb that fell on Hiroshima.

The shock value of the little known information put her on a 10-year radioactive trail from Canada to Japan in 2002. “I arrived in Hiroshima for the first time in the middle of a Christmas party. Overwhelmed I was with the pain and loss of the sufferers but I realised the city was not just about the bomb.

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Agnico Eagle prepares for automated Kivalliq mine sites – by Derek Neary (Nunavut News – April 2, 2018)

http://nunavutnews.com/

Mining company Agnico Eagle is researching how it can integrate automated technology at its Kivalliq sites. By later this year or early in 2019, the company plans to start testing sensors that would eventually allow three or four driverless long-haul trucks, similar to tractor trailers, to follow a lead truck driven by a human, said Dominique Girard, Agnico Eagle’s vice-president of Nunavut operations.

Automated technology is also expected to be used for scoop loaders, which can be controlled remotely by joysticks, and possibly for drills, he said.

“To operate a mine in Nunavut is more expensive so we need to find a way to mitigate that… going into automation is a way to do it,” said Girard, who added that it will take several years before the technology is full adopted for day-to-day operations.

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The Northwest Territories and Nunavut’s share of mining exploration spending is on the decline – by Walter Strong (CBC News North – March 28, 2018)

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

The Northwest Territories and Nunavut’s share of expected spending on resource exploration and deposit appraisals in Canada is on the decline, and has been for a few years.

The most recent numbers from Natural Resources Canada indicate spending in the N.W.T. is expected to decline to $81.3 million this year, down from $90 million last year. Exploration spending in the territory peaked in 2007 at $194 million.

In Nunavut, the decline is more dramatic. Spending there is expected to decline by more than $58 million — from $169 million last year to $110.7 million this year. In 2007, companies spent $338 million on mining exploration in Nunavut.

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It’s full steam ahead for Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold project – by Mike Rudyk (CBC News North – March 13, 2018)

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

Company says getting $505 million in financing was a make it or break it deal for the Yukon mine

Closing a $505 million deal with investors was tough, but the president of Victoria Gold, John McConnell, says persistence paid off.

Orion Mine Finance, Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd., and Caterpillar Financial came up with the bulk of the financing needed to move the Yukon’s next gold mine forward. Construction began last year, but now Victoria Gold has the cash needed to finish the job.

“It is a very important summer for us, we hope to get 60 to 70 per cent of the construction complete,” said McConnell. The company’s Eagle Gold project is located about 85 kilometres northeast of Mayo. There will be two open pits, and gold will be recovered by a heap leach process.

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OPINION: North America must seize its Arctic opportunity – or risk being left out in the cold – by CLINT DAVIS, JESSICA SHADIAN and MEAD TREADWELL (Globe and Mail – March 12, 2018)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Clint Davis is managing director of Acasta Capital Indigenous (ACI), an Indigenous-owned subsidiary of Acasta Capital. Jessica Shadian is director of Arctic 360, a partnership with the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, Trinity College and the Munk School of Global Affairs. Mead Treadwell is a former Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and president of Pt. Capital.

Last summer, the icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon) became China’s first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage, travelling from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic through the Arctic Ocean archipelago.

Then, in January, China officially included the Arctic region in its massive Belt and Road Initiative, making Northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland eligible for Chinese investment in railways, roads, pipelines and utility grids.

China understands the Arctic will be part of a new global trade infrastructure system. Does North America? According to the U.S. investment firm Guggenheim Partners, the Arctic will require close to US$1-trillion of infrastructure investment over the next decade, including transportation, telecommunications and social services to support a new era of economic opportunity from energy, fishing and mining, to defence and tourism.

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Kivalliq Inuit Association plans for mining royalties of up to $100M (CBC News North – February 27, 2018)

http://www.cbc.ca/

Education and cultural centres are top priorities for organization

The Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) is planning how to invest anticipated mining royalties of up to $100 million.

David Ningeongan, KIA president, said the organization now has $23 million in a variety of endowment and operating funds, but he said the association could earn $100 million in royalties over the next 10 years. The association began consulting with communities on the plan in August.

Last week, the association held a public meeting in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, to discuss plans for an education fund. Ningeongan estimated more than 100 people showed up for the meeting.

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Hudson Bay communities hold first meeting to talk climate, development (Hamilton Spectator/Canadian Press – February 27, 2018)

https://www.thespec.com/

MONTREAL—The 27 communities that ring Hudson Bay are scheduled to meet Tuesday for the first time to talk about climate change, environmental protection and the impact of development in their vast and complex region.

“It’s always been the Arctic region that falls through the cracks,” said Joel Heath, a scientist with the Arctic Eider Society, which is helping organize the inaugural Hudson Bay Summit.

Responsibility for Hudson Bay and its shorelines is divided between Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Nunavut, as well as the federal government. There are also at least five land claims that cover the region, all of which have overlapping agreements.

