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Ontario Throne Speech pledges to drop provincial trade barriers, speed up mines in face of U.S. trade war – by Jeff Gray and Laura Stone (Globe and Mail – April 15, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Ontario government is pledging to shore up the province in the face of the threat of U.S. tariffs by taking down barriers to interprovincial trade, speeding up approvals for new mines in the Northern Ring of Fire region – and doubling down on a promise to build a lengthy and costly tunnel under the Toronto-area stretch of Highway 401.

In its Throne Speech, the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford laid out its priorities after winning its third straight majority in the Feb. 27 election, saying its first two new pieces of legislation would lower Ontario’s interprovincial trade barriers and allow the designation of the Ring of Fire as a region of “strategic importance to the province’s economy and security interests.”

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One of the strangest chapters in copper mining is drawing to a close – by Frik Els (Mining.com – April 10, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

With so much happening in copper – from all-time highs mixed with price collapses – it’s easy to lose sight of the giant hole that exists in the industry where dynamite meets bedrock. Cobre Panama has now been sitting idle for 18 months, ordered to shut down by a supreme court ruling following months of protests that rocked the Central American nation.

The massive First Quantum Minerals mine, which entered production in 2019 is an increasingly rare phenomenon in copper mining. The mine’s global porphyry peers in terms of output have histories often dating back to the 19th century.

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Trump recognizes that domestic mining is a national security issue – by Sara Vakhshouri (The Hill – April 12, 2025)

https://thehill.com/

President Trump’s executive order to increase domestic critical mineral production has been interpreted as a pro-industry move or a nod to traditional energy sectors. It is both — but more importantly, it is a long overdue national security play.

In the modern geopolitical chess game, America’s mineral vulnerability is not just an economic liability but a strategic one. The order activates the Defense Production Act to boost domestic mining and processing of minerals like lithium, rare earths, nickel, cobalt, copper and uranium.

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China Halts Critical Exports as Trade War Intensifies – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – April 13, 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Beijing has suspended exports of certain rare earth minerals and magnets that are crucial for the world’s car, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

China has suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies of components central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world.

Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system. Once in place, the new system could permanently prevent supplies from reaching certain companies, including American military contractors.

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Carney and Poilievre have promised they’ll get major resource projects done faster, but is that actually possible? – by Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail – April 13, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal Conservatives and Liberals are in a bidding war to cut red tape for major resource projects that will help Canada weather the economic storms brought by the U.S. tariff war.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre have both promised to fast-track approval processes: Mr. Carney says regulatory reviews for projects should take no more than two years, while Mr. Poilievre says he would set a maximum of one year.

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Osisko Metals’ Gaspé copper assays beat outlook – by Frederic Tomesco (Northern Miner – April 14, 2025)

Global mining news

Osisko Metals said initial drilling results at its Gaspé copper project in eastern Quebec topped expectations. Shares jumped. All five holes drilled in the past three months intersected significant disseminated mineralization within the volume of the company’s 2024 resource, CEO Robert Wares said in a statement Monday. New mineralization was also added at depth well below the base of the 2024 estimate.

Osisko is working to expand the Gaspé copper system’s resource with a view to potentially reopening the former Noranda mine in Murdochville, about 825 km northeast of Montreal. It’s targeting permits and construction by the early 2030s, with initial capital spending estimated at about $1.8 billion.

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Nickel, paradise and ‘emancipation’ – by Cooper Williams and Yasmine Wright Gittins (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – April 10, 2025)

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

A bet on nickel gave many New Caledonians hopes of prosperity and independence. But when the economy turned, it left behind a ghost town full of broken hearts.

It was a symbol of economic freedom — offering a chance at prosperity for communities who shared little in New Caledonia’s wealth. Standing tall by the turquoise waters of the French territory’s lagoons, the Koniambo nickel factory once hummed with activity, feeding the world’s insatiable demand for the lucrative metal.

Now, silence blankets its heavy machinery. The site sits abandoned, its overseas workforce long gone, and its local staff — mostly Indigenous Kanak people — out of jobs.

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Just How Badly Does Donald Trump Want Access to Critical Minerals? – by Nicolas Niarchos (New Yorker – April 15, 2025)

https://www.newyorker.com/

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has some of the largest deposits on Earth. Its President wants to sell them—and win a war.

On a recent episode of Fox News’ “Special Report,” the host, Bret Baier, turned his attention to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country that doesn’t frequently make headlines in the United States. Using a map of the country, which is two-thirds the size of Western Europe, to educate his viewers, Baier began by outlining the regional conflicts in which the D.R.C. has been engaged, dating back to the refugee crises triggered by the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

He added that “Congo is considered the world’s richest country in terms of natural resources,” containing untapped supplies worth “an estimated twenty-four trillion dollars, with a ‘T.’ ” Those resources include gold, diamonds, and so-called critical metals, such as cobalt and lithium, which are used in rechargeable batteries.

