Archive | Glencore

PolyMet Mining closer than ever to getting Iron Range mine operational – by Mike Hughlett (Minneapolis Star Tribune – June 25, 2019)

June 25, 2019 in Copper, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

http://www.startribune.com/

Despite fears over mine’s environmental effect, company is confident

HOYT LAKES, Minn. – After years of planning and contention, the derelict taconite complex in Hoyt Lakes is closer than ever to hosting Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mining operation.

Backed by global-mining giant Glencore, PolyMet Mining Corp.’s executives are courting bankers for nearly $1 billion to finance the project, hoping to start construction next year. New concerns have blown up recently over one of PolyMet’s environmental permits, though the company said it doesn’t expect the mine’s progress to be impeded.

“It’s going to happen,” said Jon Cherry, PolyMet’s CEO. “It is so rare to get a fully permitted mine at this time in the United States.” Continue Reading →

Glencore Cuts Out Agents and Dealmakers as Scrutiny Grows – by Jack Farchy and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – June 25, 2019)

June 25, 2019 in Africa Mining, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Copper, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc is cutting out many of its intermediaries — the agents and dealmakers once essential to cracking the toughest markets — amid growing scrutiny of its operations around the world.

Under pressure from its compliance division, Glencore is dismantling much of its global network of trading agents, according to people familiar with the situation. To continue operating, the company is setting up teams in some countries, said the people, asking not to be named as the matter is private. In other places, Glencore is still using agents who pass strict compliance tests and have a clear role.

Glencore has long relied on intermediaries, who work on commission. The agents network with well-connected business and government officials in developing nations with the goal of securing commodity-trading deals. In a prospectus in 2003, for example, Glencore listed 64 field offices around the world, saying that included nine agents in eight countries “which act primarily for us.” Continue Reading →

[Falconbridge] ‘I thought the smelter had blown up’ – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – June 21, 2019)

June 21, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Mining Accidents, Deaths, Cave-Ins and Industrial Disease, Mining Labour Issues and History – Sudbury and Global, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Sudbury History

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Electrician Gary Hrytsak was taking a brief nap during a coffee break at the Falconbridge smelter complex about 10:05 a.m. June 20, 1984, when he got thrown off the bench he was on.

“It was an eerie feeling,” recalled the now-retired Hrytsak during his speech at the 35th Workers’ Memorial Day ceremonies at the Caruso Club on Thursday. “You could feel things shaking under your feet … I thought the smelter had blown up.”

Hrytsak, who went on to do compensation, health and welfare work for his union (Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Local 598), said he put on his respirator, went to the electrical shop and telephoned his foreman, only to be told to stay where he was. Continue Reading →

Is there new life for Kidd Mine?: Scheduled for 2022 closure, new ore discovery spurs Glencore to drill deep at legendary Timmins mine – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – June 17, 2019)

June 17, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Ontario Mining, Timmins

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Len Gillis is the editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a sister publication of Northern Ontario Business. Contact him at [email protected]

Kidd Operations has confirmed it is investing a lot of time and effort to try to find a way to extend the life of the massive underground Glencore Kidd copper-zinc mining complex in Timmins.

Mark Furlotte, Kidd Operations general manager, responded to Northern Ontario Business and Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal to reveal the company has set up exploration drilling to target mineral zones deeper than three kilometres.

Furlotte’s comments follow the recent Big Event Mining Expo held in Timmins where the chief topic of conversation was what the future might hold for the Kidd Operations deep mine and how the company is planning to extend the life of the mine beyond the expected shutdown in 2022. Continue Reading →

Norway fund may have to offload $1 billion stake in Glencore in shift away from coal – by Gwladys Fouche (Reuters U.S. – June 12, 2019)

June 13, 2019 in Climate Change, Carbon Taxes and ENGOs, Coal, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund may have to sell a $1 billion stake in commodities firm Glencore and other investments to meet tighter ethical investing rules adopted by its parliament.

Norway’s parliament agreed on Wednesday to the center-right government’s plan that the world’s largest fund would no longer invest in companies that mine more than 20 million tonnes of coal annually or generate more than 10 gigawatts (GW) of power from coal.

Environmental campaigners Greenpeace and Urgewald said the new rules mean the fund would have to divest its 2.03% stake in Glencore, worth $1 billion at the end of 2018 according to fund data. Continue Reading →

Vale, Glencore both earn medals at annual mine rescue challenge – by Staff (Sudbury Northern Life – June 10, 2019)

June 10, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.sudbury.com/

Jean-Yves Doiron, a mine rescue technician with Vale Canada in Sudbury, won the award for top technician

Mine rescue volunteers from K+S Windsor Salt Ojibway Mine donned the champions’ gold hard hats at the 70th annual Ontario Mine Rescue Provincial Competition last week. The event was held this year at the Red Lake Gold Mines in Red Lake, Ont.

K+S Windsor Salt Ojibway Mine was also awarded the John Guthrie (Special Equipment) Award during the closing banque June 7. The team won the Southern District mine rescue competition in Goderich in May.

The Windsor Salt mine rescue team consisted of: Captain Adam Schraeder, No. 2 Al Gernon, No. 3 Dillon Perry, No. 4 Joe Schraeder, Vice-captain Phillip Schraeder, No. 6 Ethan Kirby, Briefing Officer Matt Stefanic. Continue Reading →

No end in sight for Brunswick Smelter strike – by Tori Weldon (CBC News New Brunswick – May 23, 2019)

May 23, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Glencore, New Brunswick/Bathurst Zinc Mining Camp

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/

It’s been one month since unionized employees at Brunswick Smelter started striking, and both sides of the contract dispute say they’re waiting for the other to come back to the table.

