Dig, Baby, Dig: What It Means for Canada to Build the Mines Its ‘Clean’ Future Depends on – by Falice...
Canada’s clean‑energy ambitions hinge on dramatically expanding domestic mining for critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and rare earths. The article argues that the real bottleneck in the energy transition is supply‑side infrastructure, not demand, and that scaling mining, processing and related development is essential. Activists who oppose hydrocarbons may also resist the mining surge needed for renewables, creating a policy paradox. The piece calls for coordinated government action to streamline permits and secure social licence.
Boundary Divide: Beneath the Minnesota Wilderness Lies Untouched Deposits of Critical Minerals. A Town Near the Canadian Border Confronts What...
The U.S. Senate is poised to decide whether to lift the mining ban in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, a region that sits atop the massive Duluth Complex. This undeveloped deposit holds roughly a third of the nation’s copper, 88 % of its...
Fujimori Leads Peru Presidential Vote as Mining Risks Rise – by Cecilia Jamasmie – April 13, 2026)
Keiko Fujimori topped Peru’s first‑round presidential vote with 17.17%, narrowly ahead of former Lima mayor Rafael López Aliaga’s 16.97%, triggering a June 7 runoff. Fujimori positions herself as pro‑U.S. and investor‑friendly, promising clearer mining regulations to attract foreign capital. The election comes...
Prolonged Hormuz Strait Closure Would Have ‘Profound’ Impact on Mining: Friedland – by Frederic Tomesco (Northern Miner – April 13,...
Ivanhoe Mines co‑chairman Robert Friedland warned that a prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would sharply tighten global sulfur markets, cutting roughly half of the seaborne sulfur supply. With about 20% of worldwide copper production dependent on sulfuric‑acid leaching,...
Forty Years After Chernobyl, Uranium Market Rebounds but Fragility Persists – by Aurel Sèdjro Houenou (Ecofin Agency – April 12,...
Forty years after the Chernobyl disaster, the uranium market has rebounded, with spot prices climbing to $101 per pound in early 2026. The surge reflects renewed global interest in civil nuclear power as part of the broader energy transition. Higher...
“Rotten Eggs”: The Hidden Role of Sulfur in the Global Economy – by Amanda Van Dyke (Substack – April 13,...
Sulfur, the element behind the smell of rotten eggs, underpins food production, metal refining, battery manufacturing, and data‑center cooling. Most elemental sulfur today is recovered as a by‑product of sour oil and gas refining through the Claus process, feeding the...
‘Energy Dominance’ Agenda Sidelines Tribes – by Anna V. Smith (High Country News – April 13, 2026)
The federal government granted the Velvet‑Wood uranium mine in Utah a permit through a newly created 14‑day NEPA “emergency” review, slashing the usual months‑long environmental analysis. Tribal governments received only a seven‑day window to comment, and the standard public comment...
Tom Peters Was the Grandfather of Regreening in Greater Sudbury – by Dieter K Buse (Sudbury Star – March 31,...
Tom Peters, an Inco agriculturalist, is credited with pioneering the use of farming techniques on the company’s mine‑tailing slag piles in Greater Sudbury during the early 1970s. His work sparked the first wave of regreening that turned barren, black mounds...
Nuclear Past and Present Collide in Ontario’s Port Hope – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – April 13, 2026)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a 10,000‑megawatt nuclear power station on the outskirts of Port Hope, aiming to secure long‑term, low‑carbon electricity for the province. The town is simultaneously coping with a $2.6 billion (≈ $1.9 billion USD) cleanup of low‑level radiation from...
How Northern Ontario Researchers Are Using Bacteria-Powered Tech to Extract Critical Minerals From Mine Waste – by Faith Greco (CBC...
Researchers at Laurentian University's MIRARCO Mining Innovation are scaling a bacteria‑driven bioleaching process in a 10,000‑square‑foot pilot plant in Sudbury, Ontario. The microbes break down legacy mine tailings to liberate nickel, cobalt and copper—key metals for electric‑vehicle batteries. While bioleaching...
RARE EARTHS: Rare Earths Funding Boom Could Cause Longer-Term ‘Glut’ – by Kip Keen (SP Global – April 9, 2026)
A surge of government and private capital is accelerating rare‑earth production outside China, creating a short‑term supply gap but setting the stage for potential oversupply by the 2030s. Analysts say demand growth and security concerns drive current shortages, while massive...
Indigenous Groups Push for Mine Ownership, Not Just Benefits (Canadian Mining Journal – April 9, 2026)
Indigenous communities across Canada are moving from traditional impact benefit agreements toward direct equity ownership in mining and energy projects. A new report by Thunder Bay‑based Waawoono Consultancy argues that equity partnerships generate greater wealth and project stability than fixed‑payment...
Chile Lithium Dispute Tied to Cold War-Era Nukes – by Tom Azzopardi (Mining.com – April 6, 2026)
France’s Eramet and Chile’s state miner ENAMI are taking their dispute over the Salares Altoandinos lithium deposit to court. The project, backed by a $3 billion partnership with Rio Tinto, could produce enough lithium for roughly 1.5 million electric vehicles each year. Eramet...
China’s Copper Import Slump Marks a Shift in Market Power – by Andy Home (Reuters – April 9, 2026)
A two‑week ceasefire in the Iran conflict eased some macro‑economic gloom, but copper prices remain elevated, with the LME three‑month contract peaking at $14,527.50 per metric ton in January. China, the world’s biggest copper consumer, cut its refined copper imports...
China’s Zijin Clears Canadian National Security Review Around Allied Gold Acquisition – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April...
China’s Zijin Gold International has secured approval for its $5.5 billion takeover of Canadian miner Allied Gold after the 45‑day national‑security review window lapsed, effectively granting automatic clearance. The approval removes the last regulatory hurdle, allowing the deal to move toward...
