Republic of Mining

‘Duty to Consult’ a Cruel Joke If First Nations Can’t Handle the Load – by Alex Power (The Tyee.ca – Janaury 16, 2017)

January 16, 2017

Insider reveals hidden barrier to fair dealing with Indigenous governments about big-ticket projects.

Whenever there’s a large project in Canada, whether it’s a new mine or major infrastructure, there’s a constitutionally based “duty to consult” with affected Indigenous parties. In the Northwest Territories, where I live, the regulatory boards have done a pretty good job of making sure that consultation is rigorous and that developers and governments fully engage with Indigenous governments.

Ironically, this rigour has led to a situation where meaningful consultation doesn’t currently exist. It’s a problem I know first-hand and one that is too common across the country. How did this happen?

There are a couple of technical bits to this “duty to consult” that need to be understood. Given that my somewhat long-winded job title is Regulatory and Research Specialist for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Department of Land and Environment, this is the sort of thing I think about daily.

Boliden to invest €44m in Tara Mines after finding new resources – by Charlie Taylor (Irish Times – January 11, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.irishtimes.com/

Boliden, the Swedish owner of Tara Mines in Co Meath, is to invest €44 million in the site after identifying new mineral resources and deciding to expand the mine’s tailing dam.

The mine, which is just outside Navan, is Europe’s largest, and the world’s ninth largest zinc mine. It currently employs over 600. Production at Tara Mines began in 1977, and since then more than 80 million tonnes of ore have been mined.

Boliden Mines said a recent exploration has resulted in the discovery of a new mineralisation Tara Deep. An extension of the capacity of the tailings dam, which currently limits Tara’s lifespan, has also been decided. The new tailings dam will have sufficient capacity for production at current levels until 2026, Boliden said.

‘Urban mining’: UBC engineers say e-waste more lucrative than ore pulled from the ground – by Randy Shore (Vancouver Province – January 16, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.theprovince.com/

Electronic waste is proving to be a far richer source of valuable metals than any ore pulled from the ground, according to mining engineers at the University of British Columbia.

PhD student Amit Kumar and professor Maria Holuszko have succeeded in “mining” copper and silver from LED lights, and they are certain that rare earth metals such as europium, cerium and lutetium can also be recovered.

Light Emitting Diodes are gaining popularity as a highly efficient alternative to incandescent and fluorescent lights and represent an increasing proportion of e-waste and a potential source of metal pollution, said Holuszko.

#DisruptMining competition dangles another karat in front of staid gold mining industry – by Rick Spence (Financial Post – January 16, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

Back in the day, big businesses and small businesses rarely interacted. What could a small business have or know that could possibly interest multi-national know-it-alls?

Money, distribution and influence were the assets that mattered then. But today the key currency is innovation. Smaller existing companies know they must either become masters of technology and shifting markets, or they’ll become a statistic. So now we see more of them grasping for innovation expertise by partnering with startups, sponsoring incubators, and even holding hackathons. They need innovation partners with one foot in the future.

Case in point: #DisruptMining, an innovation competition designed to bring solutions to the hard-pressed mining industry. The desire for change comes from Vancouver-based Goldcorp, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer. But the catalyst is Integra Gold, a junior explorer in Vancouver.

Crown attempts to stay MiningWatch’s charges against Mount Polley – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – January 15, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Public Service of Canada prosecutor Alexander Clarkson announced that the Crown wants to enter a stay of proceedings in relation to MiningWatch Canada’s private prosecution against the Mount Polley Mining Corporation and the Government of British Columbia over the 2014 Mount Polley Mine tailings breach near the city of Williams Lake.

In other words, the federal government is seeking a withdrawal of the criminal charges before the NGO has the chance to present the evidence it claims to have over the spill’s damages to downstream waters and fish habitat, which would constitute a violation of the Fisheries Act .

