As the mining industry gathers in Toronto this week for one of its biggest annual events, the focus will be on two groups of metals: one that’s seeing soaring demand across the world, and another with almost no industrial utility.

Thousands of investors, executives, bankers, and government officials are set to converge on the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference at the biggest mining hub in the Americas. After a multi-year slump, the industry is beginning to pick up on the back of the rising consumption of metals like nickel and lithium used in batteries. Long-term projections for electric vehicles show an urgent need for new mines for those elements.

But another theme also likely to dominate the PDAC show from June 13-15 is dealmaking in the gold industry, weeks after a pair of multi-billion dollar deals involving Canadian miners created two of the top global gold producers.

“We are going to see consolidation continue,” Jamie Rogers, co-head of global metals and mining at Bank of Montreal’s investment banking division, one of the industry’s top dealmakers, said in an interview. Mergers and acquisitions are being driven by a desire by companies to increase scale and improve their financial footing, “which means being big enough and liquid enough to attract a larger investor community.”

Global mining M&A

Interest in the key minerals needed to build and power EVs, wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage are expected to pique investor interest at PDAC, which returns to an in-person gathering after the pandemic made 2021’s event a virtual affair. CRU Group will unveil its latest global outlook on copper, a key industrial metal needed in the push toward electrification, while other sessions will highlight lithium and other battery metals.

“These are inherently linked to exploration and mining,” PDAC President Alex Christopher said. “The transition cannot be realized without the minerals and metals needed to facilitate electrification and build the infrastructure needed for low-carbon technologies.”

The challenges arising from constrained global supply chains and the lingering impacts of covid-19 on mining operations will also be among the topics reflected throughout the conference, Christopher said.

Metals producers have been strengthening their balance sheets and reining in costs while generating cash flows to reward investors with dividends and share buybacks after learning lessons from overspending at the peak of the commodity supercycle more than a decade ago. New industry challenges have emerged as global disruptions to commodities and logistical snags clash with surging demand for metals needed to underpin the global push to electrify economies and embrace less polluting technologies.

Dealmakers

Investment bankers from four of Canada’s top banks will weigh in Monday on topics including financing, M&A and the ability of the mining industry to attract investment during a panel discussion. Those insights will come two weeks after South Africa’s Gold Fields Ltd. agreed to buy Toronto-based Yamana Gold Inc. for $7 billion, and four months after Canadian miners Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. sealed their $10.4 billion “merger of equals” to create the world’s third-biggest gold producer.

Precious metals also get a chance to shine, with presentations by Newmont Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Palmer, the World Gold Council, and a session on responsible gold mining are included on the agenda.

World Gold Council Chief Financial Officer Terry Heymann expects broader conversations around environmental, social and governance issues as investors and consumers want to ensure products they use are sustainably produced. Bullion’s role as a resilient investment to counter volatility brought on by climate change also will be a hot topic, he said in an interview.

This year’s event is expected to “see renewed interest in the precious metals side, which has really been quiet for the last year or so” as investors seek safety in times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, said Jon Lamb, a portfolio manager at Orion Resource Partners. “There’s some good buzz on the gold side because prices have come off on both the equities and the commodity quite a bit, but the outlook is pretty strong.”

(By Yvonne Yue Li and James Attwood)

After more than two years of closed border policies, Japan is welcoming back foreign tourists. As of June 10, small groups, accompanied by tour guides, are being let in. Ahead of the limited reopening, dozens of foreign travelers got a taste of what to expect.

For now, Japan is only allowing tourists from 98 countries and regions to take part in the guided tours. Ahead of the June 10 reopening, the government released guidelines for the travel agencies that will be organizing them.

New guidelines for foreign travelers

The companies will educate their customers on local health guidelines, help them sign up for private health insurance and keep track of close contacts. In the event a traveler tests positive for COVID-19 while taking part in a tour, they will be guided to a designated healthcare facility for treatment. Close contacts will be asked to isolate, and any tour participant who is not considered a close contact will be allowed to continue the tour.

Japan has set up tourism guidelines.

Japan's Tourism Agency released these rules, based on findings from a series of test tours carried out in May and early June.

