Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 606

Goldcorp buys Probe Mines’ promising gold project – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – January 20, 2015)

January 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.

‘Feels like a new gold market,’ says analyst of the $526 million deal

Amid a struggling metals market, Goldcorp Inc. has struck an all-stock deal valued at $526 million to buy Toronto’s Probe Mines Ltd. and scoop up one of Canada’s most promising new gold discoveries in northern Ontario.

The friendly takeover gives the Vancouver bullion giant control of the highly-touted Borden gold project near Chapleau, Ont., about 160 kilometres west of Goldcorp’s century-old Porcupine mine in Timmins.

Shares in the Toronto-based junior explorer jumped 49 per cent after the Goldcorp announcement Monday that analysts say, among other recent industry acquisitions, signals new interest in the depressed gold mining sector.

“It feels like we are in a new gold market,” said analyst Barry Allan of Research Capital Corp. “It means we should see a lift on other gold assets if they are also well-located and high quality,” he said.

The price of gold has jumped 10 per cent so far this year after limping through a bear market that has rocked the cyclical industry since the heady days of its all-time high of $1,921 U.S. an ounce in September, 2011.

No help from Ottawa as Alberta’s economy devastated by oil collapse – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – January 16, 2015)

January 16, 2015

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

The oil-price crash that is causing a major pullback in energy investment is also stirring plenty of worry in oil-revenue dependent Canadian governments. But while top oil-producing provinces such as Alberta are in full damage-control mode, the federal government is taking the oil shock in stride.

In a speech in Calgary Thursday, federal finance minister Joe Oliver was sympathetic to Alberta’s predicament, noting the price crash is the third-largest in four decades. As for the impact on Canada, he said Ottawa remains on track to balance its budget after years of deficit spending triggered by the global recession. He said there are no plans to increase taxes.

“Lower oil prices will adversely impact our federal government’s fiscal situation, but the decline in oil prices will not prevent our government from achieving the budgetary balance in 2015/16,” Mr. Oliver said in a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, after conducting consultations on the upcoming federal budget.

Because of the high level of instability in the economy, though, he said the budget would not be tabled at least until April.

Tough times in the energy sector are balanced by benefits for consumers at the gasoline pumps, as well as lower energy costs for manufacturers and transport companies that are also getting a boost from a decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, making them more competitive, he said.

COMMENT: Is BC becoming mining friendly? – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – January 15, 2015)

January 16, 2015

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Two recent news releases point toward removing roadblocks from the Prosperity and Tulsequah Chief projects. With two rulings by the BC Minister of Environment, the province appears to move closer to being a mining friendly place to find a deposit.

First, the Tulsequah Chief base and precious metals project belonging to Chieftain Metals of Toronto was deemed to be “substantially started.” That designation means that the environmental assessment certificate remains in effect for the life of the project.

Second, the government granted a five-year extension to the environmental certificate for developing the Prosperity gold-copper project that belongs to Vancouver-based Taseko Mines.

Both projects have had their share of detractors, primarily First Nations who feel they mines will be environmentally unsound.

The Tulsequah Chief project ran up against a lawsuit filed in December 2013 seeking to void the environmental permit originally granted in 2002 and renewable every five years. When Chieftain purchased the Tulsequah property in 2010, the sale included a valid environmental certificate. With the latest determination that the project is substantially started, there is no basis for revoking the environmental permit.

The Prosperity project was complicated first by environmental concerns and then by aboriginal title to the property.

Copper joins commodity slump amid worries over global economy – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – January 15, 2015)

January 15, 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.

The commodities rout has spread to copper, sending the industrial metal into a tailspin on growing fears of a weakening global economy. The red metal plunged 5.2 per cent to $2.55 (U.S.) a pound, a price not seen since 2009, when financial markets were in the grip of a global economic crisis.

Copper has been sliding for a few years amid a slowing Chinese economy and an increasing surplus of the metal. But the sudden and sharp drop on Wednesday – copper lost as much as 8 per cent before recovering slightly – shocked markets already reeling from oil’s free fall.

