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Year: 2012

China denies it is “gobbling up” India’s iron ore – by Shivom Seth (September 24, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

An exhaustive report into illegal mining in the Indian state of Goa has also accused China of using up all of India’s iron ore reserves.

MUMBAI (MINEWEB) – The China Iron and Steel Association has rejected assertions that it is to blame for “gobbling up India’s iron ore reserves” while, at the same time strategically choosing not to mine its own deposits of the metal.

The charges were laid at the feet of the Asian giant by a report into illegal iron ore mining in Goa by the Justice M.B. Shah Committee. The report, which pegged Goa’s mining scam at nearly $6.5 billion, also noted that “China had strategically stopped short of tapping its deposits of 200 billion tonnes”…and suggested that the “Central government should consider banning exports of Indian ore.”

It added, “Planning and conservation of iron ore for at least 50 years is required for Goa so that future generations may not be required to import entire steel from China and likewise countries.”

The report added that while India was exporting ore to China, China was exporting steel back to India and had stopped tapping its domestic deposits. “It would not be out of context to state here that China…prefers to import from countries like India and others.

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Huge potential in China deal – by John Ivison (National Post – September 25, 2012)

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

Four in 10 Canadians see China as a threat, if opinion polls are to be believed. Seven in 10 oppose approval of the $15.1-billion bid by China’s CNOOC for Calgary oil company, Nexen.

For a prime minister in need of a bump in his approval ratings, it must be tempting to go for the political sugar by nixing the Nexen deal. This was clearly the fear of China’s ambassador in Ottawa, Zhang Junsai, who is urging that the deal be judged solely on business terms. “If we politicize this, we can’t do business,” he told the Globe and Mail.

But for the Harper government to bow to its baser political instincts would be to put short-term political self-interest ahead of the long-term prosperity of the country. There appear to be no reasons of any substance to blow up the transaction.

The Industry department is weighing whether the Nexen purchase is of “net benefit” to Canada. This is pretty simple arithmetic, given the 66% premium CNOOC is willing to pay Nexen’s shareholders. Much of that money will be re-invested in the Canadian economy – a net benefit by any measure.

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More overseas suitors eye oil sands – by Jacquie NcNish and Carrie Tait (Globe and Mail – September 25, 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 CALGARY — Private and state-owned foreign suitors are eyeing the oil-sands properties of ConocoPhillips Co., the latest sign that ownership in the costly northern Alberta industry is shifting to offshore buyers with deeper pockets and a greater tolerance for risk.

According to people familiar with the sale process, Houston-based Conoco began accepting bids in July for up to half of its vast oil sands holding, and has entered into what one person described as a “very vigorous bidding process” with an unidentified group of top bidders. According to a number of media reports, one of the suitors is a consortium of three state-owned oil and gas companies from India: ONGC Videsh Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and Oil India Ltd. One report from Dow Jones pegged the value of Conoco’s oil sands assets at $5-billion.

Conoco is one of the largest property owners in Alberta’s oil sands and its planned retreat highlights the growing challenges publicly traded companies face in extracting crude from tarry bitumen deposits with multibillion dollar mining, drilling and refining projects that are plagued with production setbacks and cost overruns.

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China closing in on huge oilpatch purchase -by Gillian Steward (Toronto Star – September 25, 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.

Gillian Steward is a Calgary journalist and former managing editor of the Calgary Herald. Her column appears every other week. gsteward@telus.net

CALGARY—Will one of the tallest buildings in Calgary soon be emblazoned with the initials of a Chinese state-owned oil company?

That’s just one of the many questions that hangs over the proposed takeover of Nexen, a major oilsands player, by the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).

In July CNOOC offered Nexen shareholders a 61-per-cent premium on the share price and last week those shareholders decided it was a deal that they simply couldn’t refuse. It was an important step toward completion of the $15-billion deal, China’s largest overseas acquisition to date.

