Weekly Nickel News

March 13 to March 19 February 27 to March 05 February 20 to 26 February 13 to 19 February 06 to 12 January 30 to February 05 January 23 to 29 January 16 to 22 January 10 to 15 January 04 to 09 December 26 to January 3 December 12 to 18 December 05 to 11 November 28 to December 04 November 21 to 27 November 14 to 20 November 07 to 13 October 31 to November 05 October 24 to 30 October 17 to 23 October 10 to 16 October 03 to 09 September 26 to October 2 September 18 to 24 September 11 to 17 September 05 to 11 August 27 to September 03 August 15 to 21 August 07 to 14 August 01 to 07
Top Stories : March 13 to 19
Production/Operations
Initial metallurgical results are in for Canada Nickel Co. Inc.’s (CNC:TSX.V;CNIKF:OTCMKTS) Reid property northwest of Timmins, Ontario, and they are “impressive” and “very promising,” reported Research Capital Corp. analyst Adam Schatzker in a March 15 research note.

NickelSearch Ltd (ASX:NIS) has confirmed the presence of shallow nickel sulphides at Sexton prospect of the Carlingup Nickel Project in Western Australia, encountering nickel mineralisation in massive sulphides in each hole of its maiden drilling program.

Metal Energy Corp (TSX-V:MERG) has announced the final drill hole assays of the Phase Two drill program on its high-grade nickel and copper-cobalt Manibridge project in Manitoba’s Thompson Nickel Belt.

Mistango River Resources Inc. (CSE: MIS) (the “Company” or “Mistango”) is pleased to update on Metal Energy’s progress on the Manibridge Mine. Mistango owns 15% of Manibridge, and Metal Energy owns 85%.

Three women with machetes stood guard at their farm hilltop on Indonesia’s Wawonii Island, directing their blades towards the nickel miners working in the forest clearing below. ‘I pointed the machete at their faces. I told them: ‘If you scratch this land, heads will fly, we will defend this land to the death’

Alligator Energy Ltd (ASX:AGE) has identified four target anomalies at the Piedmont Nickel-Cobalt Project in Northern Italy with a ground-based electromagnetic (EM) survey, subsequently completing phase two of its farm-in agreement with Chris Reindler and Partners (CRP) and securing a 51% interest in the project licences.

Canada Nickel’s (TSXV: CNC) first metallurgical test at Reid, an ultramafic nickel project near its flagship Crawford nickel sulphide project in Ontario, returned a head grade of 0.35% nickel, 0.10% sulphur and 6.2% iron.

Merger/Acquisitions
Canada Nickel Company Inc. (“Canada Nickel” or the “Company”) (TSXV: CNC) (OTCQX: CNIKF) is pleased to announce robust nickel recoveries from the first metallurgical test on a sample from the Reid property. The test utilized the same mineral processing flowsheet designed for the Company’s flagship Crawford Nickel Sulphide project.

Contract/Orders
Flying Nickel Mining Corp. (TSXV: FLYN) (“Flying Nickel” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the signing of an Impact and Benefit Agreement (“IBA”) with Norway House Cree Nation (“NHCN”) to advance the development of the Minago Nickel Project (“Minago”) located in the prolific Thompson nickel belt in Manitoba, Canada.

Vendor/ Supplier Related
Horizonte Minerals and the industry federation of Brazil’s Para state, Fiepa, partnered to train local suppliers to provide services to the miner’s US$537mn Araguaia nickel project. ‘The objective is to guide people on the skills that must be developed, performance and recognition

Business Expansion
Indonesian nickel company PT Trimegah Bangun Persada (TBP), part of conglomerate Harita Group, aims to increase its processing capacity using some of the proceeds from a planned initial public offering in April, its top executive said on Friday.

Intellectual Property
LG Chem aims to enforce its battery material patent rights amid intensifying technological competition with the aim of dominating the global advanced battery market. LG Chem proposed to license out its high-nickel cathode material patent to China-based cathode material suppliers.

Fund Raising/Grants
Indonesian nickel company Pmegah Bangun Persada (TBP), a unit of the Harita conglomerate, is raising up to $647 million through an initial public offering (IPO), according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Adavale Resources has nabbed funding for up to $2 million (before costs) to progress drill testing of priority nickel sulphide targets at its Kabanga Jirani Nickel Project in Tanzania via the issue of unsecured Convertible Notes.

Economy
Speculators are ditching nonferrous metals, driving down prices for the vital industrial commodities as concerns about China’s modest economic forecasts and the recent collapse of American banks cloud the global outlook.

Investment
The London Metal Exchange (LME) on Friday postponed the resumption of nickel trading during Asian hours by a week to March 27 after it found nickel that failed to meet contract specifications at an LME warehouse. The move is another blow to the world’s oldest and biggest industrial metals market, which had been counting on a restart of Asian trade

News Stories
Production/Operations
ELCORA ADVANCED MATERIALS CORP, has announced that it has received, through its Ermazon SARL wholly owned subsidiary, a Manganese Exploitation License from the Moroccan government for its site named ‘Atlas Fox Deposit’ in the region. This license allows Elcora to mine, extract, process and sell Manganese from its 16 km² mining concession in Morocco.

