Latest news with #PDAC2025
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Golden opportunity: read the new issue of MINE Australia!
In the April 2025 issue of MINE Australia, we look at industry progress on decarbonisation through both renewables implementation and electrification initiatives. The mining sector's transition to renewable energy faces several structural and operational hurdles. Yet with its abundance of sun and wind resources, Australia is well positioned to lead the way. At the St Ives mine in Western Australia (WA), Gold Fields is implementing its largest renewables project to date, aiming to generate 73% of the mine's electricity from a combination of wind and solar energy by 2026. We ask whether this project could be a blueprint for future decarbonisation efforts and what more could be done to support such initiatives in Australia. We also delve deeper into Australia's progress with mine site electrification and explore the country's ambition to bolster its green metals industry. Plus, we look at the energy-intensive comminution process and how AI is supporting more sustainable crushing and grinding operations. Elsewhere, we examine how WA is looking to enhance its capabilities in automation and robotics with a new government-funded test facility. We also speak to Geoscience Australia about a project to map the nation's critical mineral resources and report from the PDAC 2025 convention on the use of new technologies in minerals exploration. Read all of this an more in the April issue of MINE Australia at: You can sign up to receive future issues of MINE direct to your inbox. In the May issue of MINE Australia, we look at the uranium mining outlook in the country. With uranium subject to a myriad of state-based policy and legislation, we ask whether bans in certain regions could be overturned amid growing demand pressure. We also explore efforts to decarbonise Australia's aluminium sector, examine the growing role of autonomous technologies in mining, and delve into the latest enhancements in fleet management technology. "Golden opportunity: read the new issue of MINE Australia!" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Power Metals' CEO on the caesium mining opportunity at Case Lake
Canada-based Power Metals is working to develop the Case Lake project in north-eastern Ontario, close to the border with Quebec. The project, which could enter production in the second half of 2026, is positioning itself to become the world's fourth major caesium mine. During PDAC 2025, Mining Technology spoke with Power Metals CEO Haydn Daxter about the caesium market and the next steps for the Case Lake project. Caesium is listed as a critical mineral by both the US and Canada. It is used primarily (70%) as a low-viscosity fluid to help control well pressures and reduce friction during high-temperature well drilling for oil and gas exploration. Caesium also has applications in atomic clocks, solar and battery technology, catalysis and medicine. 'We know that 3,000 tonnes of [caesium] concentrate is the annual consumption, which is not a great deal, but currently, there is no mine that is producing any consistent tonnage,' says Daxter. To date, only three high-grade caesium mines have operated globally: Bitika in Zimbabwe, Sinclair in Western Australia and Tanco in Manitoba, Canda. China has had a 'foothold' in all of these through state-owned operator Sinomine. The US Geological Survey reported 'intermittent' caesium production and processing from mined ore and stockpiles at the Tanco mine in 2024, along with some estimated mine production in China. 'Previously, the US, Canada [and] Australia were all buying their caesium from the Chinese market,' adds Daxter. However, he notes geopolitical tension as well as the tariff war between the US and Canada and Mexico is making it challenging. The latest drilling results from Power Metals' Case Lake project, announced in February, indicate that the project hosts high-grade deposits of caesium, tantalum and lithium (spodumene). 'Last year, we completed over 8,000m of exploration drilling… and we are currently working on a maiden mineral resource that will be out by the end of the first quarter [Q1],' Daxter says. Power Metals is also working on a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Case Lake, which is due out in Q2. Further exploration drilling is also scheduled for later this year. Winsome Resources owns a 19.6% stake in Power Metals, as well as the offtake rights for lithium, cesium and tantalum from the company's Case Lake project. Video recorded at PDAC 2025 on 5 March. "Power Metals' CEO on the caesium mining opportunity at Case Lake" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
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Winsome Resources outlines next steps for Adina lithium project
