Twitter

Nickel

Sudbury Vale’s Totten mine boasts copper, nickel and PGMs – by Lindsay Kelly (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 25, 2013)

Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal  is a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This article is from the December, 2013 issue.

The mineralization at Vale’s Totten Mine is so rich, ribbons of copper, nickel and precious metal can be viewed at surface just by walking through the parking lot.

“It’s pretty interesting for anybody who likes geology,” said Lance Howland, Totten’s chief mine geologist. “They can go out for their lunch break to look at exactly what’s here, and that’s pretty much what you’d see underground.”

Totten Mine is situated along the Worthington Offset, one of the fractures resulting from the creation of the Sudbury Basin 1.8 billion years ago. Offset deposits like Worthington were formed when pressure caused by molten material cooling around the basin pushed its way into a fracture.

“(The molten material) carried with it the copper, nickel and precious metals, and formed multiple deposits along that string. One of them was Totten Mine,” Howland said. “It’s a pretty unique story and we’ve got some very interesting deposits that a lot of people around the world have come here to see given how unique it is.”

Read more

Vale’s Team Totten rises to challenge – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 25, 2013)

Norm Tollinsky is editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This article is from the December, 2013 issue.

Ground conditions, water ingress and a 60-year-old timbered shaft among the challenges overcome

When Bob Booth and Gary Annett of the Totten project team hand over the reins to mine manager Dave Pisaric on December 31st, life won’t be near as exciting.

Few mine development projects go exactly as planned. Mother Nature can frustrate the intentions of the most experienced and skilled engineers and geoscientists, as happened at Totten when unfavourable ground conditions and water ingress began bogging things down.

The team stepped it up a notch, hunkered down…and saw it through. Vale decided against the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) approach and kept the project management in house.

Annett, with the ominous title of Totten execution manager, was assigned to Totten in February 2008. A 15-year Vale and Inco mining engineer and alumnus of Laurentian University, Annett worked his way up through operations and spent eight years at the company’s Coleman Mine.

Read more

Wallbridge tries to understand its ‘enigmatic’ minerals – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – February 13, 2014)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business  provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. 

Around two billion years ago an asteroid or comet approximately 10 to 15 kilometres in diameter collided with what is now the Sudbury basin.

When it entered Earth’s orbit it was travelling at a speed of around 36,000 kilometres per hour. The power of the impact when it hit the planet’s surface was “off the scale,” according to Gordon Osinski, an associate professor of planetary geology at the University of Western Ontario. “It’s an incredible amount of energy deposited almost instantaneously,” he said.

Geological changes can take millions of years, but that impact altered Sudbury’s landscape in a flash. The heat from the impact was so intense it created a pool of molten rock three kilometres thick. Geologists have estimated the crater it created – which is no longer visible today – was around 200 kilometres in diameter.

The Chicxulub crater, underneath Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, is around 180 km in diameter. The asteroid impact that created it 65 million years ago is largely credited for the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

Read more

Royal Nickel Corp: Indonesian Ore Export Ban Opens Door to the Next Generation of Nickel Mines (The Gold Report – February 11, 2014)

http://www.theaureport.com/

DISCLOSURE: Royal Nickel Corp. paid The Mining Report to conduct, produce and distribute the following interview. 

Nickel prices have been weak, but the recent Indonesian government announcement banning ore shipments outside the country may be the shock that reverses the trend. In this interview with The Mining Report, Mark Selby, senior vice president of business development for Royal Nickel Corp., walks through his analysis that indicates nickel price increases and inventory reductions are imminent, while demand continues to grow and over a quarter of global mine supply is shut in.

He considers nickel in 2014 one of the best commodity trades in a generation. To capitalize on this unique set of circumstances, Royal Nickel’s Dumont Nickel Project follows the path of other large-reserve, large-scale mines in the copper and gold sectors that have changed the mining industry and made early investors fortunes.

The Mining Report: The nickel industry has been through tectonic changes in the last 10 years, including large corporate takeovers and fundamental changes in supply available to the market. Can you summarize where the nickel industry has been and where it is going?

