Chromium/Platinum Group Metals – Page 19

China shows renewed interest in developing resource-rich Ring of Fire – by Bill Curry (Globe and Mail – April 19, 2016)

April 19, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — Chinese officials looking to build a $2-billion rail line to Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire will meet with MPs on Parliament Hill Tuesday, a visit that underscores China’s strong interest in the region’s mining potential.

A group of engineers from a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway Construction Co. toured the Ring of Fire region by helicopter last week along with officials from KWG Resources, a small Toronto-based mining firm that hopes to secure Chinese investment for its Ring of Fire plans.

The decline in commodity prices has led to a waning of momentum around the Ring of Fire project, which is believed to hold about $60-billion in minerals and more than 100 years of mining activity.

SA tax on ferrochrome set to constrain market – by Tawanda Karombo (Independent Online – April 13, 2016)

April 13, 2016

http://www.iol.co.za/

Harare – An export quota and tax imposed by South Africa on ferrochrome would constrain the market for the key steel manufacturing ingredient, experts said, arguing that other producers, such as Zimbabwe, had moved to lift levies and bans on exports.

Research analysts at Persistence Market Research said in a new report that the global ferrochromium market could get hampered because of export tax and fixed quotas imposed by South Africa on chrome ore.

“South Africa (has) a significant market share in the global ferrochromium market, but there are concerns of power supply and higher production costs, which would lead to the closure of small competitors and is estimated to slow down the global ferrochromium market,” the report said.

Miner gets year in prison for criminal violation of Clean Water Act – by Alex DeMarban (Alaska Dispatch News – March 31, 2016)

April 1, 2016

https://www.adn.com/

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the operator of a platinum mine that discharged pollutants into a salmon-spawning river in Southwest Alaska to a year in prison and, following that, a year of supervised release.

The sentencing is part of the first federal case in Alaska charging a mining company and its key operators with criminal violations of the Clean Water Act.

James Slade, a Canadian resident who in 2010 and 2011 was chief operating officer of XS Platinum Inc., an Australian-led company, can spend the second year of his punishment — the supervised release — in Canada, said U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason.

Gleason’s decision came after a sentencing hearing lasting almost four hours, and capped months of dispute between federal prosecutors and defendants in a major pollution case that has ensnared two other participants in the operation.

NEWS RELEASE: KWG APPLAUDS IMPORTANT CANADIAN GOVERNMENT BUDGET SUPPORT

March 29, 2016

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(March 24, 2016) – KWG Resources Inc. (CSE:KWG) (FRANKFURT:KW6) (“KWG”) is very pleased that the Government of Canada made allocations in the budget announced on Tuesday that will assist development of the Ring of Fire. As reported by the Mining Association of Canada, the budget addressed a number of issues that it had raised, including:

Investments in key regulatory agencies, such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, that will help ensure sufficient capacity exists to carry out efficient regulatory reviews of major mining projects.
Funding to support CEAA’s capacity to undertake meaningful consultations with Indigenous groups.

68% of the regional economy: That’s how much platinum contributes to Rustenberg – by Prinesha Naidoo (Mineweb.com – March 22, 2016)

March 22, 2016

http://www.mineweb.com/

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s big three platinum mining companies – Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin – appear to have made significant contributions to the Rustenberg area, in which they operate. But a new report by advisory firm, Eunomix, suggests more can be done to address the “underlying structural socio-economic problems” vexing the area.

According to the latest municipal data, compiled prior to the current bear market in commodities, mining contributed 68% to gross domestic product (GDP) and was responsible for 50% of direct jobs and 15% of indirect jobs in the area in 2011.

Citing data from the Integrated Reporting and Assurance Services’ Sustainability Data Transparency Index, Eunomix said the mining and metals sector is the largest contributor to corporate social investment and development expenditure in South Africa. A total of 33 companies in the sector reported a R3.9 billion contribution, equivalent to 46.4% of total expenditure.

STEELIER THAN STEEL: A new kind of metal could make nuclear reactors stronger and last longer – by Akshat Rathi (Quartz.com – March 21 2016)

March 21, 2016

http://qz.com/

Despite opposition and safety concerns, nuclear power remains a big part of the world’s energy mix—providing about 10% of world’s electricity. And since nuclear reactors typically last 40 years, there are still hundreds of decades-old reactors around the world that must be maintained.

Most of those reactors are made up primarily of some form of stainless steel. But steel is showing its limitations—primarily that it can weaken or become defective over time, and in extreme cases break apart. This is an even bigger concern in newer reactors that run at higher temperatures and have more fast-moving neutrons.

So scientists have been on the hunt for metal alloys that are stronger and can last longer, and researchers in Finland and the US may have found a new category of such alloys.

NUM says more than 36,000 mining jobs are under threat in next three months – by Karl Gernetzky (Business Day – February 29, 2016)

February 29, 2016

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday more than 36,000 jobs were under threat in the embattled mining sector over next three months.

At the same time, the union is eyeing the construction sector and gearing up to go back to the platinum sector to regain lost membership.

The union estimated on Monday that a further 100,000 jobs could be at risk in a sector beset by low commodity prices and consistently increasing costs. That total includes contract jobs and the possible effect of Anglo-American’s move to dispose of assets.

If You Liked Palladium, You’ll Love Lithium – by Liam Denning (Bloomberg News – February 26, 2016)

February 29, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Lithium is increasingly hailed as a wonder metal. That alone may prompt commodity investors to run a mile. In the past decade alone, they have witnessed the rise and fall of rare earths and the short-lived nuclear-power renaissance that briefly made uranium an unlikely darling of the market.

