T
The YMP awards recognize two mining professionals under the age of 40, who demonstrate exceptional leadership skills and innovative thinking for their companies and shareholders.
ANALYSIS | Geopolitical and security of supply fears drive rise in term contracting
BY DAVID A. TALBOT
he winners of the Young Mining Professionals’ (YMP) Eira Thomas and Peter Munk Awards for 2023 are Kelly Earle of Vancouver and Vincent Metcalfe of Montreal.After a dozen years in the doldrums, uranium prices are on the rise, supported by real growing demand and support for nuclear power, as well as geopolitical concerns.
requirements. Security of supply concerns might overshadow economics over the next few years, such that we might see additional funding of domestic nuclear programs, R&D, and uranium industry support.
Kelly Earle
The awards will be presented to Earle and Metcalfe at the YMP Awards Cocktail Reception on Saturday, Mar. 4, 5 pm, at the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Toronto as the kick-off event for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s 2023 Mineral Exploration and Mining Convention, which takes place from Mar. 5-8 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Tickets for the awards ceremony and reception are available at www. youngminingprofessionals.com.
Nominees from a public submissions process were judged by a panel of representatives from YMP chapters in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Sudbury, London (U.K.), Perth, Brisbane, Arizona, Switzerland and by The Northern Miner.
Sponsoring the awards this year are Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD), Cassels, Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO), KPMG and The Northern Miner
Kelly Earle
See YMP / 8
While in the recent past, support for nuclear power was based on environmental considerations as well as its ability to provide reliable and cheap baseload energy, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shifted the geopolitical landscape from these considerations to one of energy security. Western government policies have pivoted in response and the sector is gaining momentum. Uranium prices, on the rise for the past four years, have accelerated, and perhaps as importantly, utilities are returning to long-term contracting. Rising uranium demand and diminishing secondary supplies have spurred an increase in production. Rising long term prices and increased contract volumes are needed to provide the necessary price incentive for uranium producers to bring production back online or start up new projects. That said, uranium supplies remain tight and further price appreciation is anticipated. Mine supply is forecast at 143 million lb. U3O8 versus 181 million lb. of demand for 2023 by UxC, leaving a notable gap in mine supply that must be filled by declining secondary supplies.
Geopolitics
Support for nuclear power is also growing within the United States and European Union, and elsewhere. Energy security of supply and environmental considerations are changing government policy and investor sentiment. Policy decisions by governments over the last couple of years has started to translate into new nuclear reactor announcements, builds, life extensions and the cancellation of some closures. This is driving real nuclear power demand growth and higher uranium prices that might help us emerge from a dozen years of low uranium prices.
In the U.S., the 2021 Infrastructure Bill and 2022 Inflation Reduc-
See URANIUM /
PM40069240
AutoMine® for Trucks continues to set the industry standard with autonomous seamless truck haulage from underground up to the surface. They help to reduce equipment damage and repair work, add the highest levels of efficiency and fleet utilization, giving a lower cost per ton and make your operation more productive and safer. They are scalable for different mining applications and can be supervised from remote locations.
It turns Sandvik’s intelligent mining trucks into unmanned robots, robots that keep running.
Century Lithium (TSXV: LCE; US-OTC: CYDVF) is on track to complete a feasibility study by midyear on its 100%-owned Clayton Valley lithium claystone project in southwestern Nevada, with a plan of operations to follow.
The Vancouver-based company, which changed its name from Cypress Development in January, is already processing material at a nearby pilot plant from its lithiumbearing claystone deposit, which sits immediately adjacent to Albemarle Inc.’s (NYSE: ALB) Silver Peak lithium brine operation, the only commercial lithium operation in North America.
In February, the company announced a collaboration agreement with Koch Technology Solutions (KTS), a Koch Engineered Solutions (KES) company, to apply the trademarked Li-Pro process for direct lithium extraction (DLE) at Century Lithium’s lithium extraction pilot plant in Nevada’s Amargosa Valley.
“Our DLE process in the pilot plant is performing very well and we are excited to work with Koch as we advance the project,” says Bill Willoughby, Century Lithium’s president and CEO, noting that Koch is one of the largest engineering companies in the world.
“We will be testing Koch equipment with our project’s material to see how it performs,” says Willoughby, an engineer with a Ph.D in mining engineering and metallurgy. “Our goal with Koch is to create a design to efficiently advance our process. Koch could step in and construct a full-scale DLE plant for the project. It would be a turnkey set up, they would provide us with the engineering, design, and structure.”
KTS will also provide engineering design and costs for the full-scale DLE portion of Century Lithium’s processing plant. The testing of the Li-Pro process is independent from the feasibility study and will begin upon delivery of KTS equipment. Century Lithium will fund the study, installation, and operation of the equipment at the pilot plant, and KTS will provide training and technical support.
Century Lithium purchased a licence for the Lionex DLE process in March 2022, and KTS subsequently acquired the Lionex technology from Chemionex, which has been integrated into KTS’ Li-Pro process.
The deal with Koch follows an agreement Century Lithium completed in October, with German engineering company thyssenkrupp nucera. Thyssenkrupp is designing a chlor-alkali plant for the project as part of the feasibility study. The plant will be a cornerstone of the process and will allow the company to generate two reagents necessary for processing lithium-bearing claystone through to lithium carbonate.
“We are engaging experienced and well-connected companies like Koch and thyssenkrupp to assist us as we move forward in our project,” says Willoughby. “Thyssenkrupp engineers and builds acid plants with a world-wide presence, and now we have a company capable of helping us meet our goals at the project.”
While the bear market has had investors fretting over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, interest rate hikes, a looming recession, and the Covid-19 related lockdowns in China, Century Lithium has been quietly hitting major milestones over the last
12 months at Clayton Valley.
The company kicked off 2022 with an oversubscribed, boughtdeal financing of $18.1 million, and in February Century Lithium hired Wood PLC and Global Resource Engineering to begin a feasibility study.
The company also acquired Enertopia Corp.’s (US-OTC: ENRT) Clayton Valley lithium project, immediately adjacent to Century Lithium’s project. That property has an indicated resource of 82 million tonnes grading 1,121 parts per million (ppm) for 0.49 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) using a cut-off grade of 400 ppm.
The feasibility study will incorporate these resources into the Century Lithium project’s indicated resource of 1.3 billion tonnes grading 905 ppm lithium for 6.3 million tonnes of LCE using a cut-off grade of 400 ppm.
In April, the company collected a 500-tonne bulk sample. The material was crushed and processed for use at the pilot plant and the scale and method of processing was designed to mimic the company’s proposed processing plant for the project.
In May, Century Lithium conducted
a sonic drilling program during which it collected 6-inch-diameter, continuous cores to provide material from different areas and depths of the deposit for use and study at the pilot plant. The drilling program confirmed previously reported lithium grades for the property as well as the property acquired from Enertopia. The project’s resource model was further confirmed with collective assays from the drill holes, which fell within 2% of the lithium grades predicted by the model.
“The drill program was highly successful in generating material for our pilot plant and providing distinct data to strengthen the project’s resource model,” Willoughby says.
For the duration of the year, Century Lithium trialed lithium extraction processes at its pilot plant at a rate of 1 tonne per day over varying and continuous periods, which generated a large amount of data for the project. Processing and design alterations are also being utilized to improve lithium recoveries from the deposit’s lithium-bearing claystone.
The company reached a significant milestone when it delivered about
2,000 litres of concentrated lithium chloride solution from its pilot plant to Saltworks Technologies, in Richmond, B.C.
Saltworks Technologies successfully produced batterygrade lithium carbonate from Century Lithium’s concentrated lithium solution. Independent analysis by SGS Canada confirmed results of greater than 99.9 weightpercent purity in a scalable process validating Century Lithium’s lithium extraction process.
“The lithium extraction results, plans to finish the feasibility study, and a plan of operations has Century Lithium in a good position to move forward,” Willoughby says.
“The whole space is getting hot, things are picking up, and the lithium space is not slowing down at all,” adds Spiros Cacos, the company’s vice-president of investor relations. “We’re a company at the right stage, at the right time, and in the right jurisdiction.” To buttress his claims, he points to several deals that lithium companies in the U.S. have made in recent months.
In January, the U.S. Department of Energy offered a 10-year
US$700 million loan to help finance construction of Ioneer Ltd.’s (NASDAQ: IONR; ASX: INR) Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. The loan is part of a program to support the Biden Administration’s critical minerals strategy. The loan followed a binding offtake agreement Ioneer signed with Ford Motor (NYSE: F) in July 2022 to supply the carmaker with 7,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year over a five-year term starting in 2025.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) also announced in late January that they would jointly invest to develop the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada. Under the agreement General Motors will make a US$650-million equity investment in Lithium Americas., “The U.S. would like to have as much domestic supply as possible,” says Willoughby. “Right now, there are over a dozen battery plants under construction, or on the table. There will be 650,000 (LCE) tonnes of new supply required to meet the demands of these future battery makers.”
Century Lithium’s Clayton Valley project will become a cornerstone producer in the U.S., he forecasts. “Expanding demand for lithium worldwide — with all car makers shifting to electric vehicles — is going to continue to put pressure on supply,” says Willoughby. “There will be a need for alternative sources of lithium and our lithium clay deposit is one of the largest lithium deposits in America.”
The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by Century Lithium and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit www.centurylithium.com for more information.
GLOBAL MINING NEWS • SINCE 1915 www.northernminer.com
PRESIDENT THE NORTHERN MINER GROUP: Anthony Vaccaro, CFA, MBA avaccaro@northernminer.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Alisha Hiyate, BA (Poli Sci, Hist) ahiyate@northernminer.com
MULTIMEDIA SPECIALIST: Henry Lazenby hlazenby@northernminer.com
STAFF WRITER: Colin McClelland cmcclelland@northernminer.com
COPY EDITOR AND PRODUCTION EDITOR: Blair McBride bmcbride@northernminer.com
PHOTO EDITOR AND PODCAST HOST:
Adrian Pocobelli, MA (ENGL) apocobelli@northernminer.com
ADVERTISING: Robert Hertzman (416) 898-6654 rhertzman@northernminer.com
Michael Winter (416) 510-6772 mwinter@northernminer.com
SUBSCRIPTION SALES/ APPOINTMENT NOTICES/
CAREER ADS
George Agelopoulos (416) 510-5104 (Toll free) 1-888-502-3456, ext. 43702 gagelopoulos@northernminer.com
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Jessica Jubb (416) 510-5213 jjubb@northernminer.com
CIRCULATION/CUSTOMER SERVICE: (416) 510-6789 | 1-888-502-3456 northernminer2@northernminer.com
REPUBLISHING: (416) 510-6768 moliveira@northernminer.com
ADDRESS: Toronto Head Office 225 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 320 Toronto, ON, M3B 3K9 (416) 510-6789 tnm@northernminer.com
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: C$130.00 one year;
G.S.T. to CDN orders.
7% P.S.T. to BC orders
13% H.S.T. to ON, NL orders 14% H.S.T. to PEI orders
15% H.S.T. to NB, NS orders U.S.A.: C$172.00 one year
Foreign: C$222.00 one year
GST Registration # 809744071RT001 (ISSN 0029-3164)
CANADA POST: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept. c/o The Northern Miner 225 Duncan Mill Road,
underground, and the other as a vindictive ruler of dead miners.
BY DR CHRIS HINDE Special to The Northern Miner
The numbers are in for mine financings in 2022, and they are disappointing, if not surprising. According to just-released figures from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, global financing for mining last year, combining debt and equity, declined to a dismal US$41.8 billion from US$65 billion the previous year. That’s a 50% drop in equity financing (from US$34 billion to US$17 billion) and a nearly 20% drop in debt (from US$31 billion to US$25 billion). And it’s also the lowest overall amount in the last 11 years.
ALISHA HIYATEThis despite growing awareness of a looming critical mineral crunch as nations and companies embark on a path of metals-intensive decarbonization, all while seeking to localize supply chains and source raw materials from friendly nations.
Before last year’s geopolitical and economic shocks (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, high inflation, etc.), things had been starting to look up.
Dean McPherson, head of business development with TMX Group, which runs the TSX and TSX Venture Exchanges, notes that investors began to recognize the importance of battery metals in 2021, which he says was “an exciting year.”
But the battery metals momentum that had been building up fell off in 2022 starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Really it has to do with the broader economy,” says McPherson, who adds it’s not just the mining sector that has seen IPOs ground to a halt.
“Right now, it seems that the forecasts are saying this hesitation in the equity capital market is going to continue at least for the first quarter and potentially into the second quarter. So I think we’re all sort of prepared for a pretty bumpy first half of this year,” he said.
“The fundamentals are all there, there is a significant demand coming and certainly we’re concerned about supply as far as the metals that are required to meet all these global objectives, so yes, we should be seeing a robust market right now.”
McPherson notes that the mining sector has been “challenged” for a number of years and the 2021 uptick followed historic lows in investment.
The longer the financing lull, the bigger the supply crunch. End users are finally coming to realize that they too will lose out if this underinvestment continues.
Battery makers and automakers, eager to lock down raw materials needed for production before their competition does, have started to invest in not just offtakes from producing mines, but are now committing financing to development projects.
This year alone we’ve seen automakers step up with GM’s US$650-million investment in Lithium Americas for development of its Thacker Pass project in Nevada; a $207-million investment by Stellantis in McEwen Copper toward development of its Los Azules project in Argentina; and rumours of a potential investment by Tesla in Sigma Lithium, which is nearing production at its Grota do Cirilo mine in Brazil.
It’s in this context that Bloomberg reported these carmakers as well as Ford, Rivian, Mercedes-Benz and more attended BMO Capital Markets’ Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals conference in Florida in late February — indicating we’ll see even more of these deals this year, perhaps reaching even further upstream.
The PDAC figures also show that Australia, which for several years now has outstripped Canada in terms of funds raised for mining, continues to lead on this metric. In 2022, Canada saw US$4.9 billion raised in equity financing for mining versus US$5.8 billion in Australia. However, PDAC notes that Canada saw more spending during the period, as we were able to retain more of the funds raised due to generous incentive regimes.
McPherson isn’t worried that Canada, traditionally the biggest source of funding for mining globally, is losing its top spot. While capital raised is one measure of comparison, there are still nearly twice the number of companies listed in Toronto versus Australia.
Instead, McPherson believes the funding numbers are tied to Australia’s earlier start on forming a critical minerals strategy.
“Canada’s competitiveness in the mining sector is not diminishing, not at all. What you’re seeing is a reflection again of the battery metals space and the centre stage taken by the mining sector,” he said. “Australia had an early jump into this and it really started with the Australian government creating their national critical minerals strategy.”
Australia’s first Critical Minerals Strategy was launched in 2019 and since then it’s continued to build on the plan, including the introduction of its A$2-billion Critical Minerals Facility in 2021.
That support, which has included providing debt to companies in the critical mineral space in Australia to help them get to production faster, has paid off.
Now that the U.S. and Canadian governments have followed suit with
Many of you will have been waiting for the score from mining’s famous Bottle Match. This is the annual rugby game played between Exeter University’s Camborne School of Mines (CSM) and Imperial College’s Royal School of Mines (RSM). The Bottle Match is a good example of a European mining tradition, although most are much older.
Normally held on the third Saturday of February, the location of the Bottle Match alternates between Cornwall and London, hosted by one of the mining schools. The match is the world’s second oldest inter-university rugby game (after Oxford-Cambridge) having first taken place in December 1902 (a game that finished in a draw).
The tournament between the two institutions was since been extended to include football, hockey, tennis, badminton, netball and lacrosse. The winner of the Bottle trophy itself, however, hinges entirely on the outcome of the rugby match (the 0.9 metre trophy is a metal beer ‘bottle’ that was acquired in 1926 by a number of RSM students from the top of a Bass lorry).
Europe is rich in such traditions, and the associated myths and legends. The richest seam of folklore belongs to our miners, who have long been prone to superstition about their dark and dangerous working environment.
In the Middle Ages, European miners held firm beliefs about creatures and spirits as a way of accounting for unexplained mishaps underground. Many believed that mineral wealth belonged to the spirit world, which needed to be pacified if ore was to be safely extracted.
In his De Re Metallica (published 1556), Georgius Agricola referred to the dwarfish Kobolds of German folklore. Although often invisible (and able to materialize in non-human form) the most common depictions show Kobolds as human-like figures the size of small children.
Kobolds are linked to the naming of cobalt. During the 16th century, European miners sometimes encountered what looked to be rich veins of copper or silver but were, in fact, ore rich in cobalt. The first attempts at smelting this toxic material were unproductive (and harmful). Because miners had little understanding of this new element, they blamed the Kobolds for fooling them into extracting worthless ore.
According to beliefs in Silesia (an historical region of central Europe, mostly within Poland), all underground treasure and precious metal belonged to the Guardian. This grey-bearded old man had two faces; one perceived as a protector of those working
The Shubin (the local nickname for miners) is a legend in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Although usually helpful to miners (he is often described as holding a flaming torch to burn methane gas), this spirit could also be wicked.
Very common in the folklore of Great Britain, especially in Cornwall, was the Knocker. This subterranean, gnome-like creature commits random mischief (such as stealing unattended tools and food).
Cornish miners also believed that the diminutive Knockers helped them find veins of tin and copper, and knocked on mine walls to warn of impending collapse (they are known as Tommyknockers in North America). In that regard, Knockers are not unlike the Muki of the Central Andes. This goblin-like figure is generally regarded as helpful to miners.
Another protector of miners is the Malachite Maid of Slavic and Russian mythology. This beautiful green-eyed young woman seems to have originated from the Gumyoshevsky copper mine in the Ural Mountains.
To support them, miners also have their patron saint, Barbara, whose feast day on Dec. 4 (as highlighted in this column three months ago) remains cause for popular celebration in Europe. In Germany, another end of year tradition is Mettenschicht, which comprises songs and a communal meal after the last shift worked before Christmas. This celebration was first recorded in the first half of the 17th century.
Neither Saint Barbara nor the Malachite Maid would be able to help if you whistled underground. This is regarded almost universally in mining folklore as likely to bring misfortune because it attracts the attention of the devil (as, in many cultures, did the presence of women).
Many of these traditions are being lost. For example, in the 19th and 20th centuries nearly every coal mine in the U.K. had a brass band, which were a source of considerable pride amongst working-class communities (as depicted in the 1996 film ‘Brassed Off’). Not only have we lost most of our mines, but we are losing our mining culture. If you lose that, you lose your industrial heritage.
Oh, and the Bottle Match result? A 17-17 draw in London, which means that, as holders, the mining school in Cornwall retains the trophy (they won 17-10 at home last year). This particular tradition, however, will require an annual cohort of CSM students, and this currently looks far from certain. TNM
—Dr. Chris Hinde is a mining engineer and the director of Pick and Pen Ltd., a U.K.-based consulting firm. He previously worked for S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Metals and Mining division.
U.S. rare earths producer MP Materials (NYSE: MP) has inked a deal with Sumitomo Corp. to supply the Japanese giant with key elements, such as neodymium and praseodymium, helping the trading house bypass China in EV rare-earth supply chains.
MP Materials, owner of the Mountain Pass mine in California, will sell material from its separation plant to Sumitomo for distribution in Japan, the company said in a Feb. 21 news release
Until now, output from Mountain Pass has been sent to China for processing, with Japanese companies purchasing from there.
Under the deal, MP Materials — the only rare earths producer in the U.S. — will handle not only mining, but also smelting of ores and separating various elements from them.
Such output will be further refined by companies in Vietnam and the Philippines, before being shipped to Japanese magnet makers for use in final products.
The new supply chain arrangement, set to start operating in July,
backs up the U.S. and its allies’ plans to cut China’s role in their critical supply chains.
Sumitomo anticipates it will sup-
ply 3,000 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium a year to Japanese magnet makers, equivalent to about 30% of their annual con-
sumption. Neither company specified the dollar value of the deal.
President Joe Biden has boosted efforts to help critical minerals
companies speed up plans to produce locally. Last year, his administration gave MP Materials a US$35-million Pentagon grant to help it acquire further equipment to process rare earth minerals in California.
Its open-pit Mountain Pass mine accounted for about 15% of the world’s mined rare earths supply in 2021, the company says.
The agreement will “stabilize, diversify, and strengthen a supply chain of critical importance to Japan’s manufacturing sector,” the U.S. and Japanese companies said in a joint statement.
As of last year, China accounted for about 90% of smelting and about 70% of rare earth production, data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows.
The U.S. has long been pushing to secure supply chains of critical minerals through partnerships that include Canada, the European Union, the U.K., Japan, Australia and South Korea. TNM
BY NORTHERN MINER STAFF
Fortified with fresh leadership and financial backing, Canagold Resources (TSXV: CCM; US-OTC: CRCUF) is advancing its 100%owned New Polaris flagship project in northwestern British Columbia with fresh high grade drill results and plans for a revised resource estimate in the first quarter of2023.
On Feb. 6, the Vancouver-based junior reported assay details for 21 drill holes from the 2022 exploration program to characterize the gold mineralized vein system of New Polaris, a past-producing mine last active in 1951. The latest drilling results confirm the presence of near-surface, high-grade gold that can potentially grow the project beyond the scope outlined in a 2019 preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
The assay results from established Y19 and Y20 veins returned 53.8 grams gold per tonne over a true width of 2 metres from 64 metres downhole in drill hole P22Y10; while hole P22Y09 cut 9.6 grams gold over 5.7 metres from 120 metres downhole.
Drilling in previously unmodelled veins cut 18 grams gold over 5.6 metres from 120 metres in hole P2215W1, and 19.5 grams gold over 0.3 metre from 148 metres depth in hole P22Y07A.
“It is truly the highest-grade undeveloped gold project in western Canada, with an average grade of about 10 grams gold” says Canagold CEO Catalin Kilofliski. “The new drill results are a welcome development because the Y-veins weren’t part of the original mine plan used in the 2019 PEA.”
New Polaris’s 2019 PEA outlined
an underground resource of 1.7 million indicated tonnes grading 10.8 grams gold per tonne and 1.5 million inferred tonnes of 10.2 grams gold. The study estimated that mining at a rate of 80,000 oz. per year would be feasible, putting cash costs at about US$400 per oz. of gold — roughly half of the industry average, according to statistics from the World Gold Council.
The PEA anticipated robust project economics at New Polaris. Based on a US$1,500 gold price, the study estimated an after-tax net-present value (at a 5% discount rate) of $469 million and an internal rate of return at 56%, with after-tax payback in just 1.9 years. Capital costs were pegged at US$111 million, and the mine life at nine years.
The modest size of the planned operation at 750 tonnes per day is one reason why New Polaris has a modest capital cost - estimated at US$111million. The company’s plan to produce gold doré bars on site, using a bio-oxidation process rather than shipping concentrate for refining,
results in improved economics for the project.
Located about 100 km south of Atlin, B.C. and 60 km east of Juneau, Alaska, the 8.5-sq.-km project has a 1,500-ft. airstrip and barge access to tidewater to support future operations.
“It’s an underground mine with a small footprint, and a projected workforce of about 200 people,” Kilofliski says. “With the high-gold grade, you can afford the extra effort required from being at a remote location.”
Canagold is making measurable progress toward advancing the project into production. In October 2022, the company hired Ausenco Engineering Canada to complete a feasibility study for the underground mine and surface processing facilities. The report is slated to be delivered by early 2024.
And on Jan. 25, Canagold announced it had signed an agreement with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, on whose traditional territory New Polaris sits.
Following the band’s stated desire to allow environmentally sound mining to take place, the agreement establishes the framework for a working relationship as the project progresses through its permitting, construction, and production phases.
“This will be the first project in their territory to go through environmental assessment, so the process is new for them too,” Kilofliski notes. “We want to set an example on how things can be done right.”
Gold mineralization was first discovered at the New Polaris site in 1929. Canagold acquired the old mine site in 1996 and has embarked on an extensive exploration program ever since. In 2021 and 2022, the firm drilled 39,000 metres delineating the C- and Y-type veins which remain open at depth away from the original underground mine.
“The entire production profile is based on downdip extension of what was mined, it’s not like we’re going after what was left behind,” Kilofliski adds.
The renewed focus by Canagold on developing its flagship project stems from a management shake-up last year. In July 2022, Sun Valley Investments, a private equity firm with gold mining operations in Colombia, launched a proxy battle over the direction of Canagold’s leadership. Following a shareholder vote, Sun Valley added its three nominees to Canagold’s board and consolidated its position as the company’s largest investor with a roughly 40% stake.
“The prior management and board lacked the ability to execute,” says Kilofliski, who re-joined Canagold following the proxy battle, after leaving five years ago. “Sun Valley took control because they want to build the mine and move the project forward.”
Kilofliski explains that Sun Valley’s operations in Colombia have technical and geological staff who can assist Canagold’s operations at no cost. But most importantly, the change in management puts Canagold on a firmer financial footing than many contemporaries.
“The biggest challenge in the junior space is that companies live and die by their ability to raise capital,” Kilofliski says. “Sun Valley has invested about $7 million, so we have the opportunity to really focus on our objective, which is to get this mine into production.”
The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by Canagold Resources and produced in cooperation with The Northern Miner. Visit www. canagoldresources.com for more information.
First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) said on Feb. 23 that it had halted ore processing operations at its giant Cobre Panama copper mine, in the latest escalation of a dispute with the country’s government over tax and royalty payments.
Negotiations between the Toronto-based miner and Panama’s government over a new contract for the mine turned ugly in December, when the president announced a plan to halt the operation.
The move, unusual among Latin American countries, came after First Quantum missed a deadline to ink the new contract because it didn’t agree with some of its terms.
Talks have continued since and seemed to progress at times. Earlier this month, Panama’s maritime authority ordered First Quantum’s local unit Minera Panama to suspend loading operations at a major port, effectively blocking all exports from the mine.
The company was then asked to produce a third-party assessment confirming its scales have been properly balanced.
The miner, which said it submitted the proof on Feb. 3, warned it would have to shut down the mas-
sive operation by mid-February because of limited storage capacity.
First Quantum has now begun a partial demobilization of its workforce of over 8,000 employees and contractors, it said on Feb. 23. It noted it expects the impact to increase significantly in the coming weeks if concentrate shipments do not resume.
In addition to workforce reductions, the mine has ceased purchasing supplies and services that are equivalent to US$20 million in weekly revenues to more than 2,000 Panamanian companies.
“Panama has continuously demonstrated its commitment to hold talks based on good faith and trust,” the country’s Ministry of
Commerce and Industries said in an emailed statement. “However, Minera Panama has demonstrated the opposite, as they have not honored their word and refuse to sign the agreement with the previously accepted terms, instead engaging in delay tactics that have lengthened the process for more than a year,” it added.
The Cobre Panama mine’s union had called for its members to strike on Feb. 22 against the halting of operations, arguing it would negatively impact workers.
Top copper mine
First Quantum is one of the world’s top copper miners and Canada’s largest producer of the metal. It churned out 816,000 tonnes of copper in 2021, its highest amount ever, thanks mainly to record output at Cobre Panama.
The Cobre Panama mine complex, located about 120 km west of Panama City and 20 km from the Atlantic coast, contributes 3.5% of the Central American country’s gross domestic product, according to government figures.
The asset is estimated to hold 3.1 billion tonnes in proven and probable reserves and at full capacity can produce more than 300,000 tonnes of copper per year, or about 1.5% of global production of the metal.
After a drop in First Quantum’s share price in the first week of February, shares rose slightly and were at $27.66 as of press time. They have traded in a 52-week window of $18.67 and $45.38, giving the company a market value of $19.1 billion. TNM
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) is going ahead with a US$40-million expansion of its iconic Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, which will extend the operation’s life to at least early 2026.
The approved first phase of the project will expand diamond extraction underground, below the existing A21 open pit. Mining of that area, opened in 2018, recently
concluded.
A second phase at an additional cost will be put forward for approval in 2024, Rio said.
Phase one below A21 is slated to produce an extra 1.4 million carats, with phase two adding another 800,000 carats.
“This is good news for our employees, partners, suppliers and local communities in the Northwest Territories,” Sinead Kaufman, Rio Tinto Minerals’ CEO, said in a statement.
In 2021, Rio Tinto became the sole owner of the operation, after buying the 40% share held until then by Dominion Diamond Mines.
The company has operated Diavik since production began in 2003. Located approximately 300 km northeast of Yellowknife, the mine employs over 1,100 workers, of whom 17% are northern Indigenous people.
Diavik is Canada’s largest diamond mine in terms of production with between 6 and 7 million carats of rough diamonds produced each year. Since mining began in 2003 Diavik has produced over 100 million carats of diamonds.
The Northwest Territories’ two other diamond mines — Ekati, operated by Arctic Canadian Diamond and De Beers-Mountain Province’s Gahcho Kué — are expected to close in 2024 and 2028, respectively.
Diavik is about 30 km southeast of Ekati, and Gahcho Kué is 125 km southeast of Diavik. TNM
McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) is attracting investments for its Los Azules copper project in the San Juan province of Argentina.
Nuton, a Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) subsidiary that had already invested $25 million for a 9.7% stake in McEwen Copper last August, has promised a further $40.7 million (US$30 million). Stellantis, a leading international automaker, has invested $207 million (30 billion Argentine pesos).
Nuton will acquire 350,000 common shares of McEwen Copper first in a private placement, and then purchase 1.25 million shares owned by McEwen Mining in a secondary sale. Approximately $8.8 million of the proceeds will accrue to McEwen Copper and $31.8 million to McEwen Mining when the deal closes. The transaction values McEwen Copper at about $745 million.
After closing, Nuton will own 14.2% of McEwen Copper on a fully diluted basis and McEwen Mining will own 51.9%.
The agreement between Nuton and McEwen Copper gives Nuton the option to purchase a percentage of copper cathodes and concen-
trates produced from Los Azules equal to Nuton’s equity ownership percentage in McEwen Copper at the time of exercise.
In the Stellantis deal, and through its subsidiary FCA Argentina, the company also acquired 2.85 million common shares of McEwen Copper through a private placement and is acquiring 1.25 million shares indirectly owned by McEwen Mining.
Stellantis now owns 14.2% of McEwen Copper. At the close of both arrangements, McEwen Copper will be owned 51.9% by McEwen Mining, 14.2% by Nuton, 14.2% by Stellantis, 13.8% by CEO Rob McEwen, 3.5% by the Victor Smorgon Group, and 2.4% by other shareholders.
“We are delighted to have Stellantis as a partner in the future development of our Los Azules copper project,” said McEwen Copper CEO Rob McEwen. “Together, we share a vision to build a mine for the future based on regenerative principles that can achieve netzero carbon emissions by 2038.”
The Los Azules copper project is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper projects. It is located about 80 km northwest of the town of Calingasta and 6 km east of Argentina’s border with Chile, in the Andes Mountains at an eleva-
tion of 3,500 metres.
The project contains 10.2 billion lb. of copper, 55.7 million oz. of silver, and 1.7 million oz. of gold in indicated resources totalling 962 million tonnes at 0.48% copper, 1.8
grams silver per tonne, and 0.06 gram gold. The inferred resource is about 2.67 billion tonnes containing 19.3 billion lb. of copper (0.33% copper), 135.4 million oz. of silver (1.6 grams silver), and 3.8 million
oz. gold (0.04 gram gold per tonne). McEwen shares traded at $8.62 as of press time, in a 52-week window of $3.68 and $12.50, giving the company a market value of $408.8 million. TNM
EUROPE | Divisive project now owned by Osisko Gold Royalties and Orion Mine Finance
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
The government of Armenia has inked a US$250-million deal with Lydian Armenia, the company who owns the licence to operate the vast Amulsar gold mine, effectively allowing the resumption of operations
Minister of Economy, Vahan Kerobyan, said in a statement that, as part of the agreement, Lydian had yielded 12.5% of its shares in the gold mine to the government.
The company is also expected to pay US$7 million a year in financial assistance to communities in the Amulsar region during the construction period.
The project has a long and controversial history in Armenia, as it sits above a tunnel that supplies water to Lake Sevan, the largest freshwater lake in the Caucasus region.
Opponents of the project, in Armenia’s mountainous south, forced the company to halt operations in 2018. They claimed Amulsar would threaten several endangered animal species. These include the world’s rarest big cat, the Caucasian Leopard, of which there are thought to be only 10 left in Armenia.
Lydian International, the previous owner, made several efforts to get the project off the ground, including hiring a third-party to review the company’s environmental and social impact assessments.
Despite positive results from the studies, and the company’s intention to bring the case to international arbitrage, Lydian International finally gave up.
The company, which claimed to have invested US$370 million in the project before the blockade, filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada in late 2019 before being restructured.
The project currently belongs to
Lydian Armenia, a subsidiary of Lydian Canada Ventures, which is owned by Orion Mine Finance in the United States and Osisko Gold Royalties (TSX: OR; NYSE: OR) in Canada.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) plans to extend a loan of up to US$100 million in addition to US$150 million mobilized by Lydian. The lender’s help will finance the completion of construction, which is scheduled to resume this year.
“The EDB is paying special attention to projects in Armenia in this strategy period (…) By starting
cooperation with Lydian Armenia, we expect to implement a project that meets high environmental standards, has a positive impact on the economy and creates employment opportunities,” Denis Ilin, vice chairman of the EDB management board, said in a statement.
Cautiously optimistic John Harker, former chief negotiator in a number of mining and extractive related conflicts, who participated in negotiations between Lydian International and the Armenian government, is cautiously optimistic.
“It is reasonable to wonder if this project will, after a few years of forced closure, finally get off the ground. Or, one might say, get to grips with that ground,” Harker said in an interview.
“Today’s climate, in which more and more miners are embracing the challenges and opportunities of [environmental, social, and governance - ESG], makes it more realistic to expect that the Amulsar project will, indeed, move into production,” he said.
The expert noted that since the days of the project blockade and closure, Armenia has been through
hazardous times, including the invasion by the armed forces of Azerbaijan.
“It cannot be ignored that a vulnerable country must see the wisdom of revenues which can help it maintain the defence of its people,” Harker said.
Amulsar was envisioned as a large-scale operation with annual gold production averaging 225,000 oz. over an initial 10-year life. Estimated mineral resources contain 3.5 million measured and indicated gold oz. and 1.3 million inferred gold oz. as outlined in a 2017 technical report. TNM
University of Guelph in Ontario.
“I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in a lab, so I took a year off and moved to Banff, and that’s where I discovered my love for rocks and the outdoors,” she recalled.
While at UBC, Earle spent the summer of 2008 doing field work for Northern Freegold Resources in the Yukon and the summer of 2010 working for Hunter Dickenson on the Hammond Reef project in northern Ontario, but investor relations and corporate development beckoned as a more attractive career option.
“Investor relations appealed to me because I could be based in Vancouver while also having the opportunity to travel all over the world to check out projects and meet with investors. Plus, it’s very beneficial having a technical background in investor relations, so I jumped at the opportunity,” she said.
The idea to start her own business gelled during a downturn in the mining industry in 2012 when she found that junior mining companies weren’t always in a position to hire investor relations people full-time. As principal of K. Earle Consulting she provided investor relations and related services to a number of companies, including Alta Nevada Minerals, Altan Rio Minerals (TSX-V: AMO), Aegean Metals, Pacific Empire Minerals (TSXV: PEMC), Nuxalk Development, New Energy Metals (TSXV: ENRG; US-OTC: NEMCF) and Questex Gold and Copper.
She also made time to qualify as a certified investor relations professional through Western University’s Ivey Business School.
“As an investor relations and corporate development professional, I get to meet with investors all over the world. I raise money, arrange private placements, keep shareholders up to date with press releases and look after marketing, but the part of the job I enjoy most is raising money, working on mergers and acquisitions and finding new projects,” Earle confided.
In 2016, she landed a full-time gig with Skeena Resources, first as vice-president of communications and, in April of last year, as senior vice-president of corporate development.
During the six and a half years she spent at Skeena, she helped to grow the company’s market capitalization from $25 million to more than $550 million and played a major role in advancing the revival of the Eskay Creek Mine, the former Barrick Gold property reputed to have been the highest-grade gold mine in the world.
Barrick operated Eskay Creek, located almost 1,500 km north of Vancouver, from 1994 to 2008 and produced 3.3 million oz. of gold and 160 million oz. of silver at grades of 45 grams gold per tonne and 2,224 grams silver.
While Earle is no longer with Skeena, the company has committed to putting the mine back in production at a rate of 352,000 oz. of gold equivalent annually for a nineyear mine life.
One of her accomplishments that she is most proud of was her involvement as a founding member of the British Columbia Regional Mining Alliance, a collaboration between industry, Indigenous partners and the B.C. government to promote the province as an attractive mining jurisdiction.
“When I started with Skeena, there was a lot of negative sentiment about B.C. not being a good place to invest and we wanted to change that narrative,” Earle said.
