Republic of Mining

Nunavut government, Kitikmeot Inuit move ahead on ambitious road-port – by Jim Bell Nunatsiaq News – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Despite no firm funding, no firm users, Grays Bay enters environmental screening

Though there’s no firm guarantee that anyone will use it and no firm guarantee the federal government will put up the cash to pay for it, the ambitious Grays Bay Road and Port Project in western Nunavut will now undergo an environmental screening by the Nunavut Impact Review Board, the project’s backers announced Aug. 24.

The Government of Nunavut and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association teamed up in 2016 to push for the Grays Bay scheme after the Chinese-owned mining firm MMG Canada said their lucrative base metal deposits aren’t viable without a road and port that are too costly for the company to build and run on its own.

In the first phase of Grays Bay, the GN and KIA would build a deepwater port at Coronation Gulf on the Arctic Ocean and a 230-kilometre all-season road between the port and the site of the abandoned Jericho diamond mine. (See map at the bottom of this page.) About 10 to 20 permanent staff would be located at the port site and up to three permanent staff would be located at Jericho. Road and port maintenance costs would amount to around $3 million a year.

Singing the praises of coal — the virtuous stone that liberated humanity – by Lawrence Solomon (Financial Post – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

Among coal’s virtues is its small ecological footprint, in startling contrast to the clodhoppers that are renewable energy

Oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Important though they’ve been to the economic life of mankind, none can hold a candle to coal, the most consequential energy source of all. This virtuous fuel — the Romans called it “the best stone in Britain” for its polished beauty when carved into jewelry — did more than power the Industrial Revolution, bringing unprecedented prosperity. Coal also brought enormous social and environmental blessings.

Centuries before the Industrial Revolution, during the reign of Elizabeth I, England was being rapidly deforested by the growing demand for wood fuel — the iron industry had an insatiable desire for charcoal, the navy warned the wood shortage in ship building posed a national security threat, London’s breweries alone required 20,000 wagon loads a year and the poor were especially hard hit, with the wood needed to cook and keep warm increasing in cost at rates far exceeding inflation.

Dozens of commissions confirmed the threat to the nation’s forests and even in rural areas the law called for those who stole wood to be “whipped till they bleed well.” Hardships for the poor were especially cruel because England was then in the grips of the Little Ice Age, which hurt the economy as well as increasing the need for home heating.

Wynne’s Ring of Fire road announcement ‘premature’ say 2 area First Nations (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

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

Eabametoong and Neskantaga not included in Aug. 21 announcement, say jurisdictional issues not settled

Two northwestern Ontario First Nations near the Ring of Fire say an announcement by the provincial government that it has a deal in place to construct all-season roads into the mineral-rich area is “premature.”

On Monday, Premier Kathleen Wynne was in Thunder Bay to announce that the province had reached a deal with three Matawa First Nations — Webequie, Nibinamik and Marten Falls — that would see roads linking their communities to the provincial highway system and continuing into the Ring of Fire.

But in a joint statement issued late Thursday afternoon, two other communities not included in that deal — Eabametoong and Neskantaga — said those projects will “hit a dead end,” if there is no “real and concrete jurisdiction agreement with First Nations.” “”The reality is that all the roads to the Ring of Fire traverse the territory of our Nations, and nothing is happening without the free, prior and informed consent of our First Nations,” Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias was quoted as saying in a written release.

Glencore Zambia Unit May Fire 4,700 Workers Amid Power Spat – by Taonga Clifford Mitimingi and Matthew Hill (Bloomberg News – August 24, 2017)

August 25, 2017

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc’s copper unit in Zambia said a dispute over electricity fees that has already led to reduced power supply may result in the dismissal of 4,700 workers.

Copperbelt Energy Corp. lowered supplies to Mopani Copper Mines after the company refused to pay new power prices introduced by the government at the start of the year. Mopani said the fee increase wasn’t part of its agreement with Copperbelt. Mopani, which employs about 15,000 people including contractors, has notified the government of the planned job losses, Labor Minister Joyce Nonde-Simukoko said by phone.

“It has become necessary for Mopani Copper Mines to curtail some areas of its operations due to the restriction of power,” the Glencore unit said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “We expect that we shall effectively have to close several areas and our scaled-back operations may affect a total of 4,700 direct employees.”

