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[Manitoba] Province wants to partner with First Nations in future mining developments – by Larry Kusch (Winnipeg Free Press – July 31, 2017)

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

The Progressive Conservative government is encouraging First Nation communities to reap the benefits of new Manitoba mining projects in their traditional territories.

The province announced Monday that it is working with Indigenous communities on a new protocol that will guide consultations between the province and First Nations on future mining development.

Premier Brian Pallister announced Monday that Norway House Cree Nation Chief Ron Evans and former Manitoba cabinet minister Jim Downey will develop the new mineral development protocol in partnership with First Nations. The goal is to establish “a clear pathway forward on mineral development with a stable and predictable consultation process,” he said.

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Arctic heating up for gold exploration – by Jeff Nielson (Stockhouse.com – August 2, 2107)

http://www.stockhouse.com/

This is not another story about global warming. The “heat” being generated in Canada’s far north by the gold mining industry is economic heat. As gold mining companies hunt for increasingly elusive projects which offer both robust grades and multi-million ounce potential, more and more of these companies are looking north – as in far north.

One of the companies cashing in on this new, northern gold-rush is Cache Exploration Inc. (TSX: V.CAY, OTCQB: CEXPF, Forum). CAY’s base of operations is Nunavut. The Company’s operational focus is the Kiyuk Lake Gold Project.

Kiyuk Lake is a huge land package, encompassing approximately 491 square kilometers. This is a true “district” play, as management was intent on locking up the majority of the entire Kiyuk Basin, a Proterozoic geological formation. Mineralization has already been identified along a 15 kilometer strike length.

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How to smother a resource economy to death, starting with LNG – by Joe Oliver (Financial Post – August 2, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Joe Oliver, chairman of investment dealer Echelon Wealth Partners, is the former minister of natural resources and minister of finance.

Last week, Canada received more bad news in its prolonged failure to export energy resources abroad. Petronas decided not to proceed with its $36-billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project, dealing a body blow to B.C. employment, economic growth, funding for social programs and revenue to First Nations. Understandably, the federal and provincial governments sounded defensive, characterizing it as a business decision based entirely on the decline in liquified natural gas prices.

However, Petronas had previously emphasized it considers the industry’s long-term prospects, including costs, not just the current market. Furthermore, LNG projects are moving forward south of the border and in Australia. An initial project description was filed with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) in February 2013, raising the question why it could not have been approved sooner when prices were higher and costs potentially lower.

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The Arctic Could Be the Next South China Sea, Says Coast Guard Commandant – by Caroline Houck (Defense One – August 1, 2017)

http://www.defenseone.com/

Rich with energy resources, minerals and strategic positioning, the warming Arctic is ripe for territorial disputes, Adm. Zukunft warns.

No one’s creating and arming islands in the Arctic today, but that doesn’t mean territorial disputes couldn’t soon heat up in those waters, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard warned today.

“As I look at what is playing out in the Arctic, it looks eerily familiar to what we’re seeing in the East and South China Sea,” Adm. Paul Zukunft said Tuesday at an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

That means first, audacious territorial claims, Zukunft said: “Russia has claimed most of the Arctic Ocean, all the way up to the North Pole and as a signatory of the Law of the Sea Convention has filed this claim.”

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Rio Tinto doubles first-half profit, offers record dividend – by James Regan and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.K. – August 2, 2017)

http://uk.reuters.com/

SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) – Global miner Rio Tinto more than doubled its first-half profit buoyed by Chinese iron ore demand and rewarded shareholders with a record interim dividend and $1 billion in share buybacks.

Underlying earnings for the six months to June 30 of $3.94 billion missed forecasts for $4.19 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, but were well above last year’s $1.56 billion following a recovery in iron ore and other commodity prices.

Rio Tinto declared a record-high half-year dividend of $1.10 a share, equivalent to $2 billion, up from 45 cents a share a year ago. The latest buyback comes on top of a $500 million program announced in February.

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The fixer: Names to Know 2017: Duncan Middlemiss, CEO of Wesdome Gold Mines – by Joel Barde (CIM Magazine – July 05, 2017)

http://magazine.cim.org/en/

Nine years ago Duncan Middlemiss joined St. Andrew Goldfields as vice-president of operations. He ascended to the role of CEO in 2013, and by the time the company was sold to Kirkland Lake Gold in 2016, it was profitable and producing 140,000 ounces of gold annually.

