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Canada Mining

Feds spend $40 million to pitch natural resources – by Bruce Cheadle (Toronto Star – November 29, 2013)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

OTTAWA — Canadian Press – The Conservative government is spending $40 million this year to advertise Canada’s natural resource sector — principally oil and gas — at home and abroad.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver revealed the figure Wednesday as his department seeks another $12.9 million to augment an international campaign designed to portray Canada as a stable and environmentally responsible source of energy.

That will bring NRCan’s 2013-14 ad budget to about $40 million — $24 million for advertising abroad and $16.5 million for the domestic market.

“The government has a responsibility to provide Canadians with facts to assist them in making informed decisions,” Oliver, under opposition questioning, told a Commons committee.

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Rocky times to continue in mining, report says – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – November 29 2013

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Chairman of Deloitte in Canada foresees another tough year for mining industry in 2014. Canada’s battered mining industry is in for another turbulent year with companies becoming “desperate” to slash costs, innovate and find new mines amid an aging workforce, says the chairman of Deloitte in Canada.

In a sneak peak of the accounting firm’s upcoming annual industry trends report, Glenn Ives said Thursday that the current downturn that has seen miners mothball large projects and company shares plummet will likely continue next year.
“We’ve reached a turning point in the industry,” he said in an interview.

“The pressures have continued to build and it’s coming to a head,” Ives said. The Tracking the Trends 2014 report, to be released Tuesday, highlights the top issues the mining industry must tackle in order to survive, from improving safety standards to strengthening relationships with governments and local stakeholders at international mine sites.

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TSX warns remote junior miners need infrastructure plans to get listings – by Peter Koven (National Post – November 29, 2013)

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

For junior mining companies hoping to get listed on the main Toronto Stock Exchange, having a gazillion-dollar deposit in the middle of nowhere is not good enough.

The TSX has sent a clear message to these firms that they need a credible plan to get their product to market. Otherwise, they are not getting off the Venture exchange, where capital is far more scarce.

Earlier this month, the TSX issued a notice targeting companies with bulk commodity projects (like coal, iron ore and chromite) in remote areas. To get a listing on the main exchange, these companies were told they need a plan to develop or access infrastructure, along with a cost estimate for that plan.

Ungad Chadda, senior vice president of the TSX, said the exchange was getting queries from miners that were not clear about these issues. He said the exchange wants to avoid listing miners that have a “fatal flaw right out of the gate.”

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NEWS RELEASE: The Canadian mining industry supports federal government’s new trade strategy

 Strategy will help Canada compete for investment and will support Canadian mining abroad

OTTAWA, Nov. 27, 2013 /CNW/ – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) applauds the Government of Canada on its new trade strategy, the Global Markets Action Plan, announced by Minister Ed Fast this morning.

“The Canadian mining industry welcomes the new Global Markets Action Plan and we look forward to working with the Government of Canada to implement it, particularly the development of the Extractive Sector Strategy,” said Pierre Gratton, MAC’s President and CEO. “A comprehensive trade strategy that focuses on priority markets with significant opportunities for Canadian business is critical for Canada to compete against other countries for highly-coveted mining investment and will help give our companies an edge in accessing capital and mineral resources globally.”

The Global Markets Action Plan includes several elements that will help strengthen Canadian mining abroad by:

Reconfirming the Government of Canada’s focus on completing trade agreements with priority markets, including Free Trade Agreements and Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements.

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NEWS RELEASE: Top 10 Countries for Exploration Show Falling Allocations for Canada, Growth in Russia and DRC, according to SNL Metals Economics Group

http://www.metalseconomics.com/

According to SNL Metals Economics Group’s (SNL MEG) recently released Corporate Exploration Strategies (CES) study, global nonferrous exploration allocations have fallen by 29% in 2013, dropping to $15.2 billion from $21.5 billion in 2012.

(PRWEB) November 27, 2013 – Announced today, SNL Metals Economics Group’s Corporate Exploration Study found that exploration allocations for Canada continued to decline in 2013, while increased emphasis focused on Russia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Allocations to the top 10 countries accounted for almost two-thirds of the worldwide exploration budget total in 2013.

The top nine countries are the same as in 2012, though there were a few shifts among the ranks — Russia moved to No. 6 from No. 8, dropping Peru and China back to No. 7 and No. 8, respectively. The only other change was that the DRC replaced Argentina in the No. 10 spot; placing the African country among the top 10 exploration destinations for the first time.

Canada has been the top destination for exploration spending since overtaking Australia in 2002. In 2013, it experienced by far the largest dollar decline in allocations — more than double the declines recorded by the United States and Australia — lowering its share of total budgets to just over 13%, its smallest share since 1999. At the same time, Australian allocations decreased 25% year over year (less than the 30% worldwide decrease), leaving it only about US$25 million behind Canada.

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In Africa, Canada’s ‘economic diplomacy’ is nothing new – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – November 27, 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.