Winsome Resources is working to find a strategic partner for its Adina lithium project in the James Bay region of Quebec 'in the next six months', so that it can push ahead with further studies and, eventually, construction. Adina, a hard rock spodumene lithium deposit first discovered in 2016, holds an estimated resource of 78 million tonnes (mt) at 1.12% lithium oxide. According to a scoping study released by Winsome last September, Adina has a forecast average production of more than 256,000 tonnes per annum of spodumene concentrate over the 21-year life of mine. Winsome is hoping to acquire and repurpose the existing infrastructure at the Renard diamond mine to process ore from Adina. It secured an option in April 2024 to acquire Renard, located 60km south of the proposed lithium project. 'All the infrastructure is there: an airport, a power plant, accommodation – and most importantly the lithium processing plant. It can be converted easily and saves us around $500m on the capital cost of the full project,' Chris Evans, managing director of Winsome Resources, told Mining Technology during an interview at PDAC 2025 earlier in March. The next step for Winsome Resources, he says, is to secure a strategic partner that can support the next phases of the Adina project development. 'Since we published our initial studies last year… we have been looking for a strategic partner,' explains Evans. 'We want a strategic partner on site to help us develop our studies and then ultimately move into final investment decision and construction.' Winsome has been running the process for 'about four months' and expects to bring a partner on 'in the next six months' to exercise the option on the Renard mine, according to Evans. Winsome, an Australian company which, according to its website, has an 'established portfolio of exploration lithium projects in the James Bay Region of Quebec Province', has until 31 May 2025 to act, otherwise exclusivity rights will be replaced with a right of first refusal over any alternative transaction. Evans also says the company is working on its project feasibility study, which is expected to be completed around the middle of next year. Winsome also recently submitted the preliminary information statement for the Adina project to the Ministry of Environment, Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks in Quebec, launching the start of the regulatory review process. Alongside its flagship Adina project, Winsome has three other projects in Quebec: Cancet, Sirmac-Clapier and Tilly. 'At a time when lithium pricing is down, we now find ourselves with several interests in this new commodity, caesium,' Evans tells Mining Technology. In February, Winsome reported that analysis of outcrop samples from its Sirmac-Clapier project, originally acquired for its lithium potential, 'confirmed the presence and tenor of very high-grade caesium mineralisation'. Evans says the project 'shows great promise' for caesium and will be the focus of further exploration efforts later this year. Winsome also owns a 20% shareholding in Power Metals Corporation, acquired from China's Sinomine in 2022. Power Metals is developing the Case Lake project in north-east Ontario, for which Winsome also holds all the offtake rights for caesium, lithium and tantalum. According to Evans, within the next 12–18 months Case Lake has the potential to become the only operating caesium mine in the world. Pegmatite mines previously operated in Canada, Western Australia and Zimbabwe have ceased production, so caesium stockpiles are thought to be in 'slow decline'. The US Geological Survey states that consumption, import and export data for caesium have not been available since the late 1980s. However, it estimates that the primary global caesium producers in 2024 were Canada, China, Germany and Russia – and notes that the US was completely reliant on imports for its caesium needs in 2024. Recognising the caesium market as 'opaque', Evans points out that projects can be brought online quickly if needed. 'The mining is very different to lithium in that in a short amount of time you can mine an entire 'pod' of caesium that can represent several years of world supply,' says Evans. 'There is a lot of money to be made in a short time with caesium and we are getting ourselves up to speed very quickly,' concludes Evans. "Winsome Resources outlines next steps for Adina lithium project" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
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PDAC 2025: Frontier Lithium's refinery project wins government backing
