Vale – Page 80 – Republic of Mining

Nickel on a rollercoaster – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 3, 2012)

January 3, 2012

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

The European economic malaise and competition from upstart nickel pig iron producers will likely combine to keep the price of nickel fluctuating in 2012, says a metals analyst.

Price volatility is bound to continue next year, says Montreal-based Terry Ortslan of TSO & Associates. From a high of $16.91 a pound in 2007 on the London Metals Exchange to a low of $6.65 a pound in 2009, nickel averaged about $12.25 a pound in 2011, said Ortslan.

“Recently, the prices are struggling at $8 a pound,” Orstlan said last week, after returning from a business trip to China, where nickel continues to be in high demand.

Ortslan says $7 a pound would be a “low target” for 2012, although he would not rule out that possibility because of Europe’s economic woes and China’s ongoing production from non-traditional sources.

Vale hatches a plan [worker shortages] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 3, 2012)

January 3, 2012

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

Vale Ltd. is devising strategies to deal with one of its greatest challenges — the looming shortage of skilled tradespeople, and production and maintenance workers for its Canadian operations.

The Brazil-based miner has launched a country-wide advertising campaign to convince Canadians they can live the good life in Sudbury, rather than having to fly in and out of mining or oil sands operations.

Vale expects to hire at least 300 full-time people in 2012, mostly engineers and skilled tradespeople. But it will be looking for miners as well. A recent call for 60 production and maintenance workers netted 800 resumes, said Vale spokeswoman Angie Robson.

‘Landmark decision’ — Veinot allowed back on property – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 24, 2011)

December 28, 2011

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

United Steelworkers was claiming a major victory and enjoying an early Christmas after Vale Ltd. was convicted of unfair labour practice in what the union calls a landmark decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Board chair Bernard Fishbein ruled Thursday that Vale unlawfully denied USW Local 6500 vice-president Patrick Veinot access to Vale workplaces after the company fired him during the union’s year-long strike against the company.

Vale said it had the authority to fire Veinot, and eight other Steelworkers, for bad conduct on picket lines and in the community, but USW challenged that at the labour board.

One Steelworker retired immediately after the strike ended July 8, 2010. An OLRB tribunal is currently reviewing evidence presented by the union and the company in a separate matter.

The Rock’s hard place: Labour shortage looms in Newfoundland and Labrador – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – December 17, 2011)

December 17, 2011

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.

LONG HARBOUR, NFLD.— Rinaldo Stefan has a tough challenge as he manages construction of Vale SA’s sprawling, $3-billion nickel processor on Placentia Bay: finding enough skilled workers to complete the job on time and on budget.

Mr. Stefan must find 1,500 welders, electricians, plumbers and other workers by next summer, on top of the 2,000 already on the job at the site. But due to a shortage of available skilled tradespeople in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Stefan is now in a mad scramble to fill the positions, placing advertisements across Atlantic Canada to entice qualified workers.

“We are working hard to find the people we’ll need,” said the native of Romania, who has lived around the world working as a construction project manager for Vale, the global mining giant. “For the moment, we are looking in Canada, but the contingency plan will be to go offshore to find people.”

Newfoundland and Labrador is in the midst of an unprecedented energy and resources boom that is straining the province’s ability to keep up. Finding enough workers to complete some $43-billion worth of major projects under way and planned is proving to be a monumental challenge.

Let arbitration decide their fate, union argues – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 9, 2011)

December 9, 2011

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

The lawyer for United Steelworkers has a remedy for how the Ontario Labour Relations Board can resolve the case of eight workers fired by Vale Ltd. during the union’s yearlong strike against the mining giant.

Brian Shell asked the panel to direct that the dismissals be dealt with by just-cause arbitration; that those arbitrations be scheduled and heard within three to four months; and that the eight firings be heard in six separate arbitrations so they don’t drag on for a decade.

Vale Ltd. offered a more simple fix during final arguments presented to the OLRB on Thursday in Sudbury. Don’t direct the firings to arbitration. Let them stand.

Shell spoke with reporters after six hours of closing arguments, saying Vale was essentially telling the labour board Vale “should be allowed to do what we want and exercise our superior strength, power and money freely without regulation by the labour relations board.”

Fate of fired 9 [Vale union members] rests with panel – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 9, 2011)

December 9, 2011

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

If Vale Ltd. is so confident it had good reason to dismiss eight Steelworkers during the union’s year-long strike, it shouldn’t be reluctant to let a provincial arbitrator determine if they were fired with just cause, says the union’s lawyer.

But Vale argues its confidence that the firings were justified demonstrates the care that company officials took to make those decisions. Those statements were presented during final arguments at an Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing into the union’s call for arbitration for its eight fired members.

More than a dozen days of testimony were held in Toronto into a bad-faith bargaining complaint filed by United Steelworkers at the six-month mark in their July 2009-July 2010 strike against the Brazil-based mining company.

