Republic of Mining

[Minnesota Iron Range] OUR VIEWS: ENOUGH ALREADY: IT ENDS IN VIRGINIA (Mesabi Daily News Editorial – June 28, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://www.virginiamn.com/

Make no mistake about it, the Iron Range knows this is an attack on mining and
it will have no more of it. The region and its miners, laborers, businesses,
residents — everyone here — is committed to meeting and exceeding the standards
of the federal government’s environmental reviews. We are not here to destroy
the land we use everyday.

We have a deep pride in our history of mining. We helped the United States win
wars over dictators, the iron ore leaving here by train helps fuel the economy
of Duluth and Two Harbors. It builds safe, reliable infrastructure from U.S.-made
steel, and the minerals this region wants to mine will provide for the tech boom
in Silicon Valley. (Mesabi Daily News Editorial)

The Iron Range and its rich history of mining is in a fight for its future, and the deck is stacked against it.

There’s overreaching actions taken by a lame duck administration, there’s delays forced by lawsuit after lawsuit from deep-pocketed environmental groups, and there’s scare tactics to steer popular opinion against the region’s way of life. Enough is enough: It ends here. It started here, and the fight will end here.

The Iron Range is done being paraded around in the three-ring circus of hearings, resolutions and comment periods, which are really nothing more than putting the everyday Iron Ranger on trial by a jury of its uniformed peers.

CLIFFS SHOWS IT’S FOR REAL – by Jerry Burnes (Mesabi Daily News – June 28, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://www.virginiamn.com/

Lourenco Goncalves isn’t one for the quiet retreat, but anyone within shouting distance of the Iron Range already knew that. The chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources is a dying breed. As the alpha CEO becomes a thing of the past — replaced by the more unimposing figures crafted by Silicon Valley — Goncalves remains a thunderous presence atop one the Iron Range’s most successful companies.

So in April, when the CEO stood in front of local stakeholders in Chisholm and asked why it’s so hard to believe his message, the point should have resonated: Why is it so hard for the business community take him at his word? To him, the promises have been filled, the checks written, and yet, there’s work left to be done on the Iron Range.

For the past half-decade, investors, Wall Street and industry types cautiously eyed Cliffs as it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and clawed its way back to solvency. That battle kept the company, Goncalves said, focused on the Cliffs’ core operations as it shed coal mines and exited the Canadian iron ore scene.

Trump Is Wrong About Aluminum Imports – by Shelley Goldberg (Bloomberg News – June 27, 2017)

June 28, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Plan for restrictions is based on a nonexistent national security threat.

President Donald Trump is using national security to kowtow to an industry in a conundrum. In April, the administration opened an investigation into the impact of imported steel and aluminum that is expected to result in tariffs or quotas on imports of these important metals.

The probe fits with Trump’s core trade pledge to shake up the old order while trumpeting “America First.” But proving metal imports pose a national security threat will be a considerable challenge.

Although much of the focus has been on steel, the ramifications for aluminum are also significant and could have broad repercussions for many other industries and for the U.S. economy as a whole. The amount of aluminum consumed by the U.S. military is insignificant in the scope of the total. Most of the metal imported by the U.S. comes from nations such as China and Canada, and typically serves civilian uses for automobiles, packing, roofing, road signs and consumer durables, none of which implicate national security.

Russia’s Nornickel in talks to supply materials for BASF’s battery plans (Reuters U.S. – June 27, 2017)

June 28, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

Russia’s mining giant Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) (GMKN.MM) is in talks with German chemicals firm BASF (BASFn.DE) to supply raw materials needed in the process for making lithium-ion batteries in Europe in the future, they said on Tuesday.

The talks between BASF and Nornickel, the world’s second largest nickel producer and a major cobalt producer, highlight the burgeoning market for metals needed for lithium-ion batteries production as the car industry’s push towards electric vehicles gathers pace.

Nornickel and BASF said in a joint statement the talks covered “cooperation to set the foundation to supply battery cell producers for electric vehicles in Europe with regionally produced cathode materials.”

[Minnesota] MINING MAKE ITS MOVES D.C. – by Jerry Burnes (Mesabi Daily News – June 27, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://www.virginiamn.com/

MOUNTAIN IRON/ELY — For most of the first half of 2017, the Iron Range has remained laser-focused on its goals in Washington, D.C.

Far from the now-bustling taconite mines and majestic scenery of northeastern Minnesota is where the real political fight to death is taking place. That might not be hyperbole either: What’s happening in Washington is — quite possibly — one of the most important issues the Iron Range has ever faced.

