Recently, a contingent travelled to Toronto as part of the First Nations Land Defence Alliance to push back on mining development in the province. In part they are reacting to excitement over a massive deposit dubbed the Ring of Fire, more than 400 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, that is rich in nickel, chromite, and other critical minerals.
Gold price keeps daily gains, trades well above $2,000 on weaker data – by Anna Golubova (Kitco News – April 4, 2023)
(Kitco News) The gold market kept its daily gains on weaker data, finishing Tuesday’s session up nearly 2% on the day — well above the $2,000 an ounce level.
Recent macro data, which pointed to a cooling economy, and a warning from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on the banking crisis triggered another rally in gold, pushing prices to 12-month highs. June Comex gold futures closed at $2,038.10 an ounce Tuesday, up nearly $40 on the day.
Zimbabwe to investigate gold-smuggling allegations – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 4, 2023)
The government of Zimbabwe has broken the silence around allegations of gold smuggling and money laundering exposed in an Al-Jazeera documentary last month, saying on Tuesday that it will launch an inquiry into the claims.
In a four-part documentary released on March 23rd, the news network shows individuals allegedly affiliated with Zimbabwean government smuggling gold to evade western sanctions.
Glencore Has Three Weeks to Keep $23 Billion Teck Bid Alive – Dinesh Nair and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – April 4, 2023)
(Bloomberg) — Teck Resources Ltd.’s public rejection of a $23 billion offer from Glencore Plc has fired the starting gun on three weeks of drama for the Swiss commodities giant to keep its proposal alive.
Glencore isn’t actually trying to buy any Teck shares yet. There would be little point, after the company’s controlling investor — Canadian mining patriarch Norman Keevil — made clear he’s not interested in selling. Instead, the future of Glencore’s proposal for now depends on convincing Teck’s shareholders to reject the company’s own plan to split into two, at a vote scheduled for April 26.
Matawa Chiefs call out province’s ‘exploitive, aggressive’ mine building strategy – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 3, 2023)
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
James Bay treaty chiefs accuse province of lack of consultation in overhaul of Mining Act
An Indigenous leadership group from the Northwest and Far North is objecting to the Ford government’s “legislative bulldozer” attempt to put more mines into production faster.
Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act, is getting some blowback from the Matawa Chiefs Council, a Thunder Bay-headquartered alliance of both road-accessible and remote communities in a region that’s exploding with exploration activity and includes the undeveloped mineral-rich Ring of Fire area.
First Nations’ court challenge to B.C.’s mineral rights system begins today (CBC News British Columbia – April 3, 2023)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/
Province says it is committed to modernizing the system in consultation with Indigenous people
A challenge by two First Nations against the way British Columbia grants mineral claims begins in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday morning, marking the first legal test of the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
The Gitxaała and Ehattesaht First Nations have sued the province over its Mineral Tenures Act, which currently grants mineral claims for a nominal fee via an online system and does not include initial consultation with Indigenous people.
Companies Can Vie to Mine the Deep Sea Starting in July – by Todd Woody (Bloomberg News – April 3, 2023)
(Bloomberg) — A United Nations-affiliated organization is expected to start accepting applications this summer from companies looking to mine deep sea ecosystems for valuable metals, despite failing on Friday to establish regulations governing the embryonic industry.
That doesn’t necessarily mean mining is set to begin anytime soon. Given the absence of environmental regulations, as well as ongoing disagreement among the International Seabed Authority’s 167 member nations over whether deep sea mining should even proceed, there are doubts about whether licenses will be issued and under what conditions.
Tesla lines up for lithium as North America’s sole large-scale mine opens in Quebec – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – April 4, 2023)
Companies behind Sayona Quebec see a bright future for lithium, four years after original owner shuttered mine
Anyone looking for evidence of the green economy in Canada would do well to drive about six hours north of Montreal to the town of La Corne in the Abitibi region of Quebec, where the first — and for now the only — large-scale lithium mine in North America has begun operating.
Last week, Sayona Quebec, a joint venture between Australia’s Sayona Mining Ltd. and North Carolina’s Piedmont Lithium Inc., restarted North American Lithium’s mine, which shuttered four years ago when lithium prices crashed.
Glencore not taking no for answer from Teck – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – April 3, 2023)
Glencore to continue wooing shareholders, despite board saying no to merger
Glencore, the Swiss mining and commodities trading giant, is not taking no for an answer from Teck Resources on a US$23 billion merger proposal that Teck’s board of directors publicly rejected this morning.