After the shareholder vote, Nexen’s interim president, Kevin Reinhart, assured the media that CNOOC would be keeping all of Nexen’s 3,000 employees. It has also promised to make Calgary headquarters for all its operations in the Western Hemisphere.

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Africa next: With investment outpacing aid, is this a new golden age for the poorest continent? – by Geoffry York (Globe and Mail – September 22, 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.

Sierra Leone — In the dusty streets of the tiny village of Romaro, a building boom is under way. Crumbling mud shacks are being replaced by new tin-roofed houses. Almost overnight, the village’s ancient way of life has vanished. Most of its farmland has been swallowed up by a Swiss multinational, Addax Bioenergy, which has leased more than 14,000 hectares of Sierra Leone for a $330-million sugar-cane plantation to produce ethanol for the European market.

Centuries of subsistence farming have been replaced by wage labour as the 200 villagers are propelled into the globalized economy. Most families in Romaro now have at least one person employed by the Swiss company, which pays leases and helps to plow the remaining farmland. The money has allowed the villagers to build 13 new houses.

“We get a wage every month,” says Mohamed Kamara, a security guard at the sugar-cane plantation. “Now, I have job security, and I can get credit from a bank. It’s far better than before.”

It’s the unexpected message of today’s Africa. Every week, another bank or investment fund is touting it as the next big thing, an emerging lion to follow the Asian tigers. Resource exports are soaring, and growth is climbing to unprecedented heights – second only to Asia, and fast catching up. And for the first time in generations, Africa is receiving more investment than foreign aid.

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Northerners ponder separating from Ontario – CBC Radio Sudbury (September 24, 2012)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/

Province’s decision to sell the ONTC has leaders wondering if the region is getting its fair share. The Northlander Train is set to make its final journey between Toronto and Cochrane this week, leaving behind many people who are still furious about the province’s decision to sell the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

The move has disgruntled northerners who wonder — yet again — if the region is getting its fair share. It’s a sentiment that’s been expressed many times over the years by disgruntled taxpayers who think it might be in northern Ontario’s best interest to separate and become its own province.

The president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities said municipal politicians in the region feel they are being treated unfairly. “The action this government has taken, they had promised a fair, open and transparent process and we feel that it’s fallen substantially short of that to date,” Al Spacek said. “So … they are not happy with the provincial government over this decision.”

He noted municipal politicians in the north don’t feel they have solid representation at the provincial level and said the region needs a strong voice at Queens Park so good decisions are made for the north.

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Northern train works, so why not keep it – by Dick Crawford (Peterborough Examiner – September 23, 2012)

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/

Dick Crawford is president of Crawford Building Consultants in Lakefield.

I recently had an opportunity to ride the Ontario Northland train from Toronto to Cochrane and back. I had an opportunity to observe firsthand the operation and service on this train, which operates six times per week. Here are some observations why this service is of such good quality and necessary for Ontarians.

I found the train to be clean and well maintained, with excellent staff service. The passenger train appears to be well patronized, not just by local users, but also by college and university students travelling to and from school, and a significant number of people travelling to tourist destinations to access canoeing and hiking. I noted the existence of a well-organized bus feeder service to nearby towns such as Hearst and Timmins. This train is a lifeline for northern residents to connect to the south, especially for much needed medical appointments.

I don’t understand why such a well-organized and patronized service should be removed. Consider that almost all the G8 and G20 countries are expanding railroad service. Why is Canada cutting back? The G8 and G20 countries consider train service to be a nation-builder and an efficient connector of people. It is well documented that there is nothing more efficient than a steel wheel on a steel rail.

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MPP to McGuinty: Keep rail freight division – by Staff (North Bay Nugget – September 24, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

The provincial government should retain Ontario Northland’s rail freight division, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said in a letter hand-delivered to Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office.

At the same time, Fedeli said, Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci should be replaced, while responsibility for the ONTC is shifted to the Ministry of Transportation.

