Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 618

Greenland’s gamble on modernization [mining, oil and gas] – by Gwynne Dyer (Hamilton Spectator – February 1, 2014)

February 3, 2014

http://www.thespec.com/hamilton/

Will vulnerable cultures be sacrificed in the race for economic growth?

Greenland has the highest suicide rate in the world: One in five Greenlanders tries to commit suicide at some point in their lives.

Everybody in Greenland (all 56,000 of them) knows this. In fact, everybody knows quite a few people who have tried to commit suicide, and one or two who have succeeded.So is it really a good idea to subject this population to an experiment in high-speed cultural and economic change?

Greenland is not fully independent: Denmark still controls its defence and foreign affairs, and subsidizes the population at the annual rate of about $10,000 per person. But Greenlanders are one of the few aboriginal societies on the planet that is dominant (almost 90 per cent of the population) on a large territory: the world’s biggest island. And it is heading for independence.

So the debate in this soon-to-be country is about what to aim for. Do you go on trying to preserve what is left of the old Arctic hunting and fishing culture, although it’s already so damaged and discouraged that it has the highest suicide rate on the planet?

Great Barrier Reef Sediment Dump Approved For One Of World’s Most Fragile Ecosystems – by Kristen Gelineau (Huffington Post/Associated Press – January 31, 2014)

February 3, 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

SYDNEY (AP) — The government agency that oversees Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on Friday approved a plan to dump vast swathes of sediment on the reef as part of a major coal port expansion — a decision that environmentalists say will endanger one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems.

The federal government in December approved the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port in northern Queensland, which requires a massive dredging operation to make way for ships entering and exiting the port. About 3 million cubic meters (106 million cubic feet) of dredged mud will be dumped within the marine park under the plan.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt has vowed that “some of the strictest conditions in Australian history” will be in place to protect the reef from harm, including water quality measures and safeguards for the reef’s plants and animals.

But outraged conservationists say the already fragile reef will be gravely threatened by the dredging, which will occur over a 184-hectare (455-acre) area. Apart from the risk that the sediment will smother coral and seagrass, the increased shipping traffic will boost the risk of accidents, such as oil spills and collisions with delicate coral beds, environment groups argue.

Barrick pulls off giant equity offering despite turbulent gold market – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 31, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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

The bankers behind Barrick Gold Corp.’s US$3-billion equity offering faced a tall order: sell the most shares ever issued in a Canadian bought deal; do it in a tough gold market; and do it for a company that was struggling to regain investor confidence after a series of writedowns and strategic blunders.

It was clear by last summer that Barrick, the world’s biggest gold producer, should do something about its over-levered balance sheet. Gold prices were down sharply from their highs in 2011, and analysts were warning the company could have liquidity problems if prices dropped below US$1,200 an ounce for a prolonged period.

Throughout this period, Barrick’s management was in touch with bankers from RBC Capital Markets on a potential plan to issue equity in order to retire debt. That Barrick turned to RBC was no surprise: the two firms have a longstanding relationship that dates back to the gold miner’s earliest days in the mid-1980s.

“They have done business with others. But if you look at who they have done business with over a long period of time, we’ve been privileged to have supported Barrick on a number of their milestone transactions,” said Jamie Anderson, deputy chairman of RBC Capital Markets.

New transparency recommendations to influence Canadian disclosure laws – by Simon Rees (MiningWeekly.com – January 30, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – One of the most searing indictments levelled against the mining industry is that it has consistently short-changed governments, particularly those in developing nations.

The industry’s failure to collectively address this accusation has caused lasting and deep damage to the public’s perception of mining; it has also allowed numerous governments – again, mainly in the developing world – to accrue earnings without having to declare them. At its worst, it has had the potential to facilitate corruption.

MAKING IT MANDATORY

In response, there is now a willingness among many in the Canadian mining sector to make transparent the payments made to governments at all levels.

The US already requires mandatory disclosure by mining companies of payments to government bodies under the Dodd-Frank Act, specifically Section 1504, while the European Union’s (EU’s) legislation in this regard is ongoing. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has also helped point the way.

MP John McKay resigned to ‘glorious death’ of mining transparency bill – by Trinh Theresa Do (CBC News Politics – January 31, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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

PM agreed to G8 initiative for mandatory reporting regime for extractive sector in mid-2013

Liberal MP John McKay will finally get his chance to stand in the House of Commons Friday to debate his private member’s bill calling for Canadian mining, oil and gas companies to be more financially transparent and disclose payments made to foreign governments.

Under the proposed act, firms would be required to submit annual transparency reports to the federal government or face the risk of fines. The legislation, also referred to as “the Sunshine Bill,” is intended to combat corruption and increase corporate accountability in the extractive sector. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it is.