Test tours in Nagano Prefecture

On May 27, four travel agents from Australia arrive at Tokyo's Haneda airport. They're taking part in one of multiple government-sponsored packaged trips, organized through an approved travel agency.

Four tourists from Australia take part in the government-sponsored trip.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we're very excited about Japan reopening its borders for travelers coming to the country," says Clement Kueh. They don't spend much time in the airport, nor do they get a chance to see Tokyo. Not long after landing, the four travelers head directly to Matsumoto City, Nagano prefecture.

Travelers are required to check their temperature in the morning.

They start their next morning off with a temperature check in the hotel lobby. It's one of several anti-COVID infection measures that they've pledged to abide by throughout their trip, like using hand sanitizer frequently and wearing masks when out in public.

On top of helping Japan to finalize guidelines for the June 10 reopening, the travel agents say they will use their experience to inform their clients back home, many of whom have not experienced mandatory masking rules for quite some time.

"Sometimes I forget about the mask, but we see everybody else is wearing them too, apart from eating, and we're not used to doing that in Australia now. Luckily our guide reminds us, mask on!" says Sandy Brasier, one of the participants. She and her fellow travelers are not allowed to stray very far from their tour guide, Tsukushi Kimiko, who offers frequent reminders about the rules.

Matsumoto Castle in Nagano Prefecture is a popular destination.

The main event of the group's first day of travel is Matsumoto Castle. Once an imposing fortress used by samurai to exert authority over the local populace, it's now a popular tourist attraction for foreign travelers and Japanese residents alike. People can climb the castle's steep wooden steps and see exhibits featuring some of the feudal-era arms and armor used by its former defenders.

Locals await the arrival of foreign tourists

The packaged tour is curated around pre-planned visits to museums and historical spots like this one. Members of the group are not allowed to go off on their own, but the itinerary does provide opportunities to explore and meet the locals. After visiting the castle, the travelers are allowed to take a stroll down Nawate Street, a popular shopping district that's a five-minute walk away.

Christopher Koch is one of the local business owners eager for foreign tourists to come.

Christopher Koch is a cafe owner who set up shop in Matsumoto City 6 years ago. He says he fell in love with the area shortly after moving to Japan from the United States. He says his business, which offers Western food like bagels and barbeque pulled pork, proved popular both with expats living in the city and foreign travelers passing through. In 2019, he moved to a larger location on Nawate Street.

Then, COVID-19 hit. "All my plans went out the window. Basically I wanted to have music events and parties and invite tourists, but with the pandemic, there are no more tourists," says Koch. He says a boarding house that he and his wife set up on their second floor went mostly unused, and their business dropped by almost 80%.

Koch says he's excited for the potential to meet more customers as Japan reopens for tourists. He says he understands that since it starts with small, guided tours, it may be a while before he sees a bump in business. However, he says the gradual reopening is a good first step.

Is the tourism boom coming back?

Meanwhile, members of the travel industry say a financial boom could still be months away. A representative with a subsidiary of Japan's largest travel agency says that under the current plan, most of their foreign customers are being left out.

Japanese travel agency CEO Kurosawa Billy Shinya says, "The overwhelming demand is from individual customers who can move freely."

According to Kurosawa Billy Shinya, President and CEO of JTB Global Marketing & Travel, just 17% of foreign tourists who came to Japan in 2019 took part in packaged group tours. The rest chose to travel solo.

"The overwhelming demand is individual customers who can move freely. If possible, I hope we'll be able to move toward the next step from around September, and be allowed to accept solo travelers," says Kurosawa.

Australian tourists visit Koch's cafe.

Back on Nawate Street, Koch has a chance to meet some of the Australian travel agents as they wrap up their first big day of sightseeing. They go elsewhere for dinner, but one of the travelers says she'll share a post about his cafe on Facebook.

"It was good seeing the tour," says Koch, as the travelers continue on their way. "It gives me some hope for the summer."

London (CNN Business)Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continued to slide Tuesday as investors bailed out of risky assets in anticipation of sharp rises in interest rates to tackle inflation.

Nerves remain raw after two of the world's biggest cryptocurrency platforms restricted activity on Monday as the wider market meltdown continued apace.

The Celsius Network, which has 1.7 million customers, said that "extreme market conditions" had forced it to temporarily halt all withdrawals, crypto swaps and transfers between accounts.

