Tausi Insider

Even in nickel, where Canada was a one-time global leader, it holds just 2.1 per cent of reserves, while Indonesia and Australia hold 22 per cent each. Yusuf Ahmad/Reuters Canada is unlikely to benefit much from the explosion in global demand for critical minerals because of a dearth of reserves, according to two Calgary academics, who also argue in favour of cutting red tape to make domestic miners more competitive. “Most of North America’s critical transition minerals will have to come from reserves in South America, Africa and the Caribbean as well as Australia and China,” Philip Bazel, research associate at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, and Jack Mintz, a president’s fellow there, wrote in a report released on Tuesday. “Canada’s participation in the energy transition mining market may hinge on the shape of its regulatory and taxation framework.” Citing worldwide critical minerals reserves data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the authors point out that Canad...

Vale Canada's Copper Cliff Complex South Mine Project in Sudbury, Ont., on Oct. 13. Gino Donato/Tausi Insider Vale SA plans to sell up a 10-per-cent stake in its underperforming base metals unit, as the big Brazilian miner attempts to cash in on a worldwide rush for battery metals. Vale plans to raise billions from the sale of the minority stake, and use the proceeds to expand output, so it can feed demand from the auto industry for copper and nickel used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Ahead of the sale, the miner intends to legally separate the base metals unit from Vale’s much bigger iron ore division. The unit includes copper and nickel operations in Brazil, Indonesia and Canada, where Vale has large mines in Sudbury and Voisey’s Bay, N.L. Base metals will function as a stand-alone entity, have its own board of directors and fund itself. Currently, Vale can divert profits from the highly profitable iron ore division to the less-profitable base metals division, a dynamic t...