Verne LaForte’s Post

There is a new Nunavut mining sheriff in town. For Canadians, the idea that the provinces have control over some legal matters, and the federal government has control over some legal matters, the municipalities have control over some legal matters and sometimes it seems like they all have control over some legal matters is just part of the Canadian framework. The mining industry is no stranger to that scenario with control of (and benefit from) the mining sector. The process of devolution (as its called when powers devolve from the Crown down to the province or territory) has been a long time coming to the territory of Nunavut since it was founded in 1999 (which doesn't sound that long ago). In a historic move last week, the Canadian government signed over responsibility for control over all the lands, resources, water, and wildlife in Nunavut to the territorial authorities. Nunavut was the last of the three Canadian territories to take control of its resources – and there are many. The territory covers 2.1 million km2, roughly the size of Greenland. Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM; NYSE:AEM) mines gold at the Meadowbank-Amaruq complex near Baker Lake and the Meliadine mine in the Kivalliq District. Baffinland Iron Mines, which is 25% owned by ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), operates the Mary River iron ore mine near Pond Inlet. Royalties from natural resources will now flow to the territorial coffers rather than the federal government. There is a sliding scale of federal funds to be transferred. This year’s transfer is $2.1 billion, but it will be reduced as royalties begin to replace part of it. But for mining companies wishing to operate there, it means they have a new counterparty to deal with.

This is a really good example for proponents and native title holders! Agreements really matter. 💡 Strong Agreements Strong agreements aren't just legal documents, they reflect the aspirations of native title holders and need the perspectives of community reflected in a legal framework. A legal pro-forma = poor outcome. 💡Agreements Matter Too often I see agreements treated as if they're a document on a shelf, a tick and flick process. Don't fall into this trap. Relationships with your stakeholders matter and good relationships are worth their weight in [your mineral of choice] 💡Better Outcomes Strong agreements improve outcomes for everyone, including proponents. Don't be fooled into thinking that preferential employment and training clauses, continuous engagement, reviews, reporting, and community investments are just project "costs". Good agreements and their implementation contributes to good faith, they smooth processes and make projects more efficient. My advice to proponents is to invest the time and resources to make sure that agreements really do work for native title holders. Pay for the native title group's agreement advisors and get good ones. You'll end up with a better agreement for everyone. My advice to native title holders is to get good advisors (not just lawyers) and make sure the agreement aligns with what your strategic plan. If you don't have one, that's the first step.

Martu land council terminates mining agreement The land council representing the Martu native title area has today terminated an agreement with potash mining companies, Holocene and Reward Minerals, following a serious breach. The Kumpupintil Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between Jamukurnu-Yapalikurnu Aboriginal Corporation (JYAC), Holocene Pty Ltd (Holocene) and Reward Minerals Ltd was related to the Kumpupintil potash project (formerly known as the Lake Disappointment potash project). The ILUA contains a key clause that requires JYAC be given 60 days’ prior written notice of the company’s intention to voluntarily surrender or relinquish its project titles, giving JYAC the option to acquire mining tenements over the location on behalf of Martu. Holocene surrendered the project titles on 22 July 2024 without informing the land council as required. Just 38 minutes after they were surrendered, another company lodged applications for a series of mining tenements in that same location, depriving the land council of the opportunity to consider applying for them on behalf of Martu traditional owners. “In response to this serious breach, we have written to Reward and Holocene to inform them that the Kumpupintil ILUA has been terminated, effective immediately,” said interim chief executive officer, Rewi Lyall. “Martu have exclusive possession native title rights over their ngurra. Companies who come here know that when they make agreements to use Martu land, JYAC takes those agreements seriously. “The companies agreed to give Martu the first opportunity to take ownership of its project titles or peg mining tenements over the location, but their actions allowed another company to take the area instead. “JYAC will now consider the extent of this loss to Martu, and pursue compensation through the courts if necessary.” https://lnkd.in/g55zaN84