USA News Group Spin-out opportunities in the mining sector can generate mixed reactions from the market when they arise, depending on how they’re handled. And this year is no different as multiple opportunities are arising, with much of the headlines going towards talk of Teck Resources Limited

A plan by top nickel miner Indonesia to create an OPEC-like group to coordinate supply would not benefit the Philippines, the No. 2 producer, according to an industry group. The Philippines mined a 10th of the in-demand metal that’s used in electric vehicle batteries last year

Glencore Plc boss Gary Nagle said his company is the cheapest way to buy exposure to a coming copper boom as he predicted a renewed spree of dealmaking in the mining industry. The mining industry had largely turned its back on big-ticket deals after a series of disastrous transactions at the height of the last commodity boom

PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama (CNI) Group is building two nickel smelters with two leading technologies: the 72-MVA Rectangular Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace (RKEF) technology to process saprolite-type nickel ore and the High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) technology to process limonite-type nickel ore used in the electric vehicle battery production.

Good nickel met news for Centaurus as DFS completion delayed

Altilium Metals, a UK clean energy group, plans to accelerate the development of the UK’s largest EV battery recycling plant, following completion of a six-month feasibility study, funded partly by the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, and the first successful demonstration of its proprietary technology at its newly opened analytical laboratory.

There have been few industries more difficult to tame since last year’s energy price boom than aluminium production. The process is extremely energy intensive – aluminium smelters are often the larger single energy consumers in electricity grids – making them extremely sensitive to price rises.

A temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was issued by a local court in Brooke’s Point, Palawan against an ongoing protest on the operation of the Ipilan Mining Corporation in the municipality. RTC Branch 165 Presiding Judge Ramon Chito R. Mendoza issued the TRO in favor of Ipilan, which is now calling on the local government

Mining company Merdeka Battery Materials, a subsidiary of Merdeka Copper Gold (MDKA), is preparing to operate 21,000 hectares of mining area in Konawe, South East Sulawesi, which has one of the biggest nickel reserves in the world.

South Africa’s mining production, one of the country’s pillar industries, decreased by 1.9 percent year on year in January, official data showed Tuesday. The latest figure represents that the country’s mining production has experienced contraction for 12 consecutive months, according to the Statistics South Africa.

Bravo Mining chairman and CEO Luis Azevedo joins Proactive’s Natalie Stoberman to share the progress its Luanga nickel project has been making towards new drilling phases. Bravo Mining is a Canada and Brazil-based mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its Luanga Project in the world-class Carajas Mineral Province of Brazil.

Nickel ‘alchemist’ Xiang Guangda aims to work his magic on batteries

‘I want to send my child to college but now where can I get the money from- Royani is not alone in her desperation. Many villagers in Wawonii, Indonesia find themselves in this impossible situation. Like many, Royani relied on farming clove trees for her income. Until she was ‘devastated’ to find a whole swathe of trees had been torn down to make way for nickel mining.

Shares in Dynamic Metals (DYM) have skyrocketed after the company reported ‘thick, high-grade’ nickel hits from its Widgiemooltha project in Western Australia. The results come from the first five holes drilled at the the project’s Dordie Far West (DFW) prospect, nearby where Mincor Resources (MCR) found anomalous nickel in the late 2000s.

Aqua Metals Inc., a Reno, Nevada-based lithium-ion battery recycling company, has successfully recovered high-purity nickel from lithium battery black mass using its proprietary Li AquaRefining process, which uses electricity, and without a polluting smelter or the significant chemical waste typical in recycling.

Uniformity Labs has announced the availability of its UniFuse IN718 Nickel Alloy and optimised parameters for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) printing at 60’m layer thickness with lasers power at 400W. The company claims that the material achieves a 2.2X faster exposure time and ‘superior’

Adavale Resources Limited (ASX: ADD) (‘ADD’ or ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that it has secured funding up to $2 million (before costs) through the issue of unsecured Convertible Notes to progress the drilling testing priority nickel sulphide targets at the Kabanga Jirani Nickel Project in Tanzania.

Sibanye-Stillwater (Tickers JSE: SSW and NYSE: SBSW) advises stakeholders that an incident occurred at its US PGM operations- Stillwater West mine in Montana, USA during scheduled non-routine maintenance on the winder which services the vertical shaft accessing the deeper levels of the Stillwater West mine.

Following a recent maiden 1.5-million-ounce gold resource for its Edleston project in Canada, Aston Minerals (ASX: ASO) is gearing up to grow the estimate further by drilling 1.9km of strike. The drill program is due to begin later this month and will target multiple induced polarisation (IP) anomalies, which lie under shallow transported cover.

Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) is moving closer to the divestment of its non-core Western Australian copper, nickel, PGE and uranium assets into Mining Green Metals Ltd with MG1’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) now open.

What South Africa’s base metals mining aspirant Orion Minerals has been trying to do over the last two years is to drive a very typical historic project financing arrangement for junior mining. This very typical historic project financing model involves getting banks in for between 60% and 70% of the project finance and equity in for 30% to 40% and then you build a mine.

Sweden-based equipment manufacturer Sandvik AB has introduced what it calls the mining and quarrying industry’s first ‘opt-out’ carbide drill bit recycling program. ‘The initiative aims to transform the use of a material expected to run out within 40 to 100 years if consumption rates continue unabated,’ says Sandvik regarding the tungsten found in drill bits.

Electra Battery Materials (NASDAQ: ELBM; TSX.V: ELBM) successfully recovered lithium, in its black mass recycling trial, conducted at its refinery north of Toronto. Lithium is a critical mineral needed for the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain. Black mass is the term used to describe the material remaining once expired lithium-ion batteries are shredded and all casings removed.

Dual listed Jervois Global is targeting the full concentrator commissioning at its Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO), in the US, in the coming month, with copper and cobalt concentrates expected early in the second quarter of this year, slightly later than previously anticipated.

A mining company has identified potentially lucrative deposits of rare earth elements tucked in the Bitterroot Mountains near the Idaho-Montana border. These metallic elements are used in cellphones, laptops and TVs, as well as electric vehicles.

Ivory Coast produced a record high of about 48 tonnes of gold in 2022, up 14% from the previous year, a document from the Ministry of Mines, Petrol and Energy showed. Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is seeking to develop its long-neglected mining sector to diversify its revenue.

China’s aluminum production rose 7.5% in the first two months of 2023, official data showed on Wednesday, after the end of strict Covid-19 controls improved the economic outlook and lifted demand expectations.

Orford Mining Corp. [ORM-TSXV] has completed the winter drill program on the 100%-optioned Joutel Eagle property located along the fertile Casa-Berardi structural zone and historical Eagle-Telbel mine trend in the Abitibi greenstone belt, northern Quebec.

The Copper Mark, the assurance framework to promote responsible practices for copper, molybdenum, nickel and zinc producers, has recently been awarded to three new sites. With these additions, the Copper Mark has now been awarded to 39 participating sites.

Trafigura Group’s head of metals operations is leaving as part of a global restructuring of its logistics team, the latest shakeup at the trading house since it was hit by a vast alleged nickel fraud.

China’s XCMG has increased its influence in mining outside of its domestic market in recent years – including a landmark 2021 agreement with Vale that has already seen its battery electric wide body truck, the 72 t XDR80TE being trialled at Vale’s Agua Limpa iron ore mines in Minas Gerais, Brazil and Sorowako nickel operations in Indonesia.

Ardea Resources has identified new rock chip samples with elevated levels of tantalum and hopes the find will now translate into more lithium-bearing pegmatites at its Ghost Rocks prospect in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. The company recently collected a total of 12 samples from a 6km strike area, with six of them returning elevated tantalum readings

Investor Relations
In early March, consumption recovery was still short of expectations. Market players did hot pin much hope on consumption recovery during the ‘Two Sessions’. The recovery of stainless steel consumption was much slower than expected, putting great downward pressure on the NPI market.

LME: Invalidation Of Nine Nickel Warrants And Asian Hours Nickel – Trading Postponement

The London Metal Exchange has discovered bags of stones instead of the nickel that underpinned a handful of its contracts at a warehouse in Rotterdam, in a revelation that will deliver another blow to confidence in the embattled exchange.

MMC Norilsk Nickel will launch a Digital Investor employee motivation program, said Larisa Zelkova, senior vice president of the company. As part of this program, each employee with a year of experience will become the owner of a CFA pegged in value to Norilsk Nickel shares.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is still struggling to regain its reputation and standing as the predominant market for trading nickel and other metals vital to the green energy transition after a short squeeze last March threatened to destabilise the nickel market and forced it to cancel billions of dollars of transactions.

As of March 17, the nickel ore inventories at Chinese ports dropped 295,000 wmt from a week earlier to 6.59 million wmt. The total Ni content stood at 52,000 mt. The port inventory across seven major Chinese ports stood at 3.22 million wmt, 295,000 wmt lower than last week.

Pricing
Listed mining company Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) reported a net income of P7.93 billion in 2022, up by 1.5 percent from the year prior as higher metal prices and favorable foreign exchange rates made up for the slack in sales volume.

On the supply side, SHFE nickel prices reached a new low yesterday. The spot premiums bottomed out, and the spot quotations remained low. NPI quotations were temporarily stable. Some NPI traders held a wait-and-see sentiment. On the demand side, according to SMM research

Benchmark prices for EU ferrochrome are rising significantly. The key stainless steel raw material increases in price by more than 15% for Q2 2023. Key chrome suppliers and producers facing problems. Rating agency raises outlook for metals and mining sector to stable. And US steelmakers can’t meet demand.

