Republic of Mining

Melbourne’s mining giants stride the globe (Invest in Australia – November 10, 2016)

November 10, 2016

http://www.investinaustralia.com/

Victoria’s gold fever of the 1850s has long since subsided, but thanks to
its heritage, the state’s capital Melbourne, along with London and Toronto,
is today one of the world’s big three global mining centres, says Campbell
Jaski, mining consultant and partner at PPB Advisory.

Melbourne has long been the spiritual home of Australian mining. While this is a legacy of the Australian gold rush of the 19th century, today this dynamic and rapidly growing industry has a truly global focus, and the city’s resources giants are driving a wave of foreign investment both locally and around the world.

Mining is big business in Australia. The resources sector represents more than 10 per cent of Australia’s GDP and employs over 300,000 people locally, generating over A$170 billion in annual exports.

And Melbourne is the heart of the action. Victoria-based companies constitute over 60 per cent of Australian mining by ASX 100 market capitalisation, and 80 per cent by revenue. More than 100 major mining and related companies call Melbourne home, and the city hosts the head offices of heavyweights such as BHP Billiton, Newcrest Mining, MMG and mining services giant Orica amongst many others.

Copper goes crazy as Trump promises US building revolution – by Thomas Biesheuvel and Jesse Riseborough (Mineweb/Bloomberg – November 10, 2016)

November 10, 2016

http://www.mineweb.com/

Mining shares surge, with Antofagasta jumping as much as 19%.

President-elect Donald Trump promised to revitalise America’s aging airports, roads and bridges, and investors are betting he’s going to need a lot of copper.

Since Trump’s surprise victory yesterday, copper surged 8.1%, heading for the biggest two-day gain in more than five years. And it’s not the only winner, with lead, zinc and aluminum advancing along with the companies that produce them.

“All that we see for President-elect Trump is that he will focus on building, he will focus on the infrastructure,” said Tom Albanese, a New Jersey native and chief executive officer of Vedanta Resources. “That is what the market is reacting to.”

A new climate era blowin’ in with Trump – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – November 10, 2016)

November 10, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

Three key economic issues will dominate the new international era set to emerge as Donald Trump assumes the presidency of the United States: trade, climate, and taxation/spending. Trump’s vague platform offers limited guidance on how he would go about imposing his “fair trade” ideas on America’s global trade partners, including Canada, or how he plans to introduce his trillion-dollar tax-reduction plan without blowing up the U.S. Treasury.

But on the third issue — climate change — Trump seems set to blow up the international order. The Internet has already exploded as the media and NGOs declared Trump’s election victory “a disaster for the planet.” In the words of Friends of the Earth Climate director Benjamin Schreiber, a man not given to rhetorical moderation: “Millions of Americans voted for a coal-loving climate-denier willing to condemn people around the globe to poverty, famine and death from climate change.”

More broadly, the election result reportedly “cast a significant shadow” over the UN Congress of the Parties meeting this week in Marrakech, Morocco.

Donald Trump’s assault on both parties will make America better – by Conrad Black (National Post – November 10, 2016)

November 10, 2016

http://news.nationalpost.com/

It is not such a surprise that Americans have elevated Donald Trump to the headship of their country. It was improbable at first, because of his raucous personality, and the fact he had never held public office or a high military command (the almost invariable qualifications for a nominee).

He financed his own campaign, avoiding the endless demeaning roundel of fundraisers, (and doing quite well selling silly hats and T-shirts). It was also apparently unpromising because he was attacking the entire entrenched leadership of both parties, the Clintons, Obamas, and Bushes, OBushtons, as I called them here last week, and because he was opposed by and deliberately incited the escalated hostility of the national media, and the officious polling organizations.

The whole Trump campaign was audacious because it relied altogether on a broad swath of all socioeconomic groups — it was not a coalition based on pitching to the particular desires of voting blocs.

Oil, Coal Seen as Winners With Trump Victory – by Sarah Kent, Benoit Faucon and Kevin Baxter (Wall Street Journal – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Republican Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president promises relief for U.S. coal miners, a boost for American oil players and fresh uncertainty for Western energy companies’ plans to return to Iran, as he seeks to undo eight years of Obama administration energy policy.

