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Latin America Mining

China’s Lithium Expansionist Interests Extend Beyond the Argentina-Bolivia-Chile Triangle – by Maria Zuppello (Dialogo Americas – August 12, 2024)

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In a recent report, China in Peru: The Hidden Costs of an Unequal Relationship, the United States Institute of Peace denounces the harm of Chinese expansion in Peru, particularly in the mining sector.

“The combination of a permissive political and legal environment in Peru, the poor social responsibility of Chinese companies and banks, and the absence of real control — in China or in Peru — of Chinese actors’ activities have devastating consequences,” writes the report’s author, Juan Pablo Cardenal, a research associate at the Argentina-based Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL), whose writings focus on content about China.

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BHP, Lundin grab Filo in $3bn South American copper deal – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 30, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Mining giant BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) and Canada’s Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) have teamed up to acquire South America-focused Filo Corp. (TSX: FIL), in a $3 billion (C$4.1bn) deal that hands them key copper assets in Chile and Argentina.

BHP and Lundin are forming a 50/50 joint venture that will have full ownership of the Filo del Sol prospect, which is located near the copper-rich Atacama Desert, straddling the border between Argentina and Chile. The partners will also own the large-scale Josemaría copper-gold-silver project, in the San Juan Province of Argentina, about 9 km east of the border with Chile.

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Women blast through gender barriers in Colombia’s emerald mines, but struggle to emerge from poverty – by Astrid Suarez (Associated Press – March 14, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

COSCUEZ, Colombia (AP) — Deep inside mountain tunnels where the heat is so intense it causes headaches, women with power tools are chipping away at boulders in search of gems. They have opened a difficult path for themselves in Colombia’s emerald industry, a sector long dominated by men.

The lack of job opportunities, combined with the hope of a find that will make them rich, has pushed the women into mining. Colombian emeralds are known around the world for their quality and the best can be sold for thousands of dollars, though most people in the industry aren’t wealthy.

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Chile copper, lithium mines rattled by 7.4-magnitude quake – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 19, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit northern Chile on Thursday night, 45 km outside San Pedro de Atacama, where the majority of the country’s vast copper and lithium mines are located.

The main quake hit at 9:50 p.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and has been followed by at least five aftershocks ranging from 4.2 to 5 magnitude. The seismic activity shook homes and led to power outages, but there have been no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

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Bolivian President Alleges Failed ‘Coup’ Attempt All About Lithium – by Alex Kimani Oil Price.com – July 7, 2024)

https://oilprice.com/

Last week, a significant political crisis unfolded in Bolivia after soldiers led by Army Commander General Juan José Zúñiga engulfed the Bolivian government palace using armored vehicles, calling to “restore democracy and free political prisoners.”

The attempted coup lasted only a few hours with leftist President Luis Arce quickly installing a new brass who called off the troops. However, the authenticity of the coup has come into question, with former president and Arce’s onetime mentor Evo Morales claiming it was staged in a bid to strengthen Arce’s position, “Lucho lied and deceived the Bolivian people and the entire world with this kind of coup or self coup,” Morales said in a speech on Sunday, referring to Arce by his nickname.

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Argentina Is About to Unleash a Wave of Lithium in a Global Glut – by Jonathan Gilbert and James Attwood (Bloomberg News – June 28, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — For all the money that’s poured into Argentina’s giant lithium deposits, the country has seen just one new mine come on stream in almost a decade. That’s about to change.

Four new projects will finally begin to churn out lithium in the weeks and months ahead, according to a yet-to-be released federal government time-line seen by Bloomberg News. That will almost double production capacity in Argentina, whose growth potential has long lured the attention of battery makers around the world.

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Get ready for more disputes about what’s ‘mine’ and theirs – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – July 1, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Eleven years ago, The Northern Miner ran a story titled “How Mexico reclaimed its mantle as a top mining nation.” The piece recounted how the nation opened up investment and in 2012, became the No. 1 jurisdiction in Latin America for spending on mineral exploration.

Last year, Mexico was the top jurisdiction in another category: the target of most new requests for arbitrations at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The 10 new claims registered against it in 2023 edged out El Salvador’s nine.

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China’s EV drive accelerates in Latin America – by Margaret Myers (East Asia Forum – June 2024)

https://eastasiaforum.org/

Margaret Myers is director of the Asia and Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

As the United States slaps tariffs on Chinese electronic vehicles (EV) and the EU increases its own protective measures, the Latin American market remains relatively open to imports of Chinese cars and investment in local EV production and critical minerals. Efforts in Washington and Brussels to level the EV playing field will likely result in trade diversion to Latin America and other regions, encouraging a process already well underway.

