Canadian/International Media Resource Articles – Page 22

Green light for Cigar Lake uranium mine – by Jessica Brown (Global News – June 15, 2013)

June 17, 2013

SASKATOON – Canada’s Nuclear Safety Commission has given Cameco’s Cigar Lake uranium mine the green light. It’s a significant step for the Saskatoon-based mining giant after eight years constructing the $1.1 billion project.

The company says they are pleased to have finally cleared the last hurdle. “This allows us to move from a construction phase to a production phase and that’s a significant step for Cameco, also the fact that it’s a sign of confidence from our regulator is very encouraging,” said Rob Gereghty, a spokesperson for Cameco.

After construction kicked off in 2005 the mine was struck by inflow in 2006 and again in 2008. “The geology is probably the most significant challenge we face at Cigar Lake, being mindful of water and inflows, but we believe we have that well under control,” said Gereghty.

Premier Brad Wall welcomed the announcement. “Cameco is a big part of our economy and this particular mine will be very, very significant. I think the increased production capacity is good for jobs and it’s good overall for Saskatchewan’s position in the world,” said Wall.

Jet boring for ore is due to start up this summer with 300,000 pounds of uranium expected to be produced by the end of 2013. That number will be ramped up to 8.2 million pounds by 2017, while creating 250 new jobs.

Serbia may be on cusp of mining revival after years of decline – by Aleksandar Vasovic and Stephen Eisenhammer (Reuters U.S. – June 13, 2013)

June 17, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

Reuters) – Serbia’s mining sector, stagnant since the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart in the early 1990s, looks set for a revival as volatile commodity prices increase the allure of countries in Europe with established infrastructure and skilled labor.

Once home to a core copper and gold mining facility for the former Yugoslavia, the town of Bor in the north-eastern corner of Serbia has a history of mining dating back to Roman times.

Canadian major Freeport and its smaller partner Reservoir Minerals are exploring the area’s underground reserves. Early results have impressed investors and analysts. “The grades they’re drilling are exceptional… These come around once a decade,” said Brent Cook, a geologist and private investor who writes an investment newsletter.

International mining firms are under pressure from increasingly cautious investors to move away from projects in non-traditional mining countries where a lack of good roads, railways, water and power, as well as skilled workers, can hike costs.

Eastern Europe, along with Spain and Greece, has emerged at the forefront of this shift, with governments that are eager to help boost jobs and growth.

Market appears too relaxed about China copper outlook – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – June 14, 2013)

June 14, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – The market may be too sanguine about the outlook for copper prices, as import demand in top consumer China shows signs of increasing just as an anticipated global supply surplus is looking vulnerable.

Shanghai copper fell on Thursday when trading resumed after a three-day holiday, with the most active October contract dropping by as much as 3 percent to 51,350 yuan ($8,354) a tonne in early trade.

While the decline was largely a catch-up to weakness in London earlier this week, it’s indicative that traders aren’t overly concerned about the supply outlook.

The Shanghai slump came a day after Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc declared force majeure on deliveries from its Grasberg operation in Indonesia, the world’s second-largest copper mine.

The legal clause allowing the company to miss contracted shipments comes after the mine was shut indefinitely after two accidents in May claimed the lives of 29 workers. Indonesian authorities want the mine closed until investigations into the incidents are completed, a process that may take several months.

Prosperous future for Canadian Mining – association – by Gia Costella (MiningWeekly.com – June 14, 2013)

June 14, 2013

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

Canada’s mining industry has a prosperous future, with the benefits of the mining sector reaching past the mine gate and into the commu- nities in which it operates, says Mining Association of Canada president and CEO Pierre Gratton.

Delivering his speech during National Mining Week, in Canada, in May, he described the Canadian mining industry as a powerhouse, citing a recent study by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which showed beyond doubt that the sector “beats in the heart of our cities and in our financial sector”.

The Canadian mining sector, comprising 220 operating mines, 33 smelters and refineries and 320 000 employees, pays the highest average wage in Canada. In 2012, mining contributed $9-billion in taxes and royalties to governments, accounting for about $20-billion in yearly capital investment.

