Republic of Mining

Operation Chinchilla Is a Go – by Ed Stoddard and Undark (The Atlantic – October 18, 2020)

October 20, 2020

https://www.theatlantic.com/

Twenty-five of the endangered rodents are living on top of a multibillion-dollar Chilean gold reserve. Miners are going to great lengths to relocate them.

The short-tailed chinchilla, a high-altitude South American rodent, was hunted almost to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries for its highly prized fur. It’s now endangered, and one small colony of the species in Chile is worth far more alive than dead, skinned, and dried.

The colony in question sits atop 3.5 million ounces of extractable gold, a resource set to be developed by Gold Fields, a South Africa–based mining company.

Pacific Battle Over Gold Mine Ends With Barrick Stake Deal (Bloomberg News – October 16, 2020)

October 20, 2020

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

(Bloomberg) — Papua New Guinea’s push for greater sway over its own mineral wealth scored a win, with Barrick Gold Corp. agreeing to a deal that will see the South Pacific nation get a big stake in a key gold mine.

Barrick will give Papua New Guinea a “major share” of the Porgera mine, the country’s Prime Minister James Marape said Thursday in a joint statement with the Toronto-based miner.

In exchange, Barrick can re-open and keep operating the facility, which had been suspended after the government didn’t extend its mining lease in April, and there would be a “fair sharing” of the economic benefits.

China passes export control law with potential for rare-earths ban Iori Kawate (Nikkei Asia – October 19, 2020)

October 20, 2020

https://asia.nikkei.com/

BEIJING — China’s top legislature on Saturday passed a law on export control, allowing the government to ban exports of strategic materials and advanced technology to specific foreign companies on its equivalent of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.

“China may take countermeasures against any country or region that abuses export-control measures and poses a threat to China’s national security and interests, according to the law,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The inclusion of the phrase “and interests” suggests that the law will give the government more leeway to move against those it wants to punish.

Lithium sparks disputes in Chile’s Atacama Desert – by Lorena Guzman (Dialogochino.net – October 16, 2020)

October 20, 2020

Dialogochino.net

Lithium is considered a strategic resource in Chile, and its exploitation is steeped in difficulties.

For almost four years the activity has been the source of a legal dispute between the communities of the Atacama Desert and SQM, one of the country’s biggest companies, which is partially owned by the Chinese firm Tianqi since 2019.

Some 1,500km north of the capital Santiago de Chile lies the driest desert in the world. The Atacama once contained enormous masses of water, but what is left now hides underneath the surface, mixed with valuable minerals.

Quebec town of Asbestos votes to change name to Val-des-Sources – by Eric Andrew-Gee (Globe and Mail – October 20, 2020)

October 20, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The town of Asbestos, Que., has finally chosen a new name: Val-des-Sources. The former mining community two hours east of Montreal, long synonymous with the carcinogenic substance it produced for more than a century, will make the change pending provincial approval.

Municipal officials decided to rechristen the town last year as a way of spurring economic development, long stalled by the grim associations of its namesake mineral.

The new moniker, which refers to the valleys and bodies of water of the surrounding landscape, as well as the figurative source of future hopes, received 48 per cent of first-place votes in a ranked ballot with six options.

[South Dakota] The Black Hills Gold Rush – by John Matuszak (Kelly Collectors – August 31, 2020)

October 20, 2020

https://www.kellycodetectors.com/

Fans of the television series Deadwood will be somewhat familiar with the Black Hills Gold Rush. It is this gold rush that forms the background of the television series. Indeed, it is one of the more transformative events in American history, despite being somewhat lesser-known.

There were rumors of gold in the Black Hills region in the early years of the 19th Century. Sioux Indians were rumored to have been mining gold in the region as early as 1860. However, there was one small thing preventing Americans from mining gold in the region: the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which recognized the land as belonging to the Sioux.

There is another point of law that is relevant to the Black Hills Gold Rush: The General Mining Act of 1872. This allows Americans to mine for minerals anywhere on federal land. The problem, for American prospectors, is that none of the land in the Black Hills was federal land — it belonged to the Sioux.

Dubreuilville gears up for growth: Gold mine construction means plenty of planning for northeastern Ontario wilderness community – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 19, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Melanie Pilon will soon be putting out the call for skilled and entrepreneurial-minded Dubreuilville ex-pats to come home.

That’s the primary audience for the economic development officer in the secluded northeastern Ontario community as excitement builds over news that Argonaut Gold is pressing ahead with construction of its Magino open-pit gold mine next January.

The mine project, 14 kilometres southeast of town, will be the second such operation in the vicinity of the mainly francophone community of 600.

Shifting Iron Range politics may not be enough for Trump in Minnesota – by Briana Bierschbach (Minneapolis Star Tribune – October 18, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://www.startribune.com/

The scene in the northern Minnesota mining town of Virginia fit perfectly into the Trump campaign’s story line.

On one side of the street, a group of Republicans were waving Trump flags and singing “God Bless the U.S.A.” Across the street at the local steelworkers’ union office, a smaller group stood masked and silent, looking on with Joe Biden signs.

