Republic of Mining

Asteroid mining startup AstroForge readies first mission – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 13, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

AstroForge, a startup with plans to mine asteroids, is getting ready to launch the first of its two missions on Friday, of which the main objective is to test the firm’s technique for refining platinum from a sample of asteroid-like material.

The startup has placed a payload on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, pre-packed with elements similar to those found in asteroids. Working in Earth’s orbit, the OrbAstro-built cubesat will attempt to vaporize and sort the materials into their elemental components.

JPMorgan Has Made Deep Cuts to Metals Business After Nickel Crisis – by Alfred Cang, Jack Farchy and Eddie Spence (Bloomberg News – April 13, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. has cut dozens of base metals clients and slashed bankers’ bonuses, as the business remains under harsh internal scrutiny in the wake of last year’s nickel crisis.

JPMorgan, Wall Street’s biggest player in metals, has been reviewing its commodity exposure for over a year after it played a prominent role as the biggest counterparty of the Chinese company at the center of the nickel short squeeze on the London Metal Exchange. It was also a financier of the top Chinese copper trader whose business ground to a halt after a liquidity crisis last year.

Turning Teck into a greener miner takes centre stage in takeover battle with Glencore – by Naimul Karim (Sudbury Star – April 13,2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Teck shortens coal exit timeline as fossil fuel exposure dominates merger talks

Teck Resources Ltd. offered shareholders an earlier exit from exposure to the company’s coal business, as the issue of turning Teck into a greener miner takes centre stage in the takeover battle between the company’s management and Swiss commodities giant Glencore Plc.

In February, Teck announced a plan to separate its copper and coal assets by dividing itself into two publicly listed entities: Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources (EVR). Shareholders are set to vote on the proposal later this month.

Mining giant hunts copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium in Neebing – by Gary Rinne (TBnewswatch.com – April 13, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Global mining giant RioTinto has partnered with KoBold Metals to search a site near the Pine River and Crystal Lake

The multi-national mining company Rio Tinto is searching a property near Thunder Bay for copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium — metals that are increasingly in demand as the world ramps up the production of batteries to power vehicles.

Rio Tinto has partnered with California-based mining startup KoBold Metals to explore in the Pine River and Crystal Lake area of the Municipality of Neebing, about 40 km from the city, just west of Highway 61 and just north of the U.S. border.

Bell files suit over alleged theft of copper from telecom networks – by Irene Galea (Globe and Mail – April 13, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

After more than 170 incidents of stolen copper in the past 15 months, $3-million in damage and hundreds of hours of lost service, BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada has filed a lawsuit against an Ontario man accused of copper theft and asked the government to help it crack down on vandals.

The number of thefts of copper equipment has been rising for months and they are particularly frequent in New Brunswick, Ontario and Northern Quebec, Bell said in a news release. Copper wiring, a legacy technology which mainly carries landline services, can be sold illegally for high prices at scrap markets.

Africa has ‘golden opportunity’ in battery commodities market – by Simone Lieditke (MiningWeekly.com – April 14,2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.miningweekly.com/

The battery commodities market is experiencing a golden age of growth and development, spurred by rapid technological advances and the growing demand for batteries to support cleaner mobility and the roll-out of variable renewables generators.

Global battery demand is forecast to grow by some 1 615 GWh, or 384.5%, over the next eight years, according to statistics aggregator Statista. This anticipated upsurge in demand for lithium-ion and other batteries is largely attributed to the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), which are expected to progressively replace internal combustion engine passenger cars.

[Elliot Lake] Local historian recalls city since his family’s arrival in 1957 – by Kris Svela (Elliot Lake Today – April 14, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.elliotlaketoday.com/

According to him there were at least two major shopping spots, Kressge and Hudson Bay, where he would eventually have one of his first jobs

Elliot Lake’s Historical Society hosted its monthly meeting Wednesday with special guest speaker and local historian Bill Gareau talking about his memories of the community since his family moved here in 1957.

Gareau is well known on Facebook as he regularly posts historical pictures of mining works in Elliot Lake from 1955 to the mid- 1990s when uranium mining operations closed here. His parents settled during in Elliot Lake with the mining rush is 1957 and Gareau and his own family have lived her ever since.

Hudbay Minerals to buy struggling Copper Mountain Mining for $439 million – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – April 13, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

The deal shows how much demand for green metals is heating up

Hudbay Minerals Inc. says it will acquire Copper Mountain Mining Co., whose mine in British Columbia cut its output nearly in half last year after a series of challenges.Toronto-based Hudbay’s all-stock deal offers a 23-per-cent premium to Copper Mountain’s 10-day weighted average trading price, and values the company at US$439 million.

