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Nickel

‘At Sudbury, we are nowhere near having found it all’ – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – March 18, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Magna Mining’s critical mineral transformation in the Sudbury Basin to create new wealth, jobs

From American President Donald Trump’s desire to take over Greenland and perhaps Canada, and his recent confrontation with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as Premier Doug Ford’s determination to get Ring of Fire infrastructure built, the general public is now acutely aware of the strategic and geopolitical importance of critical minerals.

And yet, Canada’s largest critical mineral mining camp – the legendary Sudbury Basin, which has been in operation for slightly over 140 years and controlled by two of the world’s largest miners, Brazilian-based Vale and Swiss-owned Glencore – seems to have been largely ignored by the mainstream media.

Since both Vale and Glencore have historically controlled much of the land package in the region, few juniors have thrived.

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Build nickel sulfate processing capacity in Sudbury, mayor says – by Paul Lefebvre (Sudbury Star – March 18, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury and Canada’s supply of critical minerals could be our trump card in trade war with the Americans, Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre says

Sir Winston Churchill purportedly once quipped that one never wants to see “a good crisis go to waste.” Fortunately then for Ontario and Canada, we’ve got a whopper. Under President Trump, the United States is upending decades of partnership with Canada and many other allied nations.

American support for Ukraine is now apparently subject to the fledgling democracy providing $500 billion worth of rare earth as a “back payment” for U.S. military support.

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Eye on ‘net zero’, India makes big push to secure critical minerals – by Bhasker Tripathi (Reuters/Scroll India – March 17, 2025)

https://scroll.in/

The country fully imports several critical minerals used in green technologies including lithium, cobalt and nickel.

As the world rushes to secure minerals critical for rapidly-expanding clean energy technologies, India is joining the fray to try to meet its ambitious green energy goals.

India said in January the government and state mining companies would spend 343 billion Indian rupee ($3.94 billion) to boost local production, recycling and imports of critical minerals in a bid to secure enough for its energy transition, in an initiative coined the “National Critical Mineral Mission”.

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Spotlight: Brazil’s US$4bn nickel potential (bnamericas.com – March 12, 2025)

https://www.bnamericas.com/en/

Brazil has huge potential to develop nickel projects and benefit from the energy transition, but it also must solve significant problems. National nickel reserves are estimated at 16Mt, putting Brazil in third place globally, after Indonesia (55Mt) and Australia (24Mt).

Output, however, is still modest, totaling 89,000t in 2023, for a global market share of 2.47%, which makes Brazil the ninth producer, according to US Geological Survey data. But Brazil is the only Latin American country which is a top 10 global nickel player.

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Sudbury’s mining companies have to plan carefully: Mark Cutifani – by Hugh Kruzel (Sudbury Star – March 11, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Vale Base Metals chairman speaks to the Goodman School of Mining about sustainability and caring during difficult times for nickel miners

Lower nickel prices and ore that is harder to get at mean mine companies operating in Sudbury will have to be smarter and more innovative as they plan for the future, the chairman of Vale Base Metals says.

Mark Cutifani made the observations during a talk last week at the Goodman School of Mines Lecture in the Cliff Fielding Innovation Space in Sudbury. “It is a tough time for nickel,” Cutifani told the audience. Because of Indonesian nickel, he said the industry will not see a significant increase in nickel prices before 2030.

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Vale Base Metals chair hopes ‘cool heads will prevail’ in U.S.-Canada trade dispute – – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – March 10, 2025)

https://www.sudbury.com/

International nickel miner has contingency plans in place should U.S. nickel exports be halted.

It’s still too early in the U.S.-Canada trade dispute to determine what impact tariffs will have on Vale Base Metals’ U.S.-bound nickel shipments, given the rapidly changing situation, according to company chair Mark Cutifani. Cutifani’s hope is that federal and provincial parties can return to discussions to agree on a long-term solution.

“We hope that, from a political point of view, the U.S., Canada, Ontario can all come together and sort out what should occur and, at least once the rhetoric sort of settles down a little bit, we hope that cool heads will prevail and we’ll find solutions that work,” Cutifani told Northern Ontario Business in an interview.

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Update on top critical mining projects in Ontario – by Diane L.M. Cook (Canadian Mining Journal – March 5, 2025)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The surging demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is breathing new life into Ontario’s mining industry. Several critical strategic mineral mines will produce the minerals required to manufacture EV batteries and renewable energy storage for the North American market. The following are the top critical strategic minerals’ (CSM) mining projects in the development phase:

Canada Nickel: Crawford nickel sulphide project

Canada Nickel is a Toronto-based company that is advancing the next generation of net-zero carbon nickel-cobalt projects with plans to supply the critical mineral to Canada’s EV battery industry. The company’s Crawford nickel sulphide project is the second largest nickel resource and reserve globally, with 3.8 million tonnes of proven and probable nickel contained.

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Doug Ford threatens to stop nickel shipments to U.S. on eve of trade war – by Chris Fox (CTV News Toronto – March 03, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

Premier Doug Ford is threatening to stop the supply of nickel and electricity to the United States in response to 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods that are set to take effect tomorrow.

