Latin America Mining – Page 88

Saskatchewan ranked best mining jurisdiction in Canada, second best in the world – by Peter Koven (Financial Post – March 1, 2016)

March 1, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

Western Australia is the best mining jurisdiction in the world, while Saskatchewan is a close second.

That is the conclusion of Canada’s Fraser Institute, which is released its annual Survey of Mining Companies on Tuesday. The survey, which collects feedback from hundreds of mining professionals, tries to measure how resource potential and government policy affect mining investment in 109 countries.

Not surprisingly, the study found that Canada, Australia and the United States are all viewed as very attractive places to invest. States and provinces in those countries made up eight of the top 10 jurisdictions in the rankings, with Ireland and Finland filling the other spots.

Ken Green, senior director of natural resource studies at the free-market-oriented Fraser Institute, noted that mining companies invest over the long term and are looking for stable fiscal and political regimes.

Fraser Institute News Release: Australia top spot for mining investment; Nevada and Alaska ranked best in U.S. [Saskatchewan and Quebec first/second in Canada]

March 1, 2016

http://www.fraserinstitute.org/

Click here for the mining survey: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/survey-of-mining-companies-2015.pdf

TORONTO—Australia is the world’s most attractive region for mining investment, according to an annual global survey of mining executives released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian policy think-tank.

“Despite a global downturn of commodity prices, governments worldwide can offer competitive, transparent, and stable mining policies to encourage exploration and investment,” said Kenneth Green, Fraser Institute senior director of energy and natural resources and director of the Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, 2015.

The annual survey rates 109 jurisdictions around the world based on geologic attractiveness and the extent government policies encourage or deter exploration and investment.

Whether it’s Mexico’s gold or Zimbabwe’s diamonds, mining is riven with violence and business is complicit – by Michael Gibb (The Guardian – February 29, 2016)

February 29, 2016

http://www.theguardian.com/

Along Central African Republic’s (CAR) eastern rivers small groups of independent miners are searching for diamonds and gold. As with many miners, they have to pay for a licence. Their licence, however, is not issued by any government. Violent armed groups control these rivers, and they are the primary beneficiaries of their hidden wealth.

They are not the only armed groups or oppressive forces benefitting from mining’s bounty. The pattern is repeated in many countries stalked by conflict and instability.

There are diamonds in CAR and Zimbabwe, precious stones in Afghanistan and Myanmar. There is tungsten in Colombia and gold in Mexico and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is also rich in tantalum, tungsten and cobalt.

Vale Looks to Sell Core Assets to Reduce Debt – by Paul Kiernan and Rogerio Jelmayer (Wall Street Journal – February 25, 2016)

February 25, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazilian mining giant Vale SA became the first of the so-called Big Three iron-ore producers to put core assets on the block as it seeks to reduce high debt levels amid the commodity downturn.

Chief Executive Murilo Ferreira said Thursday in a conference call that Vale wants to reduce its net debt to $15 billion within 18 months, from $25.23 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. But given the uncertain outlook for prices of iron ore and other raw materials, Vale is “actively exploring more aggressive actions for this deleveraging, including the sale of core assets,” Mr. Ferreira said.

“We aren’t attached to assets in any commodity, and we will evaluate all options,” he said.

Samarco executives accused of homicide by Brazilian police over dam burst – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – February 24, 2016)

February 25, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

Six top executives of iron ore miner Samarco, a joint venture between BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) and Vale (NYSE:VALE), and one contractor have been accused of homicide over the deaths of 19 people who were killed in a dam burst last November.

Brazilian police in the state of Minas Gerais recommended “qualified homicide” charges for the chief executive of Samarco at the time, Ricardo Vescovi, and six others, local newspaper Veja reported (in Portuguese).

In Brazil only prosecutors, and not police, can legally bring criminal charges, but accusations from officials often precede formal charges.

Iron ore extends rally, surging through $US50 mark – by Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg/Australian Financial Review – February 23, 2016)

February 23, 2016

http://www.afr.com/

Iron ore, the whipping boy of commodities last year as world supply overwhelmed demand, has clawed its way back above $US50 a metric ton.

Ore with 62 per cent content rallied 6.2 per cent to $US51.52 a dry ton on Monday, the highest level since October 27, according to Metal Bulletin. The commodity has jumped 18 per cent this year after plunging to $US38.30 in December, the lowest in more than six years.

“There is a bit more optimism in the air – a clear contrast to November and December, which had a distinct graveyard atmosphere,” Philip Kirchlechner, Perth-based director at Iron Ore Research Pty, said by email ahead of the figures. While prices were tough to predict, a range of $US45 to $US55 seemed reasonable for the first half, he said.

Barrick Gold wants to show it’s a ‘discerning buyer’ with focus on value – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – February 23, 2016)

February 23, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

After a year in which it sold off assets at a furious pace to cope with massive debt, Barrick Gold Corp. is once again talking about possible acquisitions.

John Thornton, chairman of the Toronto-based gold producer, told attendees at the company’s first investor day in five years that he wants to show Barrick can make purchases that create value, not just debt.

“We will, over time, prove to you that we are not only discerning sellers. … We will demonstrate that we are also discerning buyers, capable of consistently creating per-share value for our owners,” Mr. Thornton told his audience in New York. He did not provide details on what type of potential acquisitions might be attractive.