Exports/ Imports
Junior Pacific Nickel Mines has been given approval for the grant of the export permit for its Kolosori nickel project, on the Solomon Islands. The export permit has been approved for a period of three years, which is the maximum period an export permit for minerals can be issued, and would allow the company to sell and export nickel ore produced from Kolosori.

Studies/Surveys
The extreme conditions of nuclear reactors expose their structural alloys to high temperatures, stress, corrosion, and irradiation damage. Therefore, nuclear alloys require materials with high strength, flexibility, corrosion resistance, irradiation resistance, and microstructural stability across a wide temperature range, especially at high temperatures.

Who knew that Gogama was a lithium exploration hotbed That’s the word from Joshua Gold Resources. The Woodstock, Ont.-based junior miner has jumped on the battery electric vehicle bandwagon by upping its ownership in a pair of Gogama-area lithium properties from 50 to 100 per cent.

Government/Regulatory
Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan warned companies operating in a nickel-rich region to comply with the country’s environmental regulations or risk getting their operating licenses revoked.

A senior Indonesian cabinet minister on Tuesday warned companies operating in a nickel-rich region to comply with the country’s environmental regulations or risk getting their operating licenses revoked.

Transitioning global energy systems to renewables in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change will be impossible without a massive ramp-up in mining. In recent evidence to a Federal Parliamentary inquiry, Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable said that by 2030

The farmers and indigenous people protesting the operations of Ipilan Nickel Corp. in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, since Feb. 18 have vowed to stage more rallies against mining activities in their area despite the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against them.

The European Union proposed classifying copper and nickel as critical raw materials in landmark legislation designed to bolster supplies, alongside other metals key to the energy transition. Inclusion on the EU’s new critical raw materials list would underscore growing political angst over long-term supplies of the metals

Former two-term Republican governor of Minnesota, Arne Carlson, has written an open letter to the administration of Governor Tim Walz, urging action to prevent pollution from the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine and associated projects. Carlson was joined in signing the letter by two past legislators and a Duluth businessman.

The European Commission presented the centrepieces of a strategy on Thursday to ensure its industry can compete with the United States and China in making clean tech products and accessing raw materials required for the green transition.

US President Joe Biden and European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen on Friday vowed ‘cooperation on diversifying critical mineral and battery supply chains.’ Dialing down trade tensions with our allies is a welcome development.

The federal government this week announced the release of four new Mineral Potential Maps, which could facilitate exploration for minerals such as zinc and associated critical minerals including cobalt, gallium, and germanium for use in renewable technologies.

The Middle East region is rich in many types of minerals that can be a great source of income, as well as open up job opportunities for the local people. The Sultanate of Oman has plenty of minerals as well, as demonstrated by explorations and aerial geophysical surveys in various parts of the country.

A MINING unit of listed Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. urged Brooke’s Point Mayor Cesareo R. Benedito, Jr. to prevent protesters from hindering operations in its mine site in the Palawan town as set in a court-issued temporary restraining order (TRO).

Business Expansion
Pursuant to the area of interest clause of Fathom Nickel Inc.’s [FNI-CSE; FNICF-OTCQB; 6Q5-FSE] Gochager Lake option agreement, Saskatchewan, the land position covered under the option agreement has recently increased by 937 hectares.

Tanzania has been long seen as one of Africa’s brightest mining prospects. BHP, one of the world’s biggest mining companies, recently took a decision to invest $100 million in a nickel project in the East African country. On the other hand, TRX Gold Corporation (TSX:TNX, NYSE-A:TRX) already has a presence in Tanzania.

Fund Raising/Grants
Usha Resources Ltd (TSX-V:USHA) said that due to investor demand, it has increased the size of its previously announced, non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to C$3 million by issuing as many as 9,230,769 company units at a price of $0.325 each.

Power Nickel (TSXV: PNPN) is looking for further funding to continue the development of its flagship Nisk nickel-copper PGE property in Quebec. The firm last night indicated it will be raising flow through funds as a means of furthering the development of the project.

Management Change
Legend Mining Ltd (ASX:LEG) has selected managing director Mark Wilson to fill the role of executive chair of the board following the retirement of Michael Atkins, who served the company for 20 years.

Research & Development
China will pay more attention to the research and development of techniques and equipment used for deep-sea mining, according to a senior researcher in the country’s shipbuilding industry. “Deep-sea mining has become a new frontier of international competition on science, technology, resources and industries

To boost the domestic manufacture of solar panels, electric vehicles, wind turbines and electricity networks, the U.S. will need a steady supply of critical minerals – such as copper, cobalt, nickel, lithium and platinum – that can be mined here.

