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[Tungsten] The U.S. needs more of this critical metal — and China owns 80% of its supply chain – by Evelyn Cheng (CNBC – July 2, 2024)

https://www.cnbc.com/

BEIJING — China dominates the supply chain for many of the world’s critical minerals, but so far it’s held off on sweeping restrictions on at least one: tungsten.

The metal is nearly as hard as diamond and has a high energy density. That’s made tungsten an important material in weapons, autos, electric car batteries, semiconductors and industrial cutting machines. Chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Nvidia both use the metal. “I don’t expect any saber-rattling over tungsten,” said Lewis Black, CEO of Canada-based Almonty Industries, which is spending at least $75 million to reopen a tungsten mine in South Korea later this year.

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Canada needs a clearer and more co-ordinated mining strategy, and quickly – by John Turner, Krisztian Toth and Paul Blyschak (Globe and Mail – July 3, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

John Turner, Krisztian Toth and Paul Blyschak are lawyers at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. The views expressed herein are those of the authors.

After years of underwhelming policy support, our federal government has finally awoken to the vital importance of Canadian mining. The alarm bell has been the critical minerals race and its integral bearing on the green energy transition and high-tech applications (including artificial intelligence) and, by extension, national and international security.

But the lack of foresight has left policy makers scrambling. We must make up lost ground, quickly, and with minimal politicking, or we risk the entire energy transition.

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Coalition nuclear policy leaves traditional owners of Kakadu uranium mine worried – by Jane Bardon (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – July 2, 2024)

https://www.abc.net.au/

Mirarr traditional owner Corben Mudjandi is desperate for his spectacular land at Jabiluka to be incorporated into Kakadu National Park, which surrounds it, rather than mined for its uranium. “Its sacred to us, and it’s a piece of human history, 65,000 years, we want Jabiluka not mined; we want to show people the beauty of nature, and what we call home,” he said.

Mr Mudjandi is worried the federal Coalition’s plan to open nuclear plants if it wins government could drive demand for Jabiluka’s uranium. The Mirarr are also concerned that almost a year after Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) applied to extend its uranium mining lease over Jabiluka for another decade, the Northern Territory and federal governments have not yet decided whether to reject or approve it.

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New platinum alloy to transform jewellery making – by Darren Parker (MiningWeekly.com – July 3, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) has highlighted the launch of a new platinum alloy named Inoveo Platinum, which it believes has the potential to transform platinum jewellery design and manufacturing.

Established by Platinum Guild International (PGI) USA, Inoveo Platinum was codeveloped by mining major Anglo American and materials designer and developer Alloyed following years of research and development.

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Judge hearing case on whether federal agency should order removal of mining waste from Elliott Lake properties – by Kate Rutherford (CBC News Sudbury – July 03, 2024)

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

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says remediation of properties outside its jurisdiction

Three Elliott Lake homeowners are being represented in federal court today and tomorrow by the Canadian Environmental Law Association. They’re asking a judge to order the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to compel the clean-up of mining waste from their properties.

The three all own properties where waste rock from Rio Algom uranium mines was used as fill under and around their homes when they were built in the 1970s. The homes all have higher than acceptable levels of radon gas and require special mitigation to keep them safe.

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US may not set the rules but can still shape the future of deep-sea mining – by James Borton (South China Morning Post – July 3, 2024)

https://www.scmp.com/

The wealth of critical minerals on the ocean floor and strategic advantages they offer mean the US must act before it is too late

Time is running out for the United States to have a voice in managing deep-sea mining. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) will soon meet to advance the commercial framework regulating the mining of metals essential for the clean energy transition, aiming for adoption next year.

At a recent briefing for US congressional staff titled “Deep Sea Mining: Policy Implications for the United States” that I moderated at the US-Asia Institute in Washington, a group of experts weighed in on Washington’s opportunities and responsibilities in addressing the climate crisis through mineral extraction to power the transition from fossil fuels to green energy.

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Church teachings on sustainable mining: Shared responsibility – by Bernardo M. Villegas (Business World – July 3, 2024)

BusinessWorld

The final chapter of the encyclical Laudato Si focuses on the primordial importance of environmental education. Here, every single individual must be involved, especially the young. This education has to affect actions and daily habits, the reduction of water consumption, the sorting of waste, and even turning off unnecessary lights and, among the well-to-do, air-conditioning units.

An integral ecology is also made up of simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation, and selfishness. As Pope Francis proposed in Evangelium Gaudium, sobriety, when lived freely and consciously, is liberating, just as happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities which life can offer. In this way we must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.

