Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 531

Clinton, Giustra push back against New York Times’ Uranium One story – by Michael Allan McCrae (Mining.com – April 23, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.mining.com/

Hillary Clinton and Frank Giustra both released statements claiming that the New York Times failed to prove any connections between the Clinton Foundation and the purchase of Russian assets.

Today the New York Times profiled Uranium One and gifts to the Clinton Foundation. Spokesman for Hillary Clinton, Brian Fallon, called the story wrong.

“Relying largely on research from the conservative author of Clinton Cash, today’s New York Times alleges that donations to the Clinton Foundation coincided with the U.S. government’s 2010 approval of the sale of a company known as Uranium One to the Russian government. Without presenting any direct evidence in support of the claim, the Times story — like the book on which it is based — wrongly suggests that Hillary Clinton’s State Department pushed for the sale’s approval to reward donors who had a financial interest in the deal. Ironically, buried within the story is original reporting that debunks the allegation that then-Secretary Clinton played any role in the review of the sale.

The Times’ own public editor has taken issue with the paper’s arrangement with the author of Clinton Cash, saying, “The Times should have been much more clear with readers about the nature of this arrangement” and “I still don’t like the way it looked.” It certainly doesn’t look any better that the lead Times reporter appeared in a taped interview for a Fox News documentary attacking the Clintons on this matter prior to receiving our responses to her questions.”

Jim Doak, Canadian mining executive, found dead in Mongolia (CBC News Business – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business

Chairman of Khan Resources was well-known Bay Street personality and frequent BNN commentator

The Canadian Press – A published report says Jim Doak, a well-known Bay Street personality who regularly appeared as a commentator on business channel BNN, has died while on business in Mongolia.

The Globe and Mail, citing sources, said Doak, 59, who was chairman of uranium exploration and development company Khan Resources, was found dead Thursday morning in a hotel room.

The public relations officer for the Police Authority of Mongolia confirms the death of an unidentified Canadian man on the 16th floor of the Blue Sky hotel in Ulan Bator. The officer said a preliminary autopsy found there was no foul play but added that a final autopsy report would be available in four days.

The federal government confirmed that a Canadian has died in Mongolia, but would not provide details. A Foreign Affairs spokesman said consular officials were in contact with authorities to gather more information.

UPDATE 2-CPPIB joins chorus against Barrick’s executive pay structure – by Euan Rocha (Reuters U.S. – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension fund manager, on Friday joined other investors opposing Barrick Gold Corp’s executive compensation schemes, arguing the company’s pay awards were “outsize” and unrelated to performance.

Toronto-based CPPIB said it plans to come out against the advisory vote on executive compensation that Barrick will be having at its annual shareholder meeting next week.

It also said it plans to withhold support from Brett Harvey, one of Barrick’s board members and the chair of its compensation committee. CPPIB own roughly 8.1 million Barrick shares, or less than a percent of the company’s outstanding stock.

“We continue to be concerned with the company’s practice of granting outsized awards on a largely discretionary basis, which we believe is inconsistent with the governance principle of pay-for-performance,” said CPPIB in a statement.

Last week, two smaller Canadian pension funds, the British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCIMC) and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, said they plan to withhold support from Barrick’s entire board in light of their concerns with Barrick’s executive compensation package.

‘Ring of Fire’ asset sale descends into chaos – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

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

The sale of prized chromite assets in Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral belt has descended into chaos, according to sources and court filings, with multiple bidders and dissenters and no certainty about the endgame.

The whole mess should be sorted out on Friday, when the Quebec Superior Court will listen to arguments and determine how the contested bidding process should proceed. Until recently, this process did not seem controversial in the least.

On March 23, Noront Resources Ltd. announced a deal to buy the chromite assets from Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. for US$20 million. Cliffs is making a much-publicized retreat from Canada, and sold the assets for a fraction of what it paid to acquire them.

The Noront deal was expected to close in mid-April. But on April 13, Cliffs received a $23 million rival bid for the assets, court filings show, which prompted another round of bidding and a disputed result. Additionally, four First Nations groups are contesting Noront’s takeover and told the Superior Court they are plotting their own bid. (Cliffs’ Canadian unit is currently in creditor protection, meaning everything is being done through the courts.)

Gold bars, tall tales and hangovers—scenes from the world’s largest mining convention – by Trevor Cole (Globe and Mail – April 23, 2015)

April 23, 2015

The 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.

If gold had a fragrance, it would be the whiff of desperation. And come early March in Toronto, someone would bottle it, relabel it as “Hope” and attempt to sell it at a booth at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s annual convention.

For four days every March, Toronto is centre ice in the world of mining. Frankly, it is anyway—nearly half of the world’s equity transactions related to extracting goodies from the planet’s crust flow through Toronto’s exchanges—but it’s during these four days that the mining world comes to set up its booths, paste on a smile and make a lot of those deals happen. And then, at the end of each day, because the mining business is hard, the world retires to a hotel suite and drinks as much as humanly possible.

