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International Media Resource Articles

Nations Rising – A story of Nisga’a strength – by A.J. Roan (North of 60 Mining News – May 2, 2025)

 

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

For Entire Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqpCmlUfwwo

New documentary tells the story of overcoming oppression to reclaim home and power, enabling future generations to thrive.

For more than a century, the Nisg̱a’a people of Northern British Columbia’s Nass Valley fought to reclaim their land, their rights, and their voice, a long journey brought to life in Nations Rising – A Nisg̱a’a Story, which weaves the tale of history, culture, resilience, and modern self-determination into a living portrait of a nation rising anew.

Long before modern boundaries were drawn, the Nass River valley of northwestern B.C. served as a gathering place for many Indigenous peoples, a basin of life where rivers, forests, and mountains sustained generations.

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The future for Alaska mining is golden – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – May 2, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Record gold prices and rising production are expected to push Alaska’s 2025 gold output value north of $3.4 billion.

With the gold shattering the $3,000-per-ounce ceiling without hesitation and Alaska mines poised to break above the 1-million-oz mark this year, the future of Alaska’s mining sector is golden. This combination of record gold prices and production positions Alaska’s mining industry to crush all previous records this year when it comes to the value of the minerals and metals produced in the state.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) calculates that Alaska’s mining operations produced $4.7 billion of non-fuel minerals – gold, zinc, silver, lead, and aggregate products – in 2024. Adding the coal produced for in-state power plants bumps this total up to roughly $4.8 billion.

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With Minerals Deal, Trump Ties Himself to Future of Ukraine – by Kim Barker (New York Times – May 1, 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/

The text of the agreement, made public by Ukraine’s government, made no mention of the security guarantees that Kyiv had long sought.

The minerals deal signed by the United States and Ukraine on Wednesday could bring untold money into a joint investment fund between the two countries that would help rebuild Ukraine whenever the war with Russia ends. But Ukraine’s untapped resources that are the subject of the deal will take years to extract and yield profits. And those could fail to deliver the kind of wealth that President Trump has long said they would.

It is not yet clear how the nine-page deal, the text of which Ukraine’s government made public on Thursday, will work in practice. Many specifics need to be worked out, but the deal will set up an investment fund, jointly managed by Kyiv and Washington.

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Brazil low-cost lithium production: A potential global reference, but internal challenges may delay progress – by Leticia Simionato (Fastmarkets.com – May 2, 2025)

https://www.fastmarkets.com/

“Brazil can be seen as a low-cost reference compared with other global spodumene producers. We compete very well with several geographies: better costs due to geological issues, cheaper labor and electricity… There’s a list of factors that makes us competitive, ” Vinicius Alvarenga, chief executive officer of Companhia Brasileira de Lítio (CBL), told Fastmarkets in an interview.

CBL currently produces 45,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate, of which 30,000 tonnes is exported – mainly to China – while 15,000 tonnes are used in the company’s own refinery, which produces around 2,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). Half of the produced LCE is exported and half is used domestically. Additionally, CBL is currently working on a project to increase mining production to 100,000 tpy of spodumene and expand its chemicals production to 6,000 tpy of LCE.

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Pentagon’s AI metals program goes private in bid to boost Western supply deals – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – May 2, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/

(Reuters) -A U.S. government-created artificial intelligence program that aims to predict the supply and price of critical minerals has been transferred to the control of a non-profit organization that is helping miners and manufacturers strike supply deals.

Launched in late 2023 by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Open Price Exploration for National Security AI metals program is an attempt to counter China’s sweeping control of the critical minerals sector, as Reuters reported last year.

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Vale’s Strategic Alternatives for Nickel Assets in 2025 – by John Zadeh (Discovery Alert – April 30, 2025)

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Market Challenges and Future Outlook

Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. faces critical decisions regarding its nickel operations amid a complex global market landscape dominated by oversupply pressures and shifting demand dynamics. The company’s strategic review of its nickel portfolio, initiated in early 2025, reflects both short-term operational challenges and long-term optimism about nickel’s role in the energy transition.

This report synthesizes Vale’s current challenges, strategic options, and the broader market forces shaping its decisions, with a focus on Indonesia’s disruptive production growth and the evolving electric vehicle (EV) sector.

What Challenges Is Vale Facing in the Nickel Market?

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The Search for Golconda – by Stellene Volandes (Town and Country – December 12, 2012)

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/

A mysterious mine somewhere in India once produced the world’s most magnificent diamonds — the stones Napoleon, English monarchs, and Mughal emperors fought to own. Now they’re causing a new uproar — and setting record prices.

For his first day at Harry Winston, in January 2010, Frédéric de Narp, the company’s contagiously enthusiastic president and CEO, had one request: He wanted to hold the Hope diamond. The 110-carat blue stone, first sold to Louis XIV in 1668, was stolen from the French court jewels during the looting of the Treasury, in 1792.

In 1812 it mysteriously reappeared, in the hands of a London diamond merchant, and in 1946, Winston himself acquired it as part of the jewelry collection of Evalyn Walsh McLean, wife of the owner of the Washington Post. (The couple had bought it in 1911 for a reported $300,000.) Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.

