Republic of Mining

Mining guru Ken Hoffman says U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has ‘changed everything’ for industry – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post- March 6, 2023)

March 6, 2023

Canadian mining industry on course for transformative expansion in next decade

The United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will act as a powerful tonic for the mining industry, especially in Canada, setting it on course for a transformative expansion in the next decade, according to Ken Hoffman, head of battery raw materials at consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and one of the most influential voices in the industry.

“It’s changed everything,” Hoffman said of the IRA as he delivered the first keynote speech at this year’s Prospectors and Developers Association Conference in Toronto on March 5.

Lithium Prices Have Crashed Spectacularly, Here’s What Next – by Alex Kimani (Oil Price.com – March 05, 2023)

March 6, 2023

https://oilprice.com/

Over the past few years, the lithium markets exploded as the electrification drive went into overdrive. EV makers like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) have been scrambling to secure supplies amid rapid EV growth and tight lithium supplies, sending lithium carbonate prices up more than six-fold and spodumene up nearly tenfold in the space of a few years.

But as the old adage in the commodity markets goes, the cure for high prices is high prices, or in more common parlance, what goes up must come down: lithium prices have crashed spectacularly over the past four months, reversing years of gains.

Make metals with China not war, Friedland tells PDAC – by Colin McCelland (Northern Miner – March 6, 2023)

March 6, 2023

https://www.northernminer.com/

Robert Friedland, founder and executive co-chair of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN), says the West shouldn’t go to war over Taiwan because it needs investment from China to mine metals for the global green energy transition.

Canada’s order last year for China to divest from Canadian companies’ critical minerals projects deprives junior miners when investment bank Goldman Sachs says US$2.8 trillion is needed to meet carbon-zero targets this decade, the legendary financier told hundreds at the PDAC conference on Sunday in Toronto.

B.C. residents hit with $956,000 in penalties for promoting fake gold-mining investments – by Joseph Ruttle (Vancouver Sun – March 5, 2023)

March 6, 2023

https://vancouversun.com/

B.C. Securities Commission got a tip about a trio promoting the U.S. company, Massachusetts and Florida-based DFRF Enterprises, in 2015

An investment fraud investigation that began nearly a decade ago has led to fines totalling nearly $1 million against three B.C. residents.

The elaborate fraud — which promoted fake gold-mining operations in Africa and Brazil and promised hefty returns while claiming the investments were fully insured — was spearheaded by a Brazilian national living in Florida. It raised nearly $15 million from unwitting investors, including at least $1.5 million from 137 B.C. residents.

PREVIEW Miners grow anxious as Canada tightens foreign investment rules – by Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – March 6, 2023)

March 6, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO, March 5 (Reuters) – Junior mining companies hoping to produce lithium, nickel and other green energy metals are worried that Canada’s crackdown on some overseas investors may limit their ability to raise funds for mines and related facilities.

Ottawa last fall proposed bolstering its Investment Canada Act (ICA) to give government ministers power to block or unwind critical minerals investments if they believe such deals threaten national security.

NEWS RELEASE: Ontario Approves First Nations-led Plan for the Road to the Ring of Fire (Ontario Government – March 6, 2023)

March 6, 2023

TORONTO – The Ontario government has approved the Terms of Reference designed and submitted by Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation for an all-season, multi-use road connecting to the proposed Ring of Fire mining development area. The Northern Road Link will connect the two First Nations communities, and the critical mineral deposits in the Ring of Fire to the Ontario highway network, helping to secure a supply chain for electric vehicle manufacturing in Ontario. The province made the announcement today at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention in Toronto.

“I want to thank Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation for leading the Environmental Assessment for this essential road corridor. I value our partnership with these strong leaders who are central to our government’s mandate to develop the Ring of Fire,” said George Pirie, Minister of Mines.

“The Ring of Fire has the critical minerals we need to build our manufacturing supply chain, including nickel for electric vehicles and chromite for clean steel. Our government’s investments in innovation and infrastructure are creating jobs across the entire province, including northern and Indigenous communities.”

Feds won’t match Ontario’s billion-dollar Ring of Fire pledge until assessments are done – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 2, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson pledges Ottawa will do better on advancing critical mineral production

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson vows to make government move faster and more efficiently in expediting approvals to put more Canadian mines into production ahead of the quickening global demand for critical minerals.

