Twitter

First Nations warn Doug Ford to fix mining bill or face backlash – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – June 3, 2025)

https://www.thestar.com/

With the Progressive Conservative majority set to pass the bill later this week, about 300 protesters from across the province gathered in front of the building to voice concern about the “special economic zones” it will create.

Premier Doug Ford is running out of time to fix his controversial Bill 5 — which fast-tracks mines and infrastructure developments — before it ignites a summer of unrest, First Nations leaders warned Monday.

With the Progressive Conservative majority set to pass the bill later this week, about 300 protesters from across the province gathered in front of the building to voice concern about the “special economic zones” it will create, bypassing local and provincial rules to speed development in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Read more

Delegates to Sudbury conference remain bullish on electric vehicles – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – May 31, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury and Canada will benefit because it has the minerals needed to build electric batteries, they say

Despite the code orange threat level emanating from south of the border, delegates attending the BEV In Depth conference said on Thursday they remain optimistic about an electrified future. Steve Gravel, manager of the Centre for Smart Mining at Cambrian R&D, said until recently, the market for industrial battery-electric vehicles has been “red hot, especially in underground mining.” While it has cooled a bit, it is still a booming field.

“When you’re not pumping diesel exhaust into the mining environment, there are a lot of gains to be made around ventilation provision and things like that,” he said. “Some operators think they have more power when they’re in the muck pile, for example. They’re really good pieces of equipment.”

Read more

Ontario Mining Association president defends Bill 5 – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – May 30, 2025)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Priya Tandon said more education and awareness is needed to help the public understand why the Ontario government wants to streamline the process

The woman who heads up the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) said mining in Ontario needs to be recognized as a responsible industry that is environmentally sound and safer than ever for its thousands of workers.

Priya Tandon, president of the OMA, was a guest speaker at the BEV-In-Depth conference in Sudbury on Thursday. The conference is held each year to promote the greater use of electric vehicles in mining as well as to promote the critical minerals supply chain to benefit the use of more battery electric vehicles.

Read more

Green Flashpoints: How The Surge In Renewable Energy May Spark A New Era Of Global Conflict – Analysis – by Syed Raiyan Amir (Eurasia Review – June 2, 2025)

Home

As the world races to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, a new energy order is beginning to emerge—one that promises cleaner air and climate resilience but also portends fresh geopolitical tensions. The shift to solar, wind, hydrogen, and rare earth-powered technologies is not merely a technological revolution; it is a profound geopolitical reordering with the potential to ignite a new spectrum of global conflict.

From the strategic control of critical minerals to green technology rivalry, energy access disputes, and economic power realignment, the green transition may ironically generate new fault lines even as it attempts to heal the planet.

Read more

Gold finds support as economic woes and tariff tensions rekindle safe-haven demand – by Naeem Aslam (Kitco News – June 2, 2025)

https://www.kitco.com/

Gold prices are on the rise once again as a cocktail of weak U.S. data and intensifying trade tensions revives investor appetite for safe-haven assets. The metal, often seen as a barometer of market anxiety, responded positively to the disappointing ISM manufacturing PMI data released on Monday.

The reading came in at 48.5—below the forecast of 49.3 and slightly lower than April’s 48.7—underscoring the fragility of the U.S. industrial sector. The sub-50 reading marks continued contraction in manufacturing activity and raises concerns that economic momentum in the U.S. is decelerating more rapidly than anticipated.

Read more

Bill 5 will slow down, not speed up development, native leaders warn (Canadian Press/Sudbury Star – May 31, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Robinson Huron chiefs urge the provincial government to scrap the legislation and start over

Native leaders in northeastern Ontario are joining others in calling on the Ford government to scrap Bill 5, a proposed law that seeks to speed up the development of large projects such as mines. In a release, the Robinson Huron chiefs said Bill 5, Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025, is “a direct threat to the lands, jurisdiction, and sovereignty of First Nations within the Robinson Huron Treaty territory.”

“Ontario needs our permission — not just consultation, but consent,” Gimma Dean Sayers, spokesperson for the Robinson Huron Treaty chiefs and a member of the Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin Political Working Group, said in a release.

Read more

Juukan Gorge traditional owners sign landmark agreement with Rio Tinto (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – June 2, 2025)

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

Just over five years after Rio Tinto destroyed sacred sites at Juukan Gorge in WA’s Pilbara region, the area’s traditional owners have signed a new deal with the mining giant. The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto announced the deal, which governs the company’s iron ore operations on PKKP lands, on Monday morning.

In a statement, the corporation says the deal gives traditional owners a “much greater say” about what happens on their country. It comes after years of tense relations between the PKKP people and Rio Tinto in the wake of the destruction of 47,000-year-old rock shelters.

