Republic of Mining

OPINION: Why we need to change the narrative on Canada’s energy transition – by Simon A. Fish and Dr. Laurence B. Mussio (Globe and Mail – August 4, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Simon A. Fish is Chair of the BMO Climate Institute. Dr. Laurence B. Mussio is the chair of the Long Run Institute. They were co-chairs at the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario’s Calibrating the Climate Transition Symposium in May.

In the past month, The Globe and Mail produced more than 160 articles on climate change, featuring everything from heat waves, to class-action lawsuits, to plans for sweeping total emissions reductions in the oil and gas and agricultural sectors.

A major theme has focused on the challenge of matching our climate aspirations and emissions targets to stubborn realities. In other words, the effects and trade-offs are both coming into sharper view.

Copper Worth Nearly Half a Billion Dollars Goes Missing in China (Bloomberg News – August 4, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A group of Chinese companies are investigating why a commodities storage site in northern China is holding only one third of the copper concentrate they were financing, according to people familiar with the situation.

Traders from more than a dozen mostly state-owned firms gathered in Qinhuangdao city this week after becoming aware of the missing material following concerns into the borrower’s finances, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.

A 72-year mining opportunity at KSM – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – August 5, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Following the 33 years of surface mining outlined in a recent prefeasibility study, the KSM project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle would still have enough resources to support an additional 39 years of underground mining, according to a new preliminary economic assessment prepared for Seabridge Gold Inc.

In early July, Seabridge published the results of a prefeasibility study for an open-pit mining operation at KSM that would produce an average of more than 1 million ounces of gold, 3 million oz of silver, 178 million pounds of copper and 4.2 million lb of molybdenum annually for 33 years.

Skyrocketing costs continue to hamper Gogama mine construction project – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 3, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Remaining costs to complete Côté gold project is at $1.9 billion

The cost to finish IAMGOLD’s troubled Côté gold mine project will be close to $2 billion. The Toronto gold company released a project update on the Gogama-area open-pit development project in the wake of a thorough project review started last March.

In May, company management estimated it would take more than a billion dollars to complete construction and bring it into production. A new technical report issued by IAMGOLD now places that figure at $1.9 billion.

Elon Musk Suggests Tesla’s Next Gigafactory Might Be In Canada – by Dan Mihalascu (Inside EVs – August 5, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://insideevs.com/

This is the second time Canada is mentioned as a potential location for the next Gigafactory; official announcement to come this year.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on August 4 that an announcement regarding the next Gigafactory could be made later this year.

During a speech at the Gigafactory Texas meeting dubbed Cyber Roundup, the executive talked in detail about Tesla’s vehicle assembly plants. He noted that Tesla opened two new factories this year—Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg and Gigafactory Texas—that are both building the Model Y, with the latter being the only Tesla facility that makes Model Ys powered by 4680 battery cells laid out in structural packs.

Column: Indonesian tax will shake up the nickel export mix again – by Andy Home (Reuters – August 5, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s planning to reshape the global nickel market again. The country is the world’s largest and fastest-growing producer of nickel, used in both stainless steel and electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

It banned the export of nickel ore in 2020, forcing its mining sector to build out processing capacity. The huge flows of ore to China’s stainless steel mills have been replaced by shipments of nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel.

Insatiable Lithium Demand Fuels Investment Boom in Australia – by Harry Brumpton and Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – August 4, 2022)

August 5, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — In the rocky deserts of Western Australia, a handful of little-known and once-shunned miners are suddenly in vogue as the electric vehicle industry clamors for a metal it can’t do without.

Executives from Australia’s lithium industry were inundated by bankers and brokers at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in the outback town of Kalgoorlie this week, talking up deals to secure some of the estimated $42 billion worth of investment needed for metal producers to meet their goals.

Ontario’s new mines minister has a strong pedigree in mining – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – August 4, 2022)

August 4, 2022

https://www.sudbury.com/

George Pirie wants to create a legacy of consultations and cooperation with First Nations communities across the North

George Pirie, Ontario’s new minister of Mines, comes from a Northern Ontario family that has been part of the Porcupine mining camp for more than 100 years.

