Republic of Mining

Bankers pour cold water on red hot coal – by Sarah Mcfarlane and Clara Denina (Reuters – November 24, 2022)

November 24, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. At least when it comes to mining coal. After years of decline, demand for the polluting fossil fuel has surged this year as Europe scrambles to replace Russian gas, and coal miners are making money hand over fist.

With coal prices hitting record highs, companies would normally expand their operations, but projects are being left on the table as most Western banks stand by climate pledges to restrict lending to the sector, according to a dozen mining company executives and investors.

The Drift: Sudbury mine developer seeks to extract untapped critical minerals – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 23, 2022)

November 24, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Magna Mining completes acquisition of former Inco mine with growth plans afoot in the Sudbury camp

Sudbury is historically known for nickel. But there remain hundreds of millions of tonnes of overlooked and valuable mineral commodities left behind by mining activity over the decades.

An upstart mining company with ambitions to be Sudbury’s next producer is seizing on an opportunity to bring a former INCO mine back into production, possibly by the end of next year.

How the state of Wyoming could supply the US with rare earth elements Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – November 18, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Already a wind energy powerhouse, the state of Wyoming’s economy is 65% tied to mining — most of that coal mining. Wyoming has been the top coal-producing state since 1986, accounting for about two-fifths of all coal mined in the United States in 2020, but the industry has seen its reputation blackened.

Industry innovators, however, are tapping coal and its waste streams to extract rare earths, 17 essential elements to realizing an electrified economy. Mining them can be challenging as materials needed are either not yet mined, or are latent in old coal mines.

Canada’s battery supply credibility jumps as multi-billion announcements keep coming – by Mia Rabson (Canadian Press/CTV News – November 21, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

OTTAWA – Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is selling Canada’s battery-supply chain prowess in Asia again this week, but this time he has a new boast in his back pocket.

Research firm BloombergNEF pushed Canada’s position in its annual global ranking of battery-producing countries ahead of everyone else but China. “That’s something I’m going to use very much on my trip in Asia, to say we have what Asia needs,” Champagne said.

Goldman Sachs Strategists Say Bear Market Will Last Through 2023 – by Farah Elbahrawy (Bloomberg News – November 21, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Equity investors hoping for a better year in 2023 will be disappointed, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists, who said the bear market phase is not over yet.

“The conditions that are typically consistent with an equity trough have not yet been reached,” strategists including Peter Oppenheimer and Sharon Bell wrote in a note on Monday. They said that a peak in interest rates and lower valuations reflecting recession are necessary before any sustained stock-market recovery can happen.

Australian gold company targets growth at White River mine – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 17, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Silver Lake Resources invests in new buildings, processing equipment at Sugar Zone Mine

The new Australian owners of the Sugar Zone Mine continue to sink investment into the underground operation near White River.

Silver Lake Resources reported it’s made “significant progress” at the mine with expenditures of almost $9 million the company’s past September quarter. Most the spending has been on processing equipment and new buildings.

Ottawa sends clear message on environment and Indigenous rights by rejecting Baffinland’s iron ore expansion plans in Arctic – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 17, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government has blocked Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s plans for a massive production increase in Nunavut, sending a strong message to the mining industry that any future large resource development in the Far North must be offset by sufficient environmental damage mitigation and proper consultation with the Inuit.

Baffinland, based in Oakville, Ont., had hoped to double its production of iron ore at its Baffin Island mine in Nunavut to 12 million tonnes a year, from six million tonnes.

‘Others buy, Barrick builds’ – Bristow – by Staff (MiningWeekly.com – November 21, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Bullion major Barrick Gold’s portfolio of gold and copper assets is projected to show strong growth over the next five to ten years, president and CEO Mark Bristow said at an investor meeting in New York on Friday.

The unlocking of value at the Pueblo Viejo gold mine in the Dominican Republic, following the finalisation of the location for the new tailings storage facility, would support that growth, he said.

