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Yukon contemplating seizing control of Eagle mine site as Victoria Gold runs low on storage for contaminated water – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Yukon government is contemplating seizing control of Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle mine site, as doubts grow about the company’s ability to prevent further environmental damage after a catastrophic heap-leach failure last month.

Four million tonnes of cyanide-laced rocks collapsed June 24 at an outdoor heap-leach processing facility at the gold mine in central Yukon. Two million tonnes of material breached the company’s containment zone and elevated levels of cyanide were later found in a water body adjacent to the mine.

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New top soldier warns Canada needs to be ready for ‘the threats that are coming’ (Toronto Star – July 19, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Gen. Jennie Carignan said the military must be ready to face potential threats to Canadian territory within the next five years.

OTTAWA—The shadow of potential war — and the need to avoid it — was invoked early and often at Thursday’s change-of-command ceremony, where Gen. Jennie Carignan became the first woman to take command of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Addressing reporters at the Canadian War Museum, in a large display room packed with forest-green tanks and other war machines, Carignan said the military must be ready to face potential threats to Canadian territory within the next five years.

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Canada Nickel outlines new million-tonne nickel resource near Timmins – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 19, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

BHP’s pain in mothballing Australian nickel mines is Canada Nickel’s gain, says CEO Mark Selby

Bad news for global miner BHP is great news for Canada Nickel and its ambitious plan to roll out a series of nickel projects in the Timmins area over the next decade, including a new one-million tonne resource south of the city.

“One hundred per cent,” said Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby in a recent interview with CRUX Investor in reacting to the blue sky opportunity he sees for his company on the news that BHP is shutting down its Western Australian nickel projects until 2027, blaming plummeting metal prices and world oversupply of nickel.

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PROMOTIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS: From underground to fields and farms globally: Celebrating 65 years of potash in the province of Saskatchewan (Nutrien.com – July 18, 2024)

https://www.nutrien.com/

For 65 years, Nutrien has been part of the fabric of Saskatchewan. From the first 1,000 tonnes of potash produced at our Patience Lake mine and shipped in 1959 to our position today as the world’s largest potash producer, Nutrien’s legacy demonstrates our deep-rooted connection with Saskatchewan and our commitment to Feeding the Future.

Our six mines across the province have access to the best potash geology in the world highlighting our role as a critical mineral producer essential to global agricultural advancement. Potassium is a critical plant nutrient for growth and productivity, without which plant life is impossible.

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Vale to create a new open-pit mine in Sudbury – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – July 18, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Stobie project is expected to cost $205 million over the next four years and could be a model for future projects in the basin

Vale Base Metals has announced it is going to rejuvenate the historic Stobie Mine property with the creation of a new open pit mine. And the work will be carried out using several local contractors who will employ USW Local 6500 members to carry out the work.

Gord Gilpin, director of Ontario Operations for Vale Base Metals, said the new mine will be a significant four-year project carried out at a cost of more than $200 million.

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Kiran Gems’ Sister Company Grows Synthetic Diamonds – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – July 18, 2024)

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Mehul Vaghani, cofounder and director of Kira Diam — which claims to be the world’s largest CVD producer — gives his take on the market.

Given how many Indian diamond firms have invested in synthetics in the past five years, it’s unsurprising that the company that claims to be the world’s largest manufacturer of natural polished should also get involved.

Indeed, Kira Diam, the brainchild of Kiran Gems founder Vallabhbhai Patel, also maintains it is the world’s largest producer in its field. That field is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the method it uses to grow gem-quality synthetic diamonds primarily for the US jewelry market.

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US has second-longest mine development timeline in the world, S&P Global says – by Staff (Mining.com – July 18, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

According to a new report by S&P Global, the United States has the second-longest lead times in the world for developing a new mine.

Mines in the US go from discovery to production in an average of 29 years, longer than in any other country except Zambia (34 years), the consultancy says.

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Why China Is So Interested in Kazakhstan – by Daisuke Wakabayashi (New York Times – July 18, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Kazakhstan’s bounty of so-called critical minerals has enriched the country and grabbed the attention of entrepreneurs scrambling to control the ingredients needed to fight climate change.

Kenges Rakishev, one of the richest men in Kazakhstan, stepped off a private jet at a Soviet-era airport and hopped into the lead car of a convoy of sport utility vehicles. The cars tore down a two-lane road, zipping past the snow-covered steppe in eastern Kazakhstan at 90 miles per hour.