“There are a whole bunch of things we can do to make the processes move more effectively than they have in the past,” said Wilkinson.

Partnerships enhancing outcomes for northern communities and resource development (Investing in Mining Report/Globe and Mail – March 3, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

How can northern and remote communities go about improving economic outcomes, for example, through meaningful employment and business and education opportunities? How can they create a better economic reality while staying true to their values and traditions?

Mineral exploration and development can provide answers to these questions, especially when the voices of community stakeholders are included in the decision-making process, proposes Glenn Nolan, VP, Indigenous Enterprises, Ring of Fire Metals, a mining company involved in multiple projects in the Ring of Fire area in the James Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario.

Lawyer says First Nations will fight Ontario government’s proposed mining changes – by Warren Schlote (CBC News Sudbury – March 3, 2023)

March 3, 2023

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

MiningWatch Canada advocate wonders ‘what’s left to cut?’

The Ontario government’s proposed changes to mining regulations are drawing concern among mining critics and advocates for First Nations.

Kate Kempton represents the northern Ontario First Nations of Attawapiskat, Ginoogaming, Constance Lake and Aroland. In 2021, Attawapiskat, Neskantaga and Fort Albany signed a moratorium on new developments in the Ring of Fire mineral deposit, though other First Nations have expressed support for developing the deposit.

First Quantum losing $8 million a day on Cobre Panama halt – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 3, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) says it’s experiencing losses of up to $8 million a day due to the suspension of ore processing and port loading affecting its giant copper mine in Panama.

In a letter sent this week to the country’s Maritime Authority (AMP), the chief executive of First Quantum’s local unit, Minera Panama, said the halt ordered last week has had a domino effect.

Vale to Turn Amazon Mining Waste Into High-Grade Iron Ore to Feed Steelmaking – by Mariana Durao (Bloomberg News – March 2, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Bloomberg) — Metals producer Vale SA is turning 37 years worth of mining waste at an iron ore complex in the Amazon into high-quality material to be used in steel production.

The company has started extracting scrap that had been dumped at a tailings dam at Carajas in northern Brazil since 1985 as part of a project at its largest iron ore operation.

The Five Eyes set their sights on critical minerals – by Ellesheva Kissin (FDI Inteligence – March 2, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.fdiintelligence.com/

The old anglophone alliance is coming together to coordinate critical minerals investment controls

First came the chip wars. Now it looks like the critical minerals wars have begun.

As supply chains warp and allegiances shift, the Five Eyes countries — an intelligence coalition of anglophone countries (the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) that traces its roots back to second world war code-breaking — are forming a protectionist huddle, jealously guarding how much foreign interference, or investment, they permit within their borders.

Indigenous groups lead the renewable transition in northern Canada – by Jesse Chase-Lubitz (Yahoo News – February 28, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/

A solution to climate change is emerging in one of the regions most affected by it. In Nunavut — the northernmost territory of Canada — a coalition of Indigenous communities is transitioning the region away from diesel and toward renewable energy.

In 2018, Nukik Corporation, which was formed by individuals in the Indigenous Inuit population, started planning the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, a set of electricity and fiber-optic transmission cables. The link would connect the vast regions of rural northern Canada to a southern Canadian renewable energy grid in the province of Manitoba.

A mid-term look at critical mining in North America – by P.J. Kwong (Canadian Mining Journal – March 1, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The government policies defined to meet net-zero emissions targets require leveraging green technologies globally to ensure the health of the planet. For countries to meet their respective net-zero targets, the importance placed on the development of critical minerals’ projects has never been higher.

In some cases, the need to accelerate project development is required to meet projected shortfalls in some critical minerals’ supplies; for example, the demand for lithium will quickly outpace supply as new operations are slow to come on-line.

Ontario legislation targets faster approval of mining projects – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 2, 2023)

March 3, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ontario is proposing changes to its mining legislation that would speed up mine approvals, as pressure mounts on the province to deliver on its ambitions to produce critical minerals for the nascent Canadian electric car industry.

The potential amendments to the provincial Mining Act, introduced on Thursday, would address an issue that has been causing concern among policy makers across the country.