‘It makes no sense for Canada’: Industry rebuffs idea of joining an OPEC-like alliance for nickel – by Gabriel Friedman and Naimul Karim (Financial Post – November 21, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Canada’s nickel producers are hoping to differentiate their products as cleaner and purer

Mining industry veteran Mark Selby has for years been telling anyone who would listen that the production of nickel — a metal key to batteries and the energy transition — was getting so concentrated in just a few countries that a cartel-like organization to control supply was inevitable.

A slide in the PowerPoint deck he’s shown at investment conferences since 2019 predicted an “ONEC” — the Organization for Nickel Exporting Countries — consisting of Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia, the top three nickel producers.

In wake of mine expansion rejection, Baffinland set to head back to communities for talks – by Amy Tucker (CBC News North – November 19, 2022)

November 21, 2022

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

‘There has to be that constant dialogue, in order to fully work together in collaboration,’ says Paul Quassa

Baffinland Iron Mines is not giving up hope that it can win over Nunavut communities, along with the hunters and trappers groups. After the company’s proposed mine expansion project was rejected by the federal minister this week, Baffinland’s Paul Quassa says the company will head to communities before Christmas for more talks.

“We’re constantly going to the communities,” said Quassa, a senior advisor with the company and an Iqaluit city councillor. He said it’s all about “having good communications” with people and the hunters and trappers in each of the communities.

Peter Marrone has few regrets as he prepares to exit Yamana Gold after a nearly 20-year run – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 17, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Peter Marrone has few regrets as he prepares to walk away from the big Canadian gold mining company he founded and is now poised to sell to a pair of Canadian precious metals companies.

Last week, Toronto-based Yamana YRI-T agreed to sell itself to Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Pan American Silver Corp. for US$4.8-billion. That offer topped an earlier and deeply unpopular bid by South African miner Gold Fields Ltd., which was originally worth US$6.7-billion.

Plans for OPEC of Nickel Finds Doubters in Australia, Canada – by James Fernyhough (Bloomberg News – November 17, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — An Indonesian proposal to create an OPEC-like group of nickel suppliers has raised eyebrows among Australian miners.

Indonesian Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia floated the idea of an alliance that he said would help to unite government policies on the in-demand battery metal — and push the development of the downstream industry — at the Group of 20 Summit in Bali this week. The plan has been discussed with both Canada and Australia.

Can you put a price on the impact of Yellowknife’s Giant Mine? – by Sidney Cohen (CBC News North – November 16, 2022)

November 21, 2022

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

Quantifying, in dollar terms, the effect of the mine on the economy, environment and people is complicated

Last week, the federal government revealed that cleaning up Yellowknife’s Giant Mine is now projected to cost $4.38 billion instead of $1 billion. This is, by one measure, greater than the mine’s total estimated revenues during its operation.

Quantifying, in dollar terms, the impact of the mine on the local economy, the environment, and the people who live on and use the area’s land and water is complicated, if not impossible.

It’s Costing Peanuts for the US to Defeat Russia – by Timothy Ash (CEPA.org – November 18, 2022)

November 21, 2022

Home

Former President Trump, and others in the US including some Democrats as well as Republicans, have criticized continued US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. They have called for military and financial support to Ukraine to be cut, even ended. They downplay the risk from Russia and argue that the money should be spent at home.

Yet from numerous perspectives, when viewed from a bang-per-buck perspective, US and Western support for Ukraine is an incredibly cost-effective investment.  Altogether, the Biden administration received Congressional approval for $40bn in aid for Ukraine for 2022 and has requested an additional $37.7bn for 2022. More than half of this aid has been earmarked for defense. 

Welcome to Canada, where we hesitate instead of hustle – by Heather Scoffield (Toronto Star – November 18, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.thestar.com/

When it comes to future prosperity, Canada talks fast but moves slowly, Heather Scoffield writes.

Here’s a new slogan to sum up Canada’s approach to boosting prosperity: Welcome to Canada, where we hesitate instead of hustle. Our industrial strategy, vaunted but not clearly defined. Our China policy, much hinted at but not yet published. Our critical minerals, heavily marketed but not yet mined. Our zero-carbon efforts, subsidized but not likely to remain competitive.

Those are the building blocks of not just our economic direction, but also the politics that motivate both the Conservatives and Liberals. Our leaders definitely talk a good game though.