Republic of Mining

Zinc miners leverage scarcity to flex muscles over smelters – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – May 15, 2017)

May 16, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – If there were any doubt that the zinc supply chain is tightening, it should be dispelled by this year’s benchmark smelter treatment charge. The treatment charge is the fee paid by a miner to a smelter for converting mined concentrates into refined metal and it is probably the best indicator of raw material availability; high during times of surplus and low during times of scarcity.

This year’s headline fee of $172 per ton is the lowest in a decade, a firm swing of the negotiating pendulum in favor of miners and a tangible sign that the much-anticipated concentrates crunch has arrived.

Indeed, miners have used the squeeze on availability to make what might turn out to be a historic change in how these annual benchmark contracts are structured. Zinc bulls have been waiting a long time for this supply squeeze and they may have to wait a bit longer before it moves from raw materials to refined metal parts of the chain.

Glencore Says Electric Car Boom Is Coming Faster Than Expected – by Jesse Riseborough (Bloomberg News – May 16, 2017)

May 16, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg said the rise of electric cars will significantly boost demand for minerals including copper and lithium in the coming decades.

“The electric vehicle revolution is happening and its impact is likely to be felt faster than expected,” Glasenberg told investors at an industry conference in Barcelona on Tuesday. Almost all carmakers are increasing investment in electric vehicles as governments adopt tighter emissions targets, he added.

Electric vehicles require more copper wiring than standard internal combustion engines. For example, the battery in an electric car contains about 38 kilograms of copper, 11 kilograms of cobalt and 11 kilograms of nickel, according to Glencore.

Exclusive: Chinalco proposes taking entire Guinea Simandou iron ore mine – by Tim Cocks (Reuters U.S. – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

CONAKRY – Chinalco has asked Guinea to let it take over the whole of the troubled Simandou iron ore mine project, sources familiar with the matter say, as Beijing pursues a global strategy to secure key resources for its vast economy for decades to come.

Mired in legal disputes, located in Guinea’s remote interior and being planned at a time of depressed world prices, the mine has nevertheless attracted intense interest from China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of steel.

The Chinese state-owned miner’s written proposal for Simandou, one of the world’s largest untapped resources of high-grade iron ore used to make steel, seeks more favorable terms than laid out by the poor West African country’s mining code.

Iran’s Mining Projects on Hold as Investors Fear New Sanctions – by Hashem Kalantari (Bloomberg News – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Iran has put on hold “almost all” of its mining agreements with foreign investors as companies from Europe to Asia fear additional sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation’s economy, according to the deputy minister of Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade.

Less than $100 million of projects is moving forward, out of the $50 billion in potential investment the government is seeking from overseas mining companies by 2022, Mehdi Karbasian said Monday in an interview in Tehran.

“Fearing they might get placed on a blacklist in the wake of the return of sanctions, the companies with whom we have made these deals have suspended almost all of the agreements and maintained a wait-and-see attitude,” he said.

Laying the groundwork for a Ring of Fire road – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Northwest communities, industry study freight, ore-haul transload facility

With no funding or direction coming from Queen’s Park on Ring of Fire transportation infrastructure, Sioux Lookout is taking the lead in promoting a road-to-rail transload facility to move material and supplies in and out of the largely dormant mineral belt.

The northwestern Ontario town has pulled together a “working group” of like-minded business leaders, community and First Nation partners to craft a logistics concept called the Integrated Transportation System (ITS). It binds together the town’s local highway, rail and air connections, and creates much-needed brownfield space.

To Vicki Blanchard, the town’s economic development manager, Sioux Lookout is the “place to start” to stage, ship and transfer raw materials, industrial supplies, fuel and goods to remote communities and the potential Ring of Fire mining camp through an east-west road corridor.

Diamantina minerals province next mining boom – by Jacinda Tutty (Queensland Courier-Mail – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

TUCKED away in the Queensland Outback, trillions of dollars lies buried beneath the ground.A veritable gold mine of minerals essential for the future of the world’s entire technology industry lies untouched, in rare geological pipes in a remote band of terrain running from western Queensland up to the Northern Territory border.

