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Saskatchewan Mining

Canada invests over $11 million in critical minerals research in Saskatchewan – by Staff (Mining.com – August 14, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson announced on Wednesday over C$16 million ($11.6m) in new funding to support the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) in Saskatoon. The funding builds on earlier support of nearly C$13.5 million ($9.8m) from Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for SRC to establish its rare earth processing facility and develop new rare earth mineral processing technologies.

Wednesday’s announcement includes C$15.96 million through PrairiesCan to enable SRC to acquire bastnaesite (a type of ore containing rare earth elements) from Canadian sources and create new domestic capacity for bastnaesite processing, which will be integrated into SRC’s rare earth processing facility.

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BHP launches Indigenous partnership plan in Canada – by Staff (Mining.com – August 11, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP is taking another step in its commitment to build strong, respectful and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous communities with the launch of the Canada Indigenous Partnership Plan (CIPP).

This approach has been central in BHP’s development of the Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan, where it started building relationships with local Indigenous groups surrounding the site almost a decade before construction began. First production is expected in 2026.

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Paladin excited to enter the ‘Pilbara of uranium’ – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly – August 7, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Australia-headquartered uranium miner Paladin Energy is set on transforming itself from a single-asset entity into a “serious global producer with scale and upside potential”, said COO Paul Hemburrow.

Speaking at the Diggers and Dealers forum, in Kalgoorlie, this week, he expressed enthusiasm about the proposed acquisition of Fission Uranium, a deal valued at C$1.14-billion.

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Potash giant says life about to get harder for BHP – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – July 30, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Canadian global fertiliser giant Nutrien vowed to counter any competition from BHP with a boost to potash supply from its network of mines in response to BHP’s planned entry into crop nutrients. BHP is betting big on a growing market for potash as it prepares to take on one-time takeover target Nutrien and other fertiliser incumbents.

Nutrien is predicting steady but unspectacular growth in demand for potash, and focused on an emerging market for biological technology it believes could grow to $US13 billion ($19.9 billion) a year.

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PROMOTIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS: From underground to fields and farms globally: Celebrating 65 years of potash in the province of Saskatchewan (Nutrien.com – July 18, 2024)

https://www.nutrien.com/

For 65 years, Nutrien has been part of the fabric of Saskatchewan. From the first 1,000 tonnes of potash produced at our Patience Lake mine and shipped in 1959 to our position today as the world’s largest potash producer, Nutrien’s legacy demonstrates our deep-rooted connection with Saskatchewan and our commitment to Feeding the Future.

Our six mines across the province have access to the best potash geology in the world highlighting our role as a critical mineral producer essential to global agricultural advancement. Potassium is a critical plant nutrient for growth and productivity, without which plant life is impossible.

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Paladin CEO bullish on clearing national security test on Fission deal, as Ottawa inquires about state-owned China shareholder – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Australia’s Paladin Energy Ltd.is confident its proposed acquisition of Canada’s Fission Uranium Corp. will clear a national security probe, as Ottawa makes enquiries about CGN Mining Co. Ltd., a China-based state-owned deal stakeholder.

Perth-based Paladin last month said it had reached a friendly agreement to buy Kelowna, B.C.-based Fission in an all-stock transaction worth $1.14-billion. Fission is developing the Patterson Lake South (PLS) uranium project in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan and hopes it will be in production by the end of the decade.

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Cameco is breaking ground on new ways to mine uranium – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – July 15, 2024)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

About half of the ore mined by the Canadian nuclear fuel giant is now extracted using automation and AI

Many countries around the world are looking to build out their capacity for nuclear power as they try to reduce their carbon emissions, which has created an increased demand for uranium. But the market for uranium has also been undergoing some major changes due to sanctions on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. There have been quite a few changes on the operations front, too.

For example, Saskatoon-based uranium miner Cameco Corp. is undergoing a major evolution in the way it extracts the heavy metal. Lloyd Rowson, vice-president of technical services, said the best example of this change can be seen at the Cigar Lake mine, which began operating in 2014.

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OPINION: A birthright squandered: How potash firms got rich and Saskatchewan got poor – by Eric Cline (Globe and Mail – July 8, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Eric Cline is a lawyer and served 12 years as a cabinet minister in Saskatchewan. His second book, Squandered: Canada’s Potash Legacy (University of Regina Press), was released this spring.

