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Nickel

Australian mining investor takes controlling position in Ring of Fire mine developer – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 8, 2020)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Western Australia’s intense interest in the exploration and mining potential of northwestern Ontario has now stretched north into the Ring of Fire.

Noront Resources, the leading mine developer in the James Bay region, landed a new “cornerstone” strategic partner in Wyloo Metals Pty., the mining division of Tattarang, one of Australia’s largest private investment groups.

They take over from Resources Capital Fund (RCF) as Noront’s biggest shareholder at nearly 38 per cent. Wyloo invests in operating mines and exploration projects in mostly nickel, copper, platinum group metals and potash in Western Australia.

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Cashed-up Forrest swoops on Canadian nickel project – by Brad Thompson (Austrailan Financial Review – December 7, 2020)

https://www.afr.com/

Andrew Forrest is putting his financial might behind the company that controls Canada’s highest-grade nickel discovery since Vale-owned Voisey’s Bay, as he grows his mining footprint beyond iron ore.

Wyloo Metals, owned by Forrest’s private investment arm Tattarang, is set to emerge with a near 38 per cent stake in Noront Resources under the terms of a $US26.5 million ($35.7 million) deal.

Mr Forrest has been building a portfolio of nickel investments in Australia, where his private business arm is a major backer of ASX-listed Poseidon Nickel, and has a 15 per cent stake in Mincor Resources and a smaller stake in Panoramic Resources.

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A low-carbon future means a big demand for key minerals. Can N.L.’s mines cash in? – by Lindsay Bird (CBC News Newfoundland & Labrador – December 6, 2020)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

As automakers unveil electric vehicle after electric vehicle, and innovation surges around solar panels and other renewable energies, an industry with a long history in Newfoundland and Labrador hopes to position itself to supply more of the materials needed for the green transition.

“It’s a very opportune time for the province. Mining is essential for a low-carbon future,” said Ed Moriarity, the executive director of Mining Industry NL, the province’s industry association.

Not every ore is created equal in the eyes of innovators, as demand focuses on extracting what are sometimes termed “critical minerals,” sometimes labelled “strategic” ones.

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Not enough class 1 nickel in the pipeline – Sherritt CEO – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – December 3, 2020)

https://www.mining.com/

With the spotlight shining on nickel, Canadian miner Sherritt International’s (TSX:S) CEO David Pathe sees brighter days ahead.

Sherritt, which has significant assets in Cuba, has weathered storms ever since Pathe’s predecessor gambled on partnering with Havana’s communist government in the 1990s, and the miner was pushed to the brink during president Trump’s tenure, when early last year, the White House began ramping up sanctions on Cuba.

Nickel has been a tough business since the financial crisis, and Sherritt’s market value sunk to a record low C$29.8 million ($22.8 million) in March from its 2008 peak of C$4.8 billion, trading at a low of eight Canadian cents.

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Environmentalists in Ontario’s Ring of Fire: Inconvenient Truths – by Stan Sudol (December 1, 2020)

A recent commentary linking Neskantga’s water crisis to the proposed Ring of Fire mining development in Northwestern Ontario’s Far North made little sense except to further delay environmental assessments (EAs) for vital road infrastructure and enormous economic opportunities for the region’s impoverished Indigenous people.

First and foremost, the fact that Neskantaga – with an on-reserve population of slightly less than 300 people – has not had potable water for an astonishing 25-years is a national disgrace.

Almost 150 years ago, Canada was small little country of around five million people and was able to build the longest railroad in the world, at that time, from Ontario to British Columbia, through some of the harshest geography on the planet in less than five years – 1880-1885.

And yet today, a G-7 country with a $2 TRILLION economy is unable to fix ALL the broken water systems in First Nations’ communities across the country in a similar time-period?

Not only does this reflect on the incompetence inside the federal government but it also damages the country’s international reputation and demonstrates Trudeau’s “reconciliation mantra” as nothing but pious hypocrisy.

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Green trend stirs copper and nickel markets as supply tightens – by Rurika Imahashi (Nikkei Asia – November 30, 2020)

https://asia.nikkei.com/

TOKYO — Rising environmental awareness and the global shift to eco-friendly cars and energy sources are raising a question in the market for key metals used in such “green” sectors: Will there be enough supply?

In just the past month, the global mood surrounding the tackling of climate change has changed significantly. In late-October, China said it was planning to phase out traditional combustion engine cars and make all new ones sold in 2035 eco-friendly in the form of electric and plug-in hybrid versions.

Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election could bring a huge change to environmental policy in the world’s biggest economy after President Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. Before the Nov. 3 contest, Biden had pledged a $2 trillion clean energy plan.

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Canadian mining can supply the metals for a clean energy future – by Cody Battershill (Northern Miner – November 24, 2020)

https://www.northernminer.com/

If leadership on climate action and environmental best practices are worthwhile pursuits, then the Canadian mining sector is an industry that’s deserving of Canada’s – and the global market’s – full support.

And if a strong regulatory framework for environmental performance, growing Indigenous support and a superior record on human rights are equally important benchmarks, then our country’s mining sector is on the right track.

Beyond the metals that contribute to so much of our modern world, let’s focus for the moment on electric vehicles (EVs). They’re viewed by a growing number of consumers here and abroad as an important way to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve air quality in many developing cities.

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Nickel, Nickel, Nickel — Diving Into Green Nickel With Talon Metals – by Zachary Shahan (Clean Technica – November 21, 2020)

https://cleantechnica.com/

As you may recall, several months ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed some rather strong interest in nickel, a need for nickel. I talked about the matter a bit with mineral mining and market experts at RK Equity — see here, here, and here. We’ve covered nickel in various other ways as well.

