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British Columbia Mining

Miner claims see major spike in B.C.- by Ed Watson (CTV British Columbia – September 24, 2012)

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/

A record number of mineral claims have been filed in B.C. over the last three years and more than 11,000 were filed in the first seven months of 2012, signaling a prospecting boom in the province.

Around $463 million was spent on mineral exploration in B.C. last year and the same amount is expected to be spent this year.

But despite few claims actually becoming a mine, those who work as prospectors cling to the dream of striking it rich.
Geologist Leslie Hunt lives in a cabin on the shores of a small lake in northern B.C.

While moose splash around in the water outside of her cabin, computers are switched on inside as she looks for her fortune.
“This would run about a hundred ounces a ton, which is an awful lot of gold,” Hunt said referring to a rock with gold in it.
One mine nearby her spread produced more than 70,000 ounces of gold before it was shut down several years ago.

Now, driven by the high price of gold, Chinese investors are interested in starting it up again. Such claims are traded back and forth at “roundups” where junior miners try to sell to senior mining companies and people look for investors.

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OPINION: Prosperity gold-copper mine will live up to its name – by Russell Hallbauer (Vancouver Sun – September 20, 2012)

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

Russell Hallbauer is president and CEO of Taseko Mines Ltd.

New gold-copper project near Williams Lake promises to bring new jobs

Taseko operates the Gibraltar mine near Williams Lake, the second-largest copper concentrator in Canada and by Christmas of this year, the third largest in North America.

We’re proud of what we do — supplying copper to a global market for the past 40 years, employing thousands of people and contributing billions in revenues to local, provincial and national economies. We are able to do so safely and efficiently because of the highly capable engineering staff and the more than 500 skilled and committed employees working at Gibraltar.

By the end of this year, Taseko will have invested nearly $700 million in new state-of-the-art mining and milling equipment for Gibraltar in just six years, improving efficiencies and providing greater assurance that the mine can continue to produce uninterrupted for 27 more years.

This week, Taseko filed with the federal government an environmental-impact statement (EIS) detailing its proposal to build a new mine in British Columbia, also near Williams Lake.

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Teck admits operations polluted U.S. waters – by Dene Moore (Globe and Mail – September 10, 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.

VANCOUVER — The Canadian Press – Canadian mining giant Teck Resources Ltd. has admitted in a U.S. court that effluent from its smelter in southeast British Columbia has polluted the Columbia River in Washington state for more than a century.

Teck subsidiary Teck Metals made the admission of fact in a lawsuit brought by a group of American Indian tribes over environmental damage caused by the effluent discharges dating back to 1896.

The agreement, reached on the eve of the trial initiated by the Colville Confederated Tribes, stipulates that some hazardous materials in the slag discharged from Teck’s smelter in Trail, B.C., ended up in the Upper Columbia River south of the border.

Specifically, the company admitted: “Trail discharged solid effluents, or slag, and liquid effluent into the Columbia River that came to rest in Washington state, and from that material, hazardous materials under (U.S. environmental laws) were released into the environment,” Dave Godlewski, vice-president of environment and public affairs for Teck American, said in a telephone interview.

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B.C. mining giant [Teck Resources Ltd.] admits polluting U.S. waters – The Canadian Press/CBC News.com (September 10,2012)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/
 
Teck Resources acknowledges fouling Columbia River for more than 100 years
 
Canadian mining giant Teck Resources Ltd. has admitted in a U.S. court that effluent from its smelter in southeast British Columbia has polluted the Columbia River in Washington for more than a century.
 
Teck subsidiary Teck Metals made the admission of fact in a lawsuit brought by a group of U.S. Indian tribes over environmental damage caused by the effluent discharges dating back to 1896.
 
The agreement, reached on the eve of the trial initiated by the Colville Confederated Tribes, stipulates that some hazardous materials in the slag discharged from Teck’s smelter in Trail, B.C., ended up in the Upper Columbia River south of the border.
 
Specifically, the company admitted: “Trail discharged solid effluents, or slag, and liquid effluent into the Columbia River that came to rest in Washington state, and from that material, hazardous materials [under U.S. environmental laws] were released into the environment,” Dave Godlewski, vice-president of environment and public affairs for Teck American, said in a telephone interview.

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A sudden chill for miners in Canada – Northern Miner Editorial (September 10 – 16, 2012)

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

The political winds are turning against miners in Canada, with the Sept. 4 victory of the tax-and-spend Parti Québécois in Quebec and the pro-mining Liberal party in B.C. on its last legs, and looking to be replaced by the environmentalist-friendly New Democratic Party.

The snap election in Quebec played out much the way pollsters predicted, with Pauline Marois’ separatist Parti Québécois defeating the incumbent federalist Liberal Party, and Premier Jean Charest losing his seat in Sherbrooke and officially resigning as the provincial Liberal leader.

With 54 seats, the PQ achieved minority power status, finishing ahead of the Liberals with 50 seats, the right-of-centre and untested Coalition Avenir Québec (19 seats) and the left-leaning Québec Solidaire (2).
Once again Quebec voters have treaded a fine line, this time by ousting a tired ruling Liberal party, but giving only tepid support to the PQ, who have proven over the years to be broadly capable managers when in power, looking past all the usual head-butting with the federal government.

