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We rented a Tesla to explore Ontario’s EV supply chain. We saw the dirty, the clean and everything in between – by Marco Chown Oved and Steve Russell (Toronto Star – March 10, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

In the Great Ontario EV Road Trip Part 2, two Star journalists head to the refineries and plants kickstarting the province’s clean revolution.

NORTH BAY—How fast can you get those burgers out? The wait staff appears taken aback by our question. We’re in North Bay and have stopped to charge our EV on the way to Sudbury. We plugged in and hurried over to Syl’s Neighbourhood Kitchen for a quick bite.

But we only have 25 minutes or so before Tesla starts charging us an idle fee for taking up a charger spot when it’s full. Fortunately, Syl’s kitchen is quick and the food’s delicious. We make it back to our car with time to spare. Charging your EV isn’t like gassing up your car.

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Nickel from China, Indonesia could face tariffs over market manipulation concerns, Ottawa says – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 7, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says Canada and other Western countries could consider imposing tariffs against Indonesia and China because of the potential for market manipulation stemming from their stranglehold on the global nickel market.

Indonesia has gone from supplying 7 per cent of the global supply of nickel to 55 per cent in the past decade, with much of that new production controlled by China-based mining companies with ties to the authoritarian Beijing government.

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Romania wins legal battle against a Canadian miner over failed plans to open a gold mine (CTV/Associated Press – March 9, 2024)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – The Romanian government has won a yearslong legal dispute with a Canadian mining company seeking damages over failed plans to open a gold and silver mine in the Eastern European country.

Gabriel Resources was seeking US$4.4 billion (four billion euros) in damages from the Romanian state, which owned a 20 per cent stake in the mining project in Rosia Montana, a mountainous western region that contains some of Europe’s largest gold deposits. The Romanian government withdrew its support for the project in 2014.

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We took a Tesla on a road trip through northern Ontario in the coldest week of the year. Could our EV handle it? – by Marco Chown Oved and Steve Russell (Toronto Star – March 9, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Star journalists drove a Tesla 2,300 km around northern Ontario, exploring the emerging EV supply chain from mine to refinery to battery plant to assembly.

HWY. 11, SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NORTH BAY—It was -12 C and dropping. The snow was blowing diagonally and traffic was crawling in single file, sticking to the ruts between white humps on Highway 11. Then my car started talking to me.

“You’re almost too far from known chargers,” it said. “Plan your next charge. All known charging locations will be out of range soon.” The map on the GPS showed the nearest charger behind us, in North Bay. We were driving north — away from it. Soon, we wouldn’t have enough charge to make it back.

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Oil Fields of Arkansas Are the Newest Locations for a Lithium Battery Rush – by Boyce Upholt (Mother Jones – March 11, 2024)

https://www.motherjones.com/

“Production at existing sites could negate the benefits of the clean technologies they power.”

The town of Smackover, Arkansas, was founded a hundred years ago when a sawmill operator got lucky: his wildcat oil well yielded a gusher. For a time in the 1920s, the oil field beneath the clay hills and swampy creeks in this stretch of southern Arkansas was the world’s most productive site. Now, boosters say the region will help usher the world into an oil-free future, thanks to the discovery of underground brines that are rich in lithium.

Lithium is one of the most important metals in the transition to renewable power. Lithium-ion batteries are, thanks to their lightweight and high energy density, currently the top choice for storing energy in electric vehicles, and a potential tool for grid storage, too. Global production of the metal tripled throughout the 2010s, and demand is projected to increase as much as 40-fold by mid-century.

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BACK ROADS BILL: A mine with an interesting difference – by Bill Steer (Bay Today – March 9, 2024)

https://www.baytoday.ca/

This week Bill takes us inside of mining adit that has significance

It looks like an early spring and because of the mild winter people often ask, “Have you seen any bear sign yet?” They bear their young circa January, mid-winter and they are almost in a slumber. The mother bear nurses them as they are hibernating, she can lactate while not eating or drinking, that’s phenomenal.

From time to time, I venture to the back roads to this not-so-abandoned mining adit to see if there is a sow and her newborn cubs. It is deep into the mine, and from a safe and non-threatening distance, you can see the glare of their sleepy eyes. It is a naturally wonderful birthing site and experience. No photos are taken, they are content, and the quiet retreat ensues from this rock-chiseled tunnel.

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US uranium miners resurrected by nuclear revival and Ukraine war – by Jamie Smyth and Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – March 10, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Surging prices for ore and concerns over Russian imports lead to mothballed mines being restarted

Over a 40-year career, Scott Melbye watched the US uranium industry fall from its position as the world’s leading producer of the radioactive ore that powers nuclear reactors to an also-ran with negligible production.

