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 a preview of MINExpo 2024, Samarco partners Vale and BHP inching closer to finalizing a deal over the 2015 Mariana tailings dam collapse, and Ascot Resources suspending operations at its recently opened Premier gold mine. 

The Yukon Supreme Court has approved the first transaction that would allow the Selkirk First Nation (SFN) to take over the suspended Minto copper-gold mine and its assets. The mine, previously owned by Minto Metals Corp., was abandoned on May 12, 2023, and the Yukon government took over the site to conduct remediation. If the sale goes through, it could be the first Indigenous-owned mine in Canada. 

First Phosphate has leased an industrial facility in Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean, Quebec, with the aim of retrofitting the plant to produce 10,000 tonnes per year of iron phosphate, a key ingredient needed to make cathode active material for lithium iron phosphate batteries, as reported by Canadian Mining Journal. The plant, which will be named First Saguenay, will use phosphate from the company’s nearby mines and is projected to generate 100 jobs. 

After 24 years of dormancy, a portion of the Quintette mine in northeastern B.C. has resumed operations, as reported by CBC News. The mine, which last produced steelmaking coal in 2000, will generate more than 400 permanent jobs once it is fully up and running. Conuma Resources, which acquired the site in February 2023, is investing over $500 million to bring the mine back into full operation. The company did not say when it expects to fully reopen the mine, only that it requires more permits.  

MINExpo 2024, which will be back in Las Vegas from Sept. 24 to 26, is expected to showcase over 1,900 exhibitors and welcome over 44,000 visitors. This year’s focus will be on advanced technologies like electrification, automation and artificial intelligence, reflecting the mining industry’s shift towards sustainable practices and improved connectivity. Some of the latest products and technology being exhibited at MINExpo include Wirtgen’s new cutting drum and Hitatchi’s updated ConSite Mine system. 

Vale, BHP and their joint venture Samarco are nearing an agreement with Brazilian authorities to pay approximately 100 billion reais ($24.2 billion) in compensation for the Mariana dam collapse on Nov. 15, 2015, which released a flood of tailings that killed 19 people, as reported by Reuters. Sources suggest a final agreement could be reached in October, exceeding a previous offer of 82 billion reais made in June. 

Just shy of five months after its first gold pour, Ascot Resources is suspending operations at its Premier mine located near Stewart, B.C., as reported by Business in Vancouver. The company said that due to delays in development at its Big Missouri and Premier Northern Lights (PNL) mines, there are not enough stoping areas to provide sufficient ore to feed the mill. The company estimated that operations will resume in three to six months and will require further fundraising. 

Canada Nickel has secured a letter of interest from Export Development Canada for a loan of up to $678 million to develop its Crawford open-pit nickel mine, located 40 kilometres north of Timmins, Ontario, as reported by Northern Ontario Business. The letter outlines long-term debt financing for up to 18 years, pending a due diligence process. The funding would be a key step towards financing the company’s $2 billion Crawford nickel-sulfide project. Canada Nickel shared on Sept. 11 that it had also secured receipt of a support letter from a major financial institution expressing interest in offering up to $500 million in long-term debt financing for the same project. 

Europe’s largest battery manufacturer Northvolt AB is pausing some production at its flagship factory in northern Sweden and cutting jobs across its Swedish workforce due to operational issues and reduced electric vehicle demand, as reported by Bloomberg. Northvolt stated that it is still dedicated to its Northvolt Six facility near Montreal, which is currently under construction, and other facilities in Sweden and Germany. Any timeline adjustments to its projects and additional cost-cutting measures will be shared publicly in the next few months. 

The Canadian government is considering placing a surtax on Chinese critical mineral products, batteries and parts, solar products and semiconductors, as reported by Reuters. Last month, the government shared that it would impose a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum imported from China. In response, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into Canada’s canola imports, and more retaliation is feared from any new surtaxes. The finance ministry will open a 30-day public consultation on the possible surtax.  

Paladin Energy announced on Sept. 10 that Fission Uranium shareholders have approved its $1.14 billion acquisition of the company, with 67.9 per cent of votes being in favour, as reported by Engineering News. An earlier vote had failed to get sufficient support. The deal gives Paladin control of the Patterson Lake South uranium project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. 

Magna Mining Inc. announced a deal with a subsidiary of global miner KGHM International Ltd. to acquire several base metal assets located in Ontario’s Sudbury basin, as reported by Resource World Magazine. This acquisition, which has a purchase price of $5.3 million in cash and $2 million in common shares, includes the producing McCreedy West copper mine, the past-producing Levack mine, the Podolsky mine and Kirkwood mine, as well as the Falconbridge Footwall, Northwest Foy, North Range and Rand exploration assets. 

Kinross Gold has released a preliminary economic assessment for its Great Bear project, located in Red Lake, Ontario, as reported by Mining.com. Kinross plans to develop the project into a major gold mine, with first stope production possibly starting as early as 2029. Capital costs for the project are expected to be US$1.4 billion.  

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?