Vale – Page 54 – Republic of Mining

Iron Ore Has Biggest Weekly Loss Since May on Supply Glut – by Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg News – November 7, 2014)

November 7, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Iron ore capped the biggest weekly decline in more than five months amid expanding global surplus, with Vale SA’s opening of a port in Malaysia highlighting rising supplies and investments by the world’s largest shippers.

Ore with 62 percent content delivered to Qingdao lost 4.7 percent this week to $75.84 a dry metric ton, according to data from Metal Bulletin Ltd. The decline completed three weeks of losses, deepening a bear market. Prices, which rose 0.6 percent today to snap a five-day losing streak, reached $75.38 yesterday, the lowest since September 2009.

The raw material lost 44 percent this year as producers including Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest shipper, and BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group (RIO) in Australia expanded supplies and spurred the glut. Data this week showed record exports of the steel-making raw material from Australia’s Port Hedland last month. Mill closures ordered by China this week to curb air pollution for a global summit were also seen hurting demand.

“Demand in China is weak because some mills were asked to stop production before the APEC meeting,” Ben Cheung, head of metals at ABN Amro Group NV in Hong Kong, said before the price data was released. “The major producers are still expanding supply to try to increase market share. The over-supply situation doesn’t look like it will be alleviated next year.”

Vale clear to tear down Sudbury’s Superstack – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 7, 2014)

November 7, 2014

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

Vale Ltd. won’t need approval from the Ministry of the Environment to tear down the Superstack if the company chooses to do so.

But it will require ministry approvals for any replacement smokestack it intends to build. Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Canada and UK operations, told a business group this week that the Brazil-based mining company is conducting an analysis to determine if it should replace the 1,250-foot chimney.

Company officials will likely decide by the end of the year what to do with the structure, which was built in 1972 at a cost of about $25 million.

Speaking to reporters after a presentation to the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, Strong said he realized any talk of disposing of the structure was going to stimulate conversation in the community.

Very little sulphur dioxide is travelling up the Superstack, said Strong, so it doesn’t make sense to use it any longer. Vale is completing the $1-billion Clean AER (Atmospheric Emission Reduction) Project that will cut current S02 emissions by 85%.

Kate Jordan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment, said Vale wouldn’t need ministry approval to remove the stack.

Sudbury’s Superstack could be coming down: Vale – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 4, 2014)

November 4, 2014

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

A Sudbury landmark, rated 10 out of 45 attractions to see in the Nickel City, could be coming down, depending upon the result of an analysis by Vale Ltd. The mining company may decommission the 1,250-foot Superstack that has become synonymous with Sudbury’s regreening efforts.

It cost about $25 million to build the giant smokestack in the early 1970s to move sulphur dioxide emissions miles out of the Sudbury Basin where it was killing vegetation and polluting the air.

Because today’s mining processes produce so much less SO2, the Superstack may be superfluous and a much shorter stack could likely do the job.

Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Ontario and United Kingdom operations, made the announcement about the Superstack study at a noon luncheon Monday of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

No business person asked questions of Strong, not even about the Superstack, when Strong finished his 25-minute presentation to 260 people. Strong told reporters after the luncheon that talk of disposing of the giant stack is bound to create a buzz in the community.

Vale could demolish Sudbury’s Superstack – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – November 3, 2014)

November 4, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Some call it an eyesore, while many others see it as one of Sudbury’s most easily identifiable and iconic landmarks. By the end of the year Vale is expected to determine the future of the Superstack, and decide whether or not it should be demolished.

“The reality is that there’s very little SO2 (sulphur dioxide) coming up the stack and it doesn’t make a lot of sense for use to use the stack further,” said Kelly Strong, Vale’s vice-president of Ontario and UK operations.

Strong addressed the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Monday, where he updated the city’s business community on Vale’s operations and plans for the future in Sudbury.

Strong’s update on the Superstack was the day’s big announcement. “It’s a huge change for our community,” he said. “There’s a correlation between Sudbury and the Superstack. It’s a huge landmark.”

When it was built in 1972, the 1,250-foot (350-metre) Inco Superstack was the world’s tallest chimney, and the tallest freestanding structure in Canada. Today, Toronto’s CN Tower is the only structure in Canada to surpass the Superstack in height, at 1,815 feet, or 553 metres.

