Republic of Mining

Ontario finally dumps the Liberals’ naive green-energy ideology for reality – by Randall Denley (National Post – July 14, 2023)

July 14, 2023

Ford government’s plan dares to put new emphasis on nuclear energy to meet future supply needs

The age of energy ideology is over in Ontario, replaced by power pragmatism. The Ontario government’s new and ambitious plan to meet the province’s power needs until 2050 draws on pretty much every known technology to meet a demand for power that could double by that year.

One doesn’t have to look too far back to remember the era of overhyped and overpriced wind and solar projects that former premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government was so eager to foist off on Ontarians. Across the province, the countryside is scarred with wind farms and solar installations.

BHP and Vale square off in London court – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 12, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP) and Vale (NYSE: VALE) faced off in a London court on Wednesday as part of one of the largest class action lawsuits in history, which could see them fined £36 billion ($44bn) for their role in a mining disaster in Brazil that killed 19 people.

The case, brought to trial by around 720,000 Brazilians, centres on who should accept legal and financial responsibility over the deadly 2015 collapse of a dam. The incident at the iron ore mine, owned by BHP and Vale’s joint venture Samarco, became the country’s worst ever environmental disaster.

Canada to Speed Up Critical Minerals Permits in Bid to Erode China’s Dominance – by Jacob Lorinc and Brian Platt (Bloomberg News – July 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government hopes to unveil a plan by the end of this year to streamline permitting for mining projects as the US and its allies push to accelerate the production of critical minerals in North America.

Canada faces mounting pressure to keep pace with its southern neighbor as the US ramps up efforts to secure the metals needed for electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. American lawmakers have been debating legislation that could substantially speed up approval times for resource projects.

India has lifted the ban on lithium mining. Why? – by Naini Thaker (Forbes Magazine India – July 13, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.forbesindia.com/

On Wednesday, the Centre announced that it has lifted the ban on lithium mining, along with five other minerals. The Cabinet approved the amendment in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) [MMDR] Act. As a result, now private companies can also mine these six minerals.

Around February, approximately 5.9 million tonnes of lithium resources were found in the Salal Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu & Kashmir, as per the Geological Survey of India. In May, media reports suggested that lithium resources were traced in Rajasthan’s Degana as well. The lithium found in Jammu & Kashmir is supposedly of high quality—a grade of 500 ppm, compared to the normal grade of 200 ppm, claims India’s mining secretary.

Juukan Gorge owners PKKP and Fortescue negotiate land use deal – by David Prestipino (National Indigenous Times – July 13, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://nit.com.au/

Fortescue Metals and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding they hope will lead to join management of current and future projects on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura lands. The PKKP holds native title over nearly 11,000sqm of sparsely populated land west of Karijini National Park, including FMG’s Eliwana mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The corporation was highly critical of Rio Tinto after the miner destroyed 46,000-year-old heritage-listed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in May 2020, against the wishes of the PKKP people, who were unaware of the company’s intentions until it was too late.

Hudbay, Japanese miner reach deal on Flin Flon exploration – by Eric Westhaver (The Reminder – July 12, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.thereminder.ca/

Hudbay has reached a deal with a Japanese mining company that could lead to multiple years of mineral exploration near Flin Flon’s existing mine processing facilities.

Hudbay has reached a deal with a Japanese mining company that could lead to multiple years of mineral exploration around the Flin Flon area.

Hudbay announced July 6 that company representatives had signed a memorandum of understanding with Marubeni Corporation for “a multi-year exploration partnership focused on the discovery of new deposits within trucking distance of Hudbay’s existing processing facilities in Flin Flon.”

Salt Power: The Lithium-Sodium Fusion Revolutionizing Batteries (SciTechDaily – July 14, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://scitechdaily.com/

Arizona State University researchers are working on a potential game-changer for battery technology: mixing lithium and sodium. Their aim is to cut costs and stabilize the supply chain, with preliminary results showing a thermodynamically stable 10% sodium-lithium mixture, expected to reach 20%.

Lithium is becoming the new gold, with rocketing use in lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, computers, and portable devices driving up the price and affecting the supply of the relatively rare metal. Scientists are on the verge of developing a way of using sodium to replace some of the lithium, so driving down costs and guaranteeing the supply.

This time it’s different? The rush to mine Indigenous lands – by Mark Trahant (Alaska Beacon – July 13, 2023)

July 14, 2023

Home

The Aspen Institute: The mining industry has a long history of failing to respect community interests, breaking agreements, destroying sacred sites, and forcing displacements; Indigenous communities have been ‘disproportionately impacted’

WASHINGTON – This won’t be an easy conversation: Can tribal nations love mining? Or at least accept mining as a necessary step in the creation of a clean economy? And can governments and international mining companies figure out how to respect and work fairly with Indigenous communities?

