GEMOLOGY

$2M Argyle pink diamond unveiled by Rio Tinto

Tayla Oates May 4, 2023 


Rio Tinto has unveiled a new piece of jewellery featuring one of the last pink diamonds to be mined from the Argyle mine in Western Australia.

Exclusively designed by Western Australian jeweller Solid Gold Diamonds, the Argyle RoseTM features a total of 3.25 carats of rare Argyle pink and blue diamonds encrusted in a rose motif, surrounded by white diamonds and hand-set in platinum and 18K gold.

The heart of this unique jewellery piece is an extremely rare 1.36 carat, Fancy Deep Pink radiant cut diamond. It is just one of twelve radiant cut diamonds over one carat with a colour grading, 1P, from the last 30 years of production from Argyle.

The surrounding petaled design of pink and blue Argyle Diamonds™ totals 1.89 carats, together with 2.80 carats of white diamonds. The heirloom can be worn as a ring or statement pendant and is available for sale for AU$2 million.

Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Minerals, Sinead Kaufman, said, “I am delighted to launch the Argyle Rose. Encapsulating a rich history and an extraordinary provenance, it is both a contemporary treasure and an heirloom for tomorrow.

“These rare and precious diamonds are one and a half billion years old, from one of the most beautiful places on earth, and the world is simply not producing them anymore.”

Prior to its closure in November 2020, Argyle operated for more than 37 years and produced more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds.

The Argyle Rose has been created as part of the Argyle Pink Diamonds Icon Partner™ programme, which seeks to preserve the provenance and integrity of Argyle Pink Diamonds since the mine completed production.

Led by international jewellers renowned for their unique and captivating vision, the programme honours the world’s most valuable diamonds through world-class craftsmanship and evocative design. Each creation represents the ultimate in rarity and collectability.

Executive Chairman of Solid Gold Diamonds, Peter Greene, said, “As a pioneer custodian of Argyle pink diamonds, it was incredibly humbling to be asked to design a true generational heirloom for the Argyle Pink Diamonds Icon program.

“Solid Gold Diamonds has built a strong partnership with Argyle Pink Diamonds over the past three decades. During this time, we have had the privilege of transforming these precious pink diamonds into coveted jewellery pieces. The Argyle Rose design signifies the pinnacle of our long-standing relationship.”

The Argyle Rose will be available for sale through Solid Gold Diamonds, located in Perth

This rare #bluediamond known as the “Bulgari Laguna Blu”

could fetch $28 million at

@Sothebys

auction

https://bit.ly/3AMr917 via

@CeciliaJamasmie

mining.com

Bulgari Laguna blue diamond could fetch $28m in auction 

The 11.16 carats fancy vivid blue diamond will go under Sotheby’s hammer on May 12, as part of the Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction.

8:12 AM · May 2, 2023

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Barrick CEO says he has ‘no intention’ of pursuing Teck deal

Bloomberg News | May 3, 2023 |

Barrick Gold Corp.’s top executive is closely watching the takeover battle for Teck Resources Ltd. but has no plans to pursue the Canadian base metals producer, which has drawn a $23 billion offer from Glencore Plc.


“We’re certainly learning from it and watching how that progresses,” Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow said Wednesday in a BNN Bloomberg TV interview. “Right now we have no intention to join that process.”

Bristow said a lot of people are interested in Teck, though Glencore’s proposal carries a lot of synergies — including coal and copper assets in Chile — that means the deal “makes sense.”

(By Doug Alexander)

Barrick CEO Bristow rails against Ottawa’s interference in Canadian mining industry

Niall McGee – The Globe & Mail | May 3, 2023 

Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow speaks to Bloomberg TV. Image: YouTube

Barrick ABX-T chief executive officer Mark Bristow is refusing to shut the door on accepting new investment from state-controlled Chinese companies, and questioned the move by Canada and the U.S. to clamp down on such investment in the North American mining sector.


Last year, in an effort to bolster the domestic critical-minerals industry, the federal government said it would not allow any more investment by China, except on exceptional grounds, owing to national-security concerns.

Ottawa has also signalled its distaste for gold investment by China into Canada. In 2020, the government blocked the acquisition of Canadian gold miner TMAC Resources by state-controlled Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.

