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Quebec Mining

Glencore’s 95-year-old copper smelter in Quebec is a prized asset. It should pay to clean up its act – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – July 19, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Any Canadian who grew up in a mining town knows of the trade-offs that come with relying on a single major employer involved in the metals business. For residents of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., the ups and downs of the commodities cycle have defined their town’s existence since prospector Edmund Horne staked the first copper claims in the region a century ago, leading to the 1922 founding of Noranda Inc.

The mining colossus, whose rise was intricately tied to Canada’s economic development, was eventually absorbed by Swiss-based multinational Glencore in 2013. But its name lives on in the town where it got its start.

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Wallbridge sells nickel assets to focus on gold – by Tasneem Bulbulia (MiningWeekly.com – July 14, 2022)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Dual-listed Wallbridge Mining has entered into a definitive agreement with CSE-listed Archer Exploration through which Archer will acquire all Wallbridge’s nickel property, assets, rights and obligations, including the Grasset property, to create a publicly-traded nickel exploration and development company.

Archer is backed by Inventa Capital, a Vancouver-based merchant bank founded in 2017 with the goal of discovering and funding opportunities in the resource sector. The nickel assets consist of 2 046 mining titles covering about 67 000 ha and include a 100% interest in the Grasset nickel sulphide project located in Quebec.

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Rio Tinto invests $188m to upgrade aluminum smelter in Quebec – by Staff (Mining.com – July 14, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is investing $188 million (C$240 million) to increase the production capacity for low-carbon, high-value aluminum billets at its Alma smelter in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, by 202,000 tonnes.

The existing casting centre at Rio Tinto’s Alma plant will be expanded to accommodate new state-of-the-art equipment, including a casting pit and furnaces, allowing a larger portion of the aluminum produced to be converted to higher value billets.

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Naskapi Nation vows to protect its paradise in northern Quebec – by Belphine Jung (CB News Montreal – July 7, 2022)

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

People of Kawawachikamach look for alternatives to hydro development on traditional territory

David Swappie is one of the oldest members of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, 1,150 kilometres north of Montreal, near Quebec’s border with Labrador. No one knows Swappie’s exact age.

The elder, who was born and raised near Fort Chimo — the village now known by its Inuktitut name, Kuujjuaq, at the mouth of the Koksoak River on Ungava Bay — isn’t really sure himself. “I think he’s at least 100 years old,” said his grandson, who bears the same name.

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Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining formalise restart plans for NAL – by Will Owen (Global Mining Review – July 4, 2022)

https://www.globalminingreview.com/

Piedmont Lithium has announced that the board of directors of Sayona Quebec Inc. (SYQ), which is owned 75% by Sayona Mining (Sayona) and 25% by Piedmont, authorised the restart of spodumene concentrate production at its North American Lithium (NAL) project located near Val-d’Or, Quebec.

The NAL restart will feature significant operational upgrades totalling approximately US$80 million aimed at improving product quality and plant utilisation. Long-lead equipment was ordered and detailed design engineering commenced in late 2021 based on our jointly planned timeline.

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Sayona and Piedmont approve C$98m Quebec lithium restart – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – June 28, 2022)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining has cemented plans to get its North American spodumene production off the ground in 2023, following a formal agreement of the North American Lithium (NAL) restart programme.

Sayona Quebec, which is 75% owned by Sayona and 25% by Piedmont, has formally authorised the restart of spodumene concentrate production at the NAL operation, in Quebec, requiring significant plant and infrastructure upgrades.

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Lithium Battery Valley emerges in Quebec – by Shane Lasley (Metal Tech News – March 16, 2022)

https://www.metaltechnews.com/

Becancour, a small Quebec town along the shores of the St. Lawrence River about midway between Montreal and Quebec City, is rapidly emerging as an epicenter for producing the advanced materials needed for lithium-ion batteries powering the electric vehicle revolution.

This rural Canadian town of around 12,800 people surfaced in the battery space about a year ago when Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. announced plans to build a facility there to produce the coated spherical purified graphite that goes into the anodes of lithium-ion batteries. Now, General Motors, POSCO Chemical, and BASF are setting up shop to produce cathode active materials and lithium battery recycling in this strategic Quebec locale.

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JV Article: Lomiko Metals aims to be a regional hub to supply the graphite essential to lithium-ion battery manufacturers – by Mining.com/Lomiko Metals (Mining.com – June 15, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

Canadian explorer Lomiko Metals (TSXV: LMR; US-OTC: LMRMF) is looking for graphite and lithium — critical ingredients for the anode and cathode of lithium-ion batteries driving the global push towards decarbonization.

