Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 639

Osisko CEO touts new mining royalty firm with ‘a little extra punch’ – by Peter Koven (National Post – July 18, 2014)

July 18, 2014

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

The mining royalty space already has some serious players for investors to choose from, but Sean Roosen is convinced his new offering stands out from the pack.

“We’ve got a couple of areas where we think we bring a little extra punch to the table,” the chief executive of Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. said in an interview.

The stock started trading last month and was well-received from the start, opening above the implied valuation at launch and remaining there ever since. The company does not even have a website yet (apart from a splash page), but has generated plenty of investor interest.

That is not surprising. The royalty firm was spun out of this year’s $3.7-billlion takeover of Osisko Mining Corp., which was one of the mining sector’s most successful companies of the past decade. The team at Osisko Mining, led by Mr. Roosen, found and built the massive Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec, a world-class gold mine.

Nearly all the key players behind Osisko Mining are working together again at the royalty firm, including Mr. Roosen, John Burzynski (senior vice-president) and Brian Coates (president). They have a dedicated investor following who made money with Osisko Mining and are keen to do it again.

Arianne Phosphate lifts Quebec resource base – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – July 18, 2014)

July 18, 2014

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed Arianne Phosphate, which is developing the Lac à Paul project, in Quebec, this week reported that its 2014 drilling programme had enabled it to significantly lift its flagship project’s compliant inferred resources.

The Saguenay, Quebec-based firm on Wednesday said it had added 146-million tonnes grading 5.30% phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5), when using a 3.5% P2O5 cutoff grade, from the South TraMan Zone in the inferred category to its mineral resources.

The company also revealed that it had identified a new inferred resource from the Traverse zone totalling 17-million tonnes at 5.98% P2O5, at a 3.5% P2O5 cut-off grade.

Arianne noted that the added 163-million tonnes grading 5.37% P2O5 of inferred resources at the South TraMan and the Traverse Zones, along with the 78-million tonnes grading 5.34% P2O5 of inferred resource at Nicole Zone and a potential mineral target of between 260-million and 390-million tonnes, with grades ranging from 5.34% to 7.13% P2O5, near the Paul Zone, could be of significant benefit to its operations and deserved further investigative work.

The company released a feasibility study for Lac à Paul in October 2013, outlining an openpit operation with a mine life of 25.75 years and a yearly output of three-million tonnes, grading 38.6% P2O5 at an average mill recovery of 90%.

We trust farmers, new survey says: Mining not as understood – by Dylan Robertson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – July 17, 2014)

July 18, 2014

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

Canadians love farmers, have split opinions on forestry and don’t understand mining, according to a survey of perceptions of resource industries.

“Western Canadian residents recognize the importance of resources to our economy; they broadly support continued growth of resource industries,” said Len Coad, who directs the Canada West Foundation’s Centre for Natural Resources Policy. “But they have some expectations where they feel a need for improvement.”

For a report published Friday, the foundation had Ipsos Reid survey 600 residents each from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario for their perceptions of four natural-resource sectors. “There’s been a growing awareness across the West in the past several years of the challenges of developing resources, of moving them to market and of meeting the expectations of the public,” said Coad, whose group will now dig down on policy suggestions.

The survey looked at perception, trust and willingness to advocate for the four sectors: energy, forestry, mining and agriculture. Responses were weighted by provincial population, while Ontario results were kept separate to compare attitudes with a region far less dependant on natural resources.

“Ontario was just for comparative purposes, and the range of answers was smaller than we had expected,” Coad said. “Ontario responses were mostly in-line with other provinces.”

Australia’s carbon reversal sets new tone for global climate talks – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2014)

July 18, 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.

OTTAWA — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s move to repeal his country’s carbon tax provides an international boost for the Harper government, which has regularly attacked opponents who propose putting a price on emissions in Canada.

Australia’s reversal on carbon pricing comes at a critical time, just two months prior to a United Nations climate summit to be hosted by secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who is looking for countries to commit to post-2020 emission reductions and new policies to achieve those targets.

And it comes as Prime Minister Stephen Harper faces continued pressure to impose some form of carbon pricing in Canada, particularly in the booming oil sands where rising emissions threaten to swamp the government’s commitment to rein in carbon pollution.

