Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 33

A “Minerals Club” Could Help Untie Us From Authoritarian Regimes, But Leaders Must Resist Nationalistic Impulses – by Christine McDaniel (Forbes Magazine – March 11, 2023)

March 13, 2023

https://www.forbes.com/

US President Joe Biden and European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen on Friday vowed “cooperation on diversifying critical mineral and battery supply chains.” Dialing down trade tensions with our allies is a welcome development. There has even been talk of a “Critical Minerals Club,” which could be a first step toward an efficient market for these sought-after minerals, while unwinding dependencies on authoritarian regimes.

Transitioning from hydrocarbons toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as lithium-ion batteries to run electric vehicles, is going to take a lot of critical minerals that we don’t have.

Why critical minerals are such a big deal for Canada’s economy – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – March 10, 2023)

March 13, 2023

https://biv.com/

There is still a role for Western Canada to supply Asia with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and longer-term opportunities for Canadian producers to supply Europe with hydrogen. But it’s critical minerals where Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson thinks Canada’s biggest opportunities lie in a world transitioning to cleaner energy sources.

“This really, if we get this right, is kind of a generational economic opportunity for this country,” Wilkinson said. “Not just extracting minerals, but processing and refining them here. Building the batteries, building the electric vehicles and other products. This is an opportunity for Canada to really have a very strong core of its industrial base underpinned by the work we’re doing in critical minerals.”

OPINION: The violence consuming eastern Congo shows the bloody cost of energy transition – by Blaise Ndala (Globe and Mail – March 11, 2023)

March 13, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Blaise Ndala is the author of the new novel, In the Belly of the Congo. This essay was translated from the French by Pablo Strauss.

One day in August, 1908, not long before the colony known as the “Congo Free State” was ceded to Belgium, a young aide-de-camp of King Leopold II named Gustave Stinglhamber made his way toward the wing in the Palace of Laeken where a friend of his worked.

Nearly a quarter-century earlier, the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 had granted the Belgian monarch control, in a personal capacity, of a newly formed colony 80 times the size of Belgium. As the two friends approached a window, Stinglhamber sat down on a radiator – only to leap back up. It was boiling hot. A custodian was summoned to explain.

PDAC reinforces importance of critical minerals – by Kelsey Rolfe (Canadian Mining Journal – March 9, 2023)

March 10, 2023

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

The increasing demand for critical minerals such as copper, zinc and cobalt factored prominently during the first day of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s 2023 conference in Toronto. But a new report, released in time for the convention, forecast that junior and intermediate miners will face exploration budget challenges in 2023 that could slow the project pipeline for those metals.

During the conference’s commodities session on March 5, Randy Smallwood, chief executive officer of Wheaton Precious Metals, highlighted the drivers behind five commodities and potential headwinds facing each metal.

LEAK: EU Commission wants 10% of critical raw materials mined in Europe – by Oliver Noyan (EURACTIV.com – March 7, 2023)

March 10, 2023

https://www.euractiv.com/

To boost EU autonomy, the European Commission is seeking to introduce targets of 10%-40% of the mining, recycling, and processing of critical raw materials used in the bloc to be done in the EU by 2030.

A draft version of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, seen by EURACTIV and set to be presented by the European Commission next Tuesday (14 March), will introduce targets for Europe’s self-sufficiency along the entire value chain.

Ottawa considering equity stakes, advancing loans to critical minerals companies – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 10, 2023)

March 10, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government is considering taking equity stakes and advancing loans to Canadian critical minerals companies, as it mulls following Quebec’s lead in moving to a much more active role in Canada’s industrial policy.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in an interview earlier this week at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) mining conference in Toronto that the equity stakes could come through the soon-to-be-launched Canada Growth Fund, and loans could be arranged through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

U of T partners with Vale Energy Transition Metals to accelerate sustainable mining solution – by Tyler Irving (University of Toronto Engineering News – March 8, 2023)

March 9, 2023

UofT Engineering News Home

A new partnership between the University of Toronto and Vale Energy Transition Metals will strengthen Canada’s position in the critical minerals sector by developing sustainable mining solutions, as well as fostering Canadian skills and talent.

The framework agreement was signed March 7, 2023, at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2023 Convention, held in Toronto. The partnership launches with an initial $1.6 million investment over the next three years and will include several multidisciplinary projects led by experts from both institutions.

