Republic of Mining

Eager for red-hot cobalt gains, investors think small – by Nicole Mordant (Reuters Canada – August 24, 2017)

August 24, 2017

https://ca.reuters.com/

VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Institutional investors hoping to profit from cobalt, this year’s high-flying metal, are buying into companies that are smaller than their usual fare to gain exposure to an industry supplying the burgeoning electric car market.

Prices for cobalt CBD0, a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, have spiked 83 percent this year on forecasts that demand will double in the next decade as consumers switch to less-polluting cars. Nearly all cobalt, which prolongs battery life, is mined as a by-product of copper and nickel, making it difficult for investors to get direct exposure.

Much like the recent boom in lithium, another battery ingredient, cobalt’s surge has resulted from heady forecasts for ownership of electric vehicles. UBS in May said it expected them to account for 3.1 percent of global car sales in 2021 and 13.7 percent in 2025, up from 1 percent this year.

Trump to open parts of Utah National Monument to miners, oil firms — report – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 24, 2017)

August 24, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

US President Donald Trump may soon revoke the protected status from Bears Ears National Monument, in southeastern Utah, opening parts of the area to mining and oil companies under a recommendation that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued on Thursday.

The monument, one of the 27 President Trump is taking a second look at, covers 1.3 million acres (about 5,260 square km), and it includes land considered sacred to Native Americans.

Former President Barack Obama designated it a national monument near the end of his time in office and if Trump decides to reopen it for commercial mining and drilling, it would be a direct blow to his predecessor’s environmental legacy, and the first major test of a century-old conservation law, The New York Times reports.

Huge opportunity to create more demand for platinum – PGI – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – August 23, 2017)

August 24, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African platinum industry has been investing in platinum jewellery for more than 45 years through the Platinum Guild International (PGI), which has turned platinum jewellery into an amazing South African asset.

Of all the platinum demand levers, platinum in jewellery is the one that can be activated the quickest and the most directly, which is important in light of the need of the struggling platinum industry to continue to create demand for platinum, so that upward pressure is applied on the currently low metal prices being achieved by PGI’s funders – Anglo American Platinum, Impala, Lonmin, Northam, Sibanye and Royal Bafokeng Platinum.

Jewellery, the second biggest platinum demand source, is expected to generate 1 700 000 oz of net platinum demand in 2017. Even in difficult markets, platinum demand continues to grow where marketing is focused on bridal, gemset and branded collections.

Indonesian Energy Minister Jonan expects mining deal with Freeport this month – by Ed Davies (Reuters U.S. – August 22, 2017)

August 24, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia expects to strike an agreement this month to allow Freeport McMoRan Inc to keep operating its huge copper mine in Papua in the coming decades, the country’s mining and energy minister said on Tuesday.

The U.S. mining giant has been locked in a lengthy dispute with the government over the rights to mine at Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, costing both sides hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I expect to have a conclusion this month,” Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan said in an interview with Reuters, when asked about the status of the negotiations.

Indigenous workers at Voisey’s Bay anxious about Vale review of nickel operations (Canadian Press – August 23, 2017)

August 24, 2017

http://nationalpost.com/

MONTREAL — Global mining giant Vale’s decision to review its global operations in light of depressed nickel prices is causing anxiety among Indigenous workers at its Voisey’s Bay mine in Labrador.

As part of its 60-day audit, the Brazilian miner (NYSE:VALE) has put on hold a decision about an underground expansion project at the Atlantic mine that would create more than 400 jobs and extend its life for 15 years.

“These are some of the higher paying jobs you find in our communities,” said Darryl Shiwak, Lands and Natural Resources Minister for the Inuit people of Nunatsiavut. “So with the high unemployment rate and the amount of seasonal work, these jobs are extremely important.”

NEWS RELEASE: Young Mining Professionals Annouces New Chapter in London, U.K. (August 23, 2017)

August 24, 2017

http://www.youngminingprofessionals.com

Toronto, Canada – August 23, 2017 – Young Mining Professionals (“YMP”) is pleased to announce its newest chapter located in London, UK. The YMP London chapter expands YMP’s reach to four cities, and is its first international chapter. YMP London was established independently at the beginning of 2017, hosted two successful events, and subsequently was approached by YMP to merge with their network of chapters.

