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Opinion: Can political leaders break the bottleneck in B.C.’s permitting process? – by Michael Goehring (The Orca – October 30, 2024)

https://www.theorca.ca/

Michael Goehring is the president and CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia.

During the provincial election, both of B.C.’s main political parties emphasized the importance of mining and critical minerals to our economy and climate action. Both parties made solid commitments to expedite B.C.’s mine permitting process.

Governments globally are actively securing critical mineral supplies to support the clean energy transition and meet national security, defence and technology imperatives. Canada, B.C. and other provinces have critical mineral strategies with firm commitments to improve major mine permitting processes.

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Ivanhoe cuts copper forecast on DRC power woes, while Friedland touts new discoveries – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – October 30, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) on Wednesday reported record third-quarter copper production but cut its full-year guidance by 6%, blaming power outages at its Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Toronto-based company lowered the copper guidance to 425,000–450,000 tonnes, from 440,000–490,000 tonnes. The disruptions stemmed from deficient transmission capacity and instability in the DRC’s southern grid, managed by state-owned Société Nationale d’Électricité. Delays in upgrading the Inga II dam’s transmission line and grid bottlenecks at the Kolwezi substation limited reliable power delivery.

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Global Atomic anticipates $295m loan for Dasa project by Q1 2025 – by Staff (Mining.com – October 29, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Global Atomic (TSX: GLO) said on Tuesday it anticipates securing a project financing loan from the US development bank by early Q1 2025 to advance its Dasa uranium project in Niger.

The company reported that in recent discussions, the bank confirmed its intention to approve a $295 million debt facility, which would cover 60% of the project’s projected costs. Dasa is the highest-grade uranium deposit in Africa, surpassed only by grades found in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, and is scheduled to achieve commercial production in early 2026.

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Gold Demand Tops $100 Billion as Western Investors Charge In – by Sybilla Gross (Bloomberg News – October 30, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Global gold demand swelled about 5% in the third quarter, setting a record for the period and lifting consumption above $100 billion for the first time, according to the World Gold Council.

The increase — which saw volumes climb to 1,313 tons — was underpinned by stronger investment flows from the West, including more high-net-worth individuals, that helped offset waning appetite from Asia, the industry-funded group said in a report on Wednesday. Buying in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds flipped to gains in the quarter after prolonged outflows.

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Ontario chamber boss bullish on Sudbury, Northern Ontario – by Hugh Kruzel (Sudbury Star – October 28, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

‘What is produced here is essential to our economic future,’ Daniel Tisch Echevarría says, referring to the mining sector

Northern Ontario and Sudbury are keys to the province’s economic prosperity, the president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says. Daniel Tisch Echevarría made the observations last week during the 129th annual general meeting of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

“When you sit in Toronto you see a lot of data,” Tisch said. “When asked if businesses across the province are confident in themselves they say yes.

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Opinion: For European automakers, China goes from gift to threat – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – October 31, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

China, the world’s biggest market for just about everything, was a boon for Europe’s biggest car companies, especially the German ones. Many of them formed local joint ventures and made fortunes as wealthy Chinese spurned cheapo domestic brands and snapped up Volkswagens, Mercedes, BMWs and other European and American showroom delights.

As recently as 2020, foreign brands’ share of total Chinese auto sales (gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fully electric) was nearly two-thirds. Today, it’s 37 per cent – and falling. China is no longer the gift that keeps on giving. Homegrown Chinese cars, notably the electric ones, are moving up the quality and value chain fast and sending the foreign nameplates packing.

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Investors’ ‘fear of missing out’ drives gold demand to record high – by Leslie Hook (Financial Times – October 30, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Buyers clamour for gold-backed ETFs as central banks scale back purchases of the precious metal

Investors’ “fear of missing out” on gold’s rally has sparked record demand for the precious metal, even as high prices push central banks to scale back their purchases.

The value of global demand passed $100bn for the first time in the third quarter of this year, according to industry body the World Gold Council, driven mainly by investor buying. The volume of global gold demand also rose to a record in the same period, up 5 per cent to 1,313 tonnes.

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History of mining: five of the oldest mines still in operation – by Talal Husseini (Mining Technology – September 20, 2018)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

While mining is nothing new, with archeologists finding evidence that the history of mining goes back to the ancient world, it is rare these days to find mines that have continued to produce on a commercial scale. Here are some of the oldest mines still in operation.

