Europe Mining – Republic of Mining

Nornickel moves production to China to circumvent sanctions – by Thomas Nilsen (Barents Observer – April 24, 2024)

April 25, 2024

War sanctions bite hard on Russia’s Arctic mining and metallurgical giant producing nickel and copper on the Kola Peninsula and in Norilsk.

Vladimir Potanin, the main shareholder of mega-polluter Nornickel, admits in a remarkable statement with Kremlin’s information agency Interfax that Western sanctions reduces the company’s revenue by up to 20%.

To circumnavigate sanctions, Potanin says Nornickel plans to establish a joint venture with a Chinese company and move parts of the copper smelting to China. It was earlier in April that the United States and United Kingdom imposed sanctions on nonferrous metals from Russia.

Airbus granted reprieve from Canadian sanctions on Russian titanium, sources say – by Steven Chase and Robert Fife (Globe and Mail – April 25, 2024)

April 25, 2024

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ottawa has granted Airbus a waiver from sanctions targeting Russian titanium that could interfere with its business in Canada, two government sources say. Reports of the decision Wednesday prompted anger from Ukrainian Canadians and criticism from the Official Opposition.

The sanctions in question were only applied by Canada in February this year. Back then, Ottawa announced sanctions on Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, one of the world’s largest producers of titanium.

In Portugal’s Rural North, Communities Are Resisting Lithium Mining – by Marta Vidal and Diana Takacsova (New Lines Magazine – April 24, 2024)

April 24, 2024

https://newlinesmag.com/

The remarkable heritage and ecology of Barroso are at risk amid an EU push to secure minerals for a ‘green transition’

As the sun begins its gradual descent in the mountains of Barroso, in northeast Portugal, it casts golden hues upon the region’s vast pine and oak forests. The air fills with the gentle hum of bees collecting nectar from the heather that blankets the rugged landscape in swaths of vivid purple and pink.

August is the peak season for honey, when the heather is in full bloom. Carlos “Libo” Goncalves is as busy as his bees. After taking his horses up the oak-studded hills that surround the village of Covas do Barroso, he dons his protective gear and hurries to the hives he has spread across his village’s common lands.

New bans on Russian metals mean China will buy low and sell high to supply the U.S., Europe, and UK – by Ernest Hoffman (Kitco News – April 19, 2024)

April 19, 2024

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Last Friday at midnight, the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) enacted the most comprehensive limitation on Russian exports to date: a ban on all Russian metal produced after April 12. The move was made to bring the LME into compliance with the latest U.S. and U.K. sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The goal is to prevent Russia from being able to profit from the export of metal produced by companies such as Rusal (aluminum) and Nornickel (nickel) which help the country fund its ongoing military operations in Ukraine.

Gina Rinehart-Backed Lithium Hopeful Surges After Pilot Batch – by Paul-Alain Hunt (Bloomberg News – April 10, 2024)

April 11, 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.

US, EU Are Set to Miss Critical Minerals Agreement This Week – by Alberto Nardelli, Jorge Valero and Eric Martin (Bloomberg News/MSN.com – April 3, 2024)

April 4, 2024

https://www.msn.com/

(Bloomberg) — A US and European Union push to reach an accord on fostering critical mineral supply chains is set to miss another target this week, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The final draft statement for a high-level trade and technology meeting in Leuven, Belgium, on Thursday falls short of a deal, instead it says the transatlantic allies “are advancing negotiations toward a critical minerals agreement,” according to a document seen by Bloomberg. An earlier version of the statement left open the door to an “agreement in principle.”

Russia’s Nornickel: Some EU clients refuse to buy products made of Russian metal (Reuters – March 30, 2024)

April 3, 2024

https://www.reuters.com/

MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) – Russia’s Nornickel, the world’s largest palladium producer and a major producer of high-grade nickel, said on Friday that some clients in the European Union had refused to buy products made with Russian metals.

Although Nornickel itself and its metals is not a target of Western sanctions some consumers are voluntarily shunning deals for its metals and of products made from Russian raw materials, said Anton Berlin, vice president for sales.

This refurbished mine in Wales is the world’s ‘deepest’ hotel – by Vibhuti Pathak (Eastern Eye – March 22, 2024)

March 22, 2024

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The mine where the hotel is built was shut down and left empty in the 1900s.

The rugged peaks of Snowdonia National Park in Wales are a haven for hikers and nature enthusiasts. Lush valleys unfurl beneath dramatic mountains, promising breathtaking vistas and crisp mountain air. But for the truly adventurous, a different kind of escape awaits—an escape not into the wild, but deep beneath it. Nestled a staggering 1,375 feet underground, the Deep Sleep Hotel beckons slumberers with a unique proposition: the world’s deepest sleep experience.