Mr. Abbott visited Canada last month, and Mr. Harper commended him for ending the “job-killing carbon tax” as the Australian had pledged during last year’s general election in which he defeated the Labor Party-led coalition government. With their resource-based economies and relatively small populations occupying large land masses, Australia and Canada are among the world’s top per-capita emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Chinese arrest of former PetroChina Canadian chief casts shadow over Athabasca Oil projects – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – July 17, 2014)

July 18, 2014

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

CALGARY – In a move that adds uncertainty to PetroChina’s plans for Canada, Zhiming Li, the PetroChina executive who built and headed the Chinese company’s operations in this country for the past four years, has been arrested by the Chinese government.

According to a July 16 report in Caixin, a Beijing-based financial media news organization, Mr. Li “was taken in for questioning … directly at the airport” as he returned to China last month from Canada.

As reported in the Financial Post July 10, Mr. Li was unexpectedly replaced last month as CEO of Brion Energy Corp., as PetroChina’s subsidiary in Canada is known, by Shudong Chen.

Mr. Chen is still in China as he has not yet received a permit to work in Canada. The Chinese newspaper, which didn’t cite sources, said Yiwu Song, the deputy manager of overseas exploration and development at China National Petroleum Corp., was also taken away last week. The newspaper said the arrests follow a probe into Qiliang Bo, the former chief of PetroChina’s international business.

Mr. Li’s questioning links PetroChina’s Canadian operation to a corruption probe in China that has targeted the country’s top oil companies, has resulted in many arrests and is expected to slow down decisions.

Barrick Gold CEO Jamie Sokalsky steps down, replaced by co-presidents – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – July 17, 2014)

July 17, 2014

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.

Management shakeup puts new board chairman John Thornton’s stamp on miner following recent departure of company founder Peter Munk.Management shakeup puts new board chairman John Thornton’s stamp on miner following recent departure of company founder Peter Munk

After two years spent overhauling ailing Barrick Gold Corp., president and CEO Jamie Sokalsky will step down in September as part of sweeping changes to the miner’s management structure.

The announcement Wednesday that two co-presidents will soon share the helm comes just 10 weeks after the departure of Barrick founder Peter Munk, and is clearly new board chairman John Thornton’s first big stamp on the leadership of the world’s biggest gold miner, analysts say.

“He was brought in to bring change, and he’s bringing change,” said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada.
Eliminating the role of CEO may also leave the door open for the resumption of merger talks with Newmont Mining Corp., Barrick’s biggest rival, said TD Securities mining analyst Greg Barnes in a note to clients.

Barrick shakeup signals more changes ahead – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – July 17, 2014)

July 17, 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.

The unusual new management structure at Barrick Gold Corp. signals two things – that John Thornton is now clearly in command of the world’s largest gold miner, and that more changes lie ahead.

The company announced Wednesday that president and CEO Jamie Sokalsky will be resigning in September, after only two years in the post. He was a favourite of company founder Peter Munk and his departure suggests that Mr. Thornton, who was named chairman only three months ago, is eager to put his own stamp on the company.

The question is precisely what form that stamp will take. One possibility is that Barrick will attempt to reopen merger talks with Newmont Mining Corp. of Colorado. Discussions between the two mining giants blew up in April, with both sides slinging accusations at each other.

Another possibility is that Barrick will strike a deal in China, a country where Mr. Thornton has extensive contacts from his days as chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia and as a business professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Liberal paralysis leaves Ontario native band powerless – by Martin Reg Cohn (Toronto Star – July 17, 2014)

July 17, 2014

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.

It’s a historic tale of politicians ducking for cover while their bureaucrats create new barriers. And a premier who lets them get away with it.

Ever since becoming premier, Kathleen Wynne has opened every speech with traditional aboriginal words of welcome: “Ahnee. Boojoo.” This month, she added a few key words in English — promising new “opportunities for aboriginal peoples” built on “respect and partnership.”

For all her talk of empowerment, however, real power — electrical and economic — remains out of reach for one of Ontario’s most forsaken native bands.

That’s because Wynne’s Liberals have quietly snuffed out a promising hydroelectric project, bankrolled by a Toronto philanthropist, that could generate clean power and economic opportunity for the isolated Lac La Croix reserve perched along the Minnesota border.

The story of the band’s plight, and promise, is a morality tale of cascading betrayals. Unless someone in the Wynne government finds the courage to rewrite the final chapter, it will have an unhappy ending.

