April 16th, 2025 - The Mine Wire

METALS MARKET

The market sighed a breath of relief this past week as tariffs were paused for 90 days by the United States. Investors had started dumping U.S. Treasury Bonds, pushing up rates, which played a part in President Trump’s decision to pause tariffs. When rates on treasury bonds go up, it makes it more expensive for the United States to borrow. Some reports claimed that Canada, Japan and the European Union were coordinating behind the scenes to dump these treasuries to punish the United States. (AP News)

Despite the pause, we aren’t out of the woodwork yet and uncertainty remains the name of the game. This has pushed gold to an all-time high of $3,245 per ounce this week. HOT OFF THE PRESS - The Bank of Canada will hold rates at 2.75%.

^{**For our chart above we are taking prices from Tuesday 4pm EST to Tuesday 4pm EST, so not the typical week of Monday through Friday.}

KEEPING AN EYE ON GOVERNMENT DECISIONS

Here are some of the notable government policy moves this week:

• 🇬🇧 The British government has taken operational control of British Steel after the Prime Minister called an emergency parliament session. Why you say? Well British Steel’s Chinese owners, Jingye Group, claimed the plant was losing £700,000 per day and therefore, cancelled orders for iron pellets used in blast furnaces signaling a shutdown. The problem is that British Steel owns the last steel producing plant in the UK and a shutdown would force the nation to import steel from abroad. The UK’s Business Minister said the government had no alternative but to intervene after Jingye refused a £500m government aid package to keep the plant operational. He claims that Jingye wanted to import steel from China for further processing in Britain. The Minister has said that China is no longer welcome in its steel industry. Given current geopolitical tensions, this move is understandable. (Reuters)

• 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 The U.S. and Ukraine continue to negotiate a mineral deal although one source said the negotiating environment is “very antagonistic”. Ukraine continues to look for security guarantees while the U.S. refuses to offer any. According to Reuters, one of the “Easter Eggs” found in the proposed deal was a U.S. demand that the U.S. government's International Development Finance Corporation take control of a natural gas pipeline from Russian energy giant Gazprom across Ukraine to Europe. (Reuters)

• 🇺🇸 President Trump signed an executive order to initiate an investigation by the Secretary of Commerce under section 232 to determine the effects on national security of imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products. A interim report is due back to the President in 90 days with a final report and recommendations due in 180 days. These will include policies to boost domestic production, processing and recycling. It will also include advice on putting tariffs on certain critical mineral imports (think Nickel/Lithium). Now is the time to take your ideas to the U.S. government if you haven’t already! (The White House)

• 🇺🇸 In an executive order last week President Trump directed agencies that regulate energy and the environment to sunset a wide array of environmental protections so that they expire October 2026. The order is meant to compel agencies to reexamine their regulations periodically to ensure that rules serve the public good. Some have questioned whether the order complies with the Supreme Court’s ruling that agencies seeking to change a policy set forth in a regulation have to go through a new notice-and-comment proceeding for each regulation. We like the idea of revisiting regulations periodically to reduce red tape, but would prefer red tape reduction bills to avoid legal uncertainty. (The Hill) & (The White House)

• 🇺🇸 U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wrote to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer regarding the proposal from the “Department of Government Efficiency” to close 35 Mine Safety and Health Administration field offices. The senators have requested specific information regarding how the office closures will impact personnel and inspections of underground mines. (Senator Kaine)

• 🇺🇸 The Financial Times reported that President Trump’s administration is working up an executive order to stockpile nodules found on the Pacific Ocean floor in order to counter China’s dominance in critical minerals. China’s foreign ministry has responded that no country should bypass international laws to authorize resource exploration in the seabed: “Exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the international seabed area must be conducted in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and within the framework of the International Seabed Authority.” The Metals Co. (NASDAQ: TMC) is up over 75% this past week on the news. (Financial Times)

• 🇺🇸 Another deep-sea mining company, Impossible Metals, has submitted a request to commence a leasing process for the exploration and potential mining of critical minerals in the deep sea off the coast of American Samoa. According to Impossible Metals, it has developed the only autonomous underwater robot for selective harvesting. The novel underwater robot uses advanced robotics, AI, and a buoyancy engine to hover above the seabed, accurately identifying and avoiding nodules with visible life while minimizing disruption to the habitat and native biodiversity. They claim that this method will have the lowest environmental impact and cost among land and deep-sea mining approaches, setting a new standard for responsible resource collection. (Impossible Metals)

