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How the United States Lost the Rare Earth Materials War to China – by David S. Abraham (The New Republic – May 5, 2025)

https://newrepublic.com/

Chinese dominance in this critical sector of the economy did not happen by accident—it was a policy choice.

Last month, in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, China imposed new export controls on rare earth materials and magnets. Officially, these aren’t bans—but practically, shipments have stopped. This is no small issue: America’s tech leadership, military readiness, and clean energy ambitions all rely on rare earths.

This latest disruption exposes a strategic vulnerability—one that we, not China, created through years of strategic neglect. Without immediate action to rebuild our industrial base, spur innovation, and train a skilled workforce, we will lose our economic and military advantage.

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Uranium crunch: the race to fuel the West’s nuclear energy revival – by Heidi Vella (Mining Technology – May 6, 2025)

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

Amid Russian sanctions and China’s foothold over current uranium supply, how will the West secure the reserves it requires?

The devastating accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in March 2011 triggered a global reassessment of nuclear power, radically reshaping and diminishing the industry, with reactors shut down and national bans brought in.

Yet, in what could be seen as an extreme volte-face, investment in the industry for the first time in many years is climbing. Driven in large part by decarbonisation targets meeting the reality of rising energy demand amid slow renewable energy roll out, the World Nuclear Association (WNA), perhaps unsurprisingly, is touting nuclear as the solution to securing future carbon-free electricity – but this time it is backed by financiers, countries and major companies such as Meta, Google and Amazon.

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Indigenous leaders call on Ford to halt mining bill, consult – by Jessica Smith Cross (The Trillium – May 6, 2025)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

The bill would give ministers the power to exempt projects from legal requirements

Indigenous leaders are warning the Ford government that its failure to consult their people on its mining legislation could prompt “a confrontation on the ground.”Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler was at Queen’s Park Monday to watch the debate over Bill 5, the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.

“It’s very concerning to hear some of the responses from the government, from the MPPs from the Conservative side, talking about how they see our territory as their land, as their resources,” Fiddler told reporters.

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WDC Appeals to US Govt to Exempt Diamonds from Tariffs – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Maagazine – May 5, 2025)

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The World Diamond Council (WDC) is calling on the US government to provide a dispensation for the diamond industry when implementing tariffs, noting the levies would put more than 200,000 jobs at risk.

While the council — which represents the international natural-diamond value chain — acknowledged the government’s stance on fair and reciprocal trade, it emphasized that diamonds are not produced in the US but are “vital to the health of the American jewelry industry,” the WDC said Monday. It also pointed out they were an essential contributor to the national economy.

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Agnico Eagle calls for Canadian Arctic strategy amid US threats – by Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – May 2, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/

Agnico Eagle Mines, Canada’s biggest gold miner, wants the new government to develop a formal Arctic strategy in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada its 51st state, the company’s Chairman Sean Boyd said.

Earlier this year, Agnico overtook Barrick Mining’s market capitalization to become the world’s second-largest gold miner, just below Newmont Corp, the largest extractor of bullion by production and market capitalization.

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OPINION: Gold is rising. Canada has gold. Why aren’t we doubling down on this? – by Heather Exner-Pirot (Globe and Mail – May 6, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Heather Exner-Pirot is the director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

The Trump administration has thrown the global financial system into chaos with its tariff threats. Few sectors have been spared, save one: gold. The precious metal has emerged as a preferred safe haven for investors. Gold has been regularly hitting record prices, including new highs last month of US$3,500 an ounce.

Canada, as the world’s fourth largest producer of gold, has benefited from this trend. For several months now, the commodity has surpassed passenger vehicles as the country’s second largest export. In December, Canada’s monthly mineral product exports hit the $10-billion mark for the first time ever, with gold accounting for more than half.

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‘Greater Sudbury has the winning hand,’ mayor says – Take our poll – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – May 3, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The world needs Sudbury’s critical minerals and the city must take full advantage of its opportunity, Paul Lefebvre says

The horizon looks very promising for Greater Sudbury, Mayor Paul Lefebvre told a packed house on Thursday. As the aromas of chicken parmesan and pasta sauce wafted through the upper hall at the Caruso Club, the audience — mostly members of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce and the regional business community — turned towards the podium, where Lefebvre stood for the annual State of the City address.

The mayor’s speech was uplifting and optimistic. He said Greater Sudbury is poised for great outcomes. After decades, we are finally starting to realize our potential, he said.

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13 Workers Found Killed at Gold Mine in Peru – by Mitra Taj (New York Times – May 5, 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/

The men were killed in a region that has seen growing conflict over access to ore in recent years. The mine has also been a hotbed of illegal gold mining.

The bodies of 13 gold miners were found in an underground shaft at a site operated by Peru’s largest gold-mining company, President Dina Boluarte said on Monday, in a region that has seen growing conflict over access to ore in recent years.

