British Columbia Mining – Page 65

For First Nations, Great Jobs in a Controversial Industry -by Katie Hyslop (The Tyee.ca – July 26, 2013)

July 26, 2013

One organization’s success teaching Aboriginal people mining skills isn’t without complications.

Unemployment for Aboriginal people in the province is twice as high as the rest of British Columbians. But Aboriginal people are defying the employment odds in the province’s mining industry, thanks in part to the BC Aboriginal Training Association (BCAMTA), which provides job training for the mining industry to Aboriginal people in B.C.

In a July 22 press conference in Vancouver, the association released a PricewaterhouseCoopers audit of their practices from their start in January 2010 until March 2013. Results show the organization has registered 1,533 training candidates, 500 of which have successfully achieved employment in their field.

BCAMTA’s work has paid off for the economy, too. CEO Laurie Sterritt says a $6.68-million federal government investment to start the program has translated into a $53.4-million annual contribution to B.C.’s GDP.

“This isn’t a one time boost to the economy: this is an amount that will grow as our employee candidates get salary increases, earn bonus payouts, and move up the ladder to more senior positions,” she said.

Editorial: [British Columbia’s] Prosperity’s temerity – by Gwen Preston (Northern Miner – July 24, 2013)

July 26, 2013

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

I visited Taseko Mines’ Gibraltar mine north of Williams Lake, B.C., in 2008. The company bought the shuttered operation in 1998 and restarted it in 2004. Four expansions later, Gibraltar now employs 700 people, churns out 90 million lb. copper annually and is a major regional economic driver. It’s been a great story for a part of the province that has struggled with mill closures and unemployment.

During that Gibraltar tour, talk kept veering towards the Prosperity project, 175 km south. I remember Taseko president and CEO Russell Hallbauer downplaying the challenges of permitting the new mine. He figured Taseko had earned respect from the locals through Gibraltar and that, combined with a dire need for new economic activity locally, would mean enough support to dial down any voices of discontent.

What Hallbauer could not have predicted was that Prosperity, which happens to sit on lands involved in Canada’s most significant aboriginal land claims court case, would become a rallying cry for almost every anti-mining voice in the province.

Prosperity is a copper-molybdenum porphyry that Taseko wants to open pit mine. There’s a lake beside the deposit — known as Fish Lake, or Teztan Biny — that is one of 13,000 lakes in the Caribou region in the 100- to 150-hectare size range.

UPDATE 2-Teck profit falls on lower prices, delays new mines – by Julie Gordon and Allison Martell (Reuters India – July 25, 2013)

July 25, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Teck Resources Ltd on Thursday reported a sharp drop in second-quarter earnings on lower copper and coal prices, and cut its capital spending plan through 2014, delaying new mining projects.

The company, Canada’s largest diversified miner, is slowing the restarting of its Quintette coal mine in British Columbia until the steelmaking coal market recovers, and it delayed development of its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 copper expansion in Chile.

“I think it is the right move,” said Garrett Nelson, mining analyst at BB&T Capital Markets, on the Quebrada Blanca delay. “That was going to be a significant drain on free cash flow over the next few years.”

Shares rose 4 percent to C$24.64 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

A feasibility study last year pegged the project’s capital cost at $5.6 billion, with Teck’s share at $4.8 billion. It had planned to complete a study on its social and environmental impact by the end of the second quarter, but now does not expect to finish before the fourth quarter of 2014.

B.C. aboriginals entering mining industry in large numbers, report says – by Brian Morton (Vancouver Sun – July 23, 2013)

July 24, 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

B.C. aboriginals are entering the mining profession in growing numbers and a growing number of them are women, according to a report released Tuesday.

The PwC report conducted for the B.C. Aboriginal Mine Training Association also found that the dollars invested in training an aboriginal job candidate for a mining career resulted in a nearly 300-per-cent increase in annual wages for the employee, from an average of $13,754 to $52,959.

