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Darker side of electric cars in spotlight – by Angela Jameson (The National – November 19, 2017)

https://www.thenational.ae/

While EV emissions are good news for the planet the materials used to produce them are rasing concerns

Momentum is fast building behind electric vehicles as countries round the world move to reduce use of petrol and diesel for transport. This summer France and the UK said they would ban combustion engines by 2040 and China has said it is studying such a move.

Volvo, now a Swedish-Chinese company, says every car it launches from 2019 will be either fully or partly electric. Volvo’s announcement this year was greeted as the first serious challenge to Tesla, the Californian electric car maker, from mainstream marques.

Analysts at UBS expect global sales of electric vehicles in 2025 to reach 14.2 million units, or 13.7 per cent of the total, compared with under 1 million units, or less than 1 per cent, in 2017.

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Coal Back as Flashpoint in Climate-Change Fight – by Jess Shankleman (Bloomberg News – November 18, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Coal emerged as the surprise winner from two weeks of international climate talks in Germany, with leaders of the host country and neighboring Poland joining Donald Trump in support of the dirtiest fossil fuel.

While more than 20 nations, led by Britain and Canada, pledged to stop burning coal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her country’s use of the fuel and the need to preserve jobs in the industry. Meanwhile Poland’s continued and extensive use of coal raised concerns that the next meeting, to be held in the nation’s mining heartland of Katowice, could thwart progress.

“People don’t have total confidence that Poland wants to increase ambition, to put it plainly,” said Alden Meyer, director of strategy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group. “They’re 80 percent dependent on coal, they’ve been pushing back against European Union proposals to increase ambition.”

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Argentina seeks to overtake Chile in South America lithium race – by Juliana Castilla (Reuters U.K. – November 13, 2017)

https://uk.reuters.com/

CAUCHARI OLAROZ, Argentina (Reuters) – The giant pools of turquoise water in the mountainous deserts of northwest Argentina shimmer in the sunlight like oases and for lithium miners like Australia’s Orocobre Ltd (ORE.AX), that is exactly what they are.

The mid-cap miner is one of several lithium producers stepping up investment in Argentina amid expectations President Mauricio Macri’s business-friendly agenda will transform the country into South America’s top producer of the mineral, ousting neighbouring Chile in five years’ time.

Demand for lithium carbonate, which miners extract from the brine in these pools on the Atacama Plateau, is forecast to boom as production of electric cars rises. Lithium is a key ingredient for the vehicles’ rechargable batteries, allowing them to retain energy far longer, and its price has soared more than 30 percent to a record $12,000 a tonne this year.

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COLUMN-Zinc market focus turns to new supply, but don’t forget Quebec – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – November 15, 2017)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) – The Dugald River zinc mine in the Australian state of Queensland made its maiden shipment of concentrates earlier this month. Once ramped up to full speed, the mine will produce around 170,000 tonnes per year of contained metal.

It is the most tangible sign yet of the coming wave of new zinc supply, timed to capitalise on decade-high prices and a structural shortfall of raw materials. All over the world, it seems, geologists are revisiting old mine plans in a collective new zinc rush.

They’re even looking to revive the giant Century mine in Australia. Once operated by Dugald River’s owner MMG, Century’s closure in 2015 was a symbolic milestone on the road to global market deficit.

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The World Needs Copper. Does It Need This Controversial Mine? – by Julia Rosen (National Geographic – November 15, 2017)

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/

The fight over the proposed Pebble mine in southern Alaska is a harbinger: Global copper demand is expected to grow dramatically.

On a Thursday in October, dozens of Alaskans piled into a cavernous airplane hangar in the remote village of Iliamna to discuss — yet again — the fate of the proposed Pebble Mine. Seventeen miles to the northwest, underneath snaking rivers and spongy bogs, lies one of the largest undeveloped deposits of copper and gold in North America.

Mining companies have been exploring it for decades. But many fear that an open pit mine here, at the headwaters of two of the last great salmon rivers on Earth, will harm fish — and the people who depend on them.

In 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency moved to impose restrictions that would have blocked plans for a large mine, citing the impacts on fish-bearing streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. But the mine’s backers sued, putting the restrictions on hold.

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Canada’s pathetic, empty-headed crusade against coal – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – November 15, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Of all the empty gestures in the pathetic history of global climate policy-making, few match the air-headedness of Canada’s intent — to be officially announced Thursday at the United Nations COP23 climate conference in Bonn — to lead a global campaign to rid the world of carbon-emitting coal.

By any measure, Canada is a nobody in the coal business, ranking near the bottom of all global measures of the industry, worth less than one per cent of global production and consumption. Canada is a non-player, a zero, an insignificant speck on the great world coal market.

But that isn’t stopping Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, donning her Climate Crusader Halloween outfit, from swooshing into COP23 to take on the world. “Canada is committed to phasing out coal,” she said.

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Mining’s $45 Million Man Eyes an Earth-Shattering Return – by Chris Hughes (Bloomberg News – November 14, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The shortlist for the next chair of Rio Tinto Plc will incense the corporate governance crowd. At the top is Mick Davis, former CEO of Xstrata Plc. His association with high boardroom pay makes him a divisive candidate.

Davis drew criticism at Xstrata for remuneration well above industry norms. The attacks came to a head when he was offered a $45 million retention plan to stay with the company after a proposed merger with Glencore Plc in 2012.

Shareholders later resoundingly vetoed the package, and embarrassed Xstrata’s board by pushing for more generous financial terms. The deal had to be recast as a takeover by Glencore.