It’s been called the Diamantina minerals province and could be the largest gold rush of its kind. Better yet, the trillion-dollar discovery is right in our backyard. The State Government is beginning to marshal what is sure to become an arms race between mining exploration companies eager to strike gold.

Should early discoveries of traces of minerals such as platinum, scandium and gold prove true, Queensland’s mines and resources minister Dr Anthony Lynham said it could unlock billions for the state economy and thousands of new jobs.

Uranium mine cleanup moves ahead, but Saskatchewan is left with ballooning cost – by Rob Drinkwater (CBC News Saskatchewan – May 14, 2017)

May 15, 2017

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

Cleanup cost about 10 times higher than original $25M estimate

The Canadian Press – The total price tag was estimated at under $25 million when the federal government agreed to pay for half the cleanup of a radioactive Cold-War-era uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan.

But a decade later, the expected cost for remediation of the remote Gunnar mine has swelled to about 10 times that and Ottawa isn’t offering any more money, even as the province starts this summer to remediate millions of tonnes of tailings and waste rock left when the mine closed in 1964.

“With Gunnar, just the size of the waste-rock piles and the tailings area alone, it’s fairly unavoidable that costs were significantly more,” said Cory Hughes, executive director of mineral policy at the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy. “You really have to be there to appreciate the size of the project.”

Guinea to Mandate Domestic Refining of Bauxite – by Staff (Aluminum Insider – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://aluminiuminsider.com/

The president of the Republic of Guinea decreed last week that miners who produce over a certain amount of bauxite ore “will be obliged to build an alumina plant.” President Alpha Condé made the remarks in speech at recent mining conference in Guinea’s capital Conakry.

Condé spoke at last week’s Symposium Mines Guinea, the largest mining event in West Africa. Though the event’s theme was “The Mining Sector: The Key To Transforming The National Economy For The Benefit Of All Actors,” Condé made waves by immediately and publicly objecting to the premise.

“I apologize, I will start by showing that I do not agree with the minister,” opined Condé. “I have already said that mines can not be the lever for the development of Guinea. We are not in control of commodity prices whose prices are set in London, Washington or Montreal.”

NEWS RELEASE: Eldorado to Acquire Integra Gold Corporation (May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.eldoradogold.com/

VANCOUVER, May 15, 2017 /CNW/ – Eldorado Gold Corporation (the “Company” or “Eldorado”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Integra Gold Corp. (“Integra”) (TSXV:ICG) (the “Arrangement Agreement”), pursuant to which Eldorado has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Integra that it does not currently own, by way of a plan of arrangement (the “Arrangement”) under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia).

Under the Arrangement, shareholders of Integra will be entitled to receive, at their option, for each Integra share they own either (i) 0.24250 Eldorado shares, (ii) C$1.21250 in cash, in both (i) and (ii) subject to pro ration, or (iii) 0.18188 of an Eldorado share and C$0.30313 in cash.

The maximum number of shares issuable by Eldorado under the Arrangement will be approximately 77 million (based on the number of Integra shares outstanding less Integra shares currently owned by Eldorado). The maximum amount of cash payable by Eldorado under the Arrangement will be approximately C$129 million equal to 25% of the total consideration. The total transaction value is approximately C$590 million, inclusive of Integra shares held by Eldorado.

Is it just the London Metal Exchange that’s short of tin? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – May 12, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – The London Metal Exchange (LME) is running short of tin. Headline stocks of the soldering metal in the LME’s warehouse system fell to 2,290 tonnes this week.

It’s the lowest level in at least 20 years but in truth any historical comparison is lost in the mists of time because the world of metals trading and the LME’s place in that world were so different back then. Unsurprisingly, low inventory is once again generating tightness across short-dated time-spreads, extending a pattern that has been running for a couple of years now.