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Goldman puts $4,000 gold on the agenda as hunt for havens grows – by Sybilla Gross (Bloomberg News – April 14, 2025)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG issued another round of bullish calls for gold, with stronger-than-expected central bank demand and the metal’s role as a hedge against recession and geopolitical risks underpinning expectations for even higher prices in 2025.

Goldman analysts including Lina Thomas now see gold rallying to $3,700 an ounce by the end of this year — with prices set to hit $4,000 an ounce by mid-2026 — while UBS strategist Joni Teves pointed to $3,500 an ounce by December 2025, according to two separate notes on Friday.

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TC Energy CEO touts Asia as key to Canada’s economic diversification away from U.S. – by Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – April 10, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The U.S. trade war has posed huge challenges, but Canada should take advantage of the time to diversify its economy toward exports to Asia, including shipments of liquefied natural gas, says TC Energy Corp.’s chief executive officer.

After the April 28 federal election, it will be important for the prime minister, premiers, business executives and Indigenous leaders to be aligned and strengthen ties with Asia, François Poirier said in a speech to Canadian Club Toronto that was webcast on Thursday.

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Rio Tinto hopes Trump will clear path for Resolution copper project – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 9, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto is optimistic that US President Donald Trump will expedite the final permits approval for its long-delayed Resolution copper project in Arizona. Speaking at the CRU World Copper Conference in Santiago, Rio Tinto’s copper chief executive Katie Jackson said growing US interest in strengthening the copper supply chain could help advance the stalled mine.

“We hope that will be part of getting projects like Resolution to move because it has historically been a long process,” she told attendees. The mining giant has spent more than a decade navigating a complex permitting process.

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America Together, or America Alone? A mining to metals viewpoint – by Lyle Trytten (The Oregon Group – April 6, 2025)

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Lyle Trytten (The Nickel Nerd) has 30 years of experience in the base metals and fertilizer industries, working on projects across multiple continents, technologies, and roles, from R&D and engineering to commercialization and operations.

This is an article that I – a Canadian – never thought I would have to write, but these are strange times. With the capricious nature of the current US administration – breaching signed treaties and contracts, threatening and imposing tariffs that change every week, annexation threats, and dramatic escalation in the restrictions and burdens placed on immigrants and visa holders – one country is trying to radically reshape the integrated nature of the global economy.

Is re-shoring entire manufacturing chains feasible or desirable?

The USA has been a manufacturing and innovation powerhouse for more than a century. The availability of vast amounts of resources – land, energy, minerals, and hard-working people from across the world – has created a country that leads the world in many important areas.

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US stocks, dollar tumble as reality sets back in on Wall Street – by David Goldman and John Towfighi (CNN.com – April 10, 2025)

https://www.cnn.com/

New York – CNN — The US stock market, fresh off its third-best day in modern history, is sinking back into reality: Although President Donald Trump paused most of his “reciprocal” tariffs, his other massive import taxes have already inflicted significant damage, and the economy won’t easily recover from the fallout.

Stocks tumbled Thursday, falling deeply into the red after the White House clarified that its tariff on all Chinese goods was at least 145% — even higher than previously believed. The Dow, after rising nearly 3,000 points Wednesday, had a volatile day in the red on Thursday. The blue-chip index fell 1,000 points, or 2.5%, Thursday afternoon, pulling back from tumbling as much as 2,100 points earlier.

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Gold rush unleashed: The global struggle for control over Central Asia’s mineral wealth – by Zeynep Gizem Özpınar (Daily Sabah – April 10, 2025)

https://www.dailysabah.com/

Central Asia’s mineral wealth sparks global rivalry, shaping the region’s economic and geopolitical future

Central Asia is becoming increasingly critical on the world stage in terms of rare earth elements and strategic minerals. These resources have become indispensable in many sectors, from modern technology to the defence industry, from renewable energy to advanced manufacturing processes.

Since rare earth elements have a wide range of uses, from semiconductors to batteries, from military equipment to wind turbines, countries with these minerals are strategically important. While the competition of global powers in this field is increasing, the riches of Central Asia turn the region into not only an economic centre of attraction but also a geopolitical battleground.

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Strong safe-haven demand sees gold surge as stocks struggle – by Jim Wyckoff (Kitco News – April 10, 2025)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Gold prices are posting very strong gains and silver is modestly up in midday U.S. trading Thursday. More robust safe-haven demand amid a wobbly U.S. stock market again amid worries about a U.S.-China trade war, as well as a cooler U.S. inflation report are propelling the precious metals traders late this week.

Also, there are still some lingering worries about the stability of the U.S. Treasury market. June gold was last up $100.60 at $3,180.50. May silver prices were last up $0.37 at $30.775. Mostly overshadowed by the tariff news Wednesday, today’s key U.S. consumer price index report for March came in at up 2.4%, year-on-year, and was expected to come in up 2.6% and compares to up 2.8% in the February report.

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