Tausi Insider

Ottawa is vowing to cut red tape in the mining industry, to move large resource projects along faster, after facing heavy criticism that Canada risks being left behind in the global scramble to secure critical minerals. In the federal government’s long-awaited critical minerals strategy unveiled on Friday, Ottawa acknowledged that getting a Canadian critical mineral mine into production can take up to 25 years. That is far slower than other international mining jurisdictions that Canada is competing against, such as Australia, which can move projects along in a fraction of that time. “We recognize that, although responsible regulations are vital, complex regulatory and permitting processes can hinder the economic competitiveness of the sector and increase investment risk for proponents,” the federal government said in its release. Top federal government official casts doubt on Ontario’s Ring of Fire mining development Ottawa says it will attempt to harmonize, co-ordinate, and streaml...

Indigenous communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border are trying to build an alliance with U.S. Congress and the Biden administration in hopes of pressuring Ottawa into a bipartisan effort to confront toxic trans-border mining runoff. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press In a city of pinstripes and partisan power brokers, Mike Allison sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s in the wrong place – and he knows it. “I shouldn’t be here,” the denim-clad Indigenous elder suddenly says, fighting tears beneath the brim of his trademark cowboy hat. “I should be out on the land, working with my kids, teaching them values. I should be teaching them kids how to work with the environment, not fight for it.” Instead, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band councillor is in a downtown D.C. boardroom, gearing up for a second day of meetings with State Department officials, bureaucrats, diplomats and members of Congress. Fighting for the environment is exactly what Allison, whose British Columbia First Nat...

The RCMP has searched the Vancouver office of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. to seek information on $2.7-million in bank transfers from Ivanhoe to a Swiss bank account in connection with contracts for its Congolese mining operations, Tausi Insider has learned. The RCMP obtained the search warrant after saying it had reasonable grounds to believe that Ivanhoe violated Canada’s Criminal Code and Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act between 2014 and 2018, according to a brief disclosure by Ivanhoe in an annual information form. Ivanhoe co-operated in the search of its Vancouver office in November, 2021, and no charges have been laid against the company or its directors or employees, Ivanhoe said in the disclosure earlier this year. British Columbia court documents in the case – obtained by The Sentry, a U.S.-based investigative organization, and shared with The Globe – contain a six-page list of documents and computer equipment that the RCMP was authorized to seize from Ivanhoe’s office. Some...

While it’s encouraging to see Ottawa backing the natural resource sector, the question now is if the mining sector is still interested in pursuing projects in Canada. Francis Vachon/Tausi Insider Heather Exner-Pirot is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Canada’s long-awaited critical minerals strategy, released last week by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, puts a plan behind the $3.8-billion the government previously announced to support critical minerals development and generally accelerate mining projects. But while it’s encouraging to see Ottawa backing the natural resource sector in a big way, the question now is if the mining sector is interested in pursuing projects in Canada. Calling a mineral “critical” is a purely political distinction, describing those resources that the government believes are strategic, limited or concentrated, and thus deserving of state oversight. That term has no geological significance. Canadian investment on mining expl...

Mariano Abarca is shown in this still image taken from 2009 video in Chicomuselo, Chiapas. Dominique Jarry-Shore/The Canadian Press The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal from family and supporters of a Mexican activist who was killed after opposing a Canadian company’s mining project. The applicants had asked the top court to review a federal ombudsman’s decision not to investigate the matter. The case stretches back to 2007 when Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration Ltd. opened a barite mine in Chiapas, Mexico, prompting local opposition, demonstrations and a blockade of a route to the project. After being beaten and threatened with death for leading protests over the mine’s environmental and social effects, activist Mariano Abarca was fatally shot outside his home in November 2009. Members of Abarca’s family and organizations concerned with mining abuses asked the public sector integrity commissioner in 2018 to probe whether there was wrongdoing by members of the Canadi...

A British Columbia First Nation is celebrating a deal with a coal company that gives it veto power over a proposed mine on its land. “It’s a new and, I want to say, better way of relationship-building with First Nations,” said Chief Heidi Gravelle of the Tobacco Plains First Nation in southeast B.C. Tobacco Plains has signed an agreement with NWP Coal Canada Ltd. over that company’s Crown Mountain coal proposal that sets the band up as the project’s environmental reviewer and regulator. The company, based in New Zealand and Australia, has agreed it won’t go ahead unless the band gives its OK. “We were brave enough to say we believe we can earn your ‘yes’ and we’re willing to take your ‘no’ as a real no,” said David Baines, NWP’s director of project development. “If we can’t earn a yes from them we don’t have a good enough proposal.” Crown Mountain, located near Sparwood, B.C., has been before federal and provincial regulators since 2014. It’s one of a number of steelmaking coal proje...

Yamana Gold Inc. YIR-T founder Peter Marrone and the miner’s outgoing CEO Daniel Racine are launching a private equity-style venture, aimed at taking stakes in struggling mining companies with the view to turning them around for a big profit. The pair, who will joined by a handful of other Yamana executives, plan to invest in early stage gold exploration companies, but the team will also consider taking much bigger bets on companies that already have mines in production. “If there’s a big whale that comes along, that’s the one,” Mr. Marrone said in interview. Toronto-based Yamana last year agreed to sell itself to Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. AEM-T and Pan American Silver Corp. PAAS-T for US$4.8-billion, meaning the Yamana individuals starting the venture will soon be out of a job. While Mr. Marrone said priority number one is making sure the acquisition of Yamana closes next month, he added that he may announce his first investment into a mining exploration company not long after that. D...

While it’s encouraging to see Ottawa backing the natural resource sector, the question now is if the mining sector is still interested in pursuing projects in Canada. Francis Vachon/Tausi Insider Heather Exner-Pirot is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Canada’s long-awaited critical minerals strategy, released last week by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, puts a plan behind the $3.8-billion the government previously announced to support critical minerals development and generally accelerate mining projects. But while it’s encouraging to see Ottawa backing the natural resource sector in a big way, the question now is if the mining sector is interested in pursuing projects in Canada. Calling a mineral “critical” is a purely political distinction, describing those resources that the government believes are strategic, limited or concentrated, and thus deserving of state oversight. That term has no geological significance. Canadian investment on mining expl...