Sudbury Basin – Republic of Mining

Candidates have differing opinions on mining’s future in Sudbury – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – May 12, 2022)

May 12, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Green candidate says new jobs will come from supply and services, and research, not mineral extraction

With the PC rep absent there was plenty the remaining mainstream Sudbury candidates could agree upon, although the three did clash from time to time — particularly on the question of how much mineral extraction drives the local economy.

Both Jamie West, the NDP incumbent, and David Farrow, running for the Liberals, took exception to Green candidate David Robinson’s assessment of how significant the city’s signature industry is to its future prosperity.

The Drift: Conference aims to strengthen connection between critical minerals miners and electric vehicle makers – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – May 5, 2022)

May 6, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

BEV In-Depth: Mines to Mobility will take place May 25-26 at Science North in Sudbury

Could Sudbury become a crucial hub for battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturing expertise in Ontario? A group of Sudbury partners believes so, and they’ll start to examine the possibilities later this month during the inaugural BEV In-Depth: Mines to Mobility conference, hosted by the city’s economic development department and slated to take place May 25-26 at Science North.

Over two days, stakeholders from across industries will gather to talk about emerging BEV technologies and the robust supply chain that will need to be in place to help the province usher in widespread EV adoption.

Sudbury election file: City has key role in critical minerals, Green candidate says -by Staff (Sudbury Star – April 30, 2022)

May 2, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Ford government “kneecapped” Laurentian University and its ability to conduct mining research and development when it was needed the most, the Green Party’s Sudbury candidate says.

Referring to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, David Robinson said the world must cut emissions to fight climate change. A key part of that is the need for critical minerals for such things as batteries used in electric vehicles.

The Drift: Junior miners chasing nickel, palladium and gold in the Sudbury area – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 28, 2022)

April 28, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

SPC Nickel emerging as new nickel player in the Sudbury basin in seeking to resurrect former nickel mine

A new nickel player in the Sudbury mining camp expects great results toward resurrecting a former mine, while two other junior miners pursue palladium and gold at the opposite ends of the basin.

SPC Nickel cashed up over the winter with more than $3 million to go exploring for nickel, copper and platinum group metals (PGM) on its three properties in the Sudbury area.

Nickel markets may be chaotic, but long-term outlook very strong, analysts say – by Darren MacDonald (CTV News Northern Ontario – March 30, 2022)

March 30, 2022

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

It’s been a wild ride for nickel prices this month. After soaring to almost US$22 a pound, the London Metals Exchange (LME) halted trading for several days March 8, outraging many investors.

A major reason the LME intervened was a major Chinese nickel producer stood to lose billions because it had bet prices would be lower. Investors sometimes try to protect themselves from volatile prices by betting prices will be lower in the future, a process known as short selling.

Sudbury is kind of a big deal in mining, says industry report – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – March 28, 2022)

March 29, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury mines and service sector generates $3.3 billion in GDP for Ontario

The Ontario Mining Association (OMA) released a report showing the contribution of the mining sector to the provincial economy. The State of the Ontario Mining Sector, was published by the OMA in partnership with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry.

Ontario’s mining industry contributed an estimated annual total of $7.5 billion to Ontario’s gross domestic product (GDP), $3.3 billion in wages and salaries, and sustained over 48,605 full-time jobs.

Science North honours mining leader, educator Dick Destefano – by Staff (Sudbury Star – March 29, 2022)

March 29, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

He receives an honourary life member award; special fund set up in his name

Science North recognized a leader of Northern Ontario’s mining industry as an honourary life member on Friday night.

Dick DeStefano, retired executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (now MineConnect), is a community leader who has contributed a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the fields of mining.

Devil Copper: War and the Canadian Nickel Industry, 1883–1970 – by Scott Miller (National Defence Canada – Winter 2019)

March 29, 2022

http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/

Located in the heart of northeastern Ontario, the city of Sudbury is often referred to as the ‘Nickel Capital’ for its historic relationship with this particular metal. Indeed, by the eve of the First World War, it had become the world’s leading producer of nickel, and by 1950, its share of the global supply peaked at 95 percent.1

Also known as ‘devil copper,’ worldwide demand for nickel remained strong throughout much of the 20th Century, largely as a result of its far-reaching military applications. While the citizens of Sudbury are generally well aware of this mining legacy, others may not be as familiar with the significance of nickel in Canadian political and military history. This is hardly surprising. As renowned historian J.L. Granatstein once asserted, there is a lack of “…serious scholarship on Canada’s industrial [war effort],” including its mineral and mining sectors.2

NEWS RELEASE: MINING IN GREATER SUDBURY REGION CONTRIBUTES $3.3 BILLION IN GDP (Ontario Mining Association – March 24, 2022)

March 24, 2022

Over 50% of the gross output by Ontario’s mining industry comes from Sudbury

SUDBURY MARCH 24, 2022: A new report, State of the Ontario Mining Sector, published by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) in partnership with Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, demonstrates the majority of regional economic contributions from mining in Ontario occurs in the Sudbury region, with total annual economic contributions in 2019 of approximately $7.5 billion in gross output and $3.3 billion in GDP.

