Alamos Gold falls victim to cyberattack – report

Staff Writer | January 31, 2024 | 

The Island gold mine in October 2023. Credit: Alamos Gold

Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI; NYSE: AGI) fell victim to a cyberattack this week that saw confidential corporate data get disclosed to the public, according to an exclusive scoop by Toronto-based newspaper The Star.


The security breach involved sensitive information such as social insurance numbers, payroll reports, financial information, and home addresses and cell numbers for senior executives, all of which were published online by the hackers, the report said.

The attack was reportedly carried out by Black Basta, the same ransomware group responsible for prior attacks on Sobeys and Yellow Pages Canada, said Josh Rubin, author of the report, citing a mining industry cybersecurity expert.

The gold miner currently employs more than 1,900 people. It operates three mines in North America: the Young-Davidson and Island gold mines in northern Ontario, Canada, and the Mulatos mine in Sonora state, Mexico.

Alamos Gold closed Wednesday’s session down 0.7% to C$16.28 a share, having traded between C$13.35 and C$20.20 over the past 52 weeks. The intermediate gold producer has a market capitalization of approximately C$6.5 billion ($4.8bn).
Mining’s cyber threat

The latest incidence with Alamos Gold highlights the increased concerns of digital security within the mining industry and the frequency of attacks that can hamper the mineral extraction business.

Ransomware attack on mining operations “almost inevitable,” says cybersecurity expert

Last December, global miner Anglo American (LSE: AAL) saw its email distribution channels get compromised, resulting in a crudely worded message and an inappropriate graphic sent to company subscribers. Four months earlier, Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) also suffered a cyberattack, albeit a minor one that it said had limited impact on production.

In March of 2023, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) reported what was considered the largest cyberattack on miners at the time, which saw personal data of current and former employees being uploaded onto the dark web.

In late 2022, Vancouver-based Copper Mountain Mining — now owned by Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HB) — dealt with a ransomware attack that led to a six-day shutdown of its Canadian treatment plant.

EY Global Information Security survey reported that 54% of mining and metals companies experienced significant cyberattacks, with 55% of executives expressing concern over their ability to manage such threats.

Top producers push for silver’s inclusion as a critical mineral in Canada and US

Bruno Venditti | January 31, 2024 | 

The demand for technologies such as solar power has led to increasing industrial demand for silver. (Image by Sonpichit Salangsing | Shutterstock.)

Top producers of silver are pushing for the inclusion of the metal on the list of critical minerals in Canada and the US.


In a letter sent on Wednesday to the Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, the CEOs of 19 miners, including top producers Coeur Mining, Hecla Mining, and First Majestic Silver, say that considering silver a critical mineral would position the country to be a supplier of choice for strategic allies.

In December 2023, Natural Resources Canada opened a public commentary period for proposed updates to Canada’s Critical Minerals list and methodology. One of the criteria used is that the mineral must be necessary for the national transition into a “low carbon and digital economy”.

“Silver is identified as the best electrical conductor, the best metallic thermal conductor, and the best reflective material. These qualities make silver an essential and irreplaceable component for many industrial and technological applications,” the letter reads.

The demand for technologies such as solar power has led to increasing industrial demand for silver.

In 2023, global silver demand was estimated to be 1,167 million ounces (Moz), of which 576.4Moz (50%) was industrial use. Photovoltaics demanded 161.1 Moz in 2023, or 14% of the global silver demand.


Silver is also a common component of nuclear reactors. In the letter, the miners argue that with Canada joining other countries at COP28 to commit to tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050, the demand for silver in nuclear is also likely to increase.

The metal is also used in electric contacts and connectors in EVs and hybrids. As fleets increasingly move toward electrification, demand for silver in the automotive industry is expected to increase.

In the letter, the mining CEOs say that a misconception about silver availability is the main reason why the metal has been excluded as a critical mineral.

“Researchers from around the globe have raised the alarm that silver is a potential bottleneck in the transition to a low-carbon economy due to supply limitations, disruptions to supply chain, competition for other uses, and increased demand,”

“Unfortunately, the reputation of silver as a readily available, budget-friendly precious metal has led to misconceptions that have to date blocked policy alignment with academic consensus.”

