Republic of Mining

Some Highlights of 150 years of Canadian Mining – by Stan Sudol (Canadian Business History Association Conference – September 12, 2017)

October 12, 2017

This speech was given at the Canadian Business History Association Conference at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto on September 12, 2017.

Good morning everyone.

For over 150 years the strategic mining sector has played a major role in the economic development of Canada as well as opening up many parts of the country’s isolated north for settlement. It also helped solidify our western and northern borders during the first few decades of Canada’s existence at a time of threatening American expansion.

British Columbia Gold Rush

In 1848, placer gold – which refers to the metal found in rivers and streams – was discovered in California. This was the first of a series of gold rushes throughout the world over the next 80 years.

Miners at the Mucho Oro (Much Gold) gold mine near Barkerville – Wiki Photo

Fortunately, when these placer gold deposits started to decline by 1858, a similar discovery was made hundreds of miles to the north at the mouth of the Fraser River, in a territory known as New Caledonia.

At that time, this region was controlled by the Hudson Bay Company and the colony of Vancouver Island was ruled by Governor James Douglas who was based in Victoria. He was fearful that an influx of about 30,000 miners, many from California, would cause the territory to be annexed by the Americans.

Threatened B.C. mining heritage site gets a new lease on life – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – October 10, 2017)

October 11, 2017

http://resourceclips.com/

A structure vital to Vancouver Island mining history might not be doomed for destruction after all. The Morden mine headframe and tipple date to 1913 but remain the last significant signs of the Nanaimo region’s coal industry, where British Columbia’s first successful mining began in 1852.

Located on a provincial park in an NDP-voting region, the site had been neglected by B.C.’s previous Liberal government. But on October 6 the new NDP government announced a $25,000 conservation grant.

While encouraging to the volunteer Friends of Morden Mine Society, the money falls far short of the $2.7 million that a previous engineering study estimated necessary for the structure’s preservation. That amount included $500,000 for emergency repairs.

Excerpt from ‘Miner Indiscretions’ – by Jon Ardeman

October 11, 2017

To order a copy of “Miner Indiscretions”: http://amzn.to/2hMreNl

Since graduating Jon Ardeman’s geological career has been in many guises; in exploration, mining, consultancy, conservation and research. He has worked as a National Park guide, a nature warden looking after tadpoles and orchids, as a researcher digging up cow shed floors looking for Ordovician brachiopods and preparing dinosaur bones for a museum display. Enthused by these experiences, Jon sought further adventures, and headed to Africa where he worked as a geologist on various mines for more than a decade.

He returned to university and after a few years of academic research and consultancy, Jon went back to mining and precious metal exploration. His travels have taken him from the Arctic to the Equator, from North America and Siberia, to Europe, Australia, Asia and back to Africa.

During this time, Jon wrote several “mystery and imagination” short stories for magazines and competitions, but his inspiration for a first novel ‘Miner Indiscretions’ came from get-togethers with fellow prospectors and miners; with the story embellished by imagination, cold beer, a hint of the supernatural and – of course – dreams of African gold! The author is married with several children and now resides in Hertfordshire, England.

Overview

A hilarious, action-packed story following Timothy, who starts his career as a junior geologist on a modern deep gold mine in South Africa. Unexpectedly and ignominiously dismissed from this post; he manages to get a new job exploring for gold on the dilapidated Yellow Snake Mine in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

China Gobbles Amazon Rainforest Ore to Clean Its Polluted Skies – by R.T. Watson (Bloomberg News – October 11, 2017)

October 11, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

A bid by China to clean up pollution in its biggest cities and industrial towns is fueling a push to mine resource riches on the other side of the globe in the Amazon rainforest — one of the most environmentally sensitive areas on Earth.

Smog-laden skies across the world’s most-populated country prompted the government to impose curbs on a domestic steel industry that uses coal-fired blast furnaces to melt iron ore. That’s led to increased demand for higher-grade ore from overseas that can produce more steel with fewer emissions, and profit margins on those shipments have surged.

Exports by Brazil, one of the biggest suppliers, are headed for a fourth straight record in 2017. Top producer Vale SA is shifting production from low-grade reserves in the southeast that have been mined for a century to develop more high-grade deposits in the isolated northern regions of the Amazon, where environmentalists fear further damage to the world’s largest rainforest.

Finalists gather in the race for graphite production – by Christopher Ecclestone (InvestorIntel.com – October 11, 2017)

October 11, 2017

https://investorintel.com/

The “Big Beasts” of the Canadian mining scene are neither as evident nor as prominent as they used to be. Some have reconfigured their activities for the new reality of markets since 2011. One of the “Big Beasts” that temporarily disappeared from the scene and has now resurfaced is Sheldon Inwentash.

