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PDAC: Trade war seen fast-tracking mine approvals – by Frederic Tomesco (Northern Miner – March 5, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Could the escalating trade war with the United States unwittingly spur Canadian authorities to cut approval times for much needed mines and natural-resource projects? Some investment bankers think so. Citing “national emergency” reasons, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday slapped 25% import tariffs on most Canadian goods and 10% on energy and minerals.

That prompted Canada to retaliate with $30 billion worth of duties against its biggest trading partner. Another $125 billion worth of Canadian levies are set to come in about three weeks after the government consults with industry, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

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Doug Ford uses mining conference speech to push for fast-tracking critical mineral extraction (CBC News Sudbury – March 03, 2025)

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

First Nation advocates say it can’t happen at the expense of their rights

Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his promise Monday to speed up mineral extraction in the Ring of Fire, but advocates for First Nations say it can’t happen at the expense of Indigenous treaty rights.

Ford told an audience at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs take aim at the Ontario economy, and Ontario needs to prepare for “anything and everything.” “Together we need to build a stronger, more resilient and self-sufficient economy,” Ford said.

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Advocate raises concerns about Indigenous exclusion during mining conference session – by Sam Laskaris (Windspeaker – March 6, 2025)

https://windspeaker.com/

With a focus on lands, resources, energy, critical minerals, climate policy and reconciliation, Katherine Koostachin has spent the past 15 years advancing Indigenous priorities. Koostachin, a member of Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario, says there are troubling gaps in Canada’s dealings with Indigenous peoples.

Koostachin was a speaker March 3 at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto. The PDAC conference is considered the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining convention.

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A Hard Time for Gemfields in Mozambique – by Rachael Taylor (Rapaport Magazine – March 6, 2025)

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Regional violence and financial difficulties have beset the miner’s ruby operations in the African country. How will that affect supply?

On December 24 last year, the Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in Mozambique — one of Gemfields’ most prized assets — was thrust into chaos. A violent confrontation erupted as more than 200 illegal ruby miners stormed the residential village next to the mine, which the company had built to house MRM workers.

The attackers set fire to buildings and attempted to invade the ruby deposit that Gemfields controls. They were met with force by security teams consisting of military and police positioned to protect Gemfields’ interests. This resulted in two of the invaders getting shot and killed at the mine site.

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Toronto exchange’s mining dominance under threat as explorers exit – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – March 03, 2025)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Toronto’s claim as the world’s top mining hub is under threat as exploration companies leave Canada and listings dwindle on the nation’s resource-heavy stock exchange.

Canada’s once-thriving mining industry is facing challenges to its decades-old model, in which explorers and developers woo investors with promises of mining breakthroughs and established producers feed on their success, swallowing them in lucrative takeovers. Industry consolidation has reduced head offices and eliminated listings, companies find it harder to attract investors, and government rules on foreign investment have become more restrictive.

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Outraged by Toronto mining convention, protestors disrupt opening day proceedings – by Alex Flood (Timmins Today – March 4, 2025)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

Mining Injustice members blocked the northside entrance to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for 30 minutes during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention on Sunday

TORONTO – The world’s largest mining convention is well underway inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, but outside, a lively protest denouncing the companies for their alleged unethical roles with international excavation projects has taken shape.

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is expected to bring tens of thousands of representatives from the global mining industry to the city’s downtown core between Sunday and Wednesday.

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Canada has to develop uranium enrichment if wants to succeed in the new nuclear era – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix – February 28, 2025)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

A number of steps need to be taken, including in legislation, to lay the groundwork to build up Canada’s enrichment capacity

In the push to decarbonize power generation in Canada, many provinces have begun to explore deploying nuclear power to help eliminate carbon-emitting sources, just as many countries are doing.

The looming expansion of nuclear power generation is leading to growth in the uranium mining industry in northern Saskatchewan, but some industry observers are pointing to another pressing area in need of further development: the enrichment of uranium.

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Doug Ford threatens to stop nickel shipments to U.S. on eve of trade war – by Chris Fox (CTV News Toronto – March 03, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

Premier Doug Ford is threatening to stop the supply of nickel and electricity to the United States in response to 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods that are set to take effect tomorrow.

Ford made the comment during an interview with NBC News NOW on Monday afternoon. The interview came after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed during a news conference that the tariffs would take effect on March 4.

