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Gold is the safe-haven of choice with U.S. debt back in focus – by Daid Erfle (Kitco News – May 23, 2025)

https://www.kitco.com/

Late last Friday, Moody’s Investment Service joined all the other credit rating agencies in downgrading U.S. debt from Aaa to Aa1, limiting some super-safe money funds from investing in America. The move also signals the formerly risk-free U.S. debt market is no longer risk-free, and that gold is now the lone safe-haven of choice.

Following a healthy 11% correction from an extreme overbought all-time high at $3500, Gold Futures reacted in kind this week, moving above initial resistance at $3300. Geopolitical concerns, a growing sovereign debt crisis, and evidence of stagflation setting in during an ongoing trade war have been the principal drivers for gold becoming the safe-haven of choice.

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The Economics of Deep-Sea Mining Don’t Add Up – by Victor Vescovo (Time Magazine – May 22, 2023)

https://time.com/

Deep-seafloor mining is a complex topic that leaves out a crucial starting point: mining the potato-sized rocks on the seafloor called “nodules” only yields four metals of any economic consequence: nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. Since copper and manganese are plentiful on land, deep-seafloor mining is really all about nickel and cobalt. And, unlike many have tried to claim, you cannot in fact get meaningful amounts of rare earth elements from the seafloor.

In the early 2020s, deep-seafloor mining was advertised as a source of key metals for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. However, battery technology has moved dramatically forward with new chemistries that require no cobalt or nickel and instead use inexpensive iron, phosphorus, and sodium.

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Juniors due for comeback in next year or two, says Canadian mining legend – by Staff (Mining.com – May 22, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

While younger investors continue to pour money into crypto and tech, junior mining companies—which have quietly driven the discovery of the world’s minerals—are often left behind. The disconnect today between the modern investment thesis and a legacy sector responsible for the foundational pieces of the economy can be seen as both a challenge and an opportunity, according to Canadian mining legend Jacques Bonneau.

The former geologist recently sat down with CrashLabs host Denis Laviolette to explain the important role junior miners play within the commodity space, and why they’ve mostly been left behind by the new generation of investors over the past decade.

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First Nations leaders in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region demand Bill 5 be struck down – by Sarah Law (CBC News Thunder Bay – May 23, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Proposed provincial legislation aims to fast-track mining development

Rudy Turtle says the people of Grassy Narrows First Nation will never stop defending the land. In the case of Ontario’s Bill 5 — proposed legislation aimed at expediting development — he says “we’re not going to back down.”

“We need to continue to protect our environment and make sure that things are done properly,” said Turtle, former chief of Grassy Narrows. “Any changes that are made at any time, we have to really look at the pros and cons.”

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289 miners trapped in shaft at South African gold mine (NBC News – May 23, 2025)

https://www.nbcnews.com/

South Africa‘s Sibanye Stillwater said Friday that efforts were under way to rescue 289 mine workers trapped underground at one of its shafts at the Kloof gold mine near Johannesburg. The workers were safe and gathered at an assembly point in the underground gold mine, one of the company’s deepest located around 60 km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, it said.

It did not provide details on the incident, though a Sibanye spokesperson confirmed it had occurred in the mine’s Kloof 7 shaft, adding that all the miners were accounted for and the company was providing them with food.

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As ‘smallest town in Canada’ empties out, former residents recall its vibrant past – by Sarah Smellie (Canadian Press/CTV News – May 22, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

ST. JOHN’S — A Newfoundland community that bills itself as the smallest town in Canada will soon be empty, and former residents say they’ll never forget their joyful years living there. Tilt Cove, N.L., was once home to a thriving copper mine that attracted workers and their families from all over Canada. Now the community is home to just four people, all of whom agreed earlier this year to relocate.

Shirley Severance was born in 1941 and grew up in Tilt Cove. She watched the town grow when the Maritime Mining operation reopened in 1957, and she watched it shrink again in 1967 when the mine shut down for good.

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Canada needs an Arctic empire no matter the cost – by Geoff Russ (National Post – March 24, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

The region is coveted by the U.S., Russia and China

The Arctic is no longer a distant place of cold and danger, visited by few but mythologized by many. It is a vital front in the world of modern geopolitics and a prize that major world powers now hunger for.

Canada has one option and that is to build an Arctic empire and fully integrate the region into the country. The resources, land, and strategic importance of the vast area cannot be passively surrendered without an effort to secure it for Canada.

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Column: US aluminum smelters vie with Big Tech for scarce power – by Andy Home (Reuters – May 22, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

It’s forty-five years since anyone built a primary aluminum smelter in the United States. When Alumax fired up the Mt Holly plant in South Carolina in 1980, the country’s tally of smelters rose to 33 with combined annual capacity of almost five million metric tons of aluminum.