In December 2016, a little more than a month before it was phased out, the Obama administration took unparalleled steps on two actions that could stunt growth in the region. In one action, the administration denied leases to Twin Metals and its potential underground copper-nickel mine near Ely and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In the second, it placed a two-year moratorium on mining for 234,000 acres of land in the Superior National Forest near the BWCAW, with the intent of studying industrial impacts on the watershed and consider a 20-year ban on those activities.

Diamonds are not forever: Indigenous communities grapple with end of the mining boom – by Michael West and Suzanne Smith (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – June 27, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://www.abc.net.au/

As Australia’s resources boom wanes, several Indigenous communities that were once promised prosperity have been left grappling with a legacy of endemic poverty and questions about how mining money has been spent.

For the traditional land owners around the township of Kununurra in the remote north of Western Australia, diamonds have not been their best friends. The nearby Argyle diamond mine is three years from closure, and a royalties fund designed to ensure the community’s future is severely depleted.

Nestled among the scenic ranges of the Kimberley, Kununurra is blessed by an abundance of fresh water, the arable plains of the Ord River to the north-west and the Rio Tinto diamond mine to the south. The Indigenous Land Use Agreement that traditional owners negotiated with Argyle between 2003 and 2005 was held up as an example of best practice across the country.

Rosemont Mine one step closer to reality with Forest Service approval – by Logan Burtch-Buus (Inside Tucson Business – June 28, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/

The proposed Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains has moved closer to approval with the U.S. Forest Service signing off on a key step in the process. The Forest Service released its Record of Decision, lending approval to the project after more than a decade of research and public feedback.

But Hudbay Minerals, the Canadian company that hopes to open the mine, still needs approval of a permit related to its impact on the region’s watershed from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has been critical of the proposed plan.

The site, 30 miles southeast of Tucson, spans more than 5,400 acres of private, state and federal land in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson.

More Precious Than Gold? Copper’s the Better Inflation Hedge – by Susanne Barton (Bloomberg News – June 27, 2017)

June 28, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

For centuries, gold has been a go-to asset among investors worried about all sorts of financial risks. In the past decade, exchange-traded funds backed by the metal drew more money than any other commodity. Even the world’s biggest central banks hoard bullion as a reserve asset.

But when it comes to inflation, which can erode the value of portfolios that don’t keep pace with rising consumer prices, anyone who bought gold as a hedge over the past 25 years missed out on a much better deal — copper. While data show that broad commodity indexes provided the best bang for the buck during periods of rising costs in the U.S., the red metal stands out.

For every 1 percent annual increase in the consumer price index since 1992, copper jumped almost 18 percent, more than three times the 5.2 percent gain logged by gold, according to a correlation analysis of total return commodity indexes compiled by Bloomberg. Only a broader index of energy commodities, which includes oil and natural gas, performed better than copper.

CANADA 150: Yellowknife’s toxic history through the eyes of the Betsina family – by Hilary Bird (CBC News North – June 28, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

This story is part of a series from CBC North looking at Canada 150 through the eyes of northern families.

‘The government spoiled our lives,’ says Muriel Betsina. ‘Giant Mine spoiled our lives’

Muriel Betsina’s voice is soft and nurturing as she explains, step by step, how she makes the perfect piece of bannock. But ask her about the old mine site you can see out of her kitchen window in N’Dilo, N.W.T., and her voice drops. Her fists clench.

This tiny Dene elder has a rage that boils deep. “The government spoiled our lives,” says Betsina. “Giant Mine spoiled our lives.”

During more than half a century of mining, 19,000 tonnes of toxic arsenic trioxide dust went up the stacks of smelters at the Giant and Con mines and settled on the once-pristine land and lakes in and around Yellowknife. The gold mining industry began in the late 1930s. Giant Mine closed in 2004, leaving a toxic legacy that has deeply changed the lives of people in N’Dilo.

MINOR METALS-Weak demand from China stainless steel mills hits ferrochrome prices – by Eileen Soreng and Vijaykumar Vedala (Reuters Africa – June 28, 2017)

June 28, 2017

http://af.reuters.com/

June 28 (Reuters) – Global prices of ferrochrome, used to make stainless steel, have tumbled to their lowest levels this year due to weaker demand from stainless steel mills in top producer China, according to traders in Asia and Europe.

Low carbon ferrochrome FECRO-LC-RU was last quoted at $1.80 a lb, its lowest since Nov. and down 20 percent since late January. High carbon ferrochrome FECRO-HC-RU is at an eight-month low at 93 cents a lb and more than 30 percent lower since late January.

