Republic of Mining

Fortress North America – by Diane Francis (Diane Francis Blog – October 20, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://dianefrancis.substack.com/

Germany’s decision to scrap nuclear plants by the end of 2022 made the country – Europe’s engine of growth – dependent on Russia for energy, facilitating Vladimir Putin’s energy blackmail and war against Ukraine. The nuclear ban, promulgated by Greenpeace, never made sense because nuclear technology is safe and emissions free.

But anti-nuke criticism was stoked by Moscow as was this month’s OPEC price hike designed to kick the West and developed world in the teeth as they cope with war, costly sanctions, and energy hyper-inflation. Finally, Berlin reversed course this week and announced its nuclear plants will reopen indefinitely, a policy shift also undertaken by oil-poor Japan.

For Albertans seeking end of Rockies coal mine ban, Danielle Smith brings ‘little window’ of hope – by Bob Weber (Canadian Press/National Post – October 19, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://nationalpost.com/

The ban was triggered by a public outcry after thousands of hectares of summits and foothills were permitted for exploration that was previously encouraged by the UCP government

EDMONTON — Supporters of open-pit coal mining say there’s a chance new mines could be built in Alberta’s Rockies after comments from the province’s new premier.

“We’re hoping with this little window with Danielle (Smith) that we can crack that open,” said Eric Lowther, a southern Alberta resident and president of Citizens Supportive of Crowsnest Coal.

The New Faces of the North – by Diane Armstrong (Timmins Daily Press – October 19, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.timminspress.com/

The story of Northern Ontario’s people has changed since the early days of the railway. At the turn of the last century, workers from many countries joined their friends when they learned of employment building the rails north – particularly from North Bay, the terminus for the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway.

As the work reached Cobalt, many men decided to settle there, bring their families and work in the newly-discovered silver mines or to open businesses. Others ventured further north to Kirkland Lake and the Porcupine when gold was discovered further north. Soon clubs were established to serve the cultural needs of their people. With the culture, came the foods that reminded them of home.

‘Strikingly Tight’ Copper Market Belies Price Drop, Miner Says – by Yvonne Yue Li and James Attwood (Bloomberg News – October 20, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Copper prices don’t reflect a “strikingly tight” physical market, according to the world’s largest publicly-traded producer of the metal used in everything from computer chips to electric vehicles.

Macroeconomic headwinds have pushed copper futures down almost 30% from a peak in March, despite brisk demand and shrinking inventories that are nearing historical lows.

Communities in Africa twice as likely to have HIV when mines open nearby – by Edith Magak (Aidsmap.com – October 18, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.aidsmap.com/

When industrial mines open in sub-Saharan Africa, the local population becomes twice as likely to be HIV positive than before the mines opened. Mining operations also increase the likelihood of multiple sex partners by 70%, high-risk sex partners by 30%, and condomless sex by 70%.

Additionally, mining communities have 20% less knowledge about HIV than non-mining areas. Researchers from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute recently published these findings in the journal AIDS.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey’s Joining BRICS Can Be a Game Changer – by ISMAIL NUMAN TELCI (Politics Today – September 2, 2022)

October 20, 2022

Anasayfa

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt want to strengthen their ties with BRICS members, and this interest is not one-sided.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine not only led to a war between the two countries, but also brought about a discursive and value-laden struggle between western and eastern countries. The most recent developments indicate that the East-West axis in international relations entail costs on both sides.

Political, military, and economic changes in the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Balkans immensely affect the choices of regional actors’ foreign policies who have to choose between the policy options set before them by Russia, China, or the Western powers with the U.S. taking the lead among the latter.

Climate changed: Mining industry digs into alternative methods as risks rise – by Ian Bickis (Canadian Press/Thompson Citizen – October 20, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

In the North, some mines risk leaking acid if the permafrost melts, while across Canada heavier rainfall will add strain to tailings dams and a lack of it could throw operations.

While no strangers to extreme weather, the growing risks from climate change are forcing the mining industry to take a hard look at their methods, and how to prepare for the worst. Many of the most prudent actions to minimize risk are, however, also more costly, meaning that while some have taken them on, not everyone has followed suit.

Uranium Snapshot: Seven juniors searching for the energy metal – by Norm Tollinsky (Northern Miner – October 20, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.northernminer.com/

As the world looks for low-carbon energy solutions, more nations are coming to the conclusion that nuclear power needs to be part of the mix. Here are seven junior companies looking for the next uranium deposits to power the nuclear renaissance.

BASIN URANIUM

In early September, Basin Uranium (CSE: NCLR, US-OTC: BURCF) announced the intersection of significant uranium mineralization in first-phase drilling at its flagship Mann Lake uranium project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.