Today that number has shrunk to six. Two are fully curtailed. Two, including Mt Holly, are running below capacity. Annual production has shrunk to 700,000 tons. Emirates Global Aluminium hopes to reverse the tide with a new plant in Oklahoma. It joins Century Aluminum, which was awarded federal funding by the Joe Biden administration for a new “green” low-carbon smelter somewhere in the Ohio/Mississippi River Basins.

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First Nations leaders warn of confrontation over Ontario’s ‘special economic zones’ in omnibus bill – by Jeff Gray (Globe and Mail – May 23, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Nations leaders are warning the Ontario government that passing a bill allowing it to designate “special economic zones” where mining or other development could be exempted from any provincial law will result in confrontations with Indigenous people.

Indigenous drumming and singing echoed through the corridors of Queen‘s Park on Thursday, as the Progressive Conservative government’s Bill 5 went before a legislative committee. First Nations chiefs and spokespeople from as many as 1,500-kilometres away in Ontario’s North told MPPs that they had not been consulted on the bill and warned it would trample on their treaty rights.

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Friedland’s Ivanhoe Atlantic urges US to list iron ore as critical mineral – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com -May 21, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

Mining billionaire Robert Friedland’s latest venture, Ivanhoe Atlantic, is reportedly lobbying the US government to add high-grade iron ore to the country’s list of critical minerals. The move aims to align with Washington’s broader push to secure materials essential for military manufacturing, as part of a national strategy to boost defence capabilities.

The company’s flagship project, Nimba in Guinea, is expected to churn out 2 to 5 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore late this year. Production is set to scale up to 25 million tonnes annually within seven years.

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Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm to be replaced in a surprise move – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Rio Tinto PLC chief executive Jakob Stausholm is stepping down earlier than expected, with little explanation from the British-Australian mining giant about what motivated the decision.

London-based Rio is one of the world’s biggest mining companies with a market value of roughly US$106.5-billion. The company also has a significant footprint in Canada stemming from its acquisition of aluminum producer Alcan Ltd. in 2008.

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‘This is not us together, this is Ontario by itself,’ says Wabun tribal council executive director – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 22, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Jason Batise: Indigenous blowback from Bill 5 might set back First Nations’ relations with mining industry

Under the right conditions, $3 billion in capacity-building funding from Queen’s Park would be welcomed by First Nations, said Wabun Tribal Council executive director Jason Batise, “but in this case, the nations can’t be bought that way.”

While the Ford government’s messaging this week — to triple funding through the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program and expand the eligibility to include critical minerals, energy and pipeline development — was intended to be a positive one, the signal ultimately fell flat with Indigenous leaders, like Batise.

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Wildsight says Alberta should learn from B.C.’s mining mistakes – by R McCormack (East Kootenay News – May 21, 2025)

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The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) recently approved exploratory drilling for a controversial mining project in the Crowsnest Pass, and Wildsight says Alberta should have learned from B.C.’s struggles with mining pollution.

The Grassy Mountain mining project, owned by Northback Holdings, is an open-pit mine proposed to go ahead on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains at the site of a formerly abandoned coal mine. The project was originally rejected in 2021 due to widespread opposition and potential damage to agriculture, ecosystems and watersheds.

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Expert-Speak:Riches Or Curses: Africa’s Critical Minerals Dilemma – by Letlhokwa George Mpedi (Forbes Africa – May 21, 2025)

https://www.forbesafrica.com/

Letlhokwa George Mpedi serves as Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

In 2024, a group of Australian researchers (Boafo et al.) asked a pertinent question: “The race for critical minerals in Africa: A blessing or another resource curse?” The continent is abundant with natural resources, but this has often been to our detriment. As the African Development Bank (AfDB) referred to it, Africa is faced with the paradox of plenty.

In other words, despite an abundance of natural resources, countries often contend with little to no economic growth, low GDP and worrying developmental metrics. Now, we are seeing greater demand for critical or rare minerals, particularly through the lens of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and the just transition, and this paradox emerges once again. Studies suggest that there is a clear boom.

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Opinion: Canada can fast-track critical minerals and dodge US tariffs – by Phillip Mackey (Northern Miner – May 21, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

This year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention will be remembered not just for the discussions that took place in Toronto that first week of March. It also coincided with Canada’s unveiling of strong responses to United States President Donald Trump’s unfair tariffs on Canadian goods – including critical minerals.

Word at the convention was that mining and metallurgy projects in gold, base metals and rare earths are starting to attract investor attention. The 2025 convention also put Canada in the spotlight, and the federal government took the opportunity to announce that the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) would be extended for two years – great news for the mining industry.

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