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China’s Fast-Growing Copper Champion Is Reshaping Global Metal Supply (Bloomberg News – October 2, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Chen Jinghe was not long out of university when a government official handed him the assignment that would change his life. Go to Zijin mountain, he was told, and find gold.

It was 1982, and the geology graduate found himself on forested slopes in the remote, humid highlands of southeastern China. The bet paid off. The deposit his team eventually discovered became the nation’s biggest gold mine — and the foundation for a $67 billion state-owned behemoth that is today driving copper supply growth and gaining ground on some of the most established names in the global resources industry.

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N.W.T.’s mining future could be in gold or lithium, say companies – by Jocelyn Shepel (CBC News North – October 2, 2024)

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

Exploration efforts steady among resource sector

While the price of gold has been climbing steadily, now selling for more than $2,600 USD per ounce, one mining CEO says financing is still hard to come by.

The future of the N.W.T.’s mining industry remains far from certain. Current exploration projects are focused on gold and lithium. Both had company representatives in Yellowknife this week for presentations and to strengthen community relationships.

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Canada reviewing Paladin’s Fission Uranium takeover on national security grounds – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 2, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Paladin Energy’s (ASX: PDN) proposed takeover of Canadian explorer Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU) has hit a roadblock after receiving a notice from the Canadian government informing the company the deal is now the subject of a national security review.

The Australian miner entered in June into an agreement with Fission Uranium to acquire it for C$1.14 billion ($846m), as strong prices for the fuel used in nuclear reactors has lit fire under market consolidations and deals.

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Wyloo CEO makes Timmins stop to talk Ring of Fire – by Maija Hoggett (Timmins Today – October 3, 2024)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

Efforts to get the province to the table to talk about conservation planning processes remain at a stand-still

TIMMINS – With a nickel mine in Ontario’s Far North aiming to be in production in six years, the Timmins business community had a chance to learn more about the project. Wyloo CEO Kristan Straub talked about the ongoing work at the proposed nickel and chromite mine in the Ring of Fire today (Oct. 3) at the Timmins Chamber’s State of Mining series.

The proposed Eagle’s Nest Mine is located 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay in a minerally enriched area of the James Bay wetlands.

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Nutrien celebrates 65 years of potash production in Saskatchewan – by John Flatters (CTV News Saskatoon – October 2, 2024)

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/

The impact of the above and below-ground operations at Nutrien’s potash mines span multiple generations, fuelling the local economy and feeding the world. Celebrating 65 years in the Saskatchewan potash industry, Nutrien gave a special tour of its Allan mine east of Saskatoon.

Building started in 1964, and the first tonne of raw ore was pulled up to the surface in 1968. Over the last six decades, it’s seen giant leaps in technology which have further improved safety and productivity.

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Iran-Israel conflict is driving capital inflows into gold despite overbought conditions – TD Securities’ Ghali – by Ernest Hoffman (Kitco News – October 2, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Even as the market signals overbought conditions and Asian demand dries up, the increasing chances of a direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel is driving safe-haven inflows into gold, according to Daniel Ghali, commodity analyst at TD Securities.

“Selling activity in Gold has been a bit limited, but the top traders still liquidated nearly 5t of notional Gold over the last week,” Ghali said in a research note. “This contrasts with Western investor sentiment. Our read of macro fund positioning remains at its highest levels since the Brexit referendum in July 2016; re-levering from risk parity and vol-target funds is supporting a reaccumulation from CTAs and prices continue to rally without challenge.”

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Saskatchewan faces major obstacles as it aims to compete with China in processing rare earth minerals – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – September 3, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Saskatchewan Research Council is attempting to go head-to-head with China and prove the case for private investment in rare earth minerals by building North America’s first rare earths processing plant.

Rare earths are mined in vanishingly small quantities worldwide, but owing to their magnetic, fluorescent and conductive qualities, they have crucial uses in tech, robotics, low-carbon power and military applications.

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Beijing’s nickel glut leaves America penniless – by Oliver McPherson-Smith (The Hill – October 2, 2024)

https://thehill.com/

Oliver McPherson-Smith, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Energy & Environment at the America First Policy Institute.

America’s vast mineral wealth has underwritten our nation’s evolution into an economic and military superpower. From the gold rush that fueled the race westward almost 200 years ago to the iron ore and coal miners that powered the construction of bridges, skyscrapers, rail lines and military vessels, mining has been central to American prosperity.