On April 24, employees at the Glencore Canada-owned smelter were sent home — with pay — hours before the strike was set to begin. Because they were paid for their time, both parties agree the union is striking and the contract dispute is not a lockout.

Bart Dempsey, president of local 7085 of the United Steelworkers, said “we haven’t heard anything from the company, but it remains the same. We’re willing to go back to the table if they remove these concessions that we don’t believe they need.” Continue Reading →

UPDATE 2-BHP to keep Nickel West, Rio looks to Jadar lithium for battery boom (Reuters Africa – May 14, 2019)

May 14, 2019 in Africa Mining, Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, BHP Billiton, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Copper, Europe Mining, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Lithium, Nickel, Rio Tinto

https://af.reuters.com/

LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) – Global miner BHP will hold on to the Australian nickel operations it previously put up for sale, while Rio Tinto is working on copper and lithium projects as the mining industry bets on demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The biggest mining companies say they are well positioned to provide the metals needed for the shift to EV technology, although they acknowledge the political risks and environmental issues in some of the countries where the best supplies are found.

Nickel is in demand to allow cars to travel further on a single charge. Using more nickel also cuts costs by reducing the use of expensive cobalt, a mainstay of current EV batteries. Continue Reading →

Minnesota’s PolyMet Mining move could result in Glencore majority ownership – by Mike Hughlett (Minnesota Star Tribune – May 7, 2019)

May 8, 2019 in Copper, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

http://www.startribune.com/

PolyMet Mining plans to raise $265 million in a stock offering to existing shareholders, a move mainly intended to pay off debt to the company’s longtime backer, mining and commodities giant Glencore.

Depending on how the offering shakes out, Glencore may end up with majority ownership of PolyMet, which plans to develop Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine. Switzerland-based Glencore already owns 29% of PolyMet.

In March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted PolyMet the last major permit it needs to proceed with the controversial project on the eastern Iron Range. PolyMet still faces several legal challenges to the mine and processing plant, and it must raise money for the $1 billion project. Continue Reading →

Big Four miners languish amid demand, ESG, capex concerns – by Barbara Lewis and Simon Jessop (Reuters U.S. – May 8, 2019)

May 8, 2019 in Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s biggest diversified miners have yet to see their share prices reflect their role as providers of the minerals needed for a shift to a low-carbon economy.

Mining companies provide minerals such as cobalt used in electric vehicle batteries and copper for increased electrification, and the sector’s balance sheets are in rude health.

Still, many investors are wary. Concerns include the demand outlook from China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals; the sector’s history of wasting shareholders’ money on mergers and acquisitions that never deliver returns; and a patchy record on environmental, social and governance-related (ESG) issues. Continue Reading →

Glencore cuts 2019 copper production target – by Muvija M and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – April 30, 2019)

April 30, 2019 in Glencore, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Miner and trader Glencore lowered its target for 2019 copper output following severe flooding in Australia as well as safety outages that led to a 7 percent year-on-year drop in production in the first quarter.

The news drove Glencore’s share price down 2.4 percent by 0845 GMT on Tuesday. First quarter copper production fell to 320,700 tonnes, missing BMO Capital Markets’ estimate by 11 percent, while cobalt output jumped 56 percent.

Glencore said it expects copper production for the year to be 1,460,000 tonnes, plus or minus 30,000 tonnes. It had earlier forecast approximately 1,540,000 tonnes. Continue Reading →

Glencore auditing 140 slimes dams – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – February 20, 2019)

February 21, 2019 in Africa Mining, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore is auditing 140 slimes dams, 65 of them active and 75 of them closed.

The company has been undertaking detailed assessments and audits of all material tailings storage facilities (TSFs) over the past three years, after accumulating a TSF significant asset footprint through mergers and acquisitions and organic growth.

Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg made these revelations at a media briefing on Wednesday against the background of last month’s tragic loss of 170 people at Vale’s Córrego do Feijão iron-ore mine in Brazil, which has prompted renewed industry action to ensure that TSFs are not vulnerable to collapse. Continue Reading →

Blast may have triggered quake in Sudbury: Vale – by Donald Macdonald (Sudbury Star – February 8, 2019)

February 8, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

No serious damage to Garson Mine or nearby Nickel Rim Mine, companies say.

Work is proceeding at Garson Mine after an earthquake Wednesday that originated at the Vale site but was felt by people residing more than 10 kilometres away.

Vale spokesperson Angie Robson said the company experienced a 2.9 magnitude seismic event at the 5,200 level of the mine shortly after 5 p.m. Fortunately, “no employees were injured as a result of this event,” she noted, and “work is continuing as normal, except in restricted areas of the mine.”

Robson said there was no damage to mobile equipment, “although there is some displaced rock that needs to be addressed, as well as some repair work to infrastructure in the affected area of the mine.” Continue Reading →

Ford launches blockchain project to trace cobalt in the Congo – by Hasan Chowdhury (The Telegraph – January 16, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Africa Mining, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Metals and Manufacturing

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Ford is preparing to clamp down on labour exploitation in the cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo by using blockchain technology to keep a record of supplies in the metal, a key ingredient for electric vehicle batteries.

The US carmaker will partner with LG Chem, a South Korean chemicals specialist and Chinese mining firm Huayou Cobalt for a pilot programme that will aim to ensure the in-demand metal is responsibly sourced. Concerns have mounted around a practice known as artisanal mining, which often involves children mining for metals by hand.

According to the Congo’s Chamber of Mines, 2m people are involved in artisanal mining in the country, with around 200,000 miners specifically digging in copper mines. Cobalt is usually obtained as a byproduct of copper and nickel mining. Continue Reading →

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