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Expect action on Ring of Fire in 2018: MPP – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – December 21, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

It won’t be too long after ringing in the New Year that the Ring of Fire will begin to feel a bit closer to reality. “We’re talking about shovels in the ground in 2018,” said Glenn Thibeault this week, in reference to a pair of roads the Wynne government is committed to building to the mineral-rich region.

Earlier in the day the Sudbury MPP met with representatives of Noront Resources, which plans to both extract chromite from the James Bay deposits and refine it through a smelter that will be built somewhere in Northern Ontario — potentially Sudbury.

Noront CEO Alan Coutts was thrilled in August when the Liberal government announced it would fund road construction to The Ring, telling The Star at the time this was “the catalyst that was needed.”

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[Botswana Tati Nickel] TNMC re-opening delayed – by Chakalisa Dube (Mmegionline.com – December 19, 2017)

http://www.mmegi.bw/

FRANCISTOWN: Fresh information from the liquidator of the mines under the BCL Group suggests that Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) will not open in April next year as anticipated.

The news will not be well received by the mine’s former employees, residents of Francistown and surroundings who have been eagerly waiting for the mine to resume operations. TNMC played a vital role in the economy of the city prior to its liquidation.

“We had put the April 2018 time frame (as the date TNMC was supposed to resume operations) because we anticipated that the potential buyer of the mine will put a firm offer (which would result in the conclusion of the sale) before the end of the year. Last week the potential buyer put an offer, which he wanted us to present to the creditors.

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PolyMet proposes $544 million to cover Minnesota mine’s early environmental risks – by Josephine Marcotty (Minneapolis Star Tribune – December 13, 2017)

http://www.startribune.com/

PolyMet Mining Corp. says it will put up $544 million in financial protections for the first three years of construction and mining at its proposed copper-nickel facility in northern Minnesota to insulate taxpayers from any environmental damage that could result.

The so-called “financial assurance” is the last piece required in PolyMet’s application for a permit to construct a $650 million mine and processing plant near Hoyt Lakes, the company said.

The assurance estimate in PolyMet’s financial proposal, which is considerably higher than the company predicted a year ago, now goes under state review.

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Sulfide mining: the most fateful decision Minnesota will ever make – by C.A. Arneson (Minn Post.com – December 12, 2017)

https://www.minnpost.com/

On Nov. 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Superior National Forest Land Exchange Act of 2017 (HR 3115) [PDF], facilitating perpetual pollution of Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Sponsored by Rep. Rick Nolan, HR 3115 has been received in the U.S. Senate; if attached to another bill it could slide through, selling Minnesota’s birthright to the highest bidder with scarcely a whimper.

If it passes the U.S. Senate, HR 3115 would exchange lands acquired for watershed protection for use by the most water polluting industry on the planet. It would render the pending lawsuits against the PolyMet land exchange for its proposed NorthMet mine null and void, the people’s right to seek justice in the courts stolen.

Where is the outrage? Minnesotans need to speak loudly, clearly – with the ballot if necessary – declaring they will not allow their representatives to turn our lake country into a sulfide mining cesspool. Water is becoming desperately scarce worldwide. Minnesota’s clean – incredibly rare – wealth of freshwater is its future.

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Vale’s reality check for nickel’s electric vehicle dreams – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – December 12, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

Nickel is one of the materials expected to win from the coming electric vehicle (EV) revolution. Electric vehicles will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, which need cobalt and nickel. Indeed, as cobalt’s potentially fragile supply chain comes under ever-increasing scrutiny, battery-makers are likely to try to use less of the stuff in favor of more nickel.

So it might seem strange that the world’s largest nickel producer is actively curtailing capacity at mines and refineries. Yet that is precisely what Brazil’s Vale is doing, removing around 100,000 tonnes of supply over the next two years.

While “everyone knows there are great opportunities” for nickel in the EV sector, “prices are not there”, according to Vale Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman, speaking at an investor event last week.