“This was before majors like Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) and Newcrest Mining (TSX: NCM; ASX: NCM) were interested in the Golden Triangle, so the alliance really helped to brand B.C. and helped Skeena stand out as both a first mover in the area and as a company committed to strong relations with the Tahltan First Nation.”
Earle also served as founding industry advisory board chair with the Center for Advanced Subsurface Earth Resource Models (CASERM), a collaboration between the Colorado School of Mines and Virginia Tech that’s focused on using computer science to help mining companies interpret their data.
“The mining industry can be a bit old school about how we use our data, so the idea was to take the technical, geological and engineering expertise from the Colorado School of Mines and pair it with the mathematical, artificial intelligence and computer science skills at Virginia Tech,” she explained.
“The collaboration exposes computer scientists to mining datasets that they normally wouldn’t have access to and gives us in the mining industry an opportunity to do more with big data.”
Vincent Metcalfe, the YMP’s 2023 Peter Munk Award winner, found his way into the mining industry by chance. While completing an undergraduate degree in Finance from Montreal’s Haute Étude Commerciale (HEC) and also following graduation in 2006, Metcalfe worked as an analyst for BMO Nesbitt Burns.
“I was supposed to start in the income trust section for power and utilities, but the government changed all the rules relating to income trusts, so that market totally collapsed in 2005,” he recalled. “The income trust group was right next
to the mining group, so they asked me to join them. That’s how I was introduced to the mining industry.
“BMO was a great place to start my career because it was one of the leading investment banks serving the mining industry, so I gained a lot of experience there and the people I worked with are now all in lead roles around the world.”
After three and a half years of working 90 to 100 hours a week, he left BMO for a well-deserved six month break to travel the world.
On his return to Montreal in 2009, he was recruited by Desjardins Securities and given the task of
starting a mining practice for them.
After five years in that role, he made the switch to the corporate side by joining Osisko Gold Royalties (TSX: OR; NYSE: OR) as director of evaluations and vice-president of investor relations. During his three years at Osisko, he also served as president and CEO of sister company Falco Resources (TSXV: FPC; US-OTC: FPRGF), in which role he oversaw the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for the Horne Mine in Rouyn-Noranda.
“Then, at the end of 2018, I decided to take a leap of faith and really go out on my own, so I left
Our fit-for-purpose solutions encompass the skills of qualified geologists, geostaticians, analytical chemists, mineralogists, metallurgists, process engineers and mining engineers brought together to provide accurate and timely mineral and process evaluation services across the entire mining life cycle.
Osisko, got control of a shell company and founded Nomad Royalty. We started off with five assets from Orion Mine Finance and three from Yamana Gold, but by the time we got going it was February 2020, exactly one and a half weeks before the global pandemic when the world shut down,” said Metcalfe.
He nevertheless persevered, inspired by his father who always told him that “if you work harder than anyone else, you’ll achieve the goals you want.”
Shortly after completing two major project financings in 2022 for Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX) and Orion’s Greenstone mine in northern Ontario and Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) Platreef project, Nomad accepted Sandstorm Gold Royalties’ (TSX: SSL; NYSE: SAND) offer to buy the company for $740 million. By that time, Nomad had 23 assets, 10 of which were in production and generating revenue.
“Starting Nomad during a pandemic was challenging, but we found ways to get the job done, sold it at the end of the pandemic and did well for what was a difficult period for everyone,” he said.
Metcalfe is now preparing for the next chapter of his career, starting yet another business — this time with a focus on acquiring a promising asset — either a gold or base metal property – that could use the project financing expertise that he and his team can bring to the table.
“The idea is to get our skin in the game, project finance it, build it and start producing,” he said.
Metcalfe credits hard work, honesty and believing in himself as the qualities that are responsible for the success he has achieved.
DIVERSITY | Recent reports find share of women in leadership is stagnant, despite rising interest in greater diversity
BY BLAIR MCBRIDECathy Fitzgerald has always been aware that women are a minority in the mining world, especially in management.
“Moving up in my career, and now being a vice-president and maybe one day a CEO, standing in a room with 200 men and five women, you’re acutely aware of the imbalance in gender at the top of the mining industry,” said Fitzgerald, who is VP, exploration and resource development with Apollo Silver (TSXV: APGO; US-OTC: APGOF), in an interview late last year.
But reading a recent report from Toronto-based executive talent management firm Bedford Resources that put numbers to the imbalance, still left Fitzgerald feeling disappointed.
The Bedford Group Mining Industry Compensation Report 2022, released in November, found that the number of women in senior management roles and on boards in the mining sector actually declined in 2021 compared with the previous year. The findings were based on data from 322 mining companies listed on the TSX, TSXV, ASX, NASDAQ and NYSE.
Based on 1,900 boards analyzed in the report, female representation dropped to 19.2% in 2021 from 20.6% in 2020, for a total of 364 female directors. Among those 364 women, only 12 served as chairs, vice-chairs or lead directors. While the 2021 figures represented a decline, they were still an improvement over 2019, when women made up 16.3% of board members, according to the 2021 Bedford report.
A study released Oct. 13 last year by business law firm Osler showed some improvement for 2022, with the proportion of female directors on mining boards rising to 22%. That still lags behind the 25% level for TSX-listed companies as a whole and 36% at S&P/TSX 60 firms, said the 2022 Diversity Disclosure Practices report.
Frank Galati, Managing Partner at Bedford, questions if the 1.4% drop in female representation on boards in 2021 marks a real decline, noting that it could reflect a change in the composition of companies analyzed.
“But it’s not moving,” he said. “Why isn’t it 50% if women represent half of the population? My answer is that it’s getting there.”
“The problem…is a lot of young people aren’t entering the mining space. Females in particular aren’t entering it. So there are not a lot of [female] executives to pull from either,” he said.
He also points out that in 2008 when Bedford published its first compensation report, women only
represented 9% to 11% of board and management positions.
Bedford’s findings were of little surprise to Heather Gamble, founder and CEO of the Artemis Project, a social enterprise that promotes change in mining and entrepreneurship for women. She said she sees few actions being taken in the industry to advance female representation.
“There’s a lot of positioning, ‘Yeah this is important.’ …[But] I don’t see a talent pipeline being built and developed, I don’t see budgets being allocated to really do the work that needs to be done to attract and retain the women,” she said.
She contrasts the mining world today with her own early career experience in technology sales at AT&T, where she gradually climbed the corporate ladder.
“There were many women there. It showed me there’s a path. There was a way and a will. There were opportunities and role models and real political will. I don’t hear of many progressive programs in mining,” she said.
Female executives
Not surprisingly, women are also largely absent from executive roles. Of the 325 CEO roles analyzed in the Bedford report, only 12 were held by women, or 3.7%, down from 8% in 2020. Among named executive officers, 14% were women in 2021, down from 18% in 2020.
For 2022, Osler showed the level
100% owned Rossland, B.C. contiguous mineral claim group 2,222 ha. Gold; Gold-MolybdenumCobalt historical resources; REE values. Adjacent and surrounding 2.76m oz. Au past producer (+ Ag-Cu). Recent Technical Qualifying report and ground/UAV geophysics. Exceptional historical data base and adjacent infrastructure. 35 year continuous claim accumulation by resident Geologist. Claims well advanced in assessment.
of women executive officers rose to 17%, but it was still below the TSXlisted average of 20%, based on 582 companies surveyed.
Chief financial officer was the most common role filled by women in the industry, with 55 CFOs identifying as women, according to the 2022 Bedford report. Among legal representatives, 16 were women; for COOs, there were only four women; VP operations, just three; and VP exploration, one.
“There remains significant gender diversity work to be done in the mining industry,” the report noted.
Slow, halting change Galati said that when he “puts on
his recruiter hat,” he sees interest rising fast for greater diversity in mining.
“As an executive search firm last year we received over 30 requests to help boards diversify. There’s a move afoot to replace board members retiring with women. In past years, it would’ve been less than five board role [assignments] and probably out of those five one would be a request for diversity,” he said. But for Gamble, the pace of change is moving too slowly. Change should be transformational rather than incremental, she says. A partial step forward, she said, is the 30% Club, an initiative of boosting female representation at board and
c-suite levels to 30%.
According to Club data for Canada, representation of women on boards of TSX-Composite listed companies (including mining firms) rose from 17% in 2015 to 33.1% in 2022. C-suite representation in TSX listed firms climbed more slowly, from 16% in 2015 to 22.1% in 2022.
Among the major Canadian miners who are Club members, the boards of Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD, Nutrien (TSX: NTR), and Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) all comprise 30% women. Senior management ranges from 18.75% (for Barrick) to 30% (for Kinross), according to data on their websites.
“My question is: why 30%? Why aren’t we going for 50%? It seems we’re setting targets for not equal representation to begin with,” she said.
Gamble envisions change through companies launching affirmative action programs and committing to reach 50% female representation.
She also said male leaders need to take the initiative if they’re serious about diversity.
“I participated in hundreds of events about participation of women in mining and often the audiences are 85% women talking about it,” she said. “We need the leaders to have the political will to say: ‘we’re doing this and here’s how we’re doing it.’ If you aren’t doing that I don’t know how you would think things will change.”
Back in Vancouver, Fitzgerald said both women and men in the industry need to be on the same page with diversity, while ensuring people are hired because they’re properly qualified.
“Do I feel I couldn’t get a role because I was a woman? No, I don’t. Do I ever feel I was hired because I was a woman? No, I don’t,” she said. “But that’s a good thing. So maybe we’re getting there.” TNM
BY COLIN MCCLELLAND
Catherine Boggs, chairperson of Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), the largest silver producer in the United States, sees opportunities for juniors to tap private wealth, a new lifeline in solar panels and geopolitical soundness in North American operations.
Boggs, speaking online Feb. 22 at The Northern Miner’s first Global Mining Symposium for 2023, mentioned how family funds under private management have grown to US$115 trillion in 2019 from US$38 trillion in 1989, according to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. If only 1% was targeted at mining, it would still be a substantial sum.
Some juniors may opt for family offices over the burden of a royalty or streaming deal, or private equity
investment, which may limit longterm plans for projects by its focus on divesting at some stage to show a profit, Boggs said. Plus, family offices may be attracted to mining’s new focus on the green energy transition.
“Typically, family offices have
Cassie Boggsdone it passively, either through exchange-traded funds or private equity funds, but what you’re seeing now is this appetite because they’ve become more professional, they’ve also developed some expertise in this area,” Boggs said. “And they also tend to be able to move
pretty quickly.”
Hecla, with silver resources estimated at 240 million oz., plans to start production in June from its Keno Hill gold project in the Yukon after acquiring the part of Alexco Resources it didn’t already own for US$72.2 million last year. Alexco halted output at Keno last June after falling behind in development.
Hecla also recently made a deal to acquire Yukon-focused ATAC Resources (TSXV: ATC), which rejected an initial $25-million allshare offer from Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX)
Hecla’s gold output is to be 160,000-170,000 oz. this year, below last year’s levels and is expected to fall in 2025 to 142,000161,500 oz., the company says. Silver production in 2023 is expected to be between 16 million to 17.5
million oz. after a boost from Keno Hill and rise to as much as 20 million oz. in 2025.
Here comes the sun
The silver production increase will help the industry try to meet demand for solar panels. Hecla chief executive officer Phil Baker has said solar energy production could reach 500 gigawatts in a decade, requiring 670,000 oz. per GW, a boon for the silver industry.
“This is the greatest time to be not only in the mining industry but to be in the solar business,” Boggs said. “There’s not enough silver and you know, Hecla is very lucky because we operate in some of the best and safest jurisdictions in the world.”
Hecla, the oldest precious met-
See BOGGS / 16
When it first threw its hat into the ring as a potential buyer of Ring of Fire junior Noront Resources in May 2021, Australia-based Wyloo Metals had already formed a vision of a ‘future metals hub’ for Ontario. The privately held company, which won a bidding war for Noront with BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) and closed the acquisition early last year, is just as committed to helping establish an Ontario-centric integrated critical minerals supply chain now, CEO Luca Giacovazzi said at The Northern Miner’s Q1 Global
Mining Symposium.
“We want to see the nickel we produce go into a battery metals plant somewhere in Ontario, that can ultimately end up hopefully in a Gigafactory somewhere in Ontario, and in a car that’s manufactured in the province,” he said during a pre-recorded interview aired as part of the GMS on Feb. 22.
The multinational company, part of billionaire Andrew Forrest’s business empire, has billed Eagle’s Nest as Canada’s most significant high-grade nickel discovery since the Voisey’s Bay deposit was found in the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Giacovazzi pointed out one of the corporate tenets of the recently rebranded Ring of Fire Met-
als (formerly Noront Resources) embraces the slogan ‘We’re Canada to the core.’ “We’re deploying our ‘three P’ approach — People, Planet, Project.”
He said Ontario has a once-in-ageneration opportunity to become a world-leading hub for producing the critical minerals the world needs to decarbonize. “We want to play our part in connecting the minerals in the north with the manufacturing might in the south,” he said.
The development of the vast muskeg wetlands of northern Ontario will act like an economic dynamo, connecting far-flung rural Indigenous communities by road for the first time. Giocovazzi says he has good news for them.
“We’ll need every able-bodied man and woman in the communities to work on the mine site to run Eagle’s Nest, including all the other ancillary support services, so there’s a tremendous opportunity to employ out of the communities,” he said.
“And the best part is that the people from the communities we hire from are already near the project. They know how to operate in very remote conditions, so they are the best employees you can ask for,” he said.
The second part concerns Indigenous procurement, and the company started with a $100 million commitment. “I actually think that can become much bigger,” Giacovazzi said.
As it stands, he estimates Ring of Fire Metals employs about 40-50% First Nation members across the business.
Giacovazzi ascribes foresight and luck to Wyloo gaining the dominant land position in the RoF. In scouring global geological databases, the executive recalls that Canada was always at the top among ideal nickel project jurisdictions.
“When we met with the Noront management team, we really liked the approach they were taking
tion Act have provided funding, investment tax credits and loan guarantees in support of nuclear energy. Premature shutdowns have ceased, and the reopening of closed plants is even being considered. We estimate that 1.1 million lb. of U3O8 worth US$68.3 million and minor fuel services were purchased within the initial US$75 million round of buying by the U.S. Uranium Reserve. Five uranium companies received uranium at an average price of US$62 per lb. Canada has also committed $1 billion towards small modular reactors (SMR) thus far, and four reactor lives are to be extended.
Globally, China dominates the narrative as reactor builds are accelerating potentially to eight to-10 new reactors per year. Its midterm goal is for a world-leading fleet of 150 operating reactors, 50% more than the U.S. South Korea has reversed policy and plans to achieve 33% nuclear with its energy mix by 2030. Japan, which is particularly impacted by LNG imports and prices, is striving for faster reactor restarts and longer life extensions in response to the Russian invasion. It plans to increase its operating reactor count from 10 to 17 by mid-2023, and ultimately to 35, including two new builds. India continues to look to expand its fleet of 22 reactors with eight under construction and 12 planned. Other developing nations seeking nuclear power include Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Philippines and Indonesia. Production to fall short
Uranium production is on the rise, but a gap remains. Production is expected to continue to rise by 8% this year to 143 million lb. from 132.5 million lb. However, that will fall short of expected demand of 181 million lb. U3O8,, despite planned restarts of several projects (Peninsula Energy’s [ASX: PEN]
Lance, Ur-Energy’s [TSX: URE]
Lost Creek, and EnCore Energy’s [TSXV: EU] Rosita in the U.S. and Boss Energy’s [ASX: BOE] Honeymoon in Australia), the continued ramp up of Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) McArthur River in Saskatchewan and a 6% increase in Kazakh production. African projects are being given a new look in light of elevated geopolitical risks, with Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) and China Nuclear Corp.’s Langer Heinrich in Namibia anticipated to return to production next year, and Global Atomic’s (TSX: GLO)
Dasa in Niger, Lotus Resources’ (ASX: LOT) Kayelekera in Malawi, GoviEx Uranium’s (TSXV: GXU)
Madaouela in Niger and Aura
Energy’s (ASX: AEE) Tiris in Mauritania all being advanced. Despite this growth, UxC forecasts a uranium supply deficit of 13 million lb. this year, which will likely be filled through commercial inventory drawdown. Deficits will persist, but might shrink in the 2024-2025 period, after which U3O8 supply deficits are expected to increase with a cumulative production gap of roughly 345 million lb. anticipated by 2030. Despite potential for higher prices, production challenges and uncertainties remain for miners, including supply chain issues, permitting and funding requirements, and overly optimistic production estimates and development timelines. However, the long period of low uranium prices has had a major impact on the uranium mining
industry. Current supply remains insufficient to meet future reactor requirements and the challenges outlined above may push some projects off into the future. Further discoveries are required to maintain supply, particularly since there was a trend towards the development of smaller deposits and lower grades last cycle. The negative impact of grades, and inflation means that future uranium prices will have to account for higher expected production costs.
Secondary supplies, which plugged the 55 million lb. gap between mine production and demand in 2022, are also anticipated to tighten. Those supplies will likely fill the 38 million lb. gap this year, accounting for 21% of total supply. Further commercial inventory drawdowns will take place as
spot market supplies are less available, but it won’t be as dramatic. It is also likely that governments and western enrichers will reduce sales, and underfeeding will decrease.
Spot uranium prices have risen US$48 per lb. at the end of last year from US$42 per lb. at the end of 2021 and US$30 per lb. at year-end 2020. After peaking at US$63 per lb. in April 2022 on speculation of Russian sanctions, the current spot price is US$50.50 per lb., up 5% year-todate. While we do believe that a war premium is built into pricing, we are more relieved that real uranium demand is driving up long term prices. We believe spot price drivers for 2023 include renewed investor interest in uranium and ongoing purchases by Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SPUT), added discretionary buying by utilities, and a weaker US dollar that could make uranium more attractive in foreign exchange terms.
Volatile spot market and geopolitical concerns have accelerated nuclear utilities’ return to contracting, and the strengthening term market is exactly what the doctor ordered. Long-term prices have trended upwards over the past four years, increasing 23% from US$33 per lb. to US$40.50 per lb. by the end of 2021, and 26% to US$51/lb over 2022, the largest gains since 2007. Term prices are up 2% yearto-date to US$52 per lb.
Last year, 2022 term contracting rose 58% to 113.1 million lb., versus an average of 72.6 million lb. per year over most of the past decade according to UxC, to the
highest levels since 2005/2006. The average contract size was higher than past years as well. Contracting by U.S. utilities rose 54% to account for 61% of the term trading volumes, and mostly for the 2023-2029 period. Non-U.S. utility contracts weren’t as large but often had longer periods. Term contracts are now often market-related and incorporate base-escalated prices. Uranium producers remain the primary sellers at 86% of volume, up from 64-65% in prior years. Intermediary sales fell from 22% to 3% as the number of carry trades fell considerably.
Even with increased term contracting, uncovered reactor requirements total 1.3 billion lb. U3O8 through 2030. Over the past five years, roughly 430 million lb. has been contracted, with Cameco alone accounting for 147 million lb. over the last 14 months. This is well short of the 775 million lb. used by nuclear reactors during the same period. The lack of investment in uranium mining and exploration since Fukushima have many concerned about supply sources. Furthermore, secondary supplies have declined, and spot market trading has declined as financial entities and uranium companies have entered the market and removed material.
The Russian invasion has been a major factor in uranium price increases and higher contract volumes by both U.S. and non-U.S. utilities. This trend is likely to continue as Cameco has already announced 80 million lb. worth of contracts in 2023. While existing shipments
www.probegold.com
BOGGS from 12 als mine operator in North America at 130 years, operates across the continent’s west from a base in Idaho, where its Lucky Friday mine has been operating for more than 80 years, through Colorado, Washington, British Columbia and the Yukon to Alaska. It also mines in Quebec and explores in Mexico in an approach offering a bulwark against some of the current geopolitical mayhem around China and Russia.
“We have at times looked at opportunities elsewhere and had discussions around political risk,” Boggs said. “As a strategy, there were predecessors on the board who were very thoughtful about making silver a priority and making these jurisdictions a priority.”
Along the way there have been some trying cases, such as a lawsuit started by an investor alleging Hecla’s $462-million deal in 2018 to buy three Nevada gold mines from Klondex Mines was an overpriced boondoggle that caused layoffs and a cash crunch.
Superfund sites
There was also the US$263-million settlement in 2011 to resolve claims by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and federal and state governments
over mine waste in Idaho, one of some 40,000 toxic sites identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act program, informally called Superfund. Some of the Idaho sites were acquired from companies that failed and were unable to clean up their properties and are part of a bigger picture about educating people about mining, Boggs said.
“Hecla quite rightly settled those suits and has learned how to manage those kinds of sites much better and much more proactively and that’s been a good thing and ties to what we’re talking about: how do you rebrand mining,” she said. “I would offer that there’s any number of examples where there have been responsible mines built and reclaimed, and you would never know it.”
Governments should encourage exploitation of tailings and Superfund sites without potential liability, she said.
“The U.S. government is funding research and development in how to extract rare earth minerals and critical minerals from coal ash and coal residue and acid mine drainage. The next step is encouraging Congress to pass some Good Samaritan kinds of laws.” TNM
with the First Nations communities and with the government and letting the First Nations communities be proponents for the infrastructure development. I love that approach, aligned with it, so we decided to make an initial investment in Noront.
“Then fast forward a few months, and BHP had the same idea. And we got into a takeover tussle with BHP. And obviously, we’re thankful that we’ve emerged as the owners of the RoF.”
The company describes the RoF mineral belt as an extraordinary opportunity. According to Giacovazzi, the best analogy for considering it is to compare it with how the Sudbury Basin looked 150 years ago.
“Now the RoF is a little bit different. We already know quite a lot about it – there are billions of dollars of metal sitting in the ground that we know about. But the more exciting part of the story is that it hasn’t been touched from a modern exploration perspective,” he said.
According to Giacovazzi, for every square kilometre in the Sudbury Basin, there is the equivalent of one exploration drill hole, compared with one drill hole for every 40 sq. km in the RoF today.
“We strongly believe that there are two or three Eagle’s Nest orebodies in the RoF in addition to the chrome, copper, zinc, in the other orebodies already known,” he said.
‘Fortunate position’
The company previously said it hopes to start commercial production at Eagle’s Nest in 2026, with the initial mine life at 11 years.
“We have a stars-aligned situation; we’re very lucky,” Giacovazzi said.
“Not only is it a wonderful, very high-grade, perfectly vertical orebody (which is if you ask the geologist to design an orebody, that’s what it would look like), but we’re also in a very fortunate position where there’s an infrastructure corridor and a road that is being developed,” the executive points out.
The road needs aggregate, and the company has looked at supplying the aggregate out of Eagle’s Nest, leaving it with big underground voids where tailings can be deposited.
“So, at the surface, Eagle’s Nest will be a 1-sq.-km development footprint, but of that space, we’re only hoping to disturb about 30%,” he said.
“It’s a great model for how mining should be done in the future using an environmentally tiny
footprint.
“The nickel we get out of Eagle’s Nest should be enough to make 10 million EVs. So, from an environmental perspective, the net benefit is massive.”
Rare earths
Amongst its diversified portfolio of assets, including gold and downstream metal processing investments, besides the RoF, Giacovazzi said he gets most excited by the rare earths opportunities.
“My favourite commodity in the world to talk about are rare earths. And the reason is they’re the closest thing to magic that we’re ever going to get,” he said.
He illustrated his point by explaining how rare earths are critical to making technologies more energy efficient.
An excellent example of that is an EV’s electric motor. “If you had replaced a normal magnet with a rare earth magnet, you’re probably 20 to 30 times more efficient, which means you can have a 20 to 30 times smaller battery. This means you can make the car more affordable, you can make it lighter, you can make it greener,” Giacovazzi explained.
In August 2022, Wyloo announced a A$150-million investment in Australian rare earths developer Hastings Technology Metals, through which it obtained a 22.1% stake in Canada-focused Neo Performance Materials (TSX: NEO).
“This transaction with Hastings spans the value chain, from mining to magnet manufacturing. As the owner of Europe’s only commercial rare earth metals facility, Neo is strategically placed to help Europe meet its goal to become climate neutral by 2050,” Giacovazzi said. TNM
from Russia currently have no trade restrictions, there have been threats of trade actions by the U.S., EU, and Canada, and even threats from Russia to cut off supply. Other ongoing challenges include inflation, supply chain constraints (lack of access to uranium supplies and/or conversion and enrichment services), transportation, rising interest rates and foreign exchange risk.
Declining stocks
Production curtailment over recent years due to low prices and Covid19 led to a reliance on uranium inventories. Stocks have declined in the west, while buying takes place in the east. Government stockpiles have seen limited selling. Demand by financial entities and several uranium producers has also removed millions of pounds from the spot market.
Another positive for mine production demand is a shift to overfeeding from underfeeding for enrichment companies, which have been spending money on further enrichment of their existing uranium inventories (underfeeding). This excess material was then sold into the market. With conversion demand rising, we are seeing more overfeeding. That means more uranium consumption and less time spent on converting supplies and stockpiles with lower tails assays. This means more uranium from the mines that have a higher proportion of U-235 are sent through the enrichment plants more quickly. TNM
David A. Talbot is managing director and head of research at Red Cloud Securities Inc.COMMODITIES | Metal has essential use in electronics
BY TOM AZZOPARDIAs investors rush to put their money into nickel, lithium and other metals set to benefit from the transition to cleaner sources of energy, is another critical mineral being left behind?
Through its primary application as solder, tin plays a critical role in the electronics found in every kind of technology.
The volumes are small. An electric car may only contain a few grams of tin compared to 80 kg of copper and 8 kg of lithium. But through the metal’s omnipresence in every form of electronics, from cell phones and televisions to airplanes and datacentres, the grams soon add up.
“Tin is everywhere,” says Jeremy Pearce of the International Tin Association. “Even in the screen you’re looking at now... without it, we’d be in a lot of difficulty.”
And in use for thousands of years, the metal looks unlikely to be replaced.
“You would have to change completely how electronics are made,” Pearce notes. “It’s a relatively expensive material so if it could have substituted, it almost certainly would have been.”
Aware of its importance, many industrialized nations, including the U.S., Japan, and the U.K., have added the element to their list of critical minerals.
Consumption had been relatively stable, growing by around 2% annually, as the miniaturization of electronics (reducing the volume of tin required per item) partly offset the growing demand for electronics around the world.
But the rise of electric vehicles, the roll-out of 5G cell phone technology (which requires much greater density of infrastructure) and the drive to remove lead from solder are set to significantly increase tin demand over the coming decade.
A further boost will come from new uses such as the strip used in photovoltaic solar panels. Demand from the solar industry is expected to reach 25,000 tonnes this year, up from almost nothing a decade ago and could double by 2030.
According to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, tin will be the metal most impacted by the growing rise of new technologies, such as electric vehicles, robotics and renewable energy, ahead of lithium, cobalt and silver.
With tin demand set to accelerate to 3-4% annually, the ITA predicts demand could reach 500,000 tonnes by 2030, up from 400,000 tonnes last year.
There is a big question about how the mining industry will step up to the challenge. New projects remain relatively scarce.
“Geologically, it’s one of the rarest elements, much rarer than other base metals,” says Joe David, Managing Director of Elementos (ASX: ELT), a prospective investor.
Despite its importance, tin has not grabbed investors as much as other minerals set to benefit from the global energy transition, such as nickel and lithium.
The volumes are too small to interest any of the world’s major mining companies while volatile pricing has scared off smaller investors. In March last year, tin prices soared to over US$50,000 a tonne on the London Metals Exchange before crashing to just US$17,000 a tonne a few months later.
It has since recovered, driven by the withdrawal of lockdown rules in China and the closure of Peru’s San Rafael mine amid widespread unrest.
In some ways, the tin market is still emerging from the shadow of the 1985 tin crash when the International Tin Council, a cartel backed by producer countries, suddenly ran out of money causing prices to plummet. The resulting maelstrom shuttered mines from Bolivia to Cornwall and threatened to bring down the London Metals Exchange.
Since then, the tin industry has easily been able to keep up with demand using metal sourced from artisanal miners in Africa and Asia, and the U.S’s strategic reserves of the metal when prices rose too high. A decade ago, as demand was beginning to take off, supply received a major boost with the unexpected entry of Myanmar into the tin market. It became one of the world’s largest producers.
But the market is changing.
Strategic reserves in the U.S. have dwindled and greater scrutiny from consumers has constrained small-scale producers.
Meanwhile, with around 90% of tin smelting capacity located in Southeast Asia, western governments and companies are concerned about security of supply. After banning exports of nickel ore to promote a domestic battery industry, there is speculation that Indonesia could do the same for tin.
Several companies are now racing to that fill the gap.
Exploration rising
Alphamin Resources (TSXV: AFM) is working to expand production from its operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 20,000 tonnes annually from next year.
Former Xstrata CEO Mick Davies is trying to resurrect the historic South Crofty mine in Cornwall. But his company Cornish Metals (TSXV: CUSN; LSE: CUSN) reckons it will take two years to pump out enough water from the mine to restart production.
After trying to bring the Cleveland tin mine in Tasmania back into production, Australia-listed Elementos acquired the Oropesa tin project in southern Spain in 2020 and is now working on permit-
ting and engineering with the aim of reaching production by the end of 2025. The project was last year selected for a fast-track approval system by the regional government, notes managing director David.
Tin’s recent volatility has caused headaches for would-be investors. Elementos’s share price has fallen almost two-thirds since tin prices peaked last year while the spot price is now below the US$30,000
per tonne price (around US$13.61 per lb.) used in its recent studies. But even these are unlikely to be sufficient to meet the additional demand expected by the end of the decade. Including mines likely to be developed over the coming years, the ITA still sees a shortfall of around 50,000 tonnes by the end of the decade.
Several exploration firms are now searching for new resources.
One prospective source of tin is Bolivia, once the world’s largest producer of the metal whose prominence declined in the wake of the tin crash. But the geological potential is huge, says Gordon Neal, CEO of Whitehorse Gold (TSXV: WHG).
“Bolivia is one of the least explored countries in South America despite a massive mineral endowment… and there’s tin all over,” he said. Originally focused on a gold project in southern Yukon, the company plans to change its name to Tincorp after acquiring two greenfield tin projects in the South American country. Drilling is set to begin in the coming weeks.
But with new mine projects taking at least eight to 10 years to be developed, it is unlikely that any new discoveries will reach production by the end of the decade. Tin’s volatility looks set to continue. TNM
PearTree is a Canadian Securities Dealer and Investment Fund Manager advancing over (CAD) $500 million annually for resource exploration and mine development in a uniquely Canadian structure which results in as much as $2.00 of capital deployed for every $1.00 invested by global institutions and family offices.
Averaging $500M deployed through PearTree in 2021 and 2022 for the mineral exploration & development sector
Watch our video in English, Français, Deutsch and Español on our website
Expanding the universe of exploration capital.
peartreecanada.com
Elementos managing director Joe David at the Oropesa tin project
Q&A
Alex Christopher was appointed president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in March 2021 for a two-year term. The geologist and senior vice-president, projects & technical services with Teck Resources, has nearly 40 years of industry experience — and has been on the board of PDAC for a decade.
While starting his term during the Covid-19 pandemic has posed challenges — Christopher estimates 30-40% of PDAC’s energy has had to go into to managing issues related to the pandemic rather than being completely focused on long-term issues important to its members — there has been an exciting acceleration in support for the critical minerals space in Canada, the U.S. and Europe during the past two years. Christopher, whose term as PDAC president ends after this year’s convention when new president Raymond Goldie will take over, spoke to The Northern Miner in February about how to ensure Canada’s juniors can compete to deliver the critical minerals the world needs.
The Northern Miner: You began your term one year after the pandemic started. A lot has changed and in the last few years including the pandemic and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been an extremely disruptive event for the markets and for commodities. What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities right now for explorers in this environment?
Alex Christopher: First of all, if we think about what society is really looking for, it’s really mov-
ing towards a less carbon-intensive world. One of the things we have to do as an industry is get out there and work hard to change the hearts and minds of society for them to recognize the importance of the industry, how it impacts their lives and how it contributes to that transition to a lower carbon environment. Without mining, we won’t have the metals and minerals we need to be able to do that. Given the world wants us to do that at pace, we have to look really hard at how we go about doing our business, how we go about permitting and approving mines so that we can actually have those critical minerals that we need. Now the government’s come out with the Critical Minerals Strategy and how that works with indus-
try and the implementation of that dovetails with industry to allow us to advance those projects that are required. The whole transition to a lower carbon economy, in my mind presents a generational opportunity for young people. Canada is a resourcerich nation and we can lead the way in many areas with respect to this. If I was a young person coming into the industry, I’d be really stoked right now about the opportunities ahead of me.
TNM: It’s interesting — I asked about challenges and opportunities and you didn’t immediately go into things like permitting, you went into a more basic, fundamental
problem, which is the perception of mining.
AC: Yeah, obviously the more alignment we have with respect to the fundamental importance of the industry to society, then permitting and evidence-based land use, and the decisions we make around that will flow more naturally. So sometimes tackling the big issue in the background is important to actually allow us to move forward on specific challenges that we may have in different areas.
TNM: How can Canada compete with other jurisdictions? I’m thinking in particular of Australia, which also has a thriving mining sector and capital market for exploration.
AC: The first thing you want to do is make sure you do not put policy in place that chases people away. There’s one thing about attracting that investment and competing and there’s another thing about chasing that away. So clarity around rules and regulations, ensuring that we have streamlined permitting, these are all key to holding on to the investment community that we do have.
The Canadian government does a good job with respect to fiscal incentives. I mean, a lot of work has been focused on that, whether those are the mineral exploration tax credit or the flow-through shares regime, which is great for attracting capital, and ensuring that we have a process in place to allow access to land for exploration. As I said earlier, that evidence-based decision making is an important piece of this to ensure that we truly are generating the geoscience data that we need and we’re making evi-
dence-based decisions when we set land aside for conservation efforts. Access to infrastructure, particularly in some of our northern or remote areas is important, and I’d say that Australia — although it’s a large country — probably has less infrastructure challenges than we have here in Canada given the nature of the terrain.
Overall, sound government policies that are stable and don’t change rapidly because members are essentially looking for a stable environment where they can understand the rules.
Our main competitor is Australia. We’ve always prided ourselves in the fact that the Canadian markets were the top in the world for raising money. But I think the Australians are basically up at the podium.
TNM: Last year, the federal government announced a number of policy and funding initiatives designed to help Canada compete in the critical mineral space. How do you think Canada is doing on this overall given the competition?
AC: I think that overall, we’re saying all the right things. The effort that the government put into the Critical Minerals Strategy, making fiscal incentives available like the Critical Minerals Exploration Tax Credit, these are important pieces. How the strategy is rolled out, how the dollars that are made available are utilized, and how this dovetails into the industry and then ultimately into our ability to permit or fast-track opportunities, those are key. So I think we’ve got some good steps, but we still have a way to go.
TNM: Have juniors seen any actual improvement in terms of benefits coming from this new attention to the critical mineral space?
AC: The government’s earmarked a fair bit of money in their budget, $400 million in 2022, and a total of almost $4 billion. We have seen some material uptick in the amount of exploration spending on the critical minerals in 2022 and expect that to continue through 2023.
ESG criteria is a critical way for investors to evaluate companies in which they want to invest.
ONYEN offers resource companies an innovative software solution to complete their Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting obligations, and heighten their ESG profile
I do think though that there are certain critical minerals that are a bit more mainstream than others, and we still need to see some investment in downstream infrastructure to generate higher levels of investments in certain critical minerals. Quite often the challenge is that sometimes that downstream infrastructure needs to be fed by multiple smaller operations if we truly want to be producing an end product here in Canada.
TNM: Is there another jurisdiction that’s doing that better that we could model?
AC: I can’t speak to that because this is a very dynamic, changing landscape. I think we’re going to have to watch permitting timelines for minerals that are critical in the transition to a lower carbon economy. Time will tell whether we see movement in that area.
TNM: What does PDAC see is the best way to improve permitting times?
ESG REPORTING MADE EASY
THE ESG REPORTING SOFTWARE DRIVING INVESTMENT DOLLARS TO YOUR COMPANY
BY RALPH RUSHTON
Iwas never really one for keeping a diary; I’m basically too lazy, and not nearly introspective enough. The only time I did keep one, it was by accident. In 1996 I was sent to Iran to supervise a drill program at a gold project called Zarshuran. It didn’t go well. A perfect storm of terrible rock conditions and inept local drillers doomed us before we’d even started. The drillers were the most comical I have ever hired; they lacked talent and common sense, and the managers couldn’t be trusted to sit the right way on a toilet. We drilled seven holes in three long months and they cost us a whole world of pain and frustration, yielding awful core recoveries and not enough data to make a decision on the project.
