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Nunavut’s 2016 GDP growth second-highest in Canada: StatsCan (Nunatsiaq News – May 3, 2017)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Mining remains big economic driver

Nunavut’s rate of economic growth in 2016 came in as the second most-robust in Canada, according to a May 1 Statistics Canada release. The Gross Domestic Product, or GDP—the total value of goods produced and services provided during one year—is a primary indicator used to gauge the health of an economy.

In Nunavut, the territorial GDP increased by 3.9 per cent in 2016 following a 1.2 per cent gain in 2015, Statistics Canada said. Only Yukon, with 8.2 per cent growth in its GDP for 2016, surpassed Nunavut.

In Nunavut, much of the GDP growth appears to be linked to mining although support activities for mining declined notably,” StatsCan said. Iron ore mining rose significantly as the Mary River iron ore mine ramped up production.

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After the mining, what’s next? Overseas mine rehabilitation offers lessons for Australia – by Gregg Borschmann (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – May 3, 2017)

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

Click here for the radio program: http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2017/04/rvn_20170423.mp3

In Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, the Hazelwood brown coal mine is closed. In the NT, the Ranger uranium mine is due to shut down in four years’ time. They’re very different mines, but with the same problem: what to do with the landscape once the mining stops.

From Australia to the Americas, from Europe to South Africa, there are plenty of lessons to be learned. One of the best examples of restoring a post-mining landscape comes from Europe, where uranium mining by the once feared and secret Wismut company had created a environmental tragedy.

“It was military mining … a military operation to get the first uranium for the Soviet nuclear bomb,” says Gerhard Schmidt, a senior researcher with the Oeko Institute in Germany. “It was not very sustainable … they mined and milled the ore and put the wastes into large piles of more than 100 million tonnes, some of which are the largest in the world.”

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K+S opens new potash mine; first new mine in Saskatchewan in more than 40 years – by Jennifer Graham (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – May 2, 2017)

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/

BETHUNE, Sask. — The first tonne of marketable potash is expected to be produced at the end of June from the first new mine in Saskatchewan in more than 40 years. After five years of construction, German fertilizer company K+S AG is opening the new mine near the village of Bethune, about 70 kilometres north of Regina.

“To tell you the truth, we made the investment decision at a time when prices were significantly higher,” Norbert Steiner, the CEO of K+S AG, said Tuesday at the opening ceremony. “But when you are on the road to build such a big plant, you are well advised that you continue the building of the plant until it is finished,” Norbert said.

“But still, we are of the opinion that the cost that we will have for the production of our products here in Saskatchewan will be significantly lower compared to the prices that we have right now in the industry and, therefore, we foresee that we have a positive (earnings before interest, taxes and amortization) already in 2018 and of course the better years will come afterwards.”

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Australia to Block Any Attempt to Move BHP Billiton Listing – by Perry Williams and Matthew Burgess (Bloomberg News – May 3, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Australia would block any attempt to move BHP Billiton Ltd.’s main sharemarket listing to the U.K. as proposed by activist investor Elliott Management Corp., Treasurer Scott Morrison said.

“It is unthinkable that any Australian government could allow this original Big Australian to head offshore,” Morrison said in a statement Thursday. If BHP implemented Elliott’s proposals “it may commit a criminal offence and could be subject to civil penalties,” he said.

New York-based Elliott is meeting with BHP investors in Australia this week to outline proposals it made public last month for a corporate overhaul, higher shareholder returns and a spinoff of U.S. oil assets. BHP, which held about eight months of discussions with Elliott, has rejected the plans, saying the costs and risks outweigh any potential benefits. Elliott didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Upbeat about exploration: Northwestern Ontario feeling rebound in mineral sector – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 3, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

After suffering through five lean years, optimism is slowly returning to the mineral exploration sector, and nowhere is that more evident than in northwestern Ontario. Fresh from soaking in the buoyant atmosphere at the Prospectors and Developers mining convention in Toronto in March, John Mason sees more geologists in the field, once-dormant drilling companies have rigs turning, and shortages of skilled and experienced labour are being reported in some areas.

“The optimism is real in terms of the money starting to flow,” said the project manager of mining services for the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission, as prices for gold and other metals begin to rebound and exploration capital is more readily available.

When the City of Thunder Bay released its Mining Readiness Strategy in 2013, it pinpointed nine projects in the region that had near-term potential to become mines. A few more have since entered the picture, including Harte Gold’s decision to transition its Sugar Zone project, north of White River, into commercial production in 2018.

