June 2012 – Page 2 – Republic of Mining

Glencore battles to save Xstrata bid – by Kate Holton and Sinead Cruise (Mineweb.com – June 27, 2012)

June 27, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Qatar’s intervention pushed the deal to the brink as it prompted some shareholders to revisit their own particular concerns, such as soaring executive pay and fears that the combined entity would take on riskier business.

LONDON (Reuters) – Commodities trader Glencore battled to save its coveted $26 billion bid for miner Xstrata on Wednesday after key shareholder Qatar stunned the pair with a late demand for better terms.

The Qatari intervention pushed the deal to the brink as it prompted a string of shareholders to revisit their own particular concerns, such as soaring executive pay and fears that the combined entity would take on riskier business.

Qatar, which had remained silent for months as it built the second-largest stake in Xstrata, said in a statement late on Tuesday that it supported the principle of the deal but wanted 3.25 new Glencore shares for every Xstrata share, up from the 2.8 on offer.

The 11th-hour call will make it almost impossible for the deal to go through on current terms, several sources close to the deal said, leaving just two days for Glencore to sweeten the offer or delay shareholder meetings scheduled for mid-July.

Vale fined $150,000 for 2010 acid spill – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – June 26, 2012)

June 27, 2012

This article came from Northern Life, Sudbury’s biweekly newspaper.

Vale has been slapped with a $150,000 fine after an incident where oleum, or fuming sulphuric acid, was spilled at the Copper Cliff Smelter nearly two years ago. The spill occurred when employees were pumping oleum into rail cars on July 1, 2010 — towards the end of the nearly year-long labour dispute between Vale and Steelworkers Local 6500 members.

A press release issued by the company at the time stated that a “noticable plume of oleum was released into the environment and escaped off property before dissipating over the Kelly Lake area.”

Kate Jordan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, said Vale was fined by the ministry March 13 because it didn’t report the spill in a timely manner.

“Under the environmental protection act we had a requirement that any company or individual who has a spill that has the potential to cause an adverse effect has to report that forthwith,” she said.

Asbestos isn’t the lightning rod the Tories seem to think it is – by Chris Selley (National Post – June 27, 2012)

June 27, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Documents obtained by Postmedia News through the Access to Information Act suggest the federal government knows full well that chrysotile asbestos belongs on a list of substances that face import and export restrictions — but nevertheless opposes adding it to the list.

“At previous meetings and again [in June 2011], Canada acknowledged all criteria for the addition of chrysotile asbestos to the [Rotterdam] Convention have been met but opposed its addition,” reads the briefing note provided to Environment Minister Peter Kent.

As scoops go, it won’t change the world. But it is a technical acknowledgment of a universally understood truth. No one disputes that the chrysotile mined in and exported from Quebec can be harmful if improperly handled. And no one, at least privately, would dispute that it is often not properly handled by workers in the developing countries to which Canada exports it. On asbestos, it’s quite obvious that Canada’s position isn’t mainstream. At a UN summit in Switzerland last year, it was shared only by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam.

The Conservatives seem to have inherited and embraced the conventional wisdom that the asbestos industry must be supported in principle, else Quebecers will wreak a horrible electoral revenge.

Mega history lessons for the oil sands – by Peter Foster (National Post – June 26, 2012)

June 27, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

The global economy may throw a few curve balls, just as it did in the 1980s

I suggested recently in this space that the Canadian petroleum industry is more politicized than at any time since the 1980 National Energy Program, although the politics are different. Then it was the fight between Pierre Trudeau’s Ottawa and Peter Lougheed’s Alberta over sharply higher prices. Now, it is the Harper government’s energy-superpower visions versus a transnational environmental movement that wants to block pipelines and kill the “dirty” oil sands.

In one respect, however, there is a considerable similarity between the Harper Conservatives and their dirigiste counterparts of 30 years ago: Both projected a boom in oil sands production. How great a danger is there that Mr. Harper’s aspirations may be undone — as were 1980s projections — by a market downturn?

Oil from the oil sands, whether mined or produced underground by heat injection, is, due to its elaborate production process, expensive oil. With current world prices flagging, Canadian oil subject to further discounts due to pipeline constraints, and considerable global economic uncertainty, might Mr. Harper’s strategy come undone?

Transportation for the North – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (June 26, 2012)

June 27, 2012

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

A WAR of words among MPPs about the government’s planned sale of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission is missing something. The Liberal government sprang the sale on the public in its last budget, claiming it will save money. ONTC serves a series of communities in Northeastern Ontario with train and bus service, much of which the government says the private sector can provide.

The NDP has been critical of the proposal. Timiskaming—Cochrane MPP John Vanthof said in March there had been a “massive public outcry from affected communities” and he called on Premier Dalton McGuinty to halt plans to privatize the passenger and freight service that “employs nearly 1,000 people across the North.”