I faxed a daily drill report to London via a dodgy satellite phone at the camp. As summer dragged into autumn and winter set in, we were only getting 1-2 metres of core a day, the water pipes froze every night, and my daily reports got more and more fraught until drilling finally ground to a halt. Happily, my boss at the time (thanks Dave) realized a) that I was documenting a slow decline into lunacy, and b) kept the daily reports, bound into a single document; a diary of my misadventures which was presented to me at the office Christmas party that year. This piece is based on the daily faxes which I still have, 26 years later.
Zarshuran (“The place of the gold washing”), was 7,500 ft. up a mountain, six hours northwest of Tehran. It’s a Getchell-style Carlin gold system which had an active arsenic mine hosted in marbles (arsenic and gold often go hand in hand in similar gold systems in Nevada.) Rather than bring in a western drill company and battle Iranian customs for months, we decided to use an Iranian drill contractor that I’ll call COREO. They claimed that they could handle diamond core drilling, so we hired them after a due diligence visit to a drill site near Shiraz where they were drilling concrete grout holes in crumbly bedrock for a dam project.
Mobilization took a month and it was obvious from the start that COREO were a gong show. We knew the rock would be challenging, but we naively thought that COREO had the personnel and gear to handle it. They were to provide two wireline core rigs that could handle PQ core and triple tube drilling for the expected bad ground. Two rigs duly arrived on some very old trucks, but COREO’s management had decided that sending drill rods and drillers to operate the machines and twiddle the rods about was an unnecessary inconvenience and we could do without them.
When two drillers finally did arrive, they had no accommodation, food, or toilets. They were kipping in a 12-metre container and using the hillside as their loo, which made soil sampling somewhat hazardous. One of my early reports noted dryly “morale is generally at a low ebb due to the poor living conditions and lack of head office backup.”
COREO eventually sent a project manager to site, Mr. Paknejad, who at first tried to manage the project remotely from his office 1,000 km away in Shiraz. In the one and only site meeting we had, akin to trying to have a calm chat with an hysterical five-year-old, he told
me that “...mobilization would finish when he said it was finished and not before, and anyway who were we to question him (hint: the client) and besides, he was doing us a huge bloody favour sending anything to site.” He then jumped in his truck and buggered off to the nearest town to make a phone call to head office. He never returned, judging correctly that the bad-tempered foreigners who’d questioned his competence might not welcome him back on site.
A few days into the drill program and progress was painfully slow, as little as 2-3 metres per shift. We did what we could with the gear available, advised by Dave, an experienced Australian drilling consultant we’d retained to knock COREO’s crew into shape. Dave was a force of nature. Built like a haystack, his eyes looked in two different directions at the same time, and he couldn’t sit still for long because of his hemorrhoids. But with driller’s hands the size of tennis rackets and a quiet but vaguely
threatening way of speaking, his beastly demeanour terrified our Iranian friends. There was still no sign of Mr. Paknejad, and our core shack with space for 150 core boxes was looking a tad optimistic.
By mid-September, we were on our third COREO supervisor. He showed up on site wearing shiny black shoes, nice pants and a pressed white shirt, bless. My daily fax noted “I’m not quite sure what his role is as he doesn’t seem to know much about drilling and is a gemologist by training.” I not-so-politely suggested he put on some coveralls and some boots, which he did. He then sat down on
a stack of greasy PQ drill rods and casually asked me what all the pipes were for before telling me to “shut up and stop shouting because I was only the geologist and HE was the manager.”
He piped down when Dave told him he’d have a hard time managing anything with a PQ core barrel stuck up his backside. He left two days later, shoes still shiny.
We’d filled four or five core boxes with crumbly sulphide gouge but had nothing else to show for it other than an unhappy drill company who’d over-estimated the
level of ineptitude we were willing to put up with. COREO had misinterpreted our contract. They thought we were paying them a flat daily rate, so the longer the mobilization process took the more money they made. But we weren’t. We were paying by the metre with hefty penalties for poor recovery; unlike most of their clients, I’d actually read the contract. At 4 metres a shift, with only one machine running, their revenue was less than US$400 a day. We also knew they
Climate change is an existential challenge. Mining is a big part of the solution. This is the worrying — and yet, exciting — backdrop to PDAC 2023. Mining, as a sector, does not always have the best of reputations. Regrettably, the criticisms are often valid. ESG is now a much-abused term, having been hijacked by green washers and bandwagon riders. In its truest form, ESG has real value, although we tend to concur with The Economist, which recently proposed that the only bit that really mattered was the “E”, and that should stand for “Emissions.”
As a recognized market leader in mining-ESG research, we provide asset-level data for 3,000 assets across almost all the major commodities, reconciled between energy input and carbon emissions. That gives us a uniquely detailed insight into the true carbon intensity of the industry and the progress which is being made toward decarbonization.
Our experience at Skarn Associates is that implementation of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement had a significant catalyzing impact on climate action in the mining sector. Especially since 2019, interest in the renewable energy transition has snowballed. The trend is clear and gaining momentum every day: ever faster decarbonization of the mining sector. Over the three years that Skarn has been active in this space, we have seen a very real acceleration in progress. Corporate focus in the sector has shifted away from intangibles, such as debates about reporting standards, to more substantive issues, such as securing low carbon grid power and electrifying mobile equipment. This is just the beginning.
Aside from the work we are doing at Skarn, many recent pieces of published research support the idea that the energy transition is about to accelerate exponentially. The RMI, an independent, nonprofit organization working to accelerate the clean energy transition, provides some excellent insight into the current state of play and the historic precedents. There are numerous examples of previous technology transitions which fit the S-Curve model; adoption of a new technology grows slowly at first, but typically reaches a tipping point once a market share of 10% is achieved, after which it rapidly starts to displace the old technology almost completely, usually over the next 10 years or so. Historic examples include horses displaced by motor vehicles and steam power
swapped for electricity.
At this tipping point, the new technology reaches price parity and rapidly becomes much cheaper than the old technology. Mass uptake drives economies of scale; rising volumes push costs lower and falling costs drive more demand. This usually happens much faster than linearly minded analysts predict. In 2010, the International Energy Agency predicted that global annual solar capacity would rise by 12 GW annually in 2020, but in reality, solar installations in 2020 were over 135 GW.
Renewable energy has already passed the tipping point versus fossil fuel, and other sectors will be tipping in the next few years; electrification of the car market is next, to be followed by decarbonization of buildings, road and rail freight, aviation and shipping. Steel, cement and chemicals will be harder and later to decarbonize.
Within the mining sector itself,
Contact: Ed Holbik Prospector Group eddyholbik@gmail.com
carbon intensity varies widely from metal to metal, and also from asset to asset (mine, smelter or refinery).
The chart shows average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of 2022 revenue for some of the commodities covered by Skarn.
It is notable that some of the vital energy transition metals, including nickel and lithium have a high GHG intensity per unit of production value. In the case of nickel, there is also a very extreme range of GHG intensity within the population of nickel producers. At the low end of the nickel
GHG intensity curve sit the highgrade sulphide nickel miners which have access to hydropower electricity. The other end of the curve is occupied by low-grade, energy intensive laterite ferronickel producers in China and Indonesia, which can have GHG emissions intensities more than 100 times greater than the hydropower sulphides. The source of an EV manufacturer’s nickel therefore makes a huge difference to the embodied carbon in your electric car. For decarbonization to happen, critical metals produced by
low-carbon mines are needed in vast quantity. Promoting the circular economy — specifically secondary supply from recycling, makes sense, but realistically it can only be a partial solution. Good news for miners: mineral supply will continue to rely mostly on subsoil extraction. But it also places an obligation on miners to decarbonize our industry. Major mining companies, their investors, suppliers and customers are all currently facing up to the difficult task of accounting for and reducing their Scope 3 emissions. This effectively creates pressure to decarbonize at every point in the supply chain. There are now numerous great examples of mine site decarbonization in action. Many mine sites can now access renewable power from the grid that is at least as cheap, if not cheaper than fossil sources, although mine life can be the swing factor — the miner may need to be able to commit to a long-term offtake agreement. For mines that rely on on-site heavy fuel oil or diesel generation, the switch to onsite renewables is even more compelling.
In Egypt, gold miner Centamin (TSX: CEE; LSE: CEY), increasingly sources its electricity from onsite renewable generation. At Sukari it has installed a 36-MW solar farm supported by a 7.5-MW battery–energy storage system, that consistently delivers 36 MW DC/ 30 MW AC of power supply.
Bellevue Gold’s (ASX: BGL) project located in Western Australia offers an encouraging example of a mining company willing to make the long-term commitment to decarbonized grid energy supply. Price parity of a renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) versus natural gas-fired electricity from the grid has allowed the mine to select a low-carbon grid solution. Interestingly, political instability — falling under the “G” part of ESG — is emerging as a factor hampering decarbonization of the sector in some locations. In Peru, Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) remains uncertain as to whether the Inmaculada silver mine, which is its primary mine asset, generating over half of its global revenues, will be licenced into 2024 or beyond. Significant investment in a decarbonized energy transition at Inmaculada seems highly unlikely in the current context of heightened above-ground risk. Instead, the mine is likely to remain powered by the Peruvian electricity (majority hydrocarbon generation) grid for the foreseeable future.
Also in Peru, mining companies such as Glencore (LSE: GLEN) have had to suspend mining operations — in this case the Antapaccay copper mine — after physical incursions. Antapaccay already has in place a certificated renewable energy PPA. That said, Glencore’s move into renewable energy supply extends far beyond Antapaccay, including to Spanish zinc mining subsidiary Asturiana de Zinc and its hydropower-enabled Kazakh mines.
In summary, we expect the energy transition to accelerate even more rapidly in coming months and years, both within our sector and more widely. Feedback loops, economies of scale and tipping points will work strongly to support this — and our sector will be both a cornerstone and beneficiary. TNM
Mark Fellows is director and cofounder of Skarn Associates and Daniel Gilbert is an associate consultant.
The recent industry engagement efforts of the Church of England and a range of other investors leave no doubt: responsible tailings management is a key focus for 2023. With tailings dam failures on the rise in recent years (a trend expected to continue, unless practices improve), investors, mining communities, workers, and other stakeholders are putting pressure on the mining industry for the wholesale adoption of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), the global leading practice standard designed by ICMM, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and their advisors, following the particularly tragic Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019.
This year marks an important milestone in efforts to prevent dam failures: ICMM members have committed to ensure that, by August, their tailings facilities with the greatest potential adverse impacts will conform with the standard. With a third of the industry by market cap now committed to implement the GISTM, expectations continue to intensify, and many companies are now scrambling to meet the standard’s requirements.
Though the GISTM is a technical standard, a gap surfacing for many companies is in the foundational social management practices underpinning the standard’s community-facing requirements, especially at the operational level. A crucial element of responsible tailings management, social management themes surface in over half the GISTM principles.
Your company, too, may be wondering how to bridge these gaps. As the GISTM is likely to become the de facto standard for social management in many companies, understanding the case for and core elements of these robust practices will set your company up for compliance and success.
The social side of responsible tailings management
The GISTM is a technical standard that puts project area communities — which often suffer the devastating consequences of inadequate tailings management — at the heart of its requirements. Many companies exploring the standard quickly realize that these expectations include a substantial increase in engagement with local communities, but that’s only part of the picture.
Community themes feature most prominently in GISTM Topic I (Affected Communities) and GISTM Topic V (Emergency Response and Long-Term Recovery). However, social performance elements appear throughout the standard, with practices and implications that tend to be outside the expertise of the ‘technical’ teams responsible for the design, management, oversight, and audit of tailings facilities.
This is no accident. The broad inclusion of social themes reflects a growing recognition of the importance of integrating robust social management practices and social performance expertise in operational management, in order to prevent adverse impacts on local communities and to manage operational risk. Investors are a major driving force. With the Church of England and the Swedish Council on Ethics at the helm, the Investor Mining and Tailings Safety Ini-
tiative is rapidly fostering more responsible tailings management across the industry. And, as a range of stakeholders demand that mining improve its ESG performance, industry associations and standards also increasingly expect companies to fully embed environmental and social management practice at the asset level.
That includes GISTM. In fact, the very first GISTM principle calls on operators to “respect the rights of project-affected people” and to “meaningfully engage them at all phases of the tailings facility lifecycle.” Social management practices — a company’s efforts to engage or consult with, prevent adverse impacts on, manage risks related to, and understand the realities and aspirations of project-area communities — truly are at the core of the standard. But, notably, the GISTM promotes leading practice, and many operators will be hardpressed, at present, to demonstrate robust social management practices and effective, consistent management of social risk and impacts.
Just like health, safety, and environmental management, strong social management practices support good social performance and continuous improvement. Unlike the rest of HSEC, however, the “S” has no ISO Standard to help companies to identify, manage, monitor, and control social themes. And while the performance expectations of ICMM, MAC, and other industry bodies help to map a path towards good social performance, the social management approaches of many companies are nowhere near as robust as in health and safety or environment. Though social risk and community impacts typically rank among top industry risks, specialist practitioners generally acknowledge that social management and community relations often fall far short of good practice and sometimes even fail to secure social acceptance or maintain basic communication channels.
Enter GISTM. The standard’s comprehensive lens on what it means to manage tailings responsibly is likely to become a core driver for improved social performance across the industry. At a time when social opposition and ESG-related litigation are on the rise, the GISTM’s expectations help companies to manage permitting risk, project schedule delays, social licence, reputational harm, lawsuits and more. GISTM also helps companies to improve emergency preparedness, a core area of responsible tailings management where many companies remain deficient, especially as dam failure risk is often underestimated.
lifting. For many companies, the GISTM’s meaningful engagement will require a substantial shift in mindset, culture, and practice, including making proactive efforts to eliminate community member barriers to participation such as language, (opportunity) cost, literacy, and security. You will need to foster transparent communication and mutual dialogue, including in decision-making on topics including TSF design, management, emergency and post-failure response, and closure. Proactively inviting stakeholder perspectives, listening more than speaking, and integrating those perspectives into business decisions are key.
3. Plan for emergencies together
One of the more intimidating expectations of the standard is to undertake annual tailings training and emergency simulation exercises with communities. To ensure emergency response planning and long-term recovery planning are inclusive (as required), it helps companies to focus on building capacity internally and externally, support relevant public sector partner capacity, and promote the integration of TSF emergency response planning in broader emergency response planning in your operating region.
4. Respect project-affected people’s rights
And the standard expects a level of engagement that many companies currently avoid, ostensibly not wanting to overwhelm or confuse stakeholders with technical content, but more likely for fear of alarming project-affected communities or arming anti-NGOs with content that may bolster anti-mining sentiment.
In short, in asking operators to use robust social management practices and tools to build and foster trusted company-community relationships, GISTM is creating the impetus for much-needed improvements to operational social management across the industry. What does that look like in practice? Below we capture six key components of what will rapidly become expected practice for tailings facility operators.
1. Understand the social environment and plan accordingly
The GISTM expects you to develop a socio-economic knowledge base; a documented understanding of the social environment of your tailings storage facility (TSF). This area includes the full footprint of the TSF and the area where the facility can be seen, heard, smelled, otherwise experienced, or could inundate in the event of a breach. Crucially, this area is usually larger than most operations’ regular area of influence. You will need to document baseline knowledge about who lives, works, and/or has land-connections (owner, resident, user) in the TSF area: that is, the project-affected people. You will also need to assess how the TSF impacts them (e.g., consider health, economic, cultural, rights, and other impacts) and establish plans to mitigate actual and potential impacts.
2. Pursue ‘meaningful’ engagement and act on input
Another core, but challenging GISTM requirement is to ensure your engagement with project-affect people is meaningful. The term “meaningful” does a lot of heavy
ing your socio-economic knowledge base, ongoing external engagement planning, understanding actual and potential TSF impacts on project-affected people, and taking action to mitigate them. The SMS must have clear interconnections with your company’s tailings management system and your social management staff should contribute to both tailings and operational risk assessment processes.
6. Recognize the role of executive incentives
Just as with other ESG themes, the practices required by the standard can be more deeply embedded with appropriate incentives. Critically, your company will be required to ensure executive performance reviews and/or incentives consider public safety, as they relate to tailings management. It is also useful to foster and incentivize cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing between social, environmental, and tailings practitioners to inform tailings-related decision-making from design to closure.
To ensure your company respects human rights, you will need to conduct human rights due diligence and develop an effective operational-level community feedback mechanism, aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). You will also need to involve project-affected people in evaluating and improving feedback management across the TSF’s lifecycle. And, your company will need to work to obtain and maintain the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples or tribal peoples whose rights may be impacted by a new TSF.
5. Embed practices in operational management systems
Though still rudimentary in many companies, a robust social management system (SMS) is crucial to aligning with the GISTM. Whether stand-alone or part of an environmental and social management system, it should comprise a methodical ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ process to ensure your company takes a structured and integrated approach to short- and long-term social risk and impact management. At minimum, your activities should include updat-
The GISTM undoubtedly represents a step-change in mining’s approach to tailings management, but, crucially, it also raises the bar for industry social management. In doing so, it aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, learning, and improved tailings management across the industry and has the potential to significantly improve the industry’s performance across a range of sustainability themes. While the effort required to meet these expectations may feel immense for many, calls for even stronger requirements are already emerging. As wholesale GISTM adoption proliferates, those partially implementing (or opting out altogether) are likely to quickly find themselves struggling with growing social, reputational, financial, and legal risk. The GISTM’s social criteria may be initially uncomfortable for companies, but they are a powerful and timely step in the direction of social acceptability, effective risk management, and trust building. All the local benefit and social purpose narratives in the world mean little if host communities feel like they can’t trust the industry and your company. The GISTM offers the chance to prove that they can. TNM
Elizabeth Freele and Rachel Dekker are the co-founders and managing partners of mining sustainability think tank and ESG consultancy Sympact. Sympact supports companies in ensuring their social performance meets growing expectations through advisory services, training, and thought leadership products.
Though the GISTM is a technical standard, a gap surfacing for many companies is in the foundational social management practices underpinning the standard’s community-facing requirements.Elizabeth Freele
Presentations on the government’s offer to facilitate mineral exploration in Québec
• Welcoming remarks by Ms. Maïté Blanchette Vézina, Minister of Natural Resources and Forests
• Québec Plan for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals
• Geological context and mineral potential in Québec
• Mines and projets: an overview
• SIGÉOM: 150 years of geological data at your disposal
• The legal framework for the mining sector in Québec
• Relationships with Indigenous communities
• Living in the North: Sustainable development of the northern Québec territory
• Ressources Québec financial partnership programs
• Québec mining taxation
• SOQUEM: Explore new possibilities – Discover the future
• Société de développement de la Baie-James (SDBJ) financial partnership programs
Sharing and presentations by active companies in Québec
• Allkem
• Torngat Metals
• Lomiko Metals
• Wallbridge Mining
• Nuvau Minerals
• Val-d’Or Mining Corporation
• Globex Mining Entreprises Inc.
• Beauce Gold Fields Inc.
• Dore Copper Mining Corp.
• Troilus Gold
• QC Copper
• Cartier Resources
• Tarku Resources
• St-Georges Eco Mining
• First Phosphate
AC: I think there’s a couple things here. Coordinating collaboration between the provincial and federal regulators is key so that there’s clarity that the companies are looking at one regulatory regime or at least a one-step process rather than a two-step process. That can provide a lot of certainty and a lot of speed and I think that varies from province to province. Improvement there is a key piece to improve permitting timelines. I also think that the better understanding we have of our land base, so clear mineral potential models developed across the country and using those models for evidence-based land management and conservation decision-making is really important. When we have that sound data set then we can actually make decisions faster and based more on fact than on essentially heart. There’s still work to be done (to collect that data) and certainly funding from the government to do that is important.
TNM: I’m curious how you see the opportunity for Canadian juniors to serve both the U.S. market with the Inflation Reduction Act Funding and their efforts to incentivize local supply chains and reshoring, and the European
weren’t paying their drillers and they couldn’t source the PQ gear which they were obliged to provide.
Sept. 13 was the low point. Two operational machines, 3 metres of advance and only 70 cm of core. Ground conditions were still horrible. The mineralized zone was essentially black sulphide-rich clay with random blocks of hard yellow orpiment up to 3-4 metres across. The host marble was the texture of wet sugar granules, not conducive to recovering much core. COREO’s screw ups were endless. I found chunks of drill bit in the core boxes. The wireline cable snapped nearly taking a driller’s thumb off. The night shift’s diesel oil drum heater fell over, nearly incinerating a rig and its crew. An offsider dropped a PQ rod on his ankle breaking it. The fluid sumps were too small. A rod snapped at the top of the hole. They ran out of bentonite, super mix and plastic water pipe.
Eventually I snapped, leading to a shouting match with the new drill supervisor, Mr. Charifyan. Using some undiplomatic Anglo-Saxon cursing — which, thankfully, he couldn’t understand — I told him he should start bloody managing something and stop sleeping in his truck. In the heat of the moment I told him his IQ level was on a par with a domestic appliance I’d once owned, which was being generous. He left soon after once it dawned on him that we paid the bills and he worked for us, not the other way round. My final comment about him read “He is childish in the extreme and has no comprehension of the spirit of contracts or agreements. I now feel that I’ve been far too generous with COREO.”
In late October, winter arrived. We’d wake up to frozen water lines and hypothermic night shift drillers, and drilling would have to wait until the sun was up. Progress slowed to glacial: 2 metres of core from two holes in 36 hours. On Nov. 3 we got no progress from either machine and the writing was finally on the wall. I decided to shut the program down a few days later after COREO told me they wanted to re-drill a hole. The idea of spend-
market with the EU’s Green Deal. Do we have an opportunity to serve both of those markets?
AC: When you say serve, I think there’s two things. One is the Canadian exploration and development industry which focused on resource development, and we work with our members here both in Canada and abroad to ensure they have the tools to be successful in those areas.
There’s a bit of a difference between that and the mining industry and the supply of the metals to those various jurisdictions, and working with like-minded governments to bolster the supply chain for critical minerals.
I can speak to the former rather than the latter, but certainly there’s opportunity. The capital markets are key here though to ensuring that we’ve got the funding required to do what we need to do. If Canadian companies have the benefit when they do work in Canada, they can use the flow through share financing which is really critical and more critical and in down times than up times to sustain the industry.
I think the U.S. has the same challenges as Canada with respect to permitting timelines and it will be interesting to see how some of their changes in policy really affect that and the ability to develop at a faster pace. TNM
ing another three weeks watching COREO’s clowns try to re-drill a hole in crappy ground in the middle of the winter was a non-starter. Nov. 8 was demob day. COREO left with unnatural haste, far quicker than they’d arrived. Three flat beds and a crane showed up, the rigs were loaded and off they went down the mine road, getting away from me as fast as they could. We drilled from Sept. 1 to Nov. 8, completing 1,015 metres of core drilling, 15 metres per day between two machines. Those of you who’ve run drill programs will know how monumentally awful that is. A decent North American company would complete that in under a month even with bad rock conditions. And it wasn’t just the poor daily rate that hurt, it was the pain we went through with COREO’s management, day in day out. They’d convinced themselves they were actually a good drilling company. The constant fighting with them over everything from drill bits to shifty invoices had worn me out and I was badly in need of a break.
In terms of assays, the season was a roaring success. Our first hole cut 50 metres at about 11 grams gold per tonne from surface, passing right through the guts of a mineralized fault zone, hinting at a substantial gold system. So, the next year we were back at it with a larger drill program, and this time we were smarter — or so we thought — sacking COREO and hiring an Australian drill contractor that had a modern, truck-mounted, multipurpose drill rig parked up at BHP’s massive Reko Diq copper project in Pakistan. It seemed like a great idea at the time, that is before nuclear tests, corrupt customs officers and endless police check points conspired to screw up our best laid plans. But that’s for Part 2. TNM
—Ralph Rushton is a geologist and has worked at mines and exploration projects around the world including stints in South Africa, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yemen, Iran and Pakistan. He is currently the president of Aftermath Silver, a silver development company with projects in Chile and Peru. In his spare time, he writes about mining and exploration for his popular blog, urbancrows.com.
After 15 years funding Canadian exploration in more than 450 financings advancing billions of dollars to hundreds of issuers on behalf of thousands of clients, we at PearTree share the sector lament best said by the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield: “I get no respect.” (Those under 45 are now hitting YouTube — as you should, in which case our job here is mostly done.)
Over the past three years of daily press alerting the tech-dependent world of shortages to come and dangerous dependencies on dictatorships for supply, we are now seeing clients (more like the adult children of clients) understanding that without exploration and mining, there is no Apple or Tesla. The generation of investors who would not invest in our sector but happily invest in tech are finally respectful of what members of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada passionately understand and promote: mining is good, exploration is great, protection of the environment and respect for Indigenous rights, paramount.
There is a recent convergence of factors leading to social licence resulting in an exploration/mining renaissance. All the social media (and not so social media) surrounding environmental, social and governance (led by the ‘E’), Indigenous rights, coupled with the acute need for reliable local critical minerals and supply chain manufacture, has attracted new younger generalist investors into the sector.
And with uncanny political timing, last April Canada’s Federal Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, tabled her second budget, introducing a new 30% Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (CMETC) eligible in conjunction with the issuance of flow-through shares funding exploration programs prospecting for 15 critical minerals.
The CMETC is a five-year incentive relating to Canadian exploration programs for nickel, cobalt, lithium, graphite, copper, rare earth elements, vanadium, tellu-
rium, gallium, scandium, titanium, magnesium, zinc, platinum group metals and uranium.
The minerals in this group play key roles in the production and processing of advanced materials, semi-conductors and clean technology, including batteries and permanent magnets used in zero-emission vehicles.
For the past decade PearTree has advocated for expanding the flow-through share regime for funding resource exploration and mining development, demonstrating that the regime is a fiscally fair and efficient way to drive rapid job creation in northern and remote communities. Holistically $1 of investor tax deduction is matched to $1 of taxable activity — mostly labour — in those communities. We have shown this fairness and efficiency to be the case as far back as 2012 with the commissioning of a Deloitte study (see www.peartreecanada.com) and continued advocacy federally and provincially.
Simply put, properly structured tax incentives — the best example being the flow-through
regime, work. Immediately upon announcement of the new critical minerals tax credit, public markets and global investors responded. PearTree is just one market participant, but from April to December, even with yet to be fully baked legislation, we closed 12 critical mineral financings totalling $80 million.
Flow-through shares are a uniquely Canadian tax scheme first introduced in the 1970s.
A flow-through share (FTS) is nothing more than a common share issued from a company’s treasury where the use of funds is limited to exploration or development activities as defined in Canada’s Income Tax Act (ITA). For tax purposes, flow-through shares behave much like a limited partnership unit: the investor buying the shares funding the exploration or development accesses the tax deductions. Think geologists and drilling contractors that are ‘flowed through’ to the first subscriber from treasury. A flow-through share funds new prospective exploration. Otherwise, the share simply trades on the exchanges as common shares.
A $100,000 flow-through investment results in an investor deducting $100,000 from his or her income. In addition, for early stage surface exploration, the federal government and some provinces provide further tax credits. Historically, there is the federal Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, which provides a 15% credit for grassroots exploration. In the example above, the investor will deduct $100,000 and access a full $15,000 federal tax credit. The new Critical Mineral Tax Credit of 30% is limited to exploration for the 15 minerals referred to above. Provinces can then add tax incentives to promote exploration activity within the province. The leader in supporting the sector is Quebec. PDAC has written extensively on the flow-through regime. (See www. pdac.ca for a province-by-province chart mapping the after-tax cost of investing in flow-through shares funding exploration.)
Investing in resource exploration is venture capital at its riskiest. In the past 10 years, while other public exchanges have shown robust double-digit returns, the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) — the home of the juniors’ resource market — has lost 64% of its value. What the flow-through share regime does brilliantly is to risk adjust on an after-tax basis on investment in this sector. And to the credit of PearTree and its principals, we now have an investment platform that further flows through the tax incentives to global investors by enabling Canadian taxpayers to access the flow-through tax benefits as the first subscribers from treasury as a way to reduce their after-tax cost of philanthropy, with the shares immediately donated and conveyed to global investors at a discount to market stripped of tax value.
From the issuer’s perspective, the common shares designated as flow-through shares command an issue price premium to market, thus reducing dilution, and at the same time, enabling global investment at a reduced risk-adjusted cost of capital.
Unlike any other sector, while
issuer ownership may change, exploration and mine jobs and taxes/royalties paid to the fiscal authorities remain in Canada.
We at PearTree continue our decade-long advocacy for fair evidence-based tax incentives in support of the resource sector. We are keen to work alongside and assist other stakeholders in preparing and presenting submissions to federal and provincial politicians and bureaucrats.
We are actively advocating for further improvements to the tax regime in support of mineral exploration including:
• Making all 31 critical minerals, per the Natural Resource Canada (NRCAN) list, eligible for the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (CMETC);
• Making critical minerals, including lithium found in “bedded deposits,” eligible for flow-through shares;
• Increasing the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) from 15% to 30% and the CMETC from 30% to 50% in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut;
• Expanding eligible Canadian Exploration Expenses (CEE) to include expenses related to advanced exploration;
• Equalizing the impact of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) with respect to investments in flowthrough shares, which are subject to the new CMETC to mirror that of the existing METC; and
• Reducing the capital gains inclusion rate on investments in flowthrough shares from 50% to 25%.
These are exciting times for those prospecting for critical minerals. Hopefully the expanded interest in the Canadian resource sector will also benefit the precious metals and others perennially short on capital. For those who lost in crypto currency now looking at critical minerals may very well come to love the currency that is gold. We have their attention. TNM
— Ron Bernbaum is the founder and CEO of PearTree Canada.
EDITORIAL from 4
their own strategies, supportive policies and funding (including the federal government’s $3.8-billion Critical Minerals Strategy and the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, both released last year), Dean expects the TSX and TSX Venture to once again take the lead in terms of the amount of capital raised.
McPherson says there’s already quite a bit of optimism that the mining sector will be ready for takeoff once external factors (i.e. the threat of recession) lift.
“The latter part of January leading into February certainly felt like the market was warming again in terms of financing activity and several IPOs that we had seen put on pause at the end of last year because of the broad economy and investor sentiment have picked up speed,” he said, pointing to Lithium Royalty Corp.’s recent filing of a prospectus for an IPO as one example. “I suspect you might see more of those coming soon. The wheels are turning again and I think there’s general optimism in the marketplace.” TNM
The Northern Miner’s Mines Handbook has been your trusted source for property, company and personnel data about North American listed companies for over 80 years.
With TNM Marco Polo you can now get access to all these data points and more for all globally listed companies in a modern interface that’s faster and easier to use than ever.
2,500+ COMPANIES
12,900+ PROPERTIES
16,000+ EXECUTIVES
BY DAVID STRANG
As we enter 2023, the transition toward clean energy is intensifying. In some areas of the globe, carbon neutral idealism is giving way to a panicked “War on Carbon” as the impact of climate change becomes more tangible, and unfortunately disruptive, to the average person. As regions like Europe experience unprecedented winter warmth and the southwest United States grapples with an unusual dichotomy of severe flooding and extreme water shortages, governments are taking action with a variety of carrots and sticks aimed at achieving global decarbonization.
Policy “carrots” have come in various types of support for the production and supply of minerals critical to clean energy generation, power transmission and storage, and electric vehicle production. Some examples include Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy (December 2022), the United States’ American Battery Materials Initiative (October 2022), the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (September 2022) and Brazil’s Strategic Minerals Policy (March 2021). With many countries loath to repeat historic dependencies on energy imports, there is a growing sense of urgency to secure massive supplies of select metals as the world moves from “a fuel-intensive to a mineral-intensive energy system,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
While these “carrots” are important, the policy “sticks” are far more prescriptive in incentivizing, and in some cases mandating, change. Canada and the European Union (EU), for example, are phasing out the sale of new, fuel-burning cars over the next decade with a complete ban taking effect in 2035. Other countries are developing plans to follow suit, while many of the world’s largest carmakers have committed to phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040. Gas furnaces and stoves are following a similar downward trajectory, with recent headlines suggesting potential bans on natural gas appliances in several cities and countries to curb carbon emissions.
It is well appreciated that this green transition, along with the requisite investment in clean power infrastructure, is going to lead to unprecedented copper demand over the next two decades. However, what is less appreciated is the degree to which incremental copper supply remains stunted despite the proliferation of supportive government policies. Moreover, there is an emerging stratification in copper supply based on the carbon-intensity of primary production that is being driven by growing con-
sumer preferences for low-carbon goods as well as the anticipated adoption of carbon taxes.
While the carbon-intensity of upstream supplies may seem eso teric, a product’s total carbon foot print is increasingly influencing
consumer purchasing decisions. To cater to the ethical and sustainable consumerism mindset, companies are attempting to build a competitive advantage through “green retailing.” Uber customers, for example, are now able to choose more sustainable transportation with “Uber Green.” Brands like Allbirds and Rothy’s have developed cult-like followings for their eco-friendly footwear that garners higher prices than eco-unfriendly equivalent footwear. Younger generations of car buyers who are looking to buy their first car are, in many cases, going straight to electric vehicles, much in the same way that younger generations have
feeding the consumers’ appetite for greener goods and services.
While the pioneers of green retailing are positioned to benefit from premium pricing, the laggards are being pushed to catch up with carbon taxes. In December 2022, the EU announced a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), essentially a carbon tax, which will start being phased in this October. This tariff will offer a financial impetus for buyers to discern between high and low-carbon imports and will also contribute much needed funding for Europe’s green transition. With annual global clean energy investment needing to rise above US$4 trillion by 2030 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, according to the IEA, other governments are likely to follow Europe’s carbon tax lead.
The phased implementation of Europe’s CBAM will also coincide with required Scope 3 emissions reporting. Scope 3 emissions are those that are indirectly generated by a business, including carbon emitted in the use of a company’s product. For example, a car manufacturer’s Scope 3 emissions include all carbon generated by its customers’ use of the vehicles it sells to them. Likewise, in the mining industry, a supplier of mobile mining equipment will need to include carbon emitted at the mining operations where its equipment is used in its Scope 3 emissions disclosures. Disclosing high carbon emissions or failing to reduce carbon emissions may impact a company’s access to, or cost of, capital. As a result, a supplier’s pricing on its mobile equipment is likely to reflect the carbon-intensity of its customers’ operations, with “low-carbon customers” receiving preferential pricing and availability of equipment over “high-carbon customers.” It is quickly becoming clear that businesses’ carbon emissions are starting to impact bottom lines. And for the mining industry, the carbon footprint and profitability of each tonne of metal produced is becoming increasingly intertwined as the global decarbonization movement grows and matures. Conventional cash cost curves used to evaluate mining company profitability are now being used in conjunction with carbon-emissions curves to guide the invest-
ment decisions of significant pools of capital. Green credentials are no longer a “nice to have” but a “must have,” and as the world moves full steam ahead toward the green energy transition, mining companies that are already producing low carbon-intensity metal have a significant competitive advantage.
Unlike other industries that can relocate their facilities and operations, mining companies are largely constrained to the energy resources and power infrastructure local to where they operate. Mining operations located in countries like Brazil and Canada benefit from decades of government investment in renewable power generation and infrastructure. Conversely, remote deposits and operations without access to clean energy sources are at a significant disadvantage that, in some cases, cannot be reasonably or economically overcome. In the copper market, a bifurcation in supply between low and high carbon-intensity production, largely driven by the geographic location of reserves and resources, is being magnified by grade declines across the industry, necessitating the blasting, transport, and processing of more ore (and the consumption of more energy and power) each year to produce the same amount of copper. Meanwhile, a panacea in the form of new technologies that could meaningfully boost recoveries, for example, to offset declining grades, continues to elude the industry.
As the War on Carbon plays out, companies with low carbon-intensity production are likely to benefit from premium pricing for their product, easier access to and more attractive pricing on supplies and equipment, and a lower cost of capital relative to peers with a high carbon-intensity production. In turn, the global decarbonization movement will redefine the mining industry landscape, including the copper sector, in the years ahead with “green” producers likely to experience financial tailwinds that ultimately translate to superior valuations and share price performance. Clearly in this new decarbonized world, not all copper is created equal. TNM
—David Strang is chief executive officer of Ero Copper Corp.“CANADA AND THE EU ARE PHASING OUT THE SALE OF NEW, FUEL-BURNING CARS OVER THE NEXT DECADE WITH A COMPLETE BAN TAKING EFFECT IN 2035.”
DAVID STRANG, CEO, ERO COPPER
When it comes to tax and junior mining, there have always been a few holdyour-breath moments.
The first is at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention every March in Toronto. We congregate at the largest mining conference in the world, nervously packing a reception hall to hear from the finance minister on whether the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) will be extended.
Fortunately, in 2018, the METC was extended for five years — the first multi-year renewal since the policy was created in 2000. But prior to that, we were on a razor’s edge every year, waiting to hear the fate of a tax policy that has been so crucial to Canadian mining.