“The Chinese ports have about 10 weeks of chrome ore stocks and that coupled with reduced ferrochrome demand has sent the prices of ore and alloys crashing,” said Ravi Prakash, marketing and business development head for ferro alloys and minerals division of Tata Steel Ltd.

Seeing the light: Mining companies look to solar power, wind for fresh revenue – by Kyle Bakx (CBC News – Jun 27, 2017)

June 27, 2017

http://www.cbc.ca/news

Renewables become an option for defunct mining sites

After a century of pulling lead and zinc from the Sullivan mine in southeast British Columbia, the energy company Teck recently shut down the operation and began years of restoration work. Some of the land outside the city of Kimberley became a meadow with grass and trees, but it remained tainted after decades of mining activity.

There was no way it could be turned into a housing subdivision or some other development. The area would likely have sat empty for decades if not for an initiative by the city to take it over and build a solar field. The project has since caught the attention of the mining industry as an innovative method of re-purposing old mining sites and generating revenue, even if the land is contaminated.

As long as there are plenty of sunny days — or, in the case of wind farms, strong winds — a company has an opportunity to recoup some of the expense of cleaning up a mine, which can cost tens of millions of dollars.

Philippines minister may decide on mining closure orders next month – by Enrico Dela Cruz (Daily Mail/Reuters – June 27, 2017)

June 27, 2017

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

MANILA, June 27 (Reuters) – The new Philippines environment minister said on Tuesday he may decide next month on the fate of dozens of mining operations and contracts that his predecessor ordered closed, suspended or cancelled to protect watersheds and other natural resources.

Roy Cimatu said he plans to visit mines in the world’s top nickel ore supplier to see if they are operating responsibly as he takes a slow approach towards a sector that was the target of a 10-month crackdown led by the previous minister, Regina Lopez.

Cimatu, a former soldier, took over the environment ministry post on May 8, shortly after the dismissal of Lopez, who ordered the closure or suspension of 26 operating mines and revoked 75 mining contracts in what she said was a fight against “greedy miners” threatening public heath and nature.

NEWS RELEASE: Canadian mines could prove critical to clean energy transition (Clean Energy Canada – June 27, 2017)

June 27, 2017

http://cleanenergycanada.org/

For full report: http://cleanenergycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MiningCleanEnergy2017.pdf

VANCOUVER—Canadian mines could help power the transition to clean energy, sparking new economic development in the process, a new report from Clean Energy Canada finds.

Growth in clean energy is driving significant demand for the metals and mineral products used to manufacture technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, LED lighting and electric cars, creating an opportunity for job creation and economic growth in mining communities across Canada.

Mining for Clean Energy, which focuses on the metal and mineral requirements for solar power, finds that Canada could emerge as a key supplier of these resources. Canada is home to 14 of the 19 metals and minerals needed for solar panels.

BHP mine investment ‘may restore trust’ – by Paul Garvey (The Australian – June 27, 2017)

June 27, 2017

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

BHP’s looming $US3.2 billion ($4.2bn) investment in the new South Flank iron ore mine will not only maintain the mining giant’s Pilbara output but could strengthen community trust that has come under strain in recent years, according to Mike Henry, BHP’s president of Australian operations.

BHP yesterday announced it had committed $US184 million to early construction works at South Flank deposit, which is expected to replace the 80 million tonne a year Yandi mine when it runs out of ore next decade.

The mining giant also revealed that the South Flank project was expected to cost between $US30 and $US40 a tonne of annual production capacity, which would make it the single biggest new mining project in Australia since the construction of Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine.

Why a B.C. court is hearing a Guatemala mining case – by Hayley Woodin (Business Vancouver – June 27, 2017)

June 27, 2017

https://www.biv.com/

Three years of legal wrangling lands Tahoe Resources lawsuit back in BC Supreme Court

It took three years and three courts to determine where to sue Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX:THO; NYSE:TAHO) for battery and negligence. The original lawsuit – a response to a violent altercation at a Tahoe subsidiary’s Guatemalan mine site – was filed in June 2014, then set aside, as lawyers on both sides of the case argued whether British Columbia or Guatemala was the more appropriate forum for the suit.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled it was the latter; earlier this year, the BC Court of Appeal decided it was the former. Most recently, Tahoe applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. The court’s decision not to hear the case means the lawsuit will proceed in British Columbia.

“We’re of course disappointed that the Supreme Court took a pass,” said Edie Hofmeister, vice-president of corporate affairs and general counsel at Tahoe. “We’re kind of at Square 1 here, really.” Square 1 meaning Tahoe will now respond to the original notice of claim filed three years ago, though with one notable difference: three of the seven plaintiffs who first filed the suit settled with the company in April.