There’s been only one company IPO this year on the TSX, and that’s a problem – by J. ARI PANDES and BRYCE C. TINGLE (Globe and Mail – October 17, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

J. Ari Pandes is an associate professor of finance at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. Bryce C. Tingle, KC, is the N. Murray Edwards Chair in Business Law at the University of Calgary’s faculty of law.

In 2021, 33 operating companies each had an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Pundits proclaimed, “The IPO market is back!” What a difference a year makes. To date in 2022, only one operating company has joined the TSX, and it was really a secondary sale related to a spinoff.

The stark drop in the number of IPOs this year is no surprise to us. This reflects not just wider economic conditions of higher interest rates and talk of a looming recession.

Doubts downstream: Residents of Libby, Mont., have heard selenium from Canadian coal mines isn’t a threat. But trust in industry is hard to come by after hundreds here died from minerals contaminated with asbestos. – by Joel Dryden and Rob Easton (CBC News – October 19, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/

Walking the streets of Libby, Mont., on a hazy September day, it’s not uncommon to hear the cough of a local resident. The picturesque, blue-collar town about an hour southwest of the Canada-U.S. Border in Montana’s north was once bustling with jobs thanks to nearby vermiculite mines. The work helped line locals’ wallets with steady pay. And lined their lungs with toxic asbestos dust.

Years of remediation have helped make the town of about 2,700 safe again following what government officials called the worst case of industrial poisoning of a community in American history. But residents are still struggling to rebuild after hundreds died, and approximately 2,400 have been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.

LMEWEEK-Spotlight on LME nickel debacle and the fate of Russian metal – by Pratima Desai (Reuters – October 19, 2022)

October 20, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Possible sanctions on Russian metal, lawsuits, a battle to recover trust and a slump in nickel trading after the March fiasco are just some of the headwinds facing the London Metal Exchange (LME) as the industry prepares to meet in the British capital.

Market fundamentals and industry developments typically dominate talks between producers, traders, miners and end users, crowned by cocktails and dinner in London’s Mayfair district.

Digging for green minerals a priority for the North, says federal minister – by Liny Lamberink (CBC News North – October 17, 2022)

October 19, 2022

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

N.W.T. MLA says sentiment amounts to call for deregulation of mining

Speeding up the regulatory process for critical mineral mines in the North is a goal of the federal government, according to Canada’s natural resources minister.

“Critical minerals are essential for us to be able to successfully execute an energy transition,” said Jonathan Wilkinson. If Canada doesn’t mine more critical minerals, he said, it can’t make batteries for electric vehicles needed to reduce emissions from transportation.

Dirty metals for clean cars: Indonesian nickel could be key to EV battery industry – by Erwida Maulia (Nikkei Asia – October 19, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://asia.nikkei.com/

Rich nickel reserves attract Chinese investment but environmental hurdles remain

JAKARTA/MOROWALI, Indonesia — A group of fishermen and their wives looked forlorn on the porch of their stilt houses, perched on the sandy coast of Indonesia’s remote Bahodopi district.

Their homes, along with the few dozen others that make up the fishing hamlet, stood against a backdrop of towering cranes and billowing white smoke from the chimneys of Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), a sprawling nickel processing complex in Central Sulawesi province that hosts an array of Chinese companies and their partners, led by stainless steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group.

Communities on the Move: Greenstone set to thrive with gold mine construction – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 19, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Northwestern municipality looks to sync up with the supply chain economy for local gold mine and the Ring of Fire

Gold stands to bring Greenstone back in a big way. Four kilometres south of the community of Geraldton at the intersection of Highways 11 and 584, construction is underway to breathe life back into a former gold mining property. It stands to be transformative for this largely rural municipality in northwestern Ontario, 275 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

Since a groundbreaking ceremony last October, Greenstone Gold Mines, a joint venture between Equinox Gold and Orion Mine Finance, has been clearing trees and blasting rock to dig an open-pit mine on the site of the historic Macleod-Cockshutt Mine.

There’s a Billion-Dollar Bidding War for EV Plants Across the US – by Gabrielle Coppola (Bloomberg News – October 13, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wasn’t happy. Ford Motor Co., a company whose very name is synonymous with Detroit, had just announced it had chosen two southern states, Tennessee and Kentucky, as sites for an $11 billion electric-vehicle project.

They had won Ford over by dangling huge incentives, and Whitmer knew Michigan needed to do more to compete. So she pleaded with lawmakers in a letter last October to put “more tools in our economic toolbox to attract private investment.” Two months later, they delivered, handing her a $1 billion fund for corporate subsidies. And a month after that, Whitmer dipped into the fund to net a giant deal from General Motors Co.: a $6.6 billion electric-truck factory and battery plant.