“So, for about a $15,000 investment in our employed candidates, they are contributing about $108,000 to the provincial GDP,” said association chief executive Laurie Sterritt on Tuesday. “That’s pretty impressive. There’s also a 280-per-cent increase in their salary levels, on average. “In addition to the obvious financial benefits, it provides them with confidence, empowerment, hope and possibilities, which changes lives.”

The report found that an investment of $14,808 trains one candidate and generates approximately $106,804 on average for the provincial economy through higher wages and increased spending. As well, each employed graduate generates about $20,000 in government revenue.

Compromises necessary in review of [B.C.] Prosperity mine – by Barbara Yaffe (Vancouver Sun – July 22, 2013)

July 24, 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Environmental interests must balance with job creation potential

VANCOVUER — As a Hollywood movie it would be titled Dead Mine Walking, according to a B.C. aboriginal group fighting a gold and copper development near Williams Lake.

In reality, the proposed New Prosperity Mine in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region is experiencing a “Take Two” moment, undergoing its second federal environmental review. An earlier Prosperity mine proposal, put forward by Vancouver-based Taseko Mines, was rejected back in 2010 by a similar federal panel.

The company has since overhauled its plans, pledging to preserve nearby Fish Lake, which it previously planned to use as a tailings pond repository. Taseko notes it is spending $300 million to mitigate impacts on wildlife and habitat in the area.

The company hopes such measures will help it win the nod from the review panel, which consists of an environmental assessment specialist from Calgary, a community consultation expert from Sidney, and a Victoria geologist.

INDIA HUNTS FOR COAL IN BC (Asia Pacific Post – July 23, 2013)

July 24, 2013

http://www.asianpacificpost.com/

India has announced that it is exploring options for sourcing coal from British Columbia, including equity participation in assets and acquisition of mines just as Vancouver city council voted to ban the handling, storage and trans shipment of coal at its marine terminals and berths.

The ban, mostly symbolic, was passed as Port Metro Vancouver, the No. 2 exporter of coal in North America triggered controversy over planned expansion of its facilities. Vancouver city council has no jurisdiction over the port operations.

Even before the ink was dry on the 9 to 2 vote which aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions and set the air quality target to “breath the cleanest air of any major city in the world”, a high powered delegation from India met with British Columbia Premier Christy Clark to scour for coal resources.

The Indian delegation was led by Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma who is looking to feed India’s steel industry which is growing at a fast pace and needs additional quantities of coking coal. “The delegation held a series of discussions with the coal asset owners and various avenues for sourcing coking coal to India to meet its ever-growing requirement were discussed,” an official statement said.

It’s a long way to Prosperity – by Ezra Levant (Sudbury Star – July 23, 2013)

July 23, 2013

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A company called Taseko Mines wants to build a copper and gold mine in central British Columbia. Hearings began on the proposal Monday in Williams Lake, B.C.

Taseko will invest $1.1 billion in the project and hire 550 people directly, plus 1,280 more indirectly in everything from construction to housing to restaurants.

Over the long life of the mine, it’s expected to generate more than a third of a billion dollars a year in GDP. For comparison, that one mine will produce more wealth than B.C.’s entire commercial fishing industry does. So, of course, Taseko must be stopped.

Taseko’s mine — well named as the New Prosperity project — already received provincial approval. But then Ottawa’s extremist Environmental Assessment Agency balked. You see, there’s a little lake nearby, called Fish Lake, that would have been drained by the original proposal. And those fish are more important to Ottawa’s regulators than nearly 2,000 families having well-paid jobs. To Ottawa, if no one else, those fish are worth more than gold.

Taseko should expect local opposition at BC mine public hearings – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – July 22, 2013)

July 23, 2013

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Tsilhqot’in First Nation on Monday said it was disappointed at being forced to once again oppose base metals producer Taseko Mine’s proposed New Prosperity mine, in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia, imploring the federal government to listen to community members, scientists and the public who were condemning the proposal for what it sees as “an environmental and cultural disaster”.

