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Tarnished nickel is determined to stay – by Jennifer Cole (Toronto Star- January 4, 2023)

https://www.thestar.com/

Despite its diminished consumer shine, the nickel is determined to stay

In 2016 the financial group Desjardins suggested the Canadian nickel should be abolished. The gradual increase in the cost of living and decreased buying power of small coins made the nickel worthless to the consumer. And yet over five years later and the five-cent coin is hanging in there. Why is perplexing?

Once upon a time, way back in the middle of the last century, the coin found prestige and use at the five-and-dime store — the equivalent of today’s Dollar Store. Household items, toys and candy were all within the price point of the nickel.

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(Part 1 of 2) Accent: Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire can save province’s auto sector – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – December 17, 2022)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

However, unjustified opposition from environmentalists, complicated First Nations politics and incompetent provincial bureaucrats stand in the way

The isolated, nickel-rich Ring of Fire, located 550 km northeast of Thunder Bay, is the centerpiece of Ontario’s Critical Mineral Strategy. Discovered in 2007, this developing mining camp is going to save southern Ontario’s auto sector.

Automobiles and associated parts are Ontario’s largest exports and second largest nationally, after the oil sector. Over the past century, hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in manufacturing activity have established the province as Canada’s economic powerhouse.

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(Part 2 of 2) Accent: Ontario has moral obligation to develop Ring of Fire – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – December 19, 2022)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

We must provide the West with sustainably sourced critical minerals to stop global warming

In 2014, after spending about $550 million to buy, further explore and develop their Ring of Fire properties, Cliffs Natural Resources left the province in disgust due to the inability of both levels of government to build a road into the camp.

They sold their project at a steep discount to Noront Exploration (now Ring of Fire Metals) for around $27 million. Have the federal and provincial ministries of environment not learned a painful lesson from that ordeal? We got a second chance when Wyloo Metals – which has enormous financial clout — bought Noront and yet I fear we are blowing it again.

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Sudbury: Going deeper will mean mining longer in Sudbury, Ont. (CBC News Sudbury – January 2, 2023)

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

The Onaping Depth project will be 2,500 metres below the existing Craig Mine

To extend its Sudbury, Ont., mining operations to 2040, Glencore plans to go very deep underground. The mining giant expects its $1.3-billion Onaping Depth project to be fully operational by 2025.

The new mine is being built around 2,500 metres below the former Craig Mine, which shut down in 2009.

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Wyloo – Ring of Fire Metals Looks to decarbonize planet with Ring of Fire critical Minerals (Mining Life – December 15, 2022)

https://mininglifeonline.net/

A new company name, a new political landscape, and a new Ontario Mines Minister have all come together as momentum continues to build swiftly around efforts to develop the multi-billion-dollar Ring of Fire region of Northern Ontario.

Stephen Flewelling, CEO of Ring of Fire Metals, recently rebranded from Noront Resources , gave an update of the projects in the Ring of Fire at the Central Canada Resource Expo conference in Thunder Bay. Flewelling talked about recent changes that are happening and what the future looks like.

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The Drift: Sudbury mining camp remains active with explorers – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – December 14, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

New sources of nickel and platinum keep the drills turning this winter

Nickel and base metals continue to drive exploration in the Sudbury mining camp with a handful of junior miners preparing for winter drill programs.

Magna Mining, the redevelopers of a decommissioned INCO property near Whitefish, reported some high-grade nickel hits this week from its first drilling program at the former Crean Hill Mine. The Sudbury junior miner acquired the shuttered underground mine last month and launched a maiden 2,000-metre program this fall.

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Sudbury can help Ottawa’s critical mineral strategy, officials say – by Mia Jensen (Sudbury Star – December 10, 2022)

https://www.thesudburystar.com

Canada is home to 31 minerals that the government considers critical, including nickel

As the federal government prioritizes critical mineral extraction, local officials are emphasizing the need to take advantage of the opportunities available in Sudbury.

“Mining has always been one of Canada’s economic cornerstones,” said Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe. “Today, this sector matters more than ever. There is a growing global appreciation that a cleaner, net-zero global economy cannot be achieved without mineral extraction, specifically, critical minerals, the building blocks for the future.”

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Vale to break out base metals business, sell stake in 2023 – by Mariana Durao and Joe Deaux (Bloomberg News – December 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

After several years of deliberations, iron ore giant Vale SA is finally laying out a path for unlocking value from its nickel and copper business as demand for the so-called battery metals picks up.

