Archive | United States Mining

OPINION: Donald Trump is thinking of buying Greenland. That’s not necessarily a bad idea – by Barry Scott Zellen (Globe and Mail – August 19, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In the context of his broader foreign policy, U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported musing about purchasing Greenland from Denmark may not seem all that unnerving.

After all, the former real-estate magnate has already made bold diplomatic moves, such as developing a personal friendship with North Korea’s hitherto reclusive leader and negotiating with the Taliban for nearly a year to try to bring an end to the U.S.’s longest war.

Indeed, buying the island isn’t as wild an idea as it might first seem to some. It may in fact be an example of the U.S. President considering forward-looking, if complex, policy that might strengthen the continent and Greenland itself. Continue Reading →

Trump’s plan to buy Greenland, explained – by Matthew Yglesias (Vox.com – August 16, 2019)

August 16, 2019 in Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining

https://www.vox.com/

He’s not even the first president who’s tried, but the island is not for sale.

President Donald Trump would like to buy Greenland, according to an entertaining Wall Street Journal collaboration by reporters Vivian Salama, Rebecca Ballhaus, Andrew Restuccia, and Michael C. Bender.

Specifically, they report that “in meetings, at dinners and in passing conversations, Mr. Trump has asked advisers whether the U.S. can acquire Greenland, listened with interest when they discuss its abundant resources and geopolitical importance and, according to two of the people, has asked his White House Counsel to look into the idea.”

They also report that “some of his advisers have supported the concept,” though others dismiss it as an unrealistic flight of fancy. The truth is that though it sounds kind of silly, it makes perfect sense if you happen to share Trump’s indifference to environmental issues and indigenous rights. Continue Reading →

Increased uranium mining proposal carries environmental concerns – by Calvin Cutler (News Center1.tv – August 13, 2019)

August 14, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining, Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry

News Center1 TV

OSHOTO, WYO. — A uranium mining company is looking to shift operations at their mine north of Moorecroft, Wyoming. Strata Energy, the US subsidiary of Australian Peninsula Energy is looking to ramp up operations at the Lance Projects.Strata hopes to bolster domestic uranium production.

The Lance Projects lie in Crook County. Inside the area are the Ross, Barber, and Kendrick projects. At the Ross Project, Strata Energy is in the process of testing a different type of uranium mining.

In Situ uranium mining allows companies to extract the product from the ground without digging an open pit. Strata recently shut down their alkaline leaching mines, and are focusing on their experimental acid leaching operation. They’re currently in the process of demonstrating to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality that they can effectively conduct operations at the site without effecting the groundwater. Continue Reading →

Arizona copper mine ruling expected to have national impact (San Francisco Chronicle – August 13, 2019)

August 14, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canada Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Conflict and Opposition, United States Mining

https://www.sfchronicle.com/

Associated Press – TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A federal court ruling against a planned Arizona mining project is expected to have national repercussions if upheld by higher courts, experts said.

The mining industry has decried the ruling against the proposed $1.9 billion Rosemont Mine, The Arizona Daily Star reported .

The U.S. Forest Service’s approval of plans for the new copper mine in southeastern Arizona was overruled July 31 by U.S. District Court Judge James Soto. Conservation and tribal groups praised the ruling, saying it recognized the Forest Service’s failure to protect public land and resources. Continue Reading →

Idaho tribe sues mining company over pollution at idle site – by Keith Ridler (Associated Press/Times Union – August 9, 2019)

August 12, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Gold and Silver, International Media Resource Articles, Junior Exploration Sector, United States Mining

https://www.timesunion.com/

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Nez Perce Tribe has filed a lawsuit to force a Canadian company to clean up an idle central Idaho mining area — which the company says it plans to do if it gets approval from U.S. officials to restart mining at the site.

The tribe contends in the federal lawsuit filed Thursday that British Columbia-based Midas Gold is illegally allowing arsenic, cyanide and mercury to remain in the area where the tribe has had hunting and fishing rights since an 1855 treaty with the U.S.