Mark Selby: Over the past five years, we’ve seen continued robust growth in nickel demand. Over that period, global nickel demand grew in the high single-digits, while Chinese nickel demand grew at double-digit rates.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Royal Nickel Announces Management Changes

Tyler Mitchelson Resigns as CEO, Remains as a Director

TORONTO, Feb. 11, 2014 /CNW/ – Royal Nickel Corporation (“RNC”) (TSX: RNX) today announced Tyler Mitchelson, President & CEO of RNC, has decided to leave RNC in order to take a position with Anglo American Corporation. Mr. Mitchelson will remain as a Director of RNC.

“We thank Tyler for the four years he has led RNC and the significant work he has done to advance the Dumont Nickel Project. We wish him well in his new position,” said Scott Hand, Executive Chairman of RNC.

Effective today, Mark Selby, SVP Business Development at RNC since 2010, has been appointed Interim CEO. Mr. Selby possesses more than 20 years’ experience in finance and corporate development at resource companies, including Inco Limited and Quadra Mining. Mr. Selby will be able to call on Executive Chairman, Scott Hand as well as Directors Peter Goudie and Peter Jones. Mr. Hand is the former Chairman & CEO of Inco which was a major participant in the nickel industry before it was acquired by Vale in 2007. Mr. Jones was President & COO of Inco and Mr. Goudie was Executive Vice-President for Sales and Marketing for Inco with extensive experience in Asia. Mr. Hand, Mr. Goudie and Mr. Jones have been Directors of RNC since 2008.

“The Dumont Nickel Project is a world-class project that will be needed to meet the growing global demand for nickel,” said Mr. Hand.

Read more

Antam and Vale Receive Green Light on Processed Mineral Exports – by Rangga Prakoso (Jakarta Globe – January 27, 2014)

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/

Antam and Vale Indonesia — two of the biggest nickel producers in the country — have secured a recommendation letter to export their processed mineral products, almost two weeks after the government enforced a ban on ore shipments.

“Vale and Antam don’t have any problems. The others simply have not submitted their respective proposals to the government, which is why I am calling on other miners to do so,” said Susilo Siswoutomo, vice minister at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, on Friday.

Susilo said the government has given Antam approval to export around 17,000 metric tons of ferronickel annually, while Vale is allowed 75,000 tons of nickel matte per year. He did not say whether Antam will be allowed to export its nickel ore.

The vice minister also confirmed the government’s intention to set a “maximum production limit” for minerals to ensure that newly-built smelters in Indonesia can be fed with adequate resources.

Read more

As smelters weigh cost, Indonesia’s ore export ban may backfire – by Fergus Jensen and Melanie Burton (Reuters India – January 27, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

JAKARTA/SYDNEY – Jan 27 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s ban on exports of key mineral ores – unless they are processed in the country – risks backfiring as weaker commodity prices mean it is not cost-effective to invest in expensive smelters and refineries.

The ban, which came into effect on Jan. 12, was unveiled in 2009 as a commodities boom began to froth and Jakarta sought to extract more value from its mineral resources. But metals prices and margins have since fallen, leading to oversupply and less need for building more processing capacity.

Worried about the impact on its current account deficit and a sagging rupiah currency, Jakarta tried to ease the ban last month only to be blocked by parliament. This month, it issued exemptions to allow shipments of copper, zinc, lead, manganese and iron ore concentrate, leaving nickel and bauxite – key ingredients in making steel and aluminium – the main targets.

Companies considering building alumina refineries are moving slowly as they weigh the big investments required amid caution over Indonesia’s policy flip-flops.

A 1 million-tonnes-a-year alumina refinery in Indonesia would cost around $1.5 billion to build.

Read more

UPDATE 1-Indonesian mining group challenges ore export ban in court – by Fergus Jensen (Reuters India – January 22, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

Jan 22 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Mineral Entrepreneurs Association (APEMINDO) has filed a legal challenge against a ban on ore exports introduced less than two weeks ago.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed off on the controversial ore export ban on Jan. 12, although last-minute amendments eased the impact of the export ban on mining giants Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining Corp which are now subject to an export tax.

Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of nickel ore, refined tin and thermal coal and is an important producer of copper and gold. It is seeking to increase added value from its mineral wealth but has been widely criticised for the ore export ban, seen by many as unfeasible.

“If this policy is carried out it will kill mining businesses,” Revly Harun, a lawyer for APEMINDO, told Reuters on Wednesday. “If they want to make smelters they need money for that. We don’t think this ore export ban is realistic.”

Read more

Report: China may use influence to soften Indonesia’s nickel ore ban – Frik Els (Mining.com – January 20, 2014)

http://www.mining.com/

Indonesia surprised the mining world little over a week ago putting into effect an outright ban on nickel ore exports, against expectations of a last-minute climb down by authorities.

Indonesia accounts for around a fifth of global supply at an estimated 400,000 tonnes of contained metal and the ban was seen as a potential game changer in the market for the steelmaking raw material..

Nickel prices have reacted in a fairly subdued manner however with three-month nickel on the LME last trading at $14,650 a tonne. That’s up around 7% since the ban was implemented, but a far cry from 2013’s high of $18,700 struck in February and still near levels last seen in 2009.

Global warehouse levels have risen sharply over the past two years – hitting a record 260,000 tonnes this year according to LME data – keeping prices subdued. Ample available metal and ore combined with a 20% rise in worlwide mining output since 2011 just as the market was moving into surplus.

Read more

Jakarta mired deep in mining mess – by John McBeth (The Straits Times/Jakarta Post – January 20, 2014)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

Giving with one hand and taking with the other, the Indonesian government has effectively enforced a blanket ban on mineral ore exports in a bizarre, nationalist-driven decision-making process that will cost the country billions and put tens of thousands out of work.

While value-added is an understandable goal for a country blessed with so many natural resources, the implementation of the signature policy has been bedevilled by weak leadership, poor conceptualising, political grandstanding and bureaucratic ineptitude.

Miners are now threatening to head to international arbitration, with copper giants Freeport Indonesia and Newmont Nusa Tenggara facing the prospect of shutting down 65 per cent of their production – a huge chunk of the US$10 billion Indonesia makes each year from mineral exports.

The move to process all mineral ore onshore within five years was foreshadowed in the 2009 Mining Law, but only given clarity – and teeth – in a ministerial regulation issued belatedly in July 2012, which laid out the required purity levels for each individual mineral.

Read more

Canadian nickel producers hope to benefit from Indonesia’s export ban – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – January 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.

Indonesia’s ban on raw mineral exports has the potential to rejuvenate a nickel industry that is suffering from a plunge in metal prices.

The ban, which started on Sunday, has pushed nickel prices up on fears that there will be a shortage of the silvery white metal used to make stainless steel. That would help Canadian producers Sherritt International Corp., Lundin Mining Corp. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd.

Toronto-based Sherritt, which runs the Moa nickel mine in Cuba and is developing a giant nickel mine in Madagascar, could see benefits immediately. “Any improvement in the nickel prices will go straight to our revenue,” said Sherritt’s chief executive officer David Pathe.

Shares of Sherritt and other producers gained about 5 per cent on Thursday. Shares of tiny Canadian nickel companies First Nickel Inc. and Royal Nickel Corp. also made gains.

Although nickel is trading at two-month highs of $6.50 (U.S.) a pound, the metal is down 70 per cent from its record high of $24 reached in 2007 when supplies were scarce.

Read more

Indonesia to China: Stop Buying Our Stuff – by Bruce Einhorn, Yoga Rusmana, and Eko Listiyorini (Bloomberg News – January 13, 2014)

http://www.businessweek.com/

Indonesian mines account for about 20 percent of the world’s nickel supply and a hefty chunk of the bauxite (used to make aluminum). China has been importing ever-larger amounts of these and other minerals from its Asian neighbor. Ironically, the more the Chinese buy, the angrier Indonesians become: Rather than purchasing refined minerals from Indonesia, China imports the raw rocks and does the processing itself, thus depriving Indonesians of jobs and tax revenue.