It was a dramatic turnaround that helped cement Middlemiss’s reputation as a “fixer.” Working closely with his team, he dramatically increased production, helped raise money and developed an overarching plan for the company.

His latest challenge began last August when he was named CEO of Wesdome Gold Mines. The Canadian-focused company has three major assets in northern Ontario and Quebec, one of which – the Eagle River Complex – is currently operational.

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Mining microbes could unlock wealth, clean tailings – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – August 3, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

With luck, ingenuity and some scientific know-how, Sudbury’s tailings ponds could become a new source nickel, copper and zinc. Researchers from Laurentian University, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia met at the Vale Living with Lakes Centre on Wednesday at a symposium to discuss biomining research.

“The topic of discussion is developing technologies that aim to remediate waste and effluent waters from mining operations in Sudbury and British Columbia,” Vlad Papangelakis, a professor at the University of Toronto and the project lead of the biomining research, said Wednesday. “We hope to recover some value from locked metals in these residues that will offset the processing costs.”

The value of residual nickel in Sudbury tailings amounts to $7 billion, according to recent world nickel prices. “There is significant economic interest, therefore, to use the eco-friendly processes being developed by (biomining) for remediation and base metal extraction,” symposium organizers said in a release.

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Nunavut economy to grow 6.4 per cent in 2017: study – by Beth Brown (Nunatsiaq News – August 2, 2017)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

New mines expected to generate new wealth in the future

Nunavut’s economy will grow by 6.4 per cent in 2017—due to mining and construction. With four mines expected to reach operation by 2020, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts a steady expansion in Nunavut’s gross domestic product, or GDP, which has been rebounding since a drop in 2014.

“Metal mining is the single largest contributor to economic growth, and all operating mines are planning increases in production,” said an Aug. 1 report from the conference board on all three territorial economies. This year, mining output will grow by 23.7 per cent, following the opening of TMAC Resources Inc.’s Doris North mine in the Kitikmeot and increased production at Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.‘s’s Mary River mine and Agnico Eagle Ltd.’s Meadowbank.

That output will increase by 27 per cent by 2019 when Agnico Eagle brings its Meliadine and Amaruq projects into production, the biannual report said. Since dwindling reserves at Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank site mean operations there will soon wind down, the territory should see a 0.2 per cent decline in total GDP in 2018, said the report.

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Construction at Nunavut’s Meliadine gold mine on schedule, on budget – by Beth Brown (Nunatsiaq News – August 1, 2017)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Gold project near Rankin Inlet on track to start production in 2019

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has reported that work at its Meliadine project, which received construction approval in February from Agnico Eagle’s board, is progressing as planned and is even slightly ahead of schedule.

The mining company operates the Meadowbank mine, which is currently nearing its end of lifespan, near Baker Lake in Nunavut’s Kivalliq region. To replace the exhausted mine, the company is building its long-awaited gold mine at Meliadine near Rankin Inlet and developing a satellite deposit near Meadowbank at a property called Amaruq.

Agnico Eagle included an update for its Meliadine and Amaruq deposits in a July 26 quarterly report, which cites a net income of $61.9 million, or 27 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2017, compared with income of $19 million, or nine cents per share over the same period in 2016.

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Germany’s long goodbye to coal despite Merkel’s green push – by Vera Eckert (Reuters U.S. – August 2, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Burning coal for power looks set to remain the backbone of Germany’s energy supply for decades yet, an apparent contrast to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ambitions for Europe’s biggest economy to be a role model in tackling climate change.

Merkel is avoiding the sensitive subject of phasing out coal, which could hit tens of thousands of jobs, in the campaign for the Sept. 24 election, in which she hopes to win a fourth term. Although well over 20 billion euros are spent each year to boost Germany’s green energy sector, coal still accounts for 40 percent of energy generation, down just 10 points from 2000.

To avoid disruption in the power and manufacturing sectors, coal imports and mines must keep running, say industry lobbies, despite the switch to fossil-free energy. “(Coal) makes a big contribution to German and European energy supply security and this will remain the case for a long time to come,” the chairman of the coal importers’ lobby VDKi, Wolfgang Cieslik told reporters last week.