Commentary: What does Aboriginal title mean for mining in BC? – by Robin Junger and Brent Ryan (Northern Miner – July 15, 2014)

July 17, 2014

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

Based in Vancouver, Robin M. Junger is co-chair of McMillan LLP’s aborginal and environmental practices, and co-chair of its oil and gas practice in B.C. Brent Ryan is a student-at-law at McMillan.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Tsilhqot’in v. B.C. has received a great deal of attention and has caused people to ask some important questions. Nowhere has this been more so than in the mining sector. We will address some of those questions.

Does aboriginal title include mineral rights? The law is not completely settled on this point.

In Delgamuukw v B.C. in 1997, then Chief Justice Lamer, when explaining that the content of aboriginal title is not restricted to practices, customs and traditions which are integral to distinctive aboriginal cultures, stated:

122 The [Indian Oil and Gas Act] presumes that the aboriginal interest in reserve land includes mineral rights, a point which this Court unanimously accepted with respect to the Indian Act in Apsassin v. Canada (Department of Indian Affairs & Northern Development) in 1995. On the basis of Guerin, aboriginal title also encompass mineral rights, and lands held pursuant to aboriginal title should be capable of exploitation in the same way, which is certainly not a traditional use for those lands.

This was cited in a decision by the Yukon Court of Appeal in Ross River Dena Council v Yukon in 2012 (a duty to consult case, not a title case) where the court stated:

I refused to play the Conservatives’ fiscal game. So should Wynne – by Bob Rae (Globe and Mail – July 17, 2014)

July 17, 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.

Bob Rae was premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995

Critics on the right are now claiming that Kathleen Wynne’s Ontario government is on the road to fiscal rack and ruin – that it could, in one commentator’s words, push Ontario “back to the Bob Rae years.” That provokes these comments.

One would have thought that the experience of the last few years would have made the right wing narrative look pretty goofy but, no, these guys just can’t help themselves. In 1990, interest rates were kept deliberately high, the dollar rose predictably, U.S. companies shut factories in Canada as the newly minted free-trade agreement encouraged rationalization, and a bloated real estate market plummeted. All in one go, all at one time.

The shock to the Ontario economy was sharper and more severe than in 2009, and, as a direct result, public spending increased and revenues fell. This is what happened to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty in 2009. It would have happened in Ontario even if Mike Harris had been elected in 1990. Remember that Tory premiers Bill Davis and Frank Miller ran deficits after the 1980 recession as well.

So, to compare 1990-91 with 2014-15 is to ignore where we were in the cycle, and what governments since the 1930’s have done when faced with such a drastic drop in prosperity.

Barrick CEO Jamie Sokalsky to step down in management overhaul – by Peter Koven (National Post – July 16, 2014)

July 16, 2014

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

Barrick Gold Corp. is making sweeping changes to its senior management structure, appointing two presidents and announcing that chief executive Jamie Sokalsky will step down.

Executives Kelvin Dushnisky and Jim Gowans will become co-presidents of the company, while Mr. Sokalsky will leave as of September 15. CFO Ammar Al-Joundi is being given new responsibilities as senior executive vice president, and human resources head Darian Rich will take on a new role as head of talent management.

The surprise shake-up appears to be chairman John Thornton’s first big imprint on the company since Peter Munk retired in April and he assumed the top job on his own. Prior to that, he and Mr. Munk were co-chairmen.

Toronto-based Barrick, the world’s biggest gold producer, said this new management structure will help the company meet the “distinct demands and challenges” of the mining industry in the 21st century.

“These structural changes put an even greater emphasis on operational excellence, and will accelerate our portfolio optimization and cost reduction initiatives, while fostering a partnership culture both inside the company and externally,” Mr. Thornton said in a statement.

“Internally, that means our people will be financially invested for the long-term in Barrick’s success, and personally committed to a culture of teamwork that balances individual and collective responsibility and accountability.

Barrick Gold’s new chairman nixes CEO role, Sokalsky to resign – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – July 16, 2014)

July 16, 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.

Barrick Gold Corp’s chief executive off Jamie Sokalsky will resign in September, the company announced in a surprise management shake up that will nix the CEO role and promote two senior managers to the roles of co-president.

The move comes less than three months after Barrick’s new executive chairman John Thornton took the reins of the world’s largest gold producer and is a blow to Mr. Sokalsky, who was instrumental in steering the company through the toughest year in its history.