• 🇨🇦 Ontario’s newly elected Ford Government delivered their Throne Speech and in it promised new legislation to unlock the Ring of Fire. “Once passed, this new legislation will provide the government the authority to designate regions where multiple critical mineral deposits are present or likely to be present, including the Ring of Fire, as regions of strategic importance to the province’s economy and security interests. Within the boundaries of these regions, proponents that meet high operating, safety and environmental standards will benefit from significantly streamlined permitting and approvals, alongside an uninterrupted commitment to meeting duty to consult requirements. Roads, highways and the infrastructure necessary to unlock Ontario’s critical minerals will also benefit from these streamlined approvals.” While a positive signal, the province is only half the solution as the Federal government holds jurisdiction over the Impact Assessment Act and several other acts and regulations. (Ontario Government)

• 🇨🇦 The Manitoba government announced that it has opened its Critical Minerals Office and established a mining advisory council. The announcement states that, “The Manitoba government has also established a mining advisory council with representation from government, Indigenous organizations, environmental groups, academia, municipalities and labour to provide guidance and inform the province’s work around critical minerals with the key objective of advancing Indigenous inclusion and mineral sector partnerships.” Is it just us or is one important group missing? Maybe not the best idea if you are looking to attract more investment. Hopefully its just a typo or we misunderstood the release! (Manitoba Government)

• 🇨🇦 The Manitoba government is providing funding of $2.5m to 12 projects through the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund. Chuck Davidson, President and CEO, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, and board chair, Manitoba Mineral Development Fund, said, “Mineral exploration and development here in Manitoba continue to create economic benefits for the province and for northern Manitoba.” (Manitoba Government)

• 🇨🇱 The Chilean government has formed a High-Level Advisory Committee for the National Strategy for Critical Minerals. Led by the Ministry of Mining, it brings together representatives from the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society. The group's mission will be to provide strategic recommendations that guide the design of public policies for the responsible development of mineral resources, promoting investment, productive diversification, and territorial development. To see a full list of the 16 members, click the link → (Chilean Government)

• 🇹🇷 🇸🇴 Turkey & Somalia have signed an onshore hydrocarbon exploration and production agreement that allows Turkish Petroleum to begin oil and gas exploration across three land blocks covering approximately 16,000 square kilometers in Somalia. Mining is next it seems as Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources said, “We aim to move to a new phase in our relations by launching concrete projects in mining.” (TRT Global)

• 🇬🇭 Ghana has ordered foreigners to exit its gold trading market by the end of the month as it looks to centralize gold purchasing and sales through a newly created gold board, GoldBod. (Reuters)

• 🇪🇨 🇬🇦 Ecuador has re-elected President Daniel Noboa while Gabon’s military leader Brice Oligui Nguema won it’s presidential election in an apparent landslide. (AP News) & (Al Jazeera)

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MINING MATTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

• 🇺🇸 Congratulations to Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE: IE, TSX: IE) which announced the receipt of a Letter of Interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States outlining the potential to provide up to $825 million in debt financing with a 15 year repayment tenor for the development of Ivanhoe Electric's Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona through the Bank's Make More in America initiative. (Newsfile)

• 🇧🇫 Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE: FSM, TSX: FVI) announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its interest in Roxgold Sanu SA which owns and operates the Yaramoko Mine, together with the Company’s three other wholly-owned Burkina Faso subsidiaries which hold exploration permits in country . Fortuna will receive US$70m in cash payable on the closing as well as US$57.5m in cash dividends from Roxgold Sanu. Fortuna will also have the right to receive up to approximately US$53 million of value added tax receivables upon the completion of certain conditions. (Global Newswire)

• 🇦🇺 Rio Tinto and Mitsui have made a A$75 bid for CZR Resources (ASX: CZR) and its Robe Mesa iron ore project. The all cash offer was made through the Robe River Joint Venture, which is 60 per cent owned by Rio and 40 per cent by Mitsui. This offer is higher than Fenix Resources (ASX: FEX) bid in February for A$71m. The iron ore junior has until April 17th to increase its own bid for CZR. (Financial Review)

• 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 Elevra Lithium has arrived - Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining have announced that their merged company will be called Elevra. They also released their board of director nominees. The transaction is expected to be completed in mid-2025. We’d love to know the genesis behind the new name. (businesswire)