"We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets," the company said in a blog post.

The UK-registered company has about $3.7 billion in assets, according to its website. It pays interest on cryptocurrency deposits, and loans them out to make a return.

"Celsius suspending withdrawals yesterday gave extra downside momentum," noted Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific, at Oanda. "I can only assume the next big level for bitcoin psychologically will be $20,000."

The cryptocurrency market has taken a hammering in recent months after its pandemic boom turned to bust. As the world's major central banks have hiked interest rates to tame spiraling inflation, traders have rushed to ditch riskier investments, including their volatile crypto assets.

Bitcoin, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency, fell about 8% Tuesday, dropping below $23,000. It has lost about 25% of its value since Friday — putting it about 67% below its all-time high in November last year, when it traded around $69,000, according to data from Coinbase.

Ether, the second-most-valuable digital coin, dropped 4%, taking its losses since Friday to about 32%. It has now lost about 75% of its value since November.

Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, suspended withdrawals on its bitcoin network for a few hours on Monday. The company said some transactions had gotten "stuck" and were causing a backlog.

"Binance team is working on a long-term solution to accelerate pending transactions on the bitcoin (BTC) network and prevent similar situations in the future," it said in a statement.

So-called "stablecoins" — cryptocurrencies that are tied to the value of more traditional assets — have also taken a hit. Tether, a popular stablecoin, broke its peg to the US dollar in May, puncturing the view that it could serve as a hedge against volatility.

TerraUSD, a riskier algorithmic stablecoin that used complex code to peg its value to the the US dollar, collapsed the same month, wiping out the savings of thousands of investors. The coin was valued at a little over $18 billion in early May before it crashed, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Celsius Network did not say when it would allow customers to withdraw their deposits again, only that it would "take time."

Meanwhile, governments are watching the fallout of the crypto crash closely and could move to protect investors.

"There are many risks associated with cryptocurrencies," United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Senate last month. She said her department was due to release a report on the matter.

— Julia Horowitz contributed reporting.

Asian stock markets have fallen sharply as soaring prices in America triggered fears the Federal Reserve will take tougher action to rein in inflation.

At the same time the US dollar strengthened to 135 Japanese yen for the first time in over two decades.

It comes as official figures showed on Friday that US inflation hit a more than 40-year high last month.

A warning about Covid-19 infections in Beijing also added to investor concerns about global economic growth.

On Monday, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index ended the day down by just over 3%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed 3.4% lower, while the Kospi in South Korea finished down 3.3%.

The Australian stock market was closed for the Queen's birthday public holiday.

Global oil prices have also slipped with Brent crude falling by around $2 to just over $120 per barrel.

At the same time the Indian rupee has fallen to a new record low as it dropped below 78 to the US dollar.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin fell below $25,000 to its lowest level since December 2020.

On Friday, official data showed that prices in the US increased faster than expected last month, as rising energy and food costs pushed inflation to the highest level since 1981.

The annual inflation rate rose to 8.6% in May, the Labor Department said, after easing in April.

That confounded hopes that inflation had peaked, and instead put investors on alert that the Federal Reserve may take more robust action to tackle the issue.

The central bank is due to make its next policy announcement on Wednesday.

Markets currently see an 80% chance that it will raise its main interest rate by half a percentage point again.

Last month, the Federal Reserve announced its biggest interest rate increase in more than two decades, lifting its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to a range of 0.75% to 1% after a smaller rise in March.

The rising cost of living has been squeezing households and putting pressure on policymakers to bring the issue under control.

A major issue in the US is the rising cost of fuel. On Saturday, as the price of petrol averaged more than $5 a gallon for the first time, according to the American Automobile Association.

However, investors are worried that the Fed and other major central banks may take aggressive action to contain rising prices and cause a sharp economic slowdown if interest rates are raised too high and too quickly.

Investors are also wary of the spread of Covid-19 in China after Beijing's most populous district of Chaoyang announced on Sunday that three rounds of mass testing would be carried out to control a "ferocious" outbreak - 166 confirmed cases so far - that emerged at a bar in a nightlife and shopping area last week.

