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United States Mining

Mining company expected to finish exploratory drilling this week – by The Associated Press (Green Bay Press Gazette – July 15, 2013)

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/

MADISON — A company looking to dig a huge iron mine just south of Lake Superior is set to finish exploratory drilling, setting up a lull that could dampen tensions with protesters, at least for a while.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials say Gogebic Taconite workers should finish drilling their eighth and final test hole in the Penokee Hills within three or four days. The test boring is designed to help the company determine if mining in the area is economically feasible as well as what minerals lay within potential waste rock and the pollution risk they might pose, said Ann Coakley, director of the DNR’s waste and materials management bureau.

Gogebic Taconite officials next want to remove larger rock samples from five sites in the area, an effort known as bulk sampling. The company would haul those samples to a test plant, where they would be processed into final taconite pellets to give the company an idea of total processing time, Coakley said.

The DNR hasn’t granted a permit for that operation yet, though. Agency officials asked the company two weeks ago for more details on the plan, including what kind of explosives would be used, air emission estimates, a site wetland inventory and anti-erosion and anti-pollution measures. Coakley said the company had not responded to the request as of Monday morning.

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1880s saw first ore flow from Johnson Camp Mine east of Tucson – by William Ascarza (Arizona Daily Star – July 15, 2013)

http://azstarnet.com/

MINE TALES: William Ascarza is an archivist, historian and author of five books, including “Southeastern Arizona Mining Towns” and “Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.” Email him at mining@azstarnet.com

SITE NEAR DRAGOON STILL ACTIVE TODAY, HAS LARGE RESERVES OF ORE

Located 65 miles east of Tucson on the eastern slopes of the Little Dragoon Mountains, the Johnson Camp Mine is a working copper mine in Cochise County. Substantial mining operations didn’t start there until the early 1880s upon the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad through the nearby town of Dragoon, seven miles south of the mine.

The property has been the site for underground mining, open-pit mining and mineral processing. Early smelting operations began with the erection in 1882 of a 30-ton smelter that had an output of 4 tons of copper bullion a day. The ore during that time contained as much as 7.4 percent copper.

Two towns emerged in what became known as the Cochise (Johnson) Mining District. The first was Russellville, which was soon replaced by Johnson.

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The History of KGHM International Ltd.

 

This historical overview is from the 2013 KGHM International Corporate Social Responsibility Report, click here: http://www.kghm.com/files/doc_downloads/WEB_KGHM%20CSR%202013%20English.pdf

KGHM International Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., the 7th largest copper producer and the largest silver producer in the world based in Lubin, Poland. The KGHM International story is one of rapid growth, from a junior mining company to a global industry player.

The Early Years

KGHM International, formerly known as Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. (“Quadra FNX”), was formed as the result of a merger between two equals: Quadra Mining Ltd. (“Quadra”) and FNX Mining Company Inc. (“FNX”). Both were incorporated in 2002, and later listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with the goal of becoming mid-tier base-metal producers.

The Quadra strategy: to grow through acquisitions

Quadra acquired its first asset, the Robinson Mine located near Ely, Nevada, in April 2004 and restarted production in December 2004. Quadra continued to grow through a series of acquisitions; in 2004, the company acquired the Sierra Gorda property in Chile through option agreements, and in 2005, added the Carlota Project near Globe, Arizona to its portfolio of assets.

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Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Carrabba to retire; Brlas out as exec VP – by Mark Dodosh (Cleveland Business – July 10, 2013)

http://www.crainscleveland.com/

Big changes are coming to the executive suite at Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), which over the last 12 months has seen its stock lose nearly two-thirds of its value and has run into problems with a big investment in Canada.

The Cleveland-based producer of iron ore and metallurgical coal said Joseph Carrabba has informed the Cliffs board of his plans to retire as president and chief executive officer by Dec. 31.

In addition, Cliffs said Laurie Brlas, its executive vice president and president of global operations, has retired and is leaving the company, effective immediately. The company did not give a reason for her sudden departure.

Cliffs said James Kirsch, who currently serves on the board as lead director, has been elected non-executive chairman of the board, effectively immediately, replacing Mr. Carrabba as chairman.

Mr. Carrabba will continue to serve as president and CEO and a director until a successor has been elected, after which point he also will step down from the board.

