Archive | Canada Mining

Billionaire Eric Sprott dishes on his golden investment spree: ‘It’s like being at a table with a winning run’ – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 18, 2019)

December 19, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Junior Exploration Sector

https://business.financialpost.com/

One week before Halloween, Canada’s biggest gold enthusiast, the septuagenarian billionaire Eric Sprott, wearing a neatly pressed tuxedo, bounded onto a stage in a downtown Toronto ballroom and accepted his induction into Canada’s Investment Industry Hall of Fame.

He declared himself both humbled and honoured, and then rollicked into the wee hours of the night at his home in a nearby tower with expansive views of the city’s sparkling skyline. The next morning, though 75 and technically retired, he showed up at his office, grumbling about a lack of sleep, but dressed in a magenta-coloured, paisley button-up, ready for a 9 a.m. meeting with a penny stock exploration company.

“I keep reading that people are never making (gold) discoveries, the rate of discoveries is going down,” he said, occasionally rubbing his temples and closing his eyes. “The funny thing, well, I guess I’m the sucker then because I keep buying guys who say they’re making discoveries.” Continue Reading →

‘Scale really does matter’: Equinox and Leagold announce merger to create $1.75-billion miner – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 17, 2019)

December 17, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://business.financialpost.com/

Latest merger in what’s turning into a boom year for the gold mining space with more than $30 billion of deals announced already

As 2019 draws to a close, the long-anticipated consolidation in the gold sector is picking up speed with news of yet another merger. On Monday, Equinox Gold Corp. proposed a no-premium, all-stock combination with Leagold Mining Corp. valued at around $770 million.

The tie-up would unite two Vancouver-based intermediate miners that are both backed by industry heavyweights and both focused on the Americas, with six mines spread across Brazil, Mexico and the U.S.

Ross Beaty, chairman and the largest shareholder of Equinox, pitched the deal as a means to achieve scale. He argued the new company, which will keep the Equinox name and have a market capitalization of roughly $1.75 billion, would have better liquidity and better risk diversification. Continue Reading →

Striving to understand the mining workforce of the future – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – December 16, 2019)

December 16, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury mining panelists discuss how to recruit, retain employees in the digital age

It is going to take imagination, better communications and some good listening skills for the mining industry to attract and retain enough workers skilled in data-driven and digital technology.

Those were some of the comments during a recent panel discussion held in Sudbury at the annual general meeting of SAMSSA (Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association).

The panel was made up of well-known experts in various sectors of mining. They included Michael Gribbons, vice-president of sales and marketing at Maestro Digital Mine; Lynn Iturregui, project management for mining at Hatch; Roy Slack, the president of CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum); and Shayne Wisniewski, general manager of mining projects for Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations. Continue Reading →

NEWS RELEASE: Equinox Gold and Leagold Mining Combine to Create a Premier Americas Gold Producer (December 16, 2019)

December 16, 2019 in Canada Mining, Gold and Silver

Vancouver, Canada – December 16, 2019 – Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX, NYSE American: EQX) (“Equinox Gold”) and Leagold Mining Corporation (TSX: LMC, OTCQX: LMCNF) (“Leagold”) have entered into a definitive agreement (the “Arrangement Agreement”) to combine in an at-market merger (the “Transaction”), creating one of the world’s top gold producing companies operating entirely in the Americas. The combined entity will continue as Equinox Gold and be headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Transaction Highlights

• Gold production of 700,000 ounces in 2020, increasing to 1 million ounces annualized production during 2021 and beyond, based on analyst consensus estimates
• Diversified operating platform with six operating mines in USA, Mexico and Brazil
• Substantial gold reserve and resource base
• Robust revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow
• Concurrent $670 million financing package: an at-market $40 million equity investment from Ross Beaty, a new $130 million convertible debenture issued to Mubadala Investment Company (“Mubadala”) and $500 million in underwritten commitments from a syndicate of lenders to refinance existing credit facilities Continue Reading →

CEO says Barrick has plenty of financial ‘firepower’ for deals – by Danielle Bochove (BNN/Bloomberg News – December 12, 2019)

December 13, 2019 in Barrick Gold Corporation, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief says the gold miner has the financial heft it needs to support its loftiest ambitions — and some day those might include a merger with Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

“Barrick, by end of next year, or during next year, will be net debt zero,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said Thursday in a phone interview. “We’ve definitely got the firepower to build a mine or to support a transaction. We don’t need any external support, for any of our ambitions, as we stand today.”

