Republic of Mining

Sudbury to headquarter new mining network – by Staff (Sudbury Star – July 14, 2021)

July 15, 2021July 14, 2021

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Details of $112-million project unveiled on Tuesday

Sudbury will be the centre of a new network aiming to make Canada a leader in sustainable, efficient and safe mining, especially when it comes to so-called critical minerals.

François-Philippe Champagne, the federal minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced Tuesday the federal government will kick in $40 million towards a $112.4-million project put together by Sudbury-based CEMI, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation Inc.

The money will support the creation of the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network. MICA is a Canadian initiative bringing together people and companies from a wide range of fields to quicken the development and commercialization of innovative technologies to make the mining sector more productive and sustainable.

Kirkland Lake Gold boasts record second quarter of production – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 12, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Massive exploration drilling at Detour Lake should lengthen mine’s longevity

Kirkland Lake Gold is sitting pretty to reach its 2020 gold production targets, thanks to a record second quarter.

In a July 12 news release, the Toronto gold miner said, collectively, its three operations at Macassa in Kirkland Lake; Detour Lake, north of Cochrane, and Fosterville in Australia, produced a total of 379,195 ounces, up 15 per cent from the same quarter last year and up 25 per cent from the first quarter this year.

Gold sales reached an average realized price of $1,814 per ounce. Up to the midway point of 2021, production totalled 682,042 ounces, a 3 per cent increase from the first half of 2020, reflecting higher production at Detour Lake and Macassa.

Mining sector accelerator is latest beneficiary of Federal Liberals ‘net zero’ fund – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

The project is intended to accelerate the mining sector’s development of innovative and clean technology, according to a government source

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne is expected on Tuesday to announce a $40-million contribution from the federal government for a new Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator Network, the Financial Post has learned.

The project is intended to accelerate the mining sector’s development of innovative and clean technology, according to a government source, who requested anonymity because the news was not yet public.

The project, to be administered through the Sudbury, Ont.-based Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, would be the latest in the past few weeks to receive funding from the federal government’s ‘net zero’ Strategic Innovation Fund, an $8-billion fund meant to help industry decarbonize over the next several years.

NEWS RELEASE: Government invests to help accelerate innovation in Canada’s mining industry (July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021

Investment to position Canada’s mining sector to benefit from, and contribute to, Canada’s green economic recovery

July 13, 2021 – Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec

Canada’s mining sector is a crucial part of our economy, and the global demand for minerals is only adding to its potential. The Government of Canada is supporting the continued success of the sector by investing in innovative solutions that will strengthen Canada’s international leadership in sustainable, efficient and safe mining.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced an investment of $40 million in a $112.4-million project of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation Inc. (CEMI). This investment supports the creation of the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network, a pan-Canadian initiative bringing together stakeholders from a wide range of fields to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies to make the mining sector more productive and sustainable.

MICA will be headquartered in Sudbury, Ontario, and will operate across Canada through the following main partners: the Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and Mining, InnoTech Alberta, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, MaRS, Le Groupe MISA and the College of the North Atlantic. MICA is an ecosystem initiative designed to modernize mining and improve its productivity and environmental performance, strengthen the Canadian mineral supply chain, and increase the domestic and export sales of Canadian innovators.

Manitoba needs to up its mining game – by Joseph Quesnel (Winnipeg Sun – July 9, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://winnipegsun.com/

Joseph Quesnel is a senior research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

There is some good news for mining in Manitoba, but the province needs to reform its mining policies for the sector to thrive. Despite some progress over the years, this province still has a hostile climate for investment and this needs to change.

Vale recently announced it is making a $150 million investment to extend current nickel mining activities in Thompson, Man., by a decade. At the same time, the company will be engaging in some aggressive exploration drilling of known ore bodies to extend the life of the mine even further.

This is good news because a few years ago, the mining operation in Northern Manitoba was set to shut down. This announcement provides a welcome injection of new capital into northern Manitoba.

Barrick working with new DRC govt on outstanding legal, fiscal issues – by Tasneem Bulbulia (Mining Weekly.com – July 12, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Gold miner Barrick Gold is strengthening ties with the recently appointed government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and is working towards an “amicable solution of some outstanding legal and fiscal issues”, CEO Mark Bristow has said.

Briefing the media about developments at the Kibali mine, in the DRC, and the Tongon mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, at the weekend, he said Barrick’s success in building and operating the Kibali mine in a remote part of the DRC was attributable to the mutually beneficial partnerships it had forged with its in-country stakeholders – the central, provincial and local governments; its host community; civil society; and a large corps of highly competent contractors and suppliers.

Gas Is So Scarce in Europe That Coal Is Making a Comeback – by Vanessa Dezem, Jesper Starn and Isis Almeida (Bloomberg News – June 15, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Europe is so short of natural gas that the continent — usually seen as the poster child for the global fight against emissions — is turning to coal to meet electricity demand that is now back to pre-pandemic levels.

Coal usage in the continent jumped 10% to 15% this year after a colder- and longer-than-usual winter left gas storage sites depleted, said Andy Sommer, team leader of fundamental analysis and modeling at Swiss trader Axpo Solutions AG.