This has spurred concerns of more lockdowns, which threaten to slow the city's economic recovery, just a short time after restrictions were eased.

Researchers at Ruhr-University Bochum investigated ways to make copper and silver release even more ions than they normally would as a result of corrosion, a process that helps prevent the growth of bacteria or kill them completely.

In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the scientists describe the use of a so-called sputtering system with which the thinnest layers or tiny nanopatches of the metals can be applied to a carrier material. Depending on the sequence or quantity in which the individual metals are applied, different surface textures are created. If a precious metal such as platinum is also applied, silver corrodes even faster and releases more antibacterial ions.

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“In the presence of a more noble metal, the baser metal sacrifices itself, so to speak,” researcher Alfred Ludwig said in a media statement. This phenomenon is called the principle of the sacrificial anode.

The effectiveness of such sacrificial anode systems against bacteria has already been demonstrated. However, whether viruses can also be rendered harmless in this way has not yet been investigated in detail.

“This is why we analysed the antiviral properties of surfaces coated with copper or silver as well as various silver-based sacrificial anodes, and also examined combinations of copper and silver with regard to possible synergistic effects,” virologist Stephanie Pfänder said.

The team compared the effectiveness of these surfaces against bacteria with the effectiveness against viruses.

Surfaces with sacrificial anode effect, especially nanopatches consisting of silver and platinum as well as the combination of silver and copper, efficiently stopped bacterial growth.

Yet, a different picture emerged with SARS-CoV-2: thin copper layers significantly reduced the viral load after only one hour. On the other hand, sputtered silver surfaces had only a marginal effect, and silver nanopatches did not impress the virus either.

“In conclusion, we demonstrated a clear antiviral effect of copper-coated surfaces against SARS-CoV-2 within one hour, while silver-coated surfaces had no effect on viral infectivity,” Pfänder said.

June 13 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia will build a "green wall" along its borders by planting at least 16 million trees by 2030 to combat desertification, according to the presidential office of Mongolia.

To achieve the goal, professional agronomists have been appointed to all units of the General Authority for Border Protection, and trainings on planting and caring for trees have been provided to contract or conscript servicemen, the presidential office said in a statement on Monday.

The effort is part of Mongolia's national tree-planting campaign initiated by President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, the statement said.

The campaign was officially launched last October with an aim to plant at least 1 billion trees by 2030 to combat climate change and desertification.

Almost 77 percent of Mongolian territory is affected by desertification and land degradation, according to the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

At Asia Tech Singapore 2022, HE Bolor-Erdene Battsengel, State Secretary, Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, Mongolia, took to the stage to share her views on the changing roles of women in tech with fellow guest panellists.

Digital governance is a key agenda for many countries. What have been some initiatives rolled out?

Mongolia aims to build a digital nation. In this context, a number of basic system and structural changes have been made. For example, to accelerate digital transformation, the former agency named Communication and Information Technology Authority was reorganized this year into the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications. E-Mongolia platform has successfully launched an integrated e-government system. The E-Mongolia academy has also been established to further develop, improve and maintain the E-Mongolia System. The fundamental laws of digital governance, such as the Law on Public Information, the Law on Digital Signatures, the Law on the Personal Data Protection, and the Law on Cyber ​​Security, have also been approved by the Parliament of Mongolia.

Mongolia implemented the e-Mongolia platform a couple of years ago to digitalize public services. Can you tell us about the progress of this initiative and how this has impacted the lives of Mongolians?

We first introduced the E-Mongolia system on 1 October 2020. The main achievement is that today, it has become a large system that includes 656 services from 61 government organizations. In total, more than 12 million services have been provided online through this system. The system currently has 1.3 million users. That means one-third of the adult population uses the E-Mongolia platform. A total of 656 most demanded public services can be obtained from this system, from applying for a driver’s license to applying for a passport. Features such as offering services based on customer behavior have recently been added.

Mongolia is a vast and one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Can you tell us how this has been a challenge for 5G adoption and what is the 5G journey like so far?