The world’s second-largest gold miner has been generating more cash flow, with higher bullion prices, even as it has sold assets. By the end of this year net debt will be under US$2 billion, Bristow said. “We’re going to settle all the near-term debt, and we’re left with debt that’s only due from 2023 onwards.” Continue Reading →

Gold exploration trends: drilling up, Canada leads – September 2019 – by Vladimir Basov (Mining.com – December 11, 2019)

December 13, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Junior Exploration Sector

https://www.mining.com/

Mining Intelligence data indicates that after a bleak month of August, exploration activity in the gold sector jumped in September and hit the second highest bar since the beginning of 2019, and both the number of drilled projects and the number of drillholes reported in September, were up in all major regions.

A trend towards exploration of advanced projects, rather than greenfield opportunities, was reversed in September with companies willing to take more early-stage exploration risks.

There was a noticeable improvement in overall drill intersection grades, with reported gold intersections with grades greater than 2 g/t have risen from 23% of their total count in August to 40% in September 2019. Continue Reading →

Triple Flag’s scrapped $360-million IPO shows investors still not buying gold rally – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 12, 2019)

December 12, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles

https://business.financialpost.com/

The amount of equity raised by the mining sector has declined for several years, but broadly speaking it has also been a difficult time for IPOs

The streaming and royalty company Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. on Wednesday cancelled its initial public offering, the clearest sign yet that financing conditions in the mining and metals sector have not caught up with rising gold prices.

The company had hoped to raise $360 million on the Toronto Stock Exchange by selling 20 million shares at $15 to $18 apiece in one of the biggest offerings in the Canadian mining sector in years, but analysts said the company likely could not hit its desired target.

Founded in 2016 by Shaun Usmar, a former Barrick Gold Corp. executive who received backing from the New York hedge fund Elliott Management Corp., Triple Flag invests in mining projects in exchange for a share of the revenue or production. Such companies generally are considered less risky than actual mining companies because their portfolio is often diversified across regions, metals, and management teams, among other factors. Continue Reading →

‘They lost’: Canadian aluminum industry, opposition balk over auto provisions in new NAFTA – by Naomi Powell (Financial Post – December 12, 2019)

December 12, 2019 in Aluminium/Bauxite, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles

https://business.financialpost.com/

The exclusion of aluminum from tighter auto requirements in the new NAFTA could see Mexico become a back door for China to push the metal into the United States, industry officials and union leaders say.

Canada, the United States and Mexico agreed Tuesday to an amended North American Free Trade Agreement that includes tougher enforcement provisions for labour reforms, a strengthened dispute resolution mechanism, and weaker protections for the pharmaceutical industry.

The deal also included a last-minute change to a requirement calling for 70 per cent of the steel and aluminum used in auto production to be purchased in North America. Under the newly tweaked rules, steel must be “melted and poured” by primary steelmakers in North America in order to receive preferential tariff treatment. No provision was added for aluminum. Continue Reading →

Gold’s Deal Blitz Could Draw In the Rest of the Mining Sector – by David Stringer and Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg/Yahoo – December 11, 2019)

December 12, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — A torrent of deal-making among gold producers that’s pushed M&A in the sector to an eight-year high is seen spilling over into the wider mining industry — if there’s a rally in global growth.

Pending and completed gold acquisitions have reached about $33 billion so far in 2019, the highest since 2011, according to data complied by Bloomberg. That’s as deals among all mining companies have declined about 29% from last year to $60 billion, the data show.

A revival in the economic outlook, with higher interest rates and inflation, would prompt other metals producers to rethink their current strategy of cutting debt and lifting shareholder returns — and focus again on pursuing growth, according to Christopher LaFemina, a New York-based analyst at Jefferies LLC. Continue Reading →

Barrick to sell Senegal gold project for $430-million – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – December 11, 2019)

December 11, 2019 in Africa Mining, Barrick Gold Corporation, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Junior Exploration Sector

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is selling its Massawa gold project in Senegal for up to US$430-million to West African junior producer Teranga Gold Corp., as part of its push to shed assets that don’t move the financial needle.

After buying African-focused Randgold Resources Ltd. earlier this year for US$6-billion, Toronto-based Barrick has been ridding itself of anything it deems too small, or not sufficiently profitable.