“It’s difficult to find any fundamental reason for the dramatic slump except fears about demand have been underlined by the growth outlook lowered by the World Bank this morning,” said Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Société Générale.

The World Bank cut its economic forecast for this year and said the stronger U.S. economy would not be enough to boost global growth.

Copper, used in all sectors from construction and power generation to cars and electronics, has long been viewed as a bellwether for the world’s economic health.

World’s optimism drained as U.S. economy shows signs of weakness – by David Berman (Globe and Mail – January 15, 2015)

January 15, 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.

The U.S. economy has been hailed by market strategists as a humming engine that can lead the rest of the world. Investors aren’t so sure.

Stocks are taking a beating as troubling indicators start to pile up, sending U.S. and Canadian benchmark indexes deeper under water in 2015. Markets have been volatile for several months over concerns about the euro zone economy, falling commodity prices and shifting U.S. monetary policy.

But things turned particularly rough on Wednesday following a batch of unsettling developments, including weak U.S. retail sales and falling copper prices, rattling confidence even in the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 fell 11.76 points or 0.6 per cent, closing at 2,011.27 and marking its fourth straight decline. For the year, it is down 2.3 per cent.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index fell 102.7 points or 0.7 per cent, to 14,084.43. The index is down 3.8 per cent in 2015. Stocks fell hard in Europe and Asia as well, as investors rushed to the safety of government bonds, driving down yields.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell as low as 1.8 per cent during the day, to its lowest level in more than 18 months. The yield on the 30-year bond fell to a record low.

Economic uncertainty clouds Premier’s Natural Resources Forum – by Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – January 14, 2015)

January 15, 2015

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Coal, copper prices have stalled, but forestry is rebounding and LNG potential remains

The provincial government’s 12th annual Premier’s Natural Resources Forum will convene next week in Prince George with a cloud shading some of the sunny optimism that has shone on British Columbia’s resource industries in recent years.

“The big story is the overall global setting and global backdrop, and for commodities, that’s relatively weak,” said Ken Peacock, vice-president and chief economist for the Business Council of B.C.

Peacock added that it is not all gloom though. While slower growth in Asia has curbed prices for commodities such as steelmaking coal and copper — dulling the prospects for B.C. mining — forestry is experiencing more of a rebound due to recovery of the American economy.

However, the province’s central interior is still buoyed by existing activity in the resource sectors, according to Mike Morris, MLA for Prince George Mackenzie, and resource-sector businesses remain pragmatic about planning for the future in cyclical industries.

“We’re still very optimistic that (liquefied natural gas) is going to move ahead,” Morris said. Morris, whose office played a big role in organizing the event, is expecting up to 600 delegates for the forum, mostly people involved in industry service businesses.

Goldcorp chairman Ian Telfer reflects on his career as he accepts prestigious award – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 15, 2015)

January 15, 2015

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

Ian Telfer is about to accept a lifetime achievement award, but he has no intention of slowing down. The 68-year-old entrepreneur and chairman of Goldcorp Inc. will be inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Thursday night in recognition of more than three decades of success in the industry. Mr. Telfer recently overcame a cancer scare, and is now brimming with energy and excitement as he plots Goldcorp’s future. He sat down with the Financial Post’s Peter Koven to discuss his career, his company and the gold business.

Q How did Goldcorp become the world’s biggest gold company?

A I think in all industries, there is a time where you can create something meaningful. There was a time to create Microsoft, there was a time to create Apple, and there was a time to create Goldcorp. And we just happened to be doing it at the right time. At the bottom of the last cycle, when it was very bleak and gold was US$250, Frank Giustra and I said we should get back into gold. We had never worked together. We just believed that the price of gold was going to go up and it was going to go up fast.

If we were going to participate in this, we’d better get out there and acquire gold assets as fast as we can. Over a five-year period, virtually every gold asset that came available went to auction, and we outbid everybody else because we had a more passionate view of what the gold price was going to do. And we happened to be right.

Inglorious writedowns: Gold sector’s bad bets wiping out lifetime earnings — and investor confidence – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 14, 2015)

January 14, 2015

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

TORONTO – Goldcorp Inc. could soon join an inglorious group: large gold miners that have a net loss to show for their entire history as corporate entities.