He is famed for his management of Pinetree Capital which, at its peak, commanded a market cap of over $1 billion and held a rather daunting 400 plus names in its portfolio. Pinetree Capital can be said to be the proto-mining hedge fund in the Canadian space and it revolutionized the resource investment model.

Pinetree veterans are spread across Toronto, churning out deals, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and managing funds and mining companies themselves. In its heyday Pinetree was famous for having seeded companies such as Queenston Mining (acquired by Osisko Mining Corp. for $550mn), Aurelian Resources (acquired by Kinross for $1.2bn), and Gold Eagle Mines (acquired by Goldcorp for $1.5bn).

Ontario pledges $1M to help ailing miners exposed to toxic dust – by Sara Mojtehedzadeh (Toronto Star – October 11, 2017)

October 11, 2017

https://www.thestar.com/

The Ontario government will commit $1 million in funding to assist Ontario miners who believe years of exposure to toxic aluminum dust left them with debilitating neurological diseases, the Star has learned

The Ministry of Labour is expected to announce Wednesday that it will finance the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to assess miners exposed to the substance known as McIntyre Powder establish whether their health conditions are linked to its use, and make compensation claims for work-related illnesses where possible.

But miners who already made claims under previous guidelines will not be eligible to have their cases reopened. As previously reported by the Star, thousands of miners across northern Ontario’s gold and uranium mines were routinely forced to inhale the powder, which was sold as a miracle antidote to lung disease.

Low grades, high power costs key snags to SA chromite sector’s competitiveness – by David Oliveira (MiningWeekly.com – October 10, 2017)

October 11, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

Despite South Africa’s rich chromite endowment, the low chromium oxide (Cr2O3) grades in its orebodies and the high cost of electricity are significant barriers to the country becoming the dominant player in the global industry.

Mintek metallurgical project development consultant Dr Nic Barcza highlighted that the estimated global chromite produc- tion last year was about 30-million tons, with South Africa leading the charge at 14-million tons, followed by Kazakhstan at 5.5-million tons.

Barcza was giving a keynote address at the Southern African Institute for Mining and Metallurgy’s Chrome Colloquium at State-owned research organisation Mintek’s Randburg facilities, in Johannesburg, last month. He noted that South Africa and Kazakhstan, which collectively boast a shipping-grade chromite reserve of about five-billion tons, accounted for over 95% of global chromite resources.

NEWS RELEASE: B2Gold Announces First Gold Pour at the Fekola Gold Mine, South West Mali

October 20, 2017October 11, 2017

http://www.b2gold.com/

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – October 11, 2017) – B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) (NYSE AMERICAN: BTG) (NSX: B2G) (“B2Gold” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce that the first gold pour at the Fekola Gold Mine (“Fekola”) occurred on October 7, 2017, approximately three months ahead of schedule. Commissioning of the mill is ongoing and commercial production is expected by the end of 2017.

In the fourth quarter of 2017 the Company is projecting gold production from Fekola of between 50,000 and 55,000 ounces. 2018 is scheduled to be the first full year of gold production, yielding 400,000 to 410,000 ounces for the year. Based on current assumptions this represents an increase in annual gold production of over 70% for B2Gold in 2018.

B2Gold previously announced on September 25, 2017 that construction of the mill at Fekola was completed and the Company had commenced running ore through the system three months ahead of the original schedule and on budget. Additionally, the Company announced a new Life of Mine (“LoM”) plan showing increased production and lower operating and all in sustaining costs (“AISC”) compared with the original (4 Million tonnes per Annum (“MTPA”)) Optimized Feasibility Study for Fekola’s 5 MTPA mill (see press release dated 09/25/2017).

In Bre-X Country, Junior Miners Can Crash or Post 1,000% Gains – by Kristine Owram and Natalie Obiko Pearson (Bloomberg News – October 11, 2017)

October 11, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

It had the trappings of a Hollywood hit: greed, gold, love, treachery. No wonder the titanic hoax that was Bre-X Minerals Ltd. of Canada got a little star treatment this year, with the inspired-by-actual-events movie “Gold,” starring Matthew McConaughey (reviews were mixed).

Bre-X, which collapsed 20 years ago, may be the craziest story that ever came out of the wild west of the junior mining world — but it’s hardly the only one.

Unproven penny-stock companies, in Canada or anywhere else, are never for the faint of heart. But add to that the strike-it-rich ethos of energy and mining, major drivers of the Canadian economy, and the results can be explosive.

Research opens door to potential northern transport corridor – by Jonathon Naylor (Flin Flon Reminder – October 11, 2017)

October 11, 2017

http://www.thereminder.ca/

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

Flin Flon could figure prominently into an ambitious proposal to open the floodgates to northern Canadian development in the coming decades.The Northern Corridor is envisioned as a coast-to-coast transportation route featuring some 7,000 km of highway, railway and other infrastructure across the northern portion of the country.