In the past month alone, Barrick has sold US$1.2-billion in assets, or about 80 per cent of what it hopes to achieve by the end of next year. Continue Reading →

Central American mine resistance visits Vancouver – by Hayley Woodin (Business In Vancouver – December 10, 2019)

December 11, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canada Mining, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Latin America Mining, Mining Conflict and Opposition

https://biv.com/

It was the first advocacy effort of its kind in a mining conflict that has spanned a decade, three countries and multiple legal challenges.

In November, a representative of Guatemala’s Indigenous Xinka people embarked on a weeklong speaking tour in Victoria and Vancouver to denounce what he sees as efforts by Vancouver-based Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX:PAAS) and the government of Guatemala to undermine Indigenous rights in his country.

“Pan American doesn’t have a social licence to operate,” Luis Fernando García Monroy told students, alumni and faculty at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on November 21. “We have been left out of the consultation process,” he said. “The company wants to promote a different kind of consultation.” Continue Reading →

Mini yet mighty, these nuclear power reactors have 3 Premiers becoming ‘besties’ with the Canadian uranium industry – by Ron Wortel (InvestorIntel.com – December 10, 2019)

December 11, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry

https://investorintel.com/

Three Canadian premiers agreed they want more nuclear power in a meeting of like minds prior to the Council of Federation in December. Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick premiers signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to get small modular reactors (SMRs).

Mini yet mighty, these nuclear power reactors could replace coal and diesel power. In remote locations, they would give Canadians access to clean, green, stable energy and reduce their power pollution footprint.

And note to investors, if the government wants more nuclear power, they will want more uranium. In 2018, more uranium was mined in Canada than any other country – 531,608 tU, about one-fifth of the world total. Continue Reading →

First Quantum quashes Rio rumour, says Jiangxi is no threat – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – December 10, 2019)

December 10, 2019 in Asia Mining, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Copper

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. says it hasn’t received any takeover approaches — including from Rio Tinto Group — since it last quashed rumors about a play in September.

The company’s president said that while executives were caught off guard by this week’s share purchase by Jiangxi Copper Co., there’s no chance that will lead to a takeover bid either.

The Vancouver-based miner has been in talks with Jiangxi for roughly a year about selling a minority stake in its Zambian operations to the Chinese company, but there’s no deal on the table yet, Clive Newall said Tuesday in a phone interview. Continue Reading →

First Quantum shares jump after China’s Jiangxi Copper takes 18% stake (Reuters U.S. – December 9, 2019)

December 10, 2019 in Asia Mining, Canada Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Shares of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals Ltd (FM.TO) rose as much as 5% to their highest since May on Monday after Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd (600362.SS)(0358.HK) agreed to pay $1.1 billion to become the miner’s largest shareholder.

State-backed Jiangxi Copper, one of China’s biggest copper producers, said on Monday it would buy Cupric Holdings Ltd from Pangaea Investment Management Ltd.

The target held around 18.015% of First Quantum’s issued share capital as of Dec. 9, according to a separate Jiangxi Copper filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. Continue Reading →

UNDRIP says First Nations can say no to development. But we also need to be able to say yes – by Dale Swampy (Financial Post – December 10, 2019)

December 10, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

https://business.financialpost.com/

Dale Swampy is president of the National Coalition of Chiefs and a member of the Samson Cree Nation.

“We have seen in the past 15 years, after the duty to consult was affirmed
by the Supreme Court of Canada, how environmentalist and radical NGOs
have used First Nations’ treaty and constitutional rights as a strategy
to block resource development.

They come into our communities with misinformation, pressure tactics,
and promises of legal support. But too often their interest is, not in assisting First Nations to get better deals, but in appropriating our voices and credibility
for their own self-interested end of blocking all development.”

Last month a new milestone in Canada’s journey to reconciliation was achieved with the introduction of Bill 41 in the B.C. legislature. The bill requires B.C.’s government to bring its laws into line with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This legislation will provide another tool for First Nations to ensure they are adequately consulted and engaged in resource development projects and share in their benefits.

I believe the intent of this legislation is noble and I support, in particular, the sentiment expressed in a joint statement by B.C.’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, B.C. First Nations leaders and MLAs:

“It is time we recognize and safeguard Indigenous peoples’ human rights, so that we may finally move away from conflict, drawn-out court cases and uncertainty, and move forward with collaboration and respect … we will create more certainty and opportunity for Indigenous peoples, B.C. businesses, communities and families everywhere.” Continue Reading →