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Mining considered key to building the new green economy – Business in Vancouver

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Copper mining, crucial to electrical technology, is among the top sectors powering the green energy revolution | sergeyryzhov/iStock/Getty Images Plus

The CEO of one of B.C.’s biggest copper mines believes the “ultimate death” of the carbon economy will fuel new investments in infrastructure and responsible mining projects.

“Fundamentally, I believe that we are in one of these once-in-a-century economic changes, and that’s fundamentally driven by the ultimate death of our carbon-based economy – which is a mature economy now – and the transition to a green energy economy,” said Gil Clausen, president and CEO of Copper Mountain Mining Corp. (TSX:CMMC), which operates Copper Mountain near Princeton.

According to Michael Goehring, president and CEO of the Mining Association of BC, this “once-in-a-lifetime pivot point” presents a significant opportunity for the province’s mining industry and broader economy.

“Mining as an industry is an exciting place to be right now,” he said during a panel discussion on responsible mining at the BC Natural Resources Forum last week. “Mining as an industry is being viewed as a solution.”

Metals and minerals such as those found in B.C. play a necessary part of economies’ transition to cleaner energy sources and more environmentally friendly products.

“Copper is a critical element in our transition to a global green energy economy. Wind turbines, electric vehicles and energy distribution systems all rely on copper, and we expect demand will continue to grow,” said Clausen, adding that Copper Mountain Mining is “fully committed” to that broader economic transition.

But miners’ ability to supply that transition with sufficient resources to meet demand is not without its barriers. The sheer length of time it can take to get a project approved, built and operating can restrict supply. Weak commodity prices can also erode the economic viability of resource extraction.

“We’re going to see a gap between supply and demand, and I think that’s going to be quite significant,” Clausen said.

At the time of writing, the spot price of copper was about US$3.60 per pound, according to Kitco Metals – around the highest price the metal has fetched in the last five years. Its 60-year peak was nearly a decade ago, at close to US$4.50 a pound.

“There are a lot of projects that are marginally economic, unfortunately, in B.C. right now with current copper prices, but we could really see that change overnight and wake up a few years from now and have $6 copper,” said Kelly Earle, vice-president of communications with Skeena Resources Ltd. (TSX: SKE).

Earle noted that there has been some global interest in B.C. copper projects. Last year, for example, Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd. (TSX:NCM) acquired a large copper and gold land package from Skeena Resources for $7.5 million.

“The key factor though is really going to be the price of copper,” she said.

In addition to supporting a climate-conscious pivot to clean energy, B.C. miners are looking inward, and focusing on reducing their emissions and environmental footprints.

Copper Mountain Mining has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2035, and is striving to be one of the lowest greenhouse gas-emitting open-pit copper mines globally in the next 10 years. This year, it will implement Phase 1 of its electric trolley assist project, to reduce diesel consumption.

Pretium Resources Inc.’s (NYSE, TSX:PVG) Brucejack Mine in northwest B.C. emits 0.05 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per ounce of gold – 10 times below the average emissions of intermediate gold producers, said company president and CEO Jacques Perron. Pretium is testing battery-powered electric haul trucks to replace the diesel trucks it uses underground.

“Responsible mining, at the end of the day, for me it means that we care,” said Perron. “Responsible mining is making sure that we consider everybody, and we look at all possible ways to minimize the impact of our activities.”

Skeena Resources is working to advance the second chapter of the Eskay Creek Mine project, which previously operated as an underground mine powered entirely by diesel. This next phase is envisioned as an open-pit operation that will run on green energy, a transition made possible by a hydroelectric power station less than 10 kilometres away.

“We are leading the way in building an economy that runs on green power,” said Earle. 

hwoodin@biv.com

@hayleywoodin

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PBO projects deficit exceeded Liberals’ $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025

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OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.

However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.

The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.

The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.

The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Statistics Canada says levels of food insecurity rose in 2022

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OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.

In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.

The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.

Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.

In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.

It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 16, 2024.

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Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 1.3% to $69.4B in August

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OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales in August fell to their lowest level since January 2022 as sales in the primary metal and petroleum and coal product subsectors fell.

The agency says manufacturing sales fell 1.3 per cent to $69.4 billion in August, after rising 1.1 per cent in July.

The drop came as sales in the primary metal subsector dropped 6.4 per cent to $5.3 billion in August, on lower prices and lower volumes.

Sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector fell 3.7 per cent to $7.8 billion in August on lower prices.

Meanwhile, sales of aerospace products and parts rose 7.3 per cent to $2.7 billion in August and wood product sales increased 3.8 per cent to $3.1 billion.

Overall manufacturing sales in constant dollars fell 0.8 per cent in August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

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