The extension is announced, followed by an exhale and collective round of applause.
Similarly, the fate of flowthrough shares has been equally uncertain. In April, prior to the federal budget, those of us in the tax world wonder — will the government continue this all-important policy? Will it be watered down by increasing the capital gain inclusion rate?
Key funding for junior exploration
Flow-through shares have been around since 1954, offering 100% tax deduction for high-taxed Canadians who purchase them. Meanwhile, in May 2006, our firm WCPD Inc. (Wealth, Creation, Preservation & Donation) made financial services history when one of our clients participated in the first flow-through share donation structure without paying a capital gain.
Once flow-through shares are purchased by our clients, they don’t hold them for long — often less than a minute. The buyer can then sell their shares, at a discount, to a third party, or liquidity provider, thus eliminating any stock market risk for the investor or donor.
You can also donate the shares to a registered charity. The charity then sells the shares, at the same discounted price, to the liquidity providers. Liquidity providers are usually expert mining institutional investors with a long-term investment horizon, which is a perfect fit for junior flow-through issuers.
Meanwhile, the liquidity provider takes on the stock risk for the standard four-month private placement hold period. For most of our clients, this is a key benefit — no stock market risk.
Together, these tax policies allow our clients, on average, to give up to three times more to charity, at no additional cost due to the tax efficiency.
Some of our clients keep a portion of the cash from the liquidity provider sale to make a positive investment return via tax savings.
The key component here is having tax to pay. Our clients, who come from across Canada, must make a minimum of $250,000 per year, or have a significant capital gain.
The numbers speak for themselves — as an industry, this policy has generated billions in financing for Canadian junior mining and sustained hundreds of thousands of jobs. Put simply, flow-through shares have played a significant role in the growth of Canada’s mining industry.
As a cherry on top, policy has also helped create billions more in donations for charities.
And yet, year after year, we held our breath on whether this policy would continue — and then exhaled. Afterwards, I often took staff out for drinks to celebrate.
However, this anxious environment could become a thing of the past.
The Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (CMETC), announced in the April 2022 budget, has been a breath of fresh air, in many ways.
Exploration involving critical minerals, such as copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt, will now kick out a 30% tax credit (equivalent to a 60% tax deduction), on top of the existing deductions.
In our view, the government has made a firm statement — Canada will be a world leader in critical minerals, so we can be at the forefront of the future green economy.
The opportunity for public support for mining has never been stronger. It cuts right to the core of our national security, whereby Canada and its allies can rely on themselves, rather than less friendly nations (such as China and Russia) for our critical minerals.
“Critical minerals present a generational opportunity for Canada in many areas: exploration, extraction, processing, downstream product manufacturing and recycling,” said Natural Resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson last December.
“This federal government is committed to seizing this opportunity
in a way that benefits every region across the country.”
Perhaps, we may not have to hold our breath any longer? But as the old saying goes, the devil is in the details.
Policies are only the beginning. Together, as stakeholders, we must collaborate and communicate like never before to ensure Canada reaches this lofty goal.
Jeff Killeen, director of policy and programs at PDAC, points to polymetallic deposits as one area of concern. What if a junior mining company seeking cobalt raises millions of dollars in exploration capital, using these tax incentives, only to find a high concentration of gold?
Will the company, and perhaps dozens, if not hundreds of Canadian taxpayers, be re-assessed?
“There should be no backtrack,” Killeen explains. “It is fairly clear in my mind that it should rely on geologists and experts to make the best attestation based on merit. Perhaps it could affect future raises on that mine, but the company and
taxpayers should not be penalized.”
It’s a scenario that may not have come up yet, but surely could down the road.
Information sharing, Killeen argues, should be a major source of focus going forward. And that begins, he says, through an open and transparent dialogue with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Too often, he explains, the CRA has significant turnover. Auditors come in that have little understanding or experience with the mining industry. This situation leads to confusion, delays and misunderstandings.
“Let’s not make it so complex and difficult to actually achieve the spirit of why CMETC was actually implemented,” says Phontinie Koutsavlis, vice-president of economic affairs and climate change at the Mining Association of Canada (MAC).
“I think the message is — keep it as simple as possible for investors, to grow exploration, and to have capital go into projects for critical minerals.”
In June, the MAC submitted recommendations to a government critical mineral discussion paper. One of those recommendations, she says, was to create an industry-government working group, to specifically look at operationalization and implementation of the critical mineral strategy.
Killeen couldn’t agree more.
Under the current system, groups such as PDAC and MAC have the opportunity to formally engage CRA and government entities “a couple times per year,” he says, providing short presentations followed by a Q&A.
“But there is not an annual workshop or one-on-one, and that could be something to think about in the future,” he adds, because there is much to discuss.
For example, in June 2022, a strategy was laid out for the protection of 30% of Canada’s land and ocean by 2030. While it’s a noble endeavour, how will this initiative work in concert with the critical mineral strategy?
“Mineral exploration is land access,” Killeen says. “So there needs to be a good channel between these strategies.”
Similarly, Canada’s goal of becoming carbon net-zero by 2050 must also be considered. With most future deposits “in the bush,” mining companies will rely on generators and fossil fuels to operate, he adds.
Where does that fit in?
And then, of course, there is the money — all $3.8 billion of it, committed by the federal government to assist in this strategy.
Koutsavlis points out there has not yet been clear information on how and where that money will be deployed. These details, she explains, have huge implications for the mining industry as a whole. A seat at the table, and working together in a more direct, collaborative fashion, would make a great deal of sense.
We need to get this right. Canada’s critical mineral strategy is far too important to our future. This is not business as usual. TNM
Peter Nicholson is the president and founder of Wealth, Creation, Preservation and Donation (WCPD) Inc. For decades, he has been a recognized leader in Canadian tax assisted investments, with a special focus on charity flow-through shares with an immediate liquidity provider. Through this structure, WCPD has generated more than $1 billion in flowthrough financings for junior mining companies and helped raise over $300 million for charities across Canada.
“IN OUR VIEW, THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE A FIRM STATEMENT — CANADA WILL BE A WORLD LEADER IN CRITICAL MINERALS, SO WE CAN BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FUTURE GREEN ECONOMY.”
PETER NICHOLSON, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, WCPD
BY MICHELLE HOHN
After over 25 years of working in and consulting to the mining industry, I’ve grown accustomed to the need to create compelling arguments to put a variety of internal and external social performance topics higher-up on the organizational radar screen. Factoring in ample time for thoughtful review by leadership and to obtain buy-in for the less technical considerations of running a mining company is prudent.
However, even I have been surprised at the time it has taken to fully recognize the significance of mental health at work in the sector. This odd gap predominantly exists despite increased attention to recruitment and retention strategies, an elevated desire to contribute to positive worker experiences, and the industry’s longstanding drive for exemplary physical health and safety performance. Combine this with the rather commonsensical notion that our ability to be fully present, perform optimally, and be considered “healthy” should include mental and emotional well-being, the slow adoption curve of psychological health and safety at work is a perplexing blind spot. Our heads are, after all, attached to our bodies.
Even prior to COVID-19, the larger mental health problem was increasingly apparent, and global figures were already jaw-dropping. According to Mental Health at Work (a World Health Organization/International Labour Organization joint policy brief), in 2019: roughly 301 million people lived with anxiety, 280 million people lived with depression, 703,000 people died by suicide, and 15% of working age adults had a mental disorder. These world-wide numbers are not only sobering but being
pre-pandemic also make them very conservative three years out.
We can see these impacts in a tangible way using a national example and shifting focus to the financial burden of the Canadian mental health crisis. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, total health insurance claims in 2021 were $40.8 billion; including $13.4 billion in prescription drug claims, $7.2 billion in long-term disability, $1.6 billion in short-term disability, as well as $600 million in specific mental health claims. (That last category is up 45% over the previous year and up a remarkable 75% since 2019). This equates to about 500,000 Canadians in any given week who were unable to work due to mental health issues.
Just how many of these health impacts and how much of these costs belong to the mining sector? Truth is, we don’t know. Psychological health is not yet included in definitions of occupational health and safety across the board, and for the most part, mental health at
work is not yet measured or monitored in any meaningful way in the industry. What we do know is that it took a global pandemic to catapult unprecedented levels of isolation, anxiety, depression, uncertainty about finances, and declining optimism about the future to the forefront of human existence. We also know that this universal event advanced the issue of worker mental health from a “soft” human resources topic into an operational reality that is forever changed and can no longer be overlooked. And we can presume there is no reason for mineral exploration or mining to be exempt from worker overwhelm, burnout, absenteeism, increased accidents and injury, or hefty health insurance claims.
What is PHS?
Canada took an impressive lead, forming The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013) in 2013. Championed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, this inaugural formal guidance was also the first global standard to provide a systematic series of guidelines, tools, and resources for organizations to promote mental health and prevent psychological harm at work.
Psychological safety is defined by the standard as “the absence of harm and/or threat to mental well-being that a worker might experience.” The document contains 13 factors within organizational control that when addressed effectively have the potential to positively impact worker mental health, psychological safety, and participation. Some of these factors include: organizational culture, respect and civility, workload management growth and development, recognition and reward, psychological and social support, and the protection of physical safety. A psychologically safe workplace is also commonly interpreted as one that promotes conditions leading to a shared belief and culture where people feel that it is okay to express ideas and concerns, take risks, admit mistakes, or speak-up without the fear of negative consequences.
A psychologically healthy and safe workplace is defined as one that “promotes workers’ psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health, including in negligent, reckless, or intentional ways.” This subtle, yet distinctly different term goes further and refers to the identification of psychosocial hazards and the assessment of psychological risks – it speaks directly to the prevention of potential psychological harm through workbased activities.
Why has it taken so long for psychological health and safety to become mainstream and fully integrated?
One possible reason relates to western social culture in general, which permeates into workplace culture. No matter how far we think we have come in the support of mental health, both the virtues of hard work and the appearance of “having it together” remain highly valued. Rewards tend to be linked to the achievement of measurable goals and timed outcomes regardless of how employees are feeling or coping at work or at home.
In the mining sector specifically, another hurdle is limited capacity.
Psychological health and safety has been making its way into international best practice, as evidenced by the following examples:
ISO 45003:2021 Occupational Health & Safety Management — Psychological Health and Safety at Work: Guidelines for Managing Psychosocial Risks is parallel and complementary guidance to ISO 45001 making it straight-forward to add psychosocial elements to existing hazard identification and risk assessment, mitigation, and management processes.
The Global Reporting Initiative — GRI 403-6 the Promotion of Worker Health — is one example of disclosure guidance including the promotion of mental health and well-being, programs aimed at addressing mental health-related risks and worker access to healthcare services.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals — the critical importance of mental health has been illustrated by inclusion in targets contained within the SDGs relating to well-being, worker safety, housing, inclusivity, discrimination, and climate change.
The World Health Organization/International Labor Organization jointly released Mental Health at Work — an approachable document containing guidance and key interventions on how to protect, promote, and support mental health at work.
Specific sector guidance is still budding, however industry associations — including the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME), The Prospectors and Developers Association (PDAC), The Mining Association of Canada (MAC), and the International Council for Mining and Metals (ICMM) — are working behind the scenes towards the inclusion of mental health in definitions of health and safety, and adding psychosocial hazard identification and risk assessment in their frameworks, protocols, principles, and guidelines. The Mining Institute for Human Resources Council (MIHR) recently released Safe Workplaces for All, addressing sexual harassment in Canadian mining which contains foundational guidance for awareness and recommendations for change momentum.
The majority of junior explorers and pre-development companies have very few employees at all, let alone dedicated staff to take this on. There is no human resources position, no budget allocation, and the very people being asked to start taking a look at mental well-being may themselves be overwhelmed or burned-out.
Even with increased resources and personnel, it can be difficult to determine whose responsibility it is to spearhead this initiative. Part of the responsibility challenge is that intuitively, organizations often think the natural “home” of mental health is within the human resources department. Part of this rationale makes great sense, however, to go beyond the promotion of mental wellness to the prevention of psychosocial risks, these cross-cutting topics require HR to collaborate with occupational health and safety, executive and board leadership, and other key internal content specialists, which is more complex and time consuming than single-department issues and makes ownership challenging and adoption slow.
Not sure where to start? Here are some stage-appropriate ways to foster a psychologically safe workplace and to integrate psychological health and safety at work:
Entry Level Steps
Foundational steps for companies of all maturity levels include: staying up to date on local labour laws (which are increasingly incorporating elements of psychologically safe workplace factors and psychosocial hazard identification and risk management), embedding respect in corporate values and Codes of Ethics or Conduct, having a Respectful Workplace or Harassment Prevention Policy in place (as well as clear complaint/complaint resolution procedures), including psychological health in the definition of health in Occupational Health & Safety policies and management systems, and promoting work/life balance.
Engage early and engage often. Organizations of all sizes need to know if their employees feel they are in a positive and healthy place
of work and to understand how to proactively promote worker well-being. Furthermore, decision-makers need to acknowledge employee-informed input to effectively manage psychosocial risk hazard identification and the likelihood and severity of associated risks to mental health across diverse and global workplaces. Be proactive. Don’t let a traumatic or tragic event be the motivation to get on the psychological health and safety adoption curve. Headline news involving major accidents, serious injuries, and fatalities is the most unfortunate of all reasons to initiate a re-think of better safeguards and systems.
Intermediate Actions
Junior and mid-tier producers have some increased capacity, personnel, and budget resources, and could consider: ensuring Employee Assistance Plans (EAPs) are in place and include specific support for mental health; incorporating aspects of psychological health and safety into induction training, dayto-day operational activities, and into supplier codes; embedding it into sustainability strategy and ESG frameworks (including in company goals, targets, and compensation structures); integrating psychosocial hazard identification and risk assessment into enterprise-wide risk management systems, adopting voluntary international and sector psychology health and safety protocols, standards, and guidance, and communicating their performance in all forms of reporting.
Senior mining companies are increasingly providing their workforces with a wider and more innovative range of tools and resources to improve mental health literacy, manage stress, and support building resiliency. Their more robust human resources departments can ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies map with psychological safety factors, facilitate more thorough engagement exercises such as wellness surveys or
The global transition to clean energy is creating unprecedented demand for minerals the sector produces. Minerals such as lithium, silicon, copper, and cobalt are vital if the world is to power electric vehicles, build wind turbines, scale-up solar photovoltaics, create new power grids, and energy storage. Emerging technologies in hydrogen fuel cells and carbon capture may boost demand for platinum, palladium, and other catalyst materials.
At the same time, mining still faces challenges that threaten the sector’s licence to operate. Issues such as Indigenous peoples’ rights, impacts on biodiversity, emissions, tailings dams, social conflicts resolution and corruption.
These are issues regulators, investors and communities care deeply about, and they must be managed to ensure mining companies can ramp up extraction without causing harm. These are issues tied to high standards of responsibility and trust.
The mining industry is already scrutinized. But its importance to the clean energy transition will place it directly under even more of a microscope from a wider range of stakeholders. Given the scale, complexities and challenging trade-offs that need to be made, building trust in this new environment is a complicated task. But it is essential.
It starts with responsible operations. Mining companies need to limit GHGs and minimize their impact on the environment. They need commitments and a pathway to net –zero that is aligned with the latest science and goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. There have been a number of inroads in that regard.
Many, but not enough, mining companies have articulated plans and implemented specific initiatives to achieve a net zero target.
However, to build trust, substantial decarbonization initiatives need to occur across the entire industry. And not just operational emissions. While mining is responsible for approximately 4%-7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, that rises to around 28% if emissions linked to the use of mining products are included. Today, stakeholders increasingly expect mining companies to better understand the different carbon profiles of the commodities they sell and understand the commitments of their customers to reduce emissions from the use of their products.
Beyond emissions, water management and tailings are also critical issues that, over the past several years, have seen mining companies invest in a range of more responsibly minded initiatives and
practices. For example, dry stack tailings, one of the most sustainable methods to store filtered tailings, pose a significantly lower risk to the environment versus traditional tailings ponds. This method is now used in mining operations all over the world including in Canada, Chile, and Australia.
Responsible operations also mean rising to higher levels of expected ethical behaviour as well as good governance. Fortunately, businesses in general have made considerable progress on those fronts. According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, societies across the globe view businesses as the most competent and ethical institution ahead of NGOs, government and media. However, when it comes to climate change, the opposite is true.
Edelman’s 2022 Special Report: Trust and Climate Change found — in contrast to all other issues — businesses are the least trusted institution when it comes to climate change. Nearly two-thirds believe companies are doing mediocre or worse at keeping their climate commitments. Not only that, CEOs are distrusted as spokespeople on climate — less than half of people (41%) trust them to tell the truth about climate change and what needs to be done to address it.
There is clearly a disconnect. As the most trusted institution when it comes to everything other than climate, business holds the mantle of greater expectations and responsibility in the public’s eye. Businesses need to start rising to the occasion on climate as well.
For many stakeholders, mining continues to be a “black box.” There is a lack of understanding as to how modern society uses mined materials, let alone how these minerals are extracted from the earth. Effec-
tive communication is the key to educating stakeholders about the industry and its role in a greener society, which can then help mining companies build and maintain support for their operations. Better education is the first step. The next step, and the real key to building trust through communication is the action that underpins it. Being seen as a source of reliable information, supported by substantiated evidence is crucial to building trust. It also helps when companies look to correct and counter sources of false or misleading information.
To build trust, mining companies (like all businesses) need to prioritize engaging with their stakeholders in a transparent and meaningful way, to ensure they understand the companies’ overarching purposes and goals for society, and the actions they are taking to deliver on them. This means that mining companies should actively address stakeholder concerns and involve them in decision-making processes. This would help stakeholders better understand the rationale behind each mining company initiative.
It begins by mining companies communicating the change or transformation they aspire to take going forward. And it can begin even when companies don’t have all the expected processes and systems in place. What is important to stake holders is open dialogue and com munication about the willingness to change and the resources for achiev ing change. For companies that are typically conservative in their com munications, conveying this will ingness to change is a bold step. It suggests this is a first step in a long process and sets an expectation that stakeholders will be kept apprised during the process.
Building trust through communications also means greater specificity. As mining companies become more serious about their commitments towards the energy transition and protecting the environment, they will be expected to communicate their plans and specific initiatives. Evolving expectations are being driven by platforms like the recently launched Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030. This initiative, backed by The Principles for Responsible Investment network and representing more than US$120 trillion under management with support from some of the world largest mining companies, seeks to push miners to adopt tougher sustainability policies with the goal of improving industry practices and outcomes more quickly. The emerging rules will draw on lessons from investors and the industry’s development of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. A key pillar of both platforms is the request that miners communicate more specificity. In short, communication needs to be deliberate and speak to specific actions going forward.
Between a rock and a hard place
The journey the mining industry needs to take over the next few decades is perhaps one of the most challenging of any sector. Demand is expected to surge as much as 500% by 2050 for the metals and minerals needed to make the clean energy transition possible. At the same time, mining companies will be under more pressure than ever to achieve this responsibly. Building trust is the key to bridging these two challenges.
If mining companies embrace the need for change, communicate their plans and, most importantly, deliver on their commitments, they may just realize a generational opportunity to not only build trust in this industry but perhaps be viewed in a totally different light to how many view them today — not as an extractive industry but one that is helping to build a greener future. TNM
an independent workplace assessment to focus resources in the right areas to drive positive mental health impacts. More comprehensive OHS departments can normalize a psychological health and safety culture and can fully commit to the mitigation and management of psychosocial risks and promoting well-being at work through alignment with ISO 45003:2021.
While psychological health and safety may seem like yet another new dimension of workplace social performance, the concept of holis-
tic wellness is not. The mining sector’s work culture and well-being of its workforce — including emotional and mental health — play a critical role in supporting ongoing capacity, optimal performance, and the vitality of its greatest asset — its people. The business case is overwhelmingly developed: It’s time for full buy-in. TNM
Hohn is a sustainability, social performance, and psychological health & safety specialistShe has provided extensive advisory services to international mining companies, and is a Registered Counsellor.
Geophysx Jamaica is a junior exploration company actively engaged in greenfield mineral discoveries focused on Copper, Gold and Rare Earth Metals.
We are engaged in the most exciting and technologically comprehensive campaign in the history of the island. In just over 3 years, we have produced over 30,000 geochemical assays and thousands of line kilometers of airborne geophysics with exciting results.
As a part of our commitment to the community, we have employed local graduate geologists into our exploration teams and brought in experts from around the world to enhance their expertise. We are founded on and operate under the highest principles of sustainable development. Visit
Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX: WPM; NYSE: WPM) aims to expand its production by 40% over the next four years, CEO Randy Smallwood told The Northern Miner’s Global Mining Symposium in February, adding that he believes resurgent Chinese demand can overcome a potential recession.
The streaming company remains focused on long-life mines with gold and silver byproducts in stable jurisdictions and may step outside its Americas focus to enter Australia, Smallwood said on Feb. 22.
“The world is within our full reach, within our full spectrum, but we are very, very sensitive to political risks,” Smallwood said by video from Vancouver where Wheaton is based. “Australia is a unique one, we spent a lot of time looking down there and I’m confident that we will eventually latch onto something, but it’s a pretty competitive space.”
Wheaton, which helped develop the streaming model over the past two decades among rivals such as Franco-Nevada (TSX: FNV; NYSE: FNV), Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD) and Osisko Gold Royalties (TSX: OR; NYSE: OR), is targeting average annual gold-equivalent output of 810,000 oz. over the next five years as it earns from 21 streams and more than a dozen projects.
Smallwood welcomes the entry of more private equity into the industry to help fund projects when sole-asset listed companies are trading at discounts to their net asset values and want to avoid diluting their stock by issuing more shares to raise money. Streaming can’t fill the entire gap, he said.
“We have seen a lot of that pri-
vate equity also step into the streaming space and create some competitors,” he said. “And there’s no doubt we’ve got a pretty good business model as long as we’re smart in terms of which assets we invest into, and that is one of the key aspects of being successful in this business.”
Output rebound While as a streaming company, Wheaton doesn’t operate any mines, it’s still affected by operational issues. Wheaton reported gold production of 638,000 attibutable oz. gold last year, falling short of the 640,000-680,000 oz. estimated in August because of challenges at Vale’s (NYSE: VALE) Salobo copper mine in Brazil and Sibanye-Stillwater’s (NYSE: SBSW; JSE: SSW) Stillwater platinum mine in Montana. But Smallwood foresees a rebound this year.
“We do expect not only an improvement from the preventative maintenance side to start getting Salobo back up to where it was, but we’re also looking forward to them ramping up Salobo Three,
which is a 50% increase in throughput capacity through the course of this year.”
The stream from Hudbay Minerals’ (TSX: HBM, NYSE: HBM) Constancia copper mine in Peru was affected by a fuel shortage in December amid anti-government protests that spread to some mining areas. Glencore’s (LSE: GLEN) Antamina copper mine also suffered weaker-than-expected output. The unrest, prompted by the ouster of former president Pedro Castillo, will subside after an election that’s been promised for next year, the CEO said.
“We’ll see some stability after that,” Smallwood said. “We’ve been fortunate with the assets that we’ve
got down there, Antamina and Constancia, both very, very good assets run very well and to be honest, have avoided all the challenges that we’ve seen in so many other assets in Peru and so kudos to our partners.”
The wider geopolitical scene, with the stalemated Russia-Ukraine war and U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, saw increases in central bank purchases of gold last year tracked by the World Gold Council, a marketing body representing 32 companies accounting for 60% of global output. Smallwood is council chairman.
“The one thing that came out of that, that really should be recognized by the mining industry and by the gold industry specifically, was the weaponization of the U.S. dollar when we saw the SWIFT system get handicapped and the U.S. dollars in Russia’s central bank reserves being limited,” he said. “That woke up a lot of other central banks around the world.”
The council, which has introduced blockchain tracing to verify gold bars’ integrity, is working on a plan to trade physical gold digitally, perhaps by year’s end, Smallwood said.
Continuing on the geopolitical front, he said the industry and
others will have to pay attention to commodity needs from the other large autocratic regime, in Beijing, as it opens up this year following pandemic restrictions while the green energy transition gathers pace.
“You can’t ignore China, the amount of demand that comes out of China, you know, it just has such an impact,” Smallwood said. “The other driving force, of course, is that they continue to push towards electrification and that is going to have a big impact in the mining space.”
The strongest U.S. dollar in nearly two months due to a persistently hawkish Federal Reserve stance on strong inflation and jobless numbers after declines in the greenback last year shows some headwinds for the gold price. Yet, rising debt levels and interest rates bode well for the yellow metal’s performance, Smallwood said.
“Gold has stood up very well in the face of that very strong U.S. dollar,” he said. “The level of debt that we see around the world, rising interest rates just makes that more and more expensive, makes it more and more challenging for governments to actually get on top of some sort of stable balance sheet or fiscal environment, and so longer term, it looks more promising than ever for gold.” TNM
EXPLORATION | Junior has made two discoveries since 2021
BY ALISHA HIYATEScott Berdahl grew up prospecting in the Yukon wilderness with his brother and his dad Ron, who’s been a prospector in the territory since the 1980s.
But the 37-year-old Whitehorse-based CEO and cofounder of Yukon-focused explorer Snowline Gold (CSE: SGD; US-OTC: SNWGF) took a roundabout route to where he is now. Berdahl studied writing, aerospace engineering, geology, and business at three different universities in four countries (MIT in Cambridge, Mass.; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia; and business school INSEAD in France and Singapore), earning a master’s degree in science writing, a B.Sc. in geology, an M.Sc. in earth science and engineering and an MBA before returning home and putting together Snowline, which was listed in March 2021.
“I guess it’s kind of like The Alchemist where the guy goes all around the world and then at the end finds the treasure is back at home where he started,” Berdahl
told The Northern Miner in an early February interview, referring to the 1980s bestseller describing a young Andalusian man’s journey to Egypt in search of riches. “Except in my case, it’s a literal treasure in addition to the metaphorical.”
The “literal treasure” is Snowline’s land package in east-central Yukon, where the company’s Valley zone at its 524-sq.-km Rogue project has commanded investor attention since its discovery two years ago.
Much of Snowline’s land package — 17 projects covering 2,800 sq. km — was spun out of the Berdahl family’s prospecting business. Recognizing the broader geology of the area is reminiscent of some of the world’s prolific gold camps, including Nevada’s Great Basin, the projects were selected based on their potential for multi-million-ounce gold deposits and district-scale potential.
The Berdahl family had some success in optioning out Rogue and Einarson, both located in the Selwyn Basin, ending up with an extensive geochemical soil and silt sampling database that identified “huge anomalies” that validated
their thinking. But Berdahl, who worked for the family company before, after, and in between his educational stints in the U.S. and abroad, says it was always a slog to move them forward.
“We’ve spent up the better part of the last decade trying to sell these projects or even at times give them away just to keep them advancing, and that’s proven tough,” he said. “Snowline came out of that where I put together a slide deck really for an imaginary junior and instead of selling the company, we ended up with investors.”
One of those investors was First Majestic Silver (TSX: FR) president, CEO and founder Keith Neumeyer, who happened to contact Berdahl around that time and was intrigued by the portfolio and discovery thesis. Neumeyer, who’s still a major shareholder at 6.4%, provided the shell company for the public listing and brought in Eric Sprott. Snowline now also has the backing of Crescat Capital as well. (After raising over $25 million in its last private placement financing last summer, the company started
SNOWLINE from / 30 out 2023 with over $22 million in the treasury).
Since it started drilling in 2021, Snowline has made two discoveries: Valley (2021) at Rogue and Jupiter (2021) at Einarson. The Gracie target, which lies along the same prospective 9-km trend as Valley, could be a third.
“That makes it three for three on drilling brand new targets and hitting visible gold, which as a prospector I can tell you is hard to do, so it’s another nice proof of concept for the district-scale idea,” Berdahl says.
‘Mini-gold rush’
The Valley zone is one of multiple targets Snowline has identified at its Rogue project, which is located near the border with the Northwest Territories, and about 223 km east of Mayo. Valley is a reduced intrusion related gold deposit that has demonstrated potential for the same continuity as similar deposits in the region, such as Kinross Gold’s (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) Fort Knox mine in Alaska and Victoria Gold’s (TSX: VGCX) Eagle mine to the west. What’s different about Valley, and what has the company and investors excited, is the unusually high grades it has demonstrated.
Berdahl points to hole V22-10 released last October as the company’s best yet, returning 318.8 metres at 2.55 grams gold per tonne, including 108 metres at 4.14 grams gold, from the bedrock surface starting at only 3 metres down-hole.
“These are really consistent grades,” he said, noting that in the 108-metre high-grade section, 72% of the assays were above 2 grams, with only five samples below a gram. “It’s really consistent normalization, which we really like to see near surface and really just atypical of this type of gold system in terms of being that high grade.”
Berdahl believes the unexpectedly high grades associated with Valley could spark a “mini gold rush” in terms of re-evaluating reduced intrusion related gold systems. Fort Knox, which began production with a head grade of under 1 gram gold per tonne, has been considered the defining deposit of this type.
“That’s been kind of the model for these reduced intrusion related gold systems — they’re big, they’re continuous, but they have low grades. It’s that continuity and the size and the metallurgy that make them work,” he says.
“The grades are far in excess of what we are expecting. So that really does change the equation for this deposit model.”
While the grade is atypical, the company believes that since reduced intrusion related gold deposits tend to occur in clusters, the same could be true at Rogue. Lending credence to that theory, the company has identified multiple intrusions similar to Valley at Rogue, along with widespread anomalous gold in stream sediment, soil and rock sampling.
“The structural preparation up in this particular part of the Selwyn basin looks very interesting, where you have this big regional fold, you have a shortening of units where they’re tightly folded, but still overall level with steep dipping structures,” Berdahl explained.
“Then you have these intrusions — the Valley intrusion as one of the mid-Cretaceous intrusions belonging to the Mayo Series, part of the Tombstone Gold Belt. Those are known elsewhere to be very well mineralized,” he adds, noting the area has “all the ingredients of a major gold camp.”
Even the low-grade holes haven’t been completely disappointing — hole V22-19 released in early Feb-
ruary, for example. “It came back with 200 metres of 0.37 (gram gold) which doesn’t sound like much but again, this is a reduced intrusion related gold system and that’s above the average grade of Fort Knox at the moment,” Berdahl said.
In late February, the company released another impressive hole — the longest mineralized interval to date at Valley. Hole V22-029 cut 558.7 metres of 1.26 grams gold from surface, including 202 metres of 2.04 grams gold in a 207-metre step-back from V22-10.
So far, drilling has traced Valley over 720 metres of strike, at widths of up to 400 metres plus. Berdahl says the highest grades appear to drop off below 200 or 300 metres depth in some areas, but mineralization continues to at least 500600 metres depth. Gold is hosted in sheeted, low-sulphide quartz veins, with a large central zone within the broader Valley intrusion carrying higher vein densities and grades.
Last year Snowline drilled 13,320 metres at Rogue. This year it plans at least 15,000 metres with three drill rigs, which could include drilling outside of Rogue.
The company also drilled Gracie, another reduced intrusion related gold target located 4 km east of Valley and along the same 9-km trend at Rogue, for the first time last year. Assays are pending, but four of five holes drilled (totalling 2,152 metres) returned visible gold.
This year, Snowline plans to drill about half its metres at Valley, while also doing some follow up drilling at other targets.
“We’re looking to strike a balance,” says Berdahl, who says the company wants to continue to prove up its district thesis while advancing Valley. (Snowline doubled its land package last year through a combination of staking and a deal with StrikePoint Gold [TSXV: SKP] that added another seven reduced intrusion related gold targets to its portfolio.)
Meanwhile, the company’s 2021 Jupiter discovery at Einarson rep-
resents a different type of mineralization that is a “novel discovery for this region,” it says. Highlights of drilling at Jupiter, which hit mineralization in all 15 holes drilled, included 6 metres of 13.9 grams gold per tonne and 6.5 metres of 13.2 grams gold in hole J21-011. The mineralization, which
Snowline describes as epizonal orogenic gold, is similar to Fosterville in Australia and Queensway in Newfoundland.
Solar powered camp
An interesting feature of the project’s seasonal 50-person camp — it is almost completely powered by solar energy leased from Nacho Nyak Dun Development Corp. (NNDDC). Berdahl says even before Snowline launched, the company had been talking with members of the Na-cho Nyak Dun First Nation, on whose traditional territory Rogue is located, about how to run a company that fits within the framework of economic reconciliation and treaty rights. That’s when the chief executive of NNDDC, Jani Djokic, formed the idea of working with local Yukon company Solvest to install solar panels.
It aligns with the principles-based approach Snowline has tried to build the company on: environmental respect, building community, going big, and doing it all with integrity and exceeding best practices.
With Snowline as their first client, the NNDDC has been able to start a brand new renewable energy business.
“I’ve heard that they have orders stacking up for this season,” Berdahl says. Solvest estimated the 27-kW solar generator will cut emissions from the camp’s generator by 90% and save 12,572 litres of diesel per season.
“It also makes for a more pleasant working environment camp where you don’t have a generator on all the time, so that makes for pleasant evenings where you actually realize that you’re out in the land and you’re not in a strange little city somewhere.” TNM
HIGHLIGHTS:
• NGEx holds a key piece of the Vicuna district
• Large resource including a high grade core
• High potential exploration target at Potro Cliffs
• Active drill program underway
Info@ngexminerals.com
Our TNM Drill Down features highlights of the top gold assays of the past week. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by our sister company Mining Intelligence. (www.miningintelligence.com).
South America was responsible for producing the top two drill assays of last week. On Feb. 21, New Pacific Metals (TSX: NUAG) reported that drill hole DCAr0096 at its exploration-stage Carangas silver-gold project in Bolivia returned 523.9 metres grading 1.2 grams gold per tonne from 333.5 metres depth for a width x grade value of 650. Drill hole DCAr0096 stepped out 60 metres from hole DCAr0044 towards the northeast at the East Dome at Carangas, located in the Oruro department. Starting from surface, the hole first intersected a silver horizon with a 164-metre interval, and from 192 metres, a polymetallic lead-zincgold zone that returned 127 metres grading 0.24 gram gold per tonne. Further down the hole, from 333 to 857 metres, the company intersected a gold zone similar to hole DCAr0044 with a 524-metre interval of 1.24 grams gold per tonne.
New Pacrific says hole DCAr0096 has extended the thick gold mineralization at least 60 metres to the northeast. Based on this metal zoning and mineralization model, as well as the drill results from DCAr0096, nine deep holes are planned to step out to the east of DCAr0096 to test the potential extension of gold mineralization down dip of the interpreted orientation of the rhyolite intrusive.
Jaguar Mining (TSX: JAG) reported the second-best drill assay
of the week from its Pilar mine in Brazil. On Feb. 21, the company released details of hole PPL850, which returned 13.9 metres grading 3.93 grams gold per tonne from 367.1 metres depth, for a width x grade value of 291. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the company advanced several high-priority diamond drill campaigns to identify or extend high-grade mineralization. The program seeks to identify higher-grade mineralization throughout the producing mine. Drill testing has generally targeted the projected plunge positions of fold hinges associated with the folded Banded Iron Formations and associated Schists, which typically host higher-grade mineralization in previously exploited or current mining production areas. The week’s third-best assay result comes out of Sweden. Mandalay
Resources (TSX: MND) reported that hole MU22-032 drilled at the Bjorkdal project returned 0.4 metre grading 783 grams gold per tonne from 216.9 metres for a width x grade value of 274. Drill results from the Eastern Plunge Extension program exceed expectations by producing grades comparable to
the company’s high-grade Costerfield mine in Australia. The company plans to continue drill testing this area to confirm a high-grade extension in the Eastern Plunge that could positively impact the operating mine’s economics. The mine is forecast to produce 49,00054,000 oz. gold in 2023. TNM
When Golden Arrow Resources (TSX: GRG; US-OTC: GARWF) learned that Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining wanted to exit Chile and was putting its San Pietro copper-gold-cobalt project on the market, the Canadian junior explorer had the wherewithal to pounce.
Flush with cash from the sale in September 2019 of its Chinchillas silver mine to SSR Mining (TSX: SSRM; NASDAQ: SSRM; ASX: SSR) in a cash-and-shares deal valued at $44 million, Golden Arrow put in a bid that, quite frankly, management says, it didn’t expect to win.
“I didn’t think we stood that big a chance of getting it and I was shocked when they called us back,” Brian McEwen, the company’s vice-president exploration and development, recalls.
That’s because the iron-oxide copper gold project, 100 km north of Copiapo, a mining district that is home to all the major iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) in Chile, is also immediately adjacent to the west of Capstone Copper’s (TSX: CS) Santo Domingo mine development project and 10 km northeast of Capstone’s producing Mantoverde mine.
“There are mines everywhere you look and geologically, it is the spot, at least as far as IOCG deposits are concerned,” McEwen says.
