Twitter

BHP walks away from proposed $49bn takeover of Anglo American – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 29, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP) has withdrawn its proposal to buy Anglo American (LON: AAL) after the takeover target rejected early on Wednesday the world’s largest miner’s request to extend talks, and said that while it believes its bid was “compelling”, the company is committed to a “disciplined approach” to mergers and acquisitions.

“BHP will not be making a firm offer for Anglo American,” chief executive Mark Henry said in a statement published minutes before the 5 p.m. UK time deadline for the mining giant to make a formal bid. “While we believed that our proposal for Anglo American was a compelling opportunity to effectively grow the pie of value for both sets of shareholders, we were unable to reach agreement with Anglo American on our specific views in respect of South African regulatory risk and cost,” Henry noted.

Read more

New Caledonia unrest pushes nickel sector deeper into crisis (France 24 – May 28, 2024)

https://www.france24.com/en/

Noumea (AFP) – Weeks of unrest in New Caledonia have plunged the archipelago’s nickel industry, already on government life support, closer to catastrophe, sector representatives say. The French Pacific territory is the world’s third-biggest producer of nickel, behind Indonesia and the Philippines, and ahead of Russia and Australia.

Nickel, a silver metal used as an alloy to make stainless steel, electronic components and jewellery, is also a key ingredient for electric vehicle batteries, making it critical for a transition towards cleaner energy.

Read more

Nigeria Is Emerging as a Critical Mineral Hub. the Government Is Cracking Down on Illegal Operations (Associated Press/U.S. News – May 26, 2024)

https://www.usnews.com/

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government is cracking down on illegal mining, making dozens of arrests of unlicensed miners since April for allegedly stealing the country’s lithium, a critical mineral used in batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones and power systems.

The recent arrests come as Nigeria seeks to regulate its mining operations of critical minerals, curb illegal activity and better benefit from its mineral resources. The clean energy transition, a shift away from coal, oil and gas and toward renewable energy and batteries has spiked global demand for lithium, tin and other minerals.

Read more

Indonesia buying record amounts of Philippine nickel ore due to quota delays, sources say (Reuters – May 29, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Indonesia has bought record volumes of nickel ore from the Philippines since April as smelter demand increases, while delays by Jakarta in issuing mining quotas and heavy rains have hurt local supply, people familiar with the matter said.

Indonesia’s nickel ore imports from the country likely hit around 500,000 metric tons in April and will again in May, more than double March volumes, two local smelters and a trader told Reuters. Such monthly totals would also top imports from the Philippines for all of last year which came in at 374,454 tons.

Read more

WYLOO NEWS RELEASE: Canada’s First Downstream Battery Materials Processing Facility to be Built in Sudbury (May 29, 2024)

GREATER SUDBURY, May 29, 2024 – Wyloo has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Greater Sudbury to secure a parcel of land to build a downstream battery materials processing facility. The new facility will fill a critical gap in Canada’s electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain by establishing Canada’s first mine-to-precursor cathode active material (pCAM) integrated solution.

Wyloo CEO Canada Kristan Straub said the facility would provide the missing piece in Canada’s aspirations to develop a domestic EV battery supply chain, by producing low-carbon nickel sulphate and nickel-dominant pCAM, key ingredients for EV batteries.

Read more

Uranium is booming, and Canada must seize the bull by the horns – by David Morrison (Globe and Mail – May 29, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

David Morrison is the chief executive of Eight Capital, one of the largest independent investment banks in Canada.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to ban Russian uranium imports, and President Joe Biden signed off on it. The ban involves a phase-in period, until the end of 2027, to allow domestic production and supplies from allies to ramp up. Given that Russia supplied the U.S. with roughly a quarter of its uranium needs in 2022, this is no small task.

According to U.S. officials, Washington is counting on Canada to step up and fill the gap. We have just three years to prepare – less if the Russians retaliate by pre-emptively restricting their exports. Our usual glacial pace will not cut it.

Read more

America is determined to keep Chinese electric vehicles out. Should Canada follow suit? – by David Olive (Toronto Star – May 25, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Canada is determined to create a comprehensive EV supply chain whose viability could be diminished by Chinese EV imports, David Olive writes.

Canada’s place in a global electric vehicle (EV) industry that will be worth an estimated $12 trillion by 2030 is at risk of becoming a flashpoint in the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. President Joe Biden last week roughly quadrupled tariffs on imported Chinese EVs to 102.5 per cent.

