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Tungsten supply crisis threatens defense and tech industries (The Oregon Group – February 04, 2025)

https://theoregongroup.substack.com/

China announces new export controls on tungsten, critical to modern technology

China has announced new export controls on 25 rare metals, including tungsten, in retaliation to a new 10% tariff by Trump on all US imports from China. The problem: China dominates global tungsten supply — accounting for more than 80% of the world’s mining and processing in 2023, as well as 58% of the world’s reserves at 2.3 million metric tons.

However, China’s dominance is increasingly seen as a strategic vulnerability by the US, EU and Japan amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

What is tungsten

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Anglo CEO Says Mali Mining Developments Cause for Grave Concern – by Moses Mozart Dzawu and Katarina Höije (Bloomberg News – February 05, 2025)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The Malian government’s overhaul of its extraction industry risks deterring companies from investing in the nation that’s home to the world’s second-largest gold mine, according to Anglo American Plc Chief Executive Officer Duncan Wanblad.

Mali’s military rulers have demanded a greater share of income from the nation’s gold and other resources since seizing power four years ago. The junta has adopted a new mining code and ordered companies to pay millions of dollars in back taxes and dividends, after a state audit revealed a shortfall of as much as 600 billion CFA francs ($950 million) in government revenue.

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Amid trade skirmish, Wilkinson raises eyebrows with pitch for closer ties with U.S. on critical minerals and energy – by Darius Snieckus (National Observer – February 5th 2025)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

The U.S. and Canada should “jointly invest” in North American critical minerals and energy megaprojects, Canada’s minister of energy and natural resources said Tuesday, raising eyebrows as Canada continues to grapple with the threat of punishing tariffs — and concerns the country could risk relinquishing total control of its natural resource wealth.

Such an alliance would aid the U.S. in reducing its reliance on rivals Russia and China for uranium, germanium, lithium and other next-generation energy materials, Jonathan Wilkinson said, while building on a “many decades-long” trade relationship between the U.S and Canada.

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Chinese investors control 75% of Indonesia nickel refining capacity: report – by Frederic Tomesco (Northern Miner – February 5, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Chinese investors have managed to gain control over most nickel refining capacity in Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of the mineral – a dominance that may give China a greater say over future prices while crowding out rivals, a new report suggests.

Chinese companies or shareholders ultimately control at least three-quarters of Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity, though the holdings are hidden behind “layers of shell companies” to mask foreign ownership, according to an analysis prepared by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defence Studies.

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Now is the time to unleash Canada’s enormous resource potential – by Eric Nuttall (Financial Post – February 6, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

New pipelines are our ‘trump card,’ and, if given the necessary urgency, they could be built in a matter of years, not decades

There are countries who have successfully leveraged their resource wealth to enrich their citizens, and then there is Canada. Years of policies rooted in energy ignorance and centred around self-flagellation have made us poorer and vulnerable.

From cancelling new pipelines that would have diversified our customer base and shrunk our price discount, to abjectly denying the business case in coal-replacing LNG, we have chosen the path of servitude again and again. As bearer of the third largest oil reserves in the world, it didn’t have to be this way.

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Indonesia’s nickel sector faces headwinds from Trump’s electric vehicle curbs – by Amy Sood (South China Morning Post – February 5, 2025)

https://www.scmp.com/

US President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke electric vehicle incentives has raised concerns over its impact on Indonesia’s vital nickel sector and China’s dominance widening in the Southeast country’s EV supply chain.

Trump targeted EVs immediately after he was sworn in on January 20, annulling a 2021 executive order by former president Joe Biden that called for half of all new vehicles sold in the United States to be electric by 2030.

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Another cobalt bust but this time it’s different – by Andy Home (Reuters – February 6, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

The cobalt market is no stranger to boom and bust cycles but the current downturn is unprecedented and no-one is sure how long it’s going to last. London Metal Exchange (LME) cobalt has imploded from a high of $82,000 per metric ton in April 2022 to $21,550, the lowest level since the contract was launched in 2010.

Once again the market has been swamped by over-production in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s dominant source of the battery metal. But while it was an artisanal mining surge that caused the bust of 2018-2019, this time around it’s China’s giant CMOC Group.

