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Drilling proves productive for Kirkland Lake Gold – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 30, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Exploration program yields new gold systems at Macassa, Taylor Mines

An aggressive exploration program by Kirkland Lake Gold is producing positive results at its two cornerstone mines in northeastern Ontario. The company reported making some high-grade drill intercepts during its exploration campaign at the South Mine Complex (SMC) of the Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake.

An underground drill program at the mine’s 5300 Level intersected some new gold mineralization to the east with the discovery of a hanging wall system that could expand the mine’s resources.

Some of the results include intercepts of 65.8 grams per tonne (g/t) over 2.1 metres and 160.3 g/t over 0.3 metres. Follow-up drilling is planned for later this year. Drill platforms have been set up on both the east and west ends of the 5300 Level to expand the resource laterally and at depth. Early results are suggesting there is a strong potential to do just that.

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A CANADIAN DIAMOND PLAY WITH DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL – by James Kwantes (Resource Opportunities – June 2017)

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The November 1991 discovery of diamonds in the Northwest Territories by Chuck Fipke and Stu Blusson put Canada on the global diamond map. It also triggered one of the largest staking rushes in the world, as hundreds of companies hurried north to find treasure.

A few years later, many had retreated to warmer climes. One company that remained in the hunt was Gren Thomas’s Aber Resources, with a large land package staked by Thomas and partners at Lac de Gras near the Fipke find. In the spring of 1994, an Aber exploration crew led by Thomas’s geologist daughter, Eira Thomas, raced the spring melt to drill through the ice in search of kimberlite — the rock that sometimes hosts valuable diamonds.

It was a longshot. Since the Fipke find, the great Canadian diamond hunt had virtually ground to a halt — despite the millions of dollars spent in search of the glittery stones. But the drill core from that final spring hole had a two-carat diamond embedded in it. The Diavik discovery meant it was game on for Aber — and Canada’s nascent diamond industry.

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[Alaska Barrick] Back to Donlin Gold – by Shane Lasley (Mining News – July 2, 2017)

http://www.petroleumnews.com/

With permitting nearly complete, partners carry out optimization drilling

If this year’s US$8 million drill program is any indication, Barrick Gold Corp. and Novagold Resources Inc. are getting serious about building “the largest pure gold mine in the world” at their Donlin Gold project in Southwest Alaska.

“Donlin Gold’s size, grade, production profile, exploration potential, mine life, community support and jurisdictional safety render it a unique asset in the gold industry,” said Novagold President and CEO Greg Lang. “Both partners envision Donlin Gold to be a pacesetter in the mining sector and are completely aligned in their objectives to optimize the project.”

This will be the first significant field program at the 40-million-ounce gold project since Donlin Gold LLC – equally owned by subsidiaries of Novagold Resources Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. – completed a feasibility study in 2011 and submitted the project for permitting the following year.

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Funding dearth, restrictive laws and lack of leadership from govt stifling SA junior miners – by Dylan Slater (MiningWeekly.com – June 30, 2017)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The junior mining sector in South Africa has “huge potential” to grow and re-establish itself in the domestic mining environment; however, this potential is being blunted by a lack of funding, restrictive legislation and a lack of leadership from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and government.

This is the sentiment expressed at the yearly Junior Mining Indaba, held earlier this month at The Country Club, in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Speaking during a Junior Mining Indaba panel discussion on obstacles and challenges facing junior miners in the quest for funding, Botswana Diamonds executive chairperson John Teeling said there was simply “no money” and that it had been impossible for the bulk of junior miners to raise significant sums of money from equity financing.

Attempting to operate startup and junior mining companies during the past couple of years had been a “complete disaster”, he said. Teeling explained that the type of people who provided capital tended to do so at the end of a cycle, as “they have made a lot of money elsewhere and think that the future is going to be a little more rosy”, citing their intention to capitalise on any upswing in the mining industry.

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[Alaska] Miners get busy in elephant country – by Curt Freeman (Mining News – July 2, 2017)

http://www.petroleumnews.com/

Exploration drilling and field prospecting programs, many of them driven by newcomers, have popped up across Alaska this summer.

The summer solstice has come and gone, but the Alaska mining industry has paid little attention to the decreased amount of daylight because it is high summer in the high latitudes, time to be out completing work programs that have been in the planning since last fall. Exploration drilling programs have sprouted in the Brooks Range, Interior, Alaska Range, Southeast, Southwest and the Alaska Peninsula.

In addition, the sounds of tire-kicking are being heard over a wide area of the state with most of the interest focused on gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc prospects. Many of those thumping those tires are new to the Alaska mining scene, coming to elephant country to look for elephants. We will likely hear more from these new players later in the year.

