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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

Rwandan-backed rebels capture Goma in dramatic escalation of Congo war – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – January 28, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A heavily armed Rwandan-backed militia marched into the strategic city of Goma in eastern Congo on Monday, seizing control of most of the regional hub in defiance of United Nations demands for its withdrawal.

Goma, a crowded city of two million residents and several hundred thousand refugees near the Rwandan border, has been under siege by the M23 militia and its Rwandan allies for the past year. The M23 offensive, including frequent attacks on civilians, has forced more than a million people to flee from their homes across the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with many seeking shelter in Goma.

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Inside the race for Greenland’s mineral wealth – by Adrienne Murray (BBC.com – January 26, 2025)

https://www.bbc.com/

President Donald Trump has said he thinks the US will gain control of Greenland, underlining his persistent claim on the Arctic island, on one occasion pointing to “economic security” as the reason. While the autonomous Danish territory has been quick to say it isn’t for sale, its vast and mostly untapped mineral resources are in great demand.

Jagged grey peaks suddenly appear before us, as the motorboat navigates choppy coastal waters and dramatic fjords at Greenland’s southern tip.”Those very high pointy mountains, it’s basically a gold belt,” gestures Eldur Olafsson, the chief executive of mining company Amaroq Minerals.

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US versus China: the battle for rare earth dominance – by Qamar Bashir (Business Recorder – January 24, 2025)

https://www.brecorder.com/

During Scott Bessent’s confirmation hearing for US Treasury Secretary before the Senate Finance Committee, significant concerns were raised regarding China’s dominance in the rare earth elements (REEs) market.

The Committee underscored that China controls approximately 70 percent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 percent of refining capacity, a near-monopoly that grants Beijing substantial influence over these critical materials. This dominance poses severe risks to US national security, economic stability, and technological independence, given that REEs are essential for industrial, technological, and military applications.

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Wiring, energy, geopolitics drive 2025 metals: Sprott – by Staff (Northern Miner – Janaury 22, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Critical metals, uranium and gold will shine this year driven by accelerating deglobalization and energy security demands, Sprott said in a special report Monday.

Broader trade conflicts affecting allies and adversaries alike could reduce business investment and global GDP, while decoupling due to rising protectionism and trade tensions will likely accelerate in sectors that are strategic like AI, advanced technology, finance and defence, the asset management company stated.

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Trump’s EV rollback not expected to suppress appetite for critical minerals – by Melanie Burton, Ernest Scheyder, Alexander Smith, Violet Li and Stefanno Sulaiman (Reuters – January 21, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

US President Donald Trump’s rollback of electric vehicle targets may temporarily slow demand for lithium and other critical minerals, but is unlikely to hamper the mining industry amid surging global EV demand, analysts and industry leaders said.

Trump on Tuesday revoked predecessor Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 are electric. Automakers had been positioning for a jump in EV demand due largely to that Biden move.

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Natural Resources Minister pitches joint Canada-U.S. investment in Teck’s germanium operations – by Niall McGee,Brent Jang and Steven Chase (Globe and Mail – January 16, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is pitching a joint investment with the United States to bolster Teck Resources Ltd.’s production of the critical mineral germanium.

Vancouver-based Teck produces germanium at its Trail smelter in British Columbia’s Kootenay region as a byproduct of zinc mining in Alaska. Germanium is used in fibre-optic networks, infrared vision systems and solar panels.

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Trudeau, Canada’s Premiers Spar Over Using Resources as Trade Weapon – by Brian Platt and Laura Dhillon Kane (Bloomberg News/Financial Post – January 15, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers of Canada’s provinces are in high-stakes talks over how far to go in using oil and other commodities as a weapon if the US starts a regional trade war.

(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers of Canada’s provinces are in high-stakes talks over how far to go in using oil and other commodities as a weapon if the US starts a regional trade war.

Trudeau is meeting with the leaders of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories in Ottawa on Wednesday, trying to get on the same page over how to respond if US President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his vow to impose 25% tariffs on all goods the US imports from Canada.

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Why critical minerals mined in B.C. could stop being exported to the U.S. amid Trump tariffs – by Akshay Kulkarni (CBC News British Columbia – January 15, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

B.C. manufactures or has access to 16 of 50 critical minerals the U.S. considers vital for national security

Economists say B.C.’s mining industry could play a major role if proposed tariffs by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump go through, after Premier David Eby hinted that critical minerals manufactured in the province could be subject to an export ban.

Eby said Tuesday the province is working on a strategy to fight the 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods proposed by Trump. The U.S. president-elect is threatening the measure in response to what he says is Canada’s inability to tackle illegal immigration and drug smuggling across the Canada-U.S. border.

