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Agnico, New Gold, Iamgold seen as possible buyers for shuttered Eagle Gold mine – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 22, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Stakeholders are hoping for a restart of the contaminated Eagle gold mine, but experts say finding a buyer isn’t guaranteed, and creditors are likely to take a major haircut regardless of the outcome.

Toronto-based Victoria Gold Corp. was placed in receivership last week, its management ejected and its shareholders wiped out after an Ontario judge ruled it wasn’t moving with enough urgency and lacked sufficient funding to remediate a major cyanide spill in central Yukon.

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Pentagon invests US$20 million in Temiskaming cobalt refinery project – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – August 20, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Electra Battery Materials pockets Defense Department funding to finish refinery construction

Electra Battery Materials has snagged a US$20-million ($27.4 million) grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to finish construction of its cobalt refinery in the Temiskaming area.

It’s a huge endorsement for a small and ambitious Toronto company that most investors and industry watchers would have to undertake a Google search on to find out its particulars. Electra is out to displace China as the world’s dominant player in critical minerals processing.

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A multibillion-dollar sale raises uncomfortable question for Canada: Is our mining industry in decline? – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – August 19, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

South African mining giant’s purchase of Osisko highlights how some of the country’s richest mines are now managed by companies with headquarters in Switzerland, Brazil, Australia and beyond

Canada’s mining industry let out a collective groan after the $2.15-billion sale earlier this week of Toronto-based Osisko Mining Inc., which owns one of the largest, highest-grade undeveloped gold deposits in the world.

Chief executive John Burzynski couldn’t complain about the outcome; everyone who invested made money, he said. But his original goal, when he started looking for a bonanza in Canada about two decades ago, was to build a new Canadian mining giant.

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US Coal Miner Consol to Buy Arch Resources for $2.3 Billion – by Christine Buurma and David Carnevali (Bloomberg News – August 21, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — US coal producer Arch Resources Inc. agreed to merge with rival Consol Energy Inc. in a $2.3 billion deal aimed at creating a North American mining heavyweight to deliver the fuel around the world.

The companies announced the transaction in a statement Wednesday after the deal talks were reported earlier by Bloomberg. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Arch stockholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.326 shares of Consol stock for each share of Arch common stock. Consol shareholders will own about 55% of the combined company, to be called Core Natural Resources.

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Canada’s nuclear industry energized by successful refurbishment projects – by Sasha Istvan (MacDonald Laurier Institute – August 16, 2024)

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The recent success of Canadian nuclear power projects speaks volumes about the industry’s preparedness and competitiveness.

When you think about Canadian infrastructure projects, what are the first words that come to mind? Late and over budget.

Poor project management, regulatory hurdles, and market impacts make it nearly impossible to build any major project on time, and it’s a genuine surprise if something gets completed under budget. This doesn’t have to be the case: the Canadian nuclear industry is rewriting this narrative. Currently, two of Canada’s largest active infrastructure projects are in the nuclear sector – and they are on time and on budget.

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How Governments Impact the Global Mineral Supply – by Gregory Wischer & Lyle Trytten (Real Clear Energy – August 19, 2024)

https://www.realclearenergy.org/

Mineral demand is expected to grow significantly, with mineral shortages possible later in this decade. Governments are increasing this mineral demand with policies targeting the manufacture and deployment of mineral-intensive technologies like electric vehicles.

Governments impact the mineral supply too, through policies that grow, stifle, or moderate the mineral supply. They also inadvertently affect the mineral supply when government actions unrelated to the mineral industry result in public backlash against the industry.

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SQM profit down 63%, anticipates continued weak lithium prices – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 21, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Chile’s SQM (NYSE: SQM), the world’s second-biggest lithium producer, reported a sharp 63.2% decline in quarterly profit on the back of slumping prices of the key metal used in the batteries that power electric vehicles and high tech devices.

The company, which also manufactures fertilizers and industrial chemicals, said it expects the downward trend in lithium prices to continue for the rest of the year. SQM’s second-quarter net profit came in at $213.6 million, or 75 cents per share, falling short of analysts’ prediction of $296.7 million, or 95 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

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China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts – by Ken Moritsugu (Associated Press – August 20, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

BEIJING (AP) — Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, according to an analysis released Tuesday, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.

A review of project documents by Greenpeace East Asia found that 14 new coal plants were approved from January to June with a total capacity of 10.3 gigawatts, down 80% from 50.4 gigawatts in the first half of last year.

