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Zinc, Lead and Tin

Owner of Caribou Mine near Bathurst granted creditor protection (CBC New Brunswick – August 22, 2022)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/

Trevali Mining says there’s no timeline for a potential restart of operations

The news just keeps getting worse for the Caribou Mine near Bathurst. After suspending operations last week, Trevali Mining Corp. has been granted creditor protection by the British Columbia Supreme Court on Friday.

On Monday, the company announced that trading of its shares had been halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Trading is also expected to be halted on three other exchanges as well.

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New Brunswick: Caribou Mine near Bathurst stops all production (CBC News New Brunswick – August 17, 2022)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/

Mayor says news of layoffs is ‘disheartening’

The owner of the Caribou Mine in northern New Brunswick has suspended the extraction of all minerals at the site while it reviews its operations. Trevali Mining Corp. announced Tuesday it would explore all options for the future of the mine near Bathurst after reporting low productivity rates and a steep drop in revenue.

In an email Wednesday, Jason Mercier, Trevali’s director of investor relations, confirmed the decision to halt production. The news comes after the Vancouver-based company released its second-quarter financial results, which showed it recorded a 44 per cent decrease in revenue compared to the previous quarter.

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Column: Glencore’s smelter warning galvanises the zinc price – by Andy Home (Reuters – August 9, 2022)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc price jumped to a six-week high last week after Glencore (GLEN.L) warned of the continuing margin squeeze on its European smelters. The commodities powerhouse idled part of its Portovesme smelter in Italy at the end of 2021 due to high power prices.

Europe’s power crunch has got much worse in the intervening months after Russia launched what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine at the end of February.

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Europe’s Power Crunch Cuts Zinc and Aluminum Capacity in Half – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – July 20, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Europe has lost about half of its zinc and aluminum smelting capacity within the past year, and a further surge in power prices could knock more plants offline over winter, the region’s biggest metal producers warned.

Eurometaux, which represents miners, smelters and fabricators employing 500,000 people in Europe, is underscoring the risks that lie ahead for the industry as the European Union urges member states to cut gas usage to avert a drastic escalation of the region’s energy crunch over the winter months.

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Blog: The US is using a mine in Greenland to counter China – by Mia Bennett (Eye On The Arctic – June 27, 2022)

https://www.rcinet.ca/

The U.S. has offered $657 million to develop the world’s northernmost mine in Greenland to counter China. Is it worth it?

In a remote fjord in northwest Greenland, an Australian company is scouting beneath a permafrost-laden beach for zinc. The price of the silvery element, which is used to galvanize other metals to prevent rusting, has doubled since March 2010 to nearly $2 a pound in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As a result, remote deposits of the commodity are now even more lucrative than they were 15 years ago, when Ironbark Zinc was formed in Perth, one of the world’s most remote cities, to tap resources in an extreme frontier.

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Hudbay ends Flin Flon era with closure of 777 mine – by Jackson Chen (Canadian Mining Journal – June 22, 2022)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) has announced that mining activities at the 777 zinc-copper mine in Flin Flon, Man., have concluded after the reserves were depleted following 18 years of steady production. Closure activities at the mine have commenced, and employees and equipment are transitioning to the company’s operations in Snow Lake.

“777 was a state-of-the-art mine that represented the pinnacle of a century of shared success for Hudbay and Flin Flon,” stated Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s president and CEO, in a news release. “Though the closure of 777 marks the end of a mining era in Flin Flon, we will continue with exploration activities in the region.

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Zinc mine builder willing to share benefits with First Nation – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 14, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Metallum Resources signs agreement with Pays Plat First Nation

A would-be zinc mine builder has signed a “negotiation agreement” with a First Nation community on the north shore of Lake Superior.

Metallum Resources calls the agreement with Pays Plat First Nation (PPFN) a “major milestone” that puts the wheels in motion toward early-stage development at the site. It also moves the relationship along toward signing a more fruitful impact benefit agreement (IBA) later this year.

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Mining the Northwest: Developer looks to fast track former Schreiber-area zinc mine into production by 2023 – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 3, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Metallum Resources talks up global commodity traders in preparing to restart Winston Lake mine

A mine developer looking to restart a shuttered high-grade zinc mine near the north shore of Lake Superior reports it’s in talks with “multiple global metal traders” for off-take agreements for the much-in-demand metal.