You will forget the usual hotel lobby hustle. Here, check-in transforms into an Indiana Jones-esque prelude to your slumber. Helmets, headlamps, and sturdy boots replace room keys.

EU to Keep Tabs on Norway Deep Sea Mining Efforts, Sefcovic Says – by John Ainger (Bloomberg News – March 21, 2024)

March 22, 2024

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The European Union will monitor Norway’s progress in exploring the deep sea bed for potential mining of critical raw materials as the bloc seeks to reduce its dependence on China.

Norway is one of the first countries to formally authorize seabed mining activities in its waters after its parliament backed plans in January to prospect for minerals across 280,000 square kilometers (108,000 square miles) of its Arctic continental shelf.

Gabriel Resources investors flee after miner loses $4.4-billion arbitration claim against Romania – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 15, 2024)

March 16, 2024March 16, 2024

https://financialpost.com/

Investors shave nearly $900 million off market cap in one of swiftest, largest single-day losses for a Canadian junior miner

Yukon-based Gabriel Resources Ltd. once harboured ambitions to build one of Europe’s largest gold and silver mines in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, which has been mined by humans for at least 2,000 years. But the proposed mining area is now on the UNESCO World Heritage list and Gabriel just lost an eight-year legal battle with Romania that has left the company’s future uncertain.

Gabriel’s experience is a cautionary tale that shows how shifting attitudes around resource extraction and an evolving global financial system have changed the business of mining.

Four Questions the US Must Answer on Diamond Sanctions – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – March 10, 2024)

March 11, 2024

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A broader US ban on Russian diamonds went into effect on March 1, but uncertainty remains about key details.

Sanctions on Russian diamonds and diamond jewelry went into effect on March 1 across Group of Seven (G7) nations, expanding the ban to 1-carat and larger polished stones manufactured in a third country from Russian rough. Previously, goods “substantially transformed” (i.e., manufactured) in countries such as India were technically legal in the US. The US and other member countries have released information on how enforcement will work, but many questions remain.

US Customs and Border Protection has ordered importers to use a self-certification statement declaring that the diamonds are not Russian. This is likely a temporary measure while US authorities devise a way to enforce the rules.

Romania wins legal battle against a Canadian miner over failed plans to open a gold mine (CTV/Associated Press – March 9, 2024)

March 11, 2024

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – The Romanian government has won a yearslong legal dispute with a Canadian mining company seeking damages over failed plans to open a gold and silver mine in the Eastern European country.

Gabriel Resources was seeking US$4.4 billion (four billion euros) in damages from the Romanian state, which owned a 20 per cent stake in the mining project in Rosia Montana, a mountainous western region that contains some of Europe’s largest gold deposits. The Romanian government withdrew its support for the project in 2014.

Greenland pivots to North America on its path to independence – by Danielle Bochove and Sanne Wass (Bloomberg News – February 28, 2024)

March 4, 2024

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

There’s a reason former U.S. President Donald Trump offered to buy Greenland, and it wasn’t to save the polar bears. As the autonomous territory inches toward its goal of full independence from Denmark, it’s hoping its many resources — from minerals, to a burgeoning strategic significance — will help draw it into the sphere of less traditional partners to its west.

Its newly published blueprint for foreign, security and defence policy offers a glimpse into what that future may look like. Although Greenland brushed off the former U.S. president’s overtures back in 2019, it makes clear that it reciprocates America’s interest:

France’s $1.6 Billion Uranium Deal With Mongolia Faces Delays – by Ilya Arkhipov, Samy Adghirni and Francois de Beaupuy (Bloomberg News – February 22, 2024)

February 26, 2024

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A $1.6 billion uranium mining deal between France and Mongolia that is part of French efforts to diversify supplies to power its fleet of nuclear reactors is running into political hurdles.

A debate about protecting strategic resources in Mongolia risks delaying the finalization of the agreement until after elections in June, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. Progress has also been hampered after the Asian country’s chief negotiator stepped down, a third person said, meaning the deal had to be redrafted.

Why this miner predicts Europe will demand green nickel – by Hans van Leeuwen (Australian Financial Review – February 26, 2024)

February 26, 2024

https://www.afr.com/

London | As the nickel market maelstrom engulfs project after project, Perth-based mining CEO Todd Ross is betting his company, ASX-listed Nordic Nickel, can withstand the tempest.

The $17.5 million minnow has two tenements in Finnish Lapland, and is still in the early stages of exploration. Ross expects the market shake-out will eventually carve world demand into two tracks – a “bifurcation” between Chinese and European demand that will ultimately benefit Nordic Nickel.