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Mongolia’s missing millions: What happened to a decadelong mining boom – by Khaliun Bayartsogt (Nikkei Asia – October 2021)

https://asia.nikkei.com/

ULAANBAATAR — Located just steps from downtown London landmarks like Harrods department store and Hyde Park, The Knightsbridge Apartments, a luxury residential building in the eponymous upscale central London neighborhood, advertises itself as “private homes enjoying levels of service and facilities to rival any five-star hotel.”

Boasting white limestone floors, hardwood timber features, a pool, spa and a feng shui garden, two-bedroom flats sell for between $4 million and $8 million, according to London estate agents. Residents, meanwhile, like their privacy. Many of the residences are owned by corporations aimed at camouflaging the ultimate owner.

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North Shore palladium mine developer picks engineer for processing plant – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 14, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Generation Mining, the developers of a proposed palladium near Marathon, has selected Wood PLC to handle the project’s engineering work. The global consulting and engineering company was awarded the contract to do the processing plant engineering and the equipment procurement for the Marathon palladium-copper project in northwestern Ontario.

In an Oct. 13 news release, Gen Mining said the goal over the next few months is get 75 per cent of the engineering work completed by the time construction starts. Early ground preparation work is tentatively anticipated sometime in the second half of next year.

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CMJ Reimagine Mining event hears from Kirkland Lake CEO Tony Makuch on Agnico merger, electrification – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – October 13, 2021)

https://canadianminingjournal.com/

Canadian Mining Journal held its first Reimagine Mining Suppliers Symposium on Wednesday in partnership with Costmine, welcoming president and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold (TSX: KL; NYSE: KL), Tony Makuch, as its keynote speaker.

Kirkland Lake is in the midst of one of the Canadian gold sector’s most important mergers in recent memory with Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM), with Makuch soon to be CEO of the new Agnico Eagle.

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Chile to open 400,000 tonnes of lithium reserves up for exploration – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 14, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Chile will open a tender for the exploration and production of 400,000 tonnes of lithium in an effort to reclaim market share and meet growing demand for the metal used in electric vehicles and high-tech devices.

The copper-producing nation, which holds the world’s largest known lithium reserves, said is preparing bidding rules available to local and foreign firms for five quotas of 80,000 tonnes each.

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Inside the Indigenous-led power line deal that put 17 First Nations on the grid – by Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – October 14, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

By the time Wataynikaneyap Power announced, in October, 2019, that it had locked in financing to start building an 1,800-kilometre transmission line to connect 17 First Nations communities to the Ontario power grid, Margaret Kenequanash had earned a chance to catch her breath.

A member of the North Caribou Lake First Nation, Ms. Kenequanash had been pursuing the transmission project for more than a decade, first as a community leader and, since 2017, as Wataynikaneyap’s chief executive officer.

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RPT-Big miners reconsider Congo, Zambia risks as copper price surges – by Clara Denina and Helen Reid (Reuters – October 14, 2021)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Major mining companies are looking to invest in countries they previously considered too risky, including Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, propelled by a dwindling pipeline of big copper mines elsewhere and record-high prices.

Investor wariness about uncertain regulatory environments, challenging working conditions and corruption have meant some listed companies favoured countries such as Australia or Canada, despite the higher costs of operating there.

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Mining the Northwest: Australian junior miner predicts two-million-ounce gold resource at Pickle Lake – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 13, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The area around a former Pickle Lake gold mine is hot property for Auteco MInerals. The Australian junior miner expects to build a considerable gold base by the time a 50,000-metre drill program wraps up later this year.

Auteco believes its Pickle Crow Gold Project has the potential to be a sizeable mining camp based on what they estimate is in the ground, what they see in the assays, and what the geology is telling them.

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‘This is a game-changer for gold’: Shift in Fed’s rate hike expectations take gold price towards $1,800 – by Anna Golubova (Kitco News – October 13, 2021)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) The new U.S. inflation data release has triggered a rollercoaster ride in gold, with the latest move taking the precious metal nearly $40 higher on the day.

