In one of history’s little-known ironies, the Maple Leaf country pushing back against Donald Trump’s annexation bid is also host to a tiny, remote restaurant and brothel that helped launch the U.S. president’s family fortune more than 100 years ago.
To find it, look west. Way west. On a quiet, remote trail in British Columbia near the Yukon boundary sits a wooden facade resembling the brothel and restaurant Trump’s grandfather built at the turn of the century.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/
Frontier Lithium plans to build facility on Mission Island
A proposed lithium refinery in Thunder Bay, Ont., has taken a big step forward, getting support from both the provincial and federal governments.
Frontier Lithium intends to build the facility on Mission Island. It would convert lithium from the company’s PAK mine, located north of Red Lake, into about 20,000 tonnes of lithium salts annually.
Election throws up surprise result as independence from Denmark remains tough to define.
Greenland had a message for Donald Trump as islanders went to the polls this week: thanks, but no thanks.
The U.S. president’s repeated noises about acquiring the vast Arctic island — not ruling out military force or economic coercion — were rejected at the ballot box, as a party that denounced Trump’s ambitions came out on top.
There are plans to mine the ‘Cornish alps’ reserves for use in EVs and the energy system, but not everyone is so bullish about their viability
“This area is affectionately known as the Cornish alps,” says Neil Elliot, pointing at a spike-shaped mound in the hills above St Austell. “The peaks round here are all man-made. They’re waste left over from the old china clay mines.”
The mines are mostly closed now, put out of business by competition from Brazil, but Elliot is part of a new rush for the riches in this landscape. If your kitchen has a granite work surface, you can probably see those riches for yourself. The tiny brown flecks in Cornwall’s granite contain a mineral for which the world has a sudden and ravenous appetite: lithium.
https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/
In an escalation of trade tensions, Donald Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent this week. This increase would have been in response to Ontario’s 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States. The threat rattled markets and several major indices continued to decline after the announcement, increasing fears of a recession[1]. [MRR1]
While Trump has at least temporarily backed down from the plan to raise the tariff to 50%, the 25% aluminum and steel import tariffs are still a big blow to North American supply chain interdependency and resilience. The following Q&A discusses the impact of Trump’s tariffs on US-Canada minerals trade and its ripple effects on supply chains, prices, and policy.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
NexGold Mining announce potential positive outcomes as itworks towards the completion of its feasibility study for its Goliath gold complex located in the Wabigoon Greenstone belt in northwestern Ontario. NexGold Mining is a gold-focused company with assets in Canada and Alaska. The company expects the feasibility study in the second quarter of this year.
The Goliath gold complex project utilized a combination of open-pit and underground mining methods to extract gold ore. The company’s feasibility study is being prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/
Brazil has huge potential to develop nickel projects and benefit from the energy transition, but it also must solve significant problems. National nickel reserves are estimated at 16Mt, putting Brazil in third place globally, after Indonesia (55Mt) and Australia (24Mt).
Output, however, is still modest, totaling 89,000t in 2023, for a global market share of 2.47%, which makes Brazil the ninth producer, according to US Geological Survey data. But Brazil is the only Latin American country which is a top 10 global nickel player.
Tokyo (AFP) – Rules on deep-sea mining in international waters must be driven by “sound science” and built on consensus, the head of the body charged with regulating the divisive practice said Thursday.
Deep-sea mining in international waters involves taking minerals like nickel, cobalt and copper — crucial for renewable energy technology — from the sea floor.
But researchers and environmentalists have long warned it risks destroying habitats and species that are little understood, and could upset delicate processes in the ocean that affect climate change.
Leonardo DiCaprio has thrown his support behind West Australian activists who are angry at the federal government for green-lighting a mine expansion in an area home to endangered species.
In February Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek gave approval to South32 to clear up to 3,855 hectares of native vegetation in WA’s Northern Jarrah Forests as part of a mine expansion near the town of Boddington.
Elon Musk has projected there will be 10 billion humanoid robots by 2040, and he’s not alone in predicting such extraordinarily high numbers:
-in China, Shenzhen’s city government has released an action plan to offer funding and policy support for intelligent robots, including humanoids. By 2027, it aims to host more than 10 companies valued at over 10 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) and over 20 companies with annual revenues exceeding 1 billion yuan.
-a Citi report estimates there will likely be 1.3 billion AI-robots by 2035 and 4 billion by 2050
US couples spent 5% less on engagement rings last year as lab-grown diamond center stones gained in popularity. Consumers who took part in a recent survey paid approximately $5,200 on average for their engagement rings in 2024, down from $5,500 the previous year, according to a report from wedding resource
The Knot. That figure also declined 10% from 2022 and 13% from 2021. The decrease came as for the first time, more than half of center stones purchased were lab-grown. The trend toward synthetics in engagement rings in 2024 grew 6% from a year ago and 40% from 2019, the survey found.
Bolivia is facing mounting public backlash over contracts signed with Chinese and Russian companies late last year to exploit its vast lithium reserves, with community groups arguing the agreements offer no real benefits to locals.
The controversy led the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies to suspend parliamentary discussions on the deals in February, pending “a thorough information-sharing process with civil society is completed.”
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
One provincial permit to go before north shore copper-palladium mine developer can move on $1-billion pit project
Generation Mining is itching closer toward making a final construction decision on its Marathon copper-palladium mine project near the north shore of Lake Superior.
The Toronto mine developer said March 11 it’s finally pocketed three important provincial permits from the natural resources ministry that are key to moving ahead with its proposed open-pit mine, valued at $1.16 billion.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Well before U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his threat to levy steep tariffs on imports of Canadian steel, Ontario’s National Steel Car was already feeling some pain.
Starting in mid-November, with the newly elected Mr. Trump at that point only threatening to impose tariffs on Canada, a major customer for a rail car put its order on hold, said Frank Crowder, president of USW Local 7135, the union that represents the workers at the company.
The US is eyeing emergency authority to bring back coal-fired plants that have closed and stop others from shutting, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Monday.
“Under the national energy emergency, which President Trump has declared, we’ve got to keep every coal plant open,” Burgum told Bloomberg Television in an interview on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. “And if there had been units at a coal plant that have been shut down, we need to bring those back.”