Vanthof reminded McGuinty he had earlier promised not to privatize the ONTC, adding that, “All across the North municipal councils are up in arms . . . .”

Vanthof acquired documents showing the Liberals were considering the idea as early as March 2009 after which time Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci was on hand in Sudbury to cut the ribbon on a new Ontario Northland bus terminal.

Amid disaster in Elliot Lake, an inexcusable lack of action – by Rosie Dimanno (Toronto Star- June 27, 2012)

June 27, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

People buried alive — apparently, hopefully, still alive — you’d think heaven and earth would be moved to save them.

But moving a heap of wreckage from a collapsed building was inexplicably, outrageously, deemed too risky for rescue workers in Elliot Lake, who were ordered to abandon the mission a mere 48 hours after the Algo Centre Mall caved in.

Only the intervention of Premier Dalton McGuinty rebooted rescue efforts following howls of indignation from local citizens whose loved ones are still trapped under the rubble. “Nobody left behind!” shouted one furious resident when word filtered through that crews were standing down. In a mining town like Elliot Lake, this gospel is well understood: Searches are never suspended, whether proof of life exists or not.

Yet by late Tuesday afternoon, those workers had not yet been cleared by officials to resume the job. In a crisis where minutes literally matter, this is simply insupportable. It is the antithesis of rapid response.

Tim Hudak: Ontario should develop Ring of Fire like oilsands – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – June 27, 2012)

June 27, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

The mineral rich Ring of Fire is Ontario’s “oilsands” and the province should take a page out of Alberta’s playbook by developing it quickly, says Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.

The Tory leader visited the remote Ring of Fire area, located nearly 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, on Monday with other Tory MPPs to survey the swampy earth said to hold more than a $30 billion haul of chromite — the key material used to make stainless steel.

“In many ways, the Ring of Fire is Ontario’s oilsands — an enormous wealth beneath the earth that can break open a new frontier for job creation and investment in our province. Sometimes we look (with) wonder and awe at what Alberta can do; we can do that in Ontario and we can do that with the Ring of Fire,” said Hudak.

However, the Toronto Star reported on Tuesday Environment Canada has raised a number of red flags concerning the development of the area, which calls for an open pit mine and a transportation corridor to be built through one of the last intact boreal forests.

‘Plenty of wealth to share’ in Ring of Fire [PC leader Hudak visits mining camp] – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Ontario PC leader tours James Bay lowlands

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak believes everybody with an interest in the Ring of Fire needs to keep their eyes on the prize. Hudak spent Monday touring the Noront Resources mining facility operating within the Ring of Fire.

His visit comes just days after First Nation leaders threatened to halt mining operations in the region by presenting an “eviction notice” to companies that have staked claims.

“There is going to be plenty of wealth to share,” Hudak told The Daily Press. “I think if we can align all our incentives towards job creation and new investment, that will probably make the biggest difference ever when it comes to addressing the poverty that afflicts so many of our First Nations, particularly in remote areas.

“This is a once-in-a-century economic development opportunity. It’s breaking a new frontier in job creation and investment in Northern Ontario. It has the possibility of surpassing the Sudbury basin and the Porcupine Gold Camp for mineral potential. We’re talking about over a hundred-billion dollars in value. So we need to move forward.”

Chinese demand for Chile’s copper holds strong – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Global copper goliath Chile says Chinese demand for the metal is holding up despite a slowing of China’s economic growth, signaling a continuation of market dynamics that have driven consumption for over a decade.

“We have not seen a relevant decrease with respects to the Chinese market,” Chile’s deputy mining minister, Pablo Wagner, said by telephone from Santiago.

Mr. Wagner pointed to forecasts for a rise in overall copper exports in 2012 of between 5 per cent and 6 per cent over the year-earlier period. “Signs of demand, shipments and inventories, continue to be solid.”

Chile exports about 53 per cent of its copper to China, giving it one of the clearest insights into the demand patterns of the giant Asian economy that has devoured the red metal as it fuels booming economic growth and urbanization. Chile is also home to the world’s largest copper company, state miner Codelco, which is a key business partner of China.

South Africa’s ANC to debate 50% mining tax – by Mike Cohen and Andres R. Martinez (Mineweb.com – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

www.mineweb.com

ANC delegates will this week debate proposals for a mining windfall tax of 50% as an alternative to nationalising mines in the world’s largest producer of platinum, chrome and manganese.

(BLOOMBERG) – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress may endorse plans to raise mining taxes and increase state control over the economy as President Jacob Zuma shores up grassroots support ahead of a party election.

ANC delegates will this week debate proposals for a mining windfall tax of 50 percent as an alternative to nationalizing mines in the world’s largest producer of platinum, chrome and manganese. The plans are contained in draft policy documents to be discussed at a four-day conference in Johannesburg from today. The ANC controls 66 percent of the seats in Parliament.