As the price of gold has climbed to record highs, small-scale mining has expanded in Peru, while the mining concessions of the Peruvian company, La Poderosa, in Pataz Province in the northern part of the country, have become a hotbed of illegal gold mining and the site of deadly clashes.

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BACK ROADS BILL: The rise and fall of the Adams Mine landfill project – by Bill Steer (Sudbury.com – May 3, 2025)

https://www.sudbury.com/

In northern Ontario, a rusting gate marks the entrance to what was once poised to become Canada’s largest landfill. The story of the Adams Mine is one of environmental activism, political maneuvering, and a community that refused to back down.

Globally, certainly in Canada, not many NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) stories have two books written on them, so this story is worth looking into. The back roads often take you to living history, and historic stories sometimes have multiple interpretations.

The story of Adam’s Mine, 10 km southeast of Kirkland Lake, is one of them. Highway #650 ends about six kilometres from the last house and the Ontario Northland Railway tracks. Here, there are sturdy but rusting yellow gate posts surrounded by huge granitic rocks, presenting a formidable barrier to entering.

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Australian miners see opportunities during US and China trade war chaos – by David Claughton (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – May 5, 2025)

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

Australian mining companies are walking a tightrope between China, the nation’s biggest market for our resources, and the United States, our greatest ally. The trade war between them could open up some big opportunities but there is also a risk that Australian companies could get caught in the crossfire.

China has banned exports of some rare earths and critical minerals to the US, a move that threatens high-tech industries there. In August, the Chinese government embargoed the supply of gallium to the US. Gallium is a key component in thermometers, semiconductors, LED screens, smartphones, and Blu-ray technology.

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Agnico Eagle podcast spotlights Nunavut’s people, environment and mining – by Henry Lazenby(Northern Miner – May 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM), generating about one-fifth of Nunavut’s gross domestic product, launched The Arctic Edge podcast series on Thursday. This series aims to show listeners the realities about the Territory and Canada’s North, Agnico chair Sean Boyd tells The Northern Miner.

Hosted by journalist Hannah Thibedeau, the series includes interviews with Inuit leaders, politicians, business executives and military figures. The first two episodes are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, with an Inuktitut edition due later.

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OPINION: Donald Trump’s Ukraine minerals deals looks to be more about oil and gas than rare earths – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – May 3, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

On the morning of Pope Francis’s April 26 funeral, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, sat alone on two red chairs, facing one another, in the largely empty St. Peter’s Basilica. At the time, the topic of the impromptu mini-summit amid the baroque opulence of the Vatican was not known.

Less than a week later, all became clear. The two leaders were wrapping up the fraught Ukraine-U.S. minerals deal, discussions of which had sometimes been ill-tempered and explosive since Mr. Trump’s election campaign in the fall. On Thursday, in his evening address from Kyiv, Mr. Zelensky said, “In fact, now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it truly historic.”

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After Ukraine deal, US turns its critical minerals gaze to Africa – by Andy Home (Reuters – May 6, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, – Away from the headlines around the minerals deal with Ukraine, the United States has pursued a potentially even more significant critical metals deal in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo reached out to the Donald Trump administration with a Ukrainian-style proposal in February in response to the rapid advance of the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group in the east of the country.

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[Yellowknife, Northwest Territories] Deep in an Abandoned Gold Mine, a Toxic Legacy Lurks – by Vipal Monga (MSN.com – May 4, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/

YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories—This small subarctic city has a big problem. There are 237,000 metric tons of arsenic trioxide locked in the subterranean caverns of Giant Mine on the edge of Yellowknife, an unwanted byproduct from what was once one of the largest gold mines in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Consider that it only takes 140 milligrams of arsenic trioxide to kill a person; there’s enough of the poison here to kill 1.7 trillion people.

The local indigenous people refer to the arsenic as a sleeping monster. Company and government officials hoped the arsenic would remain frozen underground forever. But mining operations and climate change caused the permafrost to melt, raising fears in the city of 20,000 people that toxic material could mix with the runoff and slither into the nearby waters of Great Slave Lake, the world’s 10th-largest freshwater body.

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Explainer: What is the Ring of Fire and when will it be developed? – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – May 5, 2025)

Project Location & Study Area (CNW Group/Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

One analyst calls this part of Northern Ontario ‘the most important mining discovery in Canadian history’

It spans an area of Ontario bigger than Quetico Provincial Park — itself nearly as big as Algonquin Park — but few people have visited and you won’t find it easily on a map. Tip: if you Google Winisk River Provincial Park, that will at least get you in the right neighbourhood.

As murky as it might be geographically, however, geologically and economically it has been thrust under a spotlight — particularly of late, as both Queen’s Park and Ottawa look to parry U.S. trade moves and build domestic might going forward. The Ring of Fire has become a household name, and a source of superlatives.

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