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Saskatchewan Mining

Barrick’s Munk Heads Top Ten Most Important Mining Men in Canadian History – by Stan Sudol

Melanie and Peter Munk
Melanie and Peter Munk

An edited version of this list was published in the February/March issue of the Canadian Mining Journal.

Four Americans Made the List!

A few months ago, my dear colleague Joe Martin, who is the Director of the Canadian Business & Financial History Initiative at Rotman and President Emeritus of Canada’s History Society, asked me a very simple question: who would be considered the most important individual in Canadian mining?

Considering Canada’s lengthy and exceptional expertise in the mineral sector, it was not an easy answer and I decided to research and create a top ten list of the most important mining men in Canadian history.

The lack of women on this list simply reflects the fact that for much of our history most women were not given the educational or social opportunities to excel in business, especially in a rough and male-dominated sector like mining. Times have changed, women are playing key roles in mining today and will definitely be included on this list in the future.

However, a few qualifiers need to be established. This is basically a list of mine builders not mine finders.  Building a company through takeovers and discoveries is one way but I am also focusing on individuals who have built corporate empires and/or who have developed isolated regions of the country with the necessary infrastructure for mines to flourish and create multi-generational jobs, shareholder wealth and great economic impact.

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Saskatchewan, Ottawa strike accord on coal-fire power generation – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – November 29, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — Saskatchewan has reached a deal with Ottawa on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its coal-fired power sector, but the two governments remain at odds over carbon pricing ahead of next week’s first ministers’ meeting on climate change.

Saskatchewan Environment Minister Scott Moe and his federal counterpart, Catherine McKenna, announced Monday that the two governments will conclude an “equivalency agreement” that could keep one or more coal-fired power plants operating past 2030, so long as the province makes major GHG reductions elsewhere in its electricity sector.

Ms. McKenna last week unveiled the federal plan to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired electricity as part of the Canada’s commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 under the international Paris Agreement on climate change.

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Everything you need to know about Saskatchewan’s potash industry cutbacks – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – November 24, 2016)

http://thestarphoenix.com/

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.’s announcement that it plans to permanently reduce production at its Cory mine west of Saskatoon, resulting in 140 layoffs, and temporarily halt production at two other operations, is the latest in a long string of industry cutbacks this year. Here’s everything you need to know about Saskatchewan’s potash industry, and the challenges it faces.

Q: What does the province’s potash industry look like?

A: It’s dominated by three companies — PotashCorp, Mosaic Co. and Agrium Inc. — operating nine mines. A tenth, K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy project, is in the commissioning phase and expected to reach full production next year.

Together, these mines have a capacity of more than 30 million tonnes, or about half of total global demand. BHP Billiton has said its Jansen mine — which, at eight million tonnes per year, could be the world’s largest — could come online in the decade following 2020.

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Potash Corp. cuts jobs, Canadian potash output as prices sag – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – November 24, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. is slashing 140 jobs at its potash mine in Cory, Sask., as it continues to struggle with a glut of its namesake product. The company, which boasts the world’s largest capacity to produce fertilizer, has been hammered by falling prices as a wave of new potash production has overwhelmed global demand.

It is responding to the dismal market by cutting output, mothballing a large portion of its productive capacity and focusing on its lowest cost mines. It is also searching for potential synergies by merging with rival fertilizer producer Agrium Inc., which has a direct-to-farmer retail network.

Potash Corp. said Wednesday that it would trim production at the Cory mine to 0.8 million tonnes a year from 1.4 million. The cuts will mean the loss of 100 full-time and 40 part-time jobs.

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Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. History (1975 – 1997) – by International Directory of Company Histories

For a large selection of corporate histories click: International Directory of Company Histories

Company Perspectives: In a world eager for plant nutrients, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PCS) offers double strength: by capacity, it is the world’s largest potash company and third largest phosphate producer. Export-oriented, it is a global pace-setter.

Company History: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. is the world’s largest producer of potash and the third largest producer of phosphate. Potash and phosphate are mined for their essential nutrients, potassium and phosphorus, which are used in making fertilizer. Potassium is used to increase crop yields, raise the food value of certain plants, and aids in resisting diseases leading to crop failure.