Vancouver’s Metallum Resources calls its Superior Lake Zinc Project, near the town of Schreiber, one of the highest grade zinc development projects in North America, if not the world. The company is in the mine permitting stage on the path toward reopening of the former Winston Lake zinc mine and fast-track it to production as early as next year.

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Column: European smelter squeeze keeps zinc close to record highs – by Andy Home (Reuters – March 29, 2022)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) – London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc recorded a new all-time high of $4,896 per tonne earlier this month, eclipsing the previous 2006 peak of $4,580 per tonne.

True, the March 8 spike was over in a matter of hours and looked very much like the forced close-out of positions to cover margin calls in the LME nickel contract, which was imploding at the time before being suspended. But zinc has since re-established itself above the $4,000 level, last trading at $4,100 per tonne, amid escalating supply chain tensions.

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US government mandate to support nickel and zinc production (Mining Journal – February 23, 2022)

https://www.mining-journal.com/

The latest list, released by the United States Geological Survey, contained 15 more commodities than the first list of critical minerals, which was created in 2018. The list has been officially updated after draft proposals were issued in November.

The list is designed to act as a trigger for government initiatives to improve domestic production, and diversity of supply, of key mineral. In practice this could unlock government support for junior minors and refining businesses in the US.

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Glencore’s Zinc Mine Expansion Threatened by Indigenous Backlash – by James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – February 15, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc’s plans to expand one of the world’s largest zinc and lead mines has been thrown into doubt after an Australian government judged it failed to adequately consult with Aboriginal custodians over the protection of a sacred site.

In a ruling that may remind resource investors of the backlash against Rio Tinto Group’s 2020 destruction of ancient rock shelters, the Northern Territory government found that Glencore didn’t consult all custodians of the Damangani sacred site on its McArthur River mine expansion plans.

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Ivanhoe Mines announces rebirth of Kipushi mine – by Olivia Johnson (CIM Magazine – February 14, 2022)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

On care and maintenance since 1993, Ivanhoe says Kipushi will be one of the highest-grade zinc mines on the planet

Ivanhoe Mines announced on Feb. 14 that it has signed an agreement with Gécamines, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned mining company, to bring the Kipushi zinc mine back to production.

The mine, according to Ivanhoe, will be one of the highest-grade major zinc mines in the world. A 2022 feasibility study released by the company shows measured and indicated resources of 9.2 billion pounds of zinc from 11.78 million tonnes grading at 35.34 per cent, an after-tax net present value of US$941 million at an eight per cent discount rate based on a long-term zinc price of US$1.20 per pound and a mine life of 14 years.

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COLUMN-European smelter cuts catch zinc looking the wrong way: – by Andy Home (Reuters – October 19, 2021)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc price surged 26% last week to hit a 14-year high of $3,944.00 per tonne. The spark for the explosive rally was Nyrstar’s Oct. 13 announcement that it was reducing output by up to 50% at its three European smelters in the face of spiralling energy prices.

The panic spread when Glencore said it too was “adjusting production” across its European operations to reduce exposure to peak power pricing periods during the day. China’s power-related zinc supply problems were in the price. Europe’s weren’t.

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Metals head for record, zinc spikes as energy crisis hits supply (Bloomberg News – October 14, 2021)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Base metals surged, led by zinc which spiked to the highest since 2007 after European smelters became the latest casualties in a global energy crisis that’s knocking supply offline and heaping pressure on manufacturers.

Zinc rose as much as 6.9 per cent on the London Metal Exchange, and a gauge of six industrial metals rapidly closed in on an all-time high. Aluminum, one of the most energy-intensive commodities, is at the highest since 2008.

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Wild markets gatecrash London Metal Exchange Week party – by Andy Home (Reuters – October 2021)

https://www.reuters.com/

This year’s London Metal Exchange (LME) Week was a subdued affair by comparison with past excess. Put on ice last year due to covid-19, the annual metals party returned in slimmed-down form with many opting for virtual over physical drinks. Analysts were in equally sober mood. Everyone’s still positive on the longer-term energy transition story but more immediately worried about China.

The debt problem faced by real estate developer China Evergrande Group is no Lehman Moment, to quote Bank of China’s head of commodity strategy Amelia Fu, speaking at the LME Seminar. But weakening Chinese property sales spell trouble for what is a big metallic demand driver.

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