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British Columbia Mining

Cell Phones, Brought to You by BC Copper via China – by Christopher Pollon (TheTyee.ca – March 27, 2014)

http://thetyee.ca/

Click here for the entire series about copper: http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/24/Travels-with-Copper/

Home to Apple’s Foxconn plant, Kunshan is China’s Silicon Valley. But for how long? Fourth in a series.

KUNSHAN, CHINA — The kid standing outside the barbed wire fence at Unimicron’s electronics factory near Shanghai is feeling anxious. “Is the work hard?” he asks a middle-aged man, a private recruiter who brought the youth here.

The man tells him to relax. “It’ll be easy. Don’t worry.” It’s a Wednesday morning in September, and I’m standing with a crowd of recent high-school grads gathered to submit resumes at Unimicron, one of the world’s biggest electronics manufacturing companies, and a destination for copper mined 9,000 kilometres away near Princeton, B.C.

These kids are gathered here hoping to land an entry level factory job. High-school grads with no formal training are being offered up to CDN$680 (4000 Renminbi) per month to start, with medical insurance, room and board included (no tattoos allowed, see the translated job ad they are responding to here.)It’s a package that would have been unthinkably rich even five years ago, when Shanghai was booming as a low-cost workshop to the world, drawing millions of migrant labourers from across rural China.

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Where Copper Meets Fire – by Christopher Pollon (TheTyee.ca – March 26, 2014)

http://thetyee.ca/

Click here for the entire series about copper: http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/24/Travels-with-Copper/

Naoshima Island in Japan is a surreal melting pot of BC metal and fine art. Third in a series.

From the deck of a private ferry racing across the Seto inland sea, Naoshima Island appears as a tower of yellow rock on the horizon, tipped in a lush emerald. As we approach, blue-uniformed figures appear, darting in tiny vehicles around an imposing industrial complex bearing the red insignia of Mitsubishi, one of the world’s most powerful corporate conglomerates.

If this were a James Bond movie, Naoshima would be the island lair of an arch-villain. Instead it’s home to one of Japan’s oldest operating copper smelters, in almost continuous use since 1917. It’s also the first destination for the raw copper produced at the Copper Mountain mine near Princeton, and much of the rest of the copper mined today in British Columbia.

I came expecting Mordor, only to find the world’s oddest fine art display, with a 230-metre smokestack rising from the northern tip. In a surreal twist that is uniquely Japanese, Naoshima is also a world famous art gallery “park,” covering most of the island’s 17 square-kilometres. It’s home to three major art galleries featuring works by Pollock, Warhol and Monet.

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Betting at the Copper Casino – by Christopher Pollon (TheTyee.ca – March 25, 2014)

http://thetyee.ca/

Click here for the entire series about copper: http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/24/Travels-with-Copper/

That would be Vancouver’s mining district, where BC’s future is low-grade and high-risk. Second in a series.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — British Columbia copper ends up in smartphones, in the cars we drive, in our plumbing and electrical systems, as well as in our scrap yards and landfills. But to understand how it gets there, you need to visit a nondescript office tower on Pender Street in Vancouver’s financial district. Or perhaps more aptly put, Vancouver’s mining district.

If mining capital were mineral ore, Vancouver would be the mother lode of all mother lodes. More publicly-traded mining companies are headquartered here (and in Toronto) than anywhere else on earth: 60 per cent of all mining corporations on the planet are found in Canada. Their collective market value in 2012 approached half a trillion dollars: an estimated $449 billion. (See sidebar.)

Many in the mining industry view this global cluster as proof that we are the unrivalled masters of mining on the planet. This has some basis, but the reality is a lot more complex.

“The single largest reason for the concentration of head offices here,” says Alan Young, former executive director of the watchdog group Environmental Mining Council of B.C., “is that stock exchanges like the TSX Venture Exchange or TSX [Toronto Stock Exchange] have been developed to promote venture capital that mid-level and small exploration companies require to exist.”

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The Resurrection of Copper Mountain – by Christopher Pollon (TheTyee.ca – March 24 2014)

http://thetyee.ca/

Click here for the entire series about copper: http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/24/Travels-with-Copper/

PRINCETON B.C. — The “cradle” of this copper story lies here, about 300 kilometres east of Vancouver near Princeton, B.C., a boom-and-bust mining and logging town that by the late 20th century seemed used up and ready to die.