With YMP now in Canada coast to coast, we are pleased to be represented internationally in London, UK, as it is a true global hub for mining and finance. YMP will look for opportunities to engage further mining cities around the globe to leverage the networks within these mining hubs.

About YMP

YMP is a growing association of mining professionals based in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, and now London, UK, that share the goal of advancing the global profile and leadership of the Canadian and United Kingdom based mining industry.

Mining finance legend takes leave from Howe Street – by Greg Klein (Mining.com – August 23, 2017)

August 23, 2017

http://www.mining.com

When the street convenes this week for his official send-off, the object of admiration won’t be a financier, broker, mine-finder or entrepreneur. Jake Fiddick made his mark as a banker, and one who provided services, not money. But as an innovative trailblazer he leaves a legacy that guarantees his place in Howe Street’s storied history.

His August 16 retirement ended 58 years with the Bank of Montreal, 33 of them at Vancouver’s downtown main office. It was there that he started the Public Company Banking Group, distinguishing himself from the rest of his industry with new approaches that quickly attracted appreciative clients.

That was a time when his colleagues tended to regard juniors with almost as much trepidation as a stick-up note. “Most of the banks did not look favourably on that kind of business—not at all,” recalls Frances Petryshen. Now corporate secretary with Balmoral Resources TSX:BAR and a veteran of several companies, she started working with Fiddick soon after he arrived downtown.

Salt of the earth found at salt mine museum – by Dave Mathieson (Amherst News Citizen Record – August 22, 2017)

August 23, 2017

http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/

MALAGASH, N.S. – Salt mining in Malagash ended in 1959, but the history of the mine is in good hands. “When I was growing up the salt mine was still in operation,” said Lorraine Blaxland. “It didn’t close until 1959, and my dad worked in the salt mine.”

Blaxland is an assistant at the Malagash Salt Mine Museum, giving tours one day a week during the summer. This week she gave tours on Sunday. Blaxland grew up in Malagash and moved away for 20 years before moving back in 1991.

She attended a two-room elementary school located behind the museum, on College Road. “That’s where I was until I graduated in Grade 6, and then I went to school in Pugwash,” said Blaxland. “There was only one teacher in Grade 6. The two rooms were opened up to make one room.” Her dad worked on the surface of the Malagash mine.

Is child labor the price for e-cars? – by Helle Jeppesen (Deutsche Welle – August 23, 2017)

August 23, 2017

http://www.dw.com/en/

Whether in cars, laptops or smartphones, cobalt is in nearly all batteries. The biggest supplier is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where human rights are often violated in the mines.

Young men, armed with only torchlight and tools climb down in a deep, dark hole, without helmet or security gear. The path becomes even smaller as they go further down in the unsecured tunnel. To remove the cobalt, the young miners use chisels and hand hooks and then place the gem rocks into bags, which are then pulled up by another miner above ground.

The rights group Amnesty International witnessed this scene during a research trip in Kasulu, the former Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These mine workers are known in the DRC as Creuseurs, loosely translated as the diggers.

The mining work is divided among everyone. Men dig for the rocks in the tunnel, women wash the rocks in the river, and children are tasked with separating the cobalt from the rock with their bare hands.

Hunt for Next Electric-Car Commodity Quickens as Prices Soar – by Laura Millan Lombrana and Susanne Barton (Bloomberg News – August 23, 2017)

August 23, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Niche metal cobalt is leaving bigger names like copper and lithium in its dust, triggering a hunt for new deposits from Idaho to Chile.

As one of the key components in the new breed of rechargeable batteries and with supply dominated by the Democratic Republic of Congo, prices have surged at four times the pace of major metals in the past year.

That’s caught the attention of governments, explorers and money managers, with annual demand set to increase 34 percent until 2026 as electric cars gain a bigger share of the global auto fleet, according to CRU Group.

Authorities in Chile, the top copper-producing nation, are embarking on a fact-finding mission with a view to restart cobalt production after a more than seven-decade hiatus. First Cobalt Corp. is merging with two other firms to create what it calls the world’s largest explorer of the mineral.

