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Inside the ambitious Indigenous-led plan to protect northwestern Ontario’s “Breathing Lands” – by Susan Nerberg (Canadian Geographic – June 04, 2025)

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On the western shores of James and Hudson bays, a group of Omushkego Cree nations have been working to protect both water and land

You can’t blame Sam Hunter for not being in the mood for a boat ride. Rain is pelting the hamlet of Peawanuck, and the northeasterly wind coming in from Hudson Bay sweeps the coastal lowlands of northern Ontario. “I don’t like this weather,” Hunter says from underneath a furrowed brow, even as he and his German shepherd puppy, Niska, make their way by ATV from his house to the boat launch on the Winisk River.

There’s no one there to brag about how good the fishing had been upstream, no one to lament how the thawing permafrost downstream is tearing apart the riverbank, leaving the bank swallows to search for new homes. And there is no one around to debate the merits of a proposal to formally protect the tawich, the coastal area with its tidal marshes, mudflats and rivers, and the sea beyond, to which Hunter and others from Weenusk First Nation are inextricably linked. There is only the voice of the river.

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Innovation comes to tailings management – by Heidi Vella (Mining Technology – June 2, 2025)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

In the wake of several major tailings dam disasters, new technology is emerging to help miners manage waste more safely and sustainably.

Today, it is impossible to talk of mine tailings – the unfortunate but unavoidable legacy of mining – and not think of the Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil, which, in 2019, claimed 259 lives. Aidan Davy, co-COO of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) called it a “stark wake-up call”, adding that it “marked the beginning of a vital journey to make these facilities safer for people and the environment”.

That journey should not only focus on strong governance but also the implementation of “good engineering practices” for tailings management across the life cycle, the ICMM noted in its latest updated guidance, published in February.

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Mount Etna erupts, unleashing lava – and possibly hidden minerals – by Staff (Mining.com – June 3, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, erupted this week in a spectacular display, sending plumes of ash and gas high into the Sicilian sky and captivating onlookers with one of its most dramatic outbursts in years.

The eruption originated from the volcano’s southeast crater, where a combination of a white ash plume and a grey cloud, resulting from a crater collapse and subsequent avalanche, produced a powerful pyroclastic flow. While pyroclastic flows are highly dangerous due to their heat and mobility, the event occurred in an uninhabited area.

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Blackwater Mine, Canada’s Newest Gold and Silver Mine Officially Open (Nation Talk – June 2, 2025)

https://nationtalk.ca/

Vancouver, British Columbia – Artemis Gold Inc. (“Artemis Gold” or the “Company”) announces that Blackwater Mine, Canada’s newest gold and silver mine, was officially opened in a ceremony at the mine site today.

B.C. Premier David Eby, along with Jagrup Brar, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, Acting Chief June Baptiste of the Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation, and Chief Charlie Williams (represented) of Ulkatcho First Nation, attended the event. Other attendees included representatives of Indigenous and municipal governments, industry associations, business partners, contractors and other stakeholders.

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The US Badly Needs Rare Minerals and Fresh Water. Guess Who Has Them? – by Christopher Pollon (The Walrus – June 3, 2025)

The Walrus

As China tightens its grip on critical resources, Trump eyes Canada’s riches

Rain fell for the first time on the highest point of the Greenland ice sheet in August 2021, seen by scientists as a foreboding precedent for sea level rise and the planet. But not everyone was alarmed. The melting of ice caps began exposing virgin ground for mining, including what has been touted as some of the largest deposits of rare earth elements, or REEs, in the world.

REEs are a group of seventeen metals with remarkable magnetic, electrochemical, and luminescent properties. They give a smartphone its computing power and electric cars their batteries. They are necessary to make powerful permanent magnets needed by both wind turbines to generate energy efficiently and laser-guided missile systems to stay on target.

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‘Unleashing a reckoning’: Ford government set to pass Bill 5 – by Jessica Smith Cross (The Trillium – June 2, 2025)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa was ejected from the legislature for accusing the premier of lying about the bill

Indigenous people rallied at Queen’s Park Monday afternoon, demanding the Ford government “kill Bill 5.” Inside, MPPs debated the government’s move to time-allocate the bill, which will speed it through the legislative process and curtail debate.

Bill 5 would give the provincial cabinet the power to designate an area a “special economic zone,” and then exempt selected proponents and projects from requirements under any provincial law or regulation, including bylaws of municipalities and local boards, that would otherwise apply.

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Fresh Mongolia turmoil raises stakes for Rio Tinto’s copper bet – by Jessica Sier (Australian Financial Review – June 3, 2025)

https://www.afr.com/

Tokyo | Mongolia’s prime minister was ousted from power on Tuesday in a dramatic no-confidence vote, sparking fresh political uncertainty that raises questions over the future of Rio Tinto’s massive copper mine expansion in the country.

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai was forced to resign after falling well short of the 64 votes he needed from lawmakers, Mongolian media reported. The vote was triggered by a corruption scandal involving Oyun-Erdene’s son and public anger over his lavish lifestyle that included weeks of mounting street protests demanding greater transparency or his resignation.

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Interview: Barrick CEO talks slimming gold portfolio – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – June 3, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

When Barrick Gold took over Randgold in 2019, its marketing dropped Gold from the name to reflect wider interests like copper and appeal to new investors. But it didn’t bother to change its registered moniker. Gradually, the Gold crept back in. Now, the Gold has been guillotined, like a statement Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) means business this time.

