United States Mining – Page 88

The Carnage in Coal Country (Wall Street Journal – January 11, 2016)

January 12, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Arch Coal is the latest bankruptcy in the wake of new regulations.

Arch Coal filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday, continuing an industry collapse that includes the bankruptcies of Patriot Coal, Walter Energy and Alpha Natural Resources. The White House must be cheering, because this is one Obama energy policy that seems to be working.

As President Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address Tuesday, we wonder if he’ll take pride in the damage his policies have done to the coal industry. According to the National Mining Association, 40,000 coal jobs have been lost in the U.S. since 2008.

The wealth destruction has been equally dramatic.

Alcoa smelter closure to bring U.S. aluminum output to post-WWII levels (Reuters U.S. – January 7, 2016)

January 8, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

NEW YORK – Alcoa Inc’s (AA.N) plans to close its 269,000 tonne-per-year Warrick smelter, announced on Thursday, will bring U.S. aluminum output to its lowest level in more than 65 years as the industry endures tumbling prices amid rising trade tensions with China.

Warrick is the largest currently-operating smelter in the United States and the biggest shoe to drop in a string of recent curtailments and closures, potentially boosting prices and possibly bolstering some U.S. producers’ claims they are harmed by subsidized Chinese production.

The Evansville, Indiana plant’s closure, which will take place by the end of the first quarter, will leave Alcoa with just one active smelter: the 130,000 tonne-per-year Massena West plant, which was saved from closure with $70 million in New York state aid.

All 17 Miners Rescued From New York Salt Mine – by Kate King (Wall Street Journal – January 7, 2016)

January 8, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

All 17 miners trapped 900 feet underground in a northern New York salt mine overnight were rescued Thursday morning, said a mining company spokesman.

The miners were working the day’s third shift and heading underground at 10 p.m. Wednesday when their elevator stopped, said Mark Klein, a spokesman for Cargill, which operates the mine in Lansing, N.Y. Emergency responders brought in a crane and used it to lower a basket into the mine to bring the miners up several at a time, he said.

The final miner emerged above ground shortly before 9 a.m. Mr. Klein said. No one was injured in the incident, and it’s unclear why the elevator stopped, he said.

Supermines Add to Supply Glut of Metals – by John W. Miller (Wall Street Journal – January 4, 2016)

January 6, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

CERRO VERDE, Peru—In this volcanic desert, a dusty moonscape patrolled by bats, snakes and guanacos, America’s biggest miner is piling on to the new force in industrial resources: supermines. It’s a strategy that could be driving miners into the ground.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is completing a yearslong $4.6 billion expansion that will triple production at its Cerro Verde copper mine, turning a once-tiny, unprofitable state mine into one of the world’s top five copper producers.

As Cerro Verde’s towering concrete concentrators grind out copper to be made into pipes and wires in Asia, it will add to production coming from newly built giant mines around the world, in a wave of supply that is compounding the woes of the depressed mining sector.

E.P.A. Is Moving to Designate Contaminated Nevada Copper Mine a Superfund Site (Associated Press/New York Times – December 24, 2015)

January 6, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

RENO, Nev. — Fifteen years after federal regulators started assessing damage and health risks at an abandoned Nevada copper mine, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to designate the contaminated land a Superfund site, a step the state could still oppose.

Rural neighbors of the World War II-era mine that has leaked toxic chemicals for decades won a $19.5 million settlement in 2013 from companies they accused of covering up the contamination to drinking water wells near Yerington, about 65 miles southeast of Reno.

The E.P.A. sent a letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval this week announcing its intention to place the mine on the Superfund’s National Priority List of the nation’s most polluted sites to “mitigate exposures that are a substantial threat to the public health or welfare or the environment.”

Thousands of NM jobs rely on Copper Mine Rule – by Jason Espinoza (Las Cruces Sun-News – December 27, 2015)

January 5, 2016

http://www.lcsun-news.com/

Jason Espinoza is the President of ACI, New Mexico’s statewide business advocate.

New Mexico needs jobs. We can all agree that we want New Mexicans to have good opportunities and prosperous lives. For that to be possible, the state must do everything it can to create an environment where businesses can succeed.

To do so, it’s important to have thoughtful, responsible laws that protect our environment and natural resources, while providing businesses with clear and predictable regulations within which to operate.

If we set regulatory hurdles too high, or let our regulations fall out of date, New Mexicans will miss out on jobs and opportunities as employers choose to take their business elsewhere. But if we find the right balance, we can preserve the beauty of our state while helping our people flourish.

Freeport-McMoRan Executive Chairman Moffett to Resign – by Bradley Olson (Wall Street Journal – December 28, 2015)

January 5, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Executive Chairman James R. Moffett, a legendary wildcatter who helped discover and develop one of the world’s biggest gold and copper mines, is stepping down months after activist investor Carl Icahn took a 8.5% stake in the company.

Mr. Moffett is the second energy executive to leave his post this month under Mr. Icahn’s watchful eye, following the ouster of Charif Souki, chief executive of natural-gas exporter Cheniere Energy Inc.
The shake-ups are another sign of the commodities price rout in energy and mining and indicate a shift in leadership ranks from pioneering company founders to more seasoned crisis managers.

Shares in Freeport-McMoRan, the nation’s largest mining company, in midday trading on Monday fell 8% to $6.95, and are down by more than two-thirds so far this year.

