Nevada: Where the World Goes for Gold (Investing News Network – August 16th, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Barrick Gold Corporation, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Nevada Mining, Newmont

Investing News Network

This Investing News Network article is sponsored by Fremont Gold (TSXV:FRE).

Nevada may be one of the most geologically diverse mining jurisdictions in the world. Nearly every type of rock known to geologists can be found in the state’s desert landscape.

Nevada has been an important source of many of the world’s most critical base metals including copper, zinc and molybdenum. Today, Nevada leads the country in the production of lithium and, not surprisingly, the Silver State contains a wealth of precious metals, ranking as one of the top 5 global gold producers.

Nevada owes its unique geology and prolific gold production to the complex tectonic history of the northern Great Basin which gave rise to the widespread landscape of fault-dominated mountain ranges and valleys. Continue Reading →

UPDATE 2-Gold Fields boss says not resigning after S.Africa minister’s rebuke – by Tanisha Heiberg (Reuters U.S. – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Africa Mining, Gold and Silver, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Gold Fields’ chief executive officer Nick Holland said on Thursday he was not considering resigning after mines minister Gwede Mantashe blamed the company’s plan to cut jobs at its struggling South African mine on “poor management”.

Gold Fields, which posted its interim results on Thursday, said this week it planned to cut 1,100 permanent jobs at the company’s last South African asset, South Deep, sending its shares plummeting.

The bullion producer’s plans drew scathing comments from Mantashe, a blunt-speaking former trade unionist and senior figure in the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Continue Reading →

‘The north is truly hurting’: Thompson mayor frustrated he can’t get meeting with premier (CBC News Manitoba – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Manitoba Mining, Nickel, Thompson, Vale

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/

Dennis Fenske says city’s economic crisis warrants face time with Brian Pallister

The mayor of Thompson says he’s frustrated that he can’t get a meeting with the premier despite the grave economic challenges his community is facing.

Dennis Fenske says he and his council have been trying to arrange a sit down Premier Brian Pallister for months.

They put in a request to meet with Pallister when the premier was in Thompson last week for an announcement that Bell MTS would be awarded the contract to connect first responders across the province. Continue Reading →

RPT-COLUMN-Best commodity bets? Exposed to China and less open to trade – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Coal, Commodity Super-Cycle and Decline, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 16 (Reuters) – The recent gyrations in the world economy around Turkey’s currency and the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute have taken a toll on commodity prices, especially industrial metals.

However, while news-driven sentiment can clearly pummel markets, over a longer period of time not all commodities will be equally affected by the changing global economic dynamics. The key to which commodities are likely to perform better is China, which is the world’s largest commodity importer.

Even if the Chinese economy does struggle under the weight of the trade barriers erected by U.S. President Donald Trump, there are still likely to be commodities that can hold their own. The key is to look for commodities that are likely to remain in relatively high demand, and are subject to supply constraints. Continue Reading →

DeBeers CEO calls for ‘next evolution’ in relations between industry, Indigenous peoples – by Eric White (CBC News Sudbury – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Diamond Mining, Ontario Mining

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Some on the James Bay still believe DeBeers will go ahead with mothballed Tango project

Kim Truter called it a “bittersweet” birthday party for Victor Mine.​The DeBeers Canada CEO gushed with pride at some moments during the 10th anniversary celebrations for Ontario’s first diamond mine on Wednesday, which come as the mine is set to shut down early next year.

And something else seems to have left a bad taste in his mouth as well. Truter says he is proud of the work DeBeers has done with the Mushkegowuk people of the James Bay Coast, with millions of dollars flowing to nearby communities through impact benefit agreements.

But it’s not hard to find someone on the coast who feels those deals were not fair. “Perhaps some of the communities felt that everyone would benefit directly and perhaps they haven’t seen that,” says Truter. Continue Reading →

Congo Copper Faces Increased LME Scrutiny With Audits – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – August 15, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Africa Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Child and Slave Labour – Historical and Current

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The London Metal Exchange will start requiring that copper producers which source metal from the Democratic Republic of Congo carry out independent audits to prove their material is ethically sourced, according to people familiar with the matter.

The LME is reviewing its requirements to ensure that no metal traded on the bourse has links to child labor, conflict or corruption. Copper producers that buy from Congo will be categorized as higher-risk suppliers alongside manufacturers of tin and cobalt, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the changes have not been made public.

The designation will mean copper producers could be removed from the LME’s list of deliverable brands unless a third-party auditor signs off on their sourcing standards, the people said. Continue Reading →

India to bring in new mineral policy to align exploration and development projects – by Ajoy K Das (MiningWeekly.com – August 15, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Asia Mining, International Media Resource Articles

http://www.miningweekly.com/

KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – The Indian government is expected to put into play a new mineral policy, possibly before the end of August, aimed at a more investor-friendly alignment of exploration and development projects.

The Mines Ministry, which is the driver of the proposed policy changes, is expected to suggest amendments to the Mines, Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDRA) 2015 to align it with the new framework, ensuring a level playing field between investors in mineral exploration and mineral development projects.

Officials aware of the framing of the policy said that with only 10% of the area with established resources being explored and private investments in exploration almost negligible, it was imperative that a new policy should incentivise such investments, as mineral exploration remained “very inadequate both by international standards, as well as [the] requirements of the country”. Continue Reading →

Someone bought a rare nickel for $4.5 million in Philly – by Marielle Mondon (Philly Voice.com – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in International Media Resource Articles, Nickel

https://www.phillyvoice.com/

Dating back to 1913, the coin was sold at the World’s Fair of Money auction

Many consider nickels the unspoken worst coin in American currency.