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Cliffs CEO Carrabba to leave Cleveland mining company by year’s end – by Alison Grant (Cleveland Plain Dealer – July 10, 2013)

http://www.cleveland.com/

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced this afternoon that Joseph Carrabba will retire as president and chief executive officer by Dec. 31. Laurie Brlas, president of global operations and the company’s former chief financial officer, has retired and will leave immediately, Cliffs said.

James Kirsch, who is lead director of Cliffs’ board, has been elected as non-executive chairman of the board, taking that position immediately, replacing Carrabba as chairman. Cliffs also said its board has elected Mark Gaumond, 62, former senior vice chair of Ernst & Young’s Americas division, as a new director.

Also today, Cliffs declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share. The dividend will be payable Sept. 3 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Aug. 15.

The Cleveland-based company has struggled with a softer Chinese construction market, cutting into its seaborne ore sales. Cliffs idled iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota and also announced in November it would postpone expansion of its Bloom Lake mine in Canada.

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Get moving on Pebble Project permitting, mining plan! – Murkowski – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – July 9, 2012)

http://www.mineweb.com/

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski urged the Pebble Partnership to set a timeline and stick with it for the benefit of Alaskans waiting nearly a decade for the massive copper-gold project.

RENO (MINEWEB) – The Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has urged the Pebble Partnership to release their mining plan for development of the Pebble copper-gold deposit in Southwest Alaska.

In a July 1st letter to Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) CEO John Shivley, Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani, and Northern Dynasty Minerals CEO Ron Thiessen, Murkowski said the partnership’s delay in describing the project and submitting permit applications has caused confusion and anxiety among Alaskans about the proposed mine, as well as allowed federal regulators to further muddy the water with several hypothetical mine scenarios.

Northern Dynasty and Anglo American are 50-50 partners in the massive project.

Murkowski said the partnership’s “failure to describe the project and submit permit applications” has deprived “relevant government agencies and all stakeholders of the specifics needed to make informed decisions.”

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Fighting Mines in Wisconsin: A Radical New Way to Be Radical – by Mary Annette Pember (Indian Country Today Media Network – July 07, 2013)

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/

A brand new tribe is emerging in Northern Wisconsin. Enrollment requirements for the Penokee tribe are stringent, according to Paul DeMain, co-founder of the Penokee Hills Harvest Camp—they require all members prove they are at least 70 percent water.

Water, the element that unifies all human life, is the binding force behind a surprising coalition of people and organizations near the Great Northern Divide in the Penokee Hills. Although many of these people have had opposing philosophies regarding economic development, they are united in their desire to ensure clean water. Public concern over the impact on the water and environment of a proposed 4.5 mile wide open-pit iron ore mine is creating a whole new tribe and new way to protest.

The fictitious, allegorical Penokee Tribe effectively includes all human beings since everyone needs water to survive. The Harvest Camp and inclusive nature of other groups protesting the mine underscores this binding fact. More than a simple protest by occupation, the residents and supporters of the camp demonstrate and include visitors in traditional plant gathering and preparation. The goal is to instill awareness of the natural resources of the area and how they would be affected by the mine.

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Big Annie’s legacy honored [Great Keweenaw Copper Strike] – by Kurt Hauglie (Daily Mining Gazette – July 5, 2013)

http://www.mininggazette.com/

CALUMET – For Lyndon Comstock, the story of Anna “Big Annie” Klobuchar Clemenc hasn’t been told thoroughly enough, and because of that, he recently wrote a book called “Annie Clemenc and the Great Keweenaw Copper Strike.”

Because of her efforts on behalf of copper miners and their families before, during and after the 1913-14 copper strike, Comstock nominated Clemenc for induction into the Labor’s International Hall of Fame. The nomination was accepted, and at 7 p.m. July 26, Comstock will be part of the ceremony to honor her induction, which will take place at the Keweenaw National Historical Park Calumet Visitor Center. The ceremony is taking place in Calumet as part of the observance of the centennial of the strike, which started July 23, 1913.

Comstock said he became aware of Clemenc’s importance to the miners during the copper strike while doing research for his cousin, Joanne Thomas, who created an exhibit about her now on display at the Coppertown USA Mining Museum in Calumet Township.

