https://www.northernminer.com/
What started out as optimism two years ago when the federal government turned its eye to critical minerals, introducing a strategy, incentives and funding, and pledging faster permitting for mines, has turned into confusion and consternation.
In a classic case of ‘be careful what you wish for,’ the industry fears the government’s new attentions could actually end up hurting the sector.
(Bloomberg) — Australia’s gold industry — buoyed by the precious metal’s record—setting run this year — is anticipating a wave of deal-making, with smaller miners being targeted as exploration lags.
The potential for a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the world’s biggest gold producer after China and Russia has been one of the major talking points at the three-day Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in the dusty Western Australian mining town of Kalgoorlie.
Domestic customers at Titan Company are less interested in buying synthetic diamonds than their US and overseas counterparts, looking more for assurances that the stones they purchase are natural.
“We’ve been trying to track the inquiries on a continuous basis across all the stores, Tanishq, CaratLane, Mia and Zoya, and so far we have not seen material inquiries for [customers wanting lab-grown diamonds],” Titan managing director C.K. Venkataraman said in an analyst call last week. “What we do hear about, what our customers are more curious about, they want to be assured that what we are selling is natural, and [doesn’t have any lab-grown in it].”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/
Company has no intention of leaving the site, says John McConnell
The president and CEO of Victoria Gold says there’s still a lot of work to do before the heap leach failure at the company’s Eagle mine site near Mayo, Yukon, is contained — but the company has no intention of leaving the site.
Speaking publicly Tuesday — the first time he has done so since the heap leach pad went down on June 24 — John McConnell said he believes there is no longer the potential for major environmental impacts from the failure, which is believed to have released up to 300,000 cubic metres of toxic sodium cyanide solution.
Canadian global fertiliser giant Nutrien vowed to counter any competition from BHP with a boost to potash supply from its network of mines in response to BHP’s planned entry into crop nutrients. BHP is betting big on a growing market for potash as it prepares to take on one-time takeover target Nutrien and other fertiliser incumbents.
Nutrien is predicting steady but unspectacular growth in demand for potash, and focused on an emerging market for biological technology it believes could grow to $US13 billion ($19.9 billion) a year.
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Gold has been the standout commodity performer so far this year, gaining 18.5% and posting a record high. But the precious metal may become a victim of its own success, with consumer buying at risk from the surge in prices.
Spot gold ended at $2,443.29 an ounce on Aug. 2, and it has largely held onto the gains made this year, which saw a sustained rally to an all-time high of $2,483.60 on July 17.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Gold company to carve out exploration decline to drill for high-grade gold at depth
Kinross Gold is laying the groundwork for an underground mine with its Great Bear project at Red Lake. Construction of an exploration decline is in the works for next year to move the drill rigs underground and chase high-grade gold at depth, according to its 2024 second quarter results released July 31.
Down the road, Kinross wants to start production at Great Bear in 2029. Prep work for the decline begins in the second half of this year once all the permitting, engineering and procurement is done. Breaking ground on the advanced exploration decline — known as the AEX program — starts in mid-2025.
(Kitco News) – Gold and silver prices are solidly lower in midday U.S. trading Monday, but up from their session lows on some bargain hunting and safe-haven demand. Gold hit a two-week low overnight and silver a three-month low.
Some recent downbeat U.S. economic data has prompted worries about a U.S. and/or global recession and has the world marketplace on a knife’s edge. December gold was last down $21.60 at $2,448.30. September silver was down $0.972 at $27.42.
(Kitco News) – Gold prices continue to establish new all-time highs, pushing above $2,500 an ounce late Wednesday, but some analysts say the metal is fully priced in over the medium term.
Growing expectations that the Federal Reserve is preparing to cut interest rates in September have provided the precious metal with new momentum. While prices remain in an upward trend, one investment firm is warning investors that markets will be volatile.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Aston Minerals taking calls on 1.5-million-ounce gold deposit to bankroll its nickel exploits
Aston Minerals, an aspiring nickel mine developer in the Timmins area, is looking to swing a deal on a gold deposit at its Eldeston Project.
The Australian junior miner has designs on developing an open-pit nickel mine, 60 kilometres south of Timmins and wants to use the money from a sale of the gold asset to put back into advancing its Bardwell nickel-cobalt deposit.
Mining giant BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) and Canada’s Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) have teamed up to acquire South America-focused Filo Corp. (TSX: FIL), in a $3 billion (C$4.1bn) deal that hands them key copper assets in Chile and Argentina.
BHP and Lundin are forming a 50/50 joint venture that will have full ownership of the Filo del Sol prospect, which is located near the copper-rich Atacama Desert, straddling the border between Argentina and Chile. The partners will also own the large-scale Josemaría copper-gold-silver project, in the San Juan Province of Argentina, about 9 km east of the border with Chile.
SABAC, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia on Monday to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union.
The protests were held simultaneously in the western town of Sabac and the central towns of Kraljevo, Arandjelovac, Ljig and Barajevo. They followed similar gatherings in other Serbian towns in recent weeks.
(Bloomberg) — The Pacific island nation of Kiribati is tiny, with just 120,000 residents scattered across 32 tropical atolls, but it’s playing an outsize role in an election that will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals.
Leticia Carvalho, a Brazilian ocean scientist, says Kiribati’s ambassador tried to bribe her to drop out of the race to run the International Seabed Authority that’s responsible for both the exploitation and conservation of more than half the ocean floor.
‘The equity markets in Canada are tough at the moment,’ says CEO of Falcon Energy Materials
A Canadian graphite miner has moved its headquarters outside the country to attract new investment as the federal government raises the bar for certain foreign companies to buy into Canada’s critical minerals sector.
Falcon Energy Materials PLC — formerly known as SRG Mining Inc. — completed its move to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in early July, but it will continue to be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Wyloo Pty. Ltd. is a wholly owned portfolio company of Australian private investment group Tattarang Pty. Ltd. Tattarang is owned by Andrew and Nicola Forrest, serving as a holding company for the Forrest family’s private business interests. Tattarang also has a 35.15% interest in iron ore major Fortescue Ltd.
At the end of May, Wyloo put its Cassini and North Kambalda operations on care and maintenance in a bid to weather market oversupply caused by Indonesia flooding the market with cheap nickel.
