Stockhead, Perth, |24 February) Meteoric Resources continues advancing its Caldeira project in Brazil, projecting industry-leading low operating costs and high potential returns. Despite a dip in share price, the company plans to finalize its pre-feasibility study soon and aims for production by 2027. Strategic partnerships, including agreements with U.S. and Canadian ECAs, are key to securing future funding.
Canada
Polish nuclear power plant receives €22bn financial backing from US, French & Canadian ECAs
(EnerData, Grenoble, 17 December 2024) The Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant project has collected, based on the letters of intent received so far, declarations of financial commitment for a total equivalent of over PLN95bn (€22bn). The project developer Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) has received letters of intent from American and French companies to finance Poland’s first nuclear power plant. The French export credit agency Bpifrance Assurance Export and the French public development bank Sfil will provide over PLN15bn (€3.5bn) to the project. In addition, Export Development Canada will finance up to PLN6bn (€1.4bn), on top of commitments from the American International Development Finance Corporation (€17.5bn) and the US Export-Import Bank (€16.5bn). Cooperation with export credit agencies is an important part of the strategy to secure financing for the nuclear power plant.
Troilus Gold brings potential funding from credit agencies to $1.3 billion
(Mining.COM, Toronto, 21 November 2024) Troilus Gold (TSX: TLG) continues to receive the financial backing of global export credit agencies (ECAs), this time from Export Development Canada (EDC), to support the development of its copper-gold project in Quebec. On Thursday, the company announced a new letter of intent (LOI) from EDC for up to $300 million. This, together with the LOIs recently signed with the export credit agencies of Germany, Finland and Sweden, brings the total potential funding to $1.3 billion.
U.S. Misses the Mark on ECA Fossil Fuel Finance Agreement
(Friends of the Earth, Washington, 21 November 2024) Today at the conclusion of the OECD Export Credit Group negotiations, participating nations failed to reach an agreement on fossil fuel finance, despite scientists’ repeated calls for urgent climate action. While no formal conclusion has been announced from the talks, the United States appears to have failed to secure an agreement. The proposal has already been championed by the European Union, UK, Canada, Norway and most recently, Australia. It would have potentially restricted financing for the entire fossil fuel value chain. Up to $40 billion per year could be shifted away from fossil fuels to renewable energy projects. This would have paved the way for the agreement to be presented as part of a climate finance package at COP29. Unlike the Paris Agreement, it would have been difficult for the Trump Administration to remove itself from just one piece of the arrangement.
Critical Minerals Security Partnership may not be enough for Australia
(Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra, 25 September 2024) Fourteen countries this week took what they intended to be a big step in countering China’s dominance of critical minerals supply. But it’s unclear whether the initiative will restore competitiveness of Australian production and investment in the face of massive subsidies offered by China and, in response, the United States. The Minerals Security Partnership, a coalition of 14 countries, including the G7, Australia, India, South Korea, and European Union members, announced plans for a finance network to boost investment in critical metals. The initiative will tap into domestic export credit agencies and development finance institutions to attract private sector capital to produce, extract, process and recycle critical minerals, especially in riskier markets. The partnership seeks to lower investment risks and drive global supply chain resilience by providing guarantees and concessional financing. Australia’s economic prosperity and national security are intrinsically linked to the exploitation of its abundant resources, notably critical minerals. These minerals are the new oil. They’re the building blocks for everything from emerging technology to energy transition. Although Australia has vast reserves, its critical mineral mining and processing are still threatened by the intense subsidy war between the US and China.
Canada’s EDC ‘nursing losses’ after lending $1bn to Thames Water
(Guardian, London, 20 August 2024) Canada’s state-backed export credit agency is reportedly nursing steep losses after lending debt-ridden Thames Water as much as a billion Canadian dollars. The British utility, which has said it could run out of cash by next June, received five loans from Export Development Canada (EDC) between 2018 and 2022 after the Canadian pension fund Omers had invested. The total value of the loans was between C$750m and C$1.45bn (between £422m and £820m), EDC said, while declining to give an exact figure. EDC sold the loans at a deep discount in recent weeks, according to the Financial Times, which cited unnamed investors.
