Republic of Mining

Tanzania’s president signs new mining bills into law (Reuters U.S. – July 10, 2017)

July 11, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

Tanzanian President John Magufuli said on Monday he has signed into law new mining bills which require the government to own at least a 16 percent stake in mining projects. The laws, which also increase royalties tax on gold and other minerals, were passed by parliament last week despite opposition from the mining industry body.

Magufuli reiterated on Monday that no new mining licenses would be issued until Tanzania “puts things in order” and that the government would review all existing mining licenses with foreign investors.

“We must benefit from our God-given minerals and that is why we must safeguard our natural resource wealth to ensure we do not end up with empty mining pits,” Magufuli told a rally in his home village in Chato district, northwestern Tanzania.

Fires Affect Canadian Lumber Mills, Get Close to Kinder Pipeline – by Natalie Obiko Pearson, Danielle Bochove and Jen Skerritt (Bloomberg News – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

More than 300 wildfires in British Columbia have forced Canadian lumber mills to shut as hot, dry weather sparked blazes across swaths of western Canada and the U.S. Norbord Inc., the largest North American producer of oriented strand board used in residential construction, suspended production at its mill in 100 Mile House in central B.C. but stressed that, for now, the mill is safe.

“We were in a zone that got evacuated Sunday night so we shut the mill down and that continues to be the situation,” Norbord Chief Financial Officer Robin Lampard said by phone Tuesday morning. The Toronto-based company has 440 million square feet of annual production capacity. It hasn’t disclosed the cost per day of the shutdown, Lampard said.

Canfor Corp.’s operations aren’t directly affected by the wildfires, spokeswoman Corinne Stavness said in an email Tuesday. Interfor Corp. couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

Century-old underground [coal] fires stop trains in India amid passenger safety fears – by S.N.M. Abdi (Al Arabiya English – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/

Underground fires burning for more than a century have forced authorities in India to evacuate a college and stop railway operations in the dangerous zone lest passenger trains fall into the inferno below the surface.

The first underground fires in Jharia coalfields of Jharkhand state in eastern India were reported way back in 1916 and all attempts to extinguish them have miserably failed so far. To prevent deaths, Bhagatdih’s historic Raja Shiv Prasad College, which has 6000 students on its rolls, has just been shifted to a safer site in Jamadoba six km away

And as more and more land in the affected area has started cracking or caving in due to subterranean fires, railway officials have decided not to run passenger trains on the 41-km stretch between Chandrapura and Dhanbad.

Copper and the Making of Kazakhstan’s New Metal Moguls – by Paolo Sorbello (The Diplomat – July 10, 2017)

July 11, 2017

http://thediplomat.com/

Commodity prices have found a “new normal” but copper is doing much better.

What seemed to be a widespread disease impacting commodity prices turned out to be a selective virus, against which some commodities proved immune, at least in the long run. The performance of copper prices over the last few months has contributed to the changing landscape of Kazakhstan’s richest people.

Together with the recent reorganization of the banking sector, commodities have played a major role in swaying the fortunes of the Central Asian country’s elite. After hovering around $2/lb for most of 2016, copper prices jumped 25 percent in November 2016 and have remained around or above this level for the past eight months. On June 30, Bloomberg quoted the precious metal at $2.7/lb.

In the same period, despite a roller coaster ride peaking above $55/barrel, Brent oil prices have returned to the same level of November 2016, at $46/barrel. Copper clearly outperformed other major commodities and this had a decisive effect in reshuffling Kazakhstan’s richest people.

Agreement between Western Shoshone and Barrick mining benefits both – by Sally Roberts (Northern Nevada Business Weekly – July 10, 2017)

July 11, 2017

Hostilities have long persisted between Nevada’s mining companies and the state’s Native American population. That was particularly true in the Elko area in the early years of this century.

“There were many many years of bad, difficult communications with Placer Dome, which had a different way of approaching the concerns of the Western Shoshone,” remembers Brian Mason, a member of the Western Shoshone, and now program manager of Native American Affairs for Barrick Gold Corporation.

Mason began his work in mining with Placer Dome’s environmental restoration department. Whenever Placer Dome opened the permitting process for a project, which includes public comment, it faced 200 to 300 objections from tribal members, he said. That led to lawsuits and court delays.

