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Signet, Synthetics, and a Complex Holiday Season – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – January 20, 2025)

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Poor results at the US’s largest diamond retailer reflected a fragmented and changing market rather than a crisis in consumer demand.

Signet Jewelers’ disappointing holiday results had a dampening effect on the industry’s mood. Same-store sales at the US’s largest diamond retailer fell 2% for the 10 weeks that ended January 11. The company slashed its guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter. Its share price fell 22% in one day.

What the results indicated, however, was not so much sluggish consumer demand as a complex US jewelry market that has forced retailers to strategize carefully. The key issue for Signet was product range, the jeweler’s new CEO, J.K. Symancyk, said at the ICR Conference 2025 on Tuesday, a few hours after the sales announcement.

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Ottawa finally rolls out its Ring of Fire assessment plan – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 21, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

With an election looming, feds and First Nations to study the pros and cons of Far North mine development

Almost five years after Ottawa called for a Regional Assessment of the Ring of Fire, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and 15 First Nations have defined a purpose and a plan.

In what the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change called a “milestone” for sustainable development in a Jan. 20 news release, the terms of reference have been finalized to begin the process of assessing the potential cumulative impacts of industrial development in Ontario’s Far North.

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Changes to claim staking gives B.C. prospectors the jitters – by Nelson Bennett(Business In Vancouver – January 20, 2025)

https://www.biv.com/

Mineral Tenure Act changes a hot topic at annual Roundup conference for mineral exploration

While many business leaders in the resources sector are exercised over the threats of American tariffs on Canadian exports, a policy creating even greater angst for prospectors and junior miners in B.C. is a domestic one – revisions to the B.C. Mineral Tenure Act – a hot topic at this week’s annual Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference.

Revisions to the “free entry” claim staking process in B.C. are to be implemented in March, and there are fears that it will put a major chill on investment in mineral exploration in B.C.

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Can a Rio Tinto-Glencore Merger Supercharge the Race to Net Zero? – by Jennifer L (Carbon Credits – January 21, 2025)

https://carboncredits.com/

The recent merger talks between two mining giants—Glencore and Rio Tinto—signal a major shift in the global market. The merger, though now discontinued, was a strategic move aimed at creating a powerhouse focused on electric metals crucial to the global low-carbon economy.

These metals, including copper, nickel, and cobalt, are key components in the development of electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy infrastructure, and other clean technologies that are central to the global energy transition.

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Mattagami chief empowering the next generation – by Marissa Lentz-McGrath (Timmins Today – January 21, 2025)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

‘It’s important, I think, in the north, especially, for women, to have a space to have their voices heard, because a lot of times there isn’t a lot of opportunity for that,’ says Chief Jennifer Constant

TIMMINS – Leadership is deeply rooted in Jennifer Constant’s family. The Mattagami First Nation Chief spoke at a virtual leadership lunch on Monday (Jan. 20), sharing her experiences, her vision for sustainable and inclusive mining practices, and her commitment to community empowerment.

The event, hosted by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce and Trimeda Consulting, brought together industry and community stakeholders. Constant, recently recognized as the 2024 Indigenous trailblazer at the Sudbury Women in Mining Awards, discussed her leadership journey.

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Wiring, energy, geopolitics drive 2025 metals: Sprott – by Staff (Northern Miner – Janaury 22, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Critical metals, uranium and gold will shine this year driven by accelerating deglobalization and energy security demands, Sprott said in a special report Monday.

Broader trade conflicts affecting allies and adversaries alike could reduce business investment and global GDP, while decoupling due to rising protectionism and trade tensions will likely accelerate in sectors that are strategic like AI, advanced technology, finance and defence, the asset management company stated.

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Canada should step up to help make America energy secure – by Diane Francis (Financial Post – January 22, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

Two countries should work together to develop oil and natural gas assets as well as nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy

Donald Trump postponed his threatened 25 per cent tariff against Canada and other trading partners on inauguration day because of inflation fears. His scheme is designed to pay for deep tax cuts for Americans and their businesses but tariffs are always inflationary for consumers.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon discovered this after imposing a 10 per cent “import duty” on goods. It was scrapped just months later. “Imagine an American corn farmer having to pay 25 per cent more for his potash, or for fuel,” commented Gary Marr on CTV. He’s the CEO of the Canada West Foundation, a businessman, and a former politician. “That’s not what he signed up for.”

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Bolivia steps up lithium dealmaking despite growing opposition – by Sergio Mendoza and James Attwood(Bloomberg News – January 21, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Bolivia is stepping up efforts to tap the world’s biggest lithium deposits, readying deals with new investors to build processing plants despite low prices and growing opposition from lawmakers and citizen groups.