[Vale in the Sudbury Basin] SPEECH TO THE GREATER SUDBURY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE – BY KELLY STRONG, VICE PRESIDENT, ONTARIO/UK OPERATIONS (November 3, 2014)

November 3, 2014

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

• Thank you Geoff for that kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to be here.

• It’s so nice to see so many friendly and familiar faces here in Copper Cliff this afternoon. I’m not sure if your motivation to come here was to hear me speak or for a great plate of Italian food, but regardless I appreciate you coming here today.

• To all of the sponsors of today’s luncheon, thank you for your support of this event…it’s very much appreciated and we are happy to count you as partners in our business.

• I want to especially recognize Debbi Nicholson, who’s been an exemplary leader of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce for almost 35 years. Debbi – you lead with dignity, a sharp business sense and a keen awareness of what’s in the best interests of our community. I congratulate you on all the things you’ve accomplished, and thank you for the invitation to give an update on our operations here today.

* * *

• As I think many of you know, I grew up in Espanola and started in this industry way back when as an underground miner. My roots in the mining industry, and in the Sudbury area, run very deep. This is the place I’ve chosen to work and raise my family, and the place I call home. Sudbury is, and I believe always will be, one of the greatest mining communities on the planet.

UPDATE 3-Vale posts surprise loss, shares dive – by Stephen Eisenhammer (Reuters U.K. – October 30, 2014)

October 31, 2014

http://uk.reuters.com/

Oct 30 (Reuters) – Vale posted a surprise $1.44 billion loss, and its shares tumbled to a 5-1/2-year low as investors worried about the cost of the Brazilian miner’s expansion plans and a possible cut to its dividend in a new era of lower iron ore prices.

Vale SA cited low iron ore prices and a weak local currency for the third-quarter loss. A Reuters poll of seven analysts had forecast quarterly net profit of $956 million. A year earlier, Vale had a net profit of $3.5 billion.

Shares in Vale, the world’s largest producer of iron ore, fell as much as 4 percent on Thursday even as Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 2 percent.

Vale is attempting to boost production and cut costs as it competes with Australian rivals Rio Tinto Ltd and BHP Billiton Ltd at a time when slack demand from steel makers has pushed iron ore prices near five-year-lows.

Vale, and Brazil in general, enjoyed years of rapid growth as Chinese demand for commodities boomed. But Chinese growth has begun to slow, pressuring commodity prices and hurting Vale as well as the wider Brazilian economy.

Vale mined a record amount of iron ore during the quarter, but the slight production rise was not enough to offset the plunge in price. Rivals Rio and BHP have added capacity and cut costs more quickly.

Sudbury mines given hundreds of health and safety work orders (CBC News Sudbury – October 29, 2014)

October 29, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury

Orders cover such areas as hoist maintenance, ventilation, and preventing water accumulation

Details of health and safety orders issued to Sudbury-area mines hint at the dangers of working underground.

The Ministry of Labour provided CBC News a breakdown of orders that have been given to First Nickel’s Lockerby Mine, Vale’s Stobie and Creighton Mines, Xstrata’s Nickel Rim South and Quadra FNX/KGMH International’s Levack mine over the past three years.

The orders cover such areas as hoist maintenance, ventilation, and preventing water accumulation. Out of the five, Lockerby Mine had the most orders, totalling more than 200. Stobie had the second highest number, at more than 180. The other three had fewer than 100 each.

NDP mining critic and Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson speculated on the varying number of work orders issued to the mines.

“Is it the style of management? Is it what is going on with the workers? But clearly, we need to make sure that whatever is going on there is properly dealt with,” he said. Bisson said the number and types of orders don’t provide a clear enough picture to make any quick judgments.

Vale Coming of Age as Nickel Heavyweight as Prices Sink – by Juan Pablo Spinetto (Bloomberg News – October 23, 2014)

October 24, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Vale SA (VALE5), whose $18 billion base-metal incursion was beset by a slew of delays and stoppages, is growing nickel output at the fastest pace in six years at a time of tumbling prices for the stainless steel ingredient.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company beat analysts’ estimates to post a 16 percent jump in nickel production in the third quarter, taking total output of the metal this year to 201,400 metric tons. That puts Vale, which plans to produce 289,000 tons of nickel in 2014, on track to challenge top producer OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, which targets as much as 230,000 tons.