Although Pirie is a newbie at Queen’s Park as the newly elected MPP for Timmins, and a man with more than 35 years experience in the mining industry, he said he spent the past month learning the ropes of his ministry since his cabinet appointment on June 24. “I guess the learning curve has been like drinking from a firehose,” Pirie joked. “We’ll get there.”

Why the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit is a big win – by Peter Nicholson (CIM Magazine – July 28, 2022)

August 3, 2022

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

Since 2006, when the tax law changed to zero capital gain on the donation of public stock, I have delivered well over a thousand presentations on the merits of purchasing charity flow-through shares. Essentially, investors purchase flow-through shares for the 100 per cent tax deduction and donate them to charities of their choice.

The shares are then sold to a pre-arranged liquidity provider at a discount a moment later, eliminating any stock market risk. The charity receives the cash proceeds, but issues a donation tax receipt to the donor, generating a second 100 per cent tax deduction.

New Australian owners look to get White River mine back on track – by Staff (Northern Ontaro Business – August 2, 2022)

August 3, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The new Australian owners of a once-insolvent White River gold mine intend to install the latest and greatest in modern mining systems. Silver Lake Resources plans to spend between $35 million to $45 million (Australian dollars) over the next two years to get the struggling Sugar Zone Mine operating at a productive and profitable level.

In its July 27 quarterly report, the West Perth-headquartered gold company said after closing the deal to acquire the mine and property from Harte Gold in Feb. 18, it initiated a “holistic review” of the operation.

EVs are about to break new ground deep, deep under Sudbury – by John Michael McGrath (TVO Today – August 2, 2022)

August 3, 2022

https://www.tvo.org/

Running diesel engines two kilometres belowground would be prohibitively expensive — so this mine is turning to battery power

It would be a lot easier if mining were just a matter of getting ore out from deep underground. But mining is done by miners, and those workers need air they can breathe.

As mining companies go deeper and deeper into the Earth searching for the minerals that go into steel and the other metals that make up modern life — including, now, high-capacity electric batteries — supplying something as basic as fresh air becomes more and more difficult.

Gold price takes a step back after Fed speak – by Anna Golubova (Kitco News – August 2, 2022)

August 3, 2022

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) The gold market’s price action is taking a breather following hawkish commentary from the Federal Reserve speakers, with prices pulling further away from the $1,800 an ounce target.

The gold price jumped to a daily high of $1,805 an ounce Tuesday morning, led by increased geopolitical tensions as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan amid China’s threats of “serious consequences” for her visit.

Gold Fields slowly turning Yamana deal doubters into allies – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Canadian Mining Journal – August 2, 2022)

August 3, 2022

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Gold Field’s (JSE, NYSE: GFI) intended acquisition of Canada’s Yamana Gold (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY) remains in limbo, though the South African miner has gained backers and says its shareholders are starting to understand the strategy.

Speaking after his second international roadshow to turn deal detractors around, Gold Fields chief executive Chris Griffith said some of the company’s investors are still fixed on the 33.8% premium offered for Yamana.

Pacific nations are extraordinarily rich in critical minerals. But mining them may take a terrible toll – by Nick Bainton and Emilka Skrzypek (The Conversation – August 3, 2022)

August 3, 2022

https://theconversation.com/

Plundering the Pacific for its rich natural resources has a long pedigree. Think of the European companies strip-mining Nauru for its phosphate and leaving behind a moonscape.

There are worrying signs history may be about to repeat, as global demand soars for minerals critical to the clean energy transition. This demand is creating pressure to extract more minerals from the sensitive lands and seabeds across the Pacific. Pacific leaders may be attracted by the prospect of royalties and economic development – but there will be a price to pay in environmental damage.

Baffinland issues layoff notices to more than 1,100 employees – by David Venn(Nunatsiaq News – August 2, 2022)

August 3, 2022

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Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has sent layoff notices to more than 1,100 of its employees. The company sent the notices July 31, said spokesperson Peter Akman. The first round of layoffs is scheduled to happen Sept. 25, and the second on Oct. 11.

“The company has had to take this step out of an abundance of caution,” Akman wrote in an email to Nunatsiaq News. Baffinland operates an iron mine on north Baffin Island, where it employs about 350 Inuit.