“Lundin Mining and Sumitomo’s La Candelaria, CMP’s Cerro Negro iron mine, and of course Capstone’s Mantoverde and Santo Domingo. They are all through there. It’s the mining mecca.”
While there were several other bidders for San Pietro, McEwen explains, Sumitomo only wanted payment in cash, and Golden Arrow was able to capitalize on its strong treasury and could deliver the US$3.35-million sticker price with no strings attached in March 2022.
“We were just thrilled,” he says. “The project came with a lot of past work. Sumitomo had drilled some 80 holes, and did geophysics, and Teck before that. They had put it on the shelf in 2012 and nobody had really looked at it since.”
The San Pietro project has an extensive database that includes about US$15 million in historic exploration work. That work involved over 34,000 metres of drilling, more than 1,000 surface samples and multiple geophysical surveys, which have been compiled to identify four main target areas.
The Rincones target, the focus of the historic work, has returned drill hole assays with significant
copper, gold and cobalt values, including: 1.14% copper, 0.12 gram gold per tonne, and 335 parts per million (ppm) cobalt over 28 metres starting at 236 metres downhole in RA12DH-003; 1.2% copper, 0.21gram gold, and 579 ppm cobalt over 34 metres starting at 370 metres downhole in RADH-02; and 1.25% copper, 0.32 gram gold, and 70 ppm cobalt over 36 metres starting at 18 metres downhole in RARC-17. Another historic hole returned 0.76% copper, 0.13 gram gold, and 146 ppm cobalt over 20 metres starting from 250 metres in RA12DH-002.
“When this was looked at in the past, metal prices were quite a bit lower and they had never considered the cobalt,” McEwen says. “When we went in and looked at the cobalt, we got some great numbers on the potential.
“We have some very high cobalt intersections close to surface that might be very attractive to Capstone’s cobalt plant,” he adds. “On one level, all we really need to do is prove our ore is cheaper than their ore.”
It’s a plan that worked for them at Chinchillas, he says, noting that Golden Arrow’s goal at that time had been to show SSR Mining that ore from Chinchillas needed to go to their plant, 40 km away, “and that we had higher-grade ore than they did remaining at Pirquitas.”
In January the company completed an IP-resistivity geophysical survey — the final drill targeting work prior to the company’s drill program, which kicked off in the first week of February. Golden Arrow has budgeted up to US$7 million for up to 20,000 metres of exploration drilling at the 184.5-sq.-km project. The phase 1 drill program will consist of seven holes for a total of 2,650 metres into the key targets: Rincones, Colla, Rodeo and Radiss Norte. The first phase of drilling will test several new interpretations that resulted from the recent field programs to fine-tune targeting for the subsequent holes.
Over the last seven months, Golden Arrow, a member of the Vancouver-based Grosso Group of companies, has modernized and added to the database to refine the targets for additional drilling. The work included detailed (1:2,000 scale mapping) covering more than 10 sq. km at Rincones and Colla, plus surface sampling, relogging of the most significant drill holes, a re-assessment of the historic geophysical surveys and a 3-D IP/ resistivity survey at the Colla target.
In the process, the field team added a fifth zone, Mariposa, to its list of priority targets.
“The past drilling was extensive, and historic prospects are very exciting, but after reviewing the old database we still had a lot of questions,” McEwen says.
“The detailed field programs we completed in 2022 and earlier this year have resolved many questions, led to some new interpretations, and already identified new areas of mineralization. This first small stage of drilling is going to test the models at several targets, which will then set the stage for the larger program through the remainder of the year.”
At the Rincones target, two holes will be drilled in the area of the best historic copper intercepts to test a new geological model for the magnetite mantos and copper mineralization.
Golden Arrow will drill two holes into the Colla target, 2.3 km southwest of Rincones, to test specularite breccias and magnetite mantos delineated at surface by the new detailed mapping. Colla spans 2.3 km of the northwest structure that the company believes may connect from the Rodeo target, 5 km away.
Colla hosts the best cobalt intervals from historic drilling. Only four historic holes were ever drilled and all showed cobalt mineralization over a strike length of 2.2 km. Highlights included 626 ppm cobalt over 10 metres from
211 metres downhole in CO-11-DH-001; 32 metres of 414 ppm cobalt from 116 metres in hole CO-11-DH-002; and 364 ppm cobalt over 12 metres starting 36 metres downhole in C012DH-001.
One hole is planned at the Rodeo target, 7.5 km to the north of Rincones. Historic intercepts at Rodeo included 34 metres of 1.03% copper and 334 ppm cobalt in drill hole R012-005.
At Radiss Norte, 2.7 km north of Rincones, historic drilling returned 276 ppm cobalt over 58 metres starting at 29 metres downhole in RADDH-01; 269 ppm cobalt over 27 metres from 69 metres in hole RA13DH-004; and 306 ppm cobalt over 29 metres from surface in RADDH-05. Golden Arrow will start with one hole at Radiss Norte to test the extent of the surface mineralization and test for other deep mineralized breccias.
Another hole will be drilled at the company’s newest target, Mariposa, to test the extent of mineralization at surface. Mariposa sits at the northeast corner of the project, and hosts a series of specularite veins outcropping in a 200- by 80-metre area of copper oxide mineralization.
Mineralization at San Pietro is typical of an IOCG system, with copper-gold-iron-cobalt minerals in breccias, veins and mantos within a zone of K-feldspar-chlorite alteration.
The structures are rich in magnetite and specularite and in some cases associated with calcite and were mainly developed along northwestsoutheast lineaments.
The project is east of the Atacama Fault system, a major north-south regional structure, which Golden Arrow says was instrumental in controlling the emplacement of the deposits in the area.
San Pietro has a paved highway and two powerlines that cross the property, easy year-round access, is at a low altitude and is just 8 km from the town of Diego de Almagro.
“We have a lot of peoples’ attention now — including Capstone’s,” says McEwen. “I believe lots of people are going to be watching this drill program.”
The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by Golden Arrow Resources, and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit www.argentinalithium.com for more information.
Fortuna Silver Mines (TSX: FVI; NYSE: FSM) is pushing through a deadlock with Mexican authorities and the worst riots in Peru in decades without cutting production, even as it remains on schedule for first gold in Côte d’Ivoire within months.
Vancouver-based Fortuna, which also operates in Argentina and Burkina Faso, expects to be fighting the Mexican government in court well into next year over a disputed environmental approval of the San Jose mine near Oaxaca City in southern Mexico. Production continues under the protection of an injunction granted in January.
“We are in a sort of Mexican standoff with the environmental authority,” Fortuna chief executive officer Jorge Ganoza said in a phone interview in February from Wellington, Fla. “Under the current administration, Mexico has a bit of an adverse attitude towards mining investment. They openly advertise they are not issuing more environmental authorizations for open pit mining.”
Ganoza said authorities in October 2021 denied a 12-year environmental permit renewal for the mine, which began production in 2011, then granted it, then said it was a typo and should be only two years, then said it could be six years.
Fortuna has won in court at every twist so far.
The intermediate producer, which is targeting total output this year of as much as 320,000 oz. of gold and 6.9 million oz. of silver, is on track to start production by the end of June at the Séguéla gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, which it acquired along with the Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso with the $1-billion purchase of Roxgold in 2021 to enter West Africa. Negotiations are continuing with the Côte d’Ivoire government on taxes for the project about 500 km northwest of Abidjan, the capital.
“The government is pondering the need to continue providing tax breaks for mining investment,” the CEO said. “We are of the position that the change should apply for new investments. We’ve been in Côte d’Ivoire for a number of years through our predecessor company there.”
The open pit Séguéla operation is to produce an annual average of 133,000 oz. for the first six years with all-in sustaining costs of US$880 to US$1,080 per ounce. Fortuna increased the construction budget in 2021 by US$25 million to US$173.5 million to tackle forecast
inflation, while also mitigating its impact by ordering key equipment early to secure prices and advancing detailed engineering as far as possible before construction.
The operation also gains from cost efficiencies among Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Senegal and southern Mali in a region of West Africa the size of Texas.
“All of that growth and gold production in such a small area has led to a lot of expertise being built up,” Ganoza said. “It’s a very competitive market for anything you need to build a mine.”
Peru operation continues Fortuna is benefiting from the remote location of its Caylloma mine in Peru’s southern department of Arequipa. While some 60 people have died in nationwide riots since former president Pedro Castillo was ousted in December for trying to illegally dissolve Congress, the silver, gold, lead and zinc mine has been unscathed. It holds large supplies to outlast national highway blockades.
“Our mine production has not been impacted in any way,” Ganoza said. “The town had some shortterm blockades for two or three days, but nothing material or anything that impaired our ability to conduct business.”
Still, the company must contend with a major asset in a country
which has damaged its mining business credentials for years and might require more concessions from miners to recover. And in January in Burkina Faso, Fortuna slashed its proven and probable reserves by 43% at the Yaramoko mine complex. Fortuna found errors in surveying at Yaramoko’s 55 zone after the purchase from Roxgold, but Ganoza prefers to consider how the company has increased its overall resources by about 17% in the last 18 months.
“The driver for the acquisition was never the Yaramoko mine, it was the Séguéla project, so when I look at West Africa, I look at it globally,” the CEO said. “We always knew the Yaramoko crown pillar was a bit of a risky proposition.”
Fortuna will continue to digest the acquisition with more exploration in its West Africa assets, particularly the multiple targets it’s identifying along the 30-km strike it controls on the 620-sq.-km Séguéla property.
“Our mode right now is to harvest the portfolio,” Ganoza said. “Before we go looking for answers that we have to pay for somewhere else, let’s make sure we unlock the value we have here in our ground.”
Near press time in Toronto, Fortuna shares were at $4.48 apiece, about flat over the past year in a window of $2.82 and $6, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. TNM
$31M deal follows Hecla’s acquisition of Yukon-focused Alexco Resources last year
BY JACKSON CHENATAC Resources (TSXV: ATC; OTCQB: ATADF) is now set to be sold to Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) in a deal valued at $31 million after the junior rejected a $25-million offer from Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX) earlier this month.
On Feb. 21, ATAC and Hecla entered into a non-binding letter of intent that would see the latter acquire the Rackla and Connaught projects located in the Yukon. Hecla is the largest silver producer in the U.S., and is currently developing a mine in Yukon’s Keno Hill silver district after acquiring Alexco Resources in an all-share deal last year.
The Rackla property — ATAC’s main asset — comprises two separate projects (Rau and Nadaleen), each with a distinct type of gold occurrences. The Rau project hosts the advanced-stage Tiger gold deposit containing measured and indicated resources of 4.5 million tonnes grading 3.19 grams gold per tonne for 464,000 oz.
A 2020 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) outlined a $110.1-million capex for a project that would produce 45,000 oz. gold annually over a seven year mine life, giving the Rau project a pre-tax net present value (at 5%) of $118.2 million and a 54.5% internal rate of return.
The Nadaleen project hosts a
group of Carlin-style targets, the most advanced being Osiris, with an indicated resource of 5.5 million tonnes grading at 4.12 grams gold per tonne for 732,000 oz. and inferred resources of 9.4 million tonnes grading 3.47 grams gold for 1 million oz.
The Connaught property, another precious metals asset being added to Hecla’s portfolio, is located 65 km west of Dawson City. The project has historically been explored as a high-grade silverlead-zinc-copper-gold vein prospect modelled after mines in the Keno Hill district.
Under the proposed transaction, Hecla would acquire all of ATAC’s issued and outstanding shares for 14¢ each, payable in Hecla common stock, overtaking the 12¢-a-share offer made by Victoria Gold in January.
Shares of ATAC surged 42% on Feb. 21 in Toronto to 14¢ following news of the deal with Hecla, giving the company a market value of roughly $28.7 million.
“We believe the potential transaction will provide significant value to ATAC shareholders. Hecla is an ideal acquirer for the Rackla gold property, given its adjacent Keno Hill mining project and demonstrated commitment to the Yukon and its communities,” stated ATAC president and CEO Graham Downs in a news release.
See HECLA / 35
Big Ridge Gold (TSXV: BRAU; US-OTC: ALVLF) has doubled inferred contained gold at its Hope Brook project in Newfoundland and Labrador compared with a resource estimate from eight years ago.
The deposit in the province’s southwest, about 75 km east of Port aux Basques, the closest point to Nova Scotia, is being explored where a former open pit and underground mine produced about 750,000 oz. of gold from 1987 to 1997.
Hope Brook holds an indicated resource totalling 16.2 million tonnes grading 2.3 grams gold per tonne for 1.2 million oz., Big Ridge said in a news release on Feb. 21. The inferred resource totals 2.2 million tonnes grading 3.3 grams gold for 231,000 ounces.
The total indicated gold ounces have increased 43% and the total inferred gold ounces have increased 110% compared with estimates from 2015 by First Mining Gold (TSX: FF). Big Ridge signed a deal with First Mining in 2021 to earn up to 80% of the property.
That 2015 estimate showed that Hope Brook held an indicated gold resource that came to 5.5 million tonnes grading 4.8 grams for 844,000 oz. and inferred resources totalling 836,000 tonnes grading 4.1 grams for 110,000 oz. based on a 3 gram per tonne cut-off grade and a long-term gold price of
US$1,200.
“The old resource was based on an underground scenario,” president and chief executive officer Mike Bandrowski said in an emailed reply to questions about the drop in grade. “Today’s announcement contemplates both options but the majority as an open pit.”
The per tonne cut-off grades in this year’s estimate were 2 grams underground and 0.4 gram in pit, while the company used a longterm gold price of US$1,750 per ounce.
“In less than two years the Big Ridge team has made a significant impact at Hope Brook and is excited to continue expanding the Hope Brook deposit,” Bandrowski said in the release. “The next priority will be to continue drilling the main zone toward the southwest and the 240 zone at depth.”
Big Ridge also plans detailed exploration of several targets including Old Man’s Pond, Woodman’s Droke, Phillips Brook and Cross Gulch. And it wants to conduct preliminary exploration of the lithium potential along 30 km of the Bay d’Est fault structure on Hope Brook’s northern boundary, the company said.
Big Ridge paid $500,000 and 11.5 million of its shares to First Mining for 51% of Hope Brook and continues as operator if it spends $10 million on exploration within three years. First Mining has 49%.
The pit and underground main
zone now hold 15.6 million indicated tonnes grading 2.25 grams gold per tonne for 1.1 million oz. contained metal. The corresponding inferred resource is 221,000 tonnes grading 2.96 grams gold for 21,000 ounces.
The 240 zone in pit and underground has 544,000 indicated tonnes grading 4.3 grams for 75,000 oz. contained gold and 2 million inferred tonnes at 3.3 grams for 210,000 oz.
The estimates were gleaned from results of the company’s recently completed phase one drill program plus 700 other drill holes in its database.
The 260-sq.-km project benefits from a 28-person camp, an 1,100metre airstrip, an ice-free docking facility and a substation linked to the provincial power grid. Significant exploration potential remains, Big Ridge says.
Big Ridge shares traded at 11¢ in Toronto at press time, up 4¢ this year in a 52-week window of 7¢ and 37¢, valuing the company at $15 million. TNM
BY JACKSON CHENAgnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) delivered solid operating performance in a challenging cost and workforce environment during the fourth quarter and throughout 2022, with payable gold production of nearly 800,000 oz. and 3.1 million oz. in these periods respectively, the company reported on Feb. 17.
The full-year production figure represents the highest ever recorded in the Canadian gold miner’s history, and a 50% increase over the payable gold production of 2.1 million oz. in 2021. Including output from the mines acquired through its takeover of Kirkland Lake Gold in February 2022, Agnico’s total payable gold production in 2022 was 3.3 million ounces.
“It was a transformational year for Agnico Eagle. The merger with Kirkland Lake Gold and the pending acquisition of Yamana’s Canadian assets will result in the consolidation of the Abitibi Gold Belt, one of the best gold regions in the world,” Ammar Al-Joundi, Agnico’s president and CEO, commented in a news release.
In a deal announced in November, Agnico is set to absorb Yamana Gold’s (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY) Canadian portfolio, including its interests in the Canadian Malartic mine, the Wasamac project in Quebec. The three-way deal, which will see Pan American Silver (TSX: PAAS; NASDAQ:
PAAS) acquire Yamana’s other assets, should close in March.
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the fourth quarter and full-year 2022 were US$1,231 and US$1,109 per oz., respectively. The higher quarterly unit costs were affected by the impact of inflationary pressures at the Nunavut and Kittila operations and lower production at LaRonde, Kittila and Pinos Altos, according to the company.
During the year, Agnico also managed to grow its mineral reserve base to a record level, totalling 48.7 million oz. of gold (1.2 billion tonnes grading 1.28 grams per tonne) for a 9% increase. The year-over-year increase in reserves is largely due to significant additions at Detour Lake as well as successful conversion of mineral resources at several other operations, Agnico said.
Despite posting record annual gold production, Agnico’s shares fell 8% on Feb. 17.
Agnico’s 2023 gold production is now forecast to be approximately 3.24 to 3.44 million oz., in line with previous guidance. This production forecast assumes 50% ownership of Canadian Malartic for the first three months and of 100% ownership for the last nine months of the year.
Looking ahead, Agnico expects gold production to increase by around 7% through 2025 based on mid-point estimates when compared to the 2022 figure. Gold production is forecast at between 3.4 and 3.6 million oz. in 2024 and in 2025. TNM
Hecla also intends to make a $2-million strategic investment into a new exploration company that would hold the remaining copper-focused assets of ATAC, which include the Idaho Creek, Catch, Rosy and PIL projects. Hecla would have a right of first refusal to acquire all of the spinout company’s assets, as well as a number of units equivalent to 19.9% of said company’s equity.
“The spinout of a new copper-focused exploration company provides additional value to shareholders,” said Downs, adding that it is “well positioned” to aggressively explore for copper — a key critical metal — throughout B.C. and Yukon.
The implied equity capitalization of the spinout is about $10.1 million, including the $2 million investment by Hecla, with the remaining $8.1 million value going to
shareholders.
Gold and other precious metals play a critical role in modern society — both as a store of value and for achieving a lowcarbon future. More mining companies are responding to the demand for these resources. Here’s a glimpse of eight companies exploring for gold and precious metals.
n COLLECTIVE MINING
Collective Mining (TSXV: CNL; US-OTC: CNLMF), a Toronto-based explorer, is focused on extending the main breccia discovery at its Apollo target, part of the company’s flagship Guayabales project located in the department of Caldas, Colombia.
In late February, Collective Mining released assay results from its second phase of drilling consisting of six holes drilled in 2023. To date it has drilled a total of 32 holes for 15,400 metres at the project. Highlights include hole APC31, which cut 384.7 metres grading 2.46 grams gold equivalent per tonne (1.17 grams gold, 43 grams silver and 0.37% copper), including 109.8 metres at 4.14 grams gold equivalent from surface.
Collective CEO Ari Sussman said the year was off to an “excellent start.”
“Not only did drill hole APC31 confirm for the first time that the high-grade copper-silver-gold mineralization in the Apollo porphyry system comes right to surface, but also that there is a significant zone of high-grade oxide mineralization,” he said.
Previous results include hole APC-29, which returned 32 metres of 9.23 grams gold, 60 grams silver, 0.44% copper, and 0.003% molybdenum starting from 111.3 metres.
The main breccia, which is a highgrade, bulk-tonnage copper-silver-gold porphyry-related system, now has a width of 395 metres and a vertical depth of 915 metres. It remains open in all directions.
Apollo’s second phase program includes three diamond drill rigs. The company plans to drill this year at its Olympus and Donut targets, and at its San Antonio project, located 4 km east of Guayabales.
“[Our] fully-funded drill program will seek to continue to expand these discoveries while also testing new targets,” Sussman said.
Collective Mining has a market capitalization of $209.1 million.
n G2 GOLDFIELDS
Toronto-based G2 Goldfields (TSXV: GTWO; US-OTC: GUYGF) is focused on advancing its Oko gold project in Guyana. The 77.7-sq.-km property is located about 120 km west-southwest of the capital Georgetown, and directly north of Reunion Gold’s (TSXV: RGD; US-OTC:
RGDFF) Oko West project.
G2 shared the latest drill results from the Oko Main zone in February. Highlights include hole OKD132, which cut 3.7 metres grading 45.4 grams gold per tonne; and hole OKD-145, which returned 16.3 metres of 6.8 grams gold starting from 67.7 metres.
Drilling at Oko Main has focused on expanding the zone along strike and downplunge to grow the initial resource estimate released in April 2022. The resource pegged indicated resources at Oko Main at 793,000 tonnes grading 8.63 grams gold per tonne, and inferred resources at 3.2 million tonnes grading 9.25 grams gold. The com-
pany has since drilled 36 additional holes totalling 13,279 metres.
With a prospective 17-km strike length, other targets at Oko include Oko North West, Tracy, Aremu, and the newly discovered Ghanie zone for which assay results from 15 diamond drill holes were also recently announced.
Highlights from Ghanie include hole GDD-10, which cut 26.6 metres grading 5.1 grams gold starting from 90 metres, including 7.6 metres of 15.5 grams gold.
These results “have confirmed a significant new discovery… south of [the Oko Main] deposit,” said Boaz Wade, vice-president exploration, in a release.
G2 also controls the historic Peters and Jubilee mines located southwest of the Oku-Aremu project within the Puruni district. Both saw a six-hole drill program last year.
Late last year, the company filed a shelf prospectus that will allow it to raise up to $50 million by issuing any combination of common shares, warrants, subscription receipts, units and debt securities. The prospectus expires in January 2025.
G2 plans to continue drilling at Ghanie while advancing its other regional targets.
See GOLD & PRECIOUS METALS SNAPSHOT / 37
GOLD & PRECIOUS METALS
SNAPSHOT From 36
G2 Goldfields has a market capitalization of $131.7 million.
n GOGOLD RESOURCES
GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD; US-OTC: GLGDF), a Halifax-based gold and silver producer, is working to advance its Los Ricos project
in Jalisco, Mexico. The company also holds the Parral tailings site in Chihuahua, where it reported production of 441,217 silver-equivalent oz., (159,838 oz. silver, 2,399 oz. gold, and 222 tonnes of copper) in the final quarter of 2022.
Located 100 km northwest of the city of Guadalajara, GoGold’s Los Ricos project is split into two:
Los Ricos North and Los Ricos South. The company acquired the 220-sq.-km property in 2019.
In 2022, GoGold launched a 100,000-metre drilling program at the North property.
In a Jan. 18 news release, GoGold announced results from eight drill holes from the El Favor East deposit at Los Ricos North. Hole LRGF-22147 returned 19.9 metres of 0.59
gram gold per tonne and 392 grams silver starting from 126.7 metres, including 1.2 metres grading 6.48 grams gold and 3,722.2 grams silver. The company plans to complete an initial preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Los Ricos North this year. A late 2021 estimate pegged indicated resources at 87.8 million silver-equivalent oz. in 22.3 million tonnes grading 122 grams silver equivalent per tonne, and inferred resources at 73.2 million oz. silver equivalent in 20.5 million tonnes grading 111 grams silver-equivalent per tonne.
At Los Ricos South, results from the recently acquired Eagle concession included hole LRGAG-22-118, which cut 55 metres grading 7.8 grams gold and 2,152.7 grams silver starting from 95.6 metres, including 25 metres of 16.07 grams gold and 4,664.2 grams silver. This is the highest-grade hole drilled to date at Los Ricos. The 11.1-sq.-km Eagle concession, acquired last October, covers the northern strike extension of the Main deposit at Los Ricos South.
This year, GoGold plans to continue drilling at Los Ricos South to update a January 2021 PEA and complete a prefeasibility study. The studies will incorporate the Eagle concession. The 2021 PEA forecast capital costs for Los Ricos South at $125 million for an 11-year operation that would produce 42.9 million oz. silver, 352,000 oz. gold, and 4.5 million lbs. copper over its life.
GoGold recently closed a $65-million bought deal offering, which will be used to advance its projects. The company issued 28.9 million common shares at a price of $2.25 each.
GoGold has a market capitalization of $660.3 million.
n LAVRAS GOLD
Lavras Gold (TSXV: LGC; US-OTC: LGCFF), a Toronto-based exploration company, recently confirmed high-grade gold, silver, and copper at its Lavras do Sul (LDS) project in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.
Lavras drilled 3,123 metres across seven holes at the project’s Matilde Extension. All of which encountered mineralization.
Highlights shared in a Jan. 25 news release include hole 21MT020, which cut 10 metres grading 13.21 grams gold per tonne, 22.94 grams silver, and 0.22% copper starting from 345 metres, including 5 metres grading 23.15 grams gold, 42.75 grams silver, and 0.41% copper from 347 metres.
Two other holes returned high copper grades. Hole 22MT030 yielded 0.29% copper over 0.87 metres starting from 179 metres and hole 22MT038 returned 0.57% copper over 1.33 metres within 6 metres at 0.14% copper.
Matilde Extension is located 675 metres northeast of the Matilde discovery found in 2022, and remains open along strike and at depth.LDS has 23 known gold occurrences and six priority drilling targets, which also include Caneleira, Vila Merieta, Mato Feio, and Zeca Souza.
Lavras Gold will be continuing with its 16,000-metre drill program, of which 6,000 metres have been completed. Drilling will test targets at Matilde Extension and Zeca Souza, where high-grade mineralization has also been confirmed.
In addition, the company is carrying out an ongoing soil survey program at its Caneleira gold discovery, located 1 km southeast of Zeca Souza.
Lavras Gold has a market capitalization of $18.9 million.
n SILVER MOUNTAIN RESOURCES
Toronto-based Silver Mountain Resources (TSXV: AGMR; USOTC: AGMRF) is focused on advancing its flagship Castrovirreyna project in Huancavelica, Peru.
The company announced on Feb. 23 the discovery of a porphyry copper target at the Yahuarcocha and Guanajato zones, within its Reliquias property.
Inside the Reliquias claim block, Silver Mountain has identified an extensive alteration zone of 7 km by 3 km with structurally-controlled silica ledges. Below that lithocap, several hydrothermal breccia pipes were identified in the Yahuarcocha and Guanajato areas.
Earlier in February, drilling results confirmed high-grade silver-polymetallic intercepts at the Reliquias underground mine.
Highlights include hole SMR060-22-PER, which tested the Perseguida vein. It cut 1.34 grams gold per tonne, 331.67 grams silver, 0.31% copper, 1.74% lead, and 3.16% zinc over 1.2 metres starting from 318.9 metres.
The company also shared its latest channel sampling results from the Meteysaca vein in a Feb. 14 news release. Samples from zones 2 to 6 returned gold grades that ranged on average between 0.38 grams and 0.98 grams.
Reliquias has potential mineral resources distributed over 10 veins with a total strike length of 8 km.
Tthe underexplored Castrovirreyna, about 240 km southeast of Lima comprises the Dorita and Reliquias properties. It hosts measured resources of 337,000 tonnes grading 264 grams silver per tonne, 3.6% zinc, 2.7% lead, and 0.6% copper for a contained resource of 2.9 million oz. silver, 26.4 million lb. zinc, 19.8 million lb. lead, and 4.2 million lb. copper. Indicated resources add 401,000 tonnes grading 301.4 grams silver, 3.4% zinc, 2.2% lead, and 0.5% copper.
Silver Mountain announced in February that it had raised $8.1 million in aggregate gross proceeds, which will be used in part to fund upcoming exploration activities at Castrovirreyna. Under an agreement with a group of underwriters led by Sprott Capital Partners, the company issued 27 million units (each one consisting
of one common share and half of a common share purchase warrant) at a price of 30¢ each. Purchase warrants can be exercised at a price of 45¢ for a period of 36 months.
The company plans to complete a resource update and PEA this year.
With a 2,000 tonne-per-day processing plant and a two-year operating tailings dam, production at Reliquias is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2024.
Silver Mountain has a market capitalization of $52.1 million.
n SILVER TIGER METALS
Silver Tiger Metals (TSXV: SLVR; US-OTC: SLVTF) is looking to revive the historic El Tigre mine, a 284.2-sq.-km project located at the northern end of the Sierra Madre silver and gold belt in Sonora, northwestern Mexico.
The Halifax-based company released the latest drill results in a Jan. 25 news release. In the Sulphide zone, hole ET-22-433 intersected 44.4 metres grading 0.16 gram gold per tonne, 508.2 grams silver, 0.55% copper, 1.76% lead, and 3.17% zinc starting from 330.5 metres, including a 6-metre sub-interval starting from 364.5 metres grading 0.2 grams gold per tonne, 1,354.4 grams silver, 1.57% copper, 6.1% lead, and 10.86% zinc.
Another hole, ET-22-434, intersected 19.9 metres grading 0.22 gram gold, 605.6 grams silver, 1.13% copper, 4.04% lead, and 7.43% zinc starting from 361.7 metres, including 10.5 metres grading 0.2 gram gold, 914 grams silver, 1.68% copper, 5.92% lead, and 12.42% zinc from 370.1 metres.
The first gold discovery on the property was made in 1896 by American prospector, James Taylor. From 1903 to 1938, the mine produced 353,000 oz. gold and 67.4 million oz. of silver with average grades of 7.54 grams gold and 1,308 grams silver, but closed due to the collapse in silver prices during the Great Depression.
Since acquiring the mine in 2015, the company has identified four types of mineralization (epithermal veins, stockwork zone, black shale zone, and sulphide zone).
El Tigre hosts indicated resources of 26.8 million tonnes grading 21 grams silver and 0.51 gram gold for 18 million oz. of silver and 444,000 oz. of gold. Inferred resources add 6.6 million tonnes grading 88
grams silver and 0.52 gram gold for 18.9 million oz. of silver and 112,000 oz. of gold.
Silver Tiger has contracted Cominvi, a Mexican underground contract mining and development company to rehabilitate El Tigre Mine. The contractor has completed over 450 metres of restoration in Level 7, the main portal to the mine. This will allow the company to start drilling from underground stations.
Silver Tiger Metals has a market capitalization of $91.9 million.
n STILLWATER CRITICAL MINERALS
Stillwater Critical Minerals (TSXV: PGE; US-OTC: PGEZF), a Vancouver-based explorer, has expanded its resource by 62% at its flagship Stillwater West PGE-nickel-copper-cobalt and gold project in Montana.
The updated mineral resource estimate, announced in a Jan. 25 news release, shows that Stillwater West now hosts 255 million tonnes of inferred resources grading 0.15 gram platinum per tonne, 0.25 gram palladium, 0.05 gram gold, 0.016 gram rhodium, 0.19% nickel, 0.09% copper, and 0.02% cobalt for contained resources of 3.8 million oz. of palladium, platinum, gold, and rhodium, and 1.6 billion lb. of nickel, copper, and cobalt. Figures
are based on a 0.2% nickel-equivalent base cut-off grade.
The project is open for expansion along strike and at depth.
The company’s portfolio also includes the Drayton-Black Lake gold project in the Abrams-Minnitaki Lake Archean greenstone belt in Ontario. The belt hosts 6.6 million oz. of gold across multiple other projects, including New Gold’s (TSX: NGD; NYSE-MKT:
NGD) Rainy River mine.
Drayton-Black Lake is subject to an earn-in deal where Heritage Mining (CSE: HML) can acquire up to 90% interest in the project.
In addition, Stillwater holds the Kluane PGE-nickel-copper project, which extends from British Columbia to Alaska; and Duke Island, a copper-nickel-PGE project located 80 km south of the city of Ketchikan in Alaska.
Stillwater is responding to the growing demand for critical minerals and hopes to become a primary source of low-carbon battery and precious metals in the U.S.
The company is planning its 2023 exploration programs, which are expected to include an extension of geophysical surveys and the completion of expansion drilling.
Stillwater has a market capitalization of $40.8 million.
n WHITE GOLD
Toronto-based explorer, White Gold (TSXV: WGO; US-OTC: WHGOF), is focused on its gold projects in Yukon’s prolific, yet underexplored, White Gold district located 95 km south of Dawson City.
The company has multiple properties in the early, discovery, and advanced stages, including its flagship Golden Saddle and Arc deposits, which host 15.5 million tonnes of indicated resources grading 2.28 grams gold per tonne and 9 million inferred tonnes grading 1.39 grams gold.
In late February, White Gold reported positive results from initial drilling in 2022 in the gap area between Ryan’s Surprise and Ulli’s Ridge targets, located 2 km west of the company’s flagship deposits. The 2022 program consisted of nine holes totalling 2,685 metres. Drilling cut several zones of gold
mineralization consistent in tenor with zones at Ryan’s Surprise.
Highlights include hole WHTRS22D027, which cut 11.45 metres grading 1.43 grams gold per tonne starting from 145.5 metres depth. Hole WHTRS22D028 cut 2.35 metres grading 6.01 grams gold from 296.5 metres.
“We are very pleased to see the significant extension of mineralization at the Ryan’s Surprise almost doubling its strike length as well as the discovery of gold mineralization at multiple other targets in first ever drilling along this underexplored trend which has now encountered gold mineralization over a length of 5.5 km,” said CEO David D’Onofrio in a release.
The company’s 3,500-sq.-km land package also includes the VG deposit, located 11 km north of Golden Saddle and Arc; the Betty property, located 150 km south of Dawson City; and the road-accessible (from Dawson City) Vertigo target discovered in 2019.
According to its website, White Gold is “leading the modern Yukon gold rush.” The company’s Drones to Drills technique combines traditional exploration methods with modern technologies, such as drones and artificial intelligence, which has reduced exploration costs.
White Gold is financed for its 2023 exploration program after completing a non-brokered private placement in December that raised $4.4 million in aggregate gross proceeds. More than 1.8 million common shares were issued at a price of 38¢ per share and around 9 million flow-through shares issued at 41¢ per share. Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) took part and holds 19.8% ownership of White Gold.
White Gold has a market capitalization of $52.9 million. TNM
Nickel price trends have become hard to predict.
Ever since the London Metals Exchange (LME) crash, in March 2022, and the subsequent canceled trades, a number of banks pulled out and took with them the Exchange’s liquidity. Nickel prices on the LME have since become so volatile that suppliers no longer view them as representative of nickel’s market value. Today, most of the nickel being sold – particularly by the Chinese – is direct to producers and at prices based on nickel sulphate and therefore disconnected from the disgraced LME. It’s possible that the LME may eventually recover. It’s also possible that one of the few, recently launched competing contracts will take over. However, what really matters is what is happening with Class I nickel and ESG.
For investors new to the sector, here are a few basics and some recent history: nickel supply is split into Class I and Class II product. The latter makes up the bulk of supply in the form of nickel pig iron (NPI). It’s low quality but there’s plenty of supply and it’s well suited for consumption by the hungry beast known as the stainless steel industry. With China coming back online after various Covid-related shutdowns, the future of stainless demand is strong and expected to grow steadily.
Class I is the ultra-pure (minimum of 99.8%) nickel required by superalloy and battery producers. When it comes to potential supply issues, Class I is the only possible candidate. Case in point: of the 2.5 million tonnes of refined nickel produced in 2020, only about 600,000 tonnes or about 25%, was suitable for the production of battery precursors and cathodes. With analysts pointing to steep battery-driven demand growth curves, it seemed clear at the start of 2021 that the sector was headed for a severe shortage of battery-grade metal within a few years.
The likelihood of a shortage was considered even more likely because most of the world’s Class I supply comes from nickel sulphide ore. That’s a problem because the mining industry has done a pretty thorough job of finding and mining the world’s large, high-grade nickel sulphide deposits. In fact, the last discovery of major size and grade was Voisey’s Bay, N.L., in 1993.
Then, in March, 2021, Chinese nickel giant, Tsingshan, upended the market by announcing that it would start supplying nickel matte (containing approximately 65-75% nickel) to Huayou Cobalt and battery materials maker CNGR Advanced Material. In other words, turning Class II nickel – of which there is plenty – into a product that, with further refining, is viable as Class I nickel.
The announcement caught the market off guard and nickel prices took a major dive. While the process of turning NPI into nickel matte was well known, it was not considered viable because of the associated financial and environmental costs.
EITHER THE WORLD ACCEPTS THAT CLEAN TECHNOLOGY WILL BE HOOKED ON LARGE QUANTITIES OF ‘DIRTY NICKEL’ AND RELIANT ON CHINESE SUPPLY OF SAID NICKEL, OR THE EXISTING, UNDEVELOPED PROJECTS WITH SUPERIOR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINTS, BUT SMALLER RETURNS ON INVESTMENT,
After retooling some of its facilities during 2021/22, Tsingshan made good on the promise to deliver matte, only to be told by its battery material customers that the product was not of sufficient quality and would require further refining. Nickel prices rose.
Fast forward to January 2023, and we have a Tsingshan announcement that it is in discussions with struggling copper smelters to refine the nickel matte into Class I nickel.
If successful, the move, in conjunction with similar actions by the company’s peers, could double Chinese refined nickel production from 2022 levels. This will give China more time to complete the nickel refineries currently under construction.
