THE DISPATCH

The Friday Dispatch

TACO Tuesday. Is the Hormuz Toll a boon for Canada? Diamonds are not forever?

The Friday Dispatch

Mining & Energy Dispatch | Vol. 3 | April 3, 2026

The Iran conflict enters its sixth week with no ceasefire in sight — Trump says the Strait of Hormuz won't reopen on its own, gold is pulling back sharply from its all-time high, and two brand-new Saskatchewan uranium mines just got their federal green light. Meanwhile, Agnico Eagle made a quiet but strategic bet on a Yukon copper-gold junior, and the Ring of Fire roads are now five years ahead of schedule.

A lot to get through. Let's go.

🛠️ Site Update

Before we get into the week — a quick note on what's new at miningandenergy.ca.

I’ve been crushing updates these past two weeks. The main site just got a significant upgrade — cleaner layout, deeper content, and a natural language search that, while still fresh, is already returning results that feel a lot more like a search engine built for this sector. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

We also have three live Expo Profiles — the start of what will become the go-to directory for companies supplying the Canadian mining and energy sectors. Worth a bookmark if you're looking for suppliers or looking to be found:

• City of Barrie — Economic Development — Advanced manufacturing hub 100 km from Toronto, with CNC machining, industrial fabrication, and a skilled trades pipeline connected directly to Northern Ontario mine sites via the Highway 400 corridor.

• Brownclaw Asset Management — Reliability Consulting — Boutique reliability and maintenance consulting for mining and heavy industry: FMECA, RCM, condition monitoring, and asset strategy built by mining professionals, based in British Columbia.

• Messer Canada — Industrial Gases — Part of the world's largest privately held industrial gas company, with 75+ years in Canada and 60+ locations coast to coast supplying oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, CO₂, and specialty gases for mining, metals, oil & gas, and manufacturing.
  
  More Expo Profiles to come next week! 

🟡 Precious Metals

Gold is correcting hard — down more than $1,000 from its late-January peak — but the structural bull case hasn't changed, and the junior end of the TSX is still on fire with fresh M&A and re-ratings.

• Has Gold Found a Bottom? — Barchart
  Gold futures fell to around $4,679/oz this week — trading over $1,000 below the all-time high set in late January — as dollar strength and tentative Iran ceasefire signals briefly pulled safe-haven demand off the boil.

• Gold & Silver markets volatile amid global tensions — NewsPress
  Bullion markets saw sharp intraday swings Friday morning as traders balanced Iran war headlines against stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data, with silver also swinging wildly on its dual precious/industrial identity.

• Agnico Eagle buys 14% of Cascadia Minerals for Yukon copper-gold play — The Northern Miner
  Agnico Eagle committed $7.6 million to acquire a 14% stake in Cascadia Minerals, gaining an earn-in on the Carmacks copper-gold project in central Yukon and locking in a strategic exploration alliance across the Stikine Terrane.

• CIM Magazine Weekly Mining News Recap for April 3 — CIM
  This week's CIM recap covers Agnico's Cascadia deal, Eskay Creek construction hitting the 49% completion mark, Hecla announcing the sale of its Quebec operations, and a broad "wild week for metals" rundown.

• Troilus Mining — One of Canada's Largest Mines Nearing Build Phase — Crux Investor
  Troilus Mining's gold-copper project in northern Quebec — one of the largest undeveloped deposits in Canada — is advancing toward a construction decision with first production targeted for 2028, positioning it as one of the most significant Canadian mine builds of the decade.

⚡ Energy & Oil Markets

Oil briefly dipped toward $100 on ceasefire talk, then surged back as Iran kept striking Gulf targets — meanwhile, Trans Mountain data shows Canada already earning a $16.7-billion premium from Pacific export capacity, making the case for another pipeline impossible to ignore.

• 'A new floor for oil': Prices expected to be higher for longer — Yahoo Finance
  Executives at CERAWeek reported a mood of cautious opportunity — not celebration — as oil stays elevated, with industry consensus that the conflict has permanently reset the global energy price floor and that pre-war $70/barrel pricing is unlikely to return this year.

• Price surge from Trans Mountain expansion highlights need for new pipelines — Global News
  A new MEI report found the TMX expansion narrowed the WCS-WTI price gap by 37.5%, delivering a US$16.7-billion revenue boost to Canadian producers in 18 months — and non-U.S. Canadian oil exports grew from 3% to 14% of total — the clearest argument yet for a second Pacific pipeline.

• A Canadian energy stock ready to bring the heat in 2026 — Motley Fool
  Canadian Natural Resources (TSX: CNQ) hit its net-debt target, now returns ~75% of free cash flow, has raised its dividend 26 consecutive years, and yields ~3.7% — the kind of oilsands stability story readers should be watching.

• CUSMA is up for review in 2026 — here's what Trump might want — CTV News
  With the CUSMA review coming this year, critical minerals and energy are Canada's primary bargaining chips — Trump's AI data centre buildout is creating massive new electricity and fuel demand that Canada is uniquely positioned to supply.