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Prosperous 2017 for De Beers means N.W.T. diamond industry warming up: Chamber of Mines – by Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi (CBC News North – February 26, 2018)

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

De Beers Canada brought in close to $260 million in earnings in 2017

A prosperous year for De Beers Canada could mean the diamond industry is warming up in Northwest Territories, according to the executive director of NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

In the 2017 fiscal year, De Beers Canada brought in close to $260 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “We had a tremendous production year. We had the biggest ever production output from Canada,” said Kim Truter, CEO of De Beers Canada.

“We’re looking at another bumper year from Canada, something we’re very excited about.” Truter said it’s thanks in large part to the Gahcho Kue mine, located about 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

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Apple deal to buy cobalt directly from miners could provide path for struggling Canadian companies – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – February 22, 2018)

http://business.financialpost.com/

With cobalt prices soaring and fears of a potential shortage mounting, reports emerged Wednesday that Apple Inc. is in talks with a mining company to secure a direct supply of the scarce metal — a critical component of batteries.

It’s the type of deal that Fortune Minerals Ltd.’s chief executive Robin Goad has been trying to broker for years. Since 1996, Goad has raised tens of millions of dollars and completed a feasibility study that showed his project in the Northwest Territories could produce 1,615 tonnes of cobalt annually — about 37 per cent of what Canada produced in 2017.

But he couldn’t obtain financing to build the mine, so now he’s hired the consulting firm PwC to find a strategic investor to help finance construction in exchange for a share of the cobalt production.

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Agnico Eagle’s open-pit offshoot from Nunavut gold mine gets federal ministerial approval – by Sara Frizzell (CBC News North – February 19, 2018)

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

Production at the mine will begin in mid-2019

The federal minister for Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs has signed off on a new mining project near Baker Lake, Nunavut. Agnico Eagle’s Whale Tail project is an open-pit gold mine, expected to operate for three to four years, starting next year.

It will be connected to the company’s Meadowbank mine by a 65-kilometre road, so it can use existing processing facilities. Initially, local groups were concerned about caribou crossing the road, but after a final hearing, the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) signed off on the project with 64 specific conditions, many of which focus on managing environmental impacts.

In her approval, Carolyn Bennett noted elevated arsenic levels could still be an issue in runoff from water storage and in the fill water for the proposed pit lake, to be created after the mine closes. Therefore, she has insisted on careful monitoring.

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[Northwest Territories Mining] Giant Mine rehab contract awarded (Mining Journal – February 20, 2018)

http://www.mining-journal.com/

Canada’s government has awarded a main construction manager contract as part of a multimillion dollar remediation of the storied Giant Mine near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.

The abandoned gold mine operated from 1948-1999 when its last owner Royal Oak Mines entered receivership.

The government said the site was one of the highest priority contaminated areas with the federal property inventory and required ongoing management to protect human health and safety and the environment.

The scope includes tailings management, building demolition, pit closures, dealing with contaminated soils and “in-situ encapsulation” of the 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide stored in underground chambers.

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Pembridge grabs copper-gold-silver mine in Canada’s Yukon – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – February 15, 2018)

http://www.mining.com/

Pembridge Resources (LON:PERE) said Thursday it was buying Capstone Mining’s (TSX:CS) Minto copper-gold-silver mine in Canada’s Yukon for $37.5 million in cash plus a 9.9% stake in the company.

The miner, which last year moved from the AIM to LSE main board, said the acquisition makes of Pembridge a cash flow generating copper producer.

The London-based company said it plans to raise $50 million via an equity placement. The money will be used to fund the proposed acquisition and provide resource development and working capital, it said.

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Agnico Eagle CEO bullish on Canada as rivals falter overseas – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – February 16, 2018)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Gold prices are rising after a prolonged period of sluggish performance, but not all gold producers will be able to use 2018 to grow — as three earnings announcements released this week by senior Canadian gold companies demonstrated.

Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer, cut its 2018 production outlook to 4.5 million to 5 million ounces whereas Goldcorp Inc., at nearly half the size, kept its production outlook unchanged at 2.5 million ounces. Meanwhile, the smallest of the pack Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., increased its production guidance to 1.53 million ounces.

The different growth outlooks not only reflect the difference in size between the companies, but also varying approaches to risk management — whether related to the geography of operations, the approach to acquisitions and explorations or other aspects of management.

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Expansion would secure Mary River’s future, Baffinland boss says – by Jim Bell (Naunatsiaq News – February 5, 2018)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

“We will be insulated from the iron ore price”

OTTAWA—If Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. is permitted to build its proposed Milne Inlet railway and expand production to 12 million tonnes of iron ore each year, the company will never again have to worry about plummeting ore prices, Baffinland boss Brian Penney said last week.

“We will be insulated from the iron ore price,” Penney, the company’s CEO, told delegates at a mining industry panel held during the Northern Lights trade show in Ottawa.

That’s because the Mary River ore body, where a range of hills hold massive quantities of ore that are around 65 per cent pure iron, the greatest degree of purity that the laws of chemistry will allow, might be the richest iron ore deposit on the face of the earth, Penney said.

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