Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 399

Canada’s a global leader on clean air – by Lorrie Goldstein (Toronto Sun – April 20, 2017)

April 24, 2017

http://www.torontosun.com/

The question now is whether carbon pricing to reduce greenhouse gases is
worth the added cost to Canadians in terms of the higher taxes and prices
they will have to pay for almost all goods and services, considering that
Canada produces only 1.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

A Fraser Institute study released Thursday comes as a welcome breath of fresh air to Canadians tired of being harangued by politicians and so-called “green” activists as environmental laggards. The study shows a dramatic improvement in Canadian air quality since 1970, despite economic growth, an increasing population and greater energy consumption, making Canada a world leader in reducing air pollution.

It won’t change the debate over man-made climate change because the Fraser Institute is talking about traditional sources of air pollution, rather than industrial greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide – linked to global warming.

But the study by University of Guelph economics professor Ross McKitrick and economist Elmira Aliakbari entitled, “Canada’s Air Quality since 1970: An Environmental Success Story” lives up to its name.

Investors look for financial restraint as good times roll for gold miners – by Josh O’Kane (Globe and Mail – April 23, 2017)

April 24, 2017

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

With Canada’s biggest gold miners back in the mode of making deals and striking partnerships, analysts will be watching the companies’ self-discipline as first-quarter financials start rolling in.

Last year was a period of recovery for gold producers: balance sheets got better, gold prices were healthy and rising and share prices climbed. The S&P/TSX global gold index went up 50 per cent in 2016, and it’s up another 12 per cent so far this year.

In the past, strong gold markets have led to a round of mergers, acquisitions and mine-building, followed by a painful reckoning. Investors haven’t forgotten, so free cash flow, cost savings and debt reduction remain in their sights as precious-metal miners mull new projects in their march out of the commodity slump.

If the eco-fanatics hate Justin Trudeau this much, imagine what they think of you – by Rex Murphy (National Post – April 22, 2017)

April 24, 2017

http://news.nationalpost.com/

That Justin Trudeau is a genial and pleasant-tempered man may not be “a truth universally acknowledged,” but that he is as close to that perfect status as any human being is likely to get is not a proposition inviting dissent. From Flare to Vogue the oracles agree that our Prime Minister is the very model of a modern Major-General … er, Prime Minister.

Just last week a grand covey of the rich and gorgeous at the Women in the World Conference pronounced him as “near perfect” as perfect can be (his only deficit “that he is not a woman,” a failing that, properly speaking, is more the mischief of blind Nature, than a flaw of his own devising).

Now, beyond the borders of rational opinion, out in the badlands of raw outrage and wild surmise, a distempered few offer bitterly dismissive terms on the subject of Trudeau. One of the volatile tribunes of Toronto’s Black Lives Matter movement, yearning for a cheap headline and clearly out of the reach of any plausible dictionary, called Trudeau “a white supremacist terrorist.”

Towns on the clock: What comes after coal for B.C.’s mining towns? – by By Josh Pagé and Liam Britten (CBC News B.C. – April 22, 2017)

April 24, 2017

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Coal has for decades been the way of life for miners in towns like Elkford, Sparwood and Fernie

Mining coal for steelmaking has been the way of life — a good life — for coal miners in towns like Elkford, Sparwood and Fernie for more than a century. But there’s also tension there, as coal truck driver Katie Bulger, who originally moved to the area for the snowboarding, explains.

“It is kind of a huge push and pull between … loving the mountains, being outdoors, and then going to a mine where it is just destroying mountains,” she said. Dean McKerracher, mayor of Elkford, feels tension too, but on a different matter.

While the major mines are expected to be in operation for several more decades, he worries what their inevitable closure will mean for the future of his community. The plan is to try to transition into tourism.

Despite slower growth, China still key market for miners and Africa – by Keith Campbell (MiningWeekly.com – April 21, 2017)

April 21, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – There can be no doubt that, for the past two decades-and-a-half or so, the biggest single influence on the global mining industry has been China. Between 2002 and 2012, that country experienced an annual average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 10.4%, compared with India’s 7.6%, the UK’s 1.3%, Germany’s 1.2%, France’s 1.0% and Japan’s 0.8%.

