Twitter

Here’s how police cracked the case of what they say is the largest gold heist in Canadian history – by Omar Mosleh, Peter Edwards and Andy Takagi (Toronto Star – April 18, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

On Wednesday, Peel police and the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau provided details of the “carefully planned” heist at Pearson, which they believe was an inside job.

The five-tonne truck raised no alarm as it pulled into an Air Canada cargo hold exactly one year ago. It wasn’t long before police say it had made off with what they describe as the largest gold theft in Canadian history.

The gold — weighing more than 400 kilograms and valued at more than $20 million — was stolen the same night it had arrived at Pearson International Airport from Switzerland. Police traced it on a winding route through city streets and rural roads before it was eventually connected to an international arms trafficking ring.

Read more

[B.C. Mining] ‘To us, that border doesn’t exist’ – by Nathan Venderklippe (Globe and Mail – April 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Alaska Indigenous groups want a say in B.C. mining projects they fear could hurt their livelihoods. A border stands in the way – but they hope a Canadian court ruling strengthens the case for ignoring it

Eulachon grease meets the tongue with a marine burn, a bracing tang extracted by fermenting great numbers of the smelt-like fish, then simmering and breaking them apart. The process liberates the fish’s oil, which historically formed a kind of currency among the Indigenous nations of the Pacific Northwest, who traded it as a valuable source of fat.

Today, those still able to find it in southeast Alaska apply it as a condiment to boiled potatoes, herring eggs or kajumps, a fish soup. “That’s real gold there,” Louie Wagner says, as he eyes a jar of the grease he keeps frozen, its contents a light tawny yellow. “Gold you can eat.”

Read more

Panama election unlikely to shift outlook for First Quantum’s copper mine – by Valentine Hilaire and Elida Moreno (Reuters – April 18, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

April 18 (Reuters) – Prospects are poor for First Quantum Minerals to recover its canceled concession for a lucrative copper mine after presidential elections in May, a Reuters review of the campaigns’ proposals and interviews with protest leaders show.

Protests against First Quantum’s concession demanding greater environmental guarantees and transparency in negotiations made authorities not only annul its contract to operate one of the world’s largest and newest copper mines but ban all new metal mining permits last year.

Read more

Avalon dives into the details of proposed Thunder Bay lithium refinery – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 12, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Toronto developer begins study of what a lithium conversion plant might look like

Avalon Advanced Materials has started a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its proposed Thunder Bay lithium refinery. The Toronto company said in a news release that DRA Americas, an internationally known engineering firm, is the lead consultant tasked with pulling the PEA together.

The PEA is part of a series of economic and technical analyses that will inform Avalon’s decision to construct the facility. Avalon secured $15 million from a New York fund manager in March to do the study.

Read more

Rio Tinto to favour development over acquisition of copper mines — exec – by Editor (Mining.com – April 17, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) will prioritize developing new copper mines over acquiring new ones to achieve its goal of producing one million tonnes of the metal annually within the next five years, copper boss Bold Baatar has said.

Speaking at the CRU World Copper Conference in Chile, the executive noted that to boost production from the roughly 700,000 tonnes of copper it currently churns out, Rio is looking mainly at organic growth.

Read more

Northeastern Ontario glitters with record gold prices and municipal leaders see lots of pluses – by Nishat Chowdhury (CBC News Sudbury – April 15, 2024)

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

Gold prices topped $2,400 US an ounce last week

Record-high gold prices are welcome news for mining operations in northeastern Ontario as the metal continues to surge in the market. Gold prices topped $2,400 US an ounce last week, a 20 per cent increase from the same time in 2023.

Some mayors from northeastern communities say the gold rush has helped local economies. “It’s been excellent for the community,” said Mark Stickel, mayor of Matachewan, home of the Young-Davidson mine located 60 kilometres west of Kirkland.

Read more

Pursuing mining initiatives in Indigenous communities requires balance – by Sam Laskaris (Windspeaker.com – April 8, 2024)

https://windspeaker.com/

Darrell Beaulieu believes it’s a balancing act for Indigenous communities to prosper in the mining industry. Beaulieu is the president and CEO of Denendeh Investments Incorporated, an Indigenous- owned corporation representing the 27 First Nations in the Northwest Territories. He’s also president of the Denendeh Mining and Exploration Company (DEMCo).

Beaulieu was in Toronto in early April as speaker at the two-day “Indigenous Led Projects Forum” held at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Beaulieu was part of an opening-day session on April 2 titled Indigenous Ownership.