Event/Conference/Seminar
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, along with other tribal and environmental groups, launched a campaign Tuesday to encourage state officials to prioritize clean water over a proposed nickel mine in Aitkin County. The initiative, called Water over Nickel, aims to raise awareness of the risks associated with the proposed Tamarack Mine.

POSCO Chemical Co., a leading South Korean manufacturer of secondary battery materials, said Wednesday it is showcasing a full lineup of its cathode and anode products and related technologies at an international battery show this week.

Earnings/ Financial Results
LISTED mining firm Nickel Asia Corp. saw its attributable net income last year increase by 1.5% to P7.93 billion brought about by higher nickel ore prices. In a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday, the company reported a 2.2% increase in revenues to P28 billion in 2022 from P27.4 billion in the previous year.

Pacific Nickel Mines Limited (ASX Code: PNM) (Pacific Nickel or Company) provides its Financial Report for the Half Year ended 31 December 2022. Authorised by the Board. For further information please contact: Mr. Geoff Hiller Executive Director & CEO Mr. Andrew J. Cooke Company Secretary Email: acooke@pacificnickel.com Please visit the company

The financial statements cover Australian Mines Limited as a consolidated entity consisting of Australian Mines Limited and the entities it controlled at the end of, or during, the half-year. The financial statements are presented in Australian dollars, which is Australian Mines Limited’s

Canada-based Ivanhoe have reported record annual profits for 2022 in a statement published on Monday. The company posted a profit of $434m, compared with $45m for 2021. It sold 323,733 tonnes of payable copper in 2022.

Environment/ Climate
Fortum Battery Recycling receives permit to start battery recycling opera­tions in Germany. Fortum Battery Recycling has received an environmental BImSchG-permit from Landratsamt Heilbronn and starts EV battery recycling operations in Kirchardt/Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany.

EU steel producers, led by a major German group, have made no really progress in decarbonising their blast furnaces since 2005. And now everything is supposed to get better A critical look at green symbols. Canada wants to ban Russian steel and aluminium imports. And does Indonesia have a problem with nickel ore mining

Human Resources/ Employees Related
About 50 Kalgoorlie-Boulder high school students were given insight into further education and career opportunities available in the mining and engineering sectors on Wednesday. Year 10 students from Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School joined year 11 and 12 chemistry

Capacities/Facilities
Lithium hydroxide: Australia’s way of the future (Australian Resources & Investment)
PwC expects Australia to make up 10 per cent of global lithium hydroxide capacity in a few years. We take a closer look at this growing industry. While Australia is the world’s biggest producing country of lithium raw materials, it only exports a small amount of refined lithium.

Vendor/ Supplier Related
Atlas Lithium Corporation (NASDAQ: ATLX) (“Atlas Lithium” or the “Company”), a leading developer of hard-rock lithium assets, today announced that SGS Canada Inc.’s facility, located in Lakefield, Canada (“SGS Lakefield”), a premier center for independent metallurgical assays, produced over 10 kg of commercial-grade lithium concentrate

In 2021, there were a total of 16.5 million Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the road globally. The global EV market is expected to expand to more than 350 million vehicles by 2030. Consumer demand, as well as governments looking to decrease their carbon footprint, are responsible for the increase in global EV production.

Investment
For both the company itself and the wide range of customers who use its products every day, that commitment to sustainability means, in large part, a shift to electrification. The Swedish founded business has set itself some bold, ambitious targets to deliver a greener and more sustainable future through electrification.

Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZS) has received strong endorsement of the lithium potential of its Andover Project in Western Australia with global lithium giant Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) completing a cornerstone investment of A$20 million.

Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to invest in mines to bring down the cost of battery cells, meet half of its own demand and sell to third-party customers, the carmaker’s board member in charge of technology said. Its strategy aligns with a wider trend of carmakers seeking greater control over parts of the supply chain traditionally

Business Partnership
Sprott Asset Management has launched an ETF capturing mining companies exposed to energy transition metals with white-label issuer HANetf. The Sprott Energy Transition Materials UCITS ETF (SETM) is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.75%. It will list on the Deutsche Boerse and Borsa Italiana at a later date.

BHP open to potash partnership with Nutrien, leaves door open to new takeover attempt

Stock/Shares
The median market capitalization for a pool of over 2,300 metals and mining companies slumped 24.8% year over year and dropped 6.9% month over month in February, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Management Issue
Vale SA is considering a spinoff or initial public offering of its sprawling base metals business after it completes the sale of a minority stake, according to people familiar with the situation. The Brazilian mining giant is in talks to sell a 10% stake in the unit and expects final bids in that process to be submitted by mid-April

Contract/Orders
Mining services major Thiess has announced that it has secured a four-year ore hauling contract with Weda Bay Nickel, the largest nickel player on Halmahera Island, North Maluku, Indonesia. PT Weda Bay Nickel is owned 90% by Strands Mineral (held by Eramet 43% and Tsingshan 57%).

