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United States Mining

McCain: Why I’ll vote for Resolution Copper – by John McCain (Arizona Republic – October 15, 2014)

http://www.azcentral.com/

John McCain is Arizona’s senior senator.

Driving through Superior last week, I saw the boarded-up shops that line its Main Street. I spoke with residents of this small community, many of whom are struggling to find opportunities to better their lives and those of their families.

Just a few decades ago, this area, an hour east of Phoenix, was a busy mining community. But its economy bottomed out after the old Magma Copper Mine closed in 1995. Today, a quarter of its residents live below the poverty line. Their neighbors on the San Carlos Reservation are in worse shape, reportedly suffering from a 70 percent unemployment rate and a rampant drug-abuse problem.

Today, hope is on the horizon for this hard-hit community. Last month, Resolution Copper, a joint project of mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, finished sinking a tunnel more than a mile underground, within reach of one of the top five undeveloped copper ore deposits in North America. It was a critically important development for this major job creator in one of Arizona’s most economically depressed rural areas.

The Resolution Copper project has the potential to utterly transform these communities. At full capacity, the mine could create as many as 4,000 jobs and produce roughly 25 percent of our nation’s domestic copper supply. Arizona as a whole will likely benefit from tens of billions of dollars in increased economic activity over the lifespan of the mine.

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Losing the War on Coal: One Virginia town’s painful decline – by Johnny Giles (Fox News – October 15, 2014)

http://www.foxnews.com/?intcmp=logo

APPALACHIA, Va. – Roger Whited doesn’t have to think back too far to remember when Main Street was alive with bustling shops and offices, teeming sidewalks and even traffic jams, all thanks to the industry that was the lifeblood of this tiny mountain town and countless others like it.

But six years into what many term the Obama administration’s “War on Coal,” Appalachia’s main thoroughfare is a tableau of boarded-up buildings, empty storefronts and dilapidated homes. Those who still mill about on streetcorners are looking for jobs, not places to spend their paychecks.

“I remember when the downtown area was more vibrant — streets were packed and businesses were open,” said Whited, who teaches high school social studies in Wise County. “There was the hotel and Bessie’s Diner, which was a popular place to get a meal. There were several other restaurants, but now the only place that serves food is a gas station.”

For generations, coal powered not only Appalachia’s homes and the lights on Main Street, but also the local economy. The salaries paid by companies like Cumberland River Coal Co. were enough to afford the trappings of a middle class, if hard-won, lifestyle. Men and women who toiled in the mines spent their money downtown and sent their kids to the local schools.

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Rio Tinto restoring old TV series ‘Death Valley Days’ – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – October 14, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

40 years after the final broadcast, Death Valley Days returns to television, thanks to Rio Tinto’s Dr. Williams Adams.

LONE PINE, CALIFORNIA (MINEWEB) – In September 1930, the Pacific Coast Borax Company and its advertising agency, McCann-Erikson created one of the longest running western radio broadcasts and television series in U.S. history—solely to sell Boraxo hand soap and 20-Mule Team Borax laundry detergent booster to the American public.

Since its first radio broadcast on NBC’s old Blue Network to its transition to television as a western anthology series in 1950 to the final episode aired in 1975, “Death Valley Days” would also be credited with launching the political career of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, whose two years as host of one of the most popular western television series in U.S. history was credited with helping elect him as governor of California.

The radio show produced more than 600 episodes, while the TV anthology would yield another 458 episodes, all written by advertising copywriter Ruth Woodman, who also dramatized the story of Pacific Coast Borax Company, which would subsequently become U.S. Borax and a Rio Tinto subsidiary.

Woodman, who spent every summer traveling through California and Nevada to soak up western history, wrote scripts based on such renowned and real-life characters as prospector Death Valley Scotty; bandit Black Bar; Ishi, the sole surviving member of the Yahi Tribe; and Sequoia, who developed a written language for his tribe and for whom California’s towering redwood trees are named.

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[Nevada] State needs to extract more taxes from mining – by Bob Fulkerson (Las Vegas Review-Journal – October 12, 2014)

http://www.reviewjournal.com/

On Nov. 4, Nevada voters will decide whether to remove mining’s unique, 150-year-old tax protections from the state constitution and allow the Legislature to update the mining tax system to reflect modern times. Passage of Question 2 won’t raise or lower the taxes that mining pays. But it will remove the special protection that no other industry in our state enjoys.