Between 1927 and 1996, some US$6-billion worth of copper had been dug from the mountains south of town, extracted by at least five corporations, now all long gone. What was left, most traditional assays concluded, wasn’t worth the cost of pulling out of the ground.

But by 2011, change was on the horizon, driven by both new technologies and distant market forces 9,000 km to the east (see sidebar). Under new management, Copper Mountain again began producing raw copper for export, putting 380 people to work full time, and supporting about 1,500 other jobs indirectly.

“I’ve died and gone to mining heaven,” Princeton town councillor Frank Armitage gushed at the mine’s official re-opening. A 40-year veteran of the industry, Armitage is now both Princeton’s mayor and Copper Mountain’s human resources manager.

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Travels with Copper (with INTERACTIVE MAP) – by Christopher Pollon (TheTyee.ca – March 24 2014)

http://thetyee.ca/

Click here for the entire series about copper: http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/24/Travels-with-Copper/

Tyee contributing editor Christopher Pollon criss-crossed the Pacific on the trail of BC copper. Here’s why.

I’m standing on top of five billion pounds of copper on a sunny August afternoon in southwest British Columbia near Princeton, trying to figure out where it all goes.

Dust and smoke rise, as explosives shatter seams of rock into moveable chunks 350 metres below me. Bungalow-sized Komatsu trucks (the tires alone cost $40,000 each) wind downward around the terraced edges of the pit toward North America’s biggest hydraulic shovel which can scoop up 80 tons of rock in a single bite. Deceptively toy-like from a distance, the moving parts of the mine perform their ritual 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Mining on this scale is what makes it economical,” Don Strickland, Copper Mountain’s VP of Operations, tells me.

By last century’s standards, there’s not enough high-grade ore here to warrant mining it. But ever-bigger equipment and new processing methods have made it possible to move — and mine — mountains. With historically high copper prices over the last five years, and most of the world’s best deposits already tapped, Copper Mountain can afford to break and crush 150,000 tonnes of rock a day that will produce just 90 tonnes of refined copper down the road — and still make a profit.

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Clark’s mining push meets resistance – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – March 27, 2014)

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.

VANCOUVER — Premier Christy Clark’s push for new mines in British Columbia is becoming mired in growing controversy.

On Wednesday, a delegation from Alaska was in Washington, D.C., to lobby the U.S. government concerning five proposed mines in northwest B.C. that are on watersheds draining into southeast Alaska. The delegation, representing 40 businesses, tribes, commercial fishing groups and environmentalists, claims the mines pose unacceptable risks to Alaska’s salmon fishery.

“We’re really worried about where this is going to go,” Brian Lynch, executive director of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association said about the proposed development of the mines near the Alaska border.

Mr. Lynch said he’s worried because the B.C. government seems to be simultaneously fast-tracking several mines without providing adequate resources for environmental reviews. “I doubt any agency could handle that work load,” he said. “The money is just not there to do that kind of work – and that scares us.”

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Taseko launches second legal action over federal rejection of B.C. mine – by Peter Koven (National Post – March 27, 2014)

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

Taseko Mines Ltd. is taking the federal government to court for the second time in four months, claiming its rejection of the New Prosperity project was based on a highly unfair process that included inappropriate meetings with opponents of the mine that it only learned about through Facebook.

The Vancouver-based miner said these meetings were documented in Facebook posts by a First Nations chief. It claims the government declined to talk about them or let Taseko respond to what was discussed.

Taseko filed an application for a judicial review on Wednesday to try to force the government to reconsider New Prosperity, based on its belief that Ottawa did not run a fair process. It launched a separate judicial review in federal court back in December, claiming there was a key technical error in a review of the British Columbia project that influenced Ottawa’s decision.

“The process was flawed,” said Brian Battison, Taseko’s vice president of corporate affairs. “The findings were wrong and the decision to deny the project was certainly wrong. We expect to prove that in court.” The $1.5-billion New Prosperity has been controversial from the start.

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Goldcorp chairman confident in $2.8-billion hostile bid for Osisko – by Peter Koven and Nicolas Van Praet (National Post – March 26, 2014)

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

TORONTO/MONTREAL – The shares of Osisko Mining Corp. are trading well above his offer price, and investors and analysts are clamouring for a higher bid. But Ian Telfer maintains everything is going “extremely well.”

