Mystery solved: Why Newmont is offering a mere 2 cents in cash as part of its bid for Goldcorp – by David Milstead (Globe and Mail – January 17 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Goldcorp Inc., Newmont, United States Mining

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It is the mystery of the two cents. When Newmont Mining Corp. said on Monday it will buy Goldcorp Inc. for about $10-billion, swapping its stock for Goldcorp’s, it said it would add 2 US cents per share in cash to the transaction. The tiny little sweetener will cost Newmont just US$17-million.

Why even bother? Robert Willens, a long-time U.S. securities analyst who specializes in matters of taxation, seems to have the answer. Newmont is creating a sizable but little-understood tax benefit for Goldcorp Inc.’s U.S. shareholders that effectively makes its offer more valuable than it appears.

The companies have not addressed the matter. Newmont declined to comment for this story and Goldcorp did not respond to a request. But Mr. Willens told his clients on Tuesday that the structure of the deal makes it taxable for Goldcorp’s U.S. and Canadian shareholders. Usually, companies do everything to avoid that. Continue Reading →

Northern Superior moves forward with projects in Ontario and Quebec – by Staff (Mining.com – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

http://www.mining.com/

Northern Superior Resources (TSX-V: SUP) issued a press release this week stating that it is ready to move forward with both its TPK gold-silver-copper project located in northwestern Ontario and its Lac Surprise gold project located in Quebec.

The Sudbury-based company said it expects to start drilling at the Ti-pa-haa-kaa-ning property, known for its initials TPK, by mid-February, following the completion of an option/joint venture agreement with Yamana Gold (TSX: YRI) (NYSE: AUY) at the tail end of 2018.

The massive Ontario mine site, which occupies 442,669 hectares and sits 15 kilometres west of the Ring of Fire, is considered to host the largest gold grain-in-till dispersal aprons in North America, with drill core intersections yielding up to 25.9g/t gold over 13.5m. Continue Reading →

Gold Bull McEwen Sticks With His $5,000 Call as Pot Stocks Peak – by Danielle Bochove (January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold mining veteran Rob McEwen is nothing if not optimistic. The founder of Goldcorp Inc. is sticking with his bold prediction that the precious metal will soar almost fourfold to $5,000 an ounce, bolstered by a weaker dollar and waning demand for trendy assets like pot stocks.

“Once people get over buying cryptos and biotech and cannabis stocks they’re going to start looking at gold again,” the chief executive officer of McEwen Mining Inc. said in an interview Thursday in Toronto with Bloomberg Television.

Asked about his price target, McEwen said: “I’ve always liked $2,000 and beyond that $5,000.” McEwen has been wrong before. In 2017, he predicted a “tsunami” of liquidity seeking safe haven would push gold above $5,000 an ounce. Continue Reading →

News Release: First Nations call on Ontario to fix unjust process threatening electrical transmission reliability (January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Mining Power Issues, Ontario Economy

Toronto, Ontario – Today, leaders of six First Nations call on the Ontario Government to intervene and fix a broken process created by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) and the previous Ontario government that ignores First Nations’ rights and northern development pertaining to a necessary and important electricity transmission project planned for Northern Ontario.

The six First Nations are part of Bamkushwada Limited Partnership (BLP). BLP has developed a relationship with NextBridge, the East-West of the East-West Tie Transmission Project that was awarded Leave to Develop by the OEB in 2012. BLP becomes partnered with NextBridge in ownership of this Project when it goes into operation, providing many millions in business contracting and hundreds of employment opportunities for First Nations, and for northern municipalities.

This transmission line is a priority initiative of the Province of Ontario, needed to ensure the reliability of electrical service to communities in the Northwest. Without the Project in-service by 2020, as has been urgently deemed necessary by the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and the Independent Electricity System Operator, residential and business customers face a higher likelihood of outages and less reliable electricity overall. NextBridge (partnered with BLP) is the only proponent that can build this line in the timelines that are required by Ontario. Continue Reading →

Three gold stocks analysts think will outperform as lustre returns to overlooked sector – by Victor Ferreira (Financial Post – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://business.financialpost.com/

The Canadian gold industry’s second mega-deal in a little over four months has some investors taking another look at the sector, which has been lagging for years.

