Twitter

China flexes rare earth dominance with million-tonne discovery – by Staff (Mining.com – March 19, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

China solidified its global dominance in rare earth elements mining with a new discovery that its experts say is likely to be the largest middle and heavy rare earth deposit in the country. The discovery was first reported in the Chinese paper Workers’ Daily late January, then confirmed and published by the China Geological Survey (CGS) under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

According to the CGS, the deposit could host as much as 1.15 million tonnes of resources containing key rare earth elements such as praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium and terbium, which are being sought after globally. Once tapped, it would yield about 470,000 tonnes of these strategic minerals, it estimated.

Read more

The US Uranium Dilemma: Domestic Production Challenges in an Era of Growing Nuclear Energy Demand – by Scot Anderson (Womble Bond Dickinson.com – March 20, 2025)

https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/

At present, Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia account for nearly two-thirds of global uranium production. The United States produces less than one percent of the world’s uranium, and most of the uranium used in the United States is imported, primarily from Canada. As discussed elsewhere in this series, there is increasing commitment to nuclear energy as a fundamental component of domestic and global energy production.

Despite its emphasis on the development of fossil fuels, the Trump administration is likely to support more nuclear energy development, especially in the form of small modular reactors. The Executive Order on “Unleashing American Energy” includes a direction to the U.S. Geological Service to consider adding uranium to the list of critical minerals.

Read more

[Ring of Fire] For the love of peat — how Liberals let moss block development of the ‘oilsands of Ontario’ – by Jesse Kline (National Post – March 21, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

The Grits have mired the development of vast wealth in a bureaucratic nightmare. The Tories pledge to change that

A video posted by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday highlights one of Canada’s enduring problems: our chronic inability to get anything done and, by extension, our propensity to handicap our own economic prosperity.

In the video, and at a pre-campaign stop in Sudbury, Ont., Poilievre highlighted a story that should have sparked a modern-day gold rush. In 2007, prospectors found vast deposits of critical minerals — including chromite, which is used to produce stainless steel, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum — in a remote part of northern Ontario, about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, that came to be known as the “Ring of Fire.”

Read more

Trump to expand critical mineral production using wartime powers – by Ari Natter and Joe Deaux (Bloomberg News – March 20, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

President Donald Trump is invoking emergency powers to boost the ability of the US to produce critical minerals — and potentially coal — as part of a broad effort to ramp up the development of domestic natural resources and make the country less reliant on foreign imports.

An executive order signed by the president Thursday taps the Defense Production Act as part of an effort to provide financing, loans and other investment support to domestically process critical minerals and rare earth elements, according to a White House official. The US International Development Finance Corporation, working with the Department of Defense, will provide financing for new mineral production projects.

Read more

“The Narrative About Lab-Grown Diamonds Is Changing” – by Victoria Gomelsky (JCK Online.com – March 19, 2025)

JCK.com

After years of growth driven by retailers hooked on enormous margins, the lab-grown diamond market may be at an inflection point, says Paul Zimnisky, a diamond industry analyst who’s closely followed the lab-grown sector for more than a decade.

“I can definitely feel the narrative changing,” Zimnisky tells JCK. “There’s been this incessant narrative that lab-grown diamonds are God’s greatest gift. There’s nothing wrong with them, but I think the industry is putting itself in a difficult position given how heavily it’s promoting lab-grown.

Read more

Restart date for White River mine remains in the vault – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 19, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Vault Minerals charts a new mine plan, eyes more ounces at Sugar Zone

The cone of silence prevails on a possible restart date of the Sugar Zone mine, north of White River. Vault Minerals, however, is shedding some light on how things will come together to resume production at the mothballed underground operation based on some details in a February news release and an investor presentation this month.

Vault is a merged entity of two Australian mining companies, consisting of Silver Lake Resources, which originally acquired Sugar Zone in 2022, and Red 5. The companies rebranded to its current name last June.

Read more

Nickel in 2040: A supply crisis in the making – by Nilanjan Banik (Time of India – March 21, 2025)

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Hazarding a guess on the future demand-supply situation, especially for the metal and mining sector, is an exercise fraught with dangers. A fast- changing world order, disruption in global supply chains, the crippling effect of climate change, untimely closure of mines, changed government regulations, wars, changing demand-supply equations can suddenly change the contours of the industry, and with it, the most detailed projections. Not to forget the serious impact of technology costs and innovations.

However, given its growing significance and importance of nickel in different applications like construction, petrochemicals, automobiles, fabrication and welding, transportation, electronics, water sector as well as in low- carbon technologies, it is important to assess its availability and affordability in the near and long-terms as the demand for the critical metal mounts.

