Republic of Mining

Bloom Lake Mine gets US$180M loan – by Andrew Topf (Mining.com – July 15, 2017)

July 17, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Sprott and big Quebec pension fund step in to restart iron ore mine closed in 2014

The cash keeps pouring in to Champion Iron (TSX:CIA) and its subsidiary, Quebec Iron Ore (QIO), which is planning on restarting the idled Bloom Lake Mine in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Earlier this month Montreal-based Champion announced that Sprott Resource Lending and la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec- a large pension fund – will provide debt financing for the project totalling USD$180 million.

The large loan follows the granting of a $40 million bridge financing back in May plus offtake agreement. The combination of $26 million in debt and $14 million in equity is being put towards upgrades at the mine and processing facilities.

South Africa suspends contentious mining charter – by Joseph Cotterill (Financial Times – July 14, 2017)

July 17, 2017

https://www.ft.com/

Move to increase stakes held by black shareholders put on hold

Johannesburg – South Africa’s government has suspended a contentious new charter for the country’s beleaguered mining industry, less than a month after it was introduced.

Mosebenzi Zwane, mining minister, agreed to stop implementation of the charter while South Africa’s chamber of mines, an industry body, seeks an “urgent interdict” on its provisions in the courts, the chamber said on Friday.

The mining charter would have required miners operating in South Africa, including Anglo American and Glencore, to permanently increase stakes held by black shareholders to 30 per cent or more within a year in order to redress post-apartheid inequality in the industry.

Sprott Sees Next Gold Bull Market Driven by Stock Correction – by Kristine Owram (Bloomberg News – July 14, 2017)

July 17, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Sprott Inc., the precious metals-focused money manager, sees gold rising by the end of 2017 as weaker-than-expected economic growth drives stock prices lower.

“The next move on gold will be driven by an equity market correction,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Grosskopf said in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. “It’s a pretty safe bet that if equity markets start to look volatile and dangerous then a lot of money will flow into gold as a hedge to that.”

A recent spate of hawkishness from global central banks has pressured gold prices, which have fallen about 5 percent since early June. The Bank of Canada raised rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2010 and other central banks from the U.S. Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank have indicated their willingness to tighten monetary policy. Gold tends to weaken in periods of rising interest rates, which bolster the U.S. dollar.

HISTORY: The Mac serves as Timmins’ hockey temple – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – November 26, 2016)

July 16, 2017

http://www.timminspress.com/

Karen Bachmann is the curator/director of the Timmins Museum and a writer of local history.

TIMMINS – In honour of Hometown Hockey Weekend here in Timmins, I feel that I have to go back and look at an article I wrote a while ago on the McIntyre Arena (home to Hometown Hockey, as it were, this weekend!).

While there is a lot of discussion out there about the arena itself, you cannot deny that it is our very own temple to the game.

Talk about history – it’s the rink that was home to many legendary local hockey teams (and quite a few NHLers to boot, including the Mahovlich brothers, Bill Barilko, Paul Harrison, Allan Stanley, Dean Prentice, Murray Costello and his brother Les, Steve Sullivan and so many others), as well as the headquarters for the world-famous Schumacher Skating School.

It’s also hosted umpteen concerts, circuses, conferences, trade shows, banquets and horticultural shows. It has been used to say goodbye to prominent citizens (Father Les Costello), and to ordain our local Catholic bishops. I would go even so far as to say that “The Mac” is a building that helps define who we are as residents in this city. Without it, we would be very much poorer.

Low grades, high power costs key snags to SA chromite sector’s competitiveness – by David Oliveira (MiningWeekly.com -July 14, 2017)

July 14, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Despite South Africa’s rich chromite endowment, the low chromium oxide (Cr2O3) grades in its orebodies and the high cost of electricity are significant barriers to the country becoming the dominant player in the global industry.

Mintek metallurgical project development consultant Dr Nic Barcza highlighted that the estimated global chromite produc- tion last year was about 30-million tons, with South Africa leading the charge at 14-million tons, followed by Kazakhstan at 5.5-million tons.

Barcza was giving a keynote address at the Southern African Institute for Mining and Metallurgy’s Chrome Colloquium at State-owned research organisation Mintek’s Randburg facilities, in Johannesburg, last month. He noted that South Africa and Kazakhstan, which collectively boast a shipping-grade chromite reserve of about five-billion tons, accounted for over 95% of global chromite resources.

