Republic of Mining

Three new B.C. mines aim to pour first gold in 2024 – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – January 25, 2023)

January 27, 2023

Of eight new mines or expansions in the queue, one is on Nisga’a Nation treaty land

There are currently eight new mines or mine expansions in the queue in B.C. worth a total investment of $6.6 billion, according to Premier David Eby, who spoke Monday at the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference.

Two of those new mines are aiming to be in production in a little over a year from now, and one is unique in that it will be the first mine to be built on Nisga’a Nation treaty land.

Peru’s violent protests imperil 30% of its copper output – by James Attwood (Bloomberg News – January 27, 2023)

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

An upsurge in the violent protests wracking Peru is crimping copper output in the world’s No. 2 supplier, with about 30% of its production at risk at a time of low global stocks and high prices.

One copper mine is offline after demonstrators stormed the site, another has seen shipments choked by roadblocks, while others have slowed operations as a precaution to manage scarce supplies of fuel and other inputs, according to industry group SNMPE.

Federal gifts for the nuclear and mining industries – by Mark Winfield (Policy Options – January 25, 2023)

January 27, 2023

Policy Options

The government needs a more transparent and evidence-based approach to decision-making when assessing choices for decarbonization.

Canada’s nuclear industry got an important pre-Christmas gift from the federal government in the form of the announcement of its decision not to conduct an assessment under the 2019 Impact Assessment Act of a proposed small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) at the Point Lepreau site in New Brunswick.

The Lepreau SMR proposal has been highly controversial, given its reliance on technologies where the performance, costs and risks are essentially unknown. Moreover, serious questions have even been raised about whether the project, intended to reprocess fuel from the Lepreau CANDU reactors, would violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

A Copper Mine Could Advance Green Energy but Scar Sacred Land – by Clifford Krauss (New York Times – January 27, 2023)

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

Tribal groups are fighting an Arizona project whose backers say increasing the supply of copper, crucial to batteries, would reduce fossil-fuel use.

SUPERIOR, Ariz. — As Wendsler Nosie finished his evening prayers sitting before a mesquite fire, a ceremonial yucca staff festooned with eagle feathers by his side, he gazed sternly toward a distant mesa where mining companies hope to extract more than a billion tons of copper.

That mine could help address climate change by helping the United States replace fossil fuels and combustion engines with renewable energy and electric cars. But to Mr. Nosie, a former chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, it’s the latest insult in a bitter history.

Indonesia pushing for OPEC-style nickel cartel – by James Guild (Asia Times – January 26, 2023)

January 27, 2023

Home

Indonesia wants much more for its ore as demand for nickel used in lithium-ion batteries set to explode in new electric vehicle era

Indonesian Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia suggested that Indonesia is looking into forming an OPEC-style cartel for nickel and other inputs used in battery production.

Nickel is becoming a hot commodity as it is a key input in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries needed for electric vehicles (EVs) — and Indonesia has the world’s largest nickel ore deposits.

Mosaic yet to finalize a date to restart its Canadian potash mine – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – January 27, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Resumption will depend on when the company’s current inventory drops enough to restart operations for the long term

Mosaic Co. says the full resumption of its potash mine in Saskatchewan, where production was curtailed in December, will depend on when the company’s current inventory drops enough to restart operations for the long term.

The Tampa, Fla.-based company said in a Dec. 6, 2022, statement that it had “temporarily curtailed” its Colonsay potash mine in Saskatchewan as its inventory levels were sufficient to meet near-term demand. It added that it expected to restart its mill by early 2023.

Mining the Northwest: Greenstone mine builders pleased with the pace of progress – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 26, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

$1-billion construction project hits two-thirds mark, first gold pour on tap for 2024

More than 2.5 million tonnes of material has been removed during the construction of the Greenstone Gold open-pit mine outside Geraldton in northwestern Ontario.

Pre-production mining started last September with four haul tracks and giant excavating shovel working the site located at the intersection of Highways 11 and 584, a few kilometres south of the town. The removed material comes in the form of gold ore, waste rock and overburden.