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Minnesota Grand Rapids ore will make pig iron in Ohio – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – August 1, 2017)

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Iron ore concentrate from Minnesota will go to make pig iron in Lorain, Ohio under a deal reached between fledgling ERP Iron Ore and Republic Steel.

Under the agreement ERP will produce concentrated ore at its recently acquired Magnetation operations outside Grand Rapids, move it by rail to its Reynolds, Ind. plant to be baked into pellets and then ship those pellets to Ohio to be made into pig iron.

The two companies will be joint owners of the new pig-iron plant to be built on the site of a now-shuttered Republic blast furnace mill.

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Focus on Economy Before Climate Deal, Glencore Urges Australia – by Perry Williams (Bloomberg News – August 2, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Australia may need to consider delaying its goals to combat global climate change in order to prioritize energy security and economic prosperity, according to a senior executive at Glencore Plc.

The country’s emerging energy crisis, in conjunction with government-imposed clean-energy targets, has undermined investor confidence and may force businesses to shut or move offshore, the commodity giant’s global coal head, Peter Freyberg, said in a speech Wednesday in Sydney.

“If that means Australia needs to consider a possible delay in meeting its emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement in order to prioritize energy security and economic prosperity, then its worthy of further discussion,” he said, adding that Swiss-based Glencore has invested $20 billion in its Australian assets and last year contributed more than $12 billion to the economy.

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Hydro-powered smelters charge premium prices for ‘green’ aluminum – by Peter Hobson (Reuters U.S. – August 2, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Producers of “green” aluminum – made using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels – are starting to charge premium prices thanks to rising demand from industrial customers under pressure to reduce their carbon footprints.

Operators of smelters powered by hydro-electricity in the likes of Norway, Russia and Canada are promoting their environmental credentials – and stealing a march on others that rely on coal or gas, notably in China and the Gulf.

The competitive edge lies not in the metal itself, but the fact that its production requires far lower total emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide. While they do not use the term “green” aluminum, a number of producers are offering low-carbon guarantees on their metal, although they refuse to say how much more they charge for this beyond saying the premiums are relatively modest.

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U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer: Why I’m pushing to preserve mining in northern Minnesota – by Tom Emmer (Minneapolis Star Tribune – August 1, 2017)

http://www.startribune.com/

Tom Emmer, a Republican, represents Minnesota’s Sixth District in the U.S. House.

Minnesota is an amazing state with an abundance of natural resources and one of the best-educated and -motivated workforces in the world. We Minnesotans not only work hard, we play hard. In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we make the most of everything our state has to offer.

For many Minnesotans, mining has been a way of life since the early 1800s. Although the way we mine has changed dramatically over the years, mining is even more important today to the future of our state and our country.  In fact, one of the largest precious-metals deposits in the world has been discovered in Minnesota. This is why it is imperative that we preserve and celebrate mining in our state, not eliminate its future. Unfortunately, this wasn’t always a shared priority with the Obama administration.

When the Superior National Forest was established in 1909 — and later when the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was established in 1978 — there was an express agreement between the federal government and the state of Minnesota that certain activities like mining and logging could continue in the Superior National Forest.

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In search of the motherlode: Why Yukon is experiencing a 21st century gold rush – by Sunny Freeman (Financial Post – August 2, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

You can find gold in Yukon riverbeds but original deposits have yet to be discovered, adding a mysterious mythology to the territory’s riches

Yukon gold has been legendary since bullion was first discovered in Dawson City in 1896, but a wave of investment from major miners in the past year suggests the territory could be on the brink of a 21st century gold rush.

Companies including Goldcorp Inc., Newmont Mining Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp. have lined up to invest more than US$600 million in the Yukon since 2016 — more than anywhere else in the world. “It’s a modern-day gold rush and, most surprisingly, it’s happening even though the Yukon has yet to host a significant hard rock gold mine,” said Gwen Preston, editor of the Resource Maven newsletter.

“Miners have pulled many millions of ounces from the Yukon’s rivers and gravel beds, but the territory has yet to offer up a large gold deposit that makes it to production.”

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