A new list of critical minerals for Canada is expected to be published before summer 2024.

According to Jillian Lennartz, director, ESG for First Majestic Silver, written questions about the methodology adopted by the US Geological Survey have also been submitted to a House of Representatives subcommittee expressing concerns about the USGS’s methodology for its critical minerals list and offering suggestions for improvement.

“We also had direct calls with the Department of Energy (DOE) about their most recent assessment and expressed our concern with silver’s omission. They admitted that based on their methodology silver was not quantitatively assessed, and requested we submit our concerns in writing for their review,” Lennartz told MINING.COM.

The National Mining Association and the Silver Institute also sent a letter to the DOE in October last year arguing that the amount of silver in proved or probable reserves does not meet the projected demand and that silver recycling is unlikely to provide a significant material stream.

Questioned about a possible inclusion of silver, a source at the USGS said that all minerals for the 2025 list are being evaluated based on formulas. The list and methodology are expected to be released in the federal register later this year.

Activists, Hollywood take down top 50 mining company

Frik Els | January 31, 2024 |

Bullish gold, bearish base metals. Image: The Scott

The ranks of the most valuable mining companies in the world were throughly scrambled in 2023 as governments intervened, lithium and nickel prices tumbled, gold hit records and a new listing went ballistic.


At the end of 2023, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners reached a combined $1.42 trillion, up a healthy, if far from spectacular $48.7 billion over the course of 2023. Mining’s top tier is also worth $330 billion less than in March 2022.


Metal and mineral markets are volatile at the best of times – the nickel, cobalt and lithium price collapse in 2023 was extreme but not entirely unprecedented. Rare earth producers, platinum group metal watchers, iron ore followers, and gold and silver bugs for that matter, have been through worse.

Mining companies have become better at navigating choppy waters and as a whole the majors performed fairly consistently last year despite geopolitical and market turmoil, but within the ranking, 2023 fortunes were made and lost over what seemed like days.

The forced closure of one of the world’s biggest copper mines – and the subsequent collapse of owner First Quantum Minerals stock – served as a stark reminder of the outsized risks miners face over and above market swings.
Panama root canal

After months of protests and political pressure, at the end of November the Panama government ordered the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama mine following a ruling by the Supreme Court that declared the mining contract for the operation unconstitutional.

Public figures, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Hollywood actor Leonardo Di Caprio backed the protests and shared a video calling for the “mega mine” to cease operations, which quickly went viral.


That mining cobre is at the nexus of the green energy transition is clearly an irony lost on those trying to save the world. FQM is seeking arbitration and completely winding down operations will take time, but a reopening of Cobre Panama is not on the cards.

From 25th position in the ranking at the end of March 2022 and a valuation well above $20 billion, the November-December sell off saw FQM drop out of the top tier altogether, ending 2023 at number 58 with a market cap below $6 billion.

Cobre Panama supplied more than 40% of the company’s revenue, and with nickel prices plummeting FQM has also been forced to suspend operations at its Raventhorpe mine in Australia.

Amid the inevitable takeover rumours now in circulation, shares in the Vancouver-based company have rallied in 2024, but still not enough to reenter the top 50.
No. 12 with a bullet

If 2023 was an annus horribilis for FQM it was mirabilis for Amman Mineral Internasional. Stock in the Indonesian firm surged by 269% from its July debut in Jakarta to reach a market capitalisation of more than $30 billion at the end of last year – and number 12 in the ranking.

That valuation is quite an achievement on annual revenue of $2 billion no matter how fat margins are at the company’s Batu Hijau copper and gold mine. Batu Hijau is the third largest mine worldwide in terms of copper equivalent output (but no match for Cobre Panama when it comes to the orange metal alone) and has been in production since the turn of the millennium. Amman is also developing the adjacent Elang project on the island of Sumbawa.

Amman Minerals’ ascent has minted at least six new billionaires and the stock appears to be building on its success in 2024, rising by double digits in January already.