Earlier this week, Goldcorp Inc. announced that it would be merging with Colorado-based Newmont Mining Corp. in a US$10 billion deal that came close on the heels of Barrick Gold Corp.’s September merger with Randgold Resources Ltd.

While some may be on the lookout for the next takeover target, there are other reasons investors may be tempted jump back in, according to analysts at BMO Capital Markets, CIBC and National Bank of Canada. Here are three stocks in the sector those analysts believe could have upside going forward.

Alamos Gold Inc. Continue Reading →

Palladium Tops $1,400 First Time Ever On ‘Avaricious’ Demand – by Allen Sykora (Kitco News – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Metals and Manufacturing, Platinum Group Metals

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Palladium – described as a tight market for some time now due to robust automotive demand – topped $1,400 an ounce for the first time ever on Thursday. A desk trader in the physical market said that at one point, palladium suddenly rocketed ahead by around $80 in three hours. Another dealer said prices then eased on profit-taking, but he looks for another test of $1,400.

Spot palladium was $32.75 higher to $1,389.55 an ounce as of 11:11 a.m. EST. The metal peaked just above $1,431 overnight. This was $136 higher than the session peak in spot gold.

“Supplies [of palladium] are pretty much what they were, but demand has been avaricious over the past year,” said Bill O’Neill, one of the principals with LOGIC Advisors, in an interview with Kitco News. “As a result, we have soaring palladium prices and a premium to gold.” Continue Reading →

Ford launches blockchain project to trace cobalt in the Congo – by Hasan Chowdhury (The Telegraph – January 16, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Africa Mining, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Metals and Manufacturing

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Ford is preparing to clamp down on labour exploitation in the cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo by using blockchain technology to keep a record of supplies in the metal, a key ingredient for electric vehicle batteries.

The US carmaker will partner with LG Chem, a South Korean chemicals specialist and Chinese mining firm Huayou Cobalt for a pilot programme that will aim to ensure the in-demand metal is responsibly sourced. Concerns have mounted around a practice known as artisanal mining, which often involves children mining for metals by hand.

According to the Congo’s Chamber of Mines, 2m people are involved in artisanal mining in the country, with around 200,000 miners specifically digging in copper mines. Cobalt is usually obtained as a byproduct of copper and nickel mining. Continue Reading →

Canadian mining employee kidnapped during raid in Burkina Faso found dead: officials (Canadian Press/National Post – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Africa Mining, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles

https://nationalpost.com/

Kirk Woodman was described as a talented geologist — part of a wider community of Nova Scotia-trained geologists who helped find mines around the globe

Government officials in Burkina Faso have confirmed a Canadian mining company employee has been found dead after being kidnapped in the west African country.

An official with the Ministry of Security says Kirk Woodman, a Halifax man who worked for the Vancouver-based Progress Mineral Mining Company, was found dead late Wednesday in Oudalan province.

Jean Paul Badoum said from Ouagadougou, the country’s capital, that the body was found with bullet wounds. Badoum said Woodman was kidnapped by armed gunmen from a mining camp, but officials have not yet identified the kidnappers. He said no group has taken responsibility for the kidnapping. Continue Reading →

Mining powerhouse Vale launches artificial intelligence center – by Anmar Frangoul (CNBC.com – January 16, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Latin America Mining, Vale

https://www.cnbc.com/

South American firm Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies, has opened an artificial intelligence (AI) center at its Tubarao site in Vitoria, Brazil.

In an announcement Tuesday, the business said that the center was aiming to “leverage the adoption of innovative and disruptive technologies in all areas of the business.“

The work related to the center is focused on several things, including optimizing the maintenance of assets such as off-road trucks, and improving the management of ore processing. Continue Reading →

First Nations eye stake in Trans Mountain pipeline in bid for ‘economic sovereignty’ – by Geoffrey Morgan (Financial Post – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

https://business.financialpost.com/

Within the energy industry, there is a growing recognition that indigenous communities need equity ownership in pipelines and other projects in order to proceed

Tsuu T’ina, Alta. — Alberta First Nations are considering a bid to buy a stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline from Ottawa, but the project’s top executive says there is nothing to sell until the expansion project is approved.

Marlene Poitras, the influential Alberta regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, said that she had informed Finance Minister Bill Morneau of the interest of Alberta’s indigenous communities in buying a stake in the project.