Now, the president of the Uranium Producers of America is leading an industry charge to revive mothballed mines and invest in new production to capitalise on soaring prices and policies aimed at reducing the US’s dependence on Russian imports.

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ROLLING IN THE DOUGH I work at world’s most luxurious mining camps with free pubs, rooftop bars & golf courses – and I earn £100,000 a year – by Georgie English (Irish Sun – March 10, 2024)

https://www.thesun.ie/

Chris and Ceci reveal how they blagged the high-paying roles – and why it was the best decision they’ve ever made

A COUPLE have revealed how their job comes with great wages, lots of time off – and free food, accommodation and entertainment. Italian chefs Chris and Ceci have spent the last two years working at mining camps across Australia – and one site stands out as the best office on the planet.

Sitting in Western Australia is the Mulla Mulla mining site – more like a mini city than a place of work. Within the endless outback, the camp site has a three-storey cafe, state-of-the-art gym, library, virtual golf course, entertainment stage, swimming pool and several sports courts from tennis, squash and basketball.

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Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power – by Evan Halper (MSM.com/Washington Post – March 8, 2024)

https://www.msn.com/

Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid.

In Georgia, demand for industrial power is surging to record highs, with the projection of new electricity use for the next decade now 17 times what it was only recently. Arizona Public Service, the largest utility in that state, is also struggling to keep up, projecting it will be out of transmission capacity before the end of the decade absent major upgrades.

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Gulf oil giants Saudi Aramco, Adnoc set sights on lithium (Mining.com – March 11, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ national oil companies plan to extract lithium from brine in their oilfields, in line with efforts to diversify their economies and profit from the shift to electric vehicles (EVs), three sources told Reuters.

Other oil companies, including Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum, plan to take advantage of emerging technologies to filter lithium from brine, as the world seeks to move away from fossil fuels.

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US court sides with Apple, Tesla, other tech companies over child labor in Africa – by Jonathan Stempel (Reuters – March 6, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

March 5 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to hold five major technology companies liable over their alleged support for the use of child labor in cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Tesla rejecting an appeal by former child miners and their representatives.

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OPINION: Has Canada gone too far in blocking mining investments from Chinese companies? – by Patrick Leblond (Globe and Mail – March 7, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

SRG Mining announced this week that it was putting an end to Carbon One New Energy Group’s proposed $16.9-million investment in the Canadian miner. Although the company did not officially say so, the belief is that a national security review by the federal government was going to scupper the transaction between SRG and C-One of China.

Under the Investment Canada Act, the federal government has the right to review foreign investments in Canadian companies to protect our national security. One of the factors used by the government when assessing national security implications, as per the Guidelines on the National Security Review of Investments, is “the potential impact of the investment on critical minerals and critical mineral supply chains.”

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China strengthens its grip on global lithium trade amid processing plant building boom in Zimbabwe – by Jevans Nyabiage (South China Morning Post – March 10, 2024)

https://www.scmp.com/

China is getting a head start in the global rush for lithium after several mining companies completed multimillion-dollar processing plants for the “white gold” in Zimbabwe.

Major Chinese companies, including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group, all completed the construction or upgrade of lithium processing plants in Zimbabwe last year.

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Cobalt’s boomtown blues – by John Sandlos (Canadian Mining Journal – March 7, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Every mine develops at a different pace. The discovery of a major mineral deposits may create feverish excitement, but an actual mine may remain undeveloped for decades, waiting for a favourable alignment of investors, infrastructure developments, or market conditions.

Some mines develop rather suddenly, however, leading to the “rush” conditions that have been romanticized in popular culture. Mineral rushes may lead to riches for some, but they also can create impossibly difficult conditions for miners and their families, including poor housing, hunger, diseases, and high accident rates in the mines.

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NEWS RELEASE: Juno and Marten Falls First Nation Sign Exploration Agreement (March 7, 2024)

TORONTO, March 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Juno Corp. (“Juno” or the “Company”) and Marten Falls First Nation (“MFFN”) are pleased to announce a new cooperation agreement to foster economic participation opportunities and advance exploration and potential mining partnerships in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire. The Exploration Agreement (the “Agreement”) was signed on March 6, 2024, in Toronto, Ontario between Chief Bruce Achneepineskum and Jacob McKinnon, President & COO of Juno.

Chief Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation said, “Marten Falls First Nation Chief and Council are pleased to announce with Juno an exploration agreement on Marten Falls First Nation traditional territory. It is the start of a productive and beneficial agreement that fosters goodwill and open engagement on exploration initiatives and issues.”

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