Ontario Premier Doug Ford has threatened to cut off electricity and critical minerals to the United States in response to Trump’s threats to add new tariffs on Canadian autos and steel. Ford said he will begin cutting off electricity and critical minerals produced in Ontario if the trade war with the US continues to escalate, in an interview with the Associated Press. Michigan receives about 6% of its electricity from Ontario. Four international transmission lines connect Michigan and Ontario, with a total transfer capacity of 2,000 megawatts. If Trump continues trying to attack Canadian manufacturing, Ford said, “he better have…
Author: TJ Markle
Canada’s mining industry is attracting more young people just as it faces a much bigger problem: finding enough workers to staff a new generation of mines. A new Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) forecast says Canadian mining may need to hire about 246,400 workers between 2026 and 2035 under its baseline scenario, including replacements for retirees and others leaving the industry. An expansionary scenario pushes the requirement to nearly 329,000 workers. The pressure could arrive quickly. MiHR forecasts pronounced labour-market tightness in 2027, when nearly half of hiring requirements could be difficult to fill. Even after that initial squeeze, about 15%…
Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths said it planned to grow its global supply chain on Wednesday, with discussions to secure new mine supply from project developers around the world and set up a magnet processing facility in the United States. The comments came after the world’s biggest producer of rare earths outside China reported a sharp rise in annual profit, helped by record average selling prices for rare-earth oxide and strong demand, but missed market expectations. Its shares fell as much as 8%. Interim CEO Pol Le Roux said Lynas is in talks with project developers of ionic clay deposits around…
Mine setbacks in Indonesia, Congo and Chile cost the market 338,000 tonnes in the first half, while Southern Copper clings to its lead over Rio Tinto. Copper set another record in New York early on Wednesday before giving up the gains, as signs that the squeeze gripping the London market is easing prompted a bout of profit-taking, with supplies outside the US still tight ahead of Washington’s tariff decision. Comex copper for September delivery touched $6.7775 a pound (about $14,940 a tonne) in early trading, a fresh all-time high, before retreating 1.6% to $6.6070 by late morning in New York.…
Australia’s Yindjibarndi Indigenous group said on Wednesday it had lodged an appeal with the federal court over the amount of compensation awarded against Fortescue FMG.AX for mining on their lands without an agreement since 2012. The Yindjibarndi people brought a claim against the miner and the Western Australian state government for A$1 billion ($718 million) in cultural loss and in excess of A$800 million in economic loss, arguing it should be paid a share of the profits from the mine. An Australian court in May ordered Fortescue, the world’s fourth-biggest iron ore miner, to pay A$150 million in compensation to the group…
Singaporean police raided the local office of iron ore trader Radiant World last week and questioned some of the firm’s employees, according to people familiar with the matter, part of an investigation into the company’s transactions after some counterparties raised concerns about allegedly falsified documents. Several major commodity traders have cut ties with the company amid concerns that it provided invoices or other documents to its banks that weren’t valid, Bloomberg has reported. A spokesperson for the Singapore police said that investigations were ongoing and further details were not available. Radiant World declined to comment in response to questions for…
University of Arizona is among schools nationwide that are seeking federal funding The U.S. Department of Energy is launching a $100 million initiative to recruit more Americans for the country’s mining and other critical-minerals workforce. The Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies initiative will expand educational opportunities and skilled workforce training to help grow America’s critical minerals production, according to the DOE. Supporters of the PROSPECT initiative want to double the number of Americans graduating with degrees in mining and other critical mineral fields within two years. America is facing a shortage of workers in the mining industry, as an…
The critical minerals segment has been driving acquisition and financing activity in the Brazilian mining sector in recent days. This week, the Canadian company Lithium Ionic completed the sale of its Salinas project in Brazil to the Australian company PLS Group Limited, in a US$37.5 million transaction. According to the Canadian company, the funds raised from the sale will strengthen its cash position and make it possible to advance on another front in Brazil, the Bandeira project, valued at US$190 million and located in the state of Minas Gerais. “With the conclusion of this transaction, our focus remains fully on…
From jewelry and fountain pens to catalytic converters and hydrogen fuel cells, platinum group metals are an assemblage of six scarce and similar elements that are solidly positioned at the intersection of precious, industrial, and critical metals. “These metals are foundational to U.S. automotive manufacturing, emissions compliance, aerospace systems, chemical catalysts, and fuel cell and electrolyzer development,” Amanda Van Dyke, founder of the Critical Minerals Hub, wrote in a Substack post. “Any disruption in PGM supply would immediately ripple through U.S. production lines, regulatory compliance obligations, and high-value manufacturing.” That importance to U.S. supply chains, coupled with most global mine production…
A sponsor of the Valais festival through a company to which he is linked, composer and trader Igor Raykhelson leads a double life between music and the titanium trade. In the courts, a company he founded is locked in a battle with a Russian manufacturer of the metal. On both sides, accusations fly thick and fast – and are firmly contested By Juliette de Banes-Gardonne and Richard Etienne for Le Temps August 17, 2026 The Verbier Festival’s results have the colour of great summers: green lights across the board, full houses and financial momentum at its peak. Twenty-seven sold-out concerts…