• RBC GAM MacroMemo: War with Iran — Global energy sensitivity and mitigation pathways — RBC GAM
  RBC Global Asset Management's full scenario analysis of the Hormuz crisis: best case is a ceasefire in weeks, middle case takes months, and the worst case — sustained damage to Gulf energy infrastructure — would turn a temporary shock into a structural one lasting years.

🔋 Critical Minerals & Battery Metals

Saskatchewan's uranium construction approvals, PMET's lithium ESIA filing, and Skeena's Eskay Creek construction milestone are all signs that Canada's mine development pipeline is finally moving at the pace the moment demands.

• Skeena Gold & Silver confirms Eskay Creek reaches 49% completion — TMX
  Eskay Creek's detailed engineering is 92% complete and fully supporting construction activities, with first gold targeted for mid-2026 and commercial production by 2027 — one of the fastest permitted and built mines in recent Canadian history.

• Tahltan, B.C. make history with consent-based decisions on Eskay Creek — BC Gov
  The Eskay Creek approval marks Canada's first environmental assessment guided by a Section 7 DRIPA consent agreement with the Tahltan Central Government — a 16-month review from application to certificate that is now being cited as the model for future permitting.

• PMET submits environmental assessment for Quebec lithium project — Canadian Mining Journal
  PMET Resources filed its environmental and social impact assessment this week for Shaakichiuwaanaan — Canada's largest undeveloped lithium deposit at 80.1 Mt indicated — moving the project into the formal federal-provincial review process.

• Agnico Eagle announces financing and strategic alliance with Cascadia Minerals — PR Newswire
  Beyond the equity stake, Agnico signed an earn-in agreement allowing it to acquire up to 51% of Cascadia's Carmacks copper-gold project, plus a three-year exploration funding commitment for the broader Stikine Terrane — a meaningful commitment to Yukon critical minerals.

• Ring of Fire: proposed Wyloo mine in northern Ontario clears another regulatory hurdle — BNN Bloomberg
  The federal government declined to call a federal Impact Assessment on Wyloo's Eagle's Nest nickel-copper mine, clearing the path toward construction — while Ontario has committed $500 million to a Critical Minerals Processing Fund and confirmed access roads will open by 2030.

☢️ Nuclear & Uranium

Two new Saskatchewan uranium mines received federal approval this week in what may be the most significant moment for Canadian uranium production since Cigar Lake — and the global race for supply is accelerating fast.

• Northern Sask. uranium mines get federal approval — CTV News Regina
  The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission this week approved both Denison Mines' Wheeler River (Phoenix) project and NexGen Energy's Rook I project — the first large-scale new uranium mines licensed in Canada since Cigar Lake in 2014, with first production targeted for mid-2028.

• Miners set to begin construction of two new uranium projects in Saskatchewan — Globe and Mail
  Denison's Phoenix capex is now $600 million (up from $420 million in the 2023 feasibility study), while NexGen's Rook I is pegged at $2.2 billion — but both companies are projecting they will be among the world's lowest-cost producers at current uranium prices.

• NexGen's Rook I uranium project gains key Indigenous support — Canadian Mining Journal
  NexGen's Rook I project received support from several Indigenous communities prior to final CNSC approval — a meaningful signal that the consent-based model being piloted at Eskay Creek is being replicated across the uranium sector as well.

• Nuclear Energy Boom 2026: Top Canada uranium stocks — Kalkine
  Canada's uranium sector is now positioned as the strategic allied supplier of choice for the U.S. and Asian utilities, with Cameco, Denison, NexGen, and ATHA Energy all in active phases of either construction or advanced exploration.

• Uranium Outlook 2026 — Sprott
  Sprott's full uranium outlook remains bullish: no tariffs on uranium, utilities still contracting below replacement rate, and U.S. plans to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050 would require extraordinary new supply — almost all of which points back to the Athabasca Basin.

💥 Conflict Watch

Six weeks in, Trump says the U.S. is "close to victory" but rules out ceasefire — Iran keeps striking Gulf targets, oil holds above $100, and the Strait remains partially closed to Western-affiliated shipping.

• Iran war latest: Fighting continues as Strait of Hormuz remains a major flashpoint — LiveNOW Fox
  The war enters its sixth week with the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed to U.S. and allied-affiliated shipping — experts quoted this morning say the conflict is likely to extend at least two to three more weeks regardless of Trump's statements.

• Trump says Iran ceasefire only possible when Hormuz reopens — Bloomberg
  Trump drew a hard line this week: no ceasefire will be considered until the Strait of Hormuz is "open and clear" — hours after making that statement, Iran launched overnight attacks on Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, an oil tanker off Qatar, and cruise missiles at the UAE.

• Iran denies Trump's claim that Iranian president requested ceasefire — Al Jazeera
  Senior Iranian officials flatly denied Trump's Truth Social claim that Iran's new regime president had requested a ceasefire — deepening the communication breakdown between the two sides and casting doubt on any near-term diplomatic path forward.