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Regulators need more clarity on ordering safeguards for mining projects, lawyers say (CBC News North – November 14, 2017)

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

Two lawyers are calling on the Northwest Territories to set clearer rules for how regulators can compel companies to include environmental safeguards in development projects.

John Donihee and Charles Birchall are presenting at the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum this week on a concept they hope is included in any new changes to the territory’s environmental legislation.

It’s called the precautionary principle. The legal concept suggests regulators and governments be cautious and include environmental protections on projects that could harm the environment — even if it isn’t scientifically proven that the project will do any harm.

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SA platinum miners watchful of political events in Zimbabwe – by David McKay (MiningMx – November 15, 2017)

http://www.miningmx.com/

SOUTH African platinum producers operating in Zimbabwe said they were watchful of political developments following reports that armed forces had seized power in the southern African country.

“While there are reports of military presence in the country’s capital, to date, there has been no sign of unrest or military presence at any of our operations,” said Johan Theron, a spokesman for Impala Platinum (Implats). “Our operations are all located some distance from the capital, and have continued to operate normally this morning.

“We will continue to assess the situation, and have appeal for calm and the continued safety and wellbeing of the people of Zimbabwe, and our colleagues at the mining operations,” he said.

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At same time U.S. hosts Bonn event praising coal, Canada’s environment minister goes on Twitter to blast its use – by Mia Rabson (National Post – November 14, 2017)

http://nationalpost.com/

CANADIAN PRESS – OTTAWA — A U.S. effort to stoke the fires of coal-powered electricity didn’t escape the attention of Canada’s environment minister Monday as Catherine McKenna used her Twitter account to troll the carbon-based fuel just as American officials were extolling its virtues.

McKenna is in Bonn, Germany, for the 2017 United Nations climate change talks, where the rules for implementing the 2015 Paris accord are being hammered out — and where she and British counterpart Claire Perry hope to convince the world to abandon coal-fired power.

By contrast, the United States — with President Donald Trump at its helm — has famously promised to “end the war on coal.”

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NEWS RELEASE: New Report – UN Body Alarmed By Mining Waste Disasters Worldwide

(13 November 2017 – London-Washington-Ottawa). An international coalition of non-governmental organizations support the recommendations of a new report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which urges governments and industry to act to stop deadly and damaging mining spills worldwide. UNEP calls for an urgent UN Environment Stakeholder Forum to strengthen regulations internationally.

The 70-page report, entitled “Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is No Accident,” highlights over 40 mining waste failures over the last decade, including 7 failures significant enough to make international news since 2014. These failures have killed some 341 people since 2008 and damaged hundreds of kilometers of waterways, affected drinking water sources, and jeopardized the livelihoods of dozens of communities.

“We believe the recommendations from this UNEP report pose a serious challenge to both mining companies and their regulators to improve the rigour of the management of mining waste facilities,” states Richard Harkinson of the London Mining Network.

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Apple leads way in tracing cobalt from Congo, Microsoft lags: Amnesty – by Eric Onstad (Reuters U.S. – November 12, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Apple is leading the way in tracing cobalt used in its electronics to ensure the metal has not been mined by children in Democratic Republic of Congo while Microsoft is lagging, Amnesty International said.

Microsoft disagreed with the pressure group’s conclusions published on Wednesday. Congo is by far the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, accounting for more than half of global supplies of the metal, a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries.

Amnesty, however, says about a fifth of the country’s cobalt production is mined by hand by informal miners including children, often in dangerous conditions. Cobalt has shot to prominence in recent months and its price skyrocketed due to expected growth in demand for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries.

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Nickel Supply Rush Seen Cooling Rally Before Batteries Boost (Bloomberg News – November 13, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Forget electric vehicles for now. Nickel must first contend with a new wave of supply from Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as a Chinese stainless steel market that’s at risk of slowing after a two-year boom.

The metal climbed to the highest level this month since June 2015, lifted by predictions of a jump in demand from electric vehicles. But prices have since retreated as the boost from new energy autos lies several years in the future and investors reset their focus on more immediate concerns.

Batteries will represent only 3 percent of demand this year, compared with the two-thirds used in stainless steel, according to the International Nickel Study Group.

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Timmins confident it will get plant – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – November 14, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

TIMMINS – Timmins feels it may have an edge in its bid to win the attention of Noront Resources. Noront is looking around Northern Ontario for the best location of a ferrochrome smelter. A news conference was held at the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) office Monday afternoon to outline some of the city’s plans.

Noront Resources is the Canadian junior mining company with the biggest claim to the major chromite and nickel discoveries in a remote region located in the James Bay Lowlands. It is the incredibly rich mining area known as the Ring of Fire, where the value of the minerals has been estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

Timmins is one of four Northern Ontario locations that was shortlisted by Noront earlier this year and invited to submitted proposals. The other cities are Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.

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Layoff at Coleman extended for weeks – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – November 15, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

It could be a month now before nearly 500 workers at Coleman Mine in Levack can return to work. Last week Vale temporarily suspended operations at the mine to undertake repairs to a ventilation compartment in the shaft.

“Upon further analysis of the work by our maintenance and engineering teams, it is now expected that the repair work will continue into December,” Vale said in an updated statement Tuesday.

That means the mine is now “on short-term shutdown, and our employees at Coleman will be temporarily laid off for the period of the repair,” according to Vale. While the company did not indicate exactly how long that repair work might take, Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said his impression is it could be a month.

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