In the early days, Canada’s most western province, British Columbia, was built on gold. While there were the famous gold rushes of the Fraser River in 1858 and Barkerville in 1862, there is one gold rush that stands apart from the rest – the Granite Creek gold rush near Princeton, southwest B.C.
What make Granite Creek different is that besides gold, there are also platinum nuggets – one of only two places in the world – the other being the Amur River in Russia.
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Generation Mining, the developers of a proposed palladium near Marathon, has selected Wood PLC to handle the project’s engineering work. The global consulting and engineering company was awarded the contract to do the processing plant engineering and the equipment procurement for the Marathon palladium-copper project in northwestern Ontario.
In an Oct. 13 news release, Gen Mining said the goal over the next few months is get 75 per cent of the engineering work completed by the time construction starts. Early ground preparation work is tentatively anticipated sometime in the second half of next year.
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Not all that glitters is gold. Sometimes it’s silver, platinum and palladium. The Northern Miner takes a look at eight companies active in the space.
Bayhorse Silver (TSXV: BHS; US-OTC: KXPLF) is the 100% owner of the past-producing Bayhorse silver mine 14 km from Huntington, Oregon in the United States. The company spent US$7.5 million to return it to production in 2018 and the company poured its first silver bar in February 2019. Because there is no mill on the site, the operation has a small environmental footprint.
The property has a known mineralized zone that was historically estimated to be 255 metres long, 25 metres wide, and 6.7 metres thick. It was previously estimated (not 43-101 compliant) to contain 150,000 tonnes of mineralization grading 585 to 690 grams silver per tonne, including a 30,000-tonne zone of rhyolite that has returned grades as high as 10,793 grams silver per tonne.
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The Town of Marathon is out to make a good impression. A proposed open-pit palladium mine project is undergoing scrutiny through an environmental assessment (EA) process this fall and the north shore community of 3,300 is determined to show its support for the mining industry.
A government-appointed environmental review panel is scheduled to arrive in Marathon this week for a site visit. Marathon Mayor Rick Dumas said when they do they’ll see lawn signs displaying Marathon Supports Mining and other demonstrations of support for Generation Mining and its Marathon Project.
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From River Valley to Massey, junior miners eye old mine sites and underexplored areas in the search for ‘green’ and precious metals
The periphery of the Sudbury basin is proving to be favourable exploration ground for junior mining companies on the hunt for gold and the ‘green’ metals needed to drive the global clean energy movement.
One of the area’s most advanced projects is 100 kilometres east of Sudbury where New Age Metals expects to release a prefeasibility study early next year for a proposed open-pit mine.
(Bloomberg) — Platinum dropped to a seven-month low as the spread of the coronavirus dents the outlook for industrial commodities, while a Federal Reserve official indicated the central bank is on course to taper stimulus.
The metal used in catalytic converters fell for a third day as the spread of the delta strain punctures the narrative of a rapid global recovery. China is facing a growing outbreak that’s prompted analysts to review economic growth projections, while case numbers are climbing from Tokyo to Sydney and in parts of the U.S.
Platinum has tumbled more than 20% from this year’s peak in February as a computer-chip shortage curbed auto production, and increasing electric-car sales cloud the medium-to-long term consumption outlook.
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Toronto mine developer looks to raise $665M to build North Shore open-pit palladium, copper mine
The wheels are beginning to turn in planning the development of an open-pit palladium and copper mine outside the town of Marathon.
Toronto’s Generation Mining had been holding off revealing its plans until its joint venture partner, South Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater, decided not to buy back into the mining project it had optioned to Gen Mining two summers ago.
Since appearing on the North Shore of Lake Superior in 2019, Generation has been on an aggressive exploration and development track at Marathon. And it appears nothing has changed based on their upcoming plans over the next few months, as outlined in a web call that company management delivered to investors on July 27. Generation now holds an 81 per cent controlling interest in the project.
The increase of demand for clean energy sources and the ever growing popularity of electric vehicles and energy storage systems in the world may lead to a shortage of metals in the global market followed by a sharp increase in prices for them in years to come, according to recent statements, made by producers and analysts in the field of mining.
According to recent estimates of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the demand for lithium will grow more than 40 times by 2040, while for cobalt and nickel by 20 times within the next two decades. The same situation is expected to be observed in the case of other precious metals.
Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft, Russia’s largest state-owned oil producer, believes such as growth of demand may lead to the shortage of this and other metals in the global market, as the current investments in their exploration and development remains insufficient to ensure their stable supplies to global market.
