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Copper

Editorial: Gold, copper reach new highs – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – September 13, 2017)

The sustained strength in most precious and base metals this year reached breakout levels in September, as a weakening U.S. dollar and renewed optimism over Chinese metal demand pushed metal and mineral prices to new highs.

At press time, the spot gold price had surged to an 11-month high of US$1,336.60 per oz., up US$47.90, or 3.7%, in the last 30 days, up 9% in the last two months and up 17% this calendar year. Gold briefly touched US$1,356.60 per oz. on Sept. 8, before pulling back over the next two days, and seeming endling a two-month run-up from the US$1,211 per oz. level on July 10.

While the U.S. has enjoyed soaring stock markets, a growing economy and falling unemployment levels since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president, the U.S. dollar has steadily lost strength throughout 2017, and has seen an accelerated decline since July, which observers attribute to the U.S. Federal Reserve not raising interest rates and gridlock in Washington, D.C. — which derailed health care reform and threatens to scuttle planned tax cuts. The U.S. Dollar Index is down more than 10% this year to 91.861 at press time.

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Ivanhoe confident of expanding Kamoa-Kakula into a top three global copper deposit – by Natasha Odenaal (MiningWeekly.com – September 11, 2017)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines is confident that the Kamoa-Kakula deposit, ranked the fifth-largest copper deposit in the world, will take one of the top three rankings on the back of the “unprecedented rate of growth” of the high-grade copper resource in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ivanhoe on Monday announced assay results from another 43 holes as part of the ongoing 2017 drilling campaign at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project.

“The remarkable consistency of the ultra-high-grade copper mineralisation at the Kakula discovery is unlike anything geologists have ever seen in the DRC’s copperbelt. The discovery remains open in virtually all directions, so the real question is, how much bigger and better is Kakula going to get?” Ivanhoe executive chairperson Robert Friedland said.

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Indonesia and Freeport end their squabble over Papua mine – by Erwida Maulia and Wataru Suzuki (Nikkei Asian Review – September 7, 2017)

https://asia.nikkei.com/

JAKARTA The chief executive of U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan and two Indonesian ministers publicly declared on Aug. 29 an end to an acrimonious dispute over a giant copper mine in Papua that has raged for months.

The deal is seen as a testament to Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s resolve to balance foreign investment with national interests. CEO Richard Adkerson told a press conference that Freeport has agreed to relinquish a majority stake in its subsidiary, Freeport Indonesia, to local interests in exchange for extending the Papua mining contract by 20 years to 2041.

Dressed in a traditional batik shirt, Adkerson cut a very different figure to his last public appearance in Jakarta in February, when he wore a black suit and threatened the government with arbitration.

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How green are the batteries?: Electric car revolution boosts business for big Arctic air-polluter – by Thomas Nilsen (The Baren Observer – September 7, 2017)

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

Nornickel eyes sharp increase in demand for nickel and copper as tens of millions of electric cars hit the roads over the next few years. Nickel prices leap to new heights, increasing 36% over the last two months. Copper, another key metal for electric car batteries, has seen prices climb by nearly 20% since mid-summer.

That is very good news for Nornickel, one of the world’s largest suppliers of both nickel an copper. With factories on the Taymyr Peninsula and in the Murmansk region, the company’s directors are smiling all the way to the bank. And back. With workers’ salaries to be paid in rubles, and sales abroad in dollars, Nornickel is benefiting from Russia’s turbulent economy with low currency rate.

Nornickel now wants to expand sales to the electric car industry. Recently the company signed an agreement with BASF on possible supply of raw materials for future battery material production for lithium-ion batteries in Europe.

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Rise of copper and nickel has miners reaching for shelved plans – by Paul Garvey (The Australian – September 5, 2017)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

The resurgence in nickel and copper prices to their highest levels in years has become the latest boon for Australia’s resources sector, boosting profit margins for miners and prompting others to consider dusting off old mines and forgotten exploration projects.

