Republic of Mining

LME WEEK-BHP aims for more copper, oil; steers away from EV minerals – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.K. – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The world’s biggest miner BHP’s response to the electric vehicle debate is to hunt for new reserves of copper and oil, while seeking a buyer for its assets to produce battery-grade nickel and steering clear of lithium and cobalt.

Arnoud Balhuizen, chief commercial officer at BHP, has said 2017 marks a “tipping point” for electric vehicles in that they have entered the mainstream of metals demand forecasting. In terms of sales, however, the mass move is further off as hybrids and conventional cars stay on the roads for a transition period.

Balhuizen estimates that shift would be around 2030, which is also when BHP expects demand for oil from light vehicles to peak. Other forms of oil demand, including from industry and heavy goods transport, are likely to be more sustained.

Coal miners are so confident Trump will bring coal back that they’re rejecting alternate career retraining – by Zoë Schlanger (Quartz.com – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

https://qz.com/

Throughout his campaign and into his first year as president, Donald Trump vowed to bring back US coal jobs and revitalize the dying industry.

He heralded the opening of the first new coal mine of his era this summer as a fulfillment of his campaign promises. The Acosta mine, owned by Corsa Coal, is set to employ fewer people than the average supermarket.

That new mine is in Southwestern Pennsylvania, where Reuters reports the dream of a second golden age of coal is alive and well, despite all indications that the industry’s future is bleak. In fact, hope is so strong it has Pennsylvania miners rejecting free, federally-funded retraining in new careers.

[Minnesota Mining] Fighting for mining in D.C. – by Tom Coombe (Ely Echo – November 1, 2017)

November 2, 2017

http://www.elyecho.com/

Leaders of a grassroots pro-mining organization say they’re making progress in the nation’s capital – one meeting at a time. Fight for Mining Minnesota made its presence felt in Washington, D.C. this week, as three members of the group – including former Ely Mayor Joe Baltich -lobbied members of Congress, Congressional aides and reached out to the Trump administration.

The visit wasn’t linked to specific legislation or a committee hearing. Instead, Baltich joined former Elyites and FMM leaders Cindy and John Stene to connect and reconnect with key decision makers.

“All of them gave us hope,” said Baltich. “They tell us ‘we’re moving, maybe not moving as fast as you guys would like us to but we’re moving.’ There are so many hoops to jump through, but we’re getting there.”

Rio Tinto says it paid $38M in royalties to N.W.T., but gov’t can’t confirm – by Walter Strong (CBC News North – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

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

Rio Tinto is disputing a claim in a recent mining report that it paid no royalties in the N.W.T.

If the government of the Northwest Territories wanted to attract attention to its mining policy review in advance of the territory’s new Mineral Resources Act, it did a good job.

A report, posted to a territorial government website in October, paints the disturbing picture of a royalty and taxation regime that lets mining companies get away with paying little in mining royalties and taxes, at least compared to some other jurisdictions in the world.

Rio Tinto, a 60 per cent owner of the Diavik diamond mine was singled out in the report for not — according to the report — paying any royalties for diamond production at the mine in 2015. The company has since disputed that claim.

US coal’s upturn favours open-pit mines in western states – by Ed Crooks (Financial Times – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

https://www.ft.com/

The US coal industry has been making a comeback this year, hailed this week by President Donald Trump.

In the power generation sector, however, only one variety of the fuel is in demand — low-cost production from the large open-pit mines of western states such as Wyoming.

The trend has buoyed listed US mining groups Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, which have both emerged from bankruptcy after the wave of failures that swept the industry in 2015-16.

But it is a bad sign for the Appalachian region, including states such as West Virginia and Kentucky, which Mr Trump has pledged to help. Healthy demand for thermal coal, used for power generation, from the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana is helping support a US mining industry that is focusing on controlling debts and returning cash to shareholders.

Could EV demand cause a shortage of battery-grade nickel? – by Andrew Topf (Stockhouse Publishing – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

http://www.stockhouse.com/

FULL DISCLOSURE: North American Nickel is a paid client of Stockhouse Publishing.

Nickel: The dark horse in the EV battery race

Without a doubt, the barn door that has been cracked open on electric vehicles (EVs) is only going to swing further. One recent projection puts EVs at 16% market penetration by 2030 and 51% by 2040. Several countries including China, France and the UK have signalled they will eventually ban gas-powered vehicles, and one automaker, Volvo, recently announced that starting in 2019, all models will be hybrids or electrics.

This has investors flocking to companies that mine lithium and cobalt – two key ingredients of batteries used in EVs. But it’s a lesser-known fact that nickel, a cheaper, up-to-now industrial metal used primarily in stainless steel, will also be needed for EV batteries.

In fact, so much nickel could be demanded in the next few years that analysts are predicting a shortage of battery-grade nickel. Investors who can identify companies with properties that contain this type of nickel stand to make a bundle, especially those in the early exploration stages.

UPDATE 2-Top Acacia Mining bosses quit in midst of Tanzania dispute – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Acacia Mining’s top two executives have resigned in the midst of talks between its parent company and the Tanzanian government aimed at ending a long-running dispute that has hit Acacia’s operations.

Barrick Gold, the world’s biggest gold miner and 63.9 percent owner of Acacia, struck a deal with Tanzania last month to end the dispute, part of which involved Acacia making a $300 million payment to the east African country.

But Acacia, whose three producing gold mines are in Tanzania and was not directly involved in the talks, appeared to have been taken by surprise by the announcement by Barrick chairman John Thornton and President John Magufuli. It said last week it could not immediately afford the payment.

Battery tech is the new gold for Kirkland Lake – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

California’s Artisan Vehicle Systems chooses northeast town for Canadian assembly, R & D hub

A leading edge California manufacturer of battery-powered underground mining vehicles is putting down roots in Kirkland Lake.

