Republic of Mining

Giga Metals, Mitsubishi to jointly develop Turnagain nickel deposit in Canada – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Junior Giga Metals (TSX-V: GIGA) and global trading and investment firm Mitsubishi Corporation agreed on Monday to form a joint venture company, Hard Creek Nickel Corp, to develop the Turnagain nickel-cobalt deposit in northern British Columbia.

As part of the deal, Mitsubishi will acquire a 15% equity interest in the joint venture firm for C$8 million ($6.2m) cash. Giga will receive an 85% equity interest in Hard Creek in exchange for contributing all related assets for the Turnagain project, its core asset. It will also be the project administrator.

About 50kg of nickel goes into each Tesla battery but the world isn’t producing enough to keep up with demand – by Rachel Pupazzoni (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.abc.net.au/

Mining companies in Australia are racing to find the next big reserve of one of the world’s most in-demand metals. Nickel is a critical metal in batteries, and as the world keeps moving toward renewables, more batteries are needed to store energy.

In fact, there’s a strong case that much more of it is needed than lithium — a commodity many people know of, because it is in the name of lithium batteries. But there are a variety of batteries made with different metal compositions and, as Elon Musk puts it, batteries need a sprinkle of lithium compared to nickel.

Canada eyes cash for critical minerals in Biden’s big new climate bill – by Alexander Panetta (CBC News World – August 16, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/

Canada is keen on accessing a pot of money for critical minerals in soon-to-be-signed U.S. law

A historic climate bill just passed by the U.S. Congress could have implications in entrenching Canada’s role in the shift toward clean transportation. The legislation that passed last week established preferential tax treatment for electric vehicles assembled anywhere in North America.

That made-in-North-America approach generated some news headlines by bringing an amicable resolution to a months-long Canada-U.S. irritant. Less noticed in the bill was a pot of money containing hundreds of millions of dollars to jump-start a new domestic industry in components for electric-vehicle batteries.

Green bananas, mining risks, and time – by Curt Freeman (North of 60 Mining News – August 5, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Noted Alaskan prospector Rudy Vetter once told me, “At my age, I don’t even buy green bananas anymore.” I heard this sage remark during a mineral property lease negotiation after I offered Mr. Vetter a production royalty, rather than the cold, hard cash he wanted.

Mr. Vetter was in his 80s at the time and clearly knew his own investment risk timeline. He also clearly knew that Alaskan mines require a number of years to move from discovery to production. So not surprisingly, as far as Rudy was concerned, the production royalty idea was D.O.A.

ROM installs germ-destroying copper to keep patrons safe – by Christine Sismondo (Toronto Star – August 16, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.thestar.com/

B.C. company Teck partnered with TTC, ROM and other high-traffic public spaces to make surfaces safer.

The vast majority of folks headed into the new “Fantastic Beasts” exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will probably be so excited about all the magical creatures they’re about to see that they’ll completely miss a little bit of wizardry at the entrance.

To be fair, since it looks like an ordinary pair of door handles, it’s pretty easy to miss. The door handles do have a superpower, though, namely, the ability to kill germs and viruses in the blink of an eye. It isn’t actually magic. It’s science. The handles are made of copper, a metal with antimicrobial properties.

Are we Canazuela? Has Canada lost the capacity to pull off great national projects? – by David Staples (Calgary Herald – August 12, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://calgaryherald.com/

Canada is vast, with endless prairies, mountains and shield rock, cut through by rivers. But 140 years ago, Canada accomplished what’s known as the National Dream, building a railway across the land. Could Canada pull off something similarly ambitious today?

Of course, I’m not talking about building with slave labour conditions and without Indigenous consent, as the original railway was constructed. None of that is part of our world any longer. We have benefits agreements with land and rights holders, as well as amazing machines and skilled workers to do the heavy lifting in construction.

The Inflation Reduction Act delivers a mixed bag of successes and failures for EVs and the green economy – by Melissa Sanderson (Investor Intel.com – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://investorintel.com/

Did anyone besides me hear happy hollering last week? Probably so – the Democrats in the U.S.A. unexpectedly delivered a piece of legislation which, in the current conflicted context, can reasonably be called a win for the so-called green economy.