This is how it has been since 1942. That first year, when the price of an ounce of gold sat at $33.85 (U.S.), several hundred prospectors and mine developers decided to gather for a single day in Toronto’s King Edward Hotel, talk a great deal about their industry and then head to the bar.

Everybody enjoyed themselves immensely, so the next year they did it again. In 1944, attendance was too high for the King Eddy, so the convention moved to the Royal York Hotel.

Sprott makes $898m unsolicited bid for gold/silver trusts – by Scott Deveau (Bloomberg News – April 23, 2015)

April 23, 2015

Video interview from Business Network News: http://www.bnn.ca/

http://www.mineweb.com/

Sprott Asset Management LP plans to make an unsolicited offer to buy Central GoldTrust and Silver Bullion Trust for almost $900 million, saying the precious metals companies are undervalued.

The share swap by Sprott, a Toronto-based money manager that focuses on gold and silver, represents an 8.3 percent premium to the trusts’ combined market value of $829 million, based on Wednesday’s closing price.

The Canadian trusts, which buy and hold gold and silver, have been under pressure from shareholder Polar Securities Inc., a Toronto-based hedge fund. Polar has been urging the trusts to change how unitholders can redeem their investment as a means of closing their trading gaps.

TransMountain pipeline ‘will go forward’ if approved, Kinder Morgan Inc CEO says – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – April 22, 2015)

April 23, 2015

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

HOUSTON – Saying he is “astounded” by opposition in British Columbia to his company’s proposed pipeline expansion, the head of U.S. energy infrastructure giant Kinder Morgan Inc. warned his company will forge ahead with construction starting in the summer of 2016, if the project receives Ottawa’s approval.

Richard Kinder, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Kinder Morgan, said Wednesday the increasingly vocal opposition is part of an organized movement to use pipeline permits across North America as a “choke point.”

“I believe that Canada, like the U.S., has the rule of law, and I think if you have a valid federal decision to go forward, the project will go forward,” he said at the IHS CERAWeek conference here. “I think we will get this permitted. We intend to get it build. And we hope to see it in service in the third quarter of 2018.”

The approach is in contrast to that of Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., which has been treading carefully despite receiving a federal permit to build its Northern Gateway pipeline last year. The company has yet to announce a start-up date as it works to reduce opposition for its own Alberta-to-West coast pipeline project.

Federal budget 2015 promises funds for Ring of Fire, forestry – (CBC News Thunder Bay – April 22, 2015)

April 22, 2015

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

Tuesday’s budget also extends mining exploration tax credit

The federal budget holds plenty of funds for northwestern Ontario, according to Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford.

Rickford, the Conservative MP for the riding of Kenora, said the government will spend $23 million over five years for chromite processing. Chromite is the key mineral in the Ring of Fire mining development area. There were other mining benefits, as well.

“We’ve extended the mining exploration tax credit and expanded the definition of mining exploration expenses to include the costs of community consultations and environmental assessment process to be 100 per cent deductible, effective immediately,” he said on Tuesday.

The Conservative government tabled the federal budget on Tuesday with a $1.4 billion surplus, down from $6.4 billion projected a year ago and $1.9 billion in November.

The budget also includes $86 million over two years for small forest companies to spend on innovation and expanding markets.

The happiest city in Canada is . . . Sudbury – by Robin Levinson King (Toronto Star – April 22, 2015)

April 22, 2015

Sudburians – Jason from We Live Up Here on Vimeo.

http://www.sudburians.com/

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.

Many assume that wealth is a sign of happiness — but early research shows that health and community belongingness are better at predicting life satisfaction.

Sudbury has the most happy people out of any city in the country. But Heather McTaggart already knew that.

Although she left the town in her early 20s, she moved back in 2012 to study midwifery at Laurentian University. “I keep moving away,” she said. “But I had to come back to Sudbury.”

With its giant smokestack and remote location at the top of Georgian Bay, few would consider Sudbury a must-see destination.

Chair of U.S. senate energy committee says Washington needs adapt to new era of low oil prices – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – April 21, 2015)

April 21, 2015

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

HOUSTON, TX – Canadians are not the only ones frustrated with U.S. President Barack Obama’s energy policy. c

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said Washington needs to adapt to the new era of low oil prices by speeding up regulatory approvals and lifting a ban on oil exports that is imposing virtual “sanctions” on already ailing domestic producers.

Murkowski, chair of the U.S. senate’s energy committee, said many U.S. federal policies are “alarmingly deficient and outdated…[and] in need of modernization and reform.”

The last time the U.S. Congress passed a major energy bill was in 2007, before Obama took office and new extraction technologies boosted domestic oil and gas production, introducing an era of U.S. energy abundance, she told a meeting of global oil leaders gathered here this week for the IHS CERAWeek conference. More than 2,800 delegates from around the world are meeting in Houston to discuss strategies to manage through oil’s current down cycle.

