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 Wyloo Metals’ new Noront offer, a $2.8-million shot of capital for a Sudbury natural resources startup and concern from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce over critical minerals.

Kirkland Lake Gold has reportedly more than tripled its measured and indicated resources at its Detour Lake mine in Ontario. The resources have expanded to14,718,000 ounces of gold from 572 million tonnes of ore grading at an average of 0.80 grams per tonne, a result of a new drilling campaign following Kirkland Lake’s purchase of the mine in January 2020. President and chief executive Tony Makuch said the company is planning an additional 100,000 metres of drilling before the end of the year and has the intention of increasing mine production to 800,000 ounces per year by 2025.

After being delayed a year due to COVID-19, MINExpo International 2021 is back and set to run as planned in Las Vegas. The much-hyped trade show is a go, with 85 or 86 per cent of the 2020 exhibitors rebooked and over 1,300 exhibitors total. Beyond the tradeshow floor, attendees should expect education sessions and networking events, albeit ones held with COVID-19 safety requirements in mind.

One government official was injured in an attack by a gunman on a convoy headed to Iamgold’s Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso, as reported by Mining Journal. The company has since cancelled all convoys to and from Essakane until further notice, though it also reported that this incident will not have any negative impact on production.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it's time for federal leaders to get serious about making critical minerals a part of North America’s economic recovery, reports The Globe and Mail. The chamber says that any successful transition to a low carbon economy will rely heavily on critical minerals, but there has been no discussion on them during the ongoing federal election. The chamber has requested detailed plans for expanding domestic production and fortifying supply chains.

Wyloo Metals has proposed a competing offer to the shareholders of Noront Resources, which trumps the formal bid BHP had made in July for the company’s chromite and nickel developments in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, as reported by Bloomberg. Wyloo says its bid – $.70 per share as compared to BHP’s $.55 – has a higher chance of acceptance as Wyloo already owns about 37.5 per cent of Noront’s shares. Noront responded that it does not have a formal offer from Wyloo and that this is a non-binding proposal.

The Mosaic Company announced that it expects phosphate production to be down by approximately 300,000 tonnes in the third quarter due to impacts from Hurricane Ida, as reported by Mining.com. The company will be making repairs to its Faustina and Uncle Sam facilities, located in Florida and Louisiana respectively, over the next eight to nine weeks. The company is providing employees access funds and has made a US$100,000 disaster relief grant to the Capital Area United Way.

Blockchain technology is promising to revolutionize the tracking of mining supply chains, but there are concerns as to its effectiveness and accuracy as a ledger. Blockchain allows stakeholders to track metals across each step of the supply chain and ensure responsible production at each stage, backed up by a secure digital ledger. However, digital authentication does not ensure that the information entered into the blockchain is correct, an issue known as the “oracle problem.” To combat this issue, experts recommend the use of third-party assurance to ensure the information submitted is accurate.

Agnico Eagle Mines announced that it is doubling its stake in Candelaria Mining Corp. with strategic investment of $9.7 million. Agnico previously owned just over 7.8 per cent of Candelaria shares. This new investment will bring that total to 15.9 per cent. Candelaria is currently advancing two gold projects in Mexico, the exploration-stage Caballo Blanco project and the construction-ready Pinos project.

Symboticware, a Sudbury-based industrial IoT company, has secured $2.8 million in seed funding, as reported by betakit. Symboticware specializes in hardware and software allowing natural resource companies to gather and analyze data from their mobile assets. This funding will allow the company to advance its technology for natural resources industries, including mining, forestry, construction, agriculture, and oil and gas.

Quebec graphite developer Nouveau Monde Graphite has become the newest member of the Global Battery Alliance, as reported by the Canadian Mining Journal. This initiative, launched by the World Economic Forum, is meant to create a lower-carbon economy and fight climate change with a sustainable-battery value chain and counts battery metal miners Anglo American, Glencore and Vale among its members.

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