The chairman of Goldcorp Inc. remains confident his company’s $2.8-billion hostile offer for Montreal-based Osisko will succeed. In an interview in Toronto Tuesday, he pointed out that Osisko is running out of time to find a white knight bidder, and added that the “Just Say No” defence almost never works.

“Because there’s no other bidder, we see no reason to bid against ourselves,” he said in an interview. “You can’t have an auction with only one bidder.”

Osisko delayed Goldcorp’s hostile approach with a lawsuit that got settled this month. Mr. Telfer said Goldcorp got “exactly what we wanted” out of the settlement as it eliminated Osisko’s poison pill and will allow Goldcorp to do more due diligence starting next week on Osisko’s Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec. It is his understanding that Osisko’s board pushed its management team to settle with Goldcorp.

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Goldcorp to consider Osisko Mining spinoff to sweeten offer – by Rachelle Younglai and Boyd Erman (Globe and Mail – March 25, 2014)

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.

Goldcorp Inc. would consider spinning off Osisko Mining Corp.’s exploration assets into a separate company as a way to sweeten its unsolicited offer for the smaller gold miner, people familiar with the matter said.

Montreal-based Osisko has rejected Goldcorp’s $3-billion cash and stock offer and is courting a range of suitors for its large Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec.

With a spinoff, Osisko shareholders would not only get a stake in the much larger Goldcorp but also retain ownership in some assets with growth potential, such as Osisko’s deposits in Ontario’s Kirkland Lake area.

Getting a friendly deal would ensure that Goldcorp locks up an asset it has coveted for more than five years before Osisko signs up to sell to another bidder. It is not just a rival bidder that Goldcorp has to consider. There is the possibility that Osisko shareholders simply say no.

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Mining companies show increased confidence in British Columnbia – by Alana Wilson (Troy Media – March 20, 2014)

http://www.troymedia.com/

But there’s still plenty of room for improvement

Alana Wilson is a senior economist with the Fraser Institute and co-author of the Survey of Mining Companies 2013.

VANCOUVER, BC, Mar 20, 2014/ Troy Media/ – British Columbia was once regarded by miners as hostile to investment and ranked last in Canada for the attractiveness of its mining policy environment. However the tide has turned in recent years and British Columbia has again improved its ratings for global mining investment.

Bringing a mine from discovery to production is a long, expensive and time-consuming process with thousands of mineral prospects explored for each new mine eventually developed. For this reason, mining companies seek out stable, predictable, and transparent policy environments for mining investment. Results from the recent Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies suggest that the province is becoming more attractive to mining investment with miners rating the province higher for a fifth consecutive year. However, despite this vote of confidence, B.C. could go further and become a global leader in mining.

The mining survey is based on the opinions of mining executives and assesses the effects of different public policy factors on attracting or dissuading investment. British Columbia has been included in the survey since its inception in 1997, where British Columbia ranked last of Canadian mining jurisdictions assessed.

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Chilcotin Crossroads – by Bill Gallagher (First Perspective – March 19, 2014)

http://www.firstperspective.ca/

Bill Gallagher is a lawyer, strategist and published author of Resource Rulers: Fortune and Folly on Canada’s Road to Resources

B.C.’s road to resources traverses the Chilcotin, a vast central region that has now seen more political and project fallout than perhaps anywhere else in Canada. At its heart lies picture-perfect Fish Lake, the site of Taseko Mines (twice proposed / twice denied) gold-copper open pit mine project. It was just in the business news for all the wrong reasons: “Harper rips Taseko’s B.C. mine proposal: environmental report ‘damning’ Harper says” (Financial Post headline Mar 4 2014).

Four years ago, that proposed mine was ground-zero where the political careers of former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell and former federal environment minister Jim Prentice collided as they tried to navigate this treacherous intersection of aboriginal rights, determined miners, eco-activists and panel reviews. Campbell had wanted this project – but Prentice denied it – as a direct result both walked away from politics in the immediate aftermath. That happened in late 2010, after Prentice turned ‘thumbs-down’ on the (1st) Prosperity Mine because there was a ‘scathing’ joint panel review. Premier Campbell resigned 24 hours later; then Prentice did likewise.

