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M23 rebels in Goma: gains to boost illicit mineral trade through Rwanda, analysts say – by Sonia Rolley and Felix Njini (Reuters – January 28, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

Jan 28 (Reuters) – A lightning advance in Congo’s mineral-rich eastern borderlands is set to boost the M23 rebellion’s illegal mining revenues, with analysts predicting a further surge in illicit trade in minerals including coltan and gold through neighbouring Rwanda.

The Rwanda-backed insurgency entered Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest city, this week, marking a major turning point in a conflict with government forces that has raised fears of a spillover into a broader regional war.

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‘These divide-and-conquer tactics are destroying us’: Matawa First Nations reflect on Doug Ford’s Ring of Fire legacy – by Jon Thompson (Ricochet Media – January 29, 2025)

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The same day Premier Doug Ford called an early election, his government announced it had reached a $20-million deal with Aroland First Nation that will, “build roads along the entire route to the Ring of Fire.”

The Shared Prosperity Agreement includes $20 million for infrastructure and new energy transmission projects in Aroland. Ontario promises to upgrade existing roads to the community, located 60 kilometres north of Geraldton, and build a road from Aroland northward to Marten Falls First Nation. Ontario also made a vague commitment to support Aroland in vying for a smelter, and it intends to meet further over potential resource-benefit sharing.

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First Nation in Ontario signs $20M Ring of Fire deal – by Karyn Pugliese (APTN News – January 28, 2025)

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Aroland First Nation has signed a deal worth more than $20 million to develop the Ring of Fire, with the money set for community infrastructure projects related to mineral development, business development and community wellness. “Our line is pro-development,” said Chief Sonny Gagnon. “We have an opportunity with my community to attain the skills that we need to be self-sustaining, to get off government funding.”

Nestled in the remote expanse of the James Bay Lowlands, the Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich region, with long-term potential to produce chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum, critical to Ontario’s expansion into new economic development.

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Stay on schedule, show some cash, says Ring of Fire miner and province to Ottawa – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 27, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Province still waiting on feds for matching $1-billion infrastructure commitment as regional study begins

The launch of a federal Regional Assessment of the Ring of Fire has the backing of the region’s leading mine developer and a government in Queen’s Park that’s bullish on resource extraction.

But Wyloo Canada and Ontario’s mines ministry want the assessment process to stay on schedule and expect Ottawa to show a real financial commitment toward development. The Regional Assessment has moved at a snail’s pace since former federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson first called for one in February 2020.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario and Aroland First Nation Sign Historic Agreement Connecting Roads to the Ring of Fire (January 28, 2025)

For first time in Province’s history, agreements in place to build roads along the entire route to the Ring of Fire

TORONTO — Today, Premier Doug Ford, Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation, and Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon signed a Shared Prosperity Agreement to drive economic growth and build and upgrade infrastructure in Northern Ontario.

This agreement includes support for upgrades to Anaconda and Painter Lake Roads, which are important connections on the road to the Ring of Fire, as well as major new investments in infrastructure and energy transmission in the region. It also builds upon agreements that are in place with other First Nations partners along the entire proposed length of the roads to the Ring of Fire and helps set the stage for further potential partnerships.

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Winsome Resources begins permitting for Adina lithium project in northern Quebec – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – January 27, 2025)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Australia-based Winsome Resources (ASX: WR1) – a lithium exploration and development company – has submitted the preliminary information statement for its Adina Lithium Mining project with the proper provincial authorities that oversee mining project developments located in self-governing Indigenous communities in Northern Quebec that are signatories to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA).

Winsome’s filing represents a milestone as it formally commences the provincial regulatory process in the James Bay region associated with permitting the proposed mine at Adina, as well as the proposed modifications to the Renard operation. Indigenous communities in the region refer to the James Bay region as Eeyou Istchee.

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Trump’s EV Policy Reversal Threatens Indonesia’s Nickel Industry and Green Energy Transition (Jakarta Globe – January 28, 2025)

https://jakartaglobe.id/

Jakarta. A recent executive order by US President Donald Trump rolling back electric vehicle (EV) mandates is likely to disrupt Indonesia’s burgeoning EV ecosystem, according to the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios). The policy could significantly impact demand for critical minerals, foreign investment, and global financing for green energy projects, while strengthening China’s grip on Indonesia’s nickel downstream industry.

Bhima Yudhistira, Executive Director of Celios, said reduced global demand for EV batteries could pressure prices for commodities such as nickel, copper, and bauxite—key components in EV manufacturing.

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Uranium price falls as DeepSeek disrupts tech – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – January 28, 2025)

Global mining news

Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek is making a splash in the tech world with downloads surpassing ChatGPT’s, pushing major tech stocks down, while prices of uranium – which could help power the AI revolution – declined 5% Monday night.

