The perfectly respectable environmental movement has been hijacked by climate radicals – by Conrad Black (National Post – December 12, 2015)

http://news.nationalpost.com/

My views of the Paris conference on the environment were published here last week and need not be revisited. But I think the phenomenon of climate change rigidity is so unusual and widespread, it is worthy of more analysis.

We start from the fact that absolutely everyone is an environmentalist in the sense that the term enjoyed for many years. This was in having a concern, even if belated, for clean air and water, reforestation, preservation of species, and of all mankind being responsible stewards of the physical planet.

No one today claims that lakes belong to industry, and no one, at least in the Western world, accepts the industrial smog that used to prevail in almost all industrial cities, or the untreated sewage that made most of the world’s urban waterways from early in the Industrial Revolution until the last 40 or 50 years a fecal ooze.

Read more

Junior miner Champion Iron agrees to buy troubled Bloom Lake mine in Quebec – by Peter Koven (National Post – December 11, 2015)

http://business.financialpost.com/

A buyer has finally emerged for the troubled Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Quebec, which was shuttered nearly a year ago after incurring massive losses.

Junior miner Champion Iron Ltd. has won an auction to buy the mine out of bankruptcy protection for $10.5 million. Champion, which has offices in Canada and Australia, will also assume $42.8 million of liabilities as part of the agreement.

“Bloom Lake is considered an exceptional opportunity for Champion, and one that would not have presented itself without the challenges of the current downturn in bulk commodities,” executive chairman Michael O’Keeffe said in a statement.

Read more

NGOs call for investigation into alleged corruption at Kinross Gold’s West African mines – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – December 11, 2015)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Two nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) have filed a report with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) calling for an investigation into mining company Kinross Gold Corporation for alleged breaches of Canada’s anticorruption laws at the company’s Tasiast mine, in Mauritania, and its Chirano mine, in Ghana.

Activist MiningWatch Canada and French anticorruption association Sherpa claimed on Thursday that they were in possession of extensive and detailed documents and information received from whistleblowers and other sources, which included subpoenas served on Kinross as part of an ongoing US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation, internal Kinross documents, and whistleblower letters, setting out highly detailed allegations of bribery, corruption and other financial crimes in Mauritania and Ghana.

Read more

Commodities slump has Glencore exploring its options – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – December 11, 2015)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For sale: One multibillion-dollar agricultural trader. Slightly used. All reasonable offers considered.

Okay, that’s not exactly how Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive officer of embattled Glencore PLC, put things during his conference call with investors on Thursday. But it does capture the flavour of some of his remarks.

Like every other miner, Glencore is taking it on the chin as the great global commodity collapse continues to send prices spiralling lower. Shares in the Anglo-Swiss company are down 68 per cent this year.

Read more

Rob McEwen, the Investor, Has Some Advice for Mining Executives Everywhere (The Gold Report – December 10, 2015)

http://www.theaureport.com/

What does a veteran mining executive look for when investing his money in junior equities?

In this interview with The Gold Report, Rob McEwen, who has been predicting $5,000/oz gold prices since 2011, explains why he still thinks that this is a possibility in the next four years and how companies can take advantage of technology to ensure that a price rise goes to the bottom line—and ultimately shareholders.

And he shares the names of the three companies that meet his litmus test, one of which bears his name.

The Gold Report: For the last five years, you’ve been predicting $5,000/ounce ($5,000/oz) gold. Are you still predicting that and what would drive it there?

Read more

Another blow for Labrador as IOC delays Wabush 3 project – (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – December 9, 2015)

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

The Iron Ore Company of Canada is blaming a weak outlook in the commodities market for a decision to delay development of the Wabush 3 project in Labrador West.

The project has been described as “critical” to the ongoing viability of the operation, but company officials said in a memo to employees Tuesday that it must limit capital spending in 2016.

With iron ore prices now at a 10-year low, and no signs of a rebound on the horizon, IOC officials said tough decisions have to be made.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government gave its approval for the new open pit mine in September, bringing some much-needed good news to an area hard hit by a prolonged slump in iron ore prices.

Read more

Commodity slump claims more dividend victims and there’s more to come – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – December 10, 2015)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The commodity rout has claimed a fresh round of victims among some of the world’s leading dividend payers and is stalking even larger prey.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the major U.S.-based copper and gold miner, suspended its payout to shareholders on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of Anglo American PLC, another giant metals producer, which halted its dividend on Tuesday.

Kinder Morgan Inc., the largest pipeline operator in North America, also took an axe to payouts on Tuesday. The company that once lured investors with the promise of ever-bigger payments slashed its dividend by 75 per cent.

The common theme in the recent cuts is collapsing commodity prices, which are erasing profits and leaving management with little financial room to manoeuvre.

Read more

A time of hope for First Nations – Editorial (Waterloo Region Record – December 19, 2015)

http://www.therecord.com/

Of all the challenges facing Canada today, the crying need to improve the lot of its First Nations citizens is the greatest and most daunting.

Whether they live in a teeming metropolis or on a remote reserve, aboriginal Canadians are poorer, less educated, less healthy, less likely to be employed, more likely to be victims of violent crime, more prone to substance abuse and more likely to be imprisoned than the general population. All that is fact.