BHP explores $2 billion stake sale in Canada potash mine: sources – by John Tilak and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters U.S. – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd is considering selling a 25 percent interest in its Canadian potash mine project, a stake that could be worth close to $2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The move comes as activist investor Elliott Management Corp has been pushing the company for changes. BHP is working with an investment bank for the potential stake sale in its partly built Jansen, Saskatchewan potash project, the sources said this week.

For BHP, the move will help share the risk of developing the mine and reduce its exposure to the project, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.

Guatemalan court backs Tahoe’s Escobal mine suspension – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Shares tanked on the news, bring year-to-date losses to more than 50%

Shares in Latin America-focused Tahoe Resources (TSX:THO)(NYSE:TAHO) collapsed Friday after a Guatemalan court upheld the suspension of the company’s license to operate Escobal, the world’s third largest silver mine.

The Canadian miner said the court decision responds to an appeal filed by its Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, in an action brought by the anti-mining group, CALAS, against the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mines in May.

The organization alleged Tahoe violated the local indigenous people’s right of consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to Tahoe’s local unit.

Illegal miners in South Africa swallow gold in condoms – by Wendell Roelf (Reuters U.S. – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Illegal miners in South Africa are swallowing unrefined gold and platinum in condoms as a new tactic to avoid arrest for smuggling that is costing the industry $1.5 billion a year, the police told parliament on Friday.

Illegal mining has plagued South Africa’s mining sector for decades, and extends from small time pilfering to global organized crime networks. The crime costs the industry and government an estimated 20 billion rand ($1.5 billion) a year in lost sales, taxes and royalties, the Chamber of Mines, an industry body, says.

“They are ingesting the amalgam concealed in condoms and this is done for two principle reasons. One is to be able to bypass mine security and the other is also to prevent being robbed by opposing groups,” Brigadier Ebrahim Kadwa, a commander in South Africa’s Hawks organized crime unit, said, showing parliament slides of gold-filled condoms in miners’ x-rays.

‘A catastrophe’: Brazil looks to escape recession by opening Amazon reserve for mining – by Victor Ferreira (Financial Post – August 24, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://nationalpost.com/

‘The decree is the biggest attack on the Amazon in the past 50 years,’ an opposition senator said. The reserve is said to be home to a massive gold deposit

Brazil’s government has opened a massive national reserve to vast commercial mining in a move critics dubbed the “biggest attack on the Amazon in the past 50 years.”

A decree from President Michel Temer published Wednesday announced that the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (RENCA) would immediately be abolished so that the area, thought to be rich in gold, could be explored. The reserve has been protected since 1984 and covers 47,000 square kilometres — nearly the size of the province of Nova Scotia. About one-third of the reserve will be opened to miners.

The move, proposed by the country’s mining and energy ministry in March, comes as the country has been struggling to escape a crushing economic crisis that has seen unemployment rise above 12 per cent. In a statement to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, mining and energy minister Fernando Coelho Filho suggested the move could help drag the country out of recession.

Editorial painted misleading picture of mining – by Jim Taylor (Gainesville Sun – August 24, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://www.gainesville.com/

Jim Taylor is a local attorney who lives in Bradford County and represents HPS Enterprises.

You might be surprised to learn that phosphate mining in Florida first started here in Alachua County more than 130 years ago. Phosphate nutrients are just as important for farmers to grow the food we eat as they were back then, but the processes we use to mine this crucial resource have undergone significant advancements.

That’s why it was disappointing to read The Sun’s recent editorial, “Mine poses threat to river, aquifer,” which paints an incomplete and misleading picture of the phosphate mining plans that have been submitted to officials in Union and Bradford counties.

The families pursuing this opportunity are local residents who have owned this land for decades. They are part of our community. They have a vested interest in returning the land to productive use for wildlife, agriculture and other purposes after mining has taken place, and they want to make sure our area’s precious natural environment and quality of life are protected for generations to come.

It’s Party Time for the Metals No One Knows About – by Thomas Biesheuvel and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – August 24, 2017)

August 25, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

It’s turning out to be a great year for minor metals. Rechargeable-battery ingredient cobalt has gained 83 percent, while ruthenium, used in the chemical industry and electronics, is up 63 percent.

The latest star is vanadium, an obscure silvery-grey metal thought to have been used to harden steel as far back as the Crusades. The metal, which is also used in energy-storage batteries, has surged 67 percent since mid-July, according to Metal Bulletin data.

