Editorial: Where discoveries begin
The team probing the “oddball” geology of a site 200 km from Las Vegas – which evokes the gambling nature of mining itself – first met at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention. …
Opinion/Commentary
Opinion: The world of cheap oil is gone
Are we living in the 1970s? I can’t tell you, I wasn’t there, but it’s an interesting analogy. Then, as today, we have the fear of inflation, the eroding value of cash and now spiking oil prices. Of course, nothing can…
Opinion: Copper rally masks smelting power shift
Copper has rarely looked stronger. Prices are hovering near record levels, buoyed by electrification, artificial intelligence-driven demand expectations and a constrained pipeline of new mine supply. For producers and financial…
Editorial: The new feasibility
All the largest companies are doing it. Why shouldn’t Canada do it, too? The global mining industry has converged on a single idea: copper is the most important strategic metal….
Opinion: Will energy eclipse critical metals as a hedge?
What does Europe, a continent starved for commodities, do when it faces future shortages of critical minerals and energy? According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the decision is straightforward: Make…
Opinion: At PDAC, Canada is on the clock
At this year’s annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, there is more on the line than usual. For the first time in recent memory, the conference,…
Opinion: Canadians must match American urgency in the race for critical minerals
In the cavernous halls of the U.S. State Department last week, something unusual was on display: earnest cooperation rather than the usual diplomatic theatre. The inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial wasn’t…
Opinion: Another US incursion in Latin America
The United States has danced this tune many times in the past, and each time it led to misery, bloodshed or civil war for its southern neighbours. The track record of U.S. intervention isn’t good, and that’s perhaps sobering news for the Venezuelans. Take the period throughout the…
Editorial: Gold loves chaos. Mines don’t.
In this editorial for the February edition of The Northern Miner, we take a look at how the first month of the new year has seemed crazier than most. Precious…
Editorial: London calling
The title track of The Clash’s 1979 album borrows the urgency of a BBC global news broadcast, the ones that used to proclaim “this is London calling.” The song is…
TNM Editorial: Banner year
If it hasn’t been clear since “critical minerals” entered the popular lexicon in 2022, it sure is now: we’re living in one of the greatest periods to be part of…
Opinion: Awakening the Argentine giant
What place holds the highest probability for a new world-class discovery? As an Australia-based geologist and investor, I tend to look in my own backyard first, which is the home bias effect. But the thing is, thanks…