Equal partners Novagold Resources and Barrick Gold announced a US$8 million budget for project optimization at their 39-million-ounce Donlin gold project.

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$1B worth of energy wasted last year: engineers – by Shawn Jeffords (Toronto Sun – June 30, 2017)

http://www.torontosun.com/

Jonathan Hack, the president and chairman of the OSPE board, said the group
provided the analysis to all three parties at Queen’s Park. They’d like to
see engineers more intimately involved in policy creation, because at the
moment, technical decisions about the province’s hydro system have been
politicized, he said.

Ontario wasted $1 billion worth of clean electricity in 2016, according to the province’s professional engineers.

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, a non-partisan body, which represents the province’s engineers, says it has crunched government hydro numbers from 2016 and they show that 7.6 terawatt-hours of clean hydro went down the drain that year. That’s equal to the amount required to power 760,000 homes – or $1 billion worth of electricity – said the group’s past president Paul Acchione.

“This represents a 58% increase in the amount of clean electricity that Ontario wasted in 2015 which was 4.8 terawatt hours,” he said. “All while the province continues to export more than two-million homes’ worth of electricity to neighbouring jurisdictions for a price less than it costs to produce.”

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Ottawa proposes new rules for resource companies – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – June 30, 2017)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — The Liberal government is proposing new rules that would require resource companies to consult with Ottawa and Indigenous communities on major projects well before the firms finalize their plans and apply for regulatory approval.

The companies would also be expected to provide greater opportunities for partnership with Indigenous peoples, and seek their consent for developments that impact their traditional territory, although they would not have a veto.

The Liberals released a discussion paper Thursday that proposes sweeping changes to the federal regulatory review process for major resource projects, undoing many of the controversial changes put in place by the Conservatives just five years ago. The government plans to introduce legislation by the end of the year.

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Commercial Operations at Gahcho Kue Highlights Canada as Global Producer – by Albert Robinson (Idexonline.com – June 29, 2017)

http://www.idexonline.com/

Mountain Province Diamonds’ report this week of the sale of 222,000 carats of rough stones for $21.1 million at $95 per carat at its fifth diamond sale of goods from Gahcho Kué has served to put the spotlight on the country’s major role as a diamond producer.

The manner in which Mountain Province secures certain diamonds for sale in competition with its partner, De Beers Canada, which owns 51 percent of the operation, is also of interest. The firms bid for the diamonds they are particularly interested in selling.

Mountain Province’s sales figures were increased due to the inclusion of a selection of the fancies and specials won by the company otherwise scheduled for inclusion in the sixth sale, which will occur in the second half of July. Excluding these high value diamonds, the average value realized per carat was $75.

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Court gives BHP, Vale until October 30 to settle $47 billion Samarco claim (Reuters U.S. – June 30, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) and Vale (VALE5.SA) have won a four-month extension from a Brazilian court to negotiate a settlement to a $47 billion claim stemming from the Samarco mine disaster in 2015, BHP said on Friday.

Brazilian federal prosecutors in May last year served the joint partners in the Samarco iron ore mine with a 155 billion Brazilian real ($47 billion) claim to pay for the social, environmental and economic costs of cleaning up the country’s worst environmental disaster.

“The Court has extended the final date for negotiation of a settlement until 30 October 2017,” BHP said in a statement. Nineteen people died and nearby towns were inundated with flood waters after a dam designed to hold back mine waste burst on Nov. 5, 2015.

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Iron Ore Surges Into Bull Market as Mills Come Off the Sidelines – by Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg News – June 30, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Iron ore’s bear market lasted all but three months. The raw material has rallied back into bull-market territory right at the end of the first half on a surge driven by mills in China boosting purchases to replenish inventories, with higher-grade ore in demand.

Ore with 62 percent content delivered to Qingdao rose 3.8 percent to $64.71 a dry metric ton on Thursday, the highest since May 4, according to Metal Bulletin Ltd. Prices have gained more than 20 percent from the year-low of $53.36 hit just two-and-a-half weeks ago, meeting the common bull-market definition. On Friday, the price rose 0.3 percent to $64.95.

“The pickup in physical tenders suggests a real tightness,” Daniel Gradwell, a senior economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said in a note. Earlier this week, the bank said trading activity had increased as buyers re-entered the spot market after a prolonged period on the sidelines.