The Mining Act of1992 does not adequately prioritize the interests and benefits of our country’s citizens. There are numerous pressing issues that require attention from our political leaders in this regard. Therefore, I feel compelled to emphasize certain key points that I believe require immediate intervention from our current government. I would like to outline these issues. The application process for Alluvial Mining Lease or Mining Lease on existing Alluvial mining leases is currently subject to procedural laws of the Mineral Resources Authority via Tenements Administration and its Registry. This process often leads to a backlog of applications, as new applicants are placed on a waiting list until existing or advanced applicants are registered. Consequently, many tenement applicants are still awaiting their Warden hearing and the grant of AML and ML licenses, while some have passed away without receiving their licenses. The application for a Mining Lease on an active existing Exploration License (EL) does not grant local applicants the opportunity for a Warden hearing to obtain a license. This issue arises from the fact that the Mineral Resources Authority, under Tenement Administration, has registered national or foreign companies with EL licenses over the same land portions where local applicants intend to apply for a Mining Lease. This restriction has prevented landowners from applying for a Mining Lease, limiting their ability to utilize integrated mechanized and primitive mining knowledge. Consequently, many landowners have been inadvertently deprived of their mining rights due to the constraints of the Mining Act1992. Small Scale Mining License holders have not been provided with seed capital as security equity to secure capital loans for machinery and other financial needs. It is imperative that District Administrations and Political leaders allocate mobilization funds to support active Small Scale Miners in securing capital items and financial aid. This support will enable them to excel in the mining sector, thereby boosting local communities’ economic activities and helping them meet their basic necessities in life. Foreign-owned and nationally-owned companies are applying for exploration licenses without formal consultation with local landowners. It is imperative for our leaders to assert strong, concrete legal opinions and amend the Mining Act of1992 to ensure that judicial provisions are aligned with the interests of landowners. This is essential to establish an equitable sharing of benefits for all parties involved.”. We are losing our land rights, which means we are losing the ability to benefit from our own customary land. Many senior public servants from the Mineral Resources Authority, who are native to this country, are aware of these issues. Even our lawmakers are aware of the situation, yet no one is speaking up for the silent majority at the bottom of the pyramid. Malcolm Ali - Revolutionary Ideologist.

The USA is looking to revive its Bureau of Mines. Today, mining policy is decided by multiple agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Supporters argue that the Bureau would bring more accountability, transparency, and efficiency when it comes to decisions made relating to mining in the US. #Mining #Policy #USA #CriticalMinerals https://lnkd.in/ghxnMEGb

🌟 Exciting News from our Leadership Team! 🌟 President and COO, Cody Ladd, and Plant Manager, Mike Hoffman, recently sat down with Pit & Quarry magazine to discuss our current operation process. In recent years, Kraemer has revolutionized our plant design, highlighting our philosophy of limited material handling. The article showcases our innovation and demonstrates our commitment to reshaping industry standards. Ultimately, this method increases production efficiency, reduces prices, and makes Kraemer a safer place to work. We would like to thank Pit & Quarry for taking the time to learn and write about our improved process. Read the full article below! #KraemerMining #KMM #PitandQuarry #plantdesign #innovation #safety

#TOPNEWS Four of the six parties involved in the Porgera Mining Project Community Development Agreement (CDA) initialled the draft CDA on October 9th in Port Moresby. This follows six months of negotiations. The signatories included the Special Mining Lease landowners, the Porgera Urban Local Level Government, the Porgera Rural Local Level Government, and the State. New Porgera Limited and the Enga Provincial Government did not attend the ceremony, but the State said it is confident of reaching a consensus with them soon. The draft CDA will undergo government vetting, focusing on fiscal, monetary, and legal terms before being presented to the National Executive Council for endorsement. Major clauses in the draft CDA which the Department of Treasury will look at are the equity and royalty break-ups between SML landowners, non SML landowners and the EPG. Under the Porgera Project Commencement Agreement (PPCA) which was signed between Barrick, SML landowners, EPG and the State, the equity break-up is as follows: SML landowners 5% EPG 2.5% Non SML 2.5%, Mineral Resources Enga (MRE) 5%. This adds up to 15 % equity out of the total 51 % owned by PNG parties. The balance of 36 percent is owned by Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited (KMHL) on behalf of the State. In terms of royalties, the PPCA provides for a total of 3 percent royalty of which, 2 percent goes to the SML landowners, 1 (one) percent to EPG and the other 1(one) percent to others (non SML, riverine, Mining Lease, Lease for Mining Purposes). The SML landowners have however, proposed their own break-up of equity and royalties, and a plan on their business development aspirations. These proposals will be attached with the draft CDA to the NEC for decision making. CDA is a benefit sharing agreement whereby the National government shares benefits from mining projects with the host Provincial Government Local Level Governments and Landowners as required by law

Tragic accidents happen far too often in artisanal mining. The goal needs to be zero, but we don’t even have solid stats on the starting point, the number of accidents that are taking place now. Action needs to focus on how we put a stop to today’s accidents. We can do this. 🏹 investment is needed - #asm formalization changes outcomes on dignity as well as productivity of work, which strongly includes safety outcomes. Investment supports equipping, training and implementing good practices, improving safety 🏹 collaboration is needed - safety is everyone’s job - large mining projects who share land with artisanal miners are well positioned to collaborate toward joint value, standard setters like ICMM, the World Gold Council and so on need to have clear aligned expectations on ASM, downstream value chains can demand #traceability that supports shifts toward formalization 🏹 legal frameworks are needed - ASM is different from LSM, and is often traditional extensions of communities - why wouldn’t it be legal, why wouldn’t legal frameworks reflect the differentiation of the sector, frameworks that can directly support safety and broader gains that include #sustainabledevelopment and #humanrights adherence that formalization catalyzes Reimagining outcomes in ASM, which The Blended Capital Group and our partners Levin Sources Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) BanQu Inc. Napier Meridian are fully committed to can be game changing - on dignity, development, productivity which incidentally makes this a financially realistic area, safety. Now is the time. #mining #responsiblemining #sustainablemining #mininginvestment #impactinvestment #responsibleinvestment #sdgs https://lnkd.in/gSF8tvQP

