Republic of Mining

Mixed fortunes for Anglo’s copper, coal and nickel divisions – by Ilan Solomons (MiningWeekly.com – October 24, 2017)

October 24, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major Anglo American recorded increases in production at its copper units, while coal and nickel production decreased in the third quarter, ended September 30.

The company on Tuesday posted a 6% year-on-year increase in production on a copper-equivalent basis in the third quarter of the year. For the first nine months of the year, copper equivalent production had increased by 8%, while copper production increased by 5% to 147 300 t.

Production from the Los Bronces mine, in Chile, increased by 8% to 78 100 t. Anglo American stated that higher ore grades at the mine had been partially offset by the impact of a ball mill stator failure at the processing plant, which reduced throughput. Repairs are scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter.

Electric vehicle ambitions spark race for raw materials – by Henry Sanderson (Financial Times – October 23, 2017)

October 24, 2017

https://www.ft.com/

Manufacturers are scrambling to seal long-term deals for supply of lithium, cobalt and nickel

As carmakers gear up to electrify their fleets, a new scramble for resources is under way to ensure there is enough raw material for a rapid expansion of battery production.

Electric car batteries rely on a host of materials — from lithium to nickel, cobalt and graphite — while some cars also use motors that require rare earths.

Prices have soared rapidly over the past year, with cobalt, a greyish metal mostly mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, up more than 190 per cent over the past 18 months. Carmakers and battery producers are rushing to lock in supply agreements from mining companies for the metals as forecasts for consumer uptake of electric vehicles increase and governments launch policies to back a shift away from combustion engines.

[Mine Tailings Storage Safety] NEWS RELEASE: UN Body Urges Mining Companies To Put Safety First

October 24, 2017

London Mining Network – MiningWatch Canada
Earthworks – Amnesty International Canada

New UNEP report “Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is No Accident” finds mining waste dams threaten people and the environment

Click here for report: http://bit.ly/2y1Lfqr

London-Washington-Ottawa, 23 October 2017. An international coalition of non-governmental organizations welcomes the new Assessment Report Summary released last week in Geneva by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which urges States and the industry to end deadly and damaging mining waste spills by enforcing a “zero-failure objective.”

The joint UNEP-GRID Arendal assessment, “Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is No Accident,” highlights over 40 mining waste failures over the last decade, including eight ‘significant’ spills since 2014 alone. These failures have killed some 341 people since 2008, damaged hundreds of kilometers of waterways, affected drinking water sources, and jeopardized the livelihoods of many communities.

Xi’s China a boon for mining – by Frik Els (Mining.com – October 23, 2017)

October 24, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Most analysis of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has focused on how President Xi Jinping is consolidating his already considerable power acquired through a purge of opponents in a corruption crackdown that shows no sign of slowing down.

Despite its three-and-a-half hour running time Xi’s speech (referred to as the Report) in front of the 2,300-delegates assembled in the Great Hall of the People, paid relatively short shrift to the direction of the world’s second largest economy.

In a research note, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics found that Xi used the word economy (经济) 70 times during the speech giving it considerably less prominence than his predecessors. And that’s going back all the way to Hu Yaobang’s 1982 address which talked about the economy 104 times.

U.S. law firm files class suit against Rio Tinto over Mozambique coal – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – October 23, 2017)

October 24, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A U.S. law firm has filed a class action suit against mining giant Rio Tinto, which is facing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud charges stemming from an ill-fated investment in Mozambique coal mining.

Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP said in a statement released in Australia on Tuesday it filed the suit on behalf of purchasers of Rio Tinto American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) between Oct. 23, 2012 and Feb. 15, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The law firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rio Tinto declined to comment on the filing, the first publicly announced class action suit involving the coal asset.

Potash, Agrium merger moves toward final hurdles – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – October 23, 2017)

October 23, 2017

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/

More than a year in the making, the merger of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. looks to be inching to completion.

India – one of several countries with a say in the tie-up of two Canadian-based fertilizer producers – gave its blessing last week, on the condition some minority international interests are put on the block.

The country’s competition regulator agreed to the deal providing Potash sells its stakes in Arab Potash Co., Israel Chemicals Ltd. and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA within 18 months. The companies can close their deal before divesting the assets, which are estimated to be worth more than $5-billion (U.S.).

Surprise, you owe Tanzania $300 million and 50% of what your gold mine makes – by Tom Wilson and Omar Mohammed (Financial Post/Bloomberg – October 20, 2017)

October 23, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

Acacia Mining Plc’s tumultuous year doesn’t seem likely to ease up any time soon. The gold miner’s shares surged as much as 41 per cent Thursday, after controlling shareholder Barrick Gold Corp. said it moved closer to resolving a crippling dispute with Tanzanian authorities.

Yet it seems Acacia itself — which must approve any deals Barrick negotiates with the government — was left out of the loop. Tanzania banned exports of unprocessed gold in March and hit Acacia with a US$190 billion tax bill in July, claiming the company had under-declared export revenue since 2000.

The ban meant the London-based company was forced to stockpile output and curb mining at its flagship operation. Third-quarter earnings plunged 70 per cent from a year ago, the company said Friday.

Special Report: Grasberg mine talks signal Indonesia’s strengthening resolve – by Alexander Macleod (Global Risk Insights – October 21, 2017)

October 23, 2017

Despite some issues concerning the Indonesian government’s divestment plans for the province of Papua’s Grasberg mine, there are growing signs that Indonesia will get its way. Nevertheless, Indonesia’s ruthless treatment of Freeport will alert future investors.

