Gold futures prices plummeted on Tuesday, dipping below the crucial $2,300 per ounce level, as traders braced for a potential hawkish shift from the Federal Reserve in its upcoming policy decision.
The precious metal, often viewed as a hedge against inflation, came under intense selling pressure amid concerns that the central bank could strike a more aggressive tone on future rate hikes.
TORONTO, April 30 (Reuters) – North American graphite miners are lobbying the US government to impose a 25% tariff on three graphite products sourced from China in order to counter Beijing’s monopoly on a key material used in automobile batteries.
If successful, the move will pit the miners against their main customers- the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and add to tensions with China, which controls the majority of the critical metals used in the world’s electric vehicles and other motors. The U.S. government is set to decide in May whether to bring graphite into the list of minerals that attract the higher Section 301 tariff.
The richest woman in Australia, who is worth more than $30 billion, could be eyeing a move to buy a significant chunk of Wyoming’s rare earths deposits, and has even made a play in the related lithium field.
A consolidation of Wyoming’s rare earths strategic minerals industry might be right around the corner. While nobody’s saying anything for sure, regulatory filings across the globe seem to hint something may be brewing.
The rare earth minerals bonanza is the result of consumers starved for magnet metals integral to the green transition to electric vehicles, wind turbines, consumer goods, robots and military drones, missiles and chips needed for sophisticated computing power.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Barrick Gold Corp. is being accused of using the virtual format for its annual general meeting to suppress critical questions from stakeholders. After holding a hybrid AGM last year that allowed stakeholders to show up in person, the Toronto-based gold mining company, which is the world’s second biggest by market value, went to a virtual-only format this year.
Virtual AGMs have attracted the ire of some shareholder-rights groups. In an open letter to members of the S&P/TSX 60 Index in April, a group of 38 institutional investors, advisers, portfolio managers and non-profits argued that online meetings can undermine shareholder rights, by allowing companies to cherry-pick questions, or change the wording of them.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Tim Gitzel, an executive at Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) for 17 years and president and CEO for 13, has led the company through more bad times than good. Among the bad times: repeated flooding at the Cigar Lake mine; the post-2007 uranium price crash; and the more devastating doldrums after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
Among the good times: right now. The company’s shares have doubled in the past year, following the exploding uranium price. But Gitzel’s careful preparation has positioned Cameco for such a moment, when supply challenges, geopolitics, and renewed fervour for nuclear power have swung uranium back into favour.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Michael Michaud brings a geologist’s eye to advance Red Pine Exploration’s Wawa Gold Project
In its search for a new leader, Wawa gold hunter Red Pine Exploration snagged someone with familiarity of the Michipicoten greenstone belt.
Michael Michaud will bring fresh eyes to Red Pine’s Wawa Gold Project when he relinquishes his title as Wesdome Gold Mine’s senior vice-president of exploration on July 11 and takes the helm as president-CEO of the Toronto junior miner on July 19. Red Pine made the announcement in an April 22 news release. He replaces Quentin Yarie who stepped down in late February. Yarie has been with the company since 2009 but will stay on in an advisory role through the transition.
The Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) announced Monday it has formally applied for intervener status in the ongoing appeal of Gitxaala Nation v. British Columbia (chief gold commissioner).
In September 2023, a judicial review ruled that the government of British Columbia owes a duty to consult indigenous peoples with asserted rights and title when granting mineral claims. The court recognized that the province could change the manner in which the act is implemented by the chief gold commissioner or change the legislation.
The NWT’s Ekati diamond mine is asking regulators for permission to turn its Sable open pit into an underground mining operation. Beginning to mine underground at Sable is an important milestone in Ekati owner Burgundy’s attempt to keep the mine running – in some form – until 2040.
Submitting plans for Sable earlier this month, Ekati urged regulators to provide “timely authorization” of the initial work needed to switch to underground mining.
(Bloomberg) — Modern life runs on lithium-ion batteries, powering smartphones, laptops and electric cars alike. But as dominant as they’ve become, there are other ways to build a battery.
Natron Energy Inc. will unveil what it bills as the first full-scale plant in the US for making sodium-ion batteries on Monday. The plant situated near Michigan’s western shore has already started making cells and plans its first shipments in June.
Earlier this year, Ai Qing was woken up in the middle of the night by angry chants outside her dormitory in northern Argentina. She peered out of the window to see Argentine workers surrounding the compound and blockading the entrance with flaming tyres.
“It was getting scary because I could see the sky being lit up by the fire. It had become a riot,” says Ms Ai, who works for a Chinese company extracting lithium from salt flats in the Andes mountains, for use in batteries.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) has decided to close its Ravensthorpe nickel operation in Western Australia. The ceasing of operations at the mine this week will cut around 330 jobs, Australia’s ABC News reported on Monday, citing a company statement.
“Despite our best efforts to maintain operations by transitioning to a new operating strategy that involved ceasing mining activities, processing stockpiles and altering its approach to production, the site is incurring significant current and projected losses,” First Quantum said in a separate statement.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/
With minimal Canadian investment, mining companies have few options
Some representatives of the federal government and northern mining experts are issuing a warning about the risk of foreign investment in Arctic mining.
During a panel at the Nunavut Mining Symposium Thursday, representatives from the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), the RCMP and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) discussed foreign companies’ interest in Canadian northern mining, and what that could mean for Arctic security.
On April 16, the Canadian government tabled its 2024 budget proposal. Called “Fairness for Every Generation,” it is aimed at helping Millennials and Gen Zs, with C$535 billion earmarked by the Trudeau government for investments in housing, clean economy initiatives, childcare, healthcare and national security. But one section of the document has garnered widespread attention — changes to the capital gains tax scheme.
Starting on June 25, 2024, changes to Canada’s tax system will aim to “enhance fairness” by adjusting the inclusion rate for capital gains. Individuals with over C$250,000 in annual capital gains will see their inclusion rate increase from one-half to two-thirds, while those with gains below this threshold will maintain the 50 percent inclusion rate.
https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/
For Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., the remote but highly mineralized territory of Nunavut offers high rewards, as long as the high risks that come with building and operating mines in Canada’s remote North are managed.
Given the nearly 900,000-ounce-of-gold-per-year pace of production at its Meliadine and Amaruq mines so far this year, coupled with new gold discoveries that bode well for its Hope Bay mine project, Agnico has a grasp on what it takes to reap the rewards and mitigate the risks associated with mining in Nunavut.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Australia’s BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, considered a bid for smaller player Anglo American about five years ago. BHP coveted only Anglo’s copper, and was put off by the prospect of dismantling a highly complex company to nail the prize. So it passed.
Big mistake. Copper since then has become the new oil, and no big mining house can prosper without the metal considered critical to the transition to a low-carbon future. Everyone wants copper and the price is soaring as supply proves incapable of meeting demand.
