Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 428

Goldcorp’s Garofalo stresses quality over quantity – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – October 27, 2016)

October 28, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

David Garofalo has poured more than a million dollars of his own money into his company’s stock in recent months. For the time being, that is not a winning investment for the chief executive of Goldcorp Inc. Shares of the Vancouver-based gold miner have slid from above $26 in early July to below $20 as the company’s earnings have generally disappointed analysts’ expectations and its gold production has declined from levels of a year earlier.

But Mr. Garofalo, who took over as Goldcorp’s chief executive at the end of February, shrugs off the market’s less-than-enthusiastic reaction. Investors, he suggests, should get used to the idea of focusing on quality rather than quantity when it comes to judging precious-metal investments.

“If investors are uncomfortable with a smaller gold company, just generally speaking you’re going to have difficulty investing in the space at all,” he says. “The industry is shrinking, and necessarily so” because of a lack of good geological prospects. “So it has to focus on profitability.”

Donald Trump’s Grandpa Made Fortune Selling Sex, Booze In B.C.’s North – by Jesse Ferreras (Huffington Post Canada – October 26, 2016)

March 19, 2017October 27, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

Donald Trump would have you believe he’s a savvy businessman who has made sacrifices and seen “tremendous success.” But it was his grandfather Friedrich Trump who set the family on a course for business success, which he enjoyed early on by selling booze and sex to gold miners in northern Canada.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday on the Arctic Restaurant and Hotel, an establishment that offered food, alcohol and sex workers to miners seeking riches amid the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 19th century.

But Trump, who left Germany at the age of 16 before making his way to New York and eventually B.C., didn’t go looking for gold in any mountain. He was more focused on “mining the miners,” biographer Gwenda Blair told the news agency. Trump and partner Ernest Levin initially established the Arctic Hotel in Bennett, B.C. in 1899, in a place that was once a thriving hub for prospectors.

Editorial: The Clintons, Morocco and OCP – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – October 25, 2016)

October 27, 2016

http://www.northernminer.com/

The usually low-profile mining industry first popped up in the high-stakes U.S. 2016 presidential election campaign a couple of years ago, with the New York Times’ revelations of former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s appearance in Kazakhstan in the 2000s praising the authoritarian leader there, the sale of Kazakhstan’s uranium assets to Uranium One, the subsequent donation of millions of dollars by Uranium One-linked mining executives to the Clinton Foundation, and the later approval by the Hillary Clinton-led U.S. State Department of the sale of U.S. uranium assets to Uranium One, after the firm had been bought by Russian interests.

As the election race enters its final two weeks, mining has unexpectedly popped up again in the form of Moroccan state-owned phosphate mining giant OCP and its murky relation to Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, as revealed in personal emails of Clinton staffers newly released by Wikileaks.

It seems Hillary Clinton pushed hard to get a US$12-million donation for the Clinton Foundation from OCP — which is controlled by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI — partly in return for the Clinton Foundation holding a posh convention — closed to the media — in Marrakesh in May 2015, with Hillary as the keynote speaker.

10 years after takeover, Vale predicts ‘bright future’ for Sudbury mines (CBC News Sudbury – October 26, 2016)

October 26, 2016

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

Glencore declines to comment on 10th anniversary since Falconbridge purchase

Despite low nickel prices and rising costs, Vale is forecasting a bright future for its Sudbury mines. This week marks 10 years since the Brazilian iron ore company took over Sudbury-based Inco.

Stuart Harshaw is now Vale’s vice-president of Ontario Operations, but he started his career with the old Inco.He says his company has been good for Sudbury over the last decade and is quick to list off $4 billion in investments in local infrastructure, that he says would have been more difficult for a smaller company.

Most of the last decade has seen gloomy times for the mining sector, with slumping metal prices and rising costs with miners going deeper and deeper into the earth.But Harshaw predicts a rosy future for Vale operations in Sudbury, while acknowledging that changes lie ahead.

Darnley Bay to buy Tamerlane’s Pine Point mine property – by Jimmy Thomson (CBC News North – October 26, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Company has signed a letter of intent with Tamerlane’s receiver

Darnley Bay Resources Ltd. has a deal in the works to buy the defunct Pine Point lead and zinc mine east of Hay River, N.W.T. The company signed a binding letter of intent to buy the claims from the receiver that took them over from Tamerlane Ventures for $8 million in cash and shares.

Tamerlane had tried to restart the mine in the 2000’s, but failed due in part to low global metal prices. Mineral prices have since rebounded, and with it, the fortunes of the mine.