Midas Gold itself has never mined in the area about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of McCall, but in the past decade has acquired existing mining claims and developed a plan it says will clean up the mess left by a century of mining by other companies. The tribe in the lawsuit said it’s time for the company to act. Continue Reading →

Trump’s quest to quit China’s rare earths hits outback Australia – by David Stringer (Bloomberg/Minneapolis Star Tribune – August 7, 2019)

August 8, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, International Media Resource Articles, Metals and Manufacturing, United States Mining

http://www.startribune.com/

The remote Outback region of northern Australia would seem an unlikely outpost in the simmering global trade war, but the mining hot spot may help solve a critical issue for the U.S. — the supply of rare earths.

Last October, two U.S. Geological Survey scientists visited a newly recognized type of rare earths deposit about 100 miles southeast of Halls Creek in Western Australia. Rare earths, a group of 17 vital elements needed in components for missile systems, consumer electronics and electric vehicles, have become a more important battleground after China signaled it may restrict shipments to the U.S.

“All of a sudden, you’ve got the U.S. government realizing they have a problem,” said George Bauk, chief executive officer of Northern Minerals Ltd., who has held talks in Washington and hosted the U.S. scientists at the company’s remote Browns Range project. Continue Reading →

China’s rare earth producers say they are ready to weaponise their supply stranglehold, pass any tariff as cost to US customers – by Eric Ng (South China Morning Post – August 7, 2019)

August 8, 2019 in Asia Mining, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining

https://www.scmp.com/

China’s rare earth producers, who control the lion’s share of the world’s output of the elements, said they are ready to use their dominance of the industry as a weapon in the country’s year-long trade war with their customers in the United States.

Chinese producers will pass any tariffs on their exports to customers, in a move that would almost certainly add to the cost of the magnets, motors, light-emitting diodes and hundreds of other devices, according to an industry guild that represents almost 300 miners, processors and manufacturers of rare earth-based products.

The industry “resolutely supports the nation’s counter measures against US import tariffs on Chinese products,” the Association of China Rare Earth Industry said in a statement yesterday citing the consensus from an August 5 meeting. “US consumers must shoulder the costs from US-imposed tariffs.” Continue Reading →

Deals by foreign buyers near $40-billion, set to eclipse last year’s pace – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Goldcorp Inc., Newmont, United States Mining

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Acquisitions in Canada by foreign buyers are already approaching the dollar value for all of 2018, as confidence in the economy trumps rising global trade tension and a dearth of deals in the oil patch.

Deals announced in the first half of 2019 topped $39.3-billion, only slightly less than the $40.2-billion worth of deals in all of 2018, a year considered to have been brisk for deal-making by foreigners, according to figures from the law firm Torys LLP.

Based on announced transactions and those the firm knows are being discussed, it is shaping up to be a strong year, though it is too early to predict a record, said Cornell Wright, co-head of Torys’ mergers and acquisitions practice. Continue Reading →

Federal judge bars Rosemont Mine construction – by Tony Davis (Arizona Daily Star – Aug 1, 2019)

August 1, 2019 in Canada Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Conflict and Opposition, United States Mining

https://tucson.com/

A federal judge stopped the planned Rosemont Mine in a ruling Wednesday evening, halting plans to start building the $1.9 billion project in August.

U.S. District Judge James Soto’s ruling in Tucson overturned the U.S. Forest Service’s 2017 decision approving the mine and its 2013 final environmental impact statement clearing the way for that approval.

His ruling, if it survives expected appeals to higher courts, would drive a stake into longstanding federal policies that say the Forest Service virtually can never say “no” to a mine if it would otherwise meet federal laws. It calls into legal question how the Forest Service has used the 1872 Mining Law to justify its approval of Rosemont — and by extension other mines on its land. Continue Reading →

The US is losing the nuclear energy export race to China and Russia. Here’s the Trump team’s plan to turn the tide – by Tom DiChristopher (CNBC.com – March 21, 2019)

August 1, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining, Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry

https://www.cnbc.com/

The Trump administration is preparing a new push to help American companies compete in the race to build the next generation of nuclear power plants around the world — a competition the U.S. is currently losing.

In doing so, the administration also aims to push back on the growing dominance of Russia and China in the space, preventing them from expanding their international influence by forging long-lasting nuclear ties with foreign powers.

