March 19th, 2025 - The Mine Wire

METALS MARKET

With recession fears mounting, gold soared past $3,000 per oz for the first time ever. Silver and copper continued their meteoric rise while Cobalt saw a 30.34% increase this past week. The metal is up 67.84% this past month as the DRC has taken action to prop up prices (which seems to be working in the near term at least).

It is also a central bank bonanza this week. The U.S. Federal Reserve comes out with its next interest rate decision later today. It is widely expected to hold rates. Other central banks with decisions this week include The Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Sweden's Riksbank and The Bank of Japan.

^{**For our chart above we are taking prices from Wednesday 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:

• 🇬🇱 Greenland’s pro-business opposition Demokraatit party, which favors slow independence from Denmark, won the most votes in last week’s election with 29.9% of the vote. They are currently working to build a coalition government. Overall the result is seen as a positive for the mining sector as the leader of the Demokraatit party was the former Minister for Raw Materials in 2021. A great analysis here —> (S&P Global)

• 🇨🇦 Congratulations to IAMGOLD Corp. which secured $1.48m in funding from the Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund. The money will help the miner reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its Côté Gold mine in Sudbury, Ontario. (Canada)

• 🇨🇦 The province of British Columbia announced new legislation that would allow it to more effectively fight U.S. tariffs. Maybe the most interesting point is - temporarily make changes to cut red tape and regulations to take fast action to defend the B.C. economy from challenges brought on by continued threats. Amazing - how about we cut down those permitting timelines for critical minerals projects and get things moving yesterday. (Government of BC)

• 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Also in response to U.S. tariffs, British Columbia’s Premier passed a proposal to outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recommending that the Federal government implement an export tax on coal from the United States or halt exports altogether. Currently three quarters of the coal exported from the Port of Vancouver comes from the United States. We would expect this action to be added to the basket of retaliatory goodies so to speak should the tariff war heat up. The National Mining Association said, "Should Canada choose to target American coal, it will force American exporters to look for other export options, hurting Canadian jobs and damaging a source of mutually beneficial trade that has been an important success story for both nations." We aren’t convinced this holds much water with Canadians, so hopefully The NMA is taking their message to Washington. (CBC)

• 🇺🇸 Speaking of American coal, The Department of the Interior approved an expansion of the Spring Creek Mine in Big Horn County, Montana, operated by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company. This will allow the mine to continue for an extra 16 years and enable the production of approximately 39.9m tons of federal coal. "The previous administration waged a full-on assault against U.S. energy," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "Under President Trump's leadership, we're reversing that course, unleashing American energy, and ensuring our nation's security and prosperity." (U.S. Department of the Interior)

• 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the island nation will not respond to the United States 25% tariff on aluminum and steel. "Tariffs and escalating trade tensions are a form of economic self-harm, and a recipe for slower growth and higher inflation. They are paid by the consumers," Albanese said. With an election in the next few months, it will be interesting to see whether this becomes a ballot-box question. (Reuters)

• 🇨🇩 🇺🇸 Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has met U.S. lawmaker Ronny Jackson to discuss fighting in the east of the country and opportunities for U.S. investment. Jackson said, "We want to work so that American companies can come and invest and work in the DRC. And to do that, we have to make sure that there is a peaceful environment." (Reuters)

• 🇷🇺 Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry said the country aims to produce at least 60,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate in 2030 as the country looks to reduce its dependency on imports. The Ministry said, "The country has traditionally imported lithium, and it is now crucial to launch facilities swiftly and increase the extraction and processing of this strategically important resource for the economy." (Reuters)

• 🇵🇪 To all of our Peruvian friends, we hope you are staying safe. Peru’s President declared a state of emergency in the capital on Monday as a wave of violence and the death of a popular singer, led to widespread protests. Peru has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks in public places in recent months. (AP News)

SPECIAL REPORT BY CORPORATE AFFAIRS AUSTRALIA

Corporate Affairs Australia is a Perth-based specialist resources and energy corporate affairs firm.

Western Australian State Election Wrap

On March 9th, the Cook Labor Government secured a third term with a resounding victory in the 2025 Western Australian State election. Although the outcome was widely anticipated, Labor outperformed expectations, delivering a decisive win for Premier Roger Cook and a strong mandate to deliver his government’s policy agenda, including their flagship Made in WA policy.

On March 18th, Premier Cook announced his new Cabinet. As part of comprehensive changes, several new portfolios were introduced, focusing on economic diversification, the energy transition, future jobs and manufacturing, and dedicated Ministers for each region to focus on local economic development.

Importantly for the mining sector, the key portfolios affecting industry remain consistent, with David Michael retaining Mines and Petroleum and State Development staying with the Premier.

His previous experience serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum means that newly appointed Environment Minister Matt Swinbourn understands industry challenges. He will no doubt continue to deliver the environmental approvals streamlining, which formed a significant part of the government’s policy agenda in its last term.

The appointment of senior Minister and potential future Premier, Amber-Jade Sanderson to the Energy and Decarbonisation portfolio highlights that energy, including new generation and transmission, is a key priority.

Key appointments relevant to the mining include:

• Roger Cook - Premier; Minister for State and Industry Development; Economic Diversification

• Rita Saffioti - Deputy Premier; Treasurer; Transport; Sport and Recreation

• David Michael - Mines and Petroleum; Finance; Electorate Affairs; Goldfields-Esperance; Leader of the House

• Stephen Dawson - Regional Development; Ports; Science Innovation Medical Research; Kimberley

• Matthew Swinbourn - Environment; Community Services; Homelessness

• Amber-Jade Sanderson MLA - Energy and Decarbonisation; Manufacturing; Skills and TAFE; Pilbara

• Hon. Don Punch MLA - Aboriginal Affairs; Water; Climate Resilience; South West

The full list of Ministers is here.