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1978-79 Steelworkers strike subject of Mick Lowe’s new novel – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – May 3, 2017)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Local author has completed trilogy about city’s mining history

Given it’s a part of the city’s recent history, most Sudburians remember Steelworkers Local 6500’s nearly year-long 2009-2010 strike against Vale. More distant in the community’s collective memory is the arguably even more bitter labour dispute that happened a generation earlier.

Steelworkers Local 6500 went on strike against Vale’s predecessor, Inco, for 10 and a half months from Sept. 15, 1978 until June 7, 1979. The labour dispute, which involved 11,600 workers, and starved Inco of more than 22 million hours of labour, smashed records at the time for the longest strike in Canadian history.

The impact on the Sudbury community was devastating, with businesses closing, marriages breaking up and families losing their life savings. The 1978-1979 Steelworkers strike is the subject of local author Mick Lowe’s latest novel, “Wintersong.” It’s the third in the Nickel Range Trilogy fiction series, which focuses on Sudbury’s mining history.

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Casualties reported after Iran coal mine explosion (Al Jazeera – May 3, 2017)

http://www.aljazeera.com/

At least 25 people are believed to be trapped in coal mine outside the northern town of Azadshahr, reports say.

A large explosion has struck a coal mine in northern Iran, trapping dozens of miners and killing at least two, according to state media.

Press TV, the English service of Iranian state television, reported that at least two miners had lost their lives and scores of others were wounded in the explosion at the Zemestanyurt mine, about 14km outside the town of Azadshahr.

The blast happened at 12:45pm (09:45 GMT), at a time when workers were changing shifts, according to local media. State news agency IRNA quoted a local official as saying that some of the miners stuck inside may have died. There was confusion about how many might be underground.

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130-years later, historian recounts ‘devastating’ Nanaimo mine explosion – by Ian Holmes (Nanaimo News Now – May 3, 2017)

http://nanaimonewsnow.com/

NANAIMO — The 130th anniversary of a pair of devastating explosions that killed 148 men working in a Nanaimo coal mine is raising memories of the vibrant and extremely dangerous industry. The No. 1 Esplanade Mine, near the current cruise ship terminal, exploded after gas or dust was ignited on May 3, 1887.

The tragedy was the second worst mining disaster in Canada’s history. Vancouver Island coal historian and author T.W. Paterson told NanaimoNewsNOW the tragedy had a massive ripple-effect on Nanaimo, which he said was home to a little more than 2,000 people at that time.

“I liken it to a small nuclear device on a city,” Paterson said. “There would have been not one living soul in Nanaimo at the time who didn’t lose a family member, in-law, workmate or a friend.” Only seven men survived the carnage at the mine, which Paterson said was the largest and longest running operation on Vancouver Island. About 50 of the killed miners were Chinese men who were idenfifed only by numbers.

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Opinions: Trump’s promise to bring back coal jobs is worse than a con – by Michael Bloomberg (Washington Post – May 2, 2017)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

The writer, New York City mayor from 2002 to 2013, is the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and co-author of the book “Climate of Hope.”

“We need to keep it open so we have jobs.” Those are the words of a retired miner, explaining why the local mining operation is so important to his community. But he wasn’t talking about a coal mine in Appalachia. He was referring to a local asbestos mine — in Russia.

Through the 1970s, the United States was one of the world’s top producers of asbestos, which is a set of naturally occurring silicate minerals. As evidence mounted that exposure to asbestos fibers can be deadly, the federal government began limiting its use in consumer and commercial products.

Demand for asbestos declined, legal liabilities soared, and the last U.S. asbestos mine closed in 2002. Those jobs have gone overseas, to places such as Russia, China and Kazakhstan, where asbestos mining and production face few restrictions. Yet there has been no political clamor to put American asbestos miners back to work.

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FEATURE-Indian villagers see no shine in gold rush – by Rina Chandran (Reuters U.K. – May 3, 2017)

http://uk.reuters.com/

SONAKHAN, India, May 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The village of Sonakhan in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh hardly looks like the site of a gold rush.

There are no gun-toting ruffians, nor squalid camps of desperate fortune seekers. The dusty village with its distinct reddish soil, is a collection of modest brick homes and small patches of cultivated land amid scraggly forest.

But the village, a two-hour drive from the capital Raipur, could soon be enveloped by India’s first private gold mine. Residents of Sonakhan – ‘sona’ is gold in Hindi – sift for flecks of gold on the banks of the river Jonk during the monsoon rains. They voice fears the mine will up-end their lives.

