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Canada’s next EV supply chain plant landing in Port Colborne, Ont. – by Janyce McGregor (CBC News Politics – May 13, 2024)

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

Joint venture between Asahi Kasei Corp., Honda Canada will build Canada’s 1st lithium ion separator plant

The next community set for a massive boost to its local economy as part of Honda Canada’s $15-billion investment to establish a Canadian electric vehicle supply chain will be Port Colborne, Ont.

Company executives are expected to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, as well as federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Ontario’s economic development minister, Vic Fedeli, and municipal leaders at an official announcement on Tuesday.

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Anglo goes for bold breakup plan in move to fend off BHP – by Thomas Biesheuvel and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – May 14, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Anglo American Plc will exit diamond, platinum and coal mining in a massive restructuring designed to fend off a £34 billion (US$43 billion) bid from rival BHP Group and turn itself into a copper giant.

Anglo’s hand was forced by BHP’s approach — which it has twice rejected — but the move also responds to pressure from shareholders to shed less profitable businesses and focus on the copper assets that are the envy of the industry. It leaves a much simpler company — and a potentially more attractive one to suitors.

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[Sudbury] Winning mine rescue teams now prep for provincial competition – by Staff (Sudbury.com – May 13, 2024)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Best mine rescuers from across Ontario get to compete for bragging rights at the provincial competition in Thunder Bay next month

Two Mine Rescue teams from the Greater Sudbury area will have a chance to compete in the all-Ontario Mine Rescue competition to be held June 4-7 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay.

The Sudbury area teams representing the Onaping District and the Sudbury District were among many mine rescue teams that took part in eight district competitions across the province, May 8 to 10.

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Western gold investors watching the Fed while Chinese demand dominates the market – Natixis’ Dahdah – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – May 4, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – The gold market has been holding significant gains since the start of the year, but the momentum behind the bullish drive has dried up as investors once again focus on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

The gold market has been consolidating around $2,350 an ounce for the last three weeks as the Federal Reserve signals a reluctance to start a new easing cycle with inflation stubbornly elevated. However, one bank analyst said that U.S. monetary policy is becoming a secondary factor as Asian markets evolve from price-taking to price-setting.

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Aboriginal corporation Djaara enters into ‘historic’ gold mining agreement with Canada’s Agnico Eagle – by Tyrone Dalton (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – May 13, 2024)

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

Canadian company Agnico Eagle Mines has signed an agreement with traditional owner group Djaara to compensate First Nations people for gold mined at the Central Victorian-based Fosterville Gold Mine. The agreement — “bakaru wayaparrangu”, meaning “in the middle we all meet” — has been seven years in the making and is being hailed by the two organisations as a first for an active mining company in Victoria.

Mining agreement ‘compromise’

Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chair Rebecca Phillips represents her ancestors, the Malcolm family line, and said the mining agreement was significant for all Indigenous peoples.

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Anglo American rejects BHP’s new takeover offer, potentially ending one of industry’s biggest merger efforts – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – May 14, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group’s effort to become the world’s biggest copper miner ran into another roadblock after smaller rival Anglo American rejected BHP’s second takeover proposal. BHP on Monday said its new proposal represented a 15-per-cent increase to the opening share exchange offer. If the improved offer had been accepted, Anglo shareholders’ ownership of the enlarged group would have gone to 16.6 per cent from 14.8 per cent.

“BHP put forward a revised proposal to the Anglo American board that we strongly believe would be a win-win for BHP and Anglo American shareholders,” Mike Henry, the Canadian chief executive officer of BHP, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that second proposal has been rejected.”

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Miners seek exemption from Canadian tax hike to save equity deals – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – May 10, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Canada’s mining industry is pushing for an carveout to the federal government’s proposed increase to capital gains taxes, warning the hike will make it harder for junior miners to raise money to find new mineral deposits.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s new budget includes a measure to raise the capital gains tax inclusion rate to two-thirds from one-half. It applies to all gains made by corporations and trusts, and to individual taxpayers on gains over $250,000 in a year.

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Indigenous group to take fight against Arizona copper mine to Supreme Court – by Clark Mindock (Reuters – May 14, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

May 14 (Reuters) – A Native American group said on Tuesday it will take its fight against Rio Tinto’s proposed Arizona copper mine to the U.S. Supreme Court, after a federal appeals court refused to reconsider whether the U.S. government may have improperly transferred land to the developer.

