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 Suncor receiving a warning for its expansion plans, Rainy River adding another decade to its life and the impacts of electrification on the metals markets.

The government of Canada’s 2022 budget is expected to position Canada’s minerals and metals industry for success, according to the Mining Association of Canada (MAC). The budget includes $3.8 billion for the mining industry, including $1.5 billion for new infrastructure investments, $1.5 billion for new critical minerals projects and $80 million to help find the next generation of critical minerals deposits. According to MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton, the budget sends a clear message to its international allies that Canada will remain a reliable source for the materials required to transition to a low carbon economy.   

The long-standing dispute between Centerra Gold and Kyrgyzstan over the Kumtor mine has come to an end with an out-of-court settlement handing control of the mine to the country’s government, as reported by Mining.com. In exchange, the Kyrgyz government will give up its equity stake in Centerra worth an estimated $972 million, returning the shares to the company. Centerra will pay about US$36 million to the state-owned refiner Kyrgyzaltyn as part of the deal.

Kinross Gold has announced the sale of its Russian assets to the Russia-based Highland Gold Mining group in a US$680 million cash deal, as reported by Global News. The transaction first needs be approved by the Russian government, a potentially significant hurdle according to experts. With the sale pending, Kinross has also provided an update on its Ontario-based Great Bear project, announcing its inferred mineral resources are set to be declared with its 2022 year-end results and a pre-feasibility study is expected to commence in 2023.

Suncor Energy received a warning from the Canadian government for proposed extension plans for its oil sands Base mine in northern Alberta, as reported by Reuters. The company has been granted an additional nine months to submit its impact statement for the project. The extension as currently designed would emit an estimated three million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year which, according to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, would cause “unacceptable environmental effects”.

Canada Nickel Company has raised $51.6 million to invest into its Crawford nickel sulphide project located in Timmins, Ontario, as reported by Northern Ontario Business. The funding will be used to pay debts and complete a feasibility study for the project. The property, which currently has a projected 25-year mining life, is expected by Canada Nickel to become the largest base metal mine in the country.

Operations are moving underground at New Gold’s Rainy River gold mine in western Ontario, extending its life of mine by 10 years, as reported by Mining.com. Production is expected to average 310,000 ounces of gold per year at the mine between 2022 and 2027. The company plans to commission an in-pit portal in 2023 and another in 2026 to extend extraction from the open pit to below ground.

The electric vehicle market is boosting forecasts for battery metals such as copper, nickel and lithium. Iron ore is set to bounce back after a shaky end of 2021 resulting from regulations of the Chinese market. Battery metals are also seeing expected rises in price as the demand for EVs in countries like China explodes and potential supply gaps loom.

Avalon Advanced Materials’ plans to build a lithium refinery in Thunder Bay are moving forward with the support of an Indian partner, as reported by Northern Ontario Business. RenJoules International, a subsidiary of the Mumbai-based Essar Group, will act as global financing partner and co-developer in the $500-million regional processing facility primarily meant to handle the concentrate from Avalon’s Kenora-area deposit. Construction is expected to begin this year at a yet-to-be-named site, with operations set to begin in 2025.

Agnico Eagle has implemented a 5G wireless private network (WPN) at its Detour Lake mine in northern Ontario. The installation, facilitated by Rogers Business, has provided connectivity across the 80-square kilometres of the operation and will allow for remote control over the loaders so they can be moving at all times. The project has also involved building new wireless cell towers along Highway 652, which is expected to close connectivity gaps along the route by summer 2022.

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?