Phosphorus, which is instrumental in the process of plant photosynthesis, is necessary for the normal growth of either an animal or plant, and is an essential ingredient for its maintenance and repair. Through an aggressive acquisition policy, the company has been able to make its presence felt throughout the world.

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[Saskatchewan] Residents in the south worried about the ‘war on coal’ – by Will Chabun (Regina Leader-Post – November 23, 2016)

http://leaderpost.com/

Like his counterpart in Estevan, the mayor of Coronach worries about what’s ahead for the coal mine and power plant near his town. Reacting to Monday’s news that the federal government wants all or most of the coal-fired power generating plants in Canada closed by 2030, Coronach Mayor Trevor Schnell said the loss of the Westmoreland Coal mine and SaskPower generating plant near his town of 800 would be a heavy blow.

“If they close the plant and the mine in Coronach, that would be basically the end of Coronach — aside from farming,” he said Tuesday.

About 150 people work at the SaskPower plant and about the same number at Westmoreland Coal. Schnell said the town, about 170 kilometres southwest of Regina near the American border, also sees a lot of consultants and technical specialists pass through it on their way to the power plant.

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Agrium, Potash Corp investors back merger of fertilizer companies – by Nia Williams and Rod Nickel (Reuters Canada – November 3, 2016)

http://ca.reuters.com/

CALGARY, Alberta/WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Shareholders of Agrium Inc AGU.TO and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc POT.TO overwhelmingly approved an all-stock merger of the fertilizer producers on Thursday, shifting the focus to U.S. and Canadian regulators.

More than 99 percent of Potash investors and 98 percent of Agrium shareholders voted in favor of the deal, the companies said at separate meetings in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Calgary, Alberta, respectively. Reuters reported last month that shareholders were likely to give overwhelming backing for the deal.

The deal required two-thirds’ support of votes cast by each company’s investors to proceed. Crop nutrient producers are struggling with falling prices and profits, as supplies are ample and farm incomes are strained by weaker crop values.

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Agrium-Potash merger set for shareholder approval: source – by John Tilak and Rod Nickel (Globe and Mail/Reuters – October 28, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

TORONTO/WINNIPEG — Shareholders of Agrium Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. are set to overwhelmingly approve a merger of the two fertilizer producers, according to a source familiar with the situation, despite initial skepticism from Agrium investors.

About 99 per cent of the votes from both groups of shareholders are in favour of the transaction, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public. About half of the votes have come in, the source said.

The merger requires two-thirds support of votes cast by shareholders of each company. Last month, Potash Corp. and Agrium agreed to join forces in an all-stock deal that will allow Potash shareholders to own 52 per cent of the new company, with the rest going to Agrium shareholders. Fertilizer profits have slumped as prices fall as a result of excessive supplies and weak crop prices.

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Cameco and the CRA head to court over potential $2.2-billion tax dispute – by Ian Bickis (Financial Post – October 4, 2016)

http://business.financialpost.com/

The world’s largest publicly traded uranium company will clash in court this week with the Canadian Revenue Agency over a potential $2.2-billion tax bill.

At question is whether Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp. set up a subsidiary in low-tax Switzerland and sold it uranium at a low price simply to avoid tax, as the CRA contends. Cameco maintains it was a legal and sound business practice.

For the uranium producer the case presents a serious risk of impact to its bottom line, as the CRA looks to shift an estimated $7.4 billion in foreign earnings between 2003 and 2015 back to Canada.

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Cameco to court over tax bill (Mining.com – October 3, 2016)

http://www.mining.com/

Canada’s biggest uranium producer, Cameco, is set to appear in court on Wednesday to dispute accusations of setting up a subsidiary in Zug, Switzerland for the purpose of avoiding taxes.

Canada Revenue Agency contends whether the Saskatoon-based corporation wanted to dodge its fiscal duties by signing a 17-year agreement in 1999 with its Swiss arm to sell uranium at the fixed price of about US$10 per pound.

The practice is seen as ‘unfair’ given that the price of uranium rose to over US$130 a pound by 2007 and, despite the fact it has been in a steep downward trend ever since, still trades at over US$20 a pound today.