Canada’s EDC nursing steep losses from billions loaned to Thames Water
(Water Briefing, London, 10 August 2024) Canada’s state-backed export credit agency is reportedly nursing steep losses after lending debt-ridden Thames Water as much as a billion Canadian dollars. The British utility, which has said it could run out of cash by next June, received five loans from Export Development Canada (EDC) between 2018 and 2022 after the Canadian pension fund Omers had invested. The total value of the loans was between C$750m and C$1.45bn (between £422m and £820m), EDC said, while declining to give an exact figure. EDC sold the loans at a deep discount in recent weeks, according to the Financial Times, which cited unnamed investors. EDC declined to comment on whether it had lost money. A spokesperson said: “EDC has been carefully following the recent challenges encountered by the utility and with the regulator’s recent determination and Omers’ decision to write down its stake, we are assessing the best course of action to manage our loan exposure with the company.
EDC undermines climate commitments yet again with massive loan renewal for Enbridge
(EcoJustice, Vancouver, 24 July 2024) Export Development Canada (EDC) has renewed a $200- to $300-million loan to oil and gas giant Enbridge Inc., despite environmental organizations raising the alarm about the serious climate consequences and human rights concerns of this financing. EDC is a federal Crown corporation and Canada’s official export credit agency – it has also been a prolific funder of fossil fuels. Just days prior to EDC signing the deal, environmental organizations submitted an analysis to EDC asserting that corporate financing to Enbridge Inc., which has significant plans to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, does not align with the Crown corporation’s climate commitments, nor with international obligations to phase out fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the analysis submitted by Ecojustice on behalf of Above Ground (a project of MakeWay), the Center for International Environmental Law, Environmental Defence Canada, Oil Change International and Stand.earth, major concerns about EDC’s financing of Enbridge are raised. Their submission to EDC highlights the dire impacts of climate change while also citing public reports of human rights risks and violations, and active legal challenges involving Enbridge’s projects from Indigenous groups, impacted communities, and an Attorney General. The submission calls on EDC to examine the implications of continuing to fund fossil fuel companies like Enbridge.
Export credit and West vs Chinese strategic minerals
(Mining News, Perth, 19 June 2024) Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) is aiming to become the first global company to go from rare earths mining all the way through to metals. Rare earths are considered critical minerals and demand is set to surge, making ASX-listed ASM well-placed to capitalise as it holds holds one of the country’s most advanced rare earth element deposits, the Dubbo Project, in New South Wales. ASM made significant headway in this area when it recently received non-binding letters of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) for up to US$600 million, and up to A$400 million from Export Development Canada (EDC) in debt financing for the Dubbo Project, in addition to conditional finance support of A$200 million previously received from Export Finance Australia. Interest from US and Canadian agencies stems from enhanced policy alignment between Australia and North American jurisdictions on the importance of establishing an alternative critical minerals supply chain. “They needed a non-China source of material, so for us, being an early leader in it means we’re now in this process where we’re validating our product with all of them to qualify to be a supplier,” ASM Director Rowena SmithSmith said.
Dynasty Gold Used Slave Labor in China, Canada Watchdog Says
(Yahoo Finance, New York, 26 March 2024) A Canadian watchdog is calling for penalties against Dynasty Gold Corp. after it concluded the company used forced labor at its Chinese mine, which the miner denies. The Canada Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, an arm of the federal government that investigates possible human rights abuses by companies, conducted a review of the Hatu mine in the Xinjiang region after a coalition of 28 Canadian organizations filed complaints alleging human rights abuses. Sheri Meyerhoffer, the ombudsman, is calling on Canada’s trade minister to refrain from supporting the company in international disputes and ban it from receiving financial support from Export Development Canada.
