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Iron Ore

Chile Rejects $2.5 Billion Mine Project on Environmental Risks in Snub to Business – by Matthew Malinowski (Bloomberg News – January 18, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Chile’s government rejected a $2.5 billion iron-ore project near a nature reserve in the north of the country on concern it would endanger local species, a victory for President Gabriel Boric’s green agenda that has business groups fuming.

A committee of government ministers on Wednesday voted unanimously against Andes Iron’s Dominga project, Environment Minister Maisa Rojas told a press conference, citing the “unique ecological value” of the area. Andes Iron, owned by the local Delano and Garces families, said it would appeal the decision in environmental tribunals.

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COMMENTARY: Hope for the Iron Range economy, but we must put the past behind us – by Aaron Brown (Minnesota Reformer – January 9, 2023)

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At the hunting shack this year, my grandfather Ward Brown, Jr., told how a high school friend saved him from getting beat up by a Chisholm gang back around 1952. Not long after, this friend lay dead in the wreck of his restored ’32 Chevy on the road between Side Lake and Hibbing.

No “Leave It To Beaver” utopia here; the 1950s were wild on northern Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, wild because it seemed like it was all coming to an end. This happened more than 70 years ago. But it’s not just grandpa’s friend who’s gone, it’s also the road where he died.

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China looks to Guinea’s vast Simandou iron ore mine to secure supply – by Jevans Nyabiage (South China Morning Post – January 8, 2023)

https://www.scmp.com

China is making a bigger bet on the huge Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, which it sees as crucial as it tries to reduce reliance on Australian ore amid geopolitical tensions.

The mine – located in the Simandou mountain range of southern Guinea’s Nzérékoré region – is said to have the world’s largest untapped iron ore reserve of high quality, with an estimated 2.4 billion tonnes. The deposits have drawn Chinese multinationals including China Baowu Steel Group, the country’s largest iron and steel producer.

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$18b cash pile lets Rinehart play both sides of energy transition – by James Thomson (Australian Financial Review – December 5, 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

The iron ore queen’s kingdom is getting broader by the day, spanning fossil fuels as well as future-facing commodities.

Buried within the bidder’s statement lodged by Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting as part of its tilt at Perth Basin gas group Warrego Energy is a remarkable indication of her financial firepower.

The deal, Hancock Prospecting says, will be funded by existing cash reserves. At June 30, cash and cash equivalents sat at a remarkable $17.755 billion – even after paying $4.6 billion of dividends from 2021-22’s $5.8 billion profit.

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Ottawa sends clear message on environment and Indigenous rights by rejecting Baffinland’s iron ore expansion plans in Arctic – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 17, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government has blocked Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s plans for a massive production increase in Nunavut, sending a strong message to the mining industry that any future large resource development in the Far North must be offset by sufficient environmental damage mitigation and proper consultation with the Inuit.

Baffinland, based in Oakville, Ont., had hoped to double its production of iron ore at its Baffin Island mine in Nunavut to 12 million tonnes a year, from six million tonnes.

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In wake of mine expansion rejection, Baffinland set to head back to communities for talks – by Amy Tucker (CBC News North – November 19, 2022)

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

‘There has to be that constant dialogue, in order to fully work together in collaboration,’ says Paul Quassa

Baffinland Iron Mines is not giving up hope that it can win over Nunavut communities, along with the hunters and trappers groups. After the company’s proposed mine expansion project was rejected by the federal minister this week, Baffinland’s Paul Quassa says the company will head to communities before Christmas for more talks.

“We’re constantly going to the communities,” said Quassa, a senior advisor with the company and an Iqaluit city councillor. He said it’s all about “having good communications” with people and the hunters and trappers in each of the communities.

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Ottawa turns down Baffinland’s iron ore expansion plans in Nunavut – by Naill McGee (Globe and Mail – November 16, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ottawa has turned down Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s application to increase its iron ore output in Nunavut, citing environmental concerns, putting an end to a multiyear conflict that sparked a national debate about responsible resource development in Canada.

Oakville, Ont.-based Baffinland had hoped to double its production of iron ore at its Baffin Island mine in Nunavut to 12 million tonnes a year, from six million tonnes.

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Baffinland gets a green light to continue mining in Nunavut, saving more than 1,000 jobs – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – October 5, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

The federal government approved Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s request for a bigger extraction limit at its mine on Baffin Island, avoiding the firing of more than 1,000 workers who had been told they would lose their jobs this month unless their employer was given permission to ramp up production.

