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Quebec Mining

OPINION: Quebec has a lot riding on Rio Tinto’s green-aluminum project – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – April 24, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Since Rio Tinto bought Canada’s Alcan in 2007, the Anglo-Australian mining giant has been good at making big promises, but slow to fulfill them. This is especially proving to be the case with its plan to produce zero-carbon aluminum.

The Quebec aluminum operations that Alcan built up over more than 80 years until its US$40-billion takeover by Rio Tinto remain among the world’s most profitable. Rio’s eight wholly and jointly owned smelters in the province mostly rely on cheap and emissions-free hydroelectric power from dams that Alcan itself built, providing a competitive and environmental advantage over U.S., Chinese and Russian rivals that use coal-based electricity.

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Renard Diamond Mine to Be Repurposed for Lithium – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Magazine – April 4, 2024)

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Winsome Resources has signed an agreement to acquire the Renard diamond mine and its infrastructure, with plans to convert it into a processing facility for its Adina Lithium project. Subject to approval by a Quebec Court, Winsome will pay Renard owner Stornoway Diamonds a total of CAD 52 million ($38.5 million) in cash, shares in the company, or a combination of both, it said Wednesday.

The lithium miner will have until September 30 to gain approval, with the option to extend to February 28, 2025. Winsome will not assume any of Stornoway’s financial obligations other than mine rehabilitation, it noted. Stornoway will keep any remaining diamond inventory and equipment directly associated with diamond mining.

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Abitibi Metals drills 3.5% copper in Quebec – by Colin McClelland (Mining.com – February 29, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Abitibi Metals (CSE: AMQ) says its first two drill holes at the B26 polymetallic deposit in northern Quebec bode well to earn most of the project from the provincial government and develop an open-pit mine.

Drill hole 1274-24-293 intersected 22.7 metres grading 3.5% copper, 0.7 gram gold per tonne, and 6.6 grams silver from 120 metres depth including 10.6 metres at 5.4% copper, 1.3 grams gold and 9.6 grams silver, Abitibi reported on Thursday. Drill hole 1274-24-294 cut 34 metres at 3% copper, 1.5 grams gold and 6 grams silver from 135 metres depth, it said.

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Glencore News Release: Raglan opens new mine (February 27, 2024)

NUNAVIK, QC, Feb. 27, 2024 /CNW/ – Raglan Mine is pleased to officially inaugurate Anuri Mine, from its Sivumut mining project, which has been under development for over ten years. This event marks an important milestone in the pursuit of its mining operations in Nunavik and highlights its ongoing commitment to the local communities that welcome its operations.

Anuri is one of the largest mining investments in Quebec in the last decade. It is anticipated that it will lengthen Raglan Mine’s life of operations for at least 20 years.

“We expect that our mining activities, initially forecast to last 25 years, will be significantly extended thanks to the Anuri mine. This is a huge success for our 1,400 employees, our Inuit partners and our business partners,” says Pierre Barette, Vice President.

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GM, Panasonic strike deals to buy EV battery materials from Quebec’s Nouveau Monde – by Nicolas Van Praet (Globe and Mail – February 16, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

U.S. automaker General Motors Co. and Japan’s Panasonic Holdings Corp. will buy electric-vehicle battery materials from Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. and invest in the company, buoying the Quebec miner’s bid to become a go-to critical mineral supplier for North America.

GM and Panasonic have each committed to purchasing 18,000 metric tonnes of graphite for battery anodes annually, beginning when Nouveau Monde’s planned mining and refining facilities enter production, the company said in news releases Thursday. The offtake agreements will run for six to seven years, and they represent about 85 per cent of Nouveau Monde’s planned commercial production, which it is aiming to begin in 2027.

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Canadian graphite miner NMG scores deals with GM, Panasonic – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – February 15, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSX-V: NOU) (NYSE: NMG) inked on Thursday multi-year offtake agreements with General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Panasonic Holdings, with both companies also vowing to invest in the Canadian miner to help it produce high-quality graphite in North America.

GM and Panasonic have each committed to purchase 18,000 tonnes of natural graphite active anode material annually over a period of six to seven years, the Montreal-based miner said. They are also making equity investments of $25 million each in the company. The two firms and potential co-investors could join future rounds of financing worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Nouveau Monde Graphite (NGM) said in a statement.

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Quebec opposition attacks the CAQ on copper smelting plant’s future (Canadian Press/CTV News Montreal – February 14, 2024)

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/

Opposition parties in Quebec City are urging the government to react to reports that Glencore is considering closing the Horne smelter if investments to meet air quality targets are too high.

Horne smelter issue in Rouyn-Noranda is once again taking a political turn after Radio-Canada revealed that Glencore’s board of directors was due to meet shortly to decide on the smelter’s future, despite the fact that the estimated cost of reducing arsenic emissions has risen by 50 per cent.