Who wants to hear about White Saviourism gone wrong? – by Ben Radley (African Arguments.org – March 8, 2023)

March 9, 2023

https://africanarguments.org/

A new book on the Congo recycles stereotypes of Africa as a wasteland in need of saving in all its promo. It’s been rapturously received in the West.

Last month, award-winning author and academic Siddharth Kara published Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers our Lives. The book draws attention to labour conditions and living standards in areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that mine cobalt, a metal that will be critical in the hoped-for global energy transition.

Across 250 pages, it argues that by consuming products that contain Congolese cobalt, Western consumers are complicit in a human rights and environmental catastrophe.

‘We can catch up’: At PDAC, new optimism critical minerals gap with China can be closed – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 8, 2023)

March 8, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Some experts say Canada and other western nations moving in the right direction on critical minerals

Like clockwork every year, mining executives, bankers, investors and politicians gather in Toronto at the largest mining conference in the world, and bemoan China’s head start in the race to build a critical mineral supply chain years before western countries caught on.

As the Prosperctors & Developers Association of Canada’s conference this week that sentiment remains with one key difference: new-found optimisim.

Clean and green mining in Sudbury takes a step forward – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – March 7, 2023)

March 8, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Vale and Queen’s Park offer up $1.6 million to tackle mining waste and advance bio-mining innovation

A new and environmentally benign form of Sudbury’s mining industry just took a great leap forward with a more than $1.6 million contribution from international nickel miner Vale and the Ontario government.

Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation, and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) at Laurentian University and its research leader Dr. Nadia Mykytczuk are the recipients of this largess that will be earmarked for the organization’s bio-mining and remediation efforts in tackling mine waste.

Ottawa mulls ramping up critical minerals funding to ensure ‘level playing field’ with big-spending Biden administration – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 8, 2023)

March 8, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ottawa is considering a major new round of spending on critical minerals that could help Canada become more competitive with the United States, and boost the fortunes of junior miners struggling to raise funds after the federal crackdown on Chinese investment.

As part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s US$440-billion Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, the U.S. Department of Energy last year earmarked US$40-billion in loan guarantees for North American critical minerals companies, with some Canadian miners among the expected recipients.

Northern Ontario’s critical minerals all the buzz at PDAC conference (CBC News Sudbury – March 6, 2023)

March 8, 2023

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

Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference is one of the largest mineral exploration events

Jeff Laferriere, mayor of Temiskaming Shores, says he’s been “overwhelmed” by his first Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference.

But it’s not just about the number of participants, Laferriere said. There’s a palpable buzz in the convention centre where industry players — PDAC estimates 30,000 people — are gathering in Toronto to discuss the mining industry, tour the latest wares and test out new tech. “It’s shocking to see the innovation that’s happening right in our backyard,” Laferriere said.

Champagne rebuffs criticism his anti-China stance will hurt miners, calling himself a ‘hawk’ on security – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – March 6, 2023)

March 8, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Some miners are worried Ottawa’s newfound emphasis on security could put a chill on investment

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that his sudden decision to block Chinese investments in three Canadian lithium companies last year was “well-received” by Canada’s partners and allies, as he tried to allay concerns by some miners that the move has had the unintended consequence of making the country a less desirable place to invest.

However, Champagne defended his decision, saying there is “more intersection today than ever before between national security and economic prosperity,” and that most of the world realizes that.

North America’s bid to onshore rare earth supply – by Luisa Moreno (PV Magazine – March 7, 2023)

March 8, 2023

Home

Dr Luisa Moreno is president of Vancouver-based rare earth miner Defense Metals Corp.

With the electric vehicle market expected to drive demand for 200,000 tons of rare earth elements in North America through 2030, work is being put in by industry and policy makers to restore the region’s rare earth element supply chain.

Efforts are being made in Canada and the US to shift dependency away from Chinese rare earth element reserves. There are many reasons why North America is looking to onshore its processes, one of the biggest being concern around potential supply chain choke points in the event China decides to cut off rare earth element supply due to geopolitical wrangles.

Politics Meets the Minerals Rush at the World’s Biggest Mining Convention – by Charlie Angus (Policy Magazine – March 6, 2023)

March 6, 2023

January-February 2024

Investors from all over the world are in Toronto this week for the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Conference (PDAC) convention. It is the biggest mining expo in the world. This year’s conference is taking place amid a global rush to secure critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and key base metals such as copper and nickel.

The climate crisis has arrived and our hope for survival is dependent on a dramatic transformation in energy sources. This is why critical minerals are key. They are essential for the development of battery and renewable technology.