Greetings Contrarian,

This is The Next Big Rush, your daily drop of mining/energy investing news. Where we come together even when we're falling apart.

Here are your pills :

💊 China Builds Nuclear Pipeline

💊 1000 year Old Mine On The Table

💊 Copper down, Copper Up

👍🏻 China Builds Nuclear Pipeline

China has started construction on a 23-kilometre-long pipe to transport nuclear-generated heat from the Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province to a wider area, according to State Power Investment Corp (SPIC).

The nuclear energy heating source project has already invested $57 million, and the long-distance pipeline is set to have an annual heating capacity that can reach 9.7 million gigajoules.

The system will provide heat to a 13 million square metre area, meeting the needs of 1 million residents and replacing the consumption of some 900,000 tonnes of coal, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.65 million tonnes. Several countries have had nuclear-fuelled district heating schemes, and heat from nuclear power plants has also been sent to industrial sites in several countries.

💪🏼 Alicanto Doubles Down In Europe

Alicanto Minerals (ASX: AQI) has announced its plans to acquire Sweden's historic Falun project, taking control of one of the country's largest mines that was shut down due to low commodity prices in 1992 after operating for a remarkable 1000 years. (Not a typo)

The acquisition comes after a three-month due diligence period, with data supporting the company's belief that a 10km mineralized belt runs from Falun through its Greater Falun project.

The mine, which will now be under Alicanto's control, produced 28Mt of ore until its closure, containing 4% copper, 4g/t gold, 5% zinc, 2% lead, and 35g/t silver. The acquisition will provide Alicanto with more than 60km of its target limestone horizon and a landholding of 312km2, considered highly prospective (there it is, the magic word) for analogues of the Falun mine.

Additionally, the company is designing and submitting work plans to continue exploration at its Greater Falun project, incorporating the first modern use of surface electromagnetic techniques.

  🥉 Copper Tug-of-War

On Friday, copper prices fell, thanks to the strengthening of the US dollar in anticipation of higher interest rates (actually nobody knows, but this is what some journalists think). However, the red metal was still heading for its first weekly gain in four weeks, since Chinese demand was on the rise.

Copper's benchmark in the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.4% at $8,899.50 a tonne at 1209 GMT, but it was up 0.5% for the week.

Despite hitting a seven-month high of $9,550.50 in January, the copper rally slowed down as the dollar gained strength, resulting in pricier metals for non-dollar buyers. In addition, inventories piled up in Chinese warehouses.

Copper supply and demand should accelerate and the market should see a deficit of around 200,000 tonnes this year, according to Dan Smith, Head of Research at Amalgamated Metals Trading, predicting prices above $10,000 by the end of June.

Fingers crossed that 1- it happens 2- it spills into miners and juniors. 

Fortune Cookie says: Today is your lucky day, so if you read this tomorrow, sorry, too late. 

The Editor

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.