Electric cars pose headaches for the oil industry – by Gillian Steward (Toronto Star – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

https://www.thestar.com/

Electric cars are having a moment. There are only a few on the road compared to gas guzzlers but recent predictions by reliable sources see battery powered vehicles becoming the rage much sooner than had been expected.

Since these sedans, SUVs, and possibly pickup trucks will be powered by electricity instead of gasoline what will that mean for the regions in Canada that produce oil from which gasoline is made? Less demand for oil means prices stay flat or go down, investment dries up, employment sags, provincial treasuries accrue fewer taxes and royalties.

New technology that people can afford and is useful to them can become common place in a relatively short time. The iPhone is so ubiquitous now we can hardly remember what life was like before we spent most of our time looking at little screens.

The awesome, unstoppable revolutionary electric-car revolution that doesn’t actually exist – by Kevin Libin (Financial Post – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

Something strange happened at the Ecofiscal Commission recently. Earlier this month, the carbon-tax advocacy group featured on its website as one of its advisers the renowned Canadian economist (and FP Comment columnist) Jack M. Mintz. The other day, suddenly and without fanfare, Mintz was gone from the website, and the commission’s advisory board.

Advisers come and advisers go, of course, but it turns out there was an impetus for Mintz’s departure. The Ecofiscal Commission in its latest report, dropped just before Canada Day, seemingly shifted from its position that carbon prices were so excellent at mimicking market forces that the tax could repeal and replace virtually the entire vast expensive gallimaufry of subsidies, caps, rules and regulations that are costing Canada a fortune in business and bureaucrats.

As some Ecofiscal commissioners wrote just a few months ago, policies that “dictate specific technologies or methods for reducing emissions constrain private choice and increase costs” and were a bad idea.

AWARD: Ross Beaty receives Order of Canada (Canadian Mining Journal – July 10, 2017)

July 11, 2017

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

OTTAWA – Mining magnate and philanthropist Ross Beaty is among the 99 prominent Canadians awarded membership in the 2017 Order of Canada.

The award shows that mining and environmentalism are not necessarily incompatible. Beaty, the founder and chairman of Pan American Silver and executive chairman of Alterra Power Corp – a geothermal, wind and hydro power company – is also a generous philanthropist. In May he gave $5 million over 10 years to Panthera, which is a global wild cat conservation organization.

A few month earlier the Canadian Museum of Nature announced that Beaty would be providing it with its largest ever philanthropic gift: a $4 million investment to enhance the museum’s national research and collections that are focused on species discovery. The gift was through the Sitka Foundation, which Beaty founded in 2007 to be a catalyst in the protection of the environment and promotion of biodiversity.

Life In Norilsk, A Frozen Gulag Turned Mining Town – by Emmanuel Grynszpan (World Crunch.com – January 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

https://www.worldcrunch.com/

NORILSK — The belly of Mother Russia is most fertile 1,000 meters underground and 300 kilometers north of the polar circle. Outside, the temperature can drop as low as -60 degrees Fahrenheit. But down below, it’s warm and moist. And the walls shine. The blocks that detach themselves as bulldozers strike the stone are loaded with precious and semi-precious metals: nickel, copper, palladium and platinum.

In the “Skalista” mine, in Norilsk, monstrous machines stride along a maze of tunnels that will soon reach 2,000 meters below ground level. The sound of the machines shaving off the walls is terrible. Danger is omnipresent. “The worst thing is the fires,” explains Ivan Grinchuk, lead engineer at the mining group Komsomolsky, an affiliate of Norilsk Nickel.

This year, at least four miners have lost their lives in accidents. “What can I say? That’s how mining is. It’s the same all over the world,” says Grinchuk, who’s been working in Norilsk for 20 years. “It was a lot worse in the 1960s,” he adds. Grinchuk says the accidents are often caused by drunk workers. “When that’s the case,” he explains, “their families don’t get any compensation payments.”

Indonesia seeks meeting with Freeport CEO to end copper mine dispute – by Wilda Asmarini and Fergus Jensen (Reuters U.S. – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA/SINGAPORE – Indonesia says it will invite the head of mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc to Jakarta this month to try to settle a festering dispute over a new deal to operate the world’s second-largest copper mine.