The Conservative Stephen Harper-led government in November 2010 rejected the mine proposal based on what then-Environment Minister Jim Prentice, described as one of the most “scathing” independent panel reports ever written.

The report documented both significant environmental and cultural impacts, many of which the first panel noted could not be mitigated with an alternative option proposed by the company.

“We look forward to the opportunity to share with this new panel all the reasons that this new proposal is just as unacceptable as the last one, regardless of the name or spin thrown out there by this company,” Xeni Gwet’in First Nation chief Roger William said.

[KGHM] Ajax trolling city for ideas on convincing residents – by Bronwen Scott (Kamloops This Week – July 16, 2013)

July 17, 2013

http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/

The recent KGHM Ajax survey (‘Yes, that phone poll was from KGHM Ajax,’ July 11) appears to be aimed at trolling the public for ideas on how the company can convince Kamloops residents its proposed open-pit copper and gold mine could be environmentally friendly.

At least, that’s the impression when the company’s pollsters terminate the survey if respondents don’t agree that mining is an “essential part of the Kamloops economy” and only bother interviewing potential allies.

In fact, KGHM Ajax admits the survey wasn’t designed to find any statistical information or quantitative results. It’s just casting a wide net in the hopes of getting “an overall perspective and understanding of the [mining-friendly] residents’ opinion towards mining.”

The in-house team at KGHM Ajax doesn’t seem to be doing a credible job of informing or persuading a decent majority of the public that the mine’s a good idea — and good PR firms are expensive.

So, while we’re all forced to wait patiently and asked to withhold judgment until KGHM Ajax releases its meters-high stack of information and intentions this fall, the company keeps throwing money at community organizations and conducting surveys of the converted.

Critics of B.C.’s Ajax mine project press federal Environment Minister for review panel – by Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – July 17, 2013)

July 17, 2013

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.

A group fighting a Kamloops-area mine proposal says it will ask new federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq to refer the Ajax mine to a review panel, even though previous minister Peter Kent turned down a request for that approach.

“We’re getting our ducks in a row and we are going to be asking for [the review panel],” John Schleiermacher, spokesman for the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA), said on Tuesday. Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar is also seeking meetings with Ms. Aglukkaq and new provincial ministers of mining and environment to discuss the project.

The proposed Ajax mine would be an open-pit copper-gold mine that would fall partly within Kamloops city limits. Currently, the project is in the early stages of a joint federal-provincial assessment called a comprehensive study.

KAPA, formed in 2011 by residents worried about potential health impacts of the mine, would like to see the project go to a review panel – a panel of independent experts that, among other things, can hold public hearings and summon witnesses.

Taseko Mines praises Ottawa ahead of environmental hearings – by Dene Moore (Canadian Press/CTV New – July 14, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.ctvnews.ca/

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The company behind a rejected billion-dollar gold and copper mine in the British Columbia Interior has been lobbying for the federal government to change the environmental assessment process that previously rejected the project, documents show.

And Taseko Mines Ltd. likes what it’s heard, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

“I believe that yourself and the government of Canada are showing great leadership by taking an unapologetic approach to the responsible development of this country’s natural resources,” John McManus, senior vice-president of operations for Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO), wrote to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver following a January 2012 meeting in Vancouver.

The proposed New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine was rejected by a federal environmental assessment panel in 2010 over concerns about the environmental impact, specifically the plan to drain a nearby lake for use as a tailings pond. Public hearings before a new panel are to begin this week in Williams Lake, B.C., for a revised mine proposal. The planned site is located about 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Teck Joins Miners Benefiting From Loonie Drop – by Gerrit De Vynck & Ari Altstedter (Bloomberg News – July 5, 2013)

July 5, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. (TCK/B) and HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM) are among resource companies poised to profit from a sliding Canadian dollar even as analysts call an end to the commodity boom.