Much of vanadium’s rise has been driven by policy changes in Beijing. The China Iron & Steel Research Institute has proposed increasing the amount of vanadium required in construction steel, which would boost consumption, according to VTB Capital and SP Angel research. The new standard is expected to be announced in September.

Slumping fertilizer producers gear up to fill truck demand – by Rod Nickel (Reuters U.s. – August 24, 2017)

August 25, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Fertilizer companies, coping with a stubborn price slump, are banking on tighter emissions standards for diesel trucks in the United States and Europe to buoy their balance sheets.

Nitrogen fertilizer producers including CF Industries Holdings Inc and Agrium Inc are accelerating output of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), a water and urea solution used to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide. The niche market offers premiums of $50 to $100 per short ton over the crop nutrients they sell at prices that are depressed due to excessive supplies.

DEF demand has risen since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set tighter emissions controls in 2010 for diesel trucks made by Volvo [VOLVO.UL], Daimler AG and others. The European Union, in which DEF is known as AdBlue, introduced similar legislation in 2013.

Mixed results for the eco mob – by Peter Foster (Financial Post – August 25, 2017)

August 25, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

Canada’s NEB expands its review of the Energy East pipeline proposal, while U.S. limited partnership Energy Transfer Equity files a racketeering lawsuit against Greenpeace and other ENGOs

Two developments this week indicate the stark difference in the political climate with regards to energy on opposite sides of the 49th parallel. President Donald Trump wants to continue to unleash the U.S.’s vast fossil fuel potential, which has had a dramatic, positive effect on job creation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks to a carbon tax and a regulation-forced transition to a land of sunshine and wind-turbine lollypops.

On Wednesday, Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) announced that it was expanding its review of the Energy East pipeline proposal, which would take Alberta oil to Quebec and the East coast, to include both its impacts on climate, and climate policy’s impact on it.
This promises to make even more complicated what is already a regulatory bog, and represents a major victory for radical anti-development environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) such as Greenpeace.

Sidelined First Nations vow to halt Ring of Fire road construction plans – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 24, 2017)

August 25, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Eabametoong, Neskantaga want their say on Far North development 150

Two remote First Nation communities left on the curb by Queen’s Park’s monumental Ring of Fire roads announcement are prepared to erect a stop sign to Far North development.

Leadership from Eabametoong and Neskantaga First Nations are upset with Premier Kathleen Wynne’s “divisive approach” in negotiating agreements with individual communities of the Matawa tribal council as a strategy to run roads into the region with their approval.

In an Aug. 24 news release, Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias said he’s prepared to put the brakes to that. “The reality is that all the roads to the Ring of Fire traverse the territory of our nations, and nothing is happening without the free, prior, and informed consent of our First Nations.”

China Speculators Swarm to Aluminum as Cuts Spur Supply Bet (Bloomberg News – August 23, 2017)

August 25, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

With a week to go, it’s already the heaviest month ever for trading aluminum in China.

The metal has typically been one of the quieter contracts on China’s mercurial futures markets, but supply reforms in the top producer and consumer have caught the attention of the nation’s speculators and sent prices to the highest in almost six years. Trading in August has already surpassed the previous monthly record set in November.

While the frenzy is raising concern aluminum’s just the latest Chinese commodity bubble that will be deflated by regulators before it bursts, there’s also optimism that investors are tapping into a real shift in the fundamental outlook for the metal. The Shanghai Futures Exchange has already stepped in to calm trading in steel and zinc this month as a surge in volume propelled prices to multi-year highs.

Congolese Troops to Protect Richest Untapped Tin Deposit – by Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg News – August 23, 2017)

August 24, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The Democratic Republic of Congo has promised to help Alphamin Resources Corp. to protect the world’s highest-grade untapped tin deposit.

Construction of the mine has already started in a remote part of North Kivu, an eastern province, and Alphamin intends to have the $152 million project fully funded by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Boris Kamstra said Tuesday. A large part of the project’s success will depend on maintaining security in a region that hosts armed militia groups and eliminating illegal mining.

“The DRC government has been hugely supportive in that we now have a very strong military presence in our area,” Kamstra told reporters at a Johannesburg briefing attended by North Kivu Minister of Mines Anselme Kitakya. “In essence we’ve got a military curtain between ourselves and the east of us which is largely unpopulated forest.”