“Most of the gold companies sort of have grasped at the opportunity to talk about copper,” CEO Mark Bristow said in an interview with The Northern Miner in May. “But we actually pointedly said, ‘if you really want to be a big player in the gold business, it makes a whole lot of sense to focus on these big assets.’”

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Algoma Steel CEO says 50% tariffs threaten viability in the U.S. – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 3, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Algoma Steel Group Inc. chief executive Michael Garcia says 50-per-cent tariffs on Canadian steel imports could make the company’s U.S. business unviable. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he intends to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent from 25 per cent, effective on Wednesday.

His original tariffs, which were put in place in March, were framed around the need to protect the country’s national security. Mr. Trump says the higher tariffs are now necessary to eliminate any threat of foreign steel making its way into the U.S. market. They apply to all its imports of the metals, not just those from Canada.

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How Kazakhstan can anchor a resilient rare‑earth supply chain for the West – by Miras Zhiyenbayev (Atlantic Council – June 3, 2025)

Atlantic Council – Shaping the global future together

The rare-earth supply crunch underscores a critical lesson: The United States cannot afford to rely on China’s goodwill for minerals essential to its economy and security. China dominates the rare-earth supply chain, with Beijing supplying about 60 percent of global rare-earths output and controlling up to 90 percent of refining capacity.

For the United States, which needs neodymium and dysprosium for F‑35 fighter jet engines as badly as it needs lithium for electric vehicles, continued dependence on Beijing is impossible. The solution is not wishful “onshoring” to the United States alone; it is establishing a portfolio of reliable partners. Kazakhstan, already the world’s leading uranium producer and a top‑ten copper and zinc exporter, is a prime candidate for such a partnership.

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A single potash project is saving Saskatchewan from stagnation – by Ty Thiessen (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – June 3, 2025)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Today, BHP’s Jansen potash mine singlehandedly drives Saskatchewan’s economy in spite of, and not because of, provincial policy.

Saskatchewan’s premier has been keen to share indicators of this province’s economic health. We’re told that Saskatchewan is “leading the nation.” The government reports that Saskatchewan had Canada’s second highest economic growth last year, and that “many sectors” contributed.

Not only did few sectors contribute to that growth, but a whopping 72 per cent of it came from BHP’s Jansen potash project. Since 2022, more than two-thirds of Saskatchewan’s economic growth was spending on the Jansen mine. Without this project, Saskatchewan’s economy would’ve been dead last in 2024.

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Global alarms rise as China’s critical mineral export ban takes hold – by Jarrett Renshaw and Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – June 3, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

Alarm over China’s stranglehold on critical minerals grew on Tuesday as global automakers joined their US counterparts to complain that restrictions by China on exports of rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets could cause production delays and outages without a quick solution.

German automakers became the latest to warn that China’s export restrictions threaten to shut down production and rattle their local economies, following a similar complaint from an Indian EV maker last week.

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Would You Buy Your Diamond Engagement Ring at Walmart? – by Elizabeth Paton (New York Times – May 8, 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/

The popularity of synthetic stones has sent the market for natural diamonds crashing. With consumers confused about how to tell the difference, how can a market leader like De Beers regain its sparkle?

Do you care where a diamond comes from? Historically, consumers didn’t have a choice. Natural diamonds were formed billions of years ago, deep beneath the earth’s surface, and were then thrust hundreds of kilometers to its crust by volcanic eruptions before eventually being extracted from mines in South Africa, Russia and elsewhere.

Companies like De Beers convinced the world that a diamond is forever, made the stones synonymous with engagement rings and encouraged people to spend at least three months’ salary on a rock when they wed. But in recent years, the natural diamond industry has been upended by laboratory-grown diamonds, which are virtually identical in chemical composition to their natural counterparts (at least to the naked eye).

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First Nations warn Doug Ford to fix mining bill or face backlash – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – June 3, 2025)

https://www.thestar.com/

With the Progressive Conservative majority set to pass the bill later this week, about 300 protesters from across the province gathered in front of the building to voice concern about the “special economic zones” it will create.

Premier Doug Ford is running out of time to fix his controversial Bill 5 — which fast-tracks mines and infrastructure developments — before it ignites a summer of unrest, First Nations leaders warned Monday.

With the Progressive Conservative majority set to pass the bill later this week, about 300 protesters from across the province gathered in front of the building to voice concern about the “special economic zones” it will create, bypassing local and provincial rules to speed development in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

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Delegates to Sudbury conference remain bullish on electric vehicles – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – May 31, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury and Canada will benefit because it has the minerals needed to build electric batteries, they say

Despite the code orange threat level emanating from south of the border, delegates attending the BEV In Depth conference said on Thursday they remain optimistic about an electrified future. Steve Gravel, manager of the Centre for Smart Mining at Cambrian R&D, said until recently, the market for industrial battery-electric vehicles has been “red hot, especially in underground mining.” While it has cooled a bit, it is still a booming field.

“When you’re not pumping diesel exhaust into the mining environment, there are a lot of gains to be made around ventilation provision and things like that,” he said. “Some operators think they have more power when they’re in the muck pile, for example. They’re really good pieces of equipment.”

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