Twitter

Nickel

Indonesia’s ban on raw minerals exports threatens nickel shake-up – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – January 10, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – Jan 10 (Reuters) – An Indonesian ban on raw minerals exports is set to hurt Chinese factories making stainless steel – used in everything from kitchenware to cars and buildings – in the biggest potential industry shake-up in more than five years.

The ban, due to come in force on Sunday, may also be a boon for battered nickel miners, dogged by prices that lost 19 percent last year and are sitting stubbornly near four-year lows.

Indonesia looks set to prohibit more than $2 billion worth of annual nickel ore and bauxite shipments as part of a plan to push miners into downstream processing and boost long-term returns from its mineral wealth.

The Southeast Asian country supplies about half the nickel ore used for stainless steel in China, the world’s biggest producer and exporter of the corrosion resistant material.

China mostly produces a lesser quality version, unlike high-end competitors in Japan, Germany and Korea, which is often used in the inside of buildings or internally in cars, where it reinforces framework.

Read more

Activist George Armoyan set for proxy fight at Sherritt after negotiations fall apart – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 10, 2014)

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

TORONTO – Activist investor George Armoyan is poised to take on Sherritt International Corp. in a proxy fight after attempts to reach a settlement with the Toronto-based miner fell apart.

Mr. Armoyan was livid on Thursday after meeting with Sherritt chairman Hap Stephen and board member Peter Gillin. In an interview following the meeting, he said the two men were unwilling to consider any of his proposals. He said he thought they could reach a compromise in which he would name one director and the two sides would jointly choose another, but that Sherritt reneged on the potential plan.

Mr. Armoyan went on to blast the entire board for allegedly enriching themselves while failing to create value for shareholders. “There’s no proper Canadian corporate governance standard that these guys meet. Nothing,” he said.

He said the directors only hold minimal shares, but are earning higher salaries than directors of some global giants. He also accused them of numerous other excesses, including buying an expensive private company jet and spending lavishly on board meetings in London.

Read more

Rio Tinto’s Michigan Nickel Mine Introduces Citizen Water Quality Testing Program – by Codi Kozacek (Circle of Blue – January 8, 2014)

http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/

Circle of Blue, founded in 2002 and based in Traverse City, Michigan, is a non-profit affiliate of the Pacific Institute, and the premier news organization in the world covering freshwater issues

Scheduled to begin production of nickel and copper next year, the Eagle Mine is the first new hard rock mine to open in northern Michigan’s Copper Country in decades. It’s so new that Chevy pickups need Kevlar tires to prevent blowouts on the sharp edges of stones not yet worn by mine traffic.

Puncture-proof tires, though, are hardly the only distinctions that separate the Eagle Mine from others in Michigan or across the United States. Two years ago, Rio Tinto, the mine’s developer, made an unusual proposition to the nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Trust, a local environmental organization.

Upended by a decade of civic protest over opening the Eagle Mine in the ecologically sensitive Yellow Dog Plains, the London-based mining company, which operates all over the world, wanted to try something very different in Michigan’s wild and water-rich Upper Peninsula. It offered to fund the Watershed Partnership to monitor environmental parameters, like water and air quality.

Read more

BHP to close Perseverance nickel mine – by Oliver Probert (Australian Journal of Mining – December 19, 2013)

http://www.theajmonline.com.au/

BHP has ceased operations at its Perseverance mine in Leinster, WA, after the mine was shut following seismic activity in October.

Perseverance was closed on October 31 this year, after nine miners were trapped following a 3.7 magnitude earthquake. All nine were returned to the surface safely, and there were no injuries reported.

After further investigation, BHP has decided to formally cease operations at Perseverance, but will continue to maintain the underground mine – leaving the door open for the potential re-opening of the mine down the track.

BHP’s Leinster operations are part of its Nickel West business unit. “Since the [seismic] event, Nickel West technical and operational teams, supported by independent experts, have been assessing the technical data and risks on the sub-level cave operations and all the options available,” BHP said on Tuesday.