“The opportunities for the Ontario mining industry in Sudbury have arguably never been greater than they are now. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, faces increasing geopolitical uncertainty and as the race to halt climate change accelerates, the region is primed to continue contributing meaningful solutions, while capitalizing on rising global demand for green and critical minerals,” stated Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association.

The world needs Sudbury’s resources more than ever – by Viviane Lapointe (Sudbury Star – March 22, 2022)

March 22, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Viviane Lapointe is the Liberal MP for Sudbury.

Nickel a critical mineral as world looks to decarbonize

Very quietly last November, the United States Geological Survey added nickel and zinc to the list of that country’s critical minerals, or minerals essential to the economic and national security of the U.S. and its supply chain.

The addition of nickel and zinc to the USGS critical minerals list is important for two reasons. And both of those reasons bode well for Sudbury, Northern Ontario and Canada.

The Drift: Trees, bees, fish and seeds: Vale’s biodiversity initiatives helping to recharge Sudbury’s landscape – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – March 22, 2022)

March 22, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Modest greenhouse in city’s Copper Cliff neighbourhood is at the heart of unique reclamation program

On a cool, mid-winter morning, the outside temperature in Copper Cliff, just outside of Sudbury, has dipped to -10 and a fresh coat of newly fallen snow is blanketing the area. But inside the greenhouse owned by nickel miner Vale, it’s a balmy 29 degrees.

It’s rare for international mining companies to have greenhouses listed among their assets, but from the glass-walled facility, nestled at the end of a cozy street in a residential neighbourhood, Vale has happily been churning out thousands of tree seedlings annually since the 1950s.

Why Northern Ontario remains mining central: Investment, innovation fuel growth in Sudbury-North Bay mining cluster – by Norm Tollinsky (Canadian Mining Journal – March 19, 2022)

March 22, 2022

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

This year’s annual U-Haul Growth Index, which tracks the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a Canadian city, ranked North Bay, Ont., as the country’s leading growth city for the second year in a row with Sudbury following close behind in third place.

Covid-19 and skyrocketing housing prices in the Greater Toronto Area certainly had something to do with it, but both cities owe much of their appeal to the economic impact of northeastern Ontario’s mining cluster.

Vale’s big nickel gamble paying off, experts say – by Staff (Sudbury Star – March 9, 2022)

March 9, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

London Metal Exchange, meanwhile, takes emergency measures to halt trading in nickel on Tuesday

An unprecedented surge in nickel prices fueled by the war in Ukraine is turning a once-sputtering portfolio of mines into prized assets, Bloomberg News said Tuesday.

In the 2000s commodities supercycle, Brazilian iron ore giant Vale SA made a $17 billion bet on a metal used mainly to make stainless steel, the agency noted. The purchase of Canadian nickel miner Inco Ltd., announced in 2006, was part of then-CEO Roger Agnelli’s goal of turning Vale into a diversified global heavyweight at a time of seemingly insatiable Chinese demand for raw materials.

Nickel Closest Thing to a True ‘War Metal’ – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Northern Life – February 23, 2007)

February 24, 2022

Please note that this column is from 2007 – Stan Sudol

The metallic “Achilles heel” for any military and navel production has always been nickel

Sudbury was definitely going to be “nuked” by the Russians. At least that was our conclusion back in 1976 when I worked at CVRD Inco’s Clarabell Mill for a year.

During one graveyard shift, a group of us were talking about Cold War politics and atomic bombs. We all agreed that if there ever was a nuclear war between the Americans and Russians then there must have been one Soviet “nuke” with our community’s name stenciled on it. We all laughed a little nervously, but there was also some pride in knowing Sudbury was important enough to get blown-up in the first round of missiles.

Access to strategic materials has always affected the destinies of nations. The Romans conquered Britain in AD 43 to control valuable tin deposits in Cornwall. Combining tin with copper produces bronze, a more valuable and militarily important alloy. Ancient Chinese metallurgical expertise with iron and steel allowed the Middle Kingdom to become a dominate military and economic force during the prosperous Han dynasty.