Mr. Trump was often vague on specifics on energy policy but his aim was clear. He said he would pull back regulations that weighed on coal and petroleum sectors, end U.S. participation in global efforts to curb climate change and review a deal to lift sanctions on oil-rich Iran

Mr. Trump’s energy ideas are “basically the antithesis of the current administration’s,” said consultancy JBC Energy.His surprise election sent energy stocks down on Wednesday morning, as BP PLC fell 1.5% in London trading, while Royal Dutch Shell declined by 1% PLC. The FTSE 350 oil and gas index fell 1.2% in early trading.

Inside India’s mines: Between Jan and June 2016, a death every third day – by Anil Sasi (Indian Express – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://indianexpress.com/

New Delhi – * Just after the dawn on May 28, a mining accident at the Turamdih Uranium Mine near Jamshedpur, run by the state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), killed three miners. 24-year-old Sonaram Kisku, a tribal contract worker, 42-year-old safety officer Surya Kant Singh and Milan Karmakar, 35, a general foreman died after they accidentally got buried under the wet radioactive slurry that they were reportedly clearing at a depth of over 250 metre in the Turamdih mine, 6 km from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

* Three workers of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) — T Hanmantha Rao and G Posham, both were timbermen, and D Kistaiah, a mason — were crushed to death when a portion of the roof of a structure inside the coal mine collapsed on them when they came in to drink water around mid-day on April 14. Of the four workers at the Shanthikhani main site near Mandamarri, one escaped with minor injuries.

Including the six lives that were lost in the two recent accidents, there were a total of 65 deaths during the first six months of this year in a series of accidents at the country’s coal and non-coal mines — translating into a fatality every three days.

Suspected cattle rustlers kill 36 miners in Nigeria: government (France24.com – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.france24.com/en/

KANO (NIGERIA) (AFP) – Gunmen believed to be cattle rustlers have killed 36 miners in northern Nigeria, the government and residents said Tuesday, the latest in a long-running series of such raids.

Motorcycle-riding attackers struck late on Monday at a goldmine outside Bindin village in northern Zamfara state, shooting dead miners and gold merchants, they said. The state governor condemned the attack “in strongest terms” in a government statement, describing it as an “act of terrorism”.

The statement said an investigation had been launched, while local residents said it was just the latest deadly raid by cattle thieves on herding communities in the state.

Row over Romania’s land of Dracula and gold spills onto new international stage – by Claudia Ciobanu (Reuters U.S. – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

ROSIA MONTANA, Romania (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A battle over plans to build a huge gold mine in Rosia Montana, a Romanian village boasting intact Roman mining shafts and 18th century houses, has moved to an international stage, sparking residents’ fears that the project could be resurrected.

Sitting atop one of Europe’s largest gold deposits, Rosia Montana has for 15 years been at the center of a battle between villagers and Canada-listed mining company Gabriel Resources.

Gabriel Resources said the $1.5 billion project to build Europe’s largest gold mine would provide a major boost for Romania’s lagging economy and create hundreds of jobs for the Transylvania region – the legendary home of Dracula. But local residents fear the mine would destroy historic Rosia Montana, surrounding hillsides, and pollute the local environment with cyanide used in the mining process.

Rio suspends senior executive after discovery of $13.5m Simandou mine payments – by Brian Robins (Sydney Morning Herald – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.smh.com.au/

Global miner Rio Tinto has suspended one of its most senior executives following the discovery of large payments to a consultant who worked on the Simandou iron ore project in West Africa.

In a statement, the miner said it has suspended Mr Alan Davies, the company’s energy and minerals chief executive “with immediate effect”.

Legal and regulatory affairs group executive Debra Valentine, who sits with Mr Davies on the mining giant’s 10-member executive committee, has stepped aside from her role. She was due to retire on May 1, 2017. Rio said it has “notified the relevant authorities in the United Kingdom and the United States and is in the process of contacting the Australian authorities”.

Nemaska Lithium’s Whabouchi project to ship lithium hydroxide in first quarter – by Lara Smith (InvestorIntel.com – November 8, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://investorintel.com/

Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX | OTCQX: NMKEF) is a producer of the compound in Quebec, Canada, and is aiming to supply to the rapidly growing market. The company wholly owns the Whabouchi Mine project, a deposit believed to rank second in the world for size and lithium concentration. The company has developed a commercial process of producing lithium hydroxide (patent pending), which is the compound anticipated to lead demand in batteries.

