Canada Mining – Page 355 – Republic of Mining

KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. NEWS RELEASE: Report no. 8/2012: Approval of Quadra FNX Mining Ltd shareholders

February 20, 2012

2012-02-20

The Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. („KGHM”, „Company”) announces that the shareholders of Quadra FNX Mining Ltd („Quadra FNX”) at the General Meeting of the company convened on 20 February 2012, approved by the required majority of votes the transaction described in the binding conditional agreement entered into between KGHM and Quadra FNX on 6 December 2011.

As a result of this transaction, KGHM, through its special purpose wholly controlled subsidiary, founded under British Columbia law, will acquire from the existing shareholders, under a Plan of Arrangement recommended by the Board of Directors of Quadra FNX, the shares of Quadra FNX, representing 100% of the share capital of this company.

Closure of the transaction was made contingent on the fulfillment of conditions precedent, consisting of gaining shareholder approval as expressed by a majority 2/3 of the votes at the General Meeting of Quadra FNX, court approval for the transaction and regulatory approvals by appropriate monopoly-control bodies, and by the Canadian Minister of Industry.

Climate change boosts need for bigger presence in Arctic: Canadian navy head – by Bill Graveland (Toronto Star – February 20, 2012)

February 20, 2012

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.

CALGARY—The head of the Royal Canadian Navy says Canada needs to bolster its military presence in the Arctic to prepare for a boom in human and economic activity resulting largely from climate change.

Global warming is thought to be occurring faster in the North than anywhere else. The gradual disappearance of sea ice is opening up commercial shipping as well as previously inaccessible areas rich with oil, natural gas and mineral resources.

“From a naval perspective, climate change probably means there will be more open water, so the Arctic Ocean will really emerge as the Arctic Ocean,” Vice-Admiral Paul Maddison, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, said in a recent interview.

“It also means . . . that the circumpolar route will probably open to international shipping from Asia to Europe sometime in this century — probably a lot earlier than most people predicted a few years ago,” he said.

Mining and Resource Development in Northern Canada – by David Kilgour: City of Greater Sudbury Municipal Councillor

February 16, 2012

David Kilgour is a City of Greater Sudbury municipal councillor. He gave this presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which is considering the federal government’s role in the development of the Ring of Fire, on February 16, 2012.

Mister Chair and Honourable Members,

On behalf of Her Worship, Mayor Marianne Matichuk, members of city council and the citizens of the City of Greater Sudbury, I am pleased to be here this morning to discuss mining and resource development in Northern Canada; a subject that we in Sudbury know something about.

Greater Sudbury is an undisputed global centre of mining expertise. Over the past one hundred and thirty years, billions of dollars worth of Nickel, Copper, Platinum, Gold and many other metals have been mined, milled, smelted and refined in our city. Today, even with more than a century of mining activity, an estimated forty billion dollars of mineral reserves have been identified and constant exploration adds to this total every day.

We are the largest geographic municipality in Ontario; within our municipal
boundaries, approximately seven thousand workers are employed directly in mining production and mineral processing while about twice that number work in the mining supply and services industry. Nowhere else in the world will you find this level of mining activity within a fully urban city.

Diavik releases 2011 annual socio-economic report

February 15, 2012

This news item originally came from the January 2012, Northern Mining News, published by the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., operator of the Diavik Diamond Mine, has released its 2011 socioeconomic monitoring agreement report, which provides a detailed summary of northern training, employment, and business benefits.

Highlights include:

• Training: As part of the mine’s continuing commitment to support northerners in developing trade skills, Diavik and minesite contractors supported 34 apprentices in 2011. All are northern and 19 are Aboriginal. Additionally, four northerners successfully completed their apprenticeships bringing the total number of Diavik apprentices to have achieved journeyperson certification to 31.

New B.C. port facilities key for exports, Potash Corp. CEO says – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – February 15, 2012)

February 15, 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.

OTTAWA— Potash Corp. chief executive Bill Doyle expects to see steadily rising worldwide demand for the fertilizer and the need for new export capacity from Western Canada, despite the recent price weakness that has led global producers to cut back on supply.

Western Canadian potash exports should double in the coming decade and, as a result, the industry will need new port facilities in British Columbia, Mr. Doyle said in an interview Tuesday.

In partnership with CN Rail, Canpotex, the marketing arm of Saskatchewan potash producers, has proposed a new export terminal in Prince Rupert, B.C. Mr. Doyle said he expects an investment decision to be made on the $800-million project this year.

Quebec harvests $6-billion in [mining] investment – by Nicolas Van Praet (National Post – February 14, 2012)

February 14, 2012

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

MONTREAL – Quebec Premier Jean Charest says his government’s massive effort to develop the resources of its northern territory has generated $6-billion worth of investment to date as companies accelerate growth plans faster than the province predicted.

Global mining giant Xstrata PLC is spending US$530-million to develop projects at its Raglan nickel mine in Nunavik, one of a number of corporate investments confirmed since Mr. Charest’s Liberal government formally announced its North Plan in May 2011.

China’s Jilin Jien Nickel said it will double investment in its project to extract nickel in Nunavik in northern Quebec to $800-million. And Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc. is committing some $1.4-billion of capital to develop the Éléonore underground gold mine near Ell Lake, though much of that was announced before the North Plan’s launch. Backed by the Cree nations of Wemindji and Eastmain, whose members will work in the facility, the mine is expected to yield 600,000 ounces of gold annually over its 15-year life.

NEWS RELEASE: Chamber of Mines Congratulates NWT Government on Renewal of Prospectors Grubstake Program

February 13, 2012

Yellowknife, NT – February 13, 2012

The Chamber of Mines congratulates the NWT Government’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Investment for the announcement late last week that the Prospectors Grubstake Program would be re-launched after a 5-year absence.

