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A forgotten community: The little town in Niger keeping the lights on in France – by Lucas Destrijcker and Mahadi Diouara (African Arguments – July 18 2017)

Welcome to Arlit, the impoverished uranium capital of Africa.

From Niamey, the capital of the landlocked West African nation of Niger, we call ahead to a desert town in the remote north of the country. “Journalists? On their way here? It’s been a while”, we hear down the phone from our contact. “We welcome you with open arms, but only on the pretence that you’re visiting to interview migrants on their way to Algeria. If they find out you’re poking your nose in their business, it’s a lost cause.”

That same evening, the public bus jolts as it sets off. Destination: the gates of the Sahara. The stuffy subtropical heat gradually fades into scorching drought and plains of seemingly endless ochre sands. About two days later, we pass through a gateway with “Arlit” written on it in rusty letters.

The town of about 120,000 inhabitants is located in one of the Sahel’s most remote regions, not far from the Algerian border. The surrounding area is known to be the operating territory of numerous bandits and armed groups, including Islamist militants. It is like an island in the middle of the desert, an artificial oasis with only one raison d’être: uranium.

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[Australia] Top Mining Nation Readying Fresh Investment Wave as Prices Rally – by Matthew Burgess and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – July 17, 2017)

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — Mining companies in Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore and coal, are poised to approve fresh investments in projects, driven by rallying commodity prices and the need to replace depleting deposits, according to global equipment supply giant Komatsu Ltd.

“They’re looking at new fleets of equipment,“ Sean Taylor, chief executive officer of Komatsu’s Australian unit, said in an interview in Sydney. The miners have to reinvest in output “because otherwise they can’t maintain production at the levels that they’re at,” he said.

Australia’s commodity exports are set to hold above A$200 billion ($155 billion) over the next two fiscal years and there’s a pipeline of about A$25 billion of projects approved for construction, according to government estimates. The Bloomberg Commodity Index has advanced more than 12 percent since slumping to a quarter-century low in January 2016.

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Dominion Diamond accepts sweetened $1.2-billion bid – by Josh O’Kane (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2017)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Dominion Diamond Corp., the world’s third-largest producer of rough diamonds by value, announced Monday that it would be acquired by The Washington Cos. for $1.2-billion (U.S.), four months after a previous unsolicited $1.1-billion offer from the privately held American company prompted Dominion to put itself up for sale.

If given shareholder and regulatory approvals, the deal would see Washington buy up Dominion’s shares for $14.25 a piece – a 44-per-cent premium to the $9.92 share price on March 17 of this year, versus its original $13.50-per-share offer.

In early-afternoon trading, Dominion’s New York-listed shares were up 4.4 per cent, at $14.07. Toronto-listed shares were up 5.4 per cent.

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Legalising North East India’s mica mines – by Heidi Vella (Mining Technology – July 17, 2017)

http://www.mining-technology.com/

Around 20,000 children work in North East India’s highly dangerous and illegal mica mines. The Indian Government has pledged to legalise these mines in order to protect a vital source of income for poverty stricken families, raise safety standards and put an end to child labour, which has already claimed many young lives; but will this strategy work?

It makes cars sparkle and eyeshadow shimmer. Yet, despite the glamourous hue it produces, how mica is collected is far from seductive. In 2015 and 2016, separate investigations by The Guardian and Thompson Reuters exposed terrible working conditions and child labour connected with the major mica producing states Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in North East India, where a quarter of the world’s mica is produced.

The Reuters investigation alone found that seven children had been killed in these mines within two months; some of their deaths covered up by the illegal mine operators which paid families for their silence. Further deaths have been recorded by the India-based NGO Save Childhood Movement.

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Glencore plans spin-off of mining royalties business – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – July 17, 2017)

https://www.ft.com/

Glencore is preparing to spin-off its portfolio of mining royalties into a new company later this year in an attempt to attract outside investors with an eye on an eventual stock market listing, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.

Glencore plans to seed the new company with royalty agreements worth in excess of $300m, while looking to attract a strategic partner to fund further deals. The mining and trading house wants to provide more financing to junior miners in return for a slice of their revenue and exclusive marketing deals.