That puts Canada in an awkward position. Canada can join Biden in defending a Fortress North America, imposing high tariffs that put otherwise low-priced Chinese EVs out of reach of Canadian buyers. Or it can potentially undermine a nascent Canadian EV ecosystem by not protecting it from a surge of cheap Chinese imports.

Read more

Second Northern Ontario gold company retracts drill assay results – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 27, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

‘Unfortunate situation’ as MacDonald Mines reviews exploration results of Sudbury project

t’s stunning news when a mining exploration company must retract its drill assay results. Now two gold companies operating in Northern Ontario have been forced to do so within a month.

Following on the heels of Red Pine Exploration’s Wawa assay fiasco, MacDonald Mines Exploration, a junior mining outfit operating in the Sudbury area, reportedly has found “inconsistencies in certain assay results” at its Scadding gold prospect. MacDonald is withdrawing all of the announced results for Scadding as the results are deemed not reliable.

Read more

In uncertain times, gold jewellery offers financial security – by Yumna Iftikhar (Globe and Mail – May 29, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

As a child, Adiba Ahmed didn’t understand why her mother loved gold jewellery. But when her family came under financial stress and her mother sold the gold to keep them afloat, Ms. Ahmed realized that gold jewellery could be a reliable emergency fund.

Gifting gold jewellery on special occasions is a prominent tradition in many South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, from where Ms. Ahmed’s family moved to Canada. Other countries where gold gifting is popular include Pakistan and India.

Read more

Canada’s new defence policy isn’t winning America over, analysts say – by Bryan Passifiume (National Post – May 28, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

According to NATO, Canada ranks only ahead of Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg on defence spending

OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s new defence policy has landed with a resounding thud in Washington and it could be a sign that U.S. politicians are losing patience with Canada’s stinginess on defence spending, analysts say.

A letter released Thursday by 23 Democrat, Republican and independent United States senators took Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to task for Canada’s defence spending, demanding that Canada meet NATO benchmarks requiring members to commit at least two per cent of their GDP to defence spending.

Read more

Iron ore prices lack conviction despite China stimulus moves – by Clyde Russell (Reuters – May 28, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 28 (Reuters) – The balance of risks for iron ore prices are tilted to the downside despite top buyer China’s most recent steps to boost its struggling property sector.

A series of stimulus measures announced earlier this month will see up to 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in new property funding, an easing of mortgage rules and allowing local governments to buy some apartments in order to clear overhangs.

Read more

What’s behind a historic, unusual U.S. military cash transfer to Canadian mines – by Alexander Panetta (CBC News World – May 26, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/

The Pentagon fears global unrest, a shortage of raw materials, and seeks to kickstart projects here

The United States was growing desperate, months before its entry into the Second World War. It was gravely short of aluminum, and scrambling for suppliers. Its solution: turn north to Canada.

American public money flooded into Quebec, building the aluminum industry that supplied raw materials for Allied planes and tanks. “I would be willing to buy aluminum from anybody,” said Harry Truman, then still a U.S. senator, in 1941 hearings on the topic.

Read more

Gold company, First Nation set the ground rules for Far North exploration – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – May 24, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Eabametoong Chief says agreement with Storm Exploration is a ‘model for others to follow’

Vancouver’s Storm Exploration has signed an exploration agreement with the Eabametoong First Nation (EFN) regarding planned activity around its Fort Hope Projects in the remote James Bay region.

In a May 23 news release, Bruce Counts, Storm’s president-CEO, called the signing a “major milestone” that offers mutual benefits for both the company and community. Storm’s Miminiska, Keezhik and Attwood projects are 350 kilometres north of Thunder Bay within a mineralized geological structure called the Miminiska-Fort Hope greenstone belt.

Read more

NGO sues Norway over deep-sea mining plans – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 24, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Environmental activists have once again turned to the Norwegian courts, this time suing the government over its plans for seabed mineral exploration, which they claim has failed to test the possible impacts of such activity.

The case, led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), argues the decision breaches national law, goes against the counsel of the government’s own advisers, and sets an alarming precedent.

Read more

New gold mine in northern Ontario could become biggest in Canada – by Lydia Chubak (CTV Northern Ontario – May 24, 2024)

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

IAMGOLD’s Cote Gold open pit mine, located off Highway 144 between Timmins and Sudbury, had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week as production ramps up. Cote primarily produces gold, with silver as a by-product.

“Our production is growing, we’re still not at nameplate capacity yet,” said Bryan Wilson, general manager of Cote Gold. “We’re still going through teething problems in the process plant, but it’s getting to where we need to be.”

Read more