Indonesia’s other major mining IPO, Harita Nickel, was on a different trajectory altogether. After listing in April and raising $672m, the company has had a tough go of it and the stock has shed more than 38% since then as nickel prices continue to decline.
Shiny gold, dull silver, tarnished PGMs

The price of gold hit an all-time record on December 1, 2023. But bullion’s best ever level passed without the usual fanfare and despite bullish indications for 2024, gold mining stocks did not exactly storm the rankings of the most valuable miners.

Over the course of 2023 gold and royalty companies on the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners added a collective $20.8 billion in market cap.


And judging by gold miners’ performance so far this year, gold above $2,000 is not providing enough support. Newmont is already down 17%, Barrick has shed 13% and Agnico Eagle shareholders are 9% poorer.

The number of precious metals companies in the top 50 has also been relatively stable over the years. With Newmont’s absorption of Newcrest now complete, the open slot was taken up by Kinross, which spent a few years in the wilderness.

Anglogold Ashanti was just edged out by Jiangxi Copper for position number 50 on the last trading days of 2023, but based on its performance so far in 2024 the London-listed company is already back among the top tier. Indeed Anglogold is the only major gold player in the black year to date.

Silver has not been able to ride gold’s coattails and the top 50 has not had a silver specialist for a few years after Fresnillo dropped out (now at #61) and while Pan American Silver has come close in recent years at the end of last year it made it to #58 only.

The exit of platinum and palladium majors like Sibanye Stillwater and Impala Platinum, now both valued at less than $4 billion, made space for Royal Gold to reenter at 47 at the end of last year, up from 57th in 2022.

After a dismal 2023, the sole remaining PGM specialist Anglo American Platinum looks likely to lose more ground this quarter as palladium and platinum prices continue to slide into the new year.
Not too tough at the top

London-listed Anglo American has had a rough year in part due to its exposure to platinum group metals and control of AngloPlat, and is now valued at $30 billion after peaking at $70 billion in March 2021.

Were it not for the London-listed company’s iron ore operations, the 40%-plus slump in share value may have been deeper. Rumours that Glencore may be sniffing around now that the Swiss behemoth’s bid for all of Teck Resources has soured is also keeping Anglo from falling further down the rankings .

Investors in Anglo, with a history going back more than a hundred years on the South African gold and diamond fields, have had a particularly wild ride over the last few years. In January 2016, Anglo’s market cap fell below $5 billion after it came close to suffocating under a pile of debt.

Against expectations, iron ore seems to be holding above $120 a tonne, Chinese property bankruptcies and Beijing’s tepid stimulus response notwithstanding.

Iron ore’s resilience despite Chinese troubles has also kept the share prices of the other diversified majors, which make their fattest profits from the steelmaking ingredient, from skidding.

The top 10 mining companies have been able to keep their share of the total above 50% for a few years now. Not quite the magnificent seven, but size does matter in mining, particularly when access to capital is no longer a headache but a migraine.

Expectations of another active year of M&A in the sector is likely to make the Top 50 top-heavier, especially now that it’s painfully obvious just how one-commodity companies like the lithium stocks can so easily be derailed. Coal miners’ strong 2023 suggests there are still exceptional minerals that prove the rule.
Lithium losers

After defying gravity early on, the combined losses for lithium miners in the top 50 climbed to nearly $30 billion in market cap over the 12 month period. Four counters occupy the worst performance table for 2023.

The M&A drama surrounding Liontown, Albermarle and Hancock Prospecting turned out to be a soap opera and Chile’s move to take control of its lithium industry now appears far less consequential than feared.

Despite the precipitous decline in lithium prices in 2023, after hitting all time highs above $80,000 a tonne in November 2022, none of the battery metal miners’ stock performance was dire enough to drop out of the Top 50.


The merger of Livent and Allkem to form Arcadium Lithium could in fact up lithium mining’s representation in the ranking to seven should Pilbara Minerals’ January bleeding be stanched. But with lithium prices far from stabilizing, the battery metal’s presence in the top 50 may fade further.