Ticking time bomb
Is the Tsingshan plan likely to work? Yes, the process itself is viable but it will require significant capital expenditure by the copper smelters to be able to handle nickel matte versus copper feeds. What this means is that the tightening of Class I nickel supply is unlikely to be solved as fast as some market observers believe.
However, there is a bigger issue at stake.
Tsingshan’s strategy is based on the view that it is more important to ensure supply chain control than to reduce capex and to keep climate change at bay. Emissions and ecological damage are the potential ticking time bombs here.
You see, the nickel pig iron being used to create the matte is coming from Indonesia. The mines and smelters there are powered by coal and rely on ore supplied from strip mined areas allowing erosion to wash away vast tracts of land that are home to many unique species.
In essence, Tsingshan and its peers are doubling down on the bet that cheap supply matters more than clean supply, and that the West has no choice but to remain reliant upon China’s nickel for now and the foreseeable future. It’s a bet
that has worked before – in 2007 when China flooded the market with cheap NPI. Over the short to medium term, this approach has merit when viewed through a somewhat Machiavellian lens. Long term is a
different story because it sets China’s nickel suppliers on a potential collision course with the juggernauts of ESG and geopolitics.
ESG has become something of a polarizing term over the last few years but regardless of your viewpoint, the world is continuing to transition to a low carbon future. While environmentally costly nickel may be tolerated for now, it won’t always be the case.
Quite aside from the potential for the public to boycott manufacturers that use “dirty nickel” –and the scramble for clean nickel that would ensue – we are starting to see carbon border taxes move from concept to reality. The European Union has a carbon border tax in the final stages of legislative approval. While not yet applicable to nickel, its raison d’être is to target industries that have a heavy carbon footprint.
Canada has also started on this path having recently completed a lengthy public consultation period.
With a much-publicized critical metals strategy now in place, and host to major, undeveloped nickel sulphate deposits like Giga Metals’ Turnagain in B.C. or Waterton Global Resource’s Dumont in Quebec, which have much smaller environmental footprints, Canada has significant incentive to introduce a targeted carbon border tax.
Carbon border taxes are obviously a politically contentious issue but that brings us to geopolitics. Despite recent attempts at rapprochement, China and Western relations are not as constructive as they have been in previous years. The West is now keenly aware of how far behind it has fallen in securing strategic metals – the supply of which is crucial to the success of green energy and green technology initiatives.
Where does all this leave us?
Either the world accepts that clean technology will be hooked on
GET FINANCED.
ONTARIO | Updated feasibility slated for H1; project expected to meet demand for hybrid and electric vehicles
BY BLAIR MCBRIDEGeneration Mining’s (TSX: GENM) Marathon palladium-copper development in northern Ontario is among few critical minerals projects in Canada to recently seal both government approval and local Indigenous support.
In late November, the federal and provincial governments approved Marathon’s environmental assessment (EA), marking major progress for the project.
“I believe we’re the only mining company to go through an EA process [with a joint review panel] in Ontario and get approved. And that’s a very high level of process for a company to go through,” said Generation CEO Jamie Levy, who was also the CEO of Pine Point Mining, before it was sold to Osisko Metals (TSXV: OSK).
“It’s a great milestone for us but it’s not a time for us to celebrate. There are 300-400 conditions to meet in the EA and numerous other permits we need before we can start production.”
The EA process was started in 2010 by Marathon’s previous owner, Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW; JSE: SSW). Generation acquired a 51% interest in Marathon from Sibanye in 2019 and 100% in January 2022.
The approval came just six weeks before the federal government green lit the EA of Galaxy Resources’ James Bay lithium project in Quebec. Galaxy became part of Allkem (TSX: AKE; ASX: AKE) in a merger last year.
Marathon, located 10 km north of the namesake town and 300 km east of Thunder Bay, hosts open pit proven and probable reserves of 2.3 million oz. palladium at 0.62 grams per tonne and 532 lbs. copper grading 0.2% held in 117.7 million tonnes of material, according to a 2021 feasibility study. It also hosts 255,000 oz. gold at 0.06 grams per tonne, 756,000 oz. platinum at 0.2 grams and 5.3 million oz. silver at 1.41 grams.
At palladium-equivalent cash costs of US$687 per oz. and all-in sustaining costs of US$809 per oz.,
the operation will consist of three open pits, with a life of 13 years.
Upfront capital costs are pegged at $665 million, a number Levy said could go up by 20% to 30% due to inflation and rising costs of fuel, lumber and steel. He hopes to give investors and lenders a more specific amount of the higher capex within two to three months in an updated feasibility study.
With financing, Generation has received interest from a banking syndicate led by Export Development Canada for US$400 million ($541.4 million), and it has a streaming deal reached in December 2021 with Wheaton Precious
POWERING THE ENERGY REVOLUTION
CSE: ACME | US OTCQX: ACLHF
For more information or to subscribe to corporate news, please contact:
info@acmelithium.com
1-604-564-9045
Or visit our website at:
www.acmelithium.com
Metals (TSX: WPM; NYSE: WPM) for $240 million. Those funding sources aren’t contingent on permitting or the updated capex, Levy said, and additional funding for the capex would have to be raised through non-dilutive financing. Levy also hopes the project can receive some funding from the almost $3.8-billion federal Critical Minerals Strategy.
Rising demand from hybrids, EVs Marathon is important because it will answer demand for the copper and palladium that are essential in both hybrid and electric vehicles,
said Generation’s vice-president of investor relations, Ann Wilkinson.
“We think, given the dearth of new copper projects that there won’t be enough copper to [meet demand for] electric vehicles,” she said, adding that demand is expected to grow four-fold.
“And we think that palladium is going to be stronger for longer given the fact that we think there’s going to be a migration from the internal combustion engines to the hybrids and then the EVs. A hybrid has two to three times the palladium in it. So it’s the right project in the right jurisdiction,” Wilkinson said, adding that helping secure domestic palladium sources would reduce reliance on Russian and South African supplies.
For this year, Levy hopes some of the key provincial permits, related to species at risk, tree harvesting and water quality can be secured so that early construction works can start. Generation is targeting the third quarter for the start of construction, with production slated for the third or fourth quarter of 2025.
Indigenous buy-in
The past few months also brought Marathon’s Indigenous engagement
EPICENTER OF LITHIUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT with multiple projects in known regions of lithium production,
Nevada US, Manitoba and Saskatchewan Canada
TWO DRILL PROGRAMS ONGOING Nevada and Manitoba projects commenced drill programs in January 2023
EXPERIENCED MANAGEMENT
TEAM AND BOARD has built and financed resource companies around the world.
WELL FUNDED WITH STRATEGIC INVESTORS to complete drill programs and advance new projects in the lithium sector.
Left: A helicopter hovers over the Marathon palladium-copper property.
Inset: An ore sample from the Marathon project.
Bottom: Construction of the mine is expected to start in the third quarter of 2023, the company says.
GENERATION MINING
to fruition in its signing of a community benefits agreement with the Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (BN) First Nation, just south of Marathon.
The agreement, ratified by a community vote on Nov. 12, 2022, outlines employment, business opportunities, and training and education the community will receive from the project.
Levy declined to give details of the agreement, citing confidentiality but said “every sort of job, from labourers to heavy machine operators” would be offered to qualified BN members.
“We hope most of our workforce or a lot of our workforce can be Biigtigong Nishnaabeg or First Nation employees. First we’re going to need to do some training with them, give them some mentorships, give them some scholarships…to help because they don’t have that experience quite now,” Levy said.
The deal also commits Generation to environmental management around the mine site, an issue of great concern to BN, Levy explained.
“When you talk to First Nations communities, they mention they’re caretakers of Mother Earth. So, if there is (an environmental) concern for them, let’s bring them under the tent and show them that they shouldn’t be concerned, that there is no deleterious materials we’re putting into their water… (and) that the air will be the same once we leave the project.”
Levy wouldn’t name other Indigenous communities consulted for the project, although the federal EA document directed the company to also consult with the Ginoogaming First Nation, Jackfish Métis Association, Métis Nation of OntarioRegion 2, Michipicoten First Nation, Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg, Pays Plat First Nation, and Red Sky Métis Independent Nation.
While the CEO noted that the Generation website claims Marathon is “the largest undeveloped palladium project in North America,” he admitted he’s tempering his excitement due to all the work yet to be done.
“I think there are too many companies now that over promise and under deliver. We want to do the opposite and break the mold. We want to maintain expectations,” he said.
“Until we actually get this built, and cash flowing for shareholders and money to the First Nation communities…I feel like we’ve just started. The game is just beginning.” TNM
In mid-February, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced a US$3.5-billion investment to build a battery plant in Michigan that will help it reach its target of producing 2 million electric vehicles a year by 2030. The battery cells will use technology and expertise provided by China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest manufacturer of batteries for EVs.
The announcement follows Ford’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) in July 2022, in which the two companies agreed to jointly develop more sustainable and secure supply chains for battery and low-carbon materials for the car maker’s EVs. Under the MOU, Ford will explore becoming the foundation customer for the miner’s Rincon lithium project in Argentina, which Rio Tinto acquired in March 2022 for US$825 million.
“These kinds of investments and agreements are further proof that this lithium market is not just a flash in the pan,” Nikolaos Cacos, president and CEO of Argentina Lithium & Energy (TSXV: LIT; US-OTC: PNXLF) says. “Ford’s investment in the battery plant bolsters a long-term, sustained bull market for lithium.”
Argentina Lithium’s flagship project at Rincon West is adjacent to and located west and north of Rio Tinto’s Rincon project. Cacos says interest in the exploration project and some of the company’s other assets in the Lithium Triangle of Argentina’s Salta and Catamarca provinces, has been intense.
“I’ve been in this business for 30 years and I’ve never been approached by so many large international companies interested in our projects — even at this early stage,” he says. “Battery makers, car companies, hedge funds, and investment companies from all over have contacted us and they have a lot of money to throw around.”
Argentina Lithium’s history in the country — it is part of the Grosso Group of Companies, which has been active in Argentina since 1993 — has given it “a competitive advantage to be able to source and acquire very desirable exploration projects in optimal locations,” Cacos says. “We were fortunate that we bought our land position before Rio Tinto came in, because since then it’s become a very hot piece of real estate.”
Today Argentina Lithium has four projects in the Lithium Triangle, which produces about half of the
world’s lithium and is home to about 60% of its known lithium reserves.
Three of the company’s projects were acquired during the pandemic: Rincon West, Antofalla North, and Pocitos, and the fourth, Incahuasi, before the crisis began.
“The pandemic coincided with a strong escalation of commercial lithium prices. International travel was restricted and in Argentina, interprovincial transit became a problem,” he says. “We have a strong team on the ground, and we perceived the opportunity to aggressively acquire key projects. We focused on grade potential and size, combined with year-round access and nearby infrastructure. We were able to leverage our contacts and vendors and pick up excellent assets.”
In late January, Argentina
Lithium released the highest-grade intercepts yet from Rincon West, which shares the Rincon basin with Rio Tinto and Argosy Minerals’ (ASX: AGY) Rincon project to the east. Drill hole RW-DDH-006 returned 153 metres grading from 329 to 393 mg per litre lithium. “That’s a fantastic intersection, with a long brine column exceeding the average resource value published for Argosy’s project,” Cacos says.
“Argosy is demonstrating the viability of these grades in this environment as they move into production this year. They currently have a market cap of about A$990 million based on the results and production plan. Our property is moderately larger, thus our objective is to prove a similar resource.” (Argosy’s Rincon project has a JORC-compliant resource of 245,100 tonnes at an average grade of 325 mg per litre lithium.)
The second-best assay at Rincon West was from drill hole RWDDH-004, which intersected 334 to 382 mg per litre. Other notable results include a 70-metre interval of 225 to 380 mg per litre in drill hole RW-DDH-001.
The drill holes at Rincon West typically extend to greater than 300 metres depth, with eight holes of a nine-hole program completed.
“Once the drill program is complete, we will begin our initial resource calculation,” Cacos says. “Our drilling is spaced between 800
metres and 2 km apart, sufficiently close to calculate a 43-101 compliant resource.”
The company holds a 100% interest in the 4.6-sq.-km Rinconcita II parcel extending onto the salt flat at Rincon West and has an option to earn a 100% stake in a further 32.8 sq. km in the sandy western basin where drilling is focused.
The project sits at an elevation of 3,760 metres above sea level, and is close to a rail line, and the international highway that connects to Chile’s ports. The town of San Antonio de los Cobres is about 150 km away by road, and the InterAndes power corridor runs within 1 km of the salar.
Antofalla North on the Antofalla Salar is Argentina Lithium’s second priority. The project is 25 km west of Livent’s (NYSE: LTHM) Fenix lithium mine at Salar del Hombre Muerto.
The Antofalla North’s project’s southern boundary is immediately north of properties controlled by global lithium producer Albemarle Inc. (NYSE: ALB). “Albemarle owns the entire central section of the salar and we own the northern section,” Cacos says.
“This is a very long salar, almost 150 km, and Albemarle’s tenements are adjacent to ours,” he continues. “We expect to have our permits in the second quarter and will start with 110-line kilometres of ground geophysics before drilling.” The company has planned an initial, widely spaced six-hole
program, which may be increased to about 20 holes, Cacos says.
Argentina Lithium’s other two projects, Pocitos and Incahuasi, have lower historic grades than Rincon West, but are landholdings of over 250 sq. km each. The Pocitos project is about 38 km from Rincon West and makes up about 20% of the entire Salar de Pocitos basin, with favourable transport and energy infrastructure nearby.
The Incahuasi project is situated on the Incahuasi Salar, which stretches 17 km north to south and extends 2.5 km east to west. The company controls the salar and an additional 17 km of sedimentary basin connected to the salar. Access is by gravel road from the town of Antofagasta de la Sierra, about 34 km to the northeast.
“These large strategic properties are scheduled for exploration once our priority projects are well advanced,” Cacos says.
Lithium grades in concentrated brines at Pocitos and Incahuasi are typically between 50 and 150 mg per litre, with isolated shallow hot spots reporting values in excess of 400 mg per litre.
“In the next two or three years, the ability to identify new lithium deposits with grades exceeding 300 mg per litre will become challenging. The number of prospective basins is finite,” Cacos notes. “Direct lithium extraction technology is making great strides, so producing from very large, lower grade basins is likely to become a market requirement. We anticipate a demand for these large basins of lower grade brines and we will be ready to explore and develop these second-tier projects as demand develops. This timing works well, allowing us to advance our primary projects now.”
In the meantime, with lithium carbonate prices at US$70,000 to US$80,000 a tonne, up from US$40,000 to US$50,000 a tonne just a year ago, Cacos believes Argentina Lithium’s future looks bright.
“More advanced projects neighbouring our properties are projecting operating costs of US$2,000 to US$4,000 per tonne LCE,” he says. “The return on investment looks spectacular. It gives us a lot of comfort to invest.”
The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by Argentina Lithium & Energy and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit www. argentinalithium.com for more information.
‘WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT WE BOUGHT OUR LAND POSITION BEFORE RIO TINTO CAME IN, BECAUSE SINCE THEN IT’S BECOME A VERY HOT PIECE OF REAL ESTATE.’
NIKOLAOS CACOS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF ARGENTINA LITHIUM & ENERGY
Ahandful of Arizona-focused copper juniors are making steady progress delineating resources and fine-tuning potential development plans towards feeding an independent, Western supply chain.
Near the semi-desert town of Casa Grande, Ariz., Arizona Sonoran Copper (TSX: ASCU; US-OTC: ASCUF) is outlining a scalable redevelopment of its brownfields Cactus mine project. The company is working to increase mineralization at Cactus, and to expand on the base case preliminary economic assessment (PEA), in a re-scoped prefeasibility study that will include Parks Salyer, along with the Cactus economics for the first time.
While several high-profile copper projects in Arizona have been stalled by myriad permitting issues, Cactus’s brownfields status and its location on private lands should make for streamlined and known permitting timelines.
“Arizona has a mining pedigree,” project director Dan Johnson tells The Northern Miner during a February site visit, while pointing towards notable features in the Arizona desert that constitute the former mining operation or where the new developments will occur. He adds that permitting would not involve the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already confirmed there is no ‘Clean Water Rule’ applicable on-site and therefore no federal permitting requirement.
VP for exploration Douglas Bowden says the company is currently looking to build scale.
To get there, it’s working on upgrading inferred resources at the Parks Salyer deposit with a 46-hole, 32,000-metre drill program at Cactus, located 64 km southeast of Phoenix. So far, 35 infill holes for 23,689 metres have been completed.
Arizona Sonoran targets oxide and enriched copper mineralization. It plans to complete an additional 27,000 metres of infill
drilling at the Cactus East and Parks Salyer projects by the year’s second half. This year’s work will inform a feasibility scheduled for release in
oxide and sulphide material. Testing programs for the prefeasibility and feasibility studies include columns of material from the existing stockpile, Parks Salyer and Cactus deposits, separated into different rock types, copper grades and mineralogy. The program will feed into the PFS.
In addition, Rio Tinto is testing the leachability of the primary sulphide material at Cactus and Parks Salyer with its Nuton technology.
The sulphide component in the indicated and inferred resource contains 1.7 billion lb. of copper and did not factor in the PEA. If the preliminary test results from Rio Tinto, expected by the second half, are positive, and pending finalizing a commercial agreement with Rio, Arizona Sonoran would have the ability to process lower-grade sulphide material and monetize a large portion of the resource that the company currently considers “stranded.”
The miner may also do infill drilling on the primary sulphide material at Cactus, related to Nuton’s technological requirements.
Combining the oxide and sulphide components would make Cactus and Parks Salyer the third-largest independent (not owned by a major) copper resource in the U.S., totalling 4.9 billion lb. inferred and 1.6 billion lb. indicated.
Fully cashed-up with a recent $30 million financing, the company expects to complete a mine plan and prefeasibility by December or early in 2024, which will include Parks Salyer for the first time in an economic assessment and a more comprehensive underground development program than in the PEA. The prefeasibility will lead to a definitive feasibility study at the end of 2024, followed by a construction decision and financing in 2025. If construction starts by mid-2025, production from the s tockpile could begin by late 2026.
District scale potential Just across the highway from the Cactus mine is Ivanhoe Electric’s (TSX: IE) Santa Cruz copper project, which was not part of the site visit, but has a slightly larger resource and has attracted much more market attention due to the Robert Friedland premium — the mining magnate is the company’s executive chairman and was previously CEO.
2024. Arizona Sonoran will also begin a small exploration program by June along the 4,000-metre mine trend from the Cactus to Parks Salyer deposits, which comprise the Gap Zone and NE Extension deposits. Previous drilling at the NE Extension by ASARCO highlighted mineralization down to 305 metres depth at a grade of 3% copper over 11.3 metres.
On Feb. 21, Arizona Sonoran released assays from seven infill drill holes at Parks Salyer, which is located on contiguous land 2 km southwest of Cactus.
According to the company, the program continues to show the tenor of mineralization and has extended the high-grade zones in the north and south. Drilling has initially been staged to infill areas closest to the inferred high-grade core before expanding out toward
the west.
Additionally, the company has completed three hydrology holes at Parks Salyer consisting of one oriented core hole and two previously drilled metallurgical holes. The hydrology holes will collect groundwater data near the Parks Salyer deposit.
The company has all the data in hand for the Cactus deposit, and will be included in the pending prefeasibility.
Bowden says that in addition to drilling, the company is undertaking metallurgy, detailed engineering, permitting and technical studies.
It has also been busy building the on-site operations and technical team.
Metallurgy
Meanwhile, the company is advancing metallurgical studies for
On Feb. 14, the company published an updated mineral resource estimate for Santa Cruz, which now includes the first resource for the East Ridge deposit directly next to the Santa Cruz deposit and for the Texaco deposit 1.6 km to the northeast.
This resource update is underpinned by much higher cut-off grades than the 0.39% used in the December 2021 resource statement to account for the consistency and thickness of the higher-grade exotic, oxide and enriched copper domains.
The resource at the Santa Cruz deposit reflects a 0.7% total copper cut-off, while the resources at East Ridge and Texaco reflect a 0.9% and 0.8% total copper cut-off, respectively.
Even at these higher cut-off grades, the overall project-wide contained copper in indicated resources increased by 11% to
2.8 million tonnes (226.7 million tonnes grading 1.24% total copper).
Importantly, contained copper in indicated resources, excluding primary sulphide mineralization, increased by 86%.
It wouldn’t take a lot of imagination to see a potential future consolidation of the Cactus-Parks Salyer and Santa Cruz projects. The combined volumes could make an expensive mill facility viable. At the same time, other synergies could be achieved concerning leaching the oxide material and a central SX-EW cathode production facility.
Faraday Copper
Further to the southeast from Casa Grande, Faraday Copper (TSX: FDY; US-OTC: CPPKF) is focused on growing its Copper Creek project near San Manuel in Pinal County, and aims to release a PEA in April.
The company’s VP for projects and evaluations, Zack Allwright, told The Northern Miner on a February site visit that Copper Creek is one of the most significant undeveloped copper porphyry projects in the Americas.
The project sat stranded in a CopperBank Resources entity for the past decade until company president and CEO Paul Harbidge and CFO Graham Richardson picked up rights to the asset and started a rapid work program. “That’s why the project is only now becoming known to the market again,” he said. VP for exploration Thomas Bissig said the company’s recent exploration efforts generate stronger confidence for resource growth.
Copper Creek has a combined open pit and underground measured and indicated resource of 355.1 million tonnes grading 0.5%
copper 3.9 billion lb. copper with molybdenum and silver credits, for 4,125.3 million lb. copper equivalent. The resource estimate is supported by more than 200,000 metres of drilling.
The resource estimate used metal price assumptions of US$3.80 per lb. copper, US$13 per lb. molybdenum, and US$20 per oz. silver.
The most recent assay results reported on Jan. 31 highlighted 33.77 metres at 3.43% copper and 2.53 grams silver per tonne from 38.1 metres at the Copper Knight breccia in drill hole FCD-22016. This interval is within a longer intersection of 65.2 metres at 1.88% copper and 1.56 grams silver per tonne from 38.1 metres depth.
Bissig explained that the Copper Knight breccia is part of a cluster of mineralized breccias, which includes Copper Giant, Copper
Prince, and Copper Duchess. Drill hole FCD-22-016 was collared north of Copper Knight and drilled to the southeast, closing a gap in historical drilling.
The high-grade mineralization is located at the contact between granodiorite porphyry and hydrothermal breccia, with increased permeability.
In addition, drill hole FCD-22011 was collared at the Glory Hole breccia and drilled to the west, where previous drill coverage is low. Two consecutive samples from 63.36 to 67.70 metres yielded 0.29% and 0.41% copper, respectively, and a single 2-metre-wide sample with 1.14 grams silver per tonne and 0.21% copper is present at 210.75 metres. These results suggest that the mineral system remains open at depth and to the west of the Glory Hole breccia, Bissig said.
JOINT VENTURE ARTICLE
Fourteen drill holes have been completed, and the results for three drill holes have been released.
Bissig said results so far from the phase two drill program have been encouraging. “This high-grade drill hole demonstrates the potential to grow the open pit mineralization at Copper Creek,” he said.
Phase two drilling continues the 31-sq.-km land package and is focused on reconnaissance drilling on new targets; expanding the resource estimate; and better delineating high-grade mineralized zones.
The upcoming PEA will incorporate an updated resource. But the company believes the project has much larger district potential, with only 35 out of 400 breccias identified by drill testing to date.
In terms of permitting, Allwright points out the project waterways
are deemed impaired under state law since they sit on top of copper porphyries, which naturally leach chemicals. This means there is no agricultural competition, and the water is marked for industrial use.
Bissig said the PEA would outline a sulphide play for a starter scenario — the oxide material will be stockpiled since the acid needed for leaching is too expensive for the foreseeable future.
The company recently closed a $34.8 million financing.
Ivanhoe Electric is the elephant in the room, with its shares up 50% over the past 12 months at $21 apiece, giving it a market cap of $2 billion. Arizona Sonoran shares are down 17% over the same period at $1.80, giving it a market cap of $187 million, while Faraday is down 15% at 75¢, with a market cap of $129.8 million. TNM
Nine Mile Metals
’ (CSE: NINE;US-OTC:
VMSXF)flagship Nine Mile Brook critical minerals project in northern New Brunswick sits in the heart of the Bathurst Mining Camp, a circular area of about 70 km in diameter in the province’s Miramichi Highlands.
The BMC hosts 46 known deposits (25 with reserves over 1 million tonnes) and another 100 mineral occurrences, according to the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy Development, and it has been the focal point of exploration since the 1950s, when two massive base metal deposits — No. 6 and No. 12 — were discovered.
The Vancouver-based junior’s Nine Mile Brook project is 10 km southwest of the Brunswick No. 12 lead-zinc-copper mine, which operated for 49 years until it closed in 2013, and still ranks as one of the largest underground zinc mines in the world. Nine Mile Brook also lies just 13 km from the Brunswick No. 6 copper-lead-zinc mine, which was in production from 1966 until 1983.
“This is the third largest mining camp in the world and the government and us both believe from the geology and geophysics that only 30% of its deposits have been discovered and there is a larger one than the Brunswick 12 waiting to be discovered,” says CEO Patrick Cruickshank. “You can see spatial deposits almost every 10 km.”
Nine Mile Brook and the company’s two other projects, Canoe Landing Lake and California Lake, 8 and 10 km to the west, respectively, are all in “five-star locations,” he says. “Our projects are in the mineralized folded saddle in the camp and very little work has been done there. No one wanted to explore there because it’s so complex.”
One of the reasons it’s such a difficult environment is that five episodes of structural deformation have been identified, rock units are near vertical and there’s less than 1% outcrop in the camp. “The deposits are twisting and folding, and you can drill 100 holes and not hit anything.”
Technology and analytical advancements are making exploration more accessible,
however. Nine Mile Metals is working with EarthEx Geophysical Solutions to accelerate targeting using closespaced UAV drone magnetics and proprietary algorithm processing along with artificial intelligence (AI) target extraction processes.
“Every 20 years or so there is a breakthrough in new geophysical technology — magnetics, gravity, VTEM and so on— and the latest is UAV high-definition magnetics with proprietary processing algorithms and AI machine learning,” Cruickshank says, adding that the results of the company’s last two drill programs prove that statement true.
At Nine Mile Brook, results from the first drill program “are the richest copper results in the history of the mining camp,” he says. Drill
hole NM22003 intersected 10.5 metres of 6.92% copper, 5.6% zinc, 2.52% lead, 179.28 grams silver per tonne, and 1.33 grams gold starting from surface. Drill hole NM220004 returned 15.1 metres grading 10.12% copper, 1% zinc, 1.41% lead, 91.47 grams silver, and 0.84 gram gold from surface; and drill hole NM220005 cut 11 metres grading 9.59% copper, 11.93% zinc, 2.90% lead, 283.31 grams silver and 1.65 grams gold.
For the second phase program, the company chose targets based on results from phase 1 and EarthEx’s UAV drone technology with 3-D magnetic modelling defining subsurface geological structures. The survey identified potential structural mineralized folds in the system with details visible to a depth of up to 1 km.
In addition to the magnetometer, the drone is equipped with a LiDAR (light detection and ranging) laser imaging system that provides realtime data for collision avoidance, allowing the drone to fly as low as possible. A magnetic base station is also established to continually collect data and identify diurnal changes in the magnetics.
Nine Mile Metals is now drilling its second-phase, 5,000-metre program, which will target 18 individual geophysical anomalies at Nine Mile Brook.
At its California Lake project, the initial stage 1 drill program was completed in November.
The 1,226-metre program included eight shallow holes collared to intersect VMS mineralization along a 1.5-km, late time conductance electromagnetic anomaly defined by EarthEx. Seven of the holes intersected multiple VMS horizons within a sheared sedimentary package.
“That’s unheard of in a first pass,” Cruickshank says. “Usually, you are happy to have one hole clip any mineralization on an initial shallow program. We actually drilled seven of eight holes with multiple VMS zones.”
This first-pass program was based on an initial re-processing of public MegaTEM datasets by EarthEX and overlaying late-time conductive responses utilized by their algorithms’ analysis. “We didn’t even fly the drone, that’s how good the technology is just to process the data, and this summer we will do a complete phase two at California Lake, fly the drone, and then come back with a 5,000- to 10,000-metre drill program on the high-end targets and we’ll do the same at Canoe Lake,” he says. “We have definition no one has ever seen before, it’s pretty incredible, and provides us with an excellent exploration road map.”
The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by Nine Mile Metals, and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit www.ninemilemetals.com for more information.
BATTERY METALS | McKinsey says these technologies could erase shortfall
BY COLIN MCCLELLANDAdvances in technology to increase metal recovery could save billions of dollars and wipe out the 20% gap between copper supplies and demand as green energy accelerates, according to a new report by McKinsey & Co.
Electrification is expected to increase global annual copper demand to 36.6 million tonnes by 2031 while current mines, probable projects and recycling may supply 30.1 million tonnes by then, the McKinsey Metals & Mining Practice said in the report, “Bridging the copper supply gap,” released Feb. 17. Technologies such as coarse particle recovery, sulphide leaching and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve processes could recover up to 7.9 million tonnes of copper a year, erasing the 6.5-milliontonne-a-year deficit, according to the report.
“The obstacles to commercialization and widespread adoption are not trivial,” McKinsey said. “But technological levers should be recognized alongside new mine development as part of the solution.”
If applied across the industry beyond just copper, McKinsey estimates the methods could save more than US$100 billion a year.
That could help reach the US$100 billion that London-based analyst CRU Group said the industry needs to spend on new copper production to meet demand by the end of the decade. Although the price of copper has risen by 25% over the last five years, according to mining.com, decades-high inflation and interest rates are hampering some developments.
McKinsey’s supply gap estimate is a bit less than the 8 million tonne shortfall by 2032 forecast last year by Chile’s state run Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer. Other top miners of the metal
used in wiring and plumbing, such as BHP (ASX: BHP), FreeportMcMoRan (NYSE: FCX) and First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) all have projects in the works.
Grind-circuit roughing
McKinsey suggests a couple of technologies to try to recover particles outside a sweet spot of extraction between 50 and 150 microns (a micron is a thousandth of a millimetre). One way is to use grindcircuit roughing, which operates like a sponge on the particles and can increase the throughput of a ball mill by 20%.
That process, which McKinsey
said is offered by Connecticutbased Cidra Holdings, could add 1.2-4.6 million tonnes of global annual copper production by 2032, as well as cut energy use. If the system is applied to all metals produced from sulphide ores, the cost savings could run US$20-US$80 billion a year worldwide, McKinsey said.
The other method to improve coarse particle recovery, scavenging, focuses on the flotation process. While some heavier particles might sink from the froth in a tank which is skimmed off in recovery, scavenging adds layers to keep them afloat.
The process, offered by Pennsyl-
vania-based Eriez Flotation, could increase recovery by 2-6%, adding up to 1.5 million tonnes of global annual copper production. If likewise applied to all metals produced from sulphide ores, McKinsey figures it could save US$9-US$26 billion a year.
Sulphide leaching is being improved along several lines, including chloride-based solutions, to process ore lower than 0.25% copper that is often discarded as tailings. Rio Tinto’s (NYSE, ASX, LSE: RIO) environmental and low capital cost Nuton bio-leaching process is also being used by McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) and Arizona Sonoran Copper (TSX: ASCU; US-OTC: ASCUF).
Jetti Resources, a service provider in Colorado, offers a catalyst-based system for leaching primary sulphide ore.
It’s a low-capital approach to a problem currently solved using expensive concentrators, McKinsey said. However, there are barriers to widespread commercialization of new sulphide leaching methods such as limits to installing them on
existing heap leach pads instead of applying them to tailings.
Overcoming the barriers by the end of the decade would add 2.4 million tonnes of copper a year by 2032. It would also cut water usage, tailings risk and US$45 billion a year in costs for all sulphide-borne metal, McKinsey said.
AI machine learning can use speed and consistency to reduce human error in adjusting processing to meet the variability of an ore body. However, the best operations keep humans in control to see overall goals so the process doesn’t lose itself in algorithms, the consultant said.
This greater efficiency can add 2-4% to metal recoveries and 5-15% to throughput for an increase in global annual production from existing and planned mines of up to 1 million tonnes of refined copper by 2032. It would save US$9-US$18 billion a year across all sulphide concentrators, McKinsey said.
The increased savings and metal recoveries of coarse particle recovery, sulphide leaching and machine learning also show the importance of miners developing internal innovation groups, forming links with tech-savvy juniors and exploiting brownfield sites, according to the consultant.
“These technologies also offer new options for greenfield projects,” McKinsey said. “This approach can enable an incremental development model similar to that often used for gold deposits, particularly in highrisk areas, where the capital at risk and the payback period are critical investment criteria.” TNM
CORPORATE | Miner also plans to sunset dual-class structure
BY CECILIA JAMASMIETeck Resources (TSX: TECK.A/TECK.B; NYSE: TECK), Canada’s largest diversified miner, announced major changes on Feb. 21, switching its name to Teck Metals Corp. and spinning off its multibillion-dollar steelmaking coal unit into a new company — Elk Valley Resources Ltd.
The Vancouver-based miner said the business separation will allow it to focus on industrial metals such as copper, which is crucial to the global energy transition.
The firm predicts a copper supply gap of 13.2 million tonnes, which is expected to peak in 2025 due to declining grades, protracted permitting timelines and underinvestment.
As part of the restructuring, Teck will distribute common shares in Elk Valley Resources to its current shareholders, retaining a considerable interest in the steelmaking coal cash flows in a transition period, equivalent to an 87.5% interest in gross revenue royalty.
It also noted it had reached an agreement with its steelmaking
coal joint-venture partners Nippon Steel Corp. and POSCO to exchange their minority interests in two of their operations for interests in the new business.
Teck has been weighing options for its metallurgical coal division for over a year, as the commodity is used in steelmaking, one of the most polluting industries.
The unit, made up of four mines in Elk Valley, British Columbia, has been hit by several issues in the past three years, including supply-chain disruptions, adverse weather events,
Chief executive officer Jonathan Price said the transaction simplified the portfolio of each company, allowing for strategic and financial focus and the ability to pursue tailored capital allocation strategies.
Teck will seek shareholder approval of the separation at its annual and special shareholders meeting scheduled for Apr. 26.
‘THE OBSTACLES TO COMMERCIALIZATION AND WIDESPREAD ADOPTION ARE NOT TRIVIAL. BUT TECHNOLOGICAL LEVERS SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED ALONGSIDE NEW MINE DEVELOPMENT AS PART OF THE SOLUTION.’ BRIDGING THE COPPER SUPPLY GAP, MCKINSEY & CO.
We contribute to transport electrification and the fight against climate change.labour shortages and an outage at the Elkview plant.
M&A | Automakers reach further upstream to secure critical mineral supplies
BY HENRY LAZENBY
Shares of Sigma Lithium (TSXV: SGMA) rose more than 20% in morning trading on Feb. 21 following a long-weekend media report that electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is in takeover talks with the Brazil-focused lithium developer. Bloomberg reported late on Feb. 17 that Tesla was weighing a takeover of the company.
The report cites unnamed sources “with knowledge on the matter,” stating that Elon Musk has been “speaking with potential advisers about a bid.”
Sigma, however, is said not to be the only firm that Tesla is considering acquiring.
Sigma’s largest shareholder, 46%owner Brazilian private equity fund A10 Investimentos, is reported to have been exploring the potential for a sale of the company while seeing interest from miners and carmakers alike. Discussions with Tesla, meanwhile, are said to be in the early stages and may not result in a transaction.
Tesla did not respond to Bloomberg, Reuters or The Northern Miner regarding the matter. Sigma Lithium meanwhile declined to comment on rumours.
The Vancouver-based company is developing the Grota do Cirilo property in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, which is said to be the largest lithium hard-rock asset in the Americas. It has been producing battery-grade lithium concentrate at the project since 2018 on a pilot scale, with phase one commercial output forecast at 36,7000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year.
The first phase of production, which is fully funded, is expected to have an operating life of 13 years and generate average annual free cash flow of US$1.8 billion. Production is slated to begin in April this year, with feasibility studies and detailed engineering for the second
TECK RESOURCES From 44
Class shares
Separately, Teck unveiled plans to wind down the dual-class share structure through which Canada’s Keevil family controls the company.
The proposed change in share structure consists of a six-year sunset for the multiple voting rights attached to the Class A common shares. Class A common shares carry multiple voting rights — 100 per share — vs. one voting right per
and third phases targeted to be completed in the current quarter.
A December 2022 updated technical report showed the company could expand first phase production, potentially tripling output of battery-grade lithium concentrate from 270,000 tonnes per year (36,700 tonnes LCE) starting in 2023 to 768,000 tonnes per year (104,200 tonnes LCE) in the second year.
