Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 464

Lithium’s great story: 80 years in the making – by Robin Bromby (InvestorIntel.com – April 29, 2016)

April 29, 2016

This is not the first time people have been excited by lithium.

The great mass of the investing public has only been on top of the lithium story for little more than a year yet the story has been there for some time, in one form or another. In 2009, for example, Foreign Policy journal, in an article by David J Rothkoff, had a headline reading “The Great Lithium Game”.

He began: “In Asia, Europe, and the United States, people are getting excited by the electric car – for good reason”. He went on to argue that the ”major fly in the ointment for the electric car is the battery”. Seven years ago there was just starting to be interest in the concept of the lithium-ion battery, then being used in cameras, cellphones and computers, as the solution to electric car storage.

Rothkoff got is right in predicting that lithium was likely to be the commodity in the years immediately ahead. He also raised another interesting point, and one that is becoming a very live issue right now.

Why Canada Needs Both Windmills And Pipelines – by Katrina Marsh (Huffington Post – April 28, 2016)

April 29, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

“The choice between pipelines and wind turbines is a false one. We need both to reach our goal.” Prime Minister Trudeau’s comment — spoken just before last March’s First Ministers’ meeting on climate change — has echoed through ministers’ speeches and media interviews ever since. Mr. Trudeau and his cabinet are walking a fine line between the need to control greenhouse gas emissions on the one hand and the need for energy pipelines on the other.

Some people see a contradiction in this balancing act. The authors of the Leap Manifesto argue that growth in renewable energy technologies mean that there is “no longer an excuse for building new infrastructure projects that lock us into increased extraction decades into the future.”

Yet the truth is that Canadians will continue to rely on fossil fuels even as we develop alternatives. This is not an ideological position to be argued over, but a fact that must be recognized.

Goldcorp hack underlines rise in cyberattacks on corporations – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – April 29, 2016)

April 29, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A computer attack on Goldcorp Inc. has resulted in a data breach, highlighting the growing propensity of criminals to target confidential corporate information.

David Garofalo, chief executive of Vancouver-based Goldcorp, said he has handed the matter over to police. “At this point, it’s a criminal matter,” he said. “Our systems are secure, our business is running normally. We don’t pay criminals.”

Mr. Garofalo said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the case because of the police investigation, but indicated that Goldcorp was not unique in being targeted by such cyberassailants. “My understanding is that they target a lot of companies,” he said. “They do it for money. In that case, the answer is obvious to me – you don’t pay criminals and then you call the police.”

Ontario First Nations plan power line to help remote communities get off diesel – by Jody Porter (CBC News thunder Bay – April 27, 2016)

April 29, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Wataynikaneyap Power project would connect 16 First Nations to Ontario’s electricity grid

The plan to extend Ontario’s electricity lines to the remote northern parts of the province takes another step forward this month as consultation meetings are underway in more than a dozen First Nations.

Twenty First Nations are the majority owners of Wataynikaneyap Power — 16 of them currently rely on costly and hazardous diesel generated electricity. That role puts the First Nations-led company in the unique position of conducting consultations with communities that are also its owners.

“I think it will help with the community because our diesel generator is not very reliable at times,” said Donald Campbell, deputy chief at North Spirit Lake, who is also a board member with Wataynikaneyap.

Diesel-generated electricity costly for envrionment, economy, Ontario First Nations say (CBC News thunder Bay – April 27, 2016)

April 29, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

First Nations planning to extend Ontario’s power grid hundreds of kilometres into the province’s remote north say getting their communities off diesel generators could save millions of dollars.

In May, the Ontario government is expected to designate the transmission line extension as a priority project, and the First Nations-led Wataynikaneyap Power hopes to be selected as the company to build it.

Meanwhile, 25 First Nations in the province remain reliant on diesel generators to provide electricity to their growing communities. Residents say it’s a dirty, unreliable and expensive way to create power.

Here are some of the costs of that diesel power in one First Nation, by the numbers:

Kathleen Wynne’s monstrous new utility to make Ontarians drive, live and work ‘green’ – by Kevin Libin (Financial Post – April 29, 2016)

April 29, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

Things just got a whole lot brighter in Canada for the dismal electric-car business. Word has leaked that the country’s largest province is preparing to help buy a plug-in vehicle or hybrid for millions of families across the province — or will at least force those families to buy one.