Riding shotgun, Mr. Rakishev gestured toward the vast emptiness. “Nothing, right?” he said with a chuckle. “But it’s a unique opportunity.” That opportunity is in nickel, a key mineral used in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies. Kazakhstan, a mineral-rich country in Central Asia, has a lot of nickel, and Mr. Rakishev is investing tens of millions of dollars to extract it.

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Anglo’s plan to sell De Beers complicated by diamond output cut – by Thomas Biesheuvel and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – July 18, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Anglo American Plc is looking at more diamond production cuts as the industry continues to struggle, complicating its plan to sell the De Beers unit as part of a radical overhaul of its business.

Anglo announced the restructuring earlier this year as part of a successful rebuttal of a US$49 billion approach from BHP Group, the world’s the biggest miner. That plan centered around exiting diamond mining by spinning off or selling its De Beers unit, separating platinum and selling its coal mines.

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Paladin CEO bullish on clearing national security test on Fission deal, as Ottawa inquires about state-owned China shareholder – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Australia’s Paladin Energy Ltd.is confident its proposed acquisition of Canada’s Fission Uranium Corp. will clear a national security probe, as Ottawa makes enquiries about CGN Mining Co. Ltd., a China-based state-owned deal stakeholder.

Perth-based Paladin last month said it had reached a friendly agreement to buy Kelowna, B.C.-based Fission in an all-stock transaction worth $1.14-billion. Fission is developing the Patterson Lake South (PLS) uranium project in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan and hopes it will be in production by the end of the decade.

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BHP joins the lengthening list of nickel price casualties – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 16, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s nickel production surge is crushing competitors and challenging the West’s ambitions of diversifying its critical metals supply chains. Australia’s BHP Group is the latest victim of a two-year price slump, which has seen London Metal Exchange three-month nickel tumble from an all-time high of $55,000 per metric ton in March 2022 to $16,650.

The world’s largest listed miner has announced it is suspending its Western Australia nickel operations from October. The decision was well flagged and probably made easier by the loss of feed from Wyloo Metals’ Kambalda mines, which were placed on care and maintenance in May, also due to low prices.

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Sudbury’s Stobie Pit Mine getting new life above ground (CBC News Sudbury – July 17, 2024)

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

Vale has partnered with First Nations, Steelworkers and an operator to start an open-pit mine at old site

What’s old is new. Vale Base Metals announced Wednesday it will start operations at an open-pit mine at the site of the old Stobie Mine in Greater Sudbury.

The $205 million project will be a partnership between Vale, Thiess Mining, United Steel Workers and local First Nations. It’s expected to produce 300,000 tonnes of ore, primarily nickel and copper, by the end of 2024. The previous Stobie Mine operated underground from 1914 to 2017, though it also began as an open pit mine in 1890.

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Hearst-area graphite deposit holder gets excited about mining – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 17, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Zentek produces ultra-high 99.9 per cent result from new purification process

A new refining process has reinvigorated Zentek’s interest in mining and processing graphite at its Albany project in the Hearst area. The Guelph technology company said it’s produced an ultra-high purified result of 99.99915 per cent that was taken from a sample extracted from the Northern Ontario graphite deposit, near Constance Lake First Nation.

Zentek reported July 17 that the “five nines” purity material was achieved from a specialized graphite purification process using a 100-gram sample taken from Albany and used during pilot plant trials back in 2017.

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Gold price sets new high as traders bet on Fed rate pivot – by Staff (Mining.com – July 17, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Gold steadied after setting another record on Wednesday as traders upped their bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts while weighing the uncertain political outlook in the US. Spot gold climbed to an all-time high of $2,483.73 an ounce before paring gains. By 12:45 p.m. ET, it had retreated to $2,455.71 an ounce. US gold futures are also down slightly at $2,460.70 per ounce.

Gold rallied as much as 1.9% on Tuesday to surpass a record high set in May as traders piled into bets for more aggressive rate cuts from the Fed amid increasing signs that inflation is cooling toward the central bank’s target.

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Canada, BC invest in Golden Triangle roads – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – July 16, 2024)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Governments commit C$195 million to improving highway infrastructure in critical minerals-rich Northern BC.

Heralded as a win for First Nations residents and the mining industry in Northern British Columbia, the federal and provincial governments are investing C$195 million (US$142.6 million) to upgrade highway infrastructure in the critical minerals-enriched Golden Triangle.

“The Northwest BC Highway Corridor Improvements Project will benefit a critical mineral region and First Nations partners,” said B.C. Minister of Transportation Pablo Rodriguez. “It will also improve transportation safety, reliability and access to essential services, and reinforce our government’s commitment to a net-zero future.”

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