Whilst I do have a vested interest, this needs to be said. The near fatal experience of Strandline’s Coburn mine startup in WA is still playing out, and is a very salient example of project guys that don’t understand mine planning taking the mining decisions contrary to plain advice. Overturning detailed DFS planning and implementation work, instructing mining consultants not to pursue what they (not me) say is the only way to make a low grade resource economical, and chasing least cost project completion is a great look, until it isn’t. Having a proven project delivery team in charge is good, but to get so disconnected from mining performance fundamentals in their decision-making is a lesson for mining start-ups everywhere. Can we learn it?   Regardless of my vested interest, I have an intense dislike for glossing over key details because they don’t fit some preconceived figjam notion. This serious abdication of responsibility is a direct betrayal of all stakeholders. We mining professional types do not rise to positions where we directly influence the future of so many people, to then be reckless with that trust. Hopefully the new mining focussed team at Strandline can right their ship.   If mining is your game, and you want to ‘take it to the next level’, you need to get mining equipment that is demonstrably engineered for the task. The real task, not the one it can do ‘some of the time, in ideal circumstances’. Coburn’s three dozer traps have had widely reported problems handling what is in the ground (occasional rocky outcrops and clay content), and have been failing regularly. Now being subject to intense weekly maintenance to try to curtail their abysmal availability. Really? Yep, ASX reported. And Cataby mine before it, not so well reported but widely known. Sheffield are just now kicking off Thunderbird with the same gear, I am wondering how that is going…   Hit clay or rock, and mineral sands mining ops just became your worst nightmare. Especially when trying to take tech originally designed for half the throughput now demanded by a modern mine, and stretching it past its limit. Totally the opposite of the lived experience we know is possible with well proven equipment, properly configured to do this task. So we did. That vested interest thing.   We have just released a two skid version of our evolutionary tracked dozer traps. The difference in our approach is to engineer it from the ground up to reliably handle a higher throughput, including all the rocky outcrops and embedded clay you can throw at it, and do so for a lower cost/t. See https://www.iput.au/dozer/ for details.   I will be in Perth all next week whilst exhibiting at Informa’s Mineral Sands conference, per details under STOP Press on above website, and happy to talk with anyone interested in dozer mining units that will actually do the needed job, all day, every day, with no dramas.

Erindi granted temporary pause against proposed mining: Staff Reporter THE Erindi Game Reserve, which has taken the government and several others to court, has succeeded in gaining an interim interdict to pause proposed mining activities at the reserve. Judge Hannelie Prinsloo gave the ruling on the urgent application for the interdict, which also forms part of the reserve’s challenge against the decision to issue an exploration license (EPL) for mining to one Lahia Junias. Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Erindi Game Reserve --- “Pending the final determination of the review application, the Minerals Ancillary Rights Commission is hereby interdicted and restrained from proceeding with the hearing of, and taking a decision in respect of, the application made by the sixth respondent (Lahia Junias) to the Minerals Ancillary Rights Commission under section 109 of the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act, 33 of 1992. In the event that the Minerals Ancillary Rights Commission has already made a decision granting the sixth respondent ancillary rights in respect of the application made by the sixth respondent to it under section 109 of the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act, 33 of 1992, the respondents are interdicted and restrained from implementing that decision pending determination of the review application. The orders in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall operate as an interim interdict and with immediate effect, pending the finalization of the relief sought in the review application,” Prinsloo said. The Erindi Game Reserve, measuring 65,000 hectares, has taken the government and prospecting mining license holder Lahia Junias to the High Court to halt any proposed mining activities, fearing that the move would disturb wildlife in the park such as rhinos and elephants, as well as lead to the degradation of the reserve’s habitat. The proposed EPL8325 seeks to mine dimension stone, base and rare metals, industrial minerals, and precious metals within the parameters of the reserve. Otjimakuru Wild (Pty) Ltd, Erindi Ranch (Pty) Ltd, and Rembo Ltd (the foreign owners of Erindi) listed the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Minister of Mines and Energy, Environmental Commissioner, Mining Commissioner, Chairperson of the Minerals Ancillary Rights Commission, Lahia Ndinelago Junias (the Exclusive Prospecting Licences (EPL) holder), the Government of the Republic of Namibia, and the President of the Republic of Namibia as respondents in the matter. The case was postponed to 3 October 2024. The post Erindi granted temporary pause against proposed mining appeared first on Informanté.