Fedeli said the recommendations are a result of months of study which found the government will achieve no savings through its “ONTC fire sale.”

“Based on what I’ve found and what I’ve heard, it’s clear . . . that Ontario Northland’s rail freight service is strategic infrastructure that is critical to economic development and private sector job creation in Northern Ontario,” Fedeli said in a media release Monday.

“That’s why the stakeholders believe the rail freight division must remain publicly owned. It should be treated the same way as highways and other essential services.”

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Why the metal industry is getting harder – by By David Garofalo (Canadian Business Magazine – September 20, 2012)

 http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

David Garofalo is the President and CEO of HudBay Minerals Inc.

The recent conflicts at mines in developing nations—the violence erupting in South Africa, Guatemala, Panama and elsewhere this summer—are unsettling and deplorable. Yet they illustrate the new context for mining companies around the world, which often goes unexplored in mainstream coverage.

The new reality of the global mining industry is that most of the large, high-grade mine operations located in favourable jurisdictions are getting long in the tooth. As production at these mines inevitably declines with time, mining companies are forced to look farther afield for new supply. Since all of the near surface high-grade deposits have been discovered, companies are now looking at more geologically challenging deposits, usually with lower-grade ore. Often, this means considering development opportunities in areas that are not only more complex geologically, but also carry more social and political risks.

Among other things, this explains the chronic deficit in copper supply the world has experienced over the past four years. Average copper production grades have fallen dramatically over the past decade. Simply to maintain output, companies have to process much higher tonnages in order to sustain consistent production. Increased demand from developing economies has created a supply crisis—the term is not too strong.

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NEWS RELEASE: GE Launches Global Mining Business Unit

• Geoff Knox named CEO of GE Mining
• Showcases technologies designed to address environmental challenges, bringing efficient, high productivity and low emission equipment to the industry
• Follows recent and planned acquisitions of Fairchild International and Industrea Limited

LAS VEGAS, NV (Sept. 24, 2012) – GE Transportation (NYSE: GE) today unveiled its newest business unit, GE Mining, that will be headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. The announcement was made at MINExpo 2012 by Geoff Knox, CEO of GE Mining.

The Company recently acquired Fairchild International, which manufactures underground mining equipment, and is finalizing the acquisition of Australian-based Industrea Limited (ASX: IDL, OTCQX: IULTY), a provider of safety and productivity-enhancing mining equipment and services. GE will reach a global customer base with enhanced products based on its clean propulsion systems, energy storage offering and world-class system integration capabilities.

As the global mining industry expands to deeper, more remote and extreme locations, its challenges grow more complex. GE’s portfolio of products and services are uniquely positioned to maximize resources, drive efficiencies and help make the world work better, allowing mines to:

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Africa next: The quest for Africa’s riches – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – September 24, 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.

LUBUMBASHI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Driving north in Africa’s copper belt, Mark Crandon marvels at the new factories and offices along the highway. “It’s crazy,” he says. “None of this was here three weeks ago.”

upermarkets and shopping malls are opening too. They’re fresh fuel for his theory that anyone can make money in this corner of Africa. “You could almost blindly open any business here and it would be a success,” he says . There’s just no competition.”

It’s an unlikely place for a foreign investor to be raving about. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world’s most corrupt, impoverished and war-torn countries. Millions have died in the military and political chaos of recent years. Yet even here, the lure of the Africa boom is proving irresistible.

In the copper-belt city of Lubumbashi, the nouveaux riches of the mining industry can be spotted at upscale businesses such as La Plage – a glitzy suburban mall with a gelato shop, high-priced supermarket and cafés, not to mention a swimming pool and an artificial sand beach with parasols and volleyball nets.

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Mining’s golden rule: transparency – by Joseph Ingram and Karin Lissakers (Globe and Mail – September 24, 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.