Baffinland, owned by private equity firm Energy and Minerals Group and steel giant ArcelorMittal SA, sent the termination notices at the end of July, putting pressure on regulators to make a decision on its request to increase its extraction limit of iron ore to six million tonnes from the original allowance of 4.2 million tonnes.

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Foot-dragging on Baffinland mine approval emblematic of a government that doesn’t take Northern workers seriously – by Peter MacKay (National Post – October 4, 2022)

https://nationalpost.com/

The fact that over 1,000 families could have had their main source of income taken away is bad enough, but what makes it worse is that it didn’t seem to even register in Ottawa or the rest of Canada

Nunavut’s biggest contributor to its overall gross domestic product just narrowly missed terminating more than 1,100 of its employees due to one thing: a lack of regulatory approvals.

The company, Baffinland Iron Mines, runs an open pit mining operation on North Baffin Island in the Arctic, which provides jobs to the local Inuit and is a significant contributor to the territory’s economy.

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Baffinland jobs safe for now – by David Venn (Nunatsiaq News – September 22, 2022)

https://nunatsiaq.com/

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has pushed back the date it was to start letting go its Mary River mine employees. The move came Thursday after the Nunavut Impact Review Board issued a positive recommendation on the company’s application for a higher iron ore shipping limit.

The mining company can prevent “potential significant adverse ecosystemic and socioeconomic effects” if it improves adaptive management and monitoring programs, board chairperson Marjorie Kaviq Kaluraq wrote in a letter to federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal Thursday.

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Global collaboration essential to realise $1.4tr iron, steel decarbonisation investment – by Marleny Arnoldi (Mining Weekly – September 15, 2022)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

To meet 2050 climate goals, the global iron and steel industry will require $1.4-trillion of investment across the value chain, from mining to steelmaking, estimates research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac).

A research report, titled ‘Pedal to the metal: iron and steel’s $1.4-trillion shot at decarbonisation’, published by WoodMac states that iron and steel emit 3.4-billion tonnes of carbon a year combined, equal to 7% of global emissions. This while steel demand growth is not slowing down, and is estimated to reach 2.2-billion tonnes a year by 2050 – 15% higher than the demand for steel in 2021.

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Baffinland promotes proposed production increase at Nunavut regulator meeting – by Jane George (Eye On The Arctic/RCI.ca – August 17, 2022)

https://www.rcinet.ca/

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. says it will stop production at its Mary River iron mine, end shipping and cut jobs to about 80 on site if its request to increase its 2022 production isn’t approved by the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

About 300 Inuit are now employed at the mine, the company said. “That’s a lot of lives that will be impacted,” said Baffinland’s vice-president Megan Lord-Hoyle Tuesday at the review board’s community roundtable in Pond Inlet.

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Why Australian iron ore could save Taiwan as China ponders the economic ramifications of invasion – by Ian Verrender (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 14, 2022)

https://www.abc.net.au/

As the dark clouds of war gathered over north-east Asia in 1938, a curious battle took place at home which forever tainted the memory of Liberal Party founder Sir Robert Menzies and that could be a portend of what lies ahead.

Then-Attorney General in the Lyons government, Menzies became embroiled in a fight with waterfront unions in Port Kembla over the loading of a British steamer, the SS Dalfram, with BHP produced pig-iron bound for Japan.

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Nunavut communities weigh in on Baffinland production increase – by Paul Tukker (CBC News North – August 3, 2022)

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

Arctic Bay, Pond Inlet register support for temporary increase again this year at mine

Baffinland Iron Mines’ request to boost its production again this year at its Mary River mine is getting mixed reaction from some Nunavut communities.

The request — which, if approved, would allow the company to mine up to six million tonnes of ore from its Mary River mine in 2022 — is now before the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB). And behind the request is a threat, with Baffinland saying more than 1,000 people will be laid off starting next month if it’s not approved.

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Over a thousand workers face layoffs in Nunavut as Baffinland permit in limbo – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – August 3, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Waiting on ruling from federal government about extraction limits

More than 1,000 workers at Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. received termination notices and might be out of work by October if the Nunavut-based miner’s extraction permit isn’t renewed by the Federal government, the company said on Wednesday.

The workers received their notices on July 31, company spokesman Peter Akman said. He added that the notices would be rescinded if Baffinland receives the permit to increase its annual extraction limit of iron ore to six million tonnes from its original allowance of 4.2 million tonnes.

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