Saskatchewan owns one-third of world potash reserves. That puts the province in an enviable position. The market for potash, necessary for fertilizer production, seems assured as long as a growing world population needs to eat. And one-third is a lot. To put that in context, Saudi Arabia, with only about 16 per cent of world oil reserves, dominates the world oil market.

It’s therefore not surprising that companies extracting Saskatchewan’s potash – Nutrien, Mosaic and K+S – make a lot of money. That’s all the more so recently, when Ukraine war sanctions against the potash producers Russia and Belarus sent the price of the commodity skyrocketing.

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Australia’s Paladin Energy to buy Canada’s Fission Uranium for $1.14-billion – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 25, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Australia’s Paladin Energy Ltd. has reached an agreement to buy Canadian mining development company Fission Uranium Corp. in a friendly transaction worth $1.14-billion, as Fission lays down a big bet on a uranium project in Saskatchewan. Kelowna, B.C.-based Fission is developing the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan, and hopes to be in production by the end of the decade.

Paladin is offering 0.1076 of its shares for each Fission unit, or $1.30 a share, a premium of just under 26 per cent compared to Friday’s closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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Federal gov’t, Saskatchewan swipe sale of N.W.T. rare earth metals from Chinese buyer – by Rose Danen (CBC News North – June 19, 2024)

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

Vital Metals sells stockpile to Saskatchewan Research Council for $3.3M

Vital Metals announced Monday that it’s selling its stockpiled rare earth material to the Saskatchewan Research Council for $3.3 million. This material comes from the North T deposit at the Nechalacho mine, 110 kilometres from Yellowknife.

Natural Resources Canada, along with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, directly facilitated this transaction, which has the effect of keeping rare earth materials out of Chinese hands.

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Ottawa, Saskatchewan Research Council step in to prevent sale of Canadian rare earth metals to Chinese buyer – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 18, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) are stopping Canadian rare earth metals from falling into the hands of a Chinese buyer, after facing backlash from critics who argued that allowing the deal to proceed was antithetical to Canada’s critical minerals policy.

Australia-based Vital Metals Ltd. in December announced it was selling its stockpile of rare earths that were mined at the Nechalacho Project in the Northwest Territories to China’s Shenghe Resources Holding Co. Ltd.

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Deadly and Wildly Profitable, Uranium Fever Breaks Out – by Geoffrey Morgan and Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – June 12, 2024)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The radioactive metal’s price is up 233%, revealing the speed at which the world is embracing nuclear power once again.

Along the western edge of Canada’s Saskatchewan province, by a bend in a lake ringed by endless stands of black spruce, a small outpost has been carved out of the forest to mark what just might be the hottest new mining project on Earth today. It is a desolate, unforgiving spot.

Even in April, the snow is still caked hard to the ice that coats the lake. Bone-chilling winds howl day and night. And there are no towns or villages or, for that matter, signs of life at all — beyond the occasional black bear or wolf — within a 50-mile radius.

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NexGen CEO optimistic about future of Rook I uranium project as ‘unprecedented’ era dawns – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix – May 29, 2024)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Northern Saskatchewan uranium mine is currently the largest development stage project in Canada

The chief executive of a company looking to build a large uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan says it’s getting closer to final approval for the project.

Leigh Curyer, who founded NexGen Energy Ltd. in 2011, said the company has been given provincial approval for its Rook I project and has also reached agreements with local governments around the site. He said environmental approval from the federal government is still pending, though that process is starting to wrap up.

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Cameco CEO meets with U.S. lawmakers as world events impact uranium industry – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – May 15, 2024)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Tim Gitzel in Washington ahead of a ban on Russian uranium coming into force

Tim Gitzel has been spending a lot of time in the United States lately. The chief executive of Saskatoon-based Cameco was recently in Washington, D.C., where he met with lawmakers to talk about a number of issues.

Among the topics of discussion for Gitzel and his delegation was a recently passed piece of legislation banning Russian uranium imports. The bill has passed both houses of Congress and is waiting to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.

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Former Canadian uranium mine site returned to province (World Nuclear News – May 3, 2024)

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/

The project, which is some 75 km south of Lake Athabasca and 15 km east of the border with the Province of Alberta, operated from 1979 to 2002, producing more than 62 million pounds U3O8 (23,848 tU) from two underground mines and four open pit mines.

The operation also included a tailings management facility, a mill and other support facilities. The Cluff Lake Project is located on Treaty 8 territory, the Homeland of the Métis, and is within the traditional territories of the Dene, Cree, and Métis people. Cluff Lake was fully decommissioned in 2013.

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