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‘Ring’ road deal could good for Sudbury – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – August 22, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Ring of Fire moved a rung closer to reality Monday, as the province announced plans to construct a year-round access road to the mineral-rich region. “It’s just what we were looking for,” said Alan Coutts, president and CEO of Noront Resources. “This is the catalyst that was needed, from our point of view.”

A Toronto-based company, Noront is the now chief player in the region, after acquiring the chromite assets from Cliffs Natural Resources a couple of years ago. It plans to develop its Eagle’s Nest deposit — consisting of nickel, copper, platinum and palladium — first, and then mine chromite deposits at several sites in the James Bay lowlands.

“These are bulk and base-metal deposits,” said Coutts. “They’re not gold and diamonds in small volumes; they’re big volumes and you have to move a lot. Without 24/7, 365, all-season infrastructure roads in place, those projects aren’t viable.” The province had been negotiating with nine First Nations in the region and hinting since spring that a deal on road construction was in the offing.

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Noront Resources to make decision on Ring of Fire smelter by end of year – by Angela Gemmill (CBC News Sudbury – August 21, 2017)

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

Mining company to work on smelter development while province, First Nations create road infrastructure

Monday’s long-awaited news that the provincial government will help build roads to the Ring of Fire chromite deposit is music to the ears of junior miner Noront Resources Limited.

The provincial government says it’s working with three remote northwestern Ontario First Nations to develop year-round road access that will link the communities to Ontario’s highway system. Noront has a major land position in the Ring of Fire. CEO Alan Coutts said the announcement from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was welcome.

“It’s a very important breakthrough. This is exactly what was needed to de-bottleneck the Ring of Fire development,” Coutts said. While in Thunder Bay, Wynne told the media the environmental assessment will begin immediately and should take much of 2018 to complete. Construction on the roads should start in 2019.

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Tanzania’s 55% share of mine revenue ‘pretty generous’ – AngloGold – by Martin Creamer (Mining Weekly.com – August 21, 2017)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The share of revenues that the government of Tanzania has received from the Geita gold mine is “pretty generous” when compared with what shareholders have received, AngloGold Ashanti CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said on Monday when the company reported an adjusted headline loss of $93-million, which includes retrenchment provision of $47-million and a silicosis provision of $46-million.

Since 2000, the Tanzanian government has received 55% of the cash distributed compared with AngloGold’s 45%, with the Geita mine delivering more than $1-billion in royalties, corporate taxes and employees’ income tax since 1999. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video)

“It’s important that we actually get that information out to increase the awareness,” Venkatakrishnan said in response to media questions during a round table attended by Mining Weekly Online. When the time value of money is included, the government’s share is significantly higher.

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AUDIO: Ontario pledges ‘support’ for year-round road access to 3 remote First Nations (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 21, 2017)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Province says it’s working with Webequie, Nibinamik and Marten Falls on year-round road projects

The provincial government says it’s working with three remote northwestern Ontario First Nations to develop year-round road access that will link the communities to Ontario’s highway system. The partnership between the province, Webequie, Nibinamik and Marten Falls will also facilitate access to the Ring of Fire — a mineral-rich area in the James Bay lowlands, about 575 kilometres north of Thunder Bay — according to the province.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement Monday morning in Thunder Bay, Ont., during her first scheduled stop on a day-long tour of the city. The premier was flanked by three of her ministers — Indigenous Relations Minister David Zimmer, Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle and Bill Mauro, Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs.

“I’m very pleased to announce today that we have reached an agreement to build a road into the Ring of Fire,” Wynne said. “I’ve looked forward to this particular day coming for some time.”

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Climate crusaders have got lost in space – by Peter Foster (Financial Post – August 18, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Climate derangement has claimed another celebrity astrophysicist. Last month, Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time, declared that Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement meant that earth could become like Venus, where it rains sulphuric acid and temperatures reach 250 C.

Now Neil DeGrasse Tyson, “science communicator” and host of the 2014 TV series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, has claimed that climate science is as certain and predictable as next week’s solar eclipse. DeGrasse Tyson tweeted: “Odd. No one is in denial of America’s Aug 21 total solar eclipse. Like Climate Change, methods & tools of science predict it.”

