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There are 280 billion tons of mining waste. This startup is putting it to good use – by Adele Peters (Fast Company – November 7, 2022)

https://www.fastcompany.com/

Phoenix Tailings uses new technology to get key minerals out of mining waste.

Digging up and extracting the minerals needed to make electric car batteries or wind turbines comes at an environmental cost, using huge amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals and creating toxic pollution. But one Boston-area startup is getting some key materials in a different way: Instead of mining them from the ground, it uses new technology to extract them from mining waste.

“For us, it’s about figuring out how can we extract the most from the waste that has already been mined,” says Anthony Balladon, cofounder and VP of partnerships at the startup, Phoenix Tailings. “It has already been dug out of the ground. How can we make the most of what we’ve already done, rather than dig up new holes somewhere else?”

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Lithium prices prove ‘immune’ to recession anxiety – by Alex Gluyas (Australian Financial Review – November 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

Lithium is proving to be largely immune from the volatility that has rocked commodity markets as prices soar in the face of a looming global recession, prompting Macquarie to deliver another round of upgrades for producers and developers of the battery metal.

Lithium prices have continued to hit record levels this year with spodumene, carbonate and hydroxide surging 243 per cent, 124 per cent and 152 per cent respectively.

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EV Mineral Bonanza on Alaska Tribal Land Turns on Disputed Road – by Bobby Magill (Bloomberg Law – November 7, 2022)

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/

Bornite Camp is beyond all the roads in North America, on the southern edge of the massive Brooks Range. It’s home to grizzly bears, and the caribou, moose, and salmon essential to the survival of Alaska Natives who live off the land.

The only way in is by bush plane. If the weather goes bad, there’s no telling when you might get out. Yet in early autumn this tent city above the Arctic Circle—where satellite internet is spotty, bear encounters are expected, and visits to family are rare—is bustling with workers.

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Gold Fields ends effort to acquire Canada’s Yamana, which has backed Agnico Eagle-Pan American takeover bid – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 9, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

South Africa’s Gold Fields Ltd. has ended its flawed attempt to acquire Toronto-based Yamana Gold Inc., handing victory to Canadian precious metals miners Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Pan American Silver Corp.

In late May, Johannesburg-based Gold Fields proposed buying Yamana for US$6.7-billion in stock, a 42-per-cent premium to Yamana’s market price. The deal was poorly received, with Gold Fields shares losing as much as 40 per cent in the months that followed, and two of its biggest shareholders, VanEck and RWC Partners Ltd. (known as Redwheel), denounced the deal as making no sense strategically.

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Agnico Eagle not doing its part to protect migrating caribou, says Nunavut government (CBC News North – November 8, 2022)

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

Territorial government asks feds to investigate, says company not meeting obligations at Meadowbank mine

The Nunavut government says Agnico Eagle Mines has reneged on some of its promises to protect migrating caribou near the company’s Meadowbank gold mine complex.

According to the territory’s Environment department, the mining company has failed several times to close roads at the complex when migrating caribou were nearby. That violates the company’s permits to operate and should be investigated, the Government of Nunavut (GN) says.

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Canada’s moonshot: The green farming revolution is here, but we must help it grow – by John Stackhouse, Evan Fraser and Keith Halliday (Financial Post – November 7, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Opinion: If we don’t act, we will miss our opportunity to lead the world in ensuring agriculture an engine of economic growth

Every day Kristjan Herbert, a farmer in Moosomin, Sask., looks at his phone to find out what his soil is telling him about plant health, fertilizer levels and even up-to-the-hour yield forecasts. He knows that, in order to feed a growing population sustainably, his soil must be at its healthiest.

In Chatham, Ont., Jordan Sinclair has her head in the cloud and her feet on the ground, helping farmers make measuring carbon levels in soil less labour-intensive and more profitable. She, too, knows that soil — and ensuring farmers are getting more out of it — will be key to addressing Canada’s challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Shining a light on the world of coloured gems: Michael Valitutti reflects on the state of the jewellery industry – by Carolyn Gruske (CIM Magazine – October 25, 2022)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Although Michael Valitutti is a graduate gemologist working at Nathan Hennick & Co. Ltd., that title fails to describe exactly how involved he is with every step of the jewellery business. From visiting mines, to buying parcels of exotic gems at trade shows, to developing new processes to manipulate gemstones and metal, to selling finished pieces on a company website (GemsEnVogue.com) and on television shopping channels around the world, he takes a hands-on approach to the jewellery business.

CIM Magazine dropped by his office in Toronto to talk about the jewellery industry, the effects of COVID-19 on gemstone mining and the curious shopping habits of millennial Australians.

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Australian mining magnate Forrest calls for ban on seabed mining – (Reuters – November 8, 2022)

https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) executive chairman Andrew Forrest on Tuesday said his charitable foundation is in favour of a pause on seabed mining, the first time a prominent mining executive has spoken out against the nascent industry.

