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Canadian Media Resource Articles

Wildsight says Alberta should learn from B.C.’s mining mistakes – by R McCormack (East Kootenay News – May 21, 2025)

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The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) recently approved exploratory drilling for a controversial mining project in the Crowsnest Pass, and Wildsight says Alberta should have learned from B.C.’s struggles with mining pollution.

The Grassy Mountain mining project, owned by Northback Holdings, is an open-pit mine proposed to go ahead on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains at the site of a formerly abandoned coal mine. The project was originally rejected in 2021 due to widespread opposition and potential damage to agriculture, ecosystems and watersheds.

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Opinion: Canada can fast-track critical minerals and dodge US tariffs – by Phillip Mackey (Northern Miner – May 21, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

This year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention will be remembered not just for the discussions that took place in Toronto that first week of March. It also coincided with Canada’s unveiling of strong responses to United States President Donald Trump’s unfair tariffs on Canadian goods – including critical minerals.

Word at the convention was that mining and metallurgy projects in gold, base metals and rare earths are starting to attract investor attention. The 2025 convention also put Canada in the spotlight, and the federal government took the opportunity to announce that the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) would be extended for two years – great news for the mining industry.

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Mining claims in Ring of Fire up 66 per cent over past 3 years: environmental group – by Liam Casey (Canadian Press/APTN News – May 21, 2025)

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Mining claims in the Ring of Fire region are up 66 per cent over the last three years and now total an area 14 times the size of Toronto, an environmental group said Wednesday after compiling the data. There are now more than 43,000 claims in the region that is some 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., said Anna Baggio, the conservation director of Wildlands League.

“The claims are exploding, so that’s a problem,” said Baggio, who extracted the data from the Ontario Geological Survey site. “The problem is that much like the rest of Canada, this is all happening under a free entry system where anyone can register a claim as long as they have a prospector’s licence and do the Mining Act course.”

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The political climate on climate has changed – by Bjorn Lomborg (Financial Post – May 21, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

The era of being cheered for every green promise has ended. Now it’s time for business leaders to get back to business

Over the past decade, the leaders of corporate and international organizations became used to being lauded for making grand but ultimately empty green promises on stages in Davos and at climate summits. How quickly things have changed! Fear of being called out by the Trump administration is forcing many leaders to change course — at least in their rhetoric.

World Bank president Ajay Banga’s first move taking over the institution in 2023 was to extend its mission from ending poverty to dealing with climate change and making the planet “livable.” And last November, as he headed to the COP summit in Azerbaijan, Mr. Banga graced the cover of Time Magazine’s “climate issue,” warning that climate change was “intertwined” with every challenge.

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Ontario launches $3.1-billion critical minerals plan – by Abdul Matin Sarfraz (Canada’s National Observer/Penticton Herald – May 22, 2025)

https://www.pentictonherald.ca/

Ontario’s new $3.1-billion plan for a critical minerals supply chain created in partnership with First Nations is raising concerns about weakened environmental protections and inadequate Indigenous consultation.

Announced Wednesday, the provincial initiative will create a “made-in-Ontario” supply chain and boost First Nations equity, according to the government. But critics say environmental protections and First Nations consultation will be sidelined in the rush to develop the Ring of Fire — a vast region about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

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Stocks tumble as bond yields jump and worries mount about U.S. debt – by Darcy Keith (Globe and Mail – May 22, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Wall Street suffered its biggest selloff in a month on Wednesday as Treasury yields spiked on worries that government debt would swell by trillions of dollars if Congress passes U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tax-cut bill.

The slide in U.S. stocks accelerated mid way through the trading session after a US$16-billion auction of 20-year bonds attracted only soft demand from investors, in what was seen as a test of foreign appetite for U.S. debt.

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Objections to ‘special economic zones’ bill pour in ahead of committee review – by Jessica Smith Cross and Sneh Duggal (The Trillium – May 21, 2025)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

A committee studying Bill 5 has received more than 100 written submissions so far opposing it

Ford government-proposed legislation that would give cabinet ministers broad powers to exempt chosen projects from provincial and local laws has drawn concerted opposition from First Nations, environmental groups, municipalities and concerned citizens.

Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, is scheduled for public hearings at a legislative committee on Thursday and Monday. Ahead of those meetings, the interior committee has received more than 120 written submissions that overwhelmingly oppose the bill.