As economies reopen and people go back to the office, countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Poland turned to coal to keep the lights on.

Bigger than Voisey’s: Canada Nickel files PEA for Crawford mine in Ontario – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 12, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Canada Nickel Company (TSX-V: CNC) announced on Monday it had filed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Crawford nickel sulphide project in Ontario, almost a year after exploration drilling began at the asset.

The PEA envisions a conventional open pit mine and mill that will produce both nickel and magnetite concentrates over a mine life of 25 years.

The operation is set to generate 2.05 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of nickel-equivalent production in the period — 93% lower than the industry average of 29 tonnes of CO2.

Vale, Steel to head back to table with facilitator – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury members have been on strike since June 1; two sides looking for compromise

With a strike by Vale workers now entering its seventh week, the company and union have agreed to bring in an outside party to help them find common ground.

“Over the past few days Vale and the United Steelworkers Local 6500 bargaining committees have been exploring a path forward to the resumption of negotiations,” said Danica Pagnutti, corporate affairs specialist with Vale, in a message to The Star.

“On that front, we will be returning to the negotiation table on July 19 and utilizing a third-party facilitator that was jointly selected by Vale and the USW to assist in these conversations.”

Timmins gold explorer makes new discovery – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Galleon Gold intends to release preliminary economic assessment for open-pit mine in September

Galleon Gold has made a new gold discovery at its West Cache Gold Project, west of Timmins, where it wants to develop an open-pit mine.

The Toronto junior miner reports finding multiple gold zones in a mineralized area that it’s calling the South Area Discovery. West Cache is 13 kilometres west of Timmins. Highway 101 runs through the 3,700-hectare property.

The company has been talking up West Cache’s “blue sky potential” since kicking off a 46,000-metre drill program in June 2020 that’s continued well into this year.

EU, Ukraine sign ‘strategic partnership’ on raw materials – by Frédéric Simon (EURACTIV.com – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.euractiv.com/

Kyiv will be invited on Tuesday (13 July) to join EU industrial alliances on batteries and raw materials, with a view to develop an entire value chain of the extraction, refining and recycling of minerals in Ukraine to supply the EU market for electric cars and digital equipment.

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič has travelled to Ukraine, where he was expected to sign a new “strategic partnership” on raw materials with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

“We decided that we should open a new chapter in our strategic relationship and this is a closer cooperation in raw materials, green and digital technologies,” Šefčovič told a group of journalists on Monday before boarding a plane to Kyiv.

Mapping the rise of resource nationalism in Africa – by Matthew Hall (Mining Technology – July 12, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.mining-technology.com/

A recent study from risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft found that the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a surge in governments pursuing resource nationalist policies – those that attempt to assert at least some sovereign control over natural resources.

Around the globe, 34 countries saw their Resource Nationalism Index, the score Verisk Maplecroft gives to countries based on resource policy, rise significantly in 2020. Africa is home to the heaviest concentration of countries seeking to increase their control over resources.

Reasons for a surge vary depending on the country – but the economic impact of the pandemic has “aggravated an already growing tendency for government interventionism in the resource sector”, according to Verisk Maplecroft, as governments look to recoup some of the financial losses brought on by Covid-19.

How Canada can get back some of its former glory as a maker of things the world wants to buy – by Kevin Carmichael (Financial Post – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

Anthony Caputo’s order book at Can Art Aluminum Extrusion LP is a directory of the world’s most important automobile companies, all of them investing in EVs.

Automotive supply chains are being overhauled to build electric vehicles, and his Brampton, Ont.-based company will be an important node when they solidify since it has emerged as a leading supplier of one of the most important parts: the aluminum cases that protect the batteries, a tricky bit of engineering.

The cases must be both lightweight to help maximize the distance vehicles can travel between charges, and durable enough to keep the battery from exploding in a collision.

Fund managers give copper a wide berth as China cools – by Andy Home (Kitco News – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021

https://www.kitco.com/

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) – Fund managers have been reducing their exposure to copper as the market heads into what is normally a seasonally weak spot for demand.

Supercycle bulls will argue that this is just a temporary soft spot before green infrastructure stimulus starts building momentum in Europe and the United States.

Supercycle sceptics counter that copper and other industrial metals haven’t yet escaped the old China cycle, which is currently cooling fast.

Rare earths are now being mined in Canada – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – July 9, 2021)

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

On June 28, First Nations mining contractor Nahanni Construction Ltd. dug a scoop of ore from the North T open pit at Vital Metals Ltd.’s Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories that marked a momentous milestone – Canada is now a rare earths-producing nation.

This first REE ore mined at Nechalacho comes just two years after Australia-based Vital came up with a unique plan to take advantage of relatively small but high-grade mineralization coming to the surface at the project to rapidly produce the rare earths widely used in today’s high-tech devices.

North T has 101,000 metric tons of resources averaging 9.01% total rare earth oxides, compared to other global deposits that tend to average around 1% TREO or less. The high-grade North T ore being mined by Nahanni Construction will be further upgraded with an ore sorter delivered to Nechalacho this spring.