On the morning of March 14, Jingye Group’s global iron ore concentrates procurement department signed a 2023 annual cooperation agreement with Hainan Mining. It is the second steel mill to sign an annual strategic cooperation agreement with Hainan Mining after Baosteel.

Merger/Acquisitions
Norway’s Loke Marine Minerals has acquired deep-sea mining firm UK Seabed Resources (UKSR) from U.S. weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), the companies said on Thursday as international rules governing seabed mining are hammered out.

Economy
Old industry, new tricks with Astec (Waste Management Review)
Astec’s high frequency screening technology is playing a role in New Caledonia’s circular economy by helping to refine and repurpose large volumes of nickel slag. Some 1200 kilometres east of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, New Caledonia is perhaps best known as a tropical South Pacific holiday destination.

Opinion/Feature/Trends
Press Release
Earnings/ Financial Results
Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (‘Comstock’ and the ‘Company’), an innovator of technologies that enable systemic decarbonization, today announced its full year 2022 results, summary of achievements completed in 2022, and our 2023 business outlook.

“Franco-Nevada is reporting strong fourth quarter and annual results for 2022. Our Diversified assets outperformed due to elevated energy prices in the year, stated Paul Brink, CEO. We are pleased that First Quantum and the Government of Panama have agreed on terms for a refreshed concession contract

Explanation Script of Teleconference for Consolidated Financial Results for the Third Quarter of the Year Ending March 2023 (FY2022) I. General Briefing The following is an overview of SMM’s financial results for the nine months ended December 31, 2022 as announced today. Please take a look at the cover summary on the earnings report.

Your directors present their report on the consolidated group for the half year ended 31 December 2022. Directors The names, qualifications and experience of the directors in office at any time during, or since the end of, the period are as follows. Directors have been in office for the entire period unless otherwise stated.

Business Partnership
Trillium Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: TGM, FRA: 0702) (‘Trillium’) and Pacton Gold Inc. (TSXV: PAC, OTC: PACXF, FSE: 2NKM) (‘Pacton’) are pleased to announce that they have entered into an arrangement agreement dated March 15, 2023 (the ‘Agreement’) to combine the two companies to create the leading gold explorer and dominant strategic land holder

Merger/Acquisitions
ALX Resources Corp. (TSXV: AL) (FSE: 6LLN) (OTC: ALXEF) (“ALX” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired by way of purchase the Reindeer Lithium Project (“Reindeer”, or the “Project”) in northern Saskatchewan. Reindeer consists of 5 mineral claims totalling 13,239 hectares (32,713 acres)

Here to Serve Holding Corp. (OTC Pink: HTSC) (the “Company”), a diversified holding company dedicated to finding ways to tread more lightly on the planet, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fortune Nickel and Gold Inc. (“Fortune”), has successfully acquired a 25% interest

Investor Relations
Azimut Exploration Inc. is commenting on the inaccurate news releases issued by activist shareholders Coloured Ties Capital Inc. and Bullrun Capital Inc. on March 3, 2023, and March 14, 2023. After carefully considering both news releases and the allegations contained therein, the board of directors of Azimut

EV Minerals Corporation (‘EV Minerals’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce it has closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement offering. As part of the first tranche, EV Minerals issued 5,400,000 common shares (each, a ‘Common Share’) in the capital of the Company (the ‘Offering’) for gross proceeds of $540,000.

Xander Resources Inc. (‘Xander’ or the ‘Company’) (TSXV:XND) (OTC:XNDRF) (FSX:1XI), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of drill-ready battery and precious metal projects, is pleased to announce that it has entered into agreements to settle $77,357 of indebtedness

Surge Battery Metals Inc. (the – Company – or – Surge -) (TSXV:NILI ) ( OTC:NILIF ) ( FRA:DJ5C) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement financing of 2,000,000 units at $0.25 per unit (‘Units’) raising gross proceeds of $500,000.

Usha Resources Ltd. (“USHA” or the “Company”) (TSXV:USHA)(OTCQB:USHAF)(FSE:JO0), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of drill-ready battery and precious metal projects, announces that, further to its news release dated March 2, 2023

Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE:RFR) (OTC:RFHRF) (FSE:9RR) (‘Renforth’ or the ‘Company’) would like to advise shareholders that our Winter 2023 drilling has begun on the ~20 km long, surface nickel sulphide polymetallic (Ni/Co/PGEs intermingled with Zn/Cu/Ag/Au) mineralized system named Victoria

Management Change
Q Battery Metals Corp. (“Q Battery Metals” or the “Company”) (C:QMET)(OTC PINK:BTKRF)(Frankfurt:ONB) is pleased to announce that Ken Kuiper, former Geospatial Advisor to Mag Silver has been appointed to the Q Battery Metals Senior Advisory Board.

announced that it has hired Michael Page as Chief Geologist, appointed David R. Miller to the Board of Directors and promoted consulting geologist Sammy Gonzalez Buezo to Exploration Manager. About Michael Page With nearly 50 years of experience in the mining and exploration industry

Flying Nickel Mining Corp. (TSXV: FLYN) (OTCQB: FLYNF) (‘Flying Nickel’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce the appointment of Greg Hall to its board of directors. Mr. Hall is President and Director of Water Street Assets, and a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Hall

Production/Operations
Further to its press release of March 3, 2023, Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI) (OTCQB: SBMCF) (‘SBMI’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to provide an update on the latest processing campaign at its 125 TPD pilot plant.

