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Saskatchewan Mining

Saskatchewan government releases new strategy on critical minerals – by Rob O’Flanagan (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – March 27, 2023)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

The province is expanding the Saskatchewan Mineral Exploration Tax Credit from 10 per cent to 30 per cent.

The provincial government has launched a plan to double Saskatchewan’s stake in Canada’s critical minerals exploration sector, while establishing the province as a global hub for rare earth elements.

Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison and Energy and Resources Minister Jim Reiter gave details of the new strategy at a news conference hosted by NexGen Energy in Saskatoon. The goal is to nearly double Saskatchewan’s stake in Canada’s critical minerals sector to 15 per cent from 8.5 per cent by 2030.

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BHP open to potash partnership with Nutrien, leaves door open to new takeover attempt – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 14, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. is open to partnering with Nutrien Ltd., and isn’t ruling out making another takeover attempt of the Canadian fertilizer giant, a senior executive with the Australian miner told The Globe and Mail. “We’re happy to partner,” Rag Udd, president minerals Americas with Melbourne-based BHP, said in an interview.

“If you take a look at the majority of our businesses, there’s some form of partnership there with other companies.” When asked whether a partnership with Nutrien meant a joint venture, a takeover of the company, or both, Mr. Udd replied, “There’s a myriad of options that could be looked at.”

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BHP inks $188m contracts with First Nations at Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan – by Staff (Mining.com – March 10, 2023)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (NYSE: BHP, ASX: BHP) announced Friday that as construction progresses at its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, it has awarded three new contracts in partnership with local First Nation communities.

Covering camp management, site services and raw ore/handling foundation, the contracts include representation from the six First Nations surrounding the Jansen site, with whom BHP has opportunity agreements in place.

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BHP brings forward Jansen Stage 2 studies – by Mariaan Webb (Mining Weekly – February 21, 2023)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Diversified miner BHP is speeding up work at its Jansen potash mine, in Canada, as the group sees an attractive entry opportunity for supply in lower-risk jurisdictions amid increased geopolitical uncertainty.

The company, which previously bought forward first production at Jansen Stage 1 from 2027 to the end of 2026, on Tuesday confirmed that the feasibility study for Stage 2 would be completed a year earlier than previously planned.

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Sask. ‘well-positioned’ to fill resource gaps left by war, sanctions on Russia: economic experts – by Dayne Patterson (CBC News Saskatoon – February 14, 2023)

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

Cameco signs uranium deal with Ukraine worth billions

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to significant gains for Saskatchewan’s resource-based companies, industry experts say.

Cameco Corp., a Saskatoon-based company, announced last week that it has agreed to a multi-billion-dollar contract with SE NNEGC Energoatom — Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy utility — to meet Ukraine’s full nuclear needs from 2024 to 2035.

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Rare earth minerals could help in climate change fight, but mining raises environmental concerns: expert (CBC News Saskatchewan – January 31, 2023)

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

Vital Metals plant in Saskatoon will process rare earth elements mined in Northwest Territories

While rare earth minerals are now being touted as a key part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, there are environmental concerns in extracting these minerals from the ground, says an expert in environmental considerations around mining.

Demand is growing for rare earth elements — a group of 17 metallic elements that tend to occur in the same ore deposits and are used in batteries for everything from vehicles to smartphones.

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Mosaic yet to finalize a date to restart its Canadian potash mine – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – January 27, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Resumption will depend on when the company’s current inventory drops enough to restart operations for the long term

Mosaic Co. says the full resumption of its potash mine in Saskatchewan, where production was curtailed in December, will depend on when the company’s current inventory drops enough to restart operations for the long term.

The Tampa, Fla.-based company said in a Dec. 6, 2022, statement that it had “temporarily curtailed” its Colonsay potash mine in Saskatchewan as its inventory levels were sufficient to meet near-term demand. It added that it expected to restart its mill by early 2023.

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Trudeau visits rare earth element processing plant in Saskatoon – by Kelly Geraldine Malone (Canadian Press/CTV News – January 16, 2023)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

SASKATOON – Justin Trudeau pressed Saskatchewan’s government on its record for clean energy projects after Premier Scott Moe expressed disappointment he was not made aware of the prime minister’s visit to a rare earth elements processing plant.