In its December press release, the company said that the production expansion study demonstrated robust project economics, highlighted by an after-tax NPV (at an 8% discount) of US$15.3 billion, incorporating production from Phase 1 (nearing commissioning) combined with Phase 2 and Phase 3. The project’s after-tax internal rate of return is 1,273%, and the payback period is one month.
Tesla’s potential move to acquire Sigma follows General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) recent deal with Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC) to secure raw materials for batteries. In February, GM revealed that it would be making a US$650-million investment in the company its Thacker Pass project in Nevada.
The automaker has agreed to invest those funds in two tranches, with its investment part of a deal to secure an off-take agreement related to the phase one production of the mine once final approvals and construction are completed. The off-take arrangement gives GM exclusive access to lithium carbonate produced in the first phase of production, which is estimated to amount to 30,000 tonnes per year.
GM, meanwhile, is also said to be mulling taking a stake in the Brazilian nickel miner Vale (NYSE: VALE), which could amount to up to a 10% interest in the miner.
Sigma’s Toronto-quoted equity traded at$48.20 per share at press time in Toronto, giving it a market cap of over $5 billion. Shares have tested $11.25 and $54.23 over the past 12 months.
Class B common share.
“The sunset on the multiple voting rights will modernize Teck’s governance and provide a simplified and competitive capital structure, following an appropriate continuity period, which we believe will benefit Teck and all of its shareholders,” Sheila Murray, chair of the board, said in a statement.
In a note to clients, Canaccord Genuity mining analyst Dalton Baretto said that Teck’s announcements were “neutral.” However, he questioned the six-year period to
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
Australia’s Atlantic Lithium (LSE: ALL; ASX: A11) said on Feb. 17 that it’s engaged in talks with Ghana’s state-owned Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) for funding of up to US$30 million.
The exploration and development company is developing the Ewoyaa project in central Ghana, which would be the country’s first lithium mine.
Atlantic says the operation, which is expected to begin production in the second half of 2024, has the potential to generate nearly US$5 billion in revenue over its 12.5-year life.
The MIIF confirmed plans to take an equity stake in Atlantic Lithium and said the company had agreed to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Atlantic Lithium said
only that discussions were ongoing, adding that there was no certainty an investment will be made.
A resource update for Ewoyaa, released early February, shows a resource estimate of 35.3 million tonnes at 1.25% lithium oxide (Li2O), including 28 million tonnes in the measured and indicated categories.
That 79% of the resource that now falls within the measured and indicated categories is made up of 3.5 million tonnes at 1.37% Li2O in the measured category and 24.5 million tonnes at 1.25% Li2O in the indicated category.
According to a prefeasibility study released in September, the mine will cost US$125 million to build and will generate a post-tax net present value of US$1.3 billion at a discount rate of 8%. The study forecast free cash flow at US$2 billion and the project’s internal rate
of return at 244%.
Ghana, known for its gold and cocoa production, has long sought to diversify its exports, and Atlantic Lithium, previously known as IronRidge Resources, believes that mining the battery metal could be a partial solution.
Prices for the ultra-light metal have surged about 10 times since the start of 2021 to almost US$80,000 per tonne, reflecting supply shortages and higher demand from the car industry.
IronRidge changed its name and spun out its gold assets into a separate company to focus on production of the battery metal, key for the batteries that power EVs and high-tech devices.
Shares in Atlantic Lithium traded at A63¢ (58¢) in Sydney at press time, in a 52-week window of A52¢ and A99¢, valuing the company at A$396.7 million. TNM
www.northernminer.com
eliminate the dual class structure, given the “clear benefits” to the company from a governance perspective, and speculated that the timeline was put in place to protect Teck from an acquisition attempt before it finishes its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 expansion in Chile.
Teck shares rose to $45.67 on Feb. 21, before declining to $40.11 around press time in Toronto. Its shares have traded in a 52-week window of $24.72 and $48.67, valuing the company at $20.3 billion. TNM
One of Canada’s premier near-term re-development opportunities in mine friendly Quebec
Vulcan Energy Resourc-
es (ASX: VUL), one of the very few lithium miners in Europe, said on Feb. 13 it plans to extract enough lithium to supply up to 500,000 electric vehicles (EVs) a year to help the local industry transition from combustion engine to battery-powered.
The Australian miner now aims to produce 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) per year by 2027, according to the definitive feasibility study for the first phase of its CO2-free geothermal lithium brine project in the Upper Rhine Graben.
The figure represents a 60% increase when compared to the preliminary feasibility study’s 15,000tonne estimate.
The Perth-based company is also aiming to raise €1.5 billion (US$1.6
billion) for capital expenditure — double previous estimates — to expand the extraction of lithium hydroxide and build commercial plants for its yet to be validated technology.
Vulcan noted its production costs per tonne of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) will be around €4,359 (US$4,663 per tonne). This compares to a cost per tonne of over €5,000 (US$5,345) in other regions “such as Latin America,” it said.
The company said the estimations were based on technical data from its operating geothermal plants and lithium pilot facility.
The Upper Rhine valley in Germany’s southwest is believed to hold one of Europe’s largest lithium reserves. That’s potentially a much needed boon for the country’s plans of mining raw materials at home to help with its green transition.
Berlin announced in January that it aims to have 15 million EVs on the roads by 2030 and supply 80% of its electricity from renewable energy.
The International Energy Agency has said that EVs need to account for 60% of vehicles sold annually by 2030, if net zero targets are to be reached by 2050.
Germany’s plans for green energy sources and EVs follows the European Commission push to lower the bloc’s dependence on China and Russia, with a Critical Raw Materials Act expected in March.
It also comes ahead of an EU-wide ban on the sale of new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2035.
Automakers Stellantis, Renault and Volkswagen have all signed supply agreements with Vulcan. Belgian materials firm Umicore has also sealed a deal with the company. TNM
Shares in Osisko Metals (TSXV: OM; US-OTC: OMZNF)
surged on Feb. 22 after the company announced its plan to set up a joint venture and potentially surrender a majority stake in its flagship Pine Point base metals project as it advances towards construction.
Under an investment agreement with Appian Natural Resources Fund, Appian will invest up to $100 million over four years to acquire a 60% stake in the project. The Appian fund is advised by Appian Capital Advisory LLP, a London-based private equity group specializing in the acquisition and development of mining assets.
Appian’s investment will be broken down into an estimated $75.3-million package to advance Pine Point, located in the Northwest Territories, towards a final investment decision or construction approval. About $19.8 million of that will be provided upon establishment of the joint venture.
The remaining $24.7 million will be cash payments to Osisko Metals. Appian will first pay $8.3 million on closing of the investment agreement to acquire an initial 9% interest in Pine Point, and then make an approximate $16.4-million milestone payment once a final investment decision is made to bring its ownership to 60%. The $100-million total investment would give the project a pre-funding valuation of $91.3 million.
Located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, Pine Point is considered one of Canada’s premier past-producing zinc mining camps. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) published by Osisko last year outlined an aftertax net present value of US$602 million and an internal rate of return of 25%.
The 2022 PEA integrates updated long-term prices for zinc and lead (US$1.37 per lb. and US97¢ per lb., respectively) and increased resources at Pine Point. The project hosts 15.7 million indicated tonnes grading 5.55% zinc equivalent and 47.2 million inferred tonnes grading 5.94% zinc equivalent.
“This milestone agreement is a significant endorsement and daylights the considerable intrinsic value of Pine Point,” said Osisko chairman and CEO Robert Wares.
“The transaction allows us to leverage Appian’s extensive mine development experience and includes a crucial investment of $75 million into the project that will advance the development of Pine Point to a ‘shovel-ready’ status.”
This funding, according to Wares, is expected to cover all costs including final definition drilling, additional exploration drilling, feasibility, environmental assessment and permitting, and Indigenous engagements.
In addition to the funding com-
mitment, Appian has also agreed to make a $5 million investment in the common shares of Osisko Metals on closing, priced at $0.2481 per share.
The stock gained 19.6% to 31¢ on the news, giving the company a market value of roughly $61.6 million.
The joint venture, coupled with Appian’s cash payments to Osisko and $5 million equity investment, will allow the junio to focus on the development of other projects while avoiding excessive dilution to advance Pine Point, Wares added.
Separately, Appian has agreed to issue a convertible instrument to provide short-term funding of up to $11.5 million for Osisko Metals’ ongoing drill program at Pine Point. Six drill rigs are currently at work on the 29,000-metre winter definition drilling program. This program, with associated costs, will be integrated into the investment agreement and pre-final investment decision budget. TNM
BY HENRY LAZENBYAlaska-focused developer Trilogy Metals (TSX: TMQ; NYSE-AM: TMQ) has released an updated feasibility study for its Arctic copperzinc-lead-silver-gold project in the Ambler mining district, outlining slightly weaker economics amid an inflationary backdrop.
Trilogy, which has a 50% stake in Ambler Metals, a joint venture with South32 Ltd. (LSE: S32; ASX: S32; JSE: S32), outlined a 10,000-tonne-per-day conventional open pit mine and mill operation for a minimum mine life of 13 years.
It was forced to update the 2020 Arctic feasibility study in compliance with regulatory requirements.
Annual metal production falls slightly in comparison to the 2020 feasibility study to 148.7 million lb. copper, 172.6 million lb. zinc, 25.8 million lb. lead, 32,539 oz. gold and 2.8 million oz. silver.
The capital outlay has jumped 40% to US$1.7 billion, up from $1.2 billion previously, with the new study doubling the mine closure and reclamation budget to US$428.4 million, among other line-item increases.
Under the new mine plan, the all-in cost net of byproduct credits jumped 64% to US$1.61 per lb. copper from US98¢ previously.
All things considered, the project economics held up reasonably well. The after-tax net present value (at an 8% discount) fell marginally to US$1.1 billion from US$1.13 billion previously, with
the internal rate of return dropping to 22.8% from 27.1%.
A probable reserve base of 46.7 million tonnes grading 2.11% copper, 2.9% zinc, 0.56% lead, 0.42 gram gold per tonne and 31.8 grams silver underpins the feasibility study.
BMO Capital Markets said the cost increase was not wholly unexpected. “Albeit the updated cost profile coming in a bit above our estimates, in our view, the economics of the Arctic project still stand up well,” wrote mining analyst Rene Cartier in a note to clients. “In our view, the operating cost profile of the Arctic project, despite the inflation, still remains attractive.”
Ambler Metals has budgeted US$9.2 million to advance the Upper Kobuk mineral projects (including the nearby Bornite copper project) and US$1 million for the Ambler Access project, which is caught in legal limbo.
Trilogy expects the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to issue a draft supplemental environmental impact statement for the road by June and a final statement by December.
Ambler Metals is well-funded with US$80.8 million of cash. For the rest of the year, the focus is on advancing engineering efforts and resource estimation at Arctic as well as preparations for submitting the mine permits.
Trilogy’s equity traded at 77¢ apiece at press time, having tested 68¢ and $1.97 over the past 12 months. It has a market cap of $112.5 million. TNM
The growing demand for clean energy technologies is driving exploration and development of critical mineral deposits around the world. Here’s a look at eight companies on the hunt for everything from cobalt and copper to graphite, lithium and nickel.
n ACME LITHIUM
ACME Lithium Inc. (CSE: ACME; US-OTC: ACLHF) is focused on battery metal projects and its flagship asset is the Clayton Valley lithium project in Esmeralda County, Nev., 145 km northwest of Las Vegas. ACME Lithium has the option to earn 100% of 122 claims of the 9.9-sq.-km project, which sits contiguous to the northwest of Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) Silver Peak lithium mine, and borders Pure Energy Metals’ Clayton Valley lithium brine project, a joint-venture with Schlumberger Technology Corp.
ACME kicked off its second-phase drill program at Clayton Valley on Jan. 31, following sample results in August from drill hole DH-1, which was drilled to a depth of 427 metres below surface. Lithium was detected from all the samples at concentrations ranging between 38 and 130 mg per litre. The highest concentrations were from samples collected in the deep gravels at 412-427 metres below surface. The company noted at the time that the results “strongly indicate existence of a bicarbonate rich groundwater quality affinity which is typical in the Clayton Valley lithium brine aquifers.”
The Vancouver-based company is also exploring at its 12-sq.-km Fish Lake Valley lithium project, also in Esmeralda County, about 274 km from Las Vegas and 306 km from Tesla’s Gigafactory.
On Jan. 19, the company reported the highest values of lithium samples to date with up to 1,325 parts per million (ppm) lithium. It is also continuing with geochemistry sampling at the project. Fish Lake Valley is directly west and abuts Ioneer Ltd’s (NASDAQ: IONR; ASX: INR) Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project area.
In addition to its Nevada targets, ACME has lithium projects in Canada — Shatford, Birse and Cat-Euclid Lakes in the pegmatite field of the Bird River Greenstone Belt in southeastern Manitoba, and Bailey Lake in northeastern Saskatchewan. It started drilling a 5,000-metre program at Shatford Lake on Jan. 11.
On Jan. 26, it signed an agreement with Israel-based Asterra, a satellite technology company to use its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data analytics, algorithms and artificial intelligence to find lithium targets.
ACME Lithium has a market capitalization of $31.5 million.
n AVALON ADVANCED
MATERIALS
Avalon Advanced Materials (TSX: AVL; US-OTC: AVLNF) is focused on its 100%-owned Separation Rapids project, 70 km north of Kenora, Ont. The 24.3-sq.-km
property hosts a lithium-cesiumtantalum (LCT) pegmatite deposit, enriched with petalite.
Petalite, a high-purity lithium aluminum silicate mineral, can be used as an industrial mineral for high-strength glass and as a high purity feed to make battery grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate.
On Sept. 22, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LG Energy Solution, a Korean lithium battery manufacturer that is planning to set up a facility in southern Ontario and will need a domestic supply of lithium hydroxide. Avalon will provide LG Energy with at least 50% of its planned initial lithium hydroxide production over an initial fiveyear period from the refinery it plans to build in Thunder Bay.
The MOU was followed on Sept. 27 with an off-take agreement for petalite concentrate from an undisclosed major international glass ceramic manufacturer.
In March 2021 the Toronto-based company collected a 5,000-tonne bulk sample from the project. The bulk sample will be processed to produce trial quantities of a petalite product for potential end-users, it says.
Last April, Avalon signed a binding letter of intent with India’s Essar Group, which will become a strategic partner and co-developer of the Thunder Bay refinery. Essar will provide funding to support final feasibility studies and site preparation work at Separation Rapids and for the refinery.
According to the latest available presentation on its website (June 2022), Avalon hopes to start lithium battery materials production in 2025-2026. In the meantime, while the refinery is built, it aims to start small-scale commercial operations with sales of petalite and rubidium, cesium and tantalum mineral byproducts.
A preliminary economic assess-
ment (PEA) completed in 2018 outlined a 20-year mine life producing 71,500 tonnes per year of petalite and 11,800 tonnes per year of lepidolite. A feldspar circuit would be added in year six.
The company’s other projects include Nechalacho (rare earth elements, beryllium, lithium, niobium, tantalum, zirconium) in the Northwest Territories; East Kemptville, 270 km west of Halifax, N.S. (tinindium-copper-zinc), and two in Ontario, including Warren Township (anorthosite), and Lilypad (cesium-tantalum-lithium).
Avalon Advanced Materials has a market cap of $58.2 million.
n DORÉ COPPER MINING
Doré Copper Mining (TSXV: DCMC; US-OTC: DRCMF) has a large land package that includes 13 former producing mines, deposits, and resource target areas within a 60-km radius of its Copper Rand mill in northern Quebec, about
10 km from the town of Chibougamau.
The Toronto-based company is focusing on a hub-and-spoke development strategy with its Copper Rand mill serving as the hub, and it plans to release a feasibility study for it next year.
In May 2022 Doré completed a PEA for the restart of mining operations at Chibougamau with its flagship Corner Bay copper-gold deposit as the main underground mine. Doré’s Devlin copper deposit and the former Joe Mann gold mine would also feed the Copper Rand mill.
The PEA outlined an underground operation producing 492 million lb. of copper and 142,000 oz. of gold over a 10.5-year mine life. The operation would produce an average annual output of 53 million lb. copper-equivalent in concentrate over the life of the mine at all-in sustaining costs of U$2.24 per lb. copper-equivalent.
Based on US$3.75 per lb. copper and US$1,820 per oz. gold and using an 8% discount rate, the after-tax net present value came to $193 million and the internal rate of return to 22.1%. Initial capital costs, which would be paid back in 5.5 years, are estimated at $180.6 million.
Corner Bay has indicated resources of 2.7 million tonnes grading 2.66% copper and 0.26 gram gold per tonne for 157 million lb. contained copper and 22,000 oz. of gold. Inferred resources total 5.9 million tonnes at 3.43% copper and 0.27 gram gold for 443 million lb. copper and 51,000 oz. gold.
In November, Doré released the final results from its 2022 drill program, with highlights of 5.1 metres of 5.68% copper, 0.32 gram gold, 18.3 grams silver and 510 ppm molybdenum starting from 1,068 metres in drillhole CB-2286; 2.6 metres of 3.69% copper, 0.07 gram gold, 10.3 grams silver and 414 ppm molybdenum from 1,063 metres in CB-22-83; and 2.1 metres of 4.73% copper, 0.23 gram
gold, 45.5 grams silver and 401 ppm molybdenum starting from 853 metres in CB-22-96.
Doré Copper Mining has a market cap of $19.8 million.
n LITHIUM CHILE
Calgary-based Lithium Chile (TSXV: LITH; US-OTC: LTMCF) has a lithium property portfolio consisting of 1,119.8 sq. km covering sections of 11 salars and 1 laguna complex in Chile and 208 sq. km in Argentina. Its flagship lithium project, Salar de Arizaro, in northern Argentina’s Salta province, has total indicated resources of 1.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at a grade of 284 mg per litre and inferred resources of 1.2 million tonnes at a grade of 310 mg per litre.
In February, Lithium Chile announced it had contracted Ausenco Engineering to complete a preliminary economic assessment for the the project. A Phase 2 development program at Salar de Arizaro is underway, with the results to be included in an updated resource estimate during the first quarter. The program started in June and consists of four exploration holes and three production wells. Samples taken between 360 metres and 450 metres from the diamond drill hole on Argento 2 returned assays as high as 350 mg per litre. The company completed the first two production wells by Oct. 20 and started drilling the third production well (Argento-3) in January.
At the end of December, Lithium Chile submitted a proposal for a joint venture with Remsa, a stateowned mining company in Salta. The proposal envisions developing an additional 50 sq. km on Salar de Arizaro. The two companies signed an MOU for a joint venture in June 2022, and Lithium Chile says the JV should be completed by the end of this year’s first quarter.
Notable projects in Chile include Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Llamara. Near-surface brine samples from the 113-sq.-km Coipassa Salar assayed up to 1,410 mg per litre, and in mid-January, the company added 217 sq. km to Salar de Llamara, bringing it to 355 sq. km and making it the company’s largest project in the country.
In addition to lithium assets, the company has gold, silver and copper properties in Chile.
In August, China’s Chengxin Lithium Group invested over US$34 million into Lithium Chile. But in November, Canada’s federal government ordered Chengxin to divest its stake in the junior for national security reasons.
Lithium Chile has a market cap of $157.9 million.
n LITHIUM IONIC Lithium Ionic (TSX: LTH.V; US-OTC: LTHCF), which began trading on the Toronto Venture Exchange in May 2022, is focused on its 36-sq.-km Itinga project in the Aracuai lithium province of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The project is about 25 km east of the town of Aracuai and 594 km northeast of the city of Belo Horizonte.
The company is operating six
drill rigs in a 30,000-metre drill program and is targeting near-surface mineralization associated with a 1.3-km lithium soil anomaly at its Bandeira target, about 800 metres south of the CBL lithium mine. The privately owned mine has been
in production since 1993 and pro-
duces lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.
Lithium Ionic plans to release its first resource estimate on Itinga early this year.
Highlights from drilling at its
Bandeira target released on Jan. 24 included 1.59% lithium oxide (Li2O) over 9.6 metres in drillhole ITDD-22-039; and 1.27% (Li2O) over 10 metres in ITDD-22-023. Other notable intercepts included 1.95% (Li2O) over 1.6 metres in ITDD-22-032 and 1.61% (Li2O) over 4.7 metres in ITDD-22-038.
The Toronto-based company noted that it has identified a mineralized trend of over 1 km at Bandeira with at least six different spodumene-bearing pegmatite bodies that remain open in all directions.
In September, Lithium Ionic completed the acquisition of the Galvani claims, 3 km northwest of the CBL mine and 2 km west of Sigma Lithium’s (TSXV: SGML; NASDAQ: SGML) Xuxa deposit. Drill results from Galvani include 1.98% (Li2O) over 25.6 metres in hole ARDD-22-030; 1.53% (Li2O) over 46.2 metres in ARDD-22-021; and 1.71% (Li2O) over 22 metres in ARDD-22-05.
Metallurgical results have demonstrated lithium recoveries of 77.99% at Bandeira and 82.52% for Galvani. The results were achieved with heavy liquid separation (HLS) gravity separation tests, producing a lithium concentrate of 6%.
In January, Lithium Ionic signed an agreement to earn up to a 100% interest in Vale Litio, which holds three claims covering 31.4 sq. km. One of the three claims is adjacent to Galvani and has spodumene-rich pegmatites identified in old workings and outcrops.
That deal followed an agreement in December to acquire from Mineracao Borges Ltd. three claims spanning about 15.3 sq. km along trend of the CBL mine and Sigma Lithium’s Xuxa and Barreiro deposits.
Its latest acquisition in Minas Gerais on Feb. 13 — the 10-sq.-km Clesio claims — brings its total land position to about 77 sq. km, a six-fold increase from the 13 sq. km it launched with in May 2022. Lithium Ionic has a $331.6-million market cap.
n NGEX MINERALS
NGEx Minerals (TSXV: NGEX) owns copper and gold projects in Chile and Argentina and is part of the Lundin Group of companies. Its Los Helados copper-gold porphyry deposit in Chile is about 135 km southeast of Copiapo in the Vicuna district. NGEx owns
See BASE & BATTERY METALS SNAPSHOT / 48
69% and is the operator, and Nippon Caserones Resources owns the remaining 31%. (Nippon owns the Caserones open pit copper mine, 15 km north of Los Helados.)
The Vancouver-headquartered firm discovered the deposit in 2008 and according to its most recent resource estimate in 2019, Los Helados contains indicated resources of 2.1 billion tonnes grading 0.38% copper, 0.15 gram gold per tonne and 1.37 grams silver for 17.6 billion lb. copper, 10.1 million oz. gold and 92.5 million oz. silver. Inferred resources add 827 million tonnes averaging 0.32% copper, 0.1 gram gold, and 1.32 grams silver for 5.8 billion lb. copper, 2.7 million oz. gold, and 35.1 million oz. silver.
In January, NGEx released assays from Los Helados including 122.1 metres grading 0.94% copper, 0.14 gram gold, and 2.7 grams silver (1.05% copper-equivalent) starting from 884 metres downhole in drill hole LHDH083. Hole LHDH079 included a 256.9-metre interval of 0.54% copper, 0.16 gram gold, and 2.6 grams silver (0.65% copper-equivalent) from 676 metres.
In Argentina NGEx holds the Potro Cliffs and Valle Ancho projects. It kicked off its first drill program at Potro Cliffs on Jan. 9. The project, also in the Vicuna district, is in Argentina’s San Juan province, about 10 km south of Los Helados and 7 km north of Filo Mining’s (TSX: FIL; US-OTC: FLMMF) Filo del Sol project. (Filo Mining is also part of the Lundin Goup.)
Two holes will be drilled initially, one from the plateau at the top of the cliff and another collared in the valley about 700 metres below.
Valle Ancho is in Argentina’s Catamarca province and covers about 1,000 sq. km of ground.
Last May, NGEx reported drill results from the final six holes of its eight-hole (3,060 metre) program. Highlights included 596.5 metres grading 0.23% copper, 0.37 gram gold and 1.4 grams silver (0.50% copper-equivalent) from 4 metres in drill hole VADH003; and 271 metres of 0.12% copper, 0.26 gram gold and 1.5 grams silver (0.32% copper-equivalent) from surface in VADH005.
NGEx Minerals has a market cap of $545.7 million.
n NEXTSOURCE MATERIALS
Toronto-based NextSource Materials (TSX: NEXT; US-OTC: NSRCF) reached a big milestone at its Molo large-flake graphite project in southern Madagascar, in February, reporting it had finished construction of the processing plant and mining camp. The company expects to start commercial production following plant commissioning and a three-month ramp-up period.
Phase 1 of the Molo open pit project is fully funded and when commissioned, it will become one of the few graphite mines outside of China. Molo is located 220 km from the deep-water Port of Ehoala at Fort Dauphin.
An updated feasibility study released in September 2019 outlined a phased development approach. In the first phase, 17,000 tonnes of flake graphite will be produced annually from 240,000 tonnes of processed ore per year over the first two years. A second phase beginning in year three will produce 45,000 tonnes per year. The study outlined a mine life of 30 years and initial capex for phase one of US$21 million and phase two of US$39.1 million.
The company has a 10-year offtake agreement for 20,000 tonnes per year of SuperFlake graphite with an undisclosed Japanese trading company, which NextSource describes as a major supplier of flake graphite to Japan’s largest battery processor and manufacturer of graphite anode material in lithium-ion batteries.
NextSource also has signed an offtake agreement with Thyssenkrupp Materials Trading of Germany to supply up to 35,000 tonnes per year of its branded SuperFlake graphite products.
The company has a binding agreement to build and operate a battery anode facility to produce spheronized and purified graphite (SPG) used in lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The agreement is a partnership
with two companies that process and supply SPG to Japanese anode and battery makers and are part of Tesla’s supply chain.
Former Xstrata boss Sir Mick Davis is the company’s chairman. His investment vehicle, Vision Blue Resources, endorsed the Molo project in February 2021 with a US$29.5 million investment.
Last year, CrossBoundary Energy’s Madagascar subsidiary started building a solar thermal hybrid energy power plant that will power Phase 1. The plant will provide up to 33% of the mine’s total Phase 1 electricity needs from solar energy, with the remainder coming from thermal generators.
Early last year, the company completed a PEA for a Phase 2 expansion consisting of a standalone processing plant with a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year of flake graphite concentrate over a 26-year mine life. The plant could be built for an initial capex of US$155.8 million, including a US$32-million contingency.
Molo contains 100.4 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 6.3% carbon (graphite) for 6.3 million tonnes of graphite. Inferred resources come to 40.9 million tonnes grading 5.8% carbon for 2.4 million tonnes of graphite.
NextSource Materials has a market cap of $333.9 million.
n PREMIUM NICKEL RESOURCES
Toronto-based Premium Nickel Resources (TSXV: PNRL; US-OTC:
PNRLF) has nickel-cobalt-copper and PGM projects in Botswana, Greenland and Canada.
In Botswana, it has two projects situated about 75 km apart — the past-producing Selebi nickel-copper-cobalt mine, about 410 km northeast of the capital Gaborone, and the past-producing Selkirk nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group elements mine, to the north of Selebi.
The Selebi mine had two separate shafts (Selebi and Selebi North) situated about 6 km apart. Mining started in 1980 and ended in 2016, when the operations were placed on care and maintenance due to a failure in the off-site Phikwe processing facility.
Premium Nickel acquired the Selebi project in January 2022 and is exploring what potential remains in the Selebi North and Selebi Main deposits. It completed an initial drill program of 15,074 metres in January and said the results, along with borehole electromagnetics, “have provided significant evidence that Selebi and Selebi North deposits are part of one large mineralized system” and that the mineralization “is present in at least two mineralized amphibolite hosted horizons…”
Last month, the company reported additional assay results from Selebi, with highlights of 16.7 metres grading 1% nickel, 2.05% copper and 0.04% cobalt (1.72% nickel-equivalent) starting from 1,203 metres in drill hole SMD-22009a, including a 9.4-metre interval of 1.34% nickel, 3.01% copper,
and 0.05% cobalt (2.39% copperequivalent).
At Selkirk, Premium Nickel is evaluating the past-producer as an independent and modern operation with processing and tailings management facilities. According to the company, Anglo American high-graded Selkirk’s nickel-copper veins and produced about 1 million tonnes grading 2.6% nickel and 1.5% copper between 1989 and 2002. An NI 43-101 compliant resource in 2007 outlined 6 million indicated tonnes grading 1.06% nickel and 0.36% copper.
Assays from historic core samples released in August included 139.5 metres grading 0.46% nickel, 0.54% copper, 0.03% cobalt, 0.21 gram platinum per tonne, 0.89 gram palladium and 0.09 gram gold.
In Greenland, the company’s Maniitsoq project, about 125 km north of the capital Nuuk, is centred on high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt-precious metal sulphide occurrences associated with the Greenland Norite Belt.
Premium Nickel also owns the Post Creek and Halcyon projects, 35 km northeast of Sudbury, Ont. The properties are about 2 km northeast of KGHM International’s past-producing Podolsky mine.
In February, Premium Nickel closed a brokered private placement of up to 4.4 million common shares at $1.75 per share for gross proceeds of $7.8 million. It had targeted raising up to $27 million in the best-efforts financing.
Premium Nickel Resources has a market cap of $196.9 million. TNM
SOUTH AMERICA | Study pegs output at 183,000 tonnes copper year over first 8 years of 26-year life
BY JACKSON CHENLos Andes Copper (TSXV: LA; US-OTC: LSANF) has completed a positive prefeasibility study for its 100% owned Vizcachitas project in Chile, highlighted by a US$2.8-billion post-tax net present value using an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 24%.
The economics were calculated using metals prices of US$3.68 per lb. for copper, US$12.9 per lb. for molybdenum and US$21.79 per oz. for silver.
Preproduction capital costs for Vizcachitas are pegged at US$2.4 billion, with a construction period of 3.3 years. This is expected to be paid back 2.5 years from initial production.
The initial life of mine is 26 years, during which Vizcachitas is expected to produce 8.8 billion lb. copper, 273.3 million lb. molybdenum and 32.7 million oz. silver, with average annual copper production of approximately 183,000 tonnes for the first eight years.
The production is based on updated proven and probable reserves of 1.2 billion tonnes grading 0.36% copper, 136 ppm molyb-
denum and 1.1 grams silver per tonne (0.41% copper equivalent).
Santiago Montt, Los Andes Copper’s CEO, said the study shows that Vizcachitas is “clearly a Tier 1 asset that has the potential to join the ranks as one of the largest and most profitable copper mines in Chile.”
“The new mine design incorpo-
rates a number of optimizations including expanding access works, allowing for a faster ramp-up of production and minimizing uphill material movement and haulage distances. This has reduced the opex and led to a shorter payback further strengthening the economics of the project,” he added.
Located within the Andes Mountains in the province of San Felipe, about 150 km northeast of Santiago, Vizcachitas represents a world-class porphyry copper deposit and one of the largest of its kind not controlled by the majors in the Americas.
Los Andes was ordered to halt
exploration last March after an environmental court ruling related to the project’s potential effects on the habitat of the vizcachitas — a rodent that’s a food source for the threatened Andean cat. The company resumed its program in the fall, after a July court ruling that allowed drilling with some conditions and restrictions.
Los Andes reported a 16% rise in measured and indicated resources to 13 billion lb. copper, 526 million lb. molybdenum, 54 million oz. silver in 1.5 billion tonnes grading 0.383% copper, 155 ppm molybdenum, 1.1 grams silver per tonne (or 0.436% copper equivalent).
Inferred resources also increased by 130% since a 2019 preliminary economic assessment to 13.7 billion lb. copper, 495 million lb. molybdenum, 55 million oz. silver in 1.8 billion tonnes grading 0.342% copper, 123 ppm molybdenum, and 0.9 gram silver (0.384% copper equivalent).
Montt said the project is “economically robust with the potential for considerable upside” through further drilling to upgrade inferred resources and bring them into the mine plan. TNM
Lithium Royalty, a Toronto-based investor in battery metal producers, is planning to list on the city’s stock exchange to raise capital as it considers opportunities in Quebec for the fast-growing industry.
The initial public offering (IPO) could be valued at $150 million, one of the five largest for the TSX in the past year, according to a report in late February in The Globe and Mail citing unnamed banking sources. Lithium Royalty didn’t reply to a phone call and email seeking comment by press time.
The company filed papers to the TSX, but when the IPO would be held, the price and number of shares were unclear. The capital raised is to be invested in North American hard rock lithium projects including in Quebec, the Globe said, citing the offer prospectus.
CEO Ernie Ortiz, who ran battery investments at Tide Point Capital Management in Greenwich, Conn., co-founded the company in 2018 with Blair Levinsky, CEO of Waratah Capital Advisors, and Mark Welling of GMP Securities.
They’ve raised some $130 million and invested in 27 projects in seven countries so far. They include two lithium mines in Australia (including Allkem’s [TSX: AKE; ASX: AKE] Mt. Cattlin) and three being built in Argentina and Brazil (including Sigma Lithium’s [TSXV: SGML] Grota do Cirilo), as well as many earlier stage projects. The company more than doubled net income to $10.2 million in the first nine months of 2022 compared with $5 million in the same period a year earlier, according to the Globe Quebec is being targeted by several miners and developers for
hard-rock lithium projects as the province attempts to rival Nevada’s developments, which use the different lithium brine process, and shorten delivery routes to automakers. Last month the federal government approved the James Bay open pit spodumene lithium project by Galaxy Resources, a part of Allkem. Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) is planning to restart its North American Lithium operations within days and Patriot Battery Metals (TSXV: PMET; ASX: PMT) is among companies exploring the province.
General Motors said in January it would invest US$650 million in Lithium Americas’ (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) US$2-billion Thacker Pass project in Nevada while American Lithium (TSXV: LI; NASDAQ: AMLI) said its Tonopah project northwest of Las Vegas could operate at globally low costs.
Closer to Quebec, automaker Stellantis and LG Energy Solution said nearly a year ago they would invest more than $5 billion to build a battery plant in Windsor, Ont., across the border bridge from the automaker nexus of Detroit.
Lithium Royalty will be adopting a model popularized by precious metals royalty and streaming companies, investing in projects to earn a stream of metal production or a cut of revenue.
“Revenue royalties offer attractive leverage to the underlying commodity’s price and volumes without exposure to capital costs and operating cost inflation or equity dilution,” Lithium Royalty says on its website.
“Royalty and streaming companies benefit from attractive valuations given the scalability of the operations, high margins, and focus on cash flow. Battery
demand is set to surge over the next decade and royalties offer compelling risk-adjusted returns.”
While the price of lithium slipped from a high in November on slackening demand in China, the Asian country is expected to increase demand as it removes pandemic restrictions this year. Longer term, analysts predict the demand for the critical mineral will likely outstrip supplies for years as the world transitions to greener energy.
Battery grade lithium carbonate was selling for US$62,925 a tonne at press time, up from US$60,600 a year ago, according to The Wall St. Journal Canada, the United States and other Western countries have begun funding exploration and development of battery metals at an unprecedented rate to challenge China’s dominance in the
industry. Some analysts say it controls 80% of the market in the metals needed for a new economy less reliant on fossil fuels. TNM
NICKEL From 39 large quantities of “dirty nickel” and reliant on Chinese supply of said nickel, or the existing, undeveloped projects with superior environmental footprints, but smaller returns on investment, get financed. Of course, Western investors don’t like marginal economics, and China is reluctant to finance them because said projects are sitting in North America. And so we continue moving towards an inevitable crunch time when decisions will have to be made.
In the meantime, whatever
route is taken, we are still going to see an extended period of Class I nickel shortage until China’s nickel giants finish rolling out their Class II to Class I refining processes. TNM
—Anthony Milewski is the co-founder of The Oregon Group research house and the chairman of Nickel 28 Capital Corp. (TSXV: NKL). The company has an 8.6% joint-venture interest in the Ramu nickel-cobalt operation in Papua New Guinea. In addition, it has a portfolio of 13 nickel and cobalt royalties on projects in Canada, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.
When it comes to JapanCanada trade, Canadian companies tend to sell mineral resources to the east Asian country rather than mine them there.
But a small number of Canadian explorers are going against that grain in their search for Japan’s best kept secret: its array of high-grade gold prospects accessible by top notch infrastructure and in a geopolitically stable environment.
Vancouver-based explorers Japan Gold (TSXV: JG) and Irving Resources (CSE: IRV) together have more than 40 pre-resource projects on Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu islands where strong past production indicates potential for economic deposits.
Their entry into Japan was made possible after the Japanese government in 2012 amended its mining law to kickstart gold mining, an industry that was mostly dormant since 1943 when gold mines were closed during the Second World War.
The country today has only one producing gold mine — Sumitomo Metal Mining’s high-grade Hishikari mine on Kyushu which has produced about 9 million oz. of the yellow metal since 1985 at head grades of about 20 grams gold per tonne.