Made in WA

In announcing his Cabinet, Premier Cook highlighted that it was structured to deliver on the Made in WA agenda, saying, “in these globally uncertain times, my priority is to make the WA economy more resilient and establishing our State as a renewable energy powerhouse, which will drive our commitment to exit coal fired power generation, help our trading partners to decarbonise and ensure secure and affordable energy.”

The Made in WA policy includes the following key initiatives relevant to the mining sector:

• Further investment in the Strategic Industries Fund to progress Strategic Industrial Areas across the State with the goal of expediting clean energy and major industrial projects including mineral processing.

• Commitments designed to build a local vanadium value chain, including installing Australia’s first locally built, utility-scale vanadium battery in Kalgoorlie, a reduced 2.5% royalty to vanadium products and vanadium electrolyte remaining royalty-free.

• The delivery of a Green Iron and Steel Action Plan designed to activate green and low-emission downstream processing of Western Australian iron ore. This follows the State Government’s December announcement of $75m to lure the NeoSmelt pilot plant to WA. No doubt the Action Plan will seek to align with the Federal Government’s February announcement of a $1 billion Green Iron Fund designed to support early-mover green iron projects.

• $9 million funding boost to encourage mining exploration and support jobs in regional WA.

• $60 million for a further round of the Investment Attraction Fund’s New Energies Industries stream, which provides grants of up to $15m for downstream processing and manufacturing projects.

The full list of commitments as part of the Made in WA plan are here.

Learn more about Corporate Affairs Australia here.

MINING MATTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

• 🇵🇦 First Quantum’s Cobre Panama mine has instructed its lawyers to suspend its arbitration against Panama. The President of Panama said the country would allow First Quantum to export the 120,000 metric tons of copper concentrate that have been stuck at the site since November 2023. Further, the President said he was open to negotiations with the miner, but only if the arbitration was dropped. Certainly things seem to be moving in a positive direction and the market agrees - the stock is up almost 24% since the news broke last Thursday. (Reuters)

• 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 Congratulations to Collective Mining (TSX: CNL, NYSE: CNL) which secured $63.43m from Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM, NYSE: AEM). The investment will bring Agnico Eagle’s equity position to 14.99%. The investment provides exposure to Collective’s flagship Guayabales project, a gold, silver, copper and tungsten exploration asset located in Colombia. By our own calculations, the stock is up 9.3% since the news broke, but also up over 32% the past 5 days and 54% the past month. What a great ride for those invested! (CISION)

• 🇺🇸 A big hand clap for Exurban which secured a strategic investment from Rio Tinto and the Giampaolo Group. They join other well-known investors like Mitsubishi Materials & MKS PAMP. Exurban is planning to build a $340m recycling plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana and touts itself as the first zero-waste solution for e-scrap recycling, transforming discarded e-scrap into high-value strategic and precious metals. (Exurban)

• 🇿🇦 South African coal miner Exxaro Resources (JSE: EXX) has appointed Ben Magara as its new Chief Executive Officer. Magara, a former CEO of platinum miner Lonmin and a former executive at Anglo American, is expected to help the miner move into other asset classes like manganese and copper. If Exxaro Resources is a client or on your target list, it might be time to send a bottle or at least a nice congratulations note. Side note - we love South African Gin and recommend Blind Tiger Gin! (Exxaro Resources)

• 🇿🇲 🇨🇳 In devastating news for Zambia, a Chinese-owned mine had its tailings dam collapse, spilling 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals into a stream that links to the Kafue River, Zambia’s most important waterway. The mine operator is Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, which is majority owned by the state-run China Nonferrous Metals Industry Group. The Zambian government has deployed the air force to drop hundreds of tons of lime into the river in an attempt to counteract the acid and roll back the damage. A second smaller Chinese-owned mine was found to have a leak days later and that company is accused of trying to hide it. Chinese companies dominate the Zambian mining industry, but we would expect to see a lot of blowback after this and so there should be. (AP News)

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MINING BITS

• 🇦🇺 To celebrate their new partnership, Liebherr presented Roy Hill with an R 9800 excavator that had both its bucket and counterweight painted pink, supporting women and families battling breast cancer. Roy Hill has a fleet of pink heavy machinery, which is an ongoing initiative of the company’s executive chairman, Gina Rinehart. We love the thoughtfulness and the Chairman’s on-going support of breast cancer charities in Australia. (Roy Hill)

• 🇦🇺 Australia’s Prime Minister Albanese fired back at actor Leonardo DiCaprio after the Academy award winner took to social media to grill the government over it’s approval of South 32’s Worsley alumina mine in Western Australia. The Prime Minister said, “If Leonardo DiCaprio knows where a bauxite mine in Western Australia is, I’d be very surprised.” We are reminded of Ricky Gervais’ comments when he hosted the Oscars, “So if you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world… So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and fuck off, OK?” (South Western Times)

• 🇨🇦 The Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network has issued its call for proposals #4. Applicants can receive up to $500K in funding available for innovative mining solutions that increase productivity, reduce energy consumption, implement smart systems, or reduce environmental impact. Applications close April 4th, 2025, so check this one out now if of interest. (MICA)

• 🌎 Resources For the Future hosted a webinar that featured a panel discussing effective community engagement and critical minerals mining. You can read a summary or watch the full 1 hour webinar. (Resources.org)

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