Talking to the Williams Lake Tribune, Clarkson explained the rationale behind the Crown’s request: “The first reason is because there’s no reasonable prospect of conviction against these two parties with the materials presented to us by the complainant Mr. [Ugo] Lapointe.

Ontario New rules govern water in mines, seismic activity – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 14, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Companies must do more to control the build up of water in mines and to record and act on seismic events. They are part of amendments to Regulation 854 Mines and Mining Plants of the Occupational Health and Safety Act went into law on Jan. 1.

The regulatory changes relate to risk assessments, water and traffic management programs, and recording of seismic events. It’s up to Ontario employers to ensure they are complying with the requirements set out by the Ministry of Labour.

“The updated regulation requires Ontario mines to conduct risk assessments for all hazards,” says Mike Parent, mining director at Workplace Safety North, Ontario’s mining health and safety association. “Risk assessments are the building blocks for successful health and safety management systems.

Indonesia won’t flood nickel market: minister – by Fergus Jensen and Eveline Danubrata (Reuters U.S. – January 14, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s abrupt easing of a three-year ban on nickel ore exports will not flood the global market but instead is aimed at balancing the country’s smelters and creating job opportunities at mines, top mining officials said on Saturday.

Indonesian mines may export up to 5.2 million tonnes of nickel ore a year under the country’s new rules, the mining minister said, only a fraction of its shipments when it was once a top global supplier of the stainless steel material.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan’s comment came after an industry backlash over the government’s decision on Thursday to lift a ban on the export of nickel ore and bauxite under certain conditions.

[Minnesota] THE IRONY AND HYPOCRISY OF A MINING BAN EFFORT – Editorial (Mesabi Daily News – January 14, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.virginiamn.com/

On Friday, the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service filed with the Federal Register its intent to close off more than 234,000 acres in the Superior National Forest to mining activity. To do so, the request has to go through comment periods and an environmental review, with the Interior secretary giving the final decision.

The potential irony of that process should not be lost. In its actions the BLM and USFS circumvented years of federal due process for the very mining projects at risk of being blocked. That process, most notably denied to Twin Metals, will sound familiar: a proposal, comment periods and environmental reviews.

The hypocrisy should also not be lost.

This effort by the BLM and USFS seeks a two-year moratorium on new mining projects and ultimately a 20-year ban on mining in the Rainy River watershed near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The story of nickel is industrial romance writ by man in metal – by Charles Vincent (MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE – December 15, 1936)

January 16, 2017

http://www.macleans.ca/

THE CONSTRUCTION gang foreman looked down the cut where his crew was tackling the tough rock with heavy picks, getting ready to blast. The track layers were right on his heels, pushing the new Canadian Pacific Railway westward to bridge the continent. The foreman’s eye fell on one man.

“Hey, you !” he roared, “what’re ye standin’ there gapin’ at? Get busy with that pick.”

“Well, take a look at this slab of rock, boss; it’s kind of queer.” And so in 1883 nickel was uncovered at Sudbury.

It was a product that nobody wanted. When the first smelting yielded a metal which was curiously pale instead of copper red, and when analysis showed that this fault was due to the presence of nickel, men cursed it as a plague which they neither knew how to get rid of nor how to use in such large quantities. It was the copper content of the Sudbury ore on which they had set their hopes.

[Mining education and research innovation] LU head proud university in ‘new league’ – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 16, 2017)

January 16, 2017

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux can look back on several accomplishments in 2016, including tens of millions in new government funding and donations for the university, as well as record enrolment, and his personal appointment as vice-chair of Universities Canada from October 2016 to October 2017, and as chair from October 2017 to 2019, among other honours.

Originally appointed as president in 2009, Giroux has seen many of his plans for Laurentian come to fruition, with many parts of an ambitious 2012-2-17 Strategic Plan already implemented.

He has faced his share of challenges, too, such as the tough decision to suspend programs at Laurentian’s Barrie campus earlier this year. Giroux took some time over the holidays to reflect on his near-eight-year tenure as president and the year that was in 2016, and to talk about his future vision for Laurentian University.