But the outright price is underperforming. Tin, currently trading just shy of $20,000 per tonne, is down more than 5 percent on the start of the year and vying with nickel for worst performer among the major LME metals. Which begs the question of whether the LME is reflecting the wider state of the market or its own dwindling liquidity.

Money From The Mines! – Copper $$$ Allowing ‘Everybody To Eat A Food’ – by Ryon Jones (Jamaica Gleaner – May 14, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/

It could be another 15 years before Carube Copper Corp begins mining in Jamaica, but residents in several communities around the exploration sites are already seeing benefits from the Canadian company’s presence.

More than 600 persons have been employed on a on-and-off basis over a five-year period, with an employment cycle typically lasting for three weeks with workers earning between $2,500 (eight hours) and $3,500 (11 hours) per day. Carube, which is a junior mining company, has seven special exclusive prospective licences to explore for copper and gold across the island.

Bellas Gate, St Catherine, is, however, the most advanced exploration and the one believed to have the most potential. This is now the site of focus with Carube having reclaimed Oz Minerals’ 70 per cent interest in their joint venture last year.

[Philippines Mining Scandium] ‘Game changer’ in mining sector – by Jonathan L. Mayuga (Business Mirror – May 14, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/

“Grossly undervalued” nickel ores are being exported by mining companies operating in the country, a geology expert revealed, as he called on the government and the private sector to explore the economic potential of mining scandium, a mineral also found in nickel ores, and other rare earth elements.

Carlo A. Arcilla, director of the University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences in Diliman, said it is high time that the Philippine government and the private sector explored the economic potential of extracting scandium and other rare earth elements.

He said the Department of Science and Technology had agreed to initially fund a P10-million research to identify scandium-rich areas in the Philippines. The target of the study, he said, is to determine the level of scandium concentrates, which, he said, will likely be a “game changer” for nickel-mining companies.

Agrium, Potash Corp. face new challenge over African phosphate imports – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

JOHANNESBURG — A South African court decision, allowing the seizure of a cargo ship with 50,000 tonnes of phosphate, could open the door to renewed challenges of Canadian imports from a disputed territory in the deserts of North Africa.

Two Canadian companies, Potash Corp. and Agrium Inc., last year accounted for nearly half of all exports of phosphate from Western Sahara, a territory claimed by Morocco since 1975. Those shipments could face new scrutiny and more intense legal challenges as a result of the South African court decision.

The court case in South Africa is believed to be the first time a national independence movement has won a legal action to intercept the export of state property.

China pitches ‘One Belt, One Road’ by telling other countries they have nothing to fear – by Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – May 15, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Have no fear, China’s top political leader urged Sunday: in a world of sectarian strife, poverty and rising isolationism, Beijing has an answer that can bring new wealth by tearing down old barriers.

China’s One Belt, One Road initiative is “a project of the century,” President Xi Jinping said Sunday in a major speech at the outset of a two-day conference that gathered together presidents, cabinet ministers and investors from 130 countries. Among them was Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Canada’s parliamentary secretary to the Minister of International Trade, who came, she said, as part of Ottawa’s new push for “deepening ties” across the Pacific.

She joined what Chinese state media declared “the most prestigious international assembly China has ever inaugurated,” a moment for the world’s second-largest economy to sketch its vision of future global growth inspired by the China model, and funded with Chinese money.

Ontario North’s woes stump ministers – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – May 13, 2017)

May 15, 2017

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Provincial cabinet ministers were unable to offer municipal leaders any solutions Friday to the long-time challenge of growing Northern Ontario.

Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro, Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault and Natural Resources Minister Kathryn McGarry participated in the “bear pit session” at the annual Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) conference in North Bay, where they were asked about how to bridge the gap between the Greater Toronto Area, which is experiencing tremendous growth, and the North, where the population is declining in most areas.

Unfortunately, the three couldn’t provide a cure-all for the North’s woes. “We can do a lot more to talk about promoting growth and expansion in Northern Ontario by utilizing the facilities that we already have,” said Thibeault, referring to post-secondary institutions such as Canadore College and Nipissing University.