A look back at CMJ’s top stories of 2019

[caption id="attachment_1003732800" align="alignnone" width="432"] Nutrien's Rocanville potash mine. Credit: Nutrien[/caption] To start off 2020, we've compiled some of our most popular stories of 2019, as well as highlighting our choices for most interesting or important articles for the year.

Top 5 most read

[caption id="attachment_1003722705" align="alignnone" width="542"] Nutrien’s Rocanville potash mine in Saskatchewan. (Image: Nutrien Ltd.)[/caption] 1. No. 1 Nutrien heads Top 40 list Our annual top 40 coverage is consistently at the top of our most-read stories. In 2019, Nutrien, Teck and Suncor Energy topped the list.   [caption id="attachment_1003732802" align="alignnone" width="500"] North American Free Trade Agreement on world map with national borders[/caption] 2. Pros and cons of the USMCA This story on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) from late 2018 was our second-most read last year. The story laid out the pros and cons of the agreement and untangled some of the potential effects on business.     [caption id="attachment_1003726556" align="alignnone" width="432"] A power line at Critical Elements’ Rose lithium-tantalum
project in Quebec. CREDIT: CRITICAL ELEMENTS[/caption] 3. Quebec lithium sector takes root Lithium started out the year with more excitement than it ended with and that was reflected in the popularity of this story on lithium in Quebec.   [caption id="attachment_1003720542" align="alignnone" width="550"] The Dome pit will be deeper and wider when the Century project goes ahead. (Image: Goldcorp)[/caption] 4. New mines on the rise in Ontario New mines and development projects are always popular topics here at CMJ, including this feature on seven rising mining projects in Ontario.   [caption id="attachment_1003732675" align="alignnone" width="550"] Panamax ship exiting the Miraflores locks in Panama. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Dicklyon[/caption] 5. Is a diesel supply shock coming? This article was posted at the end of the year, but still managed to get enough clicks to end up on our Top 5 list. A contribution from CostMine, which along with CMJ is part of the Glacier Resource Innovation Group, it details potential implications of new fuel standards for shipping that came into effect on Jan. 1.  

Top 5 Editor’s choice

While these stories weren’t our best read, we think they represent some of our most interesting and important stories for 2019. [caption id="attachment_1003732803" align="alignnone" width="432"] Mine manager and workers. Istock[/caption] 1. Building mines on budget This interview looks at the dynamic between miners and contractors and how the relationship needs to change in order to keep development projects on budget.     [caption id="attachment_1003732804" align="alignnone" width="432"] Cliff Fielding Building at Laurentian University. Credit: Yallowega Belanger Salach Architecture[/caption] 2. The 'Silicon Valley'' of mining tech In February, CMJ reported on the rise of Sudbury as an international hub of mining innovation.   [caption id="attachment_1003727906" align="alignnone" width="432"] Three firemen returning from a search operation after a failure of a Vale tailings dam. Credit: Samuel Chahoud, Istockimages.com[/caption] 3. Brumadinho disaster proves a tipping point for tailings management As part of our water management issue in April, we took a look at actions the industry is taking on tailings management following recent tailings dams disasters.   [caption id="attachment_1003727912" align="alignnone" width="360"] Lesley Warren (standing, at right) conducting field
research. Courtesy: Lesley Warren[/caption] 4. Genomics application to wastewater prove their worth Staying with the water theme, research on microbes in wastewater treatment is advancing. We took a look at some of the work currently under way.   [caption id="attachment_1003732304" align="alignnone" width="550"] Top: Almaden Minerals’ Ixtaca project, in Puebla state. Credit: Almaden Minerals[/caption] 5. Mixed messages in Mexico Mexico has been good to Canadian miners, attracting more than 200 Canadian mining companies. In our International Mining issue in December, we looked at security and permitting issues in the country and why miners continue to favour Mexico.