Republic of Mining

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.

Group of 29 tribes oppose Pebble Mine, B.C.’s ‘transboundary’ projects – by Kevin Gullufsen (Juneau Empire – October 20, 2017)

October 20, 2017

http://juneauempire.com/

Southeast and Bristol Bay tribal mining opposition now has a unified front. Two Alaska Native tribal consortiums announced a “historic” partnership Wednesday at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage.

Tribal groups representing a majority of the indigenous peoples in Southeast and Bristol Bay will work together to oppose mining projects in both regions. The Juneau-based Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) and Douglas Indian Association (DIA) are part of the agreement.

The United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB), which represents 80 percent of the 14 Yup’ik, Denai’na, and Alutiq indigenous communities in Bristol Bay, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), which represents 15 of the region’s 19 tribal organizations.

“One Belt, One Road”, China, Globalization and the International Oligarchy – by Kerry R. Bolton (Foreign Policy Journal – October 19, 2017)

October 20, 2017

https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/

What was once called “imperialism” is now “globalization”, and China taking a lead is no reason for celebration by opponents of the US’s Empire.

In estimating the significance of geopolitical maneuvering by the USA, EU, China, and Russia, more can be discerned by looking at the organ grinders rather than their monkeys. One might expect this to be axiomatic, but apparently not, and it can be readily dismissed as “conspiracy theory” by journalists, academics and other intellectually banal types; unless it is a Clintonesque conspiracy theory that is of a Russophobic character.

I would still contend that when looking at Russia under Putin, it is usually that “what one sees is what one gets,” but not so the other major geopolitical world players. One must look beyond the public figures of the USA, China and EU, to get a fuller picture of what is transpiring on the world stage among these players.

Rio opens books to over half-dozen possible suitors for Australia coal mines: sources – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – October 20, 2017)

October 20, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Global miner Rio Tinto has opened its books to more than a half-dozen potential buyers of its remaining two Australian coal mines as it winds down the sales process, two people familiar with the sale process said on Friday.

The Kestrel and Hail Creek coking coal mines on the block have attracted some of Australia’s established coal miners, as well as private equity firms attracted to the positive outlook for selling metallurgical coal to Asian steel mills at robust prices, according to the people.

The mines could fetch around $2 bln, the sources said, in a sale that if successful would complete Rio’s plan to finalize its exit from the sector and focus on iron ore, copper and aluminum, where it maintains greater market share. Credit Suisse is advising Rio on the sale.

NEWS RELEASE: Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Welcomes Four Inductees for 2018

October 20, 2017

http://www.mininghalloffame.ca/

Ross Beaty, Bob Gannicott, Terry MacGibbon and Ed Thompson to be honoured at Annual Dinner and Induction Ceremony

(Toronto, ON – October 16, 2017) – On January 11, 2018, the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (CMHF) will welcome four industry champions – Ross Beaty, Bob Gannicott, Terry MacGibbon and Ed Thompson – to its prestigious group of 177 mining hall of famers.

For the past 30 years, the CMHF has recognized outstanding achievement in the mining industry, celebrated individual leadership and inspired future generations in mining. Canadians are global leaders in the industry and these four inductees reflect the very best of mining expertise, determination and leadership.

“The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame is proud to recognize these four outstanding individuals for their lasting contributions to the mining industry, both here in Canada and across the globe,” says Bill Roscoe, Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Chair.