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Opinion: It’s time to abandon reckless EV mandates – by Dan McTeague (Financial Post – July 3, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

Markets, i.e., Canadians, should determine the pace at which a new technology is adopted economywide, not government planners

Canada is not nearly ready for the wholesale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). That was the message of the letter I sent to every member of Parliament recently, urging them to drop the “Electric Vehicle Availability Standard” introduced by the Trudeau government late last year.

That’s the policy that mandates that all new vehicles sold in Canada must be electric by 2035. There is no way, considering the economic, technological and infrastructural realities of our country — and our world — where this is possible.

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Rising Chinese aluminium output pressures alumina supply – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 1, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – China’s production of primary aluminium is closing in on last year’s record highs as previously idled capacity ramps up in Yunnan province. The country increased production by 5% year-on-year to 3.65 million metric tons in May, according to the latest estimate from the International Aluminium Institute.

National output is now running close to an annualised 43.0 million tons, within touching distance of the record highs seen in September and October last year.

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Unable to effectively operate its lone existing nuclear reactor, New Brunswick is betting on advanced options – by Matthew McClearn (Globe and Mail – July 2, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Mike Holland was among Canada’s leading evangelists for small modular nuclear reactors. During his tenure as New Brunswick’s energy minister, from 2018 to when he stepped down on June 20, he vigorously supported plans by the province’s Crown utility, NB Power, to construct two different small reactor designs from startup companies: U.S.-based ARC Clean Technology and Britain’s Moltex Energy.

This represents Canada’s most ambitious – and perhaps riskiest – foray into bleeding-edge nuclear technology. In an interview shortly before he resigned to pursue an opportunity in the private sector, Mr. Holland recalled how SMRs arrived on his agenda soon after he assumed office.

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Community support is vital, Frontier Lithium official says – by Mike Stimpson (Northern Ontario Business – June 28, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Company reps engaging communities on details of lithium project north of Red Lake

Community consultation is a key part of Frontier Lithium’s big project in northwestern Ontario, a spokesperson for the Sudbury-headquartered mining company said June 27.

“We actually have been really out there in communities, ramping up our engagement and consultation and information sharing about the project over the last six months,” Clara Lauziere, Frontier’s sustainability director, told Dougall Media.

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Copper’s unicorns – by Frik Els (Mining.com – July 1, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Tech venture capitalists invest in startups and get to call them unicorns. Startups like Juicero, famous for $700 a pop “smart” chopped fruit squeezers and being one of Silicon Valley’s dumbest moments, Wag! (oh? you have a dog walking app that sends updates on the frequency and consistency of pet number 2s? – here’s $300 million) and In-Real-Life or IRL, a chat app made for bot to bot communication.

The official definition of a unicorn is a startup with a $1 billion valuation while still a private company. There are more than 1,500 unicorns globally and a variety of investment products that track them. Your humble correspondent felt that the mining industry deserves a similar category of company.

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Argentina Is About to Unleash a Wave of Lithium in a Global Glut – by Jonathan Gilbert and James Attwood (Bloomberg News – June 28, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — For all the money that’s poured into Argentina’s giant lithium deposits, the country has seen just one new mine come on stream in almost a decade. That’s about to change.

Four new projects will finally begin to churn out lithium in the weeks and months ahead, according to a yet-to-be released federal government time-line seen by Bloomberg News. That will almost double production capacity in Argentina, whose growth potential has long lured the attention of battery makers around the world.

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Canada failing to protect human rights activists from mining companies operating overseas: UN watchdog – by Tavia Grant (Globe and Mail – July 2, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government’s failure to protect human-rights advocates who raise concerns over the activity of Canadian corporations abroad is tarnishing the country’s global reputation, a United Nations official said in an interview.

Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human-rights defenders, said Canada should strengthen legislation and bolster oversight of extractive firms operating abroad, some of which she says are causing harms to the environment and human rights advocates. (As a special rapporteur, Ms. Lawlor writes formal letters to governments, and companies, in which she raises concerns about situations where advocates are at risk).

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Get ready for more disputes about what’s ‘mine’ and theirs – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – July 1, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Eleven years ago, The Northern Miner ran a story titled “How Mexico reclaimed its mantle as a top mining nation.” The piece recounted how the nation opened up investment and in 2012, became the No. 1 jurisdiction in Latin America for spending on mineral exploration.

Last year, Mexico was the top jurisdiction in another category: the target of most new requests for arbitrations at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The 10 new claims registered against it in 2023 edged out El Salvador’s nine.

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