Forrest said the Minderoo Foundation, which he and his wife Nicola fund with the dividends they get from Fortescue, will back a pause until there’s sufficient evidence that damage to ocean environments can be prevented.

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Ontario to apologize to miners forced to use McIntyre Powder – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury MPP Jamie West wins agreement from Ontario Legislature to apologize to miners who were forced to inhale McIntyre Powder as part of their job

At the end of this month, the Ontario legislature is expected to become united for a few moments as all members of all parties at Queen’s Park will offer an apology to a select group of miners, their widows and their families.

On Nov. 8, Sudbury MPP Jamie West held a news conference at the Miners’ Memorial in Bell Park to announce the Ontario legislature would offer a formal apology to a generation of miners who were forced to inhale a substance called McIntyre Powder, a substance that new research shows caused some of those miners to develop Parkinson’s disease.

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US lithium mining: not if, but when – by Elle Farrell-Kingsley (Automotive World – November 8, 2022)

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As electric vehicle (EV) demand surges so too will lithium battery usage. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) forecasts that the global semiconductor industry will increase manufacturing capacity by 56% in the next decade.

This expansion is driven by the worldwide boom in EV sales, with 23 million electric passenger vehicles expected to be produced by 2030, says a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Furthermore, the worldwide market of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, the most common rechargeable car battery, was estimated at US$7bn in 2018 and is expected to reach US$58.8bn by 2024—significant growth.

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The Mining Gap: Critical Minerals and Geopolitical Competition – by Gregory Brew and Morgan Bazilian (Just Security – November 7, 2022)

https://www.justsecurity.org/

This week, world leaders are gathering in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt for COP27, the 27th annual United Nations conference on climate change. This year’s conference carries with it the weight of the climate challenge, an enormous threat facing humanity, but also comes at a time of growing volatility in global energy markets, rising energy prices, a food security crisis, and war.

As a result, countries both rich and poor will be focused on immediate security and economic threats. While Russia’s war in Ukraine has convinced policymakers of the necessity of divesting from volatile oil markets, the lack of readily available raw materials and supply chain issues continue to impede rapid transitions toward clean energy.

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From mine site to pollinators paradise – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – November 7, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Jenny Fortier and Northern Wildflowers plying their expertise to help regenerate mine sites

Jenny Fortier’s booth at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference got a lot of double takes last June.Nestled in amongst the technology experts and equipment manufacturers at the Toronto mining tradeshow, Fortier’s display stood out for its distinctly un-mining-like look and messaging.

A butterfly landing on a purple coneflower, with the company name, Northern Wildflowers, emblazoned across its promotional banner, doesn’t exactly scream “mining.”

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Ontario-focused Frontier Lithium aspires to become Canada’s ‘lithium champion’ – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – November 7, 2022)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Frontier Lithium (TSXV: FL; US-OTC: LITOF) reports progress towards completing a resource update and prefeasibility study for its PAK project in northwestern Ontario by the first quarter of 2023. The prospective lithium pegmatite project is 170 km north of the famed Red Lake Gold Camp in an emerging lithium mineral district in the Canadian Shield dubbed the ‘Electric Avenue.’

Having already outlined one of the largest and highest grade spodumene resources in North America, the project has the potential to crystalize the vision of Frontier becoming Canada’s ‘lithium champion,’ as owner, president and CEO Trevor Walker tells The Northern Miner in an interview.

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Gold Fields refuses to make new offer for Yamana, despite competing bid from Canadian miners – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – November 7, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

South Africa’s Gold Fields Ltd. will not make a new bid to buy Toronto-based Yamana Gold Inc. after Canadian miners Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Pan American Silver Corp. on Friday made a combined US$4.8-billion offer that includes stock and cash.

Yamana on Friday said the new proposal is superior to the one it inked with Gold Fields on May 31 and that the South African miner had five days to match it. But Gold Fields’ chief executive Chris Griffith said the company’s board unanimously voted not to propose a new offer.

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Rio Tinto’s Turquoise Hill takeover in doubt as Quebec’s securities regulator studies fairness of side deal negotiated with dissidents – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 7, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. is postponing its shareholder vote on Rio Tinto PLC’s proposed takeover of the Canadian copper company yet again, as Quebec’s securities regulator considers whether a side deal negotiated with dissident shareholders is legal, injecting even more uncertainty into the market.

London-based Rio last week said it had reached an agreement with Pentwater Capital Management LP and SailingStone Capital Partners LLC, under which they would be paid out 80 per cent of the takeover amount being offered to all Turquoise Hill shareholders and, after a ruling from an arbitrator, the remaining 20 per cent, plus interest, and potentially much more.

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