Goldcorp Inc. – Page 11 – Republic of Mining

Fresh bloodletting among gold mining stocks – by Frik Els (Mining.com – July 27, 2015)

July 28, 2015

http://www.mining.com/

Hedge funds bet record 340 tonnes the gold price will continue to fall as bears rip into majors – Barrick falls to 1989 level, Goldcorp at 11-year low

Renewed fears about Chinese equity markets after the worst points loss in Shanghai for eight years gave the gold price a lift on Monday.

But the metal continues to trade close to five-year lows after settling at $1,093, up only $7.40 from Friday’s close. An earlier move above the psychologically important $1,100 level turned out to be brief. A return to its recent dip below $1,180 would represent a 50% retracement of the metals 12-year bull run.

The gold market has turned overwhelmingly bearish with so-called managed money investors such as hedge funds going short – placing bets that the gold price will decline – to the tune of 12.1m ounces or 340 tonnes, a new record high.

According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitment of Traders data for the week to July 21, large speculators now hold a net short position for the first time since at least 2006, when the data was first being tracked.

Quick gold mine closures not expected despite bullion’s fall – by Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – July 21, 2015)

July 22, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

Bullion’s slump to a five-year low this week is heaping new pressure on an already stressed gold mining industry but mine closures are not expected to happen quickly as operators instead try to reduce costs to keep operations going.

Exploration spending, capital to sustain operations, dividends and head office costs, including use of corporate jets, could face more cuts even after gold miners slashed costs by about a fifth since 2012 as bullion fell.

If gold was to stay around its current price of $1,100 per ounce, there could be some fairly significant mine closures over time, said Chuck Jeannes, the Chief Executive of Goldcorp Inc , the world’s biggest gold miner by market value.

“But I always warn people that they are not going to happen as fast as you think they might because mine general managers are really good at keeping their mines alive,” he said in an interview.

Mine managers could defer capital spending, crimping future growth, and raise the grade of ore that can be mined, to make mines more profitable.

Miners create community with food – by Maureen Arges Nadin (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

‘Food is one of the only comforts that people have when they are away from home,” says Allan Bedard, manager of Windigo Ventures and Catering.

And he is someone who knows, as his company supplies, plans and prepares nutritious and tasty food to feed and comfort FIFO (fly in fly out) workers at mining camps like Goldcorp’s camp at Musselwhite.

FIFO lifestyle is an occupational reality for many workers in the mining industry who are flown in on a rotational basis from various parts of Northwestern Ontario and other parts of Canada.

And attracting and retaining workers who are facing being away from their families for two weeks at a time can be a challenge. Many FIFO workers will say that when they are away, their co-workers and the people who provide support services at the mine, become their second family. And families generally eat together. This is a dynamic that Bedard understands well.

“It fosters a sense of community when we live with people and share food,” he says.

Goldcorp’s $1-billion Tahoe deal suffers from weak demand – by Tim Kiladze and Reachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – June 17, 2015), 2015)

June 17, 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 billion-dollar offering of Tahoe Resources Inc. shares is suffering from weak demand, another sign that mining investors remain cautious about the industry.

Late on Monday, Goldcorp Inc. announced plans to sell its remaining 26-per-cent stake in Tahoe for $998-million by way of a bought deal. Because the underwriters, led by GMP Securities and BMO Nesbitt Burns, purchased the Tahoe shares from the miner, Goldcorp has already received the full proceeds.

The financing initially looked like a big win for the lead dealers, particularly GMP, which has seen muted deal flow in recent quarters. However, the underwriting syndicate, which is rather large and includes global banks as well as boutique mining shops, is now responsible for selling the Tahoe shares to investors, and that process is struggling, according to people familiar with the deal.

The total number of shares sold falls anywhere between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of the total size, according to these people.

NEWS RELEASE: Goldcorp Receives Top Sustainability Ranking in Canada

June 15, 2015

VANCOUVER, June 5, 2015 /CNW/ – GOLDCORP INC. (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) has been named one of Canada’s 50 Most Socially Responsible Corporations by Sustainalytics, an independent provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research to institutional investors and financial institutions around the world. The annual list recognizes companies with an outstanding commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

“Operating in a transparent and socially responsible manner is a commitment that is absolutely fundamental to the way we do business,” said Chuck Jeannes, Goldcorp’s President and CEO. “We’re proud of the strides we’ve made incorporating best practices into everything from land reclamation to ensuring we hire local workers and source from local suppliers where possible. We believe that every community we work with should prosper. This acknowledgment from Sustainalytics validates the work we’re doing.”

Goldcorp has invested significantly in the development of policies and programs that lead the industry in areas such as workplace safety, diversity, community development, education and support for non-profits. Among the key initiatives and accomplishments:

The Six Pillar Strategy puts people, safety and sustainability at the core of Goldcorp operations;

Goldcorp’s Sustainability Excellence Management System is a framework and set of standards that incorporate best-in-class environmental, safety, social and human rights practices;

For risk-wary gold miners, small is beautiful – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.S. – June 5, 2015)

June 5, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO – Bigger isn’t better for the world’s gold miners, who are increasingly making “bite-sized” developments that carry less risk of budget disasters and fewer of the political and environmental disputes that have derailed mega-mines in recent years.

