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 the U.S.’s recent tariff threat dampening copper demand, the Ekati mine struggling amid a diamond downturn, and uranium mining starting at McClean Lake. 

Taseko Mines released a technical report showing stronger economics for its Yellowhead project in central B.C., with a $2 billion after-tax net present value and a 21 per cent internal rate of return, up from $700 million and 14 per cent respectively in 2020. The 90,000-tonne-per-day open-pit copper, gold and silver operation will have a mine life of 25 years. Taseko also announced this week that the environmental assessment for the project, including Indigenous-led reviews, has officially begun. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled new measures on Wednesday to protect Canada’s steel industry amid the ongoing trade war with the United States, CTV News reported. Canada will reduce tariff-free steel imports, raise tariffs on non-U.S. steel containing Chinese metal and tighten quotas on imports from non-free trade countries. Carney emphasized using more Canadian steel domestically and new funding to support workers. Talks with the U.S. are ongoing, but Carney cast doubt on achieving a tariff-free deal ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. 

Nine Ontario First Nations are seeking an injunction against Canada’s Bill C-5 and Ontario’s Bill 5, arguing the laws threaten their self-determination rights, CBC News reported. Bill C-5 allows Ottawa to fast-track major projects, while Bill 5 lets Ontario override local laws in “special economic zones.” At a two-day summit held Wednesday and Thursday, Carney vowed long-term prosperity for First Nations rights holders through major projects, but some Indigenous leaders criticized the rushed process and lack of meaningful engagement. 

After a rush of shipments, U.S. demand for imported copper has begun to fall off ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned 50 per cent tariff on imports of the metal, set to start Aug. 1, Bloomberg reported. Some distributors have cut imports and paused orders due to high costs and rising uncertainty across the supply chain. There is still no clear guidance on which products the tariffs will cover, whether any exemptions will be granted or how the tariffs will be enforced. 

Burgundy Diamond Mines has laid off several hundred workers and temporarily paused open-pit mining at its Point Lake operation, which is part of its Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, citing record-low diamond prices, CBC News reported. The company said it will maintain the site for a potential restart. Ekati, one of three N.W.T. diamond mines nearing the end of their operational lives, reported a US$97 million loss in 2024, despite recent government tax breaks and support for the struggling diamond industry. 

Orano Canada and Denison Mines have initiated uranium mining at their McClean Lake property in northern Saskatchewan using their patented Surface Access Borehole Resource Extraction (SABRE) mining method. Mining at the McClean North deposit using SABRE started in June, with around 250 tonnes of high-grade ore recovered from the first cavity. Orano Canada holds a 77.5 per cent stake in the McClean Lake joint venture and serves as its operator, while Denison owns the remaining 22.5 per cent. 

Tudor Gold is taking legal action against Seabridge Gold and B.C.’s chief gold commissioner, alleging that tunnels from Seabridge’s US$7.9 billion KSM project are disrupting Tudor’s exploration activities at its Treaty Creek project, The Northern Miner reported. The disputed Mitchell Treaty Tunnels, which are a key part of the KSM project, run under land that Tudor is developing. Tudor seeks to overturn a May 2025 decision that granted Seabridge priority tunnel rights. Seabridge has denied any interest in Tudor’s mineral claims. 

Protesters in the copper mining region of southern Peru have paused their blockade of a key transit route through at least Friday, but executives from MMG and Hudbay Minerals have warned Peru’s cabinet chief that the protests could still disrupt copper production at the Las Bambas and Constancia mines, Reuters reported. The miners are protesting to extend the government’s REINFO program, which started in 2012 and granted temporary permits to informal mining operations, but is now set to end on Dec. 31. The two-week blockade has hindered truck access to Las Bambas and Constancia, though output at the mines remains unchanged for now. 

Rio Tinto has appointed Simon Trott as CEO, effective Aug. 25. Trott will succeed Jakob Stausholm, who has been in the role since 2021 and whose unexpected departure was announced earlier this year. Trott, currently iron ore chief executive, has been with the company for over 25 years in various capacities. 

Canada and the Northwest Territories have initiated a pilot project that employs artificial intelligence and digital scanning to reanalyze historic drill samples from the underexplored Slave geological province, aiming to uncover new critical mineral deposits, Mining Weekly reported. The project will establish a central digital platform for core data, which will be accessible to the mining industry. This effort marks progress toward building a national Digital Core Library and is part of Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy. 

CIM Magazine’s Names to Know is an annual feature which highlights notable individuals who are driving change and making an impact in the mining industry. This year’s list, which was published in the June/July 2025 issue, includes Janice Martell, founder of the McIntyre Powder Project; Timothy Hodgson, Canada’s minister of energy and natural resources; Mélanie Corriveau, corporate director of community relations at Agnico Eagle Mines; and Doug Schouten, chief technology officer and co-founder at Ideon Technologies. 

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?