Mosaic hopes for Wingate Mine expansion by spring – by Matt M. Johnson (Bradenton Herald – January 2, 2016)

January 5, 2016

http://www.bradenton.com/

DUETTE — Mosaic Co., world’s largest manufacturer of phosphate-based chemical fertilizers, expects to be approved to begin digging up 3,700 acres of East Manatee County farmland next summer.

The acreage, an extension of mining operations at the company’s 11,000-acre Wingate Creek phosphate mine on the border with Hardee County, is part of a shift of Mosaic’s business to south central Florida and Manatee County in particular. If approved, a rezone for the company’s so-called Wingate East lands would sustain mining there for another two decades.

Mosaic plans have an even bigger presence in Manatee County in the coming years. Its planned 40,000-acre DeSoto mine straddles DeSoto County and southeastern Manatee County.

Mines to stacks, Mosaic seeks to redefine environmental legacy – by Matt M. Johnson (Bradenton Herald – January 2, 2016)

January 5, 2016

http://www.bradenton.com/

DUETTE — The Mosaic Co. is the biggest player in an industry with a reputation for polluting and scarring the land. While company officials acknowledge the phosphate mining legacy, they say they are also trying to redefine that environmental legacy.

Given what mining has left behind, burnishing a questionable legacy may be the toughest thing the company hopes to do.

The first century of phosphate mining in Florida left vast open mining pits on rural lands. Concentrated hazardous waste created in processing phosphate into agricultural fertilizers could remain a threat to the health of people and the environment for hundreds or thousands of years.

What is phosphate? – by Matt M. Johnson (Bradenton Herald – January 2, 2016)

January 4, 2016

http://www.bradenton.com/

DUETTE — At its Wingate Creek and Four Corners mines in Manatee County, Mosaic is digging phosphate rock out of the earth for use as the primary component in the agricultural fertilizers it manufactures.

Rich in an essential plant nutrient, phosphorous, the rock lies beneath the surface in deposits throughout central Florida. Left behind when sea water receded from Florida about 15 million years ago, much of the phosphate collected is in a formation known as the Bone Valley. The 1.3-million acre formation stretches between modern-day Polk, Hillsborough, Desoto and Manatee counties.

Florida is now home to 27 phosphate mines covering more than 491,900 acres, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Mining millions and corrupt politicians in Indonesia scandal – by Jeremy Mulholland ( The Australian – December 22, 2015)

December 23, 2015

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

Indonesia has been rocked by extraordinary revelations about top-level negotiations with one of the world’s most profitable mining companies, Freeport-McMoRan, which operates in the high mountains of West Papua province.

A leaked recording of an informal meeting has exposed the then chair of Indonesia’s national parliament, Setya Novanto, and oil tycoon Riza Chalid attempting to secure by gift a $US4 billion ($6.1bn), 20 per cent stake in Freeport’s mines, plus a proposed hydro-electric power plant.

The scandal, denounced as the worst to hit Indonesia, has incited demands for a thorough public investigation. At the heart of the row is Freeport’s desire to quickly secure an extension of its contract — which expires in 2021 — for control of one of the biggest gold and copper mines in the world.

Coal Downturn Hammers Budgets in West Virginia and Wyoming – by Kris Maher and Dan Frosch (Wall Street Journal – December 23, 2015)

December 23, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/

VAN, W.Va.—Chris West has given up on coal.

In the past year, the 42-year-old former miner was laid off by a company that later filed for bankruptcy and another that has gone out of business.

Mr. West lives in a hilly region here where the conveyor belts at massive roadside mining complexes have gone still, prompting local governments to plan cuts to schools, trash collection and other services.

“Everything here is depressed,” said Mr. West, who lost his car after he couldn’t make monthly payments and is struggling to put a daughter through college. After training for three months to be an emergency medical technician, he now makes $15 an hour, 40% less than his mining pay.

Mitch McConnell and the Coal Industry’s Last Stand – by Paul Barrett and Jim Rowley Bloomberg News – December 23, 2015)

December 23, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Shale gas, solar, wind, new regulations and environmentalists have put relentless pressure on coal. But the Senate majority leader still believes he can stem the tide.

A ballad called “Coal Keeps the Lights On” took singer-songwriter Jimmy Rose of tiny Pineville, Ky., all the way to the finals of America’s Got Talent in the summer of 2013. AGT judges Howard Stern, the radio shock jock, comedian Howie Mandel, and supermodel Heidi Klum cheered and clapped. “That was a damn good song,” Stern declared.

U.S. Mining Policy & Global Competitiveness: Mark Fellows, SNL Metals & Mining

December 17, 2015

While this video was originally published on 21 July 2015, and is directed at American mining policy, the Ontario government would do well to reflect on its permitting processes that needlessly delays mining projects.

The recent Ontario Auditor General’s report on many, many problems at the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and the extraordinary delays in getting infrastructure built into the mineral-rich Ring of Fire directly impact the Province’s ability to attract international mineral investment. – Stan Sudol (RepublicOfMining.com)

OPINION: Mine uranium, stop climate change – by Stephen Antony (Boston Globe – December 15, 2015)

December 16, 2015

https://www.bostonglobe.com/

Stephen Antony is the president and CEO of Energy Fuels.

Fresh off the successful negotiations in Paris, there is an unprecedented international coalition now focused on the important issues of climate change and clean energy.

Nuclear energy has rightfully been one of the major topics of discussion because no other power source — not wind or solar — has the scalability or reliability of nuclear energy to significantly reduce air and carbon emissions. If we are even remotely serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear power must be part of our energy future.

That’s why I’ve chosen this moment to respond to two misleading HuffPost and New York Times columns, both written by Mark Udall, former US senator from my home state of Colorado.