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Why Is There a Titanium Shortage? What It Means for Aerospace and Other Industries – by Sarah Edwards (Thomasnet.com – December 18, 2023)

https://www.thomasnet.com/

The global titanium shortage is a stark reminder of rare metal scarcity and its impact on manufacturing processes. The titanium supply chain is deeply rooted in Eastern Europe, with Russian titanium accounting for nearly one-third of the titanium bars and rods used in the United States.

While titanium demand has remained steady, supplies have dwindled, driving up prices and directly impacting the aerospace industry. Here’s what you need to know about these critical materials and how their supply shortage is affecting manufacturers.

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Rio Tinto buying Arcadium in US$6.7-billion bet on lithium – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – October 10, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Rio Tinto PLC is buying lithium producer Arcadium Lithium PLC in a big bet on the electric-vehicle battery metal in the midst of a vicious bear market.

The Anglo-Australian major is paying US$5.85 a share for U.S.-based Arcadium, a premium of 90 per cent to Friday’s close, in an all-cash transaction worth US$6.7-billion. The boards of both companies are in favour of the deal. Lithium prices have crashed in recent years owing to China flooding the market and a slowdown in electric-vehicle sales.

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Is Ontario holding back the Ring of Fire? Federal natural resources minister says so – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 8, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Accused of stalling Far North mineral development, province says it waits on $1-billion commitment from Ottawa

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Ottawa offered a $40-million sweetener to entice Queen’s Park for a formal sit-down to discuss how to make progress in the Ring of Fire. So far, Wilkinson said, they’ve been rebuffed by the province.

“To date, Ontario has not taken us up on that, but I continue to urge Ontario to do that. I think it’s an important conversation, but there are really important issues to be addressed before we actually talk about mines.”

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Rio Tinto to be among top three lithium miners with Arcadium acquisition – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – October 7, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Rio Tinto has made an approach for Arcadium Lithium, the two sides confirmed on Monday, following market speculation over the weekend, and as the sector begins turning its attention back to growth.

The move would position Rio as one of the world’s largest lithium miners, behind only US-based Albemarle and Chile’s. This would happen because the acquisition would hand Rio Tinto lithium mines in Argentina and Australia, as well as processing facilities in the US, China, Japan and the UK.

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Mali seeks $500 million in outstanding taxes and dividends from Barrick – report – by Staff (Mining.com – October 8, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Mali’s military government is seeking at least 300 billion CFA ($512 million) in outstanding taxes and dividends from Barrick Gold, according to a Reuters report.

Authorities in Mali briefly detained four Malian staff members working for Barrick last month.On Sept. 30, Barrick stated it had agreed with the government to resolve existing claims and disputes.

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N.W.T. gov’t to review impact benefit agreements between mines and Indigenous groups – by Nadeer Hashmi (CBC News North – October 08, 2024)

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

Indigenous groups will have say over whether agreements should be renegotiated

The N.W.T. government says it’s aware some mining companies are not happy with uncertainty brought by changes to mining legislation — particularly when it comes to their impact benefit agreements with Indigenous governments and stakeholders.

The forthcoming Mineral Resources Act may require these companies to pay more to communities and Indigenous groups affected by mining operations.While the act was passed back in 2019, the government is still working on developing regulations. An initial draft is expected to be released by the end of the year or in early 2025.

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Potash mining is good business now, but it wasn’t always that way – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – October 4, 2024)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

It has been 65 years since potash mining began in Saskatchewan and Nutrien invited media to tour one their mines. Find out more.

ALLAN, SASK. — Since the mining of potash began on the prairies 65 years ago, the mineral has grown more important as countries around the world try to feed their growing populations, but the industry wasn’t always so consistent.

“In my first 15 years, it was four years of layoffs off and on, not constant and never a complete out-the-door shutdown, but downsizing and cutting back,” said Bob Boehm, who has been working at Nutrien Ltd.‘s Allan mine, southeast of Saskatoon, for more than 40 years.