The AI chatbot DeepSeek, founded by tech entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng, has rocketed to the top of iPhone’s app downloads list, ahead of ChatGPT, Threads and Google. The chatbot has achieved that even though its AI model, known as R1, was made with leaner resources than other comparable programs. Top AI firms reportedly train their models with supercomputers using as many as 16,000 integrated circuits, while DeepSeek uses only around 2,000 chips from Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) H800 series.

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De Beers Kept Prices Steady. Now What? – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – January 27, 2025)

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The miner faces competing pressures as the focus shifts to negotiations with Botswana.

The news at last week’s De Beers sight was what soccer fans might call “off the pitch.” The sale itself was uneventful. The miner left rough prices unchanged at the first cycle of the year after December’s sharp reductions. It allowed 20% buybacks for all goods — a mechanism that lets sightholders sell the least profitable stones back to the company. Demand was weak, with sales value expected to be low.

But the question on sightholders’ lips was what would happen next. One of the main reasons for the low sales was De Beers’ high prices. The miner’s rough remains significantly more expensive than the tender and auction market.

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Nevada’s Lithium Could Help Save the Earth. But What Happens to Nevada? – by Meg Bernhard (New York Times – January 24, 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Many climate experts see its deserts as a place to build the green-energy future. For two local activists, the price is too great.

Few Americans follow the nation’s lithium-mining industry as closely as Patrick Donnelly. Since 2021, he has set up 30 or so Google Alerts for variations on the word “lithium,” and he uses the findings to populate an online map of projects across the West. It is so useful that one industry insider has referred to it as “an investor’s handbook.”

This is paradoxical: Donnelly, who works at an environmental nonprofit called the Center for Biological Diversity, is one of the industry’s most vigilant watchdogs. The true spirit of his monitoring and mapping efforts comes through in a Twitter exchange he had with one mining firm, Rover Critical Minerals, a few years ago.

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Discovery Silver is the new owner of Timmins’ Porcupine gold complex – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 28, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Tony Makuch returns to familiar stomping grounds following US$425-million deal with Newmont

Newmont has finally sold its Porcupine operations in Timmins to Discovery Silver Corp. of Toronto for US$425 million.

Promising to invest heavily in the northeastern Ontario gold camp is one of the city’s native sons, Tony Makuch, the former CEO of Lake Shore Gold, who now steers this growing upstart company. The deal is expected to close some time during the first half of this year.

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Rwandan-backed rebels capture Goma in dramatic escalation of Congo war – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – January 28, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A heavily armed Rwandan-backed militia marched into the strategic city of Goma in eastern Congo on Monday, seizing control of most of the regional hub in defiance of United Nations demands for its withdrawal.

Goma, a crowded city of two million residents and several hundred thousand refugees near the Rwandan border, has been under siege by the M23 militia and its Rwandan allies for the past year. The M23 offensive, including frequent attacks on civilians, has forced more than a million people to flee from their homes across the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with many seeking shelter in Goma.

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Inside the race for Greenland’s mineral wealth – by Adrienne Murray (BBC.com – January 26, 2025)

https://www.bbc.com/

President Donald Trump has said he thinks the US will gain control of Greenland, underlining his persistent claim on the Arctic island, on one occasion pointing to “economic security” as the reason. While the autonomous Danish territory has been quick to say it isn’t for sale, its vast and mostly untapped mineral resources are in great demand.

Jagged grey peaks suddenly appear before us, as the motorboat navigates choppy coastal waters and dramatic fjords at Greenland’s southern tip.”Those very high pointy mountains, it’s basically a gold belt,” gestures Eldur Olafsson, the chief executive of mining company Amaroq Minerals.

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US buyers face higher costs if Trump pursues copper, aluminum tariffs – by Melanie Burton, Yuka Obayashi, Neha Arora, Ernest Scheyder, Polina Devitt and Eric Onstad(Reuters – January 28, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on US copper and aluminum imports will result in higher costs for local consumers because of a shortfall in domestic production, analysts and industry participants said on Tuesday.

In a speech on Monday, Trump said he would impose tariffs on aluminum and copper – metals needed to produce US military hardware – as well as steel, to entice producers to make them in the United States.

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GRAPH: What global copper mining’s top tier could look like – by Frik Els (Mining.com – January 27, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

Last year, copper mining industry watchers were kept entertained by the prospects of a tie-up between BHP and Anglo American after the world’s top miner in May launched an unsolicited bid for the 108-year old company.

The FT reported over the weekend that Melbourne-based BHP is putting a bid for Anglo on ice. Not surprising given the divergence in their share price performance and whether BHP has the pockets or the stomach for a now much more expensive acquisition has always been in doubt.

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