Artisan Vehicle Systems announced Oct. 31 that it’s building a 60,000-square-foot Canadian headquarters featuring a service centre, vehicle assembly shop, and product research facility in the northeastern Ontario gold mining town to be closest to its biggest customer, Kirkland Lake Gold.

The company is talking about creating 60 jobs over the next two years as they put shovels in the ground within a year-and-a-half to build a state-of-the-art “Centre of Excellence” in the Archer Drive business park.

Victor Mine to shut down early 2019 – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

http://www.timminspress.com/

ATTAWAPISKAT – De Beers Canada announced Wednesday that the Victor diamond mine, the first and only commercial diamond mining operation in Ontario, is shutting down in less than a year and a half.

Kim Truter, the company’s chief executive officer made the announcement in Timmins, which for the past 10 years has been the main jumping-off point for access to the mine, located in the James Bay lowlands, roughly 100 kilometres west of the First Nation community of Attawapiskat.

The mine can only be accessed by air year round, or by a winter road, for five or six weeks in January and February. Truter said the mine has performed according to the original mine plan and now that the diamonds within the Victor property are gradually being depleted, the time is right for closing.

NEWS RELEASE: Industry supports NWT Premier McLeod’s Red Alert (November 1, 2017)

November 2, 2017

http://www.miningnorth.com

(Yellowknife, NT – November 1, 2017) The Premier of the Northwest Territories, Bob McLeod does not stand alone in issuing his Red Alert today in which he appeals to the Federal Government for an urgent national debate on the future of the Northwest Territories because “the promise of the North is fading and the dreams of northerners are dying as we see a re-emergence of colonialism.”

We support the Premier’s appeal. The NWT has 85 years of resource production history in both mining and oil and gas, creating significant benefits to Canada. We aren’t a colony.

Over the past 21 years, our northern diamond mining industry alone has made nationally significant and progressive strides, including:
• Training to assist over 1,300 Indigenous and northern residents get mining jobs;
• Providing over 26,000 person-years of Northern jobs of which 50% are Indigenous;

Why Biggest Metals Rally of the Year May Have Further to Run – by Mark Burton and Jack Farchy (Bloomberg News – November 1, 2017)

November 1, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

In a stellar year for base metals, aluminum has led the pack. Now, producers say surging raw material costs could drive prices even higher.

Alumina, the raw material used to make aluminum, has jumped 56 percent since August after China shut down some production, triggering a wave of buying by traders and aluminum smelters. The rally is putting a strain on metal producers in China, where alumina accounts for 40 percent of the cost of making aluminum.

Cost pressures could worsen in the months to come as Chinese environmental reforms weigh most heavily on bauxite and alumina producers. That may give extra fuel for aluminum’s 28 percent rally this year, the biggest since 2009.

COLUMN-China’s Belt and Road boosts sentiment for commodities, not demand – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – November 1, 2017)

November 1, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – One of the great hopes for a sustained bull run for commodities is China’s Belt and Road initiative, with expectations of hundreds of billions of dollars in commodity-intensive projects over the coming years.

However, quantifying the impact on various commodities of China’s ambitious plans to fund, build and benefit from infrastructure and other ventures along maritime and land corridors linking Asia to Africa and Europe is challenging.

In theory, the touted billions to be spent on ports, roads, railways, power plants and so on will serve as an ongoing stimulus for commodities such as iron ore, coal, copper, crude oil and a host of minor metals with industrial applications.

Making Indonesian Rivers Great Again – by Muhammad Beni Saputra (The Diplomat – October 31, 2017)

November 1, 2017

https://thediplomat.com/

Indonesia’s rivers are heavily polluted, but they can still be saved.

I once lingered at Pont d’Iena Bridge staring at the River Seine, which flows beautifully at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in the city of Paris. The clean surface of the iconic river, as seen from the bridge, had successfully entranced me and my memory flew southeast to my peaceful village near the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in Jambi, Indonesia. I remembered my childhood friend, the Batanghari River.

Sadly, the Batanghari is no longer as clean and clear as it was 18 years ago when I was a child. Yes, the longest river in Sumatra is now muddy, dirty, and polluted, joining hundreds of other rivers throughout Indonesia that have long contained harmful chemicals.

Research by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry showed that 75 percent of rivers in the country are seriously polluted, 52 of which are categorized as heavily polluted, and 118 watersheds out of 450 are critically polluted.

South Africa’s Sibanye confirms over 2,000 layoffs at gold mines – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters U.S. – November 1, 2017)

November 1, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

WESTONARIA, South Africa (Reuters) – South African precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater confirmed on Wednesday that it had laid off more than 2,000 gold miners as it shuts its loss-making Cooke shafts where illegal mining syndicates have plagued its operations.

Layoffs are a thorny political and social issue in South Africa, where the jobless rate is close to 28 percent and labor groups including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) are allies of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

The NUM, which plans to hold a rally on Wednesday to protest the job cuts, announced the retrenchments on Tuesday.

One Metal Will Be Transformed by the Electric Car Boom – by Mark Burton and Jack Farchy (Bloomberg News – October 31, 2017)

November 1, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc and Trafigura Group Pte are often at loggerheads, but one thing they agree on: the nickel market will be transformed by the rise of electric cars.

Nickel sulphate, a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, will see demand increase 50 percent to 3 million metric tons by 2030, Saad Rahim, chief economist at Trafigura, said in an interview. While other battery metals like cobalt and lithium have more than doubled since the start of last year, nickel prices have been subdued because of large inventories.

“When you look structurally, we should start to get bullish now,” Rahim said. “Are you going to be able to meet that demand when the time comes, given underinvestment in the supply side?”