It was strident native opposition to the proposed mine that was ‘the elephant in the room’ – then and now – more so than rampant eco-activism.

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B.C.’s LNG tax could bomb – by Jack M. Mintz (National Post – March 18, 2014)

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

What purpose does the LNG tax have besides being a revenue-grab?

The BC proposal for a new tax on proposed Liquefied Natural Gas plants certainly galvanized negative reaction from some producers. Project proponents like Shell and Chevron expressed concerns over its economic feasibility (Imperial Oil, of which I am director, said less). On the other hand, the B.C. government claims that the projects will be tax competitive with the U.S. and Australia, resulting in large employment gains to the province.

The BC government also forecasts that the projects will yield substantial new provincial revenues – the new LNG tax as well as corporate, personal, and sales tax revenues ranging from $4-billion to $11-billion annually (2012 prices) depending on prices and capacity. So lots at stake for the BC economy in terms of jobs and revenues.

Yet, I think the new LNG tax proposed by BC raises critical issues that go beyond questions of competitiveness and revenues. The new LNG tax could create a policy precedent that could lead to poor tax policy in the coming years in Canada and not necessarily in the interests of British Columbia itself.

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Activists allowed to reappeal Rio Tinto’s Kitimat smelter permit – by Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail – March 14, 2014)

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.

VICTORIA — The B.C. Supreme Court has granted environmental activists a chance to overturn the environmental permit for the $3.3-billion upgrade of the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter in Kitimat.

Last April, the provincial Ministry of Environment authorized Rio Tinto to increase sulphur dioxide emissions, paving the way for the massive modernization and expansion project. There are more than 2,400 construction workers on site, and the project is already over budget.

The opponents, including two environmental organizations as well as a handful of local citizens, want Rio Tinto to install sulphur dioxide scrubbers, which could add more than $150-million to the upgrade. The process removes sulphur dioxide from the stacks.

Two environmental groups, along with residents of both Terrace and Kitimat, sought to appeal the permit, saying the smelter upgrade would threaten human health and the environment in the Kitimat-Terrace airshed.

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Floating hotel draws workers to NW Canada boom town – by Julie Gordon (Reuters U.K. – March 12, 2014)

http://uk.reuters.com/

VANCOUVER – (Reuters) – Hundreds of construction workers in booming northern British Columbia will take up residence this week in unique digs on board a cruise ferry revamped into a floating luxury hotel.

The aging ship will help relieve a housing shortage in one busy Canadian port town already bursting ahead of a promised energy boom that could last more than a decade.

The Silja Festival – a Baltic ferry made over as the Delta Spirit Lodge – will spend at least a year docked outside Kitimat, British Columbia, where it will provide housing for about 600 workers in town for Rio Tinto Alcan’s $3.3 billion smelter-upgrade project, which is expected to wrap up in 2015.

After that, the ship’s owners hope more contracts will float their way as major energy companies like Chevron Corp, Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell push ahead with proposed liquefied natural gas export (LNG) projects along Canada’s Pacific coast.

“This kind of investment would never occur without the kind of mega-opportunities that are growing in the Pacific Northwest,” said Andrew Purdy, vice president of Bridgemans Services Ltd, the privately held company behind the hotel.

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Goldcorp founder doesn’t see rival bids for Osisko – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – March 13, 2014)

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.

Goldcorp Inc. founder Rob McEwen said he believes his former company will not face competition in its quest to own Osisko Mining Corp.

Goldcorp, which Mr. McEwen built into a serious gold player before leaving in 2005, is entangled in a hostile bid for Osisko and its large Canadian Malartic gold mine in Quebec. “The big guys aren’t looking, they are shrinking,” Mr. McEwen said.

Goldcorp’s cash and stock bid is valued at $3-billion and is the biggest deal in the Canadian mining space in more than a year.

Investors are expecting a higher bid to emerge. But there are not many other miners that can save Osisko from Goldcorp, as the major gold producers are hampered by costly acquisitions made during the commodity boom.

Mr. McEwen suggested that more work had to be done at Osisko’s prized mine. The former Goldcorp chairman said he remembers looking at Canadian Malartic’s ore grade and thinking to himself: “Wow, look at Osisko, they have less than a gram and they are going to process all this [rock].”

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