September’s inflation numbers showed price pressures accelerating to 5.4% annually, slightly more than the market was expecting. “We are starting to see the market growing nervous about the U.S. consumer. After digesting this report, it shows that the market is now anticipating sooner rate hikes.

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This energy crisis has been 30 years in the making. Why is anyone surprised? – by Rex Murphy (National Post – October 13, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

The inevitable collision between 30 years of global warming hyper activism — the howling demonization of available, proven energy resources — and reality, is upon us.

There is an atmosphere of semi-panic as many of the countries most committed to “getting off” oil and gas and turning their economies over to wind and sun find winter approaching and they, environmentally virtuous as they are, are wondering if they have enough oil and gas and even coal to get through it.

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Tesla inks multi-year nickel supply deal with Prony Resources – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 13, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Electric vehicle giant Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has inked a multi-year nickel supply deal with New Caledonia’s Prony Resources, which guarantees the US carmaker about 42,000 tonnes of the metal needed to produce the batteries that power its EVs.

Prony, which bought the loss-making nickel and cobalt operations in the French territory from Vale (NYSE: VALE) earlier this year, said it’s targeting production of 44,000 tonnes of nickel by 2024. That’s about double the expected 2021 output.

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US coal use is rebounding under Biden like it never did with Trump – by Will Wade (Bloomberg News – October 12, 2021)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Donald Trump vowed to revive the coal industry, but it’s President Joe Biden who’s seeing a big comeback of the dirtiest fossil fuel. U.S. power plants are on track to burn 23% more coal this year, the first increase since 2013, despite Biden’s ambitious plan to eliminate carbon emissions from the power grid.

The rebound comes after consumption by utilities plunged 36% under Trump, who slashed environmental regulations in an unsuccessful effort to boost the fuel.

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China’s Zijin Mining acquisition of Neo Lithium will likely trigger full national security review, expert predicts – by Niall McGee (Octobewr 13, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp. has agreed to a $960-million acquisition by Chinese state-owned Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., a deal one security expert predicts will trigger an in-depth national security review by Ottawa.

Toronto-based Neo Lithium is developing a lithium mine in Argentina and hopes to eventually supply the silvery white metal to the electric vehicle industry. A 2019 prefeasibility study predicts the company’s 3Q mine could generate a 50-per-cent return on investment after it goes into production.

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How Vladimir Putin became the most important man in global energy markets – by Yadullah Hussain (Financial Post – October 13, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

As Europe and Asia scramble for natural oil and natural gas and energy prices spiral out of control, Vladimir Putin is likely plotting his next geopolitical chess move.

Last week, the Russian president chided European governments for not securing long-term natural gas contracts that would have favoured his country’s producers such as Gazprom PJSC, calling the EU’s reliance on spot prices a ‘mistake’.

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Britishvolt reveals plans for 60GWh Canadian battery cell factory, cathode and anode production and R&D centre – by Emma Jarratt (Electric Autonomy – October 7, 2021)

https://electricautonomy.ca/

In the heart of Montreal’s downtown core at 1 Place Ville Marie — one of the tallest buildings in the city — is the address of Britishvolt Canada Inc.’s headquarters.

Technically, Britishvolt’s Canadian seat doubles as Denton’s senior business advisor Philippe Couillard’s office. But that makes sense as Couillard, along with a small but growing team, is largely responsible for bringing the British technology and manufacturing company to Canada — and which this week revealed to Electric Autonomy Canada in an exclusive interview its plan to build a 60GWh battery cell gigafactory, an R&D centre, and anode and cathode processing set up in Quebec.

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Chilean scientist plans to clean up mining with ‘metal eating’ bacteria – by Paula Bustamante (Phys.org – October 2021)

https://phys.org/

Starving microorganisms capable of surviving in extreme conditions have already managed to “eat” a nail in just three days. In Chile, a scientist is testing “metal-eating” bacteria she hopes could help clean up the country’s highly-polluting mining industry.

In her laboratory in Antofagasta, an industrial town 1,100-kilometers north of Santiago, 33-year-old biotechnologist Nadac Reales has been carrying out tests with extremophiles—organisms that live in extreme environments.

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