The group said they would ask the high court to weigh in after the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a longshot bid to have the full 29-judge court reconsider earlier decisions not to block a land grant for the project. The court did not provide an explanation for its decision.

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Canada home to 5 of the world’s 10 most attractive mining jurisdictions – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – May 14, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

But it has plenty of room to improve in terms of regulatory policies, survey says

Canada is home to five of the top 10 most attractive mining jurisdictions in the world, but it has plenty of room to improve in terms of regulatory policies, according to a new survey conducted by the Fraser Institute. Utah and Nevada topped the latest ranking, with Saskatchewan, Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario all in the top 10. Saskatchewan was No. 3 for the second year in a row.

The analysis uses a combination of a region’s mineral potential and the policies it has in place to attract miners and is based on a total of 293 responses and 86 jurisdictions.

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CRMA: Rare earth elements a potential blindspot for EU policymakers and industry – report – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – May 13, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

When the European Union passed the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) into law it was a landmark accomplishment that will strengthen critical raw materials supply chains – but not without some foreseeable challenges, according to a new report published by Adamas Intelligence.

While the EU published its first list of Critical Raw Materials in 2011 (there were originally 14 inclusions), it took over a decade to conceive, rally political support for, and ultimately announce the CRMA in September 2022, Adamas notes.

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Two years after start of Ukraine war, Russian titanium keeps flowing to West – by Adam Taylor (Washington Post/Yahoo News – March 22, 2024)

https://www.yahoo.com/

Western firms bought hundreds of millions of dollars of titanium metal from a Russian company with deep ties to the country’s defense industry after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a review of Russian export data.

The purchases illustrate how the West remains dependent on Russia for certain products despite pledges to break economic ties with Moscow. In the case of titanium, that dependence raises security concerns, industry and defense analysts say, as the metal is vital in the manufacturing of both commercial and military airplanes.

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Junior Canadian miner Red Pine accuses former CEO of tampering with gold assay data – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 11, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Junior mining company Red Pine Exploration Inc. has accused its former chief executive of manipulating data on hundreds of its gold assays over the past decade, and says some of its resource estimates for its Ontario gold project are no longer valid.

The Toronto-based company first raised questions about its assays on May 1, saying it found inconsistencies in some of its drilling results pertaining to its Wawa gold project, and it was looking to work with an independent firm to determine the scope of the problem. On Friday, Red Pine said the inconsistencies stemmed from the “unauthorized manipulation of certain assay results” by the company’s former CEO.

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How Western Sanctions Are Strangling Putin’s Arctic Gas Ambitions – by Stephen Stapczynski (Bloomberg News – May 4, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s fortress economy has proved remarkably resilient to an onslaught of Western sanctions. Two years after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, it continues to fund a costly war and to prop up President Vladimir Putin. But there’s at least one spot where the pain is very real.

The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 facility, on the icy Kara Sea, is a key part of Moscow’s plans to boost exports and replenish coffers. For months now, it has been ready to ship liquefied natural gas to new markets, alternatives to the once-lucrative European pipeline trade.

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Secure North depends on better infrastructure, premiers say – by David Lochead (Nunatsiaq News – May 9, 2024)

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Akeeagok, leaders from Yukon and N.W.T. meet over 4 days in Pond Inlet for Northern Premiers’ Forum

To strengthen sovereignty and security in Canada’s North, the federal government needs to invest in infrastructure that can also benefit northern communities, Premier P.J. Akeeagok said Thursday. “For many years, as northern premiers, we’ve been voicing the importance that Arctic security and sovereignty [means] seeing our communities vibrant,” he said in Iqaluit.

Akeeagok spoke during a press conference with the premiers of Yukon and Northwest Territories, following their annual Northern Premiers’ Forum where their territories’ shared interests are discussed.

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Botswana Vows to Protect Interests in Potential BHP-Anglo Deal – by Mbongeni Mguni (Bloomberg News – May 9, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi vowed to protect the country’s interests, including its 15% stake in diamond giant De Beers, should BHP Group Ltd. acquire Anglo American Plc.

Anglo, which rejected a BHP proposal valuing the mining company at about $39 billion, owns the other 85% of De Beers. Under the proposed deal, BHP — once a major diamond producer itself — said that De Beers would be put on a strategic review. Anglo, the only major miner with a big diamond business, has already been reviewing the future of units including De Beers.

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