The labour strife in South Africa’s mines and the adoption of new disclosure rules for U.S. mining companies by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have cast renewed light on a global industry that affects the Canadian economy.

Every year, Canadian mining operations generate billions of dollars of revenue overseas. In fact, Canadian companies are some of the most globally active. More than 1,000 Canadian exploration companies work in more than 100 countries, from Mongolia to Peru to Tanzania. Canada’s mining investments in Africa alone have grown from $2.8-billion in 2001 to $30-billion in 2012.

The taxes and royalties that Canadian companies pay to countries that play host to them have the potential to transform economies. As we’ve seen in resource-rich countries such as Botswana, Chile and Malaysia, natural resource revenues paid to governments can be invested in roads, health care and education as well as business development and social services, leading to massive reductions in poverty. What’s more, Canadian operations can spur local economic development by creating jobs and financing community projects.

Yet, too often, these revenues are either not collected or not transformed into tangible benefits, leaving countries with more violent conflict and weaker growth than expected. In many instances, environmental destruction and loss of livelihoods, coupled with inadequate compensation, have left regions worse off than before.

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Asbestos products still being imported to Ontario – by Marco Chown Oved (Toronto Star – September 24, 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.

Despite recent announcements in Ottawa and Quebec that suggest asbestos will soon be a thing of the past, products made of the cancer-causing mineral are still being imported and used in Ontario today.

While the carcinogenic insulation is now being removed from buildings across the province, two new products that contain asbestos — brake pads and cement pipes — are being brought in.

Statistics Canada reports that $2.6 million worth of asbestos-containing brake pads were imported into Canada last year. Of that, more than half arrived in Ontario.

While Ottawa announced last week it would reverse its long-standing position and declare asbestos a dangerous material, and the new government in Quebec cancelled a loan that would have revived the defunct asbestos mining industry, the problem in Canada is far from over.

“Because we don’t mine, because we don’t use it in manufacturing, we are under the false impression that it’s gone,” said Liberal MPP Liz Sandals (Guelph), who introduced a private member’s bill earlier this year to ban brake pads containing asbestos in Ontario.

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What the rise of Asia means for Canadians – by John Ibbitson (Globe and Mail – September 24, 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 — When Canadian, Asian and American leaders and thinkers meet in Ottawa this week to discuss this country’s place in the new Pacific century, many in the room will not like what they hear. Global leadership is pivoting from the West to the East faster than anyone could have imagined. Canada’s future – and your job – hinge on pivoting with it.

“Canada has been obsessed with the United States and Europe for the past 200 years. Now, frankly it has got to shift its focus to Asia,” Kishore Mahbubani said. The Singaporean academic, who is recognized globally for his writings on the Asian renaissance, is speaking at the conference, organized by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.

Such a shift “requires a major psychological reorientation on the part of Canadian minds,” Mr. Mahbubani observed. “But if they don’t wake up, they’ll be left behind.”

The conference takes place in the wake of a proposal, reported in Saturday’s Globe and Mail, from Chinese ambassador Zhang Junsai that Beijing and Ottawa begin work on a free-trade agreement.

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Cage Call: Artist explores lost [mining] histories – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – September 22, 2012)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

When photographer Louie Palu set out to learn more about mining, his plan was to spend one month at a mine in Kirkland Lake. That was in 1991. Instead, 12 years, two provinces and thousands of photos later, the project came to an end.

“My dad told me about Kirkland Lake,” Palu said, speaking on the phone. “He was working up there. He’s not a miner. He was just working with some mining people.

“I’ve always been interested in these underrepresented histories and stories, especially sociopolitical ones. Suddenly from Kirkland Lake I got to Timmins, then Sudbury, Val d’Or and (Rouyn)-Noranda. There were all these sort of lost histories, these really important lost histories. I just felt like this story needed to be told.”

Since then, he’s been telling the story through two books and his photos, which have been put on display at art galleries and shows all over the world, including Sweden, France and the United States.

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