Zuma, 70, who is seeking a second five-year term at a party election in December, is under pressure from his labor union allies and a growing number of jobless young people to do more to combat poverty and unemployment in Africa’s largest economy. Any attempt to extract more revenue from mining companies such as Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Lonmin Plc risks undermining an industry battered by rising labor costs, electricity shortages and a global economic slowdown.

NEWS RELEASE: NISHNAWBE ASKI NATION BILLS PROVINCE $127-MILLION FOR BENEFITS DERIVED FROM RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CALLING IT A HISTORIC SWINDLE

June 26, 2012

Tuesday June 26, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy presented the Ontario government today with an invoice for $127-million for benefits derived from natural resources extracted from Nishnawbe Aski Nation territories. The annual billing invoice is calculated over 100 years at current day values and represents only a portion of the $32 billion owed.

A NAN Chiefs Resolution was passed in May 2012 where the Chiefs authorized NAN to set up a negotiation committee with a clear mandate to negotiate a resource-revenue sharing agreement on behalf of all NAN First Nations.

“Due to impending developments within the NAN territory, our Chiefs are responding by doing more than monitoring the situation, they are taking action,” said Grand Chief Stan Beardy. “We commissioned a report that focused on resource revenue for the past 100 years and quantified it for the NAN region.”

The report produced by Dr. Fred Lazar of the Schulich School of Business was commissioned in December 2011. The report relied on data from the Chiefs of Ontario Revenue Sharing Report, the Public Accounts of Ontario and various resources quantified for the NAN Region.

Environment Canada raises alarms on chromite mining development in Ring of Fire – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

The same toxic material that Erin Brockovich discovered in the water of a small California town could pollute northern Ontario due to chromite mining in the Ring of Fire, documents obtained by the Star show.

Environment Canada has raised a series of red flags regarding a massive chromite mining initiative in the Ring of Fire, located 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The federal ministry warned in a letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency of potential adverse effects of mine waste, including the carcinogen chromium-6.

The letter is further proof of the need for proper environmental assessments on the Ring of Fire — something environmental advocates and First Nations leaders say has yet to happen.

However, Kate Jordan, an official with Ontario Ministry of the Environment, told the Star mining projects undergo “extensive reviews and approvals by a number of provincial and federal agencies” to make sure the environment is protected.

Encana probes collusion accusation – by Shawn McCarthy and Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Ottawa, Calgary – Encana Corp. has launched an internal investigation after the State of Michigan said it is examining allegations that the company worked with rival Chesapeake Energy Corp. to avoid competing in state land auctions for shale gas.

Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources said it is working with the Attorney-General’s Office to review a series of e-mails, published by the Reuters news agency, that purport to show executives from the two companies discussing joint approaches to bidding.

“Our department is committed to ensuring the integrity of its auctioning process and to receiving fair market value for resources on public land,” Ed Golder, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said Monday. An official from the U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on whether its antitrust division is looking into the matter.

PM offers help of Canadian forces in Elliot Lake rescue efforts – by Anna Mehler Paperny, Stephen Spencer Davis and Jane Switzer (Globe and Mail – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

TORONTO and SUDBURY – A senior Ontario government source said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty spoke with Prime Minister Stephen Harper Monday night about the situation in Elliot Lake, and asked for federal assistance.

“The prime minister seemed willing and now our officials are working together,” the source said. A spokesman for Mr. Harper said the prime minister has offered the services of the Canadian Forces and other federal resources to assist with the rescue efforts.

Amid suggestions that community volunteers are ready to take matters into their own hands, rescuers will try “drastic” measures to reach possible survivors in a collapsed mall in the northern Ontario community of Elliot Lake.

Crews who were pulled from the Algo Centre Mall over safety fears will have another go at the structure relying on machinery, Fire Chief Paul Officer said. They are acting at the urging of the community and Mr. McGuinty.

Ring of Fire revenue sharing discussions underway – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – June 25, 2012)

June 26, 2012

http://wawataynews.ca/

Revenue sharing models are under discussion for the Ring of Fire and NAN territory.

“There are various revenue sharing models that are being examined, in fact as we talk there are discussions taking place between Ontario and First Nation organizations and individual First Nations on revenue resource sharing models,” said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit during his keynote address at the 2nd Annual Ontario Mining Forum, held June 19 at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay.

Louttit cited profit-sharing and giving First Nations a stake in ownership of the companies as examples of what First Nations might be looking for. “In the very near future we will be making a proposal to the government to consider, particularly in terms of the Ring of Fire,” Louttit said. “Those options may include equity interests in mining companies — that’s been done before. But what has not been successfully done to a large degree is profit sharing.”

Louttit said everybody has to benefit from resource development, not just governments and industry. “That can happen if everybody has the will to do that,” Louttit said. “This concept has been introduced and it has received some favourable response, but we are going to be continuing discussions with the province to see how this mechanism can benefit developments in the Nishnawbe Aski territories.”