Miners took more than 250,000 tons of nickel out of Indonesian mines last year but processed only about 16,000 tons in-country, exporting the rest. Meanwhile, China refined more than half a million tons.

To make matters worse, through much of last year, China stockpiled Indonesian ore to hedge against any action the government in Jakarta might take to encourage more of the value-added work to stay home. The stockpiling makes Indonesian officials even more irritated. “I just returned from China, and I saw with my own eyes there are 3 million tons of bauxite and 20 million tons of nickel over there,” Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat told reporters on Jan. 8. “That’s what we want to stop.”

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is taking action do just that.

Read more

Japan nickel users face higher costs, supply hunt after Indonesia ban – by Yuka Obayashi (Reuters U.S. – January 13, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

TOKYO – Jan 13 (Reuters) – Japan, home to some of the world’s biggest stainless steel producers, will face higher costs and a scramble to find new nickel supply after Indonesia enforced an export ban on the raw material.

Global nickel prices and mining shares rallied a day after Indonesia banned unprocessed exports of nickel and bauxite, in a move aimed at getting higher returns for its resources by forcing companies to refine the minerals on Indonesian soil.

The law was first announced in 2009 but only a handful of firms made the downstream investments needed, betting on Indonesia backing down on the policy. Jakarta tweaked its rules on Saturday to allow copper, zinc, lead, manganese and iron ore concentrate shipments to continue.

Japan’s biggest nickel smelter, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (SCM), said it had enough nickel ore to maintain its current production level of ferro-nickel only till May.

Read more

Philippines Sees Nickel Boon on Indonesia’s Ban: Southeast Asia – by Cecilia Yap (Bloomberg News – January 13, 2014)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The ban on mineral-ore exports from Indonesia, the world’s biggest nickel producer, is poised to benefit neighboring miners in the Philippines, which are predicting an increase in sales. Shares of Nickel Asia (NIKL) Corp. advanced to the highest level since July.

The ban is positive as demand and prices for Philippine supplies will increase, according to Emmanuel Samson, chief financial officer at Nickel Asia. The Taguig City-based company accounts for about a third of Philippine output, Samson said in a telephone interview.

While the Indonesian ban is intended to encourage local processing and boost the value of commodity shipments from Southeast’s Asia’s largest economy, the curbs may hand an advantage to rival producers such as Nickel Asia. Buyers in China, the top user, stockpiled ore before the ban and it may take as long as six months to work off that extra inventory, according to Samson. Producers in China also need to adjust to the lower grade of ore that comes from the Philippines, he said.

“If they do that, it would be very easy for us to ramp up production,” Samson said in an interview Jan. 9. “We think the increase is not going to be until such time that the inventory level will come down,” he said, referring to prices.

Refined-nickel futures jumped as much as 2.4 percent to $14,190 a ton today on the London Metal Exchange, the highest level in two weeks, on concern supplies will be reduced.

Read more

UPDATE 4-Indonesia export ban leaves mining in turmoil, nickel prices rally – by Wilda Asmarini and Michael Taylor (Reuters India – January 13, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s mining sector was left in turmoil on Monday after the government pushed through a controversial ban on exporting unprocessed mineral exports.

Global nickel prices and mining shares rallied in the first trading day after the ban in the world’s top nickel ore exporter. The ban on a range of mineral ores took effect on Sunday, five years after a law was passed to force miners to build processing plants. The government provided a last-minute reprieve for exporters to keep shipping some minerals, although U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold was waiting for confirmation so that it could continue to ship copper.

The policy aims to reduce reliance on raw material exports, but many firms failed to invest in enough smelter capacity to process all of Indonesia’s mining output — meaning that a total ban would have forced extensive shut downs of output and cost the economy billions of dollars.

Late changes approved by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — to ease any short-term economic pain — should allow copper exports by Freeport and Newmont Mining Corp.

Read more