During the period 1992 to 2002, China’s average annual real GDP growth rate had been 9.8% (India’s had been 5.8%). (These figures are from The Economist: Pocket World in Figures 2015.)

The result was the “commodity supercycle” and a global mining boom. But Chinese economic growth has, of course, decelerated significantly since 2012. In 2015, it grew at 6.9% and last year at 6.7%, according to official data released in Beijing. (The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, has estimated India’s 2016 growth rate at 6.6%, which makes China again the world’s fastest- growing economy.

Vale’s iron ore output just hit another record – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 20, 2017)

April 21, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Brazil’s Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world’s No.1 iron ore miner, said output of the steelmaking material hit a fresh record high in the first quarter as its massive S11D mine in the Amazon continued to ramp up.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company said iron ore production jumped 11% to 86.2 million tonnes in the January-March period, compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

The figure however, was 6.7% lower than total iron ore output of 92.386 million tonnes in the prior three months, and the company said it might restrain supply even further in coming months to support prices if necessary. For now, however, the mining giant reiterated its output guidance for the year of between 360 million and 380 million tonnes of seaborne.

Indigenous law banishes a giant B.C. mine – by Elizabeth McSheffrey (National Observer – April 21, 2017)

April 21, 2017

http://www.nationalobserver.com/

The moment you step onto Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc land in southern British Columbia, according to Chief Ron Ignace, you are a beggar. As an outsider, you have no rights and you’ve strayed away from your home and family. You are considered a poor person, he tells National Observer, and you are beholden to the First Nations on whose territory you stand.

His message takes aim at anyone who wants to do business or travel on his nation’s land, be they tourists, government, companies, fishers, or boaters.

“The days of colonial authoritarianism are over,” he says. “It’s time for Canada to recognize that we are nations, as nations we have rights to our land, and if we are approached honourably, we can sit down and come to a fair and just conclusion.”

Quebec govt approves Canadian Malartic openpit expansion – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – April 20, 2017)

April 20, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VAANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The Quebec provincial government, under the leadership of Quebec Liberal Party premier Philippe Couillard, has approved the proposed $200-million expansion of the Canadian Malartic mine, owned and operated in a 50:50 joint venture by Agnico Eagle Mines and Yamana Gold. The expansion will see the diversion of Highway 117 at a cost of $53-million.

Preliminary work will start in the coming weeks after obtaining the required authorisations, including the relocation of public services. Deforestation and the construction of a temporary bridge over Highway 117 are among the first steps.

The highway diversion will allow the mine to access the Barnat zone, which has softer ore and could allow for higher throughputs. The 203-million tonnes, on a 100% basis, of reported reserves as at December 31, include the Barnat zone and could allow the mine to continue production for a further six years to 2027.

Charity files suit against Environment Minister over lack of reports on endangered caribou – by Gloria Galloway (Globe and Mail – April 20, 2017)

April 20, 2017

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — A national charity created to safeguard Canada’s lands and water is taking the federal Environment Minister to court for allegedly failing in her responsibility to monitor the protection of the endangered boreal woodland caribou.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is asking the Federal Court to find that Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is acting illegally by ignoring the section of the Species At Risk Act that requires her department to report regularly on the condition of the caribou’s habitat.

According to the Act, once a critical habitat for a species has been identified, the federal Environment Minister has 180 days to determine whether any portion of that habitat anywhere in Canada remains unprotected. The Minister must then report every six months on what steps are being taken to protect that habitat until full protection has been achieved.

Do right by injured miners – Editorial (Toronto Star – April 19, 2017)

April 19, 2017

https://www.thestar.com/

Ontario miners who were forced to inhale a black aluminum-based substance, who have now developed neurological diseases, must be taken care of. Just contemplating it is sickening: Ontario miners forced to inhale a black aluminum-based substance called McIntyre Powder every time they went on shift.

The powder the miners were forced to breathe in from about 1943 to 1980 was actually developed to reduce the likelihood of them developing lung diseases caused by the high content of carcinogenic silica in gold and uranium mines.

But it turns out what they were inhaling may have made them sick in other ways. New research suggests aluminum is a toxin that can cause neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s, if it gets into the bloodstream.

