The Art of Betting on Maybe, Junior Miners as an Options Trade – by Anthony Milewski (The Oregon Group – September 9, 2024)

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After kicking around the commodity sector for almost twenty years it still makes me laugh when I meet some guy running a small hedge fund (usually a fresh face kid out of New York or Connecticut) telling me he is a “value investor” looking at the mining space. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that these guys are an odds-on favorite to get smoked out!

No one really ever owns a mining stock, THEY RENT THEM

The same goes for many of the folks on forums like MINTWIT, CEO.CA and Hotcopper.com.au. These sites are littered with angry investors who lost money in part because they didn’t understand what they were buying and how they should assess risk.

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Metals security of supply depends on junior resource companies – by Rick Mills (Ahead of the Herd/Mining.com – September 19, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

A junior resource company’s place in the food chain is to acquire projects, make discoveries and hopefully advance them to the point when a larger mining company takes it over. Discoveries won’t be made if juniors don’t have boots on the ground, if they aren’t out in the bush poking around and breaking rocks.

Few exploration companies have the money or technical expertise to “go mining”. For many, the goal is to find a deposit that’s good enough to attract a major who will acquire the asset. Another pathway is for the junior to partner with a larger company. An option or joint venture (JV) agreement is a way for juniors to gain access to the financial and technical resources needed to build the mine.

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New regulations, proposed changes to Quebec’s Mining Act target exploration sector – by Susan Bell (CBC News North – September 17, 2024)

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

New rules around consultation and authorization ‘a huge win for Cree Nation,’ says grand chief

Cree officials are welcoming changes to the way mining exploration happens in Quebec. Eleven per cent of the province, much of it in northern Quebec Cree territory and Nunavik, is currently under an active claim, according to provincial officials.

According to media reports, in 2022, there were 400 mining exploration projects within Eeyou Istchee, the traditional lands of the James Bay Cree. In the past, exploration was a largely unregulated corner of the mining world in Quebec.

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Chinese investor steps in to block Paladin’s Fission buy – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – September 16, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Australia’s Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) has hit a roadblock in its proposed acquisition of Canada’s Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU) after a Chinese investor in the takeover target opposed the tie-up.

The Western Australia-based miner revealed on Monday that CGN Mining Company, a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power with a 11.26% stake in Fission, is opposing the tie-up. Paladin moved in June to buy the Canadian miner for C$1.14 billion ($845 million), contingent on at least two-thirds of Fission shareholders voting in favour of the transaction by Aug. 26.

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Mining exploration mess finally slated to be cleaned up in northern Quebec – by Susan Bell (CBC News North – September 16, 2024)

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

Abandoned exploration camp on John Rupert’s trapline one of almost 500 such sites in Cree territory

After many, many years of asking, John Rupert’s trapline is finally scheduled to be cleaned up. The Whapmagoostui elder knows it’s likely too late for him to return to hunt there, but maybe not for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“Because of my age, I might not be able to go back there,” said Rupert, 71, whose trapline, as traditional hunting grounds are called in northern Quebec, is 60 kilometres southeast of the community. It’s a place he knows so deep and so well that he and his father used to travel there in the dark, in a time before flashlights.

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Canada Nickel may net $500m Ottawa loan for giant Crawford project – by Colin McClelland (Mining.com – September 6, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Canada Nickel (TSXV: CNC) says a Canadian government agency might loan it $500 million for its Crawford project in northern Ontario, which could become the world’s largest nickel-cobalt sulphide development. Its shares rose.

Export Development Canada (EDC), which finances and offers other help to domestic companies, sent a letter of intent to Canada Nickel in late August, it said on Friday. It would be combined with $600 million in tax credits expected from Ottawa to help build the C$3.5 billion capex project near Timmins over two stages, the company said.

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Katoro Gold expands into uranium exploration through Ontario acquisition – by Darren Parker (Mining Weekly – September 9, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Aim-listed Katoro Gold has expanded into uranium exploration with the acquisition of the White Pine uranium project in Ontario, Canada. The acquisition was made through its subsidiary, Katoro Canada, which now holds a 100% interest in the project.White Pine covers an area of 8 036 ha and is located close to the Trans-Canada Highway, about 75 km southeast of the town of Dryden, in the Kenora district of north-west Ontario.

While the project is still in the early stages of exploration, public domain data has indicated the potential for significant uranium discovery at White Pine. Early results include highly anomalous uranium levels in lake sediments collected from the project area.

