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Province shuts down Chiefs of Ontario’s request for a moratorium on staking mining claims – by Jonathan Migneault (CBC News Sudbury – March 5, 2024)

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

The Chiefs of Ontario say a moratorium would offer some breathing room to catch up on claims

The office of Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie says a one-year moratorium on staking mining claims in Ontario is off the table. The Chiefs of Ontario were in Toronto on Tuesday to reiterate their request for the moratorium, which they initially asked for in January.

They’ve said processing the claims puts an administrative burden on First Nations, which often have limited resources available to them. The Chiefs of Ontario say some First Nations have seen up to a 30 per cent increase in claims staked in their territories over the past year.

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Gold’s shock rally has analysts grasping for explanations – by Ernest Hoffman (Kitco News – March 6, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Gold’s surprising rally to new all-time highs has even seasoned industry professionals scratching their heads as to the true cause.

“It is clear that despite the West’s disaffection for gold […] demand in China is more than offsetting the shortfall, with monumental volumes flowing from West to the East,” wrote Metals Daily CEO Ross Norman in a LinkedIn post. “As such, this rally seems to have caught Western experts and forecasters by surprise – a stealth rally if you like – which suggests to me the buying is beyond the immediate purview of most of us.”

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PDAC 2024: Junior miners see short-selling ‘epidemic’ – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining.com – March 6, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Junior miners at this week’s Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention say recently proposed new rules on short-selling could help stem the bleeding in their stocks, which are especially vulnerable to the practice.

The January proposal by a Canadian regulator would apply to “hard-to-borrow” stocks like junior miners. Before shorting such securities, traders would be required to confirm there is stock available to borrow or the short sale would be prohibited.

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French government throws more lifebuoys at New Caledonia’s beleaguered nickel industry – by Patrick Decloitre (Radio New Zealand – March 7, 2024)

https://www.rnz.co.nz/

The French government has agreed to dig in its coffers and throw more lifebuoys at New Caledonia’s beleaguered nickel industry. But the aid is tied to a stringent reform “pact”.

The latest financial assistance came early this week with an agreement between France and mining giant Eramet, whereby a sum of €320 million (which is the amount of previous loans granted by the French government) will be converted to “neutralise” an existing debt in Eramet’s New Caledonia subsidiary Société Le Nickel (SLN) so as the huge figure can be transferred from the liabilities section to “quasi-equities”.

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PDAC: Faster permitting key to advancing critical mineral projects, panel warns – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – March 6, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Governments must help cut permitting and production timelines if Canada is to produce enough minerals to reach net zero goals by 2050, says the CEO of Ring of Fire project developer Wyloo Metals Canada.

“There are a lot of projects near to approval. The big ask is the shortening of the time frame,” Kristan Straub, CEO of Wyloo Metals Canada said on Monday at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto.

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South Africa’s Platinum Miners Brace for More Pain This Year – by William Clowes (Bloomberg News – March 6, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s platinum producers are in crisis, as slumping metal prices force jobs cuts and erode profits. The nation’s platinum sector — which accounts for about 70% of global output — has been a key export industry and generates jobs for hundreds of thousands of people in a country with one of the world’s highest unemployment rates.

Over the past two weeks, the four biggest producers — Sibanye Stillwater Ltd., Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Northam Platinum Ltd. — have all released sobering earnings reports. Those results have helped us learn the following:

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Two First Nations sign Ring of Fire agreement as another launches court battle – by Jack Hauen (The Trillium – March 5, 2024)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Simultaneous press conferences outlined the promise of, and frustration with, Ontario’s mining boom

Four subway stops away from each other, three First Nations highlighted two very different experiences. At Queen’s Park Tuesday morning, Chief of Cat Lake First Nation Russell Wesley held a press conference to draw attention to an injunction his community has secured to prevent the commencement of road construction for a First Mining Gold project in its territory.

The community has initiated an Anishinaabe-led impact assessment on the project, which it expects will take a year, but the government wouldn’t wait and authorized the mining company to construct the road. Cat Lake First Nation won a temporary injunction to halt the project while its case alleging the government failed in its duty to consult the First Nation can be heard.

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How Will Chinese Investors Navigate Indonesia’s Post-election Risks? – by Ahmad Syarif (The Diplomat – March 7, 2024)

https://thediplomat.com/

Chinese firms, which have established good relations with President Joko Widodo’s cabinet, are quietly putting out feelers ahead of the changeover of administration.