Pilbara Minerals, which unlike its peers was still able to show share price gains last year, joined the Top 50 last year, bringing the number of companies based in the Western Australia capital to five, surpassing the tally of Vancouver, BC as the top home base in the ranking.

With the exit of First Quantum, three mining companies in the top 50 call Vancouver home while the return of Kinross saw the ranks of Toronto-headquartered miners move back up to four.
Nuclear options

Uranium prices more than doubled during 2023 and recently hit triple digits for the first time in 16 years. The breakthrough for the nuclear fuel comes after a decade in the doldrums following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Canada’s Cameco made the best quarterly performer list once again in Q4 and after doubling in market worth in 2023. The Saskatoon-based company now sits at no 23 in the ranking after jumping 22 places since end-2022.

The value of shares in Kazatomprom, the world number one uranium producer, topped $10 billion at the end of 2023, placing it at position 38. Until last year the state-owned Kazakh company was outside earshot of the Top 50 since its dual-listing in London and Astana in 2018.

None of the smaller uranium companies are likely to pierce the top 50 by themselves, but combinations among the rank and file may edge in when countries aiming to ditch fossil fuels stop thinking they can have their yellowcake and eat it too.

*NOTES:
Source: MINING.COM, Morningstar, GoogleFinance, company reports. Trading data from primary-listed exchange at December 28 2023 to January 2, 2024 where applicable, currency cross-rates January 2, 2024.

Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, which owns the world’s largest gold mine, Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec.

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialised financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining still makes up a small portion of its valuation.

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

Alaska Tribes seek rights in British Columbia to protect Unuk River watershed from gold mining

Amanda Stutt | January 31, 2024 | 

The Eskay Creek camp in northwest British Columbia. Image from Skeena Resources.

A consortium of Alaska First Nations is voicing opposition to the Eskay Creek project in Northern British Columbia, a large open-pit gold mine proposed just across the Alaska-Canada border by Skeena Resources (TSX: SKE, NYSE: SKE).


Skeena last week signed the permitting Process Charter for the Eskay Creek gold-silver project, which is in the Tahltan Nation’s territory in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia.

The property hosts the former Eskay Creek mine that produced 3.3 million oz of gold and 160 million oz. of silver from 1994 to 2008. The Process Charter is a collaboration between Skeena, the Tahltan Central Government (TCG), and the Government of British Columbia.

While the project has the support of the Tahltan, the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) said on Tuesday they are seeking recognition from the government of British Columbia and Canada to protect the Unuk River watershed from being damaged by the Eskay Creek mine.

Eskay Creek is one of at least six proposed and operating mines dotting the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers upstream of the US-Canada border.

The Alaska-based consortium of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Tribal governments this week applied to the Canadian environmental regulators to have their historic presence recognized along the Unuk River, which they say is threatened by rapidly expanding transboundary mining.

The SEITC said the proposed mine plan conflicts with their obligation to protect traditional lands for future generations.

The rivers, amongst the last wild salmon habitats remaining in the world, hold significant cultural importance for the Southeast Alaska Tribes, who said “recklessly underregulated gold mining” in Northwest British Columbia threatens to disrupt vulnerable watersheds and leach copper, selenium, and other toxins downstream across the border.

“We are talking about poisoning our rivers to help mining companies turn a profit,” SEITC Vice-President, Rob Sanderson, Jr in a press release. “We have relied on and stewarded these rivers for millennia. Canada has no right to endanger our way of life.”

In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that non-resident Indigenous people have constitutional rights in Canada if they are modern-day successors of past occupants.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recently recognized that Canada’s refusal to consult with Alaska Native Tribes on large-scale mining development along the transboundary watersheds could violate international human rights. The case, brought by Earthjustice on behalf of SEITC, will move into its briefing phase in February.

If SEITC succeeds, it would be the first time in history that a US-based Tribe is granted Participating Indigenous Nation status in Canada.

New Study Shows Sea Mining Will Accelerate Climate Change


By Paloma Duran | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 01/31/2024 -


New research suggests that seabed mining may aggravate clmate change by altering marine organisms that contribute to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The study contributes to countries’ requests to halt sea mining until its true impact is known.