JOHANNESBURG — The Conservative government’s new strategy of “economic diplomacy” is largely just a formalization of what its diplomats have already been quietly doing on the ground in places like Africa.

While the government complains that its diplomats in “tweed jackets” should be buying “business suits” and devoting themselves to trade deals, the reality is that Canadian diplomats have been focusing on business and trade for years already, under heavy pressure from Stephen Harper’s government.

A good example is Madagascar, where the biggest priority for Canadian diplomats is to protect a mammoth $5.5-billion nickel-cobalt mine, which is 40-per-cent owned by Sherritt International Corp. of Toronto.

Diplomats from other countries have been fighting hard to restore democracy to the politically turbulent country, which was rocked by a coup in 2009. But for Canada, the battle for democracy has taken a back seat to the business interests of the Toronto-based mining company.

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Canadian Diamond Explorer Sees Irish Billionaire Backing – by Christopher Donville (Bloomberg News – November 25, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (MPV), a partner with De Beers in the Gahcho Kue project in northern Canada, plans to raise C$125 million ($119 million) in a rights offering backed by Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond.

The Toronto-based company’s biggest shareholder will ensure the offering in the first quarter is fully subscribed by buying rights not taken up by other investors, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Evans said in a telephone interview. Mountain Province, which needs the money for its 49 percent share of the cost of building the proposed diamond mine, raised C$47 million in an offering a year ago.

“He backstopped that one and will backstop the next one as well,” the 58-year-old Evans said, adding that Desmond has owned Mountain Province shares for 17 years. “I don’t know that he is as forthcoming and generous with all his businesses, but he certainly is with ours.”

Mountain Province’s financing and plans for mine construction at Gahcho Kue, 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, come amid renewed investor interest in diamond projects as a recovering global economy boosts demand for engagement rings and other jewelry in the U.S. and emerging-market countries such as China and India.

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Canada: BCSC Commissioned Report Provides Cold Comfort For Junior Miners And Investors – by Arman Farahani and Cory Kent – McMillan LLP (Mondaq.com – November 23 2013)

http://www.mondaq.com/

On October 17, 2013, the British Columbia Securities Commission (the BCSC) released a report prepared by KPMG entitled “B.C. Junior Mining at a Crossroads: Executive Management’s Perspective” (the Report). The BCSC commissioned the Report in connection with its annual Capital Ideas conference to obtain a better understanding of (i) the downturn in B.C.’s junior mining sector, and (ii) the factors that have impacted the availability of financing for junior mining companies (Juniors) engaged in financing activities in B.C.

The Report is based on interviews with senior executives from 15 British Columbian Juniors, largely in exploration phases across a variety of mineral sectors, including gold, copper, uranium, silver and other base metals.

In short, the participants were of the opinion that most of the root causes that have led to the current state of financing for Juniors were due to the cyclical nature of the mining industry and current economic and market conditions. The general comforting (or discomforting) message from the participants is to “wait it out – the market will come back”, with words of caution that the next one to two years will likely continue to be challenging for Juniors seeking financing.

All participants indicated that current market conditions are not favourable for attracting retail and institutional investment in Juniors.

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Detour Gold CEO steps down, stock plummets – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – November 25, 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.

Detour Gold Corp.’s chief executive and founder Gerald Panneton has resigned, the Canadian company said in a surprise announcement that sent its stock tumbling and fuelled speculation that the miner would soon take steps to bolster its financial position.

Shares of Detour Gold dropped 30 per cent to $2.97 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a level not seen since the rocky days of the financial crisis and lower than the $3.50 share price the company set when it went public in 2007.

The company’s chief financial officer, Paul Martin, will serve as interim CEO and Detour Gold’s vice president of finance, James Mavor, will serve as interim CFO, as the miner searches for a new chief executive.

The abrupt departure of Mr. Panneton, a geologist with decades of experience in the mining industry, comes one day after he had a discussion with Detour Gold’s board of directors that resulted in him tendering his resignation, according to the company.

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Shrinking metals reserves puts Canada in precarious position – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – November 23, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Amidst a drought in junior financing – which drives much discovery in Canada – Minex Consulting’s Richard Schodde casts a pall over metal reserve replacement in Canada.

HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) – In a wide ranging overview on the state of exploration in Canada, Richard Schodde of Minex Consulting draws a stark picture of the state of Canada’s declining reserves and the prospect they can be replaced given lengthening timelines for mine permitting.

“Canada needs to replace the metal it mines,” Schodde concludes in a presentation he published covering points he made at the recent Quebec Mineral Exploration Association conference in Quebec Cty.

He continues, “Over the last two decades, reserves and mine lives for most metals have shrunk – and the issue is now becoming urgent. Of concern is whether there is enough time left to discover and develop new mines before the existing ones close.”

Schodde’s blunt assessment draws on statistics showing that, by and large, base and precious metals reserves in Canada have plummeted in recent decades, while the time it takes to permit mines after a deposit is discovered has marched inexorably upwards in the past 100 years.

