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 Alberta lifting its coal mining moratorium, Rio Tinto planning a standalone lithium division, and BHP reporting strong production results. 

Teck Resources plans to invest up to US$3.9 billion to boost its copper and zinc production, as reported by Engineering News. The move follows last year’s sale of the company’s steelmaking coal assets to Glencore, and the creation of its new business structure focused on critical minerals. The company aims to grow its copper production to around 800,000 tonnes annually by 2030. Key projects include optimizing and debottlenecking its Quebrada Blanca mine in Chile and extending the life of its Highland Valley Copper mine in B.C.  

The federal government and 15 First Nations have finalized the terms of reference needed to begin an environmental assessment of northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, as reported by Canada’s National Observer. The schedule outlined in the terms specifies that a working group will submit a final report within 30 months. The assessment will review transmission lines, roads and all development in the region, including future mines.  

Rio Tinto is investing $1.75 million into two research chairs at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) over the span of five years to explore the impacts of climate change on water security and freshwater fish in northern B.C.’s Nechako Watershed. The UNBC researchers will focus on studying the role of climate change on the area’s water security, along with the effects of water temperature variability on fish populations.  

Vale Base Metals announced this week that it will launch a strategic review which could result in the sale of its Manitoba operations and assets to help fund copper developments in Brazil, as reported by CBC. The Thompson complex, consisting of two nickel mines, produced 10,500 tonnes of finished nickel between Q3 2023 and Q3 2024.  

Alberta’s government has lifted its 2022 moratorium on coal exploration and development in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, as reported by The Canadian Press. The move, intended to “reduce regulatory confusion,” allows coal development in leased areas, except for protected lands that include parks, wilderness areas and wildlife sanctuaries. While a new policy addressing selenium leaching from coal operations is being developed, critics argue this decision reignites coal mining in sensitive areas, such as near the Crowsnest Pass, where Australian company Northback has proposed developing and rehabilitating a site that was mined over 60 years ago but never properly restored. 

Rio Tinto intends to establish a separate lithium division once it finalizes its US$6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, which is expected to close by July, as reported by Reuters. The newly formed unit, Rio Tinto Lithium, will manage the company’s US$2.5 billion Rincon lithium brine project in Argentina. The acquisition, Rio Tinto’s largest in over a decade, will position the company as the third-largest global lithium producer. 

BHP reported strong production results for the first half of its financial year, highlighting significant increases in its flagship copper and iron ore units, as reported by Engineering News. The company’s Escondida mine in Chile reached a 10-year production high, resulting in a 10 per cent increase in BHP’s overall copper output, while iron ore shipments from its Western Australian Iron Ore operations set a half-year shipment record. The company also shared that construction of the first phase of its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan is 63 per cent complete, with first production set to begin in late 2026. Work on the second phase is ongoing. 

It was revealed on Jan. 17 that Glencore and Rio Tinto engaged in months of discussions last year regarding a potential mega merger, although the talks are no longer active, as reported by Bloomberg. These talks signal that Rio Tinto is more open to deals after rejecting Glencore’s merger offer back in 2014 and following its past setbacks, including its 2007 acquisition of Canadian aluminum producer Alcan that required a large write-down of the deal and its assets. Rio Tinto is looking to diversify from iron ore, which is its main profit source, and Glencore has shown that it is willing to spin off its coal mining business, as other miners continue to distance themselves from the fuel.  

The Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) was launched on Jan. 21 to improve the safety of mine tailings facilities around the world. Co-founded by ICMM, the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, and based in South Africa, the GTMI will manage the implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, which was created in response to the 2019 Brumadinho tailings dam failure in Brazil. The GTMI’s mission includes overseeing the assurance framework for independent audits and the certification of tailings facilities against the global standard.  

Geoscience BC has launched a digital compilation of mine tailings and waste rock in B.C., focusing on critical minerals. The research project maps more than 1,000 tailings and waste rock sites from over 500 current and past-producing mine sites, which are ranked based on their potential for further development. The compilation aims to help identify sites for re-mining and the sustainable extraction of critical minerals. 

The first draft of a consolidated voluntary responsible mining standard aims to create rigorous performance requirements and an independent assurance process for mining companies, as reported by Kelsey Rolfe for the December/January issue of CIM Magazine. Covering 24 performance areas, the standard draft—developed by ICMM, the Mining Association of Canada, the World Gold Council and Copper Mark—sets performance levels from foundational to leading practices, focusing on ethical business, worker safeguards, social performance and environmental stewardship.  

To speed up technology adoption in mining, experts suggest drawing inspiration from the successes of other industries, as reported by Sarah St-Pierre for the December/January issue of CIM Magazine. While Canada’s mining sector is well-positioned for innovation, lessons from sectors like health care, agriculture and aerospace could accelerate the industry’s adoption of technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation. Embracing these insights could help the mining industry stay ahead, improve safety and boost efficiency.  

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?