In a recent investigation featured in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal, 17 locations on the Arctic Ocean floor were investigated, where nearly 1,000 photographs were taken and samples were collected for analysis. The findings revealed that the marine life in these regions stores a greater amount of carbon than previously thought. “Previous calculations have underestimated how much carbon is being removed by marine life because they were based on data from troughs on the ocean floor. We systematically assessed a wider range of seafloor sites and found that far more carbon is being removed in continental shelf waters,” Terri Souster, Researcher, The Arctic University of Norway.

Scientists explained that deep-sea organisms, such as corals and sponges, absorb carbon from their environment to grow. Once these organisms die, the carbon remains hidden in the sediments on the ocean floor, forming what scientists call "blue carbon". This carbon plays a vital role in reducing greenhouse gases. Therefore, sea mining would disrupt marine life, accelerating climate change.

This research is a part of broader initiative aiming at showing the limited understanding the world has regarding seabed mining. While some countries, including Mexico, advocate for an international moratorium on seabed mining until scientific gaps are addressed, others, like Norway, have moved ahead with commercial-scale deep-sea mining. In addition, they have invited companies to apply for mining permits in national waters. Simultaneously, the International Seabed Authority is drafting regulations that could eventually permit seabed mining in international waters. However, experts hope that these findings demonstrate the need to better understand the consequences of sea mining and its role in climate change.

What is Mexico’s Position on Sea Mining?

In Nov. 2023, Mexico supported the moratorium on seabed mining, arguing that there is not enough scientific information to know its true environmental impact. The current government’s position is that seabed mining can only start when standards, rules, and guidelines are created to ensure the protection of the environment. If seabed mining is carried out outside of national authority, the government stressed that enforcement, inspection, monitoring, and compliance procedures must be established in advance.

While Mexico does not carry out deep-sea mining yet, the country has a significant opportunity to do so. It has access to the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and is located right next to the most prolific region for marine mining: the Clipperton Fracture Zone. Mexico’s mineral reserves have been estimated to contain 21Bt of polymetallic nodules, which contain about 6Bt of manganese, 226Mt of copper, 94t of cobalt and 270Mt of nickel.

Boliden plans to cut output and jobs at Tara zinc mine

Reuters | January 31, 2024 |

Tara zinc-lead mine. (Image courtesy of Boliden.)

Swedish miner Boliden’s plans to shrink operations and reduce targeted output at its Tara zinc mine in Ireland when it restarts this year, a source close to the matter told Reuters.


The mine was put on care and maintenance in June after prices of the galvanizing metal hit a three-year low and Boliden has begun talks with staff over a planned resumption in the second quarter of this year.

Tara is Europe’s largest zinc mine and among the biggest globally, producing more than 300,000 metric tons of zinc concentrate a year at its peak, Boliden’s website says.

The restart plan, however, proposes a one-week closure for the mill every three weeks, 150 job losses and a production target of 180,000 tons of zinc concentrates a year, down from 198,000 tons last year, the source said.

Talks are continuing and the mine could restart in the second quarter at the earliest if agreement is reached, Boliden spokesman Klas Nilsson said, adding that external market conditions have not changed significantly since the mine entered care and maintenance.

Zinc prices are about 25% lower than a year ago and the concensus forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts this week projected a zinc market surplus of 300,000 tonnes in 2024.

Trafigura-owned Nyrstar halted two US zinc mines late last year because of weak prices and inflation and this month closed the Budel zinc smelter in the Netherlands.

(By Julian Luk; Editing by David Goodman)

Endeavour wins ruling to end strike at Burkina Faso gold mine

Bloomberg News | January 31, 2024 | 

Geologists study drill core at Endeavour’s Hounde mine in Burkina Faso. Photo Credit: Endeavour Mining.

Endeavour Mining Plc secured a decision from a court in Burkina Faso ordering that a strike at the company’s second biggest mine should end immediately.


