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“It is possible to achieve $6bn global market of color gemstones within a decade” (Fortune India Exchange – July 23, 2021)

https://www.fortuneindia.com/

Fura Gems, a startup precious colour gemstone mining company launched in 2017, is uniquely positioned as the first and only mining company in the world to explore three color gemstone categories including emeralds, rubies and sapphires.

While achieving this remarkable feat, Dev Shetty, Founder & CEO, set another extraordinary and unprecedented record for the fastest turnaround of mines from exploration to production.

In 2021, Fura gems will produce 5.5 million carats of Australian sapphires, 6 million carats of Mozambican rubies and 300,000 carats of Colombian emeralds. Here are excerpts from a recent interview where he talks about the winning strategies that are leading Fura to the market leadership position.

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Brazil Prosecutors Target Final Samarco Dam Settlement This Year – by Mariana Durao (Bloomberg News – July 22, 2021)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A final settlement between Brazilian authorities and the Samarco iron-ore venture can be reached this year, bringing legal certainty to owners Vale SA and BHP Group six years after a devastating tailings dam collapse.

That’s according to federal prosecutor Carlos Bruno Ferreira da Silva, who said in an interview that the final reparation value is yet to be defined and will be based on independent technical studies.

Silva, who is leading talks on behalf of prosecutors, pointed to a document signed by the parties that estimates talks to last about four months from June 22, the last four weeks of which would be focused on a final draft. Authorities and company officials have been meeting weekly.

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Palladium company poised to ‘expeditiously’ advance Marathon open-pit mine project – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 21, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sibanye-Stillwater clears the way for Generation Mining make commercial production plans for palladium, copper deposit

A major hurdle has been cleared toward advancing an open-pit palladium mine on the north shore of Lake Superior.

Toronto’s Generation Mining announced July 21 that it will maintain majority ownership of its Marathon Palladium Project after its joint venture partner, Sibanye-Stillwater, decided not to ‘back in’ and regain control of the exploration property as it advances to mine construction.

Gen Mining owns an 80 per cent stake in the 22,000-hectare property near the town of Marathon. The project was acquired from Sibanye Stillwater in the summer of 2019.

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Stellantis CEO says Canada could be the location of its new electric-vehicle battery plant – by Eric Atkins (Globe and Mail – July 22, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The head of Stellantis says Canada could be the location of its new electric-vehicle battery plant, part of the global automaker’s $44.5-billion investment in low-emission cars.

Stellantis, formed in January by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group of France, will build two battery plants in North America and three in Europe – Germany, France and possibly Italy.

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis’s chief executive officer, said the locations of the North American plants have not been selected, and are under discussion with partners and government officials.

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Harte Gold stock jumps on new discovery near Sugar Zone mine – by Staff (Mining.com – July 23, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Harte Gold’s (TSX: HRT) regional exploration at its Sugar Zone property has made the discovery of a new greenfield mineralized area, about 8.5 kilometres (5.2 miles) northwest of the producing Sugar Zone mine in Ontario.

The Sugar Zone property covers a large greenstone belt 36 km in length and up to 10 km wide, part of the Abitibi-Wawa subprovince. There are over 15 targets identified by Harte on the property prioritized for advanced exploration.

The new discovery, named the “007 Showing”, was a result of the company’s ongoing efforts to concentrate exploration efforts on priority areas across its 81,287-hectare land package.

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First Nation’s court victory sets precedent for equitable compensation – by John Woodside (Toronto Star – July 21, 2021)

https://www.thestar.com/

More than 90 years after the Lac Seul First Nation’s reserve land was flooded to build a hydroelectric dam, Chief Clifford Bull says his people may finally receive just compensation.

The impact of the dam on the Lac Seul First Nation, traditionally the home of the Obishikokaang Anishinaabeg, was severe. It destroyed the nation’s way of life and many people moved away, Bull says.

“When I talk about total devastation, I mean there were 80 homes that went under … our sacred grounds, campsites, burials were washed up and bones were exposed — skulls were exposed — and that continues to this very day,” he said.

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Net zero is fantasy. Net reductions are easy — with LNG – by Gwyn Morgan (Financial Post – July 22, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

The biggest opportunity for emissions reduction lies in a fossil fuel that is in practically unlimited supply

At their meeting last month G7 leaders agreed to a greenhouse gas emissions target of “net zero” by 2050. That would require phasing out all fossil fuels. But how? The common reply is “putting a price on carbon,”, i.e., carbon taxes.

But unless there’s a viable alternative, taxing something people can’t do without only makes them poorer. Policy makers seem to believe that “green power,” meaning wind and solar, is the answer.

But despite hundreds of billions of dollars having been spent on them, wind and solar currently account for only 3.3 per cent of world energy supply.

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Investigate water pollution in B.C.’s Elk Valley, environmental groups urge federal agencies – by Xiao Xu (July 22, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Environmental groups are asking Canada’s parliamentary environment watchdog and the federal auditor-general to investigate what they say is Ottawa’s failure to apply laws and prevent serious water pollution from coal mines in British Columbia’s Elk Valley.