RPT-COLUMN-Elliott’s BHP adventure pays dividends, but not total victory – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – August 22, 2017)

August 23, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 22 (Reuters) – It’s tempting to think that BHP Billiton has caved into demands by activist investor Elliott Advisors by agreeing to sell its U.S. onshore oil and gas business and by boosting the returns to shareholders.

After all, divesting the U.S. shale assets and lifting shareholder returns were two of Elliott’s three main points, made by the hedge fund in a letter to BHP directors in April. But it’s worth asking whether the decision to put the shale assets up for sale and increase dividends was motivated mainly by Elliott’s intervention, or whether they would have happened anyway.

As far as dividends are concerned, it was always likely that BHP would follow fellow miners like Rio Tinto in returning substantially more cash to investors, especially in the light of the huge boost to free cash flow from sharply higher prices for iron ore and coal.

Consideration for environment, indigenous rights imperative for Atlantic Canada – by John Harker (Halifax Chronicle Herald – August 22, 2017)

August 23, 2017

http://thechronicleherald.ca/

I was privileged to spend a decade as the president of a university in Atlantic Canada. Hanging on my office wall during those years was a faded parchment signed by Winston Churchill, then home secretary of Great Britain, on Aug. 23, 1910.

It was a second-class certificate of competency under the Coal Mines Regulation Act awarded to one of my grandfathers, John Charles Matson, for having passed an examination and given satisfactory evidence of his sobriety, experience, ability and general good conduct.

I see it now — though I did not much think about it when I was growing up — as an early sign of awareness about the need for responsible mining. The need for this has surely marked the development of Atlantic Canada during these past 150 years. I do not intend to catalogue those years here, though I do want to share a few thoughts about the need for responsible mining in the years ahead.

Sudbury chamber cheers ‘Rings’ road decision – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – August 23, 2017)

August 23, 2017

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce is applauding the announcement of an all-season road connecting provincial highways to the Ring of Fire mining development.

“The announcement is a significant step forward in the development of the Ring of Fire,” Michael Macnamara, chair of the Board, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, said in a release. “The Ring of Fire has been a priority for the Greater Sudbury business community and the chamber for many years and we are pleased to see this progress.”

The road, announced Monday in Thunder Bay by Premier Kathleen Wynne, will connect the Nibinamik First Nation, Webequie, and the Ring of Fire to provincial roads at Pickle Lake.

A Coal Country Dispute Over an Alleged Trump Promise Unmet – by JEFF HORWITZ, MICHAEL BIESECKER and MATTHEW DALY (Associated Press – August 22, 2017)

August 23, 2017

https://www.usnews.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order protecting coal-fired power plants, a decision contrary to what one coal executive said the president personally promised him.

The Energy Department says it considered issuing the order sought by companies seeking relief for plants it says are overburdened by environmental rules and market stresses. But the department ultimately ruled it was unnecessary, and the White House agreed, a spokeswoman said.

The decision is a rare example of friction between the beleaguered coal industry and the president who has vowed to save it. It also highlights a pattern emerging as the administration crafts policy: The president’s bold declarations — both public and private — are not always carried through to implementation.

Bill would end Wisconsin moratorium on sulfide mining, create easier path to future mining – by Lee Bergquist (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – August 22, 2017)

August 23, 2017

http://www.jsonline.com/

A bill that would end the moratorium on sulfide mining in Wisconsin also retools other regulations aimed at easing the way for future mining projects in the state. The legislation is sure to spark a big fight between environmental and business interests over whether sulfide mining can be carried out safely in Wisconsin and whether the bill, in effect, will roll back protections.

Mining companies have eyed Wisconsin for years, but according to mining supporters, the state’s laws are too restrictive. The legislation targets mining for minerals such as copper, zinc, gold and silver in sulfide rock deposits that have the potential to create acidic runoff and pollute ground and surface water.

That is the chief concern of environmentalists: Sulfide deposits will leach into water and cause long-lasting damage. The last such mine in Wisconsin, near Ladysmith, was successfully closed and reclaimed in 1999.