They have that unnecessary thickness and awkward size that makes them comparable to the fading SEPTA token, plus there’s an irrelevant depiction of Thomas Jefferson’s personal Monticello estate on the back – it’s like a colonial version of having Mar-a-Lago on your change.

Despite the obvious and highly scientific flaws of nickels, one rare coin at a Philadelphia auction just went for one of the heftiest price tags ever: $4.5 million. Continue Reading →

Gold Seen Fighting Back in Battle With Dollar for Haven Role – by Ranjeetha Pakiam (Bloomberg News – August 17, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Gold and Silver, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Don’t write off gold in the battle of the havens. Bullion has lost out in a paradigm shift where the metal’s no longer viewed as the traditional refuge when investors are in a risk-off mood, but that won’t last, according to Rick Rule, chief executive officer of Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc.

Investors are favoring U.S. Treasuries, and that’s seen the dollar get stronger, Rule said in an interview from Vancouver on Aug. 15. But the greenback’s strength is relative, not absolute, and the overwhelming faith that the global saver has placed in the U.S. currency is “probably partly misplaced,” he said.

“It used to be that investors looked much more broadly at a basket of currencies when valuing gold,” said Rule, 65, who’s been involved in the market for four decades. Continue Reading →

Currency Shocks Knock Platinum to 10-Year Lows – by Peter Hobson (U.S News/Reuters – August 17, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Africa Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Platinum Group Metals

https://money.usnews.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Platinum prices tumbled to 10-year lows as the collapse of Turkey’s lira rippled through markets and weakened the currency of top producer South Africa, underlining persistent oversupply of the autocatalyst metal.

Platinum has been caught in a broad sell-off as investors rush to the safety of the dollar, pushing it higher and making dollar-priced metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

But platinum, used mainly in emissions-reducing catalytic converters for vehicles and in jewelry, has fallen further than its precious metal peers. Continue Reading →

Call for three-year renewal of Canada’s exploration tax scheme to arrest signs of decline – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles

http://www.miningweekly.com/

The Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC), which incentivises exploration financing by providing individuals investing in companies exploring for minerals in Canada with a 15% tax credit on eligible expenditures, has to be renewed for at least three years to provide greater certainty and boost confidence for investors in Canadian projects.

This is the view of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), which on Wednesday published a document containing its recommendations for the 2019 federal Budget.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau renewed the METC for one year in the 2018 federal Budget, but the PDAC feels that companies require a longer time frame as exploration programmes are carried out in stages over an extended period of time. Continue Reading →

Bittersweet milestone for Ontario diamond mine – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – August 17, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Diamond Mining, Ontario Mining

https://www.timminspress.com/

With more than 10 years in operation as Ontario’s first and only diamond mine, the chief executive at De Beers Canada said the company is now preparing for the closure of the Victor Mine located in the James Bay Lowlands next winter.

With more than 10 years in operation as Ontario’s first and only diamond mine, the chief executive at De Beers Canada said the company is now preparing for the closure of the Victor Mine located in the James Bay Lowlands next winter.

Kim Truter, who is also company president, said this week the Victor Mine was very well-run, but admitted there might be better ways in the future to run a mining project and keep the First Nations communities more satisfied. He said the time might be right to consider other forms of financial partnerships.

Truter made the comments to The Daily Press Wednesday as the company celebrated the 10th anniversary of the official opening which took place 10 years ago this summer. Continue Reading →

With Silver Tanking, How Badly Will Miners Hurt? – by Allen Sykora (Kitco.com – August 16, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver

http://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Some primary silver producers are no doubt feeling pain these days after the sell-off in silver prices so far this year, but don’t look for major supply cutbacks any time soon, analysts said.

That’s because it costs so much to shut down and restart mines that companies will put up with a loss on operations for an extended time before doing anything as drastic as mine closures, they explained. Further, companies have become leaner in recent years, thus some of the major producers – such as Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ, TSX: PAAS) — likely are still profitable at current prices, they added.

“I don’t think this move lower here will have an effect on mining supply,” said Ryan McKay, commodity strategist at TD Securities. Comex September silver fell as far as $14.315 an ounce on Thursday, the lowest level since early 2016. At this juncture, prices are down 19% from the early-2018 high. Continue Reading →

[Harte Gold] First Nation, mining company tout business partnership – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 15, 2018)

August 17, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

White River mine development putting Pic Mobert members to work

Pic Mobert First Nation said it’s starting to reap the rewards of its partnership with Harte Gold, a fledgling gold producer near White River.

An impact-benefit agreement signed earlier this year with the company has “yielded numerous and substantial contracts” related to the underground gold mine development, said a news release from White Lake Limited Partnership, the business development arm of the northwestern Ontario First Nation community.

Pic Mobert Chief Johanna Desmoulin was at the mine site, 25 kilometres north of White River, on Aug.14, to announce “several positive developments” in the working relationship they’ve been cultivating with the company since 2009.  Continue Reading →

Women were only let into underground mines 30 years ago, so why are they leaving the industry? – by Isabel Moussalli (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 14, 2018)

August 16, 2018 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Women in Mining

http://www.abc.net.au/

When Alex Atkins joined the WA School of Mines in 1986, she had no idea she would be part of the first wave of women legally allowed to work in underground mines.

Until 1986, West Australian mine owners faced fines of up to $500 if women were caught working underground. New South Wales and Queensland changed their laws in 1989. But 32 years later, Ms Atkins said more changes were needed to bring the industry up to speed and encourage more women to stay.

The mining industry has long presented barriers for the participation of women — the lack of flexible work arrangements, the reliance on fly-in-fly-out labour, and the dominance of men in senior positions. Continue Reading →