“The economy for the base metal mining market at that time was very poor,” says Kerry Knoll, Darnley Bay’s director and chairman. “It’s much better now.” His company has been working on developing the Darnley Bay site near Paulatuk for years, but has not been able to raise the capital to fund it. Knoll says restarting Pine Point could be a “springboard” to getting that other project moving.

Suzuki smears Canadian mining companies as “disgusting” – by Christopher Wilson (The Rebel – October 25, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.therebel.media/

David Suzuki is at it again slandering and smearing Canadian industry, this time, Canada’s mining companies.

It was about one year ago that Suzuki likened the Canadian oil and gas industry to plantation slavery which, following his analogy, would make the thousands of hard working Canadian men and women, concerned about the future prospects of their careers, like slave owners.

What a bizarre, out of touch thing to say. And today we heard more of the same in a Rabble.ca piece where Suzuki calls the Canadian mining industry and our mining companies “disgusting”.

How a $900-million lawsuit is shaping the future of Canada’s natural resource landscape – by Damon Van Linde (October 25, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.calgaryherald.com/

SEPT-ÎLES, QUE. — Flying in a helicopter over the Bay of Sept-Îles, Alexandre Pinette points to the mouth of the Moisie River where it empties from the north into the St. Lawrence River. Members of his Innu community used to live by the river every summer to fish salmon and trap, but he said they were moved by the government in 1949 to the permanent Uashat and Maliotenam reservations.

“When the Innu came back in spring, their houses were destroyed. They had disappeared,” said Pinette, his voice crackling over the helicopter intercom. He adds that Innu were also displaced between 1948 and 1950 from what is now the Iron Ore Co. of Canada’s port, where huge mounds of the sparkling mineral are sorted and then loaded into waiting cargo ships.

A 578-kilometre railway stretches north from Sept-Îles’ deep-water port to where the mineral is dug from the ground. Here, the Innu claim the mines and other facilities have ruined the environment, displaced members from their territory and prevented them from practising their traditional way of life, while not giving much back to the community.

CANADA AWARDS: Young Mining Professional Award to honour mining’s best under 40 – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – October 26, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

http://www.youngminingprofessionals.com/

At The Northern Miner, they’ve taken good care to honour the old lions and lionesses of the Canadian mining industry with their co-founding and ongoing sponsorship of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and its annual induction ceremony — which has grown to become one of the industry’s must-attend events each January — as well as their support of the two mining halls of fame in the United States.

Now it’s time to also acknowledge the industry’s younger members, with the full support of the inaugural annual “Young Mining Professional” award, which will shine a light on the best and brightest of the under-40 crowd in Canada and the United States.

The Northern Miner is partnering with the Young Mining Professionals (YMP) group — with its lively and growing chapters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal — to launch the YMP Awards, which in the words of the YMP, will “recognize two young mining professionals, a male and a female, who over the past year, and during the course of their careers, have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and innovative thinking to provide value for their companies and shareholders, as well as for themselves.”

Sherritt widens loss as output slows; lowers Ambatovy FY guidance – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 25, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian diversified miner Sherritt International Resources has, for the second time this year, cut the nickel guidance at the 40%-owned Ambatovy mine, in Madagascar, citing a tailings pipe blockage and total shutdown that occurred in June and July, followed by weak output in August.

The Toronto-based Sherritt, which produces nickel, cobalt, mixed sulphides, oil and gas, and electricity, lowered Ambatovy’s 2016 nickel guidance by 2 000 t from July estimates to between 40 000 t and 42 000 t. This is down 8 000 t from the initial 2016 nickel guidance of between 3 300 t and 3 800 t.

CEO David Pathe told Mining Weekly Online that Ambatovy, which accounts for about 27% of the company’s third-quarter revenue, experienced slower-than-expected ramp-up in July and August following the shutdown. He expects the operation to again reach nameplate capacity of 60 000 t/y sometime in 2017, noting that achieving the upper 20% of capacity is a complex endeavour, comprising many moving parts, which the company is working on mastering.

Quebec’s first diamond mine marks a milestone in the Plan Nord program – by Damon van der Linde (Financial Post – October 26, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

LAC LAGOPÈDE, Que. — Stornoway Diamond Corp. CEO Matt Manson stands over a glass display case containing piles of shimmering stones destined for rings and necklaces around the world. The diamonds are sorted by size, colour and shape, and using a pair of tweezers, Manson picks up one of the biggest: a clear eight-sided stone estimated to be worth more than $100,000.

“Diamonds are a mined product that people use to commemorate the most important personal moments of their lives,” he said at the recent inauguration of the Renard mine in north-central Quebec. Although the entire 20,000 carat haul could fit inside a wedding party punch bowl, it took 450 workers six days to produce and is valued between $3 million and $5 million.