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Indigenous development corps. will be hit hard by N.W.T. diamond mine closures, report says – by Nadeer Hashmi (CBC News North – May 21, 2025)

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

Analysis finds diamond industry generated $104M for 3 Indigenous development corporations in 2023

With the N.W.T.’s diamond mines facing an uncertain future, some Indigenous businesses are warning of the impact the mines’ closures could have on local communities.

Diamond mining brought in over $104 million in revenue to three N.W.T. Indigenous development corporations and created 355 jobs for local Indigenous people in 2023, according to a new report analyzing the impact of the diamond mines.

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Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta won’t allow open-pit mines, pleasing environmental groups – by Stephen Tipper (Calgary Herald – May 20, 2025)

https://calgaryherald.com/

Smith also said she hopes that people would have an open mind about mining

Two Alberta environmental groups are praising Premier Danielle Smith’s comments on banning open-pit mining, just days after the provincial energy regulator approved a coal exploration program for a contentious project in the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies.

The premier said on her weekend radio program that the province has heard “loud and clear” that Albertans do not want mountaintop removal or strip mining. “They’re concerned that when you do that, it exposes the rock face to when it rains, selenium getting into the water system. So we’ve put a policy in place — you can’t do these things,” said Smith.

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Doug Ford government touts $3B for Indigenous loans a day before hearings on the controversial bill fast-tracking mining projects – by Robert Benzie (Toronto Star – May 21, 2025)

https://www.thestar.com/

With legislative hearings on Bill 5, the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act,” beginning Thursday at Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives appear mindful it is contentious.

Amid concerns from some Indigenous groups over controversial legislation to fast-track mining projects, the province has tripled to $3 billion loans for First Nations partnerships. With legislative hearings on Bill 5, the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act,” beginning Thursday at Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives appear mindful it is contentious.

Ahead of criticism anticipated from those testifying at the all-party committee studying the bill — and protests planned outside the legislature — the Tories were touting their efforts for First Nations.

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Canada in talks with U.S. about ‘Golden Dome’ defence system – by Adrian Morrow (Globe and Mail – May 21, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada is in talks with the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system even as the two countries are locked in a bruising trade war and Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising to lessen Ottawa’s dependence on Washington.

At a White House event to tout US$25-billion in prospective funding for the system, which would expand the U.S.’s defences against missile and drone attacks, Mr. Trump said that Canada had asked to join.

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Saskatchewan’s first lithium brine project receives initial approval – by Drew Postey (CTV News Regina – May 21, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

Saskatchewan has granted initial approval for the province’s first lithium brine project. The project will be run by Arizona Lithium in Saskatchewan’s southeast. Known as the Prairie Lithium Brine Project, the company says a “vast untapped lithium brine resource” is located in the Duperow Formation of Saskatchewan’s Williston Basin.

According to the company, the project will utilize conventional oil and gas drilling methods to access lithium-rich brine more than two kilometres underground.

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Opinion: The Global Hunger Games of commodities – by James Cooper (Northern Miner – May 20, 2025)

Global mining news

This article caught my attention last week: ‘Trump to approve land swap for Rio Tinto copper mine opposed by Native Americans.’

The brief: The Trump administration has said it would approve a land swap needed for Rio Tinto and BHP to build one of the world’s largest copper mines, despite concerns from Native Americans that it would destroy a site of religious value.

I get it, who wants a mine in their backyard? This was a key reason Biden stalled the development during his term in office. You can read the whole piece here.

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Alberta regulator approves controversial coal exploration applications at Grassy Mountain – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – May 16, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Alberta Energy Regulator this week approved applications for coal exploration, drilling and water diversion at a site called Grassy Mountain in the south of the province – a decision some opponents vow to fight.

Thursday’s ruling by the AER is the latest development in a long-running battle over reviving the defunct metallurgical coal mining industry in the Crowsnest Pass, which has pitted neighbours and communities against one another. While approval to reopen an old mine on the site remains a long way off, this decision brings it one step closer.

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Steven Guilbeault clings to the myth of peak oil – by Jamie Sarkonak (National Post – May 17, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

Beware net-zero activists claiming demand is about to drop

The first notable act of our newly-minted culture minister, Steven Guilbeault, was to recite to media scribes the myth of peak oil. Asked whether pipelines would continue to be a disruptor to Alberta-Ottawa relations, he replied:

“The Canadian energy regulator, as well as the International Energy Agency, are telling us that probably by 2028, 2029, demand for oil will peak globally and it will also peak in Canada.” “So… before we start talking about building an entirely new pipeline, maybe we should maximize the use of existing infrastructure.”

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