Nickel, which has for so long had been the exception to the broader post-downturn recovery in metals prices, this week touched its highest level in two years while the copper price has climbed to heights not seen since 2014.

The price of both metals has been helped along by a combination of a weaker US dollar, supply outages and healthy demand, as well as longer-term expectations of a substantial boost in demand from the rapidly expanding electric vehicles market.

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‘We’ll have final say on any mining,’ warn Panguna landowners – by Fabian Hakalits (Asia Pacific Report – August 30, 2017)

Panguna landowners will determine any reopening of the controversial mine on Bougainville, says a local leader. Philip Miriori, chairman of the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Land Owners Association (SMLOLA) in Panguna, Philip Miriori, has told EMTV News that all parties and talks would go through them.

This was because the people in the Special Mining Lease area were greatly affected by the mine’s impacts when it was operating in the 1980s before the 10-year Bougainville civil war. “We do not want the past to repeat itself but it must be a reminder to us now to get a better deal for the SMLOLA members and the rest of Bougainville,” he said.

Miriori said the past had gone, and history should not be repeated in Bougainville. He claimed meetings had been conducted with resolutions and agreements passed which the SMLOLA were not a party to.

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Indonesia cheers Freeport ‘win’ as Grasberg valuation fight looms – by Fergus Jensen and Cindy Silviana (Reuters U.S. – August 30, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s government left no doubts as to who it believes got the better deal in its landmark agreement with Freeport McMoRan Inc on the future of the Grasberg copper mine.

After Freeport agreed to divest a 51 percent stake in Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, Indonesia’s Energy and Finance Ministries posted on social media #FreeportTaatIndonesiaBerdaulat, or “Freeport is obedient, Indonesia is a sovereign state”.

The bombastic statement illustrates Indonesia’s view that the dispute with Freeport over the mine was all about asserting the country’s rights to its mineral resources. While Indonesia can point to a victory that appeals to nationalist sentiment, pinning down the details on the divestment indicates a further fight with Freeport.

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Freeport makes compromise to end years of wrangling over Indonesian mining rights – by Wilda Asmarini and Hidayat Setiaji (Reuters India – August 29, 2017)

https://in.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has reached a deal to let Freeport-McMoRan Inc keep operating its giant Grasberg copper mine, after the U.S. company agreed to sell a majority stake following years of wrangling.

Freeport said on Tuesday it had made a “major concession and compromise” in agreeing to sell a 51 percent stake, and to build a second smelter in Indonesia. The company said the deal would be structured in a way that Freeport would retain control over the operations and governance of its Indonesian business.

“We are committed to completing the documentation as soon as possible during 2017,” Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said in a statement. Freeport’s shares were marginally down at $15.46 in premarket trading. Freeport has been in talks with Indonesia since late 2009 to work out how to shift to a new permit for Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, as mandated in a mining law passed that year.

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The dam debate: PolyMet tailings basin dams are key point in upcoming permits – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – August 28, 2017)

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

HOYT LAKES — Of the bad things that could happen once PolyMet starts running Minnesota’s first-ever copper mine, critics say, among the worst would be a catastrophic breach of the tailings basin dam.

A hulking, man-made earthen dike that will stretch for miles and reach 252 feet high when finished, the dam will hold back millions of gallons of water mixed in a slurry with finely ground rock left over after crushing and processing — after the copper, nickel and other valuable metals are extracted.

Much of that waste rock will be as small as grains of beach sand. In theory, the stuff will settle into the basin, and as more is pumped in, the dams will be raised in steps, 20 feet at a time, over the 20-year life of the mine.

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Glencore Zambia Unit May Fire 4,700 Workers Amid Power Spat – by Taonga Clifford Mitimingi and Matthew Hill (Bloomberg News – August 24, 2017)

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc’s copper unit in Zambia said a dispute over electricity fees that has already led to reduced power supply may result in the dismissal of 4,700 workers.