Western Potash announces plans to move ahead on Milestone Project – by Ashley Robinson (Regina Leader-Post – April 16, 2017)

April 19, 2017

http://leaderpost.com/

The Rural Municipality of Lajord isn’t holding its breath when it comes to the Western Potash project at Milestone. “(Western Potash) told us eight years ago they’re going to be (building it) so thats the bottom- line. I can’t get excited anymore, when we see things move ahead then we’ll start getting excited,” said Erwin Beitel, reeve of RM of Lajord.

The long-delayed potash mine is once again slated to move forward. On Tuesday, Western Potash held an open house in Kronau — one of many held over the years.

The project was first proposed in 2009, with an original plan to produce 2.8 million tonnes of potash per year. At the time potash prices were US$400 per tonne, but then the economy dipped and potash prices fell, causing the project to be delayed.

Approval of Mount Polley mine waste dumping irks critics – by Yvette Brend (CBC News B.C. – April 18, 2017)

April 19, 2017

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Mount Polley Mining Corporation has been granted permission to drain treated mining waste water into Quesnel Lake, a massive glacial lake that provides drinking water to residents of Likely B.C., northeast of Williams Lake.

Approval of the long-term waste water management plan came April 7, despite a disaster that put the water at risk in 2014 and a provincial investigation into the spill that is not yet complete. “The timing is absolutely surprising,” said Ugo Lapointe of Mining Watch Canada, who pointed out the news release came on a Friday afternoon before the launching of the B.C. election.

Quesnel Lake, famed for trophy-sized rainbow trout, is feared at risk by locals who describe it as the deepest fjord lake on earth, and who protest any dump of mining waste, treated or otherwise, which can carry toxic elements and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead or zinc.

China’s Shandong Tyan says talks over on bid for Barrick’s Kalgoorlie – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.S. – April 19, 2017)

April 19, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO – Shanghai-listed Shandong Tyan Home (600807.SS) said on Wednesday its negotiations with Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) to buy the Canadian operator’s 50-percent stake in Kalgoorlie mine have ended without a deal, citing new capital and acquisition rules in China.

Toronto-based Barrick had been reviewing the financial backing behind an approximate $1.3 billion bid for its stake in Kalgoorlie mine by Minjar Gold, a unit of Shandong Tyan, Reuters reported in November. Barrick, the world’s largest gold producer, declined to comment on the matter. It reports first-quarter financial results on April 24.

In February, Barrick President Kelvin Dushnisky said “advanced negotiations with a proposed buyer,” were under way and Barrick would be “happy sellers” at the right price. “We’re also very happy to continue to own that asset,” he said.

Iron ore price collapse wipes billions off top mining stocks – by Frik Els (Mining.com – April 18, 2017)

April 19, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

The Northern China import price of 62% Fe content ore plunged 5% on Tuesday to a six-month low of $61.50 per dry metric tonne according to data supplied by The Steel Index. The price of the steelmaking raw material is now down by more than a third over just the last month.

The knock-on effect on the market value of the world’s top iron ore miners have been dramatic with world number four, Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group, a pure play iron ore producer, hardest hit. FMG stock has lost more than 23% of their value over the last month and the Perth-based firm is now worth US$15.6 billion on the ASX following a 7.5% drop in Tuesday trading.

World number one Vale is down 16.1% over the same period knocking $8.5 billion off the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s market capitalization. Diversified giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton between them have given up $19 billion between them since the iron ore price peak mid-March.

Nutrient-Poor Farms Get a Vitamin Boost From Zinc Mines – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – April 18, 2017)

April 18, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Injecting an industrial metal back into the ground could prove a boon for farmers and miners alike. The metal is zinc. Used mostly to reduce corrosion in iron and steel, zinc also is needed in trace amounts to keep humans and plants healthy.

Without it in their diets, people are prone to diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria, and crops are stunted. The trouble is that farmland in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America is increasingly zinc deficient, leading to more than 450,000 deaths annually of children under age five, a 2008 study in The Lancet showed.

While use in agriculture remains small, sales of zinc-infused fertilizers from companies including Mosaic Co. are growing. Farmers are trying to boost yields by reviving soils deprived of nutrients by overuse and a changing climate.