Shandong is one of two large Chinese joint-venture partners that Barrick has in mines around the world. Barrick also has a Chinese partner in Zijin Mining. Barrick has raised billions from both Chinese investors to fund its Veladero mine in Argentina and its Porgera operation in Papua New Guinea

Mr. Bristow said he has talked to senior political figures in the U.S. and Canada to try to impress on them that the current move to deglobalize and friendshore is misguided, because it potentially chokes off an important source of capital for the global mining industry. For North America, friendshoring narrows international trade to like-minded jurisdictions, such as Western Europe and Australia, and restricts trade from jurisdictions deemed hostile, such as Russia and China.

“It’s impossible to exclude the Chinese out of the minerals and metals industry, or anything at the moment. This world is so integrated, and politicians are trying to divide it,” Mr. Bristow said.

Any attempt to restrict Barrick from raising money from the Chinese would also put the company at a competitive disadvantage, he added.

“We’ve trained ourselves to be China-centric, or obsessed with China. But at the end of the day, we are actors in this world. And as a Canadian company, we are extremely competitive around the globe. So is Newmont as an American company.”

Over the past five years, Canadian and American relations with China have deteriorated as Beijing adopts an increasingly authoritarian position. Both North American governments have serious concerns about China’s poor record on human rights and its tightening grip globally on the critical-minerals industry, particularly its stranglehold on battery metals.

Barrick’s relationship with China was primarily forged by its executive chairman John Thornton whose ties to the Asian superpower go back many decades.

A well-known China supporter, Mr. Thornton was chairman of Goldman Sachs-Asia from 1996 to 1998. He is co-chair of the Asia Society and sits on the The International Advisory Council with Chinese Investment Corp, (CIC) a massive Chinese sovereign wealth fund.

CIC has come to the fore in recent weeks as Canadian critical-minerals miner Teck Resources Ltd. TECK-B-T fights off a hostile takeover offer from Glencore PLC of Switzerland.

Opinion: Who owns Teck – its shareholders, or the government?

As Teck’s biggest shareholder, CIC was instrumental in burying Teck’s chances of splitting the company. The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week that CIC voted against Teck’s proposed separation.

Glencore had actively been trying to persuade Teck’s shareholders to vote the deal down, and had the split been approved, Glencore would have dropped its pursuit of Teck.

Ottawa has already signalled that it has concerns over a potential takeover of Teck by Glencore, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Natural Resources Minster Jonathan Wilkinson all citing Teck’s importance to the domestic critical-minerals industry.

Mr. Bristow wrote off any chance that Barrick might bid for Teck and reach a “made-in-Canada” solution that might be palatable to politicians, as well as Teck’s management. Citing Teck’s heavy coal exposure, its high debt and the lack of valuable synergies, a deal with Teck makes little sense for Barrick, he said.

Glencore is the obvious buyer for Teck, he believes, given that it is one of the few global mining companies that wants to acquire coal assets. Mr. Bristow also pointed to the cost savings in putting the two companies together, because Teck’s massive QB2 mine is located near a large existing Glencore project in Chile.

The South-African-born Mr. Bristow said he has been captivated by the deal that involves two fellow South Africans, Glencore CEO Gary Nagle and Ivan Glasenberg, Glencore’s biggest shareholder.

Mr. Bristow knows both men, says he’s talked to Mr. Glasenberg on more than one occasion about his pursuit of Teck, and called Glencore a “wily trader.”

As Barrick stands on the sidelines in mergers and acquisitions, a more pressing priority for the company over the next few quarters is improving its abysmal safety record.

The company reported three fatalities at its mines in January. That’s on top of five fatalities last year, two in 2021 and one in 2020.

Barrick’s record under Mr. Bristow who joined as CEO in 2019 is far worse that its larger competitor Newmont, which reported no fatalities during that timeframe.

In a conference call on Wednesday, Mr. Bristow said Barrick has recently taken a “long hard look” at its safety protocols and practices, as he vowed to do better.

Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot will let users post images, ask questions about them

Dina Bass and Davey Alba, Bloomberg News

Microsoft Corp. is getting rid of the waitlist to try its new OpenAI-based Bing search and chat, and adding features like the ability to request and post images in an effort to sustain its renewed momentum in the market. 

