US approves first cleanup of abandoned, contaminated uranium mines
Canada backs 25 critical minerals projects in G-7 initiative
World Bank arbitration body rejects Barrick expedition request in Mali case
African copper exports to China disrupted amid Tanzania unrest
For Danish army, the threat to Greenland isn’t Trump but Russia
First Quantum reports progress in Panama amid copper mine audit
US approves first cleanup of abandoned, contaminated uranium mines
DISA Genbravo deployed in the field in Utah.
The environmental legacy impacts of Project Manhattan – a US-led World War II program to develop nuclear energy capabilities before foreign adversaries could – are still felt across the United States.
For decades, thousands of sites associated with abandoned uranium mine waste have remained contaminated — hundreds on or near Navajo and tribal lands — with no clear regulatory pathway for cleanup.
On September 30, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a license to Wyoming-based DISA Technologies, authorizing the company to clean up abandoned uranium mine sites across the West and recycle the uranium for domestic energy use — the first license of its kind ever granted by the NRC.
Uranium is a crucial source of reliable baseload power as nuclear energy, and the US requires an estimated 32 million pounds of uranium annually for its current nuclear reactors.
In 2024, the US purchased 50 million pounds of uranium, but only produced 677,000 pounds, according to the Energy Information Administration. Russia supplies a quarter of the enriched uranium needed by America’s fleet of 94 nuclear reactors, which generate about a fifth of US electricity.
Last month, when US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US should look to boost its strategic uranium reserve to buffer against dependence on Russian supplies and increase confidence in the long-term prospects of nuclear power generation, it signalled a call to Project Manhattan 2.0. That’s according to the CEO of the company controlling the largest mineable uranium deposit in the US.
Canada backs 25 critical minerals projects in G-7 initiative
Teck’s Highland Valley in British Columbia is Canada’s largest copper operation.
Rio Tinto Group and Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. are among more than a dozen companies set to benefit from a Group of Seven initiative to strengthen access to critical minerals.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government announced 25 new investments, partnerships and measures totaling C$1.4 billion ($1 billion) at the Group of Seven energy ministers’ meeting in Toronto on Friday. The support is part of a G-7 initiative launched in June to focus on bolstering investments in raw materials key to defense, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
“We have an incredible set of cards in our critical mineral resources. We have not effectively developed those in the past,” Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson told reporters in Toronto. “These actions, with the support of our allies, are designed to do that and make sure Canada has all the cards it needs in a world where access to critical minerals is becoming a tool of political and geopolitical coercion.”
The deals aim to bolster projects across Canada, with an eye to securing supplies outside of China, which controls a large swath of the global supply chain for these strategic materials. The US and Canada, along with its allies, have sought to secure access to metals such as copper, lithium and nickel, as well as rare earth elements, that are key ingredients in manufacturing, electronics and military equipment.
The announcement includes C$25 million for a Rio Tinto plant in Quebec that will produce scandium, a niche metal used in aluminum alloys for aerospace and defense manufacturing. Ucore Rare Metals Inc. received a conditional C$36.3 million to expand its rare earths processing plant in Ontario. Other recipients include Northern Graphite Corp., Focus Graphite Inc. and Torngat Metals Ltd.
World Bank arbitration body rejects Barrick expedition request in Mali case
A request by Barrick Mining to expedite its international arbitration case against Mali has been rejected, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The West African country’s government has been in fraught negotiations with Barrick since 2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that raises taxes and gives the government a greater share of its gold mines.
Barrick launched arbitration proceedings with the World Bank’s arbitration court, known as ICSID, in December 2024.
It had wanted ICSID to urgently address issues including the ongoing detention of four of its staff members, the appointment of a provisional administrator to operate the Loulo-Gounkoto complex after Barrick had suspended operations amid the dispute, and the expiration of the Loulo mine’s licence in 2026.
The request was rejected this week, the two sources said.