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NEWS RELEASE: Mining Association of Canada Remains Bullish on Metal Outlook

British Columbia in strategic position to benefit from mining’s largest customer, China
 
VANCOUVER, B.C, Sept. 7, 2012 /CNW/ – Canada’s mining industry is on the right path to continued prosperity despite current market volatility, says the Mining Association of Canada (MAC).
 
In a speech to members of the Vancouver Board of Trade, MAC President and CEO Pierre Gratton said regulatory reform, investment in infrastructure and promotion of strong trade relations with countries such as China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals, will keep Canada globally competitive.
 
Despite a slowdown in Chinese growth to 7.6 per cent in the second quarter, from decades of 10 per cent average annual growth, Gratton noted that most prices remain at relatively high levels, despite a fall off in recent months, and emphasized that the long-term fundamentals that have supported rising commodity prices over the past decade remain.
 
“The mining super cycle is not over, it is taking a pause. This is the nature of the mining business, which is cyclical,” said Gratton.  “The industry is generally better prepared for the current slowdown compared to last time, which was much more dramatic.”

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The Doer [Robert Friedland – Mining Entrepreneur] – by Peter Koven (National Post – September 4, 2012)

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

On paper, Robert Friedland’s influence on the Canadian mining world seems to be waning. The legendary promoter showed a rare sign of weakness this year, losing control of Ivanhoe Mines and its massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia to British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, and Friedland has seemingly disappeared from public view. So why can’t people stop talking about him?

Because love him or hate him, there’s no disputing Friedland’s imprint on the industry. From mastering the art of mining stock promotion in the 1980s and 1990s, to correctly calling the China boom and forging business ties with Asia in the 1990s and early 2000s, Friedland has always been the trailblazer everyone else tries to follow. In the few months the self-made billionaire has spent out of the limelight, investors have speculated wildly about when and where he will pop up next. Such speculation has never been easy where Friedland is concerned.

After a stint as a hippie in the 1970s, during which he befriended Steve Jobs, Friedland embraced the junior mining world and set up shop in Vancouver. He has rarely strayed from the headlines in the years since. He developed a big gold mine in Colorado, which was later shut down after an environmental accident (earning Friedland the “Toxic Bob” nickname that still sticks).

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Junior miners in grip of bear market – by Gordon Hamilton (Vancouver Sun – August 14, 2012)

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

Exporation strong but slowing Chinese demand, eurozone crisis hamper financings

Junior mining companies are going through the toughest bear market since the 2008 financial meltdown, according to the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
 
In a quarterly letter to members posted on the association’s website, AME B.C. president Gavin Dirom said tough economic conditions have hit the sector again, prompted by worries about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and China’s slowing demand for copper.
 
“Although the global mineral exploration and development sector may still be in a multi-year commodity super-cycle, very challenging equity financing and bear market conditions were the reality during the second quarter of 2012,” Dirom said in the open letter to members. “Members of AME B.C., especially prospectors and junior explorers, are experiencing the impact of these tough economic conditions.”
 
Dirom noted that equity capital raised on Toronto’s venture capital exchange, the TSX-Venture, was down 62 per cent in the period January to May over the same period of 2011. “Gold companies, for example, were only able to raise $445 million through equity placements in May and June, which is the lowest two-month total since late 2008.”

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NEWS RELEASE: B.C. seizing on global demand for mining (May 16, 2012)

For the B.C. Mineral Exploration and Mining Strategy, click here: http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Documents/MiningStrategy2012.pdf

VANCOUVER – A long-term plan designed to develop the mining industry and create jobs to support B.C. families was announced today by Minister of Energy and Mines Rich Coleman.

“British Columbia is poised for a new phase of growth, investment and job creation, which will enable us to reach across the Pacific and tap into growing demand in Asian markets,” said Premier Christy Clark, who is presently on her second Asia Jobs and Trade Mission promoting resource development to overseas customers. “Long-term growth in our mining industry will translate into strong economic growth for our communities, First Nations and the province, and thousands of well-paying jobs that will benefit families in British Columbia.”

The new B.C. Mineral Exploration and Mining Strategy outlines a plan to create eight new mines and expand nine existing ones by 2015. The mining strategy’s six overarching goals are:

• Enhancing B.C.’s competitive edge.
• Streamlining regulatory processes.

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Aboriginal mine training program dodges closure – by Darah Hansen (Vancouver Sun – August 8, 2012)

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

Ottawa allocates $10 million to train first nations workers in sector
 
Funding will continue for a popular training program that aims to employ British Columbian aboriginals in the province’s booming mining and mineral exploration sectors, an executive with the B.C. Aboriginal Mine Training Association confirmed Wednesday.
 
“Everything is going very well,” said Laurie Sterritt on news the federal government has agreed to put another $10 million into the B.C. AMTA program over the next three years. The program, which was launched in 2010 with a $4.4-million budget, was in jeopardy of closing its doors after a request to federal agencies for more money to continue the work went unanswered.
 