The details of how Ontarians are getting all those green vehicles weren’t clear in the confidential draft version of the Wynne Liberals’ “Climate Change Action Plan” leaked to The Globe and Mail on Wednesday. But the goals are crystal clear: A promise to get 1.7 million low-emission cars on the roads in the next eight years, and pull seven million gas-powered cars off in the next 14.

That’s in addition to making sure 80 per cent of us ride transit or walk or bike to work, and ensuring the majority of the buildings in the province are “emissions-free” by 2050.

Goldcorp Reports First Profit in Three Quarters Amid Cost Cuts – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – April 28, 2016)

April 29, 2016April 28, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Goldcorp Inc. reported its first profit in three quarters, beating analysts’ estimates, as costs fell more than expected.

First-quarter net income was $80 million, compared with a net loss of $87 million a year earlier, Vancouver-based Goldcorp said Wednesday in a statement. Excluding one-time items, earnings were 10 cents a share, beating the 4-cent average of 18 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Like its peers, the world’s third-largest gold producer by market value has been working to strengthen its balance sheet. The company had average all-in sustaining costs of $836 an ounce of gold in the first quarter, compared with $894 for all of 2015 and the $861.50 average of four estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Iron ore price plummets amid Chinese speculative mania – by Frik Els (Mining.com – April 28, 2016)

April 28, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

On Wednesday the Northern China benchmark iron ore price fell 5.6% to $60.50 per dry metric tonne (62% Fe CFR Tianjin port). Iron ore is now down more than 12% from 16-month highs hit last week according to data supplied by The Steel Index, but the steelmaking raw material still boasts a 41% rise in 2016 and a 60%-plus recovery from nine-year lows reached mid-December.

Given that it forges half the world’s steel and consumes more than 70% of the 1.3 billion tonne seaborne trade, the iron ore market is reliant, more than any other commodity, on the Chinese economy. The surge in iron ore over the past four months has come mainly on the back rapidly rising steel prices in China and commodity investment fever that’s gripping the mainland.

Copper fell victim to Chinese speculators a year ago when a hedge fund called Shanghai Chaos conducted a bear raid on copper futures. Attention has now shifted to iron ore and other metals including aluminum.

Historical Overview of Mining in Papua New Guinea – by Trevor Neale (INFO MINE.COM)

April 27, 2016

http://www.infomine.com/

Papua New Guineans have been mining and manufacturing stone implements, harvesting oil seeps and using clay for pottery for about 40,000 years, however metals never became part of the indigenous culture. The first reported traces of gold were from pottery collected in Redscar Bay to the west of Port Moresby in 1852.

An expedition to find the source of this gold in 1855 failed when the ship carrying the prospectors was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast. The 1800s was a period of rapid colonial expansion by European powers and in the Pacific this mainly involved Britain, Germany and France with the Netherlands active in southern Asia.

In 1828, fearing British intentions, the western half of the island of New Guinea (west of 141˚ longitude) was claimed by the Governor of the Maluccas, Pieter Merkus, for the Netherlands (Dutch New Guinea). In 1875, the Netherlands Government defined its 1828 claim by fixing 140˚ 47’ east as its eastern boundary.

Iron ore price: Only question now is how rapid the fall – by Frik Els (Mining.com – April 26, 2016)

April 27, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

On Tuesday the Northern China benchmark iron ore price lost 1.4% to $64.10 per dry metric tonne (62% Fe CFR Tianjin port), down more than 6% from 16-month highs hit last week according to data supplied by The Steel Index.

The steelmaking raw material still boasts a near 50% rise year to date and an almost three-quarters surge from nine-year lows reached mid-December. Given that it forges half the world’s steel and consumes more than 70% of the 1.3 billion tonne seaborne trade, the iron ore market is reliant, more than any other commodity, on the Chinese economy.

The surge in iron ore over the past four months has come mainly on the back rapidly rising steel prices in China – up by a fifth just in April in never-seen-before volume – coupled with a reduction in output from domestic miners which have borne the brunt of the flood of new supply from Australia and Brazil.