• As Trump doubles down on Iran war, markets shudder and oil prices surge — Washington Post
  Iranian officials have stated the Strait is closed to "enemies of the nation" — with downstream oil shortages now beginning to trigger social unrest and rationing measures in several Southeast Asian import-dependent economies.

• RBC GAM MacroMemo: Strait of Hormuz closure mitigants — RBC GAM
  Nearly three-quarters of the Strait shortfall is currently being offset through alternative routes and IEA strategic reserve releases — but RBC warns that any escalation targeting Gulf energy infrastructure would eliminate those buffers permanently and drive a price shock that dwarfs 2022.

🌍 Geopolitics & Trade

Canada's resource sector is the most strategically valuable it has been in a generation — the Trans Mountain data is making the pipeline argument for politicians, and the CUSMA review is forcing Ottawa to finally decide what it wants in exchange.

• Canada has the critical minerals Donald Trump wants — so what should we do with them? — CHCH
  A sharp policy debate is emerging: Trump's lower tariffs on Canadian uranium and potash signal he understands their strategic value — which gives Ottawa real leverage in CUSMA and minerals negotiations that it hasn't fully decided how to use.

• U.S. Tribal concerns emerge over proposed Canadian mining projects on Vancouver Island — Ha-Shilth-Sa
  U.S. tribal nations in Washington and Alaska are formally objecting to three BC mining projects — North Island, Berg, and Wicheeda — citing exclusion from environmental assessments and potential cross-border harm to salmon and sacred sites.

• The Impact of Trump Tariffs on U.S.-Canada Minerals and Metals Trade — Columbia Energy Policy
  Columbia's SIPA analysis found that U.S. tariffs on Canadian minerals are already disrupting integrated supply chains in aluminum, steel, and potash — sectors where the two countries are so intertwined that tariffs effectively act as a tax on American manufacturers.

• Is the U.S. posing a hidden risk in the West's critical minerals strategy? — PIIE
  Peterson Institute economists argue that Washington's growing tendency to use critical minerals as a geopolitical tool — against allies as well as adversaries — is undermining the very supply chain security framework it is claiming to build.

• Ontario aims to complete Ring of Fire roads by 2031 — YouTube/CBC
  Premier Ford's announcement that Ring of Fire all-season roads will open five years ahead of schedule — backed by two First Nations as equity partners — is the clearest sign yet that Canada's most critical minerals district may finally move from promise to production.

🤖 Technology, ESG & Indigenous

The Eskay Creek consent model is becoming a national template, PMET's lithium ESIA marks a coming-of-age moment for Canada's battery metals pipeline, and U.S. tribal objections to BC mines are adding a cross-border dimension to the reconciliation conversation.

• Tahltan, B.C. make history with consent-based decisions on Eskay Creek — BC Government
  The 16-month assessment process for Eskay Creek — guided by a first-of-its-kind Section 7 DRIPA consent agreement with the Tahltan Central Government — is already being cited by industry and government as the blueprint for how Canada's new permitting model should work.

• Mining in Ontario's Ring of Fire closer than ever, even without official fast-track — CBC
  CBC's deep dive on what's actually driving Ring of Fire momentum: not legislative fast-tracking, but Indigenous-led road environmental assessments, First Nations equity partnerships, and Premier Ford personally making the opening date a political commitment.

• NexGen's Rook I gains key Indigenous support ahead of federal approval — Canadian Mining Journal
  NexGen's decade-long community engagement strategy — including financial benefit-sharing agreements with local First Nations — was cited by the CNSC as a key factor in the Rook I approval, reinforcing that consent-first approaches accelerate rather than delay permitting.

• U.S. Tribal concerns over proposed Canadian mining projects — Ha-Shilth-Sa
  Washington and Alaskan tribal nations are invoking UNDRIP to demand inclusion in Canadian environmental assessments for three BC projects — a cross-border escalation that could complicate future project timelines and set legal precedents for transboundary Indigenous consultation.

• ESG Compliance in Mining Industry: Research and Forecast — Globe Newswire
  ESG compliance costs in mining are rising significantly as investor mandates tighten, emissions disclosure requirements expand, and nature-related financial risks become financing conditions rather than voluntary disclosures.

• Sudbury to host underground mining technology showcase in May — Canadian Mining Journal
  NORCAT's upcoming underground mining technology showcase in Sudbury will bring together mining technology developers and industry stakeholders to demonstrate autonomous drilling, AI-driven ventilation systems, and battery-electric equipment advances in a live underground environment.

The Friday Dispatch is published weekly by Mining & Energy Dispatch. Forward freely. Subscribe at miningandenergy.ca.

// NOTES FROM THE NORTH

Really pleased with how the site updates are coming along, please do give it a play and make sure you search for your company. If you don’t see results from your company in there, hit reply and let me know.

Enjoy the (long!) weekend all,

-Lee

If your kid finds chocolate still hidden from last year that means you’ve done your job well, twice.