Users can search for an image, such as a crocheted teddy bear, for example, and ask Bing, “How do I make this?” The AI tool then suggests “how to crochet” websites and other kinds of craft projects to explore. The visual search feature will be available in the coming weeks to months, Yusuf Mehdi, a Microsoft vice president, said in an interview. It uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 system, which enables so-called multimodal features that blend text and images. While OpenAI announced that feature in March, it has offered few examples so far.

Other new Bing features are coming sooner, such as the ability to use third-party services like OpenTable and Wolfram Alpha through Bing chat and get answers that include videos and charts, Mehdi said. At a Manhattan demo, Bing representatives showed off some features in hands-on demonstrations, showing how a user can type in, say, “Find me a dinner reservation for two in New York City tonight,” and get a link to the reservation service OpenTable. 

Microsoft upended the search market in February when it unveiled a complete overhaul of Bing, incorporating OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and offering the possibility of renewed competition in a market dominated for years by Alphabet Inc.’s Google. According to Mehdi, the new software has hosted half a billion chat sessions in the past 90 days. The move pushed Google to introduce its own Bard AI tools, efforts it largely kept within its own labs until Microsoft threatened the company’s highly profitable ad business.

“Chat really is the thing that is resonating with people and is in fact transforming search,” Mehdi said. About 70 per cent of people trying out the chat features are using them for search-related tasks, and Microsoft finds those customers perform a lot more searches. 

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said last month that Bing app installations have quadrupled since the launch of the AI-powered product, and that Bing increased its market share in the US market in the quarter, without offering specifics. The efforts are part of a larger company shift at Microsoft to leverage the company’s expanded investment in OpenAI and weave AI into all major products.

The new visual search features will pose an expanded challenge to the Microsoft Responsible AI team that has been trying to cope with content that is biased, disturbing or inappropriate as hundreds of millions of users try the new product. Microsoft says it has made progress but is still working on issues that also include misinformation and incorrect or incomplete answers. Mehdi said one of the reasons the visual features aren’t available yet is the team is working to ensure safety. 

“There’s a lot of work to review technology and plans against,” Mehdi said. “Is it harmful? Is it transparent? Is it inclusive? Does it not have bias? We’re going to do the same thing on the images, and adding multimodal adds another degree of complexity.” 

Microsoft unveiled the new features at a press event in New York where Bing’s latest capabilities were demonstrated via a juice bar where the chatbot generated drink recipes and customized souvenir cards for attendees.

Bing will also get an enhanced ability to summarize long documents. And the company is improving the chat history function — Microsoft plans for users’ search histories to be easily accessible soon in a sidebar running along its Edge browser. Users will be able to go back to previous conversations and start where they left off. 

Canadian banks will have 'field day' with U.S. regional bank turmoil: Expert

Holly McKenzie-Sutter, BNN Bloomberg

Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank has walked away from its planned acquisition of First Horizon Corp., but experts told BNN Bloomberg that the crisis among mid-sized U.S. banks may open up more buying opportunities for Canadian financial institutions. 

“These Canadian banks are going to have a field day in the United States over the next 12 months,” Dick Bove, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital, said in a Thursday television interview.

TD said both parties agreed to scrap the deal as it could not see a clear path to regulatory approval for the US$13.4-billion sale, which was announced in 2022 before central banks began hiking interest rates to fight inflation.

Bove said he sees the failure of several U.S. regional banks and sensitivity of similar institutions as a direct result of that high interest rate environment brought on by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening cycle.

That cycle continued on Wednesday with another quarter-point rate hike, days after U.S. regulators facilitated a deal for JPMorgan Chase & Co., the country’s largest lender, to buy troubled First Republic Bank.

Bove said TD executives likely looked at the situation in the U.S. banking system and decided they could likely make better deals for similar banks at lower prices – and other Canadian banks may be able to cash in, too, as U.S. regulators may be seeking more stable buyers in the near future.

“The United States regulators are going to be begging them to come in, because they have money, they're untainted by this, and they're going to have an ability to do considerable acquiring in this country, which they will do,” he said.

Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel, had a similar perspective on future possibilities for TD in U.S. banking.

He told BNN Bloomberg in a television interview that he expects the banking volatility is not over in the United States, leading to a “buyer’s market” that could turn into a positive for TD despite the First Horizon deal not going through.

“In uncertain times, it's good to have deep pockets, which TD now is abundantly blessed with a lot of excess capital and a lot of options in the market that might offer up some fire sales,” he said, pointing to JP Morgan’s recent First Republic deal as an example of that.

Jim Thorne, chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, said the termination of TD’s First Horizon sale shows that “Canadians are finally figuring out that you don’t have to pay full price for U.S. banks.”

“Once we get through this, the banks that survive are going to be able to get market share,” he said.

Shell maintains pace of buybacks as profit beats estimates

William Mathis, Bloomberg News

Shell Plc posted a record first-quarter profit and maintained the pace of share buybacks as a strong trading performance and higher liquefied natural gas volumes offset lower energy prices. 

The company will repurchase a further $4 billion of shares, the same amount as in the prior period. That contrasts with UK peer BP Plc, which saw its share price drop more than 8% earlier this week when it announced a smaller buyback of $1.75 billion. 

It’s a difference that could help new Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan reinforce his message that Shell can stand above the competition by reliably delivering generous cash returns to investors.

“Following BP’s cut to the buyback, we received many questions on what Shell would do this quarter given a weaker macro environment,” RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said in a note. “What was the fuss about?”

Shell shares rose as much as 3.5% before paring gains to 2,354 pence as of 11:45 a.m. in London.

The integrated gas business was a key part of the resilience of Shell’s profit. It posted adjusted earnings of $4.9 billion in the quarter, the second-best performance on record after the prior period. The price of the fuel was down from a year earlier as the energy crisis ebbed in Europe, but the company offset that with higher volumes and lower operating expenses. 

Crucial to that segment are Shell’s gas traders. While the company doesn’t break out trading’s contribution to earnings, the company said results were similar to the fourth quarter, when it was a main contributor to record profits for the unit. 

“Trading and more importantly optimization in general play a critical role in our business model today for the conventional energy,” Sawan said on a call with reporters. “But I think will play an even bigger role going forward as we look at new energies.”

“Against a lower commodity-price backdrop in the first quarter, Shell’s wide beat with adjusted earnings at $9.65 billion, 20% ahead of consensus, and roughly in line with fourth-quarter levels, is largely a testament to the strength of its industry-leading global gas portfolio.” — Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Industry Analyst Will Hares

Shell’s adjusted net income was $9.65 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 5.7% from $9.13 billion a year earlier. That was well ahead of even the highest analyst estimate and a record level for the first quarter. Net debt dropped to $44.2 billion, down more than $4 billion from a year ago. 

Production volumes of liquefied natural gas — which has become a key fuel for Europe after Russia cut gas exports — jumped 6% in the quarter with the Prelude facility in Australia returning to operations after maintenance, Shell said. Greater output driving earnings has been a theme this season with Exxon reporting it strongest-ever start to a year after a jump in oil production from new wells.

Shell has scheduled an investor briefing for June when Sawan, who took over the top job at the beginning of the year, will lay out his own strategy. “We would expect any adjustment to the dividend or overall distribution framework to be left for the capital markets day,” said RBC’s Borkhataria.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Parkland rejects activist investor's call to sell or spin off Burnaby, B.C. refinery

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Parkland Fuel Corp. said Thursday its Burnaby, B.C. refinery is not for sale, even in the face of pressure from an activist investor.

The Calgary-based fuel retailer and convenience store operator has been the subject of a campaign by U.S.-based Engine Capital LP, which owns about a two per cent stake in Parkland.

The activist investor has been calling on Parkland to consider selling or spinning off its Burnaby refinery in order to become a pure-play fuel marketer and retailer.

As part of its campaign, Engine Capital had warned Parkland it would withhold support from the company's incumbent directors at Parkland's annual meeting Thursday. 

But in a conference call with analysts held just prior to that annual meeting, Parkland CEO Bob Espey said the company has completed a detailed review of strategic alternatives for the Burnaby refinery, and a sale is not in the cards.