How a Canadian tech magnate plans to save Britain’s steel industry – by Paul Waldie (Globe and Mail – April 27, 2016)

April 27, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Sir Terry Matthews made a fortune in the technology sector with a string of companies including Mitel Corp., Corel Corp. and Newbridge Networks, which he sold in 2000 for $7-billlion (U.S.) in stock. Now, Sir Terry is returning to his roots in Wales for what may be his greatest challenge yet: trying to revive Britain’s largest steel plant.

Sir Terry has created Excalibur Steel UK Ltd., and he’s rounding up investors to buy the troubled Tata steel mill in Port Talbot near Swansea. Tata put its British operations up for sale in March, saying the division, which includes three steel-making facilities, was inefficient. The Port Talbot plant is the largest, employing roughly 15,000 people directly and indirectly.

The challenge for any buyer is daunting. The integrated plant, which makes strip steel used in auto manufacturing, construction and appliances, is outdated and losing about $2-million a day. Energy costs are twice as high as elsewhere in Europe and steel prices have plummeted because of oversupply from China.

Big Bear, meet Attawapiskat – by Kevin Libin (Financial Post – April 27, 2016)

April 27, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

Everyone has ideas about what to do with the miserable and desperate people in Attawapiskat, back in the news again this month due to a horrifying epidemic of kids choosing suicide. Jean Chrétien’s received some support for his blunt message that residents would be better off abandoning the reserve and settling somewhere less desolate.

“People have to move sometimes,” he said. “It’s desirable to stay if they want to stay but it’s not always possible” when there’s no sufficient economic base. The NDP’s Niki Ashton ripped that idea, calling it an “assimilationist view” rooted in the perennially colonialist thinking of non-aboriginals.

Other, less hopeless First Nations have opinions, too, about the Northern Ontario town. “We’re not bison. We shouldn’t be herded around on the whims of a racist nation,” said Stewart Phillip, a First Nations leader from B.C. where, let’s be frank, the circumstances of First Nations are not much like Northern Ontario.

‘Barrick is back,’ chairman declares, as restructuring moves pay off with strong results – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 27, 2016)

April 27, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

TORONTO — Tuesday’s annual meeting had to feel like a pleasant change of pace for Barrick Gold Corp.’s directors and senior management: For the first time in years, there was no crisis to avert.

At last year’s meeting, shareholders were outraged over chairman John Thornton’s compensation. The year before that, there was frustration and confusion over the company’s failed attempt to merge with Newmont Mining Corp. And in 2013, there was yet another controversy over Thornton’s pay.

On Tuesday, Barrick executives could just focus on the company’s performance, which has been stellar over the past year. “Barrick is back,” Thornton told the audience in Toronto.

Teck Resources Posts Surprise Adjusted Profit as Costs Fall – by Danielle Bochove and Liezel Hill (Bloomberg News – April 26, 2016)

April 26, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. reported first-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates as Canada’s largest diversified miner cut costs to offset the impact of lower commodity prices.

Profit attributable to shareholders was C$94 million ($74 million) compared with C$68 million a year earlier, the Vancouver-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Excluding one-time items, Teck posted earnings of 3 Canadian cents a share, beating the 3-cent loss estimated by 19 analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Steelmaking coal unit costs, including transportation charges, fell 9.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, to C$77 a metric ton, while copper cash-unit costs after by-product credits declined 16 percent to $1.29 per pound. “Our operations performed well by reducing our costs while maintaining production volumes,” Chief Executive Officer Don Lindsay said in the statement.

New St. Lawrence fluorspar mine means high hopes for local job seekers (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – April 25, 2016)

April 26, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

Much excitement following employment information session, says deputy mayor

The deputy mayor of St. Lawrence, on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula, says there’s much optimism in his town now that preparation work for a new fluorspar mine is underway.

Jack Walsh told the St. John’s Morning Show that contractor Pennecon is now clearing land at the site where the open pit mine will be developed. “We’re very enthusiastic about our future here,” he said. “There’s a lot of interest from all over the peninsula.”

Once it’s up and running, the operation will mine for fluorspar — or fluorite, a mineral used for a wide range of industrial and commercial materials, including for camera and telescope lenses. Walsh said Canada Fluorspar Inc. has ordered equipment for the actual construction of the mill, and work on that site will start in June. Pennecon expects to be done clearing the land in the next 10 days.