The University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre, along with Wildsight, is asking the agencies to investigate the “long-standing failure” to stop the contamination of waterways with unacceptably high levels of selenium, a decades-old problem.

Selenium is a naturally occurring element that washes out of piles of waste rock, but in concentrated levels, it moves through the food chain and can cause deformities in fish and ruin their ability to reproduce.

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BHP to supply greener Australian nickel to Tesla (Reuters – July 22, 2021)

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE July 22 (Reuters) – Global miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) said on Thursday it signed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and will work with the electric carmaker on lowering carbon emissions in the battery supply chain.

Tesla said in June it expects to spend more than $1 billion a year on battery raw materials from Australia given the country’s reliable mining industry and responsible production practices. read more

Western automakers are also seeking to diversify supply chains to lessen their dependence on China, in line with a U.S. policy to rely on allies to supply metals for electric vehicles.

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J.P. Bickell was the Mogul of Molesworth – by David Yates (Shoreline Beacon – July 21, 2021)

https://www.shorelinebeacon.com/

When he died on Aug. 22, 1951, J. P. Bickell was one of Canada’s wealthiest and most powerful men. A millionaire before age 30, Bickell rose from an impoverished background to become a successful mining magnate, investment broker, theatre impresario, patron of the arts, aircraft pioneer, auto racer, adventurer, philanthropist and patriot.

Bickell was also one of Huron County’s extraordinary sons. John Paris Bickell was born on Sept. 26, 1884 in the Molesworth Presbyterian Church manse to Rev. David Bickell and his wife, Annie Paris.

He was the second of four children in a family that saw its share of tragedy. His father died in 1891, his younger brother died in 1892. His older brother died of appendicitis in 1898.

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As lithium booms again, new players hope to avoid ‘horror’ show of predecessors – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – July 21, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

Mining lithium not only generates environmental concerns, but chemical conversion for battery use is a major challenge

In the middle of July, as COVID-19 restrictions relaxed, Guy Laliberté, chief executive of Sayona Quebec — the company that aims to be the next lithium producer in Canada — was meeting with an opponent of his project.

Last month, the company announced a Quebec Superior Court approved a deal for Sayona Quebec to purchase North American Lithium’s former assets, which includes the La Corne mine, a concentrator and a chemical plant for $94 million in cash plus a range of conditions — pennies on the dollar given the company says previous owners invested around $400 million.

The deal is not expected to close until August, but Sayona aims to start producing lithium by early 2023, a tight time schedule that will require a range of work.

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Hold on to your gold; a Fed rate hike in 2023 could be too little to late for inflation – VanEck’s Joe Foster – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – July 21, 2021)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – The gold market continues to struggle as investors focus on the potential for tighter monetary policy and transitory higher inflation pressures.

However, one fund manager says that the rally in the gold market is far from done as there is still plenty of uncertainty to support precious metals prices.

In a report published last week, Joe Foster portfolio manager, of the VanEck Gold Strategy, said that he still sees potential for gold prices to push back to $2,000 an ounce by the end of the year as it could be too little too late for the Fed to stop the growing inflation threat.

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Lithium from proposed NC mine could power Teslas. But not everyone supports digging. – by Daniel Egitto (Durham Herald Sun – July 20, 2021

https://www.heraldsun.com/

A company’s plan to enter the fast-growing global market for lithium faces local fears that a proposed new mine in Gaston County will hurt residents’ health, environment and quality of life.

As Keith Phillips, CEO of the mining company Piedmont Lithium, prepares to meet with county commissioners for the first time on Tuesday evening, here’s what you should know about lithium and the mine proposal:

WHAT IS LITHIUM?

Lithium is a key component of batteries used in electric cars, bikes, wheelchairs, scooters and personal electronic devices. The global lithium-ion battery market was projected to more than triple over eight years, from $36.7 billion in 2019 to $129.3 billion in 2027, according to a study published by market research firm Valuates Reports.

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China targets Australia’s rare earths as tensions escalate – by Alex Turner-Cohen (News.com.au – July 21, 2021)

https://www.news.com.au/

China could stop every technological and electrical industry in the world and plunge the planet into the dark ages with just one move.

China has the power to stop every technological and electrical industry in the world and plunge the planet into the dark ages any time it wants, an expert has warned.

Even more worryingly, escalating tensions between China and the West makes it look very likely that this will happen sooner rather than later.

Dr Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Centre, said that China owns around 80 per cent of the world’s supply of critical minerals – which is a “powerful weapon”.

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Nickel Deposits in Canada: A Quick Overview (Investing News Network – July 20, 2021)

https://investingnews.com/

Commodity prices have seen drastic increases over the past several months as demand for materials increases in a post-lockdown world. Nickel is amongst many other metals that have seen increases in demand and prices as manufacturing scales up across the globe.

Nickel has traditionally been highly sought after for its use in the production of stainless steel. More recently, nickel has also become an increasingly important element in electric vehicle (EV) production, as the material allows for producers to create lighter, smaller and higher density batteries.

And as more and more countries around the world continue to push towards the adoption of EVs, demand for nickel has continued to increase. Analysts expect this rapidly expanding market to continue growing, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 26.8 percent by 2031.

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