Mr. Sokalsky, who rose through the ranks at Barrick to become its chief financial officer, was appointed chief executive in 2012 when the company’s former CEO Aaron Regent was ousted amid a weakening share price.

In the following two years, he helped put Barrick on sounder financial footing by raising funds to pay down the company’s debt load, suspending a key gold project in the Andes and selling off underperforming mines.

Mr. Sokalsky’s pending departure is also a blow to many Barrick employees, as well as to the company’s founder Peter Munk, who had used his last annual meeting of shareholders in April to praise his CEO and say he was part of the team that would restore the company.

U.S.-Russia rift shaking up Canadian mining sector, for better and worse – by Peter Koven (National Post – July 16, 2014)

July 16, 2014

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

Escalating geopolitical tensions between Vladimir Putin and the West may be setting off tremors in Canada’s mining sector, with Russian backers withdrawing from North American assets, creating both big opportunities and major headaches for Canadian firms.

Toronto-based Corsa Coal Corp. announced Tuesday that it would purchase U.S. coal producer PBS Coals Ltd. for $60-million from Russia’s OAO Severstal — just a fraction of the $900-million purchase price that Severstal paid for PBS in 2008, which had already been discounted from a previous offer Severstal had made before the financial crisis struck.

“We think it’s a transformative deal for the company,” Corsa director George Dethlefsen said. Mr. Dethlefsen said that the Russian steel giant decided it no longer needs be vertically integrated on the coal side. Those issues made PBS expendable and gave Toronto-based Corsa a unique growth opportunity at the bottom of the coal market.

At the same time, however, Vancouver-based Mercator Minerals Ltd. is facing a dire financial position as a deal with Russian firm Intergeo MMC Ltd. appears to be on the brink of collapse.

Intergeo, which is controlled by flamboyant Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, agreed to buy Mercator last December, before the Ukrainian crisis, rescuing the company from liquidity problems. The deal would have given Intergeo ownership of Mercator’s Mineral Park mine in Arizona.

Too much time on your iPad? It can cause an allergic reaction – by Lindsey Tanner (Globe and Mail – July 16, 2014)

July 16, 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.

CHICAGO — The Associated Press – Unexplained rash? Check your iPad. It turns out the popular tablet computer may contain nickel, one of the most common allergy-inducing metals.

Recent reports in medical journals detail nickel allergies from a variety of personal electronic devices, including laptops and cellphones. But it was an Apple iPad that caused an itchy body rash in an 11-year-old boy recently treated at a San Diego hospital, according to a report in Monday’s Pediatrics.

Nickel rashes aren’t life-threatening but they can be very uncomfortable, and they may require treatment with steroids and antibiotics if the skin eruptions become infected, said Dr. Sharon Jacob, a dermatologist at Rady Children’s Hospital, where the boy was treated. Jacob, who co-wrote the report, said the young patient had to miss school because of the rash.

The boy discussed in the Pediatrics report had a common skin condition that causes scaly patches, but he developed a different rash all over his body that didn’t respond to usual treatment. Skin testing showed he had a nickel allergy, and doctors traced it to an iPad his family had bought in 2010.

Doctors tested the device and detected a chemical found in nickel in the iPad’s outside coating.

The obscure metal that could solve solar energy’s conundrum – by Carl Mortished (Globe and Mail – July 16, 2014)

July 16, 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.

On the fringes of global stock markets, fascination with materials continues and the latest obscure object of adoration is vanadium, a metal you may have never heard of but which is well known in the steel industry because it does the neat trick of making steel both stronger and lighter.

Add a couple of pounds of vanadium to a ton of steel and you double its strength, a formula that excites Largo Resources Ltd., a Toronto-listed miner that is only weeks away from opening a Brazilian mine that could supply almost a 10th of the worldwide vanadium market in two to three years time.

There are few sources of the metal; China is the big producer and consumer of vanadium, taking more than half of global output. South Africa and Russia currently account for the remainder. China’s hunger for construction steel laced with vanadium is expected to increase as the government grapples with poor building standards, exposed in recent earthquakes and civil engineering disasters.

Aircraft and automobile manufacturers are also falling in love with vanadium’s dual attributes of lightness and toughness. Boeing’s Dreamliner and the Airbus A380 each contain 100 tonnes of titanium-vanadium; Largo says demand for the alloy is rising by 6.5 per cent annually, despite a global steel glut.