In June, staff members at the program’s Kamloops office were laid off while negotiations for a funding extension continued behind the scenes. Sterritt said office workers have since returned to their posts, with more people expected to be hired as the program expands across the province.

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Cash-rich mining companies prefer buying to building as metal prices decline – by Gordon Hamilton (Vancouver Sun – August 7, 2012)

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

Rising development costs and softening metal prices are changing the way mining companies view mergers and acquisitions, according to a report released Tuesday by consultants Ernst & Young.
 
Look for less building and more buying, said Richard Crosson, partner in Ernst & Young’s Transaction Advisory Services practice.
Traditional sources of capital such as equity markets are drying up, Crosson said in an interview, leading to less exploration and more mining mega-mergers.
 
Further, resource nationalism is on the rise, with governments seeking a greater share of the mineral wealth, Crosson said. As a result, companies that have grown wealthy during the strong commodities cycle, are being more selective about where they invest. Mergers and acquisitions are more desirable than new developments, he said.
 
“Predicting markets in the uncertain environment we are in right now is difficult, but we see that the conditions exist for a more robust merger and acquisition environment,” Crosson said.

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Natural resource battle only beginning – by Jason Fekete (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – August 4, 2012)

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

British Columbia’s brawl with Alberta over the Northern Gateway pipeline and refusal to sign a national energy strategy may be harbingers of battles to come over natural resource developments that are driving the Canadian economy but drawing unprecedented criticism for their environmental impacts.
 
The petroleum, forestry, mining and electricity sectors are expected to generate hundreds of billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across Canada over the next few decades.
 
The northern Alberta oilsands, British Columbia’s lucrative shale gas plays, petroleum and potash in Saskatchewan, the Ring of Fire mineral deposit in Northern Ontario, Quebec’s massive Plan Nord resource project and offshore petroleum riches in the Arctic and Atlantic Canada — all are part of the country’s eye popping resource bounty.
 
The Harper government has already identified natural resource development as a priority, and recently announced sweeping changes to expedite approvals and allow it to make final decisions on pipeline projects deemed in the national interest.

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[KGHM International and Abacus Mining] Ajax mine: Working to put all the pieces together – by Steve Powrie (Kamloops This Week.com – August 1, 2012)

http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/

As the Ajax mine battle heats up, it offers an interesting case study in the use of propaganda and rhetoric to persuade we ignorant masses toward particular points of view.

And, because billions of dollars are at stake for a huge multi-national mining company and the quality of life is potentially at risk due to the mine’s location perched on and above Kamloops, emotions and passions are running high.

The “yea-sayers” are accused of seeing only the pot of gold sitting in the midst of environmental armageddon. The “fear-mongerers” with their Chicken Little notions simply don’t understand it’s “jobs, jobs, jobs” that will keep Kamloops moving forward. In the midst of all this, two recent and rather low-key events caught my mind’s eye.

A few months ago, a suggestion by Pierre Gratton, the president of the Canadian Mining Association, that Kamloops has the “potential to become the hub of the mining industry for Western Canada” tweaked my curiosity as it seemed a rather lofty claim.

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National energy strategy must address B.C. pipeline worries – by Christy Clark (Globe and Mail – July 28, 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.

CHRISTY CLARK is the Premier of British Columbia.

This week, my government outlined five bottom-line requirements that must be met for British Columbia to consider support of any heavy oil pipeline project, including Enbridge’s Northern Gateway. We know that Alberta’s oil sands are an important resource and getting them to new markets represents a great economic opportunity for that province and our country. But as a premier, I am focused first and foremost on what’s best for my province, and Northern Gateway currently contains far too great an imbalance of risks over benefits for B.C.

British Columbia’s five bottom lines are as follows:

1. Successful completion of an environmental review process. In Enbridge’s case, this means a recommendation by the Joint Review Panel that the project proceed.

2. World-leading marine oil-spill prevention and response systems to protect our coastlines and ocean. With the Enbridge project, British Columbia is taking 100 per cent of the marine risk. We need to make sure we improve our response and resource capacity. That means the federal government and industry are at the table and prepared to step up their support.

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Aboriginal students graduating from post-secondary schools in record numbers – by Michael V’Inkin Lee and Christopher Reynolds (Vancouver Sun – July 15, 2012)

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

First nations students are attending — and graduating from — post-secondary schools and professional programs like law and medicine in record numbers

Mary Brearly had no idea as a little girl that she would grow up to be an underground miner. “I didn’t know that I could do that, I guess. Nobody had told me,” said the first nations Thompson Rivers University graduate, who earned her processing operations qualifications through the B.C. Aboriginal Mine Training Association in Kamloops last year.
 
Brearly, 27, is part of what the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education says has been a 25-per-cent surge in post-secondary enrolment among aboriginal youth over the last four years. Statistics from some colleges and universities in B.C. also show that more aboriginal students are completing certificate and degree programs in a broader range of fields.
 
“Ensuring that aboriginal learners have access to post-secondary education and training is essential to fulfilling our labour needs,” said Naomi Yamamoto, the minister of advanced education.

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