Nevada’s mining taxes are nearly nonexistent compared with the rest of the world, and we are one of three states with no corporate profits tax to help pay for the services that benefit those corporations. Billions of dollars of mineral wealth has been extracted here; the vast majority has been exported. It’s been that way since statehood, when gold and silver from the Comstock built San Francisco and the Pacific Stock Exchange.

Nevada is the No. 1 gold producer in the United States and one of the top five gold producers in the world. Mining corporations account for 98 percent of toxic chemicals released in Nevada, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and a single gold ring leaves in its wake, on average, 20 tons of mine waste. The average gold mine uses enough water to provide the basic water needs for a population equivalent to that of a large American city for a year.

In 2011, the laundry list of deductions, coupled with the fact that the mining companies had rarely, if ever, been audited by the state, came to light during hearings.

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Alcoa earnings beat forecasts, propelled by higher aluminum prices – by Allison Martell and Nicole Mordant (Reuters India – October 9, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

REUTERS – Alcoa Inc (AA.N) reported a stronger-than-expected increase in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as higher aluminum prices and lower costs drove a recovery in its business unit that produces aluminum.

In an interview, Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld said the “upstream” raw materials business had its best quarter since the 2008 economic slump. “Our performance this time is more great proof that our strategy is working,” he said.

The aluminum company traditionally has been one of the first S&P 500 companies to report quarterly results, and some see it as a bellwether for the broader U.S. economy because it supplies major industries such as auto and airplane manufacturing.

Alcoa’s stock rose 2 percent in after-hours trading to $16.42. It is up 50 percent this year, outperforming the market and aluminum prices.

In the third quarter, Alcoa’s net income rose to $149 million, or 12 cents a share, from $24 million, or 2 cents, even as it took restructuring charges for smelter closures.

Alcoa’s growing business making specialized goods for automotive and aerospace customers has helped offset a weak market for less-processed aluminum. The company has also been working to improve costs.

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Cliffs Natural Resources Sees No Deadline to Sell Noncore Assets – by John Miller (Wall Street Journal – October 8, 2014)

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Despite Continuing Talks Over Shedding Some Mines, CEO Says ‘There Is No Ticking Clock’

Under fire as his company’s stock plummets, the chief executive of Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc. said that despite continuing talks to sell some mines at home and abroad, he isn’t under any deadline to sell noncore assets and urges patience.

“There’s no ticking clock,” said Lourenco Goncalves, whose company’s share price has fallen by more than half since he took over in August.

S&P has lowered the Cleveland-based miner’s credit rating to BB- from BBB- with a negative outlook, mostly because of falling iron ore prices. “They’re predicting the past,” referring to Cliffs’ poor performance in the recent few years, Mr. Goncalves said of the rating firm. Of the stock-price decline, he said, “I haven’t sold a share,” adding, “I can’t control stupidity” in the market.

Cliffs, one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 index in the past two years, has been hurt by declining iron-ore prices, which have fallen over 40% this year, due to oversupply and slumping Chinese demand. Cliffs suffered a net loss of $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2014, versus a $133.1 million profit over the same period a year ago. Its revenue dropped 26%.

Cliffs isn’t alone in being hit by falling iron ore prices. The iron-ore industry is on the verge of a potentially massive shake-up. Rio Tinto Group, one of the world’s top three producers, disclosed this week that it had received a takeover offer this past summer from Glencore GLNCY -2.06% PLC. Such an offer is expected to become attractive to Rio Tinto shareholders if iron ore prices fall further and the company’s financial performance slackens.

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Freeport’s Indonesia copper mine must improve safety or face more protests – union – by Michael Taylor and Dennys Kapa (Reuters U.S. – October 8, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Workers at Freeport-McMoRan Inc’s giant Indonesian copper mine are seeking face-to-face talks with local management following a fatal accident, and may plan a further mine blockade or strike action, a union official said.

Hundreds of angry protestors blocked access for two days last week to the open-pit area of the Grasberg copper complex, where production has been halted following the death of four workers on Sept. 27. The open pit accounts for more than half of the mine’s output.

Fresh protests, blockades or strike action could be triggered if workers’ safety concerns and other demands were ignored, said Albar Sabang, a senior official at a Freeport union, potentially hindering copper exports.

“Production is important but safety is number one,” Sabang told Reuters, adding that protesting workers had demanded a meeting on Oct. 11-12 with Freeport Indonesia CEO Rozik Soetjipto. “If the demands are not met they will plan to do another protest,” he said.