The junior miner is advancing its wholly-owned flagship La Loutre graphite project in the Grenville graphite belt of southern Quebec, approximately 180 km northwest of Montreal.

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Glencore suspends production at Raglan mine in Nunavik after workers strike – by Naimul Karim (Northern Miner – May 30, 2022)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Production at Glencore’s (LSE: GLEN) Raglan nickel mine at Nunavik has been suspended as hundreds of unionized workers went on strike for the first time in 25 years on the night of May 27.

Nearly 98% of the 630 workers from the United Steelworkers Union, Local 9449, voted in favour of a strike in late May citing issues including the use of subcontractors, deteriorating labour relations as well as a lack of respect. The strike was enforced on May 27 after negotiations between the parties amidst a government mediator failed to break the impasse.

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Renewable energy depends on rare metal, but can it be mined sustainably? – by Benjamin Powless (Welland Tribune – April 25, 2022)

https://www.wellandtribune.ca/

Long Point First Nation is calling for more comprehensive environmental reviews after an Australian mining company said it wants to expand operations in the area. The Anishinabek community situated in Winneway is concerned about the impacts of lithium mining, a key component in the global efforts to move towards sustainable energy.

As environmental initiatives push consumers towards electric vehicles, debates rage over how “green” is the production of key elements like lithium, as mining can devastate landscapes.

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First Nation in Abitibi-Témiscamingue seeks independent review of potential mining project (CBC News Montreal – April 5, 2022)

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

An Anishinabeg First Nation in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region wants to lead its own environmental assessment of a lithium mining project that the company Sayona is looking to develop on ancestral land.

The Long Point First Nation, whose 800 members mostly live in Winneway, Que., is concerned about the potential impacts that the project could have on its land and its traditional way of life.

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Ontario risks losing its auto crown as cheap, green power gives Quebec the EV edge – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 12, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

As both provinces race to woo automakers and battery makers, a new quandary could arise

Ontario Premier Doug Ford this past fall spoke at a provincial construction industry conference and told his audience that his province would be at the vanguard of the next revolution in automotive production. “We’re going to be the No. 1 manufacturer of electric cars anywhere,” he said.

Similar things are said next door in Quebec. Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon regularly brags about the powerful combination of his province’s rich mineral endowment and the cheap, low-emission electricity produced by Hydro-Québec.

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GM, POSCO Chemical partner for $500-Million EV battery supply chain plant in Quebec – by Adam Radwanski (Globe and Mail – March 7, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canadian governments’ efforts to woo investment in electric-vehicle manufacturing are starting to bear fruit – especially with one aspect of the supply chain, in one corner of Quebec.

On Monday, General Motors Co. announced that, in partnership with the South Korean company POSCO Chemical Co. Ltd., it will begin construction on a new $500-million factory in Bécancour, Que. The plant, which GM says will be operational by 2025 and create about 200 jobs, will produce cathode active material (CAM) – a major component of EV batteries that GM will assemble in the United States.

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Osisko to develop Windfall without Northern Star – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – February 17, 2022)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Osisko Mining (TSX: OSK) has decided to develop the Windfall gold project 200 km north of Val d’Or, Quebec by itself. Joint venture talks with Northern Star (ASX: NST) were announced last November, but they have now been broken off.

Osisko says that its independent development of the project would be the most beneficial option for its shareholders.

While Northern Star will not be a partner in Windfall, Osisko maintains it will continue a cordial and beneficial relationship with the Australian company, which is an important debt holder having advanced a $154-million convertible senior unsecured debenture due Dec. 1, 2025, with an interest rate of 4.75% per annum.

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‘It really hurts’: Cree trapper struggles with losing more of his trap line to lithium mine – by Tom Fennario and Shushan Bacon (APTN News – January 30, 2022)

https://www.aptnnews.ca/

Ernie Moses is what Cree in Quebec call a tallyman – someone who is in charge of their family’s trapline. It’s something Moses has done for over 20 years. Located near the Cree First Nation of Eastmain in the James Bay region of Quebec, there’s not much else the 64-year-old would rather be doing with his time.

“How do I explain it… it’s just so open!” said Moses, illustrating with his arms. “Seeing nature, that’s what I love. And trapping, moose hunting, setting snares, and all of that.” Moses’s favorite animal to trap? The beaver.

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