Speaking at the indigenous energy summit on the Tsuu T’ina Nation, a reserve on the edge of Calgary, Poitras said she had also advised the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde and the Alberta provincial government that indigenous groups are looking to buy into the pipeline project. Continue Reading →

KGHM to shutter Sudbury-area mine – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Europe Mining, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Blaming a long slump in metals prices, mining company KGHM on Wednesday announced it was shuttering its Levack Mine’s Morrison Deposit, throwing more than 100 people out of work.

“This is not an easy situation for the employees and families impacted,” general manager Steve Dunlop said in a release. “We are a small company and we all know each other quite well. This announcement hasn’t been a surprise for many of our people as this is a cyclical industry and we have been openly working with them on solutions to our financial challenges at Morrison — but that certainly doesn’t make this any easier.

“We were really hoping the mining sector would have recovered by now.” KGHM, a Polish-owned company, said the commodities market has been struggling and slow to recover, which is putting immense financial pressures on resource-based companies around the world and locally — as witnessed by cutbacks with other local operators in the past year. Continue Reading →

Welcome to another year of stomping on Canada’s most important industry – by Gwyn Morgan (Financial Post – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

https://business.financialpost.com/

The cannabis industry may hit $6 billion in contributions to GDP, and automakers $20 billion. But oil and gas? A not-noteworthy $117 billion

What was Canada’s biggest business news story of 2018? According to the pundits at The Canadian Press, it wasn’t the giveaway of Canadian oil to Americans for tens of billions of dollars below world prices, caused by a lack of pipelines from Alberta. It wasn’t the loss of tens of billions more in oil and gas investment to the U.S., because Canada is too hostile to building new projects.

It wasn’t the Americanization of Encana, once the largest of all Canadian-headquartered companies. It wasn’t the federal Liberal government’s forced purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan because the expansion faced insurmountable opposition from the B.C. government and indigenous groups.

Nor was it the court decision blocking the federal government from completing that project. Instead, The Canadian Press’s choice of business news story of the year was … the legalization of cannabis. Continue Reading →

Mining’s Biggest Jobs Are Up for Grabs. Here Are the Contenders – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Jack Farchy and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – January 16, 2019)

January 16, 2019 in Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Who will lead BHP, Anglo American and Glencore into the next decade?

Some of the mining world’s top executives are starting to plan their departures, driving speculation about who will lead their companies into the next decade.

The changing of the guard raises the prospect of a strategic shift, as the industry searches for ways to enthuse investors after a belt-tightening era characterized by asset sales and cost control. Here, based on conversations with executives, investors and industry decision makers, are some of the key names to watch.

BHP Group

There has been near-constant speculation for years around the future of BHP Group CEO Andrew Mackenzie. By 2017, the chatter was so loud that the new chairman’s first meeting with the press was preceded by a statement backing his CEO. Continue Reading →

Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Mineral Development set up – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 16, 2019)

January 16, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Ontario Mining

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Ottawa will pump more than $3.4 million into Manitoulin Island to establish a Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Mineral Development.

The goal of the Centre for Indigenous Mineral Development is to enhance the participation of the Indigenous people in the mines industry, as well as to assist industry and government through information sharing and best practice protocols with Indigenous engagement, federal officials said in a release Tuesday.

Access to information will help employers and prospective employees fill or secure jobs, and facilitate networking and business development opportunities. The FedNor funding will support five initiatives that, among other things, will enable Waubetek Business Development Corporation to establish and operate a Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Mineral Development for four years. Continue Reading →

Club Med: Israel, Egypt, and Others Form New Natural Gas Group – by Keith Johnson (Foreign Policy – January 15, 2019)

January 16, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

https://foreignpolicy.com/

Countries around the Eastern Mediterranean took a potentially important step toward realizing their dreams of boosting energy production with the creation Monday of a forum joining Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, and other neighbors to develop their new natural gas discoveries.

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, announced Monday in Cairo, formalizes growing energy ties among recent rivals and could spur much-needed development of energy infrastructure required to tap the region’s potential as a source of energy for Europe and beyond.

The forum in particular cements the growing commercial links between Israel and Egypt; Israel expects to start shipping natural gas to Egypt in the next few months as part of a landmark, $15 billion deal between the two countries. Continue Reading →