Eyes turn to Vale, Steel hearing – by Carol Muggigan (Sudbury Star – December 8, 2011)

December 8, 2011

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

Ontario labour leaders will be watching Sudbury today when lawyers for Vale Ltd. and United Steelworkers present final arguments in a drawn-out complaint by the union to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Depending on the outcome, the result could “put a real chill on the collective bargaining process,” said McMaster University professor Wayne Lewchuk. USW complained to the board about the firing of nine members during the union’s bitter year-long strike against Vale from July 2009 to July 2010.

Vale dismissed the workers, one of whom retired after the strike, because of alleged misconduct on picket lines and in the community.

The union wants the labour board to order Vale to have the dismissals dealt with by a provincial arbitrator, said USW Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand.

Peter Poppinga: CEO Vale Canada Ltd. and Executive Director, Base Metals, Vale – Bio

December 5, 2011

Peter Poppinga: Chief Executive Officer Vale Canada Ltd. and Executive Director, Base Metals, Vale

Peter POPPINGA was born in Brazil and began his professional career as a geologist and mining engineer at SAMITRI (Brazilian mining company), where over a 15-year period he held different management positions in exploration, mine planning, production, marketing and sales in Europe and China.

In 1999, Peter joined VALE, and in 2000, he was appointed Manager, Iron Ore at Rio Doce America Inc. (New York).

In 2001, he went on to join Rio Doce International (Belgium) as Director for Iron Ore in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and then as President, responsible for all sales of Iron Ore and Manganese Alloys as well as for the Iron Ore price negotiations for the region.

In February 2006, Peter was appointed President of VALE International S.A. (Switzerland) responsible for all sales of Iron Ore and Manganese Alloys as well as for the global Iron Ore benchmark price negotiations for Vale worldwide.

From camels to flying carpets – by David Robinson (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November, 2011)

December 4, 2011

Dr. David Robinson is an economist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. His column is from Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. drobinson@laurentian.ca

Mining and the trade in metals shaped the ancient world. And in almost every case, the transportation system for the metal industries was the most advanced you could find at the time.

Whether it was camels moving copper to Jerusalem from mines in Edom, or Phoenician ships ferrying tin from the Tin Islands to the growing cities of the eastern Mediterranean, mining and advanced transportation have gone together like love and marriage. Transportation innovations of the 19th century shaped the mining industry of the 20th century. Without rail, for example, the vast interior deposits of iron, copper and other metals would have been far more costly to deliver to a growing global market. Cities like Sudbury simply could not exist.

The shipping needs of one modern company show the scale of the transportation services required by miners. Vale exports iron ore to China in “capesize” freighters (too large to pass through the Suez Canal) that carry up to 400,000 deadweight tons – the equivalent of 4,000 ore cars. In 2006, Vale ordered a dozen of these for $1.6 billion.

World’s Largest Miners [Rio Tinto, BHP-Biliton and Vale] like Potash – by Richard (Rick) Mills (Aheadoftheherd.com – November, 2011)

December 1, 2011

Richard Mills is host of www.aheadoftheherd.com and invests in the junior resource sector.

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information

Miners are looking to enter the potash business, or expand existing operations, as they look for increased demand from developing nations such as China, India and Brazil.

BHP Billiton – In the spring of 1869 a German Chemist named Charles Rasp immigrated to Australia for his health. Unable to find work in his chosen trade Charles learned to ride a horse and began wrangling sheep. One day, while out riding his horse at Broken Hill, he discovered mineralized rock. He took out a mining lease, punched holes in the ground and eventually found rich veins of silver. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company – BHP – was incorporated in 1885 while mining silver and lead at Broken Hill in western New South Wales.

Billiton was a mining company that got its start in September 1860 when the articles of association were approved by a meeting of shareholders in the Groot Keizerhof Hotel in The Hague, Netherlands. Shortly afterwards the company acquired the mineral rights to the tin-rich islands of Banka and Billiton off the eastern coast of Sumatra.

Vale board approves US$21.4bn investment budget for 2012 – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – November 29, 2011)

November 29, 2011

http://www.mineweb.com/

Iron ore gets the lion’s share of Vale’s project capex budget next year, with the bulk of investment allocated to Brazilian projects and operations.

RENO, NV – Brazilian über iron ore miner Vale Monday announced its board of directors approved US$12.9 billion for projects, US$2.4 billion for research and development, and US$6.1 billion for sustaining operations in 2012.

The company also reinforced estimated mining production for 2012 including 312 million metric tons of iron ore, 50 million metric tons of pellets, 16.6 million metric tons of coal, 300,000 metric tons of nickel, 340,000 metric tons of copper, 650,000 metric tons of potash and 8 million metric tons of phosphate rock.

Vale now has 20 main projects now under construction to implement organic growth, comprising 75% of the $12.9 billion budgeted for project development next year. The bulk of the investment will be made in Brazil, which gets 63.7% of the total 2012 investment budget, while Canada will receive 11.7%.