Republic of Mining

B.C. coal towns lament potential Teck connection with Glencore’s thermal coal – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – April 25, 2023)

April 26, 2023

Takeover by foreign company would be ‘devastating’ to region and make it difficult to communicate, mayors say

Set in British Columbia‘s southeastern Kootenay region, the scenic towns of Sparwood and Elkford are where adrenaline junkies often go to hike while skiers and snowmobilers hit the fresh snow on the Canadian Rockies.

The surrounding Elk Valley area, often called Canada’s Serengeti, is filled with wildlife, wildflowers and, of course, the majestic snow-covered mountains. The valley also has a history of coal mining that stretches back for more than a century and is currently home to four steelmaking coal mines run by Teck Resources Ltd.

Baffinland requests further production increase at Nunavut iron ore mine (Canadian Press/CTV News – April 25, 2023)

April 26, 2023

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

POND INLET, NUNAVUT – The owner of an iron ore mine on the tip of Baffin Island says it needs to again increase production to prevent job losses, and several federal cabinet ministers are calling on a Nunavut environmental assessment agency to prioritize the request.

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. wants to increase the amount of ore it’s allowed to truck and ship from its Mary River mine to six-million tonnes, from 4.2 million, for both 2023 and 2024. It says the increase is needed to ensure a stable supply of iron ore to customers and that if it’s not granted, it will have to scale back operations, including reducing employment.

OPINION: Russia’s dominance of nuclear-energy supply chain is cause for concern – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – April 26, 2023)

April 26, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ending Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas may be the easy part. It could prove much harder for the continent to replace Russian nuclear fuel and technology after decades of underinvestment in the West’s nuclear-energy industry. Russia supplies almost half of the world’s enriched uranium and dominates the global market for new reactors. And most of Europe’s more than 100 reactors rely on Russian fuel.

This explains why Russian state-owned nuclear energy powerhouse Rosatom has not faced Western sanctions since the country’s invasion of Ukraine. It is also why last week Canada joined the United States, Britain, France and Japan in a bid to end Russia’s dominance in the field.

Nighthawk soars on NWT gold project’s two-year payback – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – April 26, 2023)

April 26, 2023

https://www.northernminer.com/

Shares in Nighthawk Gold (TSX: NHK; US-OTC: MIMZF) jumped more than 20% after the company said its Colomac project in the Northwest Territories could pay for itself in about two years.

The open-pit project 200 km north of Yellowknife estimates annual production of 290,000 oz. of gold selling for US$1,600 each to generate US$464 million a year compared with estimated capital costs of $654 million, the company said in a preliminary economic assessment released on Wednesday. The after-tax payback period is pegged at 2.1 years.

Can the Crown make land decisions without First Nations consent? Treaty 9 lawsuit argues no – by Logan Turner (CBC News Thunder Bay – April 26,2023)

April 26, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Lawyer calls lawsuit ‘frontal attack’ on colonial idea governments have ‘supreme right to rule’

Several First Nations have announced their intention to take the Ontario and Canadian governments to court, in a lawsuit their lead lawyer says could fundamentally change the way resource and land management decisions are made in the Treaty 9 area.

Leaders from 10 First Nations are at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Wednesday morning to speak at a news conference. They’re filing their notice of action for the lawsuit to Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice.

Controlling Teck shareholder Keevil left in the dark over which way CIC voted in failed split plan – by Naill McGee (Globe and Mail – April 26, 2023)

April 26, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Teck Resources Ltd.’s controlling shareholder Norman B. Keevil was in the dark about which way China Investment Corp. (CIC) voted in its proposed split vote, with only about 12 hours to go before the start of the shareholder meeting, a source familiar with the matter said.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as the person was not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Keevil declined to comment. Mr. Keevil, along with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., controls the super voting A shares. CIC is Teck’s biggest B shareholder with a 10.3-per-cent stake.

Google searches for ‘how to buy gold’ hit record levels in April as prices trade at $2,000 – by Anna Golubova (Kitco News – April 25, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) With gold rallying to near all-time highs in April, Google searches for “how to buy gold” soared to record levels in the U.S., according to Google Trends data going back almost 20 years ago. The phrase hit record-high popularity this month. The search inquiry was not even that high when gold hit new records of above $2,050 an ounce in 2020.

And the last time interest was this widespread in the U.S. was in August 2011, when prices breached $1,900 an ounce for the first time. After that, gold peaked and remained lower until the next rally that took prices to new highs in 2020. Google Trends’ data goes back to 2004.

OPINION: Teck isn’t falling into Glencore’s arms and Ottawa isn’t offering its blessing either – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – April 25, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

If Glencore PLC’s pursuit of Teck Resources Ltd. was a Hollywood romantic comedy, we could all write the ending. After a period of high-spirited sparring, this corporate rom-com would climax this week with two crazy kids realizing what the rest of us recognized from the start: that their copper and coal belong together. Harry marries Sally. Glencore merges with Teck. Cue rave reviews.