Our country has approved a policy to introduce 5G networks in 2020. In 2021, 5G pilot tests were successfully conducted twice. This year, the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications and the Communications Regulatory Commission are preparing the spectrum management for the introduction of 5G in Mongolia. In addition, mobile operators are preparing to invest in 5G. It has also successfully completed a 5G readiness assessment with the support of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Our country has a large territory and a sparsely populated region. This situation poses the biggest challenge when building a 5G network. In other words, the investment for establishing a 5G network will require a lot. In addition, 5G requires more robust fiber optic infrastructure. The next big challenge is a small, but highly competitive market. For instance, Mongolia has more than 3 million citizens served by 5 mobile operators.

What are some plans in the pipeline for the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Mongolia?

As I mentioned, our country aims to become a digital nation. The government has announced that information technology is one of the priorities of the economy. The Ministry of Development was implemented within the government, and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Innovation and Digital Development was established. Our ministry has also approved a digital nation strategy. The strategy has six sub-objectives: digital infrastructure, e-governance, cybersecurity, digital literacy and inclusion, innovation and production, and national development accelerator.

As I have said before, we have passed laws to accelerate the nation’s digital development to a new level. Emphasis will be placed on the implementation of these laws and the approval of compliance regulations.

Inner Mongolia has closed 49 cryptocurrency mining farms in total, but only four since September, according to the Inner Mongolia Daily, indicating either the process has been successful or the shutdown drive mandated by Beijing is slowing.

Fast facts

As of last September, Inner Mongolia had shut down 45 farms, state-backed newspaper Science & Technology Daily reported at the time.

Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region on the northern border of China, is rich in coal and has cheap electricity. Local crypto mining farms accounted for 8% of the global Bitcoin mining hashrate, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) said last May.

China started clamping down crypto mining last March, and some mining farms have relocated overseas.

But China’s mining hashrate started to rise again late last year and by January it had become the second-largest Bitcoin mining hub with 21% of the global hashrate, according to CCAF.

Miners are still operating secretly in China, either scattered in rural areas or leveraging relationships with local governments to conceal their mining sites.

Bitcoin’s price has been hovering around $30,000 for a month and just hit a 16-month low of $25,000 on Monday, according to CoinGecko.

AUTHOR PROFILE

NINGWEI QIN

Ningwei is a Research Associate at Forkast. She previously worked for Caixin, Renmin Daily and CCTV. Ningwei holds a Masters degree from the University of Hong Kong.

The prices of imported Mongolian coking coal extended the rise as an optimism grew along with higher ceiling prices of a tender issued by a large state-run coke firm in Inner Mongolia.

On 7 June, the major coke firm asked for 10,000 tonnes of Mongolian raw coal supply with a ceiling price at 2,060 yuan per tonnes, delivered basis with VAT, climbing 180 yuan per tonnes compared with the preceding tender on 2 June.

The inflows of trucks hauling coal from Mongolia to China through Ganqimaodu border crossing retreated to 374 on 7 June, down from 395 trucks from the preceding day, partly affected by the fallout of infections detected earlier.

Mongolia’s border crossings reportedly will close to celebrate Naadam Festival starting from 11 July.

Mongolia has planned to export at least 36 million tons of coal in 2022.

A total of 166 Covid infections in China have been linked to a single bar in the capital Beijing, officials say.

A government spokesman described the outbreak as "ferocious".

All residents living in the area where the bar is located will be tested over the next three days.

The number of infections in the city is low by international standards but high for China, which is the world's only major economy still maintaining a "zero Covid" policy.

The outbreak was traced to a venue called the Heaven Supermarket Bar, in the well-known entertainment area of Sanlitun in Chaoyang district.

Two buildings housing hundreds of people in Chaoyang were put under strict lockdown on Sunday after a positive case was reported, a residential committee worker told Reuters news agency.

Some people in Beijing said they were sent texts telling them to report to authorities if they had recently visited Sanlitun's bars.

Chinese officials have reversed the relaxation of some Covid rules in Beijing because of the outbreak.

Most children in the capital will not return to school next week as originally planned, officials said.

The capital has reported 1,997 local Covid cases since 22 April.

China's overall policy of "zero Covid" remains in place and people catching Covid face quarantine or hospital.

Their close contacts also face the prospect of removal to quarantine and the area immediately around where they live being locked down again.

The city of Shanghai, the country's economic centre and a global trade hub, recently eased Covid curbs after a two-month lockdown.