• 🇺🇸 🇨🇩 Alphamin Resources Corp. (TSXV: AFM) announced that it is initiating a phased resumption of operations at its Bisie tin mine in east-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. The decision was made after the withdrawal of insurgents eastward, roughly 130 kms away from the mine site. Reuters reported that the US administration’s talks between the Congo and Rwanda likely played a part in the goodwill gesture by the M23 rebels. The stock shot up on the news but is still down roughly 27% from when the hostilities started back in January 2025. Given that the U.S. administration is in talks on a minerals deal with the Congo, we would expect them to flex some muscles and get a peace deal which can only be good for everyone involved, including Alphamin. (Alphamin)

• 🇲🇱 It looks like the Barrick saga in Mali isn’t over just yet. Barrick put out a release calling for the Mali government to honor its February agreement. The miner said, “although Barrick signed the agreement presented by the Government as requested in February, the Government has failed to execute it. Its conclusion now appears to be obstructed by a small group of individuals placing personal or political interests above the long-term interests of Mali and its people.” Barrick goes on to say that the country continues to detain its employees, block it from exporting gold and has now closed its Bamako office and is threatening to place the Loulo-Gounkoto mine under provisional administration unless the mine is reopened and tax payments are made. (Barrick)

THE MINE WIRE RECEPTION at CIM CONNECT plus Vancouver’s Mining 4 Beer

The Mine Wire is thrilled to bring you our 2nd Annual GetConnected! Reception at the CIM Conference 2025 in Montreal next month!

📅 New Date: Monday, May 5th

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MINING BITS

• 🌎 Discover Magazine covers 5 of the biggest extraterrestrial impacts on earth. They include: The Chelyabinsk Meteor, The Sudbury Basin Impact, The Vredefort Crater, The Chicxulub Impact and The Moon. In the Moon’s case, Giant Impact Hypothesis suggested that a Mars-sized object dubbed Theia, crashed into a young earth billions of years ago and the resulting debris formed the moon. (Discover Magazine)

• 🌏 Researchers at Stanford University analyzed trade-related risks to energy security across 1,092 scenarios for cutting carbon emissions by 2060. They found that shifting from dependence on imported fossil fuels to increased dependence on critical minerals for clean energy can improve security for most nations. In net-zero scenarios trade-related risks to energy security would decline on average by 19% to 50% depending on trade partnerships. Improving technologies to last longer, ramping up recycling or developing less material-intensive designs would all contribute to less risk and dependence. (Stanford University)

• 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇰🇷 If you are familiar with the formula used for reciprocal tariffs by the United States, you will know that trade imbalances are critical. Reuters smartly points out that there are only a few products in the United States that are appealing for other countries to import on mass - these include crude oil, LNG and coal. While Japan and South Korea are two countries that could benefit from these imports, it seems unlikely any increases would significantly reduce the trade imbalance. Still President Trump has been selling American energy and we would assume this bodes well for several of these categories. (Reuters)

• 🇺🇸 Another excellent assessment by the Center for Strategic & International Studies on the consequences of China’s new rare earth restrictions. With China having a monopoly on rare earth processing, the United States may soon feel the impact of the restrictions. Straight from the publication - “REEs are crucial for a range of defense technologies, including F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Tomahawk missiles, radar systems, Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of smart bombs. For example, the F-35 fighter jet contains over 900 pounds of REEs. An Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyer requires approximately 5,200 pounds, while a Virginia-class submarine uses around 9,200 pounds.” While MP Materials (NYSE: MP) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) have both received funding from the United States, their projects will only make a small dent in China’s overall control of processing. Still, it is no wonder that MP Materials stock is up 51.94% the past year, while Lynas Rare Earths is up 31.69%. Tip of the hat to the Chinese government which recognized the importance of REE’s and cornered the processing market. (CSIS)

• 🇬🇱 On the topic of rare earths, CBS’s 60 minutes takes a look at Greenland and varying opinions on its mineral wealth. One expert geologist says Greenland has been open for business for 40+ years but the case isn’t compelling enough. A lack of infrastructure, ice and rough weather conditions make the economic case for mining challenging. And while there may be a case for gold, rare earth mining is more challenged. Why? The processing is in China and given China’s market dominance, it is difficult to predict mid to long-term pricing. Definitely worth watching this 5 minute video - some great scenery. (CBS 60 Minutes)

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