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Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap, where we catch you up on some of the news you may have missed. The mining industry has not been immune to the impact of the  COVID-19 virus. Here’s how some companies in Canada are responding to the crisis.

Mining companies operating in Canada are taking measures to protect workers against the spread of COVID-19, such as suspending in-person meetings and events and temporarily shuttering remote operations. Other companies such as Agnico Eagle announced they will begin testing workers at its operations for virus symptoms, while Vale has cancelled all non-essential travel and asked employees to work remotely when possible. Due to the fast-changing nature of the pandemic, it is unclear for how long these measures will remain in place. 

Operations in the North have sent workers home in order to protect remote communities from the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers at Dominion Diamond’s Ekati mine and Rio Tinto’s Diavik mine in the Northwest territories were among those sent home this week. Companies operating in the North are hoping to prevent the spread of the virus in these communities, which are at higher risk due to their lack of critical infrastructure and precarious supply chains.

Teck Resources is cutting down operational activities at its Antamina mine in Peru amid the national state of emergency. The Peruvian government declared a national state of emergency on Mar. 16, closing its national borders and implementing a 15-day quarantine throughout the country. As a result, Teck – as well as other companies such as Newmont and Pan American Silver – will follow an exemption under the national mines ministry and continue only critical operations with a reduced workforce.

Vancouver-based exploration company SilverCrest Metals announced that a syndicate of financial firms is backing out of its $75 million deal with the company over concerns about COVID-19. The financial firms, including National Bank Financial, are citing the global pandemic to allow them to trigger a “disaster out” clause in the offering agreement, which would have funded SilverCrest’s continued exploration and development of its Las Chispas project in Mexico. Executives from SilverCrest Metals announced their intention to take legal actions against the banks as they believe the termination provisions have not been properly enacted.

Scores of other companies have also announced their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic including:

- Champion Iron announced it will not be proceeding with plans to redomicile from Australia to Canada, citing global uncertainty with market prices and the coronavirus pandemic.

- Barrick announced that it has implemented emergency response plans for COVID-19 at all of its sites and offices globally, following its suspension of non-essential travel and projects.

- Glencore announced a number of precautionary measures against the virus, including enhanced hygiene and cleaning measures, restrictions on non-essential travel and flexible working conditions such as rotational and remote work where possible.

Mining companies along with other publicly listed Canadian enterprises received a little extra breathing room this week with extensions to deadlines for their regulatory filings and their taxes after many businesses across the country transitioned to remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canada Revenue Agency announced on Wednesday that businesses would be able to defer until August 31 the payment of income tax owing from now until that date. The same day the Canadian Securities Administrators granted a 45-day extension to listed companies and funds who were obligated to post filings such as financial statements, technical reports and management’s discussion and analysis up until June 1. 

The tax deadline relief was part of a much larger package announced on Wednesday, which included a credit extension of an additional $10 billion for small and medium-sized businesses in sectors hit especially hard by both the coronavirus and this week’s Saudi Arabia-Russia oil war that dragged oil prices to historic lows. The National Observer reports the latest crisis for the energy sector could mean the abandonment of dozens of approved, but not yet producing, projects in Alberta.

BHP made history last April when it completed the sinking of two shafts at its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan without explosives. The company used a shaft boring roadheader (SBR) machine, developed by Herrenknecht and based off of tunneling technology, to sink shafts one kilometre deep precisely and without personnel around the excavation area. Subsequent shaft sinking projects have already begun applying the lessons learned from the Jansen project. 

The construction of transcontinental railways opened up British Columbia’s Kootenay region to mineral exploration at the end of the 19th century. Joe Moris and Joe Bourgeois staked the first claims at Red Mountain in 1890, which would later become the richest gold mine in the province and generate $2.4 million at the time: Le Roi mine. But a power struggle between the two gentlemen and a flamboyant financier opened up a window on the freewheeling nature of mining in that era.

Nouveau Monde has updated the mineral resource estimate for its Matawinie graphite project in Saint-Michel-des-Saint, Quebec. The update includes an increase of 25 per cent in combined measured and indicated mineral resources over its previous estimates in June 2018, for 5.13 million tonnes of graphite from 120 million tonnes of ore at 4.26 per cent compared to a previous 4.10 million tonnes from 95.8 million tonnes of ore at a grade of 4.28 per cent. 

Barrick will extend the life of its Argentinian Veladero gold mine as a result of the company’s recent strategy and business plan review. The company plans to mine at the operation beyond 2030 and transform it into a “Tier One” asset, producing over 500,000 ounces of gold per year. According to Barrick, the next step for the Veladero mine is to reduce its carbon footprint by connecting to a cleaner and cheaper power grid in Chile.

That’s it for this week’s recap, remember to stay safe and wash your hands! If you’ve got feedback, you can always reach us at editor@cim.org. If you’ve got something to add, why not join the conversation at our Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn pages? Like your recap with a few more gifs? Check out our mining news recap stories on our Instagram.