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 Zijin Mining intending to pursue Canadian junior miners despite investment restrictions, BHP warning AI adoption could accelerate the copper shortage and panelists from the recent Safety Share webinar discussed implementing battery electric vehicles in mining.   

Cleanup efforts at Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle mine are flagging after the company was put into receivership last month, as reported by the Globe and Mail. A former Victoria Gold engineer said the work by the mine’s receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., and environmental consultant Parsons has slowed, and the Yukon government’s directives for the companies are far less stringent. On June 24, four million tonnes of cyanide-laced rock collapsed at Eagle, and roughly half breached the mine’s containment zone and spilled into the surrounding environment.

Paladin Energy’s $1.14 billion takeover of Fission Uranium hit another possible snag, with Chinese miner and minority Fission shareholder CGN Mining Company opposing the deal, as reported by Mining.com. The Chinese investor owns a 11.26 per cent stake in Fission. The Supreme Court of British Columbia’s hearings on whether to issue a final order on the deal began last week and are set to resume Sept. 26. The acquisition is also subject to Investment Canada Act clearance.

Wheaton Precious Metals and cleantech accelerator Foresight Canada launched a US$1 million challenge for groundbreaking technology that can cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost productivity in the mining sector, as reported by Canadian Mining Journal. Cleantech companies from around the world can participate, and the challenge’s focus is on technologies that can be used at base and precious metal mining.  

Magna Mining’s preliminary economic assessment, released this week, projected 13 years of underground mining for its Crean Hill project outside of Sudbury, at an average rate of 2,200 tonnes per day, as reported by Northern Ontario Business. The company is planning to revitalize the former Inco nickel and copper mine for open-pit and underground mining, but the PEA is based solely on underground mining. The PEA estimated a pre-production spend of $27.7 million and a payback period within the first year of commercial production.

The scoping study for Australian miner Winsome Resources’ Adina lithium project in Quebec found that the mine could have a 17-year life, as reported by Mining.com. Winsome purchased the Renard diamond mine in northern Quebec in April to repurpose its infrastructure to process Adina’s ore. The study found that repurposing and upgrading Renard’s dense media separation and ore sorting facilities would allow Adina to produce roughly 282,000 tonnes per year of 5.5 per cent spodumene concentrate.

BHP is warning that the growing global adoption of artificial intelligence could hasten the looming copper shortage, as reported by the Financial Times. The company’s chief financial officer Vandita Pant told the Financial Times that data centres and AI’s share of annual demand for the energy transition metal could grow from one per cent currently to between six and seven per cent by 2050 and increase copper demand by 3.4 million tonnes per year.

Canada’s efforts to curb investments by state-owned enterprises in domestic mining companies is not scaring off China’s Zijin Mining, as reported by Bloomberg. The company’s vice-president Shaoyang Shen told Bloomberg on Tuesday that Zijin would continue to hunt for investments in Canadian mining companies, and particularly target junior miners. Zijin’s attempted acquisition of a 15 per cent stake in Solaris Resources fell through in May due to a likely lengthy regulatory review.

Implementing battery electric vehicles has numerous benefits—including better underground air quality, lower carbon emissions and improved safety—but may not be right for all operations, said panelists from Torex Gold Resources, Foran Mining Group and Mayhew Performance Ltd. during the latest The Safety Share webinar from CIM Magazine and the CIM Health & Safety Society. Panelists discussed the importance of factoring mine design and mining method, production profile and ore body into their decision to go electric or diesel, and noted it is easier for new operations to go all-electric.

Laser-based particle sorting has the potential to significantly upgrade low- or marginal-grade deposits, wrote Lucy Hunt of the Saskatchewan Research Council in a column for the August issue of CIM Magazine. The technology is a subset of sensor-based sorting that uses laser technology to separate ore from waste based on their optical properties, which Hunt wrote also has significant environmental benefits.

 Just two years after commencing construction on its Tocantizinho open-pit gold project in Brazil’s Pará State, G Mining Ventures declared commercial production at the mine in September, Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco reported for the August issue of CIM Magazine. TZ is now Brazil’s third-largest primary gold mine, and G Mining already has a host of exploration licences in the surrounding area that it expects will extend the mine’s life.

Tire monitoring and maintenance is rolling into the future, Mehanaz Yakub reported for the August issue of CIM Magazine. A host of tire manufacturers and service providers now offer mining companies monitoring tools that use AI and sensors to gather reams of data that can reduce failure risk, extend tire lifespan and improve site efficiency and workforce safety.

Among the new products being exhibited at MINExpo next week, Medatech is launching its new trackmounted ITH drill rig, the Borterra RaisePro-48, capable of handling up to 48-inch raises and accurate production drilling. Flexco will be showcasing its FXC Steel Cord Belt Fastening System, which serves as a temporary splice to minimize downtime, alongside the debut of its 900 Series Belt Cutter/Skiver featuring an updated design and capabilities. CIM Magazine editors Ailbhe Goodbody and Silvia Pikal will be in attendance to investigate the latest and greatest in mining technology.

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?