They should cast their minds back a bit further, though, to the late 1990s and another metal: palladium.

Lithium is at the heart of the battery powering that portable device you can’t seem to stop looking at. The bigger opportunity concerns batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles and power storage for homes, businesses and utilities, which require many pounds of the metal rather than fractions of an ounce. In a report published in December, Goldman Sachs posed this question:

Ontario court ruling opens up potential road access to ‘Ring of Fire’ mineral belt – by Peter Koven (Financial Post – February 25, 2016)

February 25, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

TORONTO — The planned development of Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral belt got a potential boost on Wednesday when an appeals court ruled that a small junior mining firm should not have exclusive access to a transportation corridor.

The decision opens the door to construction of a north-south road to the Ring, which is thought to contain about $60 billion of chromite and other minerals. The Ontario government supports a road, in part because it would link up with remote First Nations communities.

In 2009, a Toronto-based company called KWG Resources Inc. staked more than 200 mining claims going from the Ring of Fire all the way down to the CN rail line in Exton, Ont. Effectively, this gave KWG control over a crucial 340-kilometre access route to the mineral belt.

Finland’s Outokumpu plans cost cuts to stem losses (Reuters India – February 11, 2016)

February 11, 2016

http://in.reuters.com/

Feb 11 Outokumpu, the Europe’s largest stainless steel maker, on Thursday posted an underlying loss from the fourth quarter and forecast more losses in the first quarter, adding it aims to improve profitability with new cost cuts.

Outokumpu, 26 percent owned by the Finnish state, has suffered as a steep drop in the price of nickel, an ingredient in stainless steel, has made distributors hold back orders, while production problems have also harmed the business.

The fourth-quarter underlying operating loss was 11 million euros ($12 million), compared to analysts’ average expectation of a loss of 38 million euros in Reuters poll.

South Africa plans fuel cell plant to boost platinum demand – by Wendell Roelf (Reuters U.S. – February 9, 2016)

February 9, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

CAPE TOWN, Feb 9 South Africa plans to set up a fuel cell component plant by 2018, the latest initiative from the world’s top platinum producer to increase demand for the metal and support firms hit by plunging prices and labour strife.

The price of platinum has fallen about 30 percent year-on-year, forcing miners to sell assets and cut production and jobs. Around two-thirds of the industry, whose mines were damaged by a five-month strike in 2014, are making losses.

Vinay Somera, chief executive of Isondo Precious Metals, said his firm was preparing a feasibility study and had secured a licence from U.S-based Chemours Technology, to assemble components for the fuel cells using platinum.

Lonmin CEO says will not shy away from merger or takeover – by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo (Reuters U.K. – February 9, 2016)

February 9, 2016

http://uk.reuters.com/

CAPE TOWN – Lonmin (LMI.L) will not “shy away” from a merger or takeover but for now the company was focussed on its plan to survive tough market conditions, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

“We are continuously looking at options to maximise value for our shareholders and all other stakeholders. Should it be of benefit to our shareholders and stakeholders it’s not something we would shy away from,” CEO Ben Magara told Reuters in an interview at a mining conference in Cape Town.

Magara said the company was for now focussed turning cash positive in a low price environment – which involves closing high-cost shaft and cutting jobs.

Samancor Chrome issues Section 189 and starts union consultation process (Mining Review.com – February 5, 2016)

February 5, 2016

http://www.miningreview.com/

Samancor Chrome, the South African chrome mining company and ferrochrome producer on Friday issued a Section 189 notice to all the recognised unions representing staff across all operations and corporate office.

According to a company announcement which the company issued, this action is in spite of the implementation of several measures at all the business units of the organisation over the past months.

This included a reduction of overtime, a moratorium on recruitment and the discontinuance of contractors. The severe drop in chrome ore prices, resulting in a decrease of the ferrochrome market price, has forced the company to take this action it says.

KWG looks towards the East to finance its proposed Ring of Fire railway – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – January 9, 2016)

January 11, 2016

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – KWG Resources is looking to the Far East to secure funding for its proposed 340 km rail corridor, which the project developer believes holds the key to unlocking the vast mineral wealth of the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario.

“The reason KWG is looking to China to fund its proposed railway line is to increase the odds of securing an offtake partner, which is the critical prerequisite to making the emerging Ring of Fire (RoF) mining camp economically viable. The Chinese are the ultimate offtaker, since they use most of the steelmaking raw material,” said KWG president and CEO Frank Smeenk in an interview with Mining Weekly Online.

He explained that ferrochrome did not have a terminal market place like precious metals did, but instead relied exclusively on contract trading – the same as with iron-ore and coal.

Ring of Fire junior miner heads to China for infrastructure money – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 31, 2015)

January 4, 2016

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

KWG Resources’ ultimate dream of building a Ring of Fire railroad may have to be realized through a Chinese bank.

A spokesman for the Toronto junior miner is hyping that a “turning point” has been reached that will jumpstart the stalled development process of the untapped mineral belt in Ontario’s Far North.

KWG announced Dec. 29 that a Chinese railroad engineering firm, China Railway First Survey & Design Institute Group, is conducting a feasibility study to determine if it makes economic sense to run rails north to reach the rich chromite and nickel deposits of the James Bay region.

“The odds are extremely high,” said Bruce Hodgman, KWG’s communications director, in categorizing the likelihood of his company securing offshoring financing with a “bankable feasibility study” of KWG’s railroad concept.