Republic of Mining

Exclusive: Mitsui, Cobra in talks with BHP over desalination plant – sources – by Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – August 10, 2017)

August 11, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A consortium made up of Mitsui & Co and Grupo Cobra is in exclusive talks with BHP Billiton Plc to build an $800 million desalination plant at its Spence copper mine in Chile, two sources with knowledge of the process told Reuters this week.

This means BHP, the world’s biggest mining house, is advancing the contracting process for a planned $2.5 billion expansion at Spence, a project that has been on ice for years.

A number of other companies bid on constructing the plant, including a consortium of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and Spain’s Acciona, but BHP has selected the Mitsui group to go ahead with bilateral negotiations, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is private.

This Canadian Copper Giant is Missing Best of Metal’s Surge – by Danielle Bochove and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – August 11, 2017)

August 11, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

As copper producers from Freeport-McMoRan Inc. to BHP Billiton Ltd. ponder what to do with the windfall from surging prices, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has no such dilemma.

Unlike most of its peers, First Quantum’s copper sales are fully hedged — at an expected average price of $2.37 a pound for the second half of the year. That means it’s largely watching from the sidelines as the metal surges above $2.90 for the first time in more than two years.

The Vancouver-based company began hedging in 2015 to lock in the value of its output so as to avoid breaching debt covenants while developing a project in Panama. But as copper has risen more than 30 percent in the past year, the trade has proven to be a liability: the company posted a net loss of $35 million in the second quarter as its hedge book lost $97 million. It plans to continue hedging next year, although to a lesser extent.

Sudbury Basin: Still a fascinating place – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – August 10, 2017)

August 11, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury Basin and areas northeast still offer up mineral riches after a century of mining, says new Sudbury District Geologist

The Sudbury Basin, Sudbury Mining District and surrounding area still has a lot to offer for mining, according to the new district geologist. “The basin has always been a fascinating place for geologists,” said Shirley Peloquin at the Ontario Geological Survey office inside the Willet Green Millar Centre.

“It’s still proving to be a very rich place for nickel and other reserves of minerals and this could go on for decades. As demand shifts for other minerals prevalent in the area we are always mapping, surveying and cross-checking with historical data. We are always finding new deposits.”

She explained much of the underground of the basin, as well as areas northeast of the basin to the Quebec border, are largely untapped. Much of the focus has been on the easier to extract surface deposits. From a casual view it would look like deposits are dwindling, but the opposite is true.

Gold’s Splendid Isolation – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – August 9, 2017)

August 11, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Ancient alchemists believed that gold was the noble metal: Incapable of reacting with other minerals, it could exist only in its unsullied elemental form. Investors believe something similar about gold mining companies.

Like the alchemists — who later discovered that the yellow metal could be turned into a variety of useful chemical compounds — they might be making a mistake. Of the top 20 producers globally, almost all are pure-play miners that are only really serious about producing gold itself.

The exceptions — Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Glencore Plc — end up on the list simply because their copper mines also contain a few veins of the more valuable stuff, which they can sell to make a bit of cash on the side. The world’s biggest miners don’t produce much gold, and the biggest gold miners produce little else.

The green economy needs Minnesota mining – by U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (Minneapolis Star Tribune – August 9, 2017)

August 11, 2017

http://www.startribune.com/

Rick Nolan, a Democrat, represents Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House.

Counterpoint: Copper and nickel play a role in today’s climate fight, so why not mine them safely right here? That’s what my land exchange is about.

Mining copper and nickel on Minnesota’s Iron Range and addressing global climate change are compatible, complementary and essential to our way of life. We have the brains, the technology and the need to do both.

If we attempt to do one without the other, we will end up with neither (“PolyMet is just feeding Minnesotans a line on proposed mine,” July 21). The survival of humankind rests on our willingness to embrace all of the knowledge and resources at our disposal to reverse climate change — including the vast deposits of strategic minerals in northeastern Minnesota. We owe future generations no less.

In fact, there would be no viable green economy and no effective means to reverse climate change without mining. Consider the rapid development and deployment of electric and hybrid vehicles.

