Vale – Page 61 – Republic of Mining

[Vale, Glencore Sudbury] Merger wouldn’t result in plant closures, mine analysts say – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – January 6, 2014)

January 6, 2014

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

If ongoing Vale and Glencore Xstrata discussions produce an agreement in 2014 on how to mine nickel and copper in the Greater Sudbury area more cost-effectively, there might be some short-term job cuts, but no big plant closures, says a man who runs a website devoted to mining.

“Absolutely not,” said former Greater Sudbury resident Stan Sudol, who now works in Toronto and operates The Republic of Mining website. “The two operations – the Clarabelle Mill and the Strathcona Mill – process different types of ore. On the north slope (of the Sudbury Basin), the ore is heavy in copper and PGMs (platinum-group metals). The Clarabelle Mill, meanwhile, deals with ore from the south side which is more nickel heavy. I would be very surprised if either of the mills gets closed.”

Sudol added that the Falconbridge Smelter, which he understands is operating under capacity, is processing ore from Australia and the Raglan project in Quebec, in addition to local ore. “The operation is a part of a global industry,” he noted.

On. Dec. 18, Reuters reported Vale’s chief executive officer Murilo Ferreira said he expects Vale’s “consortium” with Glencore Xsrata in Greater Sudbury nickel projects to be defined by the first quarter of 2014 and for the venture to operate as a single unit.

2013 News Story: Bittersweet victory for mine safety – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – December 31, 2013)

January 3, 2014

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

The $1-million fine against Vale the largest occupational health and safety related fine issued by an Ontario court and the province’s decision to conduct a mining review together constitute The Sudbury Star’s top news story of 2013. Both stand to have a significant impact on the city’s defining industry.

On June 8, 2011, Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, were working on the 3,000-foot level of Stobie Mine when they were overcome by a 350-tonne run of muck consisting of rock and water.

Vale pleaded guilty to three charges admitting to failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent water accumulation in the mine, which was determined to have played a role in the run of muck.

“The fine and the announcement of a review are the most significant legal developments relating to mine safety we’ve seen in this province for decades,” said Sudbury Star Managing Editor Brian MacLeod. “The persistent efforts of people in the community undoubtedly played a role in forcing the labour ministry to proceed with a review of mining practices.”

In the wake of 2011 Vale deaths, Ontario launches full mine safety review – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – December 19, 2013)

December 19, 2013

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Ontario provincial government of Wednesday launched a comprehensive mining safety review to improve the health and well-being of workers in the sector, heeding calls for reform after two miners died at Brazilian diversified mining group Vale’s Sudbury operations in 2011.

Starting early in the New Year, the province’s chief prevention officer would lead an advisory group of industry, labour, health and safety representatives to begin a sweeping review on a wide range of areas within the sector.

The review followed months of intense persuasion by several unions, families and friends of the two men – Jason Chenier (35) and Jordan Fram (26) – killed in a June 8, 2011 accident at Vale’s Stobie underground mine, near Sudbury.

Toronto-based Vale Canada, which owns and operates the operation, was in September fined a record C$1.05-million for the death of the men after Vale Canada pleaded guilty to three charges in a plea bargain, which some had billed as a betrayal of workers and their families by the provincial government.

UPDATE 1-Vale seeks fertilizer partner; potash to top 4 mln T/yr – by Jeb Blount and Sabrina Lorenzi (Reuters U.S. – December 18, 2013)

December 19, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Brazilian miner Vale SA expects to more than replace the 4 million tonnes a year of potash it stands to lose from the cancellation of its Rio Colorado project in Argentina as it opens mines in Brazil and Canada, its top executive said on Wednesday.

At least 2 million tonnes a year of potash output is expected from its Carnalita project in Brazil’s northeastern state of Sergipe and 3 million to 5 million tonnes a year could be mined from its Kronau project in Canada’s Province of Saskatchewan, Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira told reporters on Wednesday.

Vale canceled plans to build the $6 billion Rio Colorado project in Argentina in March on concerns the country’s currency-exchange policies made the mine, rail and port project unprofitable and after being denied legal tax breaks. It is now trying to sell shares of its fertilizer unit or stakes in specific fertilizer projects, Ferreria said.

“We are looking for partners in our fertilizer business,” he said at an annual holiday lunch with reporters. “But if the partner takes a stake in our fertilizer unit, we don’t want someone who is just a financial partner, we want someone who has their own production already.”

Vale CEO talks ‘consortium’ with Glencore – by Staff (Sudbury Star – December 19, 2013)

December 19, 2013

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

A comment by Vale chief executive officer Murilo Ferrira, reported by Reuters on Wednesday, will have people talking again about a potential merger, or partial merger, between Vale and Glencore Xstrata operations in Sudbury.

Reuters reported Ferreira as saying he expects Vale’s “consortium” with Glencore in Sudbury nickel projects to be defined by the first quarter of 2014 and for the venture to operate as a single unit.