"We reviewed several options, including a sale or spin-off and considered the impact of leverage and synergies," Espey said. 

"Following this detailed review we concluded that Parkland should retain ownership of the refinery to maximize shareholder value at this time."

Parkland purchased its Burnaby refinery – which refines 55,000 barrels per day of crude and synthetic oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuels and more – from Chevron Canada, along with Chevron's retail fuel business in this country, for $1.5 billion in 2017.

On the retail side, Parkland is one of the fastest-growing independent fuel suppliers and marketers in North America, with a network of retail service stations across Canada, the northern U.S. and the Caribbean.

Its On the Run convenience store brand is expected to have more than 1,000 locations by 2024.

The Burnaby refinery supplies about a third of the gasoline sold on B.C.'s Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island., and Espey noted the remainder of the gasoline sold in the area has to be imported from the U.S. or from Edmonton via the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

"The Burnaby refinery is a highly strategic and integrated asset, and approximately 90 per cent of its output supplies Parkland customers," Espey said.

Instead of selling the refinery, Espey said Parkland instead has plans to generate up to $500 million by divesting what it calls "non-core assets."

“Work is well underway. At the end of the first quarter, we had more than $200 million of assets up for sale," Espey said, adding many of those assets are high-value U.S. retail locations for which negotiations with prospective buyers are already under way.

Engine Capital had also been critical of Parkland's approach to executive compensation. The activist investor noted last month that CEO Bob Espey's total direct compensation increased 23 per cent in 2022 to $5.3 million.

On Thursday, Parkland shareholders voted approximately 91 per cent in favour of the company's approach to executive compensation in a say-on-pay vote.

Shareholders also voted in favour of the company's slate of nominees to the board of directors. Engine Capital had expressed concern that Parkland has once again nominated 24-year tenured chair Jim Pantelidis to the board, but Pantelidis' re-appointment Thursday was approved by more than 90 per cent of shareholders.

Engine Capital has not replied to a request for comment.

Parkland Corp., which released its quarterly earnings Wednesday after the close of markets, said it earned $77 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 40 per cent from $55 million a year earlier.

The company said its sales and operating revenue for the quarter ended March 31 were $8.2 billion, up 7.2 per cent from $7.6 billion during the first quarter of 2022. 

Diluted earnings per share were 43 cents, up 23 per cent from 35 cents a year ago.

Enbridge signs tolling deal with shippers for Mainline pipeline system

The Canadian Press

Enbridge Inc. says it has reached a deal with shippers for tolling on its Mainline pipeline system, which moves over three million barrels a day of crude oil and liquids from Western Canada.

The announcement Thursday is a major milestone for the Calgary-based pipeline company, which has been negotiating with oil shippers on a new tolling agreement ever since its proposal to fill Canada's largest oil pipeline network through long-term contracts was rejected by the Canada Energy Regulator in November 2021.

Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel said the settlement has been approved by the company's board of directors and received "overwhelming support" from a 37-member industry stakeholder group that included producers, refiners, integrated companies, industry agencies, and governments.

"This settlement is a win-win-win – customers will continue to receive competitive and responsive service; Enbridge will earn attractive risk-adjusted returns; and the Mainline will continue to feed North America and global markets with a long-term source of safe, secure, and affordable energy," Ebel said in a release.

Enbridge's Mainline is Canada's largest oil pipeline system, providing about 70 per cent of the total oil pipeline transportation capacity out of Western Canada.

The pipeline's demand has exceeded capacity over the past few years, so Enbridge had applied to enter into long-term contracts for 90 per cent of the Mainline system's capacity.

Enbridge had argued firm contracts would give customers more predictable access to the pipeline, but some Canadian oil producers argued the proposed change would worsen the existing capacity constraints and could lead to lower oil prices.

In rejecting the proposal in 2021, the Canada Energy Regulator concluded Enbridge's proposal would dramatically change access to the pipeline. It said certain companies would benefit from long-term stability, but others would lose access to the pipeline.

Enbridge said Thursday the new settlement covers both the Canadian and U.S. portions of the Mainline system and will provide customers with a stable, competitive toll relative to competing alternatives. 

The agreement also includes a financial performance collar providing incentives for Enbridge to optimize throughput and cost, but also providing downside protection in the event of extreme supply or demand disruptions.

