Republic of Mining

Federal government needs to protect critical minerals industry as China tightens grasp, report says – by Jesse Snyder (National Post – June 21, 2021)

June 22, 2021

The study by the Commons natural resources committee details how Ottawa has failed to secure supply chains for the strategic minerals, which could have major consequences

OTTAWA — The federal government is due for a “wake-up call” on the need to protect Canada’s critical minerals industry, as China tightens its grip on supplies of rare earths and other crucial materials, a new Parliamentary report says.

The minerals, which include magnesium, lithium and cobalt, are used to make electric car batteries, mobile phone components, solar panels and guided missiles.

A study by the House of Commons natural resources committee, tabled last week, details how Ottawa has failed to secure supply chains for the strategic minerals — a shortcoming that could have major consequences as next-generation technologies take up a growing share of the global economy.

Australians see open-pit potential at former Pickle Lake gold mine – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 21, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A new discovery of high-grade gold, near the surface, has Auteco Minerals is boldly talking about the potential of an open-pit operation on the site of an old Pickle Lake gold mine.

The Western Australian gold explorer had been drilling unmined areas at the site of the former Pickle Crow Mine looking for gold extensions of the current one-million-ounce resource they compiled last September.

Auteco posted the latest batch of results from its now-completed 45,000-metre drill program at its Pickle Crow Project, highlighted a new discovery, dubbed Carey. The best intercept from Carey showed 5.3 grams per tonne over 20.4 metres at a relatively shallow depth of 102 metres.

Hitting the reset button: Trevali restarted the shuttered Caribou mine with a new lease on life – by Kylie Williams (CIM Magazine – June 17, 2021)

June 21, 2021

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

In mid-November 2020, Marie-Claude Dumont, senior operations manager at Trevali Mining’s Caribou zinc-lead-silver mine in northern New Brunswick, “dusted off the life-of-mine plan” for the operation the company had shuttered nine months earlier.

With zinc prices on the rise and a faint light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, Dumont and her team ran the numbers to assess the feasibility of restarting the mine. The models looked good, and with a healthy hedging deal in place, Trevali moved swiftly to announce the restart of the mine on Jan. 15, 2021.

By March 6, the first ore was at the surface and delivered to the stockpile, 20 days shy of a year since Trevali announced the temporary suspension of mine operations.

Australia’s Mining Hub Needs Workers for Boom Times – by James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – June 20, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Some A$140 billion ($105 billion) in projects in Western Australia’s resources sector may not be fully realized unless the state addresses a chronic shortage in skilled workers, according to a industry group.

From electricians to metallurgists, the industry needs to attract up to 40,000 extra workers over the next two years, according to the report from consultancy Pit Crew, commissioned by WA’s Chamber of Minerals and Energy. The CME called on industry and government to collaborate on ways to combat the shortages.

Rio Tinto Group in its March quarter production report said labor resource availability had disrupted its maintenance work in the state, while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. reported in May that labor constraints had contributed to rising costs at its Iron Bridge growth project in the Pilbara.

Crowdfunding helps Cornish to establish a battery metals hub for the UK – by Vladimir Basov (Kitco News – June 21, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Cornish Lithium, the innovative mineral exploration and development company based in Cornwall, UK, today announced that it has successfully completed a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube raising £6 million (~$8.4 million) to progress its geothermal and hard rock projects in Cornwall and to create additional value for shareholders.

The company said it opened up the opportunity to pre-registered investors today at 9:00am and had raised it’s £6 million target within 20 minutes.

CEO & Founder Jeremy Wrathall said, “We are delighted with the support we have received to date for our latest crowdfunding round. The additional funding will be used to continue the progress towards our goal of creating a battery metals hub for the UK.

Europe taking steps to cut reliance on China for raw materials – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – June 20, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Speaking at the European Raw Materials Alliance Summit, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, rang the alarm bell regarding the EU’s dependence on third countries for 99 products – mostly raw materials – needed for the energy-intensive industries ecosystem.

Breton made a case point regarding rare earths supply, 98% of which are delivered to Europe from China, either raw or refined.

“It is not an enviable position to be in, but we are not alone: the US, Japan, the UK, Canada, Australia, India and others are rushing to address this vulnerability as well,” the commissioner said.

Gems discovered in South Africa are ‘quartz, not diamonds’ (Al Jazeera.com – June 21, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Gemstones that sparked a diamond rush to eastern South Africa last week are just quartz after all, according to preliminary findings.

Thousands of people had flocked to a hillside in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province to dig for mysterious stones first unearthed by a cattle herder and believed to be diamonds.

The rush prompted the government to send geoscientists and mining experts to collect samples for testing, the results of which quashed the dreams of diggers hoping to strike it rich.

Greg Rickford becomes Ontario’s natural resources czar – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 18, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

One year out from a provincial election, Premier Doug Ford’s anticipated cabinet shuffle has cast his trusted cabinet minister from Kenora-Rainy River in a bigger role.