Also known as Build Back Better’s Baby Brother in disguise, the bill does contain some important, and even some surprisingly positive provisions, such as: tax credits to encourage further deployment of wind and solar power, as well as development of geothermal (one of the surprises);

International support for miners rescue, including from Canada, ‘heartwarming,’ says company president – by Nojoud Al Mallees (CTV News/Canadian Press – August 14, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

OTTAWA – The recent successful rescue of two miners trapped in a mine in the Dominican Republic for more than a week was made possible thanks to support from the international community including direct assistance from the Royal Canadian Air Force, according to the president of the company at the centre of the incident.

Paul Marinko, head of the Dominican Mining Corporation known as Cormidom, said Canada played a critical role in transporting equipment that was ultimately used to help liberate the men from the Cerro de Maimón operation.

Possible return to mineral mining divides opinions in Belgium (Brussels Times – August 13, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.brusselstimes.com/

In a little-known region of Belgium, located on the borders of Germany and the Netherlands at the edge of the Liège province, the names of its communes, such as La Calamine and Plombières, give away the secrets of its mining and industrial past. In the 19th century, Calamine and Plombières were, in fact, the epicentre of zinc and lead production in the world.

These days, there is almost no trace of this industrial past left in the region. Nature has reclaimed many of the former industrial regions. The mines are now plugged, and a thick layer of vegetation covers the landscapes. Yet the subsoil is still home to mineral treasures.

Turquoise Hill rejects Rio Tinto’s $2.7 billion takeover offer – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 15, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) has rejected majority shareholder Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) bid to buy the 49% stake it doesn’t already own in the company for $2.7 billion, saying it did not reflect its full and fair value.

The decision by the special committee appointed by Turquoise Hill blocks Rio Tinto’s efforts to gain greater control of the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine it’s developing in Mongolia.

Ukraine war crisis offers Canada an opportunity to lead with responsible mining – by Candace MacGibbon (Northern Miner – August 11, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.northernminer.com/

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shone a spotlight on energy security throughout Europe and the Americas. World leaders are finally paying attention to their reliance on Russia for energy and critical minerals, and they don’t like what they see.

Sanctions against Russia should continue and depending on how long and drawn out the invasion is, they may heighten. To date, Russian gold has been targeted but critical minerals have not. It’s obvious why: Russian metals are “critical,” and their supply cannot be easily replaced. The world is looking to Canada to displace this supply, but we aren’t ready.

UK coal mine dilemma pits energy crisis against green goals – by Rodney Jefferson and Jess Shankleman (Bloomberg News – August 14, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

In the far northwest corner of England, coal mining was so finished that the local museum paying tribute to the industry shut a few years ago after running into financial trouble.

Yet at the dormant Haig Pit in Whitehaven, there are signs that an activity long considered dead wants to come back to life. Next to the mine shaft tower and red-brick building that housed the exhibit space is the office of West Cumbria Mining Ltd., which plans to open the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than three decades.

How one change to a U.S. EV tax credit likely saved Canada’s auto sector (Suto Recent.com – August 14, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://autorecent.com/

An about-face in U.S. coverage means electrical automobiles made in Canada will now qualify for hefty shopper tax credit when offered in america, a provision in a proposal that’s being lauded by auto business executives on this aspect of the border.

Underneath a earlier proposal, the tax credit would have utilized solely to automobiles assembled in america. The coverage change averts potential commerce disputes and clears a hurdle within the path of Canada’s EV business.

Why Australian iron ore could save Taiwan as China ponders the economic ramifications of invasion – by Ian Verrender (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 14, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.abc.net.au/

As the dark clouds of war gathered over north-east Asia in 1938, a curious battle took place at home which forever tainted the memory of Liberal Party founder Sir Robert Menzies and that could be a portend of what lies ahead.

Then-Attorney General in the Lyons government, Menzies became embroiled in a fight with waterfront unions in Port Kembla over the loading of a British steamer, the SS Dalfram, with BHP produced pig-iron bound for Japan.

China has encroached on Canada’s critical minerals industry, with almost no obstruction from Ottawa – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 13, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For the past two decades, China has built up a powerful position in Canada’s critical minerals and mining sector, with little oversight from Ottawa

Three years ago, Sinomine Resource Group Co., a Chinese company, quietly bought the Tanco mine in Manitoba. At the time, Tanco was one of the world’s few sources of the critical mineral cesium, a key input in atomic clocks and radiation detectors. The mine had previously produced lithium, a battery metal used in electric cars.

Even though Tanco was owned by an American chemicals company, Cabot Corp., Canada’s federal government had the authority to block the acquisition on national security grounds. But far from blocking the deal, Ottawa appears not to have given it a second glance.