Read more

Poilievre criticized for pledging to fast-track Ring of Fire without Indigenous consultation – by Rajpreet Sahota, Faith Greco, Kate Rutherford (CBC News Canada – March 19, 2025)

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

Conservative leader’s ‘proposed shortcuts ignore our rights and our connection to the land’: Alvin Fiddler

Pierre Poilievre’s pledge on Wednesday that a Conservative government would fast-track development of the Ring of Fire has been criticized by Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s (NAN) grand chief, who accused the federal party leader of ignoring First Nations’ rights.

Alvin Fiddler was among those responding to Poilievre’s comments on the mineral-rich area of northwestern Ontario during his visit to Sudbury. NAN is a political organization representing 51 First Nation communities across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas of northern Ontario.

Read more

UK watchdog fines London Metal Exchange over handling of 2022 nickel crisis – by Polina Devitt, Eric Onstad (Reuters/MSM.com – March 20, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/

Britain’s financial regulator fined the London Metal Exchange on Thursday for allowing nickel prices to surge out of control three years ago in the first ever enforcement action against a UK exchange.

The Financial Conduct Authority imposed a penalty of 9.2 million pounds ($11.9 million) on the world’s oldest and largest market for industrial metals after an investigation found multiple failures to deal with severe market stress.

Read more

Deep-sea miners are set to dig for critical minerals, even if rules aren’t done – by Todd Woody (Bloomberg News – March 19, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/

As companies seek to extract critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies from the deep sea, a showdown is underway over when and whether to allow mining of untouched, biodiverse ecosystems.

For more than a decade, delegates from the United Nations-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) have been negotiating regulations to allow deep-sea mining as required by a 1982 UN treaty. Those deliberations are continuing this week during a meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, in advance of a July deadline to finish the job.

Read more

It’s time for Canadians to challenge the American domination of the LNG space – by Susan McArthur(Financial Post – March 19, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

Canada is now among the top 10 countries with natural gas reserves. It’s time to take advantage of that

Canadians are starting to understand the Americans ate our breakfast, lunch and dinner when it comes to selling liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the global market while simultaneously undermining our national security.

They are finally waking up to the importance of the urgent request by oil and gas CEOs to all federal party leaders calling for the removal of legislation and regulation impeding and capping the development of our resources.

Read more

Pierre Poilievre blasted over pledge to fast-track Ring of Fire permits – by Alex Ballingall and Raisa Patel (Toronto Star – March 19, 2025)

https://www.thestar.com/

The grand chief of a group of northern Ontario First Nations is blasting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over his promise to fast-track approvals and pump money into the Ring of Fire mineral region.

OTTAWA — The grand chief of a group of northern Ontario First Nations is blasting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over his promise to fast-track approvals and pump money into the Ring of Fire mineral region.

Read more

Gates-Backed Explorer Makes Play for Congo Lithium Deposit – by Michael J. Kavanagh and William Clowes (Financial Post/Bloomberg – March 21, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

KoBold Metals Co., backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has told the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo it wants to develop one of the world’s biggest hard rock lithium deposits.

(Bloomberg) — KoBold Metals Co., backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has told the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo it wants to develop one of the world’s biggest hard rock lithium deposits.

It’s the first major offer by a large US mining company to invest in the central African nation amid early-stage conversations about a potential minerals and security partnership between the two countries.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations Welcome Commitment to Advance Ring of Fire Infrastructure (March 19, 2025)

Project Location & Study Area (CNW Group/Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation)

A HOME PAGE

Thunder Bay, Ontario – Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation welcome Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s commitment to invest $1 billion in road infrastructure to the Ring of Fire and to improve the federal permitting process.

This investment responds directly to requests made by both First Nations for funding and aligns with their longstanding efforts to lead the development of sustainable infrastructure that will connect our communities, unlock critical resources, and create long-term economic opportunities. The promise to share tax revenues at the federal level is also a welcomed new commitment and pathway to economic reconciliation.

The Northern Road Link, a project led by Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations, is a crucial component of the broader effort to connect remote First Nations to the provincial highway network. By securing reliable infrastructure, the all-season roads will enable safe transportation, increase access to essential services, and support responsible resource development in the Ring of Fire region.

Read more

Conservative leader vows action on Ring of Fire within six months – by Darren MacDonald (CTV News Northern Ontario – March 19, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced Wednesday that within six months of taking power, he would green-light all federal permits for the Ring of Fire and commit $1 billion to build new roads.

Poilievre, who is holding a rally in Greater Sudbury on Wednesday evening, said progress on the Ring of Fire is key to “unlocking billions of dollars in resources and taking back control of our economy from the Americans.” The long-delayed mineral project 500 kilometres east of Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario includes large deposits of high-grade chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum.

Read more