The State Department plans to expand cooperation with countries pursuing atomic energy long before those nations ever purchase a nuclear reactor. By facilitating early stage talks, the U.S. intends to put American companies first in line to build tomorrow’s fleet of nuclear power plants overseas. Continue Reading →

Former Mine In Missouri’s Old Lead Belt To Be Reopened For Cobalt Mining – by Eli Chen (St. Louis Public Radio – July 31, 2019)

August 1, 2019 in Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/

Missouri Mining Inc. plans to create up to 700 jobs by reopening a mine at a Superfund site in Fredericktown, Missouri.

The company wants to extract cobalt from the Madison Mine, which it purchased last year. The mine has been inactive since the 1960s and is a part of the Madison County Mines Superfund site, an area contaminated by historic lead mining.

Environmental Operations, a Missouri Mining subsidiary, plans to begin cleaning up the site this winter. Missouri Cobalt, another Missouri Mining subsidiary, could hire as many as 400 temporary workers and 250 permanent workers to rebuild and operate the mine. Continue Reading →

Rare earths filtered from phosphate mine waste (Mining Magazine – July 30, 2019)

July 30, 2019 in Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Potash/Phosphate, United States Mining

https://www.miningmagazine.com/

The project for the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute had the aim of capturing, extracting and separating rare earth elements (REE) out of both phosphoric acid and the resulting waste.

Precision Periodic, which is a University of Central Florida incubator company, has developed a proprietary nano-filter for extracting and releasing multiple REEs, precious metals, heavy metals and/or radioactive elements out of acidic liquids. It is both reusable and scalable for different size applications.

With the Thor nano-filtration system, the test team was able to capture 40-60% of the REEs and radioactive elements in a five-minute, single pass-through from wet process phosphoric acid, and 80% of the REEs in a five-minute, single pass-through from sulphuric acid leached waste. Continue Reading →

CALIFORNIA: Must Reads: A war is brewing over lithium mining at the edge of Death Valley – by Louis Sahagun (Los Angeles Times – May 7, 2019)

July 29, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, International Media Resource Articles, Lithium, United States Mining

https://www.latimes.com/

A small Cessna soared high above the Mojave Desert recently, its engine growling in the choppy morning air. As the aircraft skirted the mountains on the edge of Death Valley National Park, a clutch of passengers and environmentalists peered intently at a broiling salt flat thousands of feet below.

The desolate beauty of the Panamint Valley has long drawn all manner of naturalists, adventurers and social outcasts — including Charles Manson — off-road vehicle riders and top gun fighter pilots who blast overhead in simulated dogfights.

Now this prehistoric lake bed is shaping up to be an unlikely battleground between environmentalists and battery technologists who believe the area might hold the key to a carbon-free future. Continue Reading →

Mega-merger hurdles at Newmont Goldcorp hit gold miner’s profit – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – July 25, 2019)

July 26, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Newmont, United States Mining

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

The world’s largest gold miner is experiencing some growing pains as it tries to integrate a slew of new assets from its recently completed mega-merger.

Newmont Goldcorp Corp.’s () shares fell after it posted an adjusted profit that was about half what analysts were expecting in a messy second quarter that included its merger with Goldcorp Inc. and the start of a new joint venture with rival Barrick Gold Corp. () in Nevada.

Although there have been “no surprises” in the acquired Goldcorp assets, underinvestment has been an issue throughout the portfolio, Newmont President Tom Palmer told analysts Thursday on an earnings call. “There was not the work done on exploration, there wasn’t the work done on development, and that’s absolutely fundamental in either an open pit or an underground mine.” Continue Reading →

Canada mine waste prompts calls for better water protection (Associated Press – July 22, 2019)

July 23, 2019 in British Columbia Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Conflict and Opposition, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, United States Mining

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

KALISPELL, Mont. — Towns, tribes and politicians in U.S. states bordering British Columbia are seeking better oversight and stricter regulations to protect them from hazardous pollution that flow downstream from coal mines in the Canadian province.

Leaders in Libby, Troy and Eureka, towns along the Kootenai River, wrote in separate letters to Montana Gov. Steve Bullock saying their livelihoods depend on the region’s rivers and lakes. But those waterways that support diverse wildlife and recreational interests are being compromised by contaminants from British Columbia coal mines, they said.

They and tribal leaders in Montana and Idaho want state and federal officials to fund better long-term water quality monitoring and to adopt a strict water quality standard for selenium. Continue Reading →

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