Canada’s currency has fallen 5.8 percent to C$1.0515 per U.S. dollar from parity at the beginning of the year in the steepest first half slide since 1984. Miners with costs in Canadian dollars and sales in the U.S. stand to benefit if the slide continues and they repatriate revenue.

A further 5 percent drop would translate into a 25 percent jump in cash flow per share this year for Vancouver-based Teck and a 38 percent gain for Toronto-based HudBay, according to National Bank of Canada. (NA)

“It’s a silver lining,” Paolo Lostritto, a mining analyst at National Bank said in a phone interview from Toronto on June 27. “If the Canadian dollar weakens, the costs of doing business in Canada falls relative to the U.S., and therefore on a relative basis they should outperform.”

The foreign exchange boost, which may also benefit oil companies and other exporters, comes as commodity prices have plunged and growth in China, the world’s biggest commodity consumer, is forecast to slow.

Tailings Dump at the Red Chris Mine: Will It Hold Water? – by Christopher Pollon (The Tyee.ca – July 4, 2013)

July 5, 2013

http://thetyee.ca/

More work needed to understand potential impacts of waste storage, industry-funded review finds. More work is required before anyone knows how an estimated 300-million tonnes of tailings from the proposed Red Chris mine will eventually affect water in the upper Stikine watershed of northwest B.C., concludes a confidential industry-funded review acquired by The Tyee.

The report, paid for by mine owner Imperial Metals at the urging of the Tahltan Nation, recommends a comprehensive field investigation including additional drilling, groundwater collection and monitoring wells be undertaken as a way of addressing existing information gaps.

“…Studies completed to date are not sufficiently detailed to fully assess/monitor potential environmental impacts due to seepage from the tailings storage facility on the downstream aquatic environment,” concludes the study presented early this year to a panel of First Nations, government and industry overseeing the permitting of the proposed mine, which is scheduled to begin operations by May 2014.

The report comes years after Red Chris received environmental approval from B.C. and the federal government — the latter the subject of a drawn-out legal battle with environmentalists that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Battle over workplace drug tests just heating up following court ruling – by Ian Mulgrew (Vancouver Sun – July 3, 2013)

July 4, 2013

htp://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

More and more Canadians are being asked to prove, in the name of safety, that they are sober and not addled before clocking in at work. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its first ruling on this incredible invasion of personal privacy and opened the discussion about when it can be allowed.

The high bench confirmed that drug-and-alcohol testing is lawful only under certain circumstances and it gave unions a means by which to challenge some of these policies by demanding better evidence of an existing problem.

In a case watched closely across the country, a majority of six justices on June 14 agreed random workplace drug tests at a New Brunswick pulp mill were unreasonable.

They said Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. had no right to unilaterally impose mandatory, random alcohol breathalyzer testing. The court said an employer must establish a substance-abuse problem in a safety-sensitive work environment before such random screening can occur.

Vancouver mining firm Barkerville admits big error in British Columbia field’s gold estimate – by Peter Koven (Vancouver Sun – June 25, 2013)

June 26, 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Frank Callaghan admits it: telling investors his company held 10.6 million ounces of contained gold last year was a big mistake. “I’ve learned that lesson. Not a nice way to learn it by the way, but I did,” the chief executive of Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. said.

Almost a year ago, Barkerville, a small junior mining company, stunned the mining community by stating its Cow Mountain project in British Columbia had an indicated resource of 10.6 million ounces of gold, and could hold up to 90 million ounces. Barkerville shares soared even though numerous experts thought the numbers were too good to be true.

One of the biggest skeptics was the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). The regulator promptly cease traded the stock and voiced many concerns about how the data was compiled.

That put pressure on both Barkerville and Peter George, the independent geologist who calculated the resource. To address the BCSC’s concerns, Barkerville hired two consulting firms (Snowden Mining Industry Consultants and Apex Geoscience) to work with Mr. George on an updated resource estimate.

It took a long time, but they have finally finished their work. The new numbers are significantly lower, but in Mr. Callaghan’s view they prove Mr. George was on the right track.