This year has been unforgiving to Freeport McMoRan Inc, an invaluable player in Indonesia’s mining sector. On August 29, after months of tense negotiations, Freeport agreed to relinquish a 51% share in Grasberg, the world’s second-largest gold and copper mine, to the Indonesian government.

Having acquired Grasberg early in the Suharto era, American corporation Freeport has since transformed it into a ‘super mine’. Grasberg produced 500,000 tonnes of copper and 1.1m ounces of gold in 2016 – over 25% of Freeport’s worldwide output.

Hillary Clinton, Canadian company at heart of controversy Trump and his supporters want to resurrect – by Tom Blackwell (National Post – October 21, 2017)

October 23, 2017

http://nationalpost.com/

The 2010 sale of Uranium One to Russian interests — and allegations that Canadian donations to the Clinton Foundation eased its approval in U.S. — has new life

It’s the Russia controversy that President Donald Trump and his supporters would love the world to focus on, and it centres largely around a Toronto-based mining company.

The 2010 sale of Uranium One to Russian interests — and unproven allegations that Canadian donations to the Clinton Foundation eased its approval in the States — suddenly has new life.

Credit for the rebirth goes to the president, his media allies and a recent piece of investigative reporting on the seven-year-old issue. “That’s your real Russian story,” Trump told reporters Thursday, “not a story where they talk about collusion and there was none.”

Dangerous intersection of law, politics, business and human rights -by Penny Collenette (Toronto Star – October 22, 2017)

October 23, 2017

https://www.thestar.com/

Penny Collenette is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa and was a senior director of the Prime Minister’s Office for Jean Chrétien.

Back in the day, business simply required a legal license to operate. The “corporate veil” was rarely pierced as management expected to run its operations with little outside interference.

But times have changed and the business model has been forced to reach out, not only to stakeholders, but to civil society. The concept of voluntary corporate social responsibility grew simultaneously with the growth of global supply chains as consumers became aware that cheaper goods often meant the cost of individual safety or health.

In addition, rapid development by multinationals without respectful community consultation led to murder, violence and protests. Today, a social license is slowly becoming a norm, particularly for mining companies who need acceptance from local communities in order to carry out their extractive processes.

Circle Mining District reunion relives gold rush history – by Kris Capps (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – October 22, 2017)

October 23, 2017

http://www.newsminer.com/

FAIRBANKS — When the price of gold went up in the early 1970s, a new generation of gold miners jumped on the opportunity to strike it rich. That renewed interest in mining created the second gold rush in the Circle Mining District of Interior Alaska.

“The Circle Mining District, in the 1980s, collectively with all the placer mines — a total of 92 — was the largest gold producer for placer gold mining in the United States,” according to Gail Ackels, who wrote a book about her family’s experiences on Gold Dust Creek in the Circle Mining District.

She should know. She and her husband, Del, were part of that group that also included Joe Vogler, Ernie Wolf, Ed Gelvin, Fred Wilkinson and many others. Many of those miners gathered for a special reunion earlier this month, hosted by fellow Gold Dust Creek miners Bernie and Connie Karl at Chena Hot Springs Resort.

Romano plans to pen private member’s bill designed to better educate Ontarians – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – October 20, 2017)

October 20, 2017

http://www.saultstar.com/

Sault MPP Ross Romano said he got a hard life lesson during his two-week trip to First Nation communities in Ontario’s far north.

So much so, he said, that he’s already drafting a private member’s bill that he hopes will enlighten Ontarians and provide future generations with a better understanding of how some First Nation communities live. That education also needs to include a better understanding of treaties and how they work and teach youth, at a younger age, to better appreciate relationships with Indigenous people.

“The prejudices and discrimination that exist are very obvious and something that I really learned a lot about by spending time in these communities,” Romano told The Sault Star. “I was told I may be the only politician that has ever spent a night in these communities.”

[Manitoba Mining] Look North economic strategy battles difficult future north of 53rd parallel – by Sean Kavanagh (CBC News Manitoba – October 20, 2017)

October 20, 2017

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

A mix of optimism, a fresh start and a healthy dose of reality pervade the Look North report on the economy of northern Manitoba.

“What we’re suggesting is this is a starting point so we can capitalize on the opportunities that exist in the north,” said Look North task force co-chair Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

The Look North report and action plan for northern Manitoba economic development was produced by a provincially appointed task force that held its first meeting in December 2016. The task force is co-chaired by Davidson and Christian Sinclair, an independent business adviser and member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

Nigeria Seeks to Boost Mining Reserves to Lure Investors – by Solape Renner (Bloomberg News – October 20, 2017)

October 20, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Nigeria plans to spend 15 billion naira ($42 million) over the next year to explore for minerals and attract investors into mining and reduce its dependence on oil, Solid Minerals Development Minister Kayode Fayemi said.

“Because we are starting from a low base, we want to have a portfolio of exploration activities in place that could whet the appetite of the average investor who wants to come in,” Fayemi said in an Oct. 18 interview in the capital, Abuja. They will be able to “drill down when they have that baseline information,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s government plans to support investments in the exploration of its priority minerals including gold, bitumen, iron, barite, limestone, lead and zinc, Fayemi said. The government is hoping to attract as much as 60 billion naira of private investment into mining, he said.