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Canadian Media Resource Articles

Arrests in $20-million Toronto airport gold heist stem from cross-border gun running plot – by Adrian Humphreys (National Post – April 17, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

‘Project 24K’ a secret, joint investigation into the high-profile theft from Pearson airport has made arrests in the theft of gold bars and US$2 million in cash

Three Ontario men and a person from Florida have been arrested in connection to the $20-million Toronto Pearson airport gold heist after U.S. agents uncovered a cross-border gun trafficking plot linked to the heist, National Post has learned.

Police will announce details Wednesday on “Project 24K” — a secret, joint investigation into the high-profile theft of gold from Pearson airport. 24K is short for 24 carats, the measurement for nearly pure gold, which is usually the purity of high-grade gold bars, such as the ones stolen from Pearson.

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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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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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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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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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OPINION: Loan guarantees must allow for Indigenous ownership of oil and gas developments – by JP Gladu and Sharleen Gale (Globe and Mail – April 10, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Just as much-needed energy projects in the U.S. grind to a halt in years-long disputes with Indigenous peoples, Canada is finding its own more optimistic way forward.

An openness to Indigenous project ownership here is fast becoming a major international competitive advantage for Canada, as illustrated by a flood of deals happening across the country in the natural resource sector. It lowers project costs, mitigates conflict, reduces regulatory risk and creates spinoff opportunities for Indigenous nations to develop their own project-related supply chains.

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They need new homes, roads and schools. But Indigenous communities across Canada ‘can’t catch up’ thanks to staggering $349B infrastructure gap – by Robert Cribb (Toronto Star – April 10, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

In Cat Lake First Nation, there’s only ever enough money to build three new houses a year. For the community of 680 people northwest of Sioux Lookout, Ont., the level of federal infrastructure funding doesn’t come close to addressing the community’s long-standing struggles with housing disrepair, overcrowding and mould, says chief Russell Wesley.

New housing applications to Ottawa just keep piling up, Wesley says. Meanwhile, multiple families live together in some of the reserve’s already dilapidated homes. “We can’t catch up. We can never catch up.”

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Ideology masking as leadership killed the Canadian dream – by Gen. Rick Hillier (National Post – April 10, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

Enough of the gaslighting, evading, blaming and deluding. Canada needs to be made ours again

“This is not Canada,” is a phrase we hear far too often. It seems to come from every politician, from all levels. It’s exclaimed after every illegal demonstration, hate crime, blocked street, gang shooting, home invasion, car theft and emergency room horror story.

Those exclamations ring hollow as food bank lines stretch longer and as hopeless thousand-yard stares of good men and women grow more prevalent. While dreams of home ownership fade, shantytowns grow and our confidence in the future plummets. We hear the official inflation rate, but it bears little resemblance to our real-life experience. “This is not Canada” grates, harshly, especially when it comes from those who seem so out of touch with reality.

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Gold price sets record for eighth session in a row – by Staff (Mining.com – April 9, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Gold extended its hot streak on Tuesday by setting yet another all-time high, fueled by strong buying momentum and widespread geopolitical risks.

Spot gold rose a further 0.7% to $2,354.88 per ounce by 10:25 a.m. EDT, after closing 0.4% higher on Monday. Earlier, it had reached $2,364.96 per ounce for an eighth straight session of record highs. US gold futures saw a larger gain of 1.2%, trading at $2,379.70 per ounce in New York.

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BMO drops anti-coal policy amid Wall Street rebuke of ESG – by Amanda Albright (Bloomberg News – April 8, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

BMO Bank quietly dropped its policy restricting lending to the coal industry in late 2023, helping it avoid being labelled an energy “boycotter” in West Virginia. The change came to light Monday after West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore took a victory lap in an announcement of the financial firms it was adding to its boycott list, which doesn’t include BMO.

In late February, the bank received a warning that it could be put on a state list of companies that Moore’s office considers to boycott the fossil fuels industry. BMO is the U.S. subsidiary of Toronto-based Bank of Montreal.

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Sham defence review shows Canada will never meet its commitments to NATO allies – by John Ibbitson (Globe and Mail – April 9, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Liberal government’s defence policy update document, released Monday, confirms that Canada will remain NATO’s worst laggard, a national embarrassment.

The document, titled Our North, Strong and Free, calls for taking Canadian defence spending to 1.76 per cent of gross domestic product by 2029-30, well below the 2 per cent of GDP that all NATO countries, including Canada, have committed to. And that 1.76 figure is, to put it charitably, aspirational.

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Vale walks away from exploration JV with Serabi Gold – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 8, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Brazil-focused miner Serabi Gold (LON: SRB) (TSX: SBI) said on Monday that Vale (NYSE: VALE) has decided to withdraw from a copper exploration alliance formed in May 2023.

The company, which also outlined progress in exploration at its Palito Complex in the country’s north, noted that it remains optimistic as there already are “a number of other groups keen to partner” with them. No names were provided in the statement.

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