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Ontario Pitches Trump on Mining Deals With Tariffs Looming – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – January 13, 2025)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The leader of Canada’s most populous province is pitching a “renewed strategic alliance” with the US on critical minerals, as President-elect Donald Trump threatens crippling tariffs on the northern nation.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled Monday a new plank in a broader strategy he calls “Fortress Am-Can.” The plan aims to invest in and build out a critical minerals supply chain in North America. It advocates for expanding capacity to process metals and minerals mined on the continent, while accelerating federal and provincial timelines to permit and approve mining projects.

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Snow Lake Energy makes gallium discovery in Ontario – by Staff (Mining.com – January 13, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

Snow Lake Energy (NASDAQ: LITM) said on Monday it has made a new gallium discovery at the Mound Lake property in Ontario to complement its existing portfolio of lithium and uranium assets, sending its shares higher.

An analysis of sampling conducted by Free Battery Metal (CSE: FREE), its partner on the project, unveiled that 70% of samples from Mound Lake had gallium values above the average crustal abundance (19 parts per million). Twelve samples returned gallium values over 50 ppm, with the highest measuring 110.5 ppm.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario Building Fortress Am-Can by Accelerating Strategic Resource Development (January 13, 2025)

Province’s critical minerals can power prosperity and security on both sides of the border

TORONTO — Today, Premier Doug Ford outlined Ontario’s plan to accelerate strategic resource development, including Ontario’s critical minerals in the Ring of Fire region, to build Fortress Am-Can, a renewed strategic alliance between Canada and the United States that is a beacon of stability, security and long-term prosperity.

The United States and Canada are each country’s most significant trading partners, representing trillions of dollars in annual economic activity and millions of jobs on both sides of the border. Fortress Am-Can will leverage Ontario’s unique advantages to help America bring jobs back home as it decouples from China, including by establishing a new Am-Can Critical Mineral Security Alliance that invests in and builds out American and Canadian critical mineral supply chains, including by significantly expanding Am-Can processing capacity.

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Why Teck’s Trail smelter may hold leverage against Donald Trump’s tariff threat – by Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – January 12, 2025)

https://vancouversun.com/

Canada can help its case countering incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs with germanium produced by Teck in Trail.

With a population of just over 8,000, the smelting and mining city of Trail may hold some leverage in helping Ottawa counter U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threats to impose steep tariffs on Canadian imports.

Trump this week doubled-down on his expansionist rhetoric, threatening to use “economic force” to annex Canada, and suggesting his administration would use military force to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. “We don’t need anything they have,” Trump said Wednesday, referring to Canada during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

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Opinion: Instead of joining the U.S., Greenland should join Canada in an economic union – by Bart Edes (Globe and Mail – Janaury 13, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Bart Édes is a professor of practice at the Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University, and a distinguished fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. He is the author of Learning from Tomorrow: Using Strategic Foresight to Prepare for the Next Big Disruption.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is apparently in an expansionist mood. Coercing Canada to become part of the United States through “economic force” is not the only such threat he has made. Mr. Trump has also revived his idea of taking over the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland, which during his first term he had mused about buying. On Jan. 7, Donald Trump Jr. travelled to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, to bring attention to his father’s expressed wish to take over the world’s largest island.

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The Blood in Our Phones – by James North (Truth Dig.com – January 6, 2025)

https://www.truthdig.com/

A lawsuit filed by the Democratic Republic of Congo seeks to hold Apple and its suppliers to account for decades of profiting off conflict minerals.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is bringing criminal complaints in Europe against Apple, the tech giant, charging it with sourcing materials for its electronics in ways that contribute to vicious violence in the war-torn eastern DRC.

In part, the lawsuit accuses Apple of acquiring Congolese minerals that have been illegally smuggled through Rwanda, which borders DRC to the east. Apple denies the charges. So far, the mainstream U.S. media is mostly ignoring the story, continuing its decades-long indifference to what continues to be one of the greatest humanitarian disasters since World War II.

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Tiny But Vital Metal Markets Rush to Adjust to Chinese Clampdown (Bloomberg News – December 21, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Chinese curbs on exports of three niche metals to the US have already rattled the market. Now, a bigger clampdown looks set to have far-reaching ramifications for supply chains feeding American defense and chip-making industries.

Beijing this month slapped a ban on US-bound exports of gallium, germanium and antimony in a tit-for-tat move in a technology trade war. The metals are important because they have crucial uses in many Western industries from military tech to semiconductors to satellites.

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