Newmont Mining (NEM.N) is a prime example of how companies are responding to bleak industry conditions by building mines on a smaller scale than in the past, with the price of gold down almost 40 percent from its peak in 2011 and banks avoiding the sector.

The cautious approach will likely persist even if conditions improve, with miners increasingly teaming up on big, complex projects to share costs, expertise and risk, senior mining executives and industry watchers said.

“If there’s going to be something go wrong, you’d rather it go wrong after you’ve spent $1 billion than $3 billion or $4 billion,” said Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) Chief Executive Chuck Jeannes. Goldcorp, the world’s most valuable gold miner by market capitalization, owns stakes in a number of joint-ventured assets such as the Alumbrera gold mine in Argentina and the Pueblo Viejo gold mine in the Dominican Republic.

The price of gold has fallen as concerns about inflation receded and the U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies. Gold is often used as a hedge against inflation, as prices typically rise when the dollar weakens.

[Mining] Berm altering Timmins skyline – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – May 27, 2015)

May 27, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The landscape in the heart of Timmins is changing and with the arrival of spring, the change has become that much more obvious. Motorists travelling into downtown Timmins from the East End can now easily see the new rock berm rising in the west, behind Schumacher.

The berm is the work of Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines, which is installing it to surround the new Hollinger open pit mine. It is designed to lessen the impact of dust, noise and vibration that is expected to occur during the mining operations.

Work on the new berm is especially noticeable for anyone driving along Vipond Road in recent weeks.

Rick Dubeau, city councillor and chairman of the Hollinger Project Community Advisory Committee (HPCAC), referred to the change in his most recent community report. “You can see the skyline of the city drastically change as the berms are constructed,” he wrote.

PGM has indicated that the berm will be covered with earth and eventually landscaped once the mining work is done, sometime in the next eight or nine years.

Goldcorp Inc shareholder’s back company on “say on pay” – by Peter Koven (National Post – May 1, 2015)

May 1, 2015

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

TORONTO – After shareholders approved Goldcorp Inc.’s “say on pay” resolution at its annual meeting on Thursday, chairman Ian Telfer fired off a zinger at the proxy advisory firm that recommended against it.

“The ‘Glass Lewis’ is half empty, not half full,” he quipped, referring to Glass Lewis & Co. “Because 90 per cent of shareholders ignored their advice.”

Glass Lewis also advised shareholders to vote against the executive compensation packages at Barrick Gold Corp. and Yamana Gold Inc. And in both cases, an overwhelming majority of investors rejected those plans at annual meetings this week.

But it appears the Glass Lewis recommendation on Goldcorp got little to no traction, as 89 per cent ofshareholder votes were in favour of the company’s compensation plan. Chief executive Chuck Jeannes told reporters after the meeting in Toronto that he was “thrilled” with the result, which is non-binding.

“I was disappointed in the Glass Lewis recommendation. I don’t think it made sense because it was based on a comparison of our financial results with companies outside our sector,” he said.

UPDATE 2-CPPIB joins chorus against Barrick’s executive pay structure – by Euan Rocha (Reuters U.S. – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension fund manager, on Friday joined other investors opposing Barrick Gold Corp’s executive compensation schemes, arguing the company’s pay awards were “outsize” and unrelated to performance.

Toronto-based CPPIB said it plans to come out against the advisory vote on executive compensation that Barrick will be having at its annual shareholder meeting next week.

It also said it plans to withhold support from Brett Harvey, one of Barrick’s board members and the chair of its compensation committee. CPPIB own roughly 8.1 million Barrick shares, or less than a percent of the company’s outstanding stock.

“We continue to be concerned with the company’s practice of granting outsized awards on a largely discretionary basis, which we believe is inconsistent with the governance principle of pay-for-performance,” said CPPIB in a statement.

Last week, two smaller Canadian pension funds, the British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCIMC) and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, said they plan to withhold support from Barrick’s entire board in light of their concerns with Barrick’s executive compensation package.

Hollinger open pit taking shape – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – April 4, 2015)

April 8, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Goldcorp has asked for, and has received permission, from Timmins city hall to extend the deadline for the Subsequent Land Use Plan — that’s the land reclamation plan on what will be created to replace the Hollinger open pit, once the mining has ended. City council recently approved the request, to allow Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines (PGM) push the deadline back from March 31, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2015.

This also means that the deadline for the final plan is being pushed back to the end of 2017. This is the second time the company has asked for an extension. Originally, the plan was to have been submitted by Nov. 11, 2014. Last fall, Goldcorp requested the first deadline extension to have a plan submitted March 31, 2015.