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NEWS RELEASE: Garibaldi nickel drilling results near Eskay Creek prompt comparison with Sudbury deposits (Resource World Magazine – December 11, 2017)

http://resourceworld.com/

Shares of Garibaldi Resources Corp. [GGI-TSXV, GGIFF-OTC] retreated Monday December 11 as investors continued to assess drilling results from its 100%-owned E&L Project at the Nickel Mountain property near Eskay Creek in the Golden Triangle region of northwest British Columbia.

On December 8, 2017, the company said Discovery Hole EL-17-14 returned a 40.4-metre mineralized zone, featuring a massive sulphide intersection with rich grades of nickel and copper over 16.75 metres. The company said Hole EL-17-14, was collared 200 metres east of the historic E&L deposit and drilled towards the west-southwest.

It returned 8.3% nickel, and 4.2% copper over 16.75 metres with a broader 40.4-metre section grading 3.9% nickel and 2.3% copper from 100.4 to 140.8 metres (approximate true width). The 16.75-metre massive sulphide intercept also included 6.4 g/t combined platinum-palladium, 0.19% cobalt, 1.1 g/t gold and 11.1 g/t silver.

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Mining foe: No. No matter what; Twin Metals project, MINER Act injected into Joint Powers meeting – by Tom Coombe (The Ely Echo – December 8, 2017)

http://www.elyecho.com/

An item that wasn’t even on the agenda stirred some of the most passionate discussion at Monday’s sit-down with area legislators and other key officials.

One of the area’s leading opponents of copper-nickel mining, Ely business owner Steve Piragis, declared that he’d continue to oppose the Twin Metals Minnesota project even if federal regulators conclude it would “meet or exceed” current environmental standards.

That came during a mini-debate with Aurora Mayor-Elect Dave Lislegard and was spawned by discussion of the MINER Act, legislation approved just days earlier by the U.S. House of Representatives. As the bill advanced by U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) awaits action in the Senate, Elyite Becky Rom railed against it in an appeal to aides of both U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D), and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

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Vale cuts nickel output but is positive on long-term demand – by Christian Plumb (Reuters U.S. – December 6, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Brazilian miner Vale SA dialed back its nickel output forecasts for the next five years on Wednesday, although the world’s top producer of the metal praised its longer term prospects on likely soaring demand for electric cars.

Vale cut its nickel output estimate by 15 percent to 263,000 tonnes next year and said it was still seeking an investor for its New Caledonia nickel mine.

However, Vale wants to “preserve its nickel optionality” ahead of an expected boom in electric vehicles in the next decade, said Jennifer Maki, executive director of Vale’s base metals unit, at an annual investor presentation in New York.

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Electric charge: Glencore bets big on car battery metals – by Barbara Lewis and Maiya Keidan (Reuters Canada – December 5, 2017)

https://ca.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore (GLEN.L) has increased production of the metals used to make electric car batteries faster than its major mining rivals, according to an industry-wide analysis that shows the scale of a strategy that has big prospective risks and rewards.

The Anglo-Swiss company’s output of cobalt and copper roughly doubled in the five years to 2016, while its production of nickel quadrupled, the research compiled for Reuters by S&P Global Market Intelligence shows. (Graphic: Glencore’s mining production – tmsnrt.rs/2zOQTgo)

Electric vehicle metals account for roughly 50 percent of Glencore’s core profit, more than double the proportion of its major listed competitors – BHP (BLT.L) (BHP.AX), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) and Anglo American (AAL.L).

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Electric vehicle revolution a rare investment opportunity as metals demand spikes – by Henry Lazenby – December 1, 2017)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The rate at which global automotive markets are adopting electric vehicles (EVs) is accelerating at a much faster pace than even some of the keenest market observers estimated at the start of 2017, and is opening up once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunities among the four key ‘energy metals’ – lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite.

Since the beginning of 2017, the market has reached a new peak of lithium-ion battery capacity in the pipeline. An additional 153 GWh has been added to planned capacity build-outs this year alone, taking the total to 372 GWh.

“But when you look at where we need to be by 2025 – 750 GWh, of which 645 GWh is for EVs – we are still way short. What the megafactory trend is doing, however, is creating a new production base that did not exist before.