While mining is nothing new, with archeologists finding evidence that the history of mining goes back to the ancient world, it is rare these days to find mines that have continued to produce on a commercial scale. Here are some of the oldest mines still in operation.

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‘Green fatigue’ could lead to the R&D we need – by Bjorn Lomborg (Financial Post – October 31, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

The high-cost climate policies we have now need to be replaced by a search for cheap green fuels the world will switch to voluntarily

As climate policy increasingly drives up living costs with next to no results, voters are becoming wearier of expansive — and expensive — green promises. We can only hope this backlash could lead to better, cheaper and more effective measures.

After dealing with climate activists blocking roads and gluing themselves to airport runways, celebrities flying private jets while telling the rest of us to take the bus, and climate policies that cost the world but deliver little, voters are viewing climate policies with greater skepticism.

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BHP Retreats From Comments About Moving On From Anglo Bid – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – October 30, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group has been forced to walk back from comments about having “moved on” from its failed Anglo American Plc bid to prevent its hands being tied by the UK takeover panel from launching another buyout attempt.

Chairman Ken MacKenzie made the comments Wednesday at a shareholder meeting of the world’s biggest miner in Australia. Anglo shares fell as much as 4.5%, underperforming the wider sector.

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The transition to closure: The Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories is approaching closure in early 2026, but Rio Tinto aims to leave a positive legacy – by Ailbhe Goodbody (CIM Magazine – October 28, 2024)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories is set to close in approximately 18 months after almost a quarter of a century of operations. Over 144 million carats of rough diamonds have been recovered at Diavik through a combination of open-pit and underground mining since it entered commercial production in 2003, and the mine is a major contributor to the economy of the Northwest Territories, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the territory’s gross domestic product.

The current mine plan anticipates that operations will cease in the first quarter of 2026, followed by a transition to closure activities from 2026 to 2029. However, the mine was designed with closure in mind from the outset, and Rio Tinto hopes to leave a lasting beneficial impact in the region after its closure activities end in 2029, while limiting its carbon footprint at the same time.

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Resource nationalism and political instability: Strategies for risk management – by Timothy Foden, Kristen Young and Rebecca Mee (Mining.com – October 25, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

As global demand for minerals and raw materials increases, buoyed by the soaring of certain commodity prices, purported green ambitions, and nationalist fervour, governments have begun wielding a range of regulatory tools and sometimes strong-arm tactics against foreign mining companies in the name of resource nationalism.

The resurgence of resource nationalism—particularly in countries experiencing political upheaval, such as the “Coup Belt” in Francophone Africa—poses a major risk to the ambitions of foreign mining companies and the battery revolution.

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Eastern DR Congo grapples with Chinese gold mining firms (RFI – October 27, 2024)

https://www.rfi.fr/en/

Kamituga (AFP) – Italian priest Davide Marcheselli has been fighting for years against Chinese companies illegally mining gold in the town of Kitutu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

He says mining has spoilt the town which lies in South Kivu province, polluting rivers and destroying fields. Hundreds of foreign companies, most of them Chinese-owned, mine gold in the mineral-rich province often without permits and without declaring profits, according to local authorities.

For a long time, civil society groups and members of the church in Kitutu, have been the only people taking a stand against the powerful mining businesses, who often have friends in high places. “From the deputies, to the village chief, everyone receives something (from the companies), money or shares (in businesses),” Marcheselli told AFP.

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Monument will pay tribute to stack, says Vale Base Metals (Northern Ontario Business – October 28, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Thousands of Sudburians voted on trio of options following superstack’s decommissioning

Vale Base Metals said it will build a monument to its famed superstack, following feedback from the Sudbury community.

In an Oct. 25 social media post, the Brazilian nickel miner said that was the preferred option that emerged after thousands of community members voted on three potential options to pay tribute to the decommissioned stack.

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Cree hold ‘eye-opening’ discussions on how development happens in northern Quebec – by Cole Bosum (CBC News North – September 27, 2024)

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

Leaders meet with Cree traditional hunters and trappers last week to talk development

How development happens in Cree communities and who benefits was front and centre at a recent meeting between Cree leaders and many hunters, trappers and land users from the inland communities in northern Quebec.

Close to 300 hunters and tallymen, as traditional land users are called in Quebec, were registered for the meeting that happened in Mistissini last week, but organizers say closer to 500 were in the room. “The meeting for me was a real eye-opening experience,” said Mandy Gull-Masty, the grand chief of the Cree nation in northern Quebec.

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