With justification, the living standards on too many reserves have been condemned as something out of the Third World, not fit for a country like Canada that is one of the most affluent places on Earth. And with justification, Canada has been shamed in the global community by the plight of its indigenous communities.

Read more

Canada aboriginal head says development may be easier under new PM – by David Ljunggren (Reuters U.K. – December 9, 2015)

http://uk.reuters.com/

OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s move to reach out to aboriginal groups could make it easier for natural resource companies to complete major projects, some of which are stalled, a senior indigenous leader said on Wednesday.

Trudeau, whose Liberals took power last month, told aboriginal chiefs on Tuesday he wanted to radically improve relations with the government, which were often tense under the former ruling Conservatives.

He also pledged more funding for an indigenous population plagued by crime, ill-health and poverty, and stressed the importance of aboriginal rights.

“We’re totally optimistic and hopeful because the prime minister talked about building on a new relationship,” said Perry Bellegarde, who heads the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the umbrella group for the more than 600 aboriginal bands in Canada.

Read more

Gahcho Kué diamond mine co-owner welcomes influx of Snap Lake workers – by Mitchel Wiles (CBC News North – December 8, 2015)

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

One of the owners of N.W.T.’s Gahcho Kué diamond project says scooping up about 100 employees from the closing Snap Lake mine will have a “positive impact” as the project races toward first production in 2016.

Gahcho Kué is hiring more staff for what it calls “operational readiness.” According to Patrick Evans, CEO of Mountain Province Diamonds, employees laid off from Snap Lake, just 90 kilometres away, are turning out to be ideal candidates.

“It’s going to have quite a positive impact,” said Evans. “We are able to get fully trained, inducted, and experienced employees.”

Evans said 41 Snap Lake employees have already transferred to the project, and another 60 will follow next year.

Read more

Canada’s steel industry: High-value cornerstone of our manufacturing economy – by Ken Neumann and Marty Warren (Hamilton Spectator – December 9, 2015)

http://www.thespec.com/

Ken Neumann is the United Steelworkers National Director. Marty Warren is the United Steelworkers District Director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

With a perfect storm threatening Canada’s steel industry, many concerned Canadians are asking, “Will steel manufacturing still play a key role in our future economy?” Well, the answer can — and should — be: “yes.” To understand why and how, let’s look at the facts.

The livelihoods of tens of thousands of Canadian workers and pensioners are at risk and so are the communities that depend on the steel industry for jobs and economic activity. The current crisis is caused by low world steel prices, a sluggish oil and gas sector and dumping of subsidized steel from China and other jurisdictions with poor environmental, safety and working standards.

Read more

Anglo’s radical downsizing signals lasting mining slump – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – December 9, 2015)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Anglo American PLC, one of the world’s biggest miners, is planning to shrink by nearly two-thirds and shed 85,000 jobs as it attempts to deal with a global commodity slump that has entered a new and vicious stage.

While other miners have trimmed jobs, reorganized themselves and put assets up for sale, Anglo is the first of the world’s leading producers to commit itself to radical downsizing – a sign that it does not see any realistic hope for a near-term rebound in metal prices.

The British company’s willingness to do what was once unthinkable highlights the urgency of the challenges facing global miners. Metal producers borrowed, built and expanded during the commodity supercycle that ended in 2011 only to tumble into a subsequent slump that has erased all the gains made during the boom times.

Read more

Globe Editorial: First Nations need a lot more than just a missing women inquiry (Globe and Mail – December 9, 2015)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Tuesday featured two big announcements from Ottawa regarding Canada’s First Nations. The start of a consultation process to create an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women received the most attention.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s five-point plan to reset the relationship with native Canada is the larger story. That’s because the MMIW issue, important as it is, cannot be seen in isolation. It grows out of something bigger and deeper.

When Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was asked what the goal of the inquiry would be, she mentioned preventing a repetition of the tragedies it is to investigate.

Read more

Trudeau’s embrace of First Nations laudable, but throwing money at their problems isn’t the answer – by John Ivison (National Post – December 9, 2015)

http://news.nationalpost.com/

“The right thing to do.” Justin Trudeau is using that line from last week’s throne speech to justify a raft of measures he hopes will improve the lives of indigenous people.

But there are few signs the policy and spending implications of the commitments the prime minister made Tuesday to chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) have been thought through. In a speech, he promised he would be their “partner.”

The chiefs — foremost among them the clearly delighted National Chief, Perry Bellegarde, already quite cozy with Trudeau — gave him repeated standing ovations. And no wonder: the new prime minister has already agreed to give them pretty much everything they want.

Read more

Task force commissioned by mining industry recommends tighter dam oversight – by Gordon Hoekstra (Vancouver Sun – December 8, 2015)

http://www.vancouversun.com/

The Mining Association of Canada says it will implement beefed up oversight of earth-and-rock dams that hold back mining waste as recommended in an independent report it commissioned after the Mount Polley mine dam failure last year.

That means its members — which include some of B.C.’s largest mining companies — will have to have independent reviews of all stages of dam development, from site investigation and selection to design, operation and closure.

The 29 recommendations released in the report on Tuesday also call for more transparency and communication with communities on safety risks and monitoring. It also calls for high-risk closed mine facilities to be part of the industry association’s oversight program.

Read more