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Laurentian University cuts world-renowned programs – by Albrecht I. Schulte-Hostedde (Sudbury Star – April 28, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury is known as the city of lakes and for its famous regreening programs, yet university is slashing expertise in those areas as it restructures

Among the programs closed in Laurentian University’s “restructuring” were environmental science, environmental studies, ecology and restoration biology.

In a city of lakes, where Sophie Mathur has galvanized global youth around the climate crisis, where the regreening of the region has reached near mythological status, an undergraduate student cannot enter into an environmental or ecology program at Laurentian University.

Think about that. Why were Laurentian’s environmental and ecology programs closed?

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Copper, ‘the new oil,’ leads metals surge amid global economic rebound – by Tim Shufelt (Globe and Mail – April 29, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

With an economic boom of epic proportions fast approaching, the natural resources needed to fuel the global resurgence are facing intense demand pressures.

While prices have soared across the spectrum of commodity markets, including forest products and agricultural commodities, industrial metals have recently taken centre stage in financial markets.

These are materials at the heart of global construction and manufacturing, and collectively, their prices have risen by more than 75 per cent since bottoming out in March, 2020. “Copper is the new oil,” Goldman Sachs analysts declared in recent report.

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Deep-Sea Mining Robot Lost on Cobalt-Rich Floor of Pacific – by Jonathan Tirone (Bloomberg News – April 28, 2021)

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — A deep-sea mining robot on test mission to bring up rocks rich in cobalt and nickel from the floor of the Pacific Ocean has malfunctioned.

Controversial plans to mine the ocean floor face a key test this year when a United Nations body unveils rules that could spur the exploitation of hundreds of billions of dollars of battery metals.

Environmentalists say that would endanger fragile marine ecosystems, while the industry argues that extracting metals needed for the green-energy transition would cause less damage than terrestrial mining.

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China’s energy actions speak louder than its climate pledges – by Patricia Adams (Financial Post – April 28, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

China is hell-bent on increasing CO2 emissions to meet its often-stated strategic objective of world domination

Last week’s climate change summit, though advertised as a meeting designed to get 40 world leaders to make pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions and save the planet, was more a trade negotiation of sorts, in which the West wants China to make firmer commitments on climate change and China wants to tie any new commitments to weakened trade sanctions and less complaining about its human rights record.

The West may well water down sanctions in exchange for Chinese commitments but all it will get from China in return is lip service. China is hell-bent on increasing CO2 emissions to meet its often-stated strategic objective of world domination.

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Jewelry and bullion sales prop up gold demand as investors flee gold ETFs– WGC – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – April 29, 2021)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – The gold market went back to basics in the first quarter of 2021 as demand for jewelry and physical bars and coins supported a sharp drop in investment demand, according to the latest research from the World Gold Council (WGC).

In its quarterly Global Demand Trends report, the WGC said that physical demand for the precious metal totaled 815.7 tonnes, virtually unchanged compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. However demand was down 23% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

In an interview with Kitco News, Juan Carlos Artigas, head of research at the World Gold Council, said that shifting demand in the gold market continues to demonstrate the precious duality as an important strategic asset.

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How a bout of even mild inflation could knock out the world’s ambitious plans for decarbonization – by Peter Tertzakian (Financial Post – April 28, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

The market battle between EVs and ICE vehicles may well be determined in the mines and oilfields of the world

The global economy is gaining momentum, even before the masks have come off the pandemic.

Unemployment rates are falling faster than expected in key countries, most notably the United States. Global GDP is being revised upwards to 6 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report.

Put simply, this means that after contracting 3.3 per cent in 2020, the global economy will be larger in 2021 than in the pre-pandemic days of 2019. It seems we are back on a fast-moving train (still diesel-powered), and it’s all happening before governments shell out a couple of trillion dollars on the clean energy transition.

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If Papua New Guinea really is part of Australia’s ‘family’, we’d do well to remember our shared history – by Patricia A. O’Brien (The Conversation – April 8, 2021)

https://theconversation.com/

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is fond of describing Papua New Guinea as “family”. He did so recently when announcing Australia’s assistance with PNG’s COVID-19 outbreak.

The urgent support for PNG in the form of vaccines, testing kits, medical personnel and training was “in Australia’s interests”, Morrison said, because it threatens the health of Australians, “but equally our PNG family who are so dear to us”.

These familial bonds are “born of history and geography”. PNG is Australia’s closest neighbour. Only 4 kilometres separate the two countries in the Torres Strait, a fluid border that has been redefined numerous times (most recently in 1985). It is currently closed due to the COVID outbreak.

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Both sides claim victory in complicated PolyMet court ruling – by Dan Kraker (Minnesota Public Radio News – April 28, 2021)

https://www.mprnews.org/

Both sides claimed victory Wednesday after the state Supreme Court issued a complex ruling over state permits for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota.

Environmental groups and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa were quick to celebrate the ruling, saying the decision “hits the reset button” on the proposal, which would be the first non-iron ore mining operation built in northern Minnesota.

