The M&E Dispatch // 104

In defence of the middle.

Author

Lee Tengum
September 09, 2025

Hello Everyone,

There’s a lot of noise around the $50+ billion merger between Anglo American and Teck, and rightly so.

Teck was more than just a ticker symbol, it was the last of its kind: a Canadian-led, globally relevant mining company that hadn’t yet been absorbed into the supermajor machine.

Now it has.

Coal? Spun off.
Copper? Rolled up.
HQ? Still Vancouver, but the gravity has shifted, listed in London, led by global hands.

So yes, the headlines say “merger.”
But what it really feels like... is another goodbye.

The Disappearing Class

What we’re watching play out, slowly, deal by deal, is the disappearance of Canada’s mining middle class.

There used to be a natural ladder in this business:

  • Start as a junior

  • Grow into an intermediate

  • Maybe, one day, go toe-to-toe with the majors

But the rungs are breaking.
What’s replacing them is consolidation at scale, and not by Canadian firms.

We’re not building champions anymore.
We’re selling them.

Why the Middle Matters

The middle isn’t just about size, it’s about position.

Mid-sized Canadian miners operate at a scale where they can take meaningful risks, while still being close enough to communities, workers, and provinces to remember why those risks matter.

They fund local suppliers.
They hire from the region.
They sponsor local youth sports teams.

They don’t answer to boardrooms in Sydney or Zurich.

When we lose them, we don’t just lose Canadian jobs, we lose Canadian influence. Over how projects are run. How profits are taxed. How the land gets used.

The middle is where sovereignty lives.
It’s where we still have a voice.

Who’s Left?

Let’s be honest, the list is thinning.

Capstone. Foran. Lundin. A few others.
But they’re all one deal away from becoming a line item in someone else’s PowerPoint deck.

So here’s the question we should be asking ourselves, across the boardroom table or while crushing a plate of Pancakes in Denny’s with a friend at 5:28 a.m.:

Are we okay being the landlord?

Or do we still want to be the ones who build something, here, at home, that lasts?

It’s Not About Nostalgia

This isn’t flag-waving patriotism. It’s not some call for isolation.

It’s a call to defend the space between the junior and the juggernaut, to make room for Canadian miners to grow, to try to build something good and not just get bought.

Because once the middle is gone, we don’t get it back.
And when that happens, Canada won’t be a mining nation anymore.

We’ll just be the place where mining happens.

// The Dirt

Top 3 Headlines to Watch

  1. 🪙 Osisko Metals Hits 1,117m @ 0.25% Cu at Gaspé — Quebec’s biggest undeveloped copper system grows larger with record-length intercepts.
    https://osiskometals.com/news-2025/osisko-intersects-1117-5-metres-averaging-0-25-cu-at-gaspe

  2. 🔋 FPX Nickel Ships Bulk Awaruite for EV Battery Tests — pilot-scale run delivers concentrate samples to downstream partners, a step toward North American supply chain validation.
    https://fpxnickel.com/news/fpx-nickel-completes-additional-large-scale-mineral-processing-pilot-testwork-to-produce-awaruite-concentrate-to-support-discussions-with-prospective-ev-battery-supply-chain-partners

  3. 🪙 Magna Mining Closes $45M Equity Offering — Sudbury nickel-copper developer secures LIFE financing to push forward growth projects.
    https://magnamining.com/magna-mining-announces-brokered-life-offering-of-common-shares-for-gross-proceeds-of-up-to-45-million

Exploration & Development Highlights

Financings & Market Moves

Corporate & Policy

🌄 On the Horizon

  • Canada’s Critical Mineral Push — With federal loans for graphite, streamlined permitting via the MPO, and Quebec’s lithium pipeline advancing, Ottawa’s role as a catalyst is unmistakable.

  • Nickel & Copper Resurgence — FPX’s awaruite pilot samples and Osisko’s record copper intercepts underscore how Canada’s base metals are regaining spotlight in EV and infrastructure markets.

  • Grassroots to Growth — Brunswick’s maiden lithium drilling and Delta’s asset monetization efforts show the junior pipeline remains active and opportunistic, even in volatile markets.

// The Hustle

The boy’s had their first game on the weekend, while not the outcome that we had hoped for in terms of the game sheet, it was exciting to see the team for the first time.

This is some hard hitting, fierce and competitive hockey and to play out of 6 plex, just 15 minutes from our home 6 plex, it’s hard not to see how much hockey there is out here. Like everything down here it seems there’s an air of opportunity with the sunrise.

Enjoy the week all,
- Lee