Sadly, America’s commitment to mining its resources has fallen victim to progressive dogma. Now, Beijing’s vast influence over global mineral supply chains poses an economic threat to the United States. While the Biden-Harris administration is hamstringing American mining projects in red tape, Chinese miners are preemptively flooding the global market to keep American minerals in the ground.

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Column: Exuberant iron ore, subdued copper show different sides of China stimulus – by Clyde Russell (Reuters – October 2, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

China’s significant stimulus measures have kicked the prices of key metals higher, and the gains have largely been sustained even amid a debate as to whether Beijing has actually done enough to boost the world’s second-biggest economy.

The raft of announcements last week, which included lower interest rates and easier home purchase terms, saw metals prices respond, especially those with a high degree of China exposure, such as iron ore.

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Indigenous women from Ecuador bring concerns on mining abuses, free trade to Parliament Hill – by Brett Forester (CBC News Indigenous – October 02, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/

Delegation to meet with federal leaders in Ottawa amid talks on proposed free trade deal

Indigenous women from Ecuador are in Ottawa this week raising concerns a proposed free trade agreement could enable human rights abuses by Canadian mining companies operating on their ancestral lands.

The delegation travelled thousands of kilometres from the rural reaches of the Ecuadorian Amazon to Canada’s capital city, bringing what they say is an urgent message of grave concern to the doorstep of Parliament Hill.

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A Bitter Feud Risks Ripping Apart an $11 Billion Metals Empire – by Heesu Lee and Archie Hunter (Bloomberg News – October 1, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A spat between two wealthy South Korean families over the future of an $11 billion zinc empire has descended into a bitter battle for control that could hamper efforts to diversify the global supply of energy-transition metals.

The power struggle over Korea Zinc Co. — founded by two friends who fled North Korea, and still held by the Choi and the Chang families — has captured headlines. Even in a country of large conglomerates, where inheritance fights are common, few involve private equity backers stepping into the ring to stand against wealthy establishment names.

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Industry leaders converge in Sudbury for annual mining conference – by Staff (Sudbury Star – September 29, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Several big companies planning to launch or expand operations in city

Sudbury’s role as a vital mining hub was highlighted during a three-day conference last week, and the city was proud to be part of it. “The conversations we’ve been having this week at MINExpo confirm what we’ve always known – Greater Sudbury is a critical player in the global mining industry,” said Mayor Paul Lefebvre in a release. “Hearing first-hand from these industry leaders that we are vital to their expansion plans is a testament to the strength of our community and the sector.”

Lefebvre and city representatives met with a number of key industry leaders, including original equipment manufacturers, potential national and international investors, as well as local organizations, to explore collaboration and expansion opportunities.

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How much gas does gold prices have next week after prices touched $2,700 an ounce? – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – September 27, 2024)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – After hitting record highs for the last six days, the gold market is taking a breather as it experiences some technical selling pressure heading into the weekend.

Solid buying momentum briefly pushed gold above $2,700 an ounce on Thursday. However, some analysts express growing concerns that the precious metal’s rally may be a bit overdone. December gold futures last traded at $2,669 an ounce, down nearly 1% on the day; however, prices are up nearly 1% from last Friday.

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Gold repatriation shifting from north to south – by Rick Mills (Ahead of the Herd/Mining.com – September 27, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

In 2017 Germany brought home nearly $31 billion of gold bars that had been stored in New York and Paris after World War II. The Financial Times gives a good account of how Germany amassed, lost and then got its gold back.

Perhaps no other country (except maybe Zimbabwe) understands the value of bullion as a store of value than Germany. Hyperinflation during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s had citizens piling near-worthless Deutsche marks into wheelbarrows just to buy bare necessities.

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Burgundy Diamond Mines pauses plan for critical Ekati expansion (CBC News North – September 25, 2024)

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

Company also asking N.W.T. gov’t to reduce burden of ‘onerous’ mining regulations

The company that owns the Ekati diamond mine in the N.W.T. has paused a plan to develop an underground project at one of the mine’s pits — a plan it previously said was critical to Ekati’s future.

Burgundy Diamond Mines notified the Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Board Tuesday that it would be withdrawing its application for the Sable Underground development. It previously said its entire business could hinge on that project, and without it, Burgundy “risks the financial viability and sustainability of the business.”

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