But mining isn’t the movies. Teck is not falling gracefully into Glencore’s waiting arms, even if the Vancouver-based company’s shareholders turn down the proposed spin-out of Teck’s massive coal business in Wednesday’s vote.

DeBeers says there will be few signs of closed northern Ontario diamond mine by year’s end – by Erik White (CBC News Sudbury – April 24, 2023)

April 25, 2023

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

Diamond mining company recognized for reclamation work at former Victor mine near Attawapiskat

Diamond mining giant DeBeers says by the end of this year there won’t be much left at the Victor mine near Attawapiskat in Ontario’s far north. The mine closed in 2019 and the company has been busy decommissioning the site where 500 people once lived and worked.

Senior communications officer Terry Kruger says most buildings have been demolished and the open pit filled with 44 million cubic metres of water and turned into a lake.

Canada’s goal to weaken China’s grip on rare earth mining hits snag as prices plunge – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – April 25, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Vital Metals’ construction halt a reality check on what it will take to diversify

The supply chain snarls of the past few years put a wind at the back of rare earth companies, with governments around the world eager to support a homegrown sector. Now, the current economic turbulence and potential for a recession are testing that momentum.

Last week, Australia’s Vital Metals Ltd. announced that it had halted construction on its half-finished rare earth processing facility in Saskatoon, after its costs rose substantially in recent years.

Chile’s nationalisation move could benefit Canada – explorer – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – April 25, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://www.miningweekly.com/

The move by the government of Chile to demand a controlling stake in all future lithium projects could be a boost for countries with large resources that are deemed more investment friendly, says Quebec-focused explorer Arbor Metals.

The nationalisation of lithium deposits in Chile and Mexico will “hasten a shift in future investments in lithium projects to other countries that are recognised as safe havens, such as Canada”, says the TSX-V-listed junior, which owns the Jarnet project, in the James Bay region.

NDP vows protection from coal mining for Eastern Slopes – by Brodie Thomas (Calgary Herald – April 22, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://calgaryherald.com/

The Alberta NDP is promising to bring in permanent protections of the Eastern Slopes from coal mining, if elected. Calgary-Mountain View MLA Kathleen Ganley made the announcement alongside Banff-Kananaskis NDP candidate Sarah Elmeligi and Livingstone-Macleod NDP candidate Kevin Van Tighem.

Ganley said a government led by Rachel Notley would bring in the Eastern Slopes Protection Act, which would permanently ban coal mining in the sensitive area and close any loopholes.

As War Rages in Sudan, Countries Angle for Advantage – by Declan Walsh (New York Times – April 22, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

Even before its two leading generals went to war last week, “everyone wanted a chunk of Sudan,” an expert said of the strategically located country rich in natural resources.

NAIROBI, Kenya — As war consumes Sudan, nations from around the world have mobilized swiftly. Egypt scrambled to bring home 27 of its soldiers, who had been seized by one of Sudan’s warring parties. A Libyan warlord offered weapons to his favored side, American officials said.

Diplomats from Africa, the Middle East and the West have appealed for a halt to the fighting that has reduced parts of the capital, Khartoum, to a smoking battlefield. Even the leader of Russia’s most notorious private military company, Wagner, has gotten involved. Publicly, he has offered to help mediate between the rival generals fighting for power, but American officials say he has offered weapons, too.

Column: Chile uses an old copper template for new lithium plan – by Andy Home (Reuters – April 25, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) – Chile’s assertion of state control over its lithium industry has sent shock waves through the new energy metals sector. The country’s two big lithium producers, SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle (ALB.N), have seen their share prices fall on the prospect of having to relinquish majority control of their operations or risk losing their licences once they expire in 2030 and 2043 respectively.

Shares in companies such as Pilbara Minerals (PLS.AX), Australia’s biggest lithium producer, have risen on the premise of slower investment and project growth in Chile, which hosts the world’s largest deposits of the battery metal.

ANALYSIS: How China could determine the outcome of Teck’s crucial vote Wednesday to split itself into two companies – by Eric Reguly (April 25, 2023)

April 25, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

As the resources industry becomes less local and more global, crucial investment decisions are often determined in far-flung capitals. Such is the case with Teck Resources, Canada’s largest diversified mining company. Sometime in the next two days, possibly the next few hours, an investment committee in Beijing will make a decision that will greatly influence – perhaps even determine – Teck’s future.

China Investment Corp., one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, owns 10.3 per cent of Teck’s single-vote class B shares, making it the largest shareholder of that class. It is on course to become the key vote Wednesday when Teck’s proposal to hive off its coal business from its base-metals operations goes to a shareholder vote in Vancouver.