The Andean nation opened its first industrial-scale plant in late 2023, built by a Chinese group, and last year signed deals for further investments with Russia’s Uranium One Group and a Chinese consortium, which are awaiting congressional approval.

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Trump’s EV rollback not expected to suppress appetite for critical minerals – by Melanie Burton, Ernest Scheyder, Alexander Smith, Violet Li and Stefanno Sulaiman (Reuters – January 21, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

US President Donald Trump’s rollback of electric vehicle targets may temporarily slow demand for lithium and other critical minerals, but is unlikely to hamper the mining industry amid surging global EV demand, analysts and industry leaders said.

Trump on Tuesday revoked predecessor Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 are electric. Automakers had been positioning for a jump in EV demand due largely to that Biden move.

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Alberta ignoring advice it sought from citizens on Rocky Mountain coal policy, former committee member says – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – January 22, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A member of Alberta’s coal policy committee says the provincial government is ignoring the will of tens of thousands of Albertans as it develops new rules around mining and is instead leaning on industry to guide its hand.

Bill Trafford was appointed to the coal policy engagement committee when it was established by then-Energy Minister Sonya Savage in 2021. Mr. Trafford is also the president of the Livingstone Landowners Group and worked alongside the four other committee members to gather feedback from across the province to help in the development of a modern coal policy.

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The afterlife of Pine Point – by John Sandlos (Canadian Mining Journal – December 13, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The gravel highway leading east from Hay River, Northwest Territories, features a relatively uniform (some might say monotonous) landscape of flat, spruce and jack pine forest. About 40 kilometers outside of the highway’s terminus at Fort Resolution, a few rock piles near the side of the highway stand out in bold relief.

A quick left turn on an unmarked paved road, and one enters a grid of streets, sidewalks, and parking lots — but there are no buildings anywhere. Travel around the site, and it is not hard to stumble on one of the many large open pits that have filled with water, often coloured a brilliant azure blue.

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This First Nation lost a 10-year-old girl to suicide. The community is speaking out about it – by Sarah Law (CBC News Thunder Bay – January 22, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

‘To heal is to address it,’ says chief, urging governments to help build new health and treatment centre

Always smiling, always joking, always asking curious questions. This is how Jenayah Skunk’s family described her at her funeral earlier this month in Mishkeegogamang First Nation. Jenayah died by suicide late last month, according to her family and community. She was 10 years old.

The Ojibway community in northwestern Ontario has never experienced a suicide of someone so young, said Mishkeegogamang Chief Merle Loon, who is related to Jenayah. “We’re still in shock,” he said. Jenayah’s mother, Jamie Skunk, told Loon she doesn’t want any other child to experience this, which is why she consented to him speaking with CBC News about her daughter’s death.

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Tariffs and talk of annexation. Northern Ontario braces for Trump’s inauguration – by Jonathan Migneault (CBC News Sudbury – January 20, 2025)

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

A mining supply company based in Sudbury says it’s been preparing for potential tariffs for months

Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president, a mining supply company based in Sudbury says it’s preparing for his promised tariffs on Canadian exports. Leading up to his inauguration, Trump has said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian exports to the United States.

“This is not a fire drill. This is coming,” said Tas Mohamed, the CEO of Railveyor Technologies, a company that designs and builds automated rail systems to haul ore from mines. As soon as Trump was named the Republican nominee in the presidential race, Mohamed said she took action to reduce the potential impact of tariffs on her business.

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Amarc stock doubles on gold-copper find at JOY in BC – by Staff (Northern Miner – January 20, 2025)

Global mining news

Amarc Resources (TSXV: AHR; US-OTC: AXREF) has more than doubled its share price after announcing a high-grade discovery at its JOY copper-gold project in north-central British Columbia.

The discovery resulted from initial drilling of the Northwest Gossan (NWG) target area, located at the end of a possible 15-km mineralized trend within the 495-sq.-km JOY district that had not been previously drill tested. Work programs are being fully funded by copper giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), which could earn an interest in the JOY project while Amarc serves as the program operator.

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Sudbury could be part of massive mining merger – if it occurs – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 19, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have held merger discussions, news agency says, although they are not currently active

Could some of Sudbury’s mining operations be part of another mega-mining deal? Bloomberg News reports that Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have held early-stage talks about combining their businesses to create a behemoth to rival longstanding industry titan BHP Group.

The discussions took place as recently as late last year but are not currently active, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

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