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Sibanye-Stillwater clears the way for Generation Mining make commercial production plans for palladium, copper deposit
A major hurdle has been cleared toward advancing an open-pit palladium mine on the north shore of Lake Superior.
Toronto’s Generation Mining announced July 21 that it will maintain majority ownership of its Marathon Palladium Project after its joint venture partner, Sibanye-Stillwater, decided not to ‘back in’ and regain control of the exploration property as it advances to mine construction.
Gen Mining owns an 80 per cent stake in the 22,000-hectare property near the town of Marathon. The project was acquired from Sibanye Stillwater in the summer of 2019.
(Bloomberg)- Zimbabwe’s mines minister has informed Todal Mining Ltd., a venture controlled by Eurasian Resources Group, that its platinum mining concessions could be seized because no progress has been made in developing them.
The Bokai and Kinonde concessions may be taken over under the “use-it/lose-it principle” which allows the state to repossess idle mining claims, Minister Winston Chitando said in a letter to Todal dated May 28 and seen by Bloomberg. The mines ministry confirmed the veracity of the document.
“I note with concern that over the last few years there have been several changes to the work program to make this project progress to production stage,” Chitando said in the letter.
(Bloomberg) — Sometimes buried treasure can be hiding right under your nose. Just ask Alex Dorsch, whose company found what could be Australia’s first major palladium resource on the fringes of Perth, the nation’s mining hub.
“It’s a fascinating bit of serendipity,” said Dorsch, managing director of Chalice Mining Ltd., which has seen its shares rise more than eightfold since confirming the Julimar discovery just over 12 months ago. “It is quite amazing that it wasn’t found in the 1960s or 70s to be honest,” he said in a phone interview.
Chalice, whose shareholders include mining magnate Robert Friedland and Blackrock Inc., plans to add supply to a palladium market that’s been in deficit for years due to high demand for the metal, used in catalytic converters to curb emissions in gasoline-powered vehicles.
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Exploration boom in the northwest continues for precious, industrial and ‘green’ metals
Gold and palladium exploration continues to dominate activity along the north shore of Lake Superior.
A mix of junior miners are either securing an initial foothold in northwestern Ontario, drilling off deposits, or approaching environmental and regulatory milestones in advancing their projects toward production.
Sudbury’s Manitou Gold is picking up the pace of exploration at its Goudreau Project, outside Dubreuilville. Since raising $5 million in financing last month, the company boosted its drill program from 10,000 metres to 30,000 metres.
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Lac des Iles Mine prepares to boost production, adopt new technologies, go exploring for new deposits
Mining in northwestern Ontario has become a huge part of Thunder Bay’s economy, much of that attributed to the resurgence of the Lac des Iles Mine (LDI), 90 kilometres northwest of the city.
In the five years since the once-struggling palladium mine made an impressive operational turnaround. A total of $1.7 billion has been invested in capital and operational spending, half of that with Ontario companies and a good chunk within the Thunder Bay business community where LDI has contracts with about 300 service and supply companies.
While LDI has a current 11-year mine life, Tim Hill, CEO of Impala Canada, the owners of the mine, implied the operation looks to have some longevity for years to come based on the resource potential of their expansive land holdings.
Spot palladium surged to a record high on bets that rebounding economies will fuel automaker demand, deepening supply shortfalls of the precious metal.
Palladium, used in catalytic converters to curb emissions in gasoline-powered vehicles, rose as much as 4.8 per cent to US$2,895.96 an ounce on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record set in February 2020. Prices have climbed more than 17 per cent this year, building on five straight annual gains.
The palladium market has been in a production deficit for several years, and tighter pollution standards in Europe and China are spurring demand for the metal from automakers. Disruptions at Russian mines run by MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, the world’s largest producer, have added to supply concerns.
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Discovery of massive sulfides considered a breakthrough at Clear Air Metals’ Thunder Bay North project
The proponents behind a plan to build a high-grade palladium mine north of Thunder Bay are pressing the reset button. But with good reason.
Exploration drilling by Clean Air Metals at its Thunder Bay North project recently hit massive sulfide material at one of its deposits, 40 kilometres north of the city. In a recent news release, the Thunder Bay-based junior mining company is calling this a “potential gamechanger.”
The company has been drawing comparisons between the geology of Thunder Bay North to that of Norilsk, a prolific mining area in Russia’s High Arctic that’s been in production for more than a century. It’s considered one of the world’s richest and most minerally well-endowed mining camps.