“Canada is a top-five world producer of uranium, potash, nickel, platinum, aluminium, diamonds, zinc, and steelmaking coal. Minerals account for 23% of the country’s total goods exports. It also attracted 18% of world exploration spending in 2011, which was the top achievement,” he states.

Gratton says it is the depth and breadth of the mining industry that enabled Canada to withstand the recent economic turmoil better than any other Group of Eight country.

The Energy Frontier: ‘It’s the thrill of the hunt,’ says tight oil pioneer – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – June 14, 2013)

June 14, 2013

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

As a budding exploration geologist in the 1970s, Donald Rae worried about his career choice. Convinced that Alberta was running out of oil, oil companies were laying off geologists and engineers in big numbers and Peter Lougheed, Alberta’s premier at the time, wanted to diversify the economy.

Mr. Rae stuck with it, pioneered the discovery of tight oil in Canada, and is now is at the controls of another hot junior, Coral Hill Energy Ltd., focused on a play in the Swan Hills area of west central Alberta that could hold up to four billion barrels of light oil.

Meanwhile, Alberta is producing more oil than ever. “It’s the thrill of the hunt,” Mr. Rae, 63, said in explaining why he started another company. “I love what I do and I have great people with me, so we have a lot of fun.”

The enthusiasm may seem disconnected from the bad news beating up the Canadian oil patch today – anti-oil activism, weak prices, pipeline bottlenecks, disinterested investors.

Far from ceding the field to energy alternatives, Mr. Rae is one of the entrepreneurs working on new ideas to keep expanding the business – from finding oil and gas in new places to squeezing more out of old ones, from arranging new transportation options to using new financing models that don’t involve public markets.

Environment Canada recommends tougher pollution rules at Canadian mines – by Mike De Souza (Vancouver Sun – June 13, 2013)

June 14, 2013

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

OTTAWA – Environment Canada is recommending that the Harper government toughen rules to prevent water pollution from industrial mines and that it expand federal monitoring to at least four new substances released from mining activity.

“These substances are harmful or potentially toxic, and in some cases potentially fatal to fish, and they are present in effluent from a wide range of metal mines,” says an internal Environment Canada discussion paper, circulated last December to representatives from industry, the provinces, First Nations and environmental groups.

The document was launching a review of existing regulations, which came into force in December 2002 and were designed to monitor pollution from mines that could get into water. The paper estimated that there were 105 existing metal mines in Canada in 2010, with about another 60 under review or proposed for operation in the future. The four new substances, recommended for restrictions in the discussion paper, were aluminum, iron, selenium and ammonia.

An internal memo sent to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver about the Environment Department’s review noted that Canada had also received a warning from the United States about selenium, a pollutant associated with coal mines, getting into transboundary waterways.

B.C. Liberals accused of breaking election promise over Klappan open-pit coal mine – by Larry Pynn (Vancouver Sun – June 10, 2013)

June 14, 2013

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

Tahltan First Nation objects to environmental ‘fast-tracking’ of project

The B.C. Liberals risk breaking an important election promise by “fast-tracking” an environmental assessment of an open-pit coal mine in the so-called Sacred Headwaters of the Klappan in northwest B.C., Tahltan First Nation charged Friday.

“There has been opposition and resistance by our people,” said Tahltan Central Council president Annita McPhee said in an interview.

“To have an open-pit coal mine right in the headwaters … our people are opposed to development there. We want to see long-term protection that excludes having a coal mine in that area.”

The planned Arctos Anthracite Project would have a footprint of about 4,000 hectares, not including a railway line, and would produce an estimated three million tonnes per year of anthracite coal over the mine’s 25-year life span. Anthracite coal has a high carbon content and burns with a clean flame. It is primarily used in steel and metal making.

The project is a joint venture of Fortune Coal Ltd. and POSCO Klappan Coal Ltd., whose parent company is a South Korean steel giant.