Vale spokesman Cory McPhee said Ferreira’s statement was made at an end-of-the-year luncheon with reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday at which Ferreira answered several questions.

His answer to the one about a Sudbury merger was a repetition of what he said during Vale Days at the New York and London Stock Exchanges a few weeks ago when he told reporters he expected to conclude the discussions in the first quarter of 2014, said McPhee.

“He’s speaking very broadly to potential outcomes,” said McPhee.

Ontario to review mine safety after Vale deaths in 2011 (Reuters U.S. – December 18, 2013)

December 18, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO – Dec 18 (Reuters) – The Ontario government will launch a review of mining safety, looking at the effectiveness of health and safety rules, enforcement and prevention in the Canadian province after the 2011 deaths of two men at a Vale SA mine prompted calls for reform.

The review, announced on Wednesday and to commence in early 2014, comes after more than a year of lobbying by the families and friends of the men, Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram.

The two were killed at one of Vale’s Sudbury, Ontario, nickel mines, and the Brazilian miner’s Canadian unit was hit with a record C$1.05 million ($984,900) fine for the incident in September. It had pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the province’s workplace safety law.

Mining has long been a major industry in Ontario, and miners, including big international players such as Glencore and Goldcorp Inc, produced some C$10.7 billion worth of minerals in 2011, according provincial government figures.

Fine for Vale mine worker deaths goes to Sudbury budget – by CBC News Sudbury (December 16, 2013)

December 17, 2013

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

A $1 million fine that Vale paid in the deaths of two miners is being absorbed into Sudbury’s city budget. All provincial offences fines go to city coffers, to help offset the city’s costs of running the provincial court.

Some called on Sudbury city council to give that money to the families of the miners or to create some kind of memorial to them. But city councillor Terry Kett recently said it’s better to honour workers who die on the job at the annual memorial day, which he attends in Sudbury every year.

“That’s more important I think than any naming of a park, etc. I think it’s important that we remember that and we keep that in our hearts and minds,” he said. Kett said $1 million from Vale will help the city balance its books, especially since the provincial offences collected last year were down $350,000.

The city receives the fines — including fines from parking tickets and illegal hunting charges — to help offset the cost of running the provincial offences court. Vale paid its fine after being convicted of health and safety violations leading to the fatal accident at Stobie Mine two years ago.

Vale commissions hydromet nickel plant at Long Harbour (Northern Miner – December 11, 2013)

December 17, 2013

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

VANCOUVER — Twenty years after Diamond Fields Resources discovered nickel in at Voisey’s Bay in Labrador and eight years after Vale (NYSE: VALE) predecessor Inco started mining, work is now wrapping up on a state-of-the-art hydrometallurgical facility that will process the mine’s rich nickel–copper–cobalt ore without smelting it.

Vale has been sending ore from its open-pit Voisey’s Bay mine to its smelters in Sudbury, Ont., and Thompson, Man. Starting early next year those long hauls will be over, replaced by shipments to a new facility in Long Harbour, 100 km west of St. John’s, N.L. — keeping a promise made to the provincial government that Voisey’s Bay ore or its equivalent would be refined in-province.

Cutting back on haulage is just one advantage. More important is the new facility design, which represents the first time hydromet technology will be used on a large scale to produce nickel.

Hydrometallurgy uses water, oxygen, solvents and high pressure to dissolve a metal from its ore, or from a concentrate or intermediate product, such as matte (the product of smelting).

Change to Vale’s buying scheme makes city more attractive – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – December 06, 2013)

December 9, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Changes to Vale’s procurement system will result in new jobs and opportunities in Sudbury, said the executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA).

Dick DeStefano, SAMSSA’s executive director, said Vale’s new regional focus on supply and service procurement will improve Sudbury’s reputation as a world-leader for the mining supply and service sector.

“This will attract a number of satellite offices,” DeStefano said, as companies will set up shop in Sudbury to be closer to the buying action. Mining supply and service companies previously had to deal with Vale’s offices in Toronto and Brazil to set up contracts with the mining giant.

But in 2012, Vale started to change its organizational structure, and shifted its gaze to regional markets. “It was about getting more autonomy in the different regions,” Kelly Strong, Vale’s vice-president of Ontario operations, said regarding the shift in focus.

In early 2014 companies in Sudbury will be able deal with Vale employees who handle procurement directly in Sudbury.

Manitoba mining towns go boom or bust as industry taps resources (CBC News Manitoba – November 29, 2013)

December 2, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/

Lynn Lake, Thompson tell tale of two mining towns dealing with very different fates

A Manitoba town with a thriving mine is hoping to avoid the fate of another mining town not far away, which recently saw a mass exodus of people. Thompson is enjoying the benefits of a thriving nickel mine operated by Vale, but even the mine operators know that won’t last forever.