The plan is the latest sign that billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive of the Swiss-based company, is pursuing growth after two years in which the commodity downturn forced it to focus on paying down debts and repairing its balance sheet.

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Exclusive: China eyes merger of metals giants Minmetals and China National Gold – sources – by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu (Reuters U.S. – July 18, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China is considering a merger between China Minmetals Corp, one of the country’s largest miners and metals traders, and China National Gold Group, as Beijing pushes consolidation of its state-run firms, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Three sources with knowledge of the discussions said the two state-owned firms have been in negotiations for months, though any agreement could still be some time away.

The talks between two of China’s largest metals producers are part of Beijing’s broad efforts to shake up its indebted and inefficient state sector, streamline the number of companies and create globally competitive firms in sectors including power generation, shipping and metals.

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YESAB says Goldcorp failed to consult First Nations, halts Coffee mine assessment – by Lori Garrison (Yukon News – July 14, 2017)

‘They just came in and completely failed to read the local landscape’

The Yukon Environmental Socio-Economic Assessment Board has discontinued its assessment of the proposed Coffee gold mine on the grounds that Goldcorp did not adequately consult with the affected First Nations governments.

“Having carefully reviewed the information in Goldcorp’s proposal as well as the comments provided by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Selkirk First Nation, the executive committee is of the opinion that Goldcorp has not met its obligation to consult in relation to those First Nations and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun,” YESAB’s executive committee wrote in its report, issued July 12.

“The only aspect we’re looking at is the consultation record…. They (Goldcorp) are missing pieces of it,” said Rob Yeoman, a spokesperson for YESAB. Goldcorp appears to have tried to rush through the consultation process in an effort to meet what mine general manager Buddy Crill referred to as an “aggressive” March 31 assessment deadline.

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Kamloops city council votes against controversial Ajax copper-gold mine – by Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2017)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

VANCOUVER — Local politicians in Kamloops, B.C., voted on Monday to oppose a controversial copper-gold mine that would operate just outside of the city limits.

The city doesn’t have the authority to stop the Ajax mine, owned by Poland-based KGHM, but hopes federal and provincial governments will take Kamloops’s position into account, the city’s acting mayor, Arjun Singh, said. “We’d like, certainly, to be heard in what we are saying,” Mr. Singh said.

“We realize we are not the final decision makers – but I think the work that we have all done to assess [the project] leads at least the majority of us to think it’s not a good idea for the community.” The proposed mine, which is also opposed by First Nations in the region, has been a divisive issue for the city.

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Bolivia’s Evo Morales plans lithium mining offensive – by Srinivas Mazumdaru (Deutsche Welle – July 17, 2017)

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

The Bolivian government aims to pump massive investments to expand the country’s production of lithium, a metal needed for the batteries that power everything from smartphones and laptops to hybrid and electric cars.

In a future battery-powered world, lithium may replace oil and emerge as one of the most important commodities on earth. That prospect is driving Bolivia, which is considered to have the largest reserves of the metal, to keep lithium under strict state control.

Bolivian President Evo Morales sees a prosperous future for his currently impoverished South American nation, pinning his hopes on the rapid rise in the global price of this valuable resource. “We will develop a huge lithium industry, over $800 million have already been made available,” Morales told the German DPA news agency.

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Protest camp built on proposed site of Sisson mine project – by Shane Fowler CBC News New Brunswick – July 18, 2018)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/

First Nations protesters in N.B. planning to last the winter at the remote site of Sisson mine project

Members of Maliseet First Nations have started to build a protest camp at the proposed site of the Sisson mine near Napadogan. Tents, campers, and other homemade structures have been set up in hopes of deterring future development of a proposed tungsten and molybdenum mine.

“I am a Wulustukyik grandmother and I am here defending the land,” said Terry Sappier, who has been living in the camp most of the time since it was built July 2. “I’m defending it for our future generations.”

