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B.C. mining is having a moment, thanks to energy transition – Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – May 9, 2024)

https://www.biv.com/

Value of 17 critical mineral mine proposals in B.C. are ‘eye popping’ says mining association president
Mining has never been viewed as exactly environmentally friendly. Mines and miners have often been the target of NGOs for the impacts mining can have on water, land and Indigenous communities.

But because mining plays such an important role in the energy transition needed to address climate change, there is increasing support for mining by governments, First Nations and the general public. The need for critical minerals to supply the energy transition poses a huge opportunity for B.C., said Michael Goehring, president of the Mining Association of BC (MABC).

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Electric vehicle mandates mean misery all round – by Matthew Lau (Financial Post – May 9, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

A crunch is coming as Ottawa keeps pushing its 2035 ban on gas-powered cars even as the demand for EVs begins to sag

News of slowing demand for electric vehicles highlights the hazards of the federal government’s Soviet-style mandate that 100 per cent of new light-duty vehicles sold must be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035 (with interim targets of 20 per cent by 2026 and 60 per cent by 2030 and steep penalties for dealers missing these targets).

The targets were wild to begin with. As Manhattan Institute senior fellow Mark P. Mills observed, Canadian-style bans on conventional vehicles and mandated switches to electric mean “consumers will need to adopt EVs at a scale and velocity 10 times greater and faster than the introduction of any new model of car in history.”

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OPINION: The economy we have taken for granted is not coming back – by Jeff Rubin (Globe and Mail – May 10, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Jeff Rubin is the former chief economist and chief strategist at CIBC World Markets. His latest book is A Map of the New Normal: How Inflation, War, and Sanctions Will Change Your World Forever, from which this essay is adapted.

In the early 1960s, only 4 per cent of countries were subject to economic sanctions imposed by either the United States or the United Nations, accounting for less than 4 per cent of global trade.

Today, 54 – a quarter of all the countries in the world – are subject to some form of sanctions, affecting almost a third of global GDP. And at the rate that sanctions are now being applied, it will soon be the majority of trade.

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Savannah could request compulsory land acquisitions for Portuguese lithium project – by Catarina Demony and Pietro Lombardi (Reuters – May 9, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LISBON, May 9 (Reuters) – London-based Savannah Resources will if necessary ask Portugal’s government to authorise compulsory land acquisitions for its planned lithium mines in the country’s north, CEO Emanuel Proenca said, adding that it prefers “friendly deals”.

The company requires around 840 hectares for its four-mine project in the Barroso region, but according to data from September 2023, it had acquired or was in process of acquiring just 93 hectares.

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Cecil John Rhodes: Life and Legacy of a British Imperialist – by Greg Beyer (The Collerctor – May 8, 2024)

https://www.thecollector.com/

One of the greatest imperialists of the British Empire, Cecil John Rhodes’ legacy is today considered highly problematic.

Cecil John Rhodes is a historical figure who has generated huge amounts of debate, not just in South Africa, where he lived much of his life, but across much of the Anglosphere, where his name continues to bear considerable weight and influence.

He was indeed a powerful man who advanced and industrialized parts of the world, bringing colonial progress, wealth, and success to lands under his influence. However, his legacy in the English-speaking world has come under intense scrutiny as those whose ancestors benefitted from his imperialism are made aware of the dark side of his methods.

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Lab diamonds just won a battle, not the war – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 8, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

After a brief surge in diamond jewellery demand during the pandemic, diamond miners are now grappling with an oversupply that is forcing them to reduce the excess inventory. The prices of natural diamonds have dropped by almost 20% compared to a year ago, following a surge in 2022, but were higher ten years ago.

Anglo American’s De Beers, the largest diamond producer by value, has been cutting its output due to sluggish demand. Sanctions-ridden Russian miner Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume, stopped publishing sales data in early 2022, cut its output by 2.8% to 34.6 million carats last year.

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Platinum set for biggest deficit in a decade in 2024, says Johnson Matthey – by Brijesh Patel (Reuters – May 8, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

The platinum market faces its largest supply shortfall in 10 years in 2024 as shipments from Russia return to normal from last year’s highs and industrial demand stays firm, Johnson Matthey said in a report on Thursday. The autocatalyst maker added that it expected all platinum group metals (PGM) – platinum, palladium, and rhodium – to remain in deficit in 2024.

The three metals are used in autocatalysts that reduce emissions from vehicle engines, with platinum also used in other industry and for jewellery and investment.

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The Tiny Nation at the Vanguard of Mining the Ocean Floor – by Pete McKenzie (New York Times – May 9, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Below the waters of the Cook Islands, population 15,000, lie minerals used to power electric cars. Extracting them could bring riches, but many say it’s a bad idea.

Two ships arrived in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in March of last year. One was a familiar sight: a massive cruise ship, bringing hundreds of tourists to the pristine shores of this nation of 15,000 people. The other, a neon-orange vessel hauling complex scientific equipment, was more unusual.