“All mines have a finite life, regardless of how good the resource is,” said Mark Scott, the manager of mining for Vale. That’s why the company, Thompson’s city leaders, First Nations groups and local business owners have come up with a diversification strategy called the Thompson Economic Diversification Working Group (TEDWG) to bring variation to the town’s economy.

“It’s important to make sure the economy can stand on its own two feet when life after Vale Manitoba operations eventually does arrive,” said Scott. Life after mining has already arrived in Lynn Lake, 322 kilometres away. Christine Shortt has lived in Lynn Lake for 55 years. Shortt works at the Bronx Motel in town and said the town is markedly different than it was when mining was at its peak.

Vale Hopes to Sign Contract Soon – by Francezka Nangoy (Jakarta Globe – November 27, 2013)

November 29, 2013

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/

Vale Indonesia, the largest nickel matte producer in the country, remains optimistic it will conclude its mining contract renegotiation with the government sooner rather than later, ahead of heated national elections next year.

Nico Kanter, president director of the company, told reporters on Tuesday that in the past two months “there has been good progress” in talks with the government.

Mining companies are required to renegotiate mining contracts as the government aims for more benefit from the mining sector as well as creating downstream industries.

“We maintain our belief that we can be the first multinational company to conclude this renegotiation,” Kanter said. “There is an opportunity to finish before the April election.” Vale Indonesia is 59 percent owned by Vale Canada, a unit of Brazil’s Vale.

Indonesia is set to hold legislative and presidential elections in April and July respectively. Kanter said that if a new contract could not be concluded before the election, there was possibility that it may be stretched into 2015.

Vale to Pay $9.6 Billion to Settle Decade-Long Tax Fight – by Juan Pablo Spinetto – (Bloomberg News – November 28, 2013)

November 28, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Vale SA (VALE5), the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, agreed to pay 22.3 billion reais ($9.6 billion) to settle a decade-long tax dispute with Brazil over profits of its foreign units, ahead of a deadline tomorrow.

Vale will pay 5.97 billion reais at the end of this month and 16.4 billion reais in 179 monthly installments, plus interest, after its board decided to join a settlement program offered by the government, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said in a filing late yesterday. Shares jumped.

Brazil’s biggest exporters including Vale, brewer Cia. de Bebidas das Americas and steelmaker Gerdau SA (GGBR4) have been fighting a combined 75 billion reais in tax claims on profit of their foreign subsidiaries, according to the country’s tax agency. The net present value of Vale’s liabilities is $6.6 billion, below the $10 billion that was being anticipated by investors, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimates.

“We view this announcement as positive for Vale,” JPMorgan analysts including Rodolfo Angele wrote in a note to clients. “We now can turn the page on the uncertainties surrounding this legal imbroglio to focus on industry and company fundamentals.”

NEWS RELEASE: Vale will participate in income tax settlement

November 28, 2013

11/27/2013

Our Board of Directors has approved its participation in the federal tax settlement (REFIS) for payment of amounts relating to Brazilian corporate income tax and social contribution on the net income of its non-Brazilian subsidiaries and affiliates from 2003 to 2012, as established by Brazilian Law No. 12,865/2013 of October 9, 2013 and Provisional Measure 627 (MP 627) of November 11, 2013.

Participating in the REFIS will result in income tax payments of R$ 5.965 billion at the end of this month and R$16.360 billion in 179 monthly installments, adjusted by the Central Bank of Brazil policy interest rate (SELIC). Vale estimates that the net present value of the tax payments is R$ 14.425 billion.

“The proposed terms have allowed for a considerable reduction in the amounts in dispute, and the decision to participate in the REFIS is consistent with our goal of eliminating uncertainties and directing managerial focus on Vale’s businesses,” CEO Murilo Ferreira commented. “The tax payment will be funded by our operating cash flow, not requiring additional indebtedness, and not causing significant changes in our financial planning, which will continue to support our growth and value creation initiatives, the distribution of dividends to shareholders and the maintenance of a solid balance sheet,” Ferreira said.

Vale celebrates Totten Mine startup – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – December 1, 2013)

November 27, 2013

Norm Tollinsky is editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This column is from the December, 2013 issue.

Mine of the future brimming with state-of-the-art technology

It’s not every day that a new mine goes into production – not even in Sudbury, one of the world’s most important centres of mineral wealth – but, this month, Vale celebrates the official handover to operations at Totten Mine, 40 kilometres west of downtown Sudbury.

Hailed as “a mine of the future” by Kelly Strong, vice-president of Ontario and UK operations, Totten is brimming with advanced technologies.

“We’re very excited about this being our first new mine in over 40 years,” said Strong. “Totten demonstrates that we have this amazing resource under our feet here. Building Totten through some challenging economic times shows our commitment as a company to Sudbury. “One of the things you see in the mining industry is that the price cycle is shorter than the period of time it takes to complete a project,” noted Strong.