Republic of Mining

US not adequately planning for raw materials needed to fuel policy initiatives – Pebble developer – by Darren Parker (MiningWeekly.com – July 19, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://www.miningweekly.com/

“Pebble is the largest undeveloped copper deposit in the world and
the proposed Pebble mine needs to be part of this solution, instead
of being portrayed as part of the problem by misguided environmental
activists who do not have a credible plan for reaching net-zero,”
Thiessen added.

Northern Dynasty, the company behind the controversial Pebble copper project, in Alaska, has urged politicians, environmental activists and the public to pay attention to concerns raised by the mining industry about a looming copper supply gap.

Commenting on a recent report by S&P Global, entitled ‘The Future of Copper: Will the looming supply gap short-circuit the energy transition?’, Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen said the conclusions were consistent with comments and concerns previously raised by the company and other key mining industry companies and organisations.

As Europe bakes, Germany reckons with a return to coal – by Kamyar Razavi (Global News – July 19, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://globalnews.ca/

Europe is scorching. Temperatures across parts of the continent are soaring to dangerous highs again on Tuesday. The high for London will be close to 40 degrees. Berlin will hit 35.

Amid what’s been an intense, dangerous heat wave, there are difficult conversations happening across Europe about the future of energy, and how to prevent even more damage to the planet by burning fossil fuels.

In the remote communities of Northern Ontario, climate change has lit a fuse on reconciliation – by Tom Kehoe (CBC News Opinion – July 19, 2022)

July 19, 2022

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

These communities are already in a hole. Climate change is digging that hole deeper every season

Pickle Lake, Ont., is where the road ends. Put any community north of there into Google Maps and it returns “No Routes Found.” You are at the terminus of Highway 599 and the most northern point of the provincial highway system; almost 300 kilometres from where you turned off the Trans Canada Highway in Ignace. There is nowhere farther to drive. Except for one month of the year.

First the muskeg freezes, then the lakes and finally the many bridge-free rivers. At that point the province gives the green light and the ice roads open. It begins with light loads and, weather-dependent, increases as the ice thickens.

Chief Harvey Yesno: One of CIM Magazine’s 2022 Names to Know – by Tijana Mitrovic (CIM Magazine – July 18, 2022)

July 19, 2022

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

Chief Harvey Yesno and Donald Bubar first met 20 years ago as panelists focused on development opportunities in northwestern Ontario. At the time, Chief Yesno was representing the interests of the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund, which provides financing and business support to Indigenous businesses in northern Ontario. Then, as now, Bubar was CEO and president of Avalon Advanced Materials.

Today, Yesno, a former Chief of the Eabametoong First Nation, past director of community relations for Ontario’s Ring of Fire Secretariat and Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is the newest member of Avalon’s board of directors.

Rising EV demand puts America’s only nickel mine in the spotlight – by Garret Ellison (Michigan Live – July 16, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://www.mlive.com/

ISHPEMING, MI — Right now, 3,200 feet below ground, explosives are blasting apart billion-year-old rock that, eventually, is going to wind up in an electric vehicle.

Broken into chunks, the rock, now called ore, takes a two-hour ride to the surface before getting trucked to a crushing mill, which separates the valuable minerals within through a flotation process that produces a clumpy gray filter cake. That concentrate is loaded onto trains and sent to Canada on its way to being smelted and refined into a sulphate used in lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars.

The view from England: Time called on mining graduates – by Chris Hinde (Mining.com – July 15, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

The U.K. is facing a crisis. No, not our mounting supply issues, soaring cost inflation or the sudden change in political leadership; rather, the plummeting numbers of drinking establishments and graduate mining engineers.

A survey in 1577 found that there were over 16,000 alehouses, taverns (generally larger than alehouses and also served wine) and inns in England and Wales. With a combined population 450 years ago of only 4 million, this equated to one drinking establishment for every 250 people.

US losing ground to China, Russia in South American lithium rush – by Rafael Bernal (The Hill – July 19, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://thehill.com/

U.S. companies are hitting speedbumps in the race to win contracts to extract lithium in the Americas, particularly as the Chinese and Russian governments throw their weight around to land such agreements.

While the most easily exploitable currently known lithium deposits are in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, the United States has so far not been able to capitalize on its influence in the Western Hemisphere to support its companies.

California went big on rooftop solar. Now that’s a problem for landfills – by Rachel Kisela (Los Angeles Times – July 15, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://www.latimes.com/

California has been a pioneer in pushing for rooftop solar power, building up the largest solar market in the U.S. More than 20 years and 1.3 million rooftops later, the bill is coming due.