The Whabouchi project is the flagship of this company, but not only for its size and quality of material. Officially authorised by the Quebec and Canadian Federal Governments in 2015, the project is being funded by over $69 million in investment raised in an offering in July 2016, from when the company began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The Company has previously ranked as “Top Company Overall” of the 2016 OTCQX® Best 50 and performed second best out of the mining sector on the 2016 TSX Venture 50®. Nemaska Lithium has further attracted a significant grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, receiving a second installment of $2.12 million in June.

Andrew Forrest defends Fortescue pay packets after proxy adviser criticism – by Tess Ingram (Australian Financial Review – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.afr.com/

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest says he will defend the company’s approach to executive remuneration “all day and every day” after proxy advisers raised concerns about the size and validity of incentives paid to senior management.

While the iron ore miner avoided a first “strike” at its annual general meeting in Perth on Wednesday, with 89.5 per cent of votes cast in favour of the company’s remuneration report, two influential proxy advisers, ISS and Ownership Matters, said there were issues with incentives paid to senior management.

Research issued by Ownership Matters said shareholders should vote against the report, arguing the company’s fiscal 2014 long-term incentive (LTI) should not have vested because the relevant target was not met.

Copper hits 15-month high after Trump wins White House – by Clara Denina (Reuters U.S. – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – Copper surged to a 15-month high on Wednesday, pulling most other metals up too on technical buying and as some investors speculated that a Donald Trump presidency could herald a period of significant fiscal stimulus and boost demand for metals.

In his victory speech, Trump said he would embark on a project to rebuild American infrastructure and would double U.S. economic growth. “The Republicans have control of both houses of Congress and that means there is a possibility that those kind of programs could become reality,” ICBC Standard Bank analyst Tom Kendall said.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 3.4 percent to its highest since July 22, 2015 at $5,443 a tonne and traded 2.2 percent higher at $5,352 in official rings.

Liberals ‘seriously’ considering mining ombudsperson, says federal corporate social responsibility adviser – by Peter Mazereeuw (Hill Times – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.hilltimes.com/

‘We recognize there are always improvements to be made,’ says the trade minister’s office.

The Liberal government is “seriously reviewing” the creation of an ombudsperson to investigate Canadian companies implicated in wrongdoing abroad, says Canada’s corporate social responsibility counsellor for the extractive sector, Jeffrey Davidson.

After a year of getting its feet wet and dealing with top priorities, the government has turned its attention to Mr. Davidson’s office and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies of the previous Conservative government, he said in an interview with The Hill Times last week.

“[They’re] working through how they want to deal with this whole issue: the CSR issue, the conduct of Canadian companies overseas, not just in the extractives, but across sectors, and what they should do…above and beyond what exists,” he said.

Gold Approaches Busiest Trading Day Ever After Trump’s Victory – by Nicholas Larkin and Eddie Van Der Walt (Bloomberg News – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Donald Trump’s victory is also a win for gold brokers.

Gold is having one of its heaviest trading days ever as investors rushed to havens on concern Trump’s presidency will upend decades of U.S. economic and foreign policy. About 570,000 futures changed hands by 8:06 a.m. in New York, based on data using the most-active Comex contract.

That’s triple the full-day average this year and U.S. trading is just getting underway.

There are only two other instances of higher gold volume, June 24, after Britain decided to leave the European Union, and April 15, 2013, when gold had its biggest slump in three decades.

Trump Victory to Have Long-Lasting Impact on Commodity Prices – by Georgi Kantchev (Wall Street Journal – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Commodity markets were feeling the effects Wednesday of Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. election. Analysts say some of the impact could be long-lasting.

In early trade Wednesday, Brent, the global oil benchmark, was down 1% at $45.55 a barrel. J.P. Morgan analysts predict Brent could trade at $43 a barrel within a week of a Trump win. The bank forecasts copper falling to $4,760 a ton, down from $5,359 a ton early Wednesday.

From oil to copper and gold, analysts expect the risk-off sentiment in financial markets to continue to rattle commodities in coming days. Mr. Trump’s opposition to international trade deals and what analysts say is a lack of clarity in his policies could slow global economic growth and pull down commodities prices in its wake, they say. Gold, on the other hand, is expected to benefit as investors take flight to safe havens.