On a nearby wharf, Prime Minister Mark Brown and many other prominent citizens had gathered to celebrate the smaller boat’s arrival. To Mr. Brown, the cruise ship represented his country’s troubling dependence on tourism. He described the other vessel, owned by an international mining company, as a harbinger of incredible wealth.

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Banned 10 years ago, 26,000 rat-hole coal mines not closed yet: Meghalaya HC panel (Deccan Herald – May 8, 2024)

https://www.deccanherald.com/

Shillong: Not one of the 26,000 abandoned rat-hole coal mines in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district has so far been closed despite an order, posing risk of loss of human lives as well as livestock, the Meghalaya High Court was informed.

The rat-hole mining and transportation of coal in the Himalayan state were banned 10 years ago by the National Green Tribunal. Over 14 lakh metric tons of already mined coal is left to be transported, a one-man committee formed by the high court to monitor the mining and transportation of coal said in its 22nd interim report on Tuesday.

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For mining critical minerals, Ontario can do it right, says minister – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – May 8, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Mines Minister George Pirie lauds Ontario’s mineral deposits, environmental standards, expertise in search for critical minerals

Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie said this week securing a supply of critical minerals in Canada is being done for the right reasons: to improve the country’s environmental status.

Speaking on May 6 as part of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference at the Holiday Inn and again at Dynamic Earth, Pirie commented on his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with government representatives at the Energy Transition Metals Summit. Pirie was one of the featured speakers at that event.

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West Africa’s gold mines are more organized than you might think – by James Courtright (Institute of Current World Affairs – January 3, 2024)

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KHARAKHENA, Senegal — I stepped out of a car in this large village near the Malian border into a very different world than the small placid town of Saraya we had left behind 20 miles ago. Around us—myself, photographer Guy Peterson and our guide Omar Diané—generators rumbled, shaking the small bamboo-panel shacks they sat beside. A group of children approached curiously, all wearing tee-shirts emblazoned with the face of Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita.

A motorcycle careened around the corner, honking to announce its presence and scattering the children. In the distance, I could make out a fetid pond full of trash. No sign of the state authorities was anywhere to be seen. On a distant hillside, little tarpaulin shelters were barely visible, covering small holes and hundreds of men tunneling into the hillside looking for gold.

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A tropical story of diamonds and Holocaust survival in ‘Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels’ – by Larry Luxner (Times of Israel – August 14, 2017)

https://www.timesofisrael.com/

New film explores the forgotten era when the Caribbean island became a temporary gem hub after opening its doors to thousands of European Jews fleeing the Nazis

HAVANA, Cuba — On a hot and steamy Shabbat afternoon in early July, 50 or so Jews gathered in the social hall of Cuba’s largest synagogue to relive a little-known piece of their own history.

The island’s premiere screening of “Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana” didn’t disappoint. This poignant 46-minute documentary by co-directors Judy Ann Kreith and Robin Truesdale tells the obscure story of thousands of European Jews who not only escaped extermination by the Nazis during World War II, but also brought Cuba a thriving yet short-lived diamond cutting industry.

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Ontario beefs up supply chain funding for critical minerals – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – May 6, 2024)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Mines Minister George Pirie confirms additional funding will be added to the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund over the next three years to boost research into sustainable extraction of new metals required to support the battery electric vehicle industry

Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie said today Ontario is committed to strengthening the province’s critical minerals strategy in the global race to ensure there is a stable supply chain for battery electric vehicles by spending millions in new science and technology to help do that. He said the effort is already underway in Sudbury to develop new ways to procure more critical minerals.

Pirie said the Ontario government will be spending $15 million over the next three years to expand the Ontario Critical Minerals Innovation Fund (CMIF), which is a re-announcement of the funding increase that was announced as part of the Ontario budget earlier this year.

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Nickel 28 fires founders on ‘serious misconduct’ that they deny – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – May 6, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Nickel 28 Capital Corp. said it has fired its founders, including chief executive officer Anthony Milewski, after an investigation uncovered “serious misconduct” — claims the ousted management team says are untrue and part of a years-long battle for control at the Canadian mining firm.

The nickel and cobalt producer removed Milewski, along with president Justin Cochrane and chief financial officer Conor Kearns, with immediate effect, it said Monday, after the board reviewed findings made by an independent special committee. The investigation found evidence the management team had breached their duties and repeatedly lacked judgment, the board said.

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Osisko Metals’ update reveals 3.2B lb red metal asset at Copper Mountain – by Staff (Northern Miner – May 6, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

A resource update for Osisko Metals‘ (TSXV: OM; US-OTC: OMZNE) Copper Mountain deposit in Quebec increases the copper-equivalent metal content by 30% over the previous estimate, making it the largest undeveloped copper asset in eastern North America, the company says.

The update puts the deposit at 495 million indicated tonnes grading 0.30% copper, 0.016% molybdenum, and 1.75 grams silver per tonne (0.37% copper equivalent), Osisko said in a news release Monday. That resource contains 3.2 billion lb. copper, 180 million lb. molybdenum, and 27.9 million oz. silver.

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