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Name game: Potash merger offers much-needed rebranding opportunity – by Susan Krashinsky (Globe and Mail – September 27, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The proposed $36-billion (U.S.) mega-merger of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. is a bid to create a Canadian giant in the fertilizer market. It is also a union of two thoroughly boring brands.

One is literally named for the thing it sells and the location of its headquarters. The other is slightly more creative – named for a reference to agriculture with the “ium” suffix meant to symbolize “a close connection to the earth.” A key decision in the merger is still unknown: What will the new company be called?

“Agrium and PotashCorp are aware that naming the new company is one of the most important marketing activities that they will undertake. They intend to take their time to do it right and will provide an update on this in due course,” the companies said in an e-mailed statement.

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Tough farm conditions right time for Potash merger: Agrium CEO – by Rod Nickel (Reuters Canada – September 20, 2016)

http://ca.reuters.com/

Reuters) – Plunging crop and fertilizer prices may not have hit rock bottom yet, and the market’s weakness makes it the right time to merge leading farm input suppliers, the chief executive officer of Agrium Inc said on Tuesday, making his pitch to skeptical investors for a $26 billion union with Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc.

“Are we at the bottom yet? We don’t know. We know there’s more upside than downside,” said Agrium CEO Chuck Magro, adding that fertilizer demand is growing. “This is the time in the cycle where it makes sense to do mergers and acquisitions.”

The all-stock deal would combine Potash’s crop nutrient production capacity, the world’s largest, with Agrium’s farm retail network, North America’s biggest. Some Agrium investors are concerned the tie-up would leave them with greater exposure to the slumping crop nutrient potash.

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Excerpt from Sun Dogs and Yellowcake: Gunnar Mines – A Canadian Story – by Patricia Sandberg

To order a copy of Sun Dogs and Yellowcake: Gunnar Mines – A Canadian Story, click here: http://patriciasandberg.com/purchase-book/

Patricia Sandberg was formerly a partner at DuMoulin Black, a Vancouver law firm acting for mining companies listed on Canadian and international stock exchanges. Her clients had mining operations in Canada, the United States, China, and Latin America. Three generations of her family, including Patricia as a child, lived at Gunnar and her grandfather spent thirty years working at mines run by Gilbert LaBine, Canada’s “Father of Uranium.”

Shooting the Elephant

Re-enter Gilbert LaBine, some twenty years after his radium score and now sixty-two years old. LaBine, in his nominal positions as president and director of Eldorado, was well informed about Eldorado’s moves in the Beaverlodge area. He was also not averse to conducting a little business of his own.

His first foray was with a highly competent, experienced pilot named John “Johnny” Nesbitt, who had spent his life flying in Canada’s north country, including for Eldorado and its Great Bear Lake operations. When Eldorado switched its focus to Lake Athabasca, Nesbitt added the Beaverlodge operation to his flight path.

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Field of Dreams: How one Sask potash company hopes to defy the odds and build a mine – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – September 17, 2016)

http://thestarphoenix.com/

Saskatchewan’s potash industry has grown dramatically and changed rather less in the seven decades since the potassium-rich salts were discovered deep beneath the bald prairie.

The fertilizer is still mined deep underground using conventional methods, then shipped to developing countries, where it’s used to nourish crops and feed a growing global population.

Mike Ferguson knows the established model works. The engineer from Regina spent years working in the province’s potash industry, and helped develop what he now believes is the last mine of its generation: K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy Project. But he believes it could be better.

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Agrium to woo uneasy investors over Potash merger deal – by Rod Nickel (Reuters Canada – September 16, 2016)

http://ca.reuters.com/

WINNIPEG (Reuters) – Canada’s Agrium Inc will woo reluctant shareholders next week in Toronto to support its proposed merger with Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc, and seek to appease concerns that it has little to gain by marrying its fertilizer rival.

The $26-billion, all-stock merger would combine Potash’s crop nutrient production capacity, the world’s largest, with Agrium’s farm retail network, North America’s biggest.

It represents a major shift for Agrium Chief Executive Chuck Magro, who at its annual meeting in May sounded neutral at best on potash, said John Goldsmith, vice-president of Montrusco Bolton Investments, a top 20 Agrium investor. “Something must have happened to make him bet the farm on the potash commodity,” Goldsmith said, adding that he is concerned the new company would be too linked to the slumping commodity.

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