Read more

Quebec premier calls new Trump tariff threats on steel and aluminum ‘completely unjustified’ – by Annabelle Olivier (CBC News Montreal – June 01, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/

Tariff increase from 25 to 50% ‘will be catastrophic for our industry,’ says steel producers association

Quebec Premier François Legault is calling U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat on Canadian steel and aluminum producers “completely unjustified.”

He made the remark in a post on X, after Trump announced his intention to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent next Wednesday. “If he goes ahead with this tariff increase, it will harm our economy, as well as the American economy,” Legault wrote in French.

Read more

Pay attention: The world of mining is changing – by Don Duval (Canadian Mining Journal – May 28, 2025)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The global mining industry continues to build momentum and prepares itself for what appears to be a remarkable technological transformation. Executives are facing unprecedented pressure to find sustainable and creative methods to drive shareholder value and enhance productivity while improving the safety of the workforce — all during a time of global political instability, low commodity prices, and a generation of new workers that are motivated by non-traditional incentives.

This transformation is not only reshaping the landscape of employment and skill requirements for mine workers, but also it is reframing the relationship between the external technology ecosystem and global mining operators.

Read more

Digging for Opportunity – Crees take greater role in mining industry – by Patrick Quinn (Nation News – May 29, 2025)

http://nationnews.ca/

With Eeyou Istchee recognized as a top-tier global mining destination, Cree leaders are now more visible at influential industry events. A pragmatic approach to government-industry collaboration has enabled extensive Cree participation in the region’s exploration and extraction projects.

At the Resourcing Tomorrow conference in London last December, former Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty emphasized that as sustainability is central to project development, collaboration must focus on mitigating long-lasting impacts while promoting development opportunities and knowledge sharing with community members.

Read more

Arctic Gateway Group says the Port of Churchill will help diversify Canada’s trade links to other countries – by Carlo Cantisani (Globe and Mail – June 2, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Less than a year into his new job as CEO of Arctic Gateway Group, Chris Avery is finding himself overseeing what is quickly emerging as a critical cog in fighting the Trump-era trade war.

AGG, which operates the Port of Churchill and the connecting Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) in northern Manitoba, strategically links Western Canada to Arctic waters and from there offers routes to Europe, South America and the Middle East.

The company is aiming to become a vital link between Canada and emerging Arctic routes to help boost interprovincial and overseas trade and to reduce reliance on the United States.

Read more

Ford heads to First Ministers meeting with Ring of Fire, pipelines, and nuclear at top of agenda -by Barbara Patrocinio (QP Briefing – June 2, 2025)

https://www.qpbriefing.com/

In a letter sent out in May to the Prime Minister, Ford said the number one priority was the Ring of Fire, including critical mineral mining projects and the infrastructure needed to support them (all-season roads, electricity transmission lines, etc.).

As Premier Doug Ford heads into this Monday’s first ministers meeting, he says his message is clear: It’s time to build pipelines, nuclear plants, and roads into the Ring of Fire.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Ford said, speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park last Friday about his priorities. “No provincial government has ever given the Indigenous communities across the province what we’re proposing now. They will thrive, they will prosper.”

Read more

Bolivian court pauses Chinese, Russian lithium deals – by Staff (Northern Miner – June 2, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Bolivia’s plans to emerge as a major lithium producer have hit an impasse after a local court ordered the suspension of two major extraction deals signed last year valued at more than $2 billion, according to media reports.

The contracts were signed in 2023 and 2024 respectively with China’s CBC consortium, which includes battery manufacturer CATL, and Russia’s Uranium One Group, a subsidiary of state nuclear firm Rosatom, as revealed by various publications including Bolivia-based El Deber.

Read more

Geologists Reveal World’s Biggest Iron Deposit Worth $6 Trillion Set to Impact Global Economy – by Arezki Amiri (MSN.com – June 2, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/

In a remote part of Western Australia, geologists have uncovered a mineral deposit of staggering size—one that promises to rewrite not only the map of global iron production but also our understanding of Earth’s geological history.

The Hamersley region, already known for its rich mineral resources, now hosts what scientists say is the largest iron ore deposit ever recorded, containing roughly 55 billion metric tons of ore with iron concentrations exceeding 60 percent. This massive find, valued at nearly $6 trillion, marks a significant moment for the global mining industry.

Read more

N.S. minister could override owners who don’t want uranium exploration on their land – by Taryn Grant (CBC News Nova Scotia – May 29, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/

Tory Rushton says negotiations between companies, landowners would have to happen before he’d intervene

If a Nova Scotia landowner doesn’t want uranium exploration to happen on their property, does no mean no? Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton has confirmed that he could step over property owners to let companies hunt for uranium, but he said he isn’t keen to do so.

“Right now we’re encouraging landowners and the researchers to have the conversations, that’s where it needs to start,” Rushton told reporters Thursday following a cabinet meeting in Halifax. Earlier this year, the Progressive Conservative government lifted a long-standing ban on uranium exploration and extraction.

Read more