The Arizona-based company resumed copper concentrate exports from the mammoth Grasberg mine in April after a 15-week outage related to the argument over mining rights, but a permanent solution to the row is yet to be found.

Uncertainty over output from the mine buoyed international copper prices earlier in the year, with Indonesia a key supplier of the metal to top consumer China.

NEWS RELEASE: Canada a Global Leader in mining exploration, innovation and diversity: PwC report

July 10, 2017

For full report: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/mining/assets/mine-2017-pwc.pdf

TORONTO, July 10, 2017 /CNW/ – According to PwC’s Mine 2017 report, Canada’s largest mining companies played a key role in the international mining sector’s emerging growth. Canada led the way on equity financing in 2016, with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange responsible for 57% of global financings during the year, according to the TMX Group and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Key factors that contributed to the sector’s growth were Canada’s international leadership in exploration, commitment to talent diversity and the implementation of innovation. Canadian mining companies’ reaped the benefits of the industry’s commitments through the realization of rising valuations that kept pace with their international counterparts.

“As the global mining industry is moving out of a challenging time into a period of recovery, it is very encouraging to see Canada as an international mining leader in a variety of areas,” said Liam Fitzgerald, National Mining Leader, PwC Canada. “Having four Canadian-based companies amongst the largest metal streaming & royalty businesses in the world demonstrates Canada’s leadership, not only in alternative financing, but in the sector as a whole,” added Fitzgerald.

Tesla wades into Australia’s battle over energy future – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – July 10, 2017)

July 10, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – There is a lot more riding on Tesla Inc’s deal to install the world’s largest grid-scale electric battery in Australia than whether Elon Musk can meet his bold commitment to finish within the 100-day deadline.

Under an agreement made public on July 7, Tesla must deliver the 100 megawatt (MW) battery within 100 days of the contract being signed, or the government of South Australia state won’t have to pay the electric car, clean energy and space exploration company.

On the surface, this is a deal aimed at providing back-up electricity to South Australia, a state that has been plagued by blackouts since it closed coal-fired power plants and moved to being powered mainly by renewables such as wind, and to a grid connection to neighboring Victoria state.

Materials Stocks Set to Shine With Poloz Preparing Rate Hikes – by Kristine Owram (Bloomberg News – July 10, 2017)

July 10, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

If Governor Stephen Poloz does the expected and raises Canadian interest rates on Wednesday, it may be time to load up on potash, copper and gold stocks.

A review of equity performances following Bank of Canada tightening cycles over the past dozen years shows that materials stocks including Lundin Mining Corp. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. significantly outperform all other sectors of the Canadian market.

Over five periods of higher interest rates, including 2010, 2007 and an extended eight-month cycle in 2005 and 2006, the S&P/TSX materials index has returned an average of 9.7 percent in the three months following a rate hike, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. By contrast, financials have gained 1.8 percent, energy has returned 0.6 percent and the benchmark index has added 2.4 percent.

Eldorado finishes Integra Gold acquisition, expands operations in Canada – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 10, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Canada’s miner Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) (NYSE:EGO) has taken over Integra Gold (TSX-V:ICG) in a move that helps it strengthen its position in the home country, particularly around the gold-rich Eastern Abitibi region, in Quebec.

The deal, worth about Cdn$590 million (US$457 at today’s rates), was approved by Integra shareholders and the Supreme Court of British Columbia last week.

The transaction gives Integra shareholders about Cdn$129 million cash and 77 million common shares of Eldorado, for all the issued common shares of Integra that the company did not already own. That represents roughly 10% of the total issued common shares of Eldorado, post-completion of the arrangement, the company said in the statement.

Cuba sees 2017 nickel, cobalt sulfides output at 54,500 tonnes (Reuters U.S. – July 9, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

Cuba plans to produce 54,500 tonnes of nickel and cobalt sulfides this year, state-run television said at the weekend.

Nickel is one of the cash-strapped Communist-run country’s most important exports, but revenue from it has suffered in recent years due to a decline in production and prices. The country was ranked 10th in world nickel production in 2016 and sixth in cobalt.

Cuba produced on average 74,000 tonnes of nickel plus cobalt during the first decade of this century, but the oldest of three plants was shuttered in 2012 and another has suffered from obsolescence and hurricane damage. Cuban nickel industry executives told Reuters a year ago that the industry was averaging 56,000 tonnes per year.