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Meet the woman drumming up resistance against mining companies and future typhoons in the Philippines – by Sophie Morlin-Yron (The Ecologist – December 1, 2017)

https://theecologist.org/

SOPHIE MORLIN-YRON talks to activist and former Philippine environment secretary Gina Lopez about banning open-pit mines, battling climate change and winning the 2017 Seacology Prize

Comprising some 7,000 islands in the tropical Western Pacific, the Philippines prides itself as one of the most biodiverse places on earth. Among the archipelago’s many endemic species are several flying frogs, the Philippine mouse deer and the endangered Philippine eagle, also called the monkey-eating eagle.

Its atolls and turquoise waters hide natural treasures too. For example, the spectacular Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a World Heritage Site, is 130,028 hectares of beautiful lagoons and coral islands where rare birds and marine turtles come to nest.

“We are a country of beautiful volcanoes, mountains, rivers, and corals. It’s absolutely spectacular,” says Regina ‘Gina’ Lopez, who was the winner of the 2017 Seacology Prize in recognition of her environmental advocacy, which among many other things has led to a ban on open-pit mining.

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‘Miner’s Revenge’ Is Coming With Electric Cars, Friedland Says – by Thomas Wilson (Bloomberg News – November 30, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Surging demand for metals like copper, nickel and cobalt for use in electric vehicles promises to overturn the balance of power between mining companies and their customers, according to billionaire investor Robert Friedland.

Automakers will have to change the way they approach procurement if they want to power their vehicles, said Friedland, who as a student befriended Steve Jobs before a career backing major discoveries from Canada to Mongolia.

“Coming soon to a theater near you: this is the revenge of the miner,” said Friedland. “No miner is willing to sell a high-volatility metal to a car manufacturer at a fixed price.”

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Controversial measures to clear way for more Minnesota mining spark debate in U.S. House – by May Rao (Minneapolis Star Tribune – November 29, 2017)

http://www.startribune.com/

WASHINGTON – Two controversial measures from Minnesota congressmen, both of which would ease the way for mining expansion in northeastern Minnesota, have divided the state’s congressional delegation while spurring a broader environmental debate in the U.S. House.

The House on Tuesday passed legislation by DFL Rep. Rick Nolan that would finalize a land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and PolyMet Mining. Nolan said his bill is key to advancing PolyMet’s proposed northeastern Minnesota copper-nickel mining project, with 6,690 acres of private land becoming public while 6,650 acres of contiguous forest and wetlands would fall under PolyMet’s control.

“This bill is a win for taxpayers, for the environment, and for good-paying jobs,” Nolan said. Other prominent DFLers, including Gov. Mark Dayton, have supported Nolan’s proposal, although it does not currently have a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

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Nickel slides to six-week low on deteriorating fundamentals (Australian Financial Review/Reuters – November 29, 2017)

http://www.afr.com/

Nickel prices hit their lowest level in more than six weeks on Tuesday as the market fretted about weaker demand in top consumer China and rising supplies from major producer Indonesia.

Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange ended down 1.9 per cent at $US11,350 a tonne. In earlier trading the metal used mostly in stainless steel fell to $US11,255, its lowest since October 12.

Copper slipped 2 per cent to $US6805, aluminium fell 1.5 per cent to $US2102.5, zinc lost 0.9 per cent to $US3158, lead ceded 1.5 per cent to $US2427 and tin was down 0.1 per cent at $US19,550.

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Staking out a future: Thompson adjusts as mining industry slows – by Brett Purdy (CBC News Manitoba – November 28, 2017)

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

Vale still largest employer in Thompson but other industries helping develop diverse economy

Rajinder Thethy has put almost $750,000 in his carwash business in Thompson, Man., and it’s investments like his the northern city is banking on to help stabilize — and build — the economy as the local mining industry slows.

Thethy, who has lived and worked in Thompson for 22 years, originally built the carwash with some partners back in 2004 as a side gig. He was a professional accountant at the time. But in January 2016, he decided he wanted a major career-and-life change and to be more devoted as a business owner.

“I know what the Thompsonites need so for me to stay here and expand my business just made perfect sense,” he said.

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