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Algonquins say pact with mining company vital for community’s future – by Christopher Curtis (Montreal Gazette – May 2, 2017)

http://montrealgazette.com/

For as far back as he can remember, Chief David Kistabish says there were mines on Algonquin territory. Workers came and went, companies plundered gold from the earth and, in the very worst cases, dumped their waste into the rivers that had sustained life on the territory for millennia. At no point, throughout this process, did they consult with the people whose livelihood still depended on the land, Kistabish says.

“Elders in our community tell us that, historically, the gold mine up river dumped its tailings into the water,” said Kistabish, Chief of the Abitibiwinni First Nation — a community about 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal. “They spoke about seeing beavers and other animal corpses floating along the river. It poisoned an important food source for us. That’s what mining means to them.”

Despite the history of distrust between his community and the mining industry, Kistabish announced an agreement Tuesday with RNC Minerals (formerly called Royal Nickel Corporation). Under the deal, the Algonquins of Abitibiwinni will oversee a study about the impact a nickel mine could have on their hunting and fishing grounds.

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Faith in coal breathing new life into Surat Basin plan – by John McCarthy (Queensland Courier-Mail – May 3, 2017)

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

NEW life has been breathed into Glencore’s $6 billion Wandoan thermal coal project, east of Roma, as mining companies dust off plans for developments in the Surat Basin.

The Courier-Mail understands Glencore will receive its mining lease for Wandoan within weeks. The mine will create about 1300 jobs in construction and more than 800 in operation, but Glencore will not comment until after it receives the lease. It will not be alone.

New Hope Group has a resource of one billion tonnes of coal in the Surat and is advanced in a feasibility study aimed at potentially starting development of its projects within three years. The proposals are likely to spark a renewed fight with environmental activists.

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The French Election in the Pacific – by Grant Wyeth (The Diplomat – May 3, 2017)

http://thediplomat.com/

The outcome of the French presidential election has ramifications for Paris’ Pacific territories.

While the two-candidate runoff for France’s presidency this coming Sunday poses a potential existential threat for Europe, the result will also be of great significant for France’s overseas territories in the Pacific.

Although the territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia have some levels of autonomy and their own elected assemblies, they legally remain part of France, and are therefore afforded the right to participate in France’s legislative and presidential elections. And they are, of course, also greatly affected by France’s election outcomes.

However, despite this right and the potential for a dramatic shift in the French state’s agenda should the National Front’s Marine Le Pen win the presidency, there seems to be general voter apathy, or a disconnect, within France’s Pacific territories.

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NEWS RELEASE:EY – Africa presents a mixed foreign direct investment (FDI) picture (Johannesburg – May 3, 2017)

Click here for report: https://go.ey.com/2p7lZqd

  • South Africa remains the largest FDI hub in Africa
  • Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa (the key hub economies) collectively attracted 58% of the continent’s total FDI projects in 2016
  • Investment from the Asia-Pacific region into Africa hit an all-time high in 2016

According to EY’s latest Africa Attractiveness report, heightened geopolitical uncertainty and “multispeed” growth across Africa present a mixed FDI picture for the continent.

The report provides an analysis of FDI investment into Africa over the past ten years. The 2016 data shows Africa attracted 676 FDI projects, a 12.3% decline from the previous year, and FDI job creation numbers declined 13.1%. However, capital investment rose 31.9%.

The surge in capital investment was primarily driven by capital intensive projects in two sectors, namely real estate, hospitality and construction (RHC), and transport and logistics.

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Philippines environment minister ousted over anti-mining campaign – by Manolo Serapio Jr and Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – May 3, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – Philippine lawmakers ended a 10-month crusade by Environment Secretary Regina Lopez on Wednesday, forcing out the eco-warrior whose mining crackdown was backed by the president but led to demands for her removal by miners.

The rejection of Lopez by the Commission on Appointments is final and a mining lobby group immediately said it would seek a reversal of her measures, while President Rodrigo Duterte’s office said he would respect the decision.

Lopez characterized her campaign as a fight against greedy miners who were threatening public health and damaging nature in a country better known for mountains and beaches than resources. The 63-year-old daughter of a media mogul who left her privileged Philippine life behind when she was a teenager, had ordered the closure of more than half of the mines in the world’s top nickel ore supplier and last week banned open-pit mining.

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