China has been active in expanding its capacity in overseas EV sales and manufacturing, with a growing focus on developing markets. Even amid protectionist measures in the Global North, China’s total exports of low-cost EVs jumped 102 per cent year-on-year from 2021 to 2022, with Chinese companies exporting nearly 630,000 fully electric vehicles in 2022.

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Copper Frenzy Draws Mining Giants to Argentina After Milei’s Reforms – by Jonathan Gilbert and James Attwood (Bloomberg News – May 22, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Global mining heavyweights including Lundin Mining Corp., Glencore Plc and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. are piling into Argentina as a new government intent on luring foreign investment propels the companies closer than ever to opening up vast copper deposits in the red-hued Andes.

It’s part of a colossal wave of spending needed worldwide to prevent a supply crunch for the metal, a critical component of the electrification push to slow climate change.

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Along Peru’s mining corridor, Big Copper faces a snarl of trucks – by Marco Aquino (Reuters – June 19, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LIMA, June 19 (Reuters) – Surging copper prices this year have brought startling growth in the number of trucks carrying copper from illegal mines in Peru, jamming roads, causing accidents and creating hazardous conditions especially after dark along the Andean country’s key “mining corridor” highway, industry sources told Reuters.

With copper demand soaring as the world rapidly moves toward electric vehicles and clean energy, illegal mining has been booming. Trucks linked to artisan and illegal mining operations have been crowding vehicles from mines like Chinese-controlled MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas, Hudbay’s Constancia and Glencore’s Antapaccay.

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Brazil joins race to loosen China’s grip on rare earths industry – by Melanie Burton and Fabio Teixeira (Reuters – June 17, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE/RIO DE JANEIRO, June 17 (Reuters) – Mining giant Brazil has big ambitions to build a rare earths industry as Western economies push to secure the metals needed for magnets used in green energy and defence and break China’s dominance of the supply chain.

Working to its advantage are low labour costs, clean energy, established regulations and proximity to end markets, including Latin America’s first magnet plant which would provide a ready buyer for the metals. But low rare earths prices, technical challenges and nervous lenders pose challenges to the Latin American nation’s hopes to propel itself into the world’s top five rare earths producers.

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Anglo American refuses to extend takeover talks with BHP, signalling end of mining megamerger attempt – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – May 30, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. BHP-N, the world’s biggest mining company, is seeing its megamerger proposal with Anglo American PLC fall apart, with the smaller company rejecting BHP’s call to extend the takeover talks.

Anglo’s rejection almost certainly kills BHP’s proposal to put the two companies together, which would have created the world’s biggest producer of copper, a metal considered critical to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Only a few days ago, it seemed the two sides were on the verge of an agreement.

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Anglo goes for bold breakup plan in move to fend off BHP – by Thomas Biesheuvel and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – May 14, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Anglo American Plc will exit diamond, platinum and coal mining in a massive restructuring designed to fend off a £34 billion (US$43 billion) bid from rival BHP Group and turn itself into a copper giant.

Anglo’s hand was forced by BHP’s approach — which it has twice rejected — but the move also responds to pressure from shareholders to shed less profitable businesses and focus on the copper assets that are the envy of the industry. It leaves a much simpler company — and a potentially more attractive one to suitors.

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A tropical story of diamonds and Holocaust survival in ‘Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels’ – by Larry Luxner (Times of Israel – August 14, 2017)

https://www.timesofisrael.com/

New film explores the forgotten era when the Caribbean island became a temporary gem hub after opening its doors to thousands of European Jews fleeing the Nazis

HAVANA, Cuba — On a hot and steamy Shabbat afternoon in early July, 50 or so Jews gathered in the social hall of Cuba’s largest synagogue to relive a little-known piece of their own history.

The island’s premiere screening of “Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana” didn’t disappoint. This poignant 46-minute documentary by co-directors Judy Ann Kreith and Robin Truesdale tells the obscure story of thousands of European Jews who not only escaped extermination by the Nazis during World War II, but also brought Cuba a thriving yet short-lived diamond cutting industry.

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José Raúl Mulino’s presidential win in Panama boosts First Quantum’s Cobre Panama prospects – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 7, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The election of a pro-business president in Panama is raising hopes that Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s pained prospects in the country might improve. First Quantum’s Cobre Panama mine was ordered to close late last year by outgoing president Laurentino Cortizo after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that its mining contract was unconstitutional. Mr. Cortizo’s term ends on June 30.

The winner of Sunday’s election was José Raúl Mulino. His campaign focused heavily on various initiatives aimed at boosting the economy. He became a candidate late in the campaign when former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli was barred from running after being convicted of money laundering.

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