Beginning in 2006, the state, focused on how to incentivize people to take up solar power, showered subsidies on homeowners who installed photovoltaic panels but had no comprehensive plan to dispose of them. Now, panels purchased under those programs are nearing the end of their typical 25-to-30-year life cycle. Many are already winding up in landfills, where in some cases, they could potentially contaminate groundwater with toxic heavy metals such as lead, selenium and cadmium.

American environmentalists take aim at B.C. mines – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver- July 14, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://biv.com/

Environmental groups want tailings ponds in B.C. banned

American environmental groups are taking aim at B.C.’s “industrial gold rush” and calling on President Joe Biden to call on the Canadian government to ban tailings dams.

Four American environmental groups are pointing to a report commissioned by the BC Mining Law Reform and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust that analyzes the risks of tailings pond failures in B.C. They are zeroing in on two mines in particular – one already in operation, Copper Mountain in southern B.C., and one proposed, the KSM mine in northwestern B.C.

U.S. wants to end dependence on China rare earths, Yellen says – by Andrea Shalal (Reuters – July 18, 2022)

July 19, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

SEOUL, July 18 (Reuters) – The United States wants to end its “undue dependence” on rare earths, solar panels and other key goods from China to prevent Beijing from cutting off supplies as it has done to other countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

Yellen, who arrived in Seoul late on Monday, told Reuters she was pushing for increased trade ties with South Korea and other trusted allies to improve the resilience of supply chains and avert possible manipulation by geopolitical rivals.

Sri Lankan crisis: When green fanatics get taken seriously – by Ravi Shanker Kapoor (Sunday Guardian – April 9, 2022)

July 19, 2022

Homepage

Rajapaksas made the fatal mistake of forcing the nation to go organic by outlawing chemical fertilizers in April 2021.

What is more dangerous than the kiss of Judas? Infatuation with intellectuals’ ideas. Sri Lanka is suffering on account of both, but the latter has proved to be more lethal. While its association with China in infrastructure projects weakened it financially, its ban on fertilizers, promoted by green fanatics resulted in the worst economic crisis it has been facing since Independence in 1948.

Mining show effort paid off for Sudbury, says economic development dept – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – July 14, 2022)

July 14, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

One of the key events of the June convention was Sudbury Night at the Royal York Hotel Imperial Room

When it comes to promoting yourself at the world’s largest international mining exploration convention, it’s almost as if the City of Greater Sudbury has an unfair advantage over other mining municipalities in Canada.

Being a world-class mining centre, with a pool of mining experts, mining supply and technology companies, mining educators and raw mining production talent, Sudbury indeed has a lot going for it. It also helps that Sudbury is just a few hours’ drive, or a one-hour flight, from Canada’s largest city.

Gold hammered, analysts warn of capitulation event if price drops below pre-pandemic levels – by Anna Golubova (Kitco News – July 14, 2022)

July 14, 2022

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) The gold market tumbled $40 Thursday and briefly fell below the $1,700 an ounce level as markets began to price in an oversized 100-basis-point rate hike from the Federal Reserve at the July meeting.

Rate hike expectations were quickly re-priced after the latest U.S. inflation numbers shocked the markets, with the annual CPI number coming in at 9.1% and the yearly PPI rising 11.3% in June.

Wallbridge sells nickel assets to focus on gold – by Tasneem Bulbulia (MiningWeekly.com – July 14, 2022)

July 14, 2022

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Dual-listed Wallbridge Mining has entered into a definitive agreement with CSE-listed Archer Exploration through which Archer will acquire all Wallbridge’s nickel property, assets, rights and obligations, including the Grasset property, to create a publicly-traded nickel exploration and development company.

Archer is backed by Inventa Capital, a Vancouver-based merchant bank founded in 2017 with the goal of discovering and funding opportunities in the resource sector. The nickel assets consist of 2 046 mining titles covering about 67 000 ha and include a 100% interest in the Grasset nickel sulphide project located in Quebec.

Rio Tinto invests $188m to upgrade aluminum smelter in Quebec – by Staff (Mining.com – July 14, 2022)

July 14, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is investing $188 million (C$240 million) to increase the production capacity for low-carbon, high-value aluminum billets at its Alma smelter in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, by 202,000 tonnes.

The existing casting centre at Rio Tinto’s Alma plant will be expanded to accommodate new state-of-the-art equipment, including a casting pit and furnaces, allowing a larger portion of the aluminum produced to be converted to higher value billets.