Read more

Judge orders Alberta to hand over documents related to coal policy – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – April 17, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Alberta government has been ordered by a court to hand over a swath of records pertaining to its 2019 decision to quietly nix a policy governing where coal mines can be built in the province.

The case stems back to 2020, when a group of Southern Alberta ranchers requested records around the United Conservative government’s decision to rescind the province’s 1976 Coal Policy without any consultation. The decision caused public backlash so fierce it forced the government to backpedal and introduce new rules around coal mining.

Read more

Codelco Eyes Partnerships to Help Boost Ailing Copper Production – by James Attwood and Jack Farchy (Bloomberg News – April 15, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Codelco is exploring more partnerships with the private sector as Chile’s state copper behemoth looks to recover from a production slump and surging debt.

Chairman Maximo Pacheco expects “some conclusions” this year from teams negotiating an operational tie-up between its Andina mine and Anglo American Plc’s adjoining Los Bronces, he said Monday in an interview. Codelco already has an indirect stake in Los Bronces, shares ownership of the El Abra mine with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and is negotiating with would-be lithium partners.

Read more

Bjorn Lomborg: Why solar and wind power aren’t winning (Financial Post – April 17, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

All-in costs too high once you count fossil fuel and battery backups, land requirements and damage their equipment does

We are constantly being told that solar and wind are now the cheapest forms of electricity. Yet governments around the world felt they had to spend US$1.8 trillion on the green transition last year.

Wind and solar only produce power when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. When they are not, electricity from these sources is infinitely expensive and back-ups are needed. This is why fossil fuels still account for two-thirds of global electricity and why, on current trends, we are a century away from eliminating their use in electricity generation.

Read more

Opinion: Canada has all the elements to be a winner in global energy — Now let’s do it – by Mike Rose (Calgary Herald – April 15, 2024)

https://calgaryherald.com/

There has never been a more urgent time to aggressively develop Canada’s massive resource wealth. An increasingly competitive world is organizing into new alliances that are threatening our traditional Western democracies.

Weaker or underperforming countries may be left behind economically and, in some cases, their sovereignty may be compromised. We cannot let either scenario happen to Canada. Looking inward, our country has posted among the weakest economic growth of all G20 nations over the past decade — we are at real risk of delivering a materially diminished standard of living to our children and subsequent future generations.

Read more

Indigenous loan guarantee program could transform resource sector in Canada – by Wendy Stueck and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April 17, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government has launched its long-awaited Indigenous loan guarantee program, a move advocates say will help Canadian critical minerals infrastructure get built more quickly, and facilitate increased direct First Nations ownership in resource projects.

Ottawa’s budget released Tuesday outlines a program that would provide up to $5-billion in loan guarantees and be “sector agnostic” – meaning that oil and gas projects could be eligible. In the months leading up to the budget, advocacy groups including the First Nations Major Projects Coalition had worried a federal loan program might rule out oil and gas projects because they don’t line up with Ottawa’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more

How a US$10 billion mine became a cautionary tale for the energy transition – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – April 16, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

When the group of mining executives arrived at Panama’s regal Palacio de las Garzas, they were ushered past the ornate, wood-paneled ceremonial rooms and straight to the private office of the president.

This was December 2016, before the upswell of anti-mining protests that would throw the country into chaos, and the team from First Quantum Minerals Ltd. were greeted as old friends. After all, they were building the country’s most important project since the Panama Canal had been opened a century earlier.

Read more

Gold is back — and it has a message for us – by Rana Foroohar (Financial Times – April 16, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

The precious metal’s surge may herald a whole new world

It’s easy to mock gold bugs, but their moment may finally have come. The precious metal has been breaking out recently amid higher-than-expected inflation in the United States, and general anxiety over everything from geopolitics to the November presidential elections to where monetary policy and markets go from here.

All these things are predictable reasons for gold to surge. But there are deeper, longer-term messages in this rise that investors should pay very close attention to.

Read more

Lab Grown Diamonds: The Choice for an Ethical Future – by Megan Taylor (Viva Glam Magazine – April 15, 2024)

While lab grown gems have been around since the 1970s, they weren’t popularized in the diamond industry until the early 21st century. People are becoming more conscious of the ethics behind how traditional diamonds are mined. As a result, lab grown diamonds attract enthusiasts because they present an ethical option that aligns with contemporary consumer values.

Learn about the issues with the natural diamond mining industry and how choosing lab made gems is a more ethical choice for your next piece of jewelry.

Read more