The M&E Dispatch - 028

Hello Everyone,

Tis’ the season of holiday parties, snow-draped equipment, and hopeful musings on what the year ahead will bring.

Back in the day, a lump of coal under the tree wasn’t a disappointment—especially if you were part of a mining family. Forget toys and trinkets: coal was gold. It meant warmth for the home, fuel for the stove, and the difference between a cozy Christmas dinner and a goose frozen solid.

It may never have earned a page in the Sears Wish Book, but coal is making a comeback. Around the southern Rocky Mountain Range of Alberta and BC, it’s back on everyone’s wish list. And with CPKC’s expansion, new markets are ready and waiting.

But coal isn’t the only thing on the move. The holidays bring another familiar sight on the rails—the CPKC Holiday Train. Once limited to Canada and northern U.S. routes, the Holiday Train now rolls farther and farther south, thanks to the acquisition of Kansas City Southern.

Back in 2019, CP Rail’s Holiday Train routes were straightforward—two nearly parallel tracks hugging either side of the border, charming towns across the Canadian Prairies and northern U.S. heartland.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the CPKC Holiday Train is heading for sunnier horizons.

The acquisition of KC Southern means that this iconic Christmas convoy now stretches south for the winter, reaching all the way to the Gulf Coast. One has to wonder—do the crews draw straws to decide who gets the privilege of spreading cheer across the snowbound Prairies and who “suffers” through the sun-drenched southern states?

Coal or Christmas cheer, the theme remains the same:
The Canadian Expansion—Always, and All Ways.

// The Dirt

Spearmint Doubles New Brunswick Antimony Project
Spearmint Resources expands its George Lake South Antimony Project acreage, strengthening its critical minerals portfolio in New Brunswick.
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Vertical Signs Exclusive Carbon Removal Agreement
Vertical Exploration signs an exclusivity deal for enhanced rock weathering-focused carbon removal using its St-Onge Wollastonite deposit in Québec.
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Commerce Confirms Niobium Discovery at Eldor
Commerce Resources drills 24m at 0.91% Nb2O5 and discovers new high-grade zones at the Eldor Property, expanding its mineralized footprint.
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Nevada Lithium Upgrades Bonnie Claire Project
Nevada Lithium significantly increases the size and grade of the Bonnie Claire Project’s Lower Zone resources, including maiden lithium and boron results.
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EGR Receives Shares for Urban Barry Option Agreement
EGR Exploration receives 500,000 Harvest Gold shares as part of the option agreement on the Urban Barry Property.
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Trigon Updates Strategic Sale of Kombat Mine
Trigon Metals signs a loan agreement with Horizon Corporation while progressing discussions on the strategic sale of the Kombat Mine.
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Red Pine Discovers Gold West of Existing Resource
Red Pine Exploration finds additional gold mineralization and acquires new claims west of its Wawa Gold Project’s existing resource.
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Radisson Drills Deepest Hole at O’Brien Project
Radisson intersects 242 g/t gold over 1m in its deepest drill hole yet, extending below historic workings at the O’Brien Gold Project.
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PPX Signs Royalty Agreement with Silver Crown
PPX Mining finalizes a definitive silver royalty agreement with Silver Crown Royalties, advancing monetization of its assets.
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King Completes Acquisition of Cleator, Arizona
King Global Ventures finalizes the acquisition of 10% of Cleator, a historic private town in Arizona, broadening its asset base.
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Doré Copper Shareholders Approve Cygnus Deal
Doré Copper announces overwhelming shareholder approval for its plan of arrangement with Cygnus Metals.
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Delta Reports Strong Channel Sampling Results
Delta Resources’ I-Zone sampling returns 1.23 g/t gold over 40.6m and 2.4 g/t gold over 16.2m at the Delta-1 Property in Thunder Bay.
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Bonterra Closes $1M Private Placement
Bonterra Resources closes a non-brokered private placement of flow-through units to fund exploration at its Val-d’Or projects.
Read more

// The Hustle

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There are a few more listings in the Pro Directory to peruse and I hope to have that fully up and running for Friday, I’ll be working from a hotel in Kamloops this week with loads of time on my hands between games to continue improving M&E.

Have a great week everyone, catch you Friday.

- Lee