“Following this analysis BHP Billiton has decided it is unable to safely resume operations in the sub-level cave at Perseverance mine.”

Read more

Indonesia to Study Rules for Miners With Smelters as Ban Looms – by Yoga Rusmana and Agus Suhana (Bloomberg News – December 19, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Indonesia, the world’s largest mined nickel producer, will study rules for mining companies operating smelters as a ban on mineral-ore shipments nears, said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa.

The government will seek legal advice on the regulations as interpretations differ, Rajasa said today. The law that bans shipments must be fully implemented and companies that don’t have smelters will have to comply, he said.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX), owner of the world’s second-biggest copper mine at Grasberg, said last week it intends to abide by the terms of its contract of work, which allow it to operate the mine and export concentrate. Indonesia is seeking to boost the value of shipments by promoting local processing and is set to prohibit all ore exports after Jan. 12.

“We will look at regulations but they cannot contradict the law,” Rajasa told reporters in Jakarta. “We must pay attention to business concerns.”

Three-month nickel advanced 0.2 percent to $14,165 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange at 8:39 p.m. in Singapore.

Read more

Go short gold, long nickel – Barclays – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – December 19, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

The bank expects 2014 to be another tough year for commodities but sees good things to come from a move out of structural surplus.

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – 2014 is likely to be another difficult year for Commodities, writes Barclays, in a note out earlier this week. But, it expects base metals to out perform both oil and precious metals in the early parts of the year.

The main reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, on the base metals side, Barclays expects 2014 to mark the end of a period of structural surplus that has afflicted base metal markets to a greater or lesser degree since 2007/2008.

“Markets such as aluminium and lead are expected to move into deficit, while surpluses in nickel and zinc are likely to shrink dramatically. Even in copper, the one exception, where we expect supply to grow faster than demand, the surplus next year is likely to be very modest indeed,” the bank writes.

This, Barclays says is primarily a result of an acceleration in demand growth that is currently running at an annualised rate of around 8%, which it points out is double the level of the first quarter of 2013.

Read more

Vale CEO talks ‘consortium’ with Glencore – by Staff (Sudbury Star – December 19, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

A comment by Vale chief executive officer Murilo Ferrira, reported by Reuters on Wednesday, will have people talking again about a potential merger, or partial merger, between Vale and Glencore Xstrata operations in Sudbury.

Reuters reported Ferreira as saying he expects Vale’s “consortium” with Glencore in Sudbury nickel projects to be defined by the first quarter of 2014 and for the venture to operate as a single unit.

Vale spokesman Cory McPhee said Ferreira’s statement was made at an end-of-the-year luncheon with reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday at which Ferreira answered several questions.

His answer to the one about a Sudbury merger was a repetition of what he said during Vale Days at the New York and London Stock Exchanges a few weeks ago when he told reporters he expected to conclude the discussions in the first quarter of 2014, said McPhee.

“He’s speaking very broadly to potential outcomes,” said McPhee.

Read more

Vale commissions hydromet nickel plant at Long Harbour (Northern Miner – December 11, 2013)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. 

VANCOUVER — Twenty years after Diamond Fields Resources discovered nickel in at Voisey’s Bay in Labrador and eight years after Vale (NYSE: VALE) predecessor Inco started mining, work is now wrapping up on a state-of-the-art hydrometallurgical facility that will process the mine’s rich nickel–copper–cobalt ore without smelting it.

Vale has been sending ore from its open-pit Voisey’s Bay mine to its smelters in Sudbury, Ont., and Thompson, Man. Starting early next year those long hauls will be over, replaced by shipments to a new facility in Long Harbour, 100 km west of St. John’s, N.L. — keeping a promise made to the provincial government that Voisey’s Bay ore or its equivalent would be refined in-province.

Cutting back on haulage is just one advantage. More important is the new facility design, which represents the first time hydromet technology will be used on a large scale to produce nickel.