The court issued an interim ruling on Tuesday that instructs “the expulsion of protesters” from the Hounde project, according to an internal company memo sent to employees on Jan. 30. The strike, which began on Jan. 21, has halted operations at the site.

The memo said that anyone who refuses to obey the court’s order to cease the “illegal occupations of the workplace and its surroundings” is subject to fines. An Endeavour spokesman declined to comment.

The mine accounted for almost 30% of the 1.1 million ounces of gold produced by Endeavour last year, according to company data. Output at Hounde is expected to drop 7% to 290,000 ounces in 2024.

The company also has assets in Senegal and Ivory Coast.

(By William Clowes and Katarina Hoije)

Drought in Western Canada impacting hydropower production as reservoirs run low

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Two hydro-rich provinces are being forced to import power from other jurisdictions due to severe drought in Western Canada.

Both B.C. and Manitoba, where the vast majority of power is hydroelectric, are experiencing low reservoir levels that have negatively affected electricity production this fall and winter.

There's no risk in either province of the lights going out anytime soon. But scientists say climate change is making drought both more common and more severe, which means more pressure on hydroelectric producers in the years to come.

In B.C., large chunks of the province are suffering through drought conditions the federal government has classified as "extreme."

BC Hydro spokesman Kyle Donaldson used the word "historic" to describe the dry conditions, adding the Crown corporation's large reservoirs in both the north and southeast parts of the province are lower than they have been in many years.

While BC Hydro has been working to conserve water by drawing on reservoirs in less affected regions of the province, it has also been importing more power from Alberta and a number of western U.S. states.

"These are steps we will continue to take in the coming months," Donaldson said.

In Manitoba, below-normal reservoirs and river levels mean that since October, Manitoba Hydro has been periodically supplementing hydro production by firing up its natural gas-fired turbines. Typically, it uses these only in the depths of winter to offset peak demand.

Spokesman Bruce Owen said there is no danger of a power shortage in Manitoba. The Crown corporation is able to import electricity from other jurisdictions, just as in high-water years it is able to export the excess power it produces.

But paying to import power — and losing the ability to export excess power on the spot market like generators do in high-water years — comes at a cost. Manitoba Hydro is already projecting a financial net loss for the current fiscal year — only its second in the past decade, with the other being in 2021.

That year, severe drought conditions also reduced Manitoba Hydro's ability to produce power, and the company ended up posting a $248-million loss.

The 2021 drought also impacted hydropower production in the United States, where overall generation was 16 per cent lower than average, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. At Nevada's Hoover Dam, one of the biggest hydro power generators in the U.S., production fell by 25 per cent.

Drought has always been one of the biggest business risks for hydroelectricity producers, and companies plan and operate their systems knowing it can occur. 

Manitoba's worst drought on record, for example, was in 1940-41, and one of Hydro Manitoba's guiding principles is that it must be able to provide enough electricity to meet demand if water flows ever fall that low again.

But climate change is making once-rare events more common, creating the need for stronger back-up systems. 

"If you know drought conditions are forecast to get worse over time with a changing climate, then that does require those hydroelectric systems to take that into account when they're forecasting how much energy they are going to get from their hydro system," said Blake Shaffer, an associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary who studies electricity markets.

Hydro generators are also grappling with increasing electricity demand due to the rise of electric vehicles and the push to decarbonize the economy. 

Manitoba Hydro's own modeling shows electrical demand in the province could more than double in the next 20 years, and new sources of electricity could be needed in the province within the next decade.

While drought can put long-term strain on hydro generation, it is much less volatile in the short-term than wind and solar. That gives hydro producers the ability to choose the individual times when they import power, taking advantage of low prices and market conditions.

But Shaffer says to ensure the long-term stability and efficiency of electricity production in Canada, this country must invest in additional inter-provincial transmission ties.

More transmission ties would make it easier for Alberta to send power to B.C. when there's a drought, for example, and for B.C. to send power to Alberta when the wind isn't blowing.

"If you're better at doing something than me and I'm better at doing something than you, we benefit from doing the thing we're better at and trading with one another," Shaffer said. 