Chile’s small-scale miners battling to stay afloat amid copper rout – by Anthony Esposito (Reuters U.S. – February 22, 2016)

February 23, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

INCA DE ORO, CHILE – Like his father before him, Alberto Carrizo has worked in Chile’s copper mines since he was a teenager, supporting his family as prices for the metal boomed in recent decades.

But as copper prices have slid to a more than six-year low, Carrizo and his colleagues laboring away at the countless smaller mines that pock mark the Atacama desert are finding the buckets of ore they spend all day digging from the ground are fetching less and less money.

Some are responding by turning to gold mining, others are finding work in growing industries like renewable energy, while a dwindling few are hanging on, hoping prices will yet recover.

Barrick estimates $2 billion costs if Nevada, Peru projects proceed (Reuters U.S. – February 22, 2016)

February 22, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) (ABX.N), the world’s largest gold miner, estimated spending of about $2 billion if it decides to proceed with projects in Nevada and Peru.

Barrick, releasing updated pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on the projects, also said on Monday it would redeem up to $750 million of notes to help cut debt by at least $2 billion this year.

The company’s U.S.-listed shares were down about 3 percent at $12.18 in premarket trading on Monday.

Barrick said a pre-feasibility study estimated $1 billion in initial capital spending on its Goldrush project in Nevada, based on a start of construction in 2020.

UPDATE 3-Brazil’s Vale posts record iron ore, nickel output even as prices slump – by Jeb Blount (Reuters India – February 18, 2016)

February 19, 2016

http://in.reuters.com/

Feb 18 Brazilian miner Vale SA produced record amounts of iron ore, nickel, copper, cobalt and gold as it battled a slump in global metals prices by boosting output in search of greater market share.

Results, though, were below what some analysts expected even as they helped Vale, the world’s third-largest mining company, meet some of its own output targets.

Fourth-quarter iron ore production rose 2.4 percent year on year to 88.4 million tonnes, its largest ever fourth-quarter total, the company said on Thursday. Output was down 3 percent compared with the third quarter.

The Great Iron-Ore Flood Claims Anglo as Biggest Victim – by Jesse Riseborough and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – February 17, 2016)

February 18, 2016February 17, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The giants of the iron-ore industry have claimed their biggest victim yet: Anglo American Plc.

The 99-year-old mining company, reeling from a $5.6 billion loss last year, is pulling out of iron ore and Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani described a bleak outlook for the material. The exit marks the result of a strategy, employed by the world’s largest producers, of continuing to expand output in the face of plunging prices. BHP Billiton Ltd. has described the tactic as ‘‘squeezing the lemon.”

“We’ve watched competitors in iron ore flood the market,” Cutifani, who’s been at the helm of Anglo for three years, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “It will be tough on the supply side for some time.”

A new conflict brews at Peru’s Las Bambas copper mine (Reuters U.S. – February 16, 2016)

February 17, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

LIMA- Families in Peru that were relocated to make way for MMG Ltd’s huge Las Bambas copper project occupied their former lands inside the mine on Tuesday to press the company for compensation, the country’s ombudsman and a local leader said.

The protest in a remote highland region has not affected operations at the mine, said the community’s vice president, Obispo Huamani, and Artemio Solano, the regional representative of Peru’s ombudsman.

The mine’s vice president of corporate affairs, Domingo Drago, denied anyone had invaded company property.

Behind the scenes with DMCC chief at Caracas diamond talks – by Frank Kane (The National – February 16, 2016)

February 16, 2016

http://www.thenational.ae/

CARACAS // The UAE has been handed a 24-carat challenge: how to get the disparate voices and conflicting interests of the international diamond business acting in unison for the good of an industry that is facing serious issues.

Last week, Ahmed bin Sulayem, best known as the force behind the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre – the DMCC, where the emirate’s diamond industry has flourished over the past decade – took the first steps towards meeting that challenge in crisis-torn Venezuela.

The 38-year-old DMCC chairman was the person chosen by the UAE Ministry of Economy to take up the chairmanship of the Kimberley Process (KP), which was set up in 2003 to stem the flow of “blood diamonds” on to the world’s markets. It has proved to be a controversial organisation.

BHP Billiton, Vale facing $7 billion fine for Brazil’s biggest environmental disaster – by Emily Moulton (February 10, 2016)

February 12, 2016

http://www.news.com.au/

IT TOOK decades to build and just minutes to completely destroy. This is what remains of Bento Rodrigues, the small Brazilian village that was flattened by a 20m wall of toxic mud that spewed out of a burst tailings dam from a nearby mine site in the Mariana region of Minas Gerais in the south east of the country.

An estimated 40-60 million cubic metres of thick sludge swept through, without warning, swallowing just about everything in its path.

Residents, who had lived in the shadow of the Samarco Mineiracoes mine, a joint venture between Vale SA and the Australian-owned BHP Billiton for the past decade, reportedly had just 25 minutes to flee for their lives.

Sherritt CEO: Not Enough Transparency on Nickel Supply and Demand From China (Bloomberg TV Canada – February 11, 2016)

February 12, 2016

http://bloombergtv.ca/ Canadian nickel miner Sherritt International’s President and CEO, David Pathe, joins Bloomberg TV Canada’s Pamela Ritchie to discuss the dramatic plunge in the stainless steel making commodity and what a significant role supply and demand from China plays in the market.