UPDATE 2-Glencore raises trading guidance, sees electric vehicles boosting demand – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – August 10, 2017)

August 11, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Mining group Glencore raised earnings guidance for its trading business, citing higher commodity prices, and said on Thursday increased take-up of electric vehicles and demand for energy storage would boost demand for its products.

Following the commodities downturn of 2015-16, big miners have repaired their balance sheets to help position themselves for growth. Glencore has cut debt and also has a mix of assets that could help it benefit from an upsurge in electric cars.

The company raised full-year guidance for adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in its trading or marketing business by $100 million to a range of between $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion.

Corporate Canada giants vie for Ottawa supercluster funds – by Sean Silcoff (Globe and Mail – August 11, 2017)

August 11, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A clean mining cluster proposal led by the Canadian Mining Innovation Council
and the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) is backed by giants
Glencore, Teck, Vale, Goldcorp and Agnico-Eagle. “There wasn’t a lot of time”
to assemble the application, said CEMI CEO Douglas Morrison. “We knuckled
down and did what we had to.”

Ottawa’s flagship innovation initiative – a pledge to fund up to five so-called “superclusters” – has drawn a strong response, with dozens of hastily gathered consortia led by some of Canada’s largest companies vying for $950-million in federal funds.

Royal Bank of Canada, Magna International Inc., Telus Corp., Teck Resources Ltd., Loblaw Cos. Ltd. Shoppers Drug Mart unit and Open Text Corp. are among the more than 200 companies that have joined with 20 post-secondary institutions – some of which are supporting more than one bid – to create “superclusters” in such wide-ranging fields as agriculture, advanced manufacturing, cryptocurrency, big data, medical technology and artificial intelligence.

They have been joined by some of Canada’s most prominent startups and “scaleups,” including Stemcell Technologies Inc., Thalmic Labs Inc, Miovision Technologies and Don Tapscott’s Blockchain Research Institute.

Price of iron ore, crude oil and other commodities to take a hit if North Korea crisis escalates: Citibank – by Sunny Freeman (Financial Post – August 11, 2017)

August 11, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

As nuclear rhetoric between North Korea and the United States heats up, Citibank analysts are anxiously watching commodity prices due to the importance of the North Asian market.

Global commodity markets have so far not priced in geopolitical risks even as North Korea threatened to launch ballistic missiles into waters near the American territory of Guam. President Donald Trump warned there would be “fire and fury” against the North if it continued to threaten the U.S.

The VIX, a measure of how much volatility investors expect in stocks, jumped 25.2 per cent, the biggest increase since May on Thursday. The price of gold, considered a safe haven investment, rose more that $12 to US$1,285.40 an ounce by midday against the backdrop of heightened political uncertainty.

Glencore turns bigger copper, zinc price bull: Nickel not so much – by Frik Els (Mining.com – August 10, 2017)

August 10, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Miner and commodities trader Glencore (LON:GLEN) raised its revenue and profit outlook for the year on Thursday with the Swiss company citing the fast-growing electric vehicle market as a key driver.

“Most automotive players are now accelerating investment in/adoption of electric vehicle technologies, reflecting, in part, increasingly aggressive Government mandates around emission targets.

Growth in electric vehicle/energy storage systems requires changes in material flows, including the installation, rebuild and replacement of supporting infrastructure. Based on current and emerging technologies, these changes should benefit enabling commodities such as copper, cobalt and nickel,” Glencore said in a statement accompanying its half-year results.

McEwen Mining acquires Timmins Black Fox Mine from Primero – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 10, 2017)

August 10, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

McEwen Mining will acquire Timmins’ Black Fox Mine from Primero Mining in a deal worth $35 million. In a news release, McEwen said the transaction fits in with additional acquisitions the company has made in the Timmins camp.

McEwen acquired Lexam VG Gold in April. Lexam, which now operates as a subsidiary of McEwen, counts amongst its properties Buffalo Ankerite, Fuller and Davidson, along with a 61 per cent interest in the mineral rights on the Paymaster property (the remaining 39 per cent is controlled by Goldcorp).