The Indonesian government is investigating the accident, which involved a collision between a light vehicle carrying nine people and a haul truck, and has laid out a number of required work changes for open-pit mining to resume.

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Union Miners Rally At EPA To Protest New Emissions Standards – by Kate Sheppard (Huffington Post – October 7, 2014)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/

WASHINGTON — The United Mine Workers of America came to Washington on Tuesday with a message for the Obama administration: We will not be forgotten.

The union miners, who came by bus from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, held a rally outside the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in protest of new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that the agency proposed in June. The rules are part of the Obama administration’s plan to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing the planet to heat up.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also attended the rally.

“We are fighting for our livelihood,” James Gibbs, an at-large vice president at UMWA, told the crowd. “We have to let the president know, we need to let both parties know that we will support candidates that support us.”

Organizers said about 700 people made it to Washington for the protest, and another 50 or so were on a bus that arrived late. They carried signs that read “EPA Rules Destroy Good Jobs” and “EPA Rules Put Seniors At Risk,” and some wore shirts that said “Stop The War On Coal.” UMWA leaders expressed frustration that the union had worked on behalf of progressive causes like improved labor laws and fair wages, and had committed money and manpower to elect Obama in 2008. (The group did not endorse either candidate in 2012.)

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Lundin bulks up on copper with purchase of Freeport mine – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – October 7, 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.

Canada’s Lundin Mining Corp. has agreed to buy a Freeport-McMoRan Inc. copper mine for $1.8-billion (U.S.), a move that will double its production as the red metal slumps on fears of weaker Chinese demand.

Lundin’s deal to acquire 80 per cent of Freeport’s Candelaria mining complex in Chile comes at a rocky time in the mining industry. Mining giants such as Phoenix-based Freeport are trying to divest assets to pay down hefty debt loads incurred during the commodity boom.

Meanwhile, economic growth in China, the world’s largest consumer of copper and other commodities, is slowing. And big new copper mines are expected to start producing next year, which will add to an already well-supplied market and likely weigh on prices for some time.

For Lundin, however, the downturn represents a buying opportunity. The base-metals miner will fund the deal through debt and an equity financing.

Toronto-based mining royalty company Franco-Nevada Corp. will help finance the deal by paying Lundin $648-million for a stream of Candelaria’s future gold and silver production. The Candelaria complex includes an open-pit copper mine, infrastructure and the nearby Ojos del Salado underground copper mines.

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150th anniversary timeline [Butte, Montana Copper History] (Montana Standard – October 5, 2014)

http://mtstandard.com/

1864 to 1889

1864 – Prospector “Seven-Up Pete” McMahon names Silver Bow Creek.

1866 – Residents of Butte City attempt to form a miners’ union.

1870 – The Emma Mine has a new foreman – Marcus Daly, who later would become one of Butte’s famous Copper Kings.

1872 – W.A. Clark, another soon-to-be Copper King, makes first visit to Butte.

1876 – Mining prospector hits a substantial copper vein in the Parrot Mine.

1876 – Mining begins to boom in Butte with the opening of the Dexter Mill and Centennial Mill.

1876 – Marcus Daly, with the help of investors, takes over Alice Mine.

1878 – Cut wages at the Lexington Mine and Alice Mine trigger Butte’s first-ever strike.

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150 years of Butte spirit [Copper Mining History] – by Matt Hoffman (Montana Standard – October 5, 2014)

http://mtstandard.com/

In 1874, a scant decade after Butte’s founding, the boom town was already on the verge of a bust. It’s population, which had climbed to about a thousand, may have dropped as low as 61. The town was down – but, if you know anything about Butte, far from out.

A few prospectors renewed their interest in the settlement over the next year and found deposits of gold, silver and copper the first wave of miners had overlooked.

“These were daring, innovative individuals,” Chief Executive Matt Vincent said. The character traits of those first rugged miners came to embody the legendary spirit of Butte, an ethos unlike anywhere else in Montana. In this city’s 150-year history, generation after generation of Butte residents have faced new challenges and — somehow — always found a way to thrive.

Sometimes, with a little luck. In those early days, copper was the most abundant but also the least valuable of the findings – until the world changed. The telephone and light bulb were invented over the next few years, and suddenly copper went from an afterthought to a maker of fortunes.

Those who put their faith and sweat into the town were richly rewarded. By 1917, Butte was one of the largest cities in the Northwest, and one of the wealthiest. As the town was built, so was something else.