Feds slap 20-year mining ban on land near Boundary Waters – by Dan Kraker (MPR News – January 26, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.mprnews.org/

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a 20-year mining moratorium Thursday on 225,000 acres of federal land near the Boundary Waters, dealing a further blow to the proposed Twin Metals mine near Ely, Minn. and other potential mines for copper, nickel and precious metals within the watershed of the canoe wilderness area.

The decision is the latest milestone in a long and contentious tug of war over mining near the popular wilderness area that has spanned more than six years and three presidential administrations.

Canadian miners facing big tax hikes as mineral-rich countries look to cash in on commodities boom – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 27, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s tussle with Panama over taxes is a microcosm of a global phenomenon that threatens the profitability of some of Canada’s biggest mining companies, but worst-case scenarios of sites being nationalized will be the exception, not the rule, experts say.

Earlier this month, The Globe and Mail reported details of a tentative agreement between First Quantum and the Central American country that would see the big Canadian copper miner pay as much as eight times more in taxes.

Albemarle calls for high lithium prices to fuel EV industry growth – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – Janaury 24, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

Albemarle Corp (ALB.N) on Tuesday called for lithium prices to remain high indefinitely in order to help the mining industry develop new sources of the electric vehicle (EV) battery metal and fuel the green energy transition.

The push for higher prices by the world’s largest lithium producer is likely to exacerbate the growing tension between EV manufacturers and mining companies that supply the materials crucial for the all-electric shift, with high metals prices threatening EV profitability.

Location of ferrochrome smelter still up in the air, says Ring of Fire Metals CEO (CBC Sudbury – January 27, 2023)

January 27, 2023

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

‘One thing I can say for sure is we are committed to placing that facility in northern Ontario’

While Sault Ste. Marie was identified in 2019 as the preferred site for a ferrochrome facility, Ring of Fire Metals, which owns several of the mineral deposits about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, says its still considering its options.

We first heard the words ‘Ring of Fire,’ connected to mining back in 2010. Now, 13 years later, the project hasn’t made much progress and has instead been marked by delays. The company that owns several of the mineral deposits northeast of Thunder Bay is now called Ring of Fire Metals.

‘Trudeau-pian’ policy drives mining investment away, says Poilievre – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – January 23, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.northernminer.com/

The opening day of the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference in Vancouver saw some political sparks fly as natural resources minister, Jonathan Wilkinson and Conservative Party firebrand Pierre Poilievre delivered remarks.

The opposition leader made the point that limelight-loving Liberal leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, had squandered the past eight years to build an alternative supply chain able to service the emerging electric vehicle market and so-called energy revolution.

Ring of Fire development begins with a road, Sudbury audience is told – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 26, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

CEO of Ring of Fire Metals also says mineral-rich area contains minerals coveted for the growing electric vehicle market

While chromite for the steel industry has been a major focus of developing the Ring of Fire in the province’s far north, the area is also rich in other minerals coveted for the growing electric vehicle market.

“We’re a firm believer that the Ring of Fire hosts multiple nickel deposits, not unlike Sudbury,” said Stephen Flewelling, CEO of Ring of Fire Metals, in a virtual presentation to a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday.

Merging two Sudbury nickel projects could pave a path to production – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 25, 2023)

January 25, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

SPC Nickel cuts deal with Vale to combine nickel deposits in Sudbury basin

A Sudbury exploration outfit has taken a great leap forward toward establishing itself as the city’s next nickel miner. SPC Nickel has struck a “cooperation agreement” with mining giant Vale to consolidate ownership of two adjacent nickel and copper deposits —SPC’s undeveloped West Graham and Vale’s Crean Hill 3 — into an advanced exploration project.

The junior miner is calling the deal a “transformational growth opportunity” for a one-time private company that went public two years ago with the objective of becoming the next nickel mining player in the Sudbury camp.

Investor Activism May Surge in Canada as Slowdown Takes a Toll – by Layan Odeh (Bloomberg News – Janury 24, 2023)

January 25, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Shareholder activism is poised to grow in Canada this year, as investors turn up the pressure on management teams for better returns after a tumultuous year in markets, according to a top corporate lawyer.

“Shareholders are seeing a significant amount of red on their screens, and now they have had time to try to figure out which of these companies should be a target and which of these companies they can actually effect change at,” Walied Soliman, chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright in Canada, said in an interview.