“Our objective is to build a long-term production platform with a robust pipeline of production, development and exploration assets, all feeding into a single processing facility,” Rob McEwen, chair and chief owner, said in the release.

Ravensthorpe nickel mine to close due to low market prices, 270 jobs impacted – by Jarrod Lucas and Jacob Kagi (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 9, 2017)

August 10, 2017

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

Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals has announced it will mothball its Ravensthorpe nickel operations in WA’s south-east from early next month because of low nickel prices. The Toronto-based company employs about 270 people at the Ravensthorpe mine and the closure will hit the community hard only months after devastating floods ripped through the region.

First Quantum said it would cost about $10 million to enter care and maintenance, which should be in effect by early October. The annual bill of maintaining the site is estimated at $5 million. In a statement, First Quantum’s chief executive Philip Pascall described the decision as “disappointing”.

“Ravensthorpe is an excellent operation with an outstanding workforce and supportive community but the continuing depressed nickel market conditions, over some years, leaves us no option,” he said.

Far northern Ontario provincial ridings to be doubled (CBC News Sudbury – August 8, 2017)

August 10, 2017

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

Legislature to vote this fall to split current two electoral ridings into four in time for 2018 election

The Ontario legislature will vote this fall on adding two more ridings to the province. Over the spring months, an electoral boundaries commission traveled across northern Ontario seeking feedback from residents.

The panel was tasked with finding a way to better represent the Far North region at Queen’s Park. That region is currently divided into two ridings: Kenora-Rainy River and Timmins James Bay. In its final report published Tuesday, the commission recommends doubling the number of ridings to four.

The other ridings to be created would be Kiiwetinoong in the northwest, and Mushkegowuk in the northeast. Kiiwetinoong would be a mostly Indigenous riding, while Mushkegowuk would be mostly Francophone.

Cash-rich Newmont Mining mulls boosting dividend as peers pursue debt reduction – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.S. – August 9, 2017)

August 10, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO (Reuters) – With a plump $3.1 billion pile of cash, Newmont Mining Corp is mulling a sweeter dividend to attract a broader shareholder base, a move that makes it an outlier in the still recovering gold sector.

Although miners are no longer crippled by expansion-fueled debt loads, the priority for their cash is building and expanding mines to replace depleting gold reserves, and further reducing debt. Dividend increases are not on their immediate horizon, making Newmont, which has said it was considering doing so, stand out.

Like other producers, Newmont is also investing in expansion projects, but with the fattest purse among gold producers and no debt due until 2019, the Colorado-based miner may have excess cash to return to shareholders.

Gold Rises Along With North Korea Tensions – by Susanne Barton and Eddie Van Der Walt (Bloomberg News – August 9, 2017)

August 10, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold climbed to the highest since mid-June, pushing up mining-company shares amid military tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

Equities slid and the Swiss franc and some developed-market government bonds advanced as President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” following a series of missile tests by the communist regime, boosting demand for haven assets. Gold also climbed after Indian imports of the metal were said to have doubled.

The U.S. North-Korea tensions add to investor angst that has helped push up gold more than 11 percent this year, even with equities hitting records and the Federal Reserve keen to shrink its balance sheet. Should geopolitical tensions intensify, gold is likely to be in demand as a safe-haven, according to analysts at Commerzbank AG.

Sprott Conference: Friedland pitches metals used in electric vehicles – by Lesley Stokes (Northern Miner – August 8, 2017)

August 9, 2017

http://www.northernminer.com/

VANCOUVER — The electric car revolution is accelerating, and so will the demand for metals that make them work, Robert Friedland, executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) said during a presentation at the Sprott Natural Resource Symposium in Vancouver in late July.

In what has become a recurring topic in his presentations, Friedland stated that continued rapid urbanization, combined with efforts to fight air pollution, will lead to the ramping up of electric vehicle production. And the demand for the metals needed to build them — including copper, platinum, palladium, zinc, nickel and cobalt — will rise as a result.

“This is an era of unprecedented change, it’s really happening,” Friedland said. “The handwriting is on the wall. For those of you who deny this phenomenon, you’re going to miss this massive disruption opening soon at a theatre near you.”