PGM was back at the council table just a couple of weeks ago to explain that things were not going along as quickly as anticipated. PGM general mines manager Brendan Zuidema told council the company has faced some delays and challenges.

“We have experienced several unexpected delays since signing the original agreement on Nov. 12, 2012, along with many other operational challenges caused by the worst weather we have experienced in many years,” said Zuidema. “Last year and this year, it has been pretty tough in the pit.

Ontario gives northern industry permanent relief from energy costs (CBC News Thunder Bay – April 7, 2015)

April 7, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay

The Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program will carry on indefinitely, province says

A program that reduces energy costs for northern industries — like mining and forestry — will carry on indefinitely, the Ontario government says.

Speaking at a news conference at Resolute Forest Products’ Thunder Bay pulp mill on Tuesday, Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle told reporters that Ontario would commit up to $120 million a year permanently to the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program, which was to expire in March of 2016.

First introduced in 2010, the program is a benefit to companies such as Resolute, Goldcorp, AV Terrace Bay, and North American Palladium, Gravelle said.

“It positions them to certainly be able to maintain operations but also potentially expand and create more jobs,” he added. The program can help cut up to 25 per cent from energy costs incurred by qualifying businesses. “It reduces our costs significantly on our site,” said Goldcorp’s Musselwhite mine general manager Bill Gascon.

“Our second highest cost on our site in production is energy — behind labour — so it’s huge for us. We’re a very energy intensive industry.”

Internet of Things improving Goldcorp operations – by James Perkins (Mining Innovation News – March 12, 2015)

March 13, 2015

http://www.mininginnovationnews.com/

Operations at Goldcorp’s Éléonore gold mine in Canada are benefiting from a complex sensor and monitoring network, and its manager predicts that “all mines of the future” will follow suit.

The mine, which opened in late 2014, is extracting gold 4,000 feet below the surface. The mining management has deployed a network of sensors and monitors to ensure the safety and efficiency of workers and equipment.

Éléonore mine manager, Guy Belleau, explains that “with Wi-Fi in the underground mine, we can apply all kinds of technology and processes that allow us to track equipment and people on a real-time basis… it’s a super management tool, and all mines in the future will have this.”

The Éléonore mine uses a network of 160 access points with wireless LAN controllers, broadband routers and service routers provided by Cisco as part of its ‘Connected Mining’ solution.

Furthermore, a communications network has been employed with Voice-over-Internet-Protocol phones to communicate with underground workers from the surface to track progress or report issues.

The mine management monitors the location of workers through RFID tags in the helmets, there are also similar tags in the mine’s 200 vehicles and other heavy equipment as well as hand held tools to better manage the equipment available.

Breaking mining’s ‘rock ceiling’ for women – by Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – March 6, 2015)

March 6, 2015

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

Goldcorp among companies taking steps to make industry more welcoming

By the numbers, the mining industry still looks very much like a boys club. Just 17 per cent of the sector’s workforce in Canada is female, according to Mining Association of Canada statistics.

Industry leaders know they need to raise that number over the long term if the sector expects to maintain a sustainable pool of applicants to fill jobs in its rapidly aging workforce.

The industry has also launched programs to recruit more minority groups and First Nations, which has proved a particularly successful strategy in northern B.C. Vancouver-headquartered Goldcorp Inc. has adopted its own edge in recruiting by expanding Creating Choices, its internal training and mentorship program for women.

The program is “becoming one of the tools” attracting potential recruits, said Anna Tudela, Goldcorp’s vice-president of regulatory affairs and corporate secretary and the program’s creator.

“In the mining industry, we’re lacking the (future) workforce,” Tudela said. “We will have to attract more women,” as well as workers from diverse backgrounds.

Goldcorp Sees Investors Taking Shine to ‘Beaten-Up’ Industry – by Liezel Hill(Bloomberg News – March 3, 2015)

March 6, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) — The world’s largest gold producer by market value says investor sentiment for the sector may finally be starting to turn after years as one of the least-loved industries.

“There’s generalist value investors out there saying ‘OK, I like looking at beaten-up sectors, this sector is really beaten up,’” Goldcorp Inc. Chief Executive Officer Chuck Jeannes said in an interview Tuesday at Bloomberg’s Toronto office. “People are trying to call the bottom.”

Jeannes said he’s been fielding more calls from unfamiliar investors and has a new entity among its top 10 shareholders. Artisan Partners, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based investment company with more than $100 billion in assets, added 15.7 million shares in Goldcorp last year, making it the seventh-largest holder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Gold & Silver Index plunged 70 percent from the start of 2011 to the end of last year. Producers struggled to contain costs and wrote off billions of dollars after prices for the metal — which had risen to more than $1,900 an ounce — began dropping in 2012. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 64 percent in the past four years.

Goldcorp fell 2.4 percent to C$25.45 at the close in Toronto. The shares, which have risen 19 percent in 2015, have dropped in the prior four years.