The piles of gems were not only to display the potential of Quebec’s first diamond mine — they also represent the initial spoils of the provincial government’s Plan Nord initiative.

Shift away from coal power won’t be cheap for Alberta – Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – October 26, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

CALGARY — Alberta’s shift away from coal-fired power is about to get real. And expensive.

Premier Rachel Notley signalled last week that the government will cough up compensation for electricity generators as they shut down coal plants that currently provide about 38 per cent of the province’s juice. This is one measure that apparently comes from advice by a former U.S. power-industry executive the Premier brought in to deal with the thorny issue of billions of dollars in generating assets that will be rendered useless by 2030.

That’s the deadline for coal emissions spelled out in Alberta’s plan to fight climate change. The idea is to fill that gap between now and then with power generated by natural gas and renewables such as wind and solar.

The New Democratic Party government is poring over recommendations from Terry Boston, former chief executive officer of PJM Interconnection, based in Valley Forge, Pa.

Exclusive: Chinese miners in talks for stake in Barrick’s Veladero mine – sources – by John Tilak and Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – October 25, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO/VANCOUVER – China’s Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd and Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd have held separate talks with Barrick Gold Corp to buy a 50 percent stake in its Veladero gold mine in Argentina, according to four sources with knowledge of the process.

Veladero is one of Barrick’s five core mines, which are all in the Americas. It is expected to produce between 580,000 and 640,000 ounces of gold this year.

The high quality of the mine, production capacity and the prospect for geographical diversification have appealed to the state-owned Chinese suitors, said three of the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is private. All of the persons spoke over the past week.

Gold demand plummets in India as government cracks down on ‘black money’ – by Swansy Afonso, Eddie Van Der Walt and Ranjeetha Pakim (Globe and Mail/Bloomberg News – October 25, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

MUMBAI/LONDON/SINGAPORE — In the world’s largest gold-consuming country after China, demand has just fallen off a cliff. Saurabh Gadgil, a sixth-generation jeweller, says it’s the worst year in India since he took charge of the family business in 1999. The 39-year old chairman of PN Gadgil Jewellers, which has stores in the country, Dubai and the United States, has offered discounts and freebies to lure customers.

“There’s not much you can do as the whole industry is suffering,” he said by phone from the city of Pune. A slump in prices has given jewellers a glimmer of hope before the Hindu festival of Diwali this weekend and Dhanteras on Oct. 28, the most auspicious day in the year to buy gold.

But consumption is still set to shrink to 650 tonnes in 2016, the smallest in seven years, according to a Bloomberg survey of five jewellers and traders. Indians bought 864 tonnes last year, a quarter of global demand, and a record 1,006 tonnes in 2010, World Gold Council data show.

Toronto lawyer looks to end ‘incivility’ legal saga – by Jacques Gallant (Toronto Star – October 22, 2016)

October 25, 2016

https://www.thestar.com/

Joe Groia has fought charge that he was rude and disruptive during Bre-X trial at every level of court.

As Joe Groia puts it, people don’t hire a lawyer because they’re nice and polite. “Clients hire lawyers because they believe that the lawyer is all that stands between them and disaster.” He would know.

The Toronto securities lawyer has been embroiled in a near decade-long battle with the Law Society of Upper Canada, the body that regulates the legal profession in Ontario, over his “incivility” conviction — basically being rude and disruptive in the courtroom at the trial of his former client, Bre-X Minerals executive John Felderhof.

Groia was suspended for two months and ordered to pay nearly $250,000 (later reduced to one month and $200,000).

Canadians need to understand the importance of oil export pipelines – by Patricia Mohr (Globe and Mail – October 25, 2016)

October 25, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Patricia Mohr is an economist and commodity market specialist in Vancouver. She developed the Scotiabank Commodity Price Index, the first of its kind for Canada.

Much has been said and written about the vital need to build oil export pipelines to the coasts of British Columbia and Atlantic Canada. Yet many Canadians still appear unaware of how critically important this is to our economy.

Canada owes its economic prosperity to trade – we are a trading nation – and crude oil dominates. In 2014, before the oil-price downturn, oil generated a $70-billion trade surplus, far outstripping any other export category, and virtually covered large, chronic deficits in autos and auto parts (minus-$15.9-billion), machinery & equipment (minus-$21.5-billion) and electronics (minus-$34.3-billion).

Even at the bottom of the oil-price correction early this year, crude remains the largest positive contributor to Canada’s merchandise trade, contributing more than $30-billion annualized in net export revenue as of August.