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Arizona judge recommends Curis’ Florence aquifer permit be rescinded – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 1, 2014)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Despite explicitly stating facts to the contrary, Arizona administrative law judge Diane Milhasky on Wednesday recommended that the Arizona Department of Water Quality (ADEQ) rescind a temporary individual aquifer protection permit (APP) granted to Florence Copper, the proponent of the in-situ copper recovery, solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) Florence copper project.

The judge made a nonbinding recommendation in the appeal of ADEQ’s decision to issue an APP to Florence Copper during July last year, which would be submitted to the Water Quality Appeals Board (WQAB) to make the final determination on the permit.

The town of Florence, legal representatives, Johnson Utilities and Pulte Home Corporation filed an amended notice of appeal with the WQAB to appeal the ADEQ’s issuing of the temporary APP to Florence Copper’s parent, Curis Resources.

In her recommendation, Judge Milhasky noted that Florence Copper’s proposed production test facility (PTF) would not have any impact on the drinking water wells in Florence, nor would it impact the wells owned and operated by Johnson Utilities located north-west of the project.

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Judge upholds 20-yr Grand Canyon mining ban – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – October 2, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

U.S. District Judge David Campbell says no legal authority exists to overturn 1 million-acre land withdrawal near the Grand Canyon.

RENO (MINEWEB) – U.S. District Judge David Campbell has upheld the U.S. Department of Interior’s 20 year-ban on exploration and development of uranium mining claims on 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon National Park.

The withdrawn land includes a north parcel of 550,000 acres, an east parcel of 135,000 acres, and a south parcel of 322,000 acres. Only the mining of a few existing claims will be permitted.

Plaintiffs in the case included the National Mining Association and the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Arizona-Utah Local Economic Coalition, Quaterra Resources, and an individual, Gregory Yount, with interests in uranium mining. Motions for summary judgment were filed by Plaintiffs American Exploration & Mining Association and Yount.

Defendants included the U.S. government, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Grand Canyon Trust, Havasupai Tribe, National Parks Conservation Association and the Sierra Club.

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U.S. Ramping Up Major Renewal in Nuclear Arms – by WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER (New York Times – September 21, 2014)

http://www.nytimes.com/

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A sprawling new plant here in a former soybean field makes the mechanical guts of America’s atomic warheads. Bigger than the Pentagon, full of futuristic gear and thousands of workers, the plant, dedicated last month, modernizes the aging weapons that the United States can fire from missiles, bombers and submarines.

It is part of a nationwide wave of atomic revitalization that includes plans for a new generation of weapon carriers. A recent federal study put the collective price tag, over the next three decades, at up to a trillion dollars.

This expansion comes under a president who campaigned for “a nuclear-free world” and made disarmament a main goal of American defense policy. The original idea was that modest rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling nuclear complex would speed arms refurbishment, raising confidence in the arsenal’s reliability and paving the way for new treaties that would significantly cut the number of warheads.
Instead, because of political deals and geopolitical crises, the Obama administration is engaging in extensive atomic rebuilding while getting only modest arms reductions in return.

Supporters of arms control, as well as some of President Obama’s closest advisers, say their hopes for the president’s vision have turned to baffled disappointment as the modernization of nuclear capabilities has become an end unto itself.

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NEWS RELEASE: Lundin Mining Commences Production at Eagle Mine [in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula]

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Sep 23, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN) (omx:LUMI) (“Lundin Mining” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that concentrate production has commenced from the high grade Eagle nickel-copper mine. Construction activities at the Eagle Mine are now substantially complete, with the project being delivered on budget and ahead of schedule compared to initial guidance.

Mr. Paul Conibear, President and CEO commented, “We are extremely proud of the tremendous achievement that has been accomplished at the Eagle Mine. The Eagle Mine is a significant new, high-quality, low-cost mine, that has been constructed to the highest of safety, environmental and social responsibility standards.

Our team has done an exemplary job in bringing the mine into production, and we look forward to the operation becoming a significant cash flow generator for the Company and a significant contributor to the local and regional economy. We would like to thank all employees and contractors for their dedication and excellent work in addition to all local stakeholders for their ongoing support.”

The Eagle Mine plans to ship first saleable copper and nickel concentrates during the first half of October 2014 and is expected to reach full design rates in the second quarter of 2015.

Recent development highlights include:

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