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QC Copper says Opemiska resource tops 1.88 billion lb. copper, 915,000 oz. gold – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – January 8, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

QC Copper and Gold (TSXV: QCCU) has updated the resource estimate for its Opemiska project to Over 1.88 billion lb. of copper and 915,000 oz. of gold. The project is located in the Chapais-Chibougamau district of Quebec.

The pit-constrained measured and indicated resource is 87.3 million tonnes grading 0.77% copper (0.93% copper equivalent), containing 1.49 billion lb. copper, 762,000 oz. of gold, and 762,000 oz. of silver. The pit-constrained inferred resource is 9.8 million tonnes at 0.48% copper (0.59% copper equivalent), containing 104 million lb. copper, 55,000 oz. of gold, and 689,000 oz. of silver. A cut-off of 0.15% copper equivalent was used in this estimate.

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New critical mineral mines in British Columbia could generate nearly C$600 billion, study says – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – January 8, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

In the province of British Columbia, 16 proposed critical mineral mines, worth C$36 billion in near-term investment, 300,000 person-years of employment and C$11 billion in tax revenues, are at a critical juncture, a new independent economic impact analysis conducted for the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) has found.

There are currently 10 metal mines, seven steelmaking coal mines and two smelters operating in BC, which is regarded as a key global mining jurisdiction. BC is Canada’s leading producer of copper and steelmaking coal, second largest producer of silver, and only producer of molybdenum, MABC said.

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Winter road time could be short for some First Nations – by Mike Stimpson (Northern Ontario Business/NWOnewswatch – January 5, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

“It’s almost like you’re sending out search parties looking for winter. And of course, this has implications for Northern Ontario because of the ice roads.”

CAT LAKE FIRST NATION — City dwellers may have welcomed the unseasonably warm December weather, but it made Cat Lake’s chief a tad nervous. Chief Russell Wesley estimated in a recent interview that his remote community northeast of Red Lake might see a winter-road season of just four weeks, with half that time safe for light vehicles only.

That wouldn’t leave much time for the big trucks to deliver gasoline and building supplies for the homes he hopes to see put up in 2024.

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Is First Quantum a takeover target? Here we go again – by David Berman (Globe and Mail – January 6, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has begun 2024 looking like a winning stock, but its early rebound may add another layer of risk to an investment that has been reeling from setbacks related to the company’s huge copper mine in Panama.

Just ask anyone who jumped on the rally by Laurentian Bank of Canada last July, in the hope of a bidding war for the struggling lender. By the time the bank announced six weeks later that no buyer had emerged, the shares were down nearly 30 per cent.

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Court hands partial victory to First Nations who say they weren’t properly consulted over Yukon mine project – by (CBC News – January 5, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/

Supreme Court finds the Crown did reasonably consult with Kaska, ‘in all respects but one’

A Yukon judge has handed a partial victory to First Nations who said they weren’t adequately consulted over a proposed mine project in Kaska territory in southeast Yukon.

But the court also found that the federal and territorial governments largely met their duty to consult throughout the environmental assessment process.

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Battery Metal Price Plunge Is Closing Mines and Stalling Deals – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – January 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A meltdown in some of the most-hyped energy-transition metals is wreaking havoc across the mining world, stalling projects, scuppering deals and triggering a scramble for cash that promises to reverberate through the industry for years.

Lithium — the ultra-light metal used in electric-vehicle batteries — has plunged more than 80% from a late-2022 record, as the market whiplashed from shortage fears to a mountain of surplus inventories. Nickel and cobalt have also tumbled, weighed down by an influx of new production amid concerns that the shift to EVs may not be as smooth and quick as predicted.

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This billionaire used Indonesia’s nickel to squeeze out Australia – by Emma Connors (Australian Financial Review – January 9, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Indonesia’s ban on unrefined ore exports is loathed by competing producers and in breach of trade rules, but it is popular at home where international investors have built massive production centres.

They call him the Nickel King. Xiang Guangda, founder and chairman of Chinese giant Tsingshan Holdings, has invested billions of dollars in nickel processing in Indonesia, boosting exports and making it harder for higher-cost Australian miners to compete.

Indonesia’s exports of ferro nickel alloy, which is used to make stainless steel, climbed 38 per cent by volume in the first five months of last year after notching up a 42 per cent increase in the previous two years.

