Republic of Mining

Twin Metals sues Biden administration to regain mine leases – by Steve Karnowski (Associated Press/Arizona Daily Star – August 22, 2022)

August 23, 2022

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The developers of a proposed copper-nickel mine upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota sued the Biden administration Monday to seek the reinstatement of federal mineral rights leases that are crucial to the $1.7 billion project.

Twin Metals Minnesota alleged in its lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, that the Department of the Interior acted illegally earlier this year when it canceled the leases. The company asked the court to declare that those leases remain valid and in force, so that it can proceed with the environmental review and permitting process.

A Supplier of Rare Earth Metals Turns to Greenland in a Bid to Cut Reliance on Russia – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – August 22, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/

HONG KONG — One of the world’s last processors of rare earth metals outside China is buying mining rights in Greenland to reduce dependence on Russian ore and stabilize prices, in the latest move by Western companies to diversify supply chains following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Rare earth metals are essential for the manufacture of a broad range of modern products, including electric car motors, offshore wind turbines and smart bombs. Demand has soared as automakers switch more of their production to electric vehicles.

OUR VIEW: Canada can make mining, manufacturing part of a green energy future – Editorial (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News – August 20, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.mapleridgenews.com/

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States last week could be one of the most significant pieces of legislation the Americans have passed related to Canadian manufacturing and mining in decades.

One of the provisions in the extensive bill introduces big tax credits for electric vehicles – but with the caveat that they have to be built or sourced within North America. Likewise, battery materials are to be sourced from nations with which American has free-trade agreements.

‘Overexploitation’ by Canada’s Lundin caused massive sinkhole near mine: Chile – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – August 22, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Lundin shares dropped on the news

A sinkhole near Toronto-based Lundin Mining Corp.’s copper mine in Chile was formed due to excessive mining, the nation’s investigative authorities said.

Chile’s mining minister Marcelo Hernando said in a press release that the initial investigation points towards “overexploitation” in the Gaby 4 cave — located in the vicinity of the 36.5-metre-wide sinkhole — by Lundin’s Chilean unit Ojos del Salado.

Troubled Trevali idles Canada mine, suspends Namibia expansion – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – August 22, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Financially troubled Trevali Mining has suspended operations at its Caribou mine, in Canada, and placed the expansion of its Rosh Pinah mine, in Namibia, on hold, as the miner filed for protection from its creditors.

Trevali was on Friday granted an initial order for protection from the British Columbia Supreme Court under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The zinc miner last week defaulted on a $7.5-million debt payment, having suffered several setbacks lately, including a flooding event that shuttered its Perkoa mine, in Burkina Faso, and low productivity rates and equipment availability at Caribou.

Tough lessons for Pure Gold in Red Lake – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – August 18, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

“We paid the price for that,” says company CEO in positioning the northwestern Ontario mine for late 2022 turnaround

Pure Gold Mining president-CEO Mark O’Dea offered a simple explanation for last year’s stumbling production start at its Red Lake mine. The company began mining at the wrong end of the deposit.

The Vancouver gold miner delivered a conference call update this week on its second quarter results and the progress made at its namesake mine after embarking on an operational “turn-around” process last January.

Why Lithium Power Politics Are Playing Out Very Differently in Chile and Bolivia – by Vijay Prashad and Taroa Zúñiga Silva (Counter Currents.org – August 19, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://countercurrents.org/

In late July, a large sinkhole appeared near the town of Tierra Amarilla in Chile’s Copiapó province in the Atacama salt flat. The crater, which has a diameter of more than 100 feet, emerged in one of Chile’s most lucrative regions for copper and lithium extraction.

The nearby Candelaria mining complex—80 percent of the property is owned by Canada’s Lundin Mining Corporation and 20 percent is owned by Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd. and Sumitomo Corporation—had to halt its operations in the area.

This Australian billionaire wants to be the world’s green hydrogen baron. He’s pushing Canada to join him – by Adam Radwanski (Globe and Mail – August 19, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Mining mogul Andrew Forrest made billions by building an iron ore empire. Now he wants to help to save the planet by transforming his company into a global leader in a carbon-free future

Australia’s second-richest person does not wait long to begin proselytizing, after taking his seat for an interview on a New York patio. “We’re commercializing the beginning of the end of global warming,” he proclaims.