Out as Natural Resources and Forestry Minister is John Yakabuski. His job has been handed over to Greg Rickford.

Rickford, the former federal Natural Resources Minister in the Harper government, now consolidates his hold on all things natural resources with a merged title of minister of northern development, mines, natural resources and forestry. He remains Indigenous Affairs Minister.

Recent pullback in commodity prices divides analysts – by Tim Shufelt (Globe and Mail – June 21, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The blistering run in resource prices has fizzled out over the past couple of weeks, raising doubts over whether a commodities supercycle is in the works.

What has been one of the hottest asset classes in the world coming out of the pandemic has run into a number of obstacles, including efforts by Chinese regulators to cool down commodity speculation, as well as a spike in the U.S. dollar.

The downturn has been widespread across precious metals, industrial metals, agricultural commodities and lumber, which has been an unlikely poster child of the commodity boom.

Timmins City approves restoration of iconic McIntyre headframe – by Thomas Perry (Timmins Daily Press – June 18, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.timminspress.com/

Timmins-based Cy Rheault Construction Ltd. has been awarded a contract for the restoration of the McIntyre headframe. City council gave the thumbs up to the project that will cost $520,000, plus HST, during Tuesday’s meeting.

“Currently, the headframe is being used by Newmont (Corporation) as part of its operations for the Hollinger pit,” said Gerry Paquette, the city’s acting manager of Parks and Recreation.

“The headframe does belong to the city, however, and it does require some significant repairs.

Biggest shakeup in auto industry’s history chance for Canada to climb on top – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – June 19, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

‘I believe the automotive industry is thrown open to disruption like it’s never been thrown open before’

When U.S. President Joe Biden hopped behind the wheel of a new Ford Electric F-150 last month, he called it the future of the U.S. economy: “A union-made product, right here in America.”

For some Canadians, his words rang out like a wake-up call because in recent years, engines for the F-150, and other Ford vehicles, have been assembled in Windsor, Ontario.

Of course, electric vehicles like the new F-150 don’t have engines — they have batteries and motors. That’s why Stephen MacKenzie, president of Invest Windsor Essex, the local economic development corporation, is scrambling to attract battery manufacturers to the region. “We have automotives in our DNA,” said MacKenzie, “but things are changing.”

ChromeSA fails to win ear of Competition Commission in controversial export tax row – by David McKay (MiningMX.com – June 21, 2021)

June 21, 2021

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SOUTH Africa’s chrome ore industry has failed in its attempt to win an exemption from the Competition Commission that would have enabled it to discuss alternatives to an export tax controversially proposed by Cabinet last year.

The export tax is intended to boost the country’s ferrochrome industry which uses chrome ore supply. However, ChromeSA says it will only have short-term benefits and could potentially backfire in the long run.

It argues that alternative chrome ore producers have an excess supply that could be brought to bear in the wake of uncompetitive South African material. The majority of South African chrome ore exports are to China which it uses for its own ferrochrome sector.

Make up your mind, IEA. Is more oil good or bad? – by Mark Milke (Financial Post – June 18, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

After telling nations to stop investing in oil, the IEA is now pleading with the world’s most regressive regimes to open up their oil taps

What a difference a month makes. In May, the International Energy Agency (IEA) told the world that if the goal of “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions were to be met by 2050, governments needed to abide by 400 IEA “milestones,” including net zero emissions in the electricity sector by 2040, no new sales of vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035, and building the equivalent of “the world’s current largest solar park roughly every day.”

The 400 utopian recommendations made clear the IEA’s view about the role of oil going forward: as little as possible, as soon as possible. As the IEA put it, these recommendations “include, from today, no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects.”

‘Phenomenal riches’: Inside ReconAfrica’s aggressive stock promotion campaign – by Geoffrey York and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 21, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In the early days of 2020, few people were paying much attention to an obscure Vancouver-based oil company with an unproven project in little-known Namibia.

But around that time something happened that evidently piqued the interest of a securities regulator. On Jan. 14, shares in Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (ReconAfrica) rocketed up 40 per cent on volume that was nine times higher than the day before.

On Jan. 15, ReconAfrica said in a news release it could not think of any significant reason for the astonishing surge in trading.

‘It was very shocking’: Mixed emotions in Crowsnest Pass following panel review of Grassy Mountain coal project – by Austin Lee (CTV News Lethbridge – June 18, 2021)

June 21, 2021

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. — For many people living in the Crowsnest Pass, the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project presented an opportunity to get back to the region’s glory days.

However, a recent panel review found Benga Mining Limited’s Grassy Mountain Coal project is not in the public interest and has denied the provincial applications citing environmental concerns such as the impact on water quality, native trout species and biodiversity in the region.

For Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter, the report came as a shocking disappointment. “Our community was founded on coal. That’s what our community does and it has from day one,” said Painter.