The Vancouver-based company warned this week that it expects to record an impairment charge of US$2.3 billion to US$2.7 billion on its Cerro Negro mine in Argentina. Given that Goldcorp’s retained earnings were US$2.2 billion as of Sept. 30, they may be completely wiped out in its next quarterly report.

That would not be unusual in the gold industry, where writedowns have destroyed historic profits in recent years. Barrick Gold Corp. has retained earnings of negative US$7.8 billion, while Kinross Gold Corp. is at minus US$8.5 billion. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. has a US$4 billion historic loss, while Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has a slimmer loss of US$740 million.

These companies have highly profitable operations that continue to perform well in a tough gold market. But they paid the price for taking risky bets that backfired and crushed shareholder value when gold prices dropped.

“It matters when you write off more than you ever earned,” said John Tumazos, an independent analyst. “The message is these particular companies were reckless and irresponsible with their shareholders’ capital.”

Mining legend Pat Sheridan remembered as ‘successful, gritty’ – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 14, 2015)

January 14, 2015January 14, 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.

There are a number of individuals that have left an indelible mark on the mining industry. John Patrick (Pat) Sheridan is one of them. The long-time prospector, stock promoter and mine developer passed away on Saturday at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

“A hard living, stubborn, successful, gritty entrepreneur and promoter,” said Tommy Humphreys, editor of CEO.ca, a website that primarily covers the mining and energy industries.

Mr. Sheridan started off his career as a prospector in Northern Ontario and Quebec in the 1950s. Over the course of the next 40-plus years, he developed many copper, nickel and gold properties.

“Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Guyana, Africa, Spain – I mean you name it. There aren’t many parts of the world that have a mining industry where he wasn’t knocking rocks one way or another,” remembers fellow prospector, Glenn Mullan, CEO of Golden Valley Mines Ltd.

Mr. Sheridan is perhaps best known for his role in developing the Lac des Iles mine, a source of palladium, platinum and other metals, in the 1980s.

Bank of Canada warns economy could be in for a rough ride – by Barrie McKenna and Bill Curry (Globe and Mail – January 14, 2015)

January 14, 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.

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada is acknowledging for the first time that the world may be facing a prolonged oil-price slump, casting a dark shadow over the country’s economic prospects.

The price of crude, already sliced in half since the summer, could fall further and stay low for a “significant period,” deputy governor Timothy Lane warned in a speech Tuesday.

That could have profound and far-reaching implications for the Canadian economy, including putting more cash in the hands of consumers and exporters. But cheap crude is also likely to sap overall growth, send the dollar lower, dent federal and provincial government revenues, and perhaps delay eventual interest-rate hikes.

The bank’s comments come as private-sector economists are making increasingly bold claims that the federal government is at risk of missing its target for a return to fiscal balance this year.

The latest challenge to the key Conservative promise came in a Toronto-Dominion Bank report that said Ottawa will be in deficit two years longer than planned even if oil prices rebound significantly from current lows.

Goldcorp Inc warns of massive writedown of up to US$2.7B on Argentina mine – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 13, 2015)

January 13, 2015

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

Goldcorp Inc. expects to record a massive writedown of up to US$2.7 billion on its new Cerro Negro mine in Argentina due to ongoing political and economic challenges in that country.

The Argentine government has made life extremely difficult on foreign mining companies by restricting the imports of goods and services and implementing exchange rate controls that limit companies’ ability to convert Argentine pesos into U.S. dollars. Inflation is also very high; Goldcorp previously said that every time it brings a dollar into Argentina at the official exchange rate, suppliers and contractors treat it at the “unofficial” rate, which is almost 70% higher.

The ultimate cost of the impairment, which will be reported in Goldcorp’s fourth quarter earnings, should fall between US$2.3 billion and US$2.7 billion, the Vancouver-based miner said on Monday night.