With regards to Hawking’s claim, Roy Spencer, a climate specialist at the University of Alabama, pointed out that Venus had 93 times as much atmosphere and 22,000 times as much carbon dioxide as earth, so we shouldn’t be too worried about it raining acid any time soon. Whatever Donald Trump’s flaws, he’s not threatening to repeal the laws of physics and chemistry.

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Freeport Indonesia copper mine access to resume after clashes – by Sam Wanda (Reuters U.S. – August 20, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

TIMIKA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Limited access to the giant Grasberg copper mine in eastern Indonesia is expected to resume on Monday, its operator said, after hundreds of former workers blockaded the site and clashed with police.

Trouble erupted at the mine, which is operated by the Indonesian unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc, during a demonstration over employment terms on Saturday afternoon.

Three former workers were injured after police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse the blockade, according to a union official representing the ex-workers. Freeport said at least four contractors were also injured.

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FMG profits surge, Andrew Forrest books $445m in dividends as iron ore bounces back – by Graeme Powell (Australian Broadcasting Corportation – August 20, 2017)

http://www.abc.net.au/

Mining entrepreneur Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has pocketed a $445 million dividend cheque after his company Fortescue Metals Group posted a more than 100 per cent net profit jump on the back of stronger than expected iron ore prices.

Australia’s third-largest iron ore producer released its full year figures to the market this morning and reported a net profit of $US2.1 billion ($2.6 billion) — up 112 per cent on last year. The Perth-based company also reported a 19 per cent rise in revenue after shipping 170 million tonnes of iron ore for the year.

Fortescue chief executive Nev Power said the strong results reflected higher iron ore prices and a relentless drive to lower production costs.

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Zinc on a bullish tear but just how high can it go? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – August 21, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Zinc on Monday morning hit a fresh decade high of $3,180.50 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Zinc bulls have been waiting a long, long time for this moment. A slow-fuse narrative of a looming supply crunch has been simmering for years but has finally burst into explosive price action.

True, London zinc has been given a helping hand from Shanghai, where speculative froth seems to have spilled over from the iron ore and steel markets to the base metals complex.

And also true, a supply-side response to high zinc prices is already starting to build with old mines such as Thalanga in Australia being brought back out of mothballs and speculation mounting as to how long Swiss producer and trader Glencore will wait before reversing the production cuts it announced in 2015.

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World’s top 10 silver mines – by Vladimir Basov (Mining.com – August 20, 2017)

http://www.mining.com/

Often silver is outshone by gold, with most market participants paying attention to the yellow metal. At the same time, silver has many characteristics that makes the precious metal an attractive commodity and irreplaceable component in many applications – particularly for industry-related companies and their investors.

Silver boasts a multitude of properties that make it unique, including its strength, malleability and ductility, its electrical and thermal conductivity, its sensitivity to and high light reflectance, and its ability to endure extreme temperature ranges. Silver’s remarkable properties restrict its substitution in most applications.

Silver is used in the jewellery, electronics and electrical industries, energy, automotive as well as in medicine and optics. Silver is also an important investment instrument.

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“Major step forward,” says Ring of Fire developer: Noront looks to use north-south for chromite shipments – Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 21, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The lead Ring of Fire mine developer is pleased with the Ontario government tabling a road plan to reach the deposits in the undeveloped James Bay mineral belt. “Today’s announcement by Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Chiefs of Webequie, Marten Falls and Nibinamik First Nations is a major step forward that will re-energize development of the Ring of Fire region,” said Noront Resources president-CEO Alan Coutts in an Aug. 21 news release.

“Construction of all-season industrial and community access roads is one of the key things we’ve been working toward with the government and our First Nation partners. I am very pleased to see it moving forward.”

Noront officials were in Thunder Bay to attend the announcement by Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Chiefs of Marten Falls, Webequie and Nibiminik First Nations, and the government’s commitment to providing funding for two industry and community road proposals to reach the Ring of Fire mineral belt.