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Trump is firing up resource nationalism. But can Canada’s energy and mining sectors pivot away from the U.S.? – by Niall McGee, Emma Graney, Nicolas Van Praet and Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – February 6, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The threat of U.S. tariffs is firing up a brand of Canadian resource nationalism not seen in decades, inspiring a rallying call for this country to build more of its own energy, power and mining infrastructure. But executing on that plan will be no easy feat.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week backed off from immediately imposing tariffs on Canadian imports, but the risk remains high that he’ll follow through after a 30-day reprieve runs out. Amid this threat, Canada’s resource sector, most of which would be subject to a 10-per-cent tariff, is looking at diversifying away from the United States to insulate itself from more shocks that lie ahead.

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Eby’s new love for energy, mining doesn’t excuse past abuse of the sector – by Adam Pankratz (National Post – February 3, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

The B.C. government is looking to fast-track 10 major projects. Great, but where was this growth-friendly attitude five years ago?

One heartening development in President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada is that the post-national identity peddled by our prime minister and his followers has been replaced with a hefty dose of red-blooded patriotism.

However, while this is a time to come together, it most definitely is not a time to let the people who led us into this precarious position off scot-free — people such as British Columbia Premier David Eby.

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De Beers seals sales and mining contract with Botswana – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – February 3, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

De Beers, the world’s leading diamond producer by value, has concluded negotiations with the Botswana government on a new sales agreement and the extension of mining licenses for their joint venture, Debswana, until 2054.

The finalized agreement, the Anglo American (LON: AAL) unit said on Monday, follows discussions aimed at setting a new framework for the sale of rough diamond production from Debswana, a 50:50 partnership between De Beers and Botswana. The deal also secures the renewal of Debswana’s mining licenses, which were previously set to expire in 2029.

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[Defence] It’s time for Canada to finally grow up – by The Editorial Board (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It may seem odd to say that Canada, the world’s fourth oldest continuous democracy, needs to start behaving like a grownup, but that is precisely the moment in which the country finds itself.

For too long, when it comes to the two areas of statehood that most require a firm adult hand – national defence and the economy – Canada’s federal and provincial governments have displayed the self-indulgent complacency of a teenager who tries to get away with doing the bare minimum.

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Mining Indaba: US trade aggression could stall African metals investment, deepening supply gap – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – February 3, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

U.S. protectionism could stall mineral processing investment around the world as supply shortages threaten to squeeze markets, an industry conference heard Monday in Cape Town, South Africa.

New trade measures have created uncertainty. They could delay projects needed to close a widening production gap, Standard Chartered Bank’s global head for metals and mining, Richard Horrocks-Taylor, said at the Investing in African Mining Indaba. The new U.S. tariffs announced this weekend may trigger growth shocks and spark inflation, he said.

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Uncertainty and hope in Thompson as mine owner considers sale – by Sanuda Ranawake (CBC News Manitoba – February 01, 2025)

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

Vale says it has launched ‘strategic review’ of northern Manitoba operation, including potential sale

Ken Michaluk has lived in Thompson for decades. He worked at the mining operation in the northern Manitoba city, seeing it exchange hands several times, and undergo expansions and cuts. Now retired, he said things can’t get much worse for the operation, as Vale SA, a Brazilian company and the nickel operation’s owner, is considering a potential sale.

“Business is business,” said Michaluk. “They’ve laid off … pretty much all they can lay off. I don’t think that’s an issue. I don’t think they’re going to just shut it down. And it wouldn’t make much sense in that, that’s for sure.”

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Chinese gold demand looks to rebound as UK-U.S. flows continue, silver demand from solar may be peaking – Heraeus – by Ernest Hoffman (Kitco News – February 3, 2025)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Gold demand in China is showing signs of a strong rebound even as physical flows from the UK to the U.S. continue, while there are indications that solar demand for silver may be peaking, according to precious metals analysts at Heraeus.

In their latest precious metals update, the analysts noted that Chinese wholesalers appear to be anticipating a rise in consumer demand for gold. “Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) withdrawals, a key indicator of wholesale and fabrication demand, typically rise in December and January as fabricators stock up for the Chinese New Year, which fell on 29 January this year,” they noted. “Consumer demand tends to also adhere to similar seasonality.

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Trump’s under-the-radar Alaska order has environmentalists on edge – by John Towfighi (CNN.com – February 3, 2025)

https://amp.cnn.com/

CNN — One of President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive orders has reignited a debate over the future of Alaska’s vast wilderness and resources, sparking deep concern among some environmental groups and Indigenous communities.

Trump on his first day in office signed an executive order focused on “unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential.” It includes a directive to develop Alaska’s energy and mineral resources “to the fullest extent possible.”

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