The corridor is only an idea at this stage, but a preliminary map shows the passageway would pass right by Flin Flon – potentially spurring significant growth.“There’s certainly a potential that it could become one of the hub cities on [the route],” said Kent Fellows, a professor with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and a researcher of the proposal.

“One of the next phases of our research is to look where population centres are already, where resources are located and try to figure out, what are the main areas that we can hit? So Flin Flon is definitely on the radar from that perspective.” It’s difficult for Fellows or anyone else to speculate about what impact the corridor could have on Flin Flon and other communities along the route.

Hunters still oppose winter sealift and railway for Mary River mine near Pond Inlet, Nunavut – by Sara Frizzell (CBC News North – October 11, 2017)

October 11, 2017

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

For several years, Baffinland Iron Mines has been trying to get permission for a railway and an extended shipping season for its Mary River mine — it’s still trying and hunters in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, are still opposed.

The mining company’s most recent proposal to the Nunavut Planning Commission was closed for public comments at the beginning of October and respondents are still wary of both elements of the revised plan.

In this iteration, Baffinland is looking for approval to build an 110-kilometre railway along the existing roadway, which connects the mine site to the Milne Inlet port site. It was also looking to extend the shipping season through to February by icebreaking.

Remote loader invented by former Flonners garners interest – by Christopher L.Istace (Flin Flon Reminder – October 10, 2017)

October 11, 2017

http://www.thereminder.ca/

A former Flin Flon couple is literally breaking new ground with an invention that is keeping safe miners who are cleaning and loading blast holes in a mine’s rock face. Nine years after establishing their Sudbury, ON-based consulting firm, Rod and Clara Steele received a call from a manager at the nearby Vale Canada’s Coleman nickel mine.

An employee at that site had been killed by a 14-tonne slip of rock that had fallen on him at the mine face, more than 4,200 feet underground. The manager had promised the dead man’s daughter he would do whatever he could to ensure a similar accident would not happen again.

Before then, TesMan was consulting with mines in the design and development of technologies to improve underground mining practices. The company’s team of mining, mechanical and electrical engineers had devised software and equipment to improve industrial safety and productivity.

The top business risks for Quebec mining companies – by Zahid Fazal (Canadian Mining Journal – October 1, 2017)

October 11, 2017

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

A rebound in commodity prices and a lower Canadian dollar have injected fresh momentum into the mining industry in Quebec.

In some ways, this is a continuation of the strengthening we’ve seen across the industry since the financial crisis. Things have improved significantly since 2008, with producers across the province shoring up their balance sheets and holding much healthier cash balances. And on the cost side, miners are continuing to drive down expenses through a focus on productivity and the subsequent automation and digitization of their operations.

Even with these positive indicators, insufficient financing and volatility in the mining industry continue to persist, and a number of other significant business risks pose challenges for Quebec producers. Based on EY’s 2017 ranking of the business risks facing mining and metals, the following three risks stand out as particularly relevant for producers and explorers based in the province.

India’s National Mineral Policy Requires a Radical Overhaul – by Karan Bhagat (Bloomberg News – October 9, 2017)

October 10, 2017

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

The Ministry of Mines has recently set up the K R Rao Committee in response to a Supreme Court directive. This was contained in a Court judgement pertaining to illegal mining in Odisha (Common Cause vs Union of India & Ors). The Committee’s professed purpose is to take a fresh look at India’s National Mineral Policy, which has not been reviewed since 2008, and come up with a fresh version by the end of 2017.

In the Odisha mining case, the Supreme Court spelled out what constitutes illegal mining and established that in such cases, the full value of minerals so extracted may be recovered from the offender.

In particular, the Court made clear that mining in breach of the terms of a lease – in excess of volume limits, outside lease areas and in the absence of necessary environmental clearances – is illegal.

[Catholic Groups Divest] You don’t need hydrocarbons for performance: behind the divestment push – by Barry Critchly (Financial Post – October 10, 2017)

October 10, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

It’s been described as one of the biggest decisions in the short history of fossil free divestment. We are referring to this week’s decision by forty Roman Catholic groups around the world — from organizations in Africa, Australia, Europe, South America and the U.S. as well a number of international bodies — to shun investing in fossil fuels.

While the exact amount of assets that will be affected was not disclosed, the decision, taken by the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM) was made to demonstrate that the 40 groups were ruling out future investments while urging others to follow suit.

The decision, the GCCM said, was “based on shared value of environmental protection and financial wisdom of preparing for a carbon-neutral economy.” Wayne Wachell, chief executive at Vancouver-based Genus Capital Management, one of the country’s first fossil free investment management firms, more than welcomed the news.