Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap, where we catch you up on some of the news you may have missed. This week’s headlines include announcements from the COP26 climate summit, new inductees to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and a takeover battle for a Vancouver-based lithium miner.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this week, where he announced that Canada would stop all thermal coal exports by 2030, as reported by Mining Weekly. Trudeau also announced that the country would seek to reduce pollution from the oil and gas industries and achieve net zero by 2050. Another announcement from the summit came from IBM and Copper Mountain Mining, who are collaborating with the B.C. government on a responsible sourcing network using blockchain technology.

Baffinland Iron Mines, currently undergoing a review by the Nunavut Impact Review Board, said a negative result from the hearings could result in its Mary River iron mine entering care and maintenance, as reported by CBC. The company’s proposed expansion could up the mine’s production to 12 million tonnes of ore per year, but government agencies and the local Inuit communities have raised concerns over the project’s potential impact on the environment and local narwhal population.

The mining industry produces billions of tonnes of tailings each year, but new technologies are allowing companies to use tailings to their advantage. Removing contaminants using ozonation, a process that uses stirred media reactors to improve mineral recoveries and a reclamation technique that uses fluid tailings as a key ingredient are among the new innovations changing the face of tailings.

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame has named its five newest inductees. Joining the ranks of the miners honoured in the Hall are company and mine builder F. Dale Corman, regulator Maureen C. Jensen, metallurgist Phillip John Mackey, Pretium Resources founder Robert Quartermain and trailblazing prospector Peter Risby.

New and disruptive technologies are on the horizon and represent a new era for the mining industry, though implementing these technologies at existing mine sites will be no easy task. Presenting at the Mining 4.0 conference, Teck automation manager Aaron Wylie, Queen’s University professor Laeeque Daneshmend and METS Ignited national cluster development manager Andrew Scott spoke on how the industry needs to meet the challenge of implementing digital advances..

Teck Resources made several announcements this week detailing its commitment to more sustainable practices. The company said it would be committing to the Copper Mark framework, which promotes responsible production practices and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine in British Columbia will be verified by this framework and the company plans to include its Carmen de Andacollo mine and QB2 project in Chile in 2023. Teck also announced an agreement with Oldendorff Carriers to use energy-efficient bulk carriers for its metallurgical coal shipments, which the company claims will result in CO2 emissions reductions of 30 to 40 per cent for those shipments.

Vancouver’s Millennial Lithium Corp. has become the subject of a bidding war between two foreign miners, the U.S.’s Lithium Americas Corp. and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), as reported by CBC. Both companies are vying for control of Millennials’ Pastos Grandes project in Argentina, which is expected to be able to produce 24,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year over a 40-year life of mine. On Monday, Lithium Americas offered to acquire the company for $4.70 per share, 85 cents more than the late-September bid from CATL.

Following the release of its third-quarter results, Harte Gold has warned that unless it acquires additional capital, it might be forced to halt operations at its Sugar Zone mine in Ontario, as reported by Northern Ontario Business. Harte was given a forbearance agreement with its biggest creditor, BNP Parabas, but has defaulted on another loan given by Appian Capital. The company reported a net loss of $3.1 million this quarter and is having issues attracting employees and upgrading its vehicle fleet.

Last week, Iamgold reported a security incident involving three buses and three supply trucks carrying employees travelling on the road from its Essakane gold Mine in Burkina Faso, which resulted in two missing persons. On Monday, the company announced that both individuals, an employee and a contractor, were located safe and sound. Operations at Essakane were not affected by the incident.

With the demand for metals high and many developments underway, new talent is required for the Canadian mining industry to produce critical minerals. CIM president Pierre Julien explains how the industry will need to meet the recruiting challenge, and offers up the example of the Mining Needs You virtual career fair taking place on Nov. 8 and 9.

Mining companies are continuing to release their third-quarter financial reports. Here are some of the highlights:

Equinox Gold produced 139,758 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$1,113 per ounce for the quarter. It also recorded a net loss of US$5.2 million, which was impacted, in part, by the decline of gold prices compared to Q2.

Hecla Mining recorded a gross profit of US$35.2 million in the third quarter, producing 2,676,084 ounces of silver and 42,207 ounces of gold at an AISC of US$12.82 and US$1,450 per ounce, respectively.

Calibre Mining produced 44,578 ounces of gold at a cost of US$1,097 per ounce and reported a net income of US$15 million. The company also acquired Fiore Gold this quarter, adding annual gold production of approximately 245,000 ounces per year.

Barrick produced 1.09 million ounces of gold in the third quarter at an AISC of US$1,034 per ounce. This resulted in net earnings of US$347 million for the quarter.

Hudbay Minerals generated US$359 million in revenue this quarter from higher base-metal prices and higher gold-sales volume. The company produced 23,245 tonnes of copper and 53,872 ounces of gold at an AISC per pound of copper of US$2.18.

Kirkland Lake Gold reported record net earnings of US$254.9 million this quarter, producing 370,101 ounces with an AISC of US$740 per ounce.

Sherritt recorded combined revenues of $120 million for the quarter and produced 2,908 tonnes of nickel at a unit operating cost of US$4.53 per pound from its Moa joint venture.

Centerra Gold produced 76,913 ounces of gold and 17.9 million pounds of copper at an AISC of US$630 per ounce and US$1.50 per pound, respectively. Its net earnings for the quarter totaled US$27.6 million.

Taseko reported an adjusted net income of $27 million, a 171 per cent increase over the second quarter, and produced 34.5 million pounds of copper at a total operating cost of US$1.57 per pound.

Iamgold produced 153,000 ounces of gold in Q3 and recorded an adjusted net loss of US$20.1 million.

That’s all for this week. 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 on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram pages?