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A trip to El Teniente, the largest underground copper mine in the world – by María Victoria Agouborde (English El Pais – August 16, 2024)

https://english.elpais.com/

The red metal deposit located in the Chilean region of O’Higgins, which is controlled by the state copper company Codelco, is moving towards green mining: it reuses tires and uses 100% electric buses

Just over 30 miles east of the city of Rancagua, in the O’Higgins Region in central Chile, after traveling a zigzagging road with the semi-white hills of the Andes mountain range as a backdrop, you reach El Teniente, the largest underground copper deposit on the planet. The mine, which has 2,800 miles of underground tunnels, is controlled by the state copper company Codelco, the largest copper supplier in the world.

From the surface, with wind blowing relentlessly, it is difficult to imagine the bustling world under the 2,200-meter-high hill, which began to be mined in 1905. From El Teniente, around 350,000 fine metric tons (ft) of copper are mined each year: it is the Codelco division that provides the largest contribution of the red metal.

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B.C. is a burgeoning oil and gas powerhouse – by Geoff Russ (National Post – August 19, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

The LNG revolution will be a boon for the province and its First Nations

Outside of small pleasures and personal adventures, life in British Columbia has offered little that can be celebrated as of late. For proponents of Canadian energy, however, B.C.’s transformation into a major player in oil and gas has been a triumph.

No, vast quantities of fossil fuels are not being extracted from the ground like in Alberta, but the westernmost province has become the great bridge that connects Alberta’s oil and gas to global markets. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are springing up along B.C.’s coastline, driving technological innovation and unprecedented reconciliation with First Nations.

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NEWS RELEASE: Sandy Lake First Nation Energized by Wataynikaneyap Power (Watay Power – June 21, 2024)

https://www.wataypower.ca/

(June 21, 2024 – Fort William First Nation, Ontario) Wataynikaneyap Power is pleased to announce the energization of Sandy Lake First Nation. The northern Ontario community was connected to the provincial power grid on April 18, 2024.

“It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the community’s connection to the power grid on Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” Sandy Lake Chief Delores Kakegamic comments. “The Wataynikaneyap Power transmission system means more than reliable electricity for the community. It means we can build new homes and buildings, such as our new Health Centre, and connect them to power.

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Maximizing the Benefits of the Renewed Global Interest in Africa’s Strategic Minerals – by Folashadé Soulé (Carnegie Endowment – August 15, 2024)

https://carnegieendowment.org/

Negotiations between African governments and foreign investors are often characterized by the various skills, technical capacities, and information asymmetries that shape the balance of power and influence outcomes. The dynamics of these negotiations—in pursuing extractive and infrastructure projects, in particular—merit a special focus, as agreements to carry them out often bind African countries for several decades.

Africa is home to a substantial share of the world’s reserves of mineral resources needed for the clean energy transition and could therefore be the main theater for the global race among China, the United States, European countries, Persian Gulf countries, and others to secure access. The International Energy Agency estimates that manufacturers of clean energy technologies will need forty times more lithium, twenty-five times more graphite, and about twenty times more nickel and cobalt in 2040 than in 2020.

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Revival of the Rockies’ once-prosperous coal industry clashes with those who say it will harm the land – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – August 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Grassy Mountain has become a battleground between those who see the economic benefits of coal development and those who warn about the risks to the environment

The wind rips across Grassy Mountain as the truck rumbles slowly along a crude track that, for decades, carried miners and coal around this part of the Crowsnest Pass, Alta. Remnants of the region’s coal industry, which dates back to 1900, litter the mountain; an old cart, twisty rusted metal, pockmarked buildings, weathered planks of wood and a mountaintop carved by decades of open-pit mining.

It’s also a battleground, pitting those who support coal development in the region against those who are firmly opposed. A lead proponent is Northback Holdings Corp., which owns a huge swath of land that was, until the 1960s, teaming with coal mines above and under the ground.

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‘We don’t want your garbage’: Northern township in shock after hearing Ontario is sending it radioactive waste – by Aya Dufour (CBC News Sudbury – August 20, 2024)

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

Communities asking the province to halt its transport plan while it holds consultations

Residents of a small northern Ontario township 40 minutes west of Sudbury say they were blindsided by Ontario’s decision to transport radioactive waste from an abandoned mill 200 kilometres away to the tailing facilities in their community in the coming weeks.

Nairn and Hyman, with a total of about 300 residents, became aware of the province’s plan when work began on the back roads leading to the Agnew Lake Mine last month, after there hadn’t been much action on that property since the Ministry of Mines took over in the 1990s.

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US Gives Tiny Canadian Firm Electra $20 Million to Build Cobalt Plant – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – August 19, 2024)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Canada’s Electra Battery Materials Corp. has received a $20 million award from the US government to build a cobalt plant close to North America’s automotive heartland.

The funds will support construction of a cobalt sulfate facility in Ontario that will be North America’s only refinery for the material used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, Electra said Monday in a statement. The $250 million project is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Toronto at Temiskaming Shores.

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