Bear Lake in the middle of a trade war
Beware of attack moose. And can I take credit for Prince George getting a bigger spotlight?
A lot to get to today. First: I don’t know if this sign is a joke or a serious warning or not.
Next, I see B.C. Bob Konbauer is back in town. You might know him as the founder of Vancouver Is Awesome, a website that was focused on highlighting the positive side of that city about a decade ago (it’s since been sold to and taken over by Glacier Media). He also hosted a TV series, B.C. Was Awesome, on the history of the province, and today he is once again independent, running the similarly-themed Now You Know B.C. and B.C. Bob’s Emporium, a souvenir and gift shop online. And right now, he’s partnered up with the Exploration Place for a fundraiser, selling merch based around Mr. PG and Loki, the museum’s resident Magpie.
He’s also on Instagram promoting Coldsnap and telling the story of Mr. PG Junior and generally highlighting some fun stuff in the city to a largely Vancouver-based audience which may not have the best impressions of the city. I’m a fan of his content and I’m a fan of him highlighting PG and… I think I can take some credit?
Way back in the old days of 2019, I was tagged in a Twitter thread by one of my work colleagues alerting me to the fact Bob was in Prince George and that he and I should meet up. I was out of town, unfortunately, but I gave him a list of recommendations and I think it’s fair to say it helped convert him to the charms of our community. Here is the before and after of his time here:
Now, obviously, I wasn’t the only person turning him onto the hidden gems of the community - a ton of other people were on it, too. But it was a joy to play a part in helping highlight what’s great about PG and it’s great to see him continue to give it so much love.
Also, I miss Twitter being good :(
I missed this while I was off. Amy Blanding has released her song Sunbirds, which led in part to her losing her job. Her press release and the track are here.
She’s also performing in PG March 8 as part of a leadup to the Junos being held in Vancouver.
Bear Lake in the middle of a trade war
Stick with me here: In the leadup to Donald Trump imposing (and then later backing down from imposing, for now) tariffs on Canadian goods, B.C. Premier David Eby started talking about the ways this province could hit back. Among them — the decision about whether or not to continue exporting critical minerals produced in this province to the south:
As just one example at the Teck smelter in Trail, British Columbia they produce a metal that is essential for night vision goggles and military applications, electronics equipment in the United States. It's one of two critical metals that China banned from export to the United States. So if you don't get it from Teck in Trail, British Columbia you don't get it.
In this followup, critical minerals were defined as things ranging from aluminum to more obscure materials used in electronics considered essential. Michael Goehring, the president of the Mining Association of B.C. said B.C. has access to or produces 16 of the 50 minerals considered critical by the U.S.
"We have 17 critical mineral projects on the horizon right now, along with a number of precious metal projects," he told CBC News on Tuesday.
"The 17 critical mineral projects alone represent some $32 billion in potential investment for British Columbia," he added.
And that association has been sharing a map of those projects:
And in orange in the middle there is something I’ve talked about in this newsletter before: The proposed Wicheeda Rare Earth mine project, just outside of Prince George, about 40 km from Bear Lake, being put together by a group calle Defense Metals. From their website:
The 100% owned Wicheeda Property consists of 12 mineral claims covering an area of 11,800 hectares, located approximately 80 km northeast of the city of Prince George, British Columbia.
Favorable mineralogy and lanthanide distribution make Wicheeda a very attractive light-rare-earth (LREE) deposit.
The rare-earth mineral monazite and a group of rare-earth carbonates (bastnaesite-parisite-synchysite) occur in approximately equal proportions. Mineral grains are coarse and well crystalized, which facilitates metallurgical separation and concentration.
Ideal opportunity for vertical integration, to support rapidly growing market, reducing reliance on China.
…
Strategically positioned along a major forestry service road, which connects to BC Highway 97.
A major hydroelectric power line, a major gas pipeline, and a Canadian National Railway line are available nearby.
Prince George, British Columbia, a mining centre with a skilled workforce, is 80km to the southeast.Port of Prince Rupert is 500km to the west and accessible by rail and road.
Last year, they struck a deal with the McLeod Lake Indian Band and shared more details about just how strategic they believed this deposit to be:
The mine, which would extract neodymium and praseodymium, magnetic metals used in cell phones, air conditioners and maglev trains, is projected to produce 10 per cent of the global supply once it becomes fully operational.
It would be the first of its kind in Canada.
“It’s significant that McLeod Lake will now be a true partner in making decisions throughout the process,” said Defense Metals CEO Craig Taylor.
“Neodynium and praseodymium are instrumental in the manufacture of light-weight magnets that are in all of our day-to-day devices, cell phones, electric vehicles, electric seats in your car, wind turbines, military components, air conditioning, refrigeration.
“Right now the industry is dominated by China. They have 80 per cent of production and there’s a real threat to the West that if they were to cut off that production or just absorb all of their production internally, we’d be left without these modern conveniences we’ve come to rely upon.”
It also has support from the B.C. government:
The government will make available to Defense Metals a “concierge-like” service that will provide dedicated support to navigate regulatory processes, advance funding opportunities, and expedite solutions to issues.
British Columbia Mines Minister Josie Osborne says rare earth elements play a crucial role in green technologies like wind turbines and electric vehicle motors.
“Projects such as Wicheeda are integral to BC’s critical minerals strategy and the world’s energy transition,” she says.
As best I can tell, it is still in the exploration/approval/drum up investment stage and I’m not sure how this recent international crisis is impacting things but at the top of January 2025, the executive chairman put out a letter to investors which was optimistic:
Having raised C$4 million in October, we have the resources necessary to finalise our prefeasibility study. I personally invested more than C$1.7 million as part of that fundraise. Because of the urgency of raising these funds and the difficult market conditions, this was done through a secured convertible note. I would like to stress that these notes automatically convert to equity in the context of any future equity financing over C$4 million in order to eliminate any debt overhang that could be of concern to investors.
We maintain strong relationships with all key stakeholders, including the McLeod Lake Indian Band whose traditional territories host our deposit, as well as with Government authorities in Canada, at both Federal and provincial level, in the United States, and in Europe. Recent geopolitical developments and the increasing concerns about the persistent and excessive overreliance on China for rare earth supplies opens many possibilities for technical cooperation and financial support from industry and government entities. Additionally, systemic forms of support from Governments through tariffs and other policy initiatives could underpin and stabilise the market prices for our products. We are in active discussion with prestigious government-backed research institutions such as Saskatchewan Research Council in Canada and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. We have also applied for grant funding in both countries and are optimistic that some of these will materialise soon.
That reference to tariffs, of course, was those imposed on China — not ones the U.S. wa imposing on Canada. So… we’ll see how that pans out.
News roundup:
Council discusses how to adapt capital plan, procurement if tariffs enacted.
Iceman to disrupt traffic Sunday, unless weather disrupts Iceman.
PG Paramedics respond to 1,758 drug poisoning calls in 2024.
The Exploration Place holding free screening of Oscar-nominated film ‘Sugarcane’ this month.
Pipes and heaters being pushed to their limit during PG cold snap.
Old Guns'n Roses T-shirt inspires hit country song by Prince George band.
Local entrepreneurs launch Northern BC’s first micro-grow cannabis operation.
Special Olympics athletes roster set for BC Summer Games in Prince George.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.