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Canadian Media Resource Articles

Cameco CEO meets with U.S. lawmakers as world events impact uranium industry – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – May 15, 2024)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Tim Gitzel in Washington ahead of a ban on Russian uranium coming into force

Tim Gitzel has been spending a lot of time in the United States lately. The chief executive of Saskatoon-based Cameco was recently in Washington, D.C., where he met with lawmakers to talk about a number of issues.

Among the topics of discussion for Gitzel and his delegation was a recently passed piece of legislation banning Russian uranium imports. The bill has passed both houses of Congress and is waiting to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.

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New Canadian submarines are ‘inevitable,’ says Blair. Acquiring them will be anything but – by John Ivison (National Post – May 15, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

The question remains whether the prime minister and the cabinet are serious about defence and meeting their spending targets

Bill Blair, the federal defence minister, made a rare admission of Liberal fallibility in Washington on Monday when he said he regrets using the word “explore” when talking about renewing Canada’s submarine fleet. ttawa’s recent defence policy update said the government will “explore options for renewing and expanding the submarine fleet,” a form of words that was criticized for lacking urgency.

“It’s certainly not my intention to be wishy-washy. What I’ve tried to articulate very, very clearly and strongly in the document is, we know we have to replace our submarine fleet, and we’re going to do that,” Blair said.

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Canada ramps up diplomacy to prepare for possible Trump presidency – by Adrian Morrow (Globe and Mail – May 15, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Canadian government is making a full-court press to prepare for a potential second Donald Trump presidency, aiming to avoid a repeat of 2016 when his victory caught Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet by surprise.

Much of the Team Canada push is public facing. Led by Ambassador Kirsten Hillman and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, it has entailed cabinet ministers, provincial premiers and Canadian business leaders fanning out across the U.S. to build relationships with American counterparts.

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Anglo American to sell De Beers, Amplats to fend off BHP’s bid – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Northern Miner – May 14, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Anglo American (LON: AAL), the takeover target of mining giant BHP (ASX: BHP), has ceded to pressure from investors announcing plans to sell some of its legacy assets in an attempt to protect itself from current and future bids.

The sweeping break up plan, disclosed on Tuesday, will see Anglo American sell its diamond business De Beers, its South Africa-based Anglo American Platinum — Amplats — (JSE: AMS) and its steelmaking coal assets.

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DeepDive: Canada’s natural resources are a long-neglected ‘golden goose.’ It’s time to change that -by Andrew Evans (The Hub – May 13, 2024)

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Making proper use of our abundant natural resources is key to turning the economy around

It’s increasingly recognized in policy and political circles that one of the biggest challenges facing the country is economic stagnation and declining living standards. This has led policy scholars to try to understand the causes and sources of Canada’s economic malaise.

New research by Macdonald-Laurier Institute fellow Heather Exner-Pirot points to challenges in Canada’s natural resource sector as a “smoking gun.” Her basic insight is that a combination of economic forces and policy-induced harms have undermined what her colleagues Philip Cross and Jack Mintz have characterized as the country’s “golden goose” and that this has significant explanatory power for the overall decline in business investment, productivity, and economic activity.

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Canada’s next EV supply chain plant landing in Port Colborne, Ont. – by Janyce McGregor (CBC News Politics – May 13, 2024)

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

Joint venture between Asahi Kasei Corp., Honda Canada will build Canada’s 1st lithium ion separator plant

The next community set for a massive boost to its local economy as part of Honda Canada’s $15-billion investment to establish a Canadian electric vehicle supply chain will be Port Colborne, Ont.

Company executives are expected to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, as well as federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Ontario’s economic development minister, Vic Fedeli, and municipal leaders at an official announcement on Tuesday.

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Anglo goes for bold breakup plan in move to fend off BHP – by Thomas Biesheuvel and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – May 14, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Anglo American Plc will exit diamond, platinum and coal mining in a massive restructuring designed to fend off a £34 billion (US$43 billion) bid from rival BHP Group and turn itself into a copper giant.

Anglo’s hand was forced by BHP’s approach — which it has twice rejected — but the move also responds to pressure from shareholders to shed less profitable businesses and focus on the copper assets that are the envy of the industry. It leaves a much simpler company — and a potentially more attractive one to suitors.