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Billions of litres of water are used yearly by Quebec’s mining and metal industry, data reveals – by Jaela Bernstien and Naël Shiab (CBC News Climate – February 2, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/

Advocates hope more transparency will help towns struggling with water shortages

Quebec has lifted the veil of secrecy around the province’s biggest water users, revealing that billions of litres of water are withdrawn yearly by the mining and metal industry, along with pulp and paper manufacturing.

The data dump, which includes records going back a decade, also lists golf clubs, ski hills, water bottling plants and food processors among the companies that are withdrawing tens of millions — sometimes hundreds of millions — of litres in a year.

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Quebec’s increase in mining claims, including under people’s homes, is causing anxiety – by Jacob Serebrin (CTV News Montreal/Canadian Press – February 5, 2024)

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/

When Ellen Rice-Hogan discovered that someone had bought a mining claim under her farm, she was shocked. “There’s no mining around the Township of Low, Que., about 40 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, where she raises sheep and cattle.

“It was shocking, surprising, all of the above,” she said. “We’re a small community. The potential of this is huge and it’s going to have a huge negative impact, I feel, on our territory.” There is a boom in mining claims in Quebec as prospectors anticipate explosive demand for minerals used in electric batteries.

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Rural communities push back as mining claims surge – by Andrew Cruickshank (Cottage Life – January 31, 2024)

https://cottagelife.com/

Approximately 60 kilometres north of Ottawa, a small Quebec municipality is taking a stand against mining exploration in the area. After hearing feedback from locals, the municipality of Low, Que., decided during a January 8th council meeting to support its population in resisting mining development.

The decision came after the municipality noticed a “proliferation of mining claims on private land as well as on public land, on the territory of the Municipality of the Township of Low and neighbouring municipalities,” council said.

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Glencore licenses Horne 5 operations to Falco Resources – by Staff (Mining.com – January 24, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Falco Resources (TSXV: FPC) has entered into an operating license and indemnity agreement (OLIA) with Glencore Canada allowing Falco to use part of Glencore’s lands. Falco intends to develop and operate its wholly owned Horne 5 copper-zinc mine at Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.

The agreement includes the creation of a technical committee consisting of two nominees from Glencore and two from Falco to ensure that operations of Glencore’s Horne copper smelter are not adversely affected. A similar strategic committee will also be created. Glencore will appoint one nominee to Falco’s board of directors.

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Western Quebec township backs ‘resistance’ to mineral exploration on its land (CBC News Ottawa – January 21, 2024)

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

Low, Que., calling for designation exempting land from exploration

A township in western Quebec is taking steps to prevent mineral exploration on its lands amid a big increase in recent claims in the Outaouais. At a meeting earlier this month, councillors for the Township of Low voted 5-1 in favour of supporting its population “in its resistance to mining development,” according to the resolution.

Low is located about 60 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. There’s currently “a proliferation of mining claims on private land as well as on public land,” according to the council.

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Alamos Gold to acquire Quebec-focused junior Orford Mining in all-share deal – by Bruno Venditti (Northern Miner – January 15, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI; NYSE: AGI) announced on Monday that it will acquire Quebec-focused junior Orford Mining (TSXV: ORM) in an all-share transaction valuing the company at $24 million or 10¢ per share.

Alamos already owns 27.5% of the company’s shares. If the acquisition is approved by Orford shareholders at a meeting scheduled for March, they will receive 0.005588 of an Alamos share for each Orford share held.

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Conversion facility with links to massive Dumont Nickel project planned for Quebec – by Emma Jarratt (Electric Autonomy Canada – January 11, 2024)

https://electricautonomy.ca/

NiVolt Technologies says it has mixed hydroxide precipitate production capabilities and is scouting locations for a hydrometallurgical facility in Quebec

A new hydrometallurgical conversion facility to process nickel concentrate may be coming to Quebec. The news comes from an announcement by NiVolt Technologies of successful production testing and advancement of a project feasibility study.

NiVolt is a portfolio company of Kinterra Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm. Kinterra recently closed a US$565-million battery metals mining fund. Its holdings include a stake in the Dumont Nickel project, located about 60 kilometres north of Val-d’Or.

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QC Copper says Opemiska resource tops 1.88 billion lb. copper, 915,000 oz. gold – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – January 8, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

QC Copper and Gold (TSXV: QCCU) has updated the resource estimate for its Opemiska project to Over 1.88 billion lb. of copper and 915,000 oz. of gold. The project is located in the Chapais-Chibougamau district of Quebec.

The pit-constrained measured and indicated resource is 87.3 million tonnes grading 0.77% copper (0.93% copper equivalent), containing 1.49 billion lb. copper, 762,000 oz. of gold, and 762,000 oz. of silver. The pit-constrained inferred resource is 9.8 million tonnes at 0.48% copper (0.59% copper equivalent), containing 104 million lb. copper, 55,000 oz. of gold, and 689,000 oz. of silver. A cut-off of 0.15% copper equivalent was used in this estimate.

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