Best-Performing Metals as Hard to Trade as They Are to Find – by Eddie Van Der Walt (Bloomberg News – July 14, 2017)

July 14, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Even if you’d heard of this year’s best-performing metals, betting on them would probably have been a struggle. Ruthenium, iridium and the somewhat better known rhodium — used mostly in specialized products like hard disks, spark plugs and autocatalysts — have trounced almost all major commodities tracked by Bloomberg.

Prices are up at least 33 percent this year as demand improved for raw materials that are among the world’s rarest and collected as byproducts of mining the precious metals platinum and palladium.

Unlike most other commodities, which are bought and sold on exchanges around the world, these metals are quirky assets. There are few exchange-traded funds backed by rhodium and they are small and thinly traded. It’s even harder to buy and sell ruthenium and iridium, where most deals are between suppliers and industrial users.

Acacia agrees to pay higher taxes set in Tanzania new mining law – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 14, 2017)

July 14, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania’s No.1 gold producer majority owned by Barrick, has agreed to pay higher mining taxes in the country even though it’s still disputing in an international court some of the changes to the laws governing its three gold mines.

The company, which spun off from Barrick Gold in 2010, will now pay a 6% royalty, up from 4%, on metallic minerals including gold, copper and silver. The miner also said it would continue to pay the recently imposed 1% clearing fee on exports.

Acacia’s decision to comply with higher royalties fits experts forecast that companies already active in the Tanzanian mining sector will stay put, despite the much-less favourable regulatory environment.

Americans Buying Fewer Gems Puts the Hurt on Diamond Hub Antwerp – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – July 13, 2017)

July 14, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

An ugly year for diamonds in the vital U.S. market is piling pressure on Europe’s historic center of the $80 billion global trade.

Diamond trading companies in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, which has been the industry’s trading capital for five centuries, were already feeling the pinch from a tightening credit bubble and thin margins. That’s now being compounded by falling demand from some of the industry’s biggest customers, notably retailers Signet Jewelers Ltd. and Tiffany & Co.

“Some of the major retailers have been exerting significant buyer power on diamond companies over the last few years,” said Anish Aggarwal, a partner at consultant Gemdax in Antwerp. “If a diamond company becomes too dependent on such retailers, they can get very exposed.”

Muted growth forecast for Europe’s mining industry (MiningWeekly.com – July 13, 2017)

July 14, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining and metals companies operating in Europe are set to remain in recovery mode, as a sluggish recovery in mineral prices keep investment activity subdued, while environmental regulations will pose headwinds for coal-producing countries.

BMI Research said on Thursday that mineral prices were unlikely to recover over the coming quarters, citing a drop in Chinese demand owing to an economic slowdown in that country. Poor short- to medium-term growth prospects in Europe’s two mining powerhouses, Ukraine and Russia, over the next five years would further hinder mining development in the region.

“As a result, mining companies will remain cautious moving forward and will focus on improving balance sheets and protecting themselves from potential price volatility, rather than investing in greenfield projects,” the Fitch Group company stated.

U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan tries to balance mining support with work on climate change – by Maya Rao (Minneapolis Star Tribune – July 13, 2017)

July 14, 2017

http://www.startribune.com/

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan is embracing the fight against climate change in Congress even as he faces criticism from environmentalists back home for his support of local mining interests.

In a congressional hearing on Friday, the northeastern Minnesota DFLer will tout his bill to complete a land swap that would benefit the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. Nolan also recently joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers called the Climate Solutions Caucus, and he maintains that there’s no contradiction between reducing carbon emissions and championing a mining project that has drawn opposition from a range of environmental groups.

“I am convinced beyond any doubt whatsoever that 21st-century state-of-the-art mining which is compliant with strong environmental rules and regulations, unlike the mining of the past, is part of a foundation to address global warming and reduce the carbon footprint,” Nolan said in an interview.

Can Trump resurrect U.S. aluminum, and who killed it anyway? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – July 13, 2017)

July 14, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Alcoa is bringing one of its U.S. aluminum smelters back from the dead. The Warrick smelter in Indiana has annual capacity of 269,000 tonnes, its own coal-based power source and is integrated with a rolling mill.