New Break Resources Ltd. (CSE: NBRK) (‘New Break’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that the Company has increased the land position at its Moray property (‘Moray’) to 2,894 hectares from 1,856 hectares.

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe today announced the launch of Water Over Nickel, an initiative to protect Minnesota’s water, land, people, and cultural traditions from the negative impacts of nickel mining. National and local allies and experts joined the Band for today’s announcement, including Earthjustice and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA).

Mining Sector’s Spin-Out Opportunities: Exploring the Prospects Beyond Big Names energy metals news – Spin-out opportunities in the mining sector can generate mixed reactions from the market when they arise, depending on how they’re handled. And this year is no different as multiple opportunities are arising

PJSC MMC NORILSK NICKEL, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, announces today that it completed independent self-assessment of its mining assets’ readiness for certification in accordance with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) Standard.

Golden Mile Resources Limited (ASX: G88; ‘the Company’) is pleased to advise that an initial review of the resource drill hole database at Quicksilver has confirmed significant intersections of scandium (‘Sc’) mineralisation (> 50 ppm Sc) including wide high-grade zones

Alligator Energy Limited ASX: AGE (Alligator or the Company) is pleased to provide the results of the interpretation of the time domain ground electromagnetic (EM) survey conducted at the Piedmont nickel (sulphide) – cobalt Project. Initial Exploration Services completed a ground-based EM survey over five grids at the Alpe Laghetto

We are initiating coverage of Azimut Exploration Inc. with a Spec. Buy rating and a $2.65 target price. AZM is an uncommon and unique exploration company. Not only is it the largest holder of exploration claims in the James Bay and Nunavik regions in the Province of Quebec

Research & Development
Ongoing microbiological research at Montana State University was featured last week by the federal Department of Energy for its unique impact. ‘Bio-Mining Fool’s Gold- was featured by the DOE Office of Science as part of its Science Highlight series. The series draws special attention to around 200 projects

Investment
PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX: POM) (NYSE American: PLM) (“PolyMet” or the “company”) has commenced its previously announced offering of rights (“Rights”) to purchase common shares of the company (“Common Shares”) to raise US$195,400,000 in gross proceeds (the “Rights Offering”).

Brian Ostroff, President and CEO of Arianne Phosphate Inc. (OTCMKTS: DRRSF), recently spoke at Lytham Partners Investor Select Conference about the growing importance of high-quality phosphate for various industries and the strengths of his company to help meet that demand.

QX Resources Ltd (ASX:QXR) has entered into a framework agreement with Bayrock Resources Limited (Bayrock) to assist Bayrock with financing and development of its Projects, being the Lainejaur and Northern Nickel Line projects in northern Sweden (Framework Agreement).

Event/Conference/Seminar
THE Mining Investment Event of the North (“THE Event”), Quebec City, June 19-21, 2023 to be held at the Fairmont le Chateau Frontenac and Voltigeurs de Quebec Armoury, is pleased to announce that Mr. Peter Marrone, Founder and Executive Chairman of Yamana Gold will be THE Keynote Speaker opening THE Event on Monday, June 19, 2023.

Contract/Orders
TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (‘TMC’ or the ‘Company’), an explorer of the world’s largest estimated undeveloped source of critical battery metals, today announced that it has entered into a non-binding MOU with Pacific Metals Co Ltd (PAMCO) of Japan

Business Expansion
Gama Explorations Inc. (CSE:GAMA)(OTCQB:GMMAF)(FSE:N79) (“Gama” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the purchase of a further 78.8 km2 of mineral claims contiguous to the current project footprint of its Tyee Nickel Project in the Havre St. Pierre Anorthosite Complex (“HSP Complex”)

Pricing
As the global clean energy transition continues onward at breakneck speed, countries with battery metal reserves look to corner the rising market. Chile may take the cake for largest lithium supplier, but Indonesia is leading the race in the supply of nickel, a key metal in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Video
Production/Operations
Peter Rockandel, chief executive officer of Lundin Mining, joins BNN Bloomberg at the PDAC mining convention in downtown Toronto to discuss what’s happening at his company’s projects, and the state of global nickel and copper mining.