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A Cosmic Theory and 2-Inch Lump of Gold Spur 500% Novo Surge – by Natalie Obiko Pearson (Bloomberg News – August 21, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Quinton Todd Hennigh has spent 13 years scouring the Earth for clues to back a hunch: that the world’s biggest gold resource has lost siblings elsewhere on the planet.

Now the president of Novo Resources Corp. thinks he may have found a counterpart of South Africa’s Witwatersrand in the ancient red rocks near Australia’s northwest coast. In July, his company zeroed in on a gold find that’s confounded geologists and sparked a 500 percent surge in the explorer’s share price.

The first test on land south of the coastal town of Karratha looked good. Employing two men, a metal detector and a jack hammer, Vancouver-based Novo extracted gold nuggets as long as 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) from an exploration “trench” little more than a half-meter deep. That tiny sample hinted at ore grades that could be among the highest of any operating mine in the world.

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Funds to Go for BHP’s Jugular If Miner Doesn’t Deliver Goods – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – August 20, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

BHP Billiton Ltd.’s truce with activist investors led by billionaire Paul Singer won’t last long if the world’s biggest mining company doesn’t pump up returns and deliver on strategic reform in the wake of its expected bumper profit report this week.

The naming in June of BHP’s youngest director Ken MacKenzie, 53, as chairman from next month has helped soothe disgruntled shareholders including Singer’s Elliott Management Corp., while continued demand growth in China for iron ore to coal is boosting prices, swelling earnings’ forecasts and raising expectations for higher payouts.

“They’ve got the most breathing space they’ve had in a long time,” Peter O’Connor, a Sydney-based analyst with Shaw and Partners Ltd., said by phone. “But if they mess up, the activists are going to be back on their jugular.”

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Vale reviewing Voisey’s Bay – by Staff (Sudbury Star – August 21, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Another of Vale Canada’s nickel operations in Canada is under review. CBC News is reporting that Vale’s plans to extend the life of the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in northern Labrador by moving operations underground are on hold.

Vale said a depressed market has led to a review of all projects, including Voisey’s Bay underground. “The nickel price has been depressed for some time now with no immediate or short-term relief in sight,” wrote Vale spokesperson Cory McPhee in an email to CBC News.

“During this period we are not approving any new project contracts.” Last month, Vale said it would seek out fresh copper mining options and stop expanding nickel production capacity after its second-quarter net income plunged on forex losses, rising costs and weaker iron ore prices.

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RPT-COLUMN-Coal price surge justified by China’s dynamics, for now – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – August 21, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 21 (Reuters) – How much of the current surge in thermal coal prices in Asia is because of a fundamental shift in the supply-demand balance, and how much is down to speculative froth? This is a question often asked when a commodity experiences a strong gain – or drop – in price, especially when the fundamentals don’t appear to have shifted that much, at least on a casual view.

Virtually everybody in the coal industry can agree that the strong performance in seaborne thermal coal this year is being driven by market dynamics in top importer China. What’s harder to work out is whether this rally will run out of steam or whether there has been a structural change in the market.

The argument for a structural change in China is quite compelling. It goes a long way toward justifying some of the explosive 43.2 percent rally in spot cargoes from Australia’s Newcastle port in the past three months.

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NORONT NEWS RELEASE: PROVINCE OF ONTARIO TO FUND RING OF FIRE ROAD PROPOSALS LED BY MARTEN FALLS, WEBEQUIE AND NIBIMINIK FIRST NATIONS

http://norontresources.com/

TORONTO, ONTARIO—August 21, 2017—Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront”) (TSX Venture: NOT) participated in a joint announcement today by Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Chiefs of Marten Falls, Webequie and Nibiminik First Nations, which formally committed provincial funding to two First Nations road proposals that will provide community and industrial access to the Ring of Fire Mining District.

Road Proposals

The provincial government agreed to support and fund the following road proposals which will connect First Nation communities to the Ring of Fire:

•An east-west road connecting Webequie and Nibinamik First Nations to the provincial highway network north of Pickle Lake (the “East-West Road”). This road will continue from the Community of Webequie to the Ring of Fire.
•A north-south community access road is being planned for construction by the Marten Falls First Nation with an option to expand the road to the Ring of Fire to support the development of chromite mining (the “North – South Road”).

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