"To the extent that (the provinces) don't have exactly the same systems, which we don't, there are benefits to linking up."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2024.

 

Only 35% of working Canadians aged 50 and older can afford to retire: report

Mitchell Consky, BNN Bloomberg

Only about one-third of working Canadians aged 50 and older who intend to retire say they can afford to do so, according to a new report by the National Institute on Ageing (NIA). 

The NIA’s research, published in a Wednesday report, found that 35 per cent of older Canadians who are currently working believe they will be able to retire at their desired time, while 39 per cent reported that they are not in the financial position to do so.

One in four surveyed Canadians over 50 reported feeling unsure as to whether they can afford to retire when they are hoping to, according to the report. 

Keith Neuman, one of the study authors and the executive director of the Environics Institute, said the findings are tied to financial uncertainties around workplace pensions, changing income sources and other broad challenges.

“Of course, saving for retirement and being prepared for that is a bit of an unknown and a bit of a challenge because … the availability of workplace pensions and other sources of income have changed over the past few decades,” Neuman told BNN Bloomberg in a phone interview.

He added that while his survey only looked at people aged 50 and older, the financial struggles discussed are not necessarily specific to older demographics.

Retirement preferences

Neuman noted that retirement is not on every Canadian’s agenda.

“There’s a certain proportion of older Canadians who don’t plan to retire, who don’t want to retire. Not everybody does,” he said.

“We did ask people who had retired how they’re enjoying it and they tend to think it’s going better than they thought it might. So there is some positive news there.”

Neuman also pointed out that NIA’s survey sample included Canadians who are 80 and older, finding a small percentage of people in that demographic are still working and want to retire.

“Among them, only about half feel that they could do so,” he told BNN Bloomberg. 

Financial wellbeing

Retirement readiness aside, Natalie Iciaszczyk, another study author and the research program manager at the National Institute on Ageing, said overall, older Canadians are “doing pretty well in terms of their financial wellbeing.” 

According to the report, the majority of surveyed Canadians say their household income is “enough” for them.

“Only about 33 per cent of them say it’s enough that they could save. The other 39 per cent say it’s just enough that they get by,” Iciaszczyk told BNN Bloomberg. 

“This signals the first red flag when thinking about our older population in that only so few of them are able to save,” she said. “What does that mean for when they reach older ages and are no longer working?”

Research part of 10-year project

The NIA report is part of a 10-year-project, Iciaszczyk explained, with this latest survey only the second in the series. 

“Hopefully in the next three to four to five years we’ll be able to tell if these numbers and proportions are staying consistent, (whether) they are increasing as a greater share of our population does enter 65 and older.”

Wednesday’s report showed that retirement readiness levels have remained virtually unchanged since 2022, when the proportion of Canadians 50 and older who said they could afford to retire when they hope to was also 35 per cent. 

“As people get older, in many ways, their outlook is looking better, but this retirement readiness issue persists, to some extent, even across older age groups,” Neuman said.

Methodology:

The 2023 NIA Ageing in Canada Survey was conducted online between June 27 and August 7, 2023, with a representative sample of 5,875 Canadians aged 50 years and older living in the country’s 10 provinces. The survey, comprised of 83 questions, was administered using standard survey industry recruitment and confidentiality protocols. The sample was stratified by age, region, gender and education level, to ensure good representation across these strata. The final data were weighted by the population (per the 2021 Census).

Aegis Brands selling Bridgehead coffee business to Pilot Coffee Roasters for $3.5M  best partner for Bridgehead: Aegis Brands CEO

Aegis Brands Inc. has signed a deal to sell its Bridgehead coffee business to Pilot Coffee Roasters for $3.5 million.

In addition to Bridgehead, Aegis Brands owns and operates St. Louis Bar and Grill and Wing City by St. Louis.

Aegis Brands chief executive Steven Pelton says the sale allows the company to build on the momentum of the St. Louis brand.

Toronto-based Pilot Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster, online retailer, wholesaler and café operator.

The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

Aegis says proceeds from the deal will be used to reduce debt and for general working capital purposes.