Copperbelt Energy Corp. lowered supplies to Mopani Copper Mines after the company refused to pay new power prices introduced by the government at the start of the year. Mopani said the fee increase wasn’t part of its agreement with Copperbelt. Mopani, which employs about 15,000 people including contractors, has notified the government of the planned job losses, Labor Minister Joyce Nonde-Simukoko said by phone.

“It has become necessary for Mopani Copper Mines to curtail some areas of its operations due to the restriction of power,” the Glencore unit said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “We expect that we shall effectively have to close several areas and our scaled-back operations may affect a total of 4,700 direct employees.”

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Indonesian Energy Minister Jonan expects mining deal with Freeport this month – by Ed Davies (Reuters U.S. – August 22, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia expects to strike an agreement this month to allow Freeport McMoRan Inc to keep operating its huge copper mine in Papua in the coming decades, the country’s mining and energy minister said on Tuesday.

The U.S. mining giant has been locked in a lengthy dispute with the government over the rights to mine at Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, costing both sides hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I expect to have a conclusion this month,” Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan said in an interview with Reuters, when asked about the status of the negotiations.

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Column: Resource-driven treaties often botched – by Tom Villemaire (Sudbury Star – August 22, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A copper strike in northeastern Ontario is one such example

In the late 1840s, the near north Ontario experienced a copper mining boom, but it didn’t come without problems.

The use of copper was exploding, thanks to the nascent industries of hydro-electric power and telegraphy, both of which drove demand for copper through the roof. This all came together in the 1830s — in 1831, Michael Faraday created an electric generator and in 1832 Pavel Schilling came up with the earliest working version of an electrical telegraph.

All this was taking place in Europe, but the technology — and the demand for copper — would soon affect the world, including the remote areas of what would become the province of Ontario.

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Freeport Indonesia copper mine access to resume after clashes – by Sam Wanda (Reuters U.S. – August 20, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

TIMIKA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Limited access to the giant Grasberg copper mine in eastern Indonesia is expected to resume on Monday, its operator said, after hundreds of former workers blockaded the site and clashed with police.

Trouble erupted at the mine, which is operated by the Indonesian unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc, during a demonstration over employment terms on Saturday afternoon.

Three former workers were injured after police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse the blockade, according to a union official representing the ex-workers. Freeport said at least four contractors were also injured.

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Four warning signs that Teck’s spectacular gains are over – by David Berman (Globe and Mail – August 18, 2017)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. rewards nimble investors who can move against the current, selling the stock when times are good and buying it when the outlook is dismal. Today, conditions are excellent for the Vancouver-based miner, and that suggests shareholders should consider departing from this roller coaster of an investment.

On the surface, this might not sound like a great idea, given Teck’s stellar second-quarter results, released late last month. Teck, which produces copper, zinc and steelmaking coal from mines in Canada, the United States, Chile and Peru, topped analysts’ estimates with a profit of $577-million or $1 a share – way up from a profit of just 3 cents a share a year ago.

Analysts had been expecting a profit of 90 cents a share, according to Reuters. The company’s debt levels are also falling, which is good. Net debt per share declined to $9.59, according to a report from Canaccord Genuity, down from $13.42 a share last year, which is a steeper drop than analysts had been expecting.

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BHP commits $2.5bn to extend life of Spence copper mine in Chile – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 17, 2017)

http://www.mining.com/

Mining giant BHP (ASX:BHP) greenlighted Thursday a long-awaited $2.46 billion expansion of its Spence copper mine in Chile, which will add another 50 years to the operation’s productive life.

The decision comes at a time when copper prices have reached their highest levels since late 2014 and will boost BHP’s annual copper production by around 185,000 tonnes of copper over the first decade of the expanded operation, with first production expected in 2021.

Spence’s expansion contemplates the construction of a concentrator plant and a desalination plant at Mejillones port, located about 60 km north of Antofagasta city, which will be built and operated by a third party. BHP has committed to a 20-year lease nominally worth $1.43 billion.

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