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Canada’s North is on the cusp of a delicate economic boom – by Anja Jeffrey (Globe and Mail – November 20, 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.

Anja Jeffrey is director of the Centre for the North at the Conference Board of Canada.

When a Danish bulk carrier sailed through the Northwest Passage in September filled with B.C. coal, it was described as historic. The voyage, the first time a fully loaded cargo ship had successfully navigated the Northwest Passage, was perceived as the unofficial beginning of a dramatic increase in commercial transit in our Arctic waters.

Canada is rightly using its Arctic Council chairmanship to raise the international profile of environmental concerns in northern waters for cruise ships and commercial shipping. This desire for international co-operation around stringent regulation makes sense, considering the risks associated with shipping in the north. Canada’s northern marine waters have yet to be the site of a serious incident or significant crisis.

The risks, though, are not confined to foreign ships or to Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. Northern communities will also bear the risks – and opportunities – associated with marine traffic in Canada’s North.

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Bottom nears as China lays foundations for future bull run, says Mohr – by Simon Rees (MiningWeekly.com – November 19, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Scotiabank believes the bottom for key base metals commodities is approaching, although 2014 and 2015 are likely to remain lacklustre, Scotiabank’s VP economics and commodity market specialist Patricia Mohr told delegates at the Mine Latin America conference last week.

“I think we’re approaching the bottom in this cycle … I’m hoping that we’ll see the bottom for some of the key base metals in early 2014,” Mohr said.

“I think it’s fair to say that the next two years are likely [to present] quite lacklustre conditions for many of the key base metals,” she added. “But I think the bull run in base metal prices will probably return in the second half of the decade.”

WATCHING THE WHEELS

Mohr stressed the importance of China. “As an economist, I now spend more time looking at the outlook for China than I do for the USA,” she said.

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Canadian mining industry needs more women, aboriginals, immigrants, says Iron Ore exec – by Tonda MacCharles (Toronto Star – November 18, 2013)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Zoë Yujnovich has a challenge for the Canadian mining industry: diversify.

OTTAWA—Zoë Yujnovich has a challenge for the Canadian mining industry: diversify. Not holdings, projects or commodities, but ranks, as in workers, supervisors, company directors.

Hire more women, more aboriginals and more immigrant workers to improve the bottom line. It’s a challenge the 38-year-old mother of three children makes not as an outsider. As head of Montreal-based Iron Ore Canada — the job former prime minister Brian Mulroney once held — and chair of the Canadian Mining Association, her message comes right from the top.

In a speech she’ll deliver to an influential audience of policy-makers and mining executives Tuesday in Ottawa on the mining industry’s lobby day, Yujnovich intends to press for certain government assistance to bottom-line profitability: tax incentives to boost private-sector infrastructure in the North; more consistent application of the 12-month timelines promised for environmental reviews of new mining projects; and an overall regulatory structure that helps the industry.

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A coal slurry shame – by Martin Wissmath (Hinton Parklander – November 18, 2013)

http://www.hintonparklander.com/

Sherritt International Corp., the company that owns the Obed mine 30 kilometres northeast of Hinton, could now be responsible for the largest coal mining waste-water spill in Canadian history.

But could government regulators and environmental authorities have done more to prevent it from happening?
A billion litres of slurry spilled into the Athabasca River on Halloween when a storage pond at the Obed mine site broke apart.

Slurry is the concoction of materials and chemicals, including coal and thickening agents called flocculents, mixed with the water in the mine storage ponds. Coal mines in Alberta are required to contain liquid runoff to prevent it from pouring into the provincial waterways. Consider this an epic fail.

A spokesperson for Sherritt initially told the Parklander the waste-water consisted of “naturally occurring” materials, but mentioned the extra chemical agents, which are standard for coal-mining storage ponds, after further inquiry.

The spill was innocuously labelled a “sediment release” by Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.

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Miners hope Czech election will end gold extraction moratorium – by Jan Marchal (Business Day – November 18, 2013)

http://www.bdlive.co.za/ [South Africa]

CZECH gold deposits are whetting the appetites of foreign prospectors hoping to see the new government lift a mining moratorium in the aftermath of snap elections.

But rather than a dream come true, the prospect of a gold rush is a nightmare for environmentalists and residents of the hilly region south of the capital, Prague, a popular resort area that holds the biggest deposit.

“No one wants an open-cast mine here, in this wonderful natural setting near the Vltava River,” says Jiri Stastka, mayor of the village of Chotilsko. A few hundred metres from the village, the Vesely Vrch wooded hill and its surroundings conceal about 140 tonnes of the metal worth an estimated 100-billion koruna ($5bn ).

Known as the Mokrsko deposit, this is just more than a quarter of the Czech Republic’s estimated 380-400 tonnes of gold, which is about 1% of the globe’s deposits. But locals fear irreversible environmental damage, particularly the pollution of groundwater since toxic cyanide is used in the extraction of gold.

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