Enbridge said it expects to jointly finalize the settlement with industry and submit an application for approval to the Canada Energy Regulator in the third quarter.

It expects the new tolling settlement could be approved and implemented later this year. The settlement term is seven-and-a-half years, lasting through 2028.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2023.

Canadian Tire, Petro-Canada to partner up on gas stations and rewards programs

The Canadian Press

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Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.'s more than 200 retail fuel sites will be rebranded under Petro-Canada as part of a new partnership between the retailer and the fuel brand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.'s more than 200 retail fuel sites will be rebranded under Petro-Canada in a new partnership between the retailer and the fuel brand. 

Canadian Tire says in a joint release with Suncor Energy Inc. that the agreement will see Suncor's Petro-Canada become the primary fuel provider for the Canadian Tire network of gas stations.

The companies say this deal will increase Petro-Canada's retail fuel sales volume by 17 per cent compared with 2022.

The two brands' loyalty programs, Triangle Rewards and Petro-Points, will also partner to deliver expanded benefits, Canadian Tire says, though each company will retain full ownership and control of its own loyalty program. 

Canadian Tire president and CEO Greg Hicks said in the press release that the new partnership means the Triangle Rewards program will reach more than 1,800 gas stations, giving members more opportunities to earn rewards. 

Suncor president and CEO Rich Kruger said in the release that the partnership will provide value to shareholders by securing a long-term supply relationship for the company's refineries. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2023.

Exxon's Canada unit faces federal probe over oil-sands leak

Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg News

Imperial Oil Ltd., Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Canadian unit, is at risk of being charged for toxic leaks at its Kearl oil-sands mine in Alberta after the country’s environment ministry opened an official investigation into the spills.

“The decision to move from an inspection to launch a full investigation means that the file has reached a stage where officers will determine whether charges are warranted for non-compliance with federal Fisheries Act,” Steven Guilbeault, minister of Environment and Climate Change, said at a press conference. “The process is underway to hold the company to account.”

Since May 2022, water has seeped from a tailings area and from a wastewater pond at the Imperial Kearl oil-sands mine on two separate occasions. Local indigenous communities complained that the company and the Alberta Energy Regulator failed to inform them quickly and adequately enough about the leaks and the dangers they could pose to local water supplies and wildlife. The Alberta Energy Regulator didn’t tell the public about the spills until February.

The investigation comes as oil-sands producers face increased pressure from investors to reduce their environmental footprint, including their carbon emissions.   

“Imperial understands that Environment and Climate Change Canada is seeking additional information, and we are cooperating with the department,” Lisa Schmidt, an Imperial spokeswoman, said by email. “We have been providing information on the situation at Kearl and have hosted regulatory officials for tours and testing at our site.

Loblaw buying TC Energy renewable power for its Alberta operations

Holly McKenzie-Sutter, BNN Bloomberg

Loblaw Companies Ltd has announced a deal with TC Energy that will see its electricity use in Alberta come from renewable sources.

The mega Canadian grocer said wind, solar and hydro power will provide electricity to 280 locations in the Prairie province, including Real Canadian Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart and No Frills stores, as well as company offices and distribution centres. 

Loblaw said the change will “eliminate” carbon emissions from its electricity purchases in Alberta, and reduce its nationwide emissions by 17 per cent.

The company said it expects "elements" of the electricity program will start coming online in 2025.

TC Energy’s electricity offering of more than 300,000 megawatt hours of energy per year will use hydro power when wind and solar are not available in order to provide carbon-free energy around the clock.

Galen G. Weston, chairman and president of Loblaw Companies Limited, said the plan “is a powerful example of private industry working together to bring scaled change to the energy transition.”

“This project delivers … by turning our highest carbon emitting energy market into our lowest, in one single step,” Weston said in a news release.

TC Energy CEO François Poirier said the agreement can set a blueprint for other Canadian companies to reduce their emissions.

“Our intrinsic power knowledge and experience drove our team to develop Canada’s first-ever 24X7 carbon-free energy product,” Poirier said. “This means Loblaw – and other companies – can make huge strides to reduce their emissions – a goal we are all aligned to.”