The M&E Dispatch // 101

Hello Everyone,

Last week, a bulk carrier loading coal in Baltimore had a hatch explosion. Fire, smoke, thankfully no injuries. The Port’s main coal channel, Fort McHenry, was shut down temporarily while crews handled it.

This is the same port that earlier this year was knocked offline for weeks after a container ship took out the Key Bridge. Different incident, same result: everything stalls.

And while the Americans rerouted, we should be paying closer attention.

Because here’s what they have that we don’t:

Redundancy.
Baltimore goes down? Norfolk, Savannah, New York, Charleston, all capable, all connected.

What happens here though? Vancouver gets clogged, or Westshore takes a hit? You don’t just bounce that shipment to Prince Rupert or Thunder Bay like it’s nothing. Halifax can’t suddenly absorb a load of West Coast-bound met coal. We don’t have the extra lanes, the same scale, or frankly, the same imagination.

We’ve centralized too much of our outbound movement into too few places. And those places are aging, congested, and increasingly strained.

Ports are no longer background infrastructure. They’re frontline economic instruments.
When they stall, the entire system hiccups. And if they fail, we lose contracts, customers, and credibility.

What happened in Baltimore was loud and contained.
What happens when it’s quiet and unresolved?

What we need now is a national strategy with real teeth.

Port building should be a national-level urgent venture.
Not just expansions, but entirely new assets.

• Build rail and road corridors north.

• Develop speculative ports in newly opening Arctic channels.

• Plan like we’re expecting to be a global leader in critical minerals, because we are.

China plans in centuries.
We plan in quarters.
We need to start playing the long game.

The best time to plant a tree start building ports was 20 years ago.
The second-best time is right now.

// The Dirt

🔥 Top 3 Headlines to Watch

1. ⛏ Magna Mining Intersects 29.2% Cu, 0.9% Ni & 53 g/t Pt+Pd+Au over 1m — Sudbury’s Levack Mine delivers extraordinary copper-nickel-PGM results.
   https://magnamining.com/magna-mining-intersects-29-2-cu-0-9-ni-53-0-g-t-pt-pd-au-over-1-0-metre-140-metres-downdip-of-previous-intersection-below-the-no-3-zone-at-the-levack-mine-in-sudbury-ontario

2. 🧪 Focus Graphite Validates Lac Knife in Hypersonic Rocket Launch — real-world aerospace application test in California confirms material’s high-performance potential.
   https://focusgraphite.com/focus-graphite-achieves-first-aerospace-validation-with-lac-knife-graphite-in-a-successful-hypersonic-rocket-launch

3. 🪙 American Lithium Wins in Peru Supreme Court — full title to 32 disputed claims reaffirmed, ending seven years of legal uncertainty.
   https://americanlithiumcorp.com/american-lithiums-full-title-to-32-disputed-claims-in-peru-re-confirmed-supreme-court-rules-against-plaintiffs-petition-marking-the-end-of-legal-action

Exploration & Development Highlights

• 🪙 Adyton Resources confirms copper alongside gold at Feni Island, upgrading intercepts by 40% to 125.9 gxm AuEq.
  https://adytonresources.com/adyton-reports-final-assays-from-feni-drillholes-1-3-confirming-multiple-copper-mineralised-zones-complementing-previously-reported-gold-fdd003-upgraded-by-40-for-combined-125-9-gxm-au-eq

• ⛏ Kingfisher Metals extends Williams porphyry Cu-Au system in BC’s Golden Triangle, with multiple deep intercepts.
  https://kingfishermetals.com/kingfisher-provides-exploration-update-at-hwy-37-project-golden-triangle

• ⛏ Inomin Mines starts $1.7M exploration program at Beaver-Lynx, BC — funded by Sumitomo, targeting nickel, magnesium, and copper potential.
  https://inominmines.com/inomin-starts-1-7-million-exploration-program-at-beaver-lynx-project

Financings & Market Moves

• 🪙 Silver47 upsizes LIFE financing to $20M on strong investor demand.
  https://silver47.ca/silver47-announces-upsize-of-brokered-life-financing-to-20-million

• 🪙 Freeman Gold closes $5M convertible debenture financing to advance Lemhi Gold Project.
  https://freemangoldcorp.com/freeman-closes-convertible-debenture-offering

Corporate & Policy

• 🧪 Northern Graphite secures $6.2M Canadian government support to extend Lac des Îles Mine — the only operating graphite mine in North America.
  https://www.northerngraphite.com/northern-graphite-secures-federal-support-to-extend-the-life-of-lac-des-iles-mine

• ⚖️ Canadian Chrome Company proposes $25M financing for winter drilling at Black Horse discovery in the Ring of Fire, with First Nations support for logistics and infrastructure.
  https://canadachrome.com/the-canadian-chrome-company-announces-proposed-25-million-financing-for-winter-drilling-program-at-black-horse-chrome-discovery-in-the-ring-of-fire-and-confirms-continuing-support-for-commissioning-o

• 📑 EMP Metals files updated NI 43-101 for Saskatchewan lithium brine projects — 78% resource increase to over 2 Mt LCE (combined Indicated + Inferred).
  https://empmetals.com/emp-metals-files-ni-43-101-resource-estimate-technical-report-for-its-viewfield-and-mansur-projects-saskatchewan

On the Horizon

• Sudbury’s Multi-Metal Punch — Magna’s 29% copper intercept is a reminder that Sudbury still surprises. Combined with strong nickel-copper assays earlier this week, the basin looks far from tapped out.

• Critical Minerals Advance on Two Fronts — Focus Graphite’s aerospace test in California and Northern Graphite’s federal backing in Quebec underline how Canada is leveraging its graphite projects for both defense and energy transition supply chains.

• Lithium’s Legal & Capital Clout — From American Lithium’s Supreme Court win in Peru to EMP’s resource upgrade in Saskatchewan and Silver47’s $20M raise, lithium juniors continue to dominate the headlines and investor focus.

Off to take these kids to the hockey hall of fame today and take in the CNE. If you know of a sweet downtown Toronto place or thing we should check out please hit reply and let me know.

Enjoy the long weekend everyone, I’ll catch you on Tuesday.

- Lee