One of the Trump supporters made a crack about the size of the Biden crowd. Rob Farnsworth, a Republican state House candidate and member of the Minnesota teachers’ union, extended an invitation.

After years of debate, Asbestos, Que. is getting a new name in hopes it will help the economy – by Eric Andrew-Gee (Globe and Mail – October 19, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The owners of Moulin 7, a microbrewery in Asbestos, Que., are not embarrassed by the name of their town. In fact, the pub, run by high-school friends Yan St-Hilaire and Danick Pellerin, is downright asbestos-themed.

The beer selection includes White Gold, a nickname from the mineral’s heyday. A photo of the gaping Jeffrey Mine hangs behind the bar. The pair once even made a batch of suds from the bright blue water that started to fill the pit once operations stopped nearly a decade ago. (They tested it; it was asbestos-free.)

But despite their defiant pride in the town’s past, they are among the residents who support its rechristening. The brewers are about to get their wish.

Saving Wyoming coal communities: step one, change our image – by David Dodson (Casper Star Tribune – October 17, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://trib.com/

Like it or not, much of America has a pretty poor opinion of coal. Two-thirds of Americans want the federal government to do more to reduce the effects of climate change, and three-quarters of our country want to see the country prioritize renewables over fossil fuels.

By the way, that view is not just held by liberal-Green New Deal-socialists. 49 percent of those who self-describe as “conservative” also want to see renewables prioritized over fossil fuels; and if that doesn’t surprise you, in states with coal mines, half the state’s population is in favor of phasing out all coal-fired power plants!

The Trump Administration did not bring back coal jobs for two reasons. First, as I’ve written in previous columns, coal’s true threat is not the Green New Deal but natural gas.

Canada, Australia and U.S. launch the Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – October 16, 2020)

October 19, 2020

http://resourceclips.com/

Increasing concern about the need for non-Chinese supply chains has generated much talk but fewer tangible efforts. Recent news, however, outlines plans formulated by two of the world’s major mining countries along with the world’s largest economy.

Canada, Australia and the U.S. intend to work together on the Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative. Following bi-national MOUs that the U.S. signed with each of the others, the CMMI intends to have the trans-national trio pool its knowledge, co-operate on research and provide publicly available info.

The collaboration calls for the three countries to:

-share data
-unify critical minerals analyses
-build on existing datasets
-identify gaps in knowledge
-learn more about critical minerals in different deposit types
-enhance working relationships

LANG HANCOCK: Clash of the dynasties: Pilbara’s role as kingmaker for nation’s wealthy makes it a risk worth fighting over – by Aja Styles (Sydney Morning Herald – October 19, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://www.smh.com.au/

The legal war being waged by Wright Prospecting over Pilbara iron ore tenement Hope Downs, coupled with its acquisition of Rhodes Ridge, has the capacity to reshape Western Australia’s mining landscape for generations to come.

Edith Cowan University business lecturer Tom Barratt says Wright’s improved riches could allow it to become more active in a region that has produced the nation’s biggest mining heavyweights.

Wright Prospecting is chasing a 25 per cent stake in the Hope Downs 4, 5 and 6 mining tenements – currently split 50/50 between Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto – as well as half the royalties from Hope Downs 1, 2 and 3.

Tesla eyes nickel-rich Indonesia for next factory, hints officials – by Maria Merano (Teslarati.com – October 18, 2020)

October 19, 2020

HOME

Local reports are hinting that Tesla might be laying down plans to build a dedicated battery factory in Indonesia. The update was related by Indonesian officials who pointed to ongoing talks with the electric car maker.

CNBC Indonesia reported that the Indonesian government and Tesla are negotiating the possible construction of a battery factory in Batang, Central Java. The location is currently being developed by the country into an expansive industrial area.

In a statement to the media on Monday, Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang stated that discussions with Tesla are indeed underway for a potential battery factory in Batang. “On going discussion, arahnya ke sana Batang (the direction is Batang),” Gumiwang said.

Lundin Gold to pay $2.5m to replace collapsed bridge near Fruta del Norte – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – October 18, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

Following the collapse on Saturday of a bridge in the town of Los Encuentros in Ecuador’s southern Zamora Chinchipe province, Lundin Gold (TSX: LUG) announced that it will be footing the $2.5 million bill for the replacement.

The structure had been showing signs of weakness in recent years but it completely failed when a truck carrying ore from Lundin’s Fruta del Norte operation was passing through it.

According to local media, the bridge’s deck came off its bases and fell into the Zamora river with the truck on top of it. The driver was able to escape unharmed and no one else was injured.

Ohio craft brewers bank on cans during the pandemic. Now comes an aluminum shortage.- by Patrick Cooley (The Columbus Dispatch – October 18, 2020)

October 19, 2020

https://www.dispatch.com/

Ohio’s craft brewers are preparing for an aluminum shortage as more and more beer makers put their concoctions in cans.

The shortage is likely to hit the state’s smallest breweries especially hard because they have fewer resources and less leverage with metal suppliers, industry insiders said.

At the beginning of 2020, breweries sold much of their beer to restaurants and bars, which meant filling kegs for draught beer. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which confined many Ohioans to their homes and continues to weigh on the hospitality industry.