Comstock said he and Thomas had Croation ancestors involved in the strike, so they both felt a connection to the period. Thomas, who lives in Bolinas, Calif., but grew up in Muskegon, said as a result of working with Thomas, he decided to write the book. “That really came out of doing that research,” he said. Thomas said Clemenc, who was born in 1888 in Calumet to Slovenian immigrant parents, was unique for her involvement with the strike.

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Beware dire predictions on Obama’s war on coal – by Steve Hargreaves (CNN Money – July 3, 2013)

http://money.cnn.com/

When President Obama announced steps to rein in greenhouse gases last week, the condemnation was swift and fierce.

“It is astonishing that President Obama is unilaterally imposing new regulations that will cost jobs and increase energy prices,” House Speaker John Boehner said of Obama’s plan, which would heavily target emissions from coal-fired power plants.

How steep of a cost do critics fear? Some 500,000 jobs lost and $1.65 trillion shaved off the national income by 2030 if all coal plants have to close, according to a Heritage Foundation report released the day after Obama announced his plan.
Yet there’s reason to doubt these and similarly dire predictions.

Environmental clean up is a difficult thing to measure. Early estimates on how much it would cost to clean air or water have often turned out to be way off. The debate over acid rain is a good example. In the late 1980s, the nation was considering tough new rules on coal-fired power plants and other industrial emitters to curb what was then a major problem.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimated the new rules would total $6 billion in both retrofit costs and in knock-on effects to the economy — such as higher energy prices that cause manufactures to set up shop elsewhere — according to Robert Stavins, director of the Environmental Economics Program at Harvard University.

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Why the ‘War on Coal’ Campaign Will Likely Fall Flat—Again – by Coral Davenport (National Journal – July 3, 2013)

http://www.nationaljournal.com/

Within hours of President Obama’s sweeping climate speech last week, Republican campaign committees reignited the charge that the president has declared “War on Coal.” They blasted inboxes and airwaves with “War on Coal” talking points, now aimed squarely at Democrats running in Senate and House races in 2014.

The “War on Coal campaign” failed to unseat Obama in the 2012 presidential campaign. And despite the potency of the rhetorical attack, it’s unlikely to have much impact on the 2014 races.

It’s true that President Obama’s plan takes direct aim at the U.S. coal industry. At the heart of the plan are new regulations slashing carbon pollution from new and existing coal-fired power plants. It could well put thousands of coal miners out of work.

But it’s not a given that it will cost Democrats politically.

Here’s why: As National Journal reported last week, the political power of coal has fundamentally weakened, a shift laid bare by last year’s elections. Between 2008 and 2012, the coal industry nearly quadrupled its political contributions, directing 90 percent of its money towards Republicans. But Obama still won comfortably in the four key swing states that produce the most coal: Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

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Local view: Investment proves merit of Northland copper mines – by Frank Ongaro (Duluth News Tribune – June 30, 2013)

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Frank Ongaro is the executive director of MiningMinnesota.

Minnesota’s business climate received a significant boost recently when two of the state’s proposed copper, nickel and precious metals mining projects secured more than $50 million in long-term financing. Investors throughout the world are recognizing that the strategic metals deposits found in Northeastern Minnesota represent a world-class economic opportunity for our state.

PolyMet Mining, the developer of the Northmet Project near Hoyt Lakes, received a $20 million bridge loan from Glencore International PLC, based in Switzerland, to pay for operations while a $60 million stock offering is completed. Duluth Metals, the majority partner in the development of the Twin Metals Project

in the Babbitt/Ely area, received a $30 million investment from CEF (Capital Markets) Limited, a subsidiary of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd.

These investments provide more than important capital; they provide independent validation of the quality of the projects proposed. Smart investors will invest only in projects that are likely to succeed, and that means projects that will meet and exceed all state and federal environmental standards and regulations.

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Duluth Minnesota mining project holds promise for northern suppliers – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – June 2013)

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.

The copper-nickel-PGM property being developed by Duluth Metals isn’t located in Northern Ontario. You can’t even find it in Canada. But a recent Sudbury appearance to SAMSSA Members by Duluth’s president and CEO, Vern Baker, attracted a packed house based on the potential it holds for northern supply and service companies.

Located in Northern Minnesota along the north shore of Lake Superior, Baker predicts the Twin Metals Minnesota (TMM) complex (a joint venture with Chile’s Antofagasta plc) will become one of the world’s major mining districts over the next five to 10 years because of the massive potential tonnages and the types of ore to be found there.