Almost a decade ago, John Proust, a resource industry veteran and currently CEO of Japan Gold, was searching the world for a new mining opportunity.
“My mandate was: high grade gold in a safe geopolitical jurisdiction that was respectful of foreign investment,” Proust told The Northern Miner. “We did due diligence on many ideas, and one of them was that Japan had just changed the mining law. It was luck and timing that we got to Japan when we did.”
Japan Gold began its work there in 2014, becoming the first foreign explorer to apply for prospecting rights.
All of its 32 projects sit on 47 closed gold mines, in areas with low-sulphidation epithermal mineralization.
“Our idea isn’t to reopen a little old gold mine,” Proust said. “To me these mines are indications there’s gold in the system and they vary from a very small operation to
larger operations where there was a gold rush with lots of people.”
And because most historical mining in Japan stopped decades before the advent of modern geochemistry, geophysics and engineering, many of the epithermal veins deeper than 100 metres weren’t explored.
One of the benefits of applying geophysics to the historic mines is it helped Japan Gold, under its ‘Barrick Alliance’ joint venture with Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) secure six projects that the gold giant would solely fund as they advance to a three-year evaluation phase of geophysics, drilling and assaying. The JV was formed in 2020 and covers most of the junior’s projects, though Japan Gold acts as manager of each one, subject to Barrick’s right to become manager at any time.
Barrick rival Newmont (TSX: NGT) holds a 10% interest in Japan Gold.
To seal the JV deal with Barrick, Japan Gold showed the gold major its geophysical studies across 2,100 sq. km revealing that almost all historic mines in the country are adjacent to gravity highs, where older basement rocks have pushed up through younger volcanic rock, Proust said. Results from geochem-
istry studies on waterways and rock samples using bulk leach gold analysis (BLEG) revealed anomalous gold areas intersected with those highs, indicating areas of prospectivity.
Barrick decided last summer that the six projects (three on Hokkaido, two on Kyushu and one on Honshu) could host tier-one or tier-two orebodies — defined respectively as 5 million oz. or more and with a potential production of 500,000 oz. a year for at least 10 years; or 3 million oz. or more, with production of 300,000 oz. a year for 10 years or more. There are two other project areas in Hokkaido and Kyushu that Barrick might later add to the second evaluation phase.
Another 23 of Japan Gold’s projects weren’t advanced by Barrick because they didn’t meet its criteria, though they remain in the Alliance.
Proust notes that the major still funded those projects’ initial evaluations and the junior can keep that information for use with other possible joint ventures. Four of those projects have been chosen for geophysical surveying and up to 6,000 metres of drilling in 2023.
Japan Gold’s two, 100%-owned projects are Ikutahara on Hokkaido, which covers 20 historic gold mines, and Ohra-Takamine on Kyushu, near Hishikari. They’re
outside of the Alliance and Newmont has a right of first refusal to become a partner in them.
Drilling at Ikutahara’s Saroma prospect last summer returned high-grade silver results with gold mineralization, the company reported in December. Ikutahara is the company’s most advanced project and is located about 250 km northeast of the prefectural capital of Sapporo.
Highlights include 1.05 metres grading 1.3 grams gold per tonne and 1,449.5 grams silver from 90.5 metres in hole IKDD22-012; and 3.1 metres at 0.4 gram gold and 475.7 grams silver from 104.75 metres in hole IKDD22-009.
But Japan Gold has faced challenges working in the Asian country, especially with its drilling capacity, most of which is channelled into the government-subsided geothermal industry, Proust says.
“There hasn’t been much exploration with diamond core drilling. The equipment is antiquated, and the skillset isn’t focussed on that,” he said. “We tried Japanese drillers at first but it wasn’t cost effective. So I decided we would put our own drilling division together.”
The explorer purchased and imported four rigs into the country. After negotiations with the government and the creation of a special driller visa category, Japan Gold brought in 26 workers from Indonesia to work the drills.
Proust acknowledges his company has no timeline towards a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) or prefeasibility study, and is for now focusing on evaluating the most prospective areas.
“Barrick has picked projects with potential, so now they’ll have drilling and advanced geophysics, that’ll help us advance them to PEAs,” he said.
In the first quarter of 2023, the company plans to start drilling three holes of up to 2,100 metres on the Mizobe property, and conduct geochemical surveying to define drill targets at Ebino, the two Barrick JV projected located on Kyushu.
At Ikutahara this year, BLEG sampling and controlled source audio-frequency magnetotellurics (CSAMT) are aimed at advancing prospects with drill targets and setting new prospects for possible drilling in 2024.
Hoping for future Hishikaris
Irving Resources CEO Akiko Levinson, worked for many years in mining in Africa, and it was relatively recently that she turned her attention to exploring in Japan. Levinson divides her time between Vancouver and Japan, where she is a citizen.
Several years ago, looking at the conditions and grade at Hishikari, she realized “there can’t be just one” like it in the country.
“The more we’ve been exploring in Japan we feel there’s opportunity to have another Hishikari… or a chance to have another sizable gold mine using today’s technology,” she said.
Levinson formed Irving in 2015, spinning it out of Gold Canyon Resources which had a rare earths exploration joint venture in Malawi with the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).
“It really made sense because of our history in Africa in JOGMEC and I know the Japanese government and mining companies,” she said. “And people in general have been very helpful in Japan. I think we’ve been very fortunate.”
The company is focused on identifying high-silica and high-grade epithermal gold-silver veins that could yield smelter flux — a purifying agent — for use in Japan’s base metal smelters. According to Irving, Hishikari ships its ore to copper smelters, which use the flux and recover gold and silver in the refining process.
Most of Irving’s 10 exploration projects are on Hokkaido, with its lead project being the 171.4-sq.-km Omu, consisting of the Omui, Hokuryu and Omu Sinter targets hosting high-grade epithermal gold and silver veins. Omu is located 200 km northeast of Sapporo.
Yamagano, just southwest of Hishikari on Kyushu is its next main focus. Like Japan Gold, most of Irving’s projects sit on or near historic gold mines.
Diamond drilling last November at Hokuryu intersected high-grade gold-silver veins, Irving said in a news release.
Highlights from hole HKR-001 include 0.4 metre grading 3.12 grams gold and 469 grams silver per tonne from 266.5 metres depth, 1.7 metres grading 4.27 grams gold
From Botswana to Ecuador, Spain and Jamaica – it may sound like a travel destination bucket list, but these are just some of the places these eight juniors are exploring for precious, base and energy metals.
Aurania Resources (TSXV: ARU; US-OTC: AUIAF) claims to have discovered the “lost city” of Logrono de los Caballeros, a historic gold camp from the time of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th and 17th centuries. The site containing alluvial gold is along the Rio Santiago downstream of Aurania’s 2,078-sq.-km Lost Cities-Cutucu project in southeastern Ecuador, where it hopes to find the source of the gold.
Logrono de los Caballeros, one of seven gold mines in the area that were mined by the Spanish, was abandoned in 1603 after an epidemic that killed most of the native workers.
The Toronto-based exploration company is led by Keith Barron, who is credited with Aurelian Resources’ Fruta del Norte gold discovery in 2006, 100 km south of Aurania’s Lost Cities-Cutucu project. Aurelian sold Fruta del Norte to Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) for $1.2 billion in 2008. The property is now being mined by Lundin Gold (TSX: LUG).
The discovery of Logrono de los Caballeros was facilitated by Metron Inc. of Reston, Va., which used Bayesian search theory and a combination of historical, geological, geochemical and geophysical data to generate probability maps for pinpointing the target. The historical data included historical records and maps from the Apostolic Library of the Vatican, the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain, and other sources.
Bayesian theory was previously used in 1988 to discover the location of the SS Central America, a ship that capsized in a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina with $1 billion worth of gold in 1857.
Aurania is also exploring for copper at its Tatasham porphyry target near the western margin of its Lost Cities – Cutucu concession area and conducting a four-hole drill program to test the largest geophysical feature identified in an earlier airborne geophysical survey. The company was still waiting for assay results from the first two holes at press time.
In December, Aurania closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $1.9 million to fund its exploration activities.
Aurania Resources has a market capitalization of $41 million.
n C3 METALS
Toronto-based C3 Metals (TSXV: CCCM; US-OTC: CUAUF) has reported positive results from a recently completed 73-hole, 20,070-metre drill program at its 268-sq.-km Jasperoide copper-gold project in southern Peru.
The two-phase drill program defined a 650-metre-long skarn body in the project’s Montana de
Cobre zone including one intersection of 63.9 metres at 1.19% copper from 58.8 metres below surface.
Jasperoide is located in Peru’s prolific, high-grade Andahuaylas-Yauri porphyry-skarn belt, 35 km north of Hudbay Minerals’ (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) Pampacancha and Constancia mines and 40 km east of Chinese controlled MMG’s Las Bambas mine.
In a press release in November,
C3 Metals’ president and CEO Dan Symons noted that the Montana de Cobre zone has been drilled at roughly 50-metre spacings over about 90% of the skarn target.
Drilling has confirmed that copper grades increase significantly at depths below 50 to 75 metres, with one hole returning 20.1 metres of 5.83% copper and 0.87 gram gold per tonne from 96.3 metres depth.
Next steps include metallurgy testing on the different material types within the oxide skarn body at the Montana de Cobre zone to evaluate recoveries, acid consumption and the characteristics of the copper and gold mineralization.
C3 Metals also has five mineral exploration licences covering 207 sq. km of highly prospective copper-gold terrain along Jamaica’s
Crawl River Fault zone. In November, the company announced it had intersected multiple zones of porphyry and epithermal style copper-gold-silver mineralization in drilling at its Bellas Gate project. As of late January, the company was awaiting results from a 25-hole, 5,000-metre diamond drill program at its nearby Arthur’s Seat project, where rock chip assays of up to 58.1 grams gold per tonne, 16.5% copper and 4,890 grams silver were previously reported. At its Main Ridge project, 15 km west of Arthur’s Seat, the company confirmed multi-
ple gold targets in January, and reported rock chip assays of up to 35.8 grams gold per tonne from a mapping and sampling program.
C3 Metals also has a 2% royalty interest in Cascade Copper’s Rogers Creek copper-gold project 90 km northeast of Vancouver.
C3 Metals has a market capitalization of $30 million.
n CLEAN TECH LITHIUM
A scoping study released in January by Clean Tech Lithium (LSE:
CTL) for its Laguna Verde project in Chile estimates annual production of 20,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate and a mine life of 30 years. Located in the Chilean slice of South America’s Lithium Triangle, the property is adjacent to a paved highway and about 352 km east of the Chilean port of Caldera.
A resource estimate of 1.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), more than half of in the measured and indicated categories, was based on a well drilling program encountering grades averaging 206 mg per litre and as high as 409 mg per litre at depth.
The scoping study estimated a capital cost of $383.6 million, an after tax net present value (NPV) of US$1.8 billion, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 45.1% and a payback period of less than two years. The company hopes to be in production by late 2025 using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, which allows for the extraction of lithium from the brine without the need for evaporation. Sourced from SunResin New Materials of China, the technology separates the lithium from the brine without depleting the aquifer.
A prefeasibility study is underway and scheduled for completion in the second half of this year.
Clean Tech Lithium has two additional lithium properties in Chile: the Francisco Basin project located 100 kilometres south of Laguna Verde, and the Llamara project much further south.
The Francisco Basin project has an inferred resource of 500,000
tonnes of LCE and an average grade of 305 mg per litre based on 34 brine samples collected from the aquifer zone.
The company announced the receipt of exploration licences for its greenfield Llamara project on Feb. 2 along with plans to begin a drill program on the 344-sq.-km property by the end of the month.
It also plans to list on the Australian Stock Exchange.
CleanTech Lithium has a market capitalization of £74 million.
n DENARIUS METALS
Denarius Metals (TSXV: DSLV; US-OTC: DNRSF) announced an $8.3-million rights offering in January to explore at its 100%-owned Lomero-Poyatos polymetallic project in Spain’s Iberian Pyrite Belt.
The Toronto-based junior intends to use the funds for drilling, with the aim of completing an updated resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Lomero-Poyatos.
A September 2022 initial estimate gives an inferred resource of 10.6 million tonnes grading 0.45% copper, 1.02% zinc, 0.41% lead, 21 grams silver per tonne and 2 grams gold, containing 48,000 tonnes of copper, 109,000 tonnes of zinc, 44,000 tonnes of lead, 7.4 million oz. of silver and 700,000 oz. of gold. The estimate was based on assay results from an 83-hole, 26,000metre drill program completed last year.
The Lomero-Poyotas deposit
is located in the northeast part of the pyrite belt, which extends 230 km from Seville in southern Spain to the Atlantic coast south of Lisbon and is reputed to be the largest concentration of massive sulphides in the world.
In November, Denarius extended its focus on Spain by entering into a definitive option agreement with Europa Metals (AIM: EUZ)
to acquire up to an 80% interest in Europa subsidiary Europa Metals Iberia, which holds the Toral zinc-lead-silver project in northern Spain.
Denarius can earn 51% ownership of Toral by spending US$4 million on exploration over a three-year period, completing a PEA, and applying for a mining licence by July 31, 2023. The option to acquire an additional 29% equity interest is conditional on Denarius delivering a prefeasibility study and making a cash payment of US$2 million to Europa within a 12-month period following the closing of the first option.
Denarius is also active in Colombia, where it recently completed an initial drill program of 37 holes totalling 6,699 metres at its Guia Antigua silver-gold project and has started work on a resource estimate for its Zancudo gold project.
Denarius Metals has a market capitalization of $9.8 million.
n EMERGENT METALS
In January, Emergent Metals (TSXV: EMR, US-OTC: EGMCF) announced the discovery of a new porphyry and skarn exploration target by joint venture partner Kennecott Exploration, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO), at its New York Canyon property in Nevada.
The New York Canyon property, located 48 km southeast of Hawthorne, Nev., consists of two nearby blocks of claims with historical resources of copper, molybdenum and zinc, as well as gold and silver. The new target, called Emma, is located in Emergent’s north block of claims 1.6 km south of the historic Santa Fe Mine, which produced 345,499 oz. of gold and 710,629 oz. of silver from 1989 to 1995. Three other known porphyry and skarn targets are located in Emergent’s south block of claims.
Emergent signed an earn-in agreement in February 2020 giving Kennecott an option to earn up to a 75% interest in the property in return for exploration spending of US$22.5 million.
Kennecott, which spent US$5.2 million on the property by year-end 2022, plans to test the Emma porphyry-skarn target with a 700-metre drill hole this quarter, with further drilling during the remainder of the year depending on assay results. Drilling is also planned in the south block of claims to test the possible extension of copper mineralization at its Copper Queen target.
New York Canyon is one of 10 properties in the Emergent portfolio, six of which are located in Nevada. The remaining four properties, including Casa South, adjacent to Hecla Mining’s Casa Berardi gold mine, are located in Quebec. In January, the company reported it hit visible gold in two of five initial holes drilled at its Tre-
cession project in Quebec.
Emergent’s business model is based on applying modern geophysics and other advanced exploration methodologies to undervalued assets, and monetizing them through joint ventures, option agreements, outright sales and other business transactions.
Emergent Metals has a market capitalization of $5.2 million.
n GLOBAL ATOMIC CORP.
Global Atomic Corp. (TSX: GLO; US-OTC: GLATF) is planning to complete project financing for its Dasa uranium project in the Republic of Niger by the end of the second quarter.
The fully permitted Dasa project “is the highest-grade uranium deposit currently under development in Africa and is expected
Global Atomic had planned to close a public offering for $100 million in mid-February, however, it decided to delay the financing after a court ordered its local subsidiary to cease exploration activities that same month. The court also issued an order related to Dasa’s 2020 environmental and social impact assessment. Global Atomic appealed the orders and on Feb. 24 announced the Appeals Court had ruled in its favour. The company says the groups that sought the order have been lobbying the government on several issues, including how it uses royalty revenue to the price of onions, and said that the government was the intended target.
The company is continuing talks on the debt portion of project financing and expects to release news later this quarter.
Global Atomic hopes to begin extracting uranium bearing ore by the end of this year. A 2021 feasibility study pegged initial capital costs at $208 million.
A 2019 report outlined a combined open pit and underground indicated resource of 101.6 million lb. of eU₃0₈ in 26.3 million tonnes grading 1,752 parts per million (ppm), and an inferred total resource of 87.6 million lb. of eU₃0₈ in 22.3 million tonnes grading 1,781 ppm.
However, Global Atomic expects assay results from a recent 16,000-metre drill program to upgrade a significant amount of inferred resources to the measured and indicated categories.
The Dasa feasibility study outlined a 12-year mine life representing approximately 20% of the known deposit, with a total capital cost of US$345 million.
The company plans to begin plant construction before the end of the second quarter, but in the meantime it has a memorandum of understanding with Orano Mining to process uranium ore at a plant 135 km north near Arlit.
In addition to Dasa, Global Atomic owns a 49% stake in the Befesa Silvermet Turkey joint venture, which recovers zinc from electric arc furnace dust to produce a high-grade zinc oxide concentrate in Turkey.
Global Atomic has a market capitalization of $523.5 million.
n GOLCONDA GOLD
to be in the lowest cost quartile among global uranium mines,” said president and CEO Stephen G. Roman in a release.
The company signed a definitive agreement with a major Western utility in January for the supply of up to 2.4 million lb. of U₃0₈ within a multi-year delivery window beginning in 2025 for a value of US$140 million.
Golconda Gold (TSXV: GG; US-OTC: GGGOF), formerly Galane Gold, celebrated 2022 as a transformative year for the company. In May it completed the sale of its Mupane gold mine in Botswana, removing US$17.3 million of liabilities from its balance sheet and allowing management to focus on its two other projects: the Galaxy gold property in South Africa and its Summit mine and Banner mill operations in New
SNAPSHOT From 54
Mexico.
Acquired in November 2015 and located 45 km west of Nelspruit, the capital of Mpumalanga province, Galaxy is one of the oldest mining operations in South Africa. Golconda resumed production in 2019 and last year produced 9,979 oz. of gold, a 20% increase over 2021 production. Galaxy was discovered in 1888, consists of 21 orebodies covering 58.6 sq. km and includes a refurbished 15,000-tonne-per-month crush, mill and float plant.
Toronto-based Golconda acquired the Summit mine in New Mexico’s Steeple Rock mining district and the 240-ton-per-day Banner Mill 57 miles away in 2021. Discovered in the 1800s, Summit was last mined in 2013 and has been on care and maintenance since then.
In June, the company released an updated PEA for Summit estimating a seven-year mine life, average annual production of 9,500 oz. of gold and 440,000 oz. of silver, and life-of-mine capital costs of US$13.4 million. The study projected payback in 26 months and all-in sustaining cash costs of US$864 per oz. of gold.
Summit is accessed via a decline and has 15,000 feet of underground workings from previous operations. The company estimates a capex requirement of US$4.1 million to restart production with all key permits already in place.
Golconda Gold has a market capitalization of $22.8 million.
n LEO LITHIUM
Leo Lithium (ASX: LLL) reports that construction of its Goulamina lithium project in Mali is on schedule for first production of spodumene concentrate in the second quarter of 2024.
The project is being developed as a 50:50 joint venture with a subsidiary of the world’s largest lithium chemicals producer by production capacity, Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium of China. Perth, Australia-based Leo Lithium’s Chinese partner is funding the joint venture with US$170 million and has committed to offtake and operational support.
The project comprises a land holding of 100 sq. km in the Bougouni Region of southern Mali, 150 km by road from the country’s capital, Bamako.
A resource definition drilling campaign in last year’s second quarter consisted of 60 reverse-cir-
culation (RC) holes totalling 9,292 metres and 17 diamond drill holes for a further 3,428 metres. The drill program increased resources by 31% to 142.3 million tonnes averaging 1.4% lithium oxide. Additional drilling currently under way is scheduled to result in another mineral resource update in the coming months.
A late 2021 feasibility study
forecast a 23-year mine life for the open pit operation and an aftertax net present value of US$2.9 billion. However, pending mineral resource updates support a possible extension of mining operations, according to management.
Initial annual production is forecast at 506,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year, increasing to 831,000 tonnes by
2025. The total capital cost is US$325 million. Given Mali’s landlocked location, the JV negotiated a 10-year storage and export agreement for use of the Côte d’Ivoire port of Abidjan and plans to secure similar agreements for export of concentrate from Dakar, Senegal or the Ivory Coast port of San-Pedro to mitigate risk.
JAPAN From 51
and 7.55 grams silver from 292.1 metres depth, and 1.2 metres at 6.45 grams gold and 13.22 grams silver from 502.4 metres depth.
Newmont has since 2019 thrown its support behind Irving with US$20.4 million in investments and the issuance of 13.2 million shares of the company, with the most recent coming last July when it announced a $4.4 million investment and 4,577,788 common shares at a price of $1.23 per share. Levinson said the Colorado-based miner is also involved in planning exploration with Irving.
Like Proust, Levinson has had issues with drilling in Japan and has relied on Canadian drillers and some Japanese.
However, the company plans to begin training local drillers, especially as it plans to ramp up activity at Yamagano where it’s targeting an initial drill program for this year.
And, in contrast to its reputation as a high-tech nation, Japan has limited technology for geophysics work, Levinson explained.
“They haven’t done that in Japan for many years. We needed to bring geophysicists in from abroad,” she said. “Originally we had Australians and now we have a Canadian team in Kyushu.”
Also in 2023, Irving plans to resume diamond drilling at Omu, specifically by testing new targets and vein extensions at Omui, as well as follow-up drilling at Omu Sinter and Hokuryu, Irving said in a news release in January.
It has hired Chilean drillers who will work at Yamagano and Omu.
The company believes it can drill year-round moving forward, though Levinson could not comment on how many metres of drilling the company plans for this year.
At press time, Japan Gold shares traded at 23¢, in a 52-week window of 20¢ and 34¢, valuing the company at $53 million.
Irving Resources shares traded at 85¢, in a 52-week span of 63¢ and $1.84, giving it a market capitalization of $61.5 million. TNM
• Underground development began on November 5, 2022 with the Opening Blast Ceremony
• The largest, highest-grade uranium deposit under development in Africa
• Fully-permitted and strongly supported by the government and local communities
• Benefiting from existing infrastructure and a local experienced workforce
• AISC cost of US$22/lb as per the 2021 Feasibility Study
• Economically viable at U308 price of US$35/lb, IRR of 44.4% at price of $50/lb
• Yellowcake deliveries to utilities expected by early 2025
Stocks fell during Feb. 21-24 trading after higher-than-expected U.S. inflation for January of 6.4% a year prompted concerns that central banks would maintain higher interest rates for longer, potentially slowing the economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 296.05 points or 1.4% to 20,219.19. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index decreased 6.01 points or 5.3% to 106.74, and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index fell 9.4 points or 4.7% to 188.97. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index dropped 9.41 points or 3.5% to 261.24, and spot gold ended the week at US$31 per oz. higher, or 1.7%, at US$1,842.20 per ounce.
Americas Gold and Silver slid 11% to 68¢ per share. The company said Feb. 22 it’s targeting a 10% increase in silver-equivalent production this year to 5.5-6 million oz. and to as much as 7 million oz. in 2024 from 5.3 million silver-equivalent oz. last year.
The forecast is based on more output from the higher-grade silver Upper zone of the San Rafael deposit at the Cosalá operations in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, and a year of production from the 3700 level at the Galena complex in northern Idaho. Also, the Galena hoist project is to be completed by the end of June.
“The company’s 2023 guidance and 2024 production outlook is expected to continue to
deliver solid organic production increases,” Americas president and CEO Darren Blasutti said in a ews release.
Signal Gold fell 13% to 30¢ a share. The company said Feb. 16 it’s borrowing up to US$21 million from Nebari Holdings, a Miami-based money manager, to advance the Goldboro project in Nova Scotia. Signal said it’s going to repay the new debt through further project financing by year’s end.
Part of the loan is to be used to update a feasibility study on the Goldboro project. It envisions an 11-year mine producing about 100,000 oz. annually from ore grading 2.3 grams gold per tonne. Last year, Nova Scotia approved the project 175 km northeast of Halifax.
Sabina Gold & Silver, with its Goose gold project in Nunavut, was one of the top climbers by percentage during the period, gaining 20% to $1.58 per share after B2Gold made a US$1.1-billion all-stock acquisition offer on Feb. 13. Some analysts said the offer could be beaten by other suitors.
“We would have expected more of a premium bid given that Sabina is in construc-
tion,” Matthew O’Keefe, a mining analyst for investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, wrote in a note on Feb. 14. “A superior bid may emerge either in response to existing shareholders or from a competitive bid.”
Goose is located about 520 km northeast of Yellowknife, and expected to become Nunavut’s third operating mine in 2025. The other two are run by Agnico Eagle Mines. TNM
The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index retreated by 10.92 points or 1.7% over the holiday-shortened Feb 21-24 trading session, ending at 616.86.
The week’s top value gainer was Sigma Lithium which surged on speculation that Tesla is in takeover talks with the Brazil-focused lithium developer. The stock closed $7.93 higher at $47.77 on Friday following media reports citing unnamed sources that Elon Musk has been “speaking with potential advisers about a bid.” Sigma’s largest shareholder, 46%-owner Brazilian private equity fund A10 Investimentos, was reported to have been exploring the potential for a sale of the company while taking interest from miners and carmakers alike. Discussions with Tesla, meanwhile, are reportedly in the early stages. The Vancouver-based company is developing the Grota do Cirilo property in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, which is said to be the largest lithium hard-rock asset in the Americas. It has been producing battery-grade lithium concentrate at the project since 2018 on a pilot scale, with phase one output forecast at 36,7000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year.
Los Andes Copper was the week’s second-best value performer during a tough market week, adding $1.01 to close at $12.56 on Friday. On Feb. 23, Los Andes reported
the results of a prefeasibility study on its Vizcachitas copper mine in Chile, delivering robust economics that rank it as a Tier 1 asset, according to the company. The new mine design incorporates several optimizations, including expanding access works, allowing for a faster ramp-up of production and minimizing uphill material movement and haulage distances. This has reduced the operating capital component and led to a shorter payback. The technical report highlighted a US$2.8-billion post-tax net present value using an 8% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 24%. Preproduction capital costs for Vizcachitas are pegged at US$2.4 billion, with a construction period of 3.3 years. Located within the Andes Mountains
in the province of San Felipe, about 150 km northeast of Santiago, Vizcachitas represents a world-class porphyry copper deposit and one of the largest of its kind not controlled by the majors in the Americas.
ATAC Resources was the week’s toptraded issue, with 19.8 million shares changing hands. The stock closed the week at 13¢ apiece, up 4¢ or 44%. The company was in
play following an unsolicited takeover offer by Victoria Gold that was later surpassed by Hecla Mining. On Feb. 21, ATAC and Hecla signed a non-binding letter of intent to see the latter acquire the Rackla and Connaught projects in the Yukon. Hecla, the largest silver producer in the U.S., is developing a mine in Yukon’s Keno Hill silver district after acquiring Alexco Resources last year. TNM
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 873.83 points or 2.6% to 32,816.92 during the Feb. 21-24 trading period after the U.S. Commerce Department reported higher-than-expected inflation for January of 6.4%. The S&P 500 dropped 109.05 points or 2.7% to 3,970.04.
Analysts had predicted 6.2% inflation in January following 6.5% in December. The modest drop prompted concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve would maintain higher interest rates for longer.
First Majestic Silver fell 16.5% to US$5.98 per share after the miner reported that fourth-quarter production dropped 14% to 7.6 million oz. of silver-equivalent compared with a year earlier. Inflation, lower silver prices and a stronger Mexican peso also hurt.
Earnings from the company’s mine operations plummeted 84% to US$16.8 million last year from US$101.4 million in 2021.
“Lower than expected production [at Jerritt Canyon was] caused by severe cold weather conditions in northern Nevada which reduced the utilization of the processing plant, limited ore transportation from the West Generator and Saval II mines and created supply chain issues for certain consumables,” Keith Neumeyer, president and CEO said in a release.
Still, First Majestic reported record full-year revenue at US$624.2 million, 7% more than 2021, and record total production of 31.3 million silver-equivalent ounces, a 16% jump.
Teck Resources dropped 12% to US$38.81. Canada’s largest diversified miner said Feb. 21 it was placing its steelmaking-coal business in a separate company — Elk Valley Resources — and would focus on industrial metals such as copper under a new name, Teck Metals.
The restructuring will see Teck distribute shares in Elk Valley to its shareholders and retain an 88% gross revenue royalty from the four mines in B.C. that Elk Valley will hold.
Teck CEO Jonathan Price said the separation allows simplified and tailored strategies for each business. The coal mines have
suffered shortages in supplies, labour, power and good weather.
Teck also said it will phase out over six years the dual-class share structure allowing the Keevil family to control the company.
Rio Tinto lost US$5.54 per share to US$68.69 after reporting that profit dropped 41% to US$12.4 billion in 2022 compared to 2021 because of reduced demand in China.
China, which accounts for more than half of the miner’s revenue, adopted strict Covid-19 policies that stymied business and knocked iron ore and copper prices from record highs achieved in 2021. Earnings from the unit fell by a third.
Rio also slashed its full-year dividend to US$4.92 per share from US$10.40 per share in 2021. TNM
Metal stocks (in tonnes) held in London Metal Exchange warehouses at opening on January 26, 2023 (change from January 19, 2023 in brackets): Aluminum Alloy 1920 (0)
Alio Gold Inc. (ALO.WT) - 10 Warrants to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $7.00 until expiry Alio Gold Inc. J (ALO.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $8.00 until expiry
Aris Gold Corporation (ARIS.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one Common Share of the Issuer at $2.75 until expiry. Aris Gold Corporation (ARIS.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase 0.5 of one Common Share of the Issuer at $2.75 until expiry Aris Gold Corporation (ARIS.WT.B) - One Warrant to purchase of one Common Share of the Issuer at $2.21 until expiry
eCobalt Solutions Inc. J (ECS.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at US$1.95 per share until expiry Excellon Resources Inc (EXN.WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $2.80 until expiry
Excellon Resources Inc. (EXN.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the issuer at $1.40 per share until expiry Excelsior Mining Corp. (MIN.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one Common Share of the Issuer at $1.25 until expiry.
ABE Resources Inc. (ABE.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share.
Alpha Lithium Corporation (ALLI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.10 per share.
Alpha Lithium Corporation (ALLI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.10 per share. American Cumo Mining Corp. (MLY.RT)2 rights and $0.07 are required to purchase one share
American Lithium Corp. (LI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.30 per share.
Antioquia Gold Inc. (AGD.RT) - One (1) Right and $0.042 are required to purchase one share.
Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.RT) - Fourteen (14) Rights exercisable for one common share at $2.70 per common share.
Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $5.50 per share.
Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.25 per share.
Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.WT.B) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.20 per share.
Avidian Gold Corp. (AVG.RT) - Three rights and $0.11 are required to purchase one Share.
Boreal Metals Corp. (BMX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.50 per share.
Boreal Metals Corp. (BMX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.30 per share.
Cabral Gold Inc. (CBR.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share.
Caldas Gold Corp. (CGC.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.75 per share.
Cascadero Copper Corporation (CCD.RT)One right and $0.015 are required to purchase one Share.
Cordoba Minerals Corp (CDB.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.08 per share.
Cordoba Minerals Corp (CDB.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.08 per share.
Cordoba Minerals Corp. (CDB.RT) - One (1) Right exercisable for One (1) Rights Share at $0.05 per Share.
Cordoba Minerals Corp. (CDB.RT) - One right to purchase one common share at $0.54 per share.
Denarius Silver Corp. (DSLV.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share.
Elevation Gold Mining Corporation (ELVT. WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.80 per share.
Elevation Gold Mining Corporation (ELVT.
WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.70 per share.
TSX WARRANTS
Gran Colombia Gold (GCM.WT.B) - One warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $2.21 until expiry.
Karora Resources Inc. (KRR.WT) - One
Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.50 until expiry.
Liberty Gold Corp. Wt (LGD.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.90 until expiry may 16, 2019
Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.WT) - One
Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.90 until expiry
Lydian International Limited (LYD.WT)One Warrant to purchase one additional ordinary share of the Issuer at $0.36 per share until expiry
Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.20 until expiry
Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.WT.A) - One
Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.22 until expiry
Nomad Royalty Company Ltd. (NSR.WT) -
One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $1.71 until expiry.
Novo Resources Corp. (NOVO.WT.A) - One
Warrant to purchase one common share of
TSX VENTURE WARRANTS
Empress Royalty Corp. (EMPR.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.75 per share.
Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $3.00 per share.
Eros Resources Corp. (ERC.WT) - One (1) Right exercisable for (1) Unit at $0.05 per Unit.
Falco Resources Ltd. (FPC.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.70 per share.
Firefox Gold Corp. (FFOX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share.
Firefox Gold Corp. (FFOX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $3.00 per share.
Freeman Gold Corp (FMAN.WT.U) - One warrant to purchase one common share at US$0.65 per share.
Giga Metals Corporation (GIGA.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share.
Giga Metals Corporation (GIGA.WT.A)One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.45 per share.
Giyani Metals Corp. (EMM.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share.
Goldstar Minerals (GDM.RT) - One Right to purchase one common share at $0.03 per share.
Goldstar Minerals Inc. (GDM.RT) - One (1)
Right and $0.05 are required to purchase one common share.
Hot Chili Limited (HCH.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.50 per share.
Kaizen Discovery Inc. (KZD.RT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.51 per share.
LaSalle Exploration Corp. (LSX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share.
Lion One Metals Limited (LIO.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.75 per share.
LithiumBank Resources Corp. (LBNK.WT)One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.00 per share.
LSC Lithium Corporation (LSC.RT) - One (1) right exercisable for One (1) Unit at $0.40 per Unit.
Mako Mining Corp. (MKO.RT) - Rights exercisable for One (1) share at $0.10 per share.
Mako Mining Corp. (MKO.WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share.
Manganese X Energy Corp. (MN.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share.
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (MGM.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.40 per share
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (MGM.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.40 per share
the Issuer at $3.00 until expiry.
Novo Resources Corp. (NVO.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $3.00 until expiry.
Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (PTM.WT.U)One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at US$0.17 until expiry
Royal Nickel Corporation (RNX.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.50 until expiry.
Sandstorm Gold (SSL.WT.B) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at US $14.00 until expiry.
Sherritt International Corporation (S.WT)Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire between 1.00 and 1.25 additional common shares (as bulletin 2018-0062 table ) determined based on the Applicable Reference Cobalt Price at an exercise price of $1.95 per Warrant at any time prior to the
Expiry Date
Treasury Metals Inc. Wt (TML.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $1.50 until expiry.
Trevali Mining Corporation (TV.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.23 until expiry.
Mexican Gold Corp. (MEX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.12 per share.
Millennial Lithium Corp. (ML.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.25 per share.
Millennial Lithium Corp. (ML.WT) - One right to purchase one common share at $4.80 per share.
Millennial Precious Metals Corp. (MPM. WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.50 per share.
Mineworx Technologies Ltd. (MWX.RT) -
For every one (1) Share held, Shareholders will receive one (1) Right exercisable for One (1) Share at $0.015 per Share.
Mineworx Technologies Ltd. (MWX.RT)One right to purchase one common share at $0.015 per share.
Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (NEE.WT)One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share.
Novo Resources Corp. (NVO.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.40 per share.
Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share.
Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share.
Osisko Development Corp. (ODV.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $10.00 per share.
Rock Tech Lithium Inc. (RCK.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.50 per share.
Sandfire Resources America Inc. (SFR.RT) -
Forty one (41) Rights exercisable for One (1) Share at $0.15 per Share.
Sandfire Resources America Inc. (SFR. RT) - Eight (8) Rights exercisable for One (1) share at $0.06 per unit. Silver Mountain Resources Inc. (AGMR. WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.70 per share.
Star Royalties Ltd. (STRR.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.00 per share.
Three Valley Copper Corp. (TVC.WT) - 20 warrants to purchase one Class A common share at $6.66 per share.
Tintina Resources Inc. (TAU.RT) - Nine(9) Rights exercisable for one share at $0.06 per share.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (UCU.RT) - One (1) right exercisable for one share at $4.00 per share.
Vision Lithium Inc. (VLI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share.
Vizsla Silver Corp. (VZLA.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $3.25 per share.
Westhaven Gold Corp. (WHN.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.00 per share.
Yellowhead Mining Inc. (YMI.RT) - One (1) Right and $0.12 are required to prchase one Share
With over 20 years of industry experience, Technica Mining has a track record of working with our clients to safely complete projects on time and on budget. From our roots specializing in underground infrastructure and repairs, we have grown our portfolio of services to include: engineering, underground development, electrical, mechanical and civil construction, surface and underground production drilling and blasting.