Goldcorp did not see these problems coming back in 2010, when it paid $3.6 billion to acquire the Cerro Negro project. Chief executive Chuck Jeannes has said that he expects the challenges to gradually fade over time. Construction costs at Cerro Negro ran far over budget, but the mine finally reached commercial production at the start of January. It is expected to be a major cash flow generator for Goldcorp, with production of up to 475,000 ounces this year.

Stephen Harper: Oil’s worst enemy – by Chris Sorensen (MACLEAN’S Magazine – January 5, 2015)

January 13, 2015

http://www.macleans.ca/

By trying to protect and promote the oil sector, the Harper government effectively shackled Canada’s pipelines in purgatory

It was nine years ago that Neil Camarta first realized an image crisis loomed over Canada’s oil sands. He and his daughter were browsing inside a small shop on London’s trendy Carnaby Street when they spotted a row of “Stop the Tar Sands” T-shirts hanging on the wall.

Camarta, a longtime industry executive who’s held senior positions at Shell, Petro Canada and Suncor, braced for the inevitable as his daughter chatted with the 20-year-olds behind the counter. “She said, ‘You know, my dad works in the oil sands,’ ” he recalls. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ So, all of a sudden we’re in it. I’m arguing with all these young people.”

These days Camarta runs a smaller company that makes upgrading equipment for the oil sands. He was happy to defend the industry’s record, he says, but he still wonders how Fort McMurray emerged as ground zero in the race to save the planet from climate change. After all, the energy-intensive oil sands sector accounts for less than half a per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, although one would hardly know that based on all the attention it gets.

“Literally everyone now knows what the oil sands are and they don’t think well of us,” Camarta says of the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves. “We had our heads down building these big projects. We weren’t spending enough time managing our reputation.”

Ivanhoe Mines challenges media report alleging coercive tactics in S Africa – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – January 12, 2015)

January 13, 2015

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – South Africa-focused project development Ivanhoe Mines on Monday lashed out at journalists at one of Canada’s premier national newspapers for publishing a story on Friday alleging the company used illegal coercive tactics to obtain the necessary permits for its Platreef polymetallic mine, near Mokopane, on the northern limb of the country’s mineral-rich Bushveld Complex.

Senior management of TSX-listed Ivanhoe and its subsidiary, Ivanplats, published an open letter challenging The Globe and Mail’s editor of the Report on Business Paul Waldie and Africa correspondent Geoffrey York, charging the cover story was “blighted by false allegations and misrepresentations, and gratuitous exaggerations”.

Among the examples cited in the article, two men, including an official from Ivanhoe, told an 82-year-old villager to give up her land or stand to lose her monthly pension of about $450/m. In the open letter, the companies point out that they were never given an opportunity by The Globe to comment on this specific allegation before it was published.

The letter also stated: “For the record, the company now does challenge and deny the allegation presented by The Globe concerning use of what would be an unacceptable negotiating tactic. It already is a matter of record that well known Platreef critics previously have made similar allegations of pressure tactics as a ploy against other business entities, which also have been unfounded.”

‘This one is special’: Fission Uranium’s monster resource estimate rekindles takeover chatter – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 13, 2015)

January 13, 2015

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

The monster resource estimate announced by Fission Uranium Corp. has boosted takeover speculation around the company, and chief executive Dev Randhawa isn’t doing anything to douse that talk.

He said in an interview Monday that investment bankers have already set up a data room for potential bidders. But he is in no rush to do a deal, as the company continues to expand its Patterson Lake South (PLS) uranium discovery in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.

“We don’t control if someone comes and makes a run at us. We are ready for it if someone does,” Mr. Randhawa said. It has been clear for several months that Fission’s PLS discovery is one of the best uranium finds in decades. But investors and analysts were still highly impressed when they saw the initial resource estimate.

Kelowna, B.C.-based Fission said late Friday the deposit contains an estimated 105.5 million pounds of uranium resources, of which almost 80 million are in the “indicated” category (the rest are in the more speculative “inferred” category). While the discovery is much smaller than Saskatchewan’s two largest uranium mines (McArthur River and Cigar Lake), it compares favourably to everything else in the province. And more than half of the resource comprises a “high-grade zone” that could potentially be mined at very low costs.