Ford made the comment during an interview with NBC News NOW on Monday afternoon. The interview came after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed during a news conference that the tariffs would take effect on March 4.

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‘Serious lack of details’ in [Canada Nickel] nickel mine proposal concerns group – by Andrew Autio (Timmins Daily Press – February 17, 2025)

https://www.timminspress.com/

Carbon capture process ‘encourages dangerous emissions,’ says Ontario Rivers Alliance

The Ontario Rivers Alliance has submitted its concerns regarding Canada Nickel Company’s Crawford Project to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC).

The proposed Crawford Project, located 43 kilometres north of Timmins, would see an open-pit nickel cobalt mine, as well as an on-site processing mill. The mine would be capable of producing up to 275,000 tonnes of ore per day, and the project is expected to last approximately 43 years.

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Proposed bill would bar state permitting of copper-nickel mines near Boundary Waters – by Jimmy Lovrien (Duluth News Tribune – February 13, 2025)

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Past federal protections against mining in the BWCAW watershed face challenges.

ST. PAUL — Minnesota legislators have introduced a bill to bar copper-nickel mines from developing within the same watershed as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The bill seeks to ban mining on state-owned land within the Rainy River Watershed and bar the state from permitting any mining or mineral exploration in that watershed.

Mining is banned in the BWCAW, but environmentalists fear, and a federal government study released under President Joe Biden said, that tainted runoff from mining activities outside the wilderness’ boundaries but within the same watershed could harm the downstream wilderness area.

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Nickel Industries CEO Justin Werner warns of ‘challenging’ future for Australian mining – by Duncan Evans (News.com.au – February 9, 2025)

https://www.news.com.au/

The man behind a booming mining company in Indonesia has issued a stark warning about 10,000 Aussie jobs.

The shock collapse of Australia’s nickel mining sector has threatened 10,000 high-paying jobs as a leading ASX-listed nickel miner warns bluntly those jobs are probably never coming back. That’s the view of Nickel Industries managing director Justin Werner, who leads the rising $3.3bn company with vast mining and refining operations in Indonesia.

“It is certainly challenging (for Australia) in the foreseeable future,” he told NewsWire from his home in Bali in a wide-ranging interview this week. “Even if the nickel price goes up, it’s about having a sustained nickel price above $20,000 (per tonne).

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U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber reintroduces bill that would open copper nickel mining near Boundary Waters – by Sydney Kashiwagi and Chloe Johnson (Minnesota Star Tribune – February 6, 2025)

https://www.startribune.com/

Sen. Tina Smith plans to oppose the legislation if it reaches the Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican control in Washington could open the way for copper nickel mining efforts near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. GOP Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents northeastern Minnesota, has again introduced a bill that would reinstate mineral leases in the Superior National Forest.

With Republicans controlling the House and Senate, and President Donald Trump’s push to prioritize domestic mining, he likes his chances. Stauber said that “without question,” the president will sign it into law if it reaches his desk.

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Uncertainty and hope in Thompson as mine owner considers sale – by Sanuda Ranawake (CBC News Manitoba – February 01, 2025)

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

Vale says it has launched ‘strategic review’ of northern Manitoba operation, including potential sale

Ken Michaluk has lived in Thompson for decades. He worked at the mining operation in the northern Manitoba city, seeing it exchange hands several times, and undergo expansions and cuts. Now retired, he said things can’t get much worse for the operation, as Vale SA, a Brazilian company and the nickel operation’s owner, is considering a potential sale.

“Business is business,” said Michaluk. “They’ve laid off … pretty much all they can lay off. I don’t think that’s an issue. I don’t think they’re going to just shut it down. And it wouldn’t make much sense in that, that’s for sure.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Vale Base Metals launches strategic review for Thompson mine as part of global optimization (January 23, 2025)

TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Vale Base Metals has launched a strategic review to explore and evaluate a range of alternatives, including the potential sale, for its mining and exploration assets in Thompson, Manitoba, the Canadian-based subsidiary of Vale SA (NYSE: Vale) announced today.

The Thompson review is part of a process to optimize Vale Base Metals’ global mining portfolio to enable copper growth in the Carajas region and ensure the competitiveness of its vertically integrated nickel portfolio to create long-term value for its shareholders and stakeholders. Vale Base Metals has engaged an external advisor to lead the Thompson review, which is expected to conclude in 2H 2025.

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Vale Base Metals considering selling its mining and exploration assets in Thompson, Manitoba – by John Barker (Soundings – January 23, 2025)

https://soundingsjohnbarker.wordpress.com/

Vale Base Metals said Jan. 23 it is considering selling its mining and exploration assets in Thompson, Manitoba. Vale Base Metals is the Canadian Toronto-based subsidiary of Vale SA. Vale Base Metals has launched a strategic review of its options for its Thompson assets, include two mines and an adjacent mill along with other exploration opportunities, Vale said.

The strategic review is expected to be completed later this year, the company said. The strategic review is part of a process to optimize Vale’s global portfolio to enable copper growth in the Carajas region in Brazil. Vale Base Metals has engaged an external advisor to lead the Thompson strategic review.

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