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Western gold investors watching the Fed while Chinese demand dominates the market – Natixis’ Dahdah – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – May 4, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – The gold market has been holding significant gains since the start of the year, but the momentum behind the bullish drive has dried up as investors once again focus on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

The gold market has been consolidating around $2,350 an ounce for the last three weeks as the Federal Reserve signals a reluctance to start a new easing cycle with inflation stubbornly elevated. However, one bank analyst said that U.S. monetary policy is becoming a secondary factor as Asian markets evolve from price-taking to price-setting.

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Anglo American rejects BHP’s new takeover offer, potentially ending one of industry’s biggest merger efforts – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – May 14, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group’s effort to become the world’s biggest copper miner ran into another roadblock after smaller rival Anglo American rejected BHP’s second takeover proposal. BHP on Monday said its new proposal represented a 15-per-cent increase to the opening share exchange offer. If the improved offer had been accepted, Anglo shareholders’ ownership of the enlarged group would have gone to 16.6 per cent from 14.8 per cent.

“BHP put forward a revised proposal to the Anglo American board that we strongly believe would be a win-win for BHP and Anglo American shareholders,” Mike Henry, the Canadian chief executive officer of BHP, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that second proposal has been rejected.”

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Miners seek exemption from Canadian tax hike to save equity deals – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – May 10, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Canada’s mining industry is pushing for an carveout to the federal government’s proposed increase to capital gains taxes, warning the hike will make it harder for junior miners to raise money to find new mineral deposits.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s new budget includes a measure to raise the capital gains tax inclusion rate to two-thirds from one-half. It applies to all gains made by corporations and trusts, and to individual taxpayers on gains over $250,000 in a year.

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Canada home to 5 of the world’s 10 most attractive mining jurisdictions – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – May 14, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

But it has plenty of room to improve in terms of regulatory policies, survey says

Canada is home to five of the top 10 most attractive mining jurisdictions in the world, but it has plenty of room to improve in terms of regulatory policies, according to a new survey conducted by the Fraser Institute. Utah and Nevada topped the latest ranking, with Saskatchewan, Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario all in the top 10. Saskatchewan was No. 3 for the second year in a row.

The analysis uses a combination of a region’s mineral potential and the policies it has in place to attract miners and is based on a total of 293 responses and 86 jurisdictions.

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CRMA: Rare earth elements a potential blindspot for EU policymakers and industry – report – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – May 13, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

When the European Union passed the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) into law it was a landmark accomplishment that will strengthen critical raw materials supply chains – but not without some foreseeable challenges, according to a new report published by Adamas Intelligence.

While the EU published its first list of Critical Raw Materials in 2011 (there were originally 14 inclusions), it took over a decade to conceive, rally political support for, and ultimately announce the CRMA in September 2022, Adamas notes.

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Junior Canadian miner Red Pine accuses former CEO of tampering with gold assay data – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 11, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Junior mining company Red Pine Exploration Inc. has accused its former chief executive of manipulating data on hundreds of its gold assays over the past decade, and says some of its resource estimates for its Ontario gold project are no longer valid.

The Toronto-based company first raised questions about its assays on May 1, saying it found inconsistencies in some of its drilling results pertaining to its Wawa gold project, and it was looking to work with an independent firm to determine the scope of the problem. On Friday, Red Pine said the inconsistencies stemmed from the “unauthorized manipulation of certain assay results” by the company’s former CEO.

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How Western Sanctions Are Strangling Putin’s Arctic Gas Ambitions – by Stephen Stapczynski (Bloomberg News – May 4, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s fortress economy has proved remarkably resilient to an onslaught of Western sanctions. Two years after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, it continues to fund a costly war and to prop up President Vladimir Putin. But there’s at least one spot where the pain is very real.

The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 facility, on the icy Kara Sea, is a key part of Moscow’s plans to boost exports and replenish coffers. For months now, it has been ready to ship liquefied natural gas to new markets, alternatives to the once-lucrative European pipeline trade.

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Botswana Vows to Protect Interests in Potential BHP-Anglo Deal – by Mbongeni Mguni (Bloomberg News – May 9, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi vowed to protect the country’s interests, including its 15% stake in diamond giant De Beers, should BHP Group Ltd. acquire Anglo American Plc.

Anglo, which rejected a BHP proposal valuing the mining company at about $39 billion, owns the other 85% of De Beers. Under the proposed deal, BHP — once a major diamond producer itself — said that De Beers would be put on a strategic review. Anglo, the only major miner with a big diamond business, has already been reviewing the future of units including De Beers.

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