After winning a battle to take over Inco Ltd. in 2006, Vale is leaving behind a series of setbacks including strikes in Canada, plant faults in Brazil and an acid spill in New Caledonia. While its earnings outlook was boosted by nickel’s first-half rally, prices have plunged 24 percent from a Sept. 8 peak and are down about 50 percent since the Inco deal.

“It’s not the best timing in the world,” Marcel Kussaba, an equity analyst at Quantitas, which oversees 16.6 billion reais ($6.6 billion) including Vale shares, said from Porto Alegre, Brazil. “There is the feeling that Vale is starting to deliver when the environment is bad.”

Vale said in its third-quarter production report yesterday that nickel climbed to 72,100 tons, beating a 68,800-ton average forecast by nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, the unit’s best performance for a third quarter since 2008, despite a planned maintenance at its Thompson project in Canada.

Iron ore giants win first round in global battle but knockout unlikely – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – October 23, 2014)

October 23, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia – Oct 23 (Reuters) – There is now no doubt that the big three global iron ore miners are producing record amounts in their bid to dominate the industry. The question remains, what will happen if they succeed?

Anglo-Australian giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton both reported record output in their latest quarterly reports, and affirmed they were on track to boost production even further.

Top producer, Brazil’s Vale is also increasing output, with Brazilian trade figures showing iron ore exports rose 16.7 percent in September from August to 33 million tonnes.

These figures show that the output side of the plan to dominate global seaborne iron ore trade is going quite well for the big three.

In the case of BHP and Rio Tinto, they are well-placed to continue to put pressure on competitors based in their home turf of Western Australia state, as well as those in other parts of the world.

With the lowest cash costs, in the region between $20 to $30 a tonne, and plans to strip out even more costs, they can survive and prosper even if iron ore prices remain weak.

Iron Ore Risks Extending Collpapse on Supplies: Moody’s – by Phoebe Sedgman (Bloomberg News – October 20, 2014)

October 20, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The collapse in iron ore prices may have further to run as global supply increases and steel-demand growth slows, according to Moody’s Investors Service, which said it may reduce ratings on producers.

About 300 million metric tons of new and expanded supply will come on stream over the next few years, analysts including Carol Cowan said in an e-mailed report received today. Global steel-production growth in 2014 remains muted with China, the key driver of consumption, continuing to slow, Moody’s said.

Iron ore tumbled 39 percent this year after companies including Rio Tinto Group (RIO), BHP Billiton Ltd. and Vale SA raised low-cost output in Australia and Brazil, spurring a global glut. The market is in the midst of a transition without precedent in recent commodity history as supply surges and some higher-cost mines are displaced, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.

“Iron ore prices have collapsed,” Moody’s said in the report, which was dated Oct. 17. “With slowing global steel-production growth rates, iron ore prices remain vulnerable to the downside and we expect continued volatility.”

Ore with 62 percent content delivered to Qingdao, China, posted a third straight quarterly loss in the three months to September, and dropped to $77.97 a ton on Sept. 29, the lowest level since September 2009.

Bees help restore Sudbury mining site – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – October 14, 2014)

October 14, 2014

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

“Unsightly” mess left behind by a century of mining.

Retired foreman Wayne Tonelli worked in Sudbury’s nickel mines since he was a teenager, but his new gig is pretty sweet.
That’s because his old boss Vale (formerly Inco) is mining for more than metals these days. The company is in the ‘liquid gold’ business, enlisting thousands of honey bees to help restore a Sudbury landscape blighted by more than a century of nickel and copper mining and smelting.

“I like being outside after 40 years underground,” says Tonelli, now a bee-keeper for the international resources giant as part of a company program to re-green the area that decades back looked like a moonscape.

He carefully tends to seven hives containing 350,000 bees that are used to pollinate the blooming wildflowers the company has planted across 120 acres of unsightly black slag piles formed by waste from the Copper Cliff smelter complex, upon which the massive Superstack chimney sits.

“Bio-diversity is the buzz word in the resource industry these days,” explains Glen Watson, superintendent, reclamation and decommissioning for Vale’s Ontario operations.

Why are iron ore prices falling so quickly? – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – October 14, 2014)

October 14, 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.

ROME- Iron ore mines are to Australia what the oil sands are to Canada. The Aussie iron ore business is enormous, capital intensive, profitable and has an insatiable customer – China – just as the oil sands can depend on the United States to consume almost all of its output. The Aussie and Canadian industries share another trait: falling prices.