Canada's federal government has pledged funding of up to C$120m for Frontier Lithium's 'first of a kind' lithium refinery project in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Canada's Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced the conditional support from the Strategic Innovation Fund at PDAC 2025 in Toronto. Ontario's state government is also considering supporting the facility with up to C$120m of additional funding. 'This proposed investment is not only a testament to our province's reputation as a reliable and prosperous partner in supplying and producing critical minerals [but] it also reaffirms that our mining sector is at the heart of our plan to protect Ontario,' said Vic Fedeli, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Frontier Lithium's proposed refinery would have the capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium salts from the PAK lithium project, supporting battery production for around 500,000 electric vehicles per year. The PAK lithium project is a joint venture between Frontier Lithium (92.5%) and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (7.5%). Frontier Lithium CEO Trevor Walker called the deal a 'significant milestone' and welcomed the support for upstream critical minerals processing in Ontario. George Pirie, Ontario's Minister of Mines, added that the province needs to do 'even more to expand critical mineral development and processing' to protect the economy in the face of US President Trump's recently imposed tariffs. The US imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian exports and 10% on Canadian energy from 4 March. In response, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 25% tariffs 'on $30bn worth of goods immediately and tariffs on the remaining $125bn on American products in 21 days' time'. At PDAC, Wilkinson also announced that the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund is open for its second round of applications. 'Successful projects will focus particularly on critical minerals that will support applications in Canada and around the world, across key sectors including energy, semiconductors and defence,' Wilkinson said. The call for proposals will provide up to C$500m in funding to projects that are in preconstruction and 'shovel ready'. "PDAC 2025: Frontier Lithium's refinery project wins government backing " was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
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PDAC 2025: Kazakh uranium miners look to take advantage of nuclear resurgence
Kazakhstan, the world's largest uranium producer, is hoping to capitalise on a nuclear power resurgence, according to mining executives speaking at PDAC 2025 in Toronto yesterday (2 March). Opening the panel discussion, Dastan Kosherbayev, chief director for strategy and international development at state-owned Kazatomprom, said a second uranium renaissance is 'actively developing' and 'demand is robust'. 'The nuclear sphere is receiving support, not only from political entities, but from financial institutions as well,' he added, pointing to an agreement signed by 14 financial institutions during New York Climate Week in September 2024. Kosherbayev also referenced the Net Zero Nuclear initiative, which calls for a tripling of nuclear energy by 2050. Cameco, which owns Inkai 3 through a 40:60 joint venture with Kazatomprom, joined the initiative as a strategic partner in February 2025. 'The primary benefit from the [nuclear industry] rejuvenation [is that] we are expecting demand to increase significantly with structural shortfalls in production,' said Sean Quinn, senior vice-president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Cameco. Quinn also pointed to Cameco's ambition to gain a greater foothold in the conversion and enrichment space. 'As the uranium industry reboots itself… we are looking to our investment in Westinghouse and other fuel cycle opportunities like GLE [Global Laser Enrichment] that can give us even greater exposure,' he said. GLE is the licensee of the proprietary Separation of Isotopes by Laser EXcitation laser uranium enrichment technology. Cameco is the commercial lead for the GLE project with a 49% interest and an option to attain a majority interest of 75%. Meanwhile, Kosherbayev pointed to Kazatomprom's ambition to expand its footprint in the nuclear fuel cycle and rare earth space, as outlined in Kazatomprom's strategy for 2025–34, released in January. 'Conversion and enrichment projects may come as lucrative. Of course, we would like to expand outputs in these areas but not at any cost,' he stated. Kosherbayev added that Kazatomprom has identified rare earth element by-products such as scandium at some of its mines and that the company is currently testing potential equipment to separate these by-products efficiently. 'Should that happen, we are going to pursue some industrial-sized opportunities,' he said. However, he noted that natural uranium remains Kazatomprom's largest revenue stream, accounting for around 90% of sales. Kazakhstan was the world's leading uranium producer in 2024, contributing 38% of global output and delivering a 10.4% increase compared with 2023, according to a recent report from GlobalData, Mining Technology's parent company. The country's uranium industry is poised for significant growth, with production projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% from 2025 to 2030, culminating in an estimated output of 30,500 tonnes by 2030, GlobalData's report added. "PDAC 2025: Kazakh uranium miners look to take advantage of nuclear resurgence" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