ICSID said on its website that it had issued an order concerning “provisional measures” on Wednesday, without giving further detail.
Barrick declined to comment on the situation. ICSID and the Malian mines ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
African copper exports to China disrupted amid Tanzania unrest
African copper shipments to China are being disrupted by the temporary closure of a crucial exporting port in Tanzania following election unrest.
Copper traders and producers in the central Africa copperbelt are now seeking to reroute cargoes from the Port of Dar es Salaam, leading to congestion at other ports including Durban, in South Africa, according to several people involved in the market. The port closure also means that copper already delivered to the port is stuck there for now, some of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private business matters.
The Port of Dar es Salaam is the heart of the copper and cobalt trade from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to China, which consumes more than half of the world’s copper production. The port has attracted growing flows of metal by offering more competitive freight rates for China-bound shipments.
One senior copper trader estimated that roughly two-thirds of African copper shipments to China typically move through Dar es Salaam.
Logistics firm C Steinweg Group, which operates warehouses at the port, said on Thursday that its facilities would be closed through at least Friday.
Speaking privately, representatives from two producers and three traders said they were hoping that the disruptions would be short-lived, but some have already re-routed copper to Durban, as well as to Namibia’s Walvis Bay and Mozambique’s Beira ports.
For Danish army, the threat to Greenland isn’t Trump but Russia
Village of Tasiilaq, Greenland.
Private Mads Hansen acknowledges that it can get lonely surrounded by nothing but mountains, drifting ice and a vast polar sea.
One of three Danish soldiers permanently stationed at a former mining outpost called Mestersvig on the desolate coast of eastern Greenland, his role includes patching roofs ripped away by storms, plowing back meter-high snowdrifts, training sled dogs for their next patrol, or stitching them up after a fight.
“You get used to it,” he said while showing off the base’s snowplows, a radio and handgun hanging from his belt.
Hansen and his colleagues are becoming familiar with another aspect of a soldier’s life in the Arctic: The station, along with much of Greenland’s eastern flank, is set to play a bigger role, supporting an expanded military presence as part of a broader defensive build-up directed at Russia.
Danish intelligence services have shifted their tone in the past year, warning that the risk of an escalation between NATO and Moscow in the Arctic is higher than ever, outlining in some detail what Russia’s nuclear submarines and other capabilities are “in the event of war.”
The government in Copenhagen launched a second Arctic military package on Oct. 10, including investments in additional capacities for defense at sea in Greenland, with maritime patrol aircraft for monitoring and combatting submarines, more Arctic ships and icebreakers.
First Quantum reports progress in Panama amid copper mine audit
First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) said it has made progress in Panama during the third quarter as it advanced the government-approved preservation and safe management program at its suspended Cobre Panama copper mine.
Commenting on quarterly results, chief executive officer Tristan Pascall said the company, which is preparing for a potential operations restart, finished shipping all remaining copper concentrate, as well as some supplies and equipment from the site.
The Canadian miner also began pre-commissioning work at the mine’s power plant, where the first 150MW unit is expected to be fired and synchronized with the grid in November. The power will support on-site preservation activities, while surplus electricity will be supplied to Panama’s national grid.
Panama’s environment ministry, MiAmbiente, has launched a six-month independent audit of the operation, assigning SGS Global to conduct the review. First Quantum said it is fully cooperating and highlighted that Cobre Panama achieved 100% compliance in its most recent environmental audit earlier this year.
Easing tensions
At his weekly press conference, President José Raúl Mulino welcomed on Thursday the company’s willingness to engage in dialogue and its proposal for the State to assume ownership of the copper.
“I believe that is very positive,” he said. “Little by little, we have been lowering the level of tension with Minera Panamá [First Quantum’s local unit]. The company is in the process of reactivating the mine for maintenance purposes — that is what has been popularly referred to as the job fairs.”
Mulino emphasized that the ongoing recruitment for maintenance work has been authorized by the government.