Obama has said he supports an “all-of-the-above energy policy,” but has chastised fossil fuel sources like Canada’s oilsands while boosting green energy as part of his focus on climate change.

Teck Resources Ltd slashes dividend as commodity prices plummet – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 21, 2015)

April 21, 2015

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

Teck Resources Ltd. has finally slashed its dividend, a move many analysts thought was inevitable as the company grapples with weak coal prices and high spending at its Fort Hills oil sands project.

The Vancouver-based miner announced on Tuesday that it cut its semi-annual dividend by two-thirds. The payout is now 15 cents a share, down from 45 cents.

The move will help keep Teck’s balance sheet in solid condition as it continues its $2.9 billion investment in Fort Hills. It has only spent about $900 million so far, meaning there is $2 billion to go. First production is expected in late 2017.

Teck also reported weaker-than-expected first quarter results on Tuesday. Adjusted profit dropped 39 per cent year-over-year to $64 million, or 11 cents a share, which was below the consensus analyst estimate of 15 cents.

Positively, the company’s liquidity remains strong. Teck currently holds $1.4 billion of cash, and it has an additional US$3 billion available in a revolving credit facility.

Nova Scotia mining industry shafted in Liberal budget – by Paul Withers (CBC News Nova Scotia – April 20, 2015)

April 20, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia

Industry claims promise of $2.6M fuel tax break was broken

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says his government cannot afford to deliver a fuel tax break to the mining and quarry industry, even though the Liberals promised to phase in the rebate starting in 2015.

“It was our expectation and understanding that we would start getting the fuel tax rebate in the recent budget. Unfortunately the budget did not deliver on that,” said Sean Kirby, the executive director of the Mining Association of Nova Scotia.

The mining industry has argued that like farming, fishing and forestry, it should qualify for the rebate on the fuel used off public highways.

“That amounts to about $2.6 million a year in fuel taxes which we just shouldn’t be paying for the simple reason that we don’t use that fuel on highways,” said Kirby. “We use it on huge mining quarry vehicles that operate off-road.”

McNeil agrees, but said his government cannot afford to lose the revenue right now.

Canadian miners grapple with security risks in Mexico – by Ian Bickis (Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press – April 19, 2015)

April 20, 2015

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

OAXACA, Mexico – The recent theft of $10.7 million worth of gold from a mine in Mexico has cast a spotlight on the risks of operating in the country.

The armed robbery of McEwen Mining’s El Gallo mine in Sinaloa State follows several other large mine robberies in the past five years, including multimillion-dollar heists at Pan American Silver and First Majestic.

“That’s a part of doing business in Mexico,” says Andrew Kaip, a research analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “It happens a couple times a year; a couple of these producers get hit. In most cases it’s covered by insurance.”
But it’s not just theft that’s plaguing mining companies in Mexico.

They’re now dealing as well with kidnappings and murder. Last month, four employees from Canadian-based Goldcorp were kidnapped while heading home from the mine site in a personal vehicle. One was freed, but three were later found dead.

And in February, four workers at Torex Gold Resources, also a Canadian company, were among 13 people kidnapped near the company’s Morelos gold project. All of the victims in that case were eventually freed.

Short seller activities come to light in B.C. regulator’s probe of Silvercorp Metals Inc affair – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 18, 2015)

April 20, 2015

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

On Sept. 13, 2011, Silvercorp Metals Inc. was set to present at an investor conference in New York. And Jon Carnes and Carson Block wanted to disrupt it.

Both men were shorting Silvercorp shares, betting the stock would slide. And Carnes, who runs a hedge fund called Eos Funds, was preparing to publish a negative report on the company using the name “Alfred Little,” one of multiple pseudonyms he used. In a series of emails, the men agreed the best time to publish it would be shortly before Silvercorp’s presentation at the annual Rodman and Renshaw Global Investment conference — forcing the company to respond to questions about the report, with little time to prepare.

“Would be fantastic to start passing around paper versions of the report during the preso (presentation). Ballsy, but would be hilarious,” Block wrote in an email unearthed by regulators.

A couple of days later, Carnes emailed back and said their plan was a success. “Great idea publishing before their Rodman presentation. It was a disaster for them,” he said.

Three pension funds oppose Barrick Gold’s executive compensation – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – April 18, 2015)

April 20, 2015

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.

Pension plans in Ontario, B.C. and the Netherlands say they will vote against the re-election of the miner’s board of directors at annual meeting April 28

Three of the world’s largest pension funds say they won’t support the re-election of Barrick Gold Corp.’s board of directors or its executive compensation plan that includes a pay hike of 35 per cent for the board chairman.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and the Netherlands’ PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V., which is one of Europe’s biggest pension funds, said Friday they will oppose the Toronto gold miner’s controversial pay scheme that awards $12.9 million U.S. ahead of the board’s annual meeting April 28.

The pension funds join two major proxy advisors who recently recommended shareholders vote against a boost in executive compensation after a year in which Barrick reported a net loss of $2.9 billion and lost a third of its market value as the gold price tanked.