The value of both iron ore and oil is plummeting. But the similarities end there. Oil is falling because of excess supply and waning demand in the Western world, in good part because zombie Europe is on the verge of a new recession. But global demand for iron ore is still climbing, if at a somewhat slower pace than last year. So why are iron ore prices falling, and why are they falling so much faster than oil?

The price for iron ore in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the material used to make steel for everything from office towers to dishwashers, is down about 30 per cent this year (compared to a 20-per-cent drop for oil). The spot price for iron is off about 40 per cent, though it bounced back a few bucks this week to reach $83 (U.S.) a tonne.

Iron ore is falling even though Chinese demand for steel is up about 5 per cent year on year, while demand for imported iron ore is up 15 per cent or so, outpacing import demand in 2013.

Curlook helped modernize Inco in Sudbury – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – October 10, 2014)

October 10, 2014

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

A mining innovator and community leader who helped Sudburians breathe easier died earlier this month in Toronto.

The Coniston-born Walter Curlook, who rose to positions of prominence with Inco and oversaw the sulphur reduction program of the 1980s and early 1990s, was 85. His funeral was held Monday.

Through his long and impressive career with the nickel giant (now part of Vale), Curlook spurred advancements in metallurgical processing and environmental protection, securing a dozen patents relating to ore refining and smelting.

“I was proud of him because he was a bit of a genius and did so many nice things,” said his sister Eugenia (“Jenny”) Maizuk. “For one thing, he cleared the air around here.”

Jenny and Walter, along with two other siblings, were raised by Ukrainian immigrant parents in Coniston. Their father worked in the mines and, while still in his teens, Walter also secured part-time and seasonal work with Inco. The air hung thickly with sulphur in those days.

“I remember when we had to rush and cover the gardens with sheets to prevent them from getting burnt by the gas,” recalled Jenny. “Walter used to argue with my dad at dinnertime, saying ‘what’s wrong with Inco?'”

NEWS RELEASE: VALE’S EAST MINES RESCUE TEAM IMPRESSES AT INTERNATIONAL MINE RESCUE COMPETITION IN POLAND

October 3, 2014

Team photo at Opening Ceremonies in Poland: (Vale East Mines 1) L to R back row – Mike Johnson, Dennis Gosselin, Lorne Plouffe, Bruce Hall, Tim Maloney, Aime Gagne. (Vale East Mines 2) L to R front row – Perry Simon, Will Davies, Jean Yves Doiron, JustinWhitmore, Jon Hamilton.

For Immediate Release

SUDBURY, September 30, 2014 – Vale’s East Mines Rescue Team finished with impressive results at the 9th International Mine Rescue Competition in Katowice, Poland. Of 21 competing teams, representing more than 13 countries, the Vale team finished in the top five for the First Aid competition. The top four teams were from Poland, making Vale the best foreign team in this category.

The team finished 12th overall in the Mine Rescue Simulation Exercise, and was the top Canadian team in this competition. The simulation exercise was a coal mine scenario, something very new to a team that typically trains for underground hard rock emergencies.

“We could not be more proud of the team and all of the effort they put into preparing for this competition,” said Kelly Strong, Vice President of Vale’s Ontario & UK Operations.

“Our mine rescue teams have always been among the best in the world, and our team demonstrated that in spades this month in Poland.”

Sudbury bees enhancing biodiversity on [Vale] slag piles – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – October 3, 2014)

October 3, 2014

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

Vale Ltd. has spent $10 million since 2006, revegetating mountains of ugly black slag, the waste from its Copper Cliff smelting operations, turning them into verdant hills along Big Nickel Road. It’s now up to one of nature’s smallest creatures to keeps those rolling hills green and to help enhance biodiversity.

Vale’s environmental team has started a program using honey bees to pollinate wildflowers planted as part of the company’s slag revegetation efforts. About 350,000 of the insects are living in seven hives contained inside a repurposed surplus trailer to protect them from the winter elements and from predators such as bears.

During three seasons, the honey bees leave the hives to forage on nectar and pollen, helping to keep the flowers planted on the hillsides thriving.

Glen Watson, Vale’s superintendent of decommissioning and reclamation, said the idea to use bees to continue the work started by people came to his team when it saw hills of slag blooming with wildflowers planted from seed.

It didn’t happen overnight. Revegetating the slag piles first involved breaking up hardened material that was molten when poured.