Glencore is still hoping that Teck’s wider shareholder base and Norman Keevil – a key stakeholder — will consider the offer before an April 26 special meeting, at which Teck’s shareholders are to approve a schism that will split Teck into two companies – one for its metallurgical coal business and one for its metals business – and phase out its dual class structure.
Meet the gold miner intent on proving the Burkina bears wrong – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – April 3,2023)
There is no need for an activist short seller to present the bear case for gold miners working in Burkina Faso. International news outlets such as BBC World provide a regular and thorough list of reasons why nervous investors might want to look elsewhere.
Burkina experienced two military coups last year and is now in a kind of civil war after its current leader, Ibrahim Traore, seized power with a promise to ramp up the fight against militant jihadist groups.
Lithium is becoming more crucial in a warming world, but Maine’s huge deposits may never be mined because of environmental concerns – by David Abel (Boston Globe – April 1, 2023)
NEWRY, Maine — Five years ago, after much of their land had been logged in Western Maine, Gary Freeman and a colleague were bushwhacking through a thicket of raspberry shrubs and maple saplings, searching for a treasure they suspected could be buried beneath the mud and moss carpeting the sloped ground.
Following coordinates cited in a decades-old geological survey of the area, the veteran gem hunters began clearing the bramble and digging. Soon after, they hit something solid. They used hoes to scrape away the dirt and were astonished by their discovery: enormous, flaky white crystals the size of telephone poles.
Fight Over Corruption and Congo’s Mining Riches Takes a Turn in Washington – by Eric Lipton and Dionne Searcey (New York Times – April 2, 2023)
Dan Gertler, an Israeli billionaire, is pressing President Biden to remove sanctions that were imposed on him for bribe-fueled transactions in the impoverished African country.
WASHINGTON — Five years ago, the United States accused a wealthy Israeli diamond dealer of more than $1 billion worth of corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying they undermined economic growth and “the rule of law” in the impoverished African nation. Now, that businessman, Dan Gertler, has found a surprising ally in his quest to have his name removed from a U.S. sanctions list: President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Despite the U.S. accusations that Mr. Gertler had in effect looted the country, Mr. Tshisekedi directly intervened with President Biden, asking that the Treasury Department roll back the punishment, documents obtained by The New York Times show.
Why skinny soda cans are everywhere – by Nathaniel Meyersohn (CNN.com – March 30, 2023)
New York CNN — Suddenly, your beverage is taller. Beverage brands rely on packaging shape and design to draw in consumers. Now they’re counting on a new slew of skinny aluminum cans to subtly signal to consumers that their exotic new drinks are healthier than the beer and sodas in the short, round cans of old.
Topo Chico, Simply and SunnyD recently launched alcoholic seltzers and cocktails in tall, thin cans, while Day One, Celsius and Starbucks have debuted sparkling water and energy drinks in new slim cans. Coke with Coffee launched in a slim version last year, too.
OPINION: Glencore’s pitch puts Teck’s future in doubt – Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – April 4, 2023)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Glencore chief executive Gary Nagle is clearly a student of Canadian corporate history. The Swiss CEO knows that in recent years, investors willingly sold the heart and soul of the domestic mining industry – global players Inco, Falconbridge and Alcan – for just a few dollars more than where their stocks were trading. In asset management, performance trumps nationalism every time.
After three years of unsuccessful merger talks with Teck Resources Ltd. TECK-N, Mr. Nagle is now bringing the same dynamic to bear to what’s become the country’s flagship base metal miner. With Vancouver-based Teck in the midst of a complex restructuring that’s received lukewarm reviews, Glencore GLNCY pitched a simpler transaction on Monday that has a greater short-term upside.
OPINION: Australia’s new mining boom is not our birthright – by Tania Constable (The West Australian – April 3, 2023)
The emergence of the next mining boom presents an incredible opportunity for Australia. An opportunity to generate immense prosperity and security for our nation that will benefit generations of Australians. An opportunity to not only lead the world through the transition to net zero economies, but secure a long-lasting economic dividend in the process. To see Australia develop into a clean energy superpower.
Because once again we find ourselves in an advantageous position — the world needs what we have in abundance. To achieve net zero, the world will require astronomical volumes of minerals and metals. By 2030 alone, 50 new lithium mines, 60 new nickel mines and 17 new cobalt mines will be needed to meet demand for electricity storage.