The conversation is weighted by history. The mining industry, and governments, have to sell the idea that, this time it’s different. This time the industry will respect cultural and religious sites. This time the industry will clean up its own mess. This time it will reward tribal communities as owners instead of serving up resources as colonies. Why would anyone believe that? Why should a tribe expect this time to be different?

Vancouver mining CEO convicted on environmental charges – by Jeremy Hainsworth (Business In Vancouver – July 12, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://biv.com/

A Vancouver mining company president has been found guilty in a Prince Rupert Provincial Court retrial of multiple counts of environmental pollution at a B.C. mine. The charges relate to discharges of zinc and other waste contrary to Banks Island Gold’s (BIG) permit for the Yellow Giant Mine site on Banks Island, B.C., between Sept. 9, 2014, and July 31, 2015. The island is just south of Prince Rupert on Hecate Strait.

“A systemic failure resulted in various exceedances in the water samples,” Judge David Patterson said in his July 7 decision. “BIG should have had a fool-proof system, regardless of which BIG department was responsible for the testing.” Patterson said company president Benjamin Mossman was the person responsible.

Is Ontario entering a clean power renaissance? Why there’s still hope for a turnaround – by David Olive (Toronto Star – July 13, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

Business opportunities — or the loss of them — are driving Doug Ford’s new energy strategy, David Olive writes.

In the space of just a few days, Ontario has unveiled a thoroughly holistic new approach to securing the province’s energy future. Last week, the Ford government committed to building as many as five additional reactors at Ontario’s Bruce Power nuclear facility.

That could expand Bruce Power’s electricity generating capacity by as much as 76 per cent, with the first new reactors coming onstream in the 2030s. Bruce Power, near Kincardine, about 240 kilometres northwest of Toronto on the shores of Lake Huron, is already one of the world’s biggest nuclear power plants.

The flame bearer: Kristan Straub, chief executive officer, Ring of Fire Metals – by Mehanaz Yakub (CIM Magazine – July 04, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Kristan Straub’s path to becoming the newly appointed CEO of Ring of Fire Metals was influenced by both nature and nurture.

With both his maternal and paternal grandfathers working in the mining industry and living in Falconbridge in Greater Sudbury, the allure of the local mine, mill and smelter naturally captivated his interest as a boy.

‘Like hell’: India’s burning coalfields (France24.com -July 14, 2023)

July 14, 2023July 14, 2023

https://www.france24.com/en/

Dhanbad (India) (AFP) – Deadly fires have raged for a century in mines in India’s Jharkhand state, where Savitri Mahto is one of 100,000 people risking their lives shovelling coal to supply insatiable demand.

“The land is charred because of the fires,” said Mahto, 22, illegally scavenging amid the flames on the edge of a vast commercial opencast mine for the dirty fossil fuel. “We live in fear every day”. Underground fires, which scientists believe started in a mine accident in 1916, create sinkholes that swallow people and homes. Coal pickers and activists report hundreds of people have died over the decades.

“Accidents have happened before, and they keep on happening because the land is sinking,” Mahto told AFP, as she tended a stack of burning rocks to produce coking coal, a more stable fuel sold for cooking and firing brick kilns.

Deep-sea mining: A new gold rush or environmental disaster? (Al Jazeera – July 10, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Environmentalists warn deep-sea mining could cause major damage to unknown ecosystems, yet mining companies argue it is the key to the energy transition.

In the depths of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, trillions of potato-shaped rocks scattered across the seabed contain minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese that are vital for green technologies in the global energy transition.

In this region – the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) – an abundance of the rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, is fuelling debate about the mining of metals needed to produce technology such as batteries for electric vehicles.

The lure of lithium creates an exploration boom in the Northwest – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business -July 12, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Developers with lithium deposits edge closer to construction while new explorers make inroads into the region

Northwestern Ontario is one of the one of the most active areas for lithium exploration in the world. Entering the height of the summer field season, the news flow emanating from junior mining firms is fast and furious. The projects range in progress from early-stage prospecting to more advanced mine-ready developments.

Lithium prices began booming in 2021, crashed through the first four months of this year, then finally stabilized in June. There are no lithium mines in Ontario.

First Nation takes Ontario to court over Ring of Fire road – by Matteo Cimellaro (National Observer – July 14, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

On Thursday and Friday, Neskantaga First Nation will face off in court against the Ontario government over what the nation argues was a flawed consultation on a road that will link the province’s road infrastructure with the Ring of Fire mining region.

Neskantaga First Nation, a remote, fly-in community located over 400 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, maintains the provincial government’s consultation process for the project’s environmental assessment was inadequate.