In a 48-page ruling, the court upheld the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ reversal of the Department of Natural Resources’ decision to grant a critical “permit to mine.” The appeals court said the state agency failed to set a fixed term for the permit and it ordered the DNR to set an appropriate term.

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In Mount Isa, electric cars are driving the economy — but not the people – by Eric Barker (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – April 28, 2021)

https://www.abc.net.au/

Couple some of Australia’s roughest and most remote roads with lucrative mining salaries and you can imagine the size of the cars driving around Mount Isa.

The town’s serenity is often cancelled out by loud diesel engines shifting through the gears, with the noise of Mount Isa Mines in the background.

Ironically, a recent resurgence in the local economy is largely thanks to the burgeoning electric car industry, which is creating some serious demand for copper.

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Copper surges toward US$10,000 as bulls bet on global rebound (Bloomberg News – April 27, 2021)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Copper’s stunning rally toward all-time highs above US$10,000 is accelerating, with bulls swarming in to profit as stimulus measures, vaccine rollouts and climate pledges fuel a global recovery from the pandemic.

Copper extended gains to the highest in a decade on Tuesday as global growth underpinned a rally in metals markets ranging from aluminum to iron ore, which itself was approaching a new peak as steel prices surge.

Commodities are advancing toward the highs of the last supercycle, when prices spiked in the early 2000s on a jump in Chinese orders.

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Cobalt hunter eyes Gowganda, Elk Lake for processing hub – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 26, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Battery Mineral Resources posts resource estimate of cobalt and silver deposit

Battery Mineral Resources (BMR) has come out of the shadows to post a first-time resource for a cobalt and silver property, southwest of Gowganda.

The low key Vancouver-based explorer, formerly known as Fusion Gold, released a maiden resource of more than a million pounds of cobalt at its McAra Project, according to an April 22 news release.

As the largest claims holder in the historic Gowganda-Cobalt silver mining camp, BMR thinks there’s enough mine potential among its nine exploration properties clustered in this area to consider establishing a processing plant.

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Copper price blasts to 10-year high as Chile strike adds momentum to rally – by Staff (Mining.com – April 26, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

The copper price climbed to the highest since 2011 as the global recovery from the pandemic extended a rally in metals markets— and as port workers in Chile called a strike.

Copper for delivery in May was up 2% on Monday, with futures at $4.4425 per pound ($9,795 a tonne) on the Comex market in New York.

Top producer Glencore’s shares were up 3.3% on Monday, while Freeport-McMoRan was up 6.6% in New York. Vale, BHP, and Rio Tinto shares were also up around 1.5%, also benefitting from an iron ore price jump.

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Vancouver-based Fortuna Silver to buy Roxgold in $1-billion deal – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April 27, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.’s $1.1-billion takeover offer for fellow Canadian miner Roxgold Inc. was given a sour reception on the stock market, with the shares of both companies falling short of expectations, and analysts questioning the deal’s rationale.

Vancouver-based Fortuna, which mostly mines silver and whose operations are in the Americas, said on Monday it intends to pay 0.283 of its shares, and 0.1 cent in cash, for each Roxgold share, a 41-per-cent premium to Roxgold’s closing price on Friday.

Toronto-based Roxgold operates a high-grade, low-cost gold mine in Burkina Faso, and has plans to build another one in Ivory Coast. Even though the boards of both companies approved the transaction, their shareholders appear concerned about the merits of the marriage.

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Ontario budget boosts funding for exploration, mine rescue – by Kelsey Rolfe (Northern Miner – April 27, 2021)

https://www.northernminer.com/

The Ontario government is launching a new program to fund junior exploration in the province and upping financial support for the Ontario Mine Rescue program.

The province’s 2021 budget, which laid out the initiatives, was tabled on March 24 and was passed on April 26. The document sets out $23 billion in spending targeted at bolstering the provincial economy, and $16.3 billion for health-related measures. Ontario projected a $38.5 billion deficit in 2020-21, which it expects to slowly reduce to eventually reach $20.2 billion in 2023-24.

As part of the government’s plan to increase jobs and economic activity in northern Ontario, the budget set out $5 million over the next two years for the new Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP).

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Russian miners may face US sanctions if tensions rise, former officials say – by J. Holzman (S&P Global Market Intelligence – April 27, 2021)

https://www.spglobal.com/

The Russian metals sector may be a target for future U.S. sanctions if President Vladimir Putin escalates a growing battle with the West through military action, former U.S. government officials told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The Biden administration on April 15 expelled 10 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and banned U.S. banks from buying sovereign bonds issued by Russian institutions, part of a swath of sanctions in response to Russia’s attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, its decision to gather troops on its border with Ukraine, and an alleged global cyber espionage campaign.

Following the sanctions, Russia declared it would pull troops back from the Ukraine border and attended a global summit on climate change hosted by the White House. Afterward, Russia sent warships to the Black Sea for a military maneuver and said sections of the area would be temporarily closed to foreign warships.

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