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Ottawa, Honda to hold talks on potential EV factory in Canada – by Bill Curry and Adam Radwanski (Globe and Mail – January 9, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Federal officials are planning to meet this week with Honda representatives about the possibility of the Japanese automaker building an electric-vehicle factory in Canada, adding another name to the list of manufacturers Ottawa is courting as part of a multibillion-dollar effort to transform the domestic auto industry ahead of a shift away from fossil fuels.

The meeting has not been publicly announced, but a senior government official told The Globe and Mail on Monday that it will take place this week, and that several federal departments will participate. The official said there had already been a meeting in December between federal representatives and Canadian and international personnel from Honda.

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Uranium price hits new post-Fukushima high – by Colin McClelland (Mining.com – January 3, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

The spot price of uranium continues to rise, boosted by pledges to triple nuclear power by mid-century, supply hiccups from producers such as Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) and the looming threat of a ban on Russian exports to the West.

Uranium hit $91 per lb. this week, another record since triple-digit prices in 2007 and the fallout after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan that saw several countries curb nuclear energy plans. The price has increased from about $50 per lb. at mid-year.

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Honda considering $18.4B electric vehicle and battery plant in Canada: media report – by Ian Bickis (Canadian Press/CTV News – January 7, 2024)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

ALLISTON, ONT. – Honda Motor Co. Ltd. could invest upwards of $18.4 billion in an electric vehicle plant in Canada, according to a report from a Japanese news outlet.

Nikkei Asia said on Sunday that Honda is considering building both a vehicle and battery plant in the country as part of efforts to catch up in the electric vehicle market.

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World’s biggest mining project to start after 27 years of setbacks and scandals – by Tom Wilson (Financial Times – January 7, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Rio Tinto hopes $20bn Guinea iron ore, rail and port plan will pave way for ‘new era’ of mining

The world’s biggest mining project, a $20bn iron ore, rail and port development in a remote corner of west Africa, is expected to start this year after a 27-year wait beset by setbacks, scandals and several false dawns.

UK-listed Rio Tinto first secured an exploration licence in the Simandou mountains in south-eastern Guinea, 550km from the coastal capital, in 1997. Since then the country of 13mn people has had two coups d’état, four heads of state and three presidential elections.

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Coal miners in North Dakota unearth a mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years – by Jack Dura (Associated Press/MSM.com – January 7, 2024)

https://www.msn.com/

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The first person to spot it was a shovel operator working the overnight shift, eyeing a glint of white as he scooped up a giant mound of dirt and dropped it into a dump truck. Later, after the truck driver dumped the load, a dozer driver was ready to flatten the dirt but stopped for a closer look when he, too, spotted that bit of white.

Only then did the miners realize they had unearthed something special: a 7-foot-long mammoth tusk that had been buried for thousands of years.

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Fired Endeavour CEO had checkered work history before joining British mining company – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 6, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ousted chief executive Sébastien de Montessus had a history of going behind the backs of his superiors and conducting unauthorized business, well before the British gold mining company fired him for cause this week.

London-based Endeavour on Thursday said it terminated Mr. de Montessus after accusing him of “serious misconduct” related to a payment he authorized without the board’s knowledge. Mr. de Montessus admitted he authorized a payment of US$5.9-million to a creditor in exchange for security services without getting permission from the board, and called it a “lapse in judgment.”

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Teck ditches coal, flags lower copper output in Chile – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 4, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK) has kissed coal goodbye after closing the sale of its minority stake in steelmaking coal operations to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. and South Korean steelmaker Posco.

Nippon Steel now has a 20% interest in Teck’s coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources. In exchange, the Japanese firm gave up its prior 2.5% stake in one of Teck’s coal operations and has paid $1.7 billion in cash.

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Government funding expected soon to complete Temiskaming refinery build – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 3, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Electra Battery Materials ponders Quebec invite to build refinery in Becancour

Electra Battery Materials fully expects government funding to roll in shortly to finish its incomplete cobalt and nickel refinery expansion in Temiskaming. The Toronto company issued a Dec. 29 news release that it expects government funding “very early in 2024” to resume construction that was brought to a halt last year.

Electra is short US$60 million to finish its refurbishment and expansion of the former Yukon refinery located between the town of Cobalt and Temiskaming Shores.

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