BHP Billiton set to reap benefits of favoured status with Donald Trump – by Robert Gottliebsen (The Australian – January 13, 2017)

January 13, 2017

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

Suddenly almost everything is going right for the world’s largest mining company, Australia’s BHP. Not only is cash pouring into its coffers because of higher iron ore, oil and coal prices but, thanks to CEO Andrew Mackenzie and his team, much lower costs mean profits will skyrocket at a rate well above the estimates of most analysts.

In the past BHP would have been expected to shower shareholders with dividends but now the company is among an elite group of non-US companies—-it has been chosen by president-elect Donald Trump to help “make America great again”.

I do not think Australia and even BHP fully comprehend the US potential being opened up for the Big Australian.

COLUMN-Indonesia rocks the nickel market (again) – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – January 13, 2017)

January 13, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

Jan 13 Almost exactly three years ago Indonesia rocked the global nickel market by banning the export of unprocessed minerals. At the stroke of a presidential pen the flow of nickel ore feeding China’s massive stainless steel sector was cut off.

Now Indonesia has done it again, this time by part reversing that ban. The London Metal Exchange nickel price initially slumped 5 percent on the news to a four-month low of $9,660 per tonne before recovering to $10,275 at the Thursday close.

The tremors have spread to the equities market with the shares of Australia’s nickel producers and Indonesia’s own PT Vale Indonesia experiencing similar turbulence.

China imported record 1.02b tonnes of iron ore in 2016 – by Ranjeetha Pakiam(Australian Financial Review – January 14, 2017)

January 13, 2017

http://www.afr.com/

Bloomberg – Iron ore imports by China surged to a record above 1 billion tonnes last year as unexpectedly strong steel production and lower local mine output combined to fire up demand in the world’s top buyer for cargoes from Australia and Brazil, supporting a rebound in prices.

Asia’s top economy imported 1.024 billion tonnes in 2016, up 7.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to customs data issued on Friday: that’s about 32 tonnes a second, according to Bloomberg calculations. Purchases last month totalled about 89 million tonnes, compared with 96.3 million tonnes a year earlier.

Iron ore surged more than 80 per cent last year as China added stimulus to sustain economic growth, bolstering steel production, soaking up rising low-cost mine supply and shredding bears’ forecasts.

South Africa: 1 700 Workers Start Strike 2.4km Below Harmony Mine (All Africa – January 12, 2017)

January 13, 2017

http://allafrica.com/

About 1 700 miners refused to return to the surface of Harmony Gold’s [JSE:HAR] Kusasalethu mine in the West Rand on Wednesday, with the miner saying they have embarked on an illegal sit-in.

“Harmony Gold confirms that around 1 700 employees are participating in an illegal sit-in at the company’s Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville,” the company said in a statement.

“The sit-in started on Wednesday, January 11 when employees chose not to return to surface at the end of the morning shift. “No formal demands have been made by the participating employees.

A tale of two western coal mining towns – by Bill Graveland (Waterloo Record – January 12, 2017)

January 13, 2017

http://www.therecord.com/

The Canadian Press – HANNA, Alta. — The hand-painted sign on a bumpy road on the east side of Hanna speaks volumes. “Hanna supports coal, cows, gas and oil,” it says bluntly. The sign includes a circle with a line through it over the words “carbon tax.”

The town of 2,700, 230 kilometres northeast of Calgary, like many rural Alberta communities, has largely lived off agriculture. But a large vein of thermal coal east of town led to the construction of the coal-fired Sheerness generating plant in the early 1980s and has provided welcome jobs and business in the region ever since.

People worry that economic boost is threatened by a new carbon levy and the provincial government’s plan to shut down coal-fired power plant by 2030 and move exclusively to natural gas, wind, solar and hydro energy instead.