Vancouver researchers help exploration companies search for the next big mine – by Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – January 29, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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

Geologists are constantly looking for better ways to ‘see through rock’

In the old days, geologists would scrape up soil samples looking for traces of the copper, gold, molybdenum or other minerals they were looking for in deposits close to the surface. More recently, they’ve discovered more definite signals that come from much deeper – sometimes hundreds of metres below the dirt and glacial till.

They don’t exactly know how the trace elements make it to the surface, but the science of figuring it out is at the cutting edge of mining exploration and something scientists at Vancouver’s Mineral Deposit Research Unit are taking on in a bigger way.

“We don’t understand it very well,” said MDRU director Craig Hart, but they know ore bodies do give off volatile components that show up in surface soils.

“It might be gases, it might be things that are attaching to hydrogen ions streaming to the surface. It could be microbes digesting and coming up through the column of material, but there is a big push on right now to try to (understand the process),” he added.

Mining the Moon: Plans Taking Off, but Rules Lacking – by Joshua Philipp (Epoch Times – January 29, 2014)

January 31, 2014

http://www.theepochtimes.com/

Just two years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, a treaty was signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Signed even as the race to get to the moon was well underway, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty declared that no nation-state could ever own the moon.

The treaty, however, was written at a time when current threats were too real and visions of the future were too dim. Concepts like space tourism, orbital hotels, and companies mining the moon for minerals would have been written off as science fiction.

Fast-forward to today and you’ll find companies like Virgin Galactic ferrying wealthy tourists into space, a man skydiving from low orbit for a Red Bull advertisement, and companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries looking to mine the moon for its resources.

While the 1967 Space Treaty governs what countries can and cannot do on the moon, it leaves private companies unregulated. For countries like China, where many large companies are state-owned, the line separating the interests of government and business is unclear.

How Russia’s energy sector is eyeing a bigger game beyond the Olympics – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – January 31, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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

The roads to Sochi are paved with oil and natural gas receipts. Winter Olympians striving for medals at Sochi next week can expect to stay at the Mountain Olympic Village, visit the Mountain Tourist Centre and practice their gold-medal performances at the Biathlon and Ski Complex, all built by Gazprom OAO, Russia’s largest natural gas producer.

Meanwhile, the country’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, pledged US$180-million for the privilege of becoming a top-tier sponsor at the XXII Winter Olympics, and Lukoil OAO is the main sponsor of the country’s cross-country ski team, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favourite holiday resort prepares to host the world’s top athletes.

Mining and other Russian oligarchs in Mr. Putin’s inner circle have all chipped in to foot the US$51-billion bill to prepare the Black Sea resort — easily the most expensive Olympics. And even before Hayley Wickenheiser steps into the spotlight as Canada’s flag bearer at the Fisht Olympic Stadium on Feb. 7, Sochi has already had the dubious reputation of being labelled as “the most corrupt Olympics in history.”

Keystone XL pipeline project primed for Obama’s approval, ambassador says – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – January 31, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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

As anticipation builds over the imminent release of two major reports that could seal the fate of Keystone XL pipeline, Gary Doer, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, remains confident the long-delayed project is primed for presidential approval.

“I think the president is going to make the decision on the basis of science and facts, and if he does that, that means it goes ahead,” the former Manitoba premier said in an interview Thursday.

CNN reported that the final environmental impact review will likely to be announced on Friday afternoon, citing two senior administration officials and another unidentified source familiar with the timing.

Once the results are out, eight U.S. agencies will examine them, then send their observations to Secretary of State John Kerry. President Barack Obama would then decide whether or not to approve the pipeline.

A final decision may not come for several months, but this study is seen as a critical step in determining whether the project will go ahead.

Is Canada ready for Russia’s hardball approach to the North Pole? – by Rob Huebert (Globe and Mail – January 30, 2014)

January 31, 2014

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.

Rob Huebert is associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He has written and researched extensively on Arctic policy and defence issues.

When Russian Arctic scientist Artur Chilingarov – member of the Duma and special representative to President Vladimir Putin for the Arctic – planted a Russian flag at the North Pole in 2007, he created a media storm in Canada. Then-defense minister Peter MacKay was particularly critical of the Russian action, saying that this is no longer the 14th or 15th century.

But somewhat surprisingly, many Canadian commentators were not critical of the Russian action, but instead were very critical of Mr. Mackay and the government’s response. It was suggested that Mr. Chilingarov was only acting as a scientist and that this was not official Russian action. (How exactly these commentators knew this was the case was never disclosed.) They also suggested the planting of flag at the North Pole had about as much meaning as the Americans planting a flag on the Moon. As such, the common wisdom developed that Canada overreacted and that the Russians did not mean anything by this action.