After 10 years of effort, Rio Tinto clips Eagle Project’s wings – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – June 13, 2013)

June 13, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/

The controversial Kennecott nickel-copper mine destined to usher in a new mining era and more jobs for Michigan’s economically hard hit Upper Peninsula is being sold.

RENO (MINEWEB) – After more than a decade spent studying, permitting and developing the first U.S. primary nickel mine to be built in years, Rio Tinto has decided to sell Kennecott’s Eagle Mine to Lundin Mining for US$325 million in cash.

Since Rio Tinto announced in 2010 that it would invest US$469 million in the development of the Eagle Mine, which was supposed to become the biggest nickel mine in the country, the $325 million-price tag at first appears to be a bargain for Lundin.

Nevertheless, in addition to the total acquisition price of $325 million, remaining investment of Lundin Mining for the balance of 2013 and 3014 to bring the Eagle Mine into production is estimated at $400 million.

Located northwest of Marquette, in the historic mining region of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Eagle was to be the first new mining operation to be built in Michigan in years. The “world class” underground nickel-copper mine was also supposed to boost the fortunes of an economically hard-hit region with 500 construction and 220 mining jobs. Rio Tinto had pledged to give 75% of those jobs to local residents.

More delays in the Ring of Fire mining project – Minister Michael Gravelle and Mining Analyst Stan Sudol (CBC News Sudbury/Morning North – June 13, 2013)

June 13, 2013

Cliffs Natural Resources has put the brakes on environmental assessments around it chromite project in the Ring of Fire mineral deposit. We have reaction from the Minister of Northern Development and Mines and an industry analyst Stan Sudol. For Morning North Radio Interview click here: http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=2391133725

Sudbury smelter plans hinge on Cliffs’ stalled chromite project – CBC News Sudbury (June 13, 2013)

June 13, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Cliffs Natural Resources VP says proposed smelter will be located in Sudbury, but issues need to be resolved first

The future of a ferrochrome smelter in Sudbury is in question after some grim news from Cliffs Natural Resources. The company announced Wednesday it is temporarily suspending the environmental assessment on its northwestern Ontario chromite project in the James Bay lowlands’ Ring of Fire.

Cliffs points to unfinished agreements with the province and unresolved land rights issues as two of the reasons for the delay. The vice president of Cliffs Natural Resources overseeing the project said he’s frustrated with the lack of progress on the chromite project, which directly affects plans for the smelter.

“When we get the momentum back we’ll be moving back again and the furnace will be located in Sudbury,” Bill Boor said.

“[But] none of that’s settled before we advance beyond these issues.”

Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk said she’s not surprised Cliffs’ environmental assessment has been put on hold, but said she’s not worried about the impact this may have on the local economy or jobs.

“There’s other plans in place, there are other mines that are opening, there’s a lot of activity,” she said. “It’s the cycle of mining, that’s what mining’s all about.”

Canada signs on to tighter rules on companies’ foreign payments – by Paul Waldie, Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – June 13, 2013)

June 13, 2013

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.

LONDON and VANCOUVER — Canada is joining a list of countries pushing resource companies for more disclosure about payments to foreign governments. But there is a growing debate about how complex the global system will become, how measures will be implemented, and whether they will provide enough useful information.

International development organizations have been demanding greater disclosure of these payments for years, arguing it’s a way of fighting corruption in developing countries. They also hoped the information would offer insights into the actual contributions these companies make to the countries where they operate.

The U.S. and the European Union have already adopted measures requiring extractive firms to report taxes, royalties and other fees paid to foreign governments. The U.S. rules have only recently taken effect and the EU’s directive has yet to be fully implemented.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday that Canada plans to develop similar reporting standards for Canadian mining and energy companies.

Stainless steel sector to benefit in the long term – by Suzan Uzel (Yorkshire Post – June 13, 2013)

June 13, 2013

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/

THE stainless steel industry is facing “a challenging short-term outlook” but demand will continue to grow in the long term, according to the CEO of Finnish steel giant Outokumpu Group.

Mika Seitovirta, who is also president of Outokumpu, the largest stainless steel maker in the world, said that global megatrends such as urbanisation, increased mobility and the demand for food, energy and water, will ensure continued growth of stainless steel consumption in the future.