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Canadian miner moves to UAE as Ottawa raises bar for foreign investment – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – July 30, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

‘The equity markets in Canada are tough at the moment,’ says CEO of Falcon Energy Materials

A Canadian graphite miner has moved its headquarters outside the country to attract new investment as the federal government raises the bar for certain foreign companies to buy into Canada’s critical minerals sector.

Falcon Energy Materials PLC — formerly known as SRG Mining Inc. — completed its move to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in early July, but it will continue to be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.

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Paladin CEO bullish on clearing national security test on Fission deal, as Ottawa inquires about state-owned China shareholder – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Australia’s Paladin Energy Ltd.is confident its proposed acquisition of Canada’s Fission Uranium Corp. will clear a national security probe, as Ottawa makes enquiries about CGN Mining Co. Ltd., a China-based state-owned deal stakeholder.

Perth-based Paladin last month said it had reached a friendly agreement to buy Kelowna, B.C.-based Fission in an all-stock transaction worth $1.14-billion. Fission is developing the Patterson Lake South (PLS) uranium project in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan and hopes it will be in production by the end of the decade.

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Grassy Narrows First Nation to launch legal action against Ontario to mandate consultation on mining claims – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 11, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A Northern Ontario First Nation plans to launch a legal action against the province later this week aimed at requiring the mining industry to consult with the Indigenous people before staking claims.

Ontario’s free-entry system makes it easy for individuals and companies to file a claim online in return for a nominal fee. On Friday, Grassy Narrows will hold a press conference at Queen’s Park, announcing that it has served the province in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

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GoviEx Uranium has mining licence in Niger revoked, shares plummet – by Staff (Mining.com – July 4, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

GoviEx Uranium (TSXV: GXU) no longer has rights over the perimeter of the Madaouela mining permit following the Niger government’s decision on Thursday to withdraw its licence, dealing a big blow to the development of one of the world’s largest uranium projects.

The Vancouver-based uranium miner had feared that its licence could be revoked if mining could not start by July 3, 2024, a deadline set by Niger’s military leaders who came into power around this time last year.

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Marathon mine developer eyes 2025 construction start – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 4, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Generation Mining focusing on copper amid permitting delays, hunt to secure project financing

Generation Mining president-CEO Jamie Levy wants to assure all that the Marathon palladium-copper mine will get built. Ever since the Toronto junior miner first appeared on the north shore of Lake Superior in 2019, the company has been a press release-generating machine with its ambitious plans for an open-pit operation.

But in recent months, there’s been a lull in news flow that’s prompted a few concerned investors to ask Levy if the project is stalled.

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Friedland, McEwen back Power Nickel’s “oversubscribed” $15m funding – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – June 24, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Canadian explorer Power Nickel (TSX-V: PNPN) has closed its recent C$20 million ($15m) “oversubscribed” financing round, backed by well-known personalities including billionaire investor Robert Friedland and mining veteran Rob McEwen.

The Toronto-based junior said the funds will be use to expand exploration on its 80%-owned NISK property in Quebec, adding it hopes to take advantage of Canada’s federal tax credit for critical mineral exploration.

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Indigenous company lands Sudbury mine project contract – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 17, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Aki-eh Dibinwewziwin LP awarded advanced exploration contract for Magna Mining’s Crean Hill Project

Sudbury’s Magna Mining decided to buy local in picking an Indigenous contractor to extract a bulk sample from its emerging Crean Hill nickel and copper mine project.

Aki-eh Dibinwewziwin Limited Partnership (ADLP) has been awarded an advanced exploration contract that involves pulling a 20,000-tonne surface bulk sample that’s part of Magna’s early test mining scheduled for later this year. The sample will be trucked to Glencore’s Strathcona mill in Sudbury for processing.

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‘You’re always a drill hole away from an immense discovery’: Pirie – by Nicole Stoffman (Timmins Daily Press – June 10, 2024)

https://www.timminspress.com/

Ontario Minister of Mines excited by new prospects in the region

Timmins MPP George Pirie, Ontario’s minister of mines was engrossed in conversations with three promising junior mining operations in the Prospector’s Tent at the 2024 Canadian Mining Expo on Thursday, June 6. “That’s what excites me about the mining industry,” Pirie told the Daily Press before heading off to give the Ontario State of Mining Address. “You’re always a drill hole away from an immense discovery.”

According to the Ministry of Mines, the Timmins-Porcupine gold camp is the largest producer of gold in Ontario. Last year Ontario allocated $6 million to support junior minors (who explore mining deposits), bringing the province’s total investment in their junior mining program to $35 million since 2021.

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