It will require approval from two-thirds of Copper Mountain shareholders and a simple majority of Hudbay shareholders, and is expected to close around the middle of 2023.

Lundin’s bid for Chilean copper hints at returning investor optimism – by Fabian Cambero and Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – April 14, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO, April 14 (Reuters) – Lundin Mining Corp’s (LUN.TO) bid for control of Chile’s Caserones copper mine comes despite ongoing uncertainty over potential policy changes to royalties and taxes, an indication that investors may be regaining confidence in the world no.1 copper-producing country.

Lundin last month agreed to pay $950 million for 51% control of the mine, calling the deal “an endorsement that we believe the mining royalty and taxation discussions are trending in the right direction.”

Teck CEO plays down quick sale of Teck Metals to larger competitor, saying most value to come from in-house copper projects – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April 14, 2023)

April 14, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. chief executive officer Jonathan Price played down any notion of its metals business being quickly acquired by a big foreign multinational after a planned split of the company, as the Canadian miner rejected Glencore PLC’s latest hostile takeover offer.

Vancouver-based Teck said earlier this year that it plans to separate into Elk Valley Resources, containing its metallurgical coal assets, and Teck Metals, holding its copper and zinc mines.

NEWS RELEASE: LAND SECURED AT KWINANA FOR AUSTRALIA’S FIRST PROPOSED INTEGRATED BATTERY MATERIAL FACILITY (April 14, 2023)

April 14, 2023

IGO Limited (ASX: IGO) (IGO) and Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd (Wyloo) have today announced that land has been secured at Kwinana for their proposed integrated battery material facility (IBM Facility or the Project).

IGO, in conjunction with Wyloo, is working towards making a financial investment decision on the development of the Project which involves integrating a downstream nickel refinery with a plant producing high-value nickel dominant precursor cathode active material (PCAM) for the battery supply chain.

The proposed Project would combine IGO’s disruptive nickel refining technology with PCAM production expertise via a low-cost and low-carbon process. The Project would represent the first commercial production of PCAM in Australia and would align with the State Government’s drive to grow Western Australia’s future battery industry.

Mining’s brand needs to catch up with its importance to humanity – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – April 12, 2023)

April 13, 2023

https://www.northernminer.com/

Any public figure knows that they must brand themselves early — or risk being branded in an unflattering light that could well stick. Ask any of the victims of former U.S. president Donald Trump — a master of branding and image, if, debatably, little else.

Well, the mining industry is now in the spotlight. And although it has a well-established brand, it could use a spit shine. While the sector has made tremendous advances in lowering its environmental impact and creating more positive social impacts, it’s still seen by many as dangerous, polluting, exclusionary and a technological laggard.

The deep sea mining debate is “gone” — it’s happening, says The Metals Company CEO – by Bruno Venditti (Mining.com – April 11, 2023)

April 12, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

Despite opposition from environmental groups, the CEO of The Metals Company (TMC) which has exclusive access to the Nori Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) polymetallic project, located 4,000 metres deep in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and ranked as the world’s biggest undeveloped nickel project, sees deep sea mining happening by the end of 2024.

Mining international waters is in the spotlight as companies and countries are looking at minerals concentrated on the ocean floor that can be used in batteries for smart phones and electric vehicles.

Critical minerals sector will have to wait on speedier timelines for development – by Julius Melnitzer (Financial Post – April 12, 2023)

April 12, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

‘Canada is not an easy place to build mining projects, and so far it isn’t becoming an easier place’

Ottawa has made critical minerals development a centrepiece of its economic agenda, but when it comes to the bureaucracy surrounding impact assessment and other permitting processes for major projects, much is still up in the air.

The March 28 federal budget proposed a raft of measures to advance the sector, seen as essential to future green and digital economies. Those included a new, refundable tax credit worth $11 billion allowing for a 30 per cent break in the cost of investments in equipment used for key critical minerals and providing $1 billion to support the Crown’s duty to consult indigenous communities.

Tribes want US protection for areas next to the Grand Canyon – by Anita Snow (Associated Press – April 11, 2023)

April 12, 2023

https://apnews.com/

PHOENIX (AP) — Tribal leaders in Arizona said Tuesday they hope to build on the momentum of President Joe Biden’s recent designation of a national monument in neighboring Nevada to persuade the administration to create similar protections for areas adjacent to the Grand Canyon, which they consider sacred.

“This designation is of the highest priority to the Hopi people,” said Timothy Nuvangyaoma, chairman of the tribe in northern Arizona. “We have to protect the beauty and grandeur of this place many tribes call home.”