Hydrometallurgy uses water, oxygen, solvents and high pressure to dissolve a metal from its ore, or from a concentrate or intermediate product, such as matte (the product of smelting).

Read more

Nickel market may be missing the bigger picture – by Roskill Information Services (Mining.com – December 16, 2013)

http://www.mining.com/

With 2014 quickly approaching, all eyes in the market appear to be turned east to Indonesia.

As of the beginning of December, the Indonesian government has signalled that it would proceed with putting into effect a ban on unprocessed mineral ores.

Roskill’s nickel analyst, Thomas Hohne, answers some of the major questions related to the ban and its effect on the nickel market, and shares some of Roskill’s views of what other factors will be driving the nickel market in the years to come. What should we expect to happen come January 2014?

Shipments are set to be barred from January 12th onwards as proposals for a phased introduction of the ban have been discussed, but not adopted, as of yet. With Indonesia’s earnings from ore exports in the range of US$10 billion in 2013, much of which would evaporate overnight, pressure for some intermediate solution will remain. Because of this, however, any temporary solution is likely to be reached after the imposition of the ban, rather than before. Moreover, Indonesian officials have already indicated that even as the legislation will go ahead, implementation of the ban may allow for some amendments in practice.

Read more

Mineral exploitation in Odisha [India] low despite increased mining activity – by Sadananda Mohapatra (Business Standard – December 16, 2013)

http://www.business-standard.com/ [India]

The state has about 174 million tonne of nickel, which is yet to explored

Despite increased mining activity in Odisha, the mineral exploitation in the state remains low in last hundred years compared to its reserves.

Major minerals with sizeable reserves in the state include chromite, iron ore, bauxite and manganese. While only 13% of the total chromite deposits has been excavated so far, the same for iron ore and manganese are 9% each and for bauxite only three%.

Odisha currently possesses 159.40 million tonne of chrome ore that finds its usage in making stainless steel, out of 182.86 million tonne of preliminary proven reserve, according to the government statistics. About 23.50 million tonne of the mineral or 12.8% of the proven reserve has been excavated so far.

Nearly all of India’s chrome ore is found in Odisha with state-run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) having control over one-third of production. Few players such as Tata Steel, Indian Metal and Ferro alloys (IMFA), Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) and Balasore Alloys (formerly Ispat Alloys) have also their captive mines in the state.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Wallbridge Announces Milling Arrangement for Broken Hammer

Toronto, Ontario — December 12, 2013 – Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX: WM, FWB: WC7) (“Wallbridge”) today announced that it has signed a binding term sheet, (the “Term Sheet”) with Northern Sun Mining Corp. (formerly Liberty Mines Inc.) (TSX: NSC) (“Northern Sun”) for the custom milling of its Broken Hammer ore at Northern Sun’s Redstone concentrator in Timmins, Ontario. The Term Sheet is subject to, among other things, a Definitive Agreement to be entered into on or before February 7, 2014.

“We are excited to have completed another important step towards the development of the Broken Hammer deposit. Most permits are in place and negotiations with copper smelters and mining contractors are going well. Once these other facets of the project are in place, which is expected to be in early 2014, a production decision will be made to start construction in March 2014 with the expectation of ore delivery in May 2014, immediately after the half-load restrictions in Northern Ontario are lifted,” Marz Kord, President and CEO of Wallbridge stated, “At today’s metal prices we expect the project to proceed in late Q1 2014 and start generating cashflow in Q2-2014, that Wallbridge can put towards exploration opportunities at Broken Hammer and elsewhere in Sudbury”.

The securing of a satisfactory milling and processing contract for the Broken Hammer ore was a critical path item in determining the schedule for the project. Discussions with local milling facilities in Sudbury did not result in a contract being finalized and as a result Wallbridge explored other processing options, including, but not limited to, the possibility of processing the ore at Northern Sun’s Redstone Mill in Timmins, Ontario.