None of which saved it from Alcoa’s scramble down the cost curve in the face of falling prices, culminating in its permanent closure in January 2016. That’s different from what the industry calls a “curtailment”, a temporary idling for possible restart.

But now, miraculously, Warrick is back and Alcoa will fire up three of the plant’s five production lines, with capacity of 161,400 tonnes of aluminum. The other two will be classified as “curtailed”. The timing of this resurrection is politically charged.

NEWS RELEASE: Osisko Sponsors Search for Avro Arrow Artifacts

July 15, 2017July 14, 2017

Canada 150 Project to Find and Recover Lost Arrow Free Flight Models

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/raisethearrow/

Video: https://vimeo.com/208205480/dddb0ef1aa

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – July 14, 2017) – Osisko Mining Inc. (TSX:OSK) (“Osisko” or the “Corporation”) is proud to announce that it is a participating sponsor in the search for and recovery of nine Avro Arrow free flight models launched over Lake Ontario in series of tests during 1954 – 1957.

The models are one-eighth scale replicas of the famed flying jet, and were part of the final flight design test work done prior to the production of the CF-105 Arrow. The goal of the search is to discover the resting place of the nine models, recover and ultimately house them at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa and the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton, Ontario.

The search and recovery program is a Canada 150 collaborative effort spearheaded by OEX Recovery Group Incorporated, sponsored by Osisko group companies Osisko Mining Inc. and Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd., in collaboration with their financial partners at National Bank, the Bank of Montreal, Canaccord Genuity, Maxit Capital, Eight Capital and Northfield Capital; the Canada Aviation and Space Museum (CASM), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the Canadian Conservation Institute, and Bennett Jones LLP. Support for this project is also being provided by Scarlett Janusas Archaeology, Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Military Institute and Canada Company.

Coal Mine Crackdown Dims Prospects for Mongolia’s Fortune Seekers (Voice Of America – July 12, 2017)

July 13, 2017

https://www.voanews.com/

ULAANBAATAR — Working 50 meters (164 feet) under ground with minimal air supply, Uuganbaatar is one of thousands of Mongolians trying to make a living digging for coal.

Although the mining season does not begin until autumn, when the ground freezes and work is safer, the 31-year-old and his colleagues are seeking to gain a head start by digging a shaft in Nalaikh, one of the nine districts of Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, in late June.

But their mine could soon be shut by the government, which has launched an unprecedented crackdown on sites that don’t meet safety standards. That would mean even fewer opportunities for Mongolia’s individual prospectors, who have already been hit hard by the privatization of mines previously open to all.

Transforming the Mining Industry with Barrick Gold – by Jennifer Rideout (Cisco Blog – July 13, 2017)

July 13, 2017

https://blogs.cisco.com/

Global mining leader Barrick Gold is at the forefront of digital transformation. The organization, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is focused on becoming a 21st century company – a priority that drives Barrick Gold to integrate technology into everything they do.

Look no further than Barrick’s recent partnership announcement with Cisco and Great Basin College in Nevada for proof of this focus. The company is investing nearly $400,000 over three years to “bring digital and information technology skills development courses, free of charge, to groups in the community” through Cisco’s Networking Academy curriculum.

The company doubled-down on this announcement by stating they plan to expand the program to every community in which they operate – including in Argentina, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Zambia.

Massive copper mine tests Trump’s push to slash regulation – by Emily Flitter (Reuters U.S. – July 13, 2017)

July 13, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

SUPERIOR, Arizona (Reuters) – Rio Tinto’s proposed Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona would tunnel 7,000 feet underground, where rocks radiate heat from the earth’s molten core. It would suck up enough water to supply a city and leave a crater a mile and a half wide and 1,000 feet deep.

Planned for more than a decade, the project would be a prototype for a looming era of more invasive U.S. mines as companies run out of easy-to-reach deposits, geologists say. It is also the project President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, had in mind as he began crafting a “hit list” of regulations that should be killed to speed industrial permitting.

“A company shouldn’t have to be hundreds of millions of dollars into risk money without knowing whether there is a real chance it is going to get approved,” Ross told Reuters in a May 9 interview, referring to the mine.