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New Turmoil in Regulating Deep Seabed Mining on the High Seas – by Tom LaTourrette and Douglas Ligor(Modern Diplomacy – April 27, 2025)

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The still potential-but-perhaps-soon-to-be-real world of seabed mining took an interesting turn in the past month.

The still potential-but-perhaps-soon-to-be-real world of seabed mining took an interesting turn in the past month. The announcement from The Metals Company that it “has formally initiated a process…to apply for exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits under existing U.S. legislation, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (DSHMRA)” came just prior to the White House’s issuance of a new executive order authorizing this approach.

These announcements mark major course changes. The Metals Company is essentially giving up on the existing international framework to govern and regulate seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the high seas), and the U.S., which to date has been a largely passive observer of efforts to develop seabed mining, may be about to thrust itself into the center of the action.

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Teck, tariffs, and the Red Dog zinc mine – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – April 28, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. CEO Johnathan Price says the diversified Canadian miner’s portfolio of American mining operations delivering metals critical to 21st-century energy and technologies are well-positioned to weather a geopolitical storm that threatens to hobble the global economy, fuel inflation, and disrupt supply chains.

“Despite these headwinds, we believe that the fundamentals for our key metals, copper and zinc, are robust over the medium and long term as several macro factors continue to drive demand,” he informed analysts and investors during an April 24 earnings call. “These metals are essential for global manufacturing and development, industrial policy and national security, electrification infrastructure, as well as the growth of the digital economy.”

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Why the Balochistan Mines and Minerals Act Was Enacted Swiftly and Silently – by Mariyam Suleman Anees (The Diplomat – April 28, 2025)

https://thediplomat.com/

The controversial law will undermine restive Balochistan’s rights over its mineral reserves.

In the second week of March, while the media was busy covering the deadly train hijacking in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, the provincial assembly quietly and in great haste passed an important and now controversial piece of legislation: the Balochistan Mines and Minerals Act, 2025.

With little to no discussion or opposition to the bill, it silently slipped through the Balochistan provincial assembly and became an act on March 14, receiving barely any media coverage. Only after a similar bill in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province sparked controversy did the Balochistan Mines and Minerals Act come into the limelight.

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US-Europe fault lines widen over critical raw materials at IEA energy security summit – by Julienne Raboca (Fastmarkets – April 28, 2025)

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US advocates for continued fossil fuel development

At a panel on integrating energy security within a broader security network, acting US Assistant Secretary for Energy – Tommy Joyce delivered a blunt assessment of clean energy technology vulnerabilities, directly challenging the European push for rapid decarbonization.

“For true energy security, we must leverage all resources that are affordable, that are available, and that are secure,” Joyce said. “It’s about energy addition, not subtraction. And there’s no world in which the demand for energy is going to decrease.”

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Burkina Faso to Nationalise More Industrial Mines in Strategic Shift – by John Zadeh (Discovery Alert – April 29, 2025)

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Burkina Faso’s Mining Nationalization: Strategic Resource Control in West Africa

In a major policy shift reshaping West Africa’s mining landscape, Burkina Faso has embarked on an ambitious nationalization program targeting its lucrative gold mining sector. The military-led government is systematically expanding state control over foreign-owned mines, positioning this resource nationalism as essential for economic sovereignty.

Prime Minister Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo recently confirmed in a televised address that Burkina Faso to nationalise more industrial mines following initial acquisitions from Western mining companies. “The Société de Participation Minière du Burkina has already recovered two industrial mines from private operators, and this process will continue,” he stated, signaling more takeovers on the horizon.

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Critical Minerals Are a US Headache, Not an Emergency – by Javier Blas (Bloomberg News – April 29, 2025)

https://www.advisorperspectives.com/

In the 1950s, the US was worried about the supply of mercury, because the liquid metal was key to power walkie-talkies during the Korean War. In the 1980s, analysts warned that mineral shortages to rival the OPEC oil shock could undermine the Cold War arsenal.

Today, the concern is about China cornering the market for lithium and cobalt, which are needed for high-capacity batteries. The panic over the years has inevitably influenced policy even if heeding cooler heads would offer reassurance. Which brings us to the current US administration.

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Unlocking investment in critical minerals in Kazakhstan – by Caroline Peachey (Mining Technology – April 29, 2025)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

Kazakhstan is looking to position itself as a key player in the global critical minerals supply chain, starting with battery materials.

Kazakhstan hosts substantial reserves of critical minerals including rare earth elements (REEs), copper, lithium, tungsten, tantalum as well as other materials essential for modern technologies and the energy transition.

Recognising the strategic importance of these resources, the Kazakh Government has introduced efforts to attract foreign investment and technological expertise to develop its critical minerals sector.

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Billionaire investor John Paulson sees gold near $5,000 by 2028 – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – April 29, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

Central bank gold buying and global trade tensions are likely to push bullion prices to near $5,000 an ounce by 2028, billionaire investor John Paulson said in an interview during which he reinforced his commitment to US mining projects

The price forecast is one of the most bullish yet as banks and others move to increase their own estimates after gold hit a record high just above $3,500 last week. Deutsche Bank, for one, expects bullion to hit $3,700 an ounce by next year.

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