Over the past ten years, China has emerged as a significant foreign investor in Indonesia. Between 2019 and 2022 alone, according to data from the Ministry of Investment, Chinese companies invested $20.9 billion across 9,080 projects in the country.

Chinese investments in Indonesia can be categorized into two distinct groups. The first are those of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-supported initiatives, which encompass major infrastructure projects like railways, power plants, and other government-sponsored developments.

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Kazakhstan positions itself for lithium windfall (Eurasianet.org – March 6, 2024)

https://eurasianet.org/

The National Geological Service says the country has lithium reserves of around 75,600 tons.

Kazakhstan is positioning itself as an important potential global supplier of high-quality lithium just as demand surges for the mineral, which is indispensable for the booming power-storage technology industry. The auspices are good, although few firm investment commitments have materialized.

Speaking at a conference in Seoul on March 5, researchers from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources announced that they had discovered sizable lithium reserves in an area of eastern Kazakhstan.

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Fall in battery metal prices a concern for Canada and allies, says Jonathan Wilkinson – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – March 5, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

Supply key to three battery plants to be built here in coming years

Slumping prices for the minerals needed in the energy transition away from fossil fuels is a concern for Canada and its allies, says Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, since it is preventing capital from moving into projects the country wants to develop.

“It is a concern for a number of countries like Canada that produce these minerals and hope to produce many more going forward,” he said. “It is something that Australia, Canada, the European Union and others are talking about.”

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Vancouver lithium company announces investor interest from China, despite Ottawa’s warnings – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 7, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Another deep-pocketed China-based buyer is attempting to invest in a Canadian critical-minerals company, even as Ottawa fires a warning shot that it is monitoring such deals closely, and prepared to intervene.

On Tuesday, Vancouver-based Lithium Americas Argentina Corp. (Lithium Argentina) said it had attracted a US$70-million investment from China-based Ganfeng Lithium, which would see it take a 15-per-cent stake in its Pastos Grandes project.

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Map reveals the US targets likely to be on Putin’s hit list in a nuclear war – by Steve Charnock (MSN.com – March 7, 2024)

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/

Global nuclear tensions and the threat of World War Three seem to ratchet up by the day. While we’re yet to fully enter a cold war, the air is getting rather chilly. It may soon be time for the world to put its ‘big’ coat on.

For certain parts of the United States, however, it’s the other end of the thermometer that should concern them. Cold wars might be scary, but they’re a cool, blissful peace and a blessed relief to the much hotter alternative of a thermonuclear war.

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Gold prices are going higher, but it remains the only antidote to an overvalued S&P 500 and global uncertainty – Sprott’s McIntyre – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – March 6, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – The gold market continues to move from one record close to another, even as its all-time highs remain elusive, which should attract investors’ attention, according to one fund manager.

Regardless of whether the gold’s four-day rally to $2,150 an ounce is sustainable or not, prices are going higher in the long term, said Ryan McIntyre, Managing Partner at Sprott Inc., in an interview with Kitco News.

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Ontario poised to become community builders in the Ring of Fire – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 5, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Province doubles down on Far North roads, infrastructure during PDAC week

The Ontario government is prepared to jump into the community infrastructure construction business for those First Nations already on board with mine development in the Ring of Fire. Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations signed a Community Development Agreement with the province at the PDAC mining show in Toronto, March 5.

No monetary figures were included in a news release but a general list of “shovel-ready infrastructure projects” deemed eligible to receive provincial support included health and training facilities, recreation centres, grocery stores, upgrades to nursing stations, commercial buildings and labour force development programs.

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‘Surprisingly big deals get done here’: how much of the mining business is done over beers – by Erik White (CBC News Sudbury – March 5, 2024)

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

The legendary ‘hospitality suites’ at the Royal York have now given way to ‘social’ events in Toronto bars

Every day at 5 p.m. the PDAC mining conference closes down and the some 30,000 people who have spent the day in the downtown convention centre are sent out onto the streets of Toronto. And some would say that’s when things really get started. The annual gathering of the global mining industry, hosted by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, is legendary for its parties.

Every night this week, there were multiple invite-only events held across downtown Toronto, with drink tickets being handed out and servers circulating with trays of finger foods, all sponsored by one mining company or another.

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