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Ford sends message to Ottawa on Ring of Fire: Get out of our way – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 3, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Premier delivers sense of urgency in pushing for expedited approvals, development of critical minerals projects

Premier Doug Ford is ready to shove Ottawa out of the way to make progress in the Ring of Fire. Fresh off last week’s provincial election win and armed with a strong majority, an emboldened Ford appeared at the PDAC mining show in Toronto, March 3, ready to pick a fight with the feds in order to expedite critical minerals production in the face of a looming trade war with the U.S.

Calling Ontario as being in a pandemic-like “survival mode,” Ford said he’s taking bold policy steps, backed by investments, to build a resilient economy and to use critical minerals production as leverage against the Trump administration’s expected tariffs on Canadian goods.

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Despite record-high gold prices, mining exploration in Canada’s North declines – by Caitrin Pilkington (CBC News North – March 03, 2025)

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

High gold prices aren’t resulting in higher spending, report finds

For years, gold has been the focus of Canadian mining exploration spending: the financing that backs efforts to find, assess, and potentially develop mineral deposits into mines. These efforts have established Canada as a top gold producer worldwide.

And over the course of 2024, the price of gold shot up by 38 per cent, reaching historic heights. But a B.C. report says skyrocketing value didn’t necessarily lead to more investment last year – it found overall exploration spending in the province was down 14 per cent from 2023, and exploration spending targeting gold dropped by 24 per cent.

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PDAC: Canada, Australia risk falling behind in investment race, BHP boss says – by Frederic Tomesco (Northern Miner – March 2, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Canada and Australia could end up trailing emerging mining nations such as Argentina if their governments don’t speed up permitting and lower costs, BHP (NYSE, LSE, ASX: BHP) CEO Mike Henry warned.

Countries such as the United States, Argentina and Saudi Arabia are making “sizeable” efforts to reform their mining sector and attract capital, Henry said Sunday in Toronto. At the same time, established natural-resource powerhouses such as Canada and Australia have seen their global attractiveness erode.

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Exclusive: Canada to extend mineral exploration tax credit for two more years, minister says – by Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – March 2, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

March 2 – Canada will extend a tax credit on mineral exploration for two additional years as part of the government’s move to support investment in exploration projects, energy, and natural resources, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Sunday.

The mineral exploration tax credit is a capital market tool that offers investors a 15% tax credit to invest in flow-through shares of smaller mining companies. It was set to expire on March 31. Wilkinson said the extension is to ensure that the mining sector has the tools to raise capital for exploration projects.

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Ring of Fire access roads may not be complete until 2040 – by Alan S. Hale (The Trillium – March 2, 2025)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Two of the three Indigenous-led environmental assessments of the access roads to the Ring of Fire are nearly complete, but the third is expected to take three more years, followed by a decade of construction

Despite the Progressive Conservative government’s promises to fast-track the building of roads to the proposed Ring of Fire mining development in northwestern Ontario as a way to build “Fortress Am-Can” with the United States, current estimates suggest the final leg of the all-season road to the project site won’t be completed until sometime between 2035 and 2040.

At the same time, significant progress is being made on all three access roads needed to connect the Ring of Fire, Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation with the TransCanada Highway.

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Norway House chief says First Nations can help Manitoba’s potential to be global ‘Costco of critical minerals’ – by Ozten Shebahkeget (CBC News Manitoba – March 02, 2025)

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

Manitoba, Canada neglect First Nations mining despite clear benefits, Chief Larson Anderson says

The chief of the only First Nation to fully own a mining company in Manitoba says he wants the provincial and federal governments to recognize his community’s role in boosting critical mineral exploration as a global race to secure those materials heats up.

Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson says his community took full ownership of the Minago nickel project on the Thompson nickel belt in November. The mine could enter production within the next five years, he said.

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Attracting investment into Canadian mining projects – by Sasa Jarvis, Cory Kent and Sharon Singh (Canadian Mining Journal – February 25, 2025)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

With the globalization of investment dollars, the regulatory framework for a mineral exploration or mining project plays a key factor in the analysis both foreign and domestic investors make: Can a project get off the ground?

Will permits be obtainable on a timely basis or at all? Who can object and what does that mean? And, perhaps most importantly, will the process be predictable? A regulatory system that functions as a patchwork as opposed to being harmonized lacks certainty and risks alienating capital.

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