Interview
Studies/Surveys
INTERVIEW: ‘Rehabilitation,’ biodiversity restoration pose cost challenges for miners: Thiess CEO

Blogs and Forums
Investor Relations
The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) climbed 0.9% today, but these three ASX mining shares soared far higher. The Lode Resources Ltd (ASX: LDR), Atlantic Lithium Ltd (ASX: A11), and Benz Mining Corp (ASX: BNZ) share prices all lifted by more than 10% during trading today.

Snippet

Journal
Studies/Surveys
Developing high-activity and capital-saving electrocatalysts for the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is important to improve the efficiency of water splitting. Herein, a facile reduction approach is employed to prepare metallic Ni-decorated amorphous nickel cobalt oxide (NiCoOx) nanoarray electrocatalysts

We present an electrodeposition strategy to construct heterostructures nickel selenide (NiSe) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), namely NiSe@CNTs, to tune the electronic structure of the Ni sites, thus stimulating the hidden catalytic potential of the Ni sites. As expected, the optimized NiSe@CNTs exhibits unprecedentedly ultra-high activity

A nickel-catalyzed reductive desymmetrizing annulation of alkyne-tethered malononitriles and (hetero)aryl iodides is reported for the access of cyclohexenones containing an α-all-carbon quaternary stereocenter. The use of a nickel catalyst derived from an electron-rich phosphinooxazoline ligand combined

PdNiAu-based composite membranes were obtained through sequential electroless deposition, varying their composition by modifying the Ni deposition time. After annealing at high temperature, a single phase with FCC structure was obtained in all the membranes, showing homogeneous alloy composition.

The electrochemical oxidation of bio-derived molecules has recently garnered interest for its potential in opening electrified synthetic pathways toward value-added products. Herein, we investigate the electrochemical conversion of benzyl alcohol (BA) to benzaldehyde and benzoate on nickel-iron 

Patent
Intellectual Property
Taipei, March 16 — Nippon Steel Chemical & Material has filed a patent application for nickel nanoparticles, paste materials and laminated ceramic capacitors wherein the nickel nanoparticles have an average particle diameter of 5 nm to 100 nm and contain 99.5 parts by weight or more of a nickel component in 100 parts by weight of a metal component. This invention was developed by Okamura Kazuto.

Beijing, March 15 — Tongling Youse Xingtong Electrical and Mech Manufacturing has submitted a patent application for stirring device for freezing crystallization of nickel sulfate. This invention was developed by Dai Xiaobing, Zhu Wenquan, Ma Xianliang and Hu Xianshao.

Beijing, March 15 — State Intellectual Property Office of China has released Shenzhen Xuri Laser Tech’s patent application for tab laser welding equipment with automatic nickel feeding function. This invention was developed by Zhang Baoliang and Liu Dengming.

Beijing, March 15 — Wuxi Yasige Prec Machinery has sought patent for base nickel plating device for producing and processing optical module shell. This invention was developed by Yu Zhengwu.

Beijing, March 15 — State Intellectual Property Office of China has published Jiangsu Baling Environmental Protection Science & Tech’s patent application for electrolytic nickel plate cutting and feeding device. The invention was developed by Zhang Yu, Mei Hong and Song Bangbo.

Beijing, March 15 — Inner Mongolia Chendong Cycle Utilization Tech has applied for Chinese patent for nickel-chromium alloy continuous casting device capable of achieving rapid demolding. Zhou Rongqiang, Yao Jianchun, Wang Wei, Zhang Jianfeng and Lu Guoping developed it.

Beijing, March 15 — Zhejiang Univ Quzhou Research Institute and Univ Zhejiang have filed a patent application for ruthenium-loaded nickel metal three-dimensional carbon sphere electrocatalyst as well as preparation method and application thereof. This invention was developed by Hou Yang, Wang Lin, Yang Bin, Lei Lecheng and Li Zhongjian.

Beijing, March 15 — State Intellectual Property Office of China has received Liaoning Kelong Fine Chemical’s patent application for low-temperature high-efficiency high-sulfur-resistance long-time stable scr denitration catalyst and preparation method thereof. Wang Yajie, Wang Xiaolin, Shang Honggang and Wang Xuanjing developed the invention.

Beijing, March 15 — State Intellectual Property Office of China has published Univ Shanghai Medical & Health Sciences’s patent application for vanadium-doped nickel selenide nano-array material without adhesive as well as preparation method and application of vanadium-doped nickel selenide nano-array material. The invention was developed by Zhang Li, Xia Jingjing, Chen Yaqiong and Zhang Ying.

Alexandria, March 14 — U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published Saudi Arabian Oil Company and King Abdullah Univ of Science and Technology’s patent application for nickel nanoparticle functionalized amine-modified fibrous hierarchical zeolite and method of making the same. The invention was developed by Hodgkins Robert Peter, Koseoglu Omer Refa, Basset Jean-Marie Maurice, Huang Kuo-Wei, Bendjeriou-Sedjerari Anissa, Murugesan Sathiyamoorthy, Harb Moussab and Gangwar Manoj Kumar.