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Globe editorial: After 150 years, Canada’s Indigenous citizens are finally being heard (Globe and Mail – June 30, 2017)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It’s not surprising, then, that as the country marks the 150th anniversary
of Confederation, there is a widespread sense that any celebration of one
of the most successful societies in the world must be tempered by the conscious
acknowledgment that the rise of the nation created in 1867 has gone hand
in hand with state-enforced maltreatment of the people who were here first.

Fifty years ago, at Expo 67 in Montreal, the “Indians of Canada” pavilion was meant to be one more tribute to Canada’s accomplishments as a young, modern nation.

Overseen by federal bureaucrats, the exhibit featured a giant, stylized teepee at its centre. Native art murals dominated the exterior walls; a totem pole stood at the entrance. It felt familiar and safe to white Canadians. In Ottawa’s mind, it would highlight the success of the government’s long-standing policy of assimilation of “the Indian.”

Like those policies, it didn’t work out as expected. By some cosmic miscalculation, the feds allowed Indigenous Canadians to have a say in the content of “their” pavilion. And they wanted to tell a very different story. As a result, four million visitors saw the usual arrows and ceremonial headdresses, and photos of smiling Indigenous people working as loggers and miners.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario Advancing Mining Technology [Sudbury Norcat] (Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines – June 30, 2017)

Province Supporting Development of New Mining Products and Services

Ontario is supporting the development of new, innovative mining technologies and helping to create new jobs for residents in the Sudbury area by expanding a state-of-the-art research mine.

Glenn Thibeault, MPP for Sudbury, made the announcement on behalf of Minister of Northern Development and Mines Bill Mauro this morning at the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT) Underground Centre in Onaping, Ontario. The province is supporting the mine’s expansion through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).

This operating mine provides mining companies with an active laboratory where they can develop and showcase their mining technology innovations. Upgrades will include improved ventilation and electrical systems that will enhance workers’ health and safety on the job.

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Facile ‘Canada 150’ celebration deserves to be disrupted – by Chris Selley (National Post – June 30, 2017)

http://nationalpost.com/

It is a common refrain: for heaven’s sake, move on. A few moments’ thought ought
to reveal how simplistic it is. You can’t steal a generation of children from their
parents and expect the effects to wear off in half a century. But what the hell:
in keeping with Canada 150’s allergy to history, let’s focus on the present.

Trudeau’s Liberals talked an awfully big game about getting to work on it. Its
bite has already proven weaker than its bark. Trudeau promised to eliminate
boil-water advisories on First Nations reserves within five years. That won’t
even come close to happening.

The government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars fighting a human
rights tribunal order to fund First Nations child services equitably; in
opposition, the Liberals would have screamed bloody murder about that.

On Wednesday evening, indigenous protesters marched on to Parliament Hill and, after some back and forth with the local constabulary, erected a large white tepee. The group’s leaders told reporters they intended to “reoccupy” “unceded Algonquin territory,” and remind Canadians that “reconciliation” with the people who were here before them lies far down a bumpy road.

If nothing else, it was a welcome moment of coherence: big white tepee, Parliament Hill, three days before Canada Day — no one is going to wonder what that’s about. By contrast, I’m not sure what “Canada 150,” the officially branded and hash-tagged celebration of this country’s existence, is supposed to be.

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Flower power: WA blocks iron ore projects – by Paul Garvey (The Australian – June 29, 2017)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Western Australia’s environment regulator has blocked two iron ore projects from development due to concerns about their impact on rare flowers and microscopic subterranean prawns that call the deposits home.

The WA Environmental Protection Authority yesterday announced that both the J5-Bungalbin East project owned by Mineral Resources, and the Blue Hills iron ore development of China’s Sinosteel should not go ahead due to their impact on flora and fauna.

The EPA’s decision leaves the fate of the projects in the hands of WA Environment Minister Stephen Dawson, who will have to make a final determination.

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NEWS RELEASE: OMA Welcomes Improvements to the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate (NIER) Program

The Ontario Mining Association welcomes Ontario government action on reducing electricity costs for some of the biggest job creators in Northern Ontario, including mining companies, to boost their competitiveness and help them continue to grow and benefit society.

Ontario’s mining sector includes both fully integrated value chain miners and smaller mining companies. In all cases, electricity rate is the key to maximizing the value of our mineral resources, as high power costs serve as a barrier to investment, decrease flexibility with regards to new developments, reduce mine life, and may lead to value-added processing moving to other jurisdictions.

After labour, energy is the second highest component of operating costs for Ontario mining companies. Given that Ontario’s industrial hydro rates are among the highest in North America, steps taken by the government to update the NIER program represent progress toward achieving the economic policy objectives of maintaining and growing jobs and investment, while serving to benefit the environmental policy objectives of driving change in industry and reducing peak power.

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