Read more

Barclays favours nickel in 2014, bearish on gold and oil – by Barani Krishnan (Reuters U.K. – December 10, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

NEW YORK – (Reuters) – Base metals, led by nickel, appear set to trend higher in 2014 due to tighter supplies, while unfavorable economics should keep pressure on gold and oil and prompt investors to avoid much of the commodity complex, Barclays said on Monday.

In another negative outlook on commodities from a major investment bank, London-based Barclays PLC (BARC.L) said that outflow of money from the sector will not end soon, at least not in the first quarter.

It cited a litany of reasons, including comfortable supply levels in most raw materials; a still-sluggish global economy and the likely scaling back of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus that had supported commodities.

“It is unlikely investors will warm to commodities in the near term,” said Barclays, which until a few years ago was one of the biggest proponents of the sector. Goldman Sachs (GS.N), often regarded Wall Street’s most authoritative voice on commodities, and Citigroup (C.N) have issued similarly sanguine outlooks in recent weeks.

Read more

State releases long-awaited impact statement for PolyMet mine, opens public comment period – by Josephine Marcotty (Minneapolis Star Tribune – December 7, 2013)

http://www.startribune.com/

State regulators unveiled their forecast Friday of the way Minnesota’s first copper mine would affect the air, water and lives of people in northeastern Minnesota, a document that is expected to escalate an already polarizing debate about what could be a new era of mining in the most beautiful and untouched part of the state.

The release of the environmental impact statement, a dense, 2,200-page document that took five years and cost $22 million, sets the stage for a 90-day public comment period starting Dec. 14 and, potentially, for a much larger debate over Minnesota’s future.

PolyMet Mining Corp., which promises a $650 million investment and 300 to 360 jobs over 20 years, is only the first of many companies lining up to tap one of the world’s largest untouched deposits of copper, nickel and other precious metals lying beneath the forests and lakes of northeast Minnesota. Many on both sides of the issue say the debate in the coming months, which is expected to generate tens of thousands of public comments, will influence how and whether copper mining in the state becomes a reality.

Read more

The 2014 Metals Outlook: Nickel – by Cole Latimer (Australian Mining – December 9, 2013)

http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/home

Australian Mining has investigated the current state of Australian metals and looks into how they will perform in the coming year. In the third part of this five part series we look at nickel.

The nickel industry has always been one of sharp busts and booms, with the busts now lasting longer and longer. To sum up the sector in a single word – volatile.

After an astounding leap in revenues in 2006-07, where it skyrocketed 132.9 per cent after shrinking 5.7 per cent the previous year, nickel has undergone a series of sharp price corrections, seeing an annualised fall of 12.1 per cent in revenues from 2008 through to this year.

This was due to prices retreating from unsustainably high levels. However after two years of serious gloom for the sector, following another brief spike in 2010-11, nickel is predicted to grow again, according to IBISWorld reports.

Read more

Miners eye Jakarta’s planned iron ore ban – by Barry Filzgerald (The Australian – December 10, 2013)

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

NO one is getting too excited just yet, but there is a chance that Indonesia of all places may be about to do Australia a big favour — more particularly, our tin, nickel and bauxite producers.

Like the rest of the mining sector, all three could do with a bit of early Christmas cheer. Apart from the broader fallout from the recent spying scandal and the ongoing tragedy of boatpeople, Indonesia has not exactly endeared itself to the local resources industry, with its regular shocks and horrors when it comes to security of tenure.

But if the Indonesians deliver on their big commodities threat of early 2014, much of that will be quickly forgiven. The big threat is to follow through on the government’s plans to proceed with a mineral ore export ban from January 12 — a drastic attempt to force through value-adding processing of minerals with all the attendant jobs and investment creation.

Until the recent backing of parliament, few if any observers thought the ban would see the light of day. But the fact the parliament followed through — presumably after intense lobbying by those interests opposed to the move — means mineral export market watchers are beginning to factor in the potential for the Indonesians to do what they say they are going to do.

Read more