However, more recently, I connected with a top North American company in this arena and was lucky to get the opportunity to dig in much deeper. Below is an interview with Sean Werger, President of Talon Metals Corp., and Vince Conte, CFO of Talon Metals Corp. If nickel interests you, have a look!

1) Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made a plea for nickel, but especially more “efficiently mined” nickel and environmentally friendly nickel. (“Wherever you are in the world, please mine more nickel and … go for efficiency, obviously environmentally-friendly nickel mining at high volume. Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time, if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way.”) Regarding efficiency, what do you take that to mean? What is he implying?

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How do cobalt and nickel stack up in race to dominate electric vehicle battery market? – by By David McKay (MiningMX – November 23, 2020)

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THERE is agreement that battery metals of all stripes will benefit from the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). According to a report by Morgan Stanley, the EV market will take a 26% slice of the total automotive market by 2030 from 3% today.

The question, however, is that given the pace of scientific development, which metals with battery application today will come to dominate in the future?

There are divided views, however, on the extent to which price changes will influence the usage of two key contenders: nickel and cobalt.

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Rio Tinto, Bluejay to jointly explore for nickel in Finland – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 10, 2020)

https://www.mining.com/

Explorer and developer Bluejay Mining (LON: JAY) inked on Tuesday a joint venture and earn-in agreement with Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) to advance the Enonkoski nickel project in Finland.

The deal could see Rio progressively earn up to a 75% interest in the project by injecting $20 million into Enonkoski, either by covering expenses or paying cash equivalent amounts, over three stages.

In the first phase, the world’s second-largest miner could secure 51% ownership by spending $5 million by November 2023. Of that total, Rio would have to spend $400,000 by the end of March 2021.

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Mining for metals needed for electric cars faces obstacles in Canada due to low prices – by Dan Healing (Global News – November 8, 2020)

https://globalnews.ca/

There’s opportunity for Canada to help supply the world’s growing need for “energy transition metals” used in electric vehicle and power storage batteries but it faces stiff competition from other countries, especially China, observers say.

Last month, the federal and Ontario governments announced they will each contribute $295 million to help Ford Canada produce electric vehicles in Oakville, Ont., while also vowing to help Fiat Chrysler in its plans to invest up to $1.5 billion at its Windsor, Ont., plant.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, CEO of EV manufacturer Tesla, has promised big contracts for miners around the world who increase nickel production for the batteries his vehicles are soon going to need.

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Smaller workforce, technology and higher output part of plan to lower unit costs: Vale mine manager – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – November 5, 2020)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Franco Cazzola, general manager of Vale’s Manitoba Operations, made a virtual presentation to members of the Thompson Chamber of Commerce Nov. 4 about recent job cuts and additional upcoming changes intended to make the company’s mine and mill here more competitive.

Now on his third stint as a Thompson resident – he also lived here in the mid-1960s and later from 2005 to 2009 as an employee of Inco and then Vale – Cazzola said 103 layoffs and position eliminations as well as 41 early retirements announced last month were only the first step in an effort to reduce production costs, though he admitted they were the most painful one.

“We’ve just started our journey and the first part was the workforce reduction unfortunately and it affects people and families in the community,” he said, noting that the workforce now includes about 489 hourly employees and 610 employees overall, nearly 700 less than before the smelter and refinery shut down in 2018 and Birchtree Mine was put on care and maintenance the previous year.

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Estrella confirms massive nickel sulphides – Matt Birney (The West Australian – November 4, 2020)

https://thewest.com.au/

Estrella Resources looks to have hit paydirt at the T5 nickel discovery near Carr Boyd Rocks in WA posting an assay intercept of 2.5m at an eye-catching 3.66 per cent nickel.

This strike confirms the presence of high-grade nickel at the prospect and clears the way for an extended program across the emerging discovery. The company has already identified substantial electromagnetic targets in close proximity to this pivotal drill hole and is set to kick off follow up drilling in the coming days.

Diamond drill hole CBDD030, the star of the show at T5 to date, was designed to test a deep geophysical target within the prospect. The drill hole successfully intersected 15m of sulphide mineralisation at more than 400 metres below surface, as per its design.

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Nickel explorer seeks to bring new life to two former Timmins mines – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 3, 2020)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Class 1 Nickel posts a two-million-tonne-plus resource at Alexo-Dundonald Project

A new nickel sulphide player has fully emerged in the Timmins camp seeking to revive a well-known piece of mining ground.

Class 1 Nickel and Technologies released a very promising new mineral resource estimate for its Alexo-Dundonald Nickel Project, 45 kilometres northeast of the city.

The Toronto-based company reported an updated estimated indicated mineral resource of 1.25 million tonnes with an average grade of 0.99 per cent of nickel, and a total estimated inferred mineral resource of 1.01 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.08 per cent.

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Elimination of nearly 150 jobs at Vale a ‘punch in the stomach for Thompson’ – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – October 29, 2020)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Vale Manitoba Operations is down to about half as many employees in Thompson as it had three years ago after a comprehensive review of the division led to the elimination of 144 jobs.

Job losses resulting from review, announced back in June, when the company said it was losing $300,000 per day from its operations in Thompson, included 75 unionized hurly employees being laid off and another 25 taking early retirement packages, while 28 staff positions were eliminated and 16 staff employees opted for early retirement.

“These decisions have not been made lightly, and we recognize the significant impact they have on our employees, our businesses and the local community,” said Tara Ritchie of the company’s corporate and Indigenous affairs department in an Oct. 29 email.

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