“There’s work to be done on encouraging the government of Saskatchewan to see the opportunities that companies, and indeed, workers, are seeing in ΓǪ cleaner jobs, in the opportunities for cleaner energy projects,” Trudeau said Monday after a tour through the Vital Metals facility in Saskatoon.

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BHP to start recruiting hundreds to operate world’s largest potash mine in Saskatchewan – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post- January 1, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Planning to hire 600 people in 2023, with large portion of workforce drawn from local community

Seasons change, and so does the weather, but one thing remains constant in Saskatchewan: BHP Group Ltd. keeps pressing forward with Jansen, a $7.5-billion project 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon that will be the world’s largest potash mine once completed.

With billions of dollars spent in the past decade, the company has already built two mine shafts and is planning for first potash production in 2026.

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K+S Potash Canada gearing up for increased capacity at Bethune mine – by Pat Rediger (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – November 16, 2022)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Although the grand opening of the K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) mine in Bethune was greeted with cheers from across the province in 2017, there are still plenty of reasons to celebrate as the company plans to continue increasing production at the facility over the coming decades. KSPC is targeting to one day reach four million of tonnes of potash production per year, which is double the current production from the mine.

KSPC is in the midst of a feasibility study which will lay the framework for future milestones of growth and timelines for the Bethune mine. Sam Farris, president of KSPC, said this process will enable the company to become a world-class potash producer and future leader in climate change responsibility while sustainably feeding the growing world’s population.

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Moe government could end up in court with First Nations over resource development – by Jeremy Simes (Regina Leader Post – October 22, 2022)

https://leaderpost.com/

As Premier Moe aims to assert provincial jurisdiction over resources, First Nations say he is missing a key piece of history.

Standing at a podium inside the Saskatchewan Legislative Building earlier this week, Onion Lake Cree Nation Councillor Bernadine Harper held up a feather and shared a piece of history.

Oral teachings, she said, have long stated that traditional lands were never meant to be surrendered once the treaty was signed. Instead, they were to be shared, to the depth of a plow, in exchange for assistance when in need.

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‘Saviour for the world:’ Saskatchewan fills resource gaps caused by war in Ukraine – by Kelly Geraldine Malone (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – October 23, 2022)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

With its stable and established resource and agriculture sector, the province has found itself in a position to help fill the global gap caused by the war.

Cameco Corp. is in a position to grow, the president of the Saskatoon-based Uranium giant recently told investors, because a “geopolitical crisis has hit our market” with Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Tim Gitzel was speaking earlier this month after the company announced it had partnered with Brookfield Renewable Partners to acquire Westinghouse Electric, a nuclear power plant equipment maker.

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Cameco pivots off volatile uranium market with big bet on Westinghouse – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – October 12, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Cameco is investing $2.2 billion for a 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric, which services nuclear reactors

Decarbonization could end up as a boon for nuclear power, which is capable of generating lots of energy while releasing no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

But as of today, there are still plenty of headwinds for uranium producers such as Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp. So on Tuesday, chief executive Tim Gitzel did something that he hopes will make it easier to push through those headwinds: Cameco said it would invest $2.2 billion for a 49 per cent stake in Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Co., which services nuclear reactors, diversifying Cameco away from the volatile uranium market.

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Is Saskatchewan eyeing its own ‘sovereignty act’? Province slams federal green laws and says it’s ‘Drawing the Line’ – by Jeremy Nuttall (Toronto Star – October 12, 2022)

https://www.thestar.com/

Assessing the cost of federal environmental regulations at $111 billion, Premier Scott Moe’s government says it’s preparing legislation to ‘clarify and protect’ its constitutional rights.

Tension between some Prairie provinces and the federal government flared again Tuesday as Saskatchewan released a report alleging the federal government’s climate-change plans will cost the province $111 billion by 2035.

In a statement, Premier Scott Moe said his government would “take steps to protect” the province’s families, businesses and jobs.

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Nutrien’s new CEO Ken Seitz has a lot on his plate – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – October 11, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In some ways, Ken Seitz, the new chief executive of fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd., is in an enviable position. As long as he doesn’t get fired, he’ll be ahead of his two predecessors, Mayo Schmidt and Chuck Magro, both of whom were shown the door in the past year and a half.

And as a former miner himself, Mr. Seitz commands a natural respect from the thousands of men and women who work a kilometre underground in Nutrien’s six potash mines in Saskatchewan, some of which have been in operation since the late 1960s.

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