Andrew Forrest, mining baron turned green prophet, is talking about his push to become the world’s dominant producer of emissions-free hydrogen – a nascent energy source that he believes will unlock a revolutionary shift away from fossil fuels to power heavy industry planet-wide.

Owner of Caribou Mine near Bathurst granted creditor protection (CBC New Brunswick – August 22, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/

Trevali Mining says there’s no timeline for a potential restart of operations

The news just keeps getting worse for the Caribou Mine near Bathurst. After suspending operations last week, Trevali Mining Corp. has been granted creditor protection by the British Columbia Supreme Court on Friday.

On Monday, the company announced that trading of its shares had been halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Trading is also expected to be halted on three other exchanges as well.

Ontario’s New Mines Minister, George Pirie. Will he put a ring on it? – by Kevin Vincent (Mining Life – August 23, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://mininglifeonline.net/

There are all kinds of ways to describe the task that Ontario’s new Mines Minister, George Pirie, has been handed by Premier Doug Ford. For argument’s sake, you could call it Ontario’s hot potato.

After a resounding win against an incumbent New Democrat MPP in Timmins in the 2022 provincial election, Pirie was instantly being touted as a potential cabinet minister.

China Lithium Prices Near Record as Power Cuts Squeeze Market – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – August 23, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Prices of lithium in China are close to a record high as a power crisis in the nation’s major hub for the vital electric-vehicle battery ingredient threatens an already-tight market.

Sichuan, home to more than a fifth of China’s lithium production, extended industrial power cuts this week amid the most intense heat wave in more than a half century. The supply disruptions in the province are set to add fuel to the battery metal’s stunning rally in the past year, with lithium carbonate prices on Monday reaching the highest level since April at 484,500 yuan ($70,610) a ton.

As Canada’s EV battery eco-system takes shape, ‘matchmaker’ Champagne eyes microchips – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – August 18, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Champagne believes Canada can become a manufacturer of the specialized processors, a necessary component for all new cars

Two years ago, Canada’s goal of developing an electric vehicle battery eco-system was still in the “envisioning” stage, as Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne puts it.

Today, the supply chain build-out is fast becoming a reality, with the country’s first battery and cathode manufacturing plants underway and a record $3.8 billion allocated for the nation’s critical minerals strategy in the latest federal budget.

Germany, Canada to boost energy, mineral ties as they decarbonize – by Andreas Rinke and Steve Scherer (Reuters – August 22, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

MONTREAL, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is bringing Canada and Germany closer together, with Canada seeking to boost energy and critical mineral exports to Germany as both countries wean themselves off fossil fuels, Canadian and German leaders said on Monday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday morning during a three-day visit with a delegation of German company executives in tow.The two spoke to reporters afterward with the Montreal skyline behind them.

Billionaires Like Bill Gates Are Mining for Cobalt in Greenland. Are They Heroes or Villains? – by Caroline Delbert (Popular Mechanics – August 18, 2022)

August 19, 2022

https://www.popularmechanics.com/

With sea ice receding, billionaires want to mine Greenland for rare Earth metals to power batteries. It could be part of a climate solution … or “a perfect symbol for our dystopian times.”

Earlier this month, CNN published a piece provocatively titled “Billionaires are funding a massive treasure hunt in Greenland as ice vanishes.” In the story, reporter René Marsh explains that investors including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have helped fund an expedition to explore the mineral wealths of Greenland, a feat made easier by the ravages of climate change.

It inspired a ton of predictable responses about billionaires dancing on Earth’s grave. But the participating startup, KoBold Metals, says the materials it wants to mine—nickel and cobalt—will actually help us fight climate change more effectively. But can both takes be true at once? We spoke to a few experts to find out.

The copper project pipeline – by Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco (CIM Magazine – August 4, 2022)

August 18, 2022

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

Both small and medium-sized companies will have big roles in meeting a growing demand for the metal

According to S&P Global Intelligence, there were 18 discoveries of new copper resources in 2021, marking a seven-year high. Although this is a far cry from the 2012 all-time peak of 57, it also came with a 31 per cent increase in initial resource exploration budgets.

That is good news not just for the copper-exploration sector but also for the global effort to decarbonize. Because copper is one of the best conductors of electricity, the electrification of our world is going to be copper intensive. Analysts are warning a shortage of the mineral will hit within a handful of years. Small and mid-sized copper exploration companies might just hold at least part of the key to solving the looming shortfall.