On Monday afternoon, there were a half dozen men, woman and children at the campsite as part of the Wulustukyik Nation Grandmothers and Mothers group. Many were working to build additional structures, including a shower station, as the group plans to live in the remote location “for as long as it takes.”

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India’s land conflicts will persist until acquisition policy is inclusive, says expert – by Rina Chandran (Reuters India – July 17, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Conflicts over land in India will persist until the government’s policy on land acquisitions for industrial use is made more inclusive to benefit villagers and farmers who have to give up their land, said an expert who has studied recent clashes.

Standoffs between the state and farmers have risen in India as demand for land increases, affecting millions of people and jeopardizing billions of dollars of investment..

While a 2013 land acquisition law was aimed at protecting the rights of farmers, some key provisions have been diluted in several states. Officials say this is essential to ease acquisitions for faster economic growth.

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How mining could be a boon for African women – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2017)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In northeastern Congo, unequal pay and cultural taboos have kept women from sharing in the country’s mineral wealth. Activists are trying to change that, and Canada’s ‘feminist’ foreign aid policy has a part to play, Geoffrey York reports

Standing barefoot in a swampy pond, Bibicha Sanao sloshes the muddy water in her basin with an expert motion, panning tenaciously until she finds the hidden treasure: a few tiny slivers of gold. It can be hazardous work. She lifts her pant leg to show the scars from a water snake’s bite. Sometimes she gets sick from the contaminated water and the chilly rain. It’s not much safer when she toils in a nearby gold pit, where she was once buried in a landslide.

Yet, she won’t give it up. Her mining work here in northeastern Congo is crucial for supporting her family, and she’s been doing it for many years – despite obstacles that men never face. Now, activists are fighting to remove those barriers, giving African women a chance at the higher incomes that traditionally go to men, while improving the health and safety of their working conditions.

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Mining Giant Hunts for Diamonds in the Canadian Forest – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – July 18, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Rio Tinto Group’s pursuit of new diamond output to tap rising demand in Asia is focusing on an unheralded exploration project in the Canadian forest.

The world’s second-biggest miner on Tuesday added the Fort a la Corne joint venture, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, to its published list of advanced projects after striking an agreement last month to take as much as a 60 percent stake.

The venture’s Star-Orion South project holds an estimated diamond resource of 55.4 million carats and has potential development costs of about C$2.5 billion ($2 billion), according to 2015 filings by developer, Saskatoon-based Shore Gold Inc.

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Vale’s future in New Caledonia uncertain (Radio New Zealand – July 18, 2017)

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/

New Caledonia is facing the possibilty of unprecedented job losses because of the continued low nickel price. The Brazilian company Vale is reassessing its commitment to running the Goro plant in the south of New Caledonia’s main island on which thousands of jobs depend.

Jamie Tahana asked Walter Zweifel what has triggered the concern.

WALTER ZWEIFEL: The low nickel price has been like a dark cloud over the entire nickel sector for years now, with losses being run up by all the three main operators. What sent the alarm bells ringing is the announcement by Vale’s new CEO Fabio Schvartsman in Brazil at the start of this month that it was reviewing its operation in New Caledonia. Vale runs a global network of mines and mining-related businesses which make it the world’s top iron producer. However Vale has been bleeding money in New Caledonia where it is reported to have lost $US1.3 billion in the past three years.

JAMIE TAHANA: What are the options that are being discussed?

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No cobalt, no Tesla? – by Sebastien Gandon (Tech Crunch – January 1, 2017)

https://techcrunch.com/

The battery industry currently uses 42 percent of global cobalt production, a critical metal for Lithium-ion cells. The remaining 58 percent is used in diverse industrial and military applications (super alloys, catalysts, magnets, pigments…) that rely exclusively on the material.

Approximately 97 percent of the world’s supply of cobalt comes as a by-product of nickel or copper (mostly out of Africa). Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Lundin agreed to sell to Chinese players their respective stakes in the Tenke Fungurume mine, one of the largest known cobalt sources, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Tesla has stated that the cobalt it needs will be sourced exclusively in North America, but the math doesn’t seem to add up.

Is Tesla doomed? Not necessarily…

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