The Rio de Janeiro-based firm will separate the base metal assets from its iron ore operations and unveil a strategic partner in the first half of next year, Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Bartolomeo and Chief Financial Officer Gustavo Pimenta said in an interview. An initial public offering is off the table for now.

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Global nickel cartel off the table as Canada’s trade minister rebuffs Indonesia’s approach – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – November 28, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is keen to strengthen Canada’s relationship with Indonesia, but not so much so that it’s willing to join the nickel cartel that the emerging Asian power is trying to get off the ground.

“It’s an idea that Indonesia has proposed to us, but we are not looking at that particular model in the way that they have proposed,” Trade Minister Mary Ng said after she and three fellow cabinet ministers released the government’s first ever Indo-Pacific Strategy in Vancouver on Nov. 27.

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New fund a ‘massive signal’ Ontario’s open for business: CEO – by Maija Hoggett (Timmins Today – November 24, 2022)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

A company advancing a large nickel-cobalt project in Timmins is already planning its applications for a new provincial fund. Today, Minister of Mines and Timmins MPP George Pirie was at Northern College to launch the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund.

The two-year, $5-million initiative is “to support research, development and commercialization of technologies, processes and solutions for critical minerals,” said Pirie.

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Norway House community members voice concerns on potential northern Manitoba nickel mine – by Ethan Butterfield (CBC News Manitoba – November 22, 2022)

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

Members of Norway House Cree Nation raised concerns about information sharing, environmental impacts and community employment at a consultation for a potential nickel mine in the area.

Last Thursday, Flying Nickel Mining Corporation and the Government of Manitoba hosted a public consultation around the Minago Nickel Project — a possible development following a memorandum of understanding that was signed by the First Nation’s chief and Flying Nickel in February. The mine could be under construction starting in 2024.

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The Drift: Sudbury mine developer seeks to extract untapped critical minerals – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 23, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Magna Mining completes acquisition of former Inco mine with growth plans afoot in the Sudbury camp

Sudbury is historically known for nickel. But there remain hundreds of millions of tonnes of overlooked and valuable mineral commodities left behind by mining activity over the decades.

An upstart mining company with ambitions to be Sudbury’s next producer is seizing on an opportunity to bring a former INCO mine back into production, possibly by the end of next year.

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‘It makes no sense for Canada’: Industry rebuffs idea of joining an OPEC-like alliance for nickel – by Gabriel Friedman and Naimul Karim (Financial Post – November 21, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Canada’s nickel producers are hoping to differentiate their products as cleaner and purer

Mining industry veteran Mark Selby has for years been telling anyone who would listen that the production of nickel — a metal key to batteries and the energy transition — was getting so concentrated in just a few countries that a cartel-like organization to control supply was inevitable.

A slide in the PowerPoint deck he’s shown at investment conferences since 2019 predicted an “ONEC” — the Organization for Nickel Exporting Countries — consisting of Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia, the top three nickel producers.

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Plans for OPEC of Nickel Finds Doubters in Australia, Canada – by James Fernyhough (Bloomberg News – November 17, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — An Indonesian proposal to create an OPEC-like group of nickel suppliers has raised eyebrows among Australian miners.

Indonesian Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia floated the idea of an alliance that he said would help to unite government policies on the in-demand battery metal — and push the development of the downstream industry — at the Group of 20 Summit in Bali this week. The plan has been discussed with both Canada and Australia.

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News Release: Vale and GM Sign Long-Term Nickel Supply Agreement in Canada Critical to North American EV Supply Chain (November 17, 2022)

TORONTO and DETROIT, Nov. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Vale Canada Limited, a subsidiary of Vale S.A., and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), announced today they have signed a term sheet for the long-term supply of battery grade nickel sulfate from Vale’s proposed plant at Bécancour, Québec, Canada. This agreement secures for GM a supply of nickel sulfate from a U.S. free-trade partner to support its fast-growing EV production needs in North America.

Under terms of the agreement, Vale will supply battery grade nickel sulfate, equivalent to 25,000 metric tons per year of contained nickel, for use in GM’s Ultium battery cathodes, which will power a broad portfolio of electric vehicles including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, Blazer EV and Equinox EV, the Cadillac LYRIQ, the GMC Sierra EV, and the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and SUV. The amount of contained nickel is sufficient to supply approximately 350,000 EVs annually. Deliveries are targeted to commence in the second half of 2026.

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