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Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

New Caledonia’s triple opportunity – by Nic Maclellan (Inside Story – December 10, 2020)

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The young people gathered early in Noumea, preparing for action. Soon they had blocked the main road along the waterfront in New Caledonia’s capital with barricades, burning tires and rocks.

Riot police moved in, firing rounds of tear gas and flash balls to disperse the demonstrators, and hours of running battles between Kanak activists and police began.

The clash on 7 December followed a month of roadblocks and demonstrations across the French Pacific dependency of New Caledonia. The protests were called by the “Usine du Sud = Usine Pays” collective, which unites customary chiefs, environment groups, trade unionists and members of the independence coalition Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste, or FLNKS.

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Rio Should Make Restitution to Juukan Land Owners, Report Finds – by James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – December 9, 2020)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Rio Tinto Group should to agree a restitution package with traditional landowners over mine blasts this year that badly damaged two ancient Aboriginal heritage sites, Australian legislators recommended in a sweeping report after four months of hearings into the incident.

The inquiry’s interim report called on Rio, and all other mining companies operating in Western Australia, to put on hold any applications under a controversial section of the state’s indigenous heritage law that gives companies with mining rights permission to damage a site.

It also advised that the state government replace the law with stronger protections. “Rio Tinto’s role in this tragedy is inexcusable,” the report said. “Rio knew the value of what they were destroying but blew it up anyway.”

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Australian mining investor takes controlling position in Ring of Fire mine developer – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 8, 2020)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Western Australia’s intense interest in the exploration and mining potential of northwestern Ontario has now stretched north into the Ring of Fire.

Noront Resources, the leading mine developer in the James Bay region, landed a new “cornerstone” strategic partner in Wyloo Metals Pty., the mining division of Tattarang, one of Australia’s largest private investment groups.

They take over from Resources Capital Fund (RCF) as Noront’s biggest shareholder at nearly 38 per cent. Wyloo invests in operating mines and exploration projects in mostly nickel, copper, platinum group metals and potash in Western Australia.

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Corporate buyout threatens civil war in New Caledonia – by Hamish McDonald (Asia Times – December 8, 2020)

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SYDNEY – As a long-running struggle between indigenous Kanaks seeking independence and well-off mostly white settlers wanting to stay with France nears its end-game in the South Pacific colony of New Caledonia, the ownership of its nickel industry has become a violent contest between the two camps.

This week, its capital Noumea – in pre-Covid times a languid tropical resort center where locals of all races played pétanque in its squares – was shrouded in black smoke from burning tires and cars as Kanak protestors set up barricades and police fired tear gas.

Dozens of protesters were arrested, and several police officers injured, Radio New Zealand reported.

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An all-out trade war with China would cost Australia 6% of GDP – by Rod Tyers and Yixiao Zhou (The Conversation – November 30, 2020)

https://theconversation.com/

China accounts for more than a third of export dollars earned by Australia. The figures, for the 12 months to October, cover the period of coronavirus disruptions and disputes over trade.

They apply to physical exports rather than harder to measure services, and are dominated by record high Chinese takings of Australian iron ore. But they mightn’t last.

China is changing, transitioning from growth driven by the iron-ore hungry expansion of cities and manufacturing to growth driven more by the supply of services.

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WA establishes battery taskforce – by Esmarie Iannucci (MiningWeekly.com – November 30, 2020)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian government on Monday named the members for its Future Battery Industry taskforce who will actively explore global opportunities to grow the state’s critical minerals industry.

The taskforce includes 19 mining companies, industry bodies and union groups, including BHP Nickel West, Lynas, Independence Group, Northern Minerals, Pilbara Minerals, Albemarle Lithium, Australian Vanadium, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec), the Australian Manufacturing Worker’s Union, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy for Western Australia (CME) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, besides others.

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There’s $500 million of coal on anchored ships off China’s coast – by Aaron Clark and Kevin Varley (Bloomberg News – November 24, 2020)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

More than $500 million worth of Australian coal is on ships anchored off Chinese ports, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries cuts into trade, idles a portion of the world’s dry bulk carriers and threatens to spiral into a humanitarian crisis.

More than 50 vessels have been waiting a month or longer to offload coal from Australia, according to separate analyses of shipping data conducted by Bloomberg and data intelligence firm Kpler.

There’s about 5.7 million tonnes of coal and approximately 1,000 seafarers on the anchored vessels, which are mostly Capesize and Panamax-sized vessels, according to Kpler.