“We have a huge opportunity just in the quantity of metal that’s available,” said Baker, who puts TMM on the same scale as some of the largest copper mines in South America. “It’s got some very distinct similarities to Sudbury and some very distinct differences.”

Duluth’s January 2013 NI 43-101 resource report indicates 13.6 billion pounds of copper, 4.4 billion pounds of nickel, 5.6 million ounces of platinum, 12.7 million ounces of palladium, and 3.1 million ounces of gold. It infers another 11.9 billion pounds of copper, 4.1 billion pounds of nickel and 12.8 million ounces of total precious metals.

The company has spent $200 million on the project to date, and Baker estimates that could rise to between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

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Minnesota must keep a close eye on sand mining – (Minneapolis Star Tribune – June 22, 2013)

http://www.startribune.com/

Even in a legislative session marked by pitched battles over taxes, the health care exchange and child care unionization, the debate over how to regulate an industry poised for rapid growth in southeastern Minnesota — frac sand mining — stood out in emotion and intensity.

In packed Capitol hearing rooms, citizens and local government officials from this environmentally fragile part of the state pleaded for a mining moratorium and broad state regulatory authority to protect scenic bluffs, cold-water trout streams and picturesque towns. Industry advocates championed mining’s economic development potential as demand grows for the region’s desirable sand — a key ingredient in hydraulic fracturing, a process used to unlock deposits of oil and natural gas.

Over the course of the session, sweeping environmental protections such as a moratorium or a sensible ban on mining within a mile of region’s trout streams fell by the wayside, a testament to industry lobbying strength.

But a deal brokered late in the session with Gov. Mark Dayton’s leadership yielded smaller, yet potentially valuable new safeguards. Among them: a new permitting role for the state Department of Natural Resources for mining operations proposed near sensitive trout streams, the creation of air quality rules for particulate emissions by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and development of “model ordinances” to help local government, which still shoulders much of the responsibility in the state for approving sand mines, to better regulate the industry.

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Mining in Minnesota — regulation needed – by Rolf Westgard (Minneapolis Star Tribune – June 21, 2013)

http://www.startribune.com/

Rolf Westgard is a professional member of the Geological Society of America and is adjunct faculty on energy subjects for the University of Minnesota’s Lifelong Learning program.

This is a potentially significant industry for the northeastern part of the state. Regulation is needed, and can succeed.

Josephine Marcotty’s June 16 article “Minnesota’s next mining boom” focused on the environment-vs.-economics dispute that hangs over Minnesota’s world-class deposits of copper, nickel, cobalt, gold and platinum group elements.

They lie in a band, meandering from southwest to northeast, adjacent to the Archean granite of Minnesota’s Iron Range. They arrived more than a billion years ago in the magma that featured northern Minnesota’s active volcanic history. They are concentrated out of the magma by liquid sulfur, which acts as a “collector,” because these elements prefer the sulphide liquid to the magma by a factor of 1,000 times more. This process is responsible for forming the world’s economically mineable magmatic nickel-copper sulphide deposits, like those found in Canada, Russia and the United States.

Demand for these elements is soaring. One reason is their use in renewable energy systems that provide transmission, rechargeable batteries and wind turbine technology.

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The value of mining in Arizona – by Jonathan DuHamel (Tucson Citizen – June 18, 2013)

http://tucsoncitizen.com/

Without minerals, we would not have electricity, food, or shelter. Minerals make today’s technology-based life possible, but that’s something many of us take for granted. We want the benefits from those minerals, but some want mining of minerals to be in somebody else’s neighborhood. The importance of mining has long been recognized:

If we remove metals from the service of man, all methods of protecting and sustaining health and more carefully preserving the course of life are done away with. If there were no metals, men would pass a horrible and wretched existence in the midst of wild beasts… -Georgius Agricola, in De Re Metallica, 1556.

For Arizona, it is not just metals. Arizona produces sand and gravel, limestone for cement production, coal for electrical generation, and a variety of industrial minerals which contribute almost $2 billion to Arizona’s economy.

Arizona has a long history of mining. There is archeological evidence that cinnabar, coal, turquoise, clay, pigments, and other minerals were mined in Arizona beginning at least 3,000 years ago.

According to the Arizona Mining Association, Arizona currently produces 68% of domestically mined copper. With that copper production comes by-product molybdenum, gold, silver, platinum, and rhenium.

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