\n A potential buyer has been selected for the Eagle gold mine near Mayo, Yukon, which had a major heap leach failure in June 2024. Courtesy of Victoria Gold. <\/p>\n
Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap, where we catch you up on some of the news you may have missed.\u00a0This week\u2019s\u00a0headlines include a potential\u00a0buyer\u00a0for the Eagle gold mine in Yukon, the Royal Canadian Mint\u00a0investigating\u00a0claims of alleged cartel-linked gold supply and Barrick\u00a0Mining\u00a0selecting the U.S. for the primary\u00a0stock\u00a0listing of its planned spinoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The federal\u00a0government\u00a0announced on Monday that it\u00a0is\u00a0launching<\/a>\u00a0a\u00a0sovereign wealth fund.\u00a0The\u00a0Canada Strong\u00a0Fund\u00a0will be\u00a0backed by\u00a0an initial\u00a0$25 billion\u00a0investment over three years\u00a0to support infrastructure, energy,\u00a0mining\u00a0and advanced manufacturing projects\u00a0such as those Canada\u2019s Major Projects Office\u00a0(MPO)\u00a0has identified as being in the national interest.\u00a0The fund, to be managed independently as an \u201carm\u2019s\u00a0length\u201d Crown corporation, will\u00a0focus\u00a0on equity investments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Late last\u00a0week, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said up to 10 new major natural resource projects could be\u00a0under\u00a0way\u00a0within a year as federal efforts through the MPO\u00a0accelerate approvals and investment decisions,\u00a0The Globe and Mail<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0So far,\u00a015 projects\u00a0have been referred to the\u00a0MPO, including Canada Nickel\u2019s Crawford nickel project in Ontario and Foran Mining\u2019s McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc\u00a0project in Saskatchewan.\u00a0<\/p>\n The B.C. government announced on Wednesday that it is adding 17 more projects to its list of priority projects, bringing the total to 35,\u00a0The Canadian Press<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0The Look West plan, launched in 2025, aims to\u00a0expedite\u00a0approvals for major projects; new additions to the list include Seabridge Gold\u2019s KSM project and the New\u00a0Ingerbelle\u00a0extension at Hudbay Minerals\u2019 Copper Mountain mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Impact\u00a0Assessment Agency of Canada is inviting public\u00a0feedback<\/a>\u00a0until May 22\u00a0on a draft\u00a0impact\u00a0assessment\u00a0report for the\u00a0proposed\u00a0Webequie\u00a0Supply Road\u00a0project in northern Ontario\u2019s Ring of Fire region.\u00a0The\u00a0roughly\u00a0107-kilometre\u00a0all-season road would link\u00a0Webequie\u00a0Airport to a mineral-rich\u00a0area near\u00a0McFaulds\u00a0Lake, improving access for\u00a0Webequie\u00a0First Nation as well as the movement of materials for\u00a0future\u00a0mining and exploration\u00a0activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Private investment\u00a0firm Boroo has been selected as a potential buyer for the Eagle\u00a0gold mine in Yukon, which was shut down\u00a0in\u00a0June\u00a02024\u00a0after\u00a0the slope of\u00a0a\u00a0heap leach pad\u00a0failed, contaminating the local environment with\u00a0cyanide-soaked ore,\u00a0The Globe and Mail<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0Accounting firm\u00a0PricewaterhouseCoopers, the court-appointed\u00a0receiver<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0mine\u2019s owner Victoria Gold, has signed a 90-day exclusivity deal with Boroo to conduct due diligence and negotiate a sale. Talks\u00a0on restart conditions\u00a0will also include the Yukon government and the First Nation of\u00a0Na-Cho\u00a0Ny\u00e4k\u00a0Dun.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Royal\u00a0Canadian Mint is investigating claims that some of its gold supply may be linked to Colombian mines allegedly controlled by a drug cartel,\u00a0The Canadian Press<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0A\u00a0New York Times\u00a0report\u00a0on Monday\u00a0said the\u00a0Colombian\u00a0gold is combined with U.S.\u00a0gold\u00a0before being shipped to Canada. The Mint has suspended refining from the affected supply chain and launched a full review.\u00a0<\/p>\n Barrick Mining\u00a0will list its North American spinoff primarily in New York,\u00a0along\u00a0with a secondary Toronto listing,\u00a0The Globe and Mail<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0The spinoff, North American Barrick, will involve a 10 to 15 per cent stake in the company\u2019s North American projects.\u00a0Newmont, Barrick\u2019s joint venture partner in several assets, has\u00a0indicated\u00a0that any deal involving shared operations must\u00a0comply with\u00a0protections set out in their existing agreements, though Barrick\u00a0maintains\u00a0it can\u00a0proceed\u00a0independently\u00a0with the spinoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n Former Red\u00a0Pine Exploration CEO Quentin\u00a0Yarie\u00a0has been charged by\u00a0the\u00a0RCMP\u00a0with fraud and forgery for allegedly manipulating mining assay results\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0Wawa\u00a0gold\u00a0project\u00a0in Ontario,\u00a0Northern Ontario Business<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0The alleged changes led to a 2023 technical report\u00a0that\u00a0overstated\u00a0gold resources by 62,000 to 87,000 ounces\u00a0of gold.\u00a0The investigation began in 2024, and\u00a0Yarie\u00a0is scheduled to appear in court on June 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n China is tightening control over its\u00a0rare earths\u00a0sector through a new draft framework from\u00a0its\u00a0Ministry\u00a0of Industry and Information Technology, which outlined\u00a0stricter enforcement rules and penalties for violations\u00a0by the country\u2019s rare earths producers,\u00a0Mining.com<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0The proposals include heavy fines for production quota breaches and, in severe cases,\u00a0the loss of\u00a0business\u00a0licences. China, which dominates global rare earths\u00a0production and refining, has previously used\u00a0export restrictions<\/a>\u00a0as leverage in trade disputes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Several companies\u00a0released\u00a0first\u00a0quarter\u00a0results this week, including\u00a0Alamos Gold<\/a>,\u00a0Kinross<\/a>,\u00a0Agnico Eagle<\/a>,\u00a0Eldorado Gold<\/a>,\u00a0Centerra Gold<\/a>,\u00a0Hudbay Minerals<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Imperial Oil<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n A\u00a0new partnership between Genome BC and the University of British Columbia\u2019s Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining\u00a0(BRIMM)\u2014supported through Rio Tinto\u2019s global research and innovation network\u2014is aiming to\u00a0move\u00a0biomining<\/a>\u00a0from lab research to real-world mining applications, Kristen Frisa reported for\u00a0CIM Magazine.\u00a0Biomining uses microbes to extract metals from ore and waste, with the potential to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. The project will scale promising technologies through industry collaboration and field testing, backed by up to\u00a0$1\u00a0million\u00a0in funding\u00a0from Genome BC and BRIMM\u00a0over three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s\u00a0all for this week. If\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0got feedback, you can always reach us at\u00a0editor@cim.org<\/a>. If\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0got something to add, why not join the conversation on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0pages?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n