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Canadian miner Hudbay settles long-standing lawsuits alleging human rights abuses in Guatemala – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – September 8, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Hudbay Minerals Inc. HBM-T has settled a long-standing series of lawsuits in an Ontario court that centred around alleged human-rights abuses at a Guatemalan nickel mine more than a decade ago.

The allegations heard in the Ontario Superior Court are based on clashes between Indigenous Mayan protesters and security personnel at the Fenix nickel mine in eastern Guatemala in 2007 and 2009.

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Short-seller report aims to poke holes in story told by fledgling gold company – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – September 26, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

Raises questions about New Found Gold deposit near Gander

Vancouver-based New Found Gold Corp. has been the toast of Canada’s exploration sector for reportedly striking bonanza-grade intercepts, but a short-seller report is trying to poke holes in the company’s story.

The report, released earlier this month by Iceberg Research, raises questions about the deposit’s “lack of continuity,” saying the best drill holes may be too narrow and spread too far away from one another to be economically mined.

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China is oversupplying lithium to eliminate rivals, US official says – by Sergio Goncalves (Reuters – October 8, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

Chinese lithium producers are flooding the global market with the critical metal and causing a “predatory” price drop as they seek to eliminate competing projects, a senior US official said on a visit to Portugal that has ample lithium reserves.

Jose Fernandez, under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment at the US Department of State, told a briefing late on Monday that China was producing much more lithium “than the world needs today, by far”.

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NEWS RELEASE: Wyloo and Metalshub Partner for Green Nickel Transparency (October 1, 2024)

Wyloo and Metalshub have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve transparency of the carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials, pricing and provenance in international nickel markets.

Wyloo intends to use Metalshub for the sale of its low-carbon nickel and nickel concentrate products following a re-start of its Kambalda, Western Australia nickel operations. The collaboration also aims to develop a price index for low-carbon nickel concentrate and nickel sulphate, to be referenced in future sales contracts.

Wyloo CEO, Luca Giacovazzi, said the collaboration would set a new global standard for sustainably produced nickel products and enable greater transparency of low carbon nickel pricing.

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The Art of Betting on Maybe, Junior Miners as an Options Trade – by Anthony Milewski (The Oregon Group – September 9, 2024)

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After kicking around the commodity sector for almost twenty years it still makes me laugh when I meet some guy running a small hedge fund (usually a fresh face kid out of New York or Connecticut) telling me he is a “value investor” looking at the mining space. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that these guys are an odds-on favorite to get smoked out!

No one really ever owns a mining stock, THEY RENT THEM

The same goes for many of the folks on forums like MINTWIT, CEO.CA and Hotcopper.com.au. These sites are littered with angry investors who lost money in part because they didn’t understand what they were buying and how they should assess risk.

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Grassy Narrows on the cusp of a housing boom – by Mike Stimpson (NWO News Watch – October 5, 2024)

https://www.nwonewswatch.com/

The First Nation has secured a commitment from Ottawa to fund 100 new homes.

GRASSY NARROWS – Chief Rudy Turtle disclosed on YouTube recently that his First Nation northeast of Kenora has secured a federal commitment for scores of new housing units in the next few years.

A meeting last month with Indigenous Services Canada produced a $24-million pledge to fund 50 new modular homes and a 20-unit apartment complex in the Anishinabe community, Turtle said.

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Natural diamond supply has peaked, De Beers’ Madondo says – by Darren Parker (MiningWeekly.com – October 4, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

De Beers group managed operations CEO Moses Madondo has said the supply of natural diamonds has peaked, with dwindling new discoveries on the horizon.

“We must recognise that we are already past the peak for diamond supply. Despite extensive exploration, only one commercial discovery – the Luele mine in Angola – has been made in the twenty-first century,” he said on the second day of the Joburg Indaba, in Johannesburg, on October 4.

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Investors With $15 Trillion Signal New Approach to Miners – by Alastair Marsh (Bloomberg News – October 07, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Investors need to adopt a new approach to the mining sector if the industry is to meet the growing demand for minerals and metals needed for the green transition.

That’s the central message in a report published Tuesday by a coalition of some of the world’s biggest investors, including California State Teachers’ Retirement System and Allianz Investment Management.

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