“We are living as if there is another planet at our disposal,” Mr Seitovirta told an audience in South Yorkshire. “By 2030, even two planets won’t be enough to sustain our consumption.” But he said that “unfortunately the weak economic outlook will continue in Europe this year”.

He was speaking in Sheffield as part of a conference celebrating 100 years since Harry Brearley discovered stainless steel.

Earlier this year, Outokumpu, which employs 16,200 people, said it expects to reduce up to 2,500 jobs globally between 2013 and 2017 as part of efforts to reduce its operating expenses and return the company to profitability. Outokumpu said that its 2012 financial year was marked by “a weak market environment”, especially during the second half, leading to an underlying operational loss of 168 million euros.

Cliffs Natural Resources puts Ring of Fire project on hold, cites unresolved issues – by Peter Koven (June 13, 2013)

June 13, 2013

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

The message from Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. couldn’t be any clearer: until crucial issues involving Queen’s Park and First Nations groups are resolved, development of the Ring of Fire is not going anywhere.

The Cleveland-based miner halted all environmental assessment (EA) work on the mega-project on Wednesday, saying it cannot go any farther because of delays that are outside its control.

“It feels like the only thing we can do,” Bill Boor, Cliffs’ senior vice president of ferroalloys, said in an interview. “The company can only drive the project so far without other people keeping up with us.”

Cliffs wants to build the first of what could be many mines in the Ring of Fire, a vast resource in Ontario’s James Bay Lowlands that could hold as much as $50-billion of minerals. Both the provincial and federal governments have stressed that developing the region is a priority.

But Cliffs cited a number of unresolved issues that forced it to suspend environmental work. They include a delay in provincial approval for the EA process, an ongoing judicial challenge to the process by First Nations groups, unresolved land surface rights covering a proposed road to the project, and the lack of definitive agreements with the Ontario government.

U.S. miner suspends environmental assessment work in Ring of Fire — for now – by John Spears (Toronto Star – June 13, 2013)

June 13, 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.

The giant Ring of Fire chromite mining venture in northwestern Ontario has bogged down, with one of the mine developers calling a halt to its environmental assessment.

Cliffs Natural Resources gave a laundry list of unresolved issues with both provincial and federal governments as the reason for suspending the work on the $3.3 billion project.

One mining industry insider said failure to nail down a long-term electricity price is one of the big stumbling blocks.
A smelter for the mine would be among the biggest users of electricity in the province. Cliffs has been planning a $1.85 billion processing facility in Capreol, near Sudbury.

Quebec and Manitoba, with abundant hydro-electric power, can both offer lower rates that Ontario for the smelter.
Another sticking point may be negotiating royalty payments to the province. Chromite is the ore used to produce chromium, a component used in stainless steel, and for plating items such as auto parts and appliances.

Bill Boor, senior vice president of Cliffs, said in an interview that project “is still a very important part of Cliffs’ strategy; that hasn’t changed.”

UPDATE 2-S.Africa’s Zuma talks tough against mining unrest – by Wendell Roelf (Reuters India – June 12, 2013)

June 12, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

World’s top platinum producer rocked by unrest

CAPE TOWN, June 12 (Reuters) – South African President Jacob Zuma vowed on Wednesday to take a hard line against labour unrest in the mining sector, which has been rocked by 18 months of killings and wildcat strikes that have threatened to destabilise Africa’s biggest economy.

Zuma’s decisive comments helped lift the rand about 8 cents to 9.94 per dollar, a stark contrast to last month, when the currency sank to four-year lows after he held a news conference to try and stem its slide.

“Our law enforcement agencies have been instructed not to tolerate those who commit crime in the name of labour relations. They will face the full might of the law,” he told parliament.

He also said his government would remain impartial in a turf war between the upstart Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the National Union of Mineworkers, a long-standing ally of the ruling ANC.

“Government does not take sides and does not favour any labour union over others in the mining industry. Our interest is in finding solutions,” he said.