Metal is mined for myriad applications – by Brian Morton (Vancouver Sun – January 29, 2014)

January 30, 2014

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

Metals are used in just about everything from the family car to your $10,000 road bike, to computers, door handles, windshields and smartphones, even tooth fillings and food.

Mining is an essential fact in our modern world and that isn’t likely to change soon or even in the very distant future. Gold, silver, copper and lead have been around for thousands of years and, while their uses occasionally change, they’ll likely be around and extensively used for thousands more years.

The bicycle — that greenest form of transportation — is completely manufactured from materials obtained by mining: steel processed by burning metallurgical coal, along with specialized metals such as titanium.

Your computer, tablet or smartphone contains iron, titanium, aluminum, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, silver, lithium, magnesium, mercury, yttrium, palladium, tin, cadmium, indium, lead, samarium, tantalum, gadolinium and dysprosium.

That DVD? Aluminum, gold, silver, nickel, polycarbonate petroleum derivatives and acrylic lacquer.

Editorial: Falling loonie resets expectations (Northern Miner – January 29, 2014)

January 30, 2014

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

The free fall of the Canadian dollar, which has only accelerated in 2014, undoubtedly has the CFOs of Canada’s mining companies breaking out the spreadsheets and tallying up the pluses and minuses of the new, low-loonie environment. Goodbye simple calculations that assumed parity between the Canadian and U.S. dollars, as the loonie has slid over 9% in the past year.

At press time, the Canadian dollar was trading at US90¢, and on Jan. 27, the Canadian dollar slipped below that level for the first time since July 2009, as the U.S. dollar surged and currencies of emerging-market and resource-exporting countries contracted sharply.

These currency devaluations triggered round after round of selling in emerging countries’ stock and bond markets, and a simultaneous flight to safety in U.S. dollars, stocks and bonds.

Turkey grabbed the biggest headlines worldwide, as the lira hit a record low against the U.S. dollar, prompting the Turkish central bank to convene an emergency meeting and vow to defend the lira with steep interest-rate hikes.

Rather than lay claim to the North Pole, the federal government should tap gas in our Arctic islands – by Michael H. Bell (National Post – January 30, 2014)

January 30, 2014

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

Michael H. Bell, now retired, was Senior Vice President of Fednav Ltd, and the President of Melville Shipping Ltd, a partner in the Arctic Pilot Project.

In a recent New York Times article entitled “Rushing for the Arctic’s Riches,” Professor Michael Klare of Hampshire College used 1,076 words, only one of which was “Canada,” within a list of nations that have an Arctic coastline. It is no surprise Canada was deprived of any recognition of its desire and ability to develop its “Arctic Riches,” let alone “rush” to them. The lack of any development activity within our High Arctic is the current Canadian position.

This was not so a few decades ago when Canada boasted the most northerly mines in the world: Polaris on Little Cornwallis Island and Nanisivik in Admiralty Inlet, Baffin Island. Both are now closed.

In 1978 Fednav of Montreal, in collaboration with the Canadian government, designed, built and operated the M/V “Arctic,” the world’s first ice-breaking bulk carrier. Between 1977 and 1983, Canada, through PetroCanada, pioneered an Arctic Pilot Project (APP) designed to liquefy gas on Melville Island for delivery to Quebec. The APP was at the regulatory stage when, in the 1980’s, the energy market collapsed and it became clear that it could not proceed. In 2006, PetroCanada revived an enlarged version of the APP, the Arctic Island Gas Project (AIGP), with Europe as a prime market. The AIGP was terminated at the sale of PetroCanada to Suncor in 2008.

Goldcorp says ‘significant number’ of Osisko investors back hostile bid – by Bertrand Marotte (Globe and Mail – January 30, 2014)

January 30, 2014

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.

MONTREAL — Goldcorp Inc. says a “significant number” of Osisko Mining Corp. shareholders support its $2.6-billion hostile offer to take over Osisko and that the targeted company appears to have nothing to offer investors as an alternative.

Vancouver-based Goldcorp made the statements in a news release Thursday responding to Montreal-based Osisko’s launch of legal action in Quebec Superior Court on Wednesday to block the bid.

Osisko also alleges that Goldcorp misused confidential information it got in on-and-off merger talks going back more than five years.

“Goldcorp’s offer reflects the current market environment for gold and gold equities and provides a strong premium based on any reasonable valuation metric,” Goldcorp president and chief executive officer Chuck Jeannes said.

“Osisko has communicated its intention to explore value-maximizing alternatives but without new information their only strategy appears to be to wait and hope for an improved valuation.”