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Pike River: The 29 coal miners who never came home – by Phil Mercer (BBC/Yahoo News – November 19, 2020)

https://news.yahoo.com/

The Pike River mining disaster was a tragedy that shocked the world. Twenty-nine men who were in the New Zealand coal mine died when it collapsed in a series of explosions. The BBC’s Phil Mercer covered the accident 10 years ago and has been talking to families of victims still coming to terms with their loss.

The day after his 17th birthday, Joseph Ray Dunbar began his first shift underground at the Pike River coal mine in New Zealand.

He was a “strong-minded boy” who wanted to carve his own path in life, but on that day in November 2010 he became the youngest victim of a mining disaster that killed 29 men.

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Barrick denies meddling in PNG political affairs (MiningWeekly.com – November 18, 2020)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

orgera mine operator Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL) has dismissed claims that the company has meddled with Papua New Guinea’s political affairs and has said it will take legal action against individuals making false claims on social media platforms.

A number of statements on Facebook and other social media have alleged BNL’s involvement in the actions of Parliamentarians to move from the government to the opposition and attempts have been made to draw a link between the political events and the recent visit of Barrick CEO Mark Bristow to the country.

“Those statements are false, defamatory and the company will be taking civil and criminal action against the individuals who have made these irresponsible and false statements,” BNL said this week.

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Barrick looking to reopen Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea (Mining Technology – November 13, 2020)

https://www.mining-technology.com

Barrick Gold president Mark Bristow reportedly held discussions on royalty arrangements with landowners in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The latest move comes as the company seeks to ‘negotiate a reopening’ of the Porgera gold mine, Reuters reported citing landowners. The Porgera gold mine is located in Enga Province, 600km north-west of Port Moresby.

Barrick’s lease over the gold mine, which it operated alongside Zijin Mining, expired when PNG Prime Minister James Marape refused to extend it in April this year.

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Australian mining magnate plans global green energy drive – by Dominic Ellis (Mining Global – November 12, 2020)

https://www.miningglobal.com/

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has outlined ambitious plans to build a renewable energy business, aiming to compete with oil giants to provide low-cost green energy globally.

The billionaire owner of Fortescue Metals Group – the world’s fourth-biggest iron ore miner – says Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has signed preliminary deals in countries like Papua New Guinea, as well as in African countries, and a team of executives is looking for other partners.

“We are building a portfolio of renewable assets, energy producing assets around the world,” Forrest, Fortescue’s chairman, told the company’s annual meeting via video link from Paraguay, according to a Reuters report.

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End of an era: Argyle Mine officially closed – by Arabella Roden (Jeweller Magazine – November 11, 2020)

https://www.jewellermagazine.com/

The source of more than 90 per cent of the world’s pink diamonds, the Argyle Mine in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, has been permanently closed by owner Rio Tinto after more than 30 years of operation.

The mine’s last day of operation was 3 November, with employees and traditional owners of the land attending an event to mark the start of the closure process.

Rio Tinto estimates it will take five years to dismantle and decommission the Argyle site, which will be rehabilitated, monitored, and returned to traditional owners.

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Australian gold sector defies decline in reserves – by Nickolas Zakharia (Mining Australia – November 9, 2020)

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Australia’s gold exploration expenditure increased to $304.4 million in the June quarter of 2020, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The prospect of discovering another project the quality of Fosterville in Victoria is part of what has led to an exploration revival as prices for the commodity have also risen. Australian gold companies have also continued to stay the course in growing their portfolios.

Leading Australian gold producer Northern Star Resources spent $288.7 million on its exploration and evaluation assets in the 2020 financial year. Saracen Mineral Holdings invested $273 million on growth projects and exploration in the same period to prepare its business for the future.

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Canada still a go-to destination for Australian investors and miners (Mining Review Africa – November 9, 2020)

https://www.miningreview.com/

It comes as no surprise that 2020 has seen a lot of changes in the way businesses and individuals operate, where, with whom, and how. In this article, we specially look at Canada, and its relation to mining and resources’ investment and operational interests from Australia.

The Canadian Government is supporting the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) Online this year to promote trade and investment opportunities for Canada, specifically to the Australian market.

We asked Bertrand Raoult, Trade Commissioner, Foreign Investment Attraction from the Consulate General of Canada based in Australia, why this is important to his Government?

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Australia tells the world it is open for business when it comes to critical minerals – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – November 8, 2020)

https://www.mining.com/

The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources recently published the second edition of the Australian Critical Minerals Prospectus, a document aimed at highlighting the country’s position on critical materials supply.

To prepare the report, the Australian government examined lists of critical minerals published in markets such as the United States, the European Union and Japan, and matched those against Australia’s known geological endowment.

The result is a list of 24 critical minerals that are either being produced or could be produced in Australia.

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