Company working on mitigation measures to limit risk to caribou, says vice-president of environment As the race for rare earth elements accelerates in Canada, one Nova Scotia activist is warning about the environmental risks of rare earth mining — especially when the rare earth minerals are found near radioactive elements, like uranium and thorium. Mary-Lou Harley, an environmentalist who holds a PhD in chemistry, says this is the case for Torngat Metals’ Strange Lake mining proposal on the Quebec-Labrador border, near Lac Brisson, Nunavik. “It’s a ridiculous proposal. It’s so dangerous,” Harley told CBC News. Harley said because the rare…
Author: TJ Markle
Last year, environmentalists criticized the Biden Administration for approving a large oil drilling project on public land in the Alaskan Arctic called the Willow project. However, a similar petroleum project has drawn little attention. About 30 miles east of Willow, Australian energy company Santos, Spanish company Repsol, and ASRC Energy, a subsidiary of the Alaska Native-owned Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), has received approvals and is currently building the first phase of the Pikka Project, an effort to produce hundreds of millions of barrels of oil over the next three decades. The project is located entirely on land owned by…
The Trump administration on Thursday finalized its rollback of Biden-era limits on oil and gas drilling in an Alaska area that is the nation’s largest tract of undisturbed public land. The move is consistent with President Donald Trump’s goal to reduce restrictions on domestic oil and gas development, particularly in resource-rich Alaska. Biden’s 2024 rule had prohibited oil and gas leasing on 4.3-million hectares of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, while limiting development on more than two-million additional acres. “By rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by President Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities and strengthen American energy security,” Interior…
Ghana will abolish value-added tax on mineral exploration and reconnaissance to boost investment in its mining sector, its finance minister said, as Africa’s top bullion producer seeks to reverse over two decades of sluggish new development. Ghana, which has been overhauling its mining sector, introduced the levy 25 years ago amid broader fiscal reforms. The 15% tax covers exploration-related expenses such as drilling and assay work, hiking upfront costs for companies operating in the high-risk early stages of mining projects. Industry groups, including the Ghana Chamber of Mines, have long argued that the tax discouraged greenfield investment and eroded Ghana’s competitiveness versus the likes of Ivory Coast,…
Engineering group Sandvik’s ‘The future of mining talent: What STEM graduates really think’ report says that, while awareness of mining remains low among young engineers, many are open to joining the sector once they understand its modern realities and role in tackling the global energy transition. While the global mining industry faces a growing shortage of engineering talent, this challenge could be turned into one of the sector’s greatest opportunities, the report states. Based on a survey of 824 STEM students and graduates across nine countries, nearly 40% of respondents are unfamiliar with mining, and a similar proportion cite this…
Three new critical minerals projects will advance to the recently created Major Projects Office (MPO), Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday, unveiling the second tranche of nation-building initiatives aimed at accelerating infrastructure and resource development across the country. The new referrals to the MPO – a fast-track approvals body established under the Building Canada Act – include electricity infrastructure, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and three critical minerals projects. Earlier this month, as part of the federal Critical Minerals Strategy, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and Canada’s G7 partners unveiled 26 new investments and partnerships valued at $6.4-billion to accelerate project development and solidify Canada’s position…
Melissa Torres arrived in Canada as a refugee 10 years ago, rebuilding a life as an artist and educator that was far different from the family- and community-focused agricultural life she left behind in her native Honduras. There she and her family worked long hours to cultivate beans, corn and other crops on land owned by her grandparents. It was not a luxurious life, but it was full of peace and contentment, with the warmth of family, strong community connections and the joy of celebrating religious and cultural festivals. But Goldcorp, a Canadian mining company, turned that world upside down.…
Three major coal mining disasters underscore the importance of learning from past incidents to inform safer and cleaner practices, thereby enabling traditional coal mining operations to enhance environmental stewardship and operational safety. In the coal mining industry, safety and environmental stewardship are closely connected. For professionals in traditional coal mining operations – whether underground or surface, in extraction or power generation – understanding how disasters occur and how they can be prevented is critical. Recent tragedies in the coal sector serve as stark reminders of the hazards inherent in mining, from powered-haulage accidents to roof collapses and environmental exposures. Analysing…
Turkey has introduced sweeping changes to its mining permit system that put the final decision-making authority under the presidency, a move environmental groups and legal experts say will weaken oversight and accelerate ecological destruction, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The regulation, titled “Procedures and Principles of the Mining Permits Board,” was published in the Official Gazette on Thursday and took effect immediately. The regulation, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, establishes a Mining Permits Board at the presidency with the power to grant approvals for new mining sites, expansions and operations in cases where ministries or other state agencies…
In this week’s newsletter: Fear of retribution from the unpredictable president has left climate summit negotiators feeling nervous and vulnerable Under Donald Trump, America has not only jettisoned any effort to deal with the climate crisis, but has also attempted to stymie moves by other nations to shift to cleaner forms of energy, such as solar and wind. The climate crisis is “the greatest con job perpetrated by the world”, Trump told the UN in September, urging other governments to stick to oil and gas (preferably drilled in the US, of course) and ditch the “scam” of renewable energy. So,…