According to Minister Ramsay, the program will provide financial assistance to qualified Northwest Territories prospectors through the Prospectors Grubstake Program, the NWT Government hopes to see additional prospectors search for new mineral occurrences or to reassess previously known occurrences and deposits around the territory.

Healthy and active exploration is the foundation for a sustainable mining industry. It was the persistence and optimism of prospectors Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson that resulted in diamonds being discovered in the NWT.

This led to the largest staking rush in Canadian history, and most importantly resulted in 3 diamond mines – Ekati, Diavik, and Snap Lake – that have created some of the largest opportunities the NWT has ever seen, particularly in Aboriginal employment and business.

Canada opens doors to uranium trade with China – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – February 11, 2012)

February 13, 2012

www.mineweb.com

The big talking point in Canada is that as Chinese-Canadian relations warm up, so too will Canadian uranium in Chinese nuclear reactors.

HALIFAX, NS – Uranium producers in Canada got a heavy dose of good news as the country’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, abolished trade rules that banned the export of uranium to China.

Prime Minister Harper, who has been on a trade mission in China with Canadian business leaders, made the announcement as part of a slew of other agreements between China and Canada.

The Canadian government will amend a 1994 nuclear agreement between the two countries to allow uranium exports to China, though the exact details of what the amendment would say is unclear. Chinese and Canadian officials are to work them out over the coming months, a federal government statement said.

Government officials in Canada touted the uranium deal on two fronts, economic and environmental.

Uranium deal with china ‘important’ for Saskatchewan – by Joe Couture (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – January 10, 2012)

February 11, 2012

www.starphoenix.com

Wall claims ‘great day’ for province

An agreement that is expected to allow Canadian companies to ship uranium to China is “very, very important” for Saskatchewan, Premier Brad Wall said on Thursday in reaction to news from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to the Asian superpower.

“It’s a great day for Saskatchewan and we want to thank the federal government and the prime minister for raising a very Saskatchewan issue on their trade mission and making progress,” Wall told reporters Thursday at the Legislative Building.

Though a small amount of Saskatchewan uranium has been shipped to China before under special agreements, the new trade agreement signed by Harper is expected to allow Saskatchewan producers to directly sell Canadian yellowcake – a type of uranium concentrate powder – to China, he continued.

Asbestos industry under microscope – by Michelle LaLonde (Montreal Gazette – February 11, 2012)

May 4, 2015February 11, 2012

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

Call for government to stop financial aid

If you were a private investor looking to sink some money into a promising venture, the expansion of an asbestos mine in Quebec may not sound like a great bet these days.

Quebec’s asbestos industry has been taking a heavy pounding of late, with two damning documentaries airing on CBC and Radio-Canada, renewed calls from politicians in Quebec City and Ottawa to outlaw the cancer-causing mineral, and a review launched into some industry-funded research at McGill this week.

On Friday, the opposition Québec Solidaire called on the provincial and federal governments to stop financing the asbestos industry and to ban export of the mineral. Parti Québécois mining critic Martine Ouellette told Canadian Press she wants a parliamentary commission to look at the issue.

How First Quantum recouped its seized mine – by Matthew McClearn (Canadian Business Magazine – January 19, 2012)

February 10, 2012

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-publishing business magazine in Canada.

In 2007 the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced it would autocratically tear up and renegotiate contracts with foreign mining companies. The price Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals paid for resisting: the forcible seizure and resale of its properties in the country, including two operating mines and another on which construction was nearly complete.

The DRC investigated First Quantum for what it called “suspected widescale misconduct.” Its courts, which are not independent, slapped a stinging US$12-billion judgment on the company. The government transferred the properties for nominal sums to close associates of DRC president Joseph Kabila, who promptly flipped them for significant profits; Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC), a large London-based company dominated by Kazakh owners, paid just US$175 million for the Kolwezi project, which cost First Quantum nearly $800 million to purchase and construct.

First Quantum immediately sought redress, but its hand seemed weak. ENRC CEO Felix Vuilis had maintained his company owed nothing to the former owners. “Any dispute that First Quantum has is with the relevant DRC authorities,” he declared shortly after the purchase.

The Canaccord-China deal: When $1-B is a drop in the bucket – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – February 9, 2012)

May 4, 2015February 10, 2012

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s current trip to China is touted as an opportunity to create partnerships between the two countries. One positive outcome has just been revealed: Canaccord Financial of Toronto and a Chinese bank plan to establish a Canada-China Natural Resource Fund and give it an initial endowment of US$1 billion.

The fund intends to:

•Invest in both public and private natural resource and energy companies or projects in Canada;

•Promote interaction and sustainable development among Chinese, Canadian and other nature resources companies, and’

•Create opportunities for substantial returns on investment (be profitable) through the strategic and market-oriented allocation of the fund’s capital.

Making sense of royalty structures and rates (Part I) – by Jonathan C. Lotz (Northern Miner – December 5-11, 2011)

February 10, 2012

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

Royalties in the mining industry look pretty straightforward, but dig a little deeper and the complexities are soon apparent. Let’s start with what exactly a royalty is, the different ways it can be structured and used, and its history in Canadian mining.

By definition, a royalty is the right to receive a percent of the revenue generated from the sale of mineral products mined from a property. The legal nature of this right depends on whether the royalty is a mere contractual right or a direct interest in the property.

If a royalty is determined to be a mere contractual right, the holder may lose the right on